NEW YORK — No captain. No offense. No resistance to the rush. No chance.
The Penguins on Thursday were unexpectedly without Sidney Crosby when they faced the New York Rangers in their biggest game of the season to date. It did not go well. The Rangers beat them again, 3-0, at Madison Square Garden.
Their third loss in a row and sixth in their last eight games dropped them six points behind the Rangers in the Metropolitan Division standings with 10 games left and probably put home-ice advantage for the first round out of their reach.
The Rangers, their likeliest first-round opponent, took the season series, 3-1.
When Pittsburgh hopped onto the ice for pregame warmups, Crosby was one of a few regulars who was not in uniform. The Penguins announced that their captain and two other players were sidelined Thursday by non-COVID-19 illnesses.
Without Crosby, they once again couldn’t break through the Rangers and superstar goalie Igor Shesterkin. More shoddy transition defense also did them in.
The Penguins were given little space in the first period. But Tristan Jarry was locked in early, keeping the Rangers off the board. In the second minute, he shuffled across to stop Ryan Strome’s one-timer. Jarry bailed out Mike Matheson after he let Filip Chytil blow by him. And he fought off Chris Kreider’s rising shot late.
The Rangers pumped two pucks past the All-Star goalie during the second period, both goals coming on quick counterattacks, to take control of the game.
With the Rangers attacking off the rush on the first shift of the period, Kris Letang got spun around by Chris Kreider. Mika Zibanejad then flipped a cross-crease pass to Frank Vatrano, who seems to score every game against the Penguins.
Artemi Panarin made it 2-0 midway through the period. After losing a faceoff in the offensive zone, the Penguins failed to set up properly. Seconds later, the Rangers had a 3-on-2. Chad Ruhwedel got caught puck-watching as Panarin pulled in a pass, cut laterally through the slot and whipped a backhand past Jarry.
Lackluster transition defense has been a recurring issue for the Penguins in recent weeks. Sometimes, it is a giveaway leading to a breakaway or a 2-on-1. Others, like in Thursday’s loss to the Rangers, the Penguins are initially in decent position but then have problems sorting out which player is defending whom.
The number of chances they have allowed off the rush has ticked up in 2022. They ranked 11th in the NHL in that category as of Jan. 1, per Sportlogiq. Since then, the Penguins have fallen to 18th in the league, now allowing 6.1 per game.
The bigger concern is the quality, not the quantity, of rushes chances they are giving up. Look no further than Tuesday’s 6-4 loss to Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche and then their latest setback in New York for examples of that.
This is an issue that Mike Sullivan’s squad must get straightened out in a hurry or they will likely another first-round playoff exit, regardless of the opponent.
On Thursday, the undermanned Penguins didn’t have the firepower to overcome that 2-0 deficit on Shesterkin, the Vezina Trophy favorite, who had given up only four goals to the Penguins in their three previous matchups this season.
Evgeni Malkin is known to take over games whenever Crosby misses time. But he was not that evident on this night. His best opportunity came in the second when he was stopped by Shesterkin, leading the fans to chant, “Igor! Igor! Igor!”
Shesterkin stopped all 30 shots to secure his fourth shutout of the season.
Dryden Hunt scored an empty-net goal for the Rangers in the final minute.
In addition to Crosby, the Penguins were without another regular in defenseman John Marino and depth forward Radim Zohorna, who both had a non-COVID illness, as well. Something has run through the roster the past two weeks. As recently as Monday, three Penguins forwards were held out of practice with it.
Plus, forwards Jason Zucker and Brock McGinn were not ready to return. So they were severely short-handed against their Metropolitan Division rivals.
With all of those players idle, other Penguins were pushed into bigger roles. Jeff Carter skated as their second-line center. Danton Heinen was freed from the bench. Marcus Pettersson and Mark Friedman, who have been battling each other for a lineup spot, partnered up. And Filip Hallander made his NHL debut.
The Penguins headed home for a pair of weekend games at PPG Paints Arena. They will host Washington on Saturday then Nashville the following afternoon.
