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Where did all the goals go?

November 19, 2017, 10:54 AM ET [44 Comments]
Ryan Wilson
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
It was more respectable than the last time, but the results in the standings were the same. Pittsburgh came away with no points and Chicago earned both of theirs. This time around it was a goalie duo, both of whom who have been in net for two Stanley Cups. Corey Crawford had the upper hand on this night. He had 36 saves on 37 shots while Matt Murray had 34 saves on 36 shots.

The teams traded chances for most of the night. There could have easily been more goals if not for the goalies. There were no goals at even-strength in the game. Pittsburgh got a lucky bounce while they were shorthanded (welcome back Matt Hunwick) and the Blackhawks were able to score both of theirs on the power play.

This is not a strong point for the Penguins this year. They have a success rate of 77% on the penalty kill. In the last five games they have given up two power play goals in four of them. Going to need that to improve.

Pittsburgh is the worst team in the NHL at scoring goals at even-strength. Yep, it’s true. After leading the league last year at 2.82 they are now at the bottom at 1.79



What changed? Their depth. They had playable forward depth the past few years. They don’t anymore. And when I mean playable, I mean the coach actually playing them. Mike Sullivan is leaning hard on their top nine.




The fourth line combined for 17 minutes total. Chicago’s lowest three forward players comined for 28 minutes last night. Over the long haul that kind of stuff is going to matter. A small part of why the Penguins won consecutive Stanley Cups is because they tried to ice a competent fourth line to eat up some minutes. They are no longer trying to do so.

Combine that with Sidney Crosby having a really bad offensive year at even-strength and you are left with the Phil and Geno show left to do all the heavy lifting on a nightly basis. When I say Sidney Crosby is having a really bad year, I mean he is having a really bad year. He’s at 1.12 points per 60 at even-strength.



Brutal!

For reference Ryan Reaves is at 1.17. That is also terrible, but c’mon Sid. Even Bobby Farnham had a 1.24 points per 60 the year he split between Pittsburgh and New Jersey. Penguins legend Nick Spaling was at 1.33. Sure, this will improve for Sid, but by how much? The way the team is constructed this year they need him to be among the league leaders. For as great as Phil and Geno have been playing neither of them are at 2.0 points per 60 either. The team is relying on power plays to score. This will not work considering what the Penguins goal is for this season.

On a lighter note here is some hockey humor courtesy of SNL



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