Jason Zucker’s debut with the Penguins in Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning wasn’t as awful as the winger made it out to be.
Less than 24 hours after Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin called the 28-year-old to tell him that he had just been traded to Pittsburgh, Zucker lined up to the left of Sidney Crosby for the opening faceoff at PPG Paints Arena.
Zucker, who received a warm welcome from Penguins fans when announced as a starter, looked a little tentative early. That was understandable given that he had yet to practice with the Penguins and met his teammates hours earlier.
As the night went on and the nerves died down, Zucker settled in and started to display some chemistry with Crosby, whom the Penguins envision as his center during a deep playoff run. Zucker nearly scored during the second period and finished with a team-high five shots in 15 minutes, 26 seconds of ice time.
Asked how he thought he did in his debut, he was a little hard on himself.
“I don’t think I played very well tonight,” the new No. 16 said. “My hands were terrible. I mishandled pretty much every puck I touched. But I just tried to skate and tried to create some opportunities. I think I’ll be better next game.”
In the first period, he couldn’t redirect a skipping pass behind Andrei Vasilevskiy. Getting power play time in the second, Zucker got a great look from the slot but the goalie kicked that one out. He showed off his wheels later in that period while driving the net but couldn’t get a shot off after Crosby snapped a pass to him.
“Regardless of who he plays with, he’s got a ton of speed,” Crosby said. “I think he fits the way we play as a group. … If it ends up us being together [as linemates], he’s got tons of speed and creates a lot of loose pucks. And I thought he got more and more comfortable as the game went on. That’s pretty typical.”
Zucker had a chance to put the Penguins on top with just over 11 minutes left in the third period, but Vasilevskiy scrambled to smother his low-angle shot.
Zucker admitted he was “thinking a little bit with some of the system things” instead of relying on his instincts. But his coach felt he had a “solid” debut.
“I’m sure he had a lot of emotions coming into the game tonight. But I thought he had a good first game,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “His speed is evident. [So is] his ability to shoot the puck. I think with more familiarity he’ll get better.”
The Penguins on Monday acquired Zucker, who was drafted by the Wild in 2010 and had 132 goals in nine seasons in Minnesota, in exchange for winger Alex Galchenyuk, defense prospect Calen Addison and a first-round pick.
Despite the addition of Zucker to the lineup and another strong showing from Matt Murray, the Penguins lost again to the Lightning, a stacked squad that could be waiting for them should they make it to the Eastern Conference finals. They beat the Penguins on Thursday in Tampa, Fla. and swept the season series.
In the 3-on-3 OT, the Penguins couldn’t get an exhausted Evgeni Malkin off the ice. Moments after Murray made a big save on Victor Hedman on a 2-on-1, Yanni Gourde snapped a shot over his blocker and under the crossbar.
The Penguins had won eight of their last nine games that went to overtime.
They scored first Tuesday, getting a power play goal for the second straight game by keeping their feet and the puck moving on their first opportunity. That led to a one-timer for Crosby. Vasilevskiy made that save but the rebound bounced off his pad to Malkin, who from the left dot roofed a shot over his blocker.
The Lightning tied it up early in the second period with a power-play goal of their own. With a few bodies in front of Murray, Mikhail Sergachev flipped a shot from the point on goal that Murray didn’t see until it was floating past his blocker.
That snapped a streak of 13 straight penalties killed for the Penguins, including three in their last game, a 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday.
Moments later, Jared McCann and Bryan Rust charged in on a 2-on-1. McCann sent a saucer pass across to Rust, who clanged a shot off the crossbar. It was one of three times the Penguins would hit the post after the Lightning tied it.
The Penguins also squandered a power play in the final minutes of regulation.
“That’s a good team, so you know they’re going to get their chances. We’re also a good team, so we got our chances,” said Murray, who made 36 saves in the loss, one more than his masked Lightning counterpart. “That game could have gone either way. It’s just unfortunate that we couldn’t get it done there tonight.”
The Penguins fell to 12-2-2 in their last 15 home games dating back to Nov. 22.
Tuesday’s game was the first of a four-game homestand at PPG Paints Arena. They are next on the ice Friday, when they host the Montreal Canadiens.
Matt Vensel: mvensel@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mattvensel.
First Published: February 12, 2020, 2:58 a.m.