Pittsburgh Penguins: 5 Reasons the Pens Will Not Win the Stanley Cup in 2016
By Mike Necciai
Mar 28, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang (58) is is attended to by Pens trainer Chis Stewart (R) after suffered an apparent injury against the Arizona Coyotes during the second period at the CONSOL Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
1. Injuries
The Pittsburgh Penguins are the unluckiest team on earth when it comes to injuries, and I’m 100% confident in saying that. Can you find another professional sports franchise that had to deal with two blood clots, cancer, prolonged concussion symptoms, and a measles outbreak?
A lot of folks have cited Dan Bylsma‘s regular season success when dealing with injuries and criticized Mike Johnston for his lack-there-of. But, regular season success is exactly what it was, and nothing more. The Pens still failed to impress in the post-season when missing key players.
Exactly how bad has it been for the Pittsburgh Penguins on the injury front?
#Blackhawks at one end #Penguins on other. What is in the water in Pittsburgh? How about DAL or PHX? Explain? pic.twitter.com/iZtp6ANzHp
— Man-Games Lost NHL (@ManGamesLostNHL) June 16, 2015
To simplify things, you want to be in the lower left corner of that graph. Pittsburgh occupies the worst spot of all NHL teams from 2009 to 2015.
It’s hard to place blame for the odd string of injuries that the Pens have faced. Can you blame the training staff? Maybe the team doctors? I don’t believe so. But I do know that if this trend continues, it will be another early offseason for the Pittsburgh Penguins and their fans, despite everyone’s best efforts.
Next: Shero's Defensive Drafts Could Benefit the Pens' Future Plans