The Penguins had some good things going for them. They had multiple days off before heading to a destination road trip, the team they were facing was missing a star player, and they turned that into a 2-0 lead heading into the third period. Then they let it all fall apart in what can only be considered a very disappointing loss. The Golden Knights scored three unanswered goals in the third period and the Penguins left the contest earning nothing.
Given the time off there’s really no excuse for not having the juice to close out a game in the third period. It is imperative a team with the age concerns the Penguins have take advantage of the times in the season where they have more than ample rest. They did not.
A fella by the name of Brendan Brisson scored his first career goal and it turned out to be the game winner. If the last name sounds familiar, it should. It is the son of Sidney Crosby’s agent, Pat.
“It was crazy. I just put the puck on net. I saw it went in and I just blacked out from there,… Brisson said.
It is probably closer to the truth that the Penguins blacked out and how fitting for the Vegas game.
One of the biggest issues plaguging the Penguins is one that was much discussed before the year. Depth scoring and the ability to finish. They are by far the worst team at cashing in on their chances
Team Finishing - January 21 pic.twitter.com/8KXM3UAX6q
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) January 21, 2024
This despite being second in the league in expected goals for
5v5 xGoals For per 60 - January 21 pic.twitter.com/AshO9N0wC5
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) January 21, 2024
This is going to be a tough thing to fix at this point in time. They don’t have cap space and they don’t have a lot of appealing trade chips. I can assure you that trading away Jake Guentzel, who scored last night, isn’t going to help anything. It was Guentzel’s seventh consecutive 20 goal season for the Penguins and it puts him in rare company.
Jake Guentzel became the seventh player in @penguins history to record seven 20-goal seasons.
— Penguins PR (@PenguinsPR) January 21, 2024
Only three players in franchise history have recorded more consecutive 20-goal seasons than Guentzel's seven:
Jaromir Jagr - 11 from 1991-01
Rick Kehoe - 9 from 1975-83
Jean Pronovost… pic.twitter.com/ez4KtG6DEB
Dubas went for defense first forwards and that is what the Penguins got as far as offense is concerned. You can’t even say they’ve gotten the defense part of things because it is the goalies who are holding that end together.
Team Goaltending - January 21 pic.twitter.com/PEipUWyBd2
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) January 21, 2024
The defense first forwards and Ryan Graves haven’t done nothing for this team
5v5 Team Defence - January 21 pic.twitter.com/EjSxT1s6Pb
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) January 21, 2024
So the march forward continues by taking a few steps towards success and then a few steps backwards. Sometimes it happens all in the same game like last night.
Thanks for reading!