Mike Sullivan and the Pittsburgh Penguins were rocked by the Dallas Stars on Monday night. Pittsburgh showed little to no life against Dallas as they fell 7-1 to their Western Conference opponents.
On Tuesday night, the Penguins traded Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals ahead of a potential fire sale. Where this fire sale goes remains to be seen. But Pittsburgh retook the ice on Wednesday to face the Detroit Red Wings.
The Red Wings got off to a fast start on Wednesday. Patrick Kane scored a goal to help Detroit establish a 2-0 lead. The Penguins did fight their way back on Wednesday night. However, promising Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson scored a beautiful overtime winner to give the Winged Wheel a needed victory.
After the game, head coach Mike Sullivan had a positive review of his team’s efforts. “We’re obviously disappointed we didn’t get the win. But I thought our guys played hard. I think there’s a lot of reasons for optimism. We get down 2-0 in the game, we climb back in it, we get two goals… I think there’s a lot to take from that, just from the mindset of players and their determined conviction to get back in the game. So, for me, I thought that was a great response,” the Penguins coach said, via NHL.com.
Penguins drop another game as Red Wings claim needed points
Mike Sullivan watched his Penguins battle back from a 2-0 goal deficit on Wednesday. This is certainly a valiant effort from a team that allowed six goals in the first period a few days ago. However, they could not close the deal. And the Red Wings earned points they truly needed.
The Red Wings are now 7-7-1 on the 2024-25 campaign. Detroit is hoping to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2025. Getting wins in November and December will prove vital in that effort. The Winged Wheel moved into sixth place in the Atlantic Division with Wednesday’s win over Pittsburgh.
The Penguins, meanwhile, dropped their second straight game. And they have won just three of their last 10 games. No team in the Eastern Conference has allowed more goals than the Penguins. Moreover, only three points separate them and the last-place Columbus Blue Jackets in the Metropolitan Division. Still, the Penguins remain positive as they look to try and turn things around.
“Obviously, a loss is a loss,” forward Bryan Rust said, via NHL.com, “but I think the way we responded — we went down two — was a lot better than the way we responded the other night. Obviously, Rome wasn’t built in a day. We’re trying to get this thing going in the right direction as fast as we can. That was a good step.”
