The Pittsburgh Penguins have been in need of a change for over a month with no noise to be heard.
PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Penguins hit their bye week after one of their worst losses of the season and are lucky to still be clinging on to the Eastern Conference's second wild card position.
Given the spot in the standings and the horrendous run they’ve been on, the Penguins are in real trouble of missing the postseason.
Not only might they miss the playoffs for the first time in 16 years, but they're getting embarrassed along the way.
This team hasn’t looked good since prior to the Christmas break and that was well over a month ago now.
Since returning from the break, the Penguins have played 16 games, more than half of which came against non-playoff teams.
They’ve won only five games in that span with three coming in regulation.
The Penguins most recent loss came against a team in the middle of a race to the bottom for the first overall pick in the San Jose Sharks.
The Anaheim Ducks have fewer standings points than the Sharks and even they took the Penguins to overtime.
Saying something needs to change would be an understatement; a change should have been made by now.
There’s no way around it; sure, former general manager Jim Rutherford made knee jerk decisions, but at least he played a role in attempting to improve the team.
Ron Hextall hasn’t done that yet this season, at all; he did good work in the offseason, but now things need to be done.
The quick option is a trade and yet the Penguins have been absent from any sort of trade report, rumor, or connection as the deadline closes in.
In reality, Hextall needed to start looking at a change when the Penguins blew a 4-0 lead to the Detroit Red Wings, another non-playoff team.
Again, however, over a month has passed and the Penguins trot out the same lineup every night.
The top six forward group has been the lone bright spot in the lineup; Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are leading the way but can only do so much.
The bottom six has been non-existent for over a month, the defense struggles to stay consistent, and Tristan Jarry has been made of glass.
It might be time to start hitting the panic button in Pittsburgh; it’s unclear what exactly the ‘panic button’ does or what it brings to the table, but any sort of maneuver or change would be welcomed.
Make sure you bookmark Inside the Penguins for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more!
- Subscribe to Inside the Penguins on YouTube
- Follow Inside the Penguins on Twitter: @InsidePenguins