Goaltending Sinks Penguins In 5-3 Loss To Rangers

After suffering a humiliating 8-3 loss to the Washington Capitals on Saturday in which they were outplayed, the Pittsburgh Penguins looked to take advantage of another team in the New York Rangers on Sunday coming off of a bad loss.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go the Penguins’ way.

The Rangers beat the Penguins, 5-3, despite the Penguins controlling play for most of the game. They outshot the Rangers 33-16 and spent most of the afternoon in their offensive zone, but – simply put – they didn’t get the goaltending necessary to win this game.

Rookie Joel Blomqvist – starting in just his fourth game since being recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate, on Jan. 16 – has struggled a bit in his recent string of games. He has allowed three or more goals in each of those games played – he also relieved Alex Nedeljkovic on Saturday against Washington and allowed three goals – and has posted just a .843 save percentage in that time.

“I know both Ned and Joel are capable of better,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “Joel’s a young goaltender. He’s very athletic. We’re really excited about this guy. But he’s a young goaltender, and he’s going through a learning process here. So, the challenge is on us as a coaching staff to help him.”

The Penguins opened the scoring in the first period when Evgeni Malkin capitalized on a rebound at the net-front. Will Cuylle tied it for the Rangers with less than a minute to go in the first, beating Blomqvist high-glove.

The Rangers struck first in the second period on a goal from J.T. Miller three minutes in, and – despite the Penguins dominating in terms of shots on goal and possession – the score remained 2-1 heading into the final frame.

Some of their dominance began to pay off, as they got two goals in less than three minutes from an unlikely source in defenseman Ryan Shea – back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch – for his first and second tallies of the year.

But just 50 seconds after Shea’s second goal, Jimmy Vesey scored to tie the game at 3-3. Adam Fox added a goal to pull ahead midway through the third period, and Miller sealed it with an empty-netter at the end.

The Penguins felt they deserved a better fate on Sunday. But they need to find a way to get on the right side of tie games and one-goal games.

“It’s definitely a different result – a different mindset – from yesterday’s game,” Shea said. “We did a lot of things good, and if we play like that, we’re going to beat a lot of teams. They’ve got a good goalie, their ‘D’  blocked a lot of shots, and we didn’t get the bounces today, but if we play like that, we’re going to get them.”

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Here are a few thoughts and observations from this one:

– Blomqvist has been a bit of a mixed bag so far in his first taste of NHL action, and it wasn’t really his afternoon. Like every other goaltender – and every other player – he’s going to need some time to develop at the NHL level. The organization – and fans – will have to exercise some patience on that front.

Even though the Penguins’ defense gave Rangers forward Will Cuylle way too much space breaking into the offensive zone on the poewr play, New York’s first goal was not a good one to give up from Blomqvist. He awkwardly waved at the puck with his lowered glove hand as the puck sailed just above it off Cuylle’s shot from the left circle.

He then gave up another high-glove goal to Miller in the second, and – although screened on the third – another goal up high. His blocker side was the victim on the fourth goal.

Many of the goals Blomqvist is giving up early on are high-glove side, which isn’t uncommon for a young goaltender. It is something to keep an eye on, but it’s not a cause for concern yet.

Honestly, the only area of concern from Blomqvist so far, for me, is his tendency to let soft goals in early in games. He does tend to get a lot stronger as the game goes on and knows how to have a short memory, but – as we’ve seen from every Penguins’ goaltender all season long – it’s a trend that he needs to get on top of.

“It’s, for sure, a different pace here in the NHL compared to the AHL,” Blomqvist said.  “Everyting happens faster, so you need to just be faster at everything.”

Sunday was a struggle for him, but the Penguins need to continue giving Blomqvist games down the stretch. Sitting the bench will do him no good, and playing in the AHL will do him no good.

– Matt Grzelcyk took a hit from behind from Matt Rempe during the first period and did not return. Grzelcyk’s head went into the boards awkwardly, and he was down on the ice holding his head for well over a minute before skating slowly back to the bench and getting tended to.

Rempe – who has a nasty reputation throughout the league – was initially assessed a five-minute major. Upon review, it was changed to a two-minute minor for interference, which – although I’m not a fan of Rempe’s antics – I think was the right call.

Not only could this be a huge blow for Grzelcyk – who is enjoying a career-best season – it would also be a huge blow for the Penguins in a lot of ways.  Grzelcyk has been a key part of the Penguins’ power play returning to prominence, his production has been above his cap hit, and he is also the Penguins’ easiest trade deadline chip remaining.

Because the market for defensemen is so thin, a contending team will pay for Grzelcyk’s services as a rental if he is healthy.

Really hope he’s alright. He’s been a very good conversation in the locker room for every interview this season, he’s intelligent and insightful, and he’s genuinely re-established his game in Pittsburgh. Easy guy to root for.

– Whatever seemed to be ailing Sidney Crosby does not seem to be ailing him much anymore.

He’s been the Penguins’ best player. And even though Bryan Rust – his regular right-winger – is out with an illness, I’ve liked the Beauvillier-Crosby-Rakell line this season. It seems to be the right mixture of skillsets and smarts, and they excel at cycling the puck.

And that has all started with Crosby. He’s forechecking hard, he’s skating well, he’s shooting the puck – which wasn’t the case very much during the 4 Nations Face-off, but he led the team with five shots against the Rangers – and it’s easy to tell he’s turned on another gear for the stretch run.

Crosby is aware of where the Penguins are at right now. They all are. I dare anyone to try to tell Crosby that it’s better for the team to lose games.

This guy will scratch and claw for a chance at the playoffs until they’re mathematically out of it. He isn’t going to quit, and he’s showing why he’s the game’s best captain.

– Malkin had a goal and an assist in this game, and he has had his gallop in these last two games. His legs look fresh, and he’s driving the offense on his line.

Michael Bunting was moved off of Malkin’s line for the first time since earlier this season in favor of Danton Heinen, and that line looked pretty good. Bunting has been in a bit of a slump lately, with only one goal and three points in his last 12 games.

Malkin hit a bit of a snag prior to his injury before the break, so it’d be nice to see him finish the season strong.

– Shea had not scored a goal all year prior to this game. He came out of it with two.

No, he’s not winning the Rocket Richard anytime soon, and he isn’t likely to, all of a sudden, become a regular in the Penguins lineup. But I really liked what Shea did on his second goal, which is a lesson that every member of the Penguins can take from that play.

Throw the puck at the net.

Too many times, we see Penguins’ players look for shot-passes or passing plays for a tee-off as opposed to just throwing it in that direction and seeing what happens. It’s not always the right play, no.

But in this instance, Shea retrieved a puck at the point along the wall and just threw it on net, and it hit Miller’s backside and bounced between Shesterkin’s legs for a goal.

Good things happen when the puck is put on net. The Penguins do typically end games with a fair amount of shots, but sometimes, they need to just throw the loose change in that direction.

– The Penguins’ next tilt is on Tuesday against the cross-state rival Philadelphia Flyers, who – as it stands now – are two points ahead of the Penguins in the standings. They will face the Flyers again at home on Thursday before a string of seven games against non-divisional opponents in the East and West.

If the Penguins are to have any hope remaining of clinching a wild card spot, they need nothing less than four points in the two games against the Flyers.

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