It would be a stretch to say the Penguins have developed any kind of noteable trend in the early portion of the 2020-21 season.

That’s assuming you overlook their habit of seemingly having a different lineup for nearly every game this season due to medical maladies of all sorts, even among their coaches.

A granular examination of their 4-3-3 record through the first 10 games of the season would reveal few if any sequences hinting towards any tendencies or inclinations. It’s mostly a collection of 10 separate contests with their own narratives.

The two most recent chapters do have one common trait, however.

The Penguins lost leads late in regulation on each occasion.

On Saturday, they had a two-goal lead with 3:19 left in regulation but still lost, 5-4, in a shootout to the Minnesota Wild at PPG Paints Arena. The visitors’ tying goal came with less than three seconds remaining in regulation.

“We just need to be better,” said Penguins forward Kasperi Kapanen. “It’s just a fact. I understand if you let one in, but two is something that a good team can’t be doing. And that’s what we are. We just have to learn from that.”

Presumably, the Penguins would have garnered some lessons from their previous game, a 3-2 overtime home win against the rival Philadelphia Flyers. In that contest, they allowed a tying goal with 2:52 left in regulation.

“We’ve got to hold on to leads,” forward Evan Rodrigues said. “We have a two-goal lead with (3:19) left (on Saturday). I wouldn’t say it’s one thing we did wrong or something to pinpoint that we have to work on. It’s just one of those things you have to work on. Simple as that. That late in the game, you have to get it done.”

Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov got it done first 9:44 into regulation. Controlling a puck at the center point of the offensive zone, ex-Penguins defenseman Alex Goligoski chucked a wrister that struck off the far post. With goaltender Tristan Jarry playing the shot aggressively, he was unable to smother the rebound behind him in the crease.

Kaprizov darted from the left of the cage and cleaned up the garbage with an easy backhand tap-in for his second goal of the season. Goligoski and forward Frederick Gaudreau, another former Penguin, collected assists.

The Penguins responded thanks to an unlikely — or more accurately, frustrated — source in Kapanen, who had gone goalless in his first nine games.

Stealing a puck on the left-wing wall of the offensive zone, ex-Wild forward Jason Zucker centered a pass to the front of the crease for Kapanen, who deked goaltender Cam Talbot with a forehand-to-backhand-to-forehand move and slid the puck into the cage at the 16:33 mark of the first period. Zucker and Rodrigues had assists.

Kapanen’s lack of production until Saturday had irked him vividly for weeks.

“I’ve got to thank everybody on the ice in helping me out and making great plays for me,” Kapanen said. “That first one, (Zucker) threw it in front of the net and I was by myself. To be honest, I didn’t think it was going in at first. A good feeling that it went in.”

Kapanen didn’t have to wait nearly as long for his second goal, as he scored again at the 19:04 mark. Pushing play into the offensive zone on the right wing, Rodrigues allowed the play to develop and slipped a pass above the right circle for Kapanen, who cracked a one-timer that blew past Talbot’s blocker on the far side. Rodrigues and Zucker claimed assists once again.

It became a 3-1 contest at 13:34 of the second period. Off a give-and-go sequence in the right circle of the offensive zone with linemate Bryan Rust — activated from injured reserve on Saturday afternoon — Penguins forward Jake Guentzel whipped a wrister from the high slot past Talbot’s glove for his third goal.

Forward Jeff Carter supplied an effective screen on the sequence while Rust and defenseman Mike Matheson were credited with assists.

The Wild pulled back within one at 16:57 of the second period. Settling a pass above the left circle of the offensive zone, Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin lobbed a wrister towards the cage. Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon reached out into the circle with his stick and deflected the puck with his blade. That was followed by Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek, positioned to the left of the crease, getting his own stick on the puck and redirecting it past Jarry’s right shoulder on the near side for his fourth goal. Spurgeon and Brodin tallied assists.

Kapanen completed his first career hat trick at 8:45 of the third period just as a power-play opportunity expired. Taking a pass above the left circle of the offensive zone, Kapanen surveyed for a shot then ripped a wrister that clunked off the near post, deflected into the lap of Goligoski and bobbled into the vacant cage. Rust and defenseman Kris Letang had assists.

Minnesota persisted and pulled Talbot for an extra attacker. The tactic paid off handsomely.

First, Spurgeon claimed his second at 16:41 of the third. Settling a puck at the left point of the offensive zone, he worked his way to center point and lobbed a wrister through a phalanx of bodies and past Jarry’s glove. Gaudreau and Kaprizov were credited with assists.

Then, at the last second — the 19:57 mark, actually — Ryan Hartman’s fifth goal tied the contest.

After Hartman beat Penguins forward Teddy Blueger on a draw in the Penguins’ right circle, the Wild maintained possession in the offensive zone, eventually collapsing around the cage. Through that chaos, Hartman settled a bouncing puck in the right circle and immediately fired a wrister past a scrambling Jarry’s glove on the near side. Defenseman Matt Dumba and forward Adam Beckman had assists.

Following an overtime period that featured a handful of quality chances for both squads, including a foiled breakaway by Zucker at the 4:03 mark, each team went to the shootout.

Guentzel and Rust were successful on their shootout attempts, but Letang and Kapanen were denied.

Meanwhile, Wild forwards Kevin Fiala, Kaprizov and Nick Bjugstad, a Penguins cast-off, scored to claim an improbable victory.

Jarry made 36 saves on 40 shots in regulation and overtime as his record slid to 4-2-2.

As for his team, the Penguins are hoping they’re not sliding in a bad direction after their last two contests.

“It’s different reasons in both games,” said assistant coach Todd Reirden, substituting for head coach Mike Sullivan, who is currently in isolation for covid-19. “But clearly, it’s a time when you have the lead in the game and you need to get better at securing it and get better at playing with a lead. We’ll continue to address that and continue to push forward.”

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