For a while, all was going well in Vancouver. The Penguins had a 2-0 lead early in the second, then the game completely flipped.
The Canucks scored three goals in a 1:05 span, later adding a fourth before the buzzer sounded. While the Penguins had their moments in the final frame and got back within one, the final score stood as 4-3 Vancouver. The Penguins return home with a 0-3-1 record on their Canadian road trip.
“We had a good third, so try to build off of that – that urgency, that desperation. For most of the game we did a lot of good things,” Sidney Crosby said. “We got to find a way to not to allow momentum or chances to add up and pile up and make that the difference in the game, because we're working too hard to generate other chances to do good things to give it away like that.”
The Penguins did a better job of setting the tone compared to recent games. Instead of surrendering several shots early, Pittsburgh built a decent edge in that category.
They got rewarded for their strong start on the scoreboard with a goal from one of the new-look lines, as the coaching staff had done some tweaking. Anthony Beauvillier, playing alongside Evgeni Malkin for the first time this year, scored his third of the season by re-directing a shot from Marcus Pettersson.
The Canucks, a talented young team and Stanley Cup contender, pushed back hard for the remainder of that period. But Alex Nedeljkovic did a tremendous job of weathering the storm, coming up with save after save after save to preserve that 1-0 lead going into the intermission.
Coming out of it, Bryan Rust – also playing alongside Evgeni Malkin for the first time this year – tallied less than two minutes in. But a couple of minutes after that, the Canucks responded with a vengeance.
"There were just breakdowns of us being on the wrong side of the puck and not covering the most dangerous areas on the ice, in front of the net," Rickard Rakell said. "Giving up so many easy scoring chances. I mean, there were obviously some tough bounces for us, but I mean, we got to prevent that. That was just, like, one after one after one. We got to find a way to settle down, restart."
In the third, Rust suffered a lower-body injury after being angled into the boards by Nils Hoglander. The Penguins winger hopped off the ice and had to be helped down the runway. He did not return to the game. Head coach Mike Sullivan said he did not have an update other than Rust is being evaluated.
Malkin also experienced a scary moment when he crashed into the post after scoring a gorgeous goal. He was slow to get up, talking with head athletic trainer Kevin Elliott on the bench. Fortunately, Malkin remained in the game.
The Penguins are now 3-6-1 on the season, with Marc-Andre Fleury and the Minnesota Wild next up on Oct. 29 at PPG Paints Arena. While the season’s still young, the Penguins learned the hard way last year how quickly it goes by.
“We've only played 10 games so far, but the next 10’s going to come fast, and same thing after that,” Nedeljkovic said. “So, we've got to find a way to nip it in the bud right now and regroup and look for a good, strong effort at home on Tuesday.”
Jarry begins conditioning stint
The Penguins announced this morning they had assigned Tristan Jarry to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on a conditioning loan. The goaltender had returned to Pittsburgh a few days earlier for some individual work before heading across the state.
Penguins President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas told reporters the plan is for Jarry to play each game for WBS over a 14-day span (five total), and return to Pittsburgh confident and in good form.
Jarry got off to a good start in that regard, stopping 32 of 34 shots for a .920 save percentage in a 3-2 win over Syracuse. He was named the game’s First Star for his efforts.
“I think any time you can win a game, it helps your confidence,” Jarry said. “So being able to win that first one, I think really helps, and hopefully that’ll transition and I’ll be able to continue throughout the week.”
WBS head coach Kirk MacDonald couldn’t say enough about Jarry’s play, and how he’s handling the whole situation.
“He was freakin’ outstanding today. He made some great saves,” MacDonald said. “His puck-playing ability was awesome. He was really personable in the room, joking around with everybody. You know, it's tough in those situations for guys like that to come down and just get thrown into a new locker room. I think the attitude was great… We’re here to help him get his game back. Today was a great first step, right? So, hopefully when this conditioning stint’s over, he goes back to doing his thing in Pittsburgh.”
From Jarry’s perspective, he’s taking a day-by-day approach, saying this process should do nothing but help his game.
“Just making the best of it, coming down here, playing some games, and just getting better,” Jarry said. “I think that's the key, and that's the mindset. Just having that mindset to grow every day and to become a better person, better goalie – I think that's the goal with this.”
