The Pittsburgh Penguins’ inconsistency resurfaced Tuesday night in a 6-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, dropping them to third place in the Metropolitan Division with several teams closing in.
After the defeat, captain Sidney Crosby delivered a blunt assessment, offering a clear reality check about the team’s defensive struggles.
Sidney Crosby Doesn’t Sugarcoat Penguins’ Defensive Issues
Nathan MacKinnon opened the scoring early in the first period, but Egor Chinakhov answered soon after for Pittsburgh. Colorado then blew the game open with a rapid surge, as Sam Malinski, Martin Necas, and Parker Kelly scored in quick succession to make it 4-1 by the end of the first.
Necas added another in the second period for a 5-1 lead. Rickard Rakell cut the deficit in the third off a pass from Crosby, but Ross Colton sealed the 6-2 final with an empty-net goal. Goaltender Arturs Silovs stopped 24 of 29 shots.
The loss marked Pittsburgh’s second straight defeat, and it’s their third loss in four games since Crosby returned from injury.
The Penguins have now allowed 48 goals over their last 11 games, an average of 4.36 per contest, highlighting their defensive issues.
Crosby acknowledged that concern after the game, saying, “These last two games, we’ve given up way too much. These are quality teams. We just need to find a way to tighten up defensively right now, especially against teams like that.”
He emphasized that the responsibility lies with the entire group, adding that everyone needs to defend better and be more aware of the opponents they face.
Crosby also pointed to his own mistakes. “Tonight, I was guilty of it, too,” he said. “I lose my check, they put one in from in front of the net. In those areas, we have to defend better. We just have to. I’ve got to lead the way on that.”
However, the Pittsburgh Penguins had the upper hand in their previous meeting last week, dominating the Colorado Avalanche with a convincing 7-2 victory in Colorado. That result made Tuesday’s lopsided loss even more surprising.
Head coach Dan Muse felt there were missed opportunities. “I think we might have missed on a couple, but (Wedgewood) also made some big saves. I think some of the saves that he made in the moments that he did, things could’ve felt a little bit different there had we scored on any of those.”
The Penguins will try to bounce back quickly when they face the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, looking to steady their play and regain momentum.
