from Mark Madden of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review,

The Penguins slowed down noticeably in the third period at Vegas.

That couldn’t be because they spent three nights prior there, could it? Why did the Penguins get to Vegas so early? They had their rookie party, but don’t really have any rookies. They canceled practice Thursday.

The Penguins aren’t collapsing but aren’t improving.

The same problems linger with no end in sight. They’re poor three-on-three, having lost their last three overtimes. The power play has converted just six times in its last 50 attempts.

The penalty-kill is excellent, having conceded just four goals in its last 36 tries.

The goaltending is good if inconsistent.

The bottom six don’t contribute enough, but you can’t get blood from a stone.

Lesser lights on defense like Ryan Graves, P.O Joseph and Chad Ruhwedel have experienced slight upticks in play. (Emphasis on “slight.”)

But the Penguins really have just three skaters they can count on: Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Jake Guentzel. Marcus Pettersson, too, in a Steady Eddie-type fashion. (Guentzel, a free agent at season’s end, might get swapped by the March 8 trade deadline unless the Penguins make a compelling on-ice case to keep him. So far, they’re not.)

more