Parker Wotherspoon stays down, lamenting his role on a goal by the Golden Knights' Colton Sissons.
Parker Wotherspoon has been one the Penguins' more reliable defensemen this season, becoming a mainstay on the Penguins' top pairing.
Wotherspoon is far from the only Penguins player to have an off night in their 6-2 loss to the Golden Knights on Thursday. But for a guy who has been one of the Penguins' better defensemen, this might have been his toughest game in a Penguins uniform.
The Penguins had 17 giveaways in the loss, including three each from Wotherspoon and Erik Karlsson on that top pairing. But those don't include two more mistakes that weren't credited as giveaways but quickly ended up in the back of the Penguins' net.
The first led to the Golden Knight's first goal. Wotherspoon attempted to bank a shot off the boards to Karlsson, only for it to end up on the stick of Colton Sissons. Wotherspoon fell trying to get back to defend, and Sissons was able to capitalize:
"I went off the boards and nicked it," he said. "They had three in the rush and I lost an edge, or a heel pick. Just a back-door tap-in."
Wotherspoon was at the scene of the crime for the Vegas goal that made it a 4-2 game in the third period. Wotherspoon attempted a risky pass to Ville Koivunen, and Pavel Dorofeyev was able to pick it off before Koivunen got to it, leading to a rush the other way that ended in a Dorofeyev goal:
"I probably shouldn't have gave it to him," he said. "Another turnover and it ended up in the back of the net. I've got to clean that up."
The Penguins were outshot 7-2 with Wotherspoon on the ice at five-on-five, despite having 100% of his shift starts come in the offensive zone. His 39.32% expected goals share was the worst among the Penguins' defensemen in the loss.
Wotherspoon's body of work this season is good. There's no reason to overreact to this game and bump him down in the pairings order or anything like that. He, like just about every one of his teammates, needs to find a way to turn the page on this one and look ahead to Utah.
"We gave them chances and they capitalized," he said. "Can't be giving a team like that with that high power scoring chances like that. Got to clean up some of those things. ... We've got a chance to redeem ourselves next game. It comes quick. Can't really dwell on it too much. I believe in the group. We respond pretty well."
THE ASYLUM
Wotherspoon part of guilty group
GETTY
Parker Wotherspoon stays down, lamenting his role on a goal by the Golden Knights' Colton Sissons.
Parker Wotherspoon has been one the Penguins' more reliable defensemen this season, becoming a mainstay on the Penguins' top pairing.
Wotherspoon is far from the only Penguins player to have an off night in their 6-2 loss to the Golden Knights on Thursday. But for a guy who has been one of the Penguins' better defensemen, this might have been his toughest game in a Penguins uniform.
The Penguins had 17 giveaways in the loss, including three each from Wotherspoon and Erik Karlsson on that top pairing. But those don't include two more mistakes that weren't credited as giveaways but quickly ended up in the back of the Penguins' net.
The first led to the Golden Knight's first goal. Wotherspoon attempted to bank a shot off the boards to Karlsson, only for it to end up on the stick of Colton Sissons. Wotherspoon fell trying to get back to defend, and Sissons was able to capitalize:
"I went off the boards and nicked it," he said. "They had three in the rush and I lost an edge, or a heel pick. Just a back-door tap-in."
Wotherspoon was at the scene of the crime for the Vegas goal that made it a 4-2 game in the third period. Wotherspoon attempted a risky pass to Ville Koivunen, and Pavel Dorofeyev was able to pick it off before Koivunen got to it, leading to a rush the other way that ended in a Dorofeyev goal:
"I probably shouldn't have gave it to him," he said. "Another turnover and it ended up in the back of the net. I've got to clean that up."
The Penguins were outshot 7-2 with Wotherspoon on the ice at five-on-five, despite having 100% of his shift starts come in the offensive zone. His 39.32% expected goals share was the worst among the Penguins' defensemen in the loss.
Wotherspoon's body of work this season is good. There's no reason to overreact to this game and bump him down in the pairings order or anything like that. He, like just about every one of his teammates, needs to find a way to turn the page on this one and look ahead to Utah.
"We gave them chances and they capitalized," he said. "Can't be giving a team like that with that high power scoring chances like that. Got to clean up some of those things. ... We've got a chance to redeem ourselves next game. It comes quick. Can't really dwell on it too much. I believe in the group. We respond pretty well."
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits!
We’d love to have you!