5 Thoughts: Didn’t Like Penguins Attitude; Roster Reclamations

The Pittsburgh Penguins had a chance to reach that magical .500 plateau on Tuesday and to get back in a game in which they trailed 3-0, too. However, in both cases, they failed.

The Penguins lost to the Colorado Avalanche 6-2 at PPG Paints Arena. The game was another reminder of several things that need to be explored more deeply but should serve as proof that reinforcements are not on the way.

If winning now were the goal, general manager Kyle Dubas would not have assembled the tertiary pieces in the same way. The team has a couple of default settings that it must overcome on a nightly basis. It’s an uphill climb, but what would one expect with no less than a handful of reclamation projects in the lineup?

Penguins Thoughts

1. Soft is the Default Setting

It’s not a criticism. It’s a plain observation. The Pittsburgh Penguins are not and will not be a hard team to play against. The Penguins have a pair of gritty fourth-line types with Blake Lizotte and Noel Acciari, though Acciari’s usage as a center negates too much of his truculence.

Sidney Crosby is the ultimate hard-nosed player, too. Is there anyone else?

No, the Penguins have to overcome not only their opponent but themselves each night. Their default settings include perimeter play, being in position but not taking the body, and reaching on the walls instead of getting into the scrum.

It’s not any singular player who is at fault. It’s the process of organizational transition and taking on players who arrived affixed with draft picks and good players who are not naturally physical.

They can leap that hurdle, but there will also be games like Friday and Tuesday in which they falter. It will be quite a challenge for coach Mike Sullivan to get enough players to habitually get physically involved.

Of course, you should understand that Sullivan’s new job is helping several players transform into the NHL players they could be. It’s not an easy or a short task.

2. Didn’t Like Comments

I just didn’t like the comments in the Penguins locker room Tuesday. I sense an underlying frustration from several players. Some manifest the angst through self-criticism, while others get angry at the external.

Tristan Jarry’s comments were pretty close to tossing his team under the bus.

“They had some good shots. (The shots) were obviously well-placed,” Jarry said. “I think that’s the hardest part about it. When they’re getting behind us and behind me–I think it’s hard to see what’s behind me when I’m looking out front.”

Jarry allowed a trio of stoppable goals. Two were soft. It deflated the team in the first period, and allowing Valeri Nichuskin to sweep past him was the backbreaker. Jarry said he played it too aggressively, which raised a few eyebrows. He neither poke-checked nor challenged the shooter. And his technique flaw–not getting his pads extended when he goes into the butterfly allowed Nichushkin space at the far post.

I also sense Kris Letang is frustrated. I’ve been talking to him more often because he’s insightful. Still, I feel like I haven’t made enough of an attempt to connect professionally with the Penguins’ core (I generally leave them alone because there’s sometimes a receiving line of people waiting to talk to them, from team employees to media).

I cannot yet tell if he’s angry with the decline or merely stating facts. Two weeks ago, Letang explained to me, “We don’t generate like we used to.”

It’s true. This team made its bones by forechecking the daylights out of opponents and attacking in waves. The current team could work a lot harder on the ice to manufacture offense, but the default now is to accept the perimeter.

3. Owen Pickering

The kid is pretty good. He had a delay-of-game penalty, and his turnover led to Logan O’Connor’s breakaway (the turnover wasn’t really his fault; he received a pass while already under heavy pressure. I faulted Letang for putting him in a bad spot instead of pushing the puck to the low zone).

Those moments are called being a rookie.

The moments to circle were his fearless defense against Nathan MacKinnon, especially in the first period, when Pickering stepped into an oncoming MacKinnon and nullified a dangerous zone entry.

He takes mistakes hard, and he’ll have to get over that, but he’s otherwise learning and growing by the day. I have never seen a player absorb the game so quickly.

4. Cody Glass

Glass has potential. At 26 years old, perhaps he’s reached his ceiling, and “tantalizing” is as far as he’ll get, but there just might be another level.

He’ll be an analytics darling because whatever line he’s on gets chances. He scored his first goal as a Penguins player Tuesday, but it took 17 games. Glass is big (6-foot-3, 201 pounds) but not physical. He moves well enough but is not fast. He’s got playmaking ability but not enough goals to show for it.

Glass might be chief among Sullivan’s projects, but also the most lucrative if they can get the payout. He has second-line potential.

Then again, I firmly believe that Drew O’Connor could be a second-line center, too.

5. Philip Tomasino

Tomasino might be Sullivan’s biggest challenge. There’s no question that Tomasino has hands. He has a unique ability to pull the puck closer to himself, thus changing the angle of the shot and then snap it past goalies. The move is filthy.

Here’s the catch: What else does Tomasino do to help the team win? If he’s not scoring, he’s not much help–right now. The Nashville Predators surrendered, and now it’s the Penguins’ turn to mine a complete game–or some semblance thereof–out of Tomasino.

It’s a worthwhile endeavor. The player has to embrace more wall battles and play in the dirty areas. The game has changed from just five years ago.

Very few teams live exclusively on the rush or can play possession hockey. The game has gone to small areas and open spaces. Hockey is evolving into a positionless game, which means it’s essential to have not only offensive but defensive awareness. Also essential is the ability to win pucks on the wall and in open ice. These are significant areas in which Tomasino must improve.

But that shot is filthy.