The Pittsburgh Penguins are set to face the Arizona Coyotes Saturday night in Arizona.
While the Pittsburgh Penguins have been on a losing streak, the same could be said for the Coyotes. The Penguins have got to come away with a win here and snap their three game losing streak if they want to improve in the standings. They currently sit sixth in the Metropolitan Division, and although the division is tight, it’s only a matter of a few losses to completely fall out of contention.
Today I’d like to introduce a new segment here on Pen’s Labyrinth called “Do’s and Don’ts”. I will take a look at some things the Penguins should do against the Coyotes and some thing they should not do. These may be quick thoughts or well thought-out ideas as well.
So let’s take a look at the do’s and don’ts against the Coyotes.
Do: Take advantage of their weak offence
The Coyotes are a very young team, and as a result, they have a fairly inexperienced forward core. In their last five games, they have only managed to score five goals. On top of this, their leading scorer, Clayton Keller, a rookie, only has 12 goals and 26 points on the season. Let’s take advantage of this and shut them down
Don’t: Underestimate them
They may be last in the league with only seven wins on the season, but let’s not underestimate them. They managed to defeat the New Jersey Devils, the LA Kings and the Toronto Maple Leafs, three teams at the top of the league right now. Let’s play strong like we do every night and treat them just like every other team.
Do: Get the puck to our big three
Phil Kessel, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin are leading our team in points right now. They are our superstars and we need to let them take control of the game against weaker teams like the Coyotes.
Don’t: Break down defensively
We’ve done it several times before. Our defence needs to be more consistent. Period. Let’s play strong and try not to break down and the win will be ours.