PITTSBURGH — After several games of superior efforts and heartbreaking losses or squeaky wins, the Pittsburgh Penguins (14-8-7) posted a more traditional loss with subpar play and meekly lost to the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 at PPG Paints Arena Thursday.
The game was delayed by 30 minutes to 7:30 p.m. after an overturned tractor-trailer on I-279 South blocked traffic for nearly two hours, delaying several players and team personnel.
Once the players finally got to the ice Thursday, Montreal rookie goalie Jacob Fowler joined a prodigious list of Montreal goalies who made their NHL debut against the Penguins. Before Fowler, Canadiens greats Ken Dryden, Patrick Roy, and Carey Price also made their first start against the Penguins.
Montreal clearly beat the disjointed Penguins. Fowler made several saves in the final minutes. The rookie stopped 33 of 35 shots for his first NHL win.
Jarry had a rough go, stopping 24 of 28 shots.
The Penguins piled on shots late in the game, but were largely kept to the perimeter for most of the 60 minutes.
The Penguins played the first period with a disjointed, discombobulated style, too. Montreal outshot them in the low-event period, a mere 8-4. Montreal also got the only goal, too.
Early in the first period, the Penguins’ second line and defensive pairing of Kris Letang with Ryan Shea were caught on the ice for over two minutes due to a couple of icing calls. When the Penguins finally had a chance to clear the defensive zone and get off the ice, the puck unexpectedly hopped off Letang’s stick immediately to Alexendre Texiera (1), who stormed the net and lifted a shot past Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry at 2:54.
The Penguins were better in the second period, but a three-on-three became another Penguins defensive breakdown as Brendan Gallagher was uncovered in the left circle. Gallagher’s (2) wrist shot may have deflected off defenseman Erik Karlsson and wobbled over Jarry at 4:37.
Montreal added two more goals in the second period, though only one counted. As the teams traded power play chances, Montreal converted one of theirs when Cole Caufield (17) parked behind the goal line and banked a shot off Jarry’s skates at 10:32.
Later in the second period, it appeared Montreal rookie Owen Beck scored his first NHL goal when his shot fooled Jarry short side. It would have been a soft goal, but after calling a timeout to review it further, Penguins coach Dan Muse successfully challenged for offside.
The call was incredibly close and not perceptible at full speed, but Gallagher took a stride across the blue line before the puck was all the way across the line.
The Penguins had chances to get back into the game. Those chances were primarily from the Kids Line with rookies Ben Kindel, Rutger McGroarty, and Ville Koivunen. However, Fowler made a few sharp saves, and McGroarty hit the post late in the second.
The Penguins appeared to get back in the game early in the third period. Just 44 seconds into the period, Tommy Novak circled the zone before putting a pass in the right spot for Bryan Rust near the net. Rust (9) redirected the pass into the net to a
However, just 15 seconds later, the Penguins again suffered a catastrophic defensive breakdown, leaving Oliver Kappanen (10) wide open in the rush, and he quickly snapped a wrister into a yawning cage for a 4-1 lead.
The Penguins had a last gasp late in the game. With a power play in the final five minutes, Muse pulled the goalie for a six-on-four power play. Erik Karlsson (2) whistled a shot through traffic and past Fowler at 15:07.
At least it wasn’t a blown lead and shootout like the last two?
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