Checking in with some quick random thoughts as the Pittsburgh Penguins try to break their now six-game losing streak.
They have not won since Evgeni Malkin left the lineup
That is the pretty obvious line in the sand right now for when everything turned to crap for the Penguins.
When we last saw Malkin on the ice for the Penguins, he was scoring a game-winning goal late in the third period of a 4-3 regulation win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was his second goal of the game, his third point of the night, and his second consecutive multi-point game.
The Penguins improved to 14-7-5, had one of the best records in the Eastern Conference (and the NHL) at that point and things were looking pretty good. He was up to 29 points in 26 games and showing that he still has some juice to his game and can still be a big-time difference-maker.
Then he missed a practice for maintenance.
Then he missed a game and was going to be day-to-day.
Then he went on injured reserve and has not played since.
The Penguins have also not won a game since, losing six games in a row including four games by a single goal (all in overtime). I do not think it is a stretch to suggest that the presence of a healthy Malkin in the lineup could have impacted at least one or two of those games.
They miss him, and they miss dearly. It has shortened the lineup, it has taken a key player off of the power play, and it has taken a difference-maker off the ice.
Is Anthony Mantha the best choice for the top power play right now?
I am not so sure.
Especially in the manner in which he is being used.
If you are going to insist on putting Mantha on that unit, shouldn’t he be spending the bulk of that time in front of the net? Or at least near the net? I understand the Penguins power play has a lot of movement this season (a pleasant change, and a big part of their success) but I just don’t know that he has the puck skills or playmaking skills to be operating in the man-advantage out near the blue line or out near the face-off dots. I did not understand the logic of swapping him into that spot in place of Ben Kindel, and I understand it even less watching it in action.
Kindel has been extremely effective on the power play on that top unit. Put him back out there.
It might be time to split up Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust
Crosby and Rust have been an outstanding duo for the Penguins for years, but it might have run its course as an effective line.
At least for now.
They can still produce offense together. That is not the problem. But they are absolutely bleeding goals and chances against at an alarming rate, and it’s becoming a huge problem.
For the season, they have been outscored (22-23) during 5-on-5 play. They are on the negative side of every shot attempt, scoring chance, and expected goal metric, despite getting heavy offensive zone starts.
Crosby might like having linemates he is familiar with and can trust, but you’re on a six-game losing streak, nothing is going right, and that line is at the center of a lot of issues defensively, especially late in games. Everybody needs a wake-up call right now.
It is make-or-break time
This might be the stretch of games that really impacts what the Penguins season is going to be.
Because of games in hand and the NHL’s point system, the Penguins are still in a top-eight spot in the Eastern Conference by points percentage despite having lost six games in a row and won just six of their past 20 games (yeah, you read that right). Because so many of their losses have come in overtime or a shootout, they keep collecting points and hanging around. But their next four games are against teams below them in the standings (Ottawa, Montreal, Montrea, Toronto) and teams that theoretically will be competing for a wild-card spot with them.
It is not too early to start looking at four-point games.
If they can come out of this stretch with a few wins, they will build themselves a little bit more of a cushion and buy themselves more time to hang around in the playoff race. If they do not, they will start settling into a spot in the standings where everybody always thought they would be this season. Even with the recent results I think the Penguins have, more often than not, played better than their record indicates for long stretches of games. They just need to finish them. Now would be a great time to figure out how to start doing that.
