Pittsburgh Penguins: 3 Keys to the Game vs. Tampa

The Pittsburgh Penguins are sliding, and something needs to be done.

The Pittsburgh Penguins just lost their third straight game and are set to face the top team in the league tonight. The Penguins have been sliding in the standings and we really need to bounce back. We have fallen to eighth in the Eastern Conference, and although the race is tight, we need every win we can get as soon as possible.

Pittsburgh Penguins

It all starts with tonight’s game. We played some really weak games during this last stretch. We need to turn things around tonight if we want to get back to the top. But how should we play against the best team in the league in the Tampa Bay Lightning?

1) Defence Needs to be Consistent

Let’s be honest here. Matt Murray hasn’t been playing like his old self. His numbers have been dipping and we need to be able to count on him. But in the instances we can’t count on him, we need to be able to count on our defence.

Our defence has been really inconsistent, so we need to get this back on track. Tampa is a very offensive team and we need to shut them down.

2) We Need More Production From Role Players

Our superstars are performing well. The big three forwards–Phil Kessel, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, are leading our team in offensive numbers as predicted.

But what about our smaller guys? We need more production from Conor Sheary, Justin Schultz, Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust. These are the guys that need to help out as much as possible.

3) Possible Line Changes?

Things have not been working out these last few games and we all can see that. Maybe coach should mix up the lines a bit. We need to get more consistent and I’ll take anything that might help right now.