Missing: The Penguins Secondary scoring
Penguins goals per game by month this season:
October - 4.00
November - 3.20
December - 2.14
January - 2.83
February - 2.58
March - 2.22
— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_Trib) March 18, 2015
That is a big worry and as you can see, it is trending down from an initial high in October. Of course, the high of 4.00 Goals per game in October is somewhat inflated by the Penguins power-play which clicked at 39.4% for the month. Since then it has plummeted partly due to the referees calling a lot less penalties for the Penguins. That has dropped from 4.13 PP's in the first 15 games to 2.85 since. The Penguins were robbed of a few power-plays last night but again the referees contrived to prevent them being given.The Power-play issue is one thing, but another has been the drop off in production from the Penguins secondary players this month which has resulted in Crosby having to carry the team again. Crosby has done this before but he can't do it forever and it is taking its toll on him this season, part of the reason of his reduced points totals. The biggest culprit for this is Chris Kunitz, as mentioned in a previous blog post here. However, to pin it all on the Kunitz would be harsh.
The above image shows the changes in production at Even Strength for the Penguins top eight forwards outside Malkin and Crosby. It should be noted that one or two differences can be explained due to injuries. For instance, Hornqvist didn't really play in January, neither did Comeau. Likewise, Bennett missed the first month and some game time in November and December, as Bennett does.
What we can take from it is that there is a clear downturn in production from everyone in March outside Downie who has gone against the grain. A team as talented as the Penguins shouldn't be relying on the power-play to score. They should be able to score without it and currently, they aren't. Being shut-out twice in the last three games is unacceptable as is scoring one goal in nine periods.
"How do you fix it", I hear you shout. Well, change the lines for a start. Kunitz has ridden Crosby's left wing for too long and isn't benefiting from the extra ice-time that his performance is warranting. Right now we have Hornqvist and Malkin out for a week which means they will miss the games against the Stars and Coyotes, this does affect the choices briefly. For this trip I'd try Comeau alongside Crosby and Perron. Perron and Crosby have worked well together since he (Perron) joined from Edmonton and breaking that up would stupid. Comeau may be contentious, but he has worked well with Malkin this season and has a great shot on him that makes me believe he would do fine with Sid, even if for a short stint. When Hornqvist and Geno return I'd like to see the following lines with everyone healthy;
Hornqvist - Crosby - Perron
Comeau - Malkin - Bennett
Kunitz - Sutter - Winnik
Spaling - Lapierre - Downie
There is another thing that needs fixing as well. The power-play. When we do get called for a power-play the usual happens. We struggle to keep it in the zone and we don't get shots off because we pass it too much. Kunitz should not be seeing time on the 1st PP unit which should consist of Crosby, Letang, Malkin, Hornqvist and Perron. The first instinct should be to shoot and get a shot on goal because as Gretzky once said, you can't score the shots you don't take. Seeing someone with a great shot like Geno pass instead of shooting is frustrating.
Johnston recently stated that the Penguins were ready for the play-offs and whilst it is obvious he will say that, I don't think we are. Our scoring is down and we're struggling at even strength. If we think that penalties are hard to come by now then just wait until the play-offs. Some changing of the lines could be the fire that kicks the team back into gear. Do I think the management will actually do it? I'm sceptical. Prove me wrong Johnston and Tocchet.
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