The Pittsburgh Penguins didn’t get much time to sit with Thursday’s 4-3 overtime loss to Utah. By Friday, they were back at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, trying to flush the frustration and keep one bad finish from turning into something bigger.
That loss had to sting. Pittsburgh erased a 2-0 first-period deficit and looked ready to steal the game when Ben Kindel scored with 24 seconds left in regulation. But Logan Cooley answered at the literal last second with his hat trick goal, tying it and sending the game to overtime before the Penguins were beaten.
Late-game collapses have become a familiar bruise for this group. The Penguins have seen this movie before, including last season against the Anaheim Ducks, when a similar late swing helped spark an eight-game losing streak after their second straight loss.
This season is a different setup, and the room knows it. Still, the message Friday was clear: move on, learn from it, and don’t let one result start a slide.
"History is in the past, so we did what we had to do this morning," defenseman Sam Girard said after Friday's practice. "Did some video. I think we need to focus on what we can control today."
He added: "So, put that one behind us, and thankfully, we got one point out of it. But, yeah, we all know we can be better than that, so just gotta be better."
The Penguins have shown they can play with top teams when they’re locked in. They’ve had full 60-minute efforts against the Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, and Nashville Predators. The problem is keeping that level from drifting away when momentum starts to swing.
"I think it's something each, to a man in the room, you have to bear down when you feel that momentum change. Good and bad," center Blake Lizotte said. "After a goal for or a goal against, that next shift's really important, so I think just staying focused on the moment and really taking advantage of those shifts for and being able to limit when it's going the other way."
Lizotte pointed to the details as the difference in Pittsburgh’s better games.
"I think we're just staying connected to close support and playing together, and I think, ultimately, if we play within our structure, we're a really good team," Lizotte said. Sometimes, we get a little loose, and I think that leads to a lot of chances against.
But, also, too, it's just staying focused for 60. Because, even in games when we don't have our best, when we are disconnected, we show spurts of the game where we're on and we're playing connected and playing well.
So, I think just finding a way to stay focused through all 60 is important."
That inconsistency has been a theme through the early part of the season. The Penguins can put together strong stretches, but they haven’t done it often enough, and there are still too many moments when they get pinned in their own end or lose control against better teams.
Head coach Dan Muse said the answer starts with making life harder on opponents.
"We've got to figure that out," head coach Dan Muse said. "We have to be a team that's harder to play against. I just think that there's too many of these chances that we're giving them that are preventable, whether it's from out positional play, whether it's from some of the details within the defensive game, whether it's structural, we all have to.
"I have confidence that we can be much better in those areas and we can limit some of the chances that we're giving up. But, we're 13 games in. So, we've got to get there."
The next chance comes on Halloween against the Montreal Canadiens, a fast, young team that’s starting to surge after a slow start. Girard said the Penguins have the talent to match up, but the commitment in their own zone has to come first.
"We know we have a lot of talent," Girard said. "We have to play very good in the d-zone.
And I feel like every game we play good in our d-zone, that just brings us on the other side, you know? Brings us in the o-zone.
We know we can do better. We know what we have to do better, so just have to be ready for tomorrow's game."
In Other News...
Sidney Crosby Sent A Clear Message About What Penguins Still Lack
Sidney Crosby was the first Penguins skater on the ice for practice, using the extra time after a recent overtime loss to work on his skills before the full team session began. It was a small detail, but a telling one for a club still searching for steadier footing. Crosby spoke about wanting more consistency and about the need to sharpen his game from night to night, a familiar message from a captain who knows Pittsburgh cannot afford too many uneven stretches.
The Penguins then kept the same lines and pairings in practice as they turned the page toward their next game in Montreal, a sign the coaching staff is not rushing into changes just yet. There was also another notable skater on the ice before practice, adding to the sense that this was a day built around fine-tuning rather than overhaul. For a team trying to turn close losses into points, the bigger question is whether the current mix can provide the consistency Crosby is pushing for. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Already Have A Goalie Dilemma They Can't Ignore
The Penguins are already navigating a goaltending balance that could shape the early part of the 2026-27 season, with Arturs Silovs emerging as the steadier option while Sergei Murashov waits for a clearer opening. Pittsburgh is trying to sort out how to handle two young netminders who both need development time, but who also cant both get the kind of workload they want if the team keeps leaning on one more than the other.
Coach Dan Muse has made it clear the usage will stay fluid, with decisions tied to performance and development needs rather than a fixed rotation. For the Penguins, that creates an immediate test of patience and timing, because the organization wants to find the right long-term answer in net without letting either goalie sit too long or lose momentum in the process. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Prospects Let A Winnable Game Slip Away Late
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins had a game in hand against Utica and let it slip away late, falling 4-3 after building a lead and then watching the Comets reel off three straight goals. Melvin Fernstrm and Avery Hayes supplied the offense for Pittsburghs affiliate, while both goaltenders, David Rittich and Joel Blomqvist, finished with 20 saves in a contest that looked winnable for much of the night.
Hayes was a bright spot beyond the score sheet, scoring shorthanded and continuing a strong run of form for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. For a prospect group that needs to bank points and learn how to close out tight games, the finish was a frustrating one, especially after the Penguins had put themselves in position to leave with a result. [Read more 🡒]