Sunday Standings: Penguins need to ‘dig in’ to get out of slump
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Sunday Standings: Penguins need to ‘dig in’ to get out of slump
DENVER, COLORADO - OCTOBER 16: Artturi Lehkonen #62 of the Colorado Avalanche watches as the puck crosses the goal line during the second period against Goaltender Arturs Silovs #37, Sidney Crosby #87 and Samuel Girard #49 the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ball Arena on October 16, 2026 in Denver, Colorado (Photo by Andrew Maclean/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Jim Rixner
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5 min read
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It's been a tough road trip for the Penguins, three games have resulted in three losses. Suddenly the type of adversity the team saw last December has showed up earlier in the season this time around.
"It's on us. It's on us together," coach Dan Musesaidafter last night's 6-2 loss to Vegas. "We can't be feeling bad for ourselves. It's on all of us, myself included. So, together as a group, we got to dig in. We have to find consistency in our game. There's a lot coming off of tonight that we have to clean up from a structural standpoint, across the board, a number of things."
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Sidney Crosby repeated much the same sentiment.
"Nobody likes to lose," Crosby said. "We know there's areas we got to improve on. We've got to fix it quick."
A 1-5-1 slide over the last seven games has sent the Penguins down towards the bottom of the standings. They better get to cleaning up soon.
The good news for the Pens is that after Monday night's game against Utah, five of their following next six games will be at home. The home/road record splits speak for themselves on why that should be beneficial. Going back home could help get their season on track, perhaps at the right time in that department after a season start that will have seven of the first 10 games going on the road.
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Beyond that, there's something to be said that inconsistent teams in the middle of the pack this year. Some, like the Rangers right now, get hot and lift up towards the top of the heap. Then over time will drift back down when the back of the pack teams end up winning a few games and bunching back up.
Consternation might be the name of the game around the division right now. Aside from Carolina, anyways, where everything is on cruise control all the time. Here's something everyone has to gripe about:
Goaltending wasn't the reason the Rangers lost a 1-0 game last night, but they're 0-1-1 in the last two and the reality of losing Igor Shesterkin might be growing enough to cause concern about how they're going to handle things in the long run.
Washington has an illness sweeping through the team, which has kept PL Dubois out for four games and put four regulars on theshelf for last night. Never happy times when the an invisible opponent is laying waste to the team and more players are turning up sick.
The Islanders don't have too much to complain about right now,though injuriesto forwards Cal Ritchie and Matias Macelli last night will bring some uncertainty and worry, especially since Macelli has been their second-highest scoring forward early in the season.
New Jersey has had a trend of often giving up thefirst goal of a game, and often losing the game since the start of 2025-26 when they do give up that first goal. Then again, the Devils scored first yesterday against the Capitals, but the problem was the Caps scored second. And the third goal. And fourth. And fifth.
The Penguins, well, we all know the issues they're dealing with. Rickard Rakell hasn't scored a goal this season. The team defense is poor at times and often forced to pay for it with goals flying into their net. As mentioned above, coach and captain have to find a way to get the team out of an early-season rut in a hurry.
Columbus earned a 1-0 shutout win last night, badly needed since it sounds like Rick Bowness is itching tohave a meltdownover his team's performance. Between bashing some players summer conditioning and now going on about the defensive effort, it doesn't seem like Bowness is having a good time professionally these days. However, with just six games in the books so far, the Blue Jackets have barely had the chance to do much to get in a rhythm.
Any team is on a red alert when a winless streak to start the season goes into the 10th game. The Flyers finally got in the win column last night, the last team in the NHL to secure a victory. Philadelphia forwards, combined have 25 points on the season – that's barely more than Connor McDavid having 23 all by his lonesome. Add in defensive issues and Rick Tocchet's seat might be starting toget a little warm.
Early season blues and concerns almost all around. That's NHL hockey for you, what looks in shambles today could show signs of improvement before too long. Many teams around the Metropolitan Division right now are hoping to settle things down and try to keep up with the Hurricanes who are already starting to pull away given their .833 points percentage putting them in smooth sailing territory to lead the pack.
