It was '70s night at PPG Paints Arena, complete with disco balls, bell bottoms and a bad Pittsburgh hockey team.
And, there's no sugarcoating it, that's what the Penguins are.
Worse, there is scant evidence to suggest they'll get better anytime soon.
Thursday night's 4-0 loss to the Hurricanes, coupled with the Flyers' win in Philadelphia over the Islanders, left the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions a point out of last place in the Metropolitan Division. Though they are three points behind the Hurricanes for the final wild card spot, man, it feels like 30.
The only thing consistent about this group is inconsistency. Coming off a 5-1 win at Philadelphia, the Penguins -- true to form this season -- were flat, lacking energy or, as Mike Sullivan put it, "compete level."
You'd have to go back to Dec. 4, a span of 14 games, since the Penguins last won two -- two! -- games in a row. That was part of a modest four-game win streak and, even then, three of those wins came against last-place teams in the Sabres (twice) and the Flyers.
It was the second time in six games they've been shut out and the sixth time in the last 11 that they've scored one or fewer goals.
"We haven't put games together," said Sidney Crosby. "We have one good game, then ... exactly the way our record shows.
"If we knew the reason, we'd find a way to put them together. I think the main thing is that, our compete level and finding that lately and finding that nightly, we haven't been able to do it."
1. The rookies have got to step up.
There were legitimate reasons why the Penguins were reluctant to bring up Daniel Sprong from Wilkes-Barre.
In a perfect scenario, Sprong would still be down in the minors working on his 200-foot game. Of course, the Penguins can't afford that luxury. Only due to injuries and an offense in desperate need of scoring was he recalled.
But after a good showing the previous two games, Thursday was the first time that Sprong showed a glimpse of why the organization may have been so hesitant, despite his 18 goals in the AHL, to bring him up. Below, Sprong lost the puck in his skates on the zone exit, leading to a golden scoring chance that Brock McGinn rang off the short-side post:
Sprong had three shots against the Hurricanes, but none of them would fall into the Grade-A category. And when he was set for one early in the third period, the backhand pass from Riley Sheahan was just off the mark:
Fellow rookie Dominik Simon did get a Grade-A scoring chance in the first period, picking the pocket of Brett Pesce. But in one of those "Welcome to the NHL, kid" moments, Simon was a split-second late in getting off the shot, giving Jaccob Slavin time to get down and make the block:
No, this doesn't mean that Sprong and Simon are busts and should be sent back to ride buses to Bridgeport and Hershey. Simon started the game on Crosby's line and Sprong saw some limited time on a line with the captain and Jake Guentzel.
If Sprong and Simon are going to provide the Penguins with what Guentzel and Conor Sheary did the past two seasons, it's going to take more than just three or four games to materialize.
The unfortunate part for these rookies -- unlike Sheary and Guentzel -- is that they have to go through their growing pains on a losing team.
2. The Penguins are playing Whack-a-Mole.
Remember that arcade game at Kennywood where you'd hammer the mole with a mallet every time it reared its ugly head? That's sort of what the Penguins have been doing.
Some things -- like a lack of secondary scoring and poor play at 5-on-5 -- have been constants this season, but other problems, like goaltending now, just popped up.
Look, Matt Murray was far from the reason why the Penguins lost. You can't win if you don't, you know, score. But he wasn't great either, allowing four goals on 33 shots, including being way too aggressive on this Teuvo Teravainen layup:
"It's hard to sit here and explain what's going wrong," said Murray. "We're not going to make excuses. We just have to be better."
To be fair, Murray wasn't supposed to play at all Tuesday night in Philadelphia. He was only pressed into service when Tristan Jarry suffered a cut to his right arm in the second period. Murray was supposed to use the time off to work with Mike Buckley and, as Sullivan said, to "reset his mind, get back to some of the basics in his game."
Obviously, that never happened. Now with the second game of a back-to-back on tap Friday night against the Islanders in Brooklyn, Sullivan has a tough call to make. In another crucial game against another division opponent they trail, does he go with Jarry or the goalie who has won him two Stanley Cups? It's Whack-a-Mole.
3. Something or someone needs to challenge Crosby.
A motivated Crosby is the best Crosby. Whether it was dismissing the naysayers who said he was fading two years ago, or if it was last year with the World Cup and then trying to captain the first team to successive titles in nearly two decades, Sid has always risen to the occasion.
But through 42 games this season, Crosby has been ordinary by his other-worldly standards.
He has just 17 points -- 17! -- at even strength. Thursday was the fifth time -- and third time since Dec. 7 --- that he's gone without a shot on goal. That's not a career-high for a single season, but it's the most it's happened in nine years.
Not sure if Crosby was referring to himself here, but he could have been.
"It's tough to have that level of compete every night," he said. "It doesn't come easy. You've got to earn your chances. Fight to get to the front of the net. Those are all tough things that when it's going well, it seems like every time you do those things, the puck goes in. When it's not, you have to fight to generate and get those bounces. We haven't done that consistently enough."
For all Crosby has accomplished and has meant to the team and the city, he gets a deserved pass here. But whether it's physical and mental fatigue, which can't be understated, if the Penguins are to climb back into the playoff race, he's got to be the guy leading the way. Got to be.
4. They've got to stop making the same mistakes.
Give credit where credit is due. The Hurricanes are quietly building a pretty good story here.
They're young. They're fast. Basically, they're a lot like the Penguins were two years ago.
And Jim Rutherford also had a hand in building this team by drafting many of the players now starring in Carolina. Jeff Skinner, Justin Faulk, Elias Lindholm, McGinn and Slavin all qualify as Penguins-killers after humbling the two-time champions twice in less than a week.
But that's also what makes this latest loss so maddening. The Penguins knew exactly what the Hurricanes were going to do. And Ian Cole and Co. could do little to stop them:
The Hurricanes play a simple, north-south, chip-and-chase game and use their speed to get in on the forecheck and win puck battles. It's the same strategy they used so effectively last week in Raleigh. The only difference this time was a four-goal margin instead of one.
"We had to be able to handle their pressure, get out of our end zone, hang onto to pucks in the offensive zone," Sullivan said. "I just don't think we did it successfully enough."
It was Cam Ward's first shutout of the season and the eighth straight game that Carolina's stingy defense has held an opponent under 30 shots.
Just like their loss at PNC Arena, the Penguins were done in by a sloppy second period in which Carolina scored their first two goals. Against a team that possesses like the Hurricanes, that lead -- particularly against a team that can't score without the aid of a power play -- was insurmountable.
"The start was OK. the first period was fairly even," Sullivan said. "I thought the second period we made some mistakes. It probably gave their team a little bit of a lift. But we have to find a way to push back there at those critical times during the game when a team gets a lift. If they score a goal, we have to find a push back to get momentum back."
5. The Penguins may not make the playoffs. Seriously.
Hardly breaking news given the way the season has unfolded, right?
But here we are after 42 games and the Penguins have just 43 points to show for it. With 40 games to play and likely needing somewhere between 93-98 points to qualify -- based on the previous three seasons -- well, you do the math.
It's not good.
The Penguins, who currently have a .524 points percentage, will have to finish somewhere around .645 to even give themselves a chance at the postseason. That's a tall order for any team.
"I think we're all aware of it," Crosby said. "It should show in our game. It hasn't. I think we're all aware of what the situation is."
Sullivan reiterated earlier Thursday that his team's focus is only on the next game, not looking forward to stretches of games or their upcoming bye week. It makes for a nice sound bite, but it's also true. The future doesn't look too good.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Penguins vs. Hurricanes, PPG Paints Arena, Jan. 4, 2018. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS