After The Pittsburgh Penguins once again saw their goaltender struggle,
is it time to once again overreact as we did a couple months ago?
When The Pittsburgh Penguins are losing by three goals in
two straight games, it is always something that is going to surprise some
people. That is what has occurred in their last two outings, and it raises some
questions on specifically the play of the goaltenders, and their inability to
produce over the long haul.
While some of the issues may be due to having to take on
this daunting West Coast trip, they are still issues that every Penguins fan is
scared of. After a few stellar weeks, Matt Murray has again started to
struggle, as he has given up eight goals in his last two outings. In the month
of December, Murray only allowed a total of seven goals in the five games that
he played, so these recent games for Murray are starting to raise some flags.
The Pens have also recently resigned Casey DeSmith to a new deal,
but since he has not seemed to be the same. DeSmith has done the same thing as
Murray, as he has also given up a total of eight goals in his last two outings.
If the Penguins offense had not been able to shine like they did in Anaheim,
the Pens would currently be without a win so far on this trip.
This is a shaky subject to discuss when looking at the
Penguins, as it is very possible that these are just a few minor hiccups for
two guys that are going to prove to continue to be solid options as goaltenders.
But likewise, it also seems very possible that the opposite could occur, as
when they struggle, they struggle hard, as seen in the past few games.
The last time the Penguins played the Coyotes was earlier
this year when Pittsburgh shut them out 4-0. DeSmith was in goal for that game,
and I would not be surprised if he got the start in Arizona, as he seems to see
the puck well against them.
As we touched on in our last article, the game last night
may have been a bottom point for this season. Now, it is up to Pittsburgh to
get back on track, and not let themselves finish this trip with a 1-4 record.
It is very important that they try to at least get one win in these next two
road games, as their foes in the Metropolitan Division continue to win.
It will be a tough task for Pittsburgh, and ultimately it
will come to the play of Murray and DeSmith if the Pens want to get back on
track.
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