The Penguins aren't one move away from being a contender. It's not just one facet, one position that needs upgraded in order to get there.
Just the same, it wasn't one singular thing or player that had the Penguins drop Saturday's matchup against the Senators, 5-0. The Penguins were undisciplined and were easily rattled by the Senators early. Both special teams units had bad nights. And of course, they couldn't beat the rookie goaltender Leevi Merilainen at the other end -- not that they made his job particularly difficult.
But, there's still one thing that became all the more clear in the loss: Neither of these goaltenders are "the guy." Whatever the Penguins' immediate goals are, whether it's to win now or retool, at least one of the two has got to go.
Alex Nedeljkovic got the start in net on Saturday, a well-deserved start after his 40-save performance against the Oilers on Thursday that led to Mike Sullivan praising Nedeljkovic's "consistency." But Nedeljkovic's night ended before the midway point of the game, getting yanked after the Penguins went down 5-0 early in the second period, having stopped just 12 of 17 shots faced, including seven of nine high-danger shots
Nedeljkovic, again, wasn't solely to blame for the Penguins' start. It's hard to pin some of the goals on him at all, like the first one that bounced off Noel Acciari and in after changing directions. But he didn't have a good night by any means. The Senators' fourth goal came after he lost track of it in the crease, leading to a scramble that allowed Drake Batherson to easily knock in the loose puck that popped free. The goal that got Nedeljkovic chased was one that he thought he made the save on, but it trickled through his pads and was free for Tim Stutzle to knock in.
Tristan Jarry finished the game in relief, and only had to face five shots on goal in 33 minutes -- four of which were low-danger, and one was medium danger.
Neither of the Penguins' goaltenders have been good this season. Jarry has the slightly better save percentage at .890 to Nedeljkovic's .886, and a slightly better goals-against average at 3.33 to Nedeljkovic's 3.40. Jarry too has a slightly better record at 8-6-4, while Nedeljkovic is at 7-7-4.
Both goaltenders average identical workloads in terms of shots against, with each seeing an average of 29.7 shots. The statistic "expected goals" quantifies the quality of chances faced based on a number of factors and uses existing data to show how many goals would be scored off that workload league-wide, and both Jarry and Nedeljkovic see remarkably identical expected goals at 2.85 per 60 minutes. Both have let in exactly 63 goals this season, which works out to be 10.13 goals saved below expected for Nedeljkovic and 9.14 goals saved below expected for Jarry according to Natural Stat Trick's model.
Yeah, the Penguins haven't been good defensively for much of this season. But their goaltenders are both underperforming relative to that workload.
Meanwhile, the Penguins have three young goaltenders in the minors that in any other organization, would be actually pushing for NHL time this season. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's starts are split between 23-year old Joel Blomqvist and 26-year-old Filip Larsson, and both are having strong seasons. Larsson's four shutouts is tied for the league lead, his 2.30 goals-against average ranks 10th and his .931 save percentage is tied for third through 12 games. Blomqvist has a 2.93 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage tied for 15th in the league through 12 games
Sergei Murashov remains in Wheeling, a decision made to get him consistent starts and a No. 1 role, and he's just been absolutely dominant, fresh off a 13-game personal win streak. He has a 14-2-1 record, a .924 save percentage 2.30 goals-against average.
At least one of Larsson or Blomqvist should be in Pittsburgh, and Murashov should be in the AHL and pushing for NHL time himself in the near future.
In speaking about the immediate goals for this team this season, Kyle Dubas has talked about returning to contention "as soon as possible," and he's been clear that it doesn't necessarily need to be this season. It doesn't matter. If the goal is to win right now, neither of these goaltenders are getting them there. If the goal is to retool and think about the future, then one of these younger goaltenders should be up in the NHL so they can figure out if they do have a real No. 1 waiting in the wings.
Jarry does -- and should -- receive more flack than Nedeljkovic for play this season. He's getting paid like a No. 1 -- to the tune of an additional $2.875 million in salary for $5.375 million total -- but isn't living up to it. Nedeljkovic is getting paid more like a backup at $2.5 million, and performing like a backup, but is occasionally thrust into a starter role.
If Dubas can find a taker for either goaltender, he should take it. Maybe that means Nedeljkovic goes because he'd be the easier one to move out in a trade, just given his more sensible contract, which has a year remaining after this one. Or, maybe that means you include a sweetener for another team to take on Jarry, who has three years left after this year. The "return" in a deal would be largely irrelevant. The "return" would be getting one of the Penguins' good, young goaltenders into the NHL.
The Penguins have their longest road trip of the season coming up -- a 13-day, seven-game stretch that only includes one back-to-back. It might be a good idea to bring one of those young goaltenders along, even if doing so would require a corresponding roster move -- the Penguins have ample cap space, but no open roster spot. Get one of those young goaltenders some games now. If he fares well, it could be the push the Penguins need to go through with a move involving one of their current two NHL goaltenders.
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THE ASYLUM
Taylor Haase
2:24 am - 01.12.2025UptownHaase: Neither goaltender is the answer
The Penguins aren't one move away from being a contender. It's not just one facet, one position that needs upgraded in order to get there.
Just the same, it wasn't one singular thing or player that had the Penguins drop Saturday's matchup against the Senators, 5-0. The Penguins were undisciplined and were easily rattled by the Senators early. Both special teams units had bad nights. And of course, they couldn't beat the rookie goaltender Leevi Merilainen at the other end -- not that they made his job particularly difficult.
But, there's still one thing that became all the more clear in the loss: Neither of these goaltenders are "the guy." Whatever the Penguins' immediate goals are, whether it's to win now or retool, at least one of the two has got to go.
Alex Nedeljkovic got the start in net on Saturday, a well-deserved start after his 40-save performance against the Oilers on Thursday that led to Mike Sullivan praising Nedeljkovic's "consistency." But Nedeljkovic's night ended before the midway point of the game, getting yanked after the Penguins went down 5-0 early in the second period, having stopped just 12 of 17 shots faced, including seven of nine high-danger shots
Nedeljkovic, again, wasn't solely to blame for the Penguins' start. It's hard to pin some of the goals on him at all, like the first one that bounced off Noel Acciari and in after changing directions. But he didn't have a good night by any means. The Senators' fourth goal came after he lost track of it in the crease, leading to a scramble that allowed Drake Batherson to easily knock in the loose puck that popped free. The goal that got Nedeljkovic chased was one that he thought he made the save on, but it trickled through his pads and was free for Tim Stutzle to knock in.
Tristan Jarry finished the game in relief, and only had to face five shots on goal in 33 minutes -- four of which were low-danger, and one was medium danger.
Neither of the Penguins' goaltenders have been good this season. Jarry has the slightly better save percentage at .890 to Nedeljkovic's .886, and a slightly better goals-against average at 3.33 to Nedeljkovic's 3.40. Jarry too has a slightly better record at 8-6-4, while Nedeljkovic is at 7-7-4.
Both goaltenders average identical workloads in terms of shots against, with each seeing an average of 29.7 shots. The statistic "expected goals" quantifies the quality of chances faced based on a number of factors and uses existing data to show how many goals would be scored off that workload league-wide, and both Jarry and Nedeljkovic see remarkably identical expected goals at 2.85 per 60 minutes. Both have let in exactly 63 goals this season, which works out to be 10.13 goals saved below expected for Nedeljkovic and 9.14 goals saved below expected for Jarry according to Natural Stat Trick's model.
Yeah, the Penguins haven't been good defensively for much of this season. But their goaltenders are both underperforming relative to that workload.
Meanwhile, the Penguins have three young goaltenders in the minors that in any other organization, would be actually pushing for NHL time this season. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's starts are split between 23-year old Joel Blomqvist and 26-year-old Filip Larsson, and both are having strong seasons. Larsson's four shutouts is tied for the league lead, his 2.30 goals-against average ranks 10th and his .931 save percentage is tied for third through 12 games. Blomqvist has a 2.93 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage tied for 15th in the league through 12 games
Sergei Murashov remains in Wheeling, a decision made to get him consistent starts and a No. 1 role, and he's just been absolutely dominant, fresh off a 13-game personal win streak. He has a 14-2-1 record, a .924 save percentage 2.30 goals-against average.
At least one of Larsson or Blomqvist should be in Pittsburgh, and Murashov should be in the AHL and pushing for NHL time himself in the near future.
In speaking about the immediate goals for this team this season, Kyle Dubas has talked about returning to contention "as soon as possible," and he's been clear that it doesn't necessarily need to be this season. It doesn't matter. If the goal is to win right now, neither of these goaltenders are getting them there. If the goal is to retool and think about the future, then one of these younger goaltenders should be up in the NHL so they can figure out if they do have a real No. 1 waiting in the wings.
Jarry does -- and should -- receive more flack than Nedeljkovic for play this season. He's getting paid like a No. 1 -- to the tune of an additional $2.875 million in salary for $5.375 million total -- but isn't living up to it. Nedeljkovic is getting paid more like a backup at $2.5 million, and performing like a backup, but is occasionally thrust into a starter role.
If Dubas can find a taker for either goaltender, he should take it. Maybe that means Nedeljkovic goes because he'd be the easier one to move out in a trade, just given his more sensible contract, which has a year remaining after this one. Or, maybe that means you include a sweetener for another team to take on Jarry, who has three years left after this year. The "return" in a deal would be largely irrelevant. The "return" would be getting one of the Penguins' good, young goaltenders into the NHL.
The Penguins have their longest road trip of the season coming up -- a 13-day, seven-game stretch that only includes one back-to-back. It might be a good idea to bring one of those young goaltenders along, even if doing so would require a corresponding roster move -- the Penguins have ample cap space, but no open roster spot. Get one of those young goaltenders some games now. If he fares well, it could be the push the Penguins need to go through with a move involving one of their current two NHL goaltenders.
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