Penguins Week in Review - Ups and Downs of a Short Season

No Need To Panic Pens Fans...Not Yet

After a week of exciting NHL action, its become (sometimes painfully) obvious that this season isn't going to be just like every other NHL season.  Sure, fans have debated that maybe a 48 game schedule will be better than 82 because every game will mean more, but at the same time, most fans didn't think about the product that will be put on the ice.  I can honestly say I've watched more hockey in the last week than I did all of last year (the Center Ice Package will do that to a fan), and it is clear that EVERY NHL team is struggling with fundamentals.  After all, did anyone expect anything different considering these players, coaches, and teams only had a week long training camp?!  There are going to be peaks and valleys in any NHL season, but in a shortened 48 game schedule, a team can't afford a 2 week slump...or else they will find themselves looking up at other teams in the playoff hunt.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are no different, even with the talent that oozes out of their roster.  The ebb and flow of the NHL season has been tough to watch at times.  Look at the Penguins first 4 games.  3 of their first 4 on the road is a daunting task...especially when the road trips include going to Philadelphia, New York (Rangers), and to Winnipeg.  However, as daunting as the first 4 games looked, the Pens came out "guns a blazin'"...the first two games were the darlings of the NHL schedule, and the NHL had the Penguins on broad display with games nationally televised on NBC and the NHLN, and the Pens didn't disappoint.  They won a slug fest (not literally this time around) in Philadelphia hanging on to win 3-1, then the very next day chasing King Henrik from his net in defeating the Rangers in "The Garden".  Penguins fans (myself included) were beaming with pride as the boys were going to be coming back to Consol Energy Center sporting a nifty 2-0 record and the chance to prove to all of Pittsburgh that this team is a legitimate Cup contender. 

Needless to say, if you follow the Pens, you saw the Maple Leafs out work, out smart, and out play the talented Pens in a 5-2 route.  All wasn't lost...after all, the Penguins were headed to Winnipeg of all places.  Surely, they would post a 'W' in the Great North.  It certainly looked like the Pens were back on track when Sidney Crosby posted 2 goals in the first period...but even 87's magic couldn't do it all on his own.  That was evident when the Jets scored 3 goals in the second, and capped off their 4-2 win with an empty netter. As all Penguin fans were hailing "all is well with the world" after the first 2 games, the same fans our now saying "the sky is falling"...and that is a natural feeling considering how the Pens have played the last 2 games.

Everything that the Penguins did right in their first 2 games, they have done poorly in their last 2 games.  Dumping pucks behind the defense, protecting the puck, outworking opponents, and finishing opportunities when they arise.  Call me the eternal optimist, but I don't see a reason for Pens fans to "freak out" just yet.  After all, there are 48 games on the schedule, and not 4.  The Penguins play the Ottawa Senators today and could easily put all of those bad feelings to rest with a solid, 3 PERIOD performance.  The Penguins have showed flashes of what they are capable of, but this season and this team is still a work in progress.  Who will stick with Neal and Malkin on their line?  Will the Sutter line start to produce?  Will Malkin prove that he can be dominant WITH Crosby in the lineup and not just without him? 

You can tell by watching that this team is still learning to play together again.  Passes aren't crisp, the Power Play looks lethal one minute and disjointed the next, and the constant turnovers that lead to goals are frustrating to say the least.  However, Disco Dan Bylsma and the coaches have their work cut out for them, but it would be a great starting point to post a statement win on the board today vs the Senators.