Familiar hurdles result in Penguins leaving a valuable point on the table in Toronto
During their recent four-game winning streak, the Pittsburgh Penguins had corrected a lot of issues that have plagued them throughout 2024.
Unfortunately for coach Mike Sullivan and his team, two familiar stumbling blocks cropped up in Toronto Monday night to end that run of success: the power play and their performance in overtime.
Sound familiar?
On Monday night, the power play went 0 for 5 en route to a 3-2 defeat. The man-up unit is converting at a 14.3% rate, the second worst in the NHL. Only the Philadelphia Flyers (12.7%) are worse.
“I thought they did everything but score. They had a number of Grade-A looks,” Sullivan said via video on the team’s website. “We had a lot of success on the entries, as far as gaining zone time. They’ve just got to stay with it. I think they’re headed in the right direction. If the power play can chip in and score for us, it increases our chances of winning. But I do think (it) helped us gain momentum (Monday). That’s an important element.”
Indeed, nine of the Penguins’ 32 shots were generated on the power play, and it was a more threatening unit than it has often been this season, but it still generated no goals in a game where one was desperately needed.
Not to mention in a game where NHL goal-scoring leader Auston Matthews managed to net one just three seconds into a third-period power play to give Toronto a 2-1 lead.
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 9, 2024
The other issue was, once again, the team’s performance in 3-on-3 overtime. The Penguins had the puck for most of the first 23 seconds to open the extra frame with Lars Eller, Drew O’Connor and Erik Karlsson on the ice.
But once the Maple Leafs got the puck, they never gave it up and scored 90 seconds into the five-minute period, courtesy of a Jake McCabe goal.
“That’s one of the challenges of overtime. I think that’s something that we’ve talked about — just doing a better job with our own possession. Putting other teams in that circumstance more. We haven’t done a very good job at that as a group,” Sullivan said. “The line changes are a critical part of overtime. Teams are trying to hang on to the puck, not allowing you to change out, change in. And then, eventually, take advantage of a tired group. In order to make that happen, your shot selection and the puck possession are really, critically important. Otherwise, you have a tendency to give the puck back. I just think we’ve got to do a better job in that regard.”
That was the Penguins’ 12th loss of the season in overtime (three via shootout). It’s a little dramatic to say that the Pens “have left 12 points on the table” as a result of those defeats. After all, every team in the NHL has at least four overtime losses. If you look at the eight Eastern Conference teams currently in playoff position (the Penguins are in ninth), they average 8.8 overtime losses per club.
So, if the Penguins were even an average team among current playoff rivals in that regard, they’d have three or four more points than what they do now. That’d give them 87 or 88 points, theoretically good for third place in the Metropolitan Division and in excellent position to secure a playoff berth.
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Instead, right now, the Penguins are scuffling for the last wild-card spot.
“I just love our compete level. I think our guys are really committed,” Sullivan said. “It’s not perfect out there, but we’re battling hard. We’re trying to play together. The chatter on the bench during the game is great. We’ve just got to stay with it. That’s a big point. Obviously, we’re disappointed we didn’t get the second one. But, it’s a hard-fought point.”
For much of this year, responses like those from Sullivan have been grating. Although, with the way the team played last night on the road against a solid opponent, it felt more like a legitimate explanation instead of excuse-making.
If the Pens played the way they did in Toronto Monday night on a random Thursday in December, I’d buy everything Sullivan just said. The problem is, with so many other points that could be under their belts already forfeited this season due to these repeated pitfalls, the Penguins are still very much in a playoff pickle.
That’s despite their current nine-game point streak (6-0-3) that has seen 15 of a possible 18 points absorbed. It’s a stretch that’s been good enough to get the Penguins back in the race.
But with games still looming against the Detroit Red Wings (84 points, Thursday) and the New York Islanders (85 points, April 17), the Penguins can’t leave any “points on the table” at all.
Which also means they can’t give any away to those specific opponents.
Listen: Tim Benz and Brian Metzer talk about the Penguins’ loss in Toronto during this week’s Gerger Construction hockey podcast.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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