{"id":521739,"date":"2026-03-25T08:27:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T08:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/521739\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T08:27:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T08:27:14","slug":"penguins-squander-chances-losses-mount","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/521739\/","title":{"rendered":"Penguins Squander Chances, Losses Mount"},"content":{"rendered":"

PITTSBURGH \u2014 It was just last Monday that the Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> thoroughly beat the NHL\u2019s best team, the Colorado Avalanche<\/a>, 7-2 in Denver. Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena the Avalanche (47-13-10) nearly returned the favor to the Penguins (35-20-16), defeating the Penguins by a margin of 6-2. The loss was the Penguins\u2019 second-consecutive regulation loss and third loss in their last four games. Further, they have allowed four or more goals in four straight contests. <\/p>\n

The Avalanche got on the board early, just 4:57 into the game when Nathan MacKinnon<\/a> showed why he is one of the NHL\u2019s best players. He stripped Pittsburgh defenseman Parker Wotherspoon<\/a> of the puck in the Colorado zone and broke free on a long breakaway with Wotherspoon in hot pursuit. However, Wotherspoon could not catch MacKinnon as he quickly stickhandled his way towards the net, went from backhand to forehand and roofed a shot over Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs<\/a> and off the back bar of the net to give the Avalanche a 1-0 lead. It was a league-leading 46th goal for MacKinnon. <\/p>\n

The Penguins\u2019 hottest forward, Egor Chinakhov<\/a> (17), had an answer to MacKinnon\u2019s goal when he cycled high along the blue line with defensemen Sam Girard<\/a> and Kris Letang<\/a>. Chinakhov stationed himself at the center point, took a Girard pass, and then blasted a slap shot past Avalanche netminder Scott Wedgewood<\/a> to even the score at one. The goal was noteworthy for several reasons. First, it established a new career-high in goals for Chinakhov, who leads the Penguins in goals (14) since he made his debut with the team on January 1. Second, the two assists were milestone helpers for Girard and Letang. For Girard, it was his 200th career assist. For Letang it was his 800th career point, becoming just the fourth active defenseman to reach the mark. <\/p>\n

Any momentum that the Penguins gained from Chinakhov\u2019s game-tying goal was short-lived, as the Avalanche would get the next three goals, all before the first period came to a close. First it was Avalanche defenseman Sam Malinski<\/a> (4) wiring a wrist shot past the blocker of Silovs at 15:24 of the first. <\/p>\n

Next, with Noel Acciari off for a questionable tripping call, the Avalanche won the ensuing faceoff and got the puck right to the stick of Martin Necas<\/a> (33) who fired a slap shot from the left circle that blew past Silovs, off the right post, and in. The goal against came just five seconds into the power play and marked the second-consecutive game that the Penguins have allowed a power play goal and third time in the last four games, despite the team boasting the league\u2019s second-best penalty kill. <\/p>\n

Just 35 seconds later, Parker Kelly<\/a> (16) added a fourth Avalanche goal after finishing a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing play that started with Nazim Kadri<\/a> beating Girard to a puck in the corner, quickly passing to Logan O\u2019Connor<\/a> behind the net, who then one-touched a pass to Kelly who snapped it past the glove side of Silovs to put Colorado up 4-1.<\/p>\n

The Penguins thought they had pulled back to within two when Justin Brazeau<\/a> appeared to have scored from his stomach in front of the net, but Colorado challenged for goaltender interference and the goal was disallowed. It once again begged the question of what constitutes goaltender interference because it appeared that Brazeau was pushed into Wedgewood by Colorado defenseman Devon Toews and actually never entered the blue paint even though the official NHL explanation noted, \u201cPittsburgh\u2019s Justin Brazeau contacted Scott Wedgewood in the crease and impaired his ability to play his position prior to the goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shortly thereafter, the Penguins got another chance to get back into the game via a four-minute power play after Tommy Novak<\/a> took a stick to the face from Kadri. However, the Penguins could not capitalize, only managing two shots on goal and four missed shots during the extended man-advantage. <\/p>\n

Necas (34) would get the lone goal of the second (34) and his second of the game at 17:29 of the frame. Toews took a shot from the point that resulted in a juicy rebound off the left pad of Silovs and right to the stick of Necas, who wristed it in. <\/p>\n

The Penguins also got 1:03 of a two-man advantage early in the third, but once again could not convert. The Pittsburgh power play, which is still ranked fifth in the NHL, looked disjointed and out-of-sorts, perhaps in part due to the absence of Evgeni Malkin<\/a>, who is considered day-to-day with a hand injury. <\/p>\n

Rickard Rakell<\/a> (15) added a late goal at 11:47 of the third with Bryan Rust<\/a> getting the secondary assist. The assist extended Rust\u2019s career-high points streak to eight. However, that would be one of the few bright spots for the Penguins on an otherwise forgettable night. <\/p>\n

Colorado would add an empty net goal to seal the game, 6-2. Despite the loss, the Penguins did get some help from the Chicago Blackhawks<\/a>, who hung on to beat the New York Islanders<\/a> 4-3 to keep them one point behind the Penguins in the Metropolitan Division standings. The news out of Philadelphia was not as good, as the Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a> defeated the Flyers 3-2, pulling one point ahead of the Penguins for second place in the Metropolitan Division. The Penguins will next be in action on Thursday night in Ottawa in yet another crucial game in the playoff race. The Senators<\/a> are just one point behind the Penguins in the Eastern Conference standings and currently sit in the conference\u2019s final playoff spot. <\/p>\n

Notes<\/p>\n

The Penguins\u2019 lines and defensive pairings took on a different look Tuesday with the absence of Malkin and defenseman Ryan Shea getting back into the lineup after a one-game absence with an upper body injury. <\/p>\n

Forwards<\/p>\n

Rickard Rakell \u2013 Sidney Crosby \u2013 Bryan Rust<\/p>\n

Egor Chinakhov \u2013 Tommy Novak \u2013 Anthony Mantha<\/p>\n

Ville Koivunen \u2013 Ben Kindel \u2013 Justin Brazeau<\/p>\n

Elmer Soderblom \u2013 Connor Dewar \u2013 Noel Acciari<\/p>\n

Defensemen<\/p>\n

Parker Wotherspoon \u2013 Erik Karlsson<\/p>\n

Sam Girard \u2013 Kris Letang<\/p>\n

Ryan Shea \u2013 Connor Clifton<\/p>\n

Additional Notes<\/p>\n

Sam Girard, after playing 583 games and recording 232 points with the Avalanche, played his first game against his former teammates since being traded to Pittsburgh on February 24. <\/p>\n

The Penguins\u2019 record without Blake Lizotte in the lineup dropped to a notable 4-9-4. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTags: arturs silovs<\/a> Egor Chinakhov<\/a> Kris Letang<\/a> nathan mackinnon<\/a> Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> samuel girard<\/a> Vince Comunale<\/a> <\/p>\n

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