Penguins/NHL
Following a 6-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings Wednesday night, the Pittsburgh are 2-2 at the four game mark. If you buy into expected goals, the good is arguments could be made that they should be 4-0 or at least off to a 3-1 start. The negative is in the long run where this club saw first hand last season that every point matters against inferior teams, getting 4 out of 8 points to open the year against four unlikely playoff teams isn’t ideal in a deep Eastern Conference.
What’s fascinating with this club through four games is every expectation with how this roster is built, has played out thus far.
Before training camp ended it was clear all of the Penguins offense was/is going to be predicated on the top-6 up front, top-4 on the blueline and the power play executing at a top-5 level. Wins and losses on a nightly basis will be determined there.
The two losses thus far show when you have a putrid bottom-6 when it comes to creating offense like Pittsburgh has, the top Power Play unit will play the primary role that’s going to swing games. The unit developing a killer instinct will be a tale sign.
The Chicago loss highlighted that when Pittsburgh failed to go up 3-0 and against last night vs Detroit. You get the early Evgeni Malkin goal to go up 1-0, and the mid-mark of the period Pittsburgh had a golden chance to go up 2-0 with a power play opportunity in the first. Instead, Pittsburgh fails to even record a shot and Alex DeBrincat scores 28 seconds after the power play opportunity ends to tie the game at 1-1. That was a huge swing.
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Expected/Optimistic Signs Through Four Games
- Erik Karlsson was the best player on the ice vs the Red Wings and that was the best glimpse of how he can change the Penguins fortunes this season. As expected Pittsburgh is deploying Karlsson or Letang on the ice at an 80% clip…..
- The Bryan Rust redemption tour continues with 4 goals in four games to start the season. And these are hard-nosed goals in getting to the net-front area, a particular area the team as a whole doesn’t excel at……
- Word in the organization is despite a push from Mike Sullivan in the summer to sign Jason Zucker, the new management team viewed Zucker as a player that needs to work hard to produce compared to Reilly Smith who they felt brought much better 1-on-1 offensive ability/instincts away from the net-front area. All of that so far has certainly played out. Smith has been great at creating space and driving defenders back, opening up time and space for Evgeni Malkin…………..
- Goaltending through four games is the least of the Penguins concerns and that’s a good thing. _____________________________________________________________________________________________
About That Bottom-6
— Pittsburgh has 14 goals through four games and are still waiting for a goal from a bottom-6 forward. Who didn’t see that coming. Pittsburgh has built their bottom-6 with the mindset of don’t lose us games. But, is doing nothing going to get this team anywhere?
— It’s early but………Lars Eller has looked shot offensively like so many evaluators felt after last season. Pittsburgh has felt their rush system will benefit him. Zero sign of that so far as the hands are gone……..Jansen Harkins does not look like an NHL player by any means. How long do they stick with him? A big thing in the off-season was having 16-17 NHL caliber forwards, so we’ll see how long his leash gets. You can live with the 4th line the Penguins have in the short-term and say what you want about Jeff Carter, the Penguins need any semblance of skill they can get from bottom-6. Cap hit aside, he’s the least of their problems. What they can’t live with is the lack of skill from the third line. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
