Having been a hockey fan since the early 1970s, I’ve seen my share of bad defense. Particularly back in the pre-Mario “Boys of Winter” era and again in the pre-Sid early 2000s. However, I think our blueline corps established new lows during the Pens’ 4-1 loss to Seattle on Saturday.
The tandem of Erik Karlsson and Matt Grzelcyk (minus-2 each) had a particularly rough night. On the third Kraken goal, the duo converged on puck carrier Shane Wright with “help” from forward Michael Bunting. While both Bunting and Karlsson rather lazily tracked Wright’s pass to Jared McCann in the corner, Grzelcyk chased Wright behind our net, leaving not one but two Kraken (Jamie Oleksiak and goal scorer Eeli Tolvanen) all alone in the slot.