Red Wings embarrass Penguins

was their third game in four days and fourth in six days, but they still were the more rested team after a day off Saturday while the Red Wings stunned the firstplace Washington Capitals, 3-2, in a shootout in Detroit.

Making the one-sided loss even more shocking was that the Penguins came in with the NHL’s second-best power play at home and the Red Wings with the fifthworst penalty kill on the road. So what happened? The Penguins had just three shots on goal on their four power plays. It was such a mess that the Red Wings had three great scoring chances on the same penalty kill in the second period.

“It had a lot of opportunity to be the difference,” Mike Sullivan said of his power play. “I think what I saw was a microcosm of our whole game. Obviously, the game was a struggle and the power play struggled as a result.”

The Penguins did manage a short-handed goal by Kuhnhackl in the first period for a 1-1 tie. All seemed right in the world at that moment. The Penguins were 211-3 in their past 25 games when they scored a shortie, 32-2-3 in their past 37 at home.

Then again, you know what they say about statistics.

None made a bit of difference on a day when it would have been a lot more fun being outside in the warm February sun.

It’s always realistic to think Matt Murray will steal a game for the Penguins, especially at home where he was 12-1-2. But he wasn’t nearly as good as Detroit goaltender Petr Mrazek, who made 24 saves. A backhanded goal by Steve Ott that gave the Red Wings a 2-1 lead late in the first period seemed especially weak, at least by Murray’s standards.

But Murray didn’t get much help. A giveaway by Evgeni Malkin led to a 2-on-1 and a goal by Nick Jensen. Ott had all day to score his goal. Tomas Tatar made it 31 just :27 into the third period, cruising alone down the slot to complete a give-and-go with Henrik Zetterberg. Thomas Vanek made it 4-1 at 2:16 of the third when he skated alone into the slot as Trevor Daley and Kris Letang watched.

“I thought a couple of the goals that they got they didn’t have to work hard enough for,” Sullivan said. “When our team is at its best, we certainly make it hard for our opponents to generate scoring chances and/or goals. I felt we gave them a couple when they didn’t have to work very hard for their opportunities.”

Even the pace of play was lousy. There were 75 faceoffs in the game, including a mind-numbing 36 in a first period that never seemed as if it would end. The Penguins weren’t just awful. The game was awful.

But all was not lost for the disappointed fans, who comprised the Penguins’ 462nd consecutive sellout. At least they had a rare Mario Lemieux sighting. Lemieux was on the ice before the game to honor Sidney Crosby for Crosby’s 1,000th career point scored Thursday night against Winnipeg. The roar at that moment was the biggest of the game.

Crosby wishes it weren’t so.

“If you look at the whole game, we didn’t deserve this one,” he said. “One of those days.”

Keep telling yourself if you bought a ticket or watched on television.

One of those days …

If you say it enough, you actually might believe it.

Or not.

rcook@post-gazette.com and Twitter@RonCookPG.