PITTSBURGH — Frustration bubbled to the surface on the Penguins bench, as coach Mike Sullivan called his timeout less than seven minutes into the letdown.
An early three-goal deficit was hard enough to stomach on its own. But in context, the disastrous start only magnified troublesome trends that have emerged.
The Penguins, who relied on simplicity and structure for so much of the year, have recently regressed into a high-risk team that too often mismanages the puck. A once-suffocating penalty kill has slumped toward the bottom of the league over the last dozen games. And secondary scoring that helped the Penguins thrive in the absence of early-season star power has disappeared, making the club sometimes look like a one-line team.
