There have been plenty of surprises in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2025-26 season.

And most have been pleasant, such as four lines that can generate offense, stout defensive schemes and a viable pursuit of a playoff berth as March opens.

Perhaps their most enduring surprise has been anything but pleasant.

The shootout. They’re rotten at it.

That trend continued Saturday as they were defeated by the New York Rangers, 3-2, in a shootout at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Rangers forward Vince Trocheck, a native of Upper St. Clair, scored the lone shootout goal.

Penguins forwards Anthony Mantha, Egor Chinakhov and Tommy Novak failed to convert on their shootout attempts.

The result dropped the Penguins’ record in shootouts to 1-8, the worst such mark in the NHL during the 2025-26 campaign.

“We continue to work on (shootouts),” Penguins coach Dan Muse said to reporters in New York via audio provided by the Penguins’ media relations staff. “We’ll continue to look at it.”

Goaltender Stuart Skinner looked stout most of the day as he made 23 saves on 25 shots in regulation and overtime as his record slipped to 19-12-6. In the shootout, Skinner allowed one goal on two attempts.

It was Skinner’s first shootout since he joined the Penguins via a trade on Dec. 12.

“Can’t really put a finger on it,” Skinner said of his club’s shootout struggles. “It’s hard for me to say.”

Mantha opened the scoring 128 seconds into regulation by finding his 21st goal of the season during a power-play sequence.

Gathering a rebound on the left half-wall of the offensive zone, Penguins forward Bryan Rust deftly shielded the puck from Trocheck and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, then slipped a pass to the near point where Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson cranked a slapper toward the cage. Stationed just outside the left hashmarks, Mantha reached forward with his stick and deflected the puck down off the ice and through goaltender Igor Shesterkin’s five hole. Karlsson and Rust had assists.

Rust appeared to score again only 52 seconds later during another power-play scenario, but the Rangers euthanized those ambitions by issuing a successful coach’s challenge, alleging goaltender interference.

Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea scored a valid goal, his fourth of the campaign, 119 seconds into the second frame.

With a determined forecheck, Penguins forward Blake Lizotte won possession of the puck in New York’s right corner and fed a pass to the near point for defenseman Connor Clifton. Considering his options for a moment, Clifton slid a pass to the opposite point for Shea. With Rangers rookie forward Noah Laba applying pressure, Shea twirled from the point to the high slot and back toward the blue line to create some space and lobbed a wrister toward the cage. Morrow, struggling to nullify Penguins forward Noel Acciari’s attempts at a screen above the crease, allowed the puck to glance off his torso and deflect behind Shesterkin’s. Clifton and Lizotte logged assists.

The Rangers got on the scoreboard at 10:00 of the second period when forward Mika Zibanejad scored his team-leading 24th goal during a power-play opportunity.

Off puck movement on the perimeter of the offensive zone, Trocheck dished a pass from low in the right circle to the inside of the upper right hashmark for Zibanejad, who ripped a one-timer past Skinner’s glove. Trocheck and forward J.T. Miller — of East Palestine, Ohio by way of Coraopolis — tallied assists.

Former Erie Otters forward Taylor Raddysh’s ninth goal tied the game 2:57 into the third period.

After Rust lost a puck battle on the Penguins’ right half-wall to Rangers defenseman Adam Fox, Rangers forward Brendan Brisson took possession in the near circle and offloaded a pass to Gavrikov. Driving in from the blue line toward the top of the left circle, Gavrikov snapped a pass to the right of the crease where a mostly unimpeded Raddysh tapped a forehand shot past Skinner’s left skate. Assists were generated by Gavrikov and Brisson.

In the shootout, Miller was denied by Skinner.

Notes:

• Penguins defenseman Sam Girard was in the lineup after being withheld from a practice session in Cranberry on Friday while being evaluated for an undisclosed injury.

• The Penguins struggled considerably in faceoffs, winning only 12 of 52 draws (23.0%).

Since the NHL first began tracking faceoffs as a statistic (1996-97), that is the worst single-game faceoff winning percentage in franchise history, according to team historian Bob Grove.

• Forward Rickard Rakell, largely replacing the injured Sidney Crosby, as a center, was 0 for 10 on faceoffs.

• Penguins defensemen Ryan Graves and Ilya Solovyov, as well as forward Kevin Hayes, were healthy scratches.

• Shesterkin is now 12-7-1 in 20 career games against the Penguins. That is the most wins against any one opponent in his career.