Penguins shut out by Rangers in ugly season opener

Lars Eller isn’t the face of the Pittsburgh Penguins. There is a luminary approximately 10 stalls away from him in the team’s dressing room who has that duty in Sidney Crosby.

But Eller isn’t hesitant to speak on their behalf, especially when some hard truths need to be expressed.

With the franchise having gone two consecutive springs without a playoff series, the veteran defensive center understands the quandary the Penguins find themselves in entering the season.

“We should have urgency,” Eller said Sept. 18, the day the team opened training camp. “We should want to have that redemption feeling, revenge on ourselves from last year. I hope we’re going to have that mindset.”

Their mindset did not appear to be in a good place Wednesday as they opened the season with an ugly 6-0 loss to the New York Rangers at PPG Paints Arena.

With their intricately reconfigured and highly scrutinized power play going 0 for 3 (with a short-handed goal against) as well as goaltender Tristan Jarry getting perforated like a train ticket by the visitors, the 2024-25 Penguins already look a lot like the 2023-24 squad that stumbled for the better part of seven months.

Rangers forward Sam Carrick opened the scoring 2 minutes, 24 seconds into regulation.

Accepting a pass at the right point of the offensive zone, Rangers defenseman and longtime Penguins nemesis Jacob Trouba chucked a wrister toward the cage. Battling with Penguins defenseman Kris Letang above the crease, Carrick re-directed the puck with his stick to the far side of the crease where it clunked off of the left leg of Penguins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk and into the cage behind Jarry. Trouba and forward Johnny Brodzinkski were credited with assists.

The Rangers appeared to double their lead at 9:48 of the first period, but a would-be goal by forward Will Cuylle was nullified after the Penguins issued a successful coach’s challenge, citing the sequence as offside.

A valid goal was scored by Rangers forward Alexis Lafreniere at 17:23 of the opening frame.

After stripping Eller of a puck in the Rangers’ zone, Rangers forward Artemi Panarin backhand-flipped it to the neutral zone, allowing Lafreniere to surge into the Penguins’ zone. As Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson raced back and slid on a failed attempt to knock the puck away, Lafreniere patiently waited his opportunity and snapped a wrister through Jarry’s legs. The lone assist went to Panarin.

Rangers forward Chris Kreider put his team up by a field goal at the 19:48 mark by cleaning up a rebound on a furious goalmouth scramble.

With the Penguins struggling to even threaten to steal the puck from the dominant visitors, Trouba blasted a one-timer from above the Penguins’ left circle. Jarry made a save with his left leg but allowed a rebound above the crease. With Crosby and linemate Drew O’Connor slow to react, Kreider found fertile real estate to lift a wrister over a scrambling Jarry. Trouba and former Penguins forward Reilly Smith registered assists.

Forward Filip Chytil put the Rangers up by four 9:39 into the second period.

Racing up the right wing into the offensive zone, Cuylle tried to go from his backhand to his forehand and fire a wrister but lost it because of pressure from Pettersson. As Grzelcyk overskated the sequence, Chytil corralled the puck in the right circle and snapped a wrister to the far side that glanced off Jarry’s blocker and into the cage. Cuylle claimed the only assist.

Kreider delivered the coup de grace at 11:35 of the third period with a short-handed goal on a breakaway after tipping a puck past Letang at the New York blue line and racing in on net. There were no assists.

The Penguins led the NHL in short-handed goals allowed last season with 12.

Forward Vince Trocheck, a native of Upper St. Clair, put the Rangers up by a touchdown at 16:59 of the final frame. Lafreniere and Panarin had assists.

Unofficially, Jarry made 35 saves on 41 shots in the defeat.

Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin stopped all 29 shots he faced.

Notes: Penguins forward Valtteri Puustinen and defenseman Ryan Shea were healthy scratches. … Former Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel was a healthy scratch for the Rangers.