Tim Benz, Brian Metzer: No Penguin is without blame during recent tumble
No “Madden Monday” podcast this week. It’s a “Metzer Monday” instead with Brian Metzer of the Penguins Radio Network.
What a good time to get him on the podcast, anyway.
Because the two of us spare no horses when it comes to criticism of the Penguins. They now have a six-game losing streak, thanks in part to a rotten trip through the Pacific Division which saw them lose to three of the worst teams in hockey (the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks.)
The power play was 1-18 during the three losses in California. So, yes. It stinks. But so do the people on it. It’s not just the entity. It’s the individuals. So let’s give them guff.
That includes Sidney Crosby (one point during the losing streak, with a minus-7) and Evgeni Malkin.
At least Malkin had five points during the six games. Unfortunately, he also totaled 12 minutes in penalties.
Sure, defensemen such as Jack Johnson, Juuso Riikola and Chad Ruhwedel deserve to get beaten up for their play. But, frankly, they are being overexposed and overleveraged.
Meanwhile, Kris Letang had one point and was a minus-6 during the losing streak. Justin Schultz has just one point since returning from injury on Jan. 31 and is a minus-11 on the season.
Hence, the goaltending isn’t getting much help. But how much are the goalies truly helping the team?
Can’t they break this losing streak on their own with one shutout or one standout 2-1 type of win? For one night, just be better than the guy in the other net.
As for the new trade acquisitions, Conor Sheary, Evan Rodrigues and Patrick Marleau have yet to register a point since joining the Penguins. Mike Sullivan has yet to figure out the best way to incorporate them. And he hasn’t managed to stop the bleeding on the bench.
Plus, don’t look now, but the Penguins (80 points) are now in third place in the Metro Division, six points back of Washington (86 points) for first. And they are only two points in front of the New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets (78 points) who currently hold the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Aside from that, things are going swimmingly at PPG Paints Arena.
Metzer and I dissect everything that’s going wrong. We try to advance a few ideas about how to fix matters. And we look at the bright side — The Primus/Wolfmother/The Sword concert at Stage AE is now less than four months away.
So there’s that!
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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