The Pittsburgh Penguins continued their road trip on Nov. 7, traveling to Carolina to take on a red-hot Hurricanes team.
By the night’s end, the Penguins found themselves on the wrong end of a 5-1 game headlined by Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov and some spotty play from some of the Penguins’ top players.
Tough Night for Karlsson
Sometimes, the box score does not necessarily tell the whole story. But in the case of Erik Karlsson, the minus-3 he has next to his name for the game against the Hurricanes pretty much sums up how the night went for him. The two-time Norris Trophy winner (league’s best defenseman) struggled mightily at both ends of the ice. Defensively, it was directly tied to and impacted the Hurricanes getting at least two of their goals.
Throughout the game, Karlsson looked a step behind and out of place in his end of the ice. He tried to get involved offensively, but he struggled even on the power play. Overall, the showing by general manager (GM) Kyle Dubas‘ first big acquisition as Penguins GM was not a good one and detrimentally impacted the game.
Offense Gets Their Chances… But Get Stymied
Scoring only one goal on 36 shots is a tough pill for the Penguins, but running into a red-hot team and goaltender like they did with the Hurricanes and Kochetkov is also a massive factor. While they did record the 36 shots, they could not beat the Hurricanes’ netminder until five minutes into the third period, thanks to offseason acquisition Blake Lizotte. The offense was buzzing around the Hurricanes’ zone plenty in the loss, but with a stingy defense from Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour’s team and, at times, Kochetkov standing on his head, it was a tough night.
Getting shots is excellent, but the Penguins continue to struggle to put the puck in the back of the net. So far, they rank in the top five for shots per game but sit in the bottom third in goals per game. Whether it is getting shut down by a strong goaltender like Kochetkov or the fact the quality of shots is not the greatest, the Penguins need to find a way to get themselves moving in the right direction when it comes to their goals per game statistic (2.80, 20th in the league).
Depth Continues to Show in Forward Grouping
One of the few positives of a game where the Penguins only scored one goal is that all four forward lines got involved in the offensive zone. The moves that Dubas made in the offseason to improve the depth of the grouping continue to work out fairly well. Out of the new forwards, Lizotte stood out once again. Not only did he score the lone Penguins goal, but he was a bit of an Energizer Bunny on the ice. His speed was on full display a handful of times, with him flying through the neutral zone and leading a rush all on his own.
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Along with this came his knack for being a pest in the offensive zone on the forecheck and being around the net, which was rewarded with his second goal as a Penguin after he scored an empty netter in the team’s win over the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 2.
Overall, the entire group of forwards looked solid in the offensive zone, and the bottom-six’s depth and capability to move players up and down the lineup remain positive. If head coach Mike Sullivan can finally get the right lines for his forward groups and some consistent play, it will go a long way toward turning things around.
Other Game Notes
- In the loss, Sidney Crosby’s four-game point streak ended, but he did take over the all-time lead in faceoff wins, adding another milestone to his Hall-of-Fame career.
- Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic looked solid between the pipes for the Penguins but was left out to dry quite a few times by the defense in front of him.
- The Penguins’ power play could not cash in the loss, and they went scoreless in four chances.
What’s Next for the Pens
It is a quick turnaround for the Penguins, as they head to Washington to take on the Capitals on Nov. 8 as they look to get themselves going against another one of the Eastern Conference’s top teams so far this season.
