The Penguins are going into tonight's game against the Canadiens having lost 8 games in a row and not having scored a goal in 2 straight games. The last two games they lost to the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens 4-0 on the road during the Penguins' dads trip.
The Penguins just look lifeless every time they take the ice and a lot of it is because the veterans are not doing their jobs and when the Penguins get a good scoring chance, they are not finishing it. In this losing streak, the Penguins either have had a finishing issue or an issue with blowing leads.
But as of late, they cannot score a goal to save their lives. It is not all Dan Muse's fault because he is doing the absolute best that he can with the roster that he is given. Kevin Hayes is a player that is becoming unplayable, but Muse has no choice but to deploy him in the lineup.
He plays center and Muse is currently missing second-line center Evgeni Malkin and fourth-line center Blake Lizotte. Muse has to fill out his center spots and not a lot of his players play that position so Hayes has to be in the lineup for the time being.
And in Saturday's loss to the Canadiens, Muse switched up the lines by putting Rakell in as second-line center and splitting up the top line and putting the kid line back together. Muse is trying the best that he can with the personnel that he has.
A lot of fans seem to think that Muse is to blame especially because he plays Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang so much on defense. But those are the veterans that have the most experience on the defensive side of the roster, so Muse has no choice there.
The main problem that has arrised is the fact that a lot of the veterans look like they are not trying anymore. They need to kick it back into gear and do what they can to get this team out of their current funk. The Penguins started out the season really well and now have been playing awfully.
Something has to give, and it has to give soon. The Penguins need to get back on track and get back in the win column and start to build on it again, it is very important.