Is The Ship Sinking Or Has It Veered Off Course?
Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins
Jan 4, 04:10 PM | Hype this story!
The Pittsburgh Penguins have 43 games remaining and find themselves in ninth place in the Eastern Conference.
Such a position may not seem so imposing if the Penguins were in the midst of an upward trend of play. Instead, they’re fighting their the biggest slump of the last few seasons.
They’ve lost their previous four games (something they haven’t done since November of last season) and have won just eight of their last 22 games.
But their slump was preceded by an impressive stretch of six consecutive wins. The difference between November and December was night and day, and unfortunately, January looks to be following December’s example.
Everything from injuries to coaching to poor execution has been blamed, but very little has been done to make a change.
So here is what we know:
- The Penguins are riding a four game losing streak
- The Penguins earned just 11 of a possible 28 points in December
- The Penguins have slipped from fourth place in the Eastern Conference to ninth place and are currently not in a playoff position
- A large portion of the team — forwards Tyler Kennedy and Mike Zigomanis, defensemen Hal Gill, Phillipe Boucher, and Ryan Whitney and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury — missed significant time in December, with several other players missing a few games
- The majority of injured players have returned to the lineup, yet the Penguins still fell 6-1 to the Florida Panthers Saturday
- No trades have been made to break the team’s slump
- Few “poor play” benchings have taken place to send a message
And here is what we want you, the reader, to answer:
- Is this stretch simply an extended slump that will end soon, or is the sign of something more…like a sinking ship?
- What is this team missing now that it had in November, when it was winning with ease?
- Is a trade needed to break this trend? If so, what player(s) need to go and what type(s) of player(s) need to be sought out?
- Should the Penguins be looking for a big trade, a small trade, or several moderate-sized trades?
- Is a free agent, such as Brendan Shanahan, someone who should be considered?
- Should head coach Michel Therrien and/or offense/power play coach Mike Yeo and/or defensive/penalty kill coach Andre Savard be fired? If so, explain why and who might be a good candidate to be hired.
- Do you think the Penguins will make the playoffs? Explain where you expect the team to finish in the Eastern Conference standings and why you feel this way.
Lastly, the weekly poll:
Previous poll results:
What are your thoughts on the Mats Sundin saga?? — Full article
- Get it over with already – 83.05%
- I can’t wait to see him play again – 10.17%
- I really don’t have an opinion – 6.78%
59 total votes
Comments
John
Jan 5, 05:56 AM
Savard and Yeo have got to go. The PP completely lacks structure as if there were no coaching involved anyway. Malone’s presence in front of the net as well as Gonchar’s presence on the point are both missed, however, Crosby and Malkin with 3 penndot cones should not have 23(or however many its up to now)consecutive PPs with out a goal. I think it is time to just focus on the fundamentals. Solid passing, good support, and SHOTS. Seriously, they do not even pose a threat to score…a charcteristic that is unacceptable on a PP with Crosby and Malkin. Opposing PKs apply the slightest amount of pressure and it is instant chaos. Which leads me right into the Pens PK. They have to see that applying pressure can disrupt a powerplay by evidence of their own PP struggles. I think I remember one of the coaches citing lack of “the right personnel” as a reason for their passiveness. Now we are talking about Staal, Talbot, Dupius, Cooke, Crosby, Malkin, Kennedy…all very good/aggressive defenders. I understand that an aggressive PK is more likely to be caught out of position. However, I see more upside.
DaBich
Jan 5, 06:30 AM
There has to be a major issue going on in the locker room. This team is capable of so much, yet they are producing so little. It almost seems intentional. Last year MT didn’t hesitate to bench a player to show his displeasure. Nor did he hesitate to make it public. Seems this year he is very tentative about any moves. It just seems odd to me.
Nate
Jan 5, 11:05 AM
Hey, hey, ho, ho
Michael Yeo has got to go.
Hey, hey, ho, ho
Michael Yeo has got to go.
Brandon
Jan 5, 11:26 AM
Being one of the biggest supporters of MT and his staff, I still think that its time for a change. I feel that he has lost the command of his bench and even his own confidence, which is evident in the lack of performance benchings. Can someone please tell Emperor Shero to call Tortarella and get him to the Igloo ASAP. This guy is a proven winner and has dealt with coaching two superstars.
Greg
Jan 5, 12:00 PM
Tortarella – are you kidding!?! No way. Its high time the players put their egos and last season behind them, and play like they can. Coaching changes do not effect giving up 6 soft goals a game, nor do they score goals. We have two of the best players in the world on this team, and they are in the top 5 in scoring in the league but not converting that to wins. There is more talent on this team than most in the NHL yet they are not taking advantage of it.
Its time the players work together, play all out, and do what they did last year – outwork someone.
Matt Bodenschatz
Jan 5, 02:44 PM
Something is wrong with this team — that much is clear. But there are a few things often overlooked that I’d like to point out:
- When a team is playing well, the locker room atmosphere is great. When a team is struggling, bickering starts and the locker room divides. It’s only natural. I really don’t think there is anything major happening in the locker room, such as a feud between players or a revolt to get the coach fired. I think it’s simply frustration taken out on each other.
- Speaking of firing a coach, consider this: when a coach is fired, a new coach must come in and install a new system that the entire team must learn. Without the luxury of a training camp, such a drastic move would be made for no other reason than to give an appearance of change. In reality, a coaching change may spark the team for a short time, but in the long run, struggles very well may be even larger as players adapt to a brand new system with little time to learn.
- With that being said, new assistant coaches wouldn’t be as drastic of a move and might be worth considering — though I highly doubt Shero is looking at one bad month as an indication of what his team really is capable of.
Dave
Jan 5, 03:21 PM
Do you think that Mike Yeo tells the players to pass up shots, stay away from the front of the net, and don’t worry about support? Oh yeah, and make ill-advised, risky passes?
The execution seems to me to be much more of an issue than the coaching. The Penguins have on occasion had a very good power play for long stretches. You can argue that the scheme, the general approach, could be improved, but I don’t think that’s the difference between 20+% and 0%.
That said, I’ve always hated Malkin on the point. And I don’t think it helps having the powerplay lineup changed around all the time. More so on the powerplay than at other times, you’re trying to execute plays precisely, and timing and knowing where people are going to be is important. So is decision making and not having panicky point men. Gonchar was great in both those regards — he acted as a powerplay point guard, as it were. People talk about the point men on the powerplay as if the only thing that matters is if they have a slapshot they can get on net. That would be like saying that the only thing that matters for a point guard is if he can shoot the 3.
I agree with Matt, the locker room will get better very quickly if they start to win. Winning is a great deodorant, as John Madden says.
Think it’s possible the Penguins will go the way of the Senators — Cup finals to mediocre to pretty bad in two years? I don’t think it will happen.
Matt Bodenschatz
Jan 5, 03:37 PM
What’s very interesting is the following:
First, the stats: 19th ranked power play, clicking at 17.2% (30 goals on 174 attempts).
Considering those numbers, it is really just 19 goals away from being the top unit in the league. And to simply get into the top five, they’d need 11 goals.
In other words, had they scored 1 additional power play goal every 2 games, they’d be the top power play unit, and had they scored 1 extra power play goal every 3.5 games, they’d be in fifth.
The power play is not doing well, but there is a fine line between good and bad, and it won’t take much to climb the ladder.
Heck, if something fluky happens and they score on 5 of their next 10 power play opportunities, they’d jump from 17.2% to 19.0% and from 19th place to 13th. It’s a deceiving statistic that won’t be difficult to turn into a positive.
DaBich
Jan 6, 06:48 AM
Tom, a lot of good points. I was happy to see TK on the line with Sid last night, but it produced nada. Would Jeffrey fare better? I say, try it and see, it sure can’t hurt.
I also missed Wallace in the line up, that guy works hard.
Matt Bodenschatz
Jan 6, 09:59 AM
Dabich, Jeffrey is a natural center. He might be worth a look, but don’t expect much from him. He had just 17 points on 30 AHL games this season. Things aren’t always the same from league to league, but it just doesn’t seem like it will add up. But, again, I’m not against trying too much at this point, as the team clearly needs some sort of spark.
DaBich
Jan 7, 06:55 AM
Matt, I agree, but heck, desperate time call for desperate measures!
Brandon
Jan 17, 12:08 AM
Trade Miro Satan for a draft pick 3000 years from now. Problems solved.
Commenting is closed for this article.