Sigh….
(But Not a Long Sigh)

The past week was one of those weeks I’d anticipated the Pens would have prior to the start of the 2006-07 season. However, with the team’s fast start, and the whole winning more than losing thing seeming to become habitual, this week stung more than it probably should have.

Over the course of the past week, the Penguins played several teams that I would classify as "superior" opponents. Frankly, these are games that the Penguins should lose, at least if you’re talking to the coach of the opposing team. Why? Because from top to bottom, the Penguins played teams that were—take a deep breath now—better than they currently are. Whether we’re talking special teams units, or scoring depth, or experienced and savvy NHL defensemen, or superstars in their primes instead of the infancy of their careers, the Penguins got beat by better teams this week.

Fortunately for Pittsburgh fans, the Penguins players—despite their curiously lackadaisical effort against Ottawa Friday night—do not like losing. Even better for the future of Pittsburgh’s franchise, the players on the Penguins appear to expect to win now. The players’ collective distaste for losing, in addition to their play this week, is the reason why I titled this post "Sigh" instead of "A Long Sigh."

Here’s the thing that was so frustrating this week if you were a Penguins fan. Despite the fact that the Pens were clearly outplayed in several of the games—none of the games were blowouts. The Penguins had a chance to win a game against the team with one of the best records in the NHL. And even when the Penguins found ways to shoot themselves in the foot (taking penalties repeatedly, for example), they still stayed close in several of the games they played. And, yes, in comparison to last season—staying close to some of the league’s best teams has to be considered an encouraging sign.

Yet, of course, the frustration that prompted my sigh, is, of course, that frustration that comes when a team is on a 5 game winless streak. Losing makes me sigh; losing leaves a bad taste in my mouth. And losing is particularly frustrating because these Penguins, really, were close to being able to win a couple of those games. Sure, a couple of those games, aside from sharp goaltending, could easily have turned into blowouts. Yet a few less penalties, a couple of different bounces—and the young Pens might have won a couple of games this week.

Young. That’s the thing. These Penguins, on the whole, are a young team, which is why I expected weeks like this prior to the start of the season. I expected and anticipated winless streaks, particularly when my young team faced off against deeper, more experienced, and frankly, teams that are currently more talented than is Pittsburgh. And while this winless streak is no fun (and I want it to end Monday when the Pens play the Flyers), it’s not a wholly bad thing.

Why isn’t this winless streak bad? Because the players are going to learn from the mistakes they made this week. Because losing is going to leave a bad taste in the mouths of the youngsters and make them want to improve their play and not repeat the same mistakes. Because, even if it doesn’t happen next year, perhaps in two years, these mistakes—and yes, these losses and winless streaks—will bear fruit. Because the players will have learned the hard lessons of what it takes to play with the best teams in the NHL. Because the players will have developed their skills, hopefully, to the point, that they play on one of the best teams in the NHL and know how to use the experience they gained this year to beat more inexperienced teams.

None of the assurances of future fruit, of course, which I firmly believe to be absolutely the case, will ever make a five game winless streak enjoyable for players or fans. Which is to say—please beat the Flyers.