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Krepps: What went wrong with this year’s Penguins?

The Pittsburgh Penguins were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs in the first round for the third straight season. The Penguins have a 3-11 record in their last three playoff series. Sidney Crosby will be 34 by the start of next season. Likewise, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Jeff Carter are all on the wrong side of 30.

The Penguins looked like they had everything entering this years’ playoffs. All four lines were contributing, the defense was the strongest it had been in years, the team was finally getting healthy, and most importantly the team had a desire to win.

For the most part, this same team showed up in the playoffs. But there was one major difference and it was the little mistakes that cost the team. The Islanders did not beat the Penguins in this series, the Penguins beat themselves.

Isles’ style of play

I truly believe the Islanders were the worst team the Penguins could have drawn in the first round. Their defensive style of play and excellent goaltending allow them to steal games. If you want to win against the Islanders you have to score a metric ton against them, which is hard to do with their defense and goaltending. The worst thing you can have is a one-goal game against the Islanders because they will almost always find a way to win it.

The Isles defensive pairing of Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock shut down the Penguins’ top scorers. Jake Guentzel had zero goals in the series. Iyla Sorokin went 4-0 against the Penguins with a .934 save percentage facing a whopping total of 198 shots. It was not like the Penguins were not trying to score.

With these games so close, the Isles took full advantage with shifty under-the-radar players such as Brock Nelson, Anthony Beauvillier and Josh Bailey who found ways to score big goals. The Penguins have not won an overtime playoff game since Chris Kunitz in 2017. 

The case of Tristan Jarry

On the other side of the ice, the story was completely different. I do not think I am alone here in saying that Tristan Jarry was a massive burden to this team in the playoffs. His glove hand was arguably worse than both Matt Murray and Marc-Andre Fleury combined and his decision in double OT in game five was embarrassing.

He finished the playoffs with a .888 save percentage and a 318 GAA. He allowed 21 goals against in six games and nearly all of them were on his glove side. His efforts in double overtime of game five recap his playoff performance perfectly.

Jarry started and played every minute of the Penguins’ playoff games. Despite some truly awful performances, Mike Sullivan kept his goaltender in the net. Sullivan faced a lot of criticism as always in this year’s playoff with his stubbornness to switch up the lineup. However as reported by Elliotte Friedman, Sullivan will be back next season for the Penguins.

The Penguins have had horrendous goaltending performances in the past with Marc-Andre Fleury in 2012 and 2013 but he was able to bounce back. I’m not sure Jarry has that in him and he may be reduced to a backup or even traded come next season. One thing is for sure, the Penguins have faith in Jarry and know he can bounce back. Jarry knows what he did as well, and it will be to him to prove everyone wrong.

What is Next?

The Penguins have already been linked to free agency goaltenders such as Petr Mrazek and Jaroslav Halak. But the Stanley Cup Playoffs are not even close to being finished and free agency does not start until July 28. The NHL Draft Lottery will be held June 2 with the Draft on July 23 and 24. Of course, the Penguins have little to no draft picks as always and no first-round pick.

The Penguins will not be too busy with re-signing players this offseason as well. Colton Sceviour, Frederick Gaudreau, Evan Rodrigues and Cody Ceci are the only relevant UFA’s, and Zach-Aston Reese and Teddy Blueger as notable RFA’s.

This offseason will only be as busy as Ron Hextall will allow it to be. Will he trade Malkin or Letang? It is unlikely. But this team certainly needs a shakeup as 2016 and 2017 are slowly drifting into ancient history.

My own two cents is to do something big and something bold. Milk every single ounce of greatness you can out of this Crosby and Malkin core as it is starting to wind down. Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Jeff Carter and Kris Letang will all be UFA’s after next season. Do everything you can to build the best possible team you can to compete for one last cup.

Alex Ovechkin is a free agent this summer (just saying).

Can this team win another cup? It is up to the players to decide. But despite these past couple of seasons I still believe they can. Sidney Crosby is a true winner and getting another Cup before he rides off into the sunset will cement his legacy as one of the greatest hockey players of all time. The Penguins had a great team this season, they won the East Division for Pete’s sake but were let down by their goaltending and also up against a frustrating opponent.

For more of my thoughts on the Penguins check out my YouTube Channel where I just wrapped up doing my first season of Penguins Fan Reactions. Thank you to everyone who has supported me through my first year of doing this and I look forwards to doing many more for years to come.

The post Krepps: What went wrong with this year’s Penguins? appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Castle.



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Krepps: What went wrong with this year’s Penguins?

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