Although it is early – just 10 games into the season – the Penguins find themselves in last place in the Metro Division. And that's after 8 straight games at home.
As they face 8 of their next 12 on the road the Pens can't afford to be giving away points which is exactly what they did Saturday night when they lost a two-goal lead over the final 3-and-a-half minutes. The Wild scored not once – but twice – after pulling the goaltender. When the Penguins failed to score in overtime then lost the shootout,5-4, two points had turned into one.
"Obviously we got exposed and that was unacceptable," said defenseman Mike Matheson, who was on the ice for the tying goal in the final seconds. "If you're up -2 with that much time left in the game you should be able to hunker down and get the win."
But here's the weird thing. When it comes to killing traditional man-advantages, no team is better than the Penguins who have killed nearly 92 percent of the opposing power plays. That's 5-on-4. Yet when it came to 6-on-5 the other night, it was as if they didn't know what to do. In some ways, apparently they didn't.
"Maybe our timing wasn't there," Matheson added, "maybe our roles and responsibilities weren't as clear and, as players, we weren't adept as to what those roles and responsibilities were."
Zach Aston-Reese, one of the team's primary penalty killers was among those on the ice for the goal that made it, 4-3. "It's a little bit different, where the points of pressure are as opposed to a penalty kill," he said. "You want to try to get them on the run down low and be a little more under control when the puck's at the point."
It wasn't surprising, then, that acting coach Todd Rierden spent quite a bit of time with the 6-on-5 during – and especially before – Monday's skate. "It's a lot of the same mindset," he said. "That's where I felt like were a little disappointed with how things went, with how aggressive we were in zone. We were too passive, we let them dictate what they wanted to do.
That was something we addressed today in video then in practice as well."
Aston-Reese thought maybe they should have been more aggressive firing the puck down the ice. "I feel like last year we were scoring a lot more empty net goals," he pondered. "I don't know if maybe we need to take more chances, especially if it's a two-goal lead, maybe try to ice it and take that risk to score a goal."
Aston-Reese looked at the bright side, saying better to learn the lesson now. Matheson agreed. "It's a good thing it happened now," the defenseman said. "We wish it hadn't, but hopefully we learn from it and it doesn't happen again this season."
"It's an important part of gathering points, securing points," said Rierden, knowing that's even though it's early, those precious points are already at a premium.
The Covid absences remain the same. In order of protocol entrance, Marcus Pettersson, Chad Ruhwedel, Sidney Crosby, Brian Dumoulin and Mike Sullivan were not at practice. "Status quo," said Rierden who added than none of them will be on the one-game trip to Tuesday's game in Chicago.
