So far, the Pittsburgh Penguins are 31 games into the regular season. They have 30 points and possess a record of 13-14-4 which puts them sixth in the division just over the New York Islanders and the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Going into Tuesday’s contest with the Colorado Avalanche, the Penguins looked like the Penguins of old as they were 5-1-0 in their last six games. However, that all went away after a crushing 6-2 loss at home where once again they looked flat. Since the Colorado loss, they won a lopsided 9-2 game against the Canadiens, but then lost in overtime to the Senators.
This season has been a very tough season to watch for Penguins fans. Poor goaltending, poor powerplay, and multiple losing streaks in just 30 games. The postgame press conference was very insightful as it seems like the Penguins locker room is an absolute disaster.
Team Not Happy With Loss
Defenceman Kris Letang was very adamant that a few reasons why the Penguins lost were due to powerplay struggles and lack of effort on the defensive end. In the loss, the Penguins powerplay went 0-4. When the powerplay struggles that much, it is difficult to win a game.
Letang added it was more so a lack of mindset and physicality.
“I think it’s more of a question of demeanor and, yeah, a team like that, there’s so much skill, you have to play a physical game,” Letang said, implicating his team’s lack of physicality. “You have to slow them down with the forecheck. Your neutral zone forecheck (must) slow them down. If they come at you with speed, they’re going to hurt you.”
To prove Letang’s point about the lack of physicality, they had just ten hits that game. Going forward, to remain competitive and win games, you need to have more than ten hits.
Head coach Mike Sullivan was also not happy with goaltender Tristan Jarry’s performance. He allowed five goals on 26 shots which resulted in a .808% save percentage. Sullivan mentioned it was a step back and he did not play as good on Tuesday.
However, on the other hand, Jarry took a different approach as he also blamed his defenceman for allowing the Avalanche to easily get past the defence and have multiple scoring opportunities.
“They had some good shots. (The shots) were obviously well-placed,” said Jarry. “I think that’s the hardest part about it when they’re getting behind us and behind me. I think it’s hard to see what’s behind me when I’m looking out front.”
Disappointed Head Coach
Sullivan was very angry with his team’s performance and effort in the loss.
“I didn’t think we were stiff on the puck. I thought we could have hung on to pucks more in the offensive zone. I thought we could have controlled territory a little bit more and forced them to have to defend us a little bit more,” Sullivan said. “We tended to be one and done. I think it starts with just getting your nose over the puck and staying close … we lost a fair amount of puck battles. And I also think we weren’t as good on the wall, on breakouts, and coming out of our end zone.”
Sullivan also sounded off on the powerplay and its inability to not convert not once but four times.
“I didn’t think there was good tonight. We didn’t move pucks as quickly. Our entries weren’t as clean,” Sullivan said. “We were trying to make a lot of lateral plays on the entry, and they stacked the line. We’ve got to be willing to play behind them. And so I just didn’t think our decision making, our execution was as crisp.”
This is the same powerplay that has been abysmal the last three seasons. Sullivan seemed to blame the players more so than coaching on the powerplay. However, in efforts to fix the powerplay, Sullivan reunited with his friend David Quinn who is also not coaching the defense well in addition to the powerplay.
Sidney Crosby Recognizes Fans Boos
During the game after the Mikko Rantanen hat trick and allowing six goals, PPG Paints Arena began to rain with boos from Penguins fans. The fans do have a point as there has been a lot to be disappointed and frustrated with so far this season.
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby heard the boos loud and clear and was not too happy with it either. Despite the Penguins having some impressive victories this season such as the defending champion Florida Panthers, Crosby mentioned, you would not know that tonight after the boos.
“I think there’s been some times this season when we deserved it,” Crosby said. “I don’t think tonight was one of them.”
Solution?
Plain and simple, the Penguins need to make a move. Sullivan has been coaching the Penguins for ten seasons and is one of the longest active tenured head coaches in the NHL. He has a career record of 387-233-81 as the Penguins head coach. He has won two Stanley Cups and has seven playoff appearances. However, he has overstayed his welcome and needs to be fired.
As you can tell from Tuesday night’s press conference, Sullivan lost the locker room. A change must happen and soon before the Penguins chemistry issues become even more glaring.
The Penguins pleasantly erupted for a 9-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. However, despite the impressive response after an extremely poor performance, it is still unlikely the Penguins make the playoffs this season. At some point this season, a change must be made otherwise the Penguins will have to wait a long time before being competitive again.
Main Photo: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
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