Pittsburgh Hockey Insider has no direct affiliation to the Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL or NHLPA
Rickard Rakell points to pressure problem as Penguins drop another shootout to Flyers
Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Seth Rorabaugh reported first, Pittsburgh is 1-9 in shootouts, and another Flyers loss just turned a playoff push into fresh panic.
Kyle Dubas added Elmer Soderblom on Friday, a 24-year-old winger, Detroit's 2019 sixth-round pick, with a $1.125 million cap hit through 2026-27.
That move screamed roster fit, more reach, more net-front chaos, more size for the bottom six. It also raised the bar on a group that had been banking points before this skid.
Instead, the Penguins lost 4-3 to Philadelphia on Saturday and pushed the losing streak to 0-2-1. Trevor Zegras scored the only shootout goal.
Tommy Novak scored his 13th. Rickard Rakell got his 12th and Erik Karlsson added his sixth, but none of it solved the finish problem after 65 minutes.
The real sting came in overtime. Pittsburgh got a 4-on-3 man advantage and managed only two shots, both from Rakell.
"It might be one of the instances now where we're gripping the stick a little bit too tight."
Rickard Rakell and the Pittsburgh Penguins feel the squeeze
Penguins fans can feel the tension now, every extra session looks heavy, rushed, and a little haunted.
Rakell said the group may be gripping the stick too tight, and that tracks. Their hands looked fine in regulation, then shrank when the ice opened up.
The new-look lines had a purpose. Egor Chinakhov rode with Rakell and Bryan Rust, while Ville Koivunen, Ben Kindel, and Avery Hayes gave the lineup younger legs.
That is the why behind Dubas staying measured at the deadline. He wants players who help now and still matter later, not rentals who disappear by summer.
But the next game does not care about long-term logic. Sunday against Boston is about execution, because one point nights stop feeling useful when the extra point keeps getting buried.
Also read on HockeyUnplugged :
Elliotte Friedman reveals details of failed Robert Thomas blockbuster trade involving several teams
Elliotte Friedman reveals details of failed Robert Thomas blockbuster trade involving several teams
| POLL | ||
MARS 8|157 ANSWERS Rickard Rakell points to pressure problem as Penguins drop another shootout to Flyers Will Rickard Rakell and the Pittsburgh Penguins finally end this shootout spiral next time? | ||
| Yes | 85 | 54.1 % |
| No | 72 | 45.9 % |
| List of polls | ||