Mark Madden: If Penguins tighten their structure, other issues solve themselves

It’s been said for weeks: The Penguins need to tighten their structure.

But they’re not doing it.

Sunday’s 4-3 home loss to Carolina had its good points: The Penguins rallied from down 2-0 to make it 2-2. Sidney Crosby scored his 10th goal in 15 games. The Penguins got outplayed badly for the first 30 minutes, but goalie Tristan Jarry performed incredibly to keep them in the contest.

But the Penguins were, indeed, outplayed badly for the first 30 minutes.

They allowed three breakaways in the first period. (Jarry stopped all of them.)

They allowed a goal nine seconds into the second period, then again nine seconds into the third period. That indicates the attention span of a goat, or a soap dish.

The second instance was especially galling: The Penguins won the draw, but defenseman Brian Dumoulin turned the puck over, then let Carolina’s Jesper Fast elude him to net the tally.

They don’t come more solid or reliable than Dumoulin. When Dumoulin makes errors on both ends of a damaging goal, it speaks volumes.

The Hurricanes and Penguins sit 1-2 atop the Metro Division and could easily collide in the playoffs. The ‘Canes play a skilled style. It’s tough to out-Penguin the Penguins. But on Sunday, Carolina made fewer egregious errors and had a bit more edge.

Sunday felt like a playoff game. The Hurricanes won because that’s how they played.

The Penguins need to tighten their structure.

They should do it immediately, because their schedule gets more difficult.

The Penguins have 30 games left. Nineteen are against teams currently in playoff positions, including seven vs. divisional rivals: The New York Rangers four times, Carolina twice more, Washington once. The Penguins also play Boston, Colorado and Nashville twice; Edmonton, Florida, Minnesota, St. Louis, Tampa Bay and Vegas once.

That’s no cause for fright. The Penguins are a good team.

But they need to tighten their structure.

This especially applies to the core of Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin. They’re committing too many giveaways. If they lead, the rest will follow. That’s easily fixed, or should be.

But that might not be their preference, especially Malkin’s.

The Penguins’ structure weakened upon Malkin’s return after knee surgery. Like it or not, that’s the timeline. Malkin isn’t necessarily the cause. But he’s certainly a symptom. (Letang’s turnovers have ballooned with Malkin in the lineup.)

Using Jeff Carter at wing on Malkin’s line is a good idea. Carter adds finishing, faceoff ability and defensive acumen. That was suggested in this space. Now coach Mike Sullivan is trying it. (Not to take credit.)

The Penguins need more secondary scoring. Evan Rodrigues’ goal Sunday was his first in 19 games. Kasperi Kapanen has one goal in 18 games, no points in 11 games and is basically an empty jersey. He isn’t committed to much besides staying on the perimeter and away from traffic.

But how can the Penguins affect balance?

Bryan Rust scored Sunday. He has 18 goals in 30 games. Rust is a free agent at season’s end. Back up the Brinks truck.

Crosby, Rust and Jake Guentzel are arguably hockey’s best line. They have totaled 58 goals in the Penguins’ 52 games. But the Penguins are too often a one-line team lately.

Should Rust or Guentzel be moved to Malkin’s line? I don’t think so. You risk slowing down Crosby, Rust and Guentzel with no positive guarantees.

But Malkin has just eight even-strength points in 16 games. Never mind the below-the-line forwards. The Penguins need more from Malkin five-on-five.

But the primary point remains: The Penguins need to tighten their structure. Do that, and a lot of ancillary issues solve themselves.