The Pittsburgh Penguins suffered their eighth blown multi-goal lead of the season in Tuesday Night’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. That’s now eight times out of 21 games. Leading 2-0 after forty minutes, the Penguins saw a two-goal lead once again evaporate for the second straight game in the third period.

The Penguins started strong. They were back pressuring in waves that was seeing them stifle the Lightning early on zone entries and offensively there were signs of life in the Penguins getting to the tough areas in he net-front area. First 20-30 minutes of play, Pittsburgh was putting a workman-like performance together. As the game progressed, though, all of that started to go out the window.

Tampa Bay despite trailing, kept gradually carrying the play and out-attempted the Penguins 57-22 over the final forty minutes of regulation. The third period was as lopsided in play as you would see. Tampa out-chanced the Penguins 18-3 in the third period that saw the Lightning force overtime.

Overall, in the game the Lightning out-shot the Penguins 35-19 and a staggering 85-38 edge in shot attempts.

Mike Sullivan after the game was as heated as he’s been all season in calling out his club.

“We have to compete harder. We need more guys to compete harder and pay more attention to detail. And we need to take more pride in playing defense,” Sullivan said.

Is the language Sullivan is speaking basically an indictment on him and his coaching staff? Kyle Dubas sacked him with the roster he gave him but lack of compete, pride and attention of details continue to be signs of a group that can’t get by on talent anymore and doesn’t want to do the hard work it takes to off-set other areas.

We all know the logistics surrounding Sullivan and how many facets there are if the Penguins decided to move on from him. Last thing they want to do is do it in-season out of respect for the two-time Stanley Cup Winner but is management’s hands eventually going to be forced?

Things are headed down a path where Sullivan is no longer being evaluated on wins and losses. Development, structure/attention to details, a team always playing hard as more young players come into the lineup is of more importance in the evaluation process and this staff isn’t getting A’s and B’s on that front. They’re more in the mold of bringing home D’s.

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These were not the Tampa Bay Lightning of three years ago. They no longer have three legit scoring lines that come at your in waves, but it was still night and day of the talent disparity. However, that’s not to say there should be excuses for how below average the Penguins are with the little things on the ice that to make up for the lack of talent, they have to be near elite at to overachieve this season.

Assistant coach David Quinn who netted a three-year contract this summer from the Penguins, is not only best friends with Mike Sullivan, but also has a very close relationship to FSG chairman Tom Werner that was not realized until very recently. Some inside the organization believe Dubas could sell To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Notebook Buzz

~~~Rumblings, Musings, Opinions ~~~

Vasily Ponomarev vs Jake Guentzel Tonight! Guentzel returns to Pittsburgh for the second time, his first trip as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning. As i stated the morning after the Guentzel trade, the Penguins did a lot better with their return than most pundits gave them. Still, there is always going to be second guessing surrounding the Guentzel situation. Guentzel was always going to resign for $8.5-$9 million a year if the new front office had actually made a ‘real’ offer to him and showed him some love that he was a priority. At the end of the day Dubas was just locked from the start that there had to be a significant change somewhere and Jake Guentzel was always going to be it since he was a pending UFA and didn’t have the nostalgia around him the future hall-of-famers. Guentzel was the easy out to make. Still, many in the organization believe the forward-thinking move was to resign Guentzel and trade Bryan Rust who had significant trade value around the league………….

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— Buzz inside the Penguins organization: Kyle Dubas does not see Kris Letang in the same light as Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin (which is fully understandable) and an interesting development is that there is a bit more interest in Kris Letang than you may expect with the significant declining play, contract and health history. Letang is said to have a passing interest in finishing his career in Canada and is not locked in that it’s Montreal or nobody. Sounds like the Penguins are under the assumption Letang would at least give consideration To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

— The Penguins callup of Owen Pickering caught a lot around the league by surprise. Not that Pickering hasn’t been on an uptick trajectory and there’s evaluators who see a #2 pairing ceiling from the 2022 first-round pick, but with just a handful of games under his belt in WBS and only 20 years old, he’s viewed as a young player who you would bring up when you’re sold on him staying in the NHL. However, could this be a full-time callup? The thinking has changed where the Penguins front office brought him up with the intention that he has the ability to stick. San Jose was San Jose, though, when evaluating the young guys. A great test this week against Tampa Bay, Winnipeg and Utah……….

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Something feels special about the 8-2 Pittsburgh Steelers. The culture, type of bounces, turnovers they create, it’s reminiscent of the early Mike Tomlin years…………This is a really complete team with depth and even young depth that hasn’t reached their ceiling in a number of areas……..A downfall for the Steelers jump this season to a legitimate AFC Contender? Even with the 9-1 Chiefs looking vulnerable, the AFC is loaded. While the Steelers can beat anybody, there’s also four or five others you can say the same thing about. Among Them: Buffalo, Baltimore, Kansas City, LA Chargers. While the Houston Texans are not on that tier, there is phenomenal QB play from the clear Top-6 teams in the AFC where anybody in that group could get hot and win multiple playoff games. You can’t say that about the NFC…………If there’s one team nobody would want to see as the 7th seed it’s the Cincinnati Bengals because of Joe Burrow. The sooner the Bengals are put out of their misery in the playoff race, the better…….

–The Steelers have a legitimate game changing QB and are getting the best quarterback play since 2018 Ben Roethlisberger and after one so-so game the Justin Fields crowd is back in full-force. Call me shocked………. Has there been a bigger turnaround in a matter of four weeks than Patrick Queen?. He has looked like an All-Pro the last couple weeks………Biggest takeaway/Concern from the Steelers Offense vs Baltimore? Did the Ravens put the blueprint out there on taking the top away from the Steelers passing game? Pittsburgh’s group of receivers don’t create enough separation quickly enough in the short and intermediate game where the Ravens might be onto something………

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— 3 Years or Less of Paul Skenes in a Pirates Uniform? That’s the gut-wrenching reality for Pirate fans. Skenes taking home NL Rookie of the Year Monday Night, will be eligible for free agency in 2029, his age 27 campaign. Will Skenes command a $500-$600 million contract by then? The clock will start ticking on the Pirates to trade him after the 2027 season………

To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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A sense in the Penguins organization is a new reality is starting to set in with the older core. They believed over the summer the GM didn’t believe in them but there’s a feeling the wheels are being set in motion there’s nothing they can do to stop a tear down of the roster for this season. It feels real now. If Vancouver calls up today and offers a Second-Round Pick and Nils To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! Management is prepared for some pain this season with the hopes of building things back up next season, though, 2026/2027 might be more realistic.

At the end of the day, a frustration among players and coaches who have been around for quite a while in Pittsburgh seems to be is how Penguins General Manager Kyle Dubas took one swing in the summer 2023 to try to extend the window, signing low tier players to multi-year deals and then just sat on his hands all last season till he decided to trade Jake Guentzel. There is still some head scratching in the organization on that front………

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Under the Microscope

Mike Sullivan: Everything is complicated with Sullivan from the logistics surrounding him from the close relationship with Sidney Crosby, FSG thinking he’s the Bill Belichick of the NHL, to even the reality in the organization can we really move on from a coach who was recently named head coach to lead Team USA? There are individuals in the organization who felt over the summer this made Sullivan even tougher to move on from and Dubas is said to have thought the lure of the staff on Team USA could be a strong recruiting tool when the Penguins want to be aggressive again. However, there’s certainly a little bit of heat internally on Sullivan for the first time in the Kyle Dubas era. Deliberations are on-going [hide] if he’s truly the right fit for this change in direction that started last spring More so than wins and losses, some of the young guys coming up and how they perform is going to have meaning where this goes. It’s not Sullivan’s fault Sam Poulin likely isn’t a true NHLer but To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

In what’s starting to be a multi-year trend, another topic of discussion sources say is a number of useful players in their 20’s seeing their games faceplant out of nowhere. Drew O’Connor and Michael Bunting among them so far this season. O’Connor no points and a minus-13 rating in his last 12 games.

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Connor McDavid on Thursday night became the 4th fastest player (659 games) in NHL history to hit the 1,000 point plateau. Still just 27 Years old and primed to dominate the league for years to come, does he have a shot to become the second player ever to hit 2,000 points?

~~~~ Fastest to 1,000 Points ~~~~

Wayne Gretzky – 424 Games

Mario Lemieux – 513 Games

Mike Bossy – 656 Games

1980’s era hockey or not, Gretzky in 424 games remains remarkable as does Lemieux in 513 games, especially considering the team’s Lemieux had around him the first couple years of his career. When you factor in the era McDavid is playing in, under 700 games is quite the feat. Looking at some of the all-time greats of the Sidney Crosby era and McDavid was almost 100 games faster than Crosby, nearly 200 games faster than Malkin and close to 300 games faster than the likes of Steven Stamkos and Patrick Kane; Sidney Crosby 757 games, Evgeni Malkin 848 games, Alex Ovechkin 880 games, Steven Stamkos 945 games, Patrick Kane 953 games.

Then you look at McDavid’s peers right now and its the same story, he’s 200, 300 games above their projections. Auston Matthews 660 points in 575 games, not on pace to hit 1,000 points till around 875 games if he continues on current trajectory; Nathan MacKinnon 932 points in 808 games, has a shot to hit the 1,000 points mark this season but projects to not do so till around the 870 career game mark. McDavid’s Teammate Leon Draisaitl with 872 points in 732 career games has a chance to be the third fastest player since the 2004-2005 lockout to get to 1,000 points. He’s going to be in contention to top Malkin’s 848 games mark.

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The core and Mike Sullivan all knew barring a great start to the season, the Penguins pivoting before Thanksgiving to acquire more draft capital and opening spots for AHL players was always going to be the end game for General Manager Kyle Dubas. Reason being Dubas told the Sullivan’s and Crosby’s of the organization straight up over the summer this was going to be the plan. This talk that Dubas and ownership guaranteed Sidney Crosby they would try to win this season is some bad info out there. Since early June Crosby and his inner circle have been aware of this being the plan. They were never happy about it especially after being led to believe near end of last season the team would be aggressive again (last summer) but no one can accuse Dubas of not being upfront with the power brokers in the organization.

While Dubas continues to do a great job of accumulating draft assets, this is basically a punt season he put in place back in June, where the front office see’s room for growth internally next season that could open the door to being more aggressive in the trade and free agent market. One team source says next summer the Penguins could have a ‘Capitals’ type aggressive summer, but the counterpoint is everyone To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

MORE BUZZ

— The Penguins set a price on Lars Eller back in June of a second-round pick or a combination of a 3rd and 5th round pick. The whole league has been aware of this for months. There was hesitation to move Eller over the summer, due to push back from the coaching staff, but the coaches, Eller had no say on this one after the start to this season. It was just a coincidence the Penguins sent Eller back to Washington. This wasn’t a situation of trying to find the best landing spot for the player.

Who’s Next?

Defenseman Marcus Pettersson and his family genuinely would love to sign an extension with the Penguins and stay in Pittsburgh. Petterson’s agent Peter Wallen has made that know to the Penguins for months. Pittsburgh, though, sent out To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Another name to watch where you could see some more immediate movement league sources say is Noel Acciari. Acciari’s graded internally among the Penguins Top-5 forwards and Pittsburgh has gauged the market for a return as high as a To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Others: The belief is the Penguins are more lean trading Drew O’Connor To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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— Don’t look for Cody Glass to be moved anytime soon. Once healthy there is said to be a strong interest from the front office in seeing his role grow. They think there is more to his game and seek a bigger role for him………..Penguins enter tonight with the 27th worst Points% (.412) in the National Hockey League. Next Three Opponents: Detroit (.464%), Columbus (.400%), San Jose (.382%)….. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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PIT Receives: 2025 Fifth Round-Pick, 2027 3rd-Round Pick

WAS Receives: Lars Eller

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Trade Buzz: As mentioned, multiple times here over the last month, Penguins General Manager Kyle Dubas planned to give this current group 15-20 games before it was time to pivot in a direction fans wouldn’t be happy. Here the Penguins 16 games in and the trade of Eller to Washington is the start of Pittsburgh being open for business on all of their pending UFA’s. The Penguins had an opportunity to move Eller just prior to July 1 to the Buffalo Sabres that would have landed [hide] Pittsburgh a second-round pick. There was pushback from the coaching staff that prevented the deal but Eller being one of the first pending UFA’s traded in the young season is far from a surprise as Pittsburgh comes out of the deal with 2027 3rd rounder and 2025 5th rounder. If someone’s offering you a third-round pick for Lars Eller now, you have to move on it after the hesitation over the summer. The Penguins currently have 29 draft picks & likely counting at their disposal over the next three drafts. 2025 (10), 2026 (9), 2027 (10). [/hide]

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In what continues to be a trend against upper echelon teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins were once again ran out of the building in a 7-1 loss to the Dallas Stars. This one was a bit different in the Penguins allowing a franchise worst SIX GOALS in the First Period. It was as bad as an implosion you will see as Joel Blomqvist couldn’t make a save in the Stars scoring three goals on their first eight shots and Alex Nedeljkovic came in a said let me top that young rookie.

Dallas would quickly put three goals past Nedeljkovic on just four shots as the Stars put together a 50% shooting percentage in the first period frame, scoring Six goals on 12 shots. It was an unbelievable sequence.

First Period Save Percentage: Joel Blomqvist 5 Saves, .625SV%; Alex Nedeljkovic 1 Save, .250 SV%

“I’m not going to say I’m frustrated because I’m not,” Mike Sullivan said. “I’m determined. I’m determined to move this team forward in the right direction more consistently. I know we are a way better hockey team than what we displayed out there today. I know we have a group of guys to get better every day.”

Does a loss like this and let’s also chalk it up as another blowout loss against a Stanley Cup level contender add any pressure to the room? If anything, it just plays into how Kyle Dubas viewed this group in the summer.

Penguins General Manager Kyle Dubas sat on his hands all last season when the Penguins needed a jolt and were actually trying to win before pivoting to trading their second best forward at the deadline. After showing his hand this summer that he doesn’t believe this group can compete, the team can likely only look in the mirror to try to continue to tread water. Some of the young help in Wilkes Barre just isn’t totally ready yet such as Ville Koivunen, Owen Pickering, Rutger McGroarty or Tristan Broz who has been a pleasant surprise.

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MORE BUZZ

— It will be interesting how the coaching staff reacts to Joel Blomqvist’s first really poor start in goal. Strong indications are Alex Nedeljkovic was scheduled to start Wednesday barring a great performance from Blomqvist. If I was Tristan Jarry’s camp, though, I’d be livid if Jarry’s not in goal vs the Red Wings.

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— As much concern there has been with Erik Karlsson’s nonchalant attitude and questionable practice habits as written here last week, Kris Letang has looked cooked as a top-2 level pairing defenseman since the calendar hit 2024 last January and there continues to be a belief in the organization Letang has lost the drive to bring it every night. On pace for 31 points, Letang in year three of a six year deal, will have already been paid just north of 65% of his total $36.6 million contract by seasons end. Could Letang call it a career after this season? Think next season is more likely…….Some around the league have always felt Letang would finish his career in Montreal as a veteran presence to show a young team the ropes but even with his former agent Kent Hughes at the helm, multiple league executives have thrown cold water on the idea that it makes any sense for Montreal to explore this over the summer that a trade to his hometown is going to motivate a soon to be 38 year old who has won three Cups……………

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— League Buzz: Erik Karlsson to CTo read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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The Penguins continue to operate their goaltending situation on kind of a week-to-week and even game-by-game basis. Despite the organization believing Joel Blomqvist is too good for the AHL, had the Penguins got blown out Friday night, there was a chance Joel Blomqvist goes down to Wilkes Barre with Tristan Jarry coming up just from the standpoint of logistics.

Instead Blomqvist shined brightly in the 4-2 win and gets a consecutive start tonight against the Dallas Stars, a top-flight Stanley Cup Contender. One thing with Blomqvist is the way things have broken is the team keeps throwing him out there against higher end teams. It’s been a great evaluation tool. Leaky goal a game aside, the eye test thus far continues to match the #’s where he’s the far superior goaltender against chances inside 35 ft; Blomqvist .886 HDSV%, Nedeljkovic .754 HDSV%; Jarry .800 HDSV%.

Will we see Tristan Jarry in net this week where the Penguins have four games in six days?

The Penguins continue to take a tough stance on Jarry who will be in the press box To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Wednesday’s starter against the Detroit Red Wings is said to be penciled in for now as being Alex Nedeljkovic’s net but subject to change depending on Blomqvist’s performance tonight against the Stars. If Jarry gets consideration to start at all this week, the buzz is on To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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— Penguins gave consideration to calling up one of Sam Poulin and Emil Bemstrom due to the Cody Glass and Kevin Hayes injuries. Poulin got the nod yesterday due to the team wanting to get him practice reps with the big club even if he doesn’t dress during the callup.

— Matt Nieto scored Saturday night in his first AHL game and has really defied odds in the organization in his return from multiple knee surgeries. Many never thought he’d be in contention to play this season, let alone this early. Team wants to get him a couple more games and things continue to track where he’s going to get a shot with the big club. Internally the team feels they owe it to him.

— Drew O’Connor back on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell is in quite the rut. No points in his last 10 games and a minus-12 rating during that span.

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What We Learned: Penguins 4 – Capitals 2 (F)

The Penguins had their typical 2-0 lead they find ways to get and then in the second period the game started to slip away. The Capitals got it tied and Joel Blomqvist kept the Penguins afloat that allowed the Penguins to remain in the ball game in the third period and to the Penguins credit they put together a great third, especially in a back-to-back for a team that’s so reliant on a core pushing 40 years old.

Playing for the first time in 10 days Blomqvist shined in the win with 32 saves and faced a barrage of high-end chances. Blomqvist allowed a leaky goal on the Rasmus Sandin first period marker as Blomqvist got caught leaning wrong way and we’re often seeing that once a start from him. But, game in and game out you’re seeing Blomqvist highlight the potential he has, and he’s clearly been the Penguins best goaltender in combating high-end chances. And the #’s meet the eye test. Quite frankly he’s the goaltender that gives the Penguins the best chance to go on a mini run. I just don’t think the organization see’s it that way yet……

Blomqvist and Alex Nedeljkovic have each appeared in seven games and there’s a pretty drastic difference.

Blomqvist .886 High Danger Save % (8 Goals Allowed on 70 Shots) | Nedeljkovic .754 High Danger Save % (14 Goals allowed on .754 SV%)

And then you have to weigh the competition each goaltender has faced. Blomqvist through seven games has faced Detroit, Toronto, Buffalo, Carolina, Edmonton, Minnesota, and Washington. Nedeljkovic Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver, Anaheim, Montreal, New York Islanders, Carolina.

The goaltending winds seemed to be changing where the Penguins planned to send To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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More Buzz

Penguins have points in five of six games and treading water at 6-8-2, 14 pts, .438%. Some around the league feel as bad as coached the Penguins have looked at times, especially the first couple weeks, the team might be overachieving with the lack of talent on the roster. The league view is that this is clearly a bottom-10 roster and there’s certainly a sentiment in league circles that as long as the Penguins are treading water the GM owes it to Sidney Crosby to try to move a mid-draft pick for some forward help before it’s too late. Will Kyle Dubas see it that way? 4th liner Noel Acciari is one of the Penguins top-5 rated forwards in their internal modeling, team sources say. Coming in the team planned a 15-20 game evaluation before making any type of move or swinging things the other way in going less experienced. One scout this week called the Penguins top-9 ‘Atrocious’ beyond the obvious four and there’s been some worry about Lars Eller after the hot start. Eller’s looked cooked this week against better competition and Eller is a big reason that forced the Penguins hand Friday night after the second period in the Caps win.

Through 40 minutes the O’Connor-Eller-Rust line was at 27% in possession and just getting ran all over the ice against the Capitals Top-6. Rust back in the lineup, though, allows you to split up Malkin-Crosby-Rakell and going Bunting-Malkin-Rust was a big swing in the third period where Rust created the game winning goal with a great power move in setting Malkin up for the eventual game winner. A positive sign for Malkin is how he’s scoring in those tough areas in finding space. And Michael Bunting has found his game this week with a first period goal off an Erik Karlsson setup and the Bunting-Acciari-Puljujarvi line was on the ice for 12 shot attempts and just 3 against before Bunting’s move up to the second line. Bunting has to be Penguins 5th best forward moving forward and we’re seeing about a five to six game run here where he’s getting back to the basics of not trying to be a player he’s not. Aside from Lars Eller, Drew O’Connor’s game is also really in a rut with no points in his last 10.

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— The Erik Karlsson Experience. Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan called Karlsson out Thursday night without naming him and Karlsson responded right out of the gates with a goal and primary assist in 1:41 of ice time to open the game. There was more to this than Karlsson just having an awful game against the Hurricanes.

There’s been some issues building up internally where Karlsson is said to be developing a Phil Kessel type reputation with Sullivan and even Sidney Crosby to a little extent where there’s been some frustration with the practice To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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The Penguins surrendering third period leads is unlikely to go away this season. That’s just something built in them and with the lackadaisical defensive play for stretches and system deficiencies, it’s going to be a trend that will likely continue with this group where they have moments that they can’t put together a full 60-minute game. That’s just whom they’ve been for a while now.

Still, Tuesday’s 4-3 shootout loss was another step in the right direction of how the Penguins are carrying play. Last three games Pittsburgh @ 5 vs 5 has a high danger for% of 69%, 56%, 71%; The previous three games before Pittsburgh’s current three game points streak; 23%, 35%, 44%. Across the board there’s been marketable improvement in creating more chances than giving up.

This isn’t just because of offense, offense. Better systematic defensive play, structure over the last three games where the Penguins have buttoned things up has played a major part.

What you’re watching the next two games against Carolina and Washington isn’t whether the Penguins win or lose the next two, but do they hold up. When the Penguins have run into any good to great team this season, they’ve gotten run out of the building in almost every game from the standpoint of just being overwhelmed 5 vs 5. Over the last three games the Penguins have tightened some things up in the neutral zone and have made attempts to play a more defend the middle of the slot down low than pressure, pressure, and we’ll see if there’s any different outcome (in level of play) against the 9-2 Carolina Hurricanes whom on Oct 18th just steamrolled the Penguins in all three phases. That night looked like the Penguins sending an AHL team out on the ice.

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MORE BUZZ

Tristan Jarry not having some dominant nights in Wilkes Barre would have been quite concerning. For his part Jarry has answered the call with a 4-0 record and .946 SV%. Now we’ll find out how he handles the pressure when he makes his first back in the NHL as a lot of Jarry’s issues the team believes has been between the ears. And the Penguins would be wise to start him on the road…………..The Penguins and Tristan Jarry’s reps at Newport Sports, led by super agent Craig Oster, have held significant discussions of what the future is going to look like. There was a point during the week Pittsburgh took Jarry out of the lineup that the two sides were going to push forward with allowing To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Jesse Puljujarvi prior to getting back into the lineup Tuesday night and played well with a primary assist on Michael Bunting’s third period goal, was linked to St. Louis and To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!. Some around the league thought he had a chance to being moved over this past weekend……..The buzz is Pittsburgh’s top graded defenseman internally through 13 games is………..To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Prospects Buzz: A team source jokingly says the Penguins front office is walking around like Mike Tomlin these days with his Russell Wilson decision in how ecstatic they are with what they’ve seen from Ville Koivunen. Others didn’t see it this way but as mentioned here in the morning after the Jake Guentzel trade, the Penguins viewed Koivunen as the critical piece of the trade and a ceiling of a top-end prospect. Koivunen is possibly even exceeding early expectations with how well he’s creating 1-on-1 offense. Great poise and smarts with the puck and gets to the right areas where he’s tracking being NHL-ready very soon………..Early Hextall Draft Hits? The organization’s opinion has drastically changed on Owen Pickering over the last couple months. They legit now view him as having a #2 second pairing ceiling. Another prospect that is said to be playing well above their expectations and really dating back to last year in the evaluation process is 2021 2nd round pick Tristan Broz who has 4 goals and 2 assists in nine games. Sense in the organization is the Hextall regime likely definitely hit on Pickering in the 2022 first round but also possibly on Broz in Round 2 of the 2021 draft. He continues to look like a future bottom-6 NHL player…………McGroarty Buzz: Rutger McGroarty just 1 assist in seven games and struggling to create individual offense. Indications are McGroarty is in the middle of a learning curve to be a presence in the tough areas as the team feels he needs to get stronger. What the Penguins have worked with him is getting more shot opportunities. 4 SOG in Wednesday’s win. [/hide]

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How much stock we can put into the Penguins back-to-back home wins against the Anaheim Ducks and Montreal Canadiens remains to be seen. However, in the short-term they had to come out of this homestand winning two of three and Pittsburgh accomplished that goal. The #’s show when you’re out of the playoff race by Thanksgiving it’s an uphill battle and even out of the race by November 1st it’s a brutal number for teams that miss the playoffs, especially when you weigh how little margin of error this team has.

Time was already running out. With a bottom-10 roster in the league, what’s always going to be problematic this season is the Penguins have to rely on everything going right. This hockey club was on life support coming into the homestand.

It can’t be understated that throwing the 2-4 lines in a blender and loading up a top line of Malkin-Crosby-Rakell was a seismic move that has saved the Penguins season for now.

It wasn’t just the #’s for Sidney Crosby who willed the Penguins to victory again Saturday night with 2 goals, ending the homestand with 4 goals and 3 assists, — factoring in on seven consecutive goals. — Crosby’s game found life this week and the shackles coming off of playing with crap.

“They’ve been unbelievable,” Crosby said of playing with Malkin and Rakell. Evgeni Malkin’s #’s took a hit this week with no points, but he was a major catalyst for the big week from Crosby and Rakell. Malkin’s read and react ability to play the wing was elite as it could get. He’s creating so much space for Crosby through the neutral zone and anyone go look at the Hockey Night in Canada post-game interview from Crosby and see the smile on his face when he was asked about playing with Evgeni Malkin. Defensively the move to wing also helps Malkin.

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Wake Up Call?

— You can make the argument Pittsburgh has only four legitimate top-9 forwards in Crosby, Malkin, Rakell and Bryan Rust. Game in and game out there is going to be immense pressure from those four upfront and that’s probably a recipe for disaster long-term. To overachieve this season everything comes back to the system and defending the right way. Yes, it was Anaheim and Montreal but will these two games be the wakeup call that was needed for the Penguins?

The last two games we saw marketable improvement with the little things such as defenders being in proper lanes that led to defending the slot and below the dot cycles better; less aggressiveness in the neutral zone was also a positive from the last two nights . To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

We’re going to find out quickly on the upcoming road trip against the Islanders, Hurricanes and Capitals, especially against the Caps and Canes who can drive play with the best of them right now. It’s easy to say disciplined against an Anaheim or Montreal. A nice test coming up this week.

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MORE BUZZ

Small signs of improvement from Michael Bunting the two games below the dots where he’s had more heaviness to his game. Bunting was on the ice for 8 scoring chances and just 3 against but it feels like he’s never going to score a goal, he’s showing zero ability to pick corners and beat a goalie 1-on-1. And Mike Sullivan’s body language on a Bunting turnover in the neutral zone was something last night where Sullivan threw his hands up in the air and motioned over to Mike Vellucci in disgust. The coaches remain frustrated in a feeling that Bunting is trying to be a player he’s not……….Matt Grzelcyk running the point on the top power play unit is just way other thinking it…………..Waiver Watch today? Rumblings last night Penguins were taking long look at To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Goaltending Winds Changing?

The Penguins went into the week with Tuesday night being an audition from Joel Blomqvist to possibly start all three games during the homestand if Pittsburgh would have won Tuesday. It did not play out that way after the Minnesota loss where as good as Blomqvist was in defending high danger chances, the leaky goals opened door to go back to Alex Nedeljkovic. Now the winds are changing where the organization is considering bringing To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Top Tier

New York Rangers | .722 PT%, +16 Differential (1st in Division)

The Rangers are a wagon and until further notice the clear top team in the division that is built to win in the playoffs. Doesn’t mean they’ll win the division but in the Metro, the postseason still figures to go through the Rangers. Early Trends in the Metro: Homegrown talent for the top-4 teams in the division. 2020 2nd round pick William Cuylle has come onto the scene in a third line role with 3 goals and 5 assists, all at even strength………

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2nd Tier

Carolina Hurricanes | .778 Pts%, 62 CF% (1st in NHL 5 vs 5)

The Hurricanes are a systematic machine. They are just steamrolling through the competition and Carolina added the Boston Bruins Thursday night to that group. On paper a slight step back was expected but this is always a team that just shows out in the regular season. 5 vs 5 the Hurricanes are 1st in the NHL in possession, Scoring Chances For %; and 2nd in High Danger For%. Noteworthy Player: Martin Necas whom the Hurricanes did everything to try to trade because they didn’t want to pay him, leads the team with 15 points through nine games.

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New Jersey Devils | 50 GF (1st in NHL), .615 PT%

The New Jersey Devils were always going to bounce back this season and we’re already seeing it. The big boys upfront are scoring at will, Timmo Meier looks much more comfortable in his second full season with the club and you know you’re an offensive powerhouse when Paul Cotter has 6 goals in 13 games as the third line center. The biggest question will be whether they can defend well enough to be a legitimate Cup contender? Jakub Markstrom’s .903 SV% follows a similar trend of the past two seasons where he posted an .892 SV% and .905 SV% in his previous two. New Jersey’s team high-danger save percentage at even strength is below .78%, a concerning # early on.

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Washington Capitals | .778 PT% (1st in Division), 60 HFCF% (1st in NHL)

Buy stock in the Washington Capitals? The Caps significantly upgraded their lineup over the off-season and look to have the perfect coach behind the bench in playing that win-now role but also developing homegrown talent. 23 Year olds Connor McMichael (5-5-10pts), Alliaksei Protas (3-6-9pts) have combined for 19 points through nine games and there’s just a lot to like with this club. It’s a very deep and versatile forward group. Washington’s driving play, creating high-end chances and even the older core of who’s left is also performing very well. Alex Ovechkin already has 5 goals on the season and scouts indicate John Carlsson looks the best he has in years. Defensively the Capitals are awaiting the return of Matt Roy who has appeared in just one game. The only pause is whether the goaltending is good enough……..

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Third Tier

Nobody

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Fourth Tier

Columbus Blue Jackets | .611 Pts%

Philadelphia Flyers | .409 Pts%

New York Islanders | .400 Pts%

Pittsburgh Penguins | .377 Pts%

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Buzz: Long-term protectory this season, there is a steep, steep drop off from the top-four teams in the division to the rest of the group.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have been a surprise in the early going. They have a head coach who players actually like showing up to the rink each day to play for and Dean Evason will have them playing hard and the right way. Columbus is already showing they’re going to be a tougher out for clubs in the division. However, hard to buy into their start long-term. The defense and goaltending just isn’t good enough to make ends meet against the caliber of teams in the division and the underlying #’s are a bit suspect despite the hot start. What to like about this club, though, is the young forward group that is showing much improvement with Marchenko, Chinakhov taking steps forward, Fantilli should be better and the Blue Jackets were expecting a big season from Kent Johnson before his injury. Veteran forward Sean Monahan has been a great fit on and off the ice. Columbus is in good hands with Don Waddell at the helm. Bet on them being a problem next season just not yet this year………

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The Philadelphia Flyers missed their golden opportunity last season of playing so over their head. Could they do it again this season? The odds are going to be stacked against them. One thing about John Tortorella, though, he always finds a way to overachieve. Philadelphia was reeling and have now won three or four to keep their head above water. That team save percentage of .872 is hard to win in this league. Last season missing playoffs by a point with an .889 team save percentage was such a testament to Tortorella.

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Would you rather be the Pittsburgh Penguins or New York Islanders on who has best chance to be relevant this season after a putrid October? I’d lean New York because of Ilya Sorokin but it’s not a confident lean. New York is just a stagnant hockey club where the new coach hire adrenaline rush from last year has worn off. When Kyle Palmieri is your leading scorer with 7 points you know things have been stagnant. But, there is some more room to grow individually for a couple of their higher end players who have been major disappointments that I just don’t see with Pittsburgh. Mathew Barzal had a horrible month and that’s not likely to continue; Brock Nelson has been meh and same with Bo Horvat. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Penguins 2 – Anaheim 1 (F/OT)

It was just Anaheim but………….

The Pittsburgh Penguins (4-7-1, 9 pts) put together their most dominant performance of the season in how they controlled the ice in all three phases of the rink. There were a couple miscues, puck watching of course on the Alex Killorn goal and breakdowns late that almost sunk them in typical Penguins fashion. Yet, there was improvement in a number of areas, especially with Pittsburgh’s play away from the puck.

• Shots on Goal | PIT 46 – ANA 23
• Shot Attempts | PIT 98 – ANA 51
• Scoring Chances | PIT 48 – ANA 18
• High Dance Chances | PIT 23 – ANA 9

Sidney Crosby’s Night | 2 Goals (OT Winner)

Crosby had 2 goals on the night and netted the OT winner @ 2:35 of OT with a beautiful breakaway goal. Coincidence he has suddenly found his game? He’s having fun again with the switch of putting Evgeni Malkin on his line. 5 Points in his last two games, Crosby’s 200 ft game has returned. “You look at his offensive production at this point, he has a two-goal game tonight,” said Mike Sullivan. “He’s right back in the hunt, over a point-per game….But I just liked his overall 200-foot game on both sides of the puck. I thought he was just playing the game the right way. When he does, he inspires our group.”

Malkin-Crosby-Rakell Possession Monsters:

• On the ice together for (5 vs 5):
• 21 Shots For (78 SF%)
• 35 Shot Attempts (67 CF%)
• 17 Scoring Chances (68 SCF%)

Malkin-Crosby-Rakell combined for 15 even strength shots on goal among them and I get some saying the rest of the lines are too bare and against good teams it’s a valid argument, but both players need each other, and this is just fun hockey to watch with the skill and how all three read each other so well. Most importantly Crosby’s game has been jumpstarted and in a big way.

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Who is this Erik Karlsson Guy?

Erik Karlsson vs Anaheim:

• Assist
• 6 Shots on Goal | 21 Shot Attempts
• On the ice for 49 Shot Attempts (78 CF%)
• On the ice for 25 Scoring Chances (81 SCF%
• On the ice for 13 High Danger Chances & Just 3 Against

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MORE BUZZ

— Alex Nedeljkovic late flurry of saves has certainly earned him a consecutive start Saturday night vs the Montreal Canadiens, a homestand the Penguins have to come out of with two of three games…….Blake Lizotte played just 8 shifts (5:39 in his season debut). Hard to evaluate him in that one….. Cody Glass who assisted on Sidney Crosby’s Game Winner saw 21 shifts in the game, sixth most among forwards To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!……..

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What If the Penguins lose the next two games and lose bad? Do things reach a boiling point with Mike Sullivan?

It’s a topic no one inside the organization wants to go and the message is pundits are wasting their time writing about this. But, I’m not a propaganda puff-puff piece website in town like so many are, so here we go; First and foremost there are so many layers on the Sullivan front. Chief among them: Sidney Crosby doesn’t want another coach and made that clear again all summer in discussions with management; FSG thinks Sullivan with his Massachusetts’s ties is the Bill Belichick of the NHL. Kyle Dubas even with the power he has and near $6.5 million a year salary, cannot fire Sullivan without having Tom Werner on board. Sullivan is regarded in team circles as being beyond Dubas’ scope. Then there’s the fact of the commitment both sides made to each other last summer. The Penguins in May offered Sullivan permission verbally if he wanted to explore options. They gave him an out in the most respectful way. Pittsburgh knew about New Jersey but the sleeper team at the forefront of this was the To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

Both sides took a step forward to remaining committed to each other that even saw Sullivan getting close friend David Quinn a three-year contract to match his contract. That’s what makes things so complicated with the Penguins on a downward spiral. Let’s not sugar coat it, the Penguins are un-coachable right now with Sullivan behind the bench and when that transpires you just don’t turn things around with a blink of the eye. Bottom line — growing consensus in and out of Pittsburgh it would be To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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What if the Penguins put Erik Karlsson on the Trade Market? Would there be a market?

Erik Karlsson in the midst of a disastrous six game run on this losing streak is going to soon be a talking point if things continue down this path. Dubas has called Karlsson part of the Core Four and while mostly regarded as a sure-fire Hall-of-Famer, there’s some in Karlsson’s camp who feel another trade may hurt his reputation and to just ride things out in Pittsburgh for his career. I’m sure many in Pittsburgh will say ‘no way’ but Karlsson is regarded in league circles as absolutely being tradeable, especially if Pittsburgh makes him a $7 million a year player as one league executive put it. The Ottawa reunion has always been out there but if and I mean if Dubas shopped Karlsson around this season, the To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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MORE BUZZ

Sounds like the Penguins would like to get Vasily Ponomarev now healthy around four games in Wilkes Barre before a callup to the NHL club. Don’t think he’ll be in Wilkes Barre long. Emil Bemstrom is also getting strong consideration for a callup as Penguins internally have discussed shaking up forward group. I wouldn’t buy any real estate in Pittsburgh if I was Jesse Puljujarvi……..Indications are Penguins bracing for a 2-3 absence for To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Marc Andre Fleury night saw Fleury look vulnerable early on and really settle in after the first period in as the Minnesota Wild were victorious with a 5-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday Night. A 26-save performance after fittingly seeing 29 shots, it was an emotional night for Fleury in capturing career win #563 and improving to 2-0 on the season as the surprising Wild are 6-1-2 at the nine-game mark.

As for the home team it was another reality check this is clearly a bottom-10 right now with the talent and lack of any structure to their game. The Wild are off to a great start, but no one was getting them mixed up with the Colorado Avalanche or Edmonton Oilers out west before the season. Two teams that finished a point from each other and you can see on the ice last night of two clubs going in vastly different direction.

This was another game where the opposing team was just so much more physical, faster to loose pucks in the tough areas and the Wild were a different animal with sustained back pressure. And the trend of having no clue how to defend continued for the Penguins. Second straight game the Pittsburgh Penguins got out to a 2-0 lead, only to allow four unanswered goals in suffering their sixth straight loss.

Trailing 2-0 with under three minutes left in the first period, Jakub Lauko and Freddy Gaudreau scored 55 seconds apart to tie the game at 2-2. Then Gaudreau scored a breakaway marker 1:38 into the second period to put the Wild ahead 3-2, as Minnesota scored 3 goals in a 4:35 span. That’s what happens to bad hockey clubs. The Lauko goal was extremely leaky from Joel Blomqvist and Pittsburgh never recovered. However, Blomqvist turned aside a number of slot area scoring chances early on so that stuff kind of evens out.

The Gaudreau breakaway goal highlighted where the Penguins are, and it was as bad as it could get. Pittsburgh had a 4-on-2 opportunity through the neutral zone and turned the puck over leading to a breakaway goal against.

The Penguins allowing a late goal at the end of a period also continued in the second period as Mats Zuccarello scored with 37 seconds remaining on once again a blown coverage inside the slot area where the Penguins had #’s down low. Anthony Beauvillier has his back turned to Zuccarello and Kris Letang the ‘Right D’ on the ice, is miles away of the play in the left corner. These types of blunders are not talent issues. Just basic coaching and a lack of care from those on the ice.

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Few Actual Positive Takeaways………

If there’s anything to possibly build on, it was the Malkin-Crosby-Rakell line. The move jumpstarted Sidney Crosby which was a primary goal of the switch. Malkin-Crosby-Rakell drove possession at a 67% clip, created 2 Goals For, and were on the ice together for all seven scoring chances Pittsburgh created 5 vs 5. Crosby had a different feel to his game. I’m sure the coaching staff will look at it and ‘go the rest of the forward was awful and can we actually stick with Malkin/Crosby together’ but this is the Penguins only hope. Malkin on the wing was strong in the neutral zone on zone entries as he remains a threat to create 1-on-1 offense. Rickard Rakell redemption season continues with 2 goals on 5 shots………….

Someone actually came off the bench to stick up for a hit on Sidney Crosby……….We are in different times…….

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The Pittsburgh Penguins 3-6-1 at the 10-game mark have imploded defensively this season and entering a three game homestand against three non-playoff teams (Though the Minnesota Wild are much improved) from last season, we haven’t even hit November yet and it feels like a must-win week for the Penguins. The Penguins absolutely have to come out of homestand with a minimum four of six points to the standpoint of staying relevant in the standings for at least another week. There is just not enough talent in the room or a lick of structured hockey to grind out games for the Penguins to climb out of any major hole this season.

Mike Sullivan who deserves a lot of the criticism he is getting for the Penguins system woes, see’s the writing on the wall.

There are a ton of arguments for the Penguins to pair Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby together on a line for at least a couple game run and we’re going to see it against Marc Andre Fleury and the Minnesota Wild. In small samples thus far, they’ve showed an excellent ability at driving play and quite simply Sidney Crosby’s game needs majorly jumpstarted. Crosby is playing with no pace and looks disinterested anytime he steps foot into the defensive zone. It’s something that’s never been seen from him in his career. Throwing a Jesse Puljujarvi or Anthony Beauvillier isn’t going to solve this. The Penguins have to try something with Malkin and Crosby together and it’s a positive sign Sullivan the coaches are leaning this way. Maybe they’ll turn back the clock and jumpstart the team in the short-term and the Penguins will still be somewhat relevant by Thanksgiving. Absolutely nothing to lose…….

Another worthwhile move we’re going to see vs the Wild Tuesday night is Kevin Hayes moving to the #2 center role. Hayes has impressed 5 vs 5 in limited action. His lack of quickness on the wall has made the coaching staff weary to play him on the wing in the top-9 but if you’re going to try him in the top-9, let alone the top-6, center is the way to go. Like Malkin/Crosby, Hayes as the second line center is worth a shot.

As for Crosby, any turnaround with this club this week figures to fall on the shoulders of Crosby and Erik Karlsson. The two players the organization views as their ‘two best players’ (at least they prior to the season), both have had a rotten five game stretch during this losing streak and any hope this season meant Crosby maintaining an 80–90-point pace and Karlsson taking a much bigger step or at least on par with what he brought to the table in the late spring run. It’s a big week for both……

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More Buzz

Injury Buzz: Bad News on the injury front as To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Dog House Bunting: Michael Bunting To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”! ……..As much as Kevin Hayes deserves a shot in the top-6, that second line is something: Beauvillier-Hayes-Puljujarvi. Maybe it really is a different era…….Most Surprising Tidbits from Monday’s Practice: Status Quo with the D-Pairs. The coaches continue to see a different games than others. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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The Pittsburgh Penguins (3-6-1, 7 pts) dropped their 5th straight game and at the 10-game mark are playing at a 58-point pace. Don’t think things are going to be that bad but Kyle Dubas at least has one thing going for him in holding onto Pittsburgh’s 2025 first-rounder.

More and more is becoming clear the Penguins missed their last window in the 2023 summer when a new GM on the scene tried to revamp the roster on the fly and hit on just about nothing before the pivot to a soft rebuild this summer. Listen, it’s hard to fathom for Penguins fans but the next three years you’d much rather be the Washington Capitals who have had their Cup core pretty much wiped out and rebuilt things quickly on the fly to set themselves up as a playoff level team again this season that should have some sustaining power in being competitive. Not to mention the lure of the Alex Ovechkin goal chase. The Capitals 2024 summer is going to further highlight Pittsburgh’s failure a year earlier. They did what the Penguins tried in the 2023 summer except they have a great chance at hitting some triples and home runs, while Kyle Dubas in his first summer to extend the window barely hit any singles that has the Penguins with a bottom-10 roster in the NHL right now that plays an erratic system.

Pittsburgh’s 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks saw the Penguins jump out to a 2-0 lead on goals from Anthony Beauvillier/Bryan Rust, only to see it quickly wiped out in the second period. Vancouver scored 3 goals in a 1:05 span and 4 goals overall in a 4:56 span. A Pittsburgh two goal lead changed to a two goal lead for the Canucks in less than five minutes. And the breakdowns just highlighted everything that’s wrong with the Penguins play away from the puck.

2nd Period Meltdown

Elias Pettersson Goal Breakdown | 4:06 2-1 PIT

I: You want an illustration why the Penguins are among the worst defensive teams in the National Hockey League in defending the slot? Look no further than the Pettersson goal. Four players puck watching in tight and absolutely no center help from Sidney Crosby in the slot who is defending the weak side post that should be Matt Grzelcyk’s zone. Through 10 games there has been no cohesion with the Penguins rotations down low.

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The Kiefer Sherwood and JT Miller goals 12 seconds apart were classic goals against of how the Penguins system sabotages them almost every night.

Kiefer Sherwood Goal Breakdown | 4:49 2-2

II: Bryan Rust on a zone entry runs into a line of defense + a 4th Canuck with back pressure that leads to a turnover just inside the zone. A poor decision from Rust but here we go again with the Penguins use of their d-men on the rush. Marcus Pettersson should be a security blanket. Instead Pettersson never reads the situation properly, fails to take a few steps back and he’s all-in towards offensive zone. The end game is four Penguins caught deep and a 2-on-1 goal the other way.

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JT Miller Goal Breakdown | 5:11 3-2 VAN

Anyone learn what happened on the Sherwood goal? Nope just next man up to make the same mistake. The JT Miller goal 12 seconds later is another inexcusable blown coverage, this time from Matt Grzelcyk who after a couple solid games to open the season, has a been a trainwreck and clearly over his head in a #1 or #2 pairing role.

Drew O’Connor turns the puck over; Sidney Crosby is caught deep and here we go with Grzelcyk in no man’s land just coasting towards the offensive zone on a clear play similar to Marcus Pettersson where his instinct should be to take a couple steps back. And again this is what the Penguins system calls for that makes their usage so frustrating.

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MORE BUZZ

— Mike Sullivan views Alex Nedeljkovic as his #1 but for how long? Nedeljkovic has posted a sub .885 SV% in all three starts. The whole organization fell a little too much in love with Nedeljkovic’s late season run that prompted them to sign him to a two-year contract a couple week prior to free agency. That was always a head scratcher with how close the organization felt Joel Blomqvist was……….Buffalo offered a second-round pick for To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Is the Pittsburgh Penguins season slipping away already? A bad loss tonight vs the Vancouver Canucks and it could be game over already. It’s not just the 3-5-1 record for a club with no margin of error. It a myriad of issues where the talent isn’t good enough anymore to overcome certain games you want to take off like this group does.

The Penguins are a poor system team. The Penguins are poor at the little things. There’s no prime Crosby or Jake Guentzel running around to hide things. The cores not even at last year’s level where you could cover up some areas and hover around.

You can never deny trends.

Top Contenders are running the Penguins out of the building.

Edmonton just completely destroyed the Penguins in all facets. The Rangers game was bad, the Hurricanes game was probably even worse in how lopsided the play was; Last night’s performance — it’s hard to come up with words. Dressing the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins might have given the Oilers a better fight. —

Pittsburgh gave up 90 attempts/ 50 shots on goal, 26 high danger chances and 52 scoring chances. That is not a typo. Just a massive number, Edmonton produced 52 scoring chances. Pittsburgh could have lost 8 or 9-0 in this one.

The system issues are not changing till the coach changes.

Less than two minutes the game, Ryan Graves who is supposed to be a so-called defensive defenseman makes a blatant pinch (which is what the system calls for) but this is what’s constantly wrong with the Penguins play away from the puck. Everyone has the same priorities. Graves should never be pinching in this spot. Ryan Graves should probably never pinch under any circumstance. He’s a cone out there.

It’s not just system issues……Inexcusable mental defensive miscues are constant from players who are supposed to be Pittsburgh’s best defenders. The very next shift and this is all less than two minutes into the game, Marcus Pettersson gets himself into no man’s land and it’s almost a tic-tac toe goal in tight.

We knew coming into the season the Penguins were going to be a poor defensive team. There’s a system issue but it’s not all system. There were a number of signs last season after January Kris Letang was shot as a top-2 level pairing d-man. Almost 10 games in he looks ready for retirement and its a below average #1 and #2 pairing group. Those were obvious in August. They need help from the system but they also need to try themselves to off-set diminishing skill. But, the biggest problem with the Penguins defensively is no one wants to do the hard work. What’s been fascinating is at least through the first month you’d think there would be an adrenaline rush, especially after last year’s late run where the mentality would be ‘we have to do the little things’ to win with the talent on this roster. Instead, many are just going through the motions when the puck is in their own zone.

None more stunning has been Sidney Crosby’s lethargic play in the defensive zone. We’re not just talking a poor game or two. It’s been a trend all month. I never expected to see that day. Father Time can hit even a superstar like Crosby at any point when he’s at the age he is, but Crosby’s lack of interest in playing the d-zone has just been stunning. You don’t see many stops and starts from Crosby anymore in the defensive zone.

~So much for the core being so motivated with their own GM not believing in them ~

To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Post-Game Buzz: Penguins stout defensively and dominate Sabres in 4-1 win Penguins X’s & O’s: Youth Shines, Top-Lines excel defensively in forcing poor zone entries from Hurricanes Morning Pens Buzz: Returns of Malkin, Hornqvist unlikely to fix the Penguins growing issues defensively Round 2 was a classic; Issues remain for Pittsburgh defensively

LATEST PENS BUZZ

Sullivan knows pressure internally of 1st 15-20 game run: Seven games in watching Penguins defensively thus far this season, it’s the same old, nothing is changing with the system. Still, hard for Mike Sullivan do much of anything when their top pairing Right D looks to be on a retirement tour at times. System issues, yes, we all know that, but there’s already been some instances this season of questionable effort when things get hard in a game. That’s a bad sign already when the team should still have adrenaline rush of a new season.

The good thing the Penguins are at least still hovering around .500 for now and Mike Sullivan is well aware of the internal guidelines that this group was going to get a 15-20 game run before longer term decisions start coming from upstairs with the lineup, roster. That’s seen Sullivan take a much more-fierce mindset this season in practices and behind the scenes. One high-ranking source said this is the first time in Sullivan’s tenure of Penguins coach where he’s kind of transformed into ‘New York Rangers’ Mike Sullivan where under John Tortorella’s staff To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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UFA Buzz: A lot of buzz at least locally centers around pending UFA Marcus Pettersson and whether GM Kyle Dubas has the stomach to go term on Pettersson as most league observers view Pettersson as a similar situation as Jake Guentzel last season in that publicly the GM will leave the light on, but things are already tracking towards Pettersson being a deadline addition to someone. Very few believe Pittsburgh values Pettersson enough to go say a 6 x 5 deal or even 5 x 5 that could keep him, but time will tell on that.

A player rival teams are really watching is not Pettersson but To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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Ross Colton one that got away in Guentzel trade talks?: Colorado made an aggressive, sneaky play for Jake Guentzel last March at the trade deadline. There have certainly been some whispers in the Penguins organization that Kyle Dubas/Jason Spezza put too much stock into their familiarity with Michael Bunting and it wasn’t unanimous by any means to take the Hurricanes offer. Word is one prominent front office member To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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MORE BUZZ: Was Sunday’s game a classic case of if this is how the team is going to defend most nights, just go down swinging with Joel Blomqvist this season and let him develop as a strong consensus is emerging Blomqvist is too good for the American Hockey League?……..Tristan Jarry is expected to get action in one of the next two games. The organization believes a lot of his early issues are between the ears and there’s been a lot of work off the ice going over tape, ect……..Cody Glass has posted strong underlying #’s that’s seeing him get a little run on the third line and that’s expected to continue tonight. Glass has 6 goals in his last 51 NHL games………Lack of explosiveness in Sidney Crosby’s skating ability becoming a noticeable trend early on? One former NHL player tells me To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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“That’s why I’m Well Compensated”

Mike Tomlin stating facts after the Steelers 37-15 win over the New York Jets when asked about going against his coaching staff and front office on starting Russell Wilson.

The ‘Lone Ranger’ was on cloud nine after this one and you could see the body language for the first time in years. Tomlin believes he finally has a real quarterback and has the look of a coach who believes the trajectory is heading towards this team truly being a top contender this season.

We’ll find out soon enough with the second half schedule. Tomlin, though, has a pep in his step that correlates with the QB decision in the mold of thanks for your contributions ‘Justin’ but this isn’t a development year like 2022 and 2023 with the Kenny Pickett Experiment.

Russell Wilson on Sunday shuddered the QB discussion before time even ran out in the fourth quarter as the Steelers averaged 6.3 yards per play in the victory.

“I thought he was excellent,” Tomlin said of Wilson . “I thought he got better as the game went on. But I’m not surprised by that. It’s been a while since he played some ball, but I thought he settled in, knocked the rust off and distributed the ball around and played well.”

From Wilson it wasn’t just the deep ball/intermediate passing game to go with the command of the offense at the line of scrimmage. It was the body language from the entire offense. Pittsburgh’s best offensively players were finally put in position to be their best players. The jubilant sideline afterwards from George Pickens to Najee Harris was striking.

Key Development? George Pickens was unlocked with 5 catches for 111 yards and a touchdown. Targeted nine times, Pickens drew a deep pass interference call, and he easily could have gone for 150+ yards receiving in this one. Pickens being properly used was a major development Sunday night in that Pickens was unlocked and having fun. Wilson’s ability to attack the Jets defense when the Steelers had favorable 1-on-1 situations from a Pickens or Freiermuth is something Justin Fields just can’t do. Pat Freiermuth was unleashed for a 30-yard reception, while Calvin Austin also hauled in a 36-yard reception in the middle of the field off play-action. Wilson’s ability in the passing game led to the Steelers gashing the Jets on the ground in the second half as Pittsburgh rushed for 108 of their 149 rushing yards in the second half.

Najee Harris had a breakout second half once again, finishing with 102 yards on 21 carries, a long run of 34 yards that was capped off with a 10-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Jaylen Warren was another X-factor for first time this season. 44 yards on 12 carries and added 15 yards receiving with a nifty third down conversion for 11 yards.

To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!

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