After Pittsburgh’s 6-3 loss to the Red Wings on Wednesday in Detroit, for the most part, the Penguins felt good about their game.
That was not the case on Saturday in St. Louis following a lackluster 4-2 loss to the Blues.
When asked what they needed to clean up going into their next game on Tuesday versus Dallas, Sidney Crosby replied, “a lot. I mean, every aspect, I would say.”
There were a few decent moments, like Evgeni Malkin converting on a breakaway out of the penalty box in the final seconds of the first period; Radim Zohorna scoring in his season debut while finding immediate chemistry on a line with Lars Eller and Drew O’Connor; and Ryan Shea making his NHL debut on defense after the Penguins tweaked their lineup in hopes of putting together a group that gave them the best chance to win.
But overall, it was not their best effort – far from it. Here’s what a displeased Mike Sullivan had to say after the Penguins went to 2-3 on the season.
How much was tonight’s result due to bad decision-making out there? “Well, there was an awful lot of it. There was an awful lot of it. But that wasn't the only thing. We didn't play hard enough and we didn't play smart enough. We got what we deserved.”
Can you explain the lack of urgency, especially coming off a loss? “No.”
Was that particularly evident on the power play, the lack of shooting the puck? “That's just a microcosm of the overall mindset.”
What's responsible for that? And how do you address it? “I don't know yet. I gotta digest it first.”
You led in shot attempts and shots pretty significantly. What needs to change to translate that? “We had our chances, give St. Louis credit. They defended hard. They took advantage of the opportunities we gave them. We gave them way too many chances off the rush, because we didn't play with the purpose that we need to play with in the offensive zone – whether it be with the puck or without it.”
What did you think of Radim Zohorna and his line’s effort? “I thought Z played really well. I thought that line played hard. our coach.”
Do you feel like you guys have to be a little more aggressive about going to the net? And if so, how do you make that happen? “I'm not sure being aggressive at the net was the issue. We had people at the net, we had people at the blue paint. We’ve scored a fair amount of goals already this year at the blue paint. I don't think that was the issue tonight.”
