Penguins blown out, 5-1, in Game 3

It certainly would be convenient to blame MarcAndre Fleury after the Penguins’ 5-1 loss to the Senators in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final on Wednesday at Canadian Tire Centre.

He’s literally their last line of defense, an easy target. If the opposing team scores on four of its first nine shots on goal, as the Senators did in this one, sure, go ahead, toss that guy under the bus.

But placing the blame for this dud at Fleury’s skates is not only inaccurate, but it’s wasted energy. There are other problems. Serious ones. And if the Penguins don’t solve them, it will be equally as useless to fantasize about Sidney Crosby passing the Stanley Cup to Fleury in early June.

Crosby scored for the first time in eight games in the third period, a garbage-time goal. Conor Sheary hasn’t scored in 14, Chris Kunitz 10 and Jake Guentzel four. Hardly ideal production from four of your top six forwards, the late goal assuaging some frustration over Crosby’s recent lack of goals.

Bottom-six production has lacked, too. Matt Cullen doesn’t have a point in six games. Nick Bonino has gone without a goal in nine.

Until Crosby’s goal, the power play had been bad as well, his nifty stick play in front snapping a 2-for25 funk for that unit.

Game 4 is Friday in Ottawa, when the Penguins will try to climb out of a 2-1 series deficit.

The toll the Penguins’ current injuries have exacted has started to become more and more evident.

Consider, the Penguins played this one without Kris Letang and Justin Schultz, arguably two of their best puck-moving defensemen. Brian Dumoulin and Trevor Daley, who returned from a four-game absence, aren’t 100 percent.