VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The Pittsburgh Penguins’ early-season funk continued on Friday with a 5-1 loss to the lowly Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena.
They dropped all three games in Western Canada, typically a place they thrive.
The Penguins lost the previous two games on this season-long road trip by a combined 10-4 margin, done in by an abysmal period in Edmonton and Calgary. But the Oilers and Flames are two of the top teams in the West. The Canucks? They are decidedly not that. They finally won their first game Thursday in Seattle.
Suddenly, the Penguins are the ones who can’t seem to remember how to win.
Tanner Pearson, the former Penguins forward, gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead with 6:08 left in an otherwise uneventful first period. The Penguins, on the penalty kill, were outworked on a couple of puck battles and couldn’t get a clear. Seconds after Pierre-Olivier Joseph escaped the box, Pearson netted an easy tap-in.
The Canucks scored again in the first minute of the second period, and it was a goal Tristan Jarry would probably like to have back. Bo Horvat seemed to surprise him by snapping a shot just below from the right dot over the goalie’s left shoulder.
With the Penguins unable to gain traction, coach Mike Sullivan made significant changes to the top of his lineup in the second period. Rickard Rakell was removed from the first line, swapping spots with Danton Heinen. He also split up Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin, putting Joseph on the top pair with Letang instead.
The Penguins created just two high-danger scoring chances at 5-on-5 through two periods, per Natural Stat Trick. But they pulled within one goal with a hard-working power-play goal late in the second. Rakell cleaned up a rebound in front.
They came dangerously close to falling back behind by two after a pair of players dozed off in the final seconds of the period. Jeff Petry had an inexplicable giveaway at their blue line then Jarry reacted late to a long-distance Connor Garland blast. A video review confirmed the puck crossed the line just after the buzzer.
There were plenty of miscues to choose from in Friday’s loss, but that sequence best summed up the perplexingly lethargic performance by a Penguins team that was trying to avoid its first three-game losing streak of the young season.
The Penguins showed a little more life in the third period. But Andrei Kuzmenko scored on a deflection with 9:32 remaining to put the game out of reach. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and J.T. Miller scored late goals to make it a laugher.
ICE CHIPS
-- Sullivan during the third period reverted back to his original defensive pairs.
-- Friday was not the best night for the guys in stripes. The officials missed several blatant calls and on a few occasions got in the way of the play. However, it didn’t affect the outcome. Both squads had plenty of things to grumble about.
-- Joseph returned to the lineup in Vancouver. Chad Ruhwedel was the healthy scratch. Sullivan on Thursday explained that one factor in Ruhwedel playing over Joseph in Calgary was that the Penguins didn’t want to play Joseph, just 23, three games in four days when they had a trustworthy alternative in Ruhwedel.
-- Jake Guentzel and Jason Zucker missed their fourth and second straight game respectively due to injury. Both wingers participated in the optional morning skate at Rogers Arena. Guentzel has been cleared for contact. Zucker has not.
-- With Guentzel and Zucker out, Sam Poulin played his second career game.
-- Teddy Blueger was not spotted at the morning skate, making it two straight days off the ice. Sullivan said the center, who is on long-term injured reserve, was given a scheduled day off Thursday. It’s unknown why he did not skate Friday.
COMING UP
This nine-day, five-game road trip will conclude Saturday night in Seattle. Casey DeSmith is likely to start in the goal in the second half of the back-to-back.
