Struggling Penguins would be wise to admit it’s over and proceed accordingly

It's time for Kyle Dubas to embrace discomfort and have some difficult conversations surrounding this team

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Perhaps it’s in there somewhere, tucked away in a corner and covered up by a mess of slot shots and odd-man rushes allowed, the failure to keep momentum or defend the net front, plus power play struggles or depth issues.

Maybe. But I’m not buying it.

The Penguins in the past few seasons have gone from a team that routinely manufactures ways to win to one that has now built a similar portfolio for losses, many of them evident during a 6-2 loss to the Blue Jackets on Friday at Nationwide Arena.

It’s no different than other games that could and should have been wins. Too many mistakes. Not enough goaltending. A failure to navigate key moments.

Jason Mackey
Tristan Jarry, Penguins struggle mightily against Blue Jackets in goaltender's return
It’s happened far too frequently, and it’s hard to avoid the thought that it’s time to move on, to play younger players and live with whatever results come, to transition away from the approach employed over these first 19 games and begin charting a new course.

If you’ve watched this team recently, you know.

You’ve seen the goals Tristan Jarry has allowed. You’ve seen poor Marcus Pettersson all alone, trying helplessly to defend a three-on-one. You’ve seen Dmitri Voronkov with all the time in the world on Jarry’s doorstop. You’ve seen Erik Karlsson pinch and nobody cover for him.

When does it stop?

We’ve been blessed beyond belief to watch a ton of winning hockey in this city. Several of the current Penguins obviously contributed to that. But the other side of that sword is this: It’s pretty obvious when a team is playing losing hockey, and that has happened far too frequently with the Penguins.

So much so that it’s tough to see what president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas is clinging to, other than perhaps waiting around to find a deal that maximizes the value of the assets he’s peddling, knowing the NHL club spinning its wheels ultimately doesn’t matter.

But the tough part, on many levels, seems to be coming to grips with it all.

Jason Mackey
Penguins without Kris Letang in Columbus; Tristan Jarry set to return against Blue Jackets
“Definitely frustrating,” Anthony Beauvillier said after this one. “It felt like we were taking control of the game in the second. They get one late. There was a lot of things to like about our game [Friday], but it’s frustrating to come out of here empty-handed.”

In a couple ways, I understand what Beauvillier is saying. They erased a two-goal deficit. It was 3-2 after two. Michael Bunting scored on the power play. The Penguins generated a decent amount of scoring chances.

But that’s exactly the problem: Poaching random moments to feel better about a lousy result only perpetuates the inevitable.

Just two teams in the Eastern Conference have fewer points than the Penguins (15), and they just lost to one of them by four goals. They’ve dropped five of six. Nobody has a worse goal differential (minus-26) or has given up more goals (77).

“It’s disappointing just because the game is so much about momentum and timely goals,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “In the third period, when you’re chasing the game a little bit, we’re not diligent enough at our net front, that breaks the game open.”

What else is Sullivan supposed to say, honestly?

Now, that doesn’t absolve him of blame. The same for the players. They’re the ones doing everything they can to figure this out and turn it around — which hasn’t happened. Sooner or later, it’s not only reasonable but expected for someone above them to take action.

The biggest change on this night was the return of Jarry, who was making his first NHL start in 30 days after producing a 5.47 goals-against average and .836 save percentage through his first three starts at this level.

What Jarry did against the Blue Jackets was eerily similar, including a couple bad goals allowed during a slow start. So much for unplugging him, sending Jarry to the AHL and plugging him back in.

How did Jarry think he played in stopping just 34 of 39 shots on goal?

“Not bad,” he said. “It’s tough. They scored two early. They get an off-side tip. Then they get a goal through a screen. Obviously it’s tough coming back from 2-0 at that point. I thought as the game went on, they put a lot of pucks to the net and I did a better job finding pucks. They just kept pressing.”

Again, plucking some positives, not much new. Rinse and repeat.

If the idea of urgency hasn’t sunk in by now, how is anyone supposed to trust that it ever will?

Which is why Fenway Sports Group and Dubas would be best served to embrace the discomfort in the room while beginning some difficult conversations about how to legitimately to fix this.

What that entails, though, is the toughest part.

The most obvious change involves Sullivan, and it continues to baffle me that FSG has not acted here, as much as ownership might like and respect Sullivan and appreciate his Boston roots. The Penguins are simply not a sound and buttoned-up hockey team, and that has cost good people jobs for a long time in this league.

It’s also tough beyond easier things like moving Pettersson or Rickard Rakell. Dubas must sift through no-movement clauses. There would be some difficult conversations with the Penguins stars, most notably Sidney Crosby, who deserves to call his own shot here.

Again, nobody has all the answers. I know I sure don’t.

There are decisions that will be affected by nuance, other teams’ interest, the desire of proud players and the development of younger ones. But as the same stuff continues — sloppy losses interrupted by the occasional bright spot — it’s become impossible to see how we’re not just delaying the inevitable.

The time to admit reality, as sad as it might be for everyone, is now.

Jason Mackey