Turmoil in Pittsburgh: The Stanley Cup Loser Curse Has Fallen Upon the Penguins

The Penguins have certainly fallen to the Stanley Cup losers' curse. After Thursday night's loss to Nashville, the Penguins now find themselves in 10th place in the East.

After getting an easy win over Atlanta, things looked bright for them...until Thursday. The Pens started the game very well and looked to secure a second straight victory with a three-goal lead almost into the half way point of the game.

Then something happened. The Penguins loosened their pressure, didn't play with poise or hockey smarts.

Nashville has been struggling offensively all season, but in a miraculous comeback, the Preds scored five unanswered goals to win 5-3, so the Penguins have lost six of their last seven games.

The Penguins have to score more goals, gain leads, and hold onto them. It's ludicrous that their top two players, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, who are first and third in NHL Scoring, aren't scoring goals.

Malkin is on pace for 29 goals and Crosby is on pace for 31. Both would be career lows.

Coach Michel Therrien wants to keep Malkin and Crosby apart, but to get back into a the top eight spots in the East, he might want to keep the two together and give Staal the second line duties.

It's been a common that Crosby has a revolving doors with his wingers because they are not producing with him, which I find odd they can't find anyone to play with him.

Everyone says Crosby makes everyone who plays with him better. It doesn't appear that way.

After signing Staal to a four-year deal, paying him 3.5 million for two seasons then 4 million the next, they should give him more ice time and duties of second-line center.

He's only 20 years old, yes he did score 29 goals his rookie season but has not scored much since, but give him time.

Therrien hasn't been patient with Staal since his rookie season. He'll give him tests of playing wing with Crosby or playing second line center but yanks him after a few games because he's not getting the results he wants.

That will put a toll on a a player's confidence. Give him more than a few games before you yank him. He doesn't have a whole lot of experience only playing three years.

With the current situation in Pittsburgh, Therrien might want to reconsider his lines and put Malkin and Crosby together, and give Staal second-line duties. Not much else is going well for them, what could it hurt?

Marc-Andre Fleury has to play better. He played like an elite goaltender when he came back from a high ankle sprain down the stretch through the playoffs.

With a 2.97 GAA and a .904 Sv%, that's not the kind of goaltender the Penguins need to make the playoffs, especially since they're not scoring. They need the goaltender who went 1.97 in GAA and a .933 Sv%.

Fleury knows he has to play better and after a good game against Atlanta, he let up against Nashville.

One of the biggest problems for the Penguins is they are too soft. The trade deadline is less than two months away. The Penguins should look to make a trade with one of their defense men, maybe Mark Eaton, Hal Gill, or Phillippe Boucher to get a second line winger and an enforcer.

That hole left from Adam Hall and George Laraque is deeply missed. Maybe the Penguins can get Sean Avery, who'd supplement both, but only if it's the Avery who played in New York.

Last year, the Rangers played better with him in the lineup, but this season they don't seem to miss him all that much. He was poison to Dallas, but Avery can't be to blame when he hasn't played in a month and not all much has changed with them.

Satan has to play better and net a couple more goals as well, especially if they put him out there with Crosby.

Maybe the Penguins can work a deal with Tampa Bay to get Ryan Malone back. He's miserable in Tampa and the Penguins are missing him in front of their opponents net and on the PK.

The Lightning have a lot of offensive players who aren't scoring and need defensemen to help out in front of their own net. The Penguins have some defensemen they can do without that the Bolts could use with skill and leadership.

The Penguins have to turn their current misfortunes around soon before they dig their hole even deeper. They don't want to walk into the playoffs with a high seed and face the Bruins, the red-hot Capitals or the Broad Street Bullies in Philly.

They have to turn things around now and look at the deadline as their best option to fill their holes.