"What's missing?"
Kris Letang had just repeated my question back to me, in that derisive way that only he can deliver when things aren't going well, either for himself or the Penguins. Which, of course, is very much the case these days, six-game losing streak and all.
"There's nothing missing in here, I can tell you that," he continued, casting a quick symbolic glance around the locker room, this following practice Monday at PPG Paints Arena. "I mean, I think every good team hits a rough patch once in a while. And usually the reflex is to try to do more, try to do, like, too much emotion. Sometimes you just actually make it worse."
OK, I tried again, so what's missing?
"Honestly, I don't think it's a lack of effort or commitment or anything like that. We just have to go back to what gave us success and maybe just do our own jobs and support each other."
In further canvassing the room, that sentiment was all over. There are no winter blues or blahs at hand, they insisted. Just a peculiar 'patch,' as Letang labeled it, in which everyone wants to attempt a little extra and, as such, they've lost the collective chemistry that had carried them to unexpected heights.
OK, I'm buying.
But speaking bluntly here, that can't be anyone's solution. Not when this slump's seen eight measly goals get scored, 24 get conceded, the power play at 1 for 15, and the penalty-kill at, um, 64.7 percent. And that's scratching the statistical surface. Beyond the continued steady goaltending of Tristan Jarry and Matt Murray, it's all gone wrong.
So let's have some solutions. In no order whatsoever:
• Stick together.
Might as well start there. And again, this is about literally sticking together more than spiritually, as the latter doesn't appear to be any problem.
To wit, Mike Sullivan put his players through a brisk practice on this day that had an emphasis on puck support. Where there was one player defending, he wanted two. Then a third. Before one drill, when Nick Bjugstad was too far behind a defending teammate, Sullivan made his point while pushing Bjugstad where he needed to be.
Sure sounded like the message was received.
"The last game, we weren't swarming guys at all, weren't putting enough pressure on the puck," Marcus Pettersson told me, referring to the 5-0 loss Saturday in San Jose. "When you're on your own, when you're too far away from each other, it doesn't work."
Not anywhere on the rink, it's important to note.
This sounds exceedingly simple and, for that matter, it hasn't been a problem through this losing streak the way it was in the final two games. But it's nonetheless the one that needs to be stamped out for anything else to matter.
As Sullivan worded it after practice, “Effort is never an issue with this group. This is a hard-working group. These guys, they’re invested. Sometimes we don't work as smart as we need to.”
• Go where the goals are.
Eight goals in six games, for a lineup boasting healthy, energetic versions of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, feels inconceivable even in the context of a roster-wide slump. But the hockey gods have never not punished a team that stopped producing near the crease.
In this streak, in spite of a reasonably high shot average of 25.1 at five-on-five, the Penguins have mustered a grand total of 47 high-danger scoring chances, or fewer than eight per game. Worse by far, their overall shooting percentage is at 3.97 percent of those, the NHL's second-worst such figure in that span with only the rancid Red Wings lower.
Which will explain why the secondary emphasis of this practice was sending bodies and pucks to the net. Rush after rush, cycle after cycle, from the stars to the fourth-liners, shooting was the first option, not the last.
"Never hurts," Justin Schultz told me. "Anytime you're not scoring, that's a great way to remind yourself of how it's done."
I asked Crosby about this, too:
• Sit Jack Johnson.
This won't happen, so I'll preface appropriately. Because these were the defense pairings utilized in practice:
Dumoulin-Letang
Pettersson-Marino
Johnson-Schultz
Riikola-Ruhwedel
And if Dumoulin and Marino both rejoin the lineup, as I'm expecting, what's up there is precisely how it'll play out.
No, this isn't piling on Johnson. And no, this sure isn't a pander. Anyone who's read my stuff for any sustained span knows that's not how I roll.
Rather, it's a hard, reluctant reflection on Johnson having assumed way too much ice time as Letang's partner and, in turn, having seemingly spent up that legitimate extra speed he'd brought to the rink most of this winter. He's lagging. And in the process, as the analytics definitively demonstrate, he's dragging down everyone around him.
This isn't to bury him. He brings bona fide value, particularly on the PK. But in the moment, I'd much prefer Juuso Riikola's fresher, faster legs, as well as offering him a long overdue reward for performance that's far exceeded the way he's been handled by Sullivan and staff.
Get this: In the Penguins' past 25 games, of which Riikola has suited up for 19, he's posted a 54.52 Corsi For percentage -- measuring team shots attempted at either end -- at five-on-five. That ranks No. 1 on the team -- any position -- with a bullet. The only other player into plus territory, meaning 50.0 or higher, is Chad Ruhwedel at 50.10.
Johnson's CF% in the same span: 44.49.
Only two players lower were Alex Galchenyuk, since shipped off, and Sam Lafferty, since demoted to the minors.
This doesn't require a deep-dive study.
• Bring back the D.
That said, man, it'll be enormous to have Dumoulin and Marino back. The impact of being without both at the same time can't be overstated.
Taylor Haase has much more on their imminent return.
• Embrace the new guys.
Don't laugh this one off.
There's something that stings a little extra when a team struggles right out of the NHL trade deadline, especially when that team was active. There's a natural expectation, especially on the outside, that there'll be a rocket-like boost. And when that doesn't happen right away, it can feel deflating.
It shouldn't.
Here's a fact: In the 10 games since Jason Zucker was acquired, he leads the team with five goals, he's tied for fourth with 26 shots, and he's generally been responsible all over the rink. The timing of his arrival shouldn't be held against him, and neither should Crosby's bizarre streak of five games without an assist of any kind. Zucker's more than done his part.
Same goes for Conor Sheary.
It was easy to see his nerves during and after this practice. He's been here, obviously, and been a significant contributor to two Stanley Cups, but it's not the same when going home after a couple years. In his three games since returning, he's got no points and five shots, both disappointing. And yet, it's also been painfully evident that he's skating his brains out trying to impress when that's not always ideal.
Sheary and Patrick Marleau, a possible Hall of Famer, will be in front of the home fans Tuesday. Evan Rodrigues, whose analytics have been the best of anyone since he came -- off the charts, actually -- will be there, too. Maybe that'll begin some of the normalization that now has to happen in a hurry, as it did when Zucker popped those two early goals in front of the locals.
Four new forwards in one fell swoop would be an adjustment anywhere.
• Reawaken Sid.
It's never cool to criticize the captain, and I get that.
Oh, well.
In these six losses, he's got one goal, no assists, 17 total shots, and he's crafted six high-danger scoring chances for himself. That's one of those per game. Including all the power plays.
Presuming he's fully healthy -- and there's no reason to think otherwise -- that's not cool. And to his credit, he clearly grasps that.
Grasps all of it, actually.
"That's part of being an athlete and a team," Crosby said. "You go through points in the season where it comes a little easier than other points. You know, we're facing some adversity right now. We've faced it all year long with different things, but it's a good test for us. ... Let's get that first one under our belt and go from there."
Faceoff with the Senators, another of the NHL's lesser lights, is Tuesday, 7:08 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena.
Try not to picture what that loss would be like.