The More Things Change for Our Penguins…

…the more they stay the same.

Last season, in no particular order, our Penguins had difficulty a) playing with and protecting a lead b) finishing foes off c) finishing scoring chances in general d) scoring on the power play e) playing for a full 60 minutes and f) getting timely saves from our goalies.

For good measure, I’ll throw in a penchant for self-destruction and “soff” d-zone coverage.

So we axe our front office and hire Kyle Dubas, who gives the team a vigorous overhaul culminating in his epic blockbuster for superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson.

The result? Last night during a thoroughly deflating 4-2 come-from-in-front loss to the Blackhawks and rookie sensation Connor Bedard, we had trouble with all of the above.

After jumping to a 2-0 lead second period lead on goals by Bryan Rust and Sidney Crosby, we squandered a golden opportunity to put the Hawks away when we failed to cash in on a power play hot on the heels of Sid’s tally.

From that point on, the visitors gradually reeled us in like a bloated channel catfish lounging in the Mon. Taking full advantage of a tired bunch of Pens, Ryan Donato gained position on Marcus Pettersson in the slot and swatted the puck into an open net at 15:37 to ignite the Hawks’ rally.

As for that self-destruct button?

Newcomer Matt Nieto found it (he learns fast), taking a hooking penalty early in the third period. No sooner did we kill that one than Kris Letang gets whistled for a bonehead cross-checking penalty, virtually guaranteeing a flat-line black-and-gold start to the frame. The Hawks discover a soft spot in our coverage in the right circle and exploit it to full measure on goals by Cole Guttman (10:05) and Jason Dickinson (15:29) to grab a 3-2 lead.

Meanwhile, our pop…er…big guns continued to misfire, newcomer Reilly Smith in particular. He’s stoned on a partial breakaway by Petr Mrazek (more on him later) late in the second period and flubs an opportunity to tie the game late on a wide-open look from the side of the net.

Shortly afterward veterans Corey Perry and Nick Foligno team up for an empty netter to let what little air is left out of PPG Paints Arena. For the record, Foligno and Perry are the type of hard-nosed, character players we never seem to employ.

Back to Mrazek. Last spring he stopped 38 of 40 shots in our dismal, playoff-dashing 5-2 loss to the Hawks.

Last night? The 12-year vet stopped 38 of 40 shots.

The more things change for our Penguins, the more they stay the same.

Including our results.

Puckpourri

The Pens dominated the faceoff circle (67.8 percent) and held a slight edge in shots on goal (40-36). The Hawks had the upper hand in shot attempts (73-71) and especially in scoring chances (35-27) and high-danger chances (16-12).

The Hawks dressed three rookie defensemen, including 19-year-old Kevin Korchinski. We still couldn’t exploit ’em.

I’ll stop short of pinning this loss on Tristan Jarry, who made a ton of big saves early.  But, man, you sure would like to see him steal a game once in a while.

While Evgeni Malkin’s line flourished (62.96 Corsi, 65.33 expected goals percentage), Sid’s trio floundered (41.94 and 38.17).

A bright spot. We killed off four Hawks power plays. Noel Acciari got in shooting lanes and dished out a game-high five hits.

The power play sputtered (0-for-2). Letang was pulled from the top unit in favor of Jake Guentzel, back in the lineup following right ankle surgery. Karlsson manned an unfamiliar position at times. Maybe we should trade Todd Reirden, who oversees the power play, to the Steelers for maligned offensive coordinator Matt Canada.

Kidding…sort of.

Speaking of coaching inputs (and things staying the same), at what point do we take a hard look at Mike Sullivan and his system?

I miss Jason Zucker.

Up Next

The Pens trek to DC to take on the Capitals Friday night, then square off at home against the Flames Saturday night.