• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins Flaws Exposed in First Loss

By Michael Pityk October 9th, 2015

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

The Pittsburgh Penguins are known to be a team that has played some of their best hockey early in the season. However, if their season opener was any indicator, the early part of the year could be a tough stretch for any fans of the team. Last night the Penguins were shutout 3-0 by Antti Niemi of the Dallas Stars. But what might be surprising to most is that the lack of goals should not concern anyone.

Pittsburgh is a vastly different team than the one that ended the 2014-15 season. Gone are players Brandon Sutter, Steve Downie, Blake Comeau, Paul Martin, Nick Spaling, and the list continues, and they have been replaced by players like Nick Bonino, Phil Kessel, Sergei Plotnikov, Matt Cullen, Eric Fehr and more. Given the vast amount of roster turnover the Penguins experienced, it’s not a shock that many of their offensive players looked out of sync.

The Penguins are going to have one of the best, if not the best, offenses in the entire league this season, barring injuries. They have the “three-headed monster” of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kessel and an elite puck-moving defender in Kris Letang. The goals will come, they just need time to gel and work on improving their chemistry. Offense is not the Penguins’ biggest problem despite losing three to nothing. Obviously, the lack of scoring early in the season will be perceived as a flaw, but let’s revisit this topic in a few months and see if there are any concerns.

The Penguins’ Achilles Heel

A few weeks ago I discussed how the fate of the Penguins 2015-16 season hangs on the blue line. Well through the preseason  and one regular season game, it appears that this will be the case. Through the final four preseason Penguins games the team surrendered 24 goals, or 6 goals per-game.  Last night the Penguins allowed three goals and I’d argue that maybe one of them was the fault of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

The worst pairing on the ice last night was the duo of Brian Dumoulin and Rob Scuderi. Dumoulin was on the ice for two of the goals scored against and Scuderi was on the ice for all three. To make matters worse, this is only the beginning of the season and there’s a chance Dumoulin will improve, but Scuderi at age 36 will not.

After the game a Pittsburgh writer Dejan Kovacevic finally came out and admitted that Scuderi simply cannot play at an NHL level anymore. He was visibly dragging Dumoulin down and while he was not great in his own merit, Scuderi only made him look worse.

Take a look at what DK had to say about Scuderi.

Rob Scuderi might no longer be capable of playing at an NHL level.

It feels like it’s no longer possible to discuss the Penguins without stating that as a preface, so there it is, right up there in plain terms. It’s not exactly a riveting observation. It certainly isn’t a revelation. But consider the deed done.

OK, can we proceed now?

Scuderi was on the ice for all three goals. He was not at all good. He might be done. And if the Penguins were smart, they’d be weighing alternatives immediately.

Those are some pretty powerful works from someone who has yet to criticize Scuderi. DK has defended Scuderi’s roster spot before and it’s finally time that the Penguins management takes notice. Need another example of just how bad he was last night?

"Scuderi is good defensively" https://t.co/SULolrMFKr

— Dad Chad (@madchad412) October 9, 2015

They were not the only two on the Penguins blue line to have poor outings as both Ben Lovejoy and even Olli Maatta struggled.

The only two defenders on the Penguins to have a positive Corsi relative rating were Kris Letang, who logged over 28 minutes of ice time, and Ian Cole. But neither of these players were outstanding either, Letang lost pucks, committed some giveaways and lost coverage a time or two and Cole lost his coverage three times and took a sloppy penalty.

Barring a miraculous turnaround, the Penguins are going to have a very bad blue line this season. Everyone wants to get caught up in the hype of having Kessel on the team, but his salary has been part of the reason why Pittsburgh has barely spent any of their cap on defenders. It’s clear that this strategy will not hold up throughout the season, especially if they want a chance to truly compete for the Stanley Cup.

Could David Perron be traded for defensive help like I previously suggested? If the Penguins continue to play this way, it’s not unfathomable that Perron ends the season playing for another team in an attempt to bring a legitimate top-four defender to Pittsburgh.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave your comments below or tweet me anytime @MPityk

  • Tags
  • Ben Lovejoy
  • Brian Dumoulin
  • Rob Scuderi
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 19th 1:20 PM
Boston Bruins

Bruins Rookie Spotlight: Jakub Zboril

Jan 19th 1:10 PM
Colorado Avalanche

Avalanche Defense Boosted by Returns of Johnson & Byram

Jan 19th 1:00 PM
Colorado Avalanche

NHL Rumors: Senators, Canucks, Avalanche, Oilers, More

Jan 19th 11:24 AM
Archives

They Wore It Once: Bruins Players and Their Unique Numbers

Jan 19th 11:14 AM
Archives

Top-5 Players From France in NHL History

Jan 19th 10:55 AM
Women's Hockey

Metropolitan Riveters 2021 Season Preview

Jan 19th 10:45 AM
Column

Maple Leafs News & Rumors: Andersen, Marner, Spezza & Robertson

Jan 19th 10:35 AM
Philadelphia Flyers

Couturier’s Injury Results in Opportunity for Flyers’ Young Talent

Jan 19th 10:25 AM
Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens Fans & Media Need to Give Drouin His Due

Jan 19th 10:15 AM
All-Star Weekend

1991 NHL All-Star Game & the Gulf War: The Modern NHL in a Time of War

Editor’s Picks
World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information