Penguins blow 3-goal lead, fall to Bruins in overtime as losing streak reaches 5

Coming off a carbuncle of a five-game road trip that saw them lose the final four contests, the Pittsburgh Penguins preached optimism that they were capable of doing the right things in order to get a badly needed victory.

And those things relied on some basic (or cliched) principles.

Sound puck management.

Going to the net.

Playing simple.

And to be sure, the Penguins did a lot of those things at a high level Tuesday against the powerful Boston Bruins at PPG Paints Arena.

The Bruins just did those things more often.

As a result, the Penguins suffered a come-from-ahead 6-5 overtime loss that extended their losing streak to a season-worst five games.

An overtime goal by defenseman Hampus Lindholm was the difference.

This setback happened despite the Penguins owning a three-goal lead in the second period as well as a two-goal lead entering the third period. Their offense was so eruptive, they actually chased Bruins starting goaltender Linus Ullmark in the second period and appeared to be all but destined to record their first victory in over a week.

“We did a lot of good things,” Penguins forward Sidney Crosby said. “In every area, I think we did some good things. I think that’s why it’s disappointing to not come out with two points.

“We’ve got to build off it and take that into (Wednesday’s game).”

The Penguins won’t have much time to ruminate over their losing streak — the franchise’s worst since a six-game skid in February of 2020 — as they play a road contest against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday.

But they realize they need to stymie some bad habits that have contributed to this squalid stretch.

Namely, they can’t gamble pursuing offensive opportunities that can lead to good fortune for the opposition.

“We gave them too many chances,” Penguins forward Jason Zucker said. “We had a couple of odd-man rushes against. You’re giving them a little bit of momentum when you play that way. It’s a little bit high-risk at times. I thought we still had some (offensive) zone shifts in the third that were good. … But obviously, it wasn’t quite enough.”

The Penguins entered the contest without the services of All-Star defenseman Kris Letang (undisclosed illness) and sturdy third-line center Jeff Carter (undisclosed injury). But despite those absences, they had enough to take the contest’s first lead only 30 seconds into regulation.

After gaining the offensive zone on the left wing, Penguins forward Bryan Rust forced a backhand pass in the left circle that was blocked then backhanded away by Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo. Crosby followed up on the sequence by claiming the puck in the circle, leaning down and snapping a wrister past Ullmark’s glove for his fifth goal of the season. There were no assists.

Bruins forward Charlie Coyle’s fourth goal at 5:19 of the first period tied the game. After Penguins forward Drew O’Connor and defenseman Jeff Petry failed to connect on a short-area pass in their own zone, Bruins forward A.J. Greer claimed the errant puck above the left circle and dished it low to linemate Trent Frederic. Facing little resistance, Frederic glided from below the left circle across the front of the crease and had a backhander as well as a forehand shot rejected by Jarry. On the ensuing rebound scramble, Coyle crashed in and jabbed a backhander under Jarry’s glove and left skate. Frederic and Greer had assists.

Rookie forward Jakub Lauko’s first career goal gave the Bruins their first lead of the contest at 13:20 of the first period. Off the left wing of the offensive zone, Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin misfired on a backhand pass to linemate Rickard Rakell. Bruins forward Nick Foligno intercepted the pass and dislodged Rakell’s stick in the process of transitioning out of the defensive zone. Gaining the Penguins’ zone on the right wing, Foligno dished a pass to the left circle for Lauko who lifted a wrister past Jarry’s blocker on the near side. Foligno netted the lone assist.

Malkin tied the game again, 2-2, at 1:47 of the second period with his fifth goal. After gaining the offensive zone on the left wing, Zucker rimmed the puck around the end boards to the far wall. On the right half wall, Penguins forward Brock McGinn claimed the puck, shielded it from Lindholm and tapped a pass toward the slot to no one in particular. The puck slid aimlessly to the left circle, where Penguins defenseman P.O Joseph jumped on it and pushed a pass that was partially blocked by Bruins defenseman Anton Stralman. Despite Stralman’s efforts, the puck made its way to the right of the crease, where Malkin swept a forehand shot past Ullmark’s left skate. Assists went to McGinn and Joseph.

The Penguins reclaimed a lead, 3-2, at 8:42 of the second period when forward Josh Archibald scored his second goal. During a delayed penalty, Penguins defenseman Jan Rutta claimed a loose puck on the right wing boards of the offensive zone and banked it off the end boards to McGinn. From the left of the cage, McGinn zipped a pass to the slot for Archibald, who immediately fired a wrister through Ullmark’s five hole. McGinn and Rutta registered assists.

Rust found his fourth goal with a determined effort at 11:16 of the second. Taking a pass at the left point of the offensive zone, Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin golfed a slapper at a pile of humanity amassed near the Bruins’ crease. Ullmark made the initial save but allowed a rebound to the left of the crease, where Rust outbattled Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk and jabbed a forehand shot into the cage. Dumoulin and forward Jake Guentzel had assists.

Only 20 seconds later, Rakell scored his fifth goal. After Malkin gained the offensive zone on the left wing, he offloaded a drop pass at the point for Zucker. Surveying the zone for a moment, Zucker backhanded a saucer pass for an onrushing Rakell, who stroked a wrister from the left circle and toasted Ullmark’s blocker on the far side.

Ullmark was pulled — potentially for humane purposes — and replaced by Jeremy Swayman.

A would-be goal by Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron appeared to stunt the Penguins’ momentum, but the hosts issued a coach’s challenge on the basis of goaltender interference. A brief video review confirmed those suspicions and wiped out the score. The Penguins improved their mark on coach’s challenges this season to 3 for 3. They were 7 for 7 on challenges last season.

The Bruins did find a legal goal at 12:57 of the second period with a power-play score from forward Brad Marchand, his third of the season. From center point, Lindholm slid a pass to the right circle for Marchand, who unleashed a trident missile of a one-timer that blew past Jarry’s blocker on the far side. Lindholm and forward Jake DeBrusk claimed assists.

Killing penalties has been a consistent struggle for the Penguins this season. They were 2 for 3 on Tuesday and their overall success rate dropped to 70.6% on the season.

“We’re in the right positions,” said Archibald, a member of the penalty kill. “We’re just still trying to figure each other out. Obviously, not the start that we wanted on the penalty kill. Obviously, things to iron out still. The more we work on it, the better that we’re going to get.”

Ullmark returned to the game 5:42 into the third period after Swayman was injured following a collision with Bergeron during a Penguins’ power-play opportunity. After taking several moments to recover to his skates, Swayman left the ice with assistance from teammates. There was no immediate word on Swayman’s status.

The Bruins pulled within one score at 11:59 of the third when forward Pavel Zacha deflected a point shot from the left circle for his second goal. Taking a pass at the left point of the offensive zone, Lindblom snapped a wrister toward the cage. Battling with Rutta for position, Zacha swatted his stick down at the puck, causing it to bounce off the ice and carom by Jarry’s blocker on the near side. Lindholm and Carlo claimed assists.

Things were tied, 5-5, late in regulation at 18:43 of the third. With Ullmark pulled again — this time for an extra attacker — the Bruins established possession in the offensive zone and never surrendered it. Settling the puck at the left point, Lindholm dealt a cross-ice pass to the opposite point for Bruins forward David Pastrnak, who chucked a pedestrian wrister on net. Jarry made the initial save but allowed a rebound to bounce loose in the slot, where Bruins forward Taylor Hall claimed it and whipped a wrister past Jarry’s left skate for his fifth goal. Assists went to Pastrnak and Lindholm.

In overtime, the Penguins had a wonderful opportunity to claim victory with a four-on-three power-play opportunity after Lindholm was called for tripping Malkin 1:04 into the extra frame. But despite all that open ice, the Penguins managed to put only two shots on net with five attempts.

“We got some good looks, some good chances from the slot,” Crosby said. “We just misfired. I hit the crossbar. … There (were) a couple that could have went in. Ideally, it doesn’t have to come down to that. When you get a three-goal lead, you’ve got to do a better job.”

Lindholm did a great job in claiming victory at 3:37 of overtime with his third goal. After Bergeron defeated Poehling on a draw in Boston’s left circle, Lindholm claimed it on his own end boards and simply skated it up ice. Surging past Rust in his own zone, Lindholm motored through the neutral zone, gained the Penguins’ blue line and utilized Pettersson as something of a screen in the left circle before putting a wrister past Jarry’s charred glove hand on the far side. Bergeron had the lone assist.

The Penguins traveled to Buffalo after Tuesday’s game with five straight losses but boasted of some optimism given that Tuesday’s defeat wasn’t as repugnant as the four that preceded it. Throughout those road setbacks, the Penguins rarely had a lead.

“I think it was a completely different realm, this game compared to that road trip,” Zucker said. “I think it’s trending in the right direction. That was a much better game than we played the entire road trip, for sure.”

Still, Tuesday’s loss offered a firm lesson on being too high-risk against any opponent, especially the talented Bruins.

“We’re learning the hard way right now,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “If we’re going to be the team that we want to become, we can’t beat ourselves. And the easiest way to beat yourself is to not take care of the puck in the critical areas of the rink.

“But at the end of the day, we’ve got to find a way to win games. When you’ve got a two-goal lead going into the third (period), you’re in a good position to win. We had opportunities to win and we didn’t take advantage of it.”

Notes:

• The Penguins’ most recent losing streak this long was a six-game skid between Feb. 20-29 in 2020. Midway through that slump, they dealt for forwards Patrick Marleau, Evan Rodrigues and Conor Sheary at the trade deadline. And roughly a week and a half later, the NHL (as well as the world as a whole) shut down due the pandemic.

• Jarry made 34 saves on 40 shots as his record fell to 4-2-1.

• A day after being recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League, O’Connor made his season debut at the NHL level. Primarily centering the third line, O’Conner logged 10:40 of ice time on 14 shifts (including 55 seconds on the penalty kill). Additionally, he had one shot on three attempts, one blocked shot and was 4 for 9 (44%) in faceoffs.

• Amplifying the indignity of this loss for the Penguins was the fact the Bruins played most of the contest with only five defensemen. Derek Forbort did not record a shift after 14:11 of the first period due to an undisclosed injury. There was no update on this status.

• The Penguins’ last overtime loss to the Bruins was a 3-2 road loss on Jan. 26, 2021. Forward Craig Smith scored in overtime.

Earlier in that overtime period, Malkin, Letang and Rust failed to convert a three-on-none rush:

• Letang entered the game with the Penguins’ longest streak of consecutive games played at 83. Oddly enough, Carter was second on the team with 58 games. Rust now becomes the team’s “iron man” (or is it “tungsten man?”) with 55 consecutive games.

• Sullivan (517 games) surpassed Eddie Johnston (516) for most games coached in franchise history.

• Crosby (1,421 points) surpassed forward Adam Oates (1,420) for 18th place on the NHL’s career scoring list.

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