The Penguins entered Monday night for Penguins vs Senators with a six-game winning streak and a 13-2-2 record since Christmas.. That record is now 13-3-2 after arguably their worst performance of the season. The only other performance that might rival it was a 4-0 loss in December, also to the Senators. The Penguins really had nothing all night. Karlsson definitely played his worst game of the season, possibly his worst game as a Penguin. I am never critical of Sid, but we are seeing why Dubas may have held off on trading Rust/Rakell in the offseason. When Rakell and/or Rust have missed time this season, Crosby just hasn’t looked as dynamic. Now, it could also be that the Olympics are upcoming, and Sid’s mind is another place right now, Karlsson too for that matter. Unlike Silovs, the Penguins best player on Monday, EK65 and 87 don’t need to worry about their spot in the Olympic lineups but rather they need to worry about their health. From a fan’s perspective, I don’t give a rat’s ass about the Olympics. Sure, I’d love to see Sid get another gold, but I’d much rather see him back in the NHL playoffs.

To be fair, I’m not concerned with Sid’s care level or his play. The guy has been doing it for 21 years, more consistently than anyone else in the history of the league. He will be fine. Karlsson will be fine too, he’s been so good this year. Sometimes you drink your own kool-aid a little too much and come out flat. It happens. It happened big time on Monday night.

The game on paper was close, a 3-2 loss with the winning goal coming with 5 minutes left in the third. However, for anyone who watched the game you noticed the Penguins were being swarmed all night. Silovs, as previously mentioned, was incredible all game. Kindel was great, again, too. So too was Chinakhov (who scored yet another goal). Outside of those three, and maybe McGroarty, no one really showed up.

The Senators play an extreme neutral zone trap. They drop 4 guys back to the blue-line and make it nearly impossible to enter the zone with possession. The Penguins continued to hit their heads against that 4 man wall all night. They seldomly got the puck deep and went to work. What’s odd is the fact that’s been a big part of their success. They have regularly got the puck low and simply outworked their opponent. Not last night.

What a bore of a system the Senators play. I get why it’s effective, especially when team’s play right into it like the Penguins did, but Jesus let’s have some fun. No one wants to see a heavy trap in today’s game. As much as hardo fans like me love greasy goals, the broader public enjoys the pretty ones significantly more. The Senators are morally opposed to allowing the “enjoyable” types of goals. It’s boring and the NHL should banish the 1-4 system, similar to how the NFL should banish the tush push. Just because something is effective doesn’t mean it should be allowed.

The game was ultimately decided by a goal. A goal that maybe shouldn’t have been a goal. The NHL loves nothing more than inconsistencies when it comes to goaltender interference. The refs were piss poor all night. The Sen’s had 5 power-plays to the Penguins one. They swallowed their whistles on several Senator infractions but were jumping with joy to call the Penguins for a cross-check any chance they could. Then the goaltender interference dibacle transpired. Claude Giroux got sprung on a breakaway off a baseball esque bunt pass. Karlsson took two chops to shins of Giroux, the refs called him for a trip on the play. As he fell, possibly from a toe-pick or possibly from the trip, he failed to score but slid into Silovs and the puck making it cross the goal-line. The refs initially called no goal, then looked at it and changed their minds. Dan Muse then quickly challenged the play for interference. In real time, I said it was a stupid challenge. The refs were never going to change that call, even if it should have been overturned. In the ref’s minds since Karlsson caused Giroux to fall nothing from that point mattered. I’d argue that Giroux still needs to be in control of his body and even more so cannot use his body to essentially move the goaltender and the puck into the net. So, I understand why it was challenged, but it’s simply not a call the ref’s will ever overturn.

The more I have watched the goal, the less it seems like Karlsson actually caused the trip. I hated the challenge, but I understand it. I think just situationally, you were either killing a penalty with a tied game or could have been down 1, but at full strength for the final five minutes. I know how good our PK has been, but I think given the circumstances, I would have preferred playing the final five down by one. Regardless, the Penguins never deserved to win the game. They didn’t even deserve to get a loser point. They were just god-awful. It was a disappointing performance.

Luckily, they play again tonight in a much more meaningful game. They have the Islanders, who did the Pens a favor and lost last night. This is a huge game, these potential four point swings in the division can make all the difference. If they keep dominating the rest of the Metro division, they will likely walk into the playoffs. You’d assume that the team will be extra motivated after last night’s dud. Plus, I expect Crosby to be back to his normal self now that Rust is returning from his 3-game suspension (I still think it’s insane he was suspended for three games). Win tonight and last night doesn’t matter all that much in hindsight.

Finally, shoutout to Chinakhov. What a pickup. Scoring at 35 goal pace with the Pens. His shot is deadly, we know, but his all-around playmaking is coming into form too. He got a secondary assist on the only Penguins goal he didn’t score last night.