Mark Madden: Refusing to play smarter hockey, Penguins lose via foolishness, arrogance

The Pittsburgh Penguins got routed 5-1 on Long Island on Tuesday. That’s OK. Every team in every sport has the occasional terrible game.

But Wednesday’s 5-4 overtime loss to visiting Detroit revealed a lot that’s wrong with the Penguins. Their problems are great, and they are many. (I’ve used that in two consecutive columns. Chuck Noll would be proud.)

In a nutshell, the Penguins don’t settle for winning.

They led the Red Wings, 4-0, after one period. But instead of managing the lead, they tried to extend it via the stupidest means: Cross-rink passes, mistakes at both blue lines, bad turnovers that trigger the foe’s breakout, odd-man breaks allowed, attacking off the rush at the expense of cycling. You name it, the Penguins botched it.

It was a blueprint for dumb executed by a team that thinks it knows better but hasn’t been able to prove it by winning a playoff series since 2018.

The Penguins are too old and not fast enough to play the style they prefer. It works just enough to sucker them, but not enough to go places.

Coach Mike Sullivan often says he doesn’t want to take the stick out of his players’ hands. But it’s time for Sullivan to do exactly that depending on score and situation. If the players don’t like it, too bad.

It’s called coaching. Otherwise, you’re just changing lines.

You want to push the attack? Fine. You’ve got the talent to do so, if not the legs you once did.

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But know when not to. The Penguins aren’t capable of consistently playing high-octane hockey for 60 minutes. Their heads need to matter as much as their skates.

Age is supposed to bring wisdom. But sometimes, you just get old.

The Penguins aren’t greedy for stats. That’s not part of this. They just want to pound their chests and say, “This is who we are.”

Except they’re not. Used to be, maybe.

A 4-0 lead at home should be a death sentence for the foe. Boston has an old team, too. But the Bruins think. They get up by two, the game’s over.

Blowing leads is hardly a new phenomenon for these Penguins. They led by two in Games 5 and 6 of last year’s playoff series vs. the New York Rangers. They led by one twice in Game 7. They lost all three games the same way they got beat by Detroit on Wednesday, via foolishness and arrogance.

Sullivan must make the Penguins play smarter. As they need to, not how they want to. There must be accountability when they don’t, not mealy-mouthed mea culpas.

Nobody’s suggesting the Penguins trap for 60 minutes.

But the Penguins played the night before. Detroit hadn’t. They were in Pittsburgh waiting for the Penguins to get back from Long Island. Trying to make risky plays with a four-goal lead invites the Red Wings to maximize their inevitable push.

No need to score ’em. Just bore ’em.

It’s also ill-advised to take a too-many-men penalty when you lead by one with under four minutes left. Ding, dong, hello! What a horrible, mindless lapse.

Sullivan needs to hurt some feelings, too.

Defenseman Brian Dumoulin and center Jeff Carter are struggling mightily. But they never miss a shift, let alone a game. Using them together is akin to suicide.

Dumoulin should have been scratched for call-up Ty Smith on Wednesday. What was the point of summoning Smith from the Penguins’ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton affiliate, then not dressing him?

Drew O’Connor scored 156 seconds into the game but only played seven shifts total, just one in the third period.

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Who you are seems to matter more than how you’re playing.

The Penguins are 1-6 in games decided during three-on-three overtime. That’s inexcusable given their talent and skating.

Or maybe not, because their approach seems utterly clueless. Witness Evgeni Malkin blithely skating behind the net to trigger Carolina’s game-winning three-on-two in last Thursday’s OT loss. That’s a three-on-three no-no.

After losing to Detroit, Malkin said things must change. He said similar after his faux pas against Carolina. Things didn’t change.

If the Penguins don’t wise up, it’s fair to wonder if keeping the core trio together was a mistake. Is the goal to win, or to warm hearts through the bond of eternal brotherhood? (When the Penguins go splat, those three won’t all stay. Bet that.)

The Penguins ooze a blend of familiarity and stale, perhaps exacerbated by knowing big moves can’t happen because the Penguins are squeezed tight against the cap. The roster will stay as is. It’s up to the coach and players to make the best of it.

Or they can just keep hanging themselves with their own rope. It’s up to them, as has been made abundantly clear.