{"id":538222,"date":"2026-04-03T09:16:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T09:16:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/538222\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T09:16:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T09:16:55","slug":"outplayed-and-outsmarted-did-loss-rattle-pens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/538222\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Outplayed and Outsmarted’ Did Loss Rattle Pens?"},"content":{"rendered":"

TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 After the sailboats and trawlers filled the water on a sun-filled day in western Florida, it was too fitting that the Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> took the bait. <\/p>\n

The Tampa Bay Lightning offered the Penguins a wide-open track meet complete with trading scoring chances, and it proved to be an offer the Penguins couldn\u2019t refuse but most certainly should have. Tampa Bay converted on the rush after the Penguins\u2019 turnovers or mistakes. Ultimately, the Penguins were bailing water before they eventually sank in a 6-3 loss to Tampa Bay at Benchmark International Arena. <\/p>\n

The Xs and Os battle devolved into a skills competition in which the Penguins were too happy to take part but also obviously ill-equipped. <\/p>\n

The Penguins led 2-1 after the first period, but it felt like a losing battle. Just 11 seconds into the second period, the Penguins gave away the lead on a shorthanded goal, and the fallout was that the Penguins fell further and further behind both in momentum and score. <\/p>\n

Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson<\/a> had what was probably the most brutally honest and accurate description. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just think that they outworked us and outsmarted us right from the start. I mean, we were up 2-1 in the first, but they were the better team,\u201d Karlsson began. \u201cAnd then obviously the second, I don\u2019t know if we even played the game, or if they were just really, really that much better than us. And then obviously in the third, we had a little bit of a push, but not enough to sustain anything to come back and. It\u2019s one of those nights where we just didn\u2019t come ready to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ouch. <\/p>\n

Not only did Karlsson level the Penguins\u2019 effort, but the power play has been as effective for the other team as it has been for them. Overall, the team has yielded the second most shorties in the league (12), but they have also coughed up five since March 1. <\/p>\n

Anthony Cirelli\u2019s shorthanded breakaway goal Thursday was the difference. Perhaps the Penguins could have steadied themselves or found another break, but after the shorthanded goal, Tampa Bay elevated their game. And it was the beginning of the end for the Penguins. <\/p>\n

The Penguins launched themselves to a big win Monday when Rickard Rakell scored a shorthanded goal, but it is the Penguins who have yielded far too many goal lights with the other team in the penalty box. It was a bad bounce against the Penguins as the puck hopped over Bryan Rust\u2019s stick, but one bad bounce cannot lead to a breakaway. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been too much, and so we\u2019ve got to continue to look at it, and progress. I mean, they\u2019re all different,\u201d Muse said. \u201cThe one (tonight), there\u2019s a little bit of a bounce there, and so you can still react to it. I thought there were actually other ones where they\u2019re getting space coming out, and we\u2019re not getting above and, yeah, we can\u2019t be\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Egor Chinakhov had a pair of goals Thursday, getting to 20 for the season, but the Penguins\u2019 top line with Chinakhov and Rust side saddling Crosby was not a strength. The second of Chinakhov\u2019s goals was scored with just 1.5 seconds remaining in the game. <\/p>\n

After an acceptable start that was sloppy but somewhat effective, the Penguins continually slipped. Their scoring chance rates from NaturalStatTrick.com<\/a> tell an abysmal tale. They were outchanced 9-6 in the first period, 15-9 in the second, and with the game on the line in the third, they were outchanced 7-1. <\/p>\n

For the first time in a long time, there was a hint of being rattled in the Penguins\u2019 room. Goalie Stuart Skinner was at a loss for words. Even Muse struck a tone of something close to admiration for Tampa Bay. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll do that to you,\u201d Muse said. \u201cI mean, I think that\u2019s something where we\u2019ve got to turn the page quickly. There\u2019s not going to be any easy games. Every game, every day is going to have a new challenge, and none of them are going to be easy this time of year \u2026 based on this game, there are some lessons we absolutely have to take away and move forward with. You know, they made it difficult. And I do think we got away from things that have worked at times.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d muttered Chinakhov with an exasperated head shake. <\/p>\n

In the first 18 minutes of the third period, the Penguins had just three shots on goal. It was emblematic of the dam breaking. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey had a hard step on us at the very beginning there, we were able to kind of manage that and then get some momentum ourselves,\u201d Stuart Skinner said. \u201cSecond period, I thought momentum kind of shifted to their side, just getting a couple of goals, and then it kind of just stayed there. And then third period was not even \u2026 I don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t even know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Penguins Analysis<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh Hockey Now\u2019s original analysis that Tampa Bay pulled the Penguins out of their structure is accurate, but not the entire story. Tampa Bay pressured the Penguins, who in response tried to outscore Tampa Bay rather than buttoning up. <\/p>\n

The strategy to trade punches, or absorb many more, worked for them when the teams played in Tampa in December. But that highly improbable win was also the beginning of the Penguins\u2019 December swoon. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve been doing (the same thing) for a long time. They\u2019re right on top of you, and they do a really good job with it, and they make it difficult. And that\u2019s not a surprise, because you\u2019ve seen it before, and they\u2019re pretty clear what their plan is,\u201d said Muse. \u201cBut I think we didn\u2019t do the things that we needed to do to get out of it, to spend more time in the offensive zone. Just in general, you\u2019ve still got to battle all the time, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

Tactically, Tampa Bay ferociously attacks, and they don\u2019t waste puck possession. It\u2019s quite impressive how they took every gained puck in the neutral zone and defensive zone and turned it into a transition rush\u2013very often three wide, and very often a controlled zone entry along the right wall, attacking the left side of the Penguins defense. <\/p>\n

Every slight over-commit by the Penguins meant Tampa Bay had numbers on the rush, and the Penguins needed to scurry back. The Penguins did not track back as much as they scrambled back, and Tampa Bay could control the offensive zone. <\/p>\n

Also on the chalkboard, the game was notable for what the Penguins failed to do. In the effort to play fast and keep up, they failed to grind along the walls. There were very few cycles, even by the fourth line. <\/p>\n

The Penguins chose to match their uptempo game, or try to, and it was like trying to trade punches with Connor McGregor. <\/p>\n

A few fourth-line cycles, or a few more by the Penguins\u2019 top line, would have brought the game to a more advantageous speed and level. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think the big part of that is when you\u2019re playing a team like that, there\u2019s going to be momentum swings, they\u2019re going to get some chances,\u201d said Muse. \u201cI just didn\u2019t think we did it\u2014You know, something we can improve on is just being able to kind of stop that them from being able to stack as many shifts as they did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Penguins Report Card<\/p>\n

Team: D<\/p>\n

They made bad choices with the puck, with their style, and defensively. Simply, they got beaten, but they played too big a role in their own demise. <\/p>\n

Stuart Skinner: B-<\/p>\n

There were a couple of goals that Skinner might like to review, but only Nikita Kucherov\u2019s turning wrister from the corner was soft. He could have made an extra save or two. <\/p>\n

Egor Chinakhov-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust: Ouch<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s cut to the chase. Neither Rust nor Crosby had anything resembling a good game, especially by their standards. Neither look comfortable and it is a fair question how injured both are. Crosby attempted no shots, and both he and Rust were minus-2. <\/p>\n

Sam Girard: A<\/p>\n

The Penguins defenseman had his best game with the Penguins. Especially in the first period, he was one of the team\u2019s best. He created a pair of goals with a drive in the offensive one and a good intercept at center. <\/p>\n

Soderblom-Dewar-Acciari: D<\/p>\n

The Penguins badly needed them to work the puck to the low zone and grind away. They never really got it, as the fourth line didn\u2019t win those battles. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTags: Penguins Analysis<\/a> Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> <\/p>\n

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