Amidst the skid that the Penguins are currently on, a lot of it can be contributed to goaltending and needing to "get a save". But no matter who is in goal recently between Alex Nedeljkovic and Joel Blomqvist, it seems like the Penguins have no answers and can not get a key stop when they need one.
But just because Blomqvist is struggling right now and currently has nothing left to prove in the AHL, does not mean that the Penguins should give up on him. Blomqvist is only a rookie, and he will get better, he just needs more time to develop and play with the Penguins.
Coach Sullivan playing Ned more does not help Blomqvist's development
Like late last season, right before the Four Nations Faceoff break, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan saw Alex Nedeljkovic get hot and rode the hot hand coming out of the break. This meant that Blomqvist did not get to play many games and get comfortable in goal.
Blomqvist sitting on the bench not getting game action does not help his development at all as he needs starts and game action to seriously help him get acclimated to the big league game now and for the future.
As previously stated, he has nothing left to prove in the AHL and if you were to send him back down since he is not playing much, that just ruins Sergei Murashov's development, and the Penguins do not want to do that.
Blomqvist struggled versus the Rangers, but its a learning curve and he will get better
In a recent game against the Rangers, the Penguins went to Blomqvist in goal because it was a back-to-back on a weekend and they did not want to play Nedeljkovic twice.
The Penguins dominated the game but did not get any key saves that they needed and dropped a close game to their metro rivals 5-3 at home.
All of the goals that Blomqvist allowed, he was going to want back but it is a learning curve for him. Rookies are going to make mistakes, it happens. But with more playing time and more time to make mistakes now when the Penguins are tanking for a top 5 pick, the better it will be for his future.