Pittsburgh Penguins Versus the Atlantic Division

The Pittsburgh Penguins are the reigning Atlantic Division champions, but you'd never know it by looking at the current standings.

The Pens have recently taken a tumble down the Atlantic Division ladder.

They now sit in third place, only one point ahead of the New Jersey Devils—who have played two fewer games.   

The Penguins' record against Atlantic Division opponents has not been that bad. They are currently 5-2-3 when playing against their own division.

However, three of those five wins have come in overtime or shootouts, so they have given their division rivals some extra points. Also, that record includes three victories against the New York Islanders, who are by far the weakest team in the division.

When it comes to playing their toughest division rivals, the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers, the Penguins have struggled. They've blown 2-0 leads to lose to the Rangers twice this season, and they blew a three-goal lead against the Flyers earlier in the year as well. The Penguins went on to win that game in a shootout.

On Saturday the Flyers clearly outworked and outclassed the Penguins, beating them 6-3 in Philadelphia. The scoreboard made the game look closer than it actually was. The Penguins had no chance in that game.

There are a few reasons why the Penguins have failed to be competitive in the Atlantic division so far this season. The first is injuries.

Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney are keys to the Penguins' power play. Without those two, the Penguins lose a great deal of experience and firepower. Currently, Phillipe Boucher, Alex Goligoski, Kris Letang, and Evgeni Malkin share the duties along the blue line during a man advantage. All of those players combined do not equal what Gonchar does during a power play.

And the Penguins' power play is another glaring weakness. The team's power play is ranked 18th in the league this season. It's ranked sixth at home but a shockingly bad 28th on the road. For a team that boasts two of the league's leading scorers, that's simply not good enough.

Not only is the weak power play caused by inexperience on defense, but it's also caused by another weakness in this year's Penguins team—toughness in front of the net.

Opposing goaltenders are simply seeing too many of the Penguins' shots.  While I don't believe Ryan Malone is worth the huge contract Tampa Bay gave him, he is a valuable player. The Penguins have not found a suitable replacement that can create traffic around the crease.

Jordan Staal was tried in that role but he wasn't able to adapt his style. Tyler Kennedy had some success with creating traffic on the power play, but now he is out with an injury. The same can be said for the injured Max Talbot.

The current top power play features Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Miroslav Satan, and Alex Goligoski. That much offensive strength should be able to score some goals, but instead they are reduced to passing the puck around and setting up shots from the point—Shots without any traffic. To say they have been ineffective at screening the goaltender would be an understatement.

I don't think the Penguins will win the Atlantic Division this year.

The Rangers and the Flyers are very strong teams and they do not seem to be running out of steam as the season continues. The Devils have learned how to play without Martin Brodeur, which is scary. Once Brodeur returns they will be an even more dangerous team.

One of those teams will win the division. The Penguins will likely finish second or third. They will still make the playoffs, but will have a harder time doing so than last year.

Rick M. currently writes about the Pittsburgh Penguins at PenguinsExperience.com