Penguins Near League Worst in Giving up Crucial Chances
The Pittsburgh Penguins have one of the NHL's worst averages in odd-man rushes against.
There has been plenty not to like about the Pittsburgh Penguins season so far, but one underlying stat has continued to stick out and is costing them in crucial moments in games.
According to Meghan Chayka from Stathletes, the Penguins are near worst in the league when it comes to odd-man breaks against per game.
With an average of 5.54 odd-man rushes against, the Penguins rank 30th in the NHL.
The only two teams with a higher average are the Buffalo Sabres with 5.96 and the Chicago Blackhawks with 6.39.
The addition of Erik Karlsson was sure to increase this number for the Penguins as he has a tendency to force a lot of forwards to play defense, but this has been a whole team issue.
Giving up an odd-man break in overtime is what cost them their second straight game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Sidney Crosby lost the offensive zone draw and proceeded to lose his man heading the other way.
The Flyers had an easy 2-on-1 with Travis Konecny finding Sean Couturier for the game winner.
Even earlier in that contest against the Flyers, the Penguins gave up multiple odd-man rushes or breakaways forcing Alex Nedeljkovic to stand on his head.
Nedeljkovic stood as tall as possible and gave the Penguins a chance to win, but he was due to let one in eventually considering the amount he faced.
The Penguins have plenty of areas to clean up, and this may not be a primary concern, but minimizing the amount of chances against will go a long way.
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