Penguins' severe shootout struggles continue in loss to Rangers

So much has gone right for the Pittsburgh Penguins this season. But their biggest weakness cost them another point Saturday.

They fell, 3-2, in a shootout to the struggling New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Pittsburgh’s record in shootout games is now 1-8.

Two of the Penguins’ three shootout attempts didn’t hit the net. Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin easily stopped the one that did.

Vincent Trocheck scored the lone goal of the shootout, whipping a shot through the five-hole on Stuart Skinner. The Penguins’ netminder stopped J.T. Miller in the Rangers’ only other attempt, but the game ended after Tommy Novak missed the net in a do-or-die try.

Anthony Mantha didn’t get a shot away in the Penguins’ first attempt, losing the puck as he tried to move to the backhand. Egor Chinakhov — the only Penguins skater with much shootout success this season — was stymied by Shesterkin as he tried to go five-hole.

The Penguins now have the most shootout losses in one season in franchise history. This defeat was particularly painful, after they dominated the first period and held a 2-0 lead about two minutes into the middle frame. But the Rangers completely tilted the ice from that point and knotted the game early in the third period.

The visitors had the better chances in the 3-on-3 portion. Shesterkin had the answers. The shootout loss cost the Penguins (30-15-13) a point in one of their easiest remaining games.

It was Pittsburgh’s second game without Sidney Crosby, who’s expected to be out at least four weeks with a lower-body injury suffered at the Olympics.

The path to hold onto a playoff spot without Crosby suddenly seems more difficult after the Penguins were thoroughly outplayed for the final 38 minutes of regulation by one of the worst teams in the league.

They particularly missed their captain in the faceoff dot. The Rangers won 40 of 52 draws (76.9%). Rickard Rakell, shouldering center responsibilities in Crosby’s absence, lost all 10 faceoffs he took. Novak (2-11), Blake Lizotte (2-9) and Ben Kindel (2-8) weren’t much better.

Trocheck tormented his hometown team, winning 18 of 21 draws.

Crosby has taken more than twice as many faceoffs as the next closest Penguins skater (Kindel), winning 55.4%.

Noel Acciari and Blake Lizotte are the only other Pittsburgh skaters above 50%

Despite their horrific faceoff performance, the Penguins looked on their way to an easy win in the opening 20 minutes.

They outshot the Rangers 10-2 and kept the puck in the offensive zone for long stretches.

Anthony Mantha tipped in an Erik Karlsson shot on the power play to give the Penguins a lead 2:08 into the game. It was Mantha’s 21st of the season and another example of the big winger’s soft hands around the net.

The Rangers were lucky the deficit didn’t grow further by the first intermission, as Bryan Rust appeared to score on another power play less than a minute later. But Mike Sullivan successfully challenged for goalie interference on the play.

Mantha made minor contact with Shesterkin’s skate in the crease, and referees ruled it impaired the netminder’s ability to push across the crease and make the save.

Rust hit the crossbar later in the period.

The Penguins extended the lead about two minutes into the second period. With the puck on his stick, Ryan Shea whirled around at the blue line and freed himself up for a shot. The heavy drive bounced off Rangers defenseman Scott Morrow for a goal.

That’s when the game flipped. After Shea gave the Penguins a 2-0 lead, the Rangers started to sustain pressure in the offensive zone, and Mika Zibanejad fired in a power-play goal from the slot to cut the deficit in half midway through the second period.

Former Pittsburgh Hornets youth hockey teammates Miller and Trocheck picked up assists on the play.

New York tied the game about three minutes into the final frame, as Vladislav Gavrikov slid a perfect backdoor pass to Taylor Raddysh, who tapped it past Skinner.

That score carried into overtime. The opening minutes of 3-on-3 were uneventful, but both teams picked up the pace down the stretch. Shesterkin stopped Evgeni Malkin in tight twice to send the game to a shootout.

Both goalies were solid Saturday. The Penguins outshot the Rangers 33-25, but that doesn’t reflect the flow of the game. Pittsburgh held a 19-11 edge in blocked shots.

It was over when …

Novak missed the net on a wrister in the Penguins’ final shootout attempt. But given the team’s shootout woes — and the goalie they were facing — it felt over once the clock ran out in overtime.

Stat of the game

23.1%: The Penguins’ faceoff win percentage, the lowest in team history since the NHL began charting the stat in the 1996-97 season, according to team historian Bob Grove.

Around the boards

— Recent trade acquisition Sam Girard missed practice Friday and was evaluated for a lower-body injury, but he was available Saturday and skated in a pair with Kris Letang again.

— Penguins skaters are 7 for 27 in shootout attempts this season (25.9%). That ranks 21st in the league.

— Pittsburgh goalies have stopped just 10 of 25 shootout tries. That .400 save percentage is the worst in the league among the 31 teams that have played at least one shootout.

Up next

The Penguins play the second game of a back-to-back Sunday, returning to Pittsburgh for a matchup with the Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights.

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