Mike Sullivan calls out Penguins lack of execution

The season for the Pittsburgh Penguins started well enough thanks to a pair of goals that put them on top of the visiting Chicago Blackhawks in last night's opener at PPG Paints Arena. That's the good news. 

The bad news is that they were unable to hold the lead thanks to a comeback effort from the Blackhawks and young phenom forward Connor Bedard, who earned his first NHL point on an assists as part of what would eventually become a 4-2 Chicago win.

For Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan, it brought back bad memories from last season of being unable to capitalize on opportunities when they matter.

“[We had] a number of Grade-A scoring chances. The problem ... was there were numerous Grade-A chances on both sides. We had some breakaways. We had some looks,” he said. “I don’t think the issue was generating offense.”

Newly acquired star defenseman Erik Karlsson, who himself had a Grade A chance denied by goaltender Petr Mrazek, simply believes it's a matter of putting work in to improve the numbers. 

“We had our fair amount of chances to score some goals,” Karlsson said. “And we did not. [Tristan Jarry] played great for us and kept us in the game at times when we weren’t playing at our best. We definitely have some things to work on now. So we look forward to doing that. The journey has just begun.”

The Penguins will get back at it looking to put more pucks in the net when they take on the rival Washington Capitals on Friday, October 13. 

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