![]() Where “Trader Jim” moved the parts around Crosby, Malkin and Letang frequently in search of a mix that worked, Hextall has been far more deliberate in his approach. The players the Penguins have that are considered the most attractive to other clubs are the same players they can’t succeed without, and general manager Ron Hextall has a very different mandate than his predecessor, Jim Rutherford. There are no young legs ready to come up from their American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust and Conor Sheary did in 2015-16, an arrival that coincided with a dash to the franchise’s third Stanley Cup.Īnd there may be little in the way of reinforcements coming at the trade deadline. While it’s not the first time during the Penguins’ streak of 16 straight playoff appearances that they have looked iffy as March looms, it may be the first time their options to rectify things have been so limited. Not ideal for a group that save for a brilliant 14-2-2 run from Nov. Pittsburgh will play its final 26 games in the span of 50 days. The NHL’s oldest roster finds itself facing a daunting sprint down the stretch. “I mean, it’s not ideal when you lose games and you have leads but the only way out of it is to find a way to win one and try to get some momentum from that,” Crosby said. A team long known for its ability to finish has become vulnerable to late lapses that have cost them precious points in the standings. The setback marked the sixth time in 14 games the Penguins lost after leading through two periods. The latest proof came in a frustrating 4-2 loss to the New York Islanders on Monday night, a game in which the Penguins dominated play for the first 45-plus minutes only to crumble down the stretch on their way to a ninth straight loss to a Metropolitan Division rival. The Penguins enter play on Thursday against Connor McDavid and Edmonton on the outside of the top eight in the Eastern Conference looking in.Īnd while there is plenty of time for Pittsburgh to right itself, the reality is the Penguins have rarely looked as beatable during the Crosby/Malkin/Letang era as they have over the past five middling and maddening months. ![]() Yet nearly three-quarters of the way through their 17th season together, the group known simply as “The Big Three” finds itself in practically uncharted territory: scrambling to stay in the midst of a playoff chase. ![]() They are the fulcrum around which the organization revolves, their presence in the NHL playoffs practically a given for 16 years and counting. ![]()
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