* There wasn't a lot to like about this game. Perhaps the two biggest bright spots were that the Pens never quit and that they were able to steal a point.
* Brock Boeser owns the Penguins. Owns. Owns. In 3 games against them he has 6 goals, 7 points, 1 hat trick and 1 overtime tally. It was fitting that the final shot of the game came off of his stick.
* Following the 4-3 shootout loss to Montreal, head coach Mike Sullivan talked about the mindset that it takes to play the game. And having had many conversations with him in the past, he truly believes that games can be won and lost even before the puck drops.
The way to read a team's mindset is in the opening minutes of the period. And right from the drop of the puck, the Pens didn't have it. Pittsburgh was sloppy in execution, on its heels and a full step behind the younger, speedier Canucks. Vancouver grabbed the momentum and tilted the ice in its favor.
* The biggest aspect of the game that jumped out to me was speed. The Pens are a team that wants to play a fast game with plenty of pace. They want to come at their opponents with a full head of steam. Of course, everyone remembers the Pens' 2016 Stanley Cup run when Sullivan was promoted to Pittsburgh. That team could blaze. No one could handle their speed or keep up with them.
But here we are four years later. And the Pens are no longer the fastest team in the league anymore. So they need to start playing a smarter game.
There were five occasions in the game when Canucks players blatantly iced the puck to the opposite corner with the off winger jetting down the ice to negate the icing call. It was a glorified entry and forced the Pens to overextend. But it was a visual display of Vancouver's superiority of speed.
* Fun stat of the night: Jake Guentzel scored his fourth goal of the season. He has scored in every game he's played against Vancouver in his career, netting six total goals in five games.
* The Pens are a frustrating team to play against because they are never out of any game. Pittsburgh struck with 3:14 remaining with a nice play by the second line. Evgeni Malkin made an alert pass to spring Phil Kessel and Carl Hagelin for a 2-on-1. Kessel carried, head faked and then slid a pass to Hagelin. Basically, Kessel banked the puck into the net off of Hagelin's stick. But it was Hagelin's drive to the net that gave Kessel the space to make the play.
