Penguins Tumble to New Low

The date was February 8, 2016. On that chilly Monday evening, the Penguins—still transforming under new coach Mike Sullivan—gave a delicious preview of what was in store. Displaying an astonishing blend of supreme skill and withering speed, they torched a very good Anaheim team, 6-2, at Consol Energy Center.

To gain a little perspective, the Ducks had won eight of nine prior to that fateful meeting. They won 12 of 13 after. Here’s an excerpt from my game summary, posted the following day on PenguinPoop.

The Penguins have made a believer out of me. My word are they fast. Aggressive. Crisp. Relentless. Watching them eviscerate Anaheim at the CONSOL last night brought to mind the Red Wings team that skated us into the ice during the 2008 Cup Finals. The poor Ducks simply couldn’t cope. Heck, even our kids skated circles around them.

Compare that with last night’s thoroughly dismal 4-0 loss at the hand of the Ducks. A team that, I might add, was playing without injured stars Ryan Kesler and Corey Perry.

It’s hard to believe we were watching the same Penguins squad. Our guys more closely resembled a bunch of black-and-gold clad zombies than Stanley Cup champs. Indeed, if the glorious triumph of 22 months ago represented a coming-out party of sorts, then last night’s lifeless defeat was arguably the death knell.

It isn’t that our guys aren’t trying. And it’s not that they don’t care. I’m sure it pains them deeply to take it on the chin like they did last night. But something’s clearly amiss. There simply are too many nights where the Pens appear to be going through the motions, just like the aforementioned zombies. There’s no purpose or focus to their play…and very little fire. Just a bunch of guys out there chasing the puck.

The fact that this eyesore of an effort came on the heels of arguably our most passionate and forceful performance of the season has me scratching my head all the more. Are the Pens unable to get up for more than one game every couple of weeks, which seems to be the case? Is it a conference thing (we’re 6-8-3 against the West, a more palatable 12-8 against the East)?

Wish I knew.

The only thing I’m sure of? We’re going no place fast. Especially if we continue on our present course.

I really feel badly for Sullivan right now. No one wants to win more than ‘Sully’. Picture Tom Brady in a suit. You can see how it tears him up inside, especially when we mail in the two points like we did yesterday. I imagine he’s enduring a lot of sleepless nights.

Jim Rutherford can’t be too pleased, either. At one point, the cameras showed him watching the proceedings from his perch in the executive box. ‘JR’ looked perplexed. He’s probably puzzling over his team’s inexplicable lack of compete, just like we are, wondering if there’s any way to fix it.

I’m not sure there is. As the immortal Steve Durbano once said, “Jesus and his twelve disciples couldn’t help this team.”

He was referring to a laughable Colorado Rockies squad, of which ‘Durby’ was a card-carrying member. Our Pens aren’t that far gone, to be sure. Yet somehow, the quote seemed applicable. JR can shuffle the deck and wheel and deal to his heart’s content. I’m not sure it’ll help. Not this season, anyway.

The Penguins, you see, are victims of their own phenomenal success. There’s a price to pay for winning back-to-back Cups, especially in the salary-cap era. We’re seeing that toll being exacted right now. By all accounts, our guys appear to be drained…emotionally, physically and mentally. How can they not be? Including exhibition games, they’ve played 271 games and counting since September of 2015. That’s roughly three-and-a-half seasons of hockey crammed into a grueling 27-month span.

It’s the only thing that can reasonably explain how this proud, gritty and accomplished group of champions is struggling so.

The remedy? You’ll think I’m nuts. But maybe missing the playoffs—which seems to be a distinct possibility—wouldn’t be the absolute worst thing that could happen to these guys. Yeah, I know. Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle would be none too happy. Neither would Penguins Nation. But it would give our boys the extended break they so desperately need. Time to rest, rejuvenate and reflect. Unplug from the game for a little while.

A chance to rekindle the fire, too.