Sully Says: "As the Game Went On, We Didn't Have the Same Push"

The Penguins entered Saturday's game against the New Jersey Devils, their second of three games in four days against Metropolitan Division foes, in search of two much-needed points after falling to the New York Islanders the night before.
Pittsburgh found itself ahead early, but couldn't maintain the lead or swiftly respond to New Jersey's scores in a 5-2 loss at PPG Paints Arena.

Evgeni Malkin was the Penguins' lone goal scorer, finding the back of the net twice. Dustin Tokarski, making just his fourth appearance of the season and his first start since Jan. 13, made 38 saves in the defeat.
Pittsburgh got the scoring started 3:33 into the contest, thanks in part to a man-advantage, compliments of a tripping penalty committed by former Penguins defenseman John Marino. After a quick zone re-entry, Malkin took a cross-ice pass from Rickard Rakell and redirected it past New Jersey goaltender Vitek Vanecek.
The assist gave Rakell his sixth point in his last three games, while the goal was Malkin's 20th tally of the season. Malkin became the fourth Penguin to reach the 20-goal mark on the season, joining Sidney Crosby (25), Jake Guentzel (23) and Rakell (21).
The power-play goal was Pittsburgh's only conversion on five man-advantage situations in the game. New Jersey would also go on to score a shorthanded goal later in the game.
"I think it was just different things," Crosby said. "I think it was just execution. I think that we just got to make plays. We got to go tape-to-tape, and we didn't. Obviously, it's not great when you don't convert, but to give up one is tough. I think that's a big turning point in the game."
Just 1:20 later, the Devils evened the score when Dawson Mercer gathered a loose puck amid a net-front scrum and backhanded it past Tokarski and into a wide-open cage. At the 11:52 mark of the opening frame, Teddy Blueger appeared to have his first tally since Dec. 6, but his use of a kicking motion to put the puck in nullified the goal.
The score remained 1-1 until the 16:13 mark of the second period, when, just seconds into a power-play opportunity, Nico Hischier found a wide-open Dougie Hamilton. He one-timed it past Tokarski's blocker side and in to give New Jersey the lead.
With 11:35 to go in the middle period, the Devils got a shorthanded 2-on-1 chance. Yegor Sharangovich sent a backhand pass to an open Hischier, who converted and gave New Jersey a two-goal cushion.
"I think special teams ends up being the difference," Crosby said. "They get a lead and we couldn't convert on power plays. We gave up a shorthanded goal, and momentum seemed to shift there."
Sharangovich got a breakaway opportunity during a Pittsburgh power play early in the third period, but Tokarski shut him down. However, New Jersey's lead would eventually grow to three goals. With 11:21 to go in the game, Jack Hughes found an uncontested Jesper Bratt, who scored New Jersey's fourth unanswered goal of the game.
With 5:17 left, Malkin broke through the middle and beat Vanecek for his second score of the game. The multi-goal game was Malkin's fourth of the season, with three of those efforts having come since the calendar flipped to 2023.
At the 2:04 mark, Hischier then got his second goal of the game by way of an empty netter, icing the victory. The win was the Devils' third in three tries against Pittsburgh so far this season, with the fourth and final meeting set for April 4 at Prudential Center.
"We got a find a way (to move forward)," Crosby said. "We played pretty well in Long Island, and then for at least the first half tonight. So hopefully, we can build something from that. But we got to find consistency in our game."
After winning its first two games out following the All-Star Break, Pittsburgh has since lost three of its last four contests.
"I mean, you want to find [consistency]," Crosby said. "I think that, like I said before, we're gonna see what we're made of here, down the stretch. That's the situation we're in, and hopefully it brings out the best in us."
The Penguins will return to action at PPG Paints arena on Monday, when they host the Islanders. Here is what Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan had to say about Saturday's performance.
On his observations of the Jeff Carter line, and what needs to happen to get them going:"You guys ask me that question every day. My answer is the same. They have moments when they've been good; they have some where they haven't been."
On Kris Letang saying that it seems like when the team has early momentum, it's been difficult to sustain, and why that's been a struggle:"I think it's a game of momentum. When you have it, you got to try to ride it, you got to try and maximize the opportunity. And when you lose it, you got to try to get back, you know? We've talked all year about handling the ebbs and flows of the game, and doing a better job in those circumstances. I thought we started the game really well tonight. I thought we came out with a lot of juice, a lot of energy. I thought the first period was really strong. I just thought as the game went on, we didn't have the same push."
On what he's looking for from the struggling penalty kill:"They need to be better. It just simply hasn't been good enough. It boils down to a lot of the little things, the details, commitment, working together… all the things we talk about when they have success, it's the same thing we don't. It's the inconsistency of it. I just don't think our details have been as good as they were there for the stretch when we climbed up to the tops of the league. We've just gotten away from a lot of it. We haven't been as good. We need to be better."
On this being eight losses in a row against Metropolitan Division opponents, and if there's a common theme there: "I don't know."