If the Pittsburgh Penguins want to be successful, they will have to improve the amount of effort being put into games.
The first long road trip of the season for the Pittsburgh Penguins has exposed multiple areas of concern for the team.
The Penguins penalty kill has been pretty bad to start the year and injuries are beginning to get in the way of overall success.
One feature, however, that plagued the team last year is rearing its ugly head for another season.
While only eight games into the 2022-23 season, the Penguins are struggling to produce a game that features a full 60 minutes of top level play.
Even in games that they are winning, the Penguins have pushed out clunkers of periods; the most evident coming in the first period against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Pens may have won that game, but that was the last time they saw a victory; since then they lost three straight in Western Canada.
Following that third loss, both head coach Mike Sullivan and captain Sidney Crosby noted that the inability to play the full 60 minutes has contributed to the defeats.
“We’ve just got to be more determined and find a way to be better,” Crosby said. “If anything has been consistent, it’s our starts that we struggle with.”
The Penguins have been getting routinely outplayed in the first periods of games and that can be seen in shot totals alone.
Twice since the Columbus game did the Penguins fail to record more than five shots in the opening frame.
“I just don’t think we’re putting a 60-minute effort together,” Sullivan said. “It’s hard to win in this league when you don’t.”
If the Penguins want to be a real competitor in the NHL, they’re going to have to kick this habit of taking periods or shifts off.
The roster has the skillset and the coaching staff has the knowledge to make the Penguins one of the most feared teams in hockey; it’s a matter of execution.
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