Penguins ‘Not Good Enough’; Analysis & Report Card vs. Sabres

It was an inauspicious start to the Pittsburgh Penguins 2019-20 season. And if you don’t know what inauspicious means, skip the Google search. The Penguins were lifeless, slow, and not good enough as they lost to the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 at PPG Paints Arena, Thursday. In the first 13 minutes, they were outshot 14-3. And at times, it didn’t seem that close. Except for Evgeni Malkin, who played the game as if he had something to prove, the Penguins were mostly silent in the offensive zone against Buffalo. After two periods, Buffalo outshot the Penguins 30-18 and led 3-1 on a trio of undefended shots.

Those odd-man rushes and breaks which bedeviled the Penguins last season were again upfront in the display case. For a team that was dumped on its head to end last season, it was a shocking (lack of) effort.

But man, Evgeni Malkin was good for about 30 minutes. Otherwise, the Penguins team looked like they did last April; disorganized, slow, and meek. Both Malkin and head coach Mike Sullivan uttered the phrase, “We weren’t good enough.”

However, in one instance, it had a far more ominous tone.