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Penguins Bottom 6 Forward Group Stinks, No Panic Necessary

January 26, 2014, 10:30 AM ET [58 Comments]
Ryan Wilson
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The Dallas Stars defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 on Saturday night and were the better team from start to finish. The Penguins struggled throughout the evening and were unable to generate much in the way of possession or goals.

Here is the possession chart:





By the time the Pens made any gains in puck possession the game was long since decided.

Here are the game highlights:





Penguins fans were treated to a very familiar sight on the Stars 1st goal on the power play. Former Penguins #1 defenseman Sergei Gonchar found himself in the middle of the ice with time and space to let his bomb go. Fleury got a firsthand look at what so many other goalies have been on the wrong end of throughout Gonchar’s career.

Ray Whitney registered an assist for the Stars on the Gonchar goal and that really isn’t a new development for a Penguins game. In his career Ray Whitney has victimized the Penguins for 15 goals and 49 points in 45 career games.

Another former Penguin also found offensive success last night as Alex Goligoski made a very nice cross ice pass to sniper Jamie Benn for the Stars 2nd goal.

It is rare for the opposition to score two power play goals in one game against Pittsburgh. Last night was only the 4th time all year that a Penguins opponent was able to hit pay dirt twice on the power play.

The other 3 times were the January 10th overtime loss to Edmonton (game winning goal was a PP goal) and the back to back games in Florida/Tampa Bay on January 11th and 12th.

If the offense is going to go cold other facets of the Penguins game will have to rise to the occasion. More times than not the PK has pulled through and done their job, but last night it didn’t happen.

Crosby and Malkin were left off the scoresheet and that is not a good path to victory for the Penguins right now.

Since the beginning of December the Penguins have only come away with a single victory when Crosby and Malkin were left off the scoresheet. That game was the January 11th 2-1 win over the Calgary Flames.

How bad was the bottom 6 last night?






How bad have they been in general?










This is not lost on Ray Shero. A move will be made. Whether that move is for a top 6 forward to facilitate a trickledown effect in roster depth or a straight up trade for a 3rd liner, something will happen.

It’s not a panic situation. If this was the last week of March and the roster looked this way I would be concerned.

Simply put, it’s hard to act concerned when the Penguins employ a GM who has a very good track record and also has time to find the correct deal for his team. And yes, the Penguins still have plenty of time to make a decision on what route to go considering this is what the updated standings look like:





To sum things up, the bottom 6 is less than desirable right now, the Penguins have the right man in charge, and the team has time to make a calculated move. There might be some more games like last night in the near future for the Penguins, but that doesn’t mean much in the big picture.

Penguins are back in action against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night.

****

Off topic, I thought the outdoor game at Dodger Stadium last night was awesome. I think it is great for hockey and there is absolutely nothing wrong with nontraditional hockey regions putting their own spin on a hockey event.

The roller hockey and the beach volleyball courts were a terrific touch which gave the game a true Southern California feel.

Not sure how anybody could complain about an event which had Wayne Gretzky and Vin Scully as a major part of the pregame presentation, two men who are arguably the best ever at what they do.

The ice held up just fine and quite frankly I bet that playing surface is better than the one that is currently used at Consol Energy Center.

Sure KISS stinks and the NHL should be been proactive to get some So Cal music flavor like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but if that is really the only thing I can find to criticize the NHL did a pretty darn good job.

If you are an American you should not criticize events like the one held at Dodger Stadium last night. More and more USA Hockey players are coming from non traditional markets and events like last night are a great sign for the future of USA Hockey.

Here is to more outdoor games in nontraditional markets so that fans all around North America can experience such a nice community event like the folks in So Cal. Perhaps the league could alternate between northern and southern California every other year? Heck, imagine a few years down the road if the NHL expands to Seattle and hosts a game at Quest Field, electric.

John Buccigross sums up my opinion very nicely:






Thanks for reading!

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