Penguins looking to build on win over Stanley Cup champs heading into busy Thanksgiving weekend

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ five-game winning streak was abruptly halted by a dud of a performance last Thursday. They lost 5-2 at home to the New Jersey Devils.

“In any area, we weren’t really good, to be honest,” captain Sidney Crosby admitted after the defeat. “We didn’t execute well… They were a desperate team. They played better. They outworked us. Some nights, you’re not going to have your best.”

That result was coupled with a 4-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh two nights later. The game was really a 3-2 contest that Carolina buffered with an empty-net goal late in the third period. It was a better effort for the Pens but a typically frustrating outcome against their division rivals, who had swept all four games last year, each by one goal.

The momentum built during their five-game jaunt to open November was beginning to erode.

Which is why Sunday’s 3-0 shutout of the Vegas Golden Knights was so important. Blanking the defending Stanley Cup champions in front of the home crowd in a crisp, efficient manner is exactly what was necessary to recalibrate heading into a busy Thanksgiving weekend of games.

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“(Sunday’s win) really reinforces what kind of game we have to commit to playing in order to get success,” forward Lars Eller said. “When we do that, we’ve shut out quite a few teams here. So we have that game within the team. But we have to bring that mentality every night. And that’s the challenge.”

Head coach Mike Sullivan was particularly happy with his team’s commitment to minimizing Vegas’ attempts in the transition game.

“We did a better job having numbers back, making sure we stayed above the puck and above people,” Sullivan said after the victory. “That’s just a discipline that we have to develop, and we’ve got to apply consistently game in and game out. I think when we do that, we limit our opponents’ transition games and their ability to generate scoring chances off the rush. I thought the last couple of games that we weren’t as good in that area. That’s an important aspect of winning in this league.”

Eller echoed that point of execution when discussing the team’s success against the defending league champs.

“We are striving to eliminate the odd-man rushes and turning the puck over at the wrong times. We are trying to keep it once we have it as much as possible,” Eller explained. “When we do those things, it should lead to less scoring opportunities for the opposition. When you’re playing a good team, you’re not getting a whole lot of chances in the other end, either. So, some shifts, you just have to defend and commit to defending.”

To Eller’s point, there will be some good opponents coming up as the Penguins (18 points) play three of the next four days around the Thanksgiving holiday.

On Wednesday night, the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Rangers (25 points) are in town. That’s followed by a trip to Buffalo on Friday to play the Sabres (17 points). Then the Toronto Maple Leafs come to PPG Paints Arena on Saturday (22 points). Toronto is currently third in the Atlantic Division. They feature Auston Matthews, whose 14 goals are tied with Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor for the league lead.

To navigate through this busy stretch, Eller says it’s as important to learn from the positive things that he and his teammates accomplished against Vegas as it was important to absorb the negative lessons learned in the defeats against the Devils and Hurricanes.

“Some shifts when chances are there, we’ll take them. But we can’t force the passes in plays,” Eller said. “When we do that, we get in trouble, and we lose.”

Listen: Tim Benz and Brian Metzer preview the Penguins’ busy stretch of games over Thanksgiving weekend.