The Pittsburgh Penguins are at .500 after the first four games of the season and their recent loss disappointed Evgeni Malkin, who expects more from the team.
The Pens were defeated by the Detroit Red Wings 6-3 on Wednesday and have won twice so far. The results clearly show how unevenly they play on the ice. They woke up late in Michigan, as their comeback in the third period was ultimately halted by two goals from their opponent in the final moments of the encounter.
• Also read: NHL: No more in-person drafts?
• Also read: Kaiden Guhle: CH will make an announcement on Thursday
Even the presence of 2022-2023 Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson will not be enough if some players settle for tourist roles. The guard also collected a goal and two assists against the Wings, but the winners easily found answers to the Penguins’ challenges on defense.
“We need to block more pucks,” Malkin told reporters. We have to play harder in front of our net because every attacker is trying to block the goalkeeper’s view and intercept the throw-backs.
For his part, head coach Mike Sullivan noted the difficulties faced by his third pair on the blue line, Chad Ruhwedel and Quebecer Pierre-Olivier Joseph. They closed with records of -2 and -3 respectively, and the pilot’s words betray a certain impatience.
“I don’t think it was their best meeting. In my opinion, they allowed people to sneak up behind them a few times. We expect more,” he said, as reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Good and not so good
Karlsson believes his club needs to avoid long periods of wandering; Otherwise, the defeats will increase and the chances of qualifying for the playoffs will decrease.
“I think in the first two periods we weren’t at the level we needed to be,” he said. If that happens, which will happen over a long year, we will have to manage our game a little better to avoid conceding four goals; Maybe give it two so we have a better chance of winning when we get back into the rhythm.”
As for the good news, Sidney Crosby has three goals and two assists this year, while Kristopher Letang has been involved in three goals and has a +3 differential. The Penguins face the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.