I was perusing other media sites in the wake of the Penguins’ loss to Utah Sunday afternoon when I stumbled upon a comment on Pensburgh so simple, yet so profound, as a way of explaining our recent rash of blown leads.
The commenter (Steelhead58) didn’t point to glaring defensive breakdowns or porous goaltending or poor coaching inputs as the culprits.
His simple explanation?
Age.
Or more to the point, the fact that the players we rely on so heavily at crunch time are all in their 30s. In most cases, well into their 30s.
The more I thought about it, the more it makes perfect sense. As superbly conditioned as they are, it stands to reason that Sidney Crosby (38), Kris Letang (38), Erik Karlsson (35), Bryan Rust (33) and Rickard Rakell (32) aren’t going to have as much juice late in games as say, a Macklin Celebrini or a Beckett Sennecke or a Dylan Guenther, young guns who’ve victimized us of late.
I didn’t even mention our elder statesmen, 39-year-old Evgeni Malkin, who’s been on IR during this ghastly, lead-blowing stretch.
It also meets my eye test. There have been times of late, especially during 3-on-3 overtime, when Crosby, Letang and Rust in particular seem to be skating at less than full speed.
Sid was on the ice for both overtime goals against this weekend. I called him out in my recap of the Sharks game for getting outfoxed by John Klingberg, then not appearing to exert the slightest effort to disrupt the play.
On Sunday, Guenther blew past No. 87 in the neutral zone as if he were the grandma Mike Lange implored to get out of the fast lane. It occurred to me that it isn’t so much a case of Sid not caring (perish the thought) as not having the oomph to go full tilt at all times, especially late. As if he and the others are attempting to husband their energy stores for a burst when it really matters.
It would go a long way to explaining our sorry 1-4 record in games decided in overtime.
I’ve heard the same rationale used for our shoddy performance in shootouts (0-5). Namely, that older players don’t have the speed, agility and fast-twitch muscle response required to force goalies to commit first. Which would explain why our venerated vets seem to make the same move every time, ad nauseam, with diminishing results.
As for an answer to this dilemma? I’m not sure there is one. At least not one that’s satisfactory. The Pens obviously need younger players such as Ben Kindel, Rutger McGroarty and Harrison Brunicke to earn more prominent roles.
The key word is earn. Try to rush a player’s development? It could end up backfiring in stunted growth. Much like a youngster who’s introduced to heavy resistance training at too young an age, causing his growth plates to close.
Trying to manage ice time is another option for limiting the wear and tear on our golden oldies. Again, you need other players to step into the void. Players who may not be part of the roster as currently constructed.
Any way you slice it, there don’t appear to be any quick and dirty solutions.