Crosby's Milestone Marker Comes In Setback to Utah

Sidney Crosby entered the season eight shy of reaching 600 goals, and got the milestone on Saturday at PPG Paints Arena with his parents Troy and Trina there to see it in person.

“I've been close to it here for a bit, so they've been here for a while. They get to a number of games, but obviously to have them here for that was special,” the captain said. “I've been fortunate for some of those milestones to be here at home, and have family here, and be in front of the home crowd. So, I think it’s even more special to be able to do it.”

It was unfortunate that the tally came in another tough loss, this one to the Utah Hockey Club, formerly the Arizona Coyotes. Though when Crosby converted on the man-advantage early in the second period, it brought the Penguins within one goal after Utah built a 2-0 lead in the first.

“It was a nice reception and a cool moment,” the captain said before continuing, “I thought we got some momentum off that power play and were doing some good things. Obviously, they get one shortly after and get the lead back. Even with that, we’re still in the game. We’re doing some good things and it gets away from us.”

Four unanswered goals from Utah – three on the power play – gave the Hockey Club a 6-1 win in the first-ever meeting between the franchises.

“We had good energy; we had momentum, especially after Sid’s goal. For me, the penalty kill let us down significantly tonight,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “(One of the three goals came) shortly after Sid scores. We get within striking distance, make it 2-1, we got some momentum. Then we don’t get it done on the penalty kill, it’s 3-1. Now it’s an uphill climb, and then the same thing in the third. Our penalty kill let us down tonight.”

The Penguins couldn’t find two points for the sixth time in seven games, and are now 1-4-2 over that span. As for how they try and get out of this hole, Crosby said, “just try to defend as best we can. We always talk about when you’re in times like this, you’ve got to compete and defend and get yourself out of it that way. We haven’t been able to do that.”

Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, who faced 30 shots, agreed with the captain.

“It doesn't take a lot to play the right way, to play smart, to play with some detail,” Nedeljkovic said. “It doesn't take talent, doesn't take skill. You don't have to be the strongest guy, the smartest guy, the most fit, whatever. All it is is just an attitude and a mindset. I think we have that at times. We've shown it at times this year. I think we just need to put it together more consistently.”

Prior to puck drop, Kevin Hayes was activated off of injured reserve after missing the last eight games with an undisclosed injury. He slotted in on the fourth line with Noel Acciari and Matt Nieto. Ryan Graves was inserted back into the lineup, with Ryan Shea coming out. 2022 first-round pick Owen Pickering skated on the top pair with Kris Letang.

“He's got special abilities,” Letang said. “He's got the size, speed, and as he plays more games, he's going to get more comfortable. I think he's gaining confidence every single shift, period.”

Pittsburgh started the game strongly, going on the power play exactly 60 seconds in. Both units generated some quality looks, but were unable to get one past Karel Vejmelka. They did come away with some momentum, outshooting Utah 7-0 through the game’s first seven minutes.

Utah responded well with goals from Jack McBain and Mikael Sergachev to get that 2-0 lead. They nearly got a third goal towards the end of the first period, but the Penguins successfully challenged for goaltender interference.

Crosby and the Penguins came out to start the second period flying. After a scrum ensued in front of Nedeljkovic, Crosby laid out Nick Schmaltz with a clean and hard hit, drawing a retaliation penalty as a result.

On the delayed call, Crosby found Marcus Pettersson joining the rush and hit him with a beautiful pass for a scoring chance. Maveric Lamoureux committed another slashing penalty on the sequence to set up a 5-on-3 opportunity for Pittsburgh.

After Crosby’s milestone marker, the Penguins got themselves into penalty trouble, with Jesse Puljujarvi and Michael Bunting each heading to the box. Utah converted one of those man-advantages to take a 3-1 lead into the second intermission.

Just over four minutes into the third period, the Penguins headed to their third power play of the game after Lamoureux took his second penalty, this time for roughing. Pittsburgh native Logan Cooley found himself on a shorthanded breakaway, and Matt Grzelcyk took a tripping minor. Utah scored on the ensuing power play with Dylan Guenther’s first of the night. After Alex Kerfoot tallied at even strength, Guenther found another power-play goal.

When asked if they have the answers in the room to get out of this slump, Nedeljkovic pointed out that it’s a similar group to the one who played good hockey last season. It just goes back to having a certain mindset.

“If we want to stop feeling like this after games – if you want to stop getting embarrassed at home – do something about it,” he said. “Pay a price. Do something. Feel something else. Anything else feels better than whatever that was tonight and what we’ve been putting out there as a whole this year. We’ve had good efforts lately. The game was right there. It was within striking distance. Then … the third period just wasn’t it. But we can’t let it unravel like that.”