The Penguins were stuck in Toronto Thursday night because of heavy snow that could have made flying home then dicey.
The change in travel plans forced them to cancel the practice that had been scheduled for today at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, but perhaps that wasn't all bad.
It gave them an opportunity to ruminate about all that had gone wrong during their 4-1 loss to the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena, and to ponder the challenges that will be presented by their schedule over the next few weeks.
It's not that the Penguins will be particularly busy -- they have games on consecutive days only twice between now and the end of the third week in March -- but the quality of the clubs they'll be facing is more daunting than the quantity of games in their short-term future.
"We're playing some really good teams here," Sidney Crosby told reporters after the loss in Toronto. "A lot of divisional games. A lot on the line."
It turns out that the game against the Maple Leafs, who possess one of the NHL's most turbo-charged offenses, was a primer for much of what's to come, because it was the first in a stretch of 10 games in 12 games pitting the Penguins against teams that occupy a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs field.
That includes several which figure to be on the short list of serious contenders for a championship. Prominent in that group is Carolina, which sits two points behind the first-place Penguins in the Metropolitan Division but has four games-in-hand before taking on Nashville Friday night.
Although the Penguins and Hurricanes will meet for the first time this season Sunday at 1:08 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena, Crosby is impressed by what they've seen of Carolina from afar.
"They're fast," he said. "They really work together well, all five guys out there on the ice. Very similar to Toronto, as far as the pace they play at and have their (defensemen) join (the offensive rush), and that sort of thing."
If there's anything the Penguins don't know about Carolina, that should change in the near future, since they'll meet again March 4 in Raleigh and March 13 here.
One priority for the Penguins as they gird for the challenges ahead figures to be shoring up the penalty-killing that has slipped since Teddy Blueger was sidelined by a broken jaw Jan. 23 against Winnipeg.
At the conclusion of that game, the Penguins' penalty-killing ranked first in the NHL, with a success rate of 89.1 percent.
In the 10 games since Blueger, whose average of two minutes, six seconds of shorthanded work per game is the most of any Penguins forward, was hurt, it has allowed five goals in 23 shorthanded situations. That's a 78.3 percent clip that, over the full season, would place them 20th in the league.
For a team that has had 20 of its first 51 games this season decided by one goal -- not to mention quite a few others in which the final margin was inflated by an empty-net goal -- a leaky penalty-kill obviously is a concern.
While there's no question the Penguins would benefit from having Blueger, he seems unlikely to return until around mid-March.
Consequently, the rest of their penalty-killing unit -- guys like Brock McGinn, Brian Boyle, Zach Aston-Reese and Jeff Carter -- stand to be severely tested.
No fewer than seven of their opponents during the 12-game stretch that started in Toronto have a power play that ranks among the top nine in the NHL. They are the Hurricanes (3 games), Maple Leafs, Blues, Predators and Rangers.
Oh, and it's worth noting that three of their other upcoming opponents -- the Lightning, Panthers and Golden Knights -- have lineups laden with offensive talent and possess a quick-strike capability, whether on a man-advantage or at even-strength.
Getting the penalty-killing close to the efficiency level it reached for most of this season would greatly enhance the Penguins' chances of collecting points from some quality teams over the next three weeks.
So would avoiding a repeat of their flat showing against the Maple Leafs, beginning with the first of their three games against the Hurricanes.
"We've got an opportunity on Sunday to hit the reset button," Mike Sullivan said. "And go back to playing the hockey that we know we're capable of."
