The Penguins’ 5-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday was rare.
As in, “Sidney Crosby’s rookie season” rare.
That’s how long it has been since the Oilers claimed a regulation win in Pittsburgh. On Jan. 10, 2006, they triumphed, 3-1, against an 18-year-old Crosby and company at the Mellon Arena.
Little of that contest was even remotely as noteworthy as what happened afterward.
Former coach Michel Therrien launched into an infamous rant in which he shredded his team as being “soft.”
It would be far too hyperbolic to use that term on the current edition of the Penguins. At the same time, it’s hard to suggest they are instilling much confidence as of late as they are 2-3-0 in their past five games.
With one game remaining in the regular season, they could use a win for reasons far more profound than how it could benefit them in the standings.
Confidence.
“We’ve got to find it, I think,” Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson said. “We’re not happy losing. It’s as plain as that. We’ve got to dig in here the last game and find that confidence. Play towards it and work for each other. We’re not happy with losing at all.”
One development that no one will be thrilled with was the premature departure of oft-injured Penguins forward Jason Zucker, who left the contest at 17:36 of the first period due to an undisclosed ailment. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan did not provide an update on his status following the game.
Various maladies have limited Zucker to only 41 games this season.
There has been no shortage of maladies within the Penguins’ collective play as of late.
“Obviously, we’ve got to make something happen because the playoffs are right around the corner,” forward Kasperi Kapanen said. “We’ve got to perform then. We can’t be making these kind of mistakes and allowing ourselves to be trailing the game a lot.
“It’s something that we’ve got to clean up. How to do it? I’m not sure, but we’ve just got to figure it out.”
Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard opened the scoring 12:47 into regulation.
After Oilers forward Evander Kane won a puck battle on the Penguins’ right boards against Pettersson and Jeff Carter, forward Connor McDavid claimed possession on the half wall and fed a pass to Bouchard above the left circle. With ample time to settle the puck and set up a shot, Bouchard chucked a wrister off the near post and past goaltender Casey DeSmith’s glove for his 12th goal of the season. McDavid and Kane collected assists.
A would-be goal by Bouchard at 1:58 of the second period was nullified by a coach’s challenge issued by the Penguins who claimed the play was offside. A brief review confirmed those suspicions of Penguins video coaches Andy Saucier and Madison Nikkel.
Penguins forward Jeff Carter got his team on the scoreboard at 5:23 of the second period. Just as a power-play opportunity was set to expire, defenseman Mike Matheson boomed a one-timer from center point of the offensive zone. The puck was wide to the left of the cage and clunked off the end boards. Carter was able to corral the rebound and lifted a forehand shot from left of the crease over sprawling goaltender Mike Smith for his 19th goal. Matheson and Kapanen had assists.
Any momentum gained by the Penguins was snuffed out 25 seconds later when Kane scored his 22th goal.
Gaining the offensive zone on the left wing, McDavid zipped past passive resistance by Penguins forward Brock McGinn and from the half wall, he centered a backhand pass to the left circle for linemate Kailer Yamamoto. Surrounded by three Penguins, Yamamoto offloaded a backhand pass to the left circle for Kane, who fired a forehand shot on the near side past the glove of an outstretched DeSmith. Yamamoto and McDavid netted assists.
The Penguins’ typically sturdy penalty kill was diced up in the third period. First, Oilers forward Zach Hyman collected his 26th goal on the man advantage at the 4:08 mark.
After a pass by McDavid from the Penguins’ right corner missed the mark, Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins corralled it in the high slot and snapped off a wrister that DeSmith stopped with his left leg. Hyman established superior position on defensemen Kris Letang and Chad Ruhwedel then swept the rebound past a sprawling DeSmith. Assists went to Nugent-Hopkins and McDavid.
McDavid scored his 44th goal on a power-play opportunity at 9:13 of the third.
Taking a pass above the Penguins’ right circle, McDavid circumnavigated his way around the offensive zone, avoiding the likes of Penguins forwards Evan Rodrigues and Carter and working his way to the goal line on the left wing. From a paper-thin angle, he was able to roof a dazzling wrist shot over DeSmith’s right shoulder on the near side and into the cage. Forward Leon Draisaitl and defenseman Tyson Barrie tallied assists.
A would-be empty net goal by ex-Penguins forward Derrick Brassard was wiped out by another successful coach’s challenge for offsides from the Penguins at the 17:43 mark.
But even that brief triumph was erased when Oilers forward Zack Kassian scored his sixth goal on an empty net at the 18:26 mark. Defensemen Brett Kulak and Cody Ceci collected assists.
DeSmith made 37 saves on 41 as his record fell to 10-6-5.
The Penguins insist their confidence hasn’t fallen, even in the absence of satisfactory outcomes.
“It’s hard to feel good about your game unless you get results,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “We’ve been sporadic with it lately. I still believe we have what it takes. We’ve shown an ability to be a really good hockey team and that’s what we’ve got to capture. We’ll fight every day to make sure we do that.”
Their last chance to do that will come on the last day of their regular season schedule, a home contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday.
“We know we’re a good team,” Kapanen said. “Good teams have bad games. Today was one of those. It’s not an excuse. We’ve still got one more game. We’ve got to play well there and get some confidence there. We know we’re a good group and hopefully, we can go far this year.”
Notes:
• Before Tuesday, the Penguins were 7-0-2 at home against the Oilers dating back to that infamous loss in 2006.
• Therrien’s comments after that game:
• Before Tuesday, six players – all in the Eastern Conference – led the NHL in scoring in games against the Penguins this season with six points each.
McDavid passed them all with a second-consecutive four-point effort:
• In the Oilers’ 5-2 home win on Dec. 1, McDavid had a goal and three assists.
• The Penguins issued two coach’s challenges in the same game for the first time in franchise history.
• The Penguins remain perfect on coach’s challenges this season (7 for 7).
• Penguins forward Bryan Rust’s season-worst scoreless streak was extended to eight games.
• The Penguins scratched forward Brian Boyle (healthy), defenseman Mark Friedman (healthy) and goaltender Tristan Jarry (right foot).
• The 40-year-old Smith made 33 saves on 34 shots and became the second 40-something goaltender to defeat the Penguins this season. The Sabres’ Craig Anderson, also 40, made 23 saves on 26 shots in regulation and overtime in a 4-3 home shootout win on March 23.
Before this season, the last goaltender over the age of 40 to play the Penguins was a 41-year-old Martin Brodeur, who directed the New Jersey Devils to a 2-1 home win on Dec. 13, 2013. Brodeur made 19 saves on 20 shots in that victory.
• For the Oilers, Tuesday’s victory secured a first-round series - and home-ice advantage - against the Los Angeles Kings.
• Bouchard has three points (two goals, one assist) in three career games against the Penguins.
• Bouchard appeared in his 100th career game.
Seth Rorabaugh is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Seth by email at srorabaugh@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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