An interesting quirk in the Pittsburgh Penguins schedule offered defenseman Erik Karlsson a walk down memory lane.
The Penguins played on the road in Ottawa on Tuesday night, falling in overtime, and on Thursday night they welcomed the San Jose Sharks to PPG Paints Arena.
For Karlsson, this means he plays his two former clubs in back-to-back games.
Karlsson, drafted 15th overall by the Senators in 2008, played the first nine years of his NHL career there, winning the Norris Trophy twice (2012, 2015), before joining San Jose prior to the 2018-19 campaign.
By the time he was dealt to Pittsburgh last summer in a blockbuster trade, Karlsson had added a third Norris Trophy to his mantle following his 101-point performance in 2022-23.
Karlsson relished the chance to reconnect with old acquaintances, but after making his first trip to San Jose as an opposing player on Nov. 4, coupled with many games at the Canadian Tire Center in Ottawa, since leaving town six years ago, he dulls the emotions of the meeting against former teams.
“I’ve been to San Jose once already this year, so that took the pressure off a little bit,” he said. “I’ve been in Ottawa to play against Ottawa for quite a few years. Obviously it’s special because you have a lot of people around that you know and stuff like that. It’s just fun.”
Down but not out?
From afar, the Penguins’ postseason hopes look all but gone.
Internally, president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas, who opted to trade star winger Jake Guentzel before the NHL trade deadline, certainly seems to suggest that belief.
On top of that, the Penguins’ lackluster play of late, with the club posting a 1-5-1 record in March, doesn’t lend much optimism that they’re destined for playoff hockey.
That said, for all the Penguins’ struggles this year and recently, several Eastern Conference opponents who are also contending for the postseason have largely failed to secure their own berth.
Detroit has lost six straight Thursday, while the Capitals and Devils have lost a pair of straight. New Jersey is 3-7 in its last 10 games, compared to the Penguins’ mark of 3-6-1.
Inside PPG Paints Arena, “the track is getting shorter” is a phrase uttered semi-frequently by coach Mike Sullivan, illustrating the heightened sense of urgency his club must keep in mind as the regular season winds down.
The Penguins (28-27-9) entered Thursday’s game seven points out of the wild-card position with 18 games to play.
Despite the weak performance so far in March, this is exactly where they were a month ago on February 14th.
On March 4, after a disastrous trip to the Pacific Northwest and Alberta that may have been their weakest outing all season, the Penguins were 10 points out of a wild-card spot.
“We’re in a difficult situation right now, but it’s not insurmountable,” Sullivan said. “For me, that’s the most important thing — understanding that we’re not eliminated until we’re eliminated. We have to control what we can and do everything we can to stay competitive and win games.”
Notes:
• Tristan Jarry should start in net against San Jose. Jarry is 18-21-5 with a 2.69 goals-against average and .909 save percentage this year. He recently made 37 saves on 39 shots in a 2-1 loss to the Senators on Tuesday.
• The Penguins used the following lines and defense pairings at Thursday’s morning skate:
8 Michael Bunting – 87 Sidney Crosby – 17 Brian Rust
10 Drew O’Connor – 71 Evgeny Malkin – 67 Ricard Raquel
19 Riley Smith – 20 Lars Eller – 48 Valtteri Puustinen
52 Emil Bemström – 55 Noel Acciari – 77 Jeff Carter
28 Marcus Peterson – 58 – Kris Letang
27 Ryan Graves – 65 Eric Carlson
7 John Ludwig – 73 BY Joseph
5 Ryan Shea – 18 Jesse Puljujarvi
• Power-play grouping was as follows:
Crosby, Letang, Rust, Orr, Banting; Karlsson, Malkin, Rakell, Smith, Carter.
Justin Guerriero is a TribLive reporter covering the Penguins, Pirates and college sports. Born in Pittsburgh, he attended Central Catholic University and graduated from the University of Colorado. He joined the Trib in 2022 after covering the Colorado Buffaloes for Rivals and freelancing for the Denver Post. He can be reached at [email protected].
