Penguins Waste Late Chances, Lose Third in Row

Goals weren’t coming in bunches — or even in trickles — by either team for most of the game Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena. That was a good thing for a Pittsburgh Penguins (5-8-2) team defense that has been leaky most of the season. Finally, the Penguins broke through with a pair of goals in the third, but it wasn’t enough in a loss to the Vegas Golden Knights (10-5-2).

The Penguins had a five-on-three power play for 1:22 late in the third with the score tied, but failed to score. Vegas got an even later power play, and Tomas Hertl‘s second goal of the game clinched it.

The Penguins are 0-2-1 in their past three games.

Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs, starting for the fifth time in six games, wasn’t hung out to dry, but he didn’t get the goal support to go along with making 20 saves.

Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill made 23 saves.

Goals

1-0, Vegas–With Hendrix Lapierre in the penalty box for interfering with Vegas’ Raphael Lavoie, the Golden Knights got set up. Goaltender Artus Silovs stopped Mitch Marner‘s shot from the center point, but Tomas Hertl (6) got to the short rebound and roofed the puck under the crossbar on his backhand at 16:36 of the first.

1-1–The Penguins evened it at 1:07 of the third. Sidney Crosby won a faceoff back to Spencer Statsney at the left point. He went D to D to Kaeden Korczak in the opposite circle. Korczak’s shot went off Vegas’ Shea Theodore in front, and Tommy Novak (5) spun to also get his stick on it along the ice as it scooted past Hill at 11;09 of the third.

2-1, Penguins–A pass from Novak from the right wing got through to Rickard Rakell (5), who lifted it past Hill’s blocker from 10 feet.

2-2–Trevor Connelly (6) scored on a breakaway at 11:43 of the third.

3-2, Golden Knights–Hertl (7) scored on a power play on a back-door play with 32.8 seconds left.

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