Empty feeling in opener Late collapse zaps energy of strong start for Penguins
PHILADELPHIA — For two periods Wednesday, it looked as if dividends from the Penguins’ offseason additions might pay off early with a season-opening win.
They controlled territory. They used their improved mobility on the blue line to neutralize the Philadelphia Flyers’ dump-andchase game and their speed up front to generate a few chances off the rush. Their revamped third line, centered by supersized newcomer Mark Jankowski, buzzed around all three zones.
Jankowski and Brandon
Tanev teamed up for one of the prettiest goals of the NHL’s opening night to make it 3-3 early in the third period. But it all snowballed from there. An avalanche of Flyers goals led to a disheartening 6-3 defeat.
“It just got away from us a little bit,” said Jankowski, who had two points.
Shortly after Tanev’s goal, an ugly sequence from John Marino and Mike Matheson let the Flyers retake the lead. Matheson got caught up the ice and his partner got his feet tangled and took a tumble, pulling him out of position, too. Michael Raffl, the third man into the play for the Flyers, finished for the goal against Tristan Jarry.
Soon, Travis Konecny and Kevin Hayes would score goals 20 second apart and Gritty went wild from his perch above the visiting bench. Wells Fargo Center was empty other than the googly-eyed orange mascot who gleefully gesticulated at the Penguins as time ticked down.
“I thought there was a lot to like about our game. … I don’t think the score of the game was an indication of how it was played,” coach Mike Sullivan said.
It was another offseason of significant change for the Penguins. General manager Jim Rutherford shook up the roster with a trio of trades. The Penguins moved on from Patric Hornqvist, Matt Murray, Justin Schultz and Jack Johnson, along with a few others. Sullivan had to say goodbye to three assistant coaches.
And then they waited. Again. Wednesday was just their fifth game since the NHL pressed pause on the 2019-20 season last March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the puck finally dropped on the new season in Philadelphia, they had four fresh faces in uniform. The Penguins got a mixed bag from them Wednesday.
We’ve got to start with Matheson, right?
Let’s be clear. This loss wasn’t all on him. Other Penguins had breakdowns. It was a quiet night at 5-on-5 for the top two lines. And Jarry was far from sharp in his first start as the unquestioned No. 1, coughing up six goals on 25 shots.
But, no doubt, it was a turbulent debut for the guy they got for Hornqvist.
Once, the 26-year-old defenseman got caught flatfooted in the neutral zone, forcing Jarry to stop a breakaway. He was in the penalty box when the Flyers scored their first goal. And then there was that mess of a game-winner.
The Penguins knew what they were getting into when they took Matheson and his significant long-term cap hit off the hands of the Florida Panthers, who made him a healthy scratch during last season’s playoffs. They knew it would probably take time to help the smooth-skating blue-liner rehabilitate his game.
If you squinted hard enough, there were, at times, glimpses of something when he scooted into the corner to start the breakout or jumped up into the play.
“He skates really well. I think that’s evident when you look at his mobility and his ability to get back to the puck and his gaps [in transition],” Sullivan said. “Mike’s trying to get used to the type of game we play. We’re going to work with him … to try to help him simplify his game in certain areas of the rink.”
He added: “I don’t think Mike got the benefit of any puck luck, either.”
Jankowski, a free-agent addition, was on the other end of the spectrum.
He got the first goal of the NHL season, smacking in a Jared McCann pass from the slot. In the third, he flipped a backhand pass across the zone to Tanev, who took some paint off the crossbar while beating Carter Hart over his glove.
“Honestly, I just heard him screaming. Did a quick look out of the corner of my eye and saw that he was open,” Jankowski said. “I just tried to get it over to him. Luckily, it got to him. He had an unbelievable shot there to put it in.”
The third line, a question mark entering the season, was the team’s best in the opener. Those two, along with McCann, were a handful in all three zones.
The Flyers, always willing to jab or slash or whack one of their Keystone State rivals, gave us three looks at a reimagined power play under new assistant coach Todd Reirden. It was encouraging to see all five guys move their feet and often switch spots. But the Penguins didn’t have many chances to show for it.
Their lone power-play goal was an impressive individual effort by Sidney Crosby, who swatted Hart’s clearing attempt out of midair then nonchalantly tucked the puck into an empty net. That tied up the game, 2-2, early in the second.
The Penguins get a rematch with the Flyers in Philadelphia on Friday.
“We’re ready to move on from this one,” Tanev said, “and have a day to ourselves as a group and get together and grow together and look forward to the next one.”