After a tough start on Sunday versus Edmonton, with the Oilers scoring twice in the first nine minutes, Tristan Jarry battled to keep the Penguins in it against a team that’s loaded with offensive firepower and is a favorite to win the Stanley Cup.
The score remained 2-0 until the final nine minutes, but his teammates just couldn’t find a way to finish on Oilers goalie Calvin Pickard, who earned a shutout in what ended up being a 4-0 win. It was technically shared, as Stuart Skinner made one save after coming into the game briefly at the end of the second after his fellow netminder drew a goalie interference call. The Penguins have now been held to one goal or less in four of their last five games.
“I feel like we're getting a lot of shots. We're just not getting good second opportunities,” said Reilly Smith, who recorded six of Pittsburgh’s 41 shots. “So, it might be just crashing the net and trying to grind our way out of this right now. Because obviously, the last few games, we’re getting a lot of shots, but we're not really finding the back of the net. Tristan’s doing a great job making big saves for us and trying to keep us in the game. We have to do a better job keeping games close for him.”
Smith, Jarry, and Bryan Rust – who returned to the lineup after missing seven games with an upper-body injury – mentioned how confidence plays a big part in that. While it’s tough to come by right now, Rust said they don’t have any other choice but to muster it up.
“Nobody's happy with what's going on, how things have been going. I think it doesn't matter how hard you may think it is – you've just got to find a way to make that confidence for yourself,” Rust said. “I think you got to push it and maybe (find) that little two, three, or four extra percent to just kind of go with it.”
The afternoon got off to a rough start when Kris Letang turned the puck over to Connor McDavid – arguably the last player in the world you want to gift a freebie. McDavid, who recently became the third player in NHL history behind Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux to have at least seven 100-point seasons before their 28th birthday, wired it home to put Edmonton up 1-0 just 1:08 into play.
“I think the guys went in with the right intent, the right mindset,” Penguins Head Coach Mike Sullivan said. “There was good energy going into the game. When you're going through some of the challenges we've gone through lately, and you get off to that kind of start, it presents a challenge right away.”
The Penguins had a chance to even the score during a delayed penalty call and subsequent power play, coming up with a couple of good looks, but they couldn’t find a goal. Then, after Sidney Crosby rang one off the crossbar, the Oilers went up 2-0 after a shot from Mattias Ekholm deflected in off John Ludvig’s stick.
It was a tough sequence for Jarry, who was fantastic in the opening minutes of the second, allowing his teammates to generate some good momentum. Ludvig, who slotted in for his second straight game after the Penguins traded Chad Ruhwedel to the Rangers ahead of Friday’s deadline, got the fans on their feet after challenging Warren Foegele to a fight about midway through.
“I try and play the same way every night, but on top of that, we needed a spark there,” said the physical rookie defenseman. “So, that was part of it as well.”
Pittsburgh had some good stretches from there, but nothing came of them. The Penguins came out flying to start the third looking for that goal to bring them within one, and Jarry did his part to keep the score within reach … but eventually, McDavid was able to set up Darnell Nurse to make it 3-0 with 9:18 left to play.
“I think the third goal, obviously, is the one that was a tough one for us from a mindset standpoint,” Sullivan said.
The Oilers defenseman got his second of the game shortly after, and 4-0 stood as the final score. The Penguins have now lost six of their past seven games, being outscored by a wide margin over that stretch.
“It's obviously tough,” Smith said. “A lot of it is self-talk and trying to communicate with the group and making sure we're buying in for each other. You know, the only way you can get out of stretches like this is by committee, and we have to be able to hold each other accountable – but at the same time, work together and try to stay positive.”
“It’s just find that motivation,” Jarry added. “Finding something that motivates you and something that can elevate your game to bring a new level to every game.”
