Just when you think it can't get any worse ...
The Penguins rushed out to a 3-0 lead in the 2nd period on the road last night against a Nashville Predators team that struggles to score goals.
Things were looking good for the local hockey club to capture its second win in a row for the first time in a long time, and begin to re-establish their momentum in the 2nd half of the season.
Then, the Penguins crashed back to reality.
The Predators scored the final 5 goals, sending the reeling Penguins to another defeat.
If that isn't a way to get a coach fired, I don't know what is.
Last night's loss, I believe could be a defining moment in the Penguins season. So much was on the line for the team to begin to get its confidence back. I would rather them have lost 4-1 than roll out to that lead and completely blow it. They've blown leads before this year, but under these circumstances, this one was the worst.
Nashville came into the game 29th overall in goals scored. They haven't scored more than 3 in a game since November. They haven't won a game after being down 3 goals all season, and had lost 5 in a row coming in.
Perhaps the most disturbing part of the loss were the comments of some of the players about the play of the team in the 3rd period. Defenseman Rob Scuderi spoke positively of how the team "regrouped and had a great 3rd period". Captain Sidney Crosby said that they "looked like a pretty good hockey team in the third".
That's all crap. The fact that the Penguins carried play in the final frame, outshooting Nashville, 15-5, means nothing when they were outscored 2-0 in that period (albeit one was an empty net goal). The Penguins aren't in a position to just settle for moral victories. They need to win games. And the fact of the matter is that they didn't play well for a lot of the game last night. 2 of their goals -- by Jordan Staal and Max Talbot (Talbot's first goal in TWENTY FIVE games) -- were on fortunate bounces and the other one, by Petr Sykora, came on a Nashville turnover.
The Penguins were outshot 30-10 in the first two periods.
They also went 0-for-3 on the power play, and gave up a key shorthanded goal in the second period, by Predators forward David Legwand off a 2-on-1, that got Nashville back in the game.
The Penguins need to get their act together quickly, because major change could be on the horizon. Even though Penguins' GM Ray Shero hasn't made a trade yet, and says he has confidence in this group, their chance of getting to the playoffs diminishes with each loss.
I also heard an interview yesterday from one of the most respected hockey reporters I know, TSN Canada's Bob McKenzie, who said that Penguins coach Michel Therrein has lost the dressing room and that the players have "had it" with him. There also have been reports about Therrein having disagreements with Crosby. Both of those things, if true, don't bode well for his immediate future here. I continue to believe that Therrein isn't the biggest problem, but if his relationships with the players are what they are reported to be, Shero will have to make a change -- especially with the way the team is playing.
Nobody forsaw a slump like this for the Penguins this season. All teams go through bad stretches, but it's the way the Penguins are going through it -- snipping, not working hard enough, etc. -- that is most startling.
The Penguins next game is Saturday afternoon on the road against Colorado.
If the presence of their dads in Nashville on the Penguins' 3rd annual dad's trip wasn't enough to inspire them last night, don't expect it to be much different on Saturday.
Recap then ........ or more sooner if there's news.
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