Are the Penguins Capable of Playing a 60-Minute Game?

I know it’s early. And four games don’t exactly make for a huge sample set. Especially following a seriously truncated training camp and no exhibition games.

I fully understand the players are still trying to find their sea legs, and there’s simply no substitute for game competition. Still, a disturbing trend seems to be evolving for our favorite hockey team.

To my eye, the Penguins have yet to play anything resembling a full 60-minute hockey game. Tuesday’s clash with division rival Washington (oops, that’s right…they’re all division rivals this season) was a prime example.

With a chance to sweep back-to-back games and climb back into the division race, the flightless waterfowl looked an awful lot like their Antarctic namesake through the opening 20 minutes. Indeed, we displayed all the tensile strength of a wet dish rag.

It’s almost as if we have a pathological need to get behind the eight-ball before we can get our engines revin’. We’ve only played with a lead on two occasions for roughly 21 minutes out of a total of 245. Not exactly a formula for success. Spotty goaltending and checkered team defense sure haven’t helped. But the drive and passion that was a hallmark of our Cup teams has been MIA at times.

Back to Sunday’s game. After watching the Capitals strike for a pair of goals (both by noted villain Tom Wilson) to snatch a 3-1 lead in the fading moments of the first period, I threw up my hands in utter disgust and grumbled, “No way we make the playoffs.”

Nothing occurred through the early stages of the second period to alter my opinion. Not the three-on-oh break that Casey DeSmith miraculously snuffed, or the pathetic 5-on-3 power play that looked like it would produce nary a shot let alone a goal until…SHAZAM…like a bolt of lightning Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust and Jake Guentzel recouped a little black-and-gold magic.

Even that didn’t seem to be enough to provide a spark….especially when Evgeny Kuznetsov scored to stake the Caps to a seemingly insurmountable 4-2 lead.

It took until DeSmith made a spectacular pass to send Teddy Blueger flying in for a breakaway goal while we were down two-men for our competitive fires to be fully lit.

Once those flames were stoked I thought we dominated, outshooting the Caps 15-8 over the final period and overtime. Suddenly, we skated with the speed, focus and intensity God and Mike Sullivan intended…despite (or maybe because of) being down two defensemen. A reminder that we can be a pretty darn good hockey team when we bear down and lay it on the line.

Still, it took so long to get the sweat glands flowing. Roughly 35 minutes to be exact. Over half a game. Why?

Wish I had an answer.

Maybe my memory’s a little fuzzy. But I seem to remember total team, 60-minute efforts were the rule rather than the exception last season…at least until January. Then our intensity seemed to wane. Perhaps a delayed reaction to the rash of injuries we endured to key personnel. But this is a brand-new season. We should be fresh and rarin’ to go.

Again, I know it’s early and we’re still working out the kinks. But hopefully the guys find the ‘on’ switch on a more consistent basis.

Bad News on the Blueline

The Pens received more bad news regarding their banged-up blueline corps. Marcus Pettersson will be out week-to-week and Juuso Rikkola longer term with upper body injuries, leaving the club with only one healthy left-handed shot (Brian Dumoulin) among the incumbents. They’ll join Mike Matheson on IR.

High-profile prospect Pierre-Olivier Joseph and minor-league veteran Kevin Czuczman, both left-handed shots, are expected to be promoted from the taxi squad.

It’ll be interesting to see which combinations Sullivan uses…and if offseason signing Cody Ceci (a healthy scratch the past three games) reenters the mix. For the record, Czuczman (pronounced “Churchman”) can play either side.