Penguins Getting Back to Winning Ways Despite Uneven Team Performance
The Pittsburgh Penguins are seeing positive results while half the team continues to struggle.
Capturing five of six possible points on a road trip should be unequivocally considered a successful stretch. Considering what the Pittsburgh Penguins looked like in the previous seven games, fans should be elated to see their team getting back to their winning ways. However, there are still a few areas that the team continues to struggle with despite the positive results.
One of the main issues late in the Penguin's losing streak was holding onto a lead. They figured some things out and nabbed victories over the Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs but then squandered a third period lead on three different occasions against the Montreal Canadiens.
It was deja vu for the Penguins, who gave up a late goal in that building earlier this season in a 3-2 overtime loss. The Penguins couldn't put the Canadiens away, costing them a victory on Saturday night.
Another issue for the Penguins last week was the play of their top line. Sidney Crosby notched two assists on the road trip, and Jake Guentzel collected two empty net goals, but the line was far from excellent.
Crosby, Guentzel, and Rust are usually the Penguins most reliable line, especially with puck possession and scoring opportunities. Unfortunately, they didn't show it over the past three games. The Penguins first line accounted for 40% of the shot attempts, 37% of the expected goals, and 34% of the scoring chances through this stretch.
They had tough matchups (Alex Ovechkin, Auston Matthews, Nick Suzuki), but this type of output is highly irregular for Crosby's line. Luckily, Evgeni Malkin's line picked up the slack and dominated in all three games on the trip, leading to most of the team's success. The Penguins are at their best when both of those lines are clicking.
Kasperi Kapanen remains in Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan's dog house. After being healthy scratched for two straight games, Kapanen was back in the lineup against the Canadiens. He finished the game with a team-low 7:19 of ice time, all of which came at even strength.
Whether or not Kapanen can bounce back this season remains to be seen, but the seat is starting to warm for the 26-year-old winger.
The Penguins have bounced back from their losing streak and gathered wins and standings points over the past week, but this team continues to be a work in progress.
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