MONTREAL -- Professional decorum prevents any athlete, particularly in the ultra-macho world of the NHL, to admit that an injury -- no matter how bad -- might have affected him or his team's play, let alone psyche.
Which was probably why the Penguins insisted that Justin Schultz's ugly-looking leg injury, suffered midway through the first period, was not an overriding factor in their 4-3 shootout loss to the Canadiens on Saturday at Bell Centre.
That, they insisted, would be making excuses.
"It's sports," Jack Johnson was telling DKPittsburghSports.com afterward. "We've all been in games or situations where a guy goes down in the middle of a game. You have to adjust, you have to adapt. That's no excuse. The way it affected us is that we lost a good player."
Indeed, a good player was lost, their No. 2 defenseman and a power-play point man. And, yes, they did eventually adjust with just five defensemen eventually.
Eventually.
The Penguins took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, during which, according to Johnson, he and a handful of his teammates checked in on Schultz. But during that same intermission, the Canadiens used that time to make adjustments of their own -- through a vocal reaming from coach Claude Julien, it was later learned -- and the result was a three-goal outburst in the first 8:51 of the second period, including two from Tomas Tatar.
Again, the Penguins did manage to tie, 3-3, at 11:14 of the second on Phil Kessel's power-play goal, his fourth in two games. Evgeni Malkin, who made a sharp play to chip the puck past Phillip Danault, fed Sidney Crosby, who found Kessel in the slot. From there, Kessel isn't going to miss:
Still, the Penguins squandered a chance to take two points when Antti Niemi stopped Malkin and then Crosby in the shootout while Casey DeSmith was beaten on the Canadiens' first two tries.
And that really did have nothing to do with Schultz's injury.
The Penguins' bigger problem was much the same as it's been through the first four games this season: They were outshot by a wide margin (40-28). Overall, they have been giving up an average of 35.5 shots per game, fourth-most in the NHL.
“It’s not just me. I think everyone needs to be frustrated," Malkin said. "It’s like they have 60 scoring chances and we have two. It’s not our game. We scored two goals in the first period, and we tried, what, to score two goals in the second? No. It’s not working like that. We need to focus on the D-zone, too, you know? We need to understand this game is not just played with the puck. It’s played without the puck, too.”
It is. And it was Malkin's hooking penalty that led to Tatar's second goal on the power play.
The Penguins didn't have the puck much, either. Montreal held a 62 to 38 percent advantage in shots attempted.
"We're just not playing well enough defensively," Johnson was saying after his best overall effort to date. "We know we can play so much better defensively. There's a direct correlation."
"We're an offensive team," Derick Brassard was saying after his first full game at left wing alongside Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel. "But if we shoot the puck more, it's going to open up more and we're going to have more zone time. It's harder to defend and the other team gets pretty tired when you're spending time in the offensive zone. But after two periods to have just 11 shots? I think we just have to shoot more."
The truth, according to Sullivan, is that it's not just one reason why the Penguins are a pedestrian 2-1-1. The coach says his teams has lacked a sense of urgency and a 60-minute effort. Saturday's game was certainly proof of that.
"It starts with a mindset and a certain level of urgency and a commitment to play the game the right way," he said. "We do it at times, but we're not consistent. When we find it within ourselves to bring it more to a level of consistency and that commitment, then I think our team will improve and we'll control territory more and control the shot blocks. We'll get on the power play more. There's no magic bullet. It's not any one thing that you can pinpoint. It's a combination of things. I've always been of a strong belief in a certain mindset to play this game. There's a certain level of will that's associated with having success. We just have to find it consistently."
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THREE STARS
My curtain calls go to …
1. Tomas Tatar
Canadiens left winger
When the Golden Knights acquired Tatar from Detroit at last year's trade deadline, it was hoped he would put Vegas over the top. Turns out that the Knights didn't need him as they advanced to the Cup Final, with Tatar being a healthy scratch in all but eight postseason games. However, this talented player, who has averaged 22.3 goals the past six seasons, scored his first two with the Canadiens on Saturday, and added an assist and six shots.
2. Casey DeSmith
Penguins goaltender
There had been a school of thought that with Matt Murray on the shelf that the Penguins would tighten up defensively around their backup goalie. That just hasn't happened. After facing 37 shots against Vegas, Smith saw 40 more Saturday and stopped 37, including two tremendous saves around the 7:20 mark of the third period:
Late in regulation, he got some help from his post when Max Domi struck iron but he was, as Sullivan said, "terrific."
If there was any knock on DeSmith's game Saturday, it was his inability to make a save in the shootout against Paul Bryon and Jonathan Drouin:
3. Kris Letang
Penguins defenseman
Also playing in his hometown, Letang gave an inspired performance that offered further proof that he has put last year's struggles squarely behind him. Letang played 31:40 and scored his third of the season at 15:16 of the opening period to give Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead which tied him with Guentzel for second on the team in goals. It was his 99th NHL goal.
THE GOOD
Though they did yield the power-play goal to Tatar, the penalty-kill essentially stole a point for the Penguins. They successfully killed off a 5-on-3 to end the second period when Simon was called for tripping and Carl Hagelin was penalized for delay of the game after knocking an airborne puck into the crowd. Johnson, who led the Penguins with five hits, was a beast in particular on that kill.
However, they saved their best for last. In overtime, they killed off a 4-on-3 when Malkin was called for -- of all things -- too many men on the ice, and Montreal didn't even get off a shot.
"It takes some serious will power to kill those off by everybody," DeSmith said. "They didn't even get many shots off either. That shows how tight our killers were. Their willingness to block shots and take lanes away. All the good stuff they did tonight was huge."
In a reversal from their last meeting with the Canadiens, this time it was the Penguins who out-blocked Montreal, 25-10.
THE BAD
Crosby's shootout fail was actually his second breakaway that Niemi denied. With 13:59 left in the first, Crosby broke in alone and shot glove side on Niemi but the Finnish goalie got a piece of it. On this stage, a "Hockey Night in Canada" game, against the team he grew up cheering for in Nova Scotia, you almost expect the Captain to convert.
Though he showed decent chemistry and created some scoring chances with new linemate Brassard, Crosby has yet to score a goal this season.
THE PLAY
We have come to know him as the Dutchman. After all, there have only been four players in NHL history who hail from the Netherlands, a country known for speedskaters, clogs and windmills. But since the tender age of 7, Daniel Sprong has grown up a French Canadian. And in his first game in Montreal, he picked up a flashy assist on Simon's first-period goal.
As he was falling, Sprong somehow managed to backhand a saucer pass to Simon, who then beat Niemi with a backhander of his own:
That, however, was the lone highlight for Sprong and the new-look fourth line centered by Matt Cullen. Sprong would log just nine shifts and 6:45, his fewest minutes this season.
THE CALL
What is goalie interference?
Remember that constant question from last season?
The NHL's most controversial call reared its ugly head midway through the third period when Victor Mete appeared to give Montreal a 4-3 lead. However, Sullivan challenged the on-ice call and the play was rightfully reversed as Andrew Shaw skated into the crease and his right skate made contact with DeSmith's left leg, thus altering the goalie's stance.
"I looked at the ref right away and was, like, 'You're going to have to take a look at that one,' " DeSmith said. "I'm glad we challenged it. I think they got that one right."
Given the inconsistency in the interpretation of the rule last season, give credit to the league for indeed getting it right. Starting with last spring's playoffs, all such calls are now reviewed in Toronto. But something tells me we haven't seen the last of goaltender interference this season.
THE OTHER SIDE
If you've watched the Penguins' last two games against Montreal and squinted your eyes hard enough, you would have sworn there were guys on these Canadiens named Beliveau, Richard and Lafleur.
Montreal, now 2-1-1, has beaten only the Penguins so far.
"They're quick, they're hungry and they're on the puck," Sullivan said. "They play a hard game. You have to tip their hat to them. They played two good games against us."
Though not a good first period on this night. Julien pushed that hard, and it paid nearly immediate dividends with Tatar's goal 13 seconds into the second period.
"The whole team pulled together,” Tatar said. “We put a lot of pressure on them once the second period started, and I think everybody deserves the credit."
Fortunately for the Penguins, they do not face the Canadiens again until March 2 back here at the Bell Centre.
THE INJURIES
• Schultz suffered the aforementioned left leg injury.
• Matt Murray sat out his second straight game since suffering a concussion in practice on Monday though he did serve as DeSmith's backup, obviously a welcome sign.
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins are off today. They practice Monday, 11 a.m., at PPG Paints Arena, then play there the next night against the Canucks. That meeting was supposed to offer a first look at Vancouver's scintillating rookie winger, Elias Pettersson, but he was concussed Saturday night in Sunrise, Fla., on this wrestling-style body slam by the Panthers' Mike Matheson:
Elias Pettersson goes down hard. Shaken up on the play and has left the game. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/5CIiNIeMky
— /Cam Robinson/ (@Hockey_Robinson) October 14, 2018
THE COVERAGE
Visit our Penguins team page for everything from this game.