Penguins' losing streak reaches 4 despite returns of Jake Guentzel, Jason Zucker

With his team mired in a three-game losing streak entering Saturday, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan has mixed and matched his lines and defensive pairings in order to pull his squad out of its malaise.

“We’re just trying to be a little bit proactive as a coaching staff to help develop a spark,” Sullivan said to media in Seattle on Saturday. “Sometimes, one of the ways to do that is to mix up the lines or to mix up the defensive pairs a bit to get some traction.”

Entering Saturday’s game against the Seattle Kraken, Sullivan and staff made two alterations to their forward combinations that came in the form of adding forwards Jake Guentzel and Jason Zucker to the lineup after each had missed a handful of games due to various maladies.

Those augmentations did not provide enough of an ignition as the Penguins were beaten for a fourth consecutive game, this time by the Kraken, 3-1, at Climate Pledge Arena. The loss gave the Penguins a 1-4-0 record on their now-completed five-game road trip.

Guentzel returned to the lineup after missing four games due to a suspected head injury while Zucker was back following a two-game absence due to an undisclosed ailment.

Their combined return to the lineup was offset somewhat by the departure of forward Jeff Carter, who did not record a shift after 19:53 of the first period when he suffered an undisclosed injury. Sullivan did not provide a substantive update to media in Seattle on Carter’s status following the game.

After a fiercely contested first period, the Kraken appeared to open the scoring 8:09 into the second period with a goal by forward Ryan Donato, but the Penguins issued a coach’s challenge on the basis of the play being offside and were successful, wiping out the goal.

Almost two minutes later, the Penguins got the ice-breaker at the 10:05 mark thanks to Guentzel.

Settling a puck at the left point of the offensive zone, former Penguins defenseman Jamie Oleksiak flung an errant pass to Guentzel near the right point. That allowed Guentzel to serve as his own breakout. Surging past Kraken defenseman Will Borgen at Seattle’s blue line, Guentzel attacked the cage and snapped a wrister from the left circle through the five hole of goaltender Martin Jones for his fourth goal of the season. There were no assists.

The Kraken seemingly tied the game only 1:12 later when former Erie Otters forward Andre Burakovsky fired a rebound into the cage but another coach’s challenge by the Penguins — this time on the basis of a missed stoppage when Kraken forward Alexander Wennberg played a puck with a high stick — was also successful and kept the visitors in the lead.

That setback did little to stymie the Kraken, however, as they finally scored a legal goal at the 11:20 mark.

Playing a puck behind his own net, Penguins defenseman Jan Rutta lost it thanks to a forecheck from Kraken forward Jaden Schwartz. Taking possession, Schwartz tapped a backhand pass to the slot for rookie linemate Matty Berniers. Fending off a pokecheck from Penguins rookie defenseman P.O Joseph, Berniers slipped a pass to the right of the crease for Kraken forward Jordan Eberle, and the long-time Penguins nemesis one-touched a forehand shot past an out-of-place DeSmith for his first goal. Berniers and Schwartz had assists.

The Kraken took a lead for the first time at 18:33 of the second when forward Morgan Geekie generated his second goal.

Chipping and chasing a puck from the neutral zone into the offensive zone on the right wing wall, Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen inexplicably whipped a blind spinning backhand off the wall and had it intercepted by Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn. Reversing ice, Dunn immediately transitioned the charity into an offensive attack and banked a pass off the right wing wall between the benches for former Penguins forward Daniel Sprong, allowing him to gain the offensive zone.

Facing some resistance from Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin, Sprong lifted a wrister from the right circle. DeSmith made the initial save with his left skate but allowed a rebound. Geekie darted in from the slot to claim the puck and lifted a wrister over DeSmith’s left leg for his second goal off assists from Sprong and Dunn.

The Penguins came close to tying the game with a potential power-play score 1:13 into the third period, but an athletic save by Jones kept his team in front. From the left of the cage, Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin slipped a feed across the front of the crease to Penguins forward Sidney Crosby below the right circle. Leaning down, Crosby appeared to have an easy goal and fired a forehand shot low that was rejected by Jones’ left leg.

Penguins forward Danton Heinen nearly tied the game at 12:05 of the third. After Kapanen made a determined rush into the offensive zone, Heinen recovered a loose puck in the high slot and lifted a wrister that clunked off the crossbar.

Schwartz secured victory by airmailing a wrister from the neutral zone for an empty net goal at 19:00 of the third period for his fifth goal. Former Penguins forward Brandon Tanev and Dunn had assists.

DeSmith made 27 saves on 29 shots as his record fell to 0-2-1.

Jones, who has typically been stout against the Penguins throughout his 10-year career, stopped 31 of 32 shots to improve to 4-3-0.

Notes

• The Kraken remain one of three active NHL franchises the Penguins have never shut out. The Minnesota Wild and Vegas Golden Knights are the others.

• The Penguins’ coach’s challenges were their first two of the 2022-23 campaign. Last regular season, they were 7 for 7 on coach’s challenge and 1 for 1 in the 2022 postseason.

• The Penguins’ scratches were forwards Drake Caggiula, Sam Poulin and defenseman Chad Ruhwedel.

• In 13 career games against the Penguins, Jones has a 7-5-0 record, a 2.10 goals against average, a .928 save percentage and two shutouts.

• In three career games against the Penguins, Geekie has four points (three goals, one assist).