They blow. I could be talking about the Carolina’s team name, but I’m not. It is the Pittsburgh Penguins who also fit that description. While they weren’t horrible last night against the Carolina Hurricanes they still managed to lose by a score of 5-1. It is the eighth game they’ve had against a playoff team this year. They are now 0-7-1 on the season against that type of competition.
Score and venue adjusted they have 400.6 shot attempts for and 441.25 against for a score adjusted CF% total of 47.61%. They’ve been outscored 32-13 in these games. They’ve been outshot 244-277. They have an .870 save percentage and a shooting percentage of 5.3%.
They absolutely deserve the results they’ve gotten when playing the competent teams of the league. Pour one out for the Montreal Canadiens who have found a way to lose to this Penguins team twice this year.
One of the most damning stats of this sample is that Sidney Crosby only has one goal and one assist in these eight games. His points have come against the weaker competition so far. I’m not suggesting he can’t perform at a high level anymore. I think it is more of the fact quality teams can focus their attention on someone like Sidney Crosby better than weaker teams. They know the Penguins don’t have a lot of depth and they can go all-in on shutting Sid down and they have to this point.
On a brighter note Evgeni Malkin has two goals and five assists against last year’s playoff teams. Close to a point per game average. He’s been really solid in his age 38 season. He has excellent cap value at 6.1M and looks energized on Sid's wing. At the very least noticeable. I think playing on the wing helps him pick his spots better.
Tonight the Penguins do not play a playoff team from last year, but they are playing against one of the better teams in the league to this point in 2024-25 and it is a very familiar foe, the Washington Capitals. Washington has the four best xGF% in the league at 55.82 and they carry a 9-3 record.
Alex Ovechkin is chasing Wayne Gretzky’s goal scoring record and has picked it up as of late. He has eight goals on the season and six of them have come in the last five games. Sidney Crosby is chasing 600 goals and is sitting on 598. Nice to see both players still heading towards impressive milestones this deep into their careers.
Will the march towards the lottery continue tonight? Hopefully.
Thanks for reading!
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