Jan 27, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Jake Guentzel (59) reacts to center Sidney Crosby (87) after Guentzel scored a goal against the Montreal Canadiens during the third period at PPG Paints Arena. The Penguins won 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Lars Eller gave a sincere and direct response about the Penguins’ main issue when speaking inside the team’s locker room. This season, the team has alternated between looking like one of the best in the Eastern Conference and like a bored squad going through the motions.
Eller acknowledged the issue and took the first move toward resolving it rather than criticizing.
This season, the Penguins have suffered far too many humiliating defeats, including some truly terrible ones. Their biggest issue is that it appears as like they don’t care too much too often.
How do they become more reliable?
Eller described it as a simple mental exercise to position oneself to compete at the top level. Additionally, when you’re emotionally invested and competing at a high level, you typically execute better and have better success as you’re winning more races and battles, which opens up more opportunities. The systems, and the Xs and Os. There are no doubts regarding that.
As the soft deadline of the All-Star break approached, the Penguins were pulling themselves together, piling up victories, and improving from mid-December to mid-January. During his news conference in early December, General Manager/President of Hockey Operations Kyle Dubas clarified what he had said on a team-hosted radio show the week before.
The Penguins clawed their way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race with points and victories in response, but without power-play goals. The Penguins spent three days in Las Vegas and two days in Arizona, taking advantage of a fantastic chance to close up the break strongly and get some rest and relaxation before the bye week.
They had a strong pulse before they headed out into the desert.
Instead of taking advantage of the opportunity to go into the playoffs, they lost badly to the Arizona Coyotes and Vegas Golden Knights twice more.
That cardiac monitor remained beeping for a very long time after the desert.
In the second half of the season, Rust remained united on what the club needed to accomplish.
Simply said, everyone is putting themselves forward. No matter who you’re playing, look in the mirror and be prepared, Rust advised. “We control everything, and I believe there is a clear division.”
The trip was a disaster in comparison to their recent successes; the bitter flavor destroyed the goodwill that had been developed over weeks. But there was still hope.
They battled back to draw even with the Florida Panthers, and in their last game before the break, they overcame the Montreal Canadiens in overtime, plainly exhausted.
Naturally, there has never been an NHL club that is unbeaten. Each and every hockey team experiences setbacks and a few bad performances during which they just display their physical presence.
