Pittsburgh’s win streak is over and it not surprisingly it came in the first game they weren’t getting top level goaltending. It was just the third time out of 12 starts where he failed to give the team a quality start. The other occasions were the two games against Dallas, Montreal and last night. That isn't a criticism of Fleury as much as it is detailing how tough things can be if he isn't playing lights out.
Pittsburgh came on late but it was not enough
This blog has discussed the defense pairing of Kris Letang and Ian Cole recently and last night’s performance did nothing to dispel the notion that they should not be a pairing any longer. Ian Cole had a rough night which was highlighted by Sam Bennett’s electric individual effort for a goal
Also from @vinnybatts
That's your top defense pair and your top line C. They're generating basically the offensive equivalent of Brandon Sutter. Cole has zero even-strength points this season. Letang has two. Scuderi by himself has doubled the offensive output of the top pair at 5v5. In nearly 50 minutes at 5v5, Cole, Letang, and Malkin have a 47% CF together. So it's not like Crosby's struggles are dragging down 28-58. They're bad. "Struggling" isn't even strong enough a word. They've been abysmal. Unlikely it would get worse if they tried something else.
The Crosby line remains a concern for the team as it is no generating enough 5v5 offense so far this year. Crosby will need to take some ownership on that front but his recent wingers haven’t played well either. The truth is that Pascal Dupuis wasn’t playing good hockey before his medical scare and Patric Hornqvist hasn’t been close to good enough. In 52 minutes together this year Crosby, Dupuis, and Hornqvist are at 44.1% possession which is pathetic.
Pascal Dupuis had recently come back from injury and thrusted into a top six role so it is understandable why he wasn’t playing his best hockey. Patric Hornqvist has underachieved all year with two excellent centers.
I feel as though Hornqvist gets a free pass most of the time because of the perceived work ethic and grit he plays with on a regular basis, but it is a results driven business and his results aren’t good enough. While Hornqvist certainly can win a board battle or a net front battle he leaves so much to be desired in other areas of his game. He is not good skating with the puck and the lion’s share of the time he is not making controlled plays with the puck. Most times Hornqvist is chipping the puck off the wall or dumping the puck in. That is taxing on linemates who continuously have to go and earn the puck back. Controlled entries and exits are the name of the game and that isn’t a Hornqvist strong suit. The Penguins have a plethora of right wingers on the team and I remain convinced that
Hornqvist is their best trade chip to bring something of quality back to the team (defenseman/left wing).
The coaching staff must be seeing some similar things because Hornqvist was demoted for the first time as a Penguin to a bottom six role. Chris Kunitz, Beau Bennett, and even Daniel Sprong were each given some brief time with the Crosby line.
I think Beau Bennett has played well enough to earn some time in the top six and it is about time we see an extended look at that. Beaunino has been a quality duo but Sid could use a guy that can make controlled plays with the puck. Beau can be that guy. A lot has been made about Beau Bennett not being able to play left wing but the lion’s share of his left wing sample size has been with terrible hockey players. That whole quality of teammate thing means something as has been proven year after year. His very brief left wing stint with Malkin was just fine.
Pittsburgh will have a few days to figure things out as their next game isn’t until Wednesday against the Montreal Canadiens.
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Brand new Hockey Hurts Podcast discusses which teams in the NHL will sustain their hot/cold starts to the season. You can find that
here
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