Shots Against

I don’t have the ability (or the time, to be perfectly honest) to watch every Penguins game. And yet scanning the box scores, something stands out that has to change for the team to win.

To put it mildly—the Pens give up way, way, way, too many shots. Seriously—you expect to get outshot by a 2-1 margin or 3-2 margin and still win games? The mere fact that the Penguins have stayed in so many games is a testament to the great goaltending they’ve received thus far at this early juncture in the season.

Now I understand some of the reasons why the Pens give up so many shots. Really, one doesn’t want to lasso the creativity of players like Crosby or Malkin. Seriously, years ago, I cared mostly that Jaromir Jagr was scoring goals and not so much about whether or not he was strictly adhering to the defensive system that then-coach Kevin Constantine had installed. Likewise, I also get that the Pens are a young team, with a young defense, and that they get caught—far too often—in their own zone.

I also know that these Penguins have done some good things. They’ve been able to kill penalties (lots of penalties) with aggressive penalty killing and sharp goaltending. They’ve been able and willing to block shots. Theoretically—if not yet practically—they appear to understand that it’s important to prevent the opposition from scoring more goals than you do.

However, the Pens cannot keep giving up the number of shots they are giving up and expect to maintain an above .500 record. Sure, their young players—even their young stars—have to learn to sustain pressure even against the best opponents the league has to offer. Sure, their young defensemen have to learn how to get the puck out of the zone and how to prevent opposing players from taking shots. And it would certainly help the whole team a great deal if they would stop what seemed like a constant parade to the penalty box at various times this past week.

I still think this is both a coaching and execution thing, and it’s also not something that I expect to get fixed magically and overnight. But, honestly—if the Pens truly want to sneak into the playoffs this year, and I still think the team has the talent to do that—they have to stop giving up so many shots to their opponents every night.


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