The Pittsburgh Penguins will take on the worst team in the Eastern Conference this evening when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets. Despite their lowly place in the standings the Blue Jackets have had the Penguins number this year as well as last year.
Since knocking Columbus out of the playoffs in 2013-14 Pittsburgh has gone 1-3-2 against the team. Their first meeting this year (2-1 CBJ win) was combined with the listless 4-0 loss to New Jersey and that was when Mike Johnston's job security started to go down the drain.
Tonight the Penguins will look to avoid losing their sixth game in a row and eighth of their last nine. They are heading into action without their captain.
The Penguins don't play until Saturday after tonight's game so it makes a lot of sense to let Crosby and Letang heal up until then even though the team is in the midst of a terrible losing streak. Letang has begun skating and it appears very likely he will return on Saturday. The Penguins have drastically missed his presence in the lineup.
Ryan Stimson was the man responsible for setting up the RIT Hockey Analytics conference in October. He is also the man responsible for a great pass tracking project. His main focus is on the Devils but there have been other games tracked for other teams including seven games for the Penguins. Here is what was found
Kris Letang generates offense. The Penguins lack offense. It is that simple.
Ryan's segment can be found at 22:58
Sidney Crosby started off the first month of the season miserably. He only registered points in two of the first 11 games. He has been a lot better since then.
Since November 1st Sidney Crosby has started to perform at more of an acceptable level at even strength. He has a 5v5 points/60 of 2.0 which right at the first line level. In contrast Evgeni Malkin has a 5v5 points/60 of 1.60 during that same time frame. Both players share the same 5.1 points/60 on the power play since November 1st. This probably doesn't mesh with the general perception of Crosby's play.
Pittsburgh's depth players have been terrible during this time frame, including Phil Kessel.
A lot of Pittsburgh's offensive woes can be put at the doorstep of both Patric Hornqvist and David Perron. They have done nothing and both were involved with trades that involved prime assets to acquire. They are both performing at below replacement level.
Sid needs some help, same as it ever was.
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Here is an outstanding oral history of Jaromir Jagr
Jagr recently leapfrogged into fourth all time in NHL goals. He is 24 points shy of tying Gordie Howe.
Thanks for reading!
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