Tim Benz: Penguins’ failures against own division highlight big-picture problems

For the Pittsburgh Penguins, their woes against the Metropolitan Division are emblematic of the bigger picture problems facing the team.

The most pressing of those problems for the Penguins is simply that they just aren’t very good.

After two losses to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden last week, the Pens are now 8-9-5 versus the Metro. Specifically against the other four teams from the Metro that are currently in playoff spots (the Devils, Hurricanes, Rangers and Islanders), the Penguins are 2-9-4.

There’s a good reason for that. The rest of the Metro is pretty good, and the Pens are utterly mediocre.

To be generous.

At 34-25-10, that means the Penguins are actually a game under .500 (34-35) when you discard the overtime/shootout loss (loser point) designation.

The Penguins’ 25 regulation wins are the fewest of any NHL team currently in a playoff spot. And their minus-3 goal differential makes them the only NHL club to be negative in that statistic while currently in playoff position.

In other words, even when the Pens win, it’s usually still a grind.

The Pittsburgh hockey team is average at best. The Metro Division has a lot of above average competition.

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Looking through that lens of their own division, the larger point of the Penguins’ issues is underscored when viewing their playoff prognosis. It feels like the Penguins are struggling to simply be the best of the also-ran clubs, as opposed to legitimate postseason contenders.

The Penguins begin this week with 78 points, good for eighth place in the Eastern Conference and its second wild-card spot. Despite a three-game losing streak, coach Mike Sullivan’s group is one point ahead of ninth-place Florida and just two behind the New York Islanders for the first rung on the wild-card ladder.

Tenuous though it may be, Sullivan said the team is using that reality to bolster its confidence.

“We have to have a short memory,” Sullivan said after a 6-0 loss at MSG on Saturday. “For all intents and purposes, we are in the playoffs right now. And that’s the way we feel. We are in the playoffs right now. We are playing with our backs against the wall. We’ve got an opportunity to solidify a playoff spot. That’s what we are trying to do.”

According to captain Sidney Crosby, problems of late include allowing too many odd-man rushes and high-quality scoring chances.

“It’s a tight league and the margin for error is small,” Crosby said Saturday night. “A mistake here or there is the difference between being on the right side or the wrong side. We’ve got make sure we are better defensively and we limit the opportunities we are giving up. We are giving up quality ones. And it’s tough to win that way.”

Not only all that, but the team’s goaltending is poor. The bottom six is useless despite efforts to balance out the scoring via some recent line combo changes. The blue line adds very little offensive threat beyond Kris Letang and isn’t particularly stout in its own end either.

Even if they do qualify as a wild card, they look destined to be first-round cannon fodder for the winner of the Metro or the Boston Bruins out of the Atlantic.

“Nobody feels it more than the players themselves and the coaching staff. But we believe in this group. And we believe that we have what it takes. We are going to have to pick ourselves up off the mat, dust ourselves off, and get back in the fight,” Sullivan said.

Now more than ever these Penguins appear to be in a chase to qualify for a wild-card spot for the sake of qualification and nothing else.

For the sake of extending their playoff streak to 17 years. For the sake of being able to at least boast of something positive from this first season after keeping the core together.

Which would be the same level of accomplishment — or lack thereof — from the four previous seasons.

Which isn’t much. Certainly not to the level of expectation in this era of Penguins hockey.

Certainly not to the level of investment that was made last summer to keep the core of Stanley Cup championship veterans together.

For that eventuality to change, a lot more is required than just getting up from the mat and dusting themselves off. Because, right now, they are looking awfully dusty.