Penguins in a Battle

It sure was heartening to see our Penguins stave off the Rangers Sunday afternoon in a rousing 6-5 scoring duel to kick off Hockey Day in America. It marked the black-and-gold’s third win in four games…one that at least temporarily vaulted them back into a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

But make no mistake…our boys are in a battle. And, as I’d noted a couple of weeks earlier, the playoffs are anything but a sure bet.

I’m especially concerned about our defense…or lack of. The Pens haven’t allowed less than 30 shots on goal in a game since a 5-2 loss to San Jose on January 15. Since that time, they’ve yielded an average of 36.6 shots per 60 minutes. Overall, they’ve yielded 33.6 shots on goal per game…fourth most in the league.

Broadening the scope, we’ve yielded a staggering 2908 shot attempts in five-on-five play. Only the rebuilding Senators have allowed more.

Factor in the countless breakaways and odd-man breaks against, goalies Matt Murray and Casey DeSmith are facing down a veritable blizzard of rubber, not to mention sustained pressure on a nightly basis.

While our success has never been predicated on defense, that’s way too much shot activity, never mind all the pucks trickling past Murray and DeSmith of late. Dating back to a 5-3 loss to Chicago on January 6, the Pens have leaked for 67 goals over an 18-game stretch, a bloated average of 3.69 goals against per game.

It’s hardly surprising that our games have taken on the feel of track meets, where our only recourse is to rely on our supremely talented core to outscore the opposition. The victory over the Rangers was a prime example. Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang potted four of our six goals while Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel chipped in with five assists combined.

That’ll only get you so far.

Frankly, Carolina worries me. The Hurricanes, perched a lone point behind our guys in the Eastern Conference playoff chase, have gone 15-5-1 since New Year’s Eve. Fast, skilled and hungry, they’ve evolved into a legit playoff-caliber team under first-year coach Rod Brind’Amour.

In stark contrast to the Pens, they’ve allowed the fewest shots on goal in the league…an average of only 28.2 per game. The ‘Canes five-on-five shot attempts percentage…an enviable 54.96 compared to our shabby 49.13.

Dating back to a 5-2 victory over Vancouver on January 23, the Hurricanes have yielded just 18 goals over a 10-game stretch, including three shutouts in their past seven.

Talk about a team “playing the right way,” to coin one of Mike Sullivan’s favorite catchphrases.

Which team would you rather be at this juncture?

Fortunately, the locals aren’t the only Metro heavyweight to battle with inconsistency. Although they’re 5-2 in their last seven, the Blue Jackets have blown hot-and-cold all season long. Likewise, defending Cup champ Washington has struggled (9-8-3 since New Year’s Eve). But we can’t count on them taking a bow and fading from contention any time soon.

Which means Sullivan and his staff must somehow address the Pens’ mounting defensive issues, to say nothing of the team’s nagging tendency to play in spurts. An embarrassing trait that’s resulted in countless lackluster efforts, not to mention blown opportunities for points. None more glaring than the team’s three losses to tonight’s foe, New Jersey, by a combined score of 15-6.

While the addition of Justin Schultz should help with the team’s defensive play, there’s only so much one man can do. Especially since Olli Maatta, quietly effective, went down with a separated shoulder. The fact that Sullivan seems mostly unwilling to tweak his attack-oriented system doesn’t help.

Just my opinion. But perhaps it’s time to give assistant coach Jacques Martin a greater say. During a highly successful coaching career that spanned 1294 NHL games, Martin’s teams always played sound defense. That included the undermanned Montreal squad that used a box defense to upset our defending Cup champions back in the 2010 playoffs.

My guess is Martin could devise a hybrid system that would help the Pens cut down on the grievous amount of shots and shot attempts against, without robbing the team of its offensive identity.

It’s certainly worth a try. Especially with a playoff berth hanging in the balance.