Time for Pittsburgh Penguins Head Coach "Disco" Dan Bylsma to Start Dancing

Here's a surprising fact: since last Nov. 3, the Pittsburgh Penguins are 41-31-8, which translates to a winning percentage of .512. In other terms, the Penguins are roughly one percent better than the break-even point after beginning the 2009-10 season with a 12-3-0 burst.

Factor in the team's 7-6 record in the postseason last spring and the 2009 Stanley Cup champions have been strikingly mediocre in their last year's worth of work. One could argue that an emotional high from the title carried them for the first 15 games of last season before the grind set in, but a simple lack of passion from game to game doesn't explain away 80 games of so-so results.

Naturally, if head coach Dan Bylsma is to receive credit for taking in a disgruntled group under former bench boss Michel Therrien and transforming them into a squad worthy of the ultimate prize, he must accept his share of criticism for the Penguins' underwhelming performance over the last 12 months.

It's evident following a stretch of four losses in five games that the Penguins aren't suddenly going to start "getting to their game," to borrow a frequent phrase uttered by Bylsma. The good feelings generated from the run to the Cup have officially run out, and fans can't be blamed if they start to wonder about the aptitude of a man who was in the midst of his first season as a professional head coach prior to being promoted to replace Therrien 20 months ago.

From this vantage point, there have been three significant areas in which Bylsma has failed to recapture the magic of his first five months on the job:

1. Evgeni Malkin

The second-overall selection in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft appeared to have his career set on an upward arc, culminating with his claiming the 2008-09 regular-season scoring title with 113 points and playing spectacularly in the playoffs en route to the Conn Smythe Trophy for postseason MVP.

Last season, "Geno" saw his production drop to just 77 points in 67 games, but more alarming was the shakiness of his effort and execution. The downward trend for the 24-year-old Russian has continued into this season, with the lanky center on a 57-point pace while playing in a predominantly passive manner.

2. Power Play

The Penguins' man-advantage unit reached its nadir Wednesday night in Dallas, misfiring on a 90-second five-on-three and stretching its streak to 25 straight fruitless opportunities.

With Sidney Crosby, Malkin and talented offensive defensemen Alex Goligoski and Kris Letang in the Pittsburgh stable, having a power play ranked 26th in the NHL with a 12.1 percent conversion rate is understandably a huge disappointment. Losing PP quarterback Sergei Gonchar to free agency isn't a valid excuse either, as the Penguins have ranked 20th each of the last two seasons with No. 55 at the point.

3. General Execution

Sloppiness and undisciplined play have been twin scourges for the Penguins over the last calendar year. Defensive-zone coverage has been an area that has degraded in particular, as Penguins goaltenders have been forced to fend off quality chances at a higher rate than under Therrien and during the initial months of Bylsma's reign. Even skills as basic as shooting, passing and stick-handling have visibly sagged compared to most opposing teams.

Bylsma's practice rituals can justifiably be called into question, especially when most media stories from training sessions regard "mustache boy" shootout competitions and which player is forced to fetch refreshments for teammates.

Every time Malkin floats through another shift, or the power play fails to sniff the net or an opposing forward has time to dust off a puck before shooting it, the Bylsma era looks worse and worse. Unsavory memories of the ill-fated Eddie Olczyk regime also begin to resurface for Penguins fans every time Bylsma insists that his team is "close" to finding its stride. Talking about executing better sounds empty when the results increasingly aren't there.

Of course, there are 69 games remaining in the current season and it would likely take an epic slump for Penguins general manager Ray Shero to start seriously questioning the merits of Bylsma's coaching acumen. However, with what amounts to a full season of inconsistent results behind him, it's time that "Disco" Dan Bylsma started dancing.