So far, the Pittsburgh Penguins are 31 games into the regular season. They have 30 points and possess a record of 13-14-4 which puts them sixth in the division just over the New York Islanders and the Columbus Blue Jackets.<\/p>\n
Going into Tuesday’s contest with the Colorado Avalanche, the Penguins looked like the Penguins of old as they were 5-1-0 in their last six games. However, that all went away after a crushing 6-2 loss at home where once again they looked flat. Since the Colorado loss, they won a lopsided 9-2 game against the Canadiens, but then lost in overtime to the Senators.<\/p>\n
This season has been a very tough season to watch for Penguins fans. Poor goaltending, poor powerplay, and multiple losing streaks in just 30 games. The postgame press conference was very insightful as it seems like the Penguins locker room is an absolute disaster.<\/p>\n
Defenceman Kris Letang was very adamant that a few reasons why the Penguins lost were due to powerplay struggles and lack of effort on the defensive end. In the loss, the Penguins powerplay went 0-4<\/a>. When the powerplay struggles that much, it is difficult to win a game.<\/p>\n Letang added it was more so a lack of mindset and physicality<\/a>.<\/p>\n “I think it\u2019s more of a question of demeanor and, yeah, a team like that, there\u2019s so much skill, you have to play a physical game,\u201d Letang said, implicating his team\u2019s lack of physicality. \u201cYou have to slow them down with the forecheck. Your neutral zone forecheck (must) slow them down. If they come at you with speed, they\u2019re going to hurt you.\u201d<\/p>\n To prove Letang’s point about the lack of physicality, they had just ten hits that game. Going forward, to remain competitive and win games, you need to have more than ten hits.<\/p>\n Head coach Mike Sullivan<\/a> was also not happy with goaltender Tristan Jarry’s performance. He allowed five goals on 26 shots which resulted in a .808% save percentage. Sullivan mentioned it was a step back and he did not play as good on Tuesday.<\/p>\n However, on the other hand, Jarry took a different approach as he also blamed his defenceman<\/a> for allowing the Avalanche to easily get past the defence and have multiple scoring opportunities.<\/p>\n \u201cThey had some good shots. (The shots) were obviously well-placed,\u201d said Jarry. \u201cI think that\u2019s the hardest part about it when they\u2019re getting behind us and behind me. I think it\u2019s hard to see what\u2019s behind me when I\u2019m looking out front.\u201d<\/p>\n Sullivan was very angry with his team’s performance and effort<\/a> in the loss.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t think we were stiff on the puck. I thought we could have hung on to pucks more in the offensive zone. I thought we could have controlled territory a little bit more and forced them to have to defend us a little bit more,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cWe tended to be one and done. I think it starts with just getting your nose over the puck and staying close \u2026 we lost a fair amount of puck battles. And I also think we weren\u2019t as good on the wall, on breakouts, and coming out of our end zone.\u201d<\/p>\n Sullivan also sounded off on the powerplay and its inability to not convert not once but four times.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t think there was good tonight. We didn\u2019t move pucks as quickly. Our entries weren\u2019t as clean,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cWe were trying to make a lot of lateral plays on the entry, and they stacked the line. We\u2019ve got to be willing to play behind them. And so I just didn\u2019t think our decision making, our execution was as crisp.\u201d<\/p>\n This is the same powerplay that has been abysmal the last three seasons. Sullivan seemed to blame the players more so than coaching on the powerplay. However, in efforts to fix the powerplay, Sullivan reunited with his friend<\/a> David Quinn who is also not coaching the defense well in addition to the powerplay.<\/p>\n During the game after the Mikko Rantanen hat trick and allowing six goals, PPG Paints Arena began to rain with boos from Penguins fans. The fans do have a point as there has been a lot to be disappointed and frustrated with so far this season.<\/p>\n Penguins captain Sidney Crosby heard the boos loud and clear and was not too happy with it either. Despite the Penguins having some impressive victories this season such as the defending champion Florida Panthers, Crosby mentioned,<\/a> you would not know that tonight after the boos.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there\u2019s been some times this season when we deserved it,\u201d Crosby said. \u201cI don\u2019t think tonight was one of them.\u201d<\/p>\nDisappointed Head Coach<\/h3>\n
Sidney Crosby Recognizes Fans Boos<\/h3>\n
Solution?<\/h3>\n