Tim Benz: It was a bit of a George Pickens night for the Penguins in their season opener

Featuring Pittsburgh Steelers players Najee Harris and Pat Freiermuth present at the PPG Paints ArenaThe Penguins had more of a George Pickens-style evening in their season opener.

Their network was “Open (Bleepin') Always.”

The Penguins lost 6-0 at home to the New York Rangers in their first game of the year at PPG Paints Arena. The only question at the end of the game was whether the Rangers would go for the two-point conversion to increase the score.

Luckily they didn't. It's nice to see that good sportsmanship still has a place in the NHL.

“We just came down and tried to take advantage of our opportunities to get back into the game,” captain Sidney Crosby said after the loss. “They are a team that takes chances and gives them those looks and then they will take them. We stayed back and watched the game.”

If you are an optimist, you might say: “Well, it’s just the first of 82.” If you are a pessimist, you might say: “Dear God, they really have 81 of these left?”

This team spent much of the offseason spitting out quotes about why things would be different this year after missing the playoffs each of the last two seasons. But man, it didn't look like they were listening to their own pep talks.

The Pens failed to complete any of their 29 shots on goal (or 63 shot attempts). They allowed 41 shots on goal. They were minus-3 in the faceoff circle. Every player in a Penguins uniform was at least minus-1.

There were poor decisions with the puck, which led to several odd chances and breakaways. Despite not getting an assist, Tristan Jarry was once again the second-best goalie on the ice, allowing six goals, while Igor Shesterkin allowed none in the Rangers' goal.

“It's difficult. “The Rangers are a good team,” Jarry said. “They play well structurally. They have a good group from start to finish. It's about coming out strong, playing a good game and improving our systems .”

Then came the power play. The “Awful (Bleepin') Always” power play.

Last year it clicked at a lazy 15.27% rate, ranking 30th in the league. For all the talk of trying to improve the power play this year, there is little evidence that progress has been made. It was 0-3 and allowed a shorthanded goal on the No. 1 night of the season. And that was after he scored an NHL-worst twelve short-handed goals allowed in the 2023-24 season.

Kreids turns on the jets + goes to the five-hole for the SHG. pic.twitter.com/zJp2HBvHif

– New York Rangers (@NYRangers) October 10, 2024

“The whole game goes wrong tonight,” said forward Evgeni Malkin. “We have to play faster. We have to play smarter. Everything worked in the preseason (on the power play). We scored a few goals. We moved the puck quickly. … We know the pressure. corners. Behind the night. Support each other. We know everything. But tonight wasn’t our night.”

Whatever Malkin thinks, things didn't look good in training camp and preseason Wednesday. Fans at PPG Paints Arena resorted to last fall's tactic of chanting “Fire Canada” to have fun during the game.

As bad as the power play was on opening night, if you had told me that Matt Canada was responsible, I would have believed you.

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After the game, I asked head coach Mike Sullivan if he thought the problem was with the team's structural setup in the offensive zone or if he was more concerned with the puck decisions made once the power plays got going go.

“It was a little bit of both,” Sullivan said. “We just couldn't do it. We had trouble making the transitions from band to band. The tape-to-tape passes seemed to explode on our stick. We had a few performances with some chances in that bumper position where the guys had a lot of time and space, and we just didn't convert them.”

A thick fog rolled in the rivers in downtown Pittsburgh on Thursday morning. Unfortunately, the Penguins ran in one on Wednesday night to open their season. After a quick turnaround Thursday night, they'd better shake it off in Detroit for Game 2.

As the Penguins have learned the hard way over the last two years, giving away points in October can get you burned in April.

Simply being competitive before losing them would be progress after that opening performance.