Pittsburgh is hurting right now, after dropping their third straight game, a 3-2 shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday, but Sergei Murashov? He was absolutely brilliant, keeping the Penguins in a game where, for long stretches, they had no business being. The Jackets ultimately prevailed, but Murashov’s 43 saves on 45 shots were a monumental effort that deserved a better fate.
Two Periods of Pure Frustration in Columbus
Let’s just say the first two periods were… rough. After two poor showings against the Winnipeg Jets and Washington Capitals, you’d think the Penguins would come out firing against a team they usually handle. Nope. Columbus was skating circles around them, plain and simple. Pittsburgh looked disjointed, couldn’t get anything going, and the shot clock told the whole miserable story: just three shots in the first period, and a grand total of six by the end of the second. That’s just unacceptable. Damon Severson put the Jackets up 1-0 midway through the first, and Mathieu Olivier doubled that lead to 2-0 with just over eight minutes left in the second. Columbus had sustained zone time, they controlled the ice, and the Penguins just looked lost. It was ugly, folks.
The Third Period Comeback and OT Heartbreak
Then, something finally clicked. Late in the second, Bryan Rust, in only his second game after making his season debut, pulled one back with his patented power move around a defender and across the net-front. That cut the deficit to 2-1 and gave them a tiny spark. In the third, the team finally found some life. A little over three minutes into the final frame, the Penguins’ first line was pressuring. Evgeni Malkin crashed the net, Erik Karlsson sent a shot his way, and Malkin poked it through the five-hole of Jackets netminder Cam Talbot. Suddenly, it was tied, 2-2! Murashov, who had already stopped 40 of 42 shots in regulation, continued his stellar play, pushing the game to a back-and-forth overtime. But even his brilliance couldn’t seal the deal, and a shootout was forced.
Shootout Woes Continue For the Pens
You know the drill by now: shootouts have not been kind to the Penguins in recent years. And Friday was no different. None of Rickard Rakell, Egor Chinakhov, or Ben Kindel could beat Talbot. Kent Johnson, on the other hand, managed to get one past Murashov, giving Columbus the 3-2 win. This marks the Penguins’ 15th shootout loss in their last 18 attempts. They snatched a point, sure, but what does it say when your goalie stands on his head, stops 43 shots, helps you battle back from a two-goal deficit, and you still can’t close it out? The Penguins are facing the Washington Capitals next. Let’s hope they find their “A-game” then, because this team has to figure out how to put a full 60 minutes together.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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