Penguins yielding consistent results despite inconsistent performance

For the Pittsburgh Penguins of late, the results have been consistent.

The way they have gotten to those results within games, though? Well, not so much.

Since Dec. 14, the Penguins have won 14 of the last 16 times they have hit the ice. But the quality of play within many of those games has been anything but steady.

Take Thursday night’s 6-4 win over the Ottawa Senators at PPG Paints Arena. A fun game to watch. An interesting one. Ten goals. Fights. Disallowed goals. Goalie changes. Dan Potash as Elivs Presley for ’70s night.

And heartburn for Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan.

His team jumped out to a 3-1 lead after the first period of play and was up 5-1 before the second period ended. But by the 8:02 mark of the third, it was a 5-4 hockey game.

“We’ve got to get a collective effort each and every night. And it needs to be consistent,” Sullivan said. “It’s not a once in a while thing. It’s an all the time thing, That’s where we need to get to.”

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The game was very similar to the Penguins’ 8-5 win over the San Jose Sharks on Jan. 2. A game that saw Sullivan’s group jump out to a 6-1 third period lead, only to find themselves in a 6-5 battle with roughly 15 minutes remaining.

“I don’t think our team has been consistent over the past couple of weeks,” Sullivan continued. “We’ve been able to find ways to get results. But the standard here is higher. We have a certain expectation and responsibility to playing the game a certain way.”

The Penguins haven’t even been consistent in the ways that they have been inconsistent.

Sometimes they’ve gotten off to great starts and nearly blown leads, in cases such as the victories over Ottawa and San Jose referenced above. Then there are games such as the 5-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday in which the Pens stormed back from an early 3-0 deficit.

“Not ideal,” said forward Bryan Rust on Thursday night. “There were large portions of that game (against Ottawa) where we didn’t play the way that we should be playing. I think we’ve got to take a look at that and kinda clean that up.”

There are other examples of up-and-down play within this steady stream of positive outcomes. Look at the 5-3 win over the St. Louis Blues on Jan. 6, a game that saw the Penguins down 3-1 after 35 minutes. Or the loss in Los Angeles on Jan. 13. That was an even 2-2 affair after the first 41 minutes. Then the roof caved in during the third period and the Pens ended up losing 6-2.

Defenseman Mike Matheson honed in on the aspect of his team’s game that tends to get them in trouble when they hit these potholes within games.

“I think the biggest thing is managing the puck,” Matheson said of Thursday’s win over the Senators. “Especially in the third period. But kind of all through the game we were a little sloppy. Same in the first half of the game in Vegas. It’s a tough way to play.”

Matheson said the Penguins are getting into a nasty habit of triggering the counterattacks of opponents.

“Teams are really good in the transition now,” Matheson said. “They have a lot of speed. If you are giving them those opportunities, it’s tough to defend well because when you are on the rush and have the puck you aren’t in a position to defend. And it happens quick when it turns over.”

For the season, the Penguins are averaging 2.56 goals against per game. Only three teams are better so far this season — the Carolina Hurricanes (2.25), New York Rangers (2.45) and Calgary Flames (2.51). So at the end of most nights, the roller-coaster aspect of their play hasn’t burned the Penguins to the point that they can’t overcome.

Plus, the schedule appears to be such that, over the next five games, the Penguins may be able to work through some of their problems and still emerge with two points. The next five opponents for the Pens are currently out of the playoff bracket.

But by the time the schedule fattens up at the start of February and the playoff push hits, the Penguins need to be more consistent within games or else their win-loss record won’t be.