PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – On Tuesday night, the Pens turned it on in the third period to pull out a win. On Thursday, it was Seattle with a 19-4 shot advantage in the third and an eventual 2-1 Kraken overtime victory.
“I thought in the third period, we beat ourselves,” Sullivan said. “We turned into a high-risk hockey team. A lot of the chances we gave them off the rush were the result of us not making the right decisions with the puck. It’s hard to win consistently when you play a high-risk game.”
“I think we got a little risky at times,” said forward Jeff Carter. “We didn’t manage the puck as well as we like. They have some skill guys over there, they are going to make some plays.”
“They play hard and they defend hard. All night they are blocking shots. For the most part of the night we were playing a lot on the perimeter and not getting inside. Tough to score from the outside in this league.”
Seattle did block 20 shots. The Pens gave it away six times (eight overall) and managed only four shots in the third period
“We have to embrace that grind and try not to take chances and go zone-to-zone,” said forward Brian Boyle. “Obviously not what we were looking for. That’s a point that we gave away.”
“We’ve been playing some risky hockey for a while and been coming out on top a majority of the games,” Carter said. “There has been talk about cleaning our game up and playing the right way and managing the puck. Maybe tonight it caught up to us a bit.”
“This is a conversation we’ve had as a team for quite a while now,” Sullivan said. “For me it’s the easiest way to beat yourself is when you don’t manage the puck and you give your opponents’ easy opportunities. Where you don’t have to work for them. That is a lesson we have to learn.”
“We have to bring it more consistently. We have to find the sweet spot of play-making because we certainly want to be a team that makes plays. Sometimes plays aren’t there to be made and we’ve got to find different ways to create offense. We have to be better.”
Evgeni Malkin ripped a slap shot high past Seattle goalie Philipp Grubauer for a power play goal and a 1-0 lead with 8:41 gone in the third period. Seattle would answer with a goal by former Penguin Jared McCann about seven and a half minutes later to tie it. McCann a re-direct for his 17th on the season.
Tristan Jarry would make some great saves including one on a Jordan Eberle breakaway after a Malkin turnover with four minutes to play to get the Pens a point. Jarry made 27 saves before Adam Larsson won it at 1:17 in overtime.
3 way
For the negatives associated with losing an overtime game to a last place team, getting the point against Seattle was the team’s 60th which ties them with the Rangers and Carolina for first place in the Metropolitan Division.
McCann can
While he was in black and gold Sullivan and McCann himself discussed there was more goal scoring to his game. The 25-year-old has really flourished after he was picked in the NHL Expansion Draft following the Pens trading him to Toronto.
McCann scored Tuesday night at Nashville and again tonight, his career-high 17th goal of the season in just 38 games. To put that in perspective, Jared McCann has more goals than:
· Jonathan Huberdeau-FLA
· Johnny Gaudreau-CGY
· Gabriel Landeskog-COL
· John Tavares-TOR
· Brayden Point-TBL
· Claude Giroux-PHL
Carter Contract
Announced on Wednesday afternoon, reaction on Thursday to the two-year contract extension for center/forward Jeff Carter. It includes a no movement clause and runs about $6.2 million.
“I’m getting to the end of my career and I want to win,” Carter said Thursday. “You look at the team we have and the group we have has a lot of potential to do something special. That was a big part of it and my family really likes it here. It’s been a good fit all around for us. It was really just an easy decision for us.”
“I think it’s great for our team,” Sullivan said. “I think he’s enjoying his time here with his teammates. For me it’s a win-win all around, it gives us a little more stability moving forward. It gives us the balance that we so value down the middle of the ice. It’s a positive step that (GM Ron) Hextall and Carter have taken to try to solidify this group moving forward that we believe is a special group with a chance to win.”
The 37-year-old Carter is third on the Pens in goals with 12 and sixth in points with 26.
“He brings a lot of insights to the table,” Sullivan added. “He’s a cerebral player, he has a wealth of experience. He sees the game really well. We have a number of those guys. It helps our coaching staff. Some of our guys see the game at a real high level. We value their insights and input. He’s invested, he loves hockey, he loves to talk hockey. He helped our overall team chemistry.”
Up Next
Pens host Detroit Friday night at 7p. The Red Wings are 18-19-6 and in fifth place in the Atlantic Division.