Penguins' loss to Chicago joins long list of confounding, season-altering defeats

It has taken little time for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Tuesday night loss against Chicago to be assessed by fans and pundits as their worst defeat this season, one to be remembered for many years.

The full impact of the loss was clear Wednesday night, after the Islanders beat the Canadiens, 4-2, eliminating the Penguins from playoff contention.

As Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said postgame Tuesday: “We had an opportunity tonight to control our own destiny, and it didn’t work out.” 

That’s been a primary theme for the Penguins, who have left an egregious number of points on the table because of blown leads and poor performances.

Tuesday’s loss to Chicago is the latest example.

Here’s a look at some of the Penguins’ most disappointing defeats in 2022-23:

March 28: Red Wings 7, Penguins 4

Having gone 2-5 over their prior seven games, the Penguins allowed a touchdown on the road at Detroit (35-36-10), with former Penguin David Perron netting a hat trick against his old team. The Penguins trailed 3-0 at the end of the first period, then tied the score at three, only to allow four Red Wings goals in the final period of regulation, three of which came from Perron.

March 16-18: Two straight losses to the Rangers

Less than a month ago, the Penguins still had a legitimate chance to close the distance with the New York Rangers for control of the third Metropolitan divisional playoff spot. On March 15, with back-to-back games at Madison Square Garden upcoming, the Penguins sat eight points behind New York in the Eastern Conference standings. New York (47-21-13) went on to win both contests in regulation, outscoring the Penguins, 10-2, and relegating their divisional foe’s postseason hopes to a wild-card spot.

Feb. 23: Edmonton 7, Penguins 2

The high-octane Oilers (49-23-9) skated circles around the Penguins, netting seven straight goals at PPG Paints Arena after Kris Letang opened the scoring with a goal 65 seconds into regulation. This game lined up two generational talents: Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby, with McDavid stealing the show (two goals, two assists). While not encompassing the highest stakes, the loss featured a young, quick team beating up on the Penguins, who had the look of an aging, slowing unit.

Jan. 28: Sharks 6, Penguins 4

As it arrived in Pittsburgh at the end of January, San Jose was 15-25-11, sitting in 12th place in the Western Conference. That didn’t stop the Sharks from dealing a blow to the Penguins in both teams’ final game before the All-Star break. Two goals from Evgeni Malkin and one from Sidney Crosby proved insufficient as the Sharks (22-42-16) earned the win.

Dishonorable mention

None of the aforementioned losses falls into the category of games blown by the Penguins when leading after two periods of play. With nine such games (four in regulation, five in overtime) accounting for 13 missed points, the Penguins are the worst team in the NHL when entering the third period with a lead.

They dropped two of their three games against the Boston Bruins in that manner, in addition to three games against the Islanders from Feb. 17 to March 9.

Third-period leads were squandered Oct. 17 and Nov. 12 against the lowly Canadiens (31-43-6), but perhaps the most deflating instance came Nov. 2 against Buffalo (40-33-7). The Penguins surrendered a 3-1 third-period lead to the Sabres, who scored five unanswered goals in the final 20 minutes to win 6-5.