The Pittsburgh Penguins have won five in a row. Through a pair of games that could not have been more different or endlessly interesting, the Penguins swept a weekend back-to-back against Eastern Conference opponents and, in one declarative swoop, announced their arrival.

The Penguins are for real.

Exactly how good they can be compared to the best in the Eastern Conference is still an unknown. It seems the team is still jelling with themselves and the new systems.

And exactly what lies ahead at the NHL trade deadline is another matter, too.

However, the Penguins have the third-best winning percentage in the Metro Division and trail the New York Islanders by one point for second place. The Penguins also have a game in hand on those pesky Islanders.

But why would any writer who values his credibility firmly state the Penguins are for real when looming large in the rearview mirror was an abysmal stretch in which they lost nine of 10 games, blew several leads, including a couple that should have been insurmountable, and no-showed for a few more?

Coach Dan Muse probably answered that as well as anyone.

“If you go back, back to last month, where there was a tougher stretch, there were plenty of those games, too, a good portion of them. We liked the way we played,” said Muse Saturday. “Maybe we didn’t like how we finished them. A lot of them, we didn’t like how we finished them. But there were guys (who) were playing the right way. We were doing the right things, and we just needed to do it for 60 minutes.”

Expectations?

Nah, the Penguins players and coaches would never be as foolish as to set expectations in a bigger picture publicly, but we know they want to make the playoffs. That’s the goal.

And, the playoffs should be the expectation now. They’ve come this far. There can be no other goal or standard.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Overlooking Reality

The Penguins have not lost any talent this season; they’ve gained it.

Veterans, such as Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell, who spent the summer in trade rumor headlines, are safely fitted in the Penguins lineup and are producing at the same high levels that earned them trade bait status in the first place.

There are also plenty of individuals in the dressing room who want to prove their NHL bonafides.

Yegor Chinakhov has joined Parker Wotherspoon, Ryan Shea, and Justin Brazeau as another player who didn’t get a fair shake elsewhere for a bigger role, who now has that chance with the Penguins. Tommy Novak should be in that category, as well.

Defenseman Jack St. Ivany is being given his big chance, too, and looks solid.

The East is jammed tighter than 5 o’clock traffic on a Friday afternoon. Every team is above .500, and the worst of the group is the scrappy Columbus Blue Jackets, who are far from a bad team. A few losses and a team can drop to the bottom, and a few well-timed wins can take a team to the top.

Yet it seems analysts and the public still expect the Penguins to falter badly. That is overlooking the reality of general manager Kyle Dubas not only keeping talent, but finding more.

Side Note 1: The Penguins’ third pair with Shea and St. Ivany is credibly good. They are not simply comparatively good to the mix-and-match pairs that Muse has tried this season, but a legitimately productive, solid, and physical third pairing.

Success Hinges

The best and worst of the Penguins were displayed proudly in the weekend games.

What could the Penguins achieve if they played responsibly and their mistake-prone players didn’t make big mistakes? The Detroit Red Wings found that answer as they managed just 12 shots on goal Saturday.

The Penguins have a new team speed, but also a defensive conscience.

Side note 2: Not nearly enough praise has followed Rickard Rakell and his recent work in the defensive zone. His overall game has been extraordinary.

However, the Penguins will soon be healthy. Evgeni Malkin will rejoin the lineup and be side-by-side with Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson. They are three players who can still light up the scoreboard, but their volume mistakes can quickly change the scoreboard in the wrong direction.

It’s not an exaggeration to posit that the Penguins’ success hinges on Malkin, Letang, and Karlsson keeping their games between the lines of acceptable mistakes.

Catastrophic mistakes are what submarined the Penguins’ entire month of December.

Those three accrue a lot of ice time and carry a lot of responsibility. When they are feeding the opponents, the Penguins are in trouble. But when they are playing well, the Penguins have advantages that few teams have.

Side note 3: Letang has been playing well for a few weeks, but getting the fans who have emotionally invested in the opposite opinion to change isn’t going to happen. Credit Letang detractors, they are steadfast and aren’t swayed by the games.

Bryan Rust

Team USA general manager Bill Guerin and coach Mike Sullivan again blew past Bryan Rust in their selection process for the Olympic team. Both have seen firsthand Rust’s ascension from fourth-line grinder to top-line scorer, but it has mattered little.

Sure, there were snubs to Team USA, such as leading American scorer Jason Robertson, while Guerin added role players such as Vincent Trocheck and Brock Nelson.

Trocheck is a right-handed center and Nelson a left-handed center with a good faceoff percentage, so their value is unquestionable.

But how about a 30-goal player who kills penalties? Blocks shots. And plays in the corners like his career depends on it?

This season, Rust is again on pace to break the 30-goal barrier and post over 70 points, while being one of the primary penalty killers.

On a smaller rink (The ice surface in Milan will be only 196 feet), Rust’s skill set would be quite valuable. Against a Canadian team that has added more grit, including Tom Wilson, Rust would bring important elements for gold.

The sports world is often shaped by pedigree and reputation. Rust was never part of the elite players coming up through the US program. He was never considered in that vein, as he spent four seasons at Notre Dame, while being a Penguins’ third-round pick.

Rust lacks the pedigree and reputation of others. Big things were not expected. But if you strip all of that superfluous perception, Rust belongs.

He’s proven he belongs, but perceptions formed long ago will likely keep him from ever getting there.

Tags: Bryan Rust erik karlsson Kris Letang Penguins Analysis Pittsburgh Penguins

Categorized: PHN Blog