Tim Benz: Fizzling loss to Canadiens leaves Penguins homestand 'mission' unfinished

It kinda felt like the Penguins were saying “mission accomplished” before the job was really done.

Anything like that ever happened before?

Heading into Tuesday night’s game against the lowly Montreal Canadiens, the Penguins had been riding a hot streak. They had won seven of nine games. They had risen to the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and were within shouting distance of the New York Rangers for third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Most importantly, the Penguins had won three of their first four contests in what had been deemed a crucial homestand. With the Pens teetering on the edge of falling off the playoff cliff, Mike Sullivan’s team began a five-game, eight-day stint at PPG Paints Arena on March 7 — mainly against Metro Division foes.

They managed to grab seven of a possible eight points over the first four games, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets, Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers, while claiming an overtime loser point against the New York Islanders.

Many fans and media members insisted that the Pens needed to soak up at least seven or eight points to make the homestand an effective one. The only thing standing in the way of turning the homestand from good to great was a Montreal team that:

• Had lost seven in a row

• Was last in the Atlantic Division with just 58 points

• Had lost 8-4 at home to the Colorado Avalanche the night before and had to travel across the border overnight to play in Pittsburgh

Surely a multi-goal win was forthcoming to give the Penguins nine of a possible 10 points during this all-important week of games.

Right?

Especially after the Penguins took a 2-0 lead within the first five minutes of the first period.

Right?

Here's a look at Jake Guentzel's 400th career point!

Oh, and by the way, this means half off Jake's Shakes tomorrow at @MShakeFactory! pic.twitter.com/QLHg3JoBmV

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 14, 2023

Blink and you'll miss this rocket of a one-timer from Evgeni Malkin pic.twitter.com/X3EqryNv0A

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 14, 2023

Next thing we knew, though, Montreal was up 4-2 at the end of the first and won the game in regulation 6-4.

So much for those eighth and ninth points on the homestand. So much for that “mission accomplished” vibe.

“We didn’t give them a lot. It wasn’t the quantity of the looks. But the quality that they got was way too good. And they scored on them,” defenseman Marcus Pettersson said Tuesday night.

That assessment was echoed by head coach Mike Sullivan during his postgame comments. Appropriately so, because while the Penguins outshot Montreal 43-22, they still lost 6-4.

The Penguins dominated in other areas, too, such as winning the special teams battle with two power play goals while allowing none. They owned the faceoff circle, winning 68.5% of the draws. And they had 15 takeaways to Montreal’s seven.

Yet the Penguins lost anyway. Goaltending was a big part of that as Tristan Jarry got pulled after allowing those four first period goals on seven shots.

Regardless of how it has all come to pass, the Penguins continue to be a tortuous group to root for this year because of — as Sullivan himself has so often said — the “volatility” of his team.

“It’s obviously not good enough because we didn’t wind up on the right side of the result,” Sullivan said. “There’s a number of areas. We’ll look at it. We’ll learn from it. We’ll try to get better. Then we’ll move by it. We can’t change it now. We missed an opportunity.”

You can use the word volatility to describe how the Penguins were on this 3-1-1 homestand. You can use that word to encapsulate blowing a 2-0 lead five minutes in against a lousy team from Montreal. You can use that turn of phrase to paint the picture of a four-goal comeback against a lousy team from Columbus.

You can use “volatility” to paint the word picture of blowing a two-goal, third-period lead en route to an overtime loss against the Islanders on Thursday or blowing a third-period lead en route to an overtime win over the Rangers on Sunday.

“No answers. But we’ve got to figure it out. Because it’s not good enough,” winger Jason Zucker said after the loss.

He’s right. It isn’t “good enough.” At all. Because after the loss to Montreal, the Penguins (with 15 games remaining) have just a two-point lead on the Islanders, who own the final wild-card spot and a five-point lead on the Florida Panthers who are ninth place trying to climb their way into the playoff bracket.

Now the Penguins begin a new five-game, week-long stretch. Four of the games are on the road — New York twice, Colorado and Dallas. All four of those road games are against teams currently in a playoff position.

Time to start a new mission.

Let’s just hope the Penguins finish it the right way this time.