Penguins Barely Holding On

The Pittsburgh Penguins need something to get them going. Unsurprisingly, the Metropolitan Division seems to be the one to beat again this season, but the Penguins could find themselves on the outside of the playoffs looking in.

As of today they find themselves two points out of a wild-card spot and need a win against divisional rivals, the Columbus Blue Jackets. To make matters even worse, the two teams sitting in the available wild card positions are Metropolitan teams; the New York Rangers and the New York Islanders.

This season it’s not surprising that the team has struggled. 

Over the past two years have seen the Penguins win back-to-back Stanley Cups and play 213 games (49 Stanley Cup Playoff games). Although they seemed to have kicked the “Stanley Cup hangover” last season, with the loss of notable players like Marc-Andre Fleury, Chris Kunitz, Nick Bonino, Trevor Daley, Ron Hainsey and Matt Cullen this year isn’t shaping up the same. The only player they lost after their first Cup victory in 2016 was Ben Lovejoy. 

Head coach Mike Sullivan has got to get something out of this team. Their energy level is almost non-existent in games due to high energy players like Fleury and Kunitz no longer being apart of the team. The most excitement I’ve seen out of the Penguins this year is whenever Phil Kessel gets upset about something. 

General Manager Jim Rutherford did try to ignite a spark with two trades on Tuesday to acquire goalie Michael Leighton and defenseman Jamie Oleksiak. These players may not make an immediate impact, but they do add to the Penguins depth that has been missing after last seasons’ Stanley Cup win.

Kris Letang remaining healthy halfway through the season is a big plus. He’s had several long-term injuries over the past few years, including the herniated disc that saw him miss the latter half of last year. A handful of other players have gone down with injury, but only for shortened periods. At least that’s one sign of improvement. 

What we have to look forward to is their ability to step it up after the Christmas holidays to make a playoff push. They seem to have a knack for making the second half count, especially in Cup winning seasons.