CHICAGO - The Pittsburgh Penguins left the United Center with the same problem that followed them in: too many breakdowns, not enough clean hockey.
Seven games into the season, the Penguins still haven’t found any real rhythm, and Tuesday night was another example. They hung around.
They answered twice through Sidney Crosby. They got two assists from Erik Karlsson.
But the mistakes kept piling up, and the Chicago Blackhawks made them pay in a 5-3 loss.
Connor Bedard was back in the lineup for Chicago’s season debut, and the Blackhawks fed off it early. Pittsburgh was sloppy from the start, and Chicago turned that into the game’s first goal just 28 seconds in when Anton Frondell jumped on a loose puck behind the net and set up Teuvo Teravainen in front for an easy finish.
Crosby got the Penguins even midway through the first, finishing a two-on-one off a center-ice faceoff. Karlsson sparked the rush, Crosby kept the puck, and he beat Spencer Knight with a wrister to the stick side at 6:57.
But the Penguins couldn’t keep things level. A rough shift from Kris Letang led to an interference penalty, and the penalty kill fell apart late in the period. Roman Kansterov found himself alone in the low slot and fired through a screen for a 2-1 Chicago lead at 17:50.
Chicago pushed it to 3-1 in the second when the Penguins’ hybrid defensive setup broke down around the net front. Ben Kindel was left trying to handle the danger area, and Kansterov slipped inside position to deflect a hard pass past Sergei Murashov at 10:32.
Pittsburgh did fight back. Karlsson and Robertson connected on a clean breakout, and that turned into a two-on-one with Blake Lizotte and Connor Dewar. Knight stopped Lizotte’s first try, but Robertson got to the net and buried the rebound at 17:51 to cut it to 3-2.
Then Crosby struck again.
Early in the third, Sam Girard broke up an outlet pass and started a transition the Penguins needed badly. Connor Dewar got the puck to Crosby, and Crosby hammered home the rebound at 9:17 to pull Pittsburgh even at 3-3.
That tie lasted until 15:42, when Teravainen found room on the left wall and beat Murashov from a tough angle. It was a soft one, and it ended up being the winner for Chicago.
Crosby finished with two goals, Karlsson had two assists, and Teravainen and Kansterov each scored twice for the Blackhawks. Murashov stopped 15 of 19 shots, while Knight made 24 saves on 27 shots.
In Other News...
Penguins Prospects Are Starting To Separate Themselves Fast
The Penguins prospect pipeline is getting a lot easier to sort through early in the season, and that is a good sign for an organization that needs young players to start pushing the conversation. Across the AHL, NCAA and WHL, several of Pittsburghs better-known prospects are showing why they remain part of the long-term picture, with production and consistency beginning to separate the top names from the rest of the group.
Bill Zonnon and Joel Blomqvist are two of the clearest examples of that trend. Zonnon has jumped out quickly in the AHL, while Blomqvists play has given Pittsburgh another reason to watch the goaltending depth chart closely. With roster spots never handed out lightly and organizational depth still a real issue, the next stretch matters for every prospect trying to turn a strong start into an NHL opportunity. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Open Road Trip With A Dahlin Problem Ruff Must Solve
Roster moves and injury updates kept trickling across the NHL on Tuesday, and the Penguins had a notable one of their own mixed into the league-wide shuffle. Pittsburgh placed defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk on injured reserve, another reminder that early-season depth is already being tested while teams try to settle in.
Justin Brazeau also remains part of the conversation around the Penguins, though his situation still has him skating on his own and not traveling with the team. For a club that is trying to keep its blue line and lineup options intact, those kinds of absences can pile up quickly, and the coming days should give a better read on how soon that depth might start to return. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Defensive Issues Were Hard To Ignore In Another Costly Loss
Chicagos 5-3 win over the Penguins was the kind of result that offered a little bit of everything for the Blackhawks, including one of their more encouraging all-around performances this season. The atmosphere around the game shifted quickly once Connor Bedard was back in the lineup after his shoulder injury, and his presence was part of a night that also featured useful contributions from several younger players as the group continued to show signs of growth.
For Pittsburgh, though, the familiar concern was what kept showing up without enough correction. Even in a loss that had plenty of offense to go with it, the Penguins were again left sorting through defensive breakdowns that made life too easy for Chicago and turned a manageable game into another costly one. The broader issue is not hard to spot, and it is the kind of thing that can erase the good moments if it does not get cleaned up soon. [Read more 🡒]