The Pittsburgh Penguins dropped a second consecutive game to the Colorado Avalanche. This time was a 6-4 loss at home. There’s no shame in losing to Colorado. It isn’t like the games weren’t competitive against Colorado and the Penguins were completely blown out. It was a nice opportunity to to see where you are as a team in the final stretch against a top end team. The Penguins were unable to get a point at the end of the day. This is in line with the recent trend where the Penguins have now lost five out of their last seven games. Pittsburgh has a 46.1 xGF% during this stretch.

The Penguins do not have to wait to get their next test. They will be visiting their likely first round opponent on Thursday when they head to MSG. It remains unlikely the Penguins drop to the Capitals in the standings and lose their third-place position in the standings. It is looking likelier that the Penguins will be beginning the playoffs on the road if they are unable to take two points against the Rangers next game. As things currently stand the Penguins are four points behind the Rangers.

Danton Heinen looks like he might be the odd man out if the Penguins ever have their full roster available. His ice time the last few games has not been favorable. Last night he played the least amount of time among any player, including Anthony Angello. Heinen has been a good depth signing. Low risk and medium reward to this point. He is capable with the puck and has potential to be the third wheel on a line who chips in. It hasn’t been the case lately and he is going to have to work his way back.

Another player who isn’t trending in the right direction is Jeff Carter. This one is very problematic because he is either going to center the third line or play in the top six on the wing. At this point I am skeptical the team is willing to demote him further. His results merit it. I would start giving him nights off more so for resting purposes than being punitive over his quality of play. He is older and it is showing. His play driving this year has been pretty bad on a team where most players are doing a nice job. Out of Penguins players with 500 minutes played this year he has the worst xGF% of 46.08. The only other player under 50 is Brock McGinn at 48.53. There’s a path for a player being a 46.08 xGF% player and still be useful. You make up for it with tangible offense. This is something which actually happened when Carter first came over to the team. His goal scoring rate from last spring was not sustainable and it was never reasonable for it to be. For context he was shooting 24.3% and is now at 9% which is lower than his 11% career average. His 1.47 points per 60 at 5v5 isn’t good enough to overcome the poor play driving. I’m hoping we are in a situation where the player is saving himself for the playoffs due to his age. I personally would have a short leash on Carter because a lot of the evidence is damning at the moment.

There is some good news. Jason Zucker was practicing in full equipment with the Penguins skills coach and it looks like he should be able to return before the regular season is over. The way he fell in Minnesota could have led to an even longer absence, one the Penguins can’t afford at the moment. Brock McGinn was practicing with Zucker in full gear as well.

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