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Pittsburgh Penguins late extra-attacker goals expose 4-14-10 collapse pattern
Photo credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
The X post below landed like a hammer, Pittsburgh Penguins, extra-attacker goal, playoff race, and a brutal 4-14-10 record in their last 28 such games.
That is the stat, but the feeling is worse. Late chaos keeps rescuing Pittsburgh for a minute, then exposing the same soft spots right after.
Tuesday was the perfect example. The Penguins forced overtime after trailing 4-2 in Carolina, then still lost 5-4 in the shootout and slipped to 32-17-15.
That is not clutch hockey. That is living on fumes, then paying for every loose coverage and every failed clear.
The schedule makes it sting more. Pittsburgh goes right back at it Thursday in Vegas, so there is no soft landing for a group that has been chasing games too often.
Sidney Crosby still drives everything for this team, but he's out now, and Bryan Rust has kept finishing when the Penguins need a push. The problem is the push keeps arriving too late.
Erik Karlsson has also piled up offense from the blue line, but this stat is really about team habits. Empty-net urgency cannot keep covering five-on-five leaks.
Sidney Crosby cannot keep masking Pittsburgh Penguins flaws once he returns
Fans can respect the fight and still be exhausted by the pattern.
When a team scores with the extra attacker, it should feel like a lifeline. For Pittsburgh lately, it has felt more like a delay before the same punch lands.
That is the part Kyle Dubas has to weigh hardest. Is this a team that one clean deadline add could have steadied, or a roster still too fragile in its own zone?
The next game in Vegas matters because it tests the same nerve again. If the Penguins want this stretch to mean something, they need cleaner starts, fewer emergencies, and less drama at six-on-five.
Also read on HockeyUnplugged :
Kris Letang struggles, Penguins waste Bryan Rust comeback in Hurricanes shootout loss
Kris Letang struggles, Penguins waste Bryan Rust comeback in Hurricanes shootout loss
| POLL | ||
MARS 11|91 ANSWERS Pittsburgh Penguins late extra-attacker goals expose 4-14-10 collapse pattern Should the Pittsburgh Penguins still trust this late-game push formula? | ||
| Yes | 55 | 60.4 % |
| No | 36 | 39.6 % |
| List of polls | ||