The Pittsburgh Penguins didn’t need to be perfect Tuesday night in Chicago. They just needed to be a little cleaner, a little sharper - and to get a few more stops from Sergei Murashov.
Instead, they left with a loss that felt avoidable.
Yes, the Penguins were sloppy at times against the Blackhawks. Their puck management wasn’t good enough, the puck support slipped, and they wasted enough chances to make life easier on a Chicago team that, in fairness, wasn’t exactly flying either. But even with all of that, Pittsburgh controlled enough of the game at 5-on-5 that it looked like the kind of night where two points were there for the taking.
The difference was simple: they didn’t get enough saves.
Murashov was excellent in Columbus on Friday, the kind of performance that can steal a point for a team. In Chicago, he was on the other end of that spectrum.
As rough as the Penguins were, they probably weren’t four goals-against bad once you take out the empty-netter. The Blackhawks didn’t pile up a mountain of dangerous looks, and the publicly available data points in the same direction.
The one that really stuck out was the fourth goal. It came in the final five minutes, after Pittsburgh had clawed back from a two-goal hole, and it was the kind of shot that simply can’t be allowed in that moment - or really any moment. MoneyPuck had it at 0.01 expected goals.
There’s been some talk about how the other goals weren’t really on Murashov. Maybe not entirely.
But “not entirely his fault” is not the same thing as “couldn’t possibly be stopped.” Sometimes a goalie has to make a save that isn’t fully expected.
Tuesday was one of those nights.
The first goal was just bad hockey by Pittsburgh. The third came off a difficult cross-ice pass that you’d rather see not get through.
The second goal, though? That one wasn’t impossible.
And the fourth certainly wasn’t. Murashov also didn’t face 20 shots, and even when the Penguins were guilty of poor puck management or support, they often recovered well enough to avoid a shot or a full-blown chance.
The chance numbers were heavily tilted their way.
That’s why this one stings. The Penguins weren’t great, but they probably were good enough to win if the goaltending had matched the rest of the night.
None of that changes the bigger picture on Murashov. This isn’t a case for panic, or for pushing him out of the picture.
He’s still a goalie worth believing in, maybe the highest-ceiling young player on the roster. And at that position, ceiling matters.
It can change a team’s timeline in a hurry. But it’s also the most volatile spot on the ice, especially with young players.
Friday in Columbus and Tuesday in Chicago are both part of the package.
That’s why it still feels like goaltending is going to decide whether this team looks like a playoff club or a lottery club.
There were other reasons Pittsburgh lost, too.
The power play is in a mess. The Penguins have now gone five straight games without a goal with the man advantage, and they haven’t scored on it since the second game of the season against the Montreal Canadiens.
What’s worse is that it’s not just quiet - it’s drifting into the kind of rut where it doesn’t even feel close. The final two chances on Tuesday were at least better in terms of puck movement, and there was some sign of adjustment against the pressure teams have been throwing at them.
But the end result was still an 0-for-4 night on the power play and just 1-for-2 on the penalty kill. That’s how you throw away a winnable game against a bad team.
Rickard Rakell’s situation is getting harder to ignore. He’s playing nearly 20 minutes a night, more than two minutes above his career average, and he still has zero goals and two assists.
Before Sidney Crosby’s two goals Tuesday, the top line had been one of the Penguins’ most persistent problems this season. Bryan Rust has flashed some life and scored a couple of goals.
Maybe Crosby’s night can spark something. Rakell is still waiting.
The Nicholas Robertson-Blake Lizotte-Connor Dewar line has been a different story. That group is chewing through tough minutes and doing real damage in them.
The question now is how long Robertson stays parked on the fourth line, especially with the top line getting little enough from at least one spot right now. Robertson has been one of Pittsburgh’s better players over the last two games, and he keeps finding the net.
On a per-60 basis, he’s been among the league’s better goal-scorers over the past few years. He’s showing why.
The leash deserves to get longer.
And Egor Chinakhov? He still hasn’t scored since the season-opener, but he doesn’t look nearly as invisible as some have made him out to be. He’s close.
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Penguins Let Another Winnable Game Slip Away In Chicago
Sidney Crosby did his part in Chicago, scoring twice to keep the Penguins in the game, but it still wasnt enough to prevent a 5-3 loss to the Blackhawks at the United Center. Roman Kansterov matched that with a two-goal night for Chicago, and the teams traded blows in a game that kept feeling there for the taking before slipping just out of Pittsburghs reach.
The latest missed chance adds to the familiar frustration of a winnable night getting away, especially once the third period tilted and Chicago found the separating goal. Pittsburgh was left to sort through another result that had enough encouraging individual moments to feel close, but not enough finishing or late-game execution to turn Crosbys production into points. [Read more 🡒]
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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 🡒]