Don’t lose sleep over Penguins
Crosby hasn’t scored a goal in nine games, matching the second-longest drought of his spectacular career. He didn’t even have one shot on goal against Arizona. He’s a minus-12, second-worst on the team. He took another penalty Tuesday night, his NHL-leading 10th minor penalty.
Letang has gone 13 games without a goal and has only one this season. His minus15 isn’t just the worst on the Penguins. It’s the worst in the NHL.
Riley Sheahan, acquired in a trade with Detroit last month to be the third-line center, has one assist in eight games with the Penguins and didn’t have a shot on goal against Arizona. Fourth-line center Greg McKegg also didn’t have a shot in only 8:22 of ice time. Those guys aren’t Nick Bonino and Matt Cullen.
Backup goaltender Tristan Jarry has made exactly two NHL starts. The plan was for him to spend the season at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to develop his game, but that was scratched when offseason acquisition Antti Niemi played badly in three starts. Jarry should get another start this weekend. I get all of the issues. I just don’t see any as being insurmountable.
Mike Sullivan liked that the Penguins had 28 5-on-5 shots on goal against the Coyotes. He said he has liked their 5-on-5 play since the final three games of their fivegame Western swing despite losses in the final two at Calgary and Vancouver.
“I think if we just stay with the process and continue to pay attention to the details and stay committed to playing the game the way we’ve been playing it the last week or so then I think the goals will continue to come.”
Crosby and Letang will play better. Does anyone really believe that they won’t?
Jim Rutherford will find a third-line center through a trade. Does anyone really doubt him after what he has done the past two seasons? Carter Rowney, out the past eight games with a broken hand, will be back soon to center the fourth line.
It will be wonderful if Jarry shows he can be an adequate backup to Matt Murray, who made 24 saves against Arizona to run his brief career record at home, including playoffs, to 39-8-6, including 12-0-1 in the past 13 games. The heck with Jarry’s long-term development. The Penguins are worried about winning this season, not next season or the season after. Murray is the present and future.
All of that is why I wouldn’t have panicked if the Coyotes had somehow found a way to take advantage of the Penguins’ first game back after a long trip. Nobody in the Penguins room would have panicked. But… “You want to create those good habits as the season goes along to prepare yourself for the late stretch and playoffs,” Schultz said. “I thought we had a good effort tonight.” So did Sullivan. “I think it was important for us to win. We can talk about the process all we want. We’ve got to get results at some point. It’s evidence that, when we play the right way, we can have success.”
The Penguins have 65 games remaining before the playoffs.
I’m thinking there is time for them to have plenty of success.