The Pittsburgh Penguins (24-30-10) played a solid game and kept one of the league’s high potent offenses to just one goal until the wheels fell off in the final minutes of a 4-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night.
In the final dress rehearsal before the NHL Trade Deadline on Friday, the Penguins limp into one of the biggest days of the season on a three-game losing streak, and a 1-5-1 record since the 4 Nations Face-off.
Let’s discuss some takeaways.
The Penguins have played 64 games and surrendered four or more goals in 36, which is 56.2% of their season. Their record in those matches is 5-29-2.
Surprisingly, Pittsburgh’s netminders were not responsible for the four goals the Avalanche scored on Tuesday. Alex Nedeljkovic made 21 saves on 23 shots, which is not why the visitors didn’t win.
In one of their better performances in a while, the Penguins outshot Colorado 33-25 and only saw a 1-1 game fade away after a late power-play tally.
However, the final score will always read 4-1, which is very unlucky for Pittsburgh, which remains at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division.
If Rickard Rakell is traded in the next three days, he will go out in style, scoring his 29th goal, which brings him to within five of his career highs of 34 (2017-18).
Although it’s not over just yet, if the Penguins decide to move the team’s leading goal scorer, it would indicate their direction in the season’s final weeks.
Everyone knows Sidney Crosby is not going anywhere, so Pittsburgh’s leading scorer with 66 points is safe, but what does it mean if the club trades away the one player who’s kept the team in so many games with timely goals?
After producing a 0.23 goals per game pace with the Anaheim Ducks, Rakell has bumped those numbers up to 0.32 in three and a half seasons with the Penguins.
It goes without saying how valuable he’s been to the lineup, and it would be a shame to lose him. However, if Tuesday was the finale, he departed memorably, burying a feed from Crosby, a franchise hallmark.
Nedeljkovic played against Colorado, and the Penguins have an extra day off before they take the ice in Vegas. Who plays next will be a mystery, but Tristan Jarry is back. He went only 6-5-1 in the AHL but had better GAA and SV% statistics.
No one knows Pittsburgh’s plan for the regular season’s final month. Still, bringing back Jarry was a curious move, considering they never gave Joel Blomqvist a chance and instead failed their rookie netminder with poor performances.
It’s been the same story for Nedeljkovic and Jarry, the team’s true goalie tandem based on salary’s alone, but not necessarily on performances. So everyone wants to know what’s next? Will Nedeljkovic play every remaining game or will Jarry come in and try to salvage his reputation among the fanbase?
Neither goalie will be moved by the end of the week, so it will be fascinating to see how head coach Mike Sullivan handles his netminders over the final 18 games.
