Glass Half Empty

The Penguins hit the Olympic break losing two straight games they should have won at home, and losing 4 of 6 games in February although three of them came in OT or a shootout. The Penguins have been very inconsistent, and have lost the opportunity to overtake the Devils during their recent slump which will not last forever. The Penguins are 22nd in the NHL in Goals against Average at 2.87 goals per game and 178 total goals given up. The Penguins have only scored 10 more goals total than they have given up this year. Tampa Bay, Ottawa, Florida, Montreal, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Boston and even Washington have a better GAA out of our Eastern Conference rivals. What is alarming about this is the fact that currently almost every team in the Eastern Conference playoff race has a better GAA, and that includes the Capitals. Penguins apologists point to the Washington defense and goaltending as their weaklink and like to believe that despite the Capitals dynamic offense, their defensive issues will make it probable for the Pens to knock them off............Well, as bad as we think they are in that department, they are better than us. Marc Andre Fleury is 26th in the league in save percentage at .908, and 37th in goals against with a 2.65 GAA. He is 47th in shutouts, as he has not recorded a single shutout in 50 games played. In addition Fleury has let in soft goals that have helped the Pens leave valuable points on the table in each loss in February. Evgeni Malkin has let the Penguins down big time as well. The Pens were built for Malkin and Crosby to be dominant, as the money spent down the middle on Malkin, Crosby, Staal, and Fleury leaves little money for great wingers. The plan worked in each of the past two years as Malkin and Crosby were both dominant offensively, as planned. This year, Malkin has only 21 goals with only 20 games remaining, and is 13th in the league in scoring. He is pacing to score under 30 goals and have his worst season in that department in his career. He is also playing at a -2 and taking many undisicplined penalties. With only 20 games left the Penguins have not found consistency in their game, rarely playing 60 minutes, playing poorly in their defensive zone, and have blown a great opportunity in the past week to overtake the Devils and bury the Flyers and Rangers in the divisional race. In fact, as the Flyers heat up their game they can make a run at the Penguins and Devils in the Atlantic, and red hot Ottawa has tied the Pens for 4th in the conference, and look like a team peaking at the right time. Buffalo is only one point behind, and with the goaltending of Ryan Miller will be battling with the Pens for a top four seed down to the wire. With two deep playoff runs in a row, the Pens look like a team that is a bit tired, and their defensive woes and poor power play could keep them from a deep playoff run this year.