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Yesterday, was not a good day for the Penguins. The Red Wings beat Toronto in overtime and now have two games against Montreal to close the season. The Washington Capitals won in regulation late over Tampa Bay. The Islanders earned a loser point from the Rangers. Even the Flyers won 1-0.
Each of those teams are now sitting above the Penguins in the standings after their 6-4 loss to the Bruins. There’s still a path to the playoffs for the Penguins. They no longer control it even if they win their final two games over the Predators and Islanders. They have to win out and look for help.
The Bruins game always looked like a daunting task on the schedule and it turned out to be. Mostly because of self-inflicted wounds which is the norm for this season. The only reason they had to go on the streak they’ve been on is because of all the points they’ve thrown away to this point on the year.
Alex Nedeljkovic started his 11th consecutive game last night because the Penguins have no trust in their 1A goalie Tristan Jarry. It is a tough ask in modern times to ask a goalie to go that many games in a row. Last night, Nedeljkovic wasn’t up to the task and let in three crumby goals to start the game. So this was a moment for Tristan Jarry to come in and try to contribute and he immediately turned the puck over while the Penguins were on the power play and got scored on by Brad Marchand in what felt like immediately after he was put in. Has Tristan Jarry ever done anything to help the Penguins in the month of April? It sure doesn’t feel like it.
Drew O’Connor had himself a game. He was the primary driver on two terrific goals. The first one I had mistaken him for Evgeni Malkin when watching it live when he jumped through the Bruins defender at the blue line. He then put the puck on a platter for Bryan Rust who did what he does, score in big games. The Penguins looked dead after going down 0-2.
It should have been the goal that got the Penguins back on track, but the team busted out a 2023-24 favorite and decided to let the other team score a minute later.
O’Connor wasn’t done trying to claw the Penguins back into this one. He scored an unbelievable goal through sheer determination while shorthanded.
This goal was huge and it gave the Penguins a puncher’s chance to get back into things with a 4-3 score. Ultimately, the team didn’t make the most of it, no fault of O’Connor’s who had one of his best games to date.
The bottom six was a complete no show led by Reilly Smith who feels like he’s counting his days until he is out of Pittsburgh. He’s shown to be quite an effective player in the past and he just hasn’t been in Pittsburgh. There was a sequence where the Penguins had numbers and all he had to do was head man the puck and go hard to the far post and the F3 would have had all the time and space to do what they wanted. Instead he kept it and slow played it by the blue line for a much less dangerous play. He also had the opportunity where he beat a defender to his forehand side in the slot and declined to shoot and made a pass which didn’t work. These are the kinds of plays you need to make given the role Smith is expected to be playing.
Evgeni Malkin and Michael Bunting each had a goal and an assist as their partnership continues to bare fruit. Bunting has done his best to try and contribute in a positive way since coming over in the Guentzel trade.
Erik Karlsson played in his 1,000th game and it is a noteworthy achievement worth more praise that probably deserves more of a spotlight. Unfortunately, given where we are in the season and how things went last night it feels like an afterthought. I don’t think Karlsson has been sharp lately and some of the mistakes being made I find really avoidable.
The Penguins will host the Predators tomorrow in what is a must win game. The Red Wings, Capitals, and Islanders will all be in action as well. We should have get some more clarity on the situation after all those games. A loss will certainly bury the Penguins given how many teams are still in it.
Thanks for reading!
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