PITTSBURGH — The storylines were voluminous, from Sidney Crosby on history’s doorstep to a battle of goalies who each played for the other team last week, but the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ (14-9-9) offensive attack was anything but. The Edmonton Oilers (16-12-6) delivered a class on speed and skill, as well as power play efficiency.
Edmonton scored three power-play goals en route to a convincing 6-4 win over the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena Tuesday.
At least the Penguins snapped their string of disastrous blown leads? Counting overtime losses, it was the Penguins’ sixth consecutive loss. The beleaguered team is now (0-2-4) in that span.
The teams traded a few late, meaningless goals to make the score look much different than the actual game.
The Penguins had the first five shots of the game, but then the siren song of the penalty box beckoned. The team took three minor penalties in a span of only 1:26 midway through the first period, and a cautious effort from both teams quickly became a 2-0 Edmonton lead.
With a two-man advantage, Connor McDavid’s centering pass was deflected, but still got to Zach Hyman near the crease. Hyman (8) quickly slammed it past Penguins goalie Stuart Skinner at 11:38 of the first period.
“Tonight it ended up being a lot of special teams … like, we put ourselves in a hole in the first period that I don’t think we needed to be in,” said coach Dan Muse. “We go offside, we control that. Goal gets called back. It was offside, that’s on us. And then we put ourselves (in a hole). When you give a top power play that much time five-on-three, it’s tough.”
With an assist on the goal, Leon Draisaitl notched his 1000th career point, and the entire Edmonton team raced from the bench to mob the superstar center.
Edmonton’s second power play goal was a mere 14 seconds later. McDavid celebrated his long-time teammate’s milestone with a vintage McDavid tally as he breezed by the Penguins in the neutral zone, then carved a path through defensemen Parker Wotherspoon and Erik Karlsson for a smooth breakaway goal at 11:52.
“I mean, I faced so many in practice, so it was a little bit of a mental game. I don’t know. I’m going to talk to him after this and ask him how he felt, but yeah, he’s got a lot of moves in his pocket,” Skinner said of his close friend McDavid. “As he came in close, I just felt like he was going to go five hole, because he’s done that to me a few times in practice. So I just kind of played it safe, where I think next time, I won’t be playing it as safe.”
Penguins forward Tommy Novak was one of the noticeable forwards in black and gold. He set in motion an early first-period goal by Justin Brazeau that did not survive an offside challenge at 7:55.
In the closing seconds of the first period, the third line lifted the Penguins bench when Kevin Hayes took the puck to the net. Former Penguins-now Edmonton goalie Tristan Jarry made the first save, but Novak (6) followed Hayes and cleared the rebound into the net at 19:15.
For the fragile Penguins, the goal was life, but Edmonton flexed their two-time Western Conference champion form in the second period. With smooth puck possession and lightning-quick attacks, Edmonton scored another pair of goals.
In stride from the left circle, Matthew Savioe (7) fooled Skinner with a wrist shot that dribbled through Skinner’s five-hole at 4:35 for a 3-1 lead.
Defenseman Evan Bouchard potted Edmonton’s third power play goal of the game midway through the second as the Edmonton power play attacked with lightning-quick precision until the Penguins’ penalty killers backed up. From the top of the slot, Bouchard (6) snapped a high wrister past Skinner at 9:36. The goal made it 4-2.
The Penguins looked a bit outclassed Tuesday, but didn’t surrender. They got their own power play goal earlier in the second period when Rickard Rakell quickly moved the puck to Sidney Crosby in the right circle, and Crosby laid a buttery pass in front of Karlsson (3), who stepped into a slapshot from the top of the zone to pull the Penguins within 3-2 at 6:24.
The point also pulled Crosby to within one point of tying Mario Lemieux for the franchise’s all-time leading scorer mark (1723).
The Penguins’ defensemen began to press in the third period as the team showed some desperation to get back into the game, but Karlsson’s failed attempt to hold the offensive blue line early in the third period proved to be the end of the Penguins’ chances.
Karlsson was not able to get the puck or slow the Edmonton counterattack. On the resulting three-on-one, Penguins D-man Parker Wotherspoon defended the first pass, but the puck bounced to the trailer Vasily Podkolzin (9), who easily whipped it past Skinner for a 5-2 lead at 6:47.
The Penguins largely wasted a four-minute power play shortly after Podkolzin’s goal. They did not register a shot until the final 30 seconds of the advantage when Ty Emberson high-sticked Ben Kindel, drawing blood.
Bryan Rust (12) scored a garbage-time goal to make the score respectable. McDavid (20) then scored the empty-netter. But Penguins fourth line center Danton Heinen (1) scored a goal with 13 seconds remaining to alter the scoreboard one more time.
Skinner stopped 17 of 22 shots against his former team. Jarry stopped 27 of 31 against his former mates.
Penguins Notes
New Penguins acquisitions Skinner and Brett Kulak made their Penguins debuts. Defenseman Jack St. Ivany also made his season debut for the team after suffering a lower-body injury blocking a shot in preseason.
Coach Dan Muse paired Kulak (left) and St. Ivany on the third pairing.
Edmonton’s power play was 3-for-4. As a result, McDavid and Draisaitl had four points each.
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