The only positive coming out of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ season opener is that they have 81 more games on the schedule. The New York Rangers blanked Pittsburgh, 6-0, dominating from puck drop to the final buzzer.
While it’s true no one should read too much into one game, some of the same concerns from the 2023-24 season are back again.
In addition to controlling the flow of the game, the Rangers won pretty much every category that matters on Wednesday night. New York outshot the Penguins 41-29, won 52.5% of the faceoffs and even doubled Pittsburgh up in blocked shots 20-10. Unlike Pittsburgh, New York’s best players were at their best, too.
Chris Kreider scored twice and Igor Shesterkin picked up his first shutout of the season on Night 1, stopping all 29 shots against him. But for as well as New York played, and as much as people may look at their performance as proof the Rangers are a true contender again, the real story is Pittsburgh.
In September, the Penguins announced they re-signed Sidney Crosby to a two-year contract extension worth $8.7M per year, which keeps him with the franchise through the 2026-27 season. Not that there was ever a real question, but Crosby will finish his career as a Penguin.
However, coming off a season in which the Penguins failed to make the playoffs, it’s fair to wonder what Crosby’s final years will actually be like from a team perspective and if he will have a shot at lifting the Stanley Cup for a fourth time.
There’s no doubt Crosby is still one of the best in the world — he scored 42 goals and totaled 94 points last season. But is there enough around him for the Penguins to contend?
And similar to the issue during the 2023-24 season, Crosby’s future Hall of Fame partner Evgeni Malkin looks slow and a shell of his former self. Malkin finished as a team-worst -3 in the loss to the Rangers.
Despite failing to generate much of an offensive punch, it’s the defense and goaltending that appears to be the biggest concern. In Game 1, the Rangers took advantage of every Penguins mistake.
Can Kris Letang bring enough on the defensive end at this point in his career? After dropping from 101 points two seasons ago to only 56 last season, will Erik Karlsson get back to back to form? These questions still don’t have answers and are looming over the Penguins even more following such a miserable opening night.
But no matter what, the biggest question remains Tristan Jarry in net. Looking to rebound from the 2.91 GAA and 19-25-5 record he posted last season, Jarry was at his absolute worst against the Rangers. The defense let too much get by them, but Jarry also let in some weak goals.
If Jarry can’t get back to how he played from 2019-22, the Penguins don’t have a shot at competing with the NHL’s best.