Pittsburgh Review

The Pittsburgh Penguins concluded their three-game road trip with a 3-1 defeat against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night, which officially ruled them out of playoff contention for the third consecutive season.

"Obviously, we're not where we want to be," Penguins Head Coach Mike Sullivan said. "We all understand that. We know where we're at. We know where we’ve got to go, and we’ve got to keep working toward that."

Despite entering the game with slim hopes, the Penguins were unable to maintain the momentum from a significant victory over Dallas the previous night.

“Both teams looked a little loose (in the first period), and I think they were able to get to their game a little quicker than we were able to get to ours,” said Alex Nedeljkovic, who returned as the Penguins' netminder since March 21. Nedeljkovic managed 28 saves on 30 shots, with the two goals resulting from breakaways, and the final goal being an empty netter.

Chicago took the lead near the end of the second period with Frank Nazar scoring a shorthanded goal during a Penguins power play. In the third period, Ilya Mikheyev capitalized on a breakaway to extend Chicago's lead.

"They had some good looks," Nedeljkovic stated. "I would have liked to have made another save for them, pretty much the two breakaways. So, if you can find a way to go 50 percent there, it’s 1-1."

Pittsburgh had opportunities throughout the game but finally scored with 5:24 left in regulation when Rickard Rakell brought the score to 2-1. This marked Rakell's 34th goal of the season, matching his career high from the 2017-18 season. Bryan Rust and Ville Koivunen, with his second NHL point, assisted the goal.

"It was a great play," Sullivan commented on Koivunen’s assist. "I thought it was a great play all around by those guys. One of the reasons he's out there is because we think he has good instincts. We think he sees it pretty well."

Rookie Rutger McGroarty demonstrated his skills, almost setting up Rust for an early goal with a precise cross-ice pass in the second period. McGroarty, who scored points in the previous two road games, continues to show promise.

"They're two good young players that we're excited about," Sullivan said regarding Koivunen and McGroarty. "About where they are right now and potentially where they could go moving forward."

The Penguins return to Pittsburgh, where they are set to face the Blackhawks again on Tuesday at 7 PM. The team has four games left in the 2024-25 season.