Pens by the numbers at the break

Before we play the Rags tonight, thus ending the All-Star break, I wanted to give an accounting of the Penguins by the numbers at the break. After 50 games, the Pens are 31-15-4, good for 66 points, making them 4th in the conference, but just 5 points behind first place Philadelphia. The Pens are 17-9-1 at home, the fourth best in the NHL, and they are 14-6-3 on the road, good for 9th in the league. At 3.02 goals per game the Pens are 7th in the league. They are SECOND in the NHL in goals against at 2.24, behind only Boston at 2.16. The power play has come to the middle of the pack(14th), clicking at 17.9% overall, with 16.8% at home and 19.1% on the road. The Penguins are first in the NHL in penalty killing at 88.5%, and second in short handed goals with 8. The aforementioned Rags lead the league in shorties with 9. The Penguins are third in plus/minus at +28. The Penguins are third in the league in hitting with 1,361 hits as well. The Penguins are 22-5-1 when scoring first, and only 9-10 when they trail first. An alarming trend that is very DIFFERENT from the Pens teams I have loved the past few seasons is their lack of comebacks. The Pens are 0-10-1 when trailing after two periods!! Yikes. All of that being said, I believe that this Penguins team is built better for the playoffs than last year's version. First off, the penalty killing at 88.5% bodes well, given that the PK in last year's playoffs was a miserable 72.1%. The Pens being 2nd in goals against is another great sign, as they say defense wins championships, and the Pens high rankings in the penalty kill and overall goals against is a positive sign. Their current 2.16 goals against is significantly better than the 2.92 goals against they played to in last season's playoffs. They will have their challenges though as is seems that both Philadephia and New York are also strong in all key categories. That said, the Penguins thus far have played exactly two games this season with all three of their star centers on the ice, and one of them (Malkin) has again not played up to standard. Getting all three centers on the ice down the stretch should make the Pens a far more dangerous team regardless of any deadline moves or lack thereof. Buckle up buttercup, we are less than a month from the trade deadline, and only 32 games away from the best tournament in sport, the NHL playoffs! GO PENS!!