icedog97

"Penguins Hockeybuzz Blog"

Pittsburgh, PA • United States • 48 Years Old • Male

Just Plain Ugly

The third period against the Bruins tonight was exactly that.

For a team that was supposed to have improved defensively since last season, the Penguins seem to have all the same exact problems they had last season when it comes to defending.

Since beating Nashville on October 21 by a score of 4-3, the Penguins have gone 2-5-1 and have given up 27 goals.

The goals against pace over these games would map out to about 270 goals against at the end of the season (if it continued like this the rest of the way).

By way of comparison...here are the goals against for the last 3 seasons:
2009-10: 237
2008-09: 239
2007-08: 216

After 16 games this year...and a rocky second half and playoffs last year...I stand by my point that this club doesn't get to it's game often or consistently enough to be a cup contender.

Whatever structure and defensive responsibilities they are taught, they seem to forget after a few wins...and then we see a series of games where parts of games they look good/great...but on the whole, the end result is just not there.

Eventually, their aggressive style leads to mental and physical mistakes..and the outcome is ugly.

Like tonight.

Something has to change.


III