The Pittsburgh Penguins have been one of the most confusing teams in the NHL this year. Just when it looked like they would miss the playoffs for the first time in 16 seasons, they went on a bit of a run toward the end of February and into March and gave fans a glimmer of hope. However, their most recent losing streak has once again threatened their postseason appearance. With 12 games left in the regular season, the Penguins have left themselves with no margin for error if they want to claim a playoff berth. They are still struggling with some of the same issues they have been dealing with all year. Here are three key problems that may very well end their 16-year playoff run.
Jeff Carter
At this point, everyone is well aware of the Jeff Carter issue. He is no longer contributing on offense or defense, and it is hard not to wonder why head coach Mike Sullivan has not removed him from the lineup. It is no secret that the media has not gone easy on him this year, and Sullivan has made it clear that he still has faith in his player. He recently pointed out that Carter is sixth in the NHL in faceoff percentage. With a 59.1 success rate, there is no denying that this area of his game is very valuable. However, he can’t be just a faceoff guy.
On Tuesday, March 14 in the Penguins’ 6-4 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, Carter had one of the worst games in his career recording a minus-4 in less than nine minutes of ice time. He has not scored a point since March 11 and has a total of 24 points on the season in 66 games played. He was recently moved down to the fourth line in order to shelter his minutes, but it has not helped his game in the least. Sullivan has kept him in the lineup for too long, and it has hurt the team. Perhaps it is time to shift some of the focus off of Carter and onto his coach’s questionable decisions.
Penguins’ Defense
The Penguins have been struggling on defense through the month of March, and their struggles seem to be getting worse. Marcus Pettersson and Jan Rutta are both out with lower body injuries and are listed as week-to-week. Jeff Petry is sidelined with an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day. The team had already called up Mark Friedman from Wilkes-Barre and most recently Taylor Fedun on an emergency basis.
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