Penguins Are WYSIWYG

Like many Penguins fans, I’ve spent a good part of the season trying to get a read on our team. Hardly an easy task, given last summer’s significant turnover and the black-and-gold’s streaky nature.

After waiting 25 games for the Pens to coalesce, I’ve concluded that the answer’s been right under our noses the whole time.

We’re WYSIWYG. What you see is what you get.

As currently constructed, the fourth-place Pens (14-9-1-1) aren’t a Cup contender. Perhaps not even a playoff team. While the pattern may differ, I expect similar results to a year ago. The Pens will struggle to earn a playoff berth. If they do make the postseason, look for them to bow out in the opening round. Unless they get an extremely favorable matchup.

There simply are too many holes. Too many passengers and not enough consistent contributors for it to be any other way.

Some observations.

My Kingdom for a Goal

Much has been made of the Pens’ startling inability to score. Although production has risen a bit of late (24 goals during the past eight games), the team has—for the most part—been woefully inoffensive (27th out of 30 teams).

Indeed, only Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel are scoring at (or near) their projected paces. Everyone else, including captain Sidney Crosby, is tanking. At least to a degree.

Baffling when you consider the arsenal the Pens have at their disposal. Geno and Sid are former 50-goal men. Kessel and Patric Hornqvist have reached 30. Ditto Chris Kunitz. Nick Bonino, Matt Cullen, Pascal Dupuis, Eric Fehr, and David Perron all boast of 20-goal seasons.

While some of those players clearly are on the downside, it doesn’t explain the club’s disturbing lack of punch. Nor does a wonky power play, which could be both a cause and effect.

With his lightning-quick release and nose for the net, rookie Daniel Sprong might help. However, the Amsterdam native hasn’t dressed since a victory over Minnesota on November 17. When Sprong does suit up, coach Mike Johnston seems reluctant to use him in a top-six role.

Kitty Bar the Door

Thanks in no small part to the stellar goaltending of Marc-Andre Fleury, the Pens presently are ranked fourth in the league in fewest goals allowed. A phenomenon every bit as striking as the club’s boggy production.

However, anyone who watched the Kings’ big forwards ramble unimpeded toward the net during yesterday’s 5-3 loss like so many brand-new F-150s rolling off Ford’s Dearborn assembly line knows our defense is anything but airtight.

True, Brian Dumoulin and Ben Lovejoy rate among the top shutdown tandems in the league. And Olli Maatta has played well when healthy.

What about the rest? Turnover-prone Kris Letang’s a minus-14. Ian Cole, who leads the team in blocked shots, has struggled too (minus-9). Veteran Rob Scuderi’s been a mixed bag, especially of late (minus-4 in his past six games). Adam Clendening was shaky in the shootout loss to Edmonton and hasn’t touched the ice since. His replacement? Pint-sized journeyman David Warsofsky.

Hardly the second coming of the dynastic Montreal defense of the ‘70s. Or the Pens’…vintage 2009.

Which Way to Muscle Beach?

With an average weight of 197.8, the malnourished Penguins are the fourth-lightest team in the NHL. It continues a mysterious trend of icing undersized teams that dates back to the end of the Ray Shero Era, when mites such as Chris Conner, Andrew Ebbett, and Brian Gibbons dotted the roster.

I’ve been harping on it for years. Size matters. Especially in a league that allows obstruction and other sins to go largely unpunished.

It isn’t that our Pens don’t compete. However, our featherweight forwards have trouble winning puck battles and establishing a consistent presence in the prime scoring areas. Same goes for our decidedly unmuscular defense, which clears nary a soul from Fleury’s path.

Our neighbors in Smallville? Toronto, New Jersey, Chicago, Carolina, Calgary, and Vancouver. The Blackhawks aside, spot any Cup contenders among the bunch? Exactly.

Is MJ the Man?

One hundred-plus games into his tenure as Penguins coach, Mike Johnston remains an enigma of sorts.

On one hand he’s experienced, organized, and sharp as a tack. Listen to him expound on the intricacies of a play or sequence during a postgame press conference, and it’s clear that the Nova Scotia native knows the game. Inside and out.

Yet there’s a nagging sense that MJ’s not the right coach for this team. Johnston came to the ‘Burg with a well-documented reputation for offensive genius. Yet he’s instructed his forwards—including the stars—to play a defense-first style. Understandable in way, given the less-than-imposing nature of the Pens’ blue-line corps. But kind of like robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Not that anyone else is likely to steer this team to a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals. Or even a Metropolitan Division title.

Like I said. Lots of holes.