With Canucks On the Rise As The Penguins Falter, Pittsburgh Fans Can Wonder What Might Have Been

Sidney Crosby is under contract for two additional years at his traditional good-value cap hit of just $8.7 million. But that’s about the only good-news story for the Pittsburgh Penguins this season. They’re now heading home from their four-game road trip through Western Canada with just one of a possible eight points to show for their efforts.

Three years removed from their last playoff appearance, the Penguins are now 3-6-1 through 10 games. They lead the NHL with 42 goals allowed and are tied with the Detroit Red Wings for the most shots allowed per game, at 35.

Pittsburgh was also outscored 18-9 on the road against Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver — after starter Tristan Jarry was sent home from the road trip following a shaky start to the season.

Jarry hasn’t seen NHL action since Oct. 16 and is now in the AHL on a conditioning assignment. And while raw 22-year-old rookie Joel Blomqvist has looked impressive with 3.7 goals saved above expected in his first five NHL games, he’s not getting much help from the skaters in front of him.

It’s not too often that you see a losing goaltender named third star in a 4-0 defeat. But that was the case for Blomqvist on Friday night in Edmonton, after he became the first stopper to see 50 shots in the NHL this season. With just four starts and five appearances, Blomqvist is already sixth in shots faced this year. Not exactly an optimal way to ease a young goalie into hockey’s top league.

Blomqvist got the night off in Pittsburgh’s 4-3 loss to the Canucks in Vancouver on Saturday, with Alex Nedeljkovic handling goaltending duties. On a back-to-back against a Canucks team that had just enjoyed three days of rest, Pittsburgh did well to build a 2-0 lead while Vancouver got off to a sluggish start. But once Elias Pettersson ignited the crowd at Rogers Arena with his first of the year, that sparked a four-goal outburst in the second period that finished the Penguins for the night.

“There were just breakdowns of us being on the wrong side of the puck and not covering the most dangerous areas on the ice, in front of the net,” Rickard Rakell said after the game. “Giving up so many easy scoring chances. I mean, there were obviously some tough bounces for us, but I mean, we got to prevent that. That was just, like, one after one after one. We got to find a way to settle down, restart.”

Primary assists on two of Vancouver’s four goals came from players who were once part of the Pittsburgh organization.

Teddy Blueger was drafted by the Penguins in the second round in 2012 but didn’t make his NHL debut with the team until 2019. On Saturday, he fed Kiefer Sherwood to knot the game at 2-2 just 43 seconds after Pettersson got the Canucks on the scoreboard.

Daniel Sprong was drafted when Jim Rutherford was in Pittsburgh’s GM chair in 2015. Midway through the middle frame, he blew past Erik Karlsson along the boards in the neutral zone before feeding Arshdeep Bains for his first-career NHL goal, which would also stand up as the game winner.

It has been nearly three years since the Canucks cleaned house in their organization, following a 4-1 home loss to the Penguins on Hockey Night in Canada. After that game on Dec. 4, 2021, the 8-15-2 Canucks fired GM Jim Benning and head coach Travis Green.

Within a few days, Rutherford came on board as president of hockey operations and interim general manager — less than a year after he’d resigned his GM position with Pittsburgh. His hires in Vancouver have included several one-time Penguins personnel, most notably GM Patrik Allvin and head coach Rick Tocchet.

Working in tandem, the trio has reversed the course of a franchise that had been taking on water for the better part of a decade. And after logging a fourth-straight win on Saturday against the Penguins, the Canucks are now 4-1-2 to start the year, with a points percentage that ranks them second in the Pacific Division.

As Kyle Dubas and Mike Sullivan look to get the Penguins back on track, seeing former members of the organization having success in their new market must feel like rubbing salt in an open wound for both the members of the organization and the fans.

But it’s only 10 games in. As Nedeljkovic asserted on Saturday night, there’s still time to reverse course. Look no further than the 2023-24 Edmonton Oilers for a reminder that it can be done.

“We’ve got to find a way to nip it in the bud right now,” Nedeljkovic said. “Regroup and look for a good, strong effort at home on Tuesday.”