For the Pittsburgh Penguins, last night’s experience was one they would prefer to erase from memory. In their home opener, the Penguins faced a crushing defeat at the hands of the New York Rangers, who triumphed 6-0. Chris Kreider netted a pair of goals, including a shorthanded breakaway in the second period, as the Rangers unleashed a barrage of 47 shots on goaltender Tristan Jarry. While there wasn’t much to celebrate, some observations and insights emerged from the opener.
Head coach Mike Sullivan wasted no time rearranging his top-six forwards. Initially, the Penguins rolled out the same combinations that had been used throughout training camp: Sidney Cros centered Drew O’Connor and Anthony Beauvillier, while Evgeni Malkin flanked Michael Bunting and Rickard Rakell. However, following the Rangers’ early three-goal lead and the Penguins’ lackluster offensive performance, Sullivan shifted O’Connor and Rakell, maintaining these new pairings for the rest of the match. Rakell has previously found success alongside Cros, and Bunting has similarly thrived with Malkin. Both O’Connor and Beauvillier bring speed to the game, so it will be intriguing to see if these new line combinations persist in tomorrow night’s matchup against Detroit. The top-six forward group may resemble a revolving door until Bryan Rust returns, leading to a chaotic night for the forwards.
As seen last season, Sullivan was not reluctant to deploy Cros and Malkin on the ice simultaneously during five-on-five situations, often with Bunting and Rakell as their linemates. With Rust sidelined, this strategy could become a common tactic early in the season to spark offensive creativity. “I thought early in the game, they had a couple of good shifts,” Sullivan noted. “They almost scored. As the game progressed, it became more symptomatic of our overall team play. That was part of the rationale behind that decision, and we’ll see where it leads us. It’s something we’ve done in the past, and we may revisit it, depending on how the group performs.”
Although it’s early in the season, the power play appeared to regress into some old habits not evident during the preseason. There were failed cross-ice passes, missed shooting opportunities, and excessive perimeter passing, resulting in several shorthanded opportunities for the opposition—Kreider’s goal came from a misfired cross-ice pass Malkin. When the team is struggling, energy is hard to muster. However, the crisp, short passes that had previously made the power play effective in the preseason need to re-emerge in the upcoming game against Detroit.
Despite it being just one game, Tristan Jarry’s performance left much to be desired, marking an unpromising start for a player who will be closely scrutinized this season. Unfortunately, the team’s defensive efforts did little to support him. Marcus Pettersson had an unusually poor night defensively and was occasionally rescued Erik Karlsson—a rarity. Meanwhile, the top defensive pairing of Kris Letang and Matt Grzelcyk struggled significantly. The defensive schemes appeared largely unchanged from last season, so it seems unlikely the Penguins will transform into a defensively sound team anytime soon. With most of the defensive corps remaining the same, this continuity raises some concerns. Even newcomer Grzelcyk recently mentioned that Boston’s system closely resembles Pittsburgh’s, indicating the transition shouldn’t be overly challenging. While it’s still early, there were definitely some warning signs.
On a positive note, a few elements stood out amid the disappointment. The third line, consisting of Lars Eller, Jesse Puljujarvi, and Rutger McGroarty—who made his NHL debut and took his ceremonial “rookie lap” before warm-ups—was notably the most effective unit. They generated several scoring chances and appeared to be developing solid chemistry. Given the struggles of the top-six, this combination is worth preserving for the time being.