3 least impressive Pittsburgh Penguins players from 6-1 blowout loss to New York Rangers ft. Arturs Silovs

The Pittsburgh Penguins dropped a 6-1 blowout decision to the New York Rangers on Saturday night at the PPG Paints Arena. The Rangers avenged their season-opening shutout loss to the Pens with an impressive offensive outburst.

Rangers coach Mike Sullivan got his first win against his former team in his visit to his old stomping grounds.

Adam Fox led the way for the Rangers with two goals. Mika Zibanejad (SHG), Will Cuylle (PPG), Matt Rempe, and Taylor Raddysh got the other tallies for the Blue Shirts. Ben Kindel got his first NHL goal for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

So, here’s a look at the three least impressive Pittsburgh Penguins players from their blowout loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday night.

3 least impressive Pittsburgh Penguins players from blowout loss to New York Rangers

#3 Erik Karlsson

Pittsburgh Penguins veteran blueliner Erik Karlsson had a rough night. He was a minus-3 after showing a poor defensive effort against the Rangers.

In particular, Karlsson looked totally out of place on New York’s first goal.

Here’s a look at the play:

Sam Carrick and Mika Zibanejad broke away on a shorthanded 2-on-1 play. Karlsson, instead of taking the pass away, allowed Carrick to slide the puck between his legs and find a streaking Zibanejad. Silovs had no chance on the play.

Karlsson was caught off guard several times on the night during his 18:40 of ice time. He had one shot on goal and one block on the night.

#2 Rickard Rakell/Bryan Rust

Sidney Crosby’s two linemates did not have a good night on the defensive side of the puck. They were caught on the wrong side, leading to a minus-3 rating for all three of the Pittsburgh Penguins' top line members.

In particular, the Rangers’ sixth goal looked particularly bad. Here’s a quick look:

The Pens turned the puck over in the Rangers’ zone, with the play coming back the other way. The play led by Noah Laba ended with a dish to Taylor Raddysh for the goal.

Meanwhile, the replay showed Rakell giving up on the backcheck, as he slowed down on the play. It’s unfortunate to see Pittsburgh’s veteran forwards giving up on the play like that. But it speaks to how badly things went for the Penguins on Saturday night.

#1 Arturs Silovs

After seeing the horrific defensive play by the Penguins in front of Arturs Silovs, it’s tough to pin the blame on him. Yet, he could have bailed out his teammates on a couple of occasions.

Instead, Silovs looked out of place as he attempted to stop the unending series of Rangers’ scoring chances. The Pens’ netminder ended the night surrendering six goals and 30 shots, including two power play goals and a shorthanded marker.

The Pittsburgh Penguins will visit the Anaheim Ducks in their next outing on Tuesday night at the Honda Center.

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Edited by Nestor Quixtan