They have to be better defensively and it is not going to get any easier this week as they continue their Western Conference road trip.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are getting their annual Western Canada road trip out of the way earlier this season and it started with an ugly defensive effort against the Winnipeg Jets in a 5-3 loss on Sunday afternoon.
The two most surprising developments to come out of that game were the fact goalie Tristan Jarry did not dress, while forward Michael Bunting was also a healthy scratch after a tough — and very disappointing — start to the season.
The most unsurprising development, at least based on what we have seen from the Penguins through the first two weeks of the season, is that their defensive game was an absolute mess all day.
Had it not been for some sensational saves from Alex Nedeljkovic that game could have very easily gotten away from them sooner than it did.
Defensive play has been a significant issue through the first seven games, and it is pretty apparent whether you are going to be the eye test or the numbers.
When it comes to the former, we just keep seeing wide open looks and missed assignments all over the defensive zone. When it comes to the latter, the Penguins are allowing 3.24 expected goals per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play, the third-worst mark in the NHL ahead of only the Anaheim Ducks and Montreal Canadiens.
That is not the defensive company you want to be keeping at any point in the season.
Things are not going to get any easier this week on this road trip with some of the teams they have waiting for them.
The road trip continues on Tuesday night with a trip to a Calgary Flames team that is off to a surprisingly strong start. This is supposed to be a rebuilding and re-tooling year for the Flames after trading several veterans over the past year, but they enter the week with a 4-0-1 record and averaging more than four goals per game through their first five games. Forward Jonathan Huberdeau is the biggest surprise here, showing some signs of the offense that has completely abandoned him since he arrived in Calgary.
Even with the Flames’ strong start, this is still probably the most winnable game of the road trip on paper.
After visiting Calgary, the Penguins’ defense and goaltending are going to start to get seriously tested with the two games after that.
On Friday they visit the reigning Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers in what could be a wildly entertaining game.
On one side, the Penguins’ defense is going to have to try and slow down the Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl duo which is never going to be an easy task. Especially for a team that is struggling to stop anybody. Even more concerning is that the Oilers’ offense has not really hit its stride yet, with just 12 goals in their first six games. They are too talented and too dynamic to be that quiet for much longer. They could be due for a breakout at any moment.
The Oilers can be vulnerable on the defensive end, especially once you get past their top defensive pairing of Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm. They also still have the same goaltending problems that have lingered for the past few years.
The road trip continues the very next night against the Vancouver Canucks in a game that might be their toughest of the trip.
Not only are they playing a Canucks team that is highly skilled with high-end talent at the top of the lineup, they will be doing so on the second half of a back-to-back against a Canucks team that will be playing with three days of rest.
Vancouver is the type of fast, talented team that has given the Penguins fit in recent seasons.
Even though it is only the third week of the season this still seems like a big week for the Penguins. They are already 3-4-0 on the season and have struggled with every good team they have played. They have a couple more good teams ahead, and they are the type of teams that can give them a lot of problems given their lack of speed and defensive zone issues.
It remains to be seen how the Penguins will split the goaltending duties, but as we saw on Sunday it might not really matter much as to who the goalie is if the defense is going to play the way it has.
The Penguins need to find a way to get a couple of points on this trip, but getting anything more than two or three points might be a surprise given the matchups. The defensive zone play is going to have to be a lot better and more consistent than it has been.