Penguins' power play falters in 1st shutout loss to Flames since 1982

Entering Thursday’s home game against the Calgary Flames, Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith had a vantage point few others could boast of in observing his team’s success.

The end of the bench where the gate is.

Before Thursday, DeSmith had played in only one of a possible six games through the first two-plus weeks of the season.

So, he has had plenty of time to ruminate over what has led to his team’s sturdy start to the season despite being without the talents of forwards Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin or defenseman Kris Letang, each of whom is sidelined because of various medical concerns.

“Everybody knows the system works if everybody is on the same page,” DeSmith said. “(It’s) a five-man system … six-man, including the goalie. It’s just a commutative effort from everybody. When we play the right way, it’s pretty fun to watch. We can shut teams down and generate a lot of offense. And obviously, get by without Sid or (Malkin, Letang), whoever it is.

“We can still put a really quality effort forward.”

The Penguins largely did that Thursday but still lost to the Flames, 4-0, at PPG Paints Arena. The Penguins outshot the Flames, 45-35, but the visitors outperformed the hosts with regards to the numbers posted in the biggest font on the scoreboard.

DeSmith made 31 saves as his record fell to 0-1-1. For the Flames, it was their first shutout of the Penguins in nearly 40 years. Their last such result was a 4-0 home win at the Stampede Corral on Jan. 16, 1982. One-time Penguins goaltender Pat Riggin made 29 saves in that triumph.

Current Flames goaltender Jacob Markstrom, a 6-foot-6 leviathan, swallowed up seemingly every shot the Penguins flung into his frame.

“He’s obviously really big,” Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson said. “And the knock on big goalies is sometimes they don’t move too well. He was great tonight. There was a lot of plays where we were able to get him going east-west, side to side and open him up, hopefully. He did a great job of closing down the angle and making some big saves.”

The Flames scorched the Penguins first, scoring at 7 minutes, 22 seconds of the opening period. After an offensive-zone turnover by Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin, Flames star forward Johnny Gaudreau tipped the puck past pinching Penguins defenseman John Marino at the Calgary blue line. Creating his own rush into the Penguins’ zone, Gaudreau lifted a wrister from the left circle that fluttered by DeSmith’s glove on the far side for his first goal of the season.

A marvelous opportunity to tie the score was not capitalized upon by the Penguins roughly midway through the first period when former Penguins defenseman Erik Gudbranson high-sticked Penguins forward Jason Zucker at the 12:34 mark and drew blood, resulting in a double minor. That infraction — coupled with a previous high-sticking penalty by Flames forward Blake Coleman just 19 seconds earlier — provided the Penguins 1:41 of a five-on-three power-play sequence.

In total, the Penguins had 4:19 of power-play time during the first period but were held without a goal despite putting seven shots (off 13 attempts) on net. Markstrom was tuned in during the barrage. In particular, he made two spectacular denials of Zucker (14:22 mark) and forward Jake Guentzel (16:01).

“Obviously, we’d like to score there,” Sullivan said. “I think it potentially could be the difference in the game if we do. If we get a five-on-three (power-play sequence) for that extended period of time, you hope you score a goal. The guys, they had a significant amount of looks. They had five or six scoring chances, a couple of really good ones that didn’t go in the net for us. But obviously, we’d like to score there.”

An additional five-on-four power play opportunity for the Penguins at 16:13 of the second period was also fruitless as the Penguins generated one shot on three attempts.

“We had some chances,” said Guentzel, who has gone five games without a goal. “We’d definitely like to get one or two there for sure. We’ve just got to stick with working on the little things. Just make sure we’re moving and not stagnant out there. … Shoot the puck and create some rebounds that way. Got the chances, just didn’t go in.”

It became a 2-0 game 1:04 into the third period. After Penguins forward Sam Lafferty lost a defensive zone draw in the left circle to Flames forward Mikael Backlund, Flames defenseman Oliver Kylington settled the puck at the left point then fed it to the center point. From there, Coleman golfed a one-timer that sailed through a combined screen of Flames forward Tyler Pitlick and Penguins defenseman Mark Friedman and beat DeSmith’s left skate for Coleman’s third goal.

The Flames added an insurance goal at 10:15 of the third. After an offensive zone entry on the left wing, Gaudreau fed a cross-ice pass for forward Dillon Dube, who glided into the right circle and toasted DeSmith’s glove hand with a wrister on the near side for his first goal.

The scoring was capped at the 11:44 mark. After a neutral-zone turnover by Penguins forward Drew O’Connor, Flames forward Milan Lucic converted that charity by firing a wrister from the left circle through DeSmith’s legs for his second goal.

For the Flames, it was their fifth consecutive win. The Penguins have lost two consecutive games and have been limited to a total of one goal over those 120 minutes that have been played without the services of forwards Jeff Carter and Bryan Rust as well as Crosby, Malkin and Letang.

“Yeah, definitely we’re missing these guys a lot, for sure,” forward Dominik Simon said. “But you can’t blame the loss on that. We had a lot of chances. They didn’t go in. Should have played better.”