Can the Penguins Be Fixed?

Last night I visited Hockey-Reference.com to check out the Penguins’ stats and get caught up on some things. As I glanced at the standings, I was astonished to see our Pens sitting dead last in the Metropolitan Division. Talk about a shock to your system.

I guess it really shouldn’t be given the way we’ve played since the end of October (languished is more appropriate). Indeed, since returning from our glorious road on a four-game tear, we’ve gone a dismal 1-6-1. Talk about a tailspin! If we were a fighter pilot, we’d be ditching our jet in the Pacific Ocean amid shark-infested waters.

So what gives? How did this happen? And more important, can general manager Jim Rutherford and the coaching staff fix it?

Some loose-leaf thoughts from a loose-leaf mind.

Bad Juju

In stark contrast to our Cup-winning form, the Pens are finding ways to lose…a sure sign of a bad team. Thursday night’s thoroughly disappointing 4-3 defeat at the hands of Tampa Bay was a classic example.

Thanks to some Lightning largesse, our boys snatched a 2-0 lead on power-play goals by Patric Hornqvist and Phil Kessel. They nearly took a three-goal lead minutes later, but Tampa Bay goalie Louis Domingue stopped Jake Guentzel on a glorious scoring chance from in close. I remember thinking, Uh oh…we’re gonna need that goal.

My sense of foreboding was spot-on. Somehow, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel conspired to draw minor penalties at the same instance with 23 seconds left in the first period. Apparently feeling left out, 42-year-old Matt Cullen…aka “Team Dad”…joined them in the box a mere 10 seconds later to hand Tampa Bay a 5-on-3 power play for a gazillion minutes. Roughly akin to going deep-sea diving without an oxygen tank.

Predictably, the Lightning beat a still shaky Matt Murray three times within the next 91 seconds…with the first goal coming three seconds before the end of the period…to snatch victory from the jaws of certain defeat.

You’ve heard of athletes described as having a million-dollar body and a ten-cent head? Well, with precious few exceptions (Sidney Crosby) that’s an apt description of the black-and-gold squad as a whole. Blonde on ice, if you will.

Need more proof? At the end of the Pens’ 4-2 loss to fellow Metro doormat New Jersey on Tuesday night…another eminently winnable game that somehow slipped away…Kris Letang cradled the puck on his stick blade at center point with our goalie pulled and over 30 seconds left on the clock. In hockey circles, an eternity to make a play.

Instead, he tried to shoot the puck through a phalanx of Devils impeding the high slot. Predictably, his shot was blocked by Stefan Noesen, who sent Taylor Hall speeding away for a game-ending empty netter.

It’s precisely the type of blunder…and there’s been no shortage of ‘em…that’s crushing the life out of the team. Our guys must regain their discipline and focus. This is especially true of veterans like Malkin, Kessel and Letang. They set an example for the rest of the group.

That includes paying attention to the details, both in the offensive and defensive zone. With and away from the puck, too. For now, we’re taking way too many shortcuts…and getting burned in the process.

Where’s the Sizzle?

I devoted an entire article to the subject back in October, but I’ll touch on it again. Has the Penguins’ competitive fire gone out…or at least been seriously dampened?

While there’s ample evidence to suggest otherwise…Hornqvist in particular has been surly as a grizzly bear that woke up on the wrong side of a spring thaw…collectively our guys seem to lack spark and jump. While every hockey player wants to win…you simply don’t make it to the NHL by having a losing mindset…some are leaders and some are followers.

We appear to have a surplus of the latter and a shortfall of the former. Someone needs to take charge of the dressing room. Crosby, Malkin…somebody.

It ain’t happenin’.

Need for Speed

One of the keys to our back-to-back Cups was speed. Pure, unadulterated speed. Combined with our elite skill level, it separated us from the rest of the pack.

While the high-end skill remains, our speed seems to be downright lacking at times. In a copycat league where everyone and their brother are cultivating skating teams, we’re all-too-often left in the dust.

Coach Mike Sullivan insists we’re still quick, asserting that what appears to be a lack of foot speed is in reality a lack of confidence.

I’m not so sure. With stunning frequency, we seem to wind up on the wrong side of the puck. A prickly development that’s led to a plethora of opposing odd-man breaks. No wonder Murray’s having a confidence crisis. He and backup Casey DeSmith are tending goal in a veritable wild west shooting gallery.

Too, a quick glance at the roster tells a different story. Exit burners Josh Archibald, Trevor Daley, Carl Hagelin, Conor Sheary and Scott Wilson. Enter comparative lead-foots Riley Sheahan, Garrett Wilson and plow horse Derek Grant. Diligent players all, but hardly candidates to win the NHL’s fastest skater competition, as Hagelin once did.

While the Pens do have some fast kids toiling at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton…most notably Thomas DiPauli and Adam Johnson…I’m not sure if they’re ready…or of NHL caliber. The numbers suggest they aren’t.

One thing is certain. There are no easy solutions to the Pens’ plethora of issues, especially given our lack of salary-cap space and paucity of legit prospects down on the farm.

There’s no more difficult task in all of sport than reviving a fading former champion. Let’s hope Rutherford and the rest of the staff are up to the task.