The Penguins ran out of fool’s gold Tuesday night when their four-game win streak came crashing to a halt against the New York Islanders at PPG Paints Arena.

Much of what’s wrong with the Penguins this season was on display in the third period as they saw a 2-0 lead evaporate. They conceded a breakaway and a four-on-two rush within the period’s first six minutes, both chances winding up behind goaltender Tristan Jarry.

The Penguins don’t know how to manage a lead. They never think defense first. The majority of their problems are talent-based. But there are tactical flaws, too.

After that, the Islanders steamrolled the Penguins, winding up with a 38-22 shot advantage. Once the score got knotted, the Penguins wilted further.

Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson made grievous errors that led to Islanders goals. Your two best defensemen shouldn’t be the architects of your demise.

But the result wasn’t upsetting to the pragmatic among us. Losing more means better draft picks. That’s more important than indulging folly and fantasy.

The Penguins needed to win at least six more in a row before the playoffs became a realistic discussion, and maybe not even then.

It’s long since been time to tank.

But these Penguins don’t know how. That’s to their credit.

Tanking isn’t done on the ice or behind the bench. These are professionals. They’re not going to intentionally lose.

Tanking is done via roster assembly.

But it was always impossible to burn the Penguins’ roster to the ground because it’s dotted with so many no-movement clauses.

Anyway, doing that makes rebuilding even more difficult. You need a framework to build around. President of hockey ops/GM Kyle Dubas acted wisely.

Tanking is also done in the dressing room. Organically, via poor leadership that lets desire disappear and attitude collapse.

There’s no chance of that with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Letang present, prideful veterans who have won three Stanley Cups each.

The 1983-84 Penguins pulled the ultimate tank. They finished dead last, then drafted Mario Lemieux to not only save hockey in Pittsburgh but pave the way for years of glory and stardom.

Then-GM Eddie Johnston was a tank-job Michelangelo. He never let the Penguins have a chance, making move after move to weaken an already terrible roster and stockpile assets for the future. (Besides Lemieux, the Penguins had two other first-round picks in 1984.)

Johnston went the extra mile in March of ’84 when he traded defenseman Randy Carlyle to Winnipeg. Carlyle was three years removed from winning the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman and still good. Johnston also summoned goalie Vincent Tremblay from the minors. He went 0-4 with a goals-against average of 6.02. His first start was a 6-5 loss at New Jersey, which finished just three points ahead of the Penguins. Do the math.

Johnston has never admitted tanking. Maintaining omerta makes what happened all the more oddly romantic.

Tanking sacrifices dignity.

But in 1984, the Penguins didn’t need dignity. They needed Lemieux.

The Penguins’ tanking was further enabled by a rotten locker room that didn’t care.

Mike Bullard scored 51 goals, none of them game-winners. When Lemieux arrived, Bullard resented him for stealing the spotlight. There was a fuss about who was on the cover of the media guide.

Bullard was a good scorer: 329 goals in 727 NHL games.

But he was the right non-leader at exactly the right time. (Amazingly, Bullard inherited the captaincy from Carlyle when the latter got traded and maintained it till he was traded to Calgary in 1986.)

That entire 1983-84 season was a nonstop beer bust. Win or lose, we booze. Bunch of fun drunks.

The current locker room cares and has the ultimate captain in Crosby. It’s like he’s religious.

Oh, well. There’s no Lemieux in this year’s draft, anyway.

It’s nonetheless helpful if the Penguins finish as low as possible.

Not just for the sake of better draft picks.

Nobody in the Penguins’ organization, from ownership to the stick boy, should think even for a second that the Penguins are close to being good and could sneak into a playoff spot next season Steelers-style.

The near future isn’t about anything besides development. Not just building a playoff team but one that can compete for a championship. Nothing should supersede that.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)