Pittsburgh Penguins: Are They Peaking Too Early in the Season?

Following the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat of the Buffalo Sabres Saturday night, the Pens extended their winning streak to an impressive 12 games, but questions begin to arise if they are peaking too early in the NHL season.

In January of last season, the Washington Capitals went on a franchise-best 14-game winning streak. All eyes were on them at the time and the Caps were touted as the best team in the League, sure favorites to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals and possibly win after a bitter end the previous season.

The claims were quickly tucked away when the Caps lost in the first round of the playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens. Analysts claimed the Caps peaked too soon.

Are the Pens on a similar path, bringing the Ws in the bunches before the new year has even begun?

The answer is a resounding no in the simplest sense of the question.

Why?

Well firstly, the Pens haven't peaked yet.

The Pens have been dominating their games of late without the services of two of the best players on the team, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal, both of whom are sitting in the pressbox for injuries. Malkin is in better shape than Staal who is currently experiencing some setbacks, but both should be back soon enough.

In the meantime, call ups such as Chris Conner and Dustin Jeffrey and players making their first full-season debuts such as Mark Letestu, Deryk Engelland and Ben Lovejoy have made strong impressions in holding the fort. All things considered, the Pens are still playing their best hockey since their Cup run in 2009.

This game against the Sabres was among the most challenging games since the start of the winning streak. The Pens were out-shot 36-24, an unusual stat since the Pens have had a knack for dominating the shooting department lately and high shot numbers usually mean the Pens are on their game.

The game was much closer than the 5-2 score eluded. The Sabres found a way to neutralize Crosby to an extent—he recorded an assist to extend his scoring streak to 18 games—and made things interesting when a Pens 3-1 lead fell to a 3-2 lead with seven minutes remaining in the third period.

Yet, the Pens managed to hold on to their lead and walk away with another win.

Despite not playing their best offensive game, arguably their strongest suit, they were stellar defensively with players like Kris Letang, Zybnek Michalek and Paul Martin manning the blue line and Marc-Andre Fleury doing his job between the pipes to keep the Pens in the game when the defense faltered.

To sum it up, the Pens are finding ways to win even in lackluster performances, though they shouldn't get too comfortable winning in this fashion.

This brings me to my second point that having success doesn't mean some kind of backlash will happen later on in the season or playoffs. There is always another factor involved like a pile up of injuries or a lack of motivation or focus.

Talent doesn't run out like a gas tank. Something has to be impeding that talent.

The streak is eventually going to end at some point, but it's crucial for the Pens to maintain the work ethic that has brought them their recent victories regardless of their record. A good work ethic is the only saving grace during a bad stretch of games.

Thus far, this winning streak has only produced good things for the Pens, be it individual or team stats or a good boost of confidence. If anything, they now know what they are capable of bringing to the ice any given game.

The Pens are in good shape right now and are in no danger of getting caught up in the wins to forget how to play real hockey. So long as they stay the course and continue to improve the ever-present kinks in their game, there is no reason for concern.

Laura Falcon is a Featured Columnist for the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Follow her on Twitter or email her at [e-mail] with any comments or questions.