PITTSBURGH — First shot, first goal.
Mario Lemieux did it to begin his iconic run with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Others have, too.
But through the opening months of this season, the first shot/first goal has haunted Lemieux’s former franchise. The Penguins have allowed opponents to score on the first shot six times in 23 games — perhaps a franchise record, though team historians aren’t exactly lining up to boast about it.
For their (mostly) annual Thanksgiving Eve Game, the Penguins flipped that script.
Blake Lizotte did the deed Wednesday night. His opening-shot goal sparked an unexpected first-period flurry of scoring — four goals in a span of about 14 minutes — and the Penguins beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-4 at PPG Paints Arena.
Back from IR and already lighting the lamp 🚨 pic.twitter.com/zytfYgyQCU
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 28, 2024
The Penguins hadn’t won in regulation since Nov. 8. They were 1-4-2, a deflating stretch that perhaps explained Lizotte’s enthusiastic celebration after scoring. And almost as though fun is contagious, Rickard Rakell, Kevin Hayes and Bryan Rust also seemed to be living it up after their first-period goals.
Hey, why not?
When nothing seems to be going right, it’s important to enjoy the rare good moments.
“We play a game for a living,” Rust said. “I think sometimes everybody forgets that. It’s supposed to be fun. Yes, it is our job. Yes, it’s hard. And we obviously take it very seriously. But at the end of the day, it’s a game and we’re supposed to have fun doing it. That breeds confidence, and that breeds life — and everybody’s on their toes when that happens.
“I think that’s kind of another thing that was going through everybody’s head: Let’s just get out there and enjoy ourselves.”
The Penguins needed a win in the worst way.
Not because they’re likely to go on a run that makes qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs a realistic possibility. That iceberg melted a while back.
With president of hockey operations/general manager Kyle Dubas having already traded one veteran, Lars Eller, and listening to offers for others not named Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the remaining months of this season figure to focus on a rebuild — even if Dubas is loathe to use that specific R-word — and, at least for fans, attention will turn to which of the top prospects might end up in Pittsburgh if, as seems likely, the Penguins end up in the draft lottery.
Those days when the Penguins were a lock to play in the postseason, and deemed a disappointment if they didn’t play past the second round, are long gone. But that does not mean a proud franchise — remember, the Penguins’ five titles since 1991 top the NHL — can concede losses in every game.
Tickets need to be sold. Sponsors need to be enticed. A tenured coach and four Cup holdovers need to remain emotionally invested.
One of those players, Rust, probably deserves a more prominent spot in franchise lore than he’s been granted. Though he’s not headed for the Hockey Hall of Fame like his more famous teammates, Rust was a role player who scored big goals in the 2016 and 2017 Cup runs. He matured into a top-six winger with five consecutive 20-goal seasons. He is indisputably the Penguins’ third-best forward after Crosby and Malkin.
He’s not the best winger in Penguins history (Jaromir Jagr) or from the Crosby/Malkin era (Jake Guentzel), but Rust might be singular in franchise history for outperforming expectations. A third-round pick in 2010, he was no lock to earn regular playing time in Pittsburgh, let alone spend the better part of a decade rising on the depth chart while also doing a lot of dirty work — for the Penguins, that means paying attention to defense — along the way.
Shakes on Rusty… on Friday! pic.twitter.com/B8zIL6snIl
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 28, 2024
Rust scored twice Wednesday night. His second goal, at 3:40 into in the second period, was bigger than it should have been because the Penguins spent much of the time afterward allowing the Canucks to stage a comeback.
That was probably to be expected. There’s a reason the Penguins entered the game with the league’s third-worst points percentage. They’re consistently not doing nearly enough to win.
They did on Thursday night. With the way most of the other nights have gone, who would scoff at a positive result?
Other takeaways from this victory:
Importance of Rakell’s goal
Rakell’s goal was only his second in 13 games. He had six in his first 11.
He’s a famously streaky scorer, and the Penguins would benefit if he gets hot going into December. Of all the veterans Dubas will try moving before the trade deadline, Rakell offers the most intriguing case.
He’s a right-shot who can play either wing, and at 31 he’s likely to have at least a few more productive seasons remaining. He has three years remaining on a contract that counts $5 million against the salary cap.
Rakell’s probably isn’t a contract Dubas wants to carry going forward. It’s probably not one that will deliver a great return. But with one salary retention spot available, Dubas could afford to weaponize it to get a chunk of Rakell’s contract off the books.
Most of that last paragraph is hypothetical. What isn’t, however, is that trading Rakell becomes more likely if he is at or near 20 goals going into the deadline.
The trade deadline is March 7. The Penguins being discussed as sellers going into Thanksgiving says everything about how the worm has turned.
Erik Karlsson is the lone defenseman on the Penguins’ top power play. (Charles LeClaire / Imagn Images)
Late power-play strategy
Coach Mike Sullivan is fond of saying he doesn’t want to “take the stick out the hands” of the Penguins’ best offensive players. He didn’t dare on a couple of late power plays while the Penguins protected a two-goal lead.
Sullivan sent four forwards out for those power plays. The lone defenseman, Erik Karlsson, is not known for his defense.
An argument could be made that taking a conservative approach, such as using two defensemen on the top power-play unit, when nursing a two-goal lead would have been prudent.
To that, a fair retort would be: Which two defensemen could Sullivan deploy that would make it likelier the Penguins wouldn’t surrender a quality shorthanded scoring chance?
Sullivan noted after the win that his power play had a chance to “put the game away” by scoring a goal. That didn’t happen, but no late-game situation exits in a vacuum.
The Penguins are mired in one of the worst stretches of their past 19 seasons. The risk of possibly allowing a shorthanded goal did not outweigh the potential reward of a goal that would have likely iced a badly needed victory for morale.
The Erik Karlsson experience
It’s fair to say Karlsson’s time with the Penguins hasn’t gone according to plan. He was acquired to help revive a contender that had lost its swagger. Instead, his brief stint has coincided with a decline that has seen the Penguins struggling to compete in many games.
A few weeks ago, Karlsson said the public’s view of him has rarely changed dating to his peak with the Ottawa Senators.
“People love me or hate me,” he said. “That’s the way it’s always been. It’s not going to change. You love me or hate me. Sometimes it’s both on the same night.”
Karlsson moved the puck well against the Canucks. He recorded secondary assists on three consecutive Penguins’ goals. It was only his third multi-point game this season. He’s had only six in the last 69 games dating to early January.
If you’re wondering, the Penguins are 6-0-0 in those games, and 12-2-0 when Karlsson scores more than a point.
Not all stats need to be overcooked. When Karlsson is an offensive catalyst for the Penguins, they’re a very successful team.
(Top photo of Bryan Rust: Charles LeClaire / Imagn Images)
