A major car accident took place on I-279 yesterday as a tractor-trailer rolled over and blocked traffic for hours. This caused the Penguins’ home game against the Canadiens to be delayed for 30 minutes; Penguins players were reportedly running into the locker-room an hour before puck drop. Hockey players are extreme creatures of habit, and the accident likely threw the team off as they didn’t seem to start actually playing hockey until the third period. I am going to completely convince myself in this Penguins vs Canadiens recap that the late start is completely to blame and that their collapse on Tuesday had absolutely nothing to do with how the Pens performed.

Ultimately, the Penguins should have forfeited the game. Jacob Fowler made his NHL debut in a win against the Penguins; Patrick Roy, Carey Price, and Ken Dryen all did the same thing in their debuts (all against Pittsburgh). The Penguins would have been wise to forfeit and save themselves from starting yet another hall of fame career for a Montreal goaltender. Fowler was not tested much, if at all, in the first half of this game but when the Penguins pushed, he reminded me a lot of Carey Price. Fowler’s movements were compact and executed with poise. That quality—poise—was what I always admired in Price. He never relied on large, erratic motions because he was consistently calm and in the right position. Fowler displayed that same composure last night.

The Penguins looked atrocious, and no one struggled more than Kris Letang. You could sense their lifeless performance coming from the moment the game started. They iced the puck almost immediately, and although they eventually gained control, Letang made a costly decision. Instead of shuffling the puck down the near boards to Brazeau, who was uncovered, he attempted a pass toward Anthony Mantha. Letang completely whiffed on the pass, allowing Texier to go bar down.

On Letang’s next shift, he nearly ended the Penguins’ season. He fired a one-timer from the point that struck Sidney Crosby squarely on the foot. Sid could barely make it to the bench, and when he finally did, it was clear he was in agonizing pain. Luckily, Sid returned and was one of the few Penguins players to play with some jump.

Letang was a disaster for the rest of the evening. I’ve always defended him—his strengths usually outweighed his weaknesses. Unfortunately, whether it’s father time, the strokes, or lingering injuries, Letang just isn’t good enough anymore. He has been the worst Penguins defensemen so far this season, he’s regularly responsible for goals against, and unfortunately, I really don’t think anything can be done about it. Dan Muse is not going to bench a franchise icon, no team is trading for Letang, and Letang himself is not going to magically change his game at 38 years old. Letang now lacks the speed that once allowed him to pull away from defenders—and that same loss of speed prevents him from covering up his own mistakes. Everyone talks about trading Sid or Geno retiring, but the real conversation should be about how the Penguins can replace Kris Letang. After this season, hopefully his wife sits him down and lets him know the truth about his game and he decides to step away (citing health as the reason). The only issue is that Letang loves the game as much as Sid and, unlike Geno, doesn’t seem to care if his performance declines. So, we might really see him in a Penguins jersey until 2030

Maybe I am being too harsh on Letang, but I can guarantee you that I am being kinder to him than the rest of PPG Paints Arena is to Erik Karlsson every night. Every single time a play from EK65 doesn’t directly lead to a goal there are groans in the crowd. A missed passed garners several “Karlsson sucks” throughout the upper bowl. It makes me question if Penguins fans have functioning brains. Erik Karlsson has been the best defensemen on this team, by a mile. The mistakes from past seasons have been largely erased. Hell, Karlsson has even been a pretty damn good penalty killer so far this season. If you go to a game and want to jeer a player, Karlsson should be low on your list as he has had one bad game so far this season (the first Philadelphia matchup). I can acknowledge that Karlsson was brought in as a supposed savior, and the Penguins still haven’t made the playoffs with him. However, he’s hinted at tension with Sully over how he should play. Now that he has more freedom from the coaching staff, his game finally looks like what I expected when they traded for him. Karlsson scored last night by the way.

Five Game Takeaways:

1. The kid line is our best line right now. I believe I have written in that in a recent blog too, but it remains true. They drew a few penalties last night, McGroarty hit a post and was noticeable offensively. Kindel is Kindel (this is a good thing). Koivunen on the other hand, he wasn’t great against Montreal. Ville takes too long to shoot, the coaching staff needs to figure that out with him because you can tell the talent is there, but his brain is seemingly getting in the way.
2. Jarry was not good for the first time in a while. I really didn’t like any of the first three goals he allowed. The first goal was a snipe off a turnover so I will cut him slack there. Everything else that went by him (including the disallowed goal), was one he would want back. Obviously, Penguins fans are going to worry about him turning back into a pumpkin. I wouldn’t worry yet, as goaltenders are probably the most effected from the game being delayed and Jarry also made plenty of good saves. If for some reason he does continue to struggle, get Murashov to Pittsburgh ASAP as he is leading the AHL in GAA and SV%.
3. I will keep saying it until I am blue in the face, Kevin Hayes needs to be out the lineup. He was so putrid last night it nearly made me sick. He couldn’t handle the puck. He is by far the slowest guy on the ice. Hayes is great for the locker-room vibes, that is his best contribution to this roster and luckily, he can still provide that while eating nachos in the press box.
4. I would look into trading for a Vancouver Canuck, and not Quinn Hughes. Kiefer Sherwood. The third line, and maybe the team as a whole, is missing an energy player. Sherwood broke the NHL record for hits last season, and he scored 19 goals. I don’t necessarily even care about his offensive statistics not being reliable. The pairing of Kindel/McGroarty will start providing offense, they generate too many chances together and eventually the goals will go in. The cost to acquire Sherwood is high which likely takes the Pens out of the running for him but adding a Brandon Tanev type player to his lineup might really do them some good. This is my second takeaway that hints at me not wanting Koivunen in the lineup, but I want to make it clear that I still believe in him, rookie development isn’t linear, and I believe he will be fine.
5. The Penguins play the Sharks and Mammoth this weekend. Both games are at home at 3pm. They really need at least 3 points (and we know if one these games goes into OT they aren’t winning). I expect a much better effort, and maybe the return of Rickard Rakell…