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Erik Karlsson gives his unfiltered thoughts on the Penguins' embarrassing loss to the Wild
Photo credit: NHL Trade Rumours
Pittsburgh Penguins veteran defenseman Erik Karlsson has given his unfiltered thoughts after their embarrassing 5-0 loss at home to the Minnesota Wild.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are back home after their two games in Sweden as part of the NHL's Global Series, but their first game back on home ice at PPG Paints Arena did not go the way they wanted.
They were outplayed in every way during their 5-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild, leading veteran defenseman Erik Karlsson to speak up and say they deserved that outcome based on their effort level during the game.
I'm sure we can find a thousand excuses. I don't think we should have any, though. We've had a couple of good days. Everybody's feeling good. It just wasn't our night.
«We didn't start the game the way that we wanted to, and today we couldn't find a way to dig ourselves out of it. And very unfortunate outcome, but unfortunately, we deserved it tonight. - Erik Karlsson
«We didn't start the game the way that we wanted to, and today we couldn't find a way to dig ourselves out of it. And very unfortunate outcome, but unfortunately, we deserved it tonight. - Erik Karlsson
Even though it's a short turnaround by the Penguins as they get the chance to right the ship tonight against the Seattle Kraken, Karlsson was still displeased by the effort level.
Obviously, it wasn't our best effort right from the start. We ended up on the wrong foot early in the first, and we couldn't find a way to get ourselves out of it. I think everybody in here understands that tonight wasn't good enough to have a chance to win a hockey game, and we know that the only positive is that we don't have much time to dwell on it. - Erik Karlsson
Erik Karlsson Remains With The Penguins Despite Being Heavily Shopped
Even though it was an open secret that Penguins GM Kyle Dubas wanted to trade Karlsson over the summer, he didn't find any takers for the former Norris Trophy winner.
Karlsson is still under contract through 2027 with an AAV (average annual value) of $11.5 million and his stats have gone down since joining the Penguins in 2023.
So far this year, Karlsson has 13 points (1G, 12A) in 20 games played.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 22 | 59 ANSWERS Erik Karlsson gives his unfiltered thoughts on the Penguins' embarrassing loss to the Wild Is Erik Karlsson right to call out his team like this? | ||
| Yes | 54 | 91.5 % |
| No | 5 | 8.5 % |
| List of polls | ||