The Pittsburgh Penguins (24-29-9) haven’t done themselves any favors since returning from the 4 Nations Face-off, dropping yet another contest, this time to the Boston Bruins 3-2 on Saturday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena.
Usually, the Bruins and Penguins play meaningful games all season long, but at this point of the 2024-25 season, neither team is in a playoff spot as each club has had their fair share of struggles.
With a chance to carry over the momentum from their thrilling comeback win over the Philadelphia Flyers, the Penguins got into a hole early and, despite two goals in the dying minutes, could not get the timely responses they needed against a Boston team that lost its captain just 14 minutes into the game.
It’s time to discuss Pittsburgh’s latest setback before battling the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday.
The Penguins fell behind 2-0 in the first period, once again giving up a goal on the first shot of the game, as David Pastrnak extended his point streak to 17 games to remain the hottest scorer in the NHL.
Although the Bruins’ leading scorer only had one goal, he had a chance to seal the victory with a penalty shot attempt in the third period that Alex Nedeljkovic stopped. That save gave the Penguins life and they responded with a shorthanded goal by Anthony Beauvillier at 14:01.
Eventually, Charlie Coyle scored into the Penguins’ empty net while killing a 6-on-4 power-play, but by the time Rickard Rakell scored with 22 seconds left, the home team had no chance of tying things up.
In the end, Boston controlled the pace and led in shots until the third, when Pittsburgh rediscovered its game. By then, Pittsburgh couldn’t solve Joonas Korpisalo, and the Bruins walked away with two points.
The Penguins lost Pierre-Oliver Joseph to an upper-body injury after he crushed Bruins’ captain Brad Marchand earlier in the first. Joseph became a target of several big hits, resulting in his departure from the game.
Ultimately, this meant that several defensemen needed to step up, which resulted in Erik Karlsson skating a game-high 29:07, only the second time this season that the Swedish defender skated over 27 minutes in a single game.
Unsurprisingly, Karlsson was minus-2 on Saturday, a growing concern as he’s minus-7 in the past four games. He has the second worst total on the team behind Sidney Crosby and Rakell, both minus-8 over the past four games.
As an elite defenseman and former Norris Trophy winner, Karlsson is one of the top players on the Penguins’ lineup, but most nights no one would ever realize it. He had a single shot on goal, a team-leading six giveaways with no hits, and a single blocked shot. It’s a troublesome stat line for a player who played almost half the game.
The Penguins have no time to dwell on Saturday’s contest as they welcome the Maple Leafs to PPG Paints Arena for an early afternoon game on Sunday. After playing a handful of teams battling for a playoff spot, the Maple Leafs come to town fighting for a top spot in the Eastern Conference and don’t have many flaws in their lineup.
Sunday marks the last home game before the NHL trade deadline, Friday, Mar. 7, at 3:00 p.m. ET. Could this game be the final time we see certain players in the lineup? Who will travel to Colorado and Vegas for mid-week games and come back still black and gold?
It’s almost safe to say that at this point, the Penguins are too far out of a playoff spot—nine points out—with just a 0.4% chance of qualifying for a wildcard spot. So over the following nine periods of hockey, will players be auditioning for a place in the lineup down the stretch, or could they be putting themselves in a spot for a trade to a contender?
After several trades across the NHL on Saturday, the Penguins are ready to join the mix and start retooling for the 2025-26 season. Whether it’s timely goals, big hits, or big saves, this team must put forth their best effort for 60 minutes or risk significant changes involving more prominent names.
