Penguins routed by Devils as losing streak hits 3 games

It was 1980s night Thursday at PPG Paints Arena.

The Penguins, in the pursuit of boosting ticket sales, have staged such theme nights in recent years.

And on this occasion, there was plenty of nostalgia from mullet wigs to eight-bit graphics on the video board to a cover band playing the likes of Prince and Van Halen.

Also present was a level of defense by the home club that resembled the dark days the franchise experienced before Mario Lemieux’s arrival in 1984.

Blitzed by a thoroughly unremarkable opponent, the Penguins were routed by the New Jersey Devils, 6-1 and suffered their third consecutive loss. The result matched the Penguins’ worst margin of defeat this season, a 6-1 road loss to the Washington Capitals on Nov. 14.

That defeat more than three months ago took place when a number of Penguins players — and even coach Mike Sullivan — were just returning from being in isolation for concerns related to covid-19.

In Thursday’s setback, the primary malady for the Penguins was a rotten start.

Allowing the Devils to score three goals within the first 6 minutes, 44 seconds of regulation, they never recovered.

It marked the fifth consecutive game the Penguins yielded the first goal.

“It starts with a good start,” Penguins forward Sidney Crosby said. “That would go a long way if we could give ourselves a better start. We’ve been chasing games the last few, and it hasn’t turned out great for us. If we start there and we’ve got to put a few periods together. We’ve just got to be better. We’re not playing the way we’re capable of right now.”

It took forward Jesper Bratt, New Jersey’s leading scorer, only 1:16 into the game to strike first. Gaining the offensive zone, Devils forward Nico Hischier created a two-on-one rush against Penguins defenseman John Marino. From the right circle, Hischier forced a backhand pass to Bratt but had it broken up by Marino. On the ensuing rebound, Hischier was able to claim possession and shuffled a forehand pass to the left of the crease where Bratt tapped in a forehand shot for his 15th goal of the season. Hischier and linemate Pavel Zacha had assists.

Bratt scored again at 5:47 of the first period. Winning a race to a loose puck in his own right corner, Penguins forward Evan Rodrigues served up an errant pass to the right circle for no one in particular. Bratt claimed the charity and roofed a wrister past goaltender Tristan Jarry’s blocker on the far side. There were no assists.

The Penguins finally found a way to deny Bratt a goal when they allowed Devils forward Yegor Sharangovich to score his 11th goal only 57 seconds later. After Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson tumbled in his own right corner and lost the puck, Devils defenseman P.K. Subban settled it at the right point then slid a pass below the right circle. Facing no resistance, Sharangovich scorched a wrister past Jarry’s glove on the near side. Subban had the only assist.

Sullivan called a timeout to get his beleaguered outfit organized.

“It doesn’t matter who it is,” Penguins defenseman Mike Matheson said. “Every team in this league is great and has good players. (They’re) difficult to come back on. Tonight was no different. It’s difficult to be down 3-0 right at the beginning of the game and fighting it the rest of the way trying to get back into it. It’s not a recipe for success.”

To open the second period, the Penguins altered their second and third lines, but those alterations did little to stymie the Devils, who made it a 4-0 contest at the 9:24 mark. Chasing down a puck dumped into his own end boards, Pettersson had his pocket picked by forechecking Devils forward Jack Hughes, who stole the puck and shuffled a backhand pass to the left of the cage. From there, Devils forward Dawson Mercer flicked a wrister past Jarry’s glove on the far side for his 12th goal. Hughes netted the lone assist. Pettersson broke his stick over the cage in frustration.

It was the third goal the Devils scored almost directly off a defensive zone turnover by the Penguins, including two by the typically reliable Pettersson.

“We’ve got to make better decisions (with the puck),” Sullivan said. “We simply have to make better decisions. When we do, we don’t put our team in those circumstances.”

The Penguins’ power play struck at 11:13 of the second period. Gaining the offensive zone on the left wing, Crosby fed a pass that glanced off the left skate of linemate Jake Guentzel and deflected to the slot for forward Evgeni Malkin. Attacking the cage, Malkin who fired a wrister past goaltender Nico Daws’ glove for his seventh goal. Assists went to Guentzel and Crosby.

The Devils’ power play responded at 13:37 of the second. Setting up shop at the left point of the offensive zone, Devils defenseman Damon Severson took a simple pass and stroked a one-timer through a phalanx of bodies and beyond Jarry’s glove on the far side for his seventh goal. Hughes and Hischier tallied assists.

Jarry was pulled, potentially for humane purposes, and replaced by backup Casey DeSmith. It marked the first time this season Jarry was pulled from a start.

Hischier poured it on at 9:30 of the third period with another power-play score. From the right corner of the offensive zone, Hughes dished a pass to the slot for Hischier, who snapped a wrister past DeSmith’s blocker for his 14th goal. The only assist went to Hughes.

Jarry stopped 14 of 19 shots as his record fell to 25-11-6. DeSmith finished with 16 saves on 17 shots.

The 21-year-old Daws, a rookie appearing in only his fifth career game, appeared to be celebrating the 1990s and 2000s by imitating Devils goaltending great Martin Brodeur. Continuing a legacy of nondescript reserve Devils goaltenders such as Scott Clemmensen, Corey Schwab and Scott Wedgewood who have had success against the Penguins, Daws made 37 saves on 38 shots, boosting his record to 3-1-0.

Meanwhile, Sullivan is searching for ways to boost his scuttling squad.

“The last few games, we’ve beat ourselves in a lot of different ways,” Sullivan said. “I don’t think it’s from a lack of effort. In certain areas, there’s lapses in the game where we’re just not diligent. … We put ourselves in tough spots with some of the decisions that we make.

“There are a number of things during the last three games that we know we can be better as a group.”

One of those things would be a better start than the Penguins have offered as of late.

“It just seems like it’s taking us a while to get into games, and, by that time, we’re kind of chasing the game,” Crosby said. “It’s happened, for sure, in two of the three (past games). We’re chasing the game. We’re not executing, anywhere.”

Notes: The Penguins scratched rookie forward Kasper Bjorkqvist and defenseman Mark Friedman, who remains an active part of the NHL roster despite being sent to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Monday for a conditioning assignment. … Referee Furman South, a native of Sewickley and an alumnus of the Robert Morris men’s program, officiated the game.