Pittsburgh is currently in third place in the Metropolitan Division. They are 3-2-1 in the six games they have played. Considering the roster depth this is not all that bad. They are staying afloat and buying their general manager some time to figure out some stuff.
That said, the underlying numbers are a little troubling even if we are dealing with *siren* a small sample size of six games. Here is a quick look at some simple shot generation and shot prevention information from the past three seasons
Not only are the Penguins bleeding shots at 5v5, but they aren’t stopping them either. Their even-strength save percentage is currently 88.34%. Again, this is a sample of six games and there is volatility with the numbers. The point isn’t to draw hard conclusions right now. That would be irresponsible. Early on in the season you should be looking for trends and keeping a close eye on them to see if they go away or if they become a problem. By doing this early you put yourself in a position to fix any potential issue sooner rather than later. I’m not so concerned about the 30th ranked goaltending because Matt Murray is really good and Antti Niemi has had his struggles in the early goings. I am looking at the CA/60 numbers closely and will continue to do so. I certainly don’t think it is going to stay in the 67.91 range (Arizona was a league worst 62.69 last year). However, given the current personnel I don’t think this is going to solve itself anytime soon. This will put a lot of pressure on Matt Murray, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Phil Kessel. The Florida win was nice for the standings though I do have concerns about that blueprint giving them sustained success.
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Daniel Sprong is off to a great start in the AHL. I feel like I’ve been waiting forever to get a look at Sprong at the professional level and he has not disappointed. In four games he has four goals and six points. Three of those goals have come on the power play, a role that he isn’t destined for with the big club (at least not yet). Although, three even-strength points in four games is nothing to sneeze at either. I don’t expect Daniel Sprong to be called up in the near future, but if these points keep racking up it’s going to be hard to keep him in the AHL much like how things went for Jake Guentzel last year. At some point the team is going to have to ask themselves if Ryan Reave’s 6:16 per night is worth more than a player like Sprong.
Thanks for reading!
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