Molinari: Penguins are Facing Some Hard Truths (+)

Let’s establish a few things about these Pittsburgh Penguins:

1) They are not Stanley Cup contenders.

Haven’t been for several years and probably won’t be again for quite a few more.

Anyone making a reality-based assessment of their personnel should have been disabused of that notion long ago.

Success in the NHL is cyclical, and the Penguins sustained theirs much longer than most teams.

2) They are not resilient.

No matter how much Mike Sullivan and his players like to characterize the group that way any time it overcomes even a wisp of adversity, resilient teams do not stumble through stretches of 0-6-1, 0-4-2 and 0-4 in a season.