Blowing two goal leads has kind of been the Penguins thing this year. So when the Edmonton Oilers, with both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl playing really well, got within two last night I thought the writing was on the wall. If there ever was a two goal lead to blow this year last night would have been the prime candidate. Pittsburgh held the two goal lead and won by that margin. It’s a goofy sport.
The Penguins offense gave a huge cushion to absorb the onslaught of Edmonton’s attack for close to two periods. They were able to produce five goals in quick order with Sidney Crosby leading the way with a goal and two assists while being very involved in the first goal where he did not register a point. Crosby has been on fire lately and in the last 13 games he has produced 20 points. He also moved up the all-time point list to eighth overall with his production last night. He passed Joe Sakic’s
Mike Sullivan is like many of us, running out of different ways to say how great Sid has been.
Up next on the list is the big buy himself, Mario Lemieux. It won’t be a this season thing. It will likely happen at some point next season. It is hard to imagine, even with Lemieux’s lower games played, that somebody on the Penguins could pass him for the team’s leading scorer. It will have taken another one of the game’s greatest players to do it in Sidney Crosby.
Bryan Rust might not have Sidney Crosby numbers, but he’s been incredibly consistent over his Penguins career and is having a really nice season. He joined an impressive group of Penguins with his production last night
If you told somebody the following stat during the 2023-24 season their head would explode
Incredible 7 straight power play conversions by Pens at home.
— Bob Grove (@bobgrove91.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 8:15 PM
The power play was one of the team’s downfalls last season and this year it has produced at an acceptable rate. In fact, it has been more than acceptable. It is the fourth best power play in the league at 26.8%.
If only the goaltending was along for the ride this season the Penguins might comfortably be in a playoff spot at the moment. Instead, it is near the bottom. Alex Nedeljkovic has had a rough year for the most part. Last night, was an example of why he earned so many consecutive starts at the end of last season and ultimately earned an extension from the team. He battles hard no matter what. I personally don’t think that is a good enough reason for the extension and I think his play has cost the team this year. I also think he fought through a tough Edmonton attack last night and earned the victory. The battle level is what Mike Sullivan likes and it is what the supposed starter lacks.
The Penguins had their hands full with the Oilers and also the officials. The refs went full reffing the score last night. It was really bad and both Kris Letang and Bryan Rust were given phantom penalties which isn’t ideal against an Edmonton power play that is fantastic. The Rust penalty cost the Penguins a goal. As a player you are allowed your spot on the ice. Rust was dinged by the official because Connor McDavid tried to skate through him and easily went to the ice. It wasn’t a moving pick. Rust is allowed to be there. Just an egregious call. Making matters worse is the lame standard the refs set forth didn’t apply to when Sidney Crosby was getting hit from behind and down to the ground. I’m not sure how you can parse those two penalties against the Penguins and not make the call on the aggression on Crosby. Actually, I can, Sidney Crosby and Mario Lemieux for whatever reason are two megastars who never got the benefit of the doubt and absorped punishment throughout their career. You’d think in Crosby’s career twilight he’d start to maybe get some of these calls, but nope.
I saw evidence of why Mike Sullivan doesn’t use Jesse Puljujarvi last night. He can look a little lost in the defensive zone at times. There was an extended shift by the McDavid line where he didn’t move like he had a purpose. He was reacting. When you’re out against top competition you need to almost be proactive to stand a chance. Now, McDavid is quite the tall task to contain by anybody, but it wasn’t a great effort. My issue is while I don’t think this is good by Puljujarvi I think he can make up for things on the other end of the ice. The players who play over him are worse in the offensive zone than he is in the defensive zone and Puljujarvi is better in the offensive zone than they are in the defensive zone.
I thought Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were outstanding last night. I know this is a regular occurrence and not unique. It is fun to watch their skill in full flight. When together they are close to unstoppable. Once the Oilers were down they were put together and rarely left the ice. While it is fun to watch they need to be careful how often they go all-in on those two like they did last night. Both guys played ~27 minutes and if you lean hard into those type of minutes I think it will have adverse impact in what the Oilers hope is a long season. Draisaitl is 29 years old and in three days McDavid will be 28 years old. They aren't in their early to mid twenties anymore.
Tomorrow, the Penguins host the Ottawa Senators who are three points back in the standings with three games in hand on Pittsburgh. It is the kind of game they need to take if they want the playoff window to stay open. It would be quite the letdown to battle like they did last night against the Oilers and then lay an egg against a team like Ottawa.
Thanks for reading!
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