The Penguins lost again last night, but of course you already knew that. They've lost three games in a row too. Oh, and lest we forget, they are a sub-.500 club since the calendar turned from 2014 to 2015. Are you panicked yet?
Twitter seems to confirm quite a few things about the perception of the Penguins right now. Among them are the lack of calls/calls against (warranted), the crummy play of Brandon Sutter (warranted), the crummy play of Crosby and Malkin (that's warranted too), and the comatose state of the power play (again, warranted).
I agree with all of this to a part, but to think that one thing is the cause is simply not right. It's not "all Sutter's fault," or "we can't win because of the power play." They all are reasons why this team is struggling, but if you think those are the only problems then you haven't been playing attention. The Pens are a team in name, but they have not functioned as a team since early November. So let's look at this...
Firstly, the calls and lack of calls are a problem. The erratic and inconsistent penalty calling by the NHL refs is definitely a problem, but not one the Penguins can solve. That being said, what the Pens can control is how they react in those situations. We've seen how Steve Downie gets when a call doesn't go his way; he takes the law in his own hands and sits in a timeout at a crucial time in games. The team lost their minds after #SlashGate with Ovechkin Monday night. Wait, here's an idea, why don't you make that team pay by putting the puck in their net? Seems to be the best payback to me, but what do I know? The first thing the Pens need to do is get mentally tougher, because right now they act like toddlers when things don't go their way.
Next, let's talk about Malkin, Crosby, Sutter and the other players that everyone seems to be blaming this problem on. I read it on Twitter every day: "Sutter isn't doing this," "why isn't Crosby doing that?" "So-in-so looked at that guy funny and it's gonna cause Gods vicious wrath." On and on and on, it's all bull s---! Is Sutter under performing? Yeah, he is. Are Crosby and Malkin at the top of their game? Hell no, far from it in fact. Should Bennett be in over Sill? Yeah, why not, neither seems to do anything these days.
So let me set the record straight. Every single one of these guys is accountable. Sutter has had a bad year and has become the "Yinzer Whipping Boy" this year, just as Scuderi was last year and Niskanen the year before. Complain all you want, but unless GMJR makes a move with him, he ain't going anywhere. So you might as well save your breath. Now, as for Malkin and Crosby, they are to blame too. Disagreers, keep your fancy stats to yourself because I don't care what their Corsi or 5v5 whatever says. Here is all you need to know about those two, they have gone more games with no points this year than they have ever. That's a problem. If Sid and Geno don't put up points nightly, that's a problem. They create chances for others, and if they aren't doing that, which they aren't, that's a problem. Who else is to blame? Pick a number, pretty much everyone besides 29 can be blamed for one thing or another.
Alright, what about the power play now? Well, that sucks too. The Pens are "0-for" on the PP in February. That's simply unacceptable. What's the problem? I don't know, and it appears neither do the Pens. They still pass too much. They still try to get to fancy and go for highlight-reel goals instead of shooting and ramming home the rebound. Is it as simple as shoot? Maybe, maybe not. Regardless, the Pens aren't going far without that PP putting some points up.
All the stuff mentioned are big problems, but the biggest problem in my book is simply their lack of heart. This team is on life support. Don't think so? Look at the play since 2015 came. THEY ARE SUB-.500!!! A team with Crosby, Makkin, Fleury and Letang are sub-.500! In January, it was "just a rough stretch." Now, it's not a rough stretch, it's a problem. There is absolutely no reason why this team, with the likes of 87, 71, 29, 58, 14, 39 and 72 on it should be sub-.500. That is simply unacceptable and here is the big problem, you can't trade for heart. That comes from within each and every guy in the locker room, and in the Penguins locker room, there has been little.
So what is the solution? I haven't a clue. Should GMJRS shake this team up and trade a big name away to send a message? Maybe, but maybe not. We hoped that was going to be the case when we fired Bylsma and Shero last year and look where we are now, the SAME EXACT SPOT.
As far as I am concerned, you cannot add heart in a trade. You can send a message to right the ship that way, but the Pens need to find some heart. The bad thing about that is, the guys with the most heart are sitting in the press box every night, out for the year. But at this point, I don't know if even the massive heart of Pascal Dupuis could save this team.
I know it sounds like I'm giving up, but I assure you, I am not. What I am is mad. I am sick and tired of watching half-hearted efforts. I'm sure those of you who are paying to go to Consol Energy Center and to watch on NHL Gamecenter are just as mad. It's not fun to sit here and talk about the bad things, but it's where we are at. The mindset needs to change, period. The players, every player from Zach Sill to Brandon Sutter to Evgeni Malkin, need to be better. The powerplay needs to come back and most of all, and the most difficult, the drive and heart needs to come back. If that doesn't happen, forget championships, forget playing in May, the Pens may not even see the first round.