Pittsburgh Penguins defense collapses in 6-2 loss as Crosby, Malkin absence exposes problem

The tweet tied to The Athletic had the right read. ESPN's boxscore made it louder, Pittsburgh scored twice on 17 shots, then gave up six and lost 68.9 percent of the draws.

Sidney Crosby is still on IR with 27-32-59 after the February Olympic injury, and Evgeni Malkin is still serving that five-game suspension with 13-34-47 on the season.

That matters, but it does not excuse a team that keeps losing inside coverage and too many puck battles under pressure. Vegas did not need volume, it needed clean looks.

Bryan Rust has carried real weight with 23-27-50, and Rickard Rakell still found his 13th goal Thursday. The offense has stayed alive enough to survive.

Penguins fans can stomach missing stars. They do not stomach defending this loose in a playoff race.

Kyle Dubas added Samuel Girard, who carries a $5 million AAV through 2026-27, because this roster needed cleaner exits and calmer support on the blue line. Thursday showed that job is still unfinished.

This is the strategic part. When Crosby and Malkin sit, every failed breakout gets magnified because Pittsburgh cannot erase mistakes with one elite shift from the top six.

The Penguins are 32-18-15, so this is not doom. It is a warning that their structure is thinner than their scoring totals suggest.

Saturday in Utah is the next test, and it is simple now. Protect the middle, win more draws, and stop asking Rust to cover every leak by himself.

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