Penguins Update: Marooned in the Middle?

Now that the Penguins’ hot streak has passed (1-2-2 in our last five games) and the dust is once again settling on our season, the immediate future isn’t too rosy.

Masked in part by a surprisingly productive power play (31 goals, 25.62 conversion rate), we’re among the worst teams in the league in goals for percentage 5v5 (43.09). Despite our hockey .500 record, we have the third-worst goal differential (-27). Only bottom-feeders Chicago and San Jose are worse.

In an effort to staunch the early season bleeding and better insulate our goalies and threadbare defense, coach Mike Sullivan has tightened things up in the neutral zone. While his adjustments have had the desired effect on the back end, we’ve slipped below break-even in possession and play-driving stats like Corsi (49.44) and xGF% (49.81).

A classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.

It reinforces our lower-middle-class standing and underscores the fact that there simply isn’t enough high-end talent to go around. In particular, there’s a glaring hole on Evgeni Malkin’s right flank that has yet to be filled despite a virtual revolving door of wannabes such as former sixth-overall pick Cody Glass.

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