Following a typically strong start to the 2011-12 campaign, the Penguins have stumbled along at an unsightly 13-13 clip since the end of October. As the season reaches the halfway mark, the Pens suddenly find themselves in a dogfight to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot.
So what’s wrong? The most obvious answer to what’s ailing the Pens is … well … ailments. The black and gold have been slammed by enough injuries over the first half of the season (210 man-games lost and counting) to keep a hospital staff fully employed. No team can absorb the prolonged absences of core players such as Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang (add top scorers James Neal and Jordan Staal to the list) and expect to stay on top.
Still, injuries don’t tell the whole story. Here are five factors contributing to the Penguins’ recent woes.
When the Penguins and New York Rangers clashed at CONSOL Energy Center on Friday night, it was a definitive case of two teams headed in opposite directions. While the streaking Rangers (8-1 in their last nine) had scaled to the top of the overall standings, the skidding Pens (7-7 since Nov. 29) were struggling to keep pace in the race for Atlantic Division supremacy.
Thanks to a quirk in the schedule that provided a full week off, the Penguins entered the contest as fresh as proverbial daisies. However, the extra rest did little to improve the team’s sagging on-ice fortunes. After jumping to an early lead, the Pens unraveled over the final 40 minutes and fell to their third-straight loss, 3-1.
Determined to make a statement against an upper-echelon foe, the Penguins played arguably their finest opening period in nearly three weeks. Pascal Dupuis set the tone two minutes in when he tested Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist following a takeaway by Jordan Staal.
Drastic times call for drastic measures! The Pens power play is mired in drastic times. Coach Dan needs to take drastic measures to make the power play even remotely effective. I am not sure what the answer is, but I would start with taking Kris Letang off of the number one unit. He is trying too hard, gripping the stick too hard or whatever. What he is right now, is ineffective. He struggles to hit the net with his shots (that is on the rare instances when he decides to shoot), his passes are off the mark, he is making bad decisions and losing pucks. He is not playing poorly in all aspects of the game, but the power play is horrible and he is the anchor on said power play.
Maybe they should let Talbot, Adams, Asham and Rupp run the power play. These guys have been their best players. Bring back Englland. He is not exactly crafty with the puck, but when he shoots, it goes on net. As Krundle said in his pre-game “Keep shooting, it really is the most effective way to score goals”. Maybe they should just shoot every time they have the puck. It can’t be worse than the existing PP.
Surely everyone in Pittsburgh is familiar with PK Subban’s antics. You remember the guy who purposely swung his leg out to trip Jordan Staal and had his skate blade go through the top of Staal’s foot. This time Subban purposely swings his stick at Mike Rupp’s head trying to injure him because he is upset he got checked. The referee’s are nowhere to be found. Luckily Subban hit Rupp’s helmet. This should be reviewed by the NHL, that is if they really care about headshots like they are claiming.
Last night the Pens pounded the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-2. Pittsburgh now has points in the last 12 games. Crosby extended his scoring streak to 15 games with two goals. Letang had two more assists. He is now two points behind Dustin Byfuglien for the scoring lead among defensemen. In addition, some of the “role” players also chipped in with goals. Rupp, Engelland, Kennedy & Martin (2) all chipped in with goals. A 7 goal outburst is what can happen when we have other players complimenting Crosby’s goal scoring. All of this occurred with Malkin sitting out with a slight knee injury, and with Staal still not available.
The team is really coming together right now. It is very entertaining to watch. A perfect example is their penalty killing. They work the kill with a level of teamwork I have not previously witnessed. They make smart little passes to each other to open up lanes for clearing passes, their coverage of rebounds is remarkable and they are boxing the other team out very effectively. Everything is coming together. ...
Well, the season is now 20 games in which means that roughly one quarter of it is gone, and so, just like when you were back in school, it is time to issue the first quarter report card for the team, the players and the coach.
The Team: B-
The team has had to make quite a few adjustments this year from welcoming in new players to learning to play in a brand new facility and the adjustments have been anything but seamless. The Penguins currently sit fourth in the Eastern Conference four points behind division leading Philadelphia but with games in hand on both Philly and teams right behind them in the standings, this could change easily. The team has taken some time to get used to their new home, and it showed in their early games, but a 2-1-1 record in the last four at home shows that they may be settling in nicely. Scoring goals, which has never been a problem for this team is definitely not a problem this year as the Pens are currently 7th in the league in goals per game, but early struggles to find the right defensive pairings has led them to only 13th in goals allowed per game. Finding the right defensive players for the Penalty Kill has definitely not been a problem as they currently rank 3rd in the league killing off almost 90% of all man advantages. Unfortunately, they seem to have forgotten how to play with the man advantage as their Power Play has sunk to 25th in the league converting on barely 12%. This team has way too much offensive firepower for this to continue, but I don’t think the problem is up front, I think it is on the blue line as the coaching staff seems to be relying way too much on Letang and Goligoski to get the job done. In the last 12 games(5-5-2), the Penguins are 4/49(8.2%) on the Power Play, and in that time, GoGo and Tanger each only have 2 Power Play points. I’m thinking it might be time to give Paul Martin a shot or go with an extra attacker at the point.
It’s time for the Penguins to stop tap dancing around and start playing hockey. Hit Somebody, get to the front of the net, clear the front of your net, hit somebody again. Start playing hard nosed, down and dirty, gritty hockey like you know how or take up golf.
The Penguins as a team have dished out more hits than any other team this playoff season, an average of 36 hits a game. Last year the Penguins averaged 30 hits a game and last game the Penguins only had 20 hits registered. Detroit and Pittsburgh have been the top two teams in average hits per game in the playoffs the last two years, there is a reason both made it to the finals twice in a row. Let’s get back to old time hockey, put some foil on the knuckles if you have to.
I’m not going to sugar coat this any more. Ponikarovsky is a wuss. He down right is a horrible excuse for a hockey player. He was brought in as a big guy who could cause some traffic in front and he is afraid, chicken if you will, a weak link doesn’t fit in and is hurting the Penguins and Malkin’s production. Bylsma needs to give him one more chance today and say either get to the front of the net and cause traffic, stop playing like a 10 year old girl, take some hits for the team or bench him the way he did Satan and Sykora for being soft last year. There is a perfectly good Eric Tangradi in the wings that will pound people, get to the net and take a beating if needed, not like the pansy ass ballerina who’s wearing a Ponikarovsky jersey. Sorry, it had to be said.
Here is the lineup the Penguins practiced this morning.
The big glaring thing I notice right away is the lack of Ukrainian players in the roster. Will Ponikarovsky and Fedotenko be benched for tonights game? This is the lineup the Penguins need tonight to win.
Two men that know how to play hockey and do not own “European carry alls”, Mike Rupp and Billy Guerin practiced and are expected to be back in the lineup this evening. ...
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January 8, 2012 2:06 pm | 
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