Penguins secure a point, but it’s hard to feel good about this team: Yohe’s 10 observations

PITTSBURGH — It was progress, since anything other than a complete meltdown would have represented an improvement compared to what happened 48 hours earlier when the Pittsburgh Penguins embarrassed themselves on home ice.

But it wasn't exactly inspiring.

The Penguins looked flat for large chunks of action, then managed to come back from two goals down, but ultimately fell to the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in overtime on Wednesday at PPG Paints Arena. Simon Edvinsson scored the game-winner for the Red Wings not long after Evgeni Malkin was denied after a glorious opportunity to end the game.

"Definitely better," said Bryan Rust , whose second-period goal gave the Penguins some life.

That much is undeniable. The Penguins were embarrassed 7-1 by the Dallas Stars two nights earlier. This was a more competitive game, obviously, and the Penguins didn't endure a meltdown this time. Alex Nedeljkovic played a strong game while Rust and Anthony Beauvillier scored for the Penguins, bringing them back from a 2-0 deficit.

"I think we're fine," Rust said. "There's a lot of season left. We're in a little bit of a hole. We're just going to right the ship as fast as we can."

Marcus Pettersson suggested the Penguins' sluggish first period was partially attributable to what happened against Dallas. There may have been some fear, he said, of a repeat.

"I think that was part of it," Pettersson said. "We were on our heels. It's not going to happen over night. We hustled — have to go one shift at a time right now."

Pettersson acknowledged the Penguins' confidence level isn't exactly sky-high these days.

"It's human nature," he said. "Every team goes through ebbs and flows. It's just up to us to get the confidence back. There isn't a team in the league that's going to give it to us. We need to get a couple of ugly goals and just turn this thing around."

Ten postgame observations

• The Penguins honored Evgeni Malkin in a preseason ceremony in recognition of the future Hall of Famer recently reaching the 500-goal mark.

Malkin was joined on the ice by his son, Nikita, and his parents, Natalia and Vladimir.

It was a great tribute to Malkin, who will go down as one of the greatest Penguins of all time, not to mention one of the most popular. While Crosby will be remembered as the greatest player of his era and will stand second only to Mario Lemieux in Penguins lore, I've always found it interesting that Malkin seems to have a more visceral connection with the fans at PPG Paints Arena.

I've never understood exactly what it means, but it always strikes me. I imagine this is in part because Crosby tends to keep his emotions in check, while Malkin is a volcano at times. Malkin didn't look himself when NHL buildings were partially or completely empty in the aftermath of COVID-19. I don't think that was a coincidence. He feeds on the energy of a good crowd like no player I've ever seen.

• With the Penguins down 2-0 in the second period, Rust scored to wake his team up. It was a goal we have seen so many times.

Rust invariably will try his favorite move once a game, when he gets a step on a defenseman on his off wing, then violently shifts back to his forehand side while fearlessly rushing the net.

We see it all the time. The opposition, if its scouting department is doing its job, most certainly knows the move is coming. And yet it works all the time. He actually set up the Malkin game-winner in Washington last week on a variation of that move.

You can't pull off that move without having a fearless streak. This, of course, has never been a problem for Rust.

• Nothing about Beauvillier's game jumps out at me in a noteworthy way other than the fact that his speed is above average.

That said, the guy has five goals in 18 games. That doesn't happen by accident. He's doing enough to stay in the lineup and then some.

His goal in the second period evened the game at two. Pretty passes from Crosby and Pettersson made it happen.

Is Beauvillier an ideal option on Crosby's left wing? Of course not. But given the roster the Penguins are dealing with, I can understand why they're going in this direction. He's been pretty good, all things considered.

• Given how the Penguins fared on Monday — in case you're not aware, they allowed six goals in the first period at home for the first time in franchise history — you'd have assumed they'd come out of the gates with some fire against the Red Wings.

You'd have thought wrong.

The Penguins mustered one shot on goal in the game's first 13 minutes. It's hard to fathom that a team could look so flat given the circumstances, but that's exactly how it went. While the Penguins didn't allow any goals in the first period, which was a great sign of progress compared to 48 hours earlier, the pace was horrendous and the atmosphere was akin to a preseason game.

Mike Sullivan said following the game he thought his team was overly cautious during the first 10 minutes, which is in line with Pettersson's observation.

The lack of energy from the Penguins, in my view, was concerning. I understand what Pettersson said about a fear of making mistakes after their last outing. It's fair. It makes total sense. But still ... where's the fire? I'm not seeing enough.

• Sam Poulin played at the NHL level for the first time this season and had a fairly nondescript but solid performance. He didn't record a shot on goal nor did he make much of an impact.

He was solid enough, though. I think he just needs to receive a handful of games so the Penguins can find out what they have in him.

"I thought Sam was fine," Sullivan said. "He was strong on pucks. He was pretty good on the wall."

• Poor Blake Lizotte .

The veteran center endured a concussion during a preseason game when he was randomly struck in the head by a puck during warmups. Against the Red Wings, he was standing by the net when an errant Drew O'Connor shot struck him in the face.

Lizotte did not return and Sullivan didn't provide an update.

• Crosby had six shots on goal and nine shot attempts but was held to an assist, remaining two goals away from 600 for his career.

The captain had a couple of looks in tight, but missed the net on a redirection that he typically buries. Just one of those nights. I don't think we'll have to wait much longer to see Crosby notch the milestone goal.

• I thought the duo of Ryan Shea and Ryan Graves was strong.

Graves is hardly playing at an all-world level but the veteran looks better than he did at any point last season. You can see some progress in his game. When he plays with an edge, he's a far more effective player, and he's been doing that quite a bit lately.

Shea, playing for Jack St. Ivany , has handled himself well this season.

• I'm not impressed with Valtteri Puustinen 's game. Given the Penguins' general lack of depth right now, this is a real opportunity for him to establish himself in the lineup. He's not doing it.

Puustinen has one goal and two points in nine games this season and has been invisible in many of his outings. This one was no different. Ten shifts, eight minutes, no shots on goal. And he was barely visible. It's just not good enough.

• Nedeljkovic played a strong game. While the Penguins probably had the better of the play in the final two periods, he was still forced to make a handful of big saves in the third period to keep the game deadlocked.

He did so.

Now things get interesting between the pipes for the Penguins. My guess is Tristan Jarry will get the start in Columbus on Friday, which is sure to get everyone's attention.

I'm of the belief that goaltending isn't one of the Penguins' most pressing problems, but there is still plenty of drama associated with this position largely because of Jarry's considerable struggles. He will very much be in the spotlight should he return on Friday.