Penguins Falter, Lose to Chicago

I hope last night’s 4-1 loss to Chicago at the United Center wasn’t somehow symbolic. Like in the Miss America pageant, when last year’s honoree hands her crown to the latest winner.

Unfortunately, that’s what it felt like. A changing of the guard…or passing of the Cup, if you will. The King is dead, Long live the King.

Talk about two teams headed in opposite directions. The Blackhawks have won five in a row (and 10 of 11), in the process blowing past us in the overall NHL standings. Reigning MVP Patrick Kane struck for a hat trick last night. Two-way stalwart Jonathan Toews is heating up a la Sidney Crosby last spring. Borrowing a page from the Penguins’ book, the Hawks have stocked their bottom six with speedy, energetic kids.

In fact, they look an awful lot like we did at this stage last season. Coiled and poised to strike.

On the flip side, the Pens are sputtering like a badly opened bottle of soda pop (2-3-1 in our last six). The previous evening the black and gold blew a two-goal lead against Dallas, ending our glorious 65-0 run since the start of 2015-16 when leading after two periods.

One by one, hallmarks of our success are falling like dominos. An ominous sign.

Indeed, we seem to be in decline. Not where you want to be approaching the Ides of March. To say nothing of the Stanley Cup playoffs, which favors clubs that are just hitting their stride.

It’s difficult to tell what kind of team the Penguins have. Partly because we’re so banged up. While injuries to key performers Trevor Daley, Kris Letang, Bryan Rust and Conor Sheary could have a beneficial effect by giving each an unplanned rest, it’s clearly taking a toll on the rest of the guys. And while the Pens showed more hop against the Blackhawks—and received spectacular goaltending from Marc-Andre Fleury to boot—it wasn’t enough to earn a victory.

General manager Jim Rutherford tried to give his sagging troops a boost at the trade deadline. Despite severe salary-cap restrictions, he acquired veteran backline minutes eater Ron Hainsey from Carolina and aggressively pursed St. Louis stalwart Kevin Shattenkirk, only to be rebuffed.

JR did swing a creative deal for Mark Streit, a skilled and accomplished puck-mover from the backend. Streit served as an assistant captain with the Flyers and has good possession numbers this season (a Corsi for of 52.4 percent at even strength). At age 39, we’ll see how much he has left in the tank.

Still, to properly execute coach Mike Sullivan’s attacking style, the locals need an infusion of good old-fashioned puck-hunting hunger. Especially in the short run.

To that end, Sheary can’t return soon enough. The Pens really miss his energy, speed and compete level, not to mention his hockey smarts and skill. No one more than Sid.

Carter Rowney may be responsible and good on faceoffs, but he contributes little in the way of offense (a lone assist in 10 games). If I were JR, I’d call up speedy Josh Archibald (fourth in the AHL in plus/minus) from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton post-haste and plug him into the lineup. At least until Rust returns.

As I’d mentioned before, the immediate future ain’t especially rosy. In fact, given how crippled we are, it’s downright grim. Following a pair of home contests with Tampa Bay and Buffalo, we depart for a season-smashing road trip. Five games in eight days, starting in Winnipeg and wending through the wilds of western Canada before wrapping up in the unfriendly environs of Philadelphia.

I hate to be a doomsayer. But I fear things are going to get worse before they get better.

Don’t be surprised if we’re occupying a wild-card spot by the time we return.

Ice Chips

The Penguins outshot Chicago, 37-29, and out-hit the Hawks, 35-16. The Blackhawks won 52 percent of the faceoffs.

Scott Wilson scored the lone Penguins’ goal on a pretty backhander at the 17-minute mark of the second period. Hainsey got the only assist, his first point for the black and gold.

Fleury made 25 saves, many of the highlight-reel variety.