With playoffs looming, have Penguins met expectations so far?
Ultimately, the success of the 2018-19 Pittsburgh Penguins will be determined by how they fare in the Stanley Cup playoffs. That’s life for a team with championship aspirations.
But as the Penguins prepare for a first-round series with the New York Islanders that starts Wednesday, one interesting question regarding the regular season still lingers: Did the Penguins have a good year?
The nuts and bolts of it: The Penguins went 44-26-12 and finished with 100 points, the same as last year. They had the third-best record in the Metropolitan Division, but they were tied for the seventh-best record in the league.
“(One-hundred points is) a nice number,” captain Sidney Crosby said. “I think as a group, though, we had to play through some adversity at different points of the year. … Everybody contributed, and I think that feels good. Knowing that we got through that will hopefully help us in the playoffs.”
A few weaknesses were glaring.
• Through a toxic combination of overconfidence and lackadaisical defending, the Penguins gave up a league-high 15 short-handed goals.
• For similar reasons, the Penguins went 5-9 in overtime. Only two teams, Chicago and Colorado, suffered more overtime losses.
• In a span of 13 games from Feb. 23 to March 19, the Penguins blew a one-goal lead in the final five minutes and lost in overtime or a shootout four times.
• Although loser points obscure the truth of the matter, the Penguins lost 20 of the 41 games they played against nonplayoff teams (21-11-9).
• Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel and Patric Hornqvist went through long, midseason slumps.
A few strengths emerged as the season went on, as well.
• The majority of the Penguins’ woes were confined to a stretch of nine losses in 10 games in November. From Nov. 21 on, they went 37-18-8. Only Tampa Bay had a better record in that span.
• The Penguins tightened up dramatically on defense after the trade deadline. They allowed 3.14 goals per game before and 2.30 after.
• After returning from a lower-body injury Dec. 15, Matt Murray was one of the best goalies in the game. He went 25-9-5, and his .930 save percentage was fifth-best among those with 20-plus games played.
• Looking at his all-around game, Crosby never has been better. When he was on the ice five on five, the Penguins outscored their opponents 82-43.
• A February trade with Florida was a godsend for the Penguins. In 50 games before the deal, Derick Brassard and Riley Sheahan combined for 16 goals. In 32 games after, Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann combined for 20.
The best way to weigh all the pluses and minuses is probably to turn to Las Vegas for answers.
At the start of the season, the over/under for the Penguins was 103.5 points. They finished just under. On balance, that’s probably a fair characterization of their season. They fell short of expectations by a slight margin.
“We have a second chance right now,” Malkin said. “Not a great year for me, for sure, but you can’t change everything. The team gives me a second chance. First line plays unbelievable. Sid had a great year. Now I need to help the team, for sure. I know I can do it better. My line, myself, I’m not happy for sure with my year. I had injuries. I’m minus-25. Now, everything’s zero. If we win the Cup, everyone will forget this regular season.”
Jonathan Bombulie is the TribLive assistant sports editor. A Greensburg native, he was a hockey reporter for two decades, covering the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 17 seasons before joining the Trib in 2015 and covering the Penguins for four seasons, including Stanley Cup championships in 2016-17. He can be reached at jbombulie@triblive.com.
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