This is a blog. I’m not a journalist. These are just my thoughts.
Are we looking at a playoff team or a draft lottery team?
It's a fair question to ask since we’ve had a taste of both in the first four games of the season.
The first two games of the season were playoff-worthy. A suffocating performance in a 3-0 win over the Rangers, and a decent win at the home opener over the Islanders.
I’m not going to lie to you, my inner yinzer was telling me to dust off my Penguins Playoff yard sign. It wasn’t just that they won, but that the teenagers, Harrison Brunicke and Ben Kindel, both looked great. The veterans seemed to be buying-in to the rookie head coach Dan Muse’s system. Spirits were up around PPG Paints Arena.
Then came Saturday night against the Rangers. For most of the first half of the game, the Penguins looked like the better team. But some of their familiar warts started to emerge, turnovers leading to short-handed goals. Giving up odd-man rushes and subsequently not knowing how to defend those odd-man rushes must have made Mike Sullivan feel right at home in his return to Pittsburgh.
They followed that up with a game against the Anaheim Ducks, where they were severely outplayed most of the day. The Ducks were flying through the neutral zone, gaining access into the Penguins' end with ease, and their Power-Play dominated the Penguins' Penalty-Kill.
So it's fair to say, I don’t know what they are exactly, just yet. I don’t think anyone does. Give it a month before we can have a handle on how this season might shake out.
I have a feeling that might be GM Kyle Dubas’ plan as well. Let this team show him what they really are. If they gel in a way that produces a legitimate playoff team in a weakened Eastern Conference, then he’ll build around that. If they free-fall in the standings, then he can hope for the best in the upcoming NHL Draft lottery.
My gut tells me that they’re a lottery pick, but we’ll see.
Either way, I think we’ll be watching a better brand of hockey. The young guys with rookie head coach Dan Muse have certainly changed the on-ice product for the better. It may not lead to a winning record, but it is just an undeniable breath of fresh air.
Other thoughts:
Ville Koivunen being sent down to Wilkes-Barre shouldn’t be alarming. I guess Dubas wanted to send someone down who would clear waivers, but frankly, I would have sent down a veteran you don’t need, and if they get claimed, great! I don’t think Koivunen will be down long, but he certainly looked like he could use some AHL seasoning.
Ben Kindel looks like the real deal. It has only been 4 games, but so far, he is making it very difficult to send him back to juniors. I would like to see him with better linemates, though.
Harrison Brunicke was held out of the lineup on Tuesday night against the Ducks because the Penguins want to manage his workload. I get that Brunicke has only played in 49 games in a season before, but really? I remember Sidney Crosby, Jordan Staal, Evgeni Malkin, and many others being able to handle a full workload just fine. Maybe this is their subtle way of tanking. I kid, but seriously, why sit your best defensemen?
Goaltending is going to be this team's demise. Tristan Jarry wasn’t horrible, but his save percentage on Tuesday night was not great. This is the reason the Penguins will be a lottery pick, in my opinion. The forwards are much improved, the defense is slightly better than last year, but the goaltending looks to be about the same.
Jarry is starting to remind me of a better version of J.S. Aubin. I don’t mean in terms of career accomplishments, but more like he’s the guy that's just holding onto the net during the last few dark days before the franchise returns to glory.
