Mike Sullivan famously told his team “Enough is enough” in San Jose before the Penguins took the ice in Game 6 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final.
Almost a decade later, enough is indeed enough. Of this road trip. And of this season.
The fading Penguins lost for the third time in five days against one of the NHL’s worst teams in a 2-1 setback against the dismal Sharks in San Jose on Monday. They managed three goals total against the Sharks, Seattle Kraken and Anaheim Ducks in their past three games.
Of course, the sad truth for the Penguins is that they are one of the NHL’s worst teams. The eye test very much says so. So, too, do the standings. The Penguins are now 2-4 on this trip, 20-24-8 on the season and have the NHL’s sixth-fewest points. Only the Buffalo Sabres trail the Penguins in the Eastern Conference standings. The Penguins’ minus-40 goal differential is the NHL’s third-worst mark, as only San Jose and Chicago have been worse.
A top-five pick in the 2025 NHL Draft seems a very real possibility.
This was a particularly lifeless, dispassionate performance. The Penguins were outplayed most of the evening by the Sharks.
In particular, the Penguins’ lack of effort in the first two periods was appalling.
Macklin Celebrini, the top pick in last June’s draft, scored the game winner in the third period only 3:17 after Sidney Crosby had evened the score.
Mikael Granlund, the poster child for the many poor moves made during the Ron Hextall era in Pittsburgh, opened the scoring for the Sharks.
The Penguins appeared to have tied the score late in the third period on a fluke goal from Michael Bunting, but the Sharks successfully challenged for goaltending interference and had the play overturned. Anthony Beauvillier made contact with goaltender Yaroslav Askarov.
Bunting’s goal was overturned after the Sharks challenged for goalie interference 🙅♂️ pic.twitter.com/9RHTP7qWF3
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 28, 2025
Sullivan didn’t agree with the call: “Do you know what goalie interference is? … Neither do I.”
Another opportunity slipped by the Penguins when Drew O’Connor was denied by Askarov on a third-period penalty shot.
Yeah, not happening 😏 pic.twitter.com/302WD9FkrE
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) January 28, 2025
The Penguins finally showed a pulse in the third period, but very much got what they deserved.
Ten postgame observations
• I disliked pretty much everything I saw from the Penguins. This was a sorry effort, as Pittsburgh looked like a team that knows its season is on life support.
A few players looked like they were playing hard. The top line of Crosby, Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell always plays hard, and this game was no different. I liked Bunting’s game. His effort was superb. O’Connor played hard, too.
Other than that, I can’t say anyone’s performance was noteworthy or impressive. This was a hockey team that was simply going through the motions all night. I do believe the loss in Anaheim last Thursday effectively ended the season for the Penguins. You could feel it in the locker room after that game. And you could still feel it lingering in Seattle two days later.
This performance against the Sharks spoke volumes. With all due respect to the young and rebuilding Sharks, they’re a terrible hockey team and entered the game on a six-game losing skid that saw them get embarrassed in most of those games. The cold reality is that they outworked and outplayed the Penguins most of the night.
• Sullivan was rather displeased with his team’s performance, and understandably so.
“I’m not sure how many good things we did tonight,” he said. “I don’t think we were nearly as good tonight as we’d been. At least, that was my observation from behind the bench. It’s hard to win when you score one goal.”
The coach is well aware that his team appeared to be sleepwalking through much of this game.
“We need to bring urgency every night,” he said. “We understand the circumstance we’re in. I don’t think we were as competitive as we needed to be.”
• Ryan Shea committed a particularly gruesome turnover in the second period to help San Jose begin the scoring.
Simply Stunning 🙌 pic.twitter.com/pMAiUY9EHj
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) January 28, 2025
Mistakes happen and I think Shea has been reasonably good for being a No. 7 type of defenseman. But for a guy who has struggled to make his way into the lineup in recent weeks, man. That’s a rough turnover, that kind that puts you back in the press box very quickly.
Just not an acceptable play there.
• Marcus Pettersson, who rarely commits gruesome turnovers, had one of his own on the game winner.
MACK Attack 🚨 pic.twitter.com/9ftR1rEgxU
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) January 28, 2025
Again, just brutal stuff from the Penguins on so many levels. They were especially abysmal in the second period, but this third-period turnover was enough to be the difference.
• Crosby evened the score for the Penguins during the first shift of the third period.
BRYAN RUST ➡️ SIDNEY CROSBY 🚨
WHAT A WAY TO START THE THIRD! pic.twitter.com/feJuiQdv4U
— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) January 28, 2025
There was nothing pretty about the goal, but it came as no surprise that it was Crosby who managed to give the Penguins some life. He was completely aggravated by what he perceived as a poor drop from the referee on the opening faceoff in the third period and then scored a goal less than 30 seconds later.
Crosby, who hasn’t been himself in the goal-scoring department, is coming alive in that regard. That’s three goals for Crosby in the past four games. Unfortunately for the Penguins, Crosby is the only player to score a goal for them during the past two games.
• That’s three goals in their past three games for the Penguins.
We can talk about their turnovers and defensive lapses, but the truth is that this team’s lack of finishing ability is nearly as big a problem as the horrendous defensive work and goaltending that we’ve seen for most of the season.
• I don’t see the need for Matt Nieto to be in the lineup any longer. Plays hard. Good guy. And I gave him much credit for willing his way back to the NHL after dealing with a major injury last season.
But he’s bringing absolutely nothing to the lineup. Younger players need to start playing immediately.
• In case you missed the information from earlier on Monday, the Penguins announced that Evgeni Malkin has been placed on injured reserve following the knee injury he sustained on Saturday in Seattle. He’s “week to week” according to Sullivan.
A quick look at the schedule makes it likely that Malkin will be out until the 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament. The Penguins’ last game until the NHL breaks for the tournament is on Feb. 8. I’d expect Malkin back when play resumes.
Jesse Puljujarvi was recalled from Wilkes-Barre to take Malkin’s place on the roster.
In other injury news, Rust returned to the lineup after missing the game in Seattle with a lower-body injury that he sustained last week in Anaheim.
• Sportsnet Pittsburgh’s terrific play-by-play man, Josh Getzoff, was unable to call Monday’s game because of an illness. Joe Brand, the Penguins’ first-year radio voice, filled in for Getzoff on the TV side and did a very nice job working alongside Colby Armstrong. They made a dull game watchable.
This turn of events meant that color commentator Phil Bourque handled the play-by-play duties on the radio side. He was joined by Michelle Crechiolo, whose hockey acumen and upbeat personality always add something to broadcasts in her pinch-hitting appearances.
Moment of the game: Bourque’s goal call when Crosby lit the lamp. In a homage to his close friend, Penguins legend Mike Lange, Bourque used one of Lange’s classic goal calls: “Get in the fast lane, grandma! The bingo game is ready to roll!”
Very cool. Bourque and Lange are extremely close friends, and it’s perfect that the “The Old 29er” brought out that call in San Jose, a close drive to Lange’s hometown of Sacramento, Calif.
I texted Bourque after the call and he responded, “Salute to Mikey and his grandma.”
Perfect.
• Up next for the Penguins will come the conclusion of their monstrous 14-day, seven-game trip when they play for the first time in franchise history in Utah.
They’ll face local product Logan Cooley and plenty of old friends, including Ian Cole, Olli Maatta, Robert Bortuzzo, Nick Bjugstad and John Marino.
(Photo of Sidney Crosby, right, being congratulated by teammates after scoring a third-period goal against the Sharks: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)
