Penguins rally despite losing Rickard Rakell to injury and other observations from shootout loss
Rickard Rakell is more than just a goal-scorer. Unfortunately, the Penguins winger could now be out for a while after showing that in Saturday’s 5-4 loss to Columbus.
Rakell was injured early in the third period at PPG Paints Arena when he stepped in front of a hard shot from Blue Jackets defenseman Damon Severson. The puck hit Rakell’s glove on the back of his left hand. He departed the game and did not return.
After their shootout loss, Dan Muse said only that Rakell was still being evaluated.
“It’s upper body,” the coach said. “We’re still waiting for some more information.”
Needless to say, it would be a significant blow for the Penguins if they were to lose a player who not only scored 35 goals last season, but has also been trusted by this new coaching staff to kill penalties and log important defensive shifts late in games.
That said, they did well to rally back from two down after losing Rakell on Saturday.
Muse was forced to shuffle his forward lines. He alternated Evgeni Malkin and Filip Hallander in Rakell’s vacated spot on Sidney Crosby’s line, with a trickle-down effect from there. It was Anthony Mantha who replaced Rakell on the top power play unit.
Kris Letang and the second unit pulled the Penguins within one goal with 5:06 left.
Muse gave his big guns a quick breather then sent Crosby, Malkin and Bryan Rust back over the boards. They drew a delayed penalty and with their net empty scored 6-on-5. Malkin made a dandy of a pass to set up Rust for his first goal of the season.
The Penguins lost, 3-2, in a shootout. But Crosby was glad they still earned a point.
“Guys realized the lines might be different or things might be switched up a bit. I thought we handled it well,” their captain said. “We had a good push there to get ourselves back in it. The power play had some looks. So I think we handled it well.”
And now they wait for news on Rakell, a valuable player and potential trade chip.
If he misses time, we could see Ville Koivunen get called up to the NHL. Since he was sent down, Koivunen has 11 points in six games for the undefeated Baby Pens.
Here are a few other observations after Pittsburgh’s winning streak ended at four:
Showing signs of decline?
The Penguins were fortunate to come away from three out of a possible four points in their last two games. The Florida Panthers doubled them up in shots Thursday and had them on their heels for much of that game, but the Penguins found a way to win. Then on Saturday, the Blue Jackets outplayed them for much of the game.
Columbus generated 4.51 expected goals, per Sportlogiq. Pittsburgh had just 2.65.
The Penguins have done a lot of good things in the first three weeks of the season, such as displaying a willingness to hustle back on defense and get in front of shots. However, opponents have been exploiting them both via the cycle and off the rush.
Muse acknowledged that the Penguins took a bit of a step back the last two games.
“We saw it in Florida, as well,” Muse said of the defensive issues. “Level of concern? This is the group. You look at the body of the work on the year, there are some big positives in terms of guys sticking with it. You saw that again here tonight. When you have that as a base, it’s good. ... But I think we recognize we have work to do.”
Shootouts aren’t for Silovs
Saturday’s start was a mixed bag for Arturs Silovs. He stopped 37 of 41 shots and came up big in overtime to get the game to the shootout. But rebound control was again a concern for him in regulation, then he failed to stop a single shootout attempt.
It was the third time in Penguins history a goalie went 0 for 3 in a shootout loss.
“It’s a skilled-based game,” the goalie said dismissively. “They [had] good timing.”
Muse has given no indication that he plans to break from his rotation in goal, but Tristan Jarry might be able to separate himself with another strong game Monday.
That was a quick review
Muse made a mistake when he decided to challenge Charlie Coyle’s second-period goal. That was maybe the fastest goalie interference review that I have ever seen.
“The view that I was looking at, we thought [Coyle] there from the overhead, it looked like he was getting his stick in on Silovs’ pad,” Muse said. “I think we looked at it and it wasn’t something that we thought it was 100%. ... And I was on wrong on it.”
At least that did not cost the Penguins a second goal on the scoreboard. They did well to kill the penalty that was assessed to them for that failed coach’s challenge.
Power play scores, but...
The Penguins went 1 for 3 on the power play and now sit at second in the league.
Over their last three games, they scored five times in 10 power-play opportunities.
“[Assistant coach Todd Nelson] is telling us to trust their instincts,” Rust said. “He’s kind of given us a blueprint to be successful, and [tells us] things we can look out for and things that we can do. But I think he has also given us a little bit of freedom to kind of act on our instincts. I think so far, we’ve done a good job. But it’s still early.”
Pittsburgh’s most impressive sequence in Saturday’s loss somehow did not result in a goal. The Penguins were up, 2-1, in the second period when they got their first power play. They hit a post. A moment later, Rakell was unable to elevate his shot over the right pad of Elvis Merzlikins. Then there was a mad scramble in the crease.
Somehow, that puck stayed out. Replays showed the puck skittering along the line.
“It got stuck in his armpit and I thought it was over the line,” Crosby sighed. “I think his stick ended up keeping it on the other side of the goal line. We had a couple of those that were behind him, and they couldn’t find their way in unfortunately.”
The way Sid thinks, he probably feels they would have won had they scored there.
Rust finally on the board
A bright spot in the win was Rust finally getting the monkey off his back this season. Despite getting several good looks, his late tying tally was his first goal of the year.
“Yeah, obviously it’s nice, especially to tie the game up in that situation,” Rust said.
Prior to that, Rust had chances. He was the one who hit the post on the aforementioned power play. He later took a shot from the high slot that just went wide of the post.
Rust has a history of heating up in a hurry, like a microwave scorer in hoops. Now that he’s scored, don’t be surprised if he pumps in a few more goals in short order.
Is Brock Purdy playing today? Full injury update for 49ers QB in Week 8
The San Francisco 49ers are 5-2 heading into their Week 8 road bout against head coach DeMeco Ryans and the 2-4 Houston Texans, thanks largely to the unexpected resurgence of quarterback Mac Jones.
Jones, boasting a 4-1 record as a starter in his first year with the Niners, wasn't exactly expected to be in this kind of role. But, after starting quarterback Brock Purdy suffered a turf-toe injury way back in Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks, Jones' presence has been a godsend.
Purdy has just two starts under his belt as he works his way back from injury. And while each subsequent week suggests the final pick from the 2022 NFL Draft is getting closer to a return, head coach Kyle Shanahan's weekly decisions to inactive the quarterback on gameday seem to reveal the injury is far more serious than originally thought.
But, will that change with San Francisco heading out to Houston?
Will Brock Purdy play for 49ers in Week 8 vs. Texans?
When asked the Monday prior to Week 8's showdown if Purdy would have a shot at starting against the Texans, Shanahan admitted it'd be "a reach," indicating Jones would likely be the go-to option once more.
Purdy was limited in practice on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and there were promising signs he'd be nearing a return.
Then, on Friday for his final injury report, Shanahan declared Purdy would be out against Houston. Jones would get the start, while backup quarterback Adrian Martinez would serve as the QB2 on the depth chart.
Week 8 is the first of two road games for the Niners, and it wouldn't be shocking if Purdy sits out both with eyes on returning for San Francisco in Week 10 against the Los Angeles Rams.
The 49ers square off against the Texans on Sunday, Oct. 26 at 1 p.m. ET from NRG Stadium in Houston.
