One thing is guaranteed when the Pittsburgh Penguins visit the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday — one team will get two points.
And that surely will feel pretty good after the way things have been going for two clubs that have been pretty much in freefall.
Pittsburgh, which had hopes of returning to the playoffs after its 16-year postseason run ended a year ago, has instead collapsed at a critical time.
After a 3-0-1 stretch in late February brought hope, the Penguins have lost six of their past seven, including three in a row.
“Nobody’s happy with what’s going on,” said Pittsburgh top-line winger Bryan Rust, who returned from injured reserve on Sunday after missing seven games but could not save his team from getting pasted at home by the Edmonton Oilers, 4-0.
“I think it doesn’t matter how hard you may think it is — you’ve just got to find a way to make that confidence for yourself. I think you got to push it and maybe (find) that little 2, 3 or 4 extra percent to just kind of go with it.”
Pittsburgh’s offense has gone dormant. In the six losses among their past seven games, the Penguins have managed just five goals and have been shut out three times.
“There were (scoring) opportunities on both sides,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said of Sunday’s game. “We couldn’t seem to finish. Once again.”
But opponents are finishing. In those six losses, Pittsburgh has allowed 27 goals.
“We’re giving up too many grade-A chances at our end,” Penguins winger Reilly Smith said.
As bad as things are in Pittsburgh, they are worse in Ottawa.
The Senators have lost seven straight games (0-6-1) and have fallen into a tie with Columbus for the bottom spot in the Eastern Conference, although they have two games in hand on the Blue Jackets.
Ottawa is returning home from a three-game Western trip (0-2-1) that ended with Saturday’s 2-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks.
The message has become simple yet daunting.
“I told the team before the (San Jose) game we needed to be ready to win individual battles, make sure that we played strong defensively and, hopefully, get some goals,” Ottawa interim coach Jacques Martin said.
During their seven-game skid, the Senators have been outscored 27-14.
Martin finds his offense struggling just as much as the Penguins’.
“We had some chances, but we probably have to get second and third chances,” Martin said of the loss to the Sharks. “When you get near the end of the season, that’s how you get goals sometimes. It’s not on the first opportunity. You’ve got to stick your nose in there for a second and third chance.”
Forward Boris Katchouk, who was claimed by Ottawa off waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, made his Senators debut on Saturday.
“There’s a lot of guys very talented, and this team’s got a very good core,” Katchouk said. “I definitely made a couple of mistakes. I expected that, and I just tried to get out there with as much confidence as I could, but, unfortunately, we lost.”
–Field Level Media
