After Saturday night’s 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Pittsburgh Penguins led the NHL in goals against with 13. Thankfully, the Colorado Avalanche (14) and Edmonton Oilers (15) had a worse weekend, taking over the top spots.
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Even though it’s only been three games, at no point should the Penguins be at or near the top of the goals-against category. If they want to turn a page and end their two-year playoff drought, this is just one of the major concerns after nine periods of hockey.
Currently, de factor No. 1 goalie Tristan Jarry is on the hook for six goals, followed by rookie Joel Blomqvist, who has given up three goals in back-to-back contests. The Maple Leafs added an empty net tally to bump the Penguins to 13 goals against, for the fourth-worst GAA in the NHL at 4.33.
However, the goals-against total isn’t actually the worst statistic troubling the Penguins at the moment. When sorting through the team numbers, Pittsburgh gives up 35.0 shots a game, which is tied for the worst in the league with the Detroit Red Wings and San Jose Sharks.
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It’s almost universally accepted that the Sharks would be in the conversation for most shots against, but it’s surprising to see the Red Wings and Penguins, who just combined for nine goals in a Thursday night game, at the top of the charts.
Furthermore, it’s odd, considering that Pittsburgh’s defense stayed the same in the offseason. They are led by Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson, Marcus Pettersson, and Ryan Graves. That quartet was recently joined by Matt Gzelcyk and Jack St. Ivany, the only two new defenders to skate thus far this year.
In 2023-24, the Penguins surrendered 30.2 shots a game to opponents, which ranked 14th in the NHL. Somehow, with about 66.6% of their defensive unit held over, they are giving rivals even more chances, forcing their netminders to work extra to make saves in 2024-25.
Once again, there is no need to panic. The Edmonton Oilers haven’t won a game yet this season and are considered the Stanley Cup favorites. So, there is still time to adjust and make the playoffs.
However, it will be a long season if the Penguins can not improve these critical statistics.
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