Kovacevic: Yet another multiple-goal collapse, faults with every phase ... this stuff won't just fix itself taken in Buffalo, N.Y. (DK's 10 Takes)

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The Sabres celebrate Alex Tuch's goal on Casey DeSmith in the third period Wednesday night in Buffalo, N.Y.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- "I believe."

This was Evgeni Malkin late Wednesday night in a largely empty locker room at KeyBank Center, minutes after the Penguins' most recent mind-blowing, multiple-goal-lead-blowing collapse, a 6-3 loss to the Sabres that ... I mean, I'm not even sure I've processed it yet on its own merit, let alone when combined with what I'd witnessed less than 24 hours earlier.

This was one saw a 3-1 lead staked on Jake Guentzel's stirring strike just eight ticks into the third period:

Only to segue into the Sabres scoring ... the final five freaking goals.

The collapse the previous night at PPG Paints Arena, of course, saw a 5-2 second-period lead segue into the Bruins, too, scoring ... the final four freaking goals.

In a lifetime of observing Pittsburgh's 56-year-old NHL franchise, beginning as a season-ticket holder for the 16-58-6 winter before Mario Lemieux was drafted in 1984, I've never seen anything like it. Nine total unanswered goals on these two nights, all following what should've been healthy margins toward victory for a terrible team, much less one that, you know, was capable of creating multiple-goal leads in the first place.

What's more, four of this team's seven losses within this 4-5-2 start have followed multiple-goal leads, the others occurring in Montreal and Edmonton. And three of those four multiple-goal leads were held in the third period. And these are almost entirely responsible for the ongoing losing six-game losing streak.

And hey, while I'm at it, let's bring up all the blown leads in Games 5 (two goals), 6 (two goals) and 7 (third period) against the Rangers this past spring, in addition to the series itself having been a blown multiple-games lead.

But Geno believes.

I asked him if the heart's there with this group, the passion. He's invariably thoughtful on such subjects, though, on this occasion, he stuck with the tangibles:

"

"Yeah," he replied. "Again, we lead by, like, two or three goals in the third period. I don't know. We give, like ... I don't know. We stopped playing. We need to go after the puck the whole game, not just sitting back and waiting. It doesn't matter what the score is. Just play the same. Tonight, we played really good for half the game."

And yet ...

"It's a tough situation," he'd proceed, "but it's a long season, and we believe have time to build a team that plays hard, plays smart and supports each other."

Others, including Sidney Crosby, expressed similar frustrations but also confidence that this can be overcome. As Sid put it, "You've got to build your way out it. There's no other way."

I'm inclined to share that belief, if only because ... wow, again, what's happening is beyond belief.

At the same time, I'll reserve the right to withhold that stance if little to nothing gets changed. And there's so, so much that needs to change that I could write up a list that'd paper the pavement from here across I-90 and down I-79 back home.

As it is, I'll offer up a handful of wholly unsolicited and quite possibly unwanted suggestions for how to reduce these past two weeks from plug-pulling catastrophe to mere anomaly, in descending order:

5. GET NHL GOALTENDING

Not to be mean, but come on. 

Look, Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith aren't any isolated reason for all this, but they've hardly been solutions: Jarry allowed four goals on 13 Boston shots from the third period onward, and DeSmith allowed three goals on 11 shots in the third period here. And don't get me started on the caliber of two of the Sabres' goals, sent into nets so glaringly vacated an usher from the stands could've converted ... with a toothbrush.

I asked Sullivan how much it'd help to get a few more saves in these settings and, predictably, he defaulted toward protecting his goaltenders.

"I thought Case competed hard tonight," he'd reply. "He made some stops for us. The goals that they got were pretty good looks. So I don't know if that was the case tonight. I just think we've got to be better as a team."

They do. But so does their most important position. Or, in the case of DeSmith, who's lost all four of his starts, maybe don't use him so often.

4. CHANGE IT UP ... OR NAH

This one's vague, but it's also, to be blunt, a waste of my time and that of anyone reading it.

For one, as outlined in my column following the Boston loss, Sullivan's not about to add/adjust anything to a system in which his faith is so solid he feels it comes with a reflexive response for every circumstance. And he's right on this stance ... when he's got the people. Which he doesn't appear to anymore.

Still, I'd love to see some sort of Plan B, and I was thinking precisely that, for the record, from the instant Jake's shot hit the first twine. And I'm not feeling inclined to shut up about it just because I know it won't happen.

As was the case when I asked Sullivan after the Boston game about this, his explanation for this collapse was all about execution:  "Well, I just didn't think we went at them as hard, you know. There was probably about a five-minute span in the second period where we got on our heels a little bit and we allowed to come at us. ... We just didn't do as good a job at beating the pressure on the walls, and just recognizing danger and making simple plays."

There's danger to be recognized, all right.

For another, I could advocate all kinds of demotions, promotions, trades, etc., and none of it'll resonate because Ron Hextall's crammed himself inside salary cap hell. He'll speak of this from time to time, generally to underscore how it constricts him. But he'll do so without the context that he found it sane to guarantee Kasperi Kapanen $6.4 million over this season and next, when Kapanen could've been kept for a fraction of that.

Thus, even when a youngster fares well in Wilkes-Barre, he can't be recalled because the current cap space is a dime and a couple nickels. Worse, once Teddy Blueger makes his richly welcome return as soon as Saturday -- see below -- one can bet everything it'll be Drew O'Connor who gets sent back. Same as it was for Sam Poulin, who offered a fresh stride upon his NHL debut, and anyone else making a cameo.

Not shutting up about this, either. Kapanen's presence hurts this team on so many fronts.

3. SCRATCH PETRY, DUMOULIN

Just because up/down personnel moves or trades are next to impossible, that doesn't mean players can't be scratched for poor performance.

And although I know this one's unlikely, too, given Sullivan's respect for legitimately accomplished veterans, if I'm the head coach, I'm not allowing Jeff Petry or Brian Dumoulin to be in the same lineup on the same day unless/until one or both improves by a massive margin.

I liked the Petry trade. I'm not about to tip-toe away from that. He was exceptional in the Canadiens' surprising Cup run three summers ago, and he appeared to have a revival in Montreal late last season when Marty St. Louis took over behind the bench. But what he's mostly achieved in Pittsburgh is an endless series of errors, principally resulting from slow/passive play. Which, at age 34, I'm not sure can be cured. This might be all he's got left.

What a massive mistake that'd be by Hextall, too. Petry's got this season plus two more at a cap hit of $6.25 million in each. Just imagine.

Dumoulin ... I'll apologize in advance, if only for the immense appreciation I've got for the understated role he played in two Stanley Cup championships, but every additional shift makes it look like there's something amiss. I don't know what, and I don't care to speculate, but he's not close to the same player. He had five blocked shots in this game, one of them causing visible pain to a leg. He's giving it everything he's got, as ever. But ... yeah.

So fine. Utilize P.O Joseph next to Kris Letang, and stop allowing Letang to get dragged down by Dumoulin. Utilize Chad Ruhwedel rather than Petry. Ruhwedel's never going to be in the Norris running, but he's a part of precisely what this team needs in the moment.

Will there be a disruption or other related noise if one or both of Petry or Dumoulin gets scratched?

Sure, but here's a better question: Will it be worse than this broader scenario?

2. MANAGE THE LOADS

Blueger's loss can't be overstated when it comes to critical matchups, such as the one against the Bruins for which Sullivan's main answer was to send Sid over the boards for 25:04 of ice time, about six minutes more than his norm. And then, as these things go, Sid looked sharp for the first two periods here, then was no more a standout than any of his teammates for the third period.

Again, Blueger will help. And at the risk of piling on, it would've helped, too, had Hextall formed a bottom six that would've matched the words spoken by management all summer about becoming a team that's harder to play against. But when Josh Archibald's the closest anyone comes to that profile -- and he really doesn't, either -- that's a massive swing and miss. And expecting that Kapanen could somehow contribute to that, or that Jeff Carter's black-hole defensive profile was just going to expunge itself, or that Brock McGinn would resume existing ... OK.

The problems remain. But Sid can't be tasked with solving all of them.

I'm out on this one. Good luck.

1. UH, TRY HARDER? REALLY?

The puck sailed high and deep toward a corner of the Pittsburgh zone. The linesman's arm went up. Icing would be the call. Letang had a beat on it, and all he'd need is to be first to the hash.

But that need was urgent. Couple minutes left. Empty net to defend. Down a goal.

Yeah, I'm going there. Press play below, my friends, to see which player, which team embraced the urgency of this particular moment:

"

Zemgus Girgensons is fast, but so's Letang. And even if Letang might've had lingering symptoms from the illness that forced him to miss the Boston game, there's so much to that scene. Like when Girgensons palpably outworks and, thus, outmaneuvers Letang, Rakell and Malkin for possession. Like when Kyle Okposo comes along to do likewise, both there and later along the far boards before firing into an open net. Like when no one from the Penguins though to populate crease with DeSmith long since pulled, as if there'd been some other more pressing task to tend.

And honestly, like that awesome show of appreciation for Girgensons by the entire Buffalo bench and by all of the remaining players on the rink who, in lieu of celebrating Okposo's goal, pointed in unison back toward Girgensons.

The Sabres aren't there yet, but they're 7-3, they're crazy young, and they're fun.

"I couldn't be more proud of this team tonight," Don Granato, Buffalo's coach, would say afterward. "We showed the passion that we now expect from each other."

Yep. And what, pray tell, were the Penguins showing on that same shift?

So much work's ahead. And on so many fronts. But sure, belief's an inspired place to start. 

photoCaption-photoCredit

DEJAN KOVACEVIC / DKPS

The Canadian national anthem, KeyBank Center, Buffalo, N.Y.

THE ESSENTIALS

Boxscore
Live file
• Scoreboard
Standings
Statistics

THE HIGHLIGHTS

"

THE THREE STARS

As selected at KeyBank Center:

1. Tage Thompson, Sabres C
2. Alex Tuch, Sabres RW
3. Owen Power, Sabres D

THE INJURIES

Jeff Carter, left winger, has a lower-body injury. He's day-to-day.

Teddy Blueger, center, has a lower-body injury and is on LTIR. He's eligible to return Saturday, and Ron Hextall said here before this game he's hopeful that'll happen.

THE LINEUPS

Sullivan’s lines and pairings:

Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker-Evgeni Malkin-Rickard Rakell
Danton Heinen-Drew O'Connor-Kasperi Kapanen
Brock McGinn-Ryan Poehling-Josh Archibald

Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson-Jeff Petry
P.O Joseph-Jan Rutta

And for Granato's Sabres:

Jeff Skinner-Tage Thompson-Kyle Okposo
JJ Peterka-Dylan Cozens-Alex Tuch
Jack Quinn-Casey Mittelstadt-Victor Olofsson
Zemgus Girgensons-Peyton Krebs-Rasmus Asplund

Jacob Bryson-Rasmus Dahlin
Kale Clague-Owen Power
Lawrence Pilut-Casey Fitzgerald

THE SCHEDULE

Thursday's a merciful day off for the team. Next game's Saturday, 7:08 p.m., against the Kraken at PPG Paints Arena.

THE CONTENT

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