As the oldest team in the National Hockey League (NHL), the Pittsburgh Penguins have taken a new approach in recent games to reduce the chances of scoring against them, even if it means sacrificing some offense.
Even though the strategy wasn’t followed to the letter on Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings and the two teams gave each other scoring opportunities, they have still been able to shut out their opponents twice in their last three games.
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“We’re not 25 years old anymore,” Quebecer Kristopher Letang told the website Pittsburgh Hockey Now. Sometimes you realize that if a team wants to score against you and gets forward a lot, playing well on defense can actually lead to more good chances for you on offense.
Aside from not making the playoffs last season, a very poor start to the season made the club and the 36-year-old guard realize the importance of adopting a less risky style of play. With an average age of 30, the highest in the NHL according to the website eliteprospects.com, this is another reason for caution.
“Although we have a lot of skill and can create a lot of offense without anything happening on the ice, it will give us a better chance of forcing the other team to make mistakes,” Letang added.
The player, who grew up in Sainte-Julie, has collected one goal and seven points in 13 games since the start of the season.
The Penguins are on a four-game winning streak in which they found the net 20 times and were defeated just five times.
Not just defensively
However, better defensive play doesn’t mean the team is waiting for the opponent in their zone, which star forward Sidney Crosby said would be a bad sign.
The captain speaks instead of greater responsibility in the “Pens” game.
“We don’t want to sacrifice defense to try a play that isn’t there,” the center said. Our ability to put pressure on the puck allows us to create offense. That’s why we will continue to do that without forcing the game unnecessarily.”
Pittsburgh will visit Nationwide Arena to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.