Not a great weekend for the Penguins. On Friday they faced a hot Winnipeg Jets team while also laying an egg in their 4-1 loss. Saturday’s game was always going to be a problem as they were up against one of the best teams in the league in the Carolina Hurricanes. They kept things close, but a 2-1 loss in regulation is still a regulation loss. The Moneypuck playoff odds are at 42.1% after these games.
There are some legit built-in reasons for some of the struggles. They are without three defensive regulars, all of whom are significant in Kris Letang, Marcus Pettersson, and Jeff Petry. Adding to the woes is Tristan Jarry’s injury. However, it is also true that the Penguins players who are healthy are not hitting an extra gear to help with the injury issue. The issue there is there probably isn’t an extra gear due to the ages of the core players. This is a predictable issue and one that was not addressed in the offseason. This team is not going to just “figure it out… as is. There are structural short comings and without them being addressed they are just going to plot along losing some games and winning some games. It might be enough for the playoffs, it might not be.
Is help on the way? LIkely not
From talking to people around the league, â¦@penguinsâ© plan sounds as though it is to get past this rough stretch and hope a top-heavy roster can rally for a 17th consecutive playoff berth.
— Rob Rossi (@Real_RobRossi) January 14, 2023
Hope isn’t a plan. My â¦@TheAthleticNHLâ© column â¬‡ï¸ https://t.co/Gfp1BDQpeo
I made some calls this week, and none from a group of usually reliable sources reported any rumblings about possible Penguins’ moves. From talking to people around the league, the Penguins’ plan sounds as though it is to get past this rough stretch — their record is 3-5-2 since a seven-game winning streak — and hope a top-heavy roster can rally for a 17th consecutive playoff berth.
Can’t say this doesn’t sound like par for the course for Hextall. We have a large enough sample of him as a GM in both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to be confident this is the type of manager he is. Fans from eastern Pennsylvania certainly warned about a passive approach. It was in the discourse from the day of the hiring.
Something to keep in mind is Hextall was not a Fenway Sports Group hire. They might be getting their ducks in a row to replace him. It would make sense when you spend hundreds of millions of dollars to want your people running the show. They might not want Hextall making any big moves due to this.
Speaking of Ducks the Penguins will get a reprieve, or at least what a reprieve looks like in the NHL, when they host the Anaheim Ducks on Monday. Then they have a home and home against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday and Friday. The goal has to be getting 5 out of six there. They can’t keep bleeding standings points.
Thanks for reading!