After losing Captain Sidney Crosby to a lower-body injury in the last game against Ottawa and already without the services of Evgeni Malkin, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been no strangers to adversity this season.
In contrast to their shootout victory on Thursday night, the Penguins were unable to battle back and earn two points against the NHL’s second-best team on Saturday, losing to the Dallas Stars 6-3 at PPG Paints Arena.
“We all watched the same game,” Erik Karlsson said. “I think it was a winnable game for us today. Ultimately, we didn't do the work. They're a good team for a reason, and they showed that today.”
The Penguins started the game on the right foot, generating chances in the offensive zone and limiting the Stars' ability to get out of their own zone. After drawing an early power play, Anthony Mantha tipped in his 27th goal of the season off Karlsson’s wrist shot from the point.
While the Penguins were able to outwork the Stars for the first half of the first period, things would change as they dug themselves into penalty trouble. Mantha took a high-sticking penalty, a bench minor for too many men on the ice, and then Rutger McGroarty was called for tripping all within six minutes of each other.
“I thought we had a great start,” Bryan Rust said. “We were in their face. We had some really good shifts. Got into penalty trouble. That hurt us. But at the end of the first (period), we got some big (penalty) kills. We probably should have carried the momentum into the second (period) and we didn’t.”
Before puck drop, Head Coach Dan Muse alluded to how Dallas has skill and talent all over their lineup. In the second period, it was in full effect.
For the majority of the season, the penalty kill has been one of the biggest bright spots for the team. With the current absence of Blake Lizotte, one of Pittsburgh’s most premier penalty killers, the group has struggled. That continued again on Saturday as Dallas capitalized in the middle frame with two power play goals from Jason Robertson and Miko Rantanen.
“I just think at times, we’re not on the same page,” Rust said. “And that gives them the half-second to make the play that they need to make. We’ve just got to be more diligent and a little bit more disciplined with our sticks or our feet or whatever it is.”
After Justin Hryckowian’s even-strength goal in the second period that made it 2-1, the Penguins found a quick response. Walking into the center of the ice, Karlsson zipped a wrist shot that beat Jake Oettinger and went bar down for his 13thgoal of the season.
Saturday also marked Karlsson’s ninth multi-point game for the month of March, in which he has 24 points (9G-15A) in 15 games.
Entering the third period down 4-2, the Penguins were searching for offense as they only had nine shots on goal through the 40 minutes of play. Dallas entered Saturday’s game with the second-fewest goals allowed per game in the NHL with 2.69, a testament to how structured they are defensively.
“We took that extra half-second to maybe look for a pass,” Rust said on the team’s offensive struggles. “Shooting lanes closed up and we got shots blocked or we (had) shots that missed the net or we just, at that point, didn’t shoot because there wasn’t a shooting lane.”
The Penguins were able to pull within one when Elmer Soderblom’s shot from the half-wall banked off of Noel Acciari in the crease and in for his 10th goal of the season.
In the past few weeks, the Penguins have done an outstanding job clawing back into games when they have been down by multiple goals. However, Saturday would give different results as the Stars were able to get two empty net goals and hand the Penguins a 6-3 loss.
“I think we got going in the third, but it’s unfortunate that we couldn’t pull through all the way to the end,” Karlsson said. “I think it was a winnable game with the way that it was played. Kudos to them. They did a good job. They stuck with it longer than we did, and they’re a good team for a reason.”
All throughout the game, Stuart Skinner was able to keep it close for his teammates with some of the incredible saves he was making in all situations.
“For me, I thought I was good tonight,” Skinner said. “I thought, as a team, we were good tonight. But Dallas was really good. Those little, very, very small things, very small details that won this game tonight.”
The Penguins will look to regroup at practice tomorrow before they head into a critical divisional matchup against the New York Islanders on Monday. Regardless of who is in or out of the lineup, everyone has to bring their best.
“If we’re not getting up for that one, I think there’s something wrong,” Rust said. “We all know what’s on the line there. It’s going to be a fun playoff-type of game. We’ve got to go ahead and be ready.”
