Pre-Scout: Penguins add former Oilers as blown leads and home losses mount

Rarely do we as fans get the next chapter to a huge story so quickly.

Just four days after Tristan Jarry became an Edmonton Oiler, he gets to face his former team. Fresh off of work visa completion, Stuart Skinner and Brett Kulak will don the Penguins’ sweater for the first time against the Oil on Tuesday.

How fitting.

“This one here was a little bit more unique in that we felt that it was a chance to make some improvements to the team on defense (sic), add a draft pick and add a (goalie) that’s played a ton of hockey, and very good hockey,” said general manager Kyle Dubas to the press after the trade on Friday.

Neither player has spoken to the local media yet in Pittsburgh. That may happen today before the game.

How long Skinner and Kulak fit into Pittsburgh’s plans is an open question. After an unexpectedly good start that had fans dreaming of playoffs again, the Pens are crumbling on this five-game homestand. Are they building blocks or trade chips?

Leads are their enemy

Pittsburgh has gone 0-1-3 at PPG Paints Arena lately and are being saved by Bettman points, winless in five straight dating back to Dec. 4.

Worse of all is how they’re losing: blown leads.

Last Tuesday, the Ducks scored with 0.1 seconds left and won in a shootout.

Saturday against the Sharks was all but in the bag. Pittsburgh led 5-1 with 13 minutes left in regulation but slipped into total freefall, surrendering four unanswered. John Klingberg scored his second of the night to win in overtime to complete the fifth latest four-game comeback win in NHL history.

Then ahead 3-0 at the 2nd intermission just 24 hours later, the Utah Mammoth scored four unanswered (their fastest four goals in franchise history) to take the lead in the 3rd period. Justin........

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