With February halfway over, the Pittsburgh Penguins are dangerously close to missing the postseason…again. When president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas took over last June, he made a lot of changes that were supposed to set the team up for success. However, the roster is just as bad, if not worse, as last season, and frustration levels seem to be at an all-time high. The Penguins have recently scrambled their lines and defensive pairings in a desperate attempt to get back on track, but will that be enough to fix their many problems?
Penguins’ Struggles Remain the Same
Two of the biggest reasons for Pittsburgh’s absence from the 2023 Playoffs were their special teams and a lack of depth scoring. Those problems are still hanging around. The Penguins’ power play ranks 30th in the NHL and could easily be blamed for multiple losses this season. In their most recent performance against the New York Islanders on Feb. 20, they had three power-play opportunities and failed to convert on any of them. That was the 10th time in the last 14 games that they were unable to score on the man advantage. They only had five shots against the lowest-rated penalty kill in the NHL, continuing the trend of mostly just perimeter passing.
Last season, the team’s top two lines drove the bus all year. They had no semblance of depth scoring whatsoever, and although this season, the bottom six have improved, they are still not contributing as they should be. Pittsburgh has six players with ten or more goals. Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust, who are all members of the top six, are the only players on pace to score 20 goals this year, and they have combined for 56.4% of the Penguins’ total offensive output. Lars Eller and Reilly Smith are also on the list with 10 goals each.
Pittsburgh ranks 25th in the NHL in goals per game at 2.9. There are too many passengers on the roster, and Dubas has to find a way to fix that. Rickard Rakell quickly became a fan favorite when he joined the team in March 2022. Last season, he played in all 82 games and scored 28 goals. This season, he has played in 41 games and scored five goals. He has not had a goal in his last 13 contests. He can’t create offense on his own, so the Penguins have been forced to keep him on the second line with Malkin even though he has not earned it.
Related: What Happens Next for Penguins & Guentzel
The Penguins were also expecting more out of Smith when they acquired him from the Vegas Golden Knights last summer. In 78 games with the Golden Knights in 2022-23, he scored 26 goals and 56 points. This season, he has played in 47 games and has ten goals and 13 assists. He has not been able to produce at a consistent rate.
Penguins Have Major Decisions Looming
The time for patience is gone, and Dubas knows he has to make decisions in the next couple of weeks. He understands that the team needs to get younger, and with the trade deadline looming, moving a player like Guentzel is looking like more of a possibility. At this point, Pittsburgh is likely willing to move any player on their roster in one final attempt to return to the postseason.
