Blue in St. Loo, Penguins Fall 4-2

In the wake of last night’s disturbing 4-2 loss to St. Louis, the Penguins seem to have stumbled upon a new formula. We’ll call it lather, rinse…defeat.

In many ways the contest was a virtual clone of our 6-3 loss to the Red Wings on Wednesday night. We played reasonably well (or at least well for this bunch) in the first period, then completely flatlined in the second. In the process turning a 1-1 tie into a two-goal deficit. One we weren’t able to overcome.

As Moe (or was it Curley?) of the Three Stooges used to lament, “This is gettin’ monotonous.”

Once again, energy was totally lacking. We delivered all of nine hits. Which, at least to this observer’s eye, was pretty indicative of our intensity and the sweat equity (or lack of) we invested as a group. At times, especially during the second period, we appeared to be skating on eggshells. Or more appropriately, thin ice.

Whether it’s a function of the players being relatively new to each other and still feeling their way along is hard to say. Maybe they’re having trouble grasping and executing the nuances of Mike Sullivan’s system. All I know is it doesn’t look good, especially in the defensive end where most of the Blues’ goals resulted from coverage breakdowns. A consistent and nagging bugaboo.

The bright spots, and there weren’t too many. Evgeni Malkin popped out of the penalty box with a dozen seconds left in the first period and beat Jordan Binnington on a breakaway, Geno’s fourth goal and eighth point on the young season. Not too shabby for a player who didn’t make ESPN’s Top 100 list (sheesh!).

And…drum roll please…Radim Zohorna scored in his return to the Pens’ lineup. “Big Z” struck on a wrist shot from the doorstep at 16:27 to close the gap to 4-2.

Thanks in no small part to his presence, the third line turned in a dominant performance (87.50 Corsi, 93.17 xGF%) while piling up a 9-1 edge in 5v5 shots on goal. A most welcome change from what we’ve been getting from our third line.

Although they were victimized for a goal, Geno’s line likewise was well above water in terms of possession, shots and expected goals.

Aside from that? As a collective the team looked stale, slow and woefully uninspired.

What Were They Watching?

I normally have great respect for studio analysts Jay Caufield and Mike Rupp. But I confess their wrap up during the second intermission left me flummoxed.

“Doing fine. Better decision making,” flashed on the TV screen.

I’ll buy the second part. But doing fine?

To my eyes, the Pens played a brutal period of hockey. Just brutal.

An angry Sullivan apparently agreed.

“We didn’t play hard enough,” he fumed afterward. “We didn’t play smart enough. We got what we deserved…”

Puckpourri

It’s hard to imagine how a team can look as listless as we did, yet pile up a huge edge in most statistics, but we managed. We held a decided advantage in shot attempts (83-45), shots on goal (33-21), scoring chances (32-22), high-danger chances (14-12) and faceoffs (52 percent). Process Cup, here we come.

One of these days, someone’s going to realize we lose most of the games we dominate statistically.

For the record, a ton of those shot attempts came from the perimeter. While I subscribe to the theory that no shot is a bad shot, we still have difficulty doing anything meaningful between the circles. As frequent commenter Mike has so aptly pointed out on numerous occasions, we have no real net-front presence at either end of the ice.

Has anyone around here heard of the center drive? Our puck carriers consistently peel off toward the wall at the drop of a hat, perhaps to buy time and space. Even Sidney Crosby was doing it…with predictably negligible results.

While the bottom six got finally off the schneid, there’s trouble in River City (also known as the top six). Jake Guentzel has one goal thus far, and frankly has been fairly invisible. And Rickard Rakell has a lone assist through five games.

We have enough trouble winning when our top six is scoring. When they aren’t?

Following three seasons in the minor leagues, Ryan Shea made his NHL debut. Aside from being turned inside out by ex-Pen Kasperi Kapanen (two assists, No. 3 star) on the second Blues goal, I thought Shea was pretty much as advertised. He kept things simple, moved the puck to the forwards and for the most part made the smart play.

He would appear to be a safer option than the hugely erratic Pierre-Olivier Joseph, who was treated to press box nachos. Speaking of, that’s what Jeff Carter should be dining on. His presence is train-wrecking any chance we have of developing an effective fourth line.

Although statistically sound, Chad Ruhwedel still looks shaky to me.

The power(less) play was at its usual, pass-the-puck-around-the-perimeter-looking-for-the-perfect-shot worst.

Wonder if Erik Karlsson is having regrets about coming to the ‘Burgh?

Head scratcher. Even though the third line was dominant, Sullivan seemed to mothball the unit in the second period. For the night, Zohorna (10:56) wound up with only slightly more ice time than Carter (10:18).

We’ve changed everything else. At what point do we take a hard look at our coach, his choices and his systems? I’m not saying our sluggish start is all Sully’s fault. But the players just don’t seem to be buying what he’s selling. Or more to the point, executing it effectively.

As the old saying goes, familiarity breeds contempt. Perhaps it’s time for a change.

On Deck

We return home to face the Stars on Tuesday, followed by a Thursday night tilt with the Avalanche.