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The New York Rangers traded captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday afternoon. And they entered their game against Kris Letang and the Pittsburgh Penguins having lost six of their last seven. However, none of that mattered on Friday night. Artemi Panarin scored twice to help defeat Pittsburgh 4-2 at Madison Square Garden.
The Penguins had entered this game on a four-game winning streak. But it came crashing down in a major way in New York. Pittsburgh is now 11-13-4 on the season as they navigate the early stages of a potential rebuild.
Rebuild or not, Letang expects more from his team. The veteran defenseman knows what his teammates are capable of. But it simply did not show on Friday night. “We didn’t play well at all. We didn’t execute on pretty much anything. There’s not any good things to take away from this game,” the Penguins defenseman said, via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Jason Mackey.
Penguins stumble after impressive winning streak
At one point, it seemed as if Pittsburgh was in a bit of a freefall. The Penguins traded Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals to spark a potential rebuild. Some reports suggested that head coach Mike Sullivan could be on the way out if things continued to go south.
However, the team turned things around. They defeated the Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, and Calgary Flames to close out the month of November. Moreover, they beat the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in overtime to ring in the month of December.
The Penguins did stumble against the Rangers, however. Panarin scored twice in the first period to give the hosting Blueshirts momentum. And they scored twice in the third period to put the finishing touches on a crucial win over Pittsburgh.
Still, there were some things the team has to be happy to see, despite what Kris Letang said after the game. For instance, Philip Tomasino scored his third goal of the season in the third period to make it a 3-2 game. This is his third goal in five games for the Penguins since a trade from the Nashville Predators on November 25.
The Penguins will want to move on from this loss and get back in the win column. Doing so will be crucial if they want to keep pace with others in the Metropolitan Division. The Penguins retake the ice again on Saturday when they travel home for a two-game homestand that begins with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
