If you thought having the dads join the Pittsburgh Penguins players on the road was going to spark something, it is not how things played out. Since the Penguins fathers have come on the road the team hasn’t scored a goal. I’m sure somewhere in the parent’s box you can here one of the dads muttering “lackadasical”.
The Penguins dropped their eighth straight contest against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night by a score of 4-0. The last seven games they have allowed four goals or more.
The Bryan Rust problem
Watching Bryan Rust on a game by game basis over the years you come to appreciate how Bryan Rust built himself into an impact forward at the NHL level. He is one of the hardest working players in both practices and games. In a different timeline he would be just another bottom six forward. He put the work in and became a staple on the Penguins top line with Crosby and deservingly so.
Unfortunately, at 33 years of age he is starting to show signs of decline. Earlier in the season I noticed that his defensive metrics were among the worst in the league. This from November 9th:
This has not improved. It has gone the other way.
Among the 540 skaters with 250 minutes at 5v5 Rust is 540th in xGA/60 at 3.44. He is 387h in xGF% at 47.20. This is with Rust playing 412 minutes with Crosby at 5v5 and only 45 minutes without him. This isn’t a teammate problem. He’s playing with the best the Penguins have to offer.
Last night, he made a play that was incredibly frustrating to me and was a microcosm of why the Penguins are struggling the way that they are.
What you saw in the clip was the no-look spinorama pass which fed Josh Anderson’s shorthanded breakaway to make the game 3-0. What wasn’t shown in the clip was the zone entry. Rust had the puck with full possession and instead of pulling up at the half wall on his forehand and setting the power play up he continued to race along the boards on his backhand. This led to the clip above. There was no need to force the issue like that. Get things setup and run your power play looks. Instead, shorthanded breakaways get put on a platter.
Kyle Dubas needs to seriously consider moving him before people catch on and his perceived value goes down. Right now, I bet his perceived value is still high with 28 points in 32 games. The longer this goes the less you can get in a Rust trade. And let’s face it, that great start the Penguins had this season is in the rear view mirror with this eight game losing streak.
Erik Karlsson is playing great hockey this year and Rickard Rakell is coming back off an injury. These can be future deals. The Rust situation is one I would want to get ahead of. I’m sure a team like Detroit would be welcome to doing business on Rust. Really, it could be any team. Rust’s trade protections expired this past summer. The Penguins could trade him anywhere. They should be working towards that, now.
Missed opportunity for special night
Even though the team is going through a rough patch at the moment there are going to potentially be built in moments during the season which are special. This is the case with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Erik Karlsson all vying for impressive milestones.
Last night, was a blown opportunity for Sidney Crosby to either tie or pass Mario Lemieux’s Penguins franchise points record in Montreal. Mario Lemieux was born in Montreal and Sidney Crosby’s favorite team growing up was Montreal. There is no other NHL city not named Pittsburgh who loves both of those Penguins players more than Montreal.
The stage was set, but it was not to be. It was just another lackluster performance from the Penguins and on this particular night, Crosby.
Sidney Crosby finished the game with a team worst 36.36 CF% going CF 12 and CA 21 in his 14:28 seconds of ice time at 5v5.
Playoffs look bleak
The team wasn’t expected to make the playoffs. The over/under on standings points at the beginning of the year was comically low in the upper 70’s if I am remembering correctly.
The hot start gave some fun and hope. The recent eight game losing streak did immense damage to their outlook. If you like skiing, sledding, or snowboarding the Penguins odds look like a fun hill to go down.
We miss you, Evgeni Malkin.
Next up is another game against the Montreal Canadiens this evening. Perhaps, Sidney Crosby can still tie or break the record against Montreal, but on home ice.
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