The Washington Capitals soundly defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 3-0. The Penguins lack of forward depth was too much to overcome last night.
Losing Patric Hornqvist early on in the game to a friendly fire foot injury wasn't exactly ideal.
Sidney Crosby has hit a dry spell in the goal department. I have written about this before. Trust the process. He is still driving possession and if somebody with his talent level has the puck more often than not positive things will happen. Rick Nash's process was good in the playoffs last year but because the playoffs are a small sample size in the grand scheme of things he was heavily criticized for not scoring. Fast forward to this year and everything is going in for him. His true value is in the middle somewhere.
Fact is that Sid is one of the few forwards the Penguins have right now that is capable of driving play.
When Crosby starts scoring again somebody out there will make up something about intangibles and what changed for him when in reality it will more than likely coincide with the Penguins getting more healthy and having better players around him.
In their last three games the Penguins have a Score-Adjusted Fenwick of 43.6%. You aren't going to win too many games like that unless the goaltending is on a hot streak.
They miss Martin and Ehrhoff and Dupuis and Comeau and Downie and Bennett and Maatta...
Speaking of Olli Maatta the Penguins announced that he would not need another shoulder surgery and that he would be ready to go in about 4 weeks time. On the surface it is good news but I am hoping that the Penguins have the big picture in mind when dealing with this injury. Maatta is very young and will play for many years. The way the Penguins have handled the medical side of things over the years has not been optimal.
Maatta skated today with some other injured Penguins
Injured players Maatta, Martin, Ehrhoff, Adams, Sill and Greiss just finished an on-ice session with strength coach Mike Kadar.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) December 28, 2014
One of the bigger problems the Penguins have right now is their power play. At the beginning of the season people were talking about setting the all-time record for best power play in a season. They have fallen off a cliff and are now only the sixth best power play in the league at 23.1%.
In the month of December the Penguins power play has gone 3/41 for a success rate of 7.3%. This is unacceptable given the talent. The focal point of this whole operation should be Geno firing pucks on net at a breakneck pace, but it never is. The Penguins power play is at its best when it is finding Geno for open looks. Simple is better.
The Penguins are still the top dog in the Eastern Conference. This isn't going to be their playoff roster. Crosby didn't forget how to score goals. Overreact to things at your own risk.
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