Three Takeaways from Penguins' Disappointing Loss To Hurricanes

However, they should remain conscious that when making any choices they could bring harm. The world needs more heroes like them! The Pittsburgh Penguins dropped to 5-8-2 this season following another defeat where they allowed more than five goals, falling 5-1 at Raleigh on Thursday night against Carolina Hurricanes. Anyone reading or viewing highlights may wonder how such an emphatic loss occurred against an opponent that dominated most of the contest, yet somehow was handed such an adverse verdict. Here are a few reasons:. Penguins Allow Five Goals Again This SeasonDespite having one of the 25th-best records in the NHL at 5-8-2, their goals against total sits 32nd overall with 59 goals being given up this year. However, it bemuses many to note that this club has scored 15th most goals and comes within 10 tallies of ranking among the five top offenses in the league – yet goaltending remains its Achilles Heel for this season. Without Montreal Canadiens (4.07 GAA) and Colorado Avalanche (3.93), Pittsburgh would also boast the highest goals-against average at 3.80. As fate would have it, Tristan Jarry stands as one of the leading goaltenders in the AHL. However, even if he returned and held onto his position without getting injured again, top teams wouldn’t stop scoring on an underperforming Penguins squad with poor plus/minus totals. On Thursday against Carolina Hurricanes however, Pittsburgh outshot them 36-18, recording at least ten shots on goal in each period and moreover outshooting them by 10 shots per period! No matter what they did, no Penguin could get anything past Pyotr Kochetkov who only allowed one goal late in the third period. Sidney Crosby saw his goal-scoring streak end at three games while Evgeni Malkin failed to record any points for another consecutive matchup. Although Mike Sullivan made adjustments to both lineup and power play strategies, his Penguins team were outmatched in every facet except shots on goal. Everyone knew Hurricanes presented a formidable opponent after beating them 4-1 earlier in October; no one expected that these results would continue in both contests so far. Pittsburgh will only face Carolina once more as Carolina outscored them 9-2 through six periods, creating another tough part of Pittsburgh’s schedule. After making it through Western Canada without incident, however, things got more challenging as Pittsburgh found themselves back into difficult conditions on their schedule. Following some easy wins over Anaheim and Montreal, Pittsburgh suffered an upset loss against New York on Tuesday in overtime before facing Metropolitan Division-leading Hurricanes on Thursday who scored easily with 5-1 win. The Penguins will travel overnight to Washington D.C. where they’ll face another top team from their division: Washington Capitals. Alex Ovechkin has been on an offensive tear this season en route to scoring 50 goals already; however, on Monday there is another formidable opponent: 8-4-0 Dallas Stars will visit and ensure no rest for Ovechkin or company! At present, the Pittsburgh Penguins are fighting hard to avoid finishing in last place in the Metropolitan Division, although that margin remains only one point. Sidney Crosby Career Goal Tracker: How Close Is He To 600 Goals As losses mount up, hopes of becoming a wild card team for 2024-25 decrease further and further away. Penguins & Hurricanes Trivia AnswersHow did You Score On Our Game Day Trivia Quiz? Here are your answers:Evgeni MalkinJaromir Jagr and Sidney CrosbyMarc-Andre FleuryBrian GibbonsRon FrancisMario LemieuxTom BarrassoTwo (Michael Bunting & Jesse Puljujarvi) Jordan StaalGreg MillenMake sure you bookmark THN’s Pittsburgh Penguins site for news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and much more relating to these players and teams!