The Need to Knows
- Time: 4:00 pm PT / 7:00 pm ET
- Place: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA
- Where to Watch: KHN, KONG, Sportsnet Pittsburgh, ESPN+ (all other markets)
- Where to Listen: Kraken Audio Network on 93.3 KJR
Know Your Enemy
“How the mighty fall.” If you’re like me, you might think this is just a quote from the Fall Out Boy song featuring Big Sean, but it also represents the formerly almighty Pittsburgh Penguins. For so many years, it felt like the Penguins were inevitable. They would always find their way into the playoffs, even if it somehow felt like they couldn’t during mid-season. Then, suddenly, one day (’22-’23) they didn’t. Then they didn’t a second time (’23-’24). For a fanbase that hadn’t seen the Penguins truly miss playoff contention since Sidney Crosby’s rookie year, it was definitely a shock to the system. And when I say fanbase, I mean the general hockey fanbase. You didn’t have to root for the Penguins to be in disbelief of the team’s recent fates. Even Flyers fans, those most bitter of rivals, knew to never count out the Penguins until proven otherwise.
For most of this season, it hasn’t looked much better. There were stretches of time where it seemed liked the Penguins were one of the bottom feeder teams. In fact, it felt like every time the Penguins had a significant lead, they’d blow it. It’s reached the point where not blowing a lead is more reason for Pittsburgh fans to celebrate than just a general win.
In Pittsburgh, the general talk right now is moreso around the Steelers. After losing their last 4 games of the regular season, they showed up against the Baltimore Ravens and never showed any true sense of effort to beat them. They were steamrolled. It left many Steelers fans wondering what the hell was even next. After all, it’s been proven time and time again that the Steelers can get away with mediocre play all because head coach Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season in Pittsburgh. Yet, some Penguins fans can begin to wonder if a similar disease has infected the Penguins in terms of accepting mediocrity.
If we were talking about most any other NHL franchise, the time for selling off the hot commodities for parts and pieces to begin the rebuild would be now — or at least, this trade deadline. The Penguins aren’t just any other franchise, though. They’re a team that has, for 19 years, kept its core three superstars together. It’s a rare act of sentimentalism in an industry built around doing anything it takes to create a winning team, but Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang have earned it. 3 Stanley Cups over a span of 8 years will do that. Plus, it’s not like the Penguins brass have been delusional in keeping too much of the band together. Of the 2017 Stanley Cup roster (the last time Pittsburgh won it), the only other player that’s still on the team to this day is Bryan Rust. It’s just that for three players who have been extremely instrumental in creating the the culture that led to 16 straight Stanley Cup Playoff appearances*, they seem to have earned the right in the eyes of the front office to play their entire careers for the Penguins. It also helps that the three of them continue to play really good hockey in their late 30s. That also warrants keeping the band together.
*Unless you don’t count 2020, because they technically were eliminated in the Qualifying Round, but I also don’t think the NHL itself knew how to be consistent in what qualified as playoff stats during that year.
The Wild Card race in the Eastern Conference is a tight one. It’s still virtually anyone’s game, with seemingly a new team occupying the second Wild Card spot on any given day. The Columbus Blue Jackets currently sit in it with 46 points, and the Penguins have 44 points. Yet, there are three teams still ahead of the Penguins in the standings, and three of the four remaining Eastern teams below them are right on their tails between 43 and 41 points. Oh, and the Boston Bruins, in the top Wild Card spot, have 47 points. Their spot isn’t exactly safe either. This is all to say that for as long as the race remains this close, all the teams involved have extreme motivation to find a way to break away from the rest of the pack. The Penguins may currently be on the outside looking in, and they do need to learn how to string together wins more consistently, but they are still in the thick of the chase. Hope still remains.
Game Preview
That leads us to the current fate of the Seattle Kraken. I like to often bring up where the Kraken are in the playoff chase because, for a while, it didn’t seem too far-fetched that they could bridge the points gap. The gap keeps getting wider and wider, though. Glenn probably put it best in his recent piece by drawing comparisons to the Kraken’s play to the phenomenon of “terminal lucidity.” Every time it’s felt like maybe the Kraken are figuring something out, it turns out to be false hope. I had a moment during this weekend’s games where I thought “I can’t continue to peddle out optimism about this team.” The Kraken aren’t playing to earn a playoff spot anymore. Obviously, official elimination won’t happen until towards the end of the season, but the writing is on the wall for all to see.
The ask for this team moving forward is mostly to not roll over and die. There’s still way too much hockey left to play. Any potential improvements in their play moving forward might feel like they’re too little, too late, but how can this team be ready to turn over a new leaf next fall if they don’t start working on their issues now? The longer bad habits are repeated, the harder they are to unlearn.
In their last 10 games, the Kraken have gone 3-6-1 for a total of 7 points. The Penguins over their last ten went 3-4-3 for 9 points. Only 2 loser points from forcing games to overtime separate their recent performances. The Kraken have a better opportunity to start to get right against the Penguins than they might against some other teams. Of course, it’s at your own risk to ever underestimate the Penguins, even now. But if the Kraken want to fix their bad habits, this is where to start.
Also, today’s lyric reference in the title is Mac Miller, a Pittsburgh artist whose song here ironically became an old Flyers win song, but references a restaurant chain that I grew up going to in Western PA. Yinz better watch that last link to best understand my childhood. There’s nothing like running into your high school band teacher at Eat’n Park muttering “I like pie” while he ate the pie of the month there.