The Penguins looked like an offensive juggernaut through two games. The offense is not completely dead, as the Penguins are scoring even when they don’t have their best game. The more concerning issue is the defensive deficiencies.
It started in the third period against Montreal in Game 2, when they blew a 5-2 lead. They followed that up with a horrid performance against Winnipeg. Last night was an abysmal display of hockey IQ from Pittsburgh’s defenders. Every single goal in a 5-3 loss to Washington could be directly attributed to a boneheaded play from a defenseman.
Carlile threw a pizza to the middle of the ice, leading to a two-on-zero breakaway, and later got in Silovs’ way behind the net. Letang curiously threw a puck back into the defensive-zone corner with no one there but a Capitals forward. Trevor van Riemsdyk, like Carlile, mishandled a puck at the offensive blue line, leading to a goal. TVR also got torched, took a bad penalty, and allowed Washington to get an insurance goal just when the Penguins had clawed back all of the momentum.
It was a disgusting display last night. The performance was unacceptable after what happened a few nights earlier against Winnipeg. However, I am not worried. Not this early. Not when training camp was as short as it was this year. There are a lot of moving parts throughout the lineup, and none of the defensive pairings had played together before this season. It will be concerning if it continues through this weekend because last night should serve as a good wake-up call.
I am also not worried about Sidney Crosby. Sid has two points in four games. He has had a new winger in nearly every single game. Crosby has also been a slow starter in recent seasons. I think that the Penguins would be wise to get Rust on his line for at least the rest of the week. Let Sid enjoy some normalcy on his wing for a few games and reestablish his game. Give it a few weeks before finally declaring Father Time a winner in his fight against Sidney Crosby.
The season is full of highs and lows. You can’t make the playoffs in October, but you can miss them. The Penguins need to come out firing this weekend to ensure it doesn’t get late early for their season.
