A few days off to perhaps get right in their heads, and now it’s back to work for the Pittsburgh Penguins as they look to snap their season-long four-game losing streak against the visiting Arizona Coyotes. I didn’t do the research but I’d have to guess that this is the first time in a long time that Arizona is ahead of Pittsburgh in the League standings this late in the season. Either way, these Coyotes are a little more respectable than they have been since they were called the Phoenix Coyotes, as they sit in fifth place in the Central Division, six points behind the division leaders, and they’re in a playoff spot for the time being as well. It’s more than we can say about the Penguins, which is a tough pill to swallow, and Arizona has built the reputation of late of beating recent champions. Pittsburgh is next on that list!
Arizona will be facing a heavily depleted Penguins squad, now up to six players on the shelf. It’s already bad enough to have a bottom six that’s offensively inept, but that ineptitude is starting to bleed into the top six. In years past Pittsburgh was somehow able to survive and even succeed when they were inundated with injuries, but it’s hard to see that being possible with the performance of the “next men up” thus far. The situation is becoming so dire that they signed Jesse Puljujarvi to a professional tryout offer a few days ago. The former fourth overall pick from 2016 is coming off his second double hip surgery in his relatively young life. Last season with Edmonton and Carolina he was unable to find the productivity needed to maintain a regular presence in their lineups, but if he does somehow make the lineup and can find an offensive touch somewhere in line with the two seasons prior to last (~1 goal and ~2 points per 60 minutes), he will definitely find himself a solid spot in the Penguins lineup.
The Penguins are now four points behind the New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes for fifth in the Metropolitan Division. I guess that’s a good way to look at it, when you consider that two of the teams that were expected to be in the top three are struggling to meet those expectations, but expanding further Pittsburgh makes three out of the anticipated top four playing below expectations to date. Furthermore the Penguins are six points out of a playoff spot, which also happens to be the same amount of points away from the worst teams in the League. There’s no assurances that Pittsburgh will ever return to full health this season, or that even if they do they’ll play at or above expectations. Realistically the Penguins will have to exceed expectations to have much hope for a serious playoff run, and that may not start to happen until they at least get their key players like Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell back in the lineup.
MEEP MEEP MAHFUGGAS