EDMONTON, Alberta — The good news about the Penguins’ play of late, especially on the second night of back-to-backs? They’re not lacking for stuff to correct.
They’re 0-4 in those situations and 3-5 overall away from PPG Paints Arena.
To improve and get back on the right track, here are five areas of concern as the local hockey club on Wednesday begins a stretch of three games in four nights, a three-city jaunt that will determine plenty about this current five-game road trip.
1. Let’s start … at the beginning.
First periods have been a trouble spot, especially when the Penguins have played the night before, are understandably a bit tired and find themselves in a hostile environment.
They’ve given up 21 first-period goals though 13 games, the most in the NHL. Eighteen of those have come on the road.
You can’t get your doors blown off at the start, especially not when doing so pumps life into the building.
The Penguins have to find a way to be ready for the drop of the puck. Play a good road game. Keep it simple. Roll four lines. Don’t take stupid penalties or cough up Grade A chances.
This also has little to do with preparation; who among us can legitimately question whether coach Mike Sullivan eases into anything? It’s squarely on the players.
2. Matt Murray needs help. No, not that kind. Although if this keeps up, he might.
The Penguins — and Murray — could use some serious help from the backup goaltender position, which belongs to Tristan Jarry at the moment.
That spot has been a black hole thus far. Antti Niemi was a disaster, a risk that blew up in the Penguins’ face. He stopped just 63 of 79 shots, a .797 save percentage, and the Penguins waiving him started a game of musical chairs.
Casey DeSmith, who allowed three goals on 15 shots Sunday in his first/only action with the NHL club, was never the answer. He was simply the goalie playing better at the moment. Now, that’s Jarry.
General manager Jim Rutherford said in the offseason that Jarry was ready for NHL work, that it was simply a matter of finding him enough starts. The Penguins don’t have that luxury anymore.
They need whatever they can get from Jarry because Murray needs to stay fresh, and the Penguins can’t afford to chase games every time there’s a back-to-back situation.
If Jarry flops, expect Rutherford to go backup goaltender shopping, something he’d definitely rather not do.
3. Kris Letang has to be better.
Most of the time, plus/minus is a garbage stat. Want to know one time it’s not? Whenever you lead the NHL at minus-14.
Letang inherently takes risks. They’ll backfire on him from time-to-time. This is more than that. This is ill-advised passes in his own zone. This is what appears to be a few missed coverages. This is mounting frustration.
But it isn’t physical. Or it least it doesn’t appear to be. Letang has insisted his legs are fine. The skating’s definitely there and has been since his return from offseason neck surgery. But the results haven’t been, and the Penguins need them if they’re going to get to where they want to go.
4. It can’t just be the top-six scoring goals.
After 13 games last season, the six players who saw the most bottom-six time had 11 goals. In 2017-18, that number sits at just six — and three of them have come from Patric Hornqvist, who has been deployed in the top-six plenty as well.
That’s nowhere near good enough.
Matt Cullen was halfway to that total by himself at this point last season. That’s more than the current fourth line combined. Heck, Scott Wilson and Eric Fehr had two apiece. It doesn’t have to be pretty, but it has to be something.
You could also look at Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and say they’re getting paid the most, they should do more. Fair. But not entirely accurate.
Crosby and Malkin have five goals apiece. They had eight and seven, respectively, after 13 games last season. Five in 13 still reflects a 32-goal season over a full 82 games, so they’re within expectations.
If the bottom-six doesn’t improve, like the backup goaltender spot, expect Rutherford to do whatever he has to come trade deadline to address this weakness.
5. Speaking of goals scored and prevented … the Penguins need not turn into the Senators, but getting something resembling consistent defense would be prudent.
Look at pretty much any defensive metric you want, and they’re bad.
Goals-against? 3.85, third-worst.
Total goals allowed? 50, second-worst.
Five-on-five shot attempts allowed? 600, dead last.
Again, the Penguins aren’t going to win their games because of defense. They should be among the top three offensive teams in the NHL, if not the best.
But what they’re currently allowing is hardly sustainable, not for a playoff team let alone one that has Stanley Cup aspirations.
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: October 31, 2017, 3:48 p.m.
