Don't Mess With The Metro

When you're chasing the New Jersey Devils, your season can’t have started all that well. I’ll be straight up here, watching my Florida Panthers and the Pittsburgh Penguins was a weird experience, knowing exactly what players are doing what well, what poorly, and what had to be improved with. It good game, back and forth both ways, both goalies making great saves and ultimately a Pens 4-3 win at home thanks to a dominant performance by Sidney Crosby. If somebody told me before the season that the Pens would bag a win by their teeth against the Florida Panthers, keep in mind I could spend all day talking about how low my expectations were for the Panthers this season, and the fact that the Penguins couldn't put the game out of reach a few times would have seriously shocked me. Watching the Penguins play for the first two weeks of the 2017-18 season, and I was stunned the Penguins actually beat us, and that’s not because the Penguins lost 10-1 to a team the Panthers beat 7-0 last year, and that was when Tom Rowe(yes, I am shuddering at the sound of that name) was the Cats’ head coach. So what is going wrong in Pittsburgh right now? Is it a repeat hangover, or is it bad coaching, lack of chemistry, or just pure bad play? No matter what excuse you choose, it’s inexcusable the Penguins look so… average, for a lack of better word, and it’s time to expose some of the issues going on right now with Mike Sullivan’s Penguins.

1. No Pressure on the Shooter

This is a hockey team, right? It may not be the same Penguins that were involved in the Brawl at the Barn game with the Islanders in February 2011, but this is still a hockey team. I’m not talking about fights or hits, but the lack of physicality from the Penguins this year is weak. Watching the opener vs St. Louis and almost every goal had zero attempt shown by any Penguins player on the ice to try to close down a defender trying to take a shot, and there are A LOT of bad examples. The first saw the puck log-jammed by Blues and Penguins players alike in the Blues’ attacking zone, which three Penguins against two Blues couldn't get the puck back, Matt Hunwick being well out of position, and they got it to Parayko, who could have texted his wife what he wanted for dinner afterwards, who slotted it past Matt Murray. I’m no math whiz, I scraped an A this past nine weeks, but I’m pretty sure three players>two players, correct me if I’m wrong though. Pietrangelo’s goal came on a 4-on-4, in which, even before the pass to the defenseman, saw Paul Stasny and Sobodka walk straight through the neutral zone as Brian Dumolin and Greg McKegg dropped backwards. Sobodka is allowed to cut inside of Dumolin with the puck following a cut by Stasny, and backhands it to the oncoming Alex Pietrangelo. Keep in mind, as Pietrangelo receives the puck, there are still two Penguins, Kris Letang and Brian Dumolin who could have stepped up. Neither of them do and Pietrangelo fires it past Murray.

2. Sloppy on the Boards

Goals like the Parayko goal really expose this issue, but hey, sometimes your team will get sloppy on the boards, but this is a reoccurring issue through six games. Being good on the boards will prevent these kind of chances, let alone goals, from happening. In the Chicago Blackhawks game in which the Penguins were completely embarrassed(understatement of the year), the first goal Brian Dumolin whiffs at the puck as Brandon Saad tries to return it to the blue line, keep this info in mind. Sidney Crosby is stuck marking Ryan Hartman as the puck is fired from Michal Kempny to Patrick Kane behind the goal. Kris Letang is caught a few strides behind Kane at this point, and Crosby’s eyes instantly shift from his man to Kane. No disrespect to the play Kane makes to backhand it through Letang to a wide-open Hartman(huh, another defenseman), who has been completely forgotten about by Crosby, but this is schoolboy’s defending from Pittsburgh. Crosby could have easily told Letang to switch before committing to going after Kane behind the net, taking away the pass right out in front. You can easily blame those two, or even Matt Murray for being too slow to react, but if Dumolin gains control of the initial pass from Saad, this never happens. From this most recent Saturday, Panthers players win not just one, not two, not three, but four pucks up against the boards before finding Aaron Ekblad(huh, another defenseman), who fires it off the post and in giving the Panthers a way back into the game. Seriously though, the fact Vincent Trocheck beats Matt Hunwick to the puck at the exact same spot twice in the span of, I don’t know, six seconds is just awful, maybe Trevor Daley could have stopped that.

3. Earth to Second Line, Come In

Bryan Rust, you get a pass here. No, literally, all you're doing is passing, it’s worked for you though! Seven assists in eight games is an unbelievable achievement, and to think you're doing it with Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel as your line mates. That’s a good thing you say? No, no, no, maybe last season, not right now. Earth to Phil, the Pens traded for an elite scorer when they got you from Toronto, they were prepared to take on the lethargy on defense and bullheaded chemistry problems. 1 goal on a total of 24 shots in 8 games isn't going to cut it, it might cut you the way you're playing. Malkin, everyone gets it, he doesn't like playing with Phil Kessel, but this is no excuse to see Malkin struggling so badly, especially with the red-hot Rust with him, and there’s no direct issue. He’s not totaling points, he’s nowhere near one of the best defenders, and for someone wearing an A on his jersey, this is pretty embarrassing.

4. Coaches Challenging

Since this was initiated into the NHL, Mike Sullivan has typically been one of the better coaches at using it, whether it’s a bad call or it’s a call worth challenging to prevent a comeback from the opposition. This season it’s looked rough, he's wasted challenges way too early, in the first period against the Blues, in the second period against the Panthers, and they aren't exactly great challenges, either. He challenged Jonathan Huberdeau’s 2nd goal for goalie interference even though Murray got down to make the save on the initial Florida shot. The true reason it’s hurting is the lack of a timeout, because Sullivan is going to need to draw up better defensive plays the way the Pens are playing in massive games down the stretch.

So even with all these issues aside, the Penguins are still third in the Metro at the time of writing, only trailing the Columbus Blue Jackets and New Jersey Devils by one point, with a chance to go top with a win against the New York Rangers tonight at the Garden. Following three nights off, this should be a game the Penguins improve on the majority of the issues listed against a Rangers team that has looked awful to start the season. Two points are necessary to write the ship early for this team, which would be their fourth win in five before heading to take on the Panthers at the BB&T Center in Sunrise on Friday, then a three hour drive across state to take on the Lightning at Amalie Arena for the second time in two weeks.