from Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

It hasn’t mattered that their payroll, which flirts with the league’s salary-cap ceiling, includes some of the most celebrated offensive talents in recent hockey history.

To wit:

• Sidney Crosby, a two-time scoring champion, is on pace to finish with 53 points.

• Phil Kessel, acquired this summer for his goal-scoring, has seven, which projects to 25 over a full season. That would match his fewest since he got 19 in 2007-08.

• Evgeni Malkin, despite scoring seven goals in the past six games, still hasn’t reached a point-per-game pace.

But while the Penguins might be the most conspicuous example of a team with an underachieving offense, they hardly are the only one struggling to manufacture goals.

Only five NHL clubs are averaging more than three per game; Anaheim and Philadelphia are generating fewer than two.

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