Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins did not put their best foot forward on Sunday. They fell to the Edmonton Oilers 6-1 in a game that was well out of their control from the opening faceoff. This loss comes on the back of a brutal loss to the Calgary Flames on the road, as well.
After the game, Crosby spoke with the media. He pointed to a major turning point in the contest. The future Hall of Famer had a chance to tie the game for the Penguins. However, he was stopped. The Oilers went up the ice and scored soon after to take a 2-0 lead.
“I get that chance and then they score in that shift, and they got some momentum,” Crosby said, via team reporter Michelle Crechiolo. “Got a couple quick and it’s tough to get back at that point. We did some good things early on, and didn’t get that first one, and weren’t able to get close there early.”
Sidney Crosby, Penguins still reeling from Flames defeat
Pittsburgh held a 3-1 lead over the Flames on Saturday. However, they blew it in the final frame. Calgary scored three goals in the third period to steal victory from the jaws of defeat. The Penguins needed to have short memories on Sunday night, but they didn’t.
“I think we had a tough loss, and I don’t know if we did a good enough job of just moving by it. I think that you got to find a way even when it’s one like that, to move by it. We probably didn’t do a good enough job,” Crosby said, via Crechiolo, about how his team moved on from the Flames game.
The Penguins certainly failed to properly move on from the Calgary loss. Pittsburgh was out of sorts all night on Sunday. At times, it seemed as if the Oilers were simply toying with them. It’s an extremely unfortunate performance with their playoff hopes fading away.
Pittsburgh has two more games before the March 8th NHL Trade Deadline. First, they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday. Then, they play Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Thursday. Let’s see if the Penguins can find some momentum before chaos breaks out on March 8.
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