PITTSBURGH — Tuesday was supposed to be the latest round of the Crosby-McDavid rivalry.
But it turned out to be another battle between the Penguins and themselves.
They handed Connor McDavid and the high-octane Edmonton Oilers too many odd-man rushes, especially early on. They coughed up another goal seconds after scoring a big one themselves. They gave up two power-play goals. They rarely threatened a 40-year-old goalie. And they looked uninspired after falling behind.
As so, in their penultimate game of the regular season, they fell, 5-1, to the Oilers at PPG Paints Arena. It was their second straight loss and 11th in the last 17 games.
The Penguins have had one regulation win over a playoff team the last six weeks.
The only good news that came out of Tuesday was that the Washington Capitals lost their game. The third-place Penguins remain one point ahead of them in the Metropolitan Division standings, but the Capitals have a game in hand.
Prior to this season, Crosby and the Penguins had dominated McDavid’s Oilers club. But McDavid was a force on Dec. 1 as the Oilers easily dispatched the Penguins up in Edmonton, McDavid’s first regulation win against Crosby. He was again the best player on the ice Tuesday and the Oilers raced away with the game.
McDavid, once again in the mix for MVP this season, had a goal and three assists. Crosby, meanwhile, saw his three-game scoring streak snapped in the loss.
The last time the Penguins suffered a regulation loss at home to the Oilers was way back in 2006, Crosby’s rookie year. That game was played at the old Civic Arena. After that loss, coach Michel Therrien had one of his famous blowups.
Current coach Mike Sullivan was similarly stewing throughout Tuesday’s loss.
Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard got the only goal in the first period. Edmonton easily could have had a couple more. The Penguins allowed a 2-on-1 less than 15 seconds into the game and Evander Kane later got a breakaway. McDavid made a few exceptional plays at even strength to put heat on Casey DeSmith.
Early in the second, Bouchard beat DeSmith from the high slot again. But Sullivan and the Penguins successfully challenged the goal, spotting that the Oilers were offside entering the zone. Sullivan is 7 for 7 on challenges this season.
Jeff Carter then scored one second after a power play ended to tie it. Unfortunately, the Penguins offered little resistance as Kane scored 25 seconds later.
Lapses like that after they score a goal have plagued the Penguins for weeks.
That was just one of a number of ways in which the Penguins couldn’t get out of their way. Jake Guentzel watched a would-be breakaway roll off his blade. Marcus Pettersson somehow checked Rickard Rakell to end a Penguins odd-man rush. And they couldn’t capitalize on Mike Smith’s excursions from his crease.
At one point, during an unsuccessful power play, the Penguins got six whacks with Smith sprawled onto his belly but couldn’t lift the puck over the goalie’s left pad.
Zach Hyman added to Edmonton’s lead a few minutes into the third when he buried a rebound on the power play. DeSmith let that leak out and Hyman beat Kris Letang and Chad Ruhwedel to it before stashing it under the goalie’s left pad.
The Oilers made it 4-1 with another on the man advantage. McDavid, who remains the NHL’s most breathtaking player with the puck, skated untouched through the Penguins’ defensive zone, then beat DeSmith from the acutest of angles.
DeSmith cooled off Tuesday after stopping 102 of 106 shots in his first three starts following the injury to Tristan Jarry. He finished with 37 saves Tuesday.
Down at the other end, Smith drew gasps from the crowd late in the game when took aim at an empty net. But the skittering shot missed by merely a foot.
Zack Kassian would eventually score an empty-netter to make it a 5-1 final.
Before Tuesday’s game, Sullivan shook up his lines again, something you assume he wouldn’t keep doing if he was pleased with the team’s performance.
Bryan Rust was back on the Crosby line. Evgeni Malkin got a pair of new wingers in Brock McGinn and Rakell. Kasperi Kapanen got the nod over Brian Boyle.
That all went kablooey late in the opening period when Jason Zucker headed to the dressing room with his latest injury setback, some kind of lower-body injury. Zucker did not return, forcing Sullivan to roll makeshift lines the last 43 minutes.
The Penguins will host the Columbus Blue Jackets in Friday’s season finale.
