Penguins/Blue Jackets Recap: Jarry returns but song remains the same for him and the team. Pens lose big

The Penguins fade away late and lose in pathetic fashion again

Pregame

Lots of changes for the Penguins. Tristan Jarry is back for his first NHL game in almost a month. Matt Nieto has him one better for his return to the NHL for the first time in almost a year. Kris Letang is sick (aren’t we all) which opens up a spot for Jack St. Ivany to get back.

First period

Jarry is under the microscope and allows a goal on the very first shot he’s sees. But it’s not the goalie’s fault when Ryan Graves ineffectively pushes Zach Aston-Reese in front of the net and Aston-Reese keep his stick totally free so he can deflect a shot from point blank range. 1-0 CBJ just 2:20 in.

Drew O’Connor takes the first penalty of the game for a needless hook and Columbus makes the Penguins pay right away. The Blue Jackets win the faceoff and Zach Werenski booms a slapper from near the blueline that sails right on by Jarry. Werenski’s got a cannon and Noel Acciari from a distance was in the way and didn’t block it but...oh no, not the type of goal to give up there. 2-0 Columbus.

Pittsburgh is able to settle down after a TV timeout. Sidney Crosby leads a rush, the puck ends up going end over end and Anthony Beauvillier waits until it falls to tap it into the net. 2-1.

Columbus takes a penalty that leads to little else besides some passing. The Blue Jackets then get a late power play when Evgeni Malkin gets caught slashing.

Shots in the first period are 10-6 Pittsburgh, but they’re behind on the scoreboard.

Second period

Not much excitement, the Pens kill off the rest of Malkin’s penalty and then get another power play of their own that ends up meaning little.

The Pens’ fourth line scores — but the refs quickly wash it off for goalie interference. Nieto crashes the crease and maybe takes a push from behind. Elvis Merzlikins falls, Acciari slams home the rebound. Mike Sullivan considers a challenge but ultimately doesn’t. Probably for the best since the call on the ice was no goal and there was some contact. No sense in risking a power play for CBJ at this point in the game on a play stuck in the gray area that would have to be overturned to be right.

Later, Acciari is high-sticked. The Pens’ top power play group looks terrible but the second unit salvages it with a goal. It’s a bit of a broken play that Beauvillier is again on the positive end on to help keep the puck, Michael Bunting slings it on net, and a jumping O’Connor gets out of the way. 2-2 game.

Jack St. Ivany is the next to go back to the penalty box the very next shift after the goal to let CBJ back in. The Pens kill it, Crosby gets a glorious chance and doesn’t score and then the puck goes the other way on a 3-on-1. You know what happens next. Tough guy grinder Mathieu Olivier scores top shelf. 3-2.

Pittsburgh in a decent spot through 40, but they trail.

Third period

Terrible third period for the Pens. Columbus is all over the ice quicker to pucks.

Dmitri Voronkov has all the time in the world to collect a rebound and put it in with the two Ryan’s (Graves and Shea) lazying about. Score extends to 4-2 just 1:56 into the period and the Penguins look for the ejector button on this game.

The two Ryan’s get caught again with some sloppy play, puck pops out to an unmarked Damon Severson and he takes care of busines. 5-2 and this one’s all over but the cryin.

Pittsburgh gets a late power play and even takes a timeout to rest their stars. Doesn’t work. They pull the goalie, and Columbus gets the empty net goal with 4:28 to play to extend the lead to 6-2.

Some thoughts

• A goal on the first shot surrendered by Jarry? Two goals on the opening 8:39 of play? Rough that the end results are the same. It is unfortunate Acciari was in the lane and a piece of the shot touched off him but from that distance it would have been nice to get a save. The puck glancing off Acciari didn’t change where it was headed (high glove side).
• Acciari’s big crime on that sequence might have actually been getting kicked out of the faceoff circle, which Nieto had to take. Nieto lost it cleanly and trouble built from there. (And it was a terrible penalty for O’Connor to take). The issues with this team aren’t limited to just the goaltending or any one player; the troubles start small and build from there with multiple culprits always adding an element to it.
• That said, where does Jarry go from here? The defense is pitiful more often than not but he’s completely unable to keep the puck out of the net. It’s not all on him but there’s nothing changed or different from the level of play that got him sent away from the team last month.
• Beauvillier is up to goals in three-straight games. Good on him, he’s finding ways to produce and starting to look more comfortable and create more from the chances Crosby generates. No shame or surprise in that needing a little bit of time to percolate.
• The Pens had the puck (and no goalie) for like 45 straight seconds in the second period. It’s definitely some flashbacks to the Arizona disaster but each passing moment made me that much more sure somehow they would try a low-to-high pass and miss the target and somehow score on themselves from 150+ feet. That’s an irrational fear but sadly not a completely unfounded one.
• Attempting to reserve comment on Sam Poulin until he gets the chance to get his feet under him and adjust to the speed of the game - if it ever happens. His skating and the pace he plays doesn’t hold up well, and being on the ice with O’Connor and Jesse Puljujarvi (two players with some burst and acceleration) only stand to highlight Poulin’s limitations.
• The power play is bad and regressing into some bad habits familiar to last season like Malkin and Karlsson or Malkin and Crosby over-passing it with no ideas to do more; Karlsson dropping the puck on breakouts when he has skating lanes, etc. For the last point, would love to know if the coaching is telling Karlsson to not enter the zone with control himself. For some reason he’s refusing to do it, opting for the dreaded and low-percentage slingshot
• Not a good day to be named Ryan. That pairing was dreadful.
• The Pens used to reliably beat the bottom feeder teams like Columbus but a game like this makes it clear where they’re at in the pecking order this season. That’s not a stunning revelation 15 games into the season but hurts to see just the same.

Pittsburgh gets another crack at it tomorrow against San Jose. The Sharks aren’t good but they’ve been pesky on their east coast road swing.