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Penguins hammered by Panthers, lose forward Jake Guentzel to injury | TribLIVE.com
Penguins/NHL

Penguins hammered by Panthers, lose forward Jake Guentzel to injury

Seth Rorabaugh
Seth Rorabaugh
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Chaz Palla | TribLive
The Penguins’ Kris Letang takes exception to a cross-checking call by referee Graham Skillter against the Panthers on Wednesday.
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Chaz Palla | TribLive
Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky makes a save against the Penguins in the first period Wednesday.
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Chaz Palla | TribLive
The Penguins’ Sidney Crosby takes a shot against the Panthers in the first period Wednesday.
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Chaz Palla | TribLive
The Penguins’ Kris Letang cross checks the Panthers’ Mathew Tkachuk in the second period Wednesday.
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Chaz Palla | TribLive
The Panthers’ Anton Lundell beats Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry for a second-period goal Wednesday.
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Chaz Palla | TribLive
The Panthers’ Aaron Ekblad beats Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry in the second period Wednesday.
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Chaz Palla | TribLive
Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry makes a save on the Panthers’ Mathew Tkachuk in the second period Wednesday.
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Chaz Palla | TribLive
Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry looks up at the big screen after giving up back-to-back goals to the Panthers in the second period Wednesday.
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Chaz Palla | TribLive
Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky makes a save on the Penguins’ Jeff Carter in the first period Wednesday.
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Chaz Palla | TribLive
The Panthers celebrate Jonah Gadjovich’s goal in the second period Wednesday.
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Chaz Palla | TribLive
The Panthers’ Mathew Tkachuk beats Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry in the second period Wednesday.
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Chaz Palla | TribLive
The Penguins’ Sidney Crosby takes a shot against the Panthers in the first period Wednesday.

Be it because of faith, denial or just flat-out stubbornness, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ belief in themselves as being a playoff-caliber squad appears to be genuine.

But with barely more than two months remaining in the regular season, they need wins more than conviction if they are to play meaningful games this spring.

“We’ve just got to find ways to get points,” Penguins forward Sidney Crosby said after practice Monday in Cranberry. “It’s not always going to be pretty. We’ve got to find a way to grab some points here, especially with less games (remaining) and how tight it is. We’ve got to get ourselves in the picture here.”

After being bludgeoned by the powerful Florida Panthers, 5-2, at PPG Paints Arena on Wednesday, the only pictures the Penguins seemed suited for would be photographic evidence at a coroner’s inquest.

The result was their third consecutive loss and dropped their record to 23-20-7, a mark that spins them further out of orbit for playoff positions in the Metropolitan Division or the Eastern Conference wild-card race.

Amplifying their dilemma, All-Star forward Jake Guentzel left the game at 8 minutes, 2 seconds of the third period because of an undisclosed injury. Coach Mike Sullivan did not have a substantive update on his status other than to indicate he was being evaluated.

Any potential absence by Guentzel would be damaging on several fronts.

Typically deployed on the top line and the top power-play unit along with Crosby, Guentzel is one of the team’s leading scorers with 52 points (22 goals, 30 assists) in 50 games.

Beyond his considerable impact on the ice, Guentzel’s status as a pending unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason has led to plenty of speculation he could be dealt at the upcoming trade deadline March 8.

Clearly, any malady would negatively impact demands for his services.

The Penguins entered Wednesday’s game with a handful of injuries that landed fourth-line forwards Noel Acciari and Jansen Harkins on injured reserve due to concussions. And with limited salary cap space, they were unable to recall a forward from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League, forcing them to dress an irregular lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen against the Panthers.

Any potential transactions to replace Guentzel would likely require moving Acciari or Harkins to long-term injured reserve in order to create salary cap space.

Related

• Tim Benz: Penguins running out of potential fixes
• Penguins' John Ludvig nets 1st NHL goal vs. Florida, his former team
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The Penguins traveled following Wednesday’s game for a road game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.

Getting two points against the Blackhawks — the NHL’s worst team with a 14-36-3 record and 31 points — is a must if the Penguins are to maintain any rational aspirations of reaching the playoffs.

“Right now, we have to realize the position that we’re in, not be standing still, deer in the headlights,” Penguins defenseman Kris Letang said. “We have to go get it. We’ll need everybody. We’ll need emotion in every single game. It doesn’t matter who we’re facing. Every single point is going to be important. Tonight was an uneventful night and I think we kind of fell asleep.”

Narcolepsy was a true hazard for anyone watching the first period as the Penguins (three) and Panthers (four) combined for a mere seven shots.

The Penguins’ slumberous power play — which was 0 for 4 on the evening — was blanked on two opportunities in the first period alone.

But things appeared to be awakened 2:32 into the second period when Penguins forward Rickard Rakell seemingly opened the scoring with a power-play goal off a goalmouth scramble.

The Panthers issued a coach’s challenge claiming the sequence should have been halted as a result of Penguins forward Lars Eller striking the puck out of the air with a high stick. Following a thorough review, those accusations were confirmed and the goal was euthanized.

The Panthers responded to that reversal by erupting for four consecutive goals, starting with forward Matthew Tkachuk’s 18th of the season at 4:28 of the second period off a two-on-one rush.

After the Penguins were stymied on a goalmouth scramble in the dying seconds of a power-play opportunity, Tkachuk lugged the puck out of his own zone and past the offensive blue line on the left wing. With Letang defending the sequence, Tkachuk fed a pass to former Penguins forward Evan Rodrigues, who drove to the right circle. With Letang reaching out with his stick, Rodrigues was able to slip the pass back to Tkachuk, who lifted a wrister behind scrambling goaltender Tristan Jarry. Rodrigues and defenseman Gustav Forsling had assists.

Panthers forward Jonah Gadjovich scored his second goal only 34 seconds later.

Winning a puck battle in the left corner of the Penguins’ zone against Penguins forward Colin White, Panthers forward Kevin Stenlund fed a cross-ice pass to the right point for Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour. After deadening the puck, Montour chopped a half-slapper toward the cage. Gadjovich, one of the NHL’s leaders in fighting majors, displayed a different type of skills with his hands and tipped a nifty redirection from above the crease through Jarry’s five hole. Montour and Stenlund claimed assists.

The Panthers began to pour it on at 8:27 of the middle frame via defenseman Aaron Ekblad’s third goal during a power-play sequence.

Winning a race to a loose puck in the Penguins’ left circle, Tkachuk dished a pass to Ekblad above the right circle. With little resistance from the hosts, Ekblad chugged in and lasered a wrister which scorched Jarry’s blocker on the far side

.

The floodgates opened at 13:02 of the second when Panthers forward Anton Lundell found his fifth goal.

Off an offensive zone turnover by Penguins forward Jeff Carter, Tkachuk generated another rush into the Penguins’ zone on the right wing as the Penguins made a line change with the benches on the far side of the ice. As Penguins defensemen Marcus Pettersson and P.O Joseph made futile efforts to race back, Tkachuk slid a pass to the left of the crease where Lundell tapped in an easy forehand shot by Jarry’s right skate. Tkachuk and forward Nick Cousins had assists.

“It’s a big shift of momentum,” Crosby said of the events following Rakell’s non-goal. “That happens in games sometimes. You’ve got to get by that and find a way to get it back.”

The Penguins got one back when forward Bryan Rust’s 14th goal came at 15:24 of the second.

Taking a pass at the right point of the Panthers’ zone, Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel chucked a wrister that was blocked by an approaching Cousins. The puck bounced to the high slot where Guentzel knocked it down with his midsection and whipped a wrister toward the cage. The puck appeared to glance off of Montour’s stick and fluttered over goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky’s right leg. Replays did not conclusively display how Rust made contact, but he was ultimately credited with the score.

The Panthers issued another coach’s challenge on the basis of goaltender interference by Rust, but following a review, the goal stood and the Panthers absorbed a minor penalty for a delay of game.

Any notion of a comeback was stamped out 5:35 into the third period when Lundell scored off a miscue by the Penguins.

Off a rare turnover in the defensive zone by Crosby, Panthers forward Eutu Luostarinen settled the puck in the left corner and fed a pass to the near circle for Lundell, who turned to his left and fired a wrister that Pettersson blocked. The puck took flight above the crease and fell to earth (and into the cage) by the left shoulder of an unsuspecting Jarry. The lone assist went to Luostarinen.

The severity of the beating was salved a bit 32 seconds later when Penguins rookie defenseman John Ludvig scored his first career goal against the team that drafted him in the third round (No. 69 overall) in 2019.

Pushing play out of his own zone, Penguins forward Drew O’Connor generated an offensive rush and gained the Panthers’ zone on the left wing. From the boards, he slid a cross-ice pass to Ludvig, who fended off Gadjovich then gripped and ripped a wrister by Bobrovsky’s glove on the near side. O’Connor and Eller had assists.

Jarry made 18 saves on 23 shots as his record tumbled to 14-16-4.

“We just have to play up to our standards,” Jarry said. “I think we haven’t done so yet. I think when we do, we have some really good games. We’re tough to play against, we put pucks on net and we’re driving the net, we score goals. I think we just have to do more of that.”

At this juncture, the Penguins need more of just about everything.

Except belief.

What is the source of that resolve?

“The games that we won against the (top) teams that we beat,” Letang boasted. “The (6-5 road win against the Boston Bruins on Jan. 4) in a back-and-forth game with a lot of ups and downs. You win against Colorado here (a 4-0 home win on Oct. 26).

“These types of games, they show the real Penguins. That’s what we have to do.”

Notes:

• Ludvig is the 564th player to score a regular season goal for the Penguins.

• With the Penguins dressing an irregular lineup, Joseph served as a reserve on the blue line.

• White appeared in his 300th career game.

• Rodrigues’ second assist was his 200th career point.

• Prior to the game, a moment of silence was observed in recognition of shooting victims from the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade earlier in the day.

Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.

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