The loss dropped the team to 1-2-0 at home this season, and after the game, Head Coach Mike Sullivan was frustrated with another underwhelming performance against a division rival.
"We played on our end tonight," said an unhappy Sullivan.
"We probably played 3 games that don't live up to our expectations, let's just say it that way," said Sullivan. "We have to have higher expectations of ourselves."
On paper, the Penguins have one of the most talented rosters in the Eastern Conference, but with few emerging young stars and some question marks in the net, it's easy to see that they may struggle to play at a high level in 2024/25 consistently. One player in particular who showed frustration after the loss was Lars Eller, who pointed out many flaws in how the team played on Friday.
"There's so many things that need to be better," said Eller. "The attitude, the energy, the execution... we put ourselves in bad spots all the time. I hope we won't see another game like this."
"I think we did it to ourselves," said Eller. "I think our lack of energy, will, winning pucks, execution was all missing today."
The team is there for the Penguins to end their two-year stint out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but if the effort isn't there on a nightly basis they simply can't compete, and this would be an awful way for Sidney Crosby's career to go after such a stellar stint with the Penguins thus far.