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    • Penguins shut out by Oilers, losing streak reaches 4
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    Penguins shut out by Oilers, losing streak reaches 4

    Pabio Posted on

    At some point this season, the Pittsburgh Penguins will likely assign rookie goaltender Joel Blomqvist to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, if only for procedural reasons related to the salary cap .

    And such a demotion could be beneficial for Blomqvist.

    That’s because it’s hard to imagine the AHL Penguins putting up a defensive performance as sordid as the one their NHL counterparts exhibited Friday in a 4-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers in Rogers Place in Edmonton.

    Split by a collection of All-Star offensive entities employed by the Oilers, the Penguins unofficially gave up a season-worst 50 shots and were only able to muster 27 shots of their own.

    Blomqvist, in his first NHL season, made a career-high 46 saves. The 50 shots given up by the Oilers was a high for any team in 2024-25.

    “You stay in the game pretty well when shots are coming at you all the time,” Blomqvist told media in Edmonton via an audio recording provided by the team’s media relations staff. “You can’t really choose what happens to you in the game. You just have to be ready for anything.

    This is the Penguins’ seventh straight loss to the Oilers, their longest active losing streak against an opponent (0-7-0).

    As part of their lackluster season, the Penguins lost their fourth straight game (0-3-1) and were shut out for the second time this season (in just nine games).

    “It’s concerning because we’re just not good enough right now,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “We didn’t play hard enough. We didn’t play together as a group. We weren’t good enough.

    The premature departure of forward Cody Glass, who left the game late in the second period due to illness, amplified the Penguins’ woes, according to one of the team’s social media accounts. There was no immediate word on his status.

    After a scoreless first period in which the hosts outscored the visitors 19-5, the Oilers broke the deadlock exactly 13 minutes into the second period with their 34th shot of the game.

    Tapping a puck past Penguins forward Kevin Hayes at the blue line near the visitors’ bench, Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl crossed the neutral zone and gained the Penguins zone on the right wing. With Penguins defenseman Kris Letang applying passive pressure, Draisaitl accepted the open space and fired a deceptive wrist shot to the other side past Blomqvist’s blocker. The puck flew off the post and hit the cage for Draisaitl’s fourth goal of the season. His teammate Viktor Arvidsson and defenseman Evan Bouchard had assists.

    Bouchard’s second goal came at 17:34 of the second period.

    Controlling the play in the left circle of the offensive zone, Arvidsson considered his options for a moment then fired a pass above the opposite circle. Accepting the puck, Bouchard waited until kneeling Penguins forward Anthony Beauvillier slid out of the shooting lane on a blocking attempt, then grabbed and tore a wrist from Blomqvist’s blocker. Arvidsson and teammate Vasily Podkolzin racked up assists.

    The Penguins issued a coach’s challenge suggesting the sequence was offside, but officials found no evidence of those claims and assessed a delay of game penalty on the visitors.

    It took the Oilers 16 seconds to score on their first shot of the third period as forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored his first goal.

    After Letang attempted to play a puck up the ice from his own crease, Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm blocked those designs and kept the puck in the Penguins zone near the visitors’ bench. The puck bounced in the left circle and Nugent-Hopkins cut it, preventing Letang from recovering it. This allowed Oilers forward Zach Hyman to briefly get into the slot. Nugent-Hopkins circled between the marks, looked down and fired a wrist shot past Blomqvist’s beleaguered blocker. The assists went to Hyman and Ekholm.

    The Oilers took a four-point lead at 7:00 of the final period when defenseman Mattias Ekholm scored his first goal on a power play.

    Following minor interference from Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin, Arvidsson beat Penguins forward Noel Acciari in the right circle of the Penguins zone and slipped the puck to the right point. Taking possession and facing minimal resistance, Ekholm moved to the high slot and sent a wrist shot past Blomqvist’s blocker. Oilers forward Corey Perry provided a good screen down the stretch. The only assist went to Arvidsson.

    Valiant in defeat but distressed for much of the evening, Blomqvist saw his record drop to 2-3-0.

    Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner recorded his first shutout of the season and improved his record to 2-3-0.

    Remarks :

    • Defenseman Marcus Pettersson recorded the Penguins’ first major fight of the season at 14:41 of the third period when he confronted Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse.

    • The Penguins’ most recent victory against the Oilers was a 5-2 road victory on December 20, 2019. Goalkeeper Tristan Jarry made 26 saves on 28 shots in the triumph.

    • The Penguins’ second-longest active losing streak is a pair of four games against the Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators.

    • The previous season’s record for shots against the Penguins was 40, given to the New York Rangers in a 6-0 home loss to open the season.

    • Skinner recorded the Oilers’ first individual shutout against the Penguins in franchise history.

    Previously, the Oilers shut out the Penguins in the last meeting between these teams. During a 4-0 victory at PPG Paints Arena on March 10goalie Calvin Pickard made 41 saves in the victory. Skinner briefly replaced Pickard in this contest for 1:16 of ice time, but did not face a shot on goal.

    • Jarry was eliminated for a third consecutive game. Penguins forward Valtteri Puustinen and defenseman Ryan Shea were also scratched.

    • Draisaitl now has 18 career points (eight goals, nine assists) in 17 career games against the Penguins.

    • Oilers defenseman Troy Stetcher played in his 500th career game.

    Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A native of North Huntingdon, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at [email protected].

    Pabio
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