Penguins offer sturdy effort but lose to Devils in shootout

On the surface, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 3-2 shootout loss to the New Jersey Devils at PPG Paints Arena was an unappetizing result in a season that has largely been malnourished.

But it offered a pretty reliable recipe for how this flawed team needs to operate for the remainder of the season if it is to maintain solvent hopes for the postseason.

Entering the game without the presence of luminary center Evgeni Malkin due to injury and denied the services of their other supernova center, Sidney Crosby, for several shifts during the third period as he tried to shake off the effects of an apparent left arm ailment, the Penguins overcame a two-goal deficit against a superior opponent and carved out a point, narrowly missing out on two points by the slimmest of margins.

Shootout goals by Devils forwards Paul Cotter, defenseman Dougie Hamilton and forward Timo Meier were the difference.

The Penguins have had plenty of reasons to harbor lassitude in 2024-25.

Tuesday’s result was not one of them. In fact, it provided the opposite of that in the estimation of the 20 players they dressed.

“We fought hard,” Penguins forward Rickard Rakell said. “Hard the whole game. … We stayed in the fight. We pushed hard the whole game. We had good looks in overtime, and I think this was probably one of the better games against this team that we’ve struggled with in the past.

“So, obviously it hurts not getting the two points, but I thought we played hard.”

Playing hard and getting two points are different things with different rewards. And given the Penguins’ 5-8-4 record since New Year’s Eve, they need more of the latter instead of the former .

But the former was very evident to the naked eye, and it almost generated a resilient victory.

Entering the day, the Devils had generated 29.6 shots per game, ninth-most in the NHL. The Penguins, a handful of days removed from trading away defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forward Drew O’Connor, steady defensive presences each, limited the Devils to only 21 shots.

To be certain, the Devils were hobbled a bit as well as one of the top two-way forwards in the NHL, Nico Hischier, and All-Star goaltender Jacob Markstrom are sidelined due to injury. Additionally, New Jersey played most of the game with only five defensemen after Jonas Siegenthaler left the game in the first period due to an apparent injury.

But the Penguins kept the Devils in check most of the contest.

“Limited their offense pretty much the whole night,” Penguins forward Kevin Hayes said. “It was a good game. Wish we got two points, but we only got one.”

The Penguins appeared to get a goal at 18:34 of the opening period when forward Rickard Rakell directed a puck into the cage with the inside of his left skate during a power-play sequence. But officials immediately waved it off citing a kicking motion, and that ruling was upheld following a video review.

Rakell didn’t offer much objection to the ruling.

“I just tried to kick it to my stick,” Rakell said. “Took a funny bounce into the net. Didn’t have any time to control it, so I thought it could have gone either way. I mean, you never know in those situations.”

The Devils took advantage of that situation by scoring 69 seconds later when forward Jack Hughes netted his 22nd goal of the season during a furious goalmouth scramble.

Hughes gained the offensive blue line on the right wing like a comet and flung a backhand pass to the slot for no one in particular. Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson and Rakell each got sticks on the puck a bit but were unable to clear it, allowing Devils forward Ondrej Palat to shoot a backhander from just below the lower right hashmark. Nedeljkovic made the initial save but could not absorb the rebound. Facing minimal resistance above the blue paint, Devils forward Jesper Bratt jabbed at the puck a handful of times while Hughes crashed in from the left of the cage. All of that mayhem led to Nedeljkovic falling onto his back as the puck rolled into the cage. Hughes wound up with credit for the score while Bratt and Palat had assists.

New Jersey goal!

Scored by Jack Hughes with 00:17 remaining in the 1st period.

Assisted by Jesper Bratt and Ondrej Palat.

Pittsburgh: 0
New Jersey: 1#NJDvsPIT #LetsGoPens #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/8b3RZIqC97

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) February 5, 2025

Another goal by Hughes off a designed faceoff scheme during a four-on-four scenario put the visitors up by a pair at 9:46 of the second period.

After beating Crosby on a draw in the Penguins’ left circle, Hughes drifted backward to the opposite circle. That allowed Bratt to take possession of the puck and then curl around the top of the left circle before slipping a clever pass to Hughes, who blasted the tar out of a one-timer, beating Nedeljkovic’s glove on the near side. The only assist belonged to Bratt.

New Jersey goal!

Scored by Jack Hughes with 10:46 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Jesper Bratt.

Pittsburgh: 0
New Jersey: 2#NJDvsPIT #LetsGoPens #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/d5fQL65wYx

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) February 5, 2025

Rakell scored a legal goal — his team-best 24th of the campaign — at 14:56 of the second frame.

Gaining the offensive zone on the right wing, Rakell left a drop pass for a trailing Crosby, who pushed the puck into the lower right circle and lifted a backhander that was rejected by goaltender Nico Daws. Rakell muscled his way past Devils defenseman Brenden Dillon to claim the rebound near the right post, sashayed behind the cage and tucked a backhander off of Daws’ right skate and into the cage by the opposite post. Crosby and Karlsson collected assists.

Pittsburgh goal!

Scored by Rickard Rakell with 05:04 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Sidney Crosby and Erik Karlsson.

Pittsburgh: 1
New Jersey: 2#NJDvsPIT #LetsGoPens #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/gCAt7oQYsH

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) February 5, 2025

The Penguins — and much of Canada — got a bit of a scare at 3:58 of the third period when Crosby got sandwiched between Devils defenseman Luke Hughes and forward Erik Haula. He left the ice under his own power with urgency, appearing to favor his left arm.

Oh ho... Sidney Crosby retraite immédiatement au vestiaire après ce contact ???? pic.twitter.com/AfCOgoZTsL

— TVA Sports (@TVASports) February 5, 2025

Any alarm over that mishap was alleviated when Crosby returned to the ice at 11:32 of the third frame.

Crosby was largely discreet over what happened.

“I just got tangled up,” he said.

While he was recuperating, the Penguins’ third line got in on the act at 7:53 of the third period via Hayes’ ninth goal during a four-on-four sequence.

Pushing the puck up ice into New Jersey’s zone on the right wing, Penguins forward Anthony Beauvillier rimmed it along the end boards to the left half-wall where it was claimed by defenseman P.O Joseph. Fending off Devils forward Dawson Mercer, Joseph drove the puck to the cage and flicked a short-area pass to the slot where Hayes barged in and swept in a one-timer by Daws’ glove. Assists went to Joseph and Beauvillier.

Pittsburgh goal!

Scored by Kevin Hayes with 12:07 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by P.O Joseph and Anthony Beauvillier.

Pittsburgh: 2
New Jersey: 2#NJDvsPIT #LetsGoPens #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/EwiZtmHtHk

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) February 5, 2025

“Your best player goes down, you have to play tight and try to buy time for him to come back,” Penguins defenseman Kris Letang said. “Play the same way, play hard. Can’t deviate from the game plan when people go down.”

In overtime, each team had a handful of quality chances, none better than Jack Hughes’ breakaway in the dying seconds of the extra period that Nedeljkovic nullified.

Nedeljkovic robs Jack Hughes on the last-second overtime breakaway#LetsGoPens | #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/LQ5dzKjpRt

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) February 5, 2025

“There’s enough time for him to make a play,” Nedeljkovic said. “He’s a world-class player. So, just trying to — as any breakaway — just take as much time and space away from him as I could and force him to make a good shot or make a nice move around me. So, it was nice to force a save.”

The shootout went seven rounds. The Penguins scored on two chances while the Devils scored on three.

Rakell and Beauvillier accounted for the Penguins’ only goals while Crosby, forward Bryan Rust, Hayes, Letang and forward Cody Glass were denied on their chances.

Nedeljkovic’s record slipped to 11-9-5 as he stopped 19 of 21 shots in regulation and overtime. His shootout mark tumbled to 1-3.

“There’s been five or six, maybe, extra points that … we’ve given away because I haven’t been very good in a shootout, quite frankly,” Nedeljkovic said. “I think we have the one win we have in a shootout (a 4-3 home win against the San Jose Sharks) and I still gave up, I think, two or three in that one.

“(Teammates) are doing an unbelievable job of putting the puck in the net. I think I had two chances to shut them down and win. I’m just not getting the job done right now.”

The Penguins didn’t get all the points they wanted on Tuesday. But they weren’t completely unsatisfied.

“I thought we played well,” Rust said. “But I think we’re in a position where we need two points.”

Notes:

• Malkin participated in an optional morning skate in Cranberry on Tuesday in a noncontact fashion. Currently designated to injured reserve, Malkin has missed the past four games due to an undisclosed ailment.

• Rakell (156 points) surpassed forward Tomas Sandstrom (155) for 58th place on the franchise’s career scoring list. Only forward Patric Hornqvist (264) has more among Swedish players in team history.

• Penguins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk appeared in his 500th career game.

• Penguins forwards Matt Nieto and Jesse Puljujarvi as well as defenseman Ryan Shea were healthy scratches.