The Pittsburgh Penguins went into their matchup with the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday hoping to build on the momentum they had from a resounding 5-1 win against the formidable Los Angeles Kings on Monday.
Unfortunately, they did no such thing.
The Penguins lost to the lowly Ducks, 5-1, in a contest where they failed to get anything going and also made a few too many mistakes. Mason McTavish and Alex Killorn scored twice for the Ducks, while Frank Vatrano added a back-breaking goal to make it 4-1 midway through the third period when the Penguins seemed to be getting some momentum back.
Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic made 29 saves on 33 shots, and forward Michael Bunting scored the lone goal, which was a power play tally during the second period. Forward Bryan Rust was also sustained a lower-body injury during the second period and did not return.
The score suggests something a bit different than what actually played out, however. The Penguins had plenty of chances early on – and throughout the first 40 minutes – to get a few more. A bad bounce off the back wall led to Anaheim’s third goal early on in the third to make it 3-1, and they simply couldn’t find a way to recover after that.
The Penguins have had a nasty habit of putting on a dominant performance and then following it up with a dud this season, and if they want to find their way back in the playoff race, they need to find more consistency in the results.
“Playing the game that we played in L.A. was a good example of how we need to play the game,” captain Sidney Crosby said. “That doesn’t make it easy. It’s tough to play that way. But we need to find a way to do that more consistently.”
Here are a few other notes and observations from this one:
– Rust’s injury – if it’s something that keeps him out of the lineup – is no small thing for the Penguins.
He has four goals and nine points in his last eight games and 14 goals and 30 points in his last 27 games dating back to Nov. 27, when the Penguins turned their fortunes around a bit. He is also the closest player to point-per-game other than Crosby.
Since the holiday break, he, Rickard Rakell, and Sidney Crosby have primarily been responsible for this team’s production. Even though the depth scoring has shown up a bit better recently, he’s still a very important part of their lineup.
The Penguins will probably have a hard time trying to fill that role if he misses any significant amount of time. And if he does, this might just be the instance where we see a young player get the call from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
But if he is out for a period of time, that would be Rust’s third injury this season. Rust – to date – has never played a full 82-game season in the NHL. This is a worrisome trend for a player who – although a very good one – has three seasons beyond this one left on a contract paying him $5.1 million annually.
Bryan Rust (lower-body injury) will not return to tonight’s game.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) January 24, 2025
– This was a very forgettable night for P.O Joseph.
He took a few penalties. He was pretty heavily responsible for both of the first two goals against, and he was on the ice for three goals against. I’m not liking the early returns on the pairing of Joseph and Owen Pickering, either.
I get that Joseph is being asked to play his off-side. The Penguins only have two right defensemen on their roster in Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson, and they need someone to play over there.
But, to be honest: I’m not entirely convinced that Ryan Shea or Ryan Graves wouldn’t be just as capable.
– Matt Grzelcyk was having another really great game for the Penguins, and not just on the power play, which I’ll get to in a second. He was contributing in all three zones at five-on-five, and some of the plays he made to distribute the puck in this game were beautifully simplistic.
That being said, he really messed up on Anaheim’s fourth goal.
He got caught far too deep in the Penguins’ attacking zone as Anaheim was already transitioning the other way. This left Erik Karlsson exposed on a “sort of” two-on-one, as he was a bit overcommitted to the passer on the left side of the ice. This left the entire right side of the ice exposed, as well as a breaking Vatrano a few steps ahead of Ryan Strome, who was the one who fed him a perfect pass.
Again, this goal was, really, the back-breaker for the Penguins. They need to minimize these mistakes because the mistakes they do make tend to result in grade-A opportunities.
– On a positive note, that is now six power play goals in the last six games for the Penguins as well as 25 in their last 25. And, for Bunting, he has set a new career-high in power play goals with nine.
But, none of those things were even the craziest power play stat of the evening. The craziest one was shared by Penguins historian Bob Grove, who pointed out that the Penguins have 38 power play goals with 33 games left in the season – which is only two less than the 40 total they scored last season.
With 33 games left, Pens have 38 PPG. They scored 40 last season.
— Bob Grove (@bobgrove91) January 24, 2025
Grzelcyk and Bunting have certainly been difference-makers on the power play, but so much credit needs to go to assistant coach David Quinn. What a turnaround for this unit.
– Yes, this wasn’t the greatest effort from the Penguins. Yes, they need to rack up as many points as possible on this road trip. And, yes, they need to find a way to string together 60-minute performances instead of laying an egg every other game.
But, despite the widespread reaction, this loss is not yet the end of the world.
The Penguins need to claw their way back in the standings. That much is clear. But if you’re looking at this loss from the perspective of semi-realistic expectations for this seven-game road trip, it is not detrimental.
On Monday in Los Angeles, the Penguins won a game they probably weren’t expected to win. On Thursday, they lost a game they probably weren’t expected to lose. So – in essence – they’re back even.
I think the “best-outcome”, realistic expectation for this road trip was likely 5-2. The Penguins are currently 2-2. They still have a chance to walk away feeling pretty good about themselves on this 15-day trip.
If the version of this team that showed itself against Los Angeles comes out to play against the Seattle Kraken, San Jose Sharks, and Utah Hockey Club, it’s certainly plausible that they walk away with six points.
But they have to be committed to the details in order to get those points.
