Penguins stumble in 2nd period of road loss to Red Wings
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Having missed the playoffs last season by a single point, the Pittsburgh Penguins learned a hard lesson.
Points and wins carry the same value no matter when they are accrued.
“Our team knows what we have to do in order to be successful here,” forward Bryan Rust said in Cranberry Tuesday. “Points in October do mean the same as the ones in March. That’s kind of our mindset here. We can’t take anything for granted early on. We’ve got to fight for every point, every win we can.”
On Wednesday, they lost that fight as they were thumped by the Detroit Red Wings, 6-3, at Little Caesars Arena. The result brought a modest two-game winning streak to a halt.
After Evgeni Malkin scored on the game’s first shift, the Penguins gave up four consecutive goals, inlcuding three in the second period, to fall behind, 4-1. A third-period rally, which included Erik Karlsson’s first goal in a Penguins uniform, fizzled.
“It’s a tough second period for us,” Malkin told reporters in Detroit. “We need to play better, for sure.”
It took the Penguins less than a minute to open the scoring as Malkin collected his third goal of the season 53 seconds into regulation. Galloping into the offensive zone on the right wing, Malkin cut across the top of the near circle and left a drop pass for advancing linemate Reilly Smith. Pushing deep into the right circle, Smith flung a backhand pass to the far side of the crease, where Malkin tapped in an easy forehand shot past the right skate of hapless goaltender Ville Husso. Smith and Karlsson had assists.
The Red Wings tied the game at 12:23 of the first period when former Erie Otters forward Alex DeBrincat scored his fourth goal. Chipping a puck up off the boards and gaining entry into the offensive zone on the left wing, Red Wings forward Austin Czarnik surged through a hip check attempt by Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel and generated a two-on-one rush with DeBrincat against defenseman P.O Joseph. As Joseph offered minimal resistance, Czarnik delivered an easy pass to the right of the crease where DeBrincat swept in a forehand shot past goaltender Tristan Jarry’s left skate. Czarnik and defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere claimed assists.
Defenseman Ben Chiarot’s first goal supplied the hosts with their first lead of the contest at 5:21 of the second period. Pushing play into the Penguins’ zone, Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin cut above the right circle, fended off Joseph and dished a short-area pass to an approaching Chiarot who maneuvered into the left circle then lifted a wrister under Jarry’s wrister and into the cage. A net-front battle between Ruhwedel and Red Wings forward Lucas Raymonds created a screen on the sequence. Larkin and former Penguins defenseman Jeff Petry tallied assists.
The Red Wings went up 3-1 at 15:41 of the second frame via forward Andrew Copp’s second goal. Taking a pass at the right point of the offensive zone, Petry surveyed for a shot and lifted a wrister toward the cage. Copp was stationed just above the blue paint and deflected the puck with the shaft of his stick down below Jarry’s glove. Petry and forward Michael Rasmussen recorded assists.
Former Penguins forward David Perron put the Red Wings up by a field goal by scoring his first goal on a power-play opportunity only 2:08 later. Off a precision passing sequence, Larkin swiped a one-timer from the Penguins’ left circle that Jarry stopped. On the ensuing rebound, Perron, planted above the crease, easily swept in a forehand shot over Jarry’s left leg. Assists went to Larkin and DeBrincat.
Karlsson scored his first goal of the season and first as a member of the Penguins 3:37 into the third period to make it a 4-2 contest. Collecting a loose puck on the left wing wall of the offensive zone, Penguins forward Sidney Crosby drove to the near corner then pulled back and dealt a backhand pass to the top of the left circle where Karlsson gripped and ripped a wrister past Husso’s glove on the far side. Rust supplied an effect screen on the sequence Crosby and defenseman Ryan Graves had assists.
Jarry denied Copp on a short-handed penalty shot at 7:17 of the third with a blocker save to keep it a two-score game.
Rust’s fourth goal at 13:03 of the third period pulled the Penguins within a single score. After digging a puck out of a battle on the Red Wings’ end boards, Rust banked a pass off the left wall to defenseman Marcus Pettersson who faked a shot and then offloaded the puck to the high slot for Karlsson. Identifying a shooting lane, Karlsson snapped off a wrister toward the cage which Rust managed to deflect past Husso’s right shoulder. Karlsson and Pettersson had assists.
Copp scored an unassisted empty netter at 18:28 of the final period to make it a 5-3 game. The Penguins issued a coach’s challenge alleging the sequence to be offside. Officials found no evidence of that and the Penguins were charged with a delay of game penalty.
On the ensuing power-play opportunity, DeBrincat scored another empty netter at the 18:49 mark. The lone assist went to Larkin.
Making 23 saves on 27 shots, Jarry’s record fell to 1-2-0.
Notes:
• Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson received his second fighting major in three games when he tangled with Larkin at 19:08 of the second period.
During a 4-0 road win against the Washington Capitals on Friday, Pettersson tussled with forward Tom Wilson.
Pettersson is in a seven-way tie for the league lead in fighting majors with two according to Hockey Fights.
• Copp’s penalty shot attempt was the first for the Red Wings in 167 all-time regular season games with the Penguins.
• Jarry has stopped five of seven career penalty shots.
• Karlsson became the 557th player to score a regular season goal for the Penguins.
• In 29 career games against the Red Wings, Karlsson has 31 points (seven goals, 24 assists).
• Pettersson (95 points) surpassed defensemen Paul Baxter, Ulf Samuelsson and forward Wally Boyer (94 each) to move into 98th place on the franchise’s career scoring list.
• Malkin continues to eat well on the Red Wings. In 28 career games against the Red Wings, he has 42 points (18 goals, 24 assists).
• Penguins forward Lars Eller managed to avoid taking a penalty after three consecutive games in which he visited the penalty box.
• Penguins’ defensemen John Ludvig and Ryan Shea were healthy scratches for the fourth consecutive game.