With the first two weeks of the 2024-25 regular season in the books, the Pittsburgh Penguins are sitting at a 3-4-0 record in their first seven games. While they are hovering around the .500 mark so far, there have been plenty of positives to look at. This includes milestones being hit by a few veterans. But there are plenty of negatives too, including the troubles regarding goaltender Tristan Jarry and his play to begin the season. Let’s look at some ups and downs so far for the Penguins.
Plus 1/Minus 1: Rutger McGroarty
The first thing to look at is a two-sided coin regarding Rutger McGroarty. Yes, the Penguins’ big offseason acquisition did not make it very far into the season before being sent down to the American Hockey League (AHL), but at the same time, it is a positive. When McGroarty was with the Penguins, he could not get himself into a position to help produce, dressing in three of the four games he was in the NHL. He only saw, on average, 11:37 of ice time per game and failed to record a point.
The positive side to him being sent down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is that he should earn more ice time and the opportunity to get himself better established as a professional player. He has played two games for the “Baby Pens” and has yet to record a point. Time will only tell how things will work out for the 20-year-old, but he also has time to develop his game and prove himself more capable of becoming a vital piece for the NHL club.
Plus 1: Milestones for Veteran Players
Heading into the season, there were a handful of individual milestones for Penguins fans to keep an eye on, and it did not take long for Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby to each reach theirs, earning their 500th career goal and 1,600th career points, respectively in the same game against the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 16. Malkin reaching the 500-goal mark puts him in rarified air among active players, becoming the fourth active player to reach the milestone (he joins Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, and Steven Stamkos). For Crosby, he became the only active player to achieve the 1,600-career point mark and is the fifth fastest in league history.
Related: Penguins Milestones to Watch for in the 2024-25 Season
There are plenty of milestones to continue tracking as the season progresses. So, even if things do go south at some point this season, fans still have some things to look forward to.
Minus 1: Key Players Not Producing
Heading into the season, there were high hopes that Bryan Rust and Michael Bunting could help shoulder the load offensively and add more firepower up front. Rust came into the season fully healthy after battling the injury bug last season. After spending time with Crosby on the first forward line the last few seasons, the expectations and hopes were that he could continue to produce and be a big part of the offensive output. So far, he has come up short, only tallying one point through the first seven games.
The same can be said about Bunting. After being acquired in the Jake Guentzel trade last season, many believed that after a solid 21-game stint with the Penguins, an entire offseason of being around his teammates would help take his game to another level. So far, that has not been the case, as he has also only tallied one point. He has also been scratched once during the first seven games. For the Penguins to succeed this season, they will need players like Bunting and Rust to step up and produce more than they have.
Plus 2: Forward Depth Is Stronger Than Last Season
General manager (GM) Kyle Dubas made a point this offseason to try and improve his bottom-six forward group after not getting a lot of production out of it last season. While one of his free agent signings, Blake Lizotte is out with injury, players like Kevin Hayes have stepped up to help lead the bottom six. Between Hayes, Jesse Puljujarvi, and Lars Eller, they have been a much-welcomed production group for the team early on. This helps give the top six forwards a bit of a break if need be. Throw in the fact that Malkin is off to the start that he is; the forward grouping has produced fairly well to this point.
Minus 3: The Tristan Jarry Conundrum
Last season was a struggle for goaltender Tristan Jarry. He struggled to play consistently and battled injuries at times throughout the season. On top of that, he lost his starting spot to Alex Nedeljkovic for the last month or so of the season. Heading into this season, Jarry was looking to bounce back and prove he could live up to the big extension he signed last offseason.
But through seven games, that has been almost the complete opposite. Jarry has struggled mightily in between the pipes for the Penguins, recording a 1-1-0 record in three games played, and only lasted just over 11 minutes against the Sabres on Oct. 16 before being pulled. In those 11 minutes, he gave up three goals on five shots faced. His goals-against average sits at 5.47, and his save percentage is .836. It has been far from a rebound for the netminder and could create a sticky situation for the organization.
One saving grace is that rookie goaltender Joel Blomqvist has looked good when he has been in the net, and Nedeljkovic has returned from injury. However, having a three-goalie tandem could be tough to manage for head coach Mike Sullivan going forward. Dubas is also in a tough spot because of the money tied to Jarry and the likelihood that it will be hard for him to move on from Jarry if he wishes to.
Ups and Downs to Start the Season
The Penguins’ first two weeks of the season have been a bit of a roller coaster ride, with the ups being very high and the downs being very low. There will surely be things to work out as the season progresses. With it only being seven games into the season, there is still plenty of time to do so, but they will need to be figured out if the team wants to return to the playoffs after missing them the last two seasons.
