The Pittsburgh Penguins have been streaky and are in need of a quick turnaround.
With their loss at the Winter Classic, the Pittsburgh Penguins blew a lead for the third consecutive game and fourth in their last five.
Those blown leads have obviously contributed to the Penguins current five-game losing streak, but also sunk them in the standings.
As of now, the Penguins sit in the Eastern Conferences second wild card position, but are tied in points with the New York Islanders at 44.
Both teams don’t play until Thursday, but the Metropolitan Division is turning into the tightest race in the league.
Not too long ago, the spread between second and sixth place in the Metro was just two points.
If the Penguins aren’t careful, there’s a really good chance that they could be on the outside looking again.
Through the entire season, the Penguins have been a streaky team with troubles winning at a consistent pace.
The Penguins started their season 4-0-1, but followed that up with a seven-game losing streak; they bounced back with a run of 14-2-2 but are sitting in the muck with a 1-4-2 stretch.
Injuries have forced an inconsistent lineup, but the Penguins’ top six have again gone cold in the recent matchups.
Sidney Crosby hasn’t recorded a point in four games and is a minus-6 in that time, Jake Guentzel has gone without a goal in seven games now, and Evgeni Malkin’s production has slowed dramatically.
Mike Sullivan can only do so much lineup juggling; Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell flipped spaces in the Winter Classic and Jeff Carter was moved to the wing on the third line.
After 37 games the Penguins hold a record of 19-12-6 with 44 points, a far cry from where they thought they could be just two weeks ago.
It’s hard to get a jump on an outdoor rink, but the Penguins area in desperate need of a win and have to follow that with a run of success to build momentum as the second half of the season looms.
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