Three takeaways from the Pittsburgh Penguins’ season-ending 3-2 overtime loss at Columbus:
One final blown lead
The Penguins’ inability to protect third-period leads is a frustrating component within their overall performance this season that hardly needs elaborated upon.
Entering Thursday night, their nine total losses in such situations led the NHL.
Thus, it was only fitting for the team to conclude the year in exactly that manner. Up 2-1 late in the third period, the Penguins allowed a game-tying goal to Columbus’ Emil Bemstrom with 3:25 left in regulation.
Then, a mere 60 seconds into overtime, the Penguins botched a line change, allowing Johnny Gaudreau a breakaway attempt that he buried through the five hole of Tristan Jarry.
Too little, too late
Failure on the power play was a primary contributing factor to the Penguins’ Tuesday evening loss at the hands of Chicago.
While the Blackhawks won comfortably, 5-2, two late-game empty-netters inflated the final score.
But earlier in that game, when things were still neck and neck, the Penguins came up empty on two man-advantages that could have made a difference.
Unable to convert after a first-period hooking call that sent Chicago defenseman Ian Mitchell to the penalty box, the Penguins couldn’t do any damage on the power-play early in the second period, when Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews took a slashing penalty just 57 seconds into things.
Granted, Evgeni Malkin scored a power-play goal in the third period to tie the game 1-1, but in total, the Penguins went just 1 of 5 in an eventual loss that helped crush their postseason hopes.
Shortly before Malkin’s 27th and final goal of the season, the Penguins, trailing 1-0 at the time, were again thwarted on the power play when Seth Jones tripped Rickard Rakell 40 seconds into the third period.
In the season finale Thursday against Columbus, It took all of 4 minutes, 28 seconds for Pittsburgh to score a power-play goal, courtesy of Kris Letang.
Jake Guentzel then scored a power-play goal of his own about four minutes into the third period.
Letang’s and Guentzel’s scores came on the only man-advantage opportunities the Penguins got Thursday, giving them a perfect 2-for-2 conversion rate on the night to put a bow on the year.
“Where was that Tuesday?” wondered AT&T Sportsnet’s Steve Mears upon Guentzel’s score.
Penguins players and coaches are probably asking themselves the same.
Chances aplenty, finishes lacking
Speaking of missed opportunities, the Penguins had plenty outside of the power play Tuesday that helped seal their fate against the Blackhawks.
Just ask Sidney Crosby, whose eight shots tied the second-most he’s attempted all year long.
Crosby was denied by Blackhawks netminder Petr Mrazek repeatedly throughout the night, including notably a breakaway attempt early in the first period as well as during the Penguins’ first power-play try of the game, coming on a feed from Rickard Rakell along the edge of the crease.
A repeat of that ensued Thursday, this time with Ryan Poehling stopped by Michael Hutchinson on a pair of solid-looking wraparound attempts, one of which came shorthanded midway through the second period.
Hutchinson also made a nice save on a breakaway wrister by Guentzel late in the second.
But arguably Hutchinson’s most impressive denial came late in the third, about a minute after the Blue Jackets had tied the game at two.
After Guentzel gained the offensive zone, stopping on a dime as his linemates caught up, he fed the puck to Crosby in the slot, who quickly passed to Rakell, who lined up for a snap shot in the left faceoff circle.
Rakell fired off a shot, only to be stopped by the sliding Hutchinson.
