While you were paying attention to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Sunday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Penguins quietly continued their stumble toward playoff oblivion.
Oh, it looked good for a time, with the Penguins inexplicably leading the powerful Colorado Avalanche 4-0 in the second period. But, just as water finds its own level, the stumbling Penguins were able to turn that mammoth lead into a 5-4 overtime loss.
That left the Penguins at dead-even .500 – 30-30-10 — 70 games into an 82-game season. Worse, with several games yet to be played Sunday by their rivals for a wild-card playoff spot, the Penguins sat 9 points out a playoff spot, with five teams ahead of them in that chase for the Stanley Cup playoff field in the east.
The computer rating system at moneypuck.com gave the Penguins a 1.7-percent likelihood to make the playoffs after the Sunday loss. To borrow the line from the movie “Dumb And Dumber,” so, you’re telling me there’s a chance?
Yes. There is a fleeting, rapidly diminishing chance that the Penguins will avoid missing the playoffs for a second consecutive season.
But what would that mean, even if they did pull off the longest of longshots?
This still is a team with a porous defense, as epitomized by defenseman Kris Letang who has taken it upon himself to make critical gaffes in crucial games of late. From misplays in his end, to getting caught spectating as Colorado’s Jonathan Drouin swept past him to score the winning goal in overtime Sunday, LeTang has been a glaring problem.
The top-heavy salary structure of the team leaves little room to accumulate depth, and led to Jake Guentzel being traded away due to a lack of money.
The Penguins also pitched the Guentzel move as an attempt to get younger. He is, after all, pushing an ancient 30 years of age.
This is what happens to dynastic teams, in many sports. From the Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s, to the New England Patriots of recent decades, the time comes when age, salary caps and other issues conspire to turn winners into losers.
Just look at what has happened to the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks going from penthouse to outhouse in hockey.
It’s is likely that the Penguins will miss the playoffs this season, and it may not be the last such miss before they can turn over the roster and be successful again.
That’s the way of life in professional sports in the age of the salary cap.
Sam Ross Jr's site 