The Pittsburgh Penguins haven’t had trouble scoring goals during their ongoing three-game losing streak.
At least not a certain group of them.
The ones that skate on the top line or the top power-play unit?
They’re doing fine.
The other members of the roster? They’ve offered as much offense as the team’s goaltenders over the past handful of days.
Sunday’s 4-3 home loss to the Los Angeles Kings at PPG Paints Arena was allegorical of the top-heavy attack the Penguins have mounted of late.
The top power-play unit looked dangerous as it went 2 for 4 thanks to scores by forwards Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust. Additionally, Rust scored an even-strength goal.
But for the third consecutive outing, there was no offense from the bottom-three lines nor the blue line.
In contrast, the Kings saw goals from their first line, their second line (twice) and a defenseman.
“It’s very important,” Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson said. “We can’t just have one line going or two lines going. When we’re at our best, everybody’s contributing, both offensively and defensively and chip in. We’ve got to get back to that for sure. We haven’t these past couple of games.”
After neither team scored in the opening frame, Kings top-line forward Alex Iafallo struck first 1 minute, 17 seconds into the second period with his 14th goal of the season.
Penguins forward Sidney Crosby collected his 12th goal at the 8:29 mark of the second. After Evgeni Malkin gained the offensive zone on the left wing, he centered a pass toward the crease for Crosby driving the slot. From just to the left of the crease, Crosby lasered a wrister over goaltender Cal Petersen’s left shoulder on the far side.
The Kings staked a 3-1 lead later in the second thanks to goals by second-line forward Trevor Moore (his sixth at the 10:35 mark) and defenseman Drew Doughty (his fifth at the 13:49 mark).
Rust scored twice in the third period to tie the score.
First, he recorded his 11th goal at the 6:17 mark to make it a 3-2 contest. After he “blocked” a backhander from Penguins defenseman Kris Letang out of the left corner, Rust settled the rebound in the left circle, spun to his left and whipped a wrister to the far side past Petersen’s left shoulder that found twine.
Then he scored a power-play goal at 10:02 of the third with a bit of help from Doughty. Off some precision passing by teammates, Rust controlled the puck to the left of the crease and forced a backdoor pass to Malkin. Doughty read the play like a librarian and broke up the pass only to have it deflect into the cage.
Any notion of a comeback victory was snuffed out when Moore scored again on a breakaway at 13:21.
Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry was busy as he made 34 saves on 38 shots. His record fell to 23-8-5.
His team fell for the third consecutive game, its first losing streak of more than two games since a three-game skid between Nov. 27 and Dec. 1.
Some badly needed secondary scoring could help them avoid a fourth straight defeat.
“We might need to simplify the game a little bit, try and put some more pucks, get some more rebounds goals, things like that,” Rust said. “Team confidence will just kind of go up from there.”
Regardless of the method, the Penguins are seeking a greater contribution from their supporting cast.
“We just need guys to step up and take advantage of the opportunities that are in front of them,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “When our team is at its best, we’re getting balanced scoring, we’ve got a balanced attack. … Lately, that hasn’t been the case and that makes it that much more challenging to win.
“That is something that is obvious that we have to try to correct here.”
Notes: Penguins forward Jake Guentzel recorded his 300th career point with a secondary assist on Rust’s second goal. …. Penguins defenseman Mark Friedman was a healthy scratch for the 11th consecutive game. He has been scratched for 31 of the past 32 games. … The Penguins failed to score a goal in the first period for the fifth consecutive game. … Petersen was the third right-catching goaltender the Penguins have faced this season. Previously, they played Karel Vejmelka of the Arizona Coyotes (Jan. 25) and Michael Hutchinson of the Toronto Maple Leafs (Oct. 23).
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