Kris Letang struggles, Penguins waste Bryan Rust comeback in Hurricanes shootout loss

That is the maddening part for Pittsburgh. The good was real, and it still got buried by a loose third period and another empty finish after overtime.

Rust is up to 23-26-49 in 57 games, and Tuesday felt like a reminder that he can still drag this lineup when Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are out.

Skinner gave them the runway. He erased two Carolina shorthanded looks in the second, then held the door open long enough for the extra-attacker push to matter.

The comeback mattered because it showed this room still has pulse. Down 4-2, Pittsburgh found two late goals and stole a point in a building where Carolina usually squeezes the life out of you.

The problem is the same ugly one. Pittsburgh defended too slowly off the wall, lost races into the middle, and let one bad stretch become a third-period avalanche.

Fans can live with a loss, but they are tired of watching the same movie when the blue line cracks and the shootout arrives.

Letang's night is the hard conversation. He has 3-24-27 in 58 games, but the reads were late in the third, and one failed wall battle helped Carolina flip the game.

That does not erase the good. Anthony Mantha scored again, Erik Karlsson's point shot helped create Rust's tying goal, and Ben Kindel showed nerve in the shootout.

The 4-on-3 power play in overtime was the missed chance. Pittsburgh chased the backdoor play instead of making Frederik Andersen fight through traffic and second pucks.

That is why this still feels useful heading into Thursday in Vegas. Rust and Skinner proved the Penguins still have bite, now the structure has to catch up.

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