3 least impressive Pittsburgh Penguins from 4-3 SO loss against Florida Panthers feat. Erik Karlsson

The Pittsburgh Penguins dropped a 4-3 decision in the shootout against the Florida Panthers on Sunday evening at the Amerant Bank Arena. The Penguins held a 3-1 lead midway through the second period. However, the Panthers rallied to tie the game and send it to overtime.

With overtime solving nothing, the game went to the shootout where Aleksander Barkov scored the lone goal to lift the Panthers past the Pens and secure the two points.

Bryan Rust scored twice for the Pittsburgh Penguins with Evgeni Malkin scoring the other tally on the power play. Meanwhile, San Reinhart scored twice for the Florida Panther with Anton Lundell getting the equalizer.

So, let’s take a look at the three least impressive players from the Pittsburgh Penguins' loss to the Florida Panthers on Sunday evening.

3 least impressive Pittsburgh Penguins players from loss to Florida Panthers

#3 Kris Letang

Pittsburgh Penguins veteran blue liner Kris Letang had a less-than-impressive game on Sunday evening. Letang finished the game with nearly 27 minutes of ice time over 32 shifts. He registered five shots on goal and two blocks.

However, Letang took a couple of shifts off, such as during the kill on Bryan Rust’s hooking call midway through the second period. During the kill, the Panthers entered the Pens’ zone with possession of the puck.

Sam Reinhart entered the zone unchallenged, then proceeded to turn Letang inside out and squeak the puck past Pans’ goalie Tristan Jarry. Letang looked lost and out of place during the sequence, allowing Reinhart to walk in and score the goal.

While Letang ended the game a plus-1, Reinhart’s power-play goal exposed the weaknesses in the Penguins’ overall game.

#2 Kevin Hayes

Kevin has gradually slid down the Pittsburgh Penguins depth chart from a top-six role to the fourth line. On Sunday evening, Hayes played 8:41 over 14 shifts failing to register any sort of offense on the scoreheet.

Like fellow fourth-liners Danton Heinen and Boko Imama, Hayes has lacked any sort of significant impact on the ice over the last handful of games. Moving forward, Hayes could find himself on the way out of the lineup given his lack of effectiveness on the ice.

#1 Erik Karlsson

Erik Karlsson had a bit of a rough game against the Florida Panthers. While he registered an assist in the game, he ended the night a minus-2 in over 26 minutes of ice over 32 shifts.

In particular, Karlsson was burned on the Panthers’ equalizer. Karlsson stood at the side of the net, failing to pick up anyone on the ice. His lack of drive in playing defense allowed the Panthers’ third line to skate circles around the Penguins.

In the end, Anton Lundell got the equalizer as Erik Karlsson stood by idly, puck-watching. The Penguins will need to get more out of their best defenseman as blowing leads is hardly conducive to winning hockey games.

The Penguins will be back on the ice on Tuesday night as they take on the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amelie Arena.