The Pittsburgh Penguins were on the wrong end of a 6-1 pounding at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night at Amalie Arena. The loss extended the Penguins’ current skid to two games while snapping the Bolts’ two-game slide.
Bryan Rust got the Penguins on the board late in the third period to break the shutout. Meanwhile, Anthony Cirelli scored twice for the Lightning, with Ryan McDonagh, Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov (PPG) and Brandon Hagel getting the other goals for the Bolts.
Here’s a closer look at the three least impressive Pittsburgh Penguins players from their loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night.
3 least impressive Pittsburgh Penguins players from 6-1 loss to Tampa Bay Lightning
#3 Boko Imama
The Pittsburgh Penguins called up Boko Imama to play a fourth-line enforcer-type role for the team as it plays out the string. However, Imama has been largely inconsequential despite getting his first NHL goal a few games ago.
On Tuesday night, he played just 5:41 over nine shifts. Fellow fourth-liner Emil Bemstrom played just 8:03, while checking-line center Joona Koppanen played nearly 12 minutes. With Imama, among others playing so little, fans might wonder why they have them in the lineup in the first place.
#2. Connor Dewar
Connor Dewar joined the Pittsburgh Penguins at the trade deadline following the three-way deal involving the Toronto Maple Leafs. While Dewar was expected to play a more prominent role in Pittsburgh than he did in Toronto, he has had a rough time.
On Tuesday night, he registered a minus-3 in nearly 18 minutes of ice time over 25 shifts. Dewar got two shots on goal and struggled defensively.
Here’s a look at the Bolts’ first goal of the game, where Dewar was caught in no man's land:
Instead of attacking the shooter, Dewar stood idly attempting to block the shot with his hand. The puck sailed past him and landed in the crease where Anthony Cirelli popped home the rebound for the game’s first goal.
#1. Tristan Jarry
It was an awful night for Tristan Jarry, unfortunately. The Penguins' starting netminder gave up four goals and seven shots. He got the hook at the 16-minute mark of the first period, giving way to Alex Nedeljkovic.
Tuesday night’s performance came on the heels of several solid outings from Jarry. However, he could not find his bearings against the Lightning, leading to the four-goal outburst in the first period.
The Penguins will be back on the ice when they take on the Buffalo Sabres next at KeyBank Arena on Thursday.
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