Defensive mistakes make life too easy for Red Wings
It started with Steve Ott’s backhander late in the first period and continued with two quick goals for the Red Wings early in the third that put this one away.
A major factor in the Penguins’ 5-2 loss Sunday at PPG Paints Arena: They made life entirely too easy on the Red Wings.
“A couple of goals that they got, they didn’t have to work hard enough for,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “When our team is at its best, we certainly make it hard on our opponents to generate scoring chances and/or goals. I thought we gave them a couple tonight where they didn’t have to work very hard for their opportunities.”
Take Ott’s goal. He was afforded a day and a half in the right circle. Or Tomas Tatar’s marker 27 seconds into the third, the eventual game-winner. Brian Dumoulin got twisted around. Kris Letang found himself in no man’s land. Nobody pressures Tatar.
When Thomas Vanek scored at 2:16 of the third to make it 4-1, Letang and Trevor Daley simply drifted backward. Nobody stepped up on Vanek. Gaps were too big.
“I don’t know,” defenseman Ian Cole said when asked about pinpointing the Penguins’ defensive problems. “I’ll look at the game tape and figure that out. I’m not going to pass any judgement yet. It’s a long season. Everyone’s fatigued. We need to find ways to defend and play hard through that.”
Another contributing factor Sunday was poor puck management, something Sullivan continually cites when it comes to making the Penguins harder to play against.
An Evgeni Malkin turnover led to the first Detroit goal. Then Jake Guentzel committed a turnover before Tatar’s goal. An ill-advised outlet pass from Letang was picked off easily by Vanek. It was hardly the smart, puckpossession game the Penguins are used to playing.
“We’re so effective when we’re playing below the top of the circles in their end and possessing the puck and hanging onto it,” Matt Cullen said. “We didn’t have any sort of presence down there. We gave them plenty of opportunity in our end. It was symptomatic of our entire game.”
Start me up
Numerous stoppages in play made it tough to develop any sort of rhythm. The game featured 75 faceoffs, well above the Penguins’ season average of 63.5.
To make matters worse, the Penguins went 34-41 on faceoffs, a 45-percent success rate.
Kuhnhackl scores
Doubtful he frames the puck or anything, but Tom Kuhnhackl’s shorthanded goal at 14:09 of the first period certainly didn’t hurt his confidence.
It was his first goal since Dec. 8 and third in 2016-17, a difficult sophomore season for Kuhnhackl, who has been in and out of the lineup routinely either because of injury and inconsistency.
But, while the goal was nice, Kuhnhackl was more frustrated with his inability to convert a shorthanded breakaway at 8:35 of the third period, his shot sailing wide.
“It’s always nice when you can help your team out, especially when you score a goal,” Kuhnhackl said. “A little frustrating on that breakaway. If I put that in, it might be a little boost for us.”
Mrazek stays hot
Goaltender Petr Mrazek continues to shine for the Red Wings. Making back-toback starts, Mrazek stopped 24 of 26 shots, the fifth time in his past seven starts hehas allowed two or fewer goals. His best two saves came with his blocker on Cole and his left pad to stop a Nick Bonino backhander.
“He’s starting to heat up,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “When Petr heats up, he’s as good as anybody in the league. I thought he was excellent tonight.”
Around the boards
Justin Schultz missed a second consecutive game as he remains in concussion protocol. … Conor Sheary (upper-body) skated Sunday morning, in what has become something of a routine. He is due to rejoin practice in a limited capacity soon.