Pittsburgh Penguins Dip In Week 9 NHL Power Rankings

After their 4-3 overtime loss to the Rangers on Monday in New York, the Pittsburgh Penguins (18-6-3. 39 points) remain one point ahead of the New York Islanders (19-9-0, 38 points) for first place in the Metropolitan Division. The Isles lost 5-4 on the road Tuesday night against the Wild in Minnesota.

Mike Johnston’s squad will be back in action at Consol Energy Center on Friday, Dec. 12 to take on the Calgary Flames (17-9-2, 36 points). The opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ROOT Sports Pittsburgh.

After 27 games played in the National Hockey League, here is the Tale of the Tape for the Black and Gold:

Penguins At Home: 9-4-1 On The Road: 9-2-2

Last 10 Games: 5-3-2

Metropolitan Division Record: 5-4-2

NHL Eastern Conference: 13-4-3

NHL Western Conference: 5-2-0

Goals Scored: 88 Goals Allowed: 64

The Pens seem to enjoy getting on the scoreboard early this season as they have put up 35 goals in the opening frame while scoring 29 in the second period and 20 in the third. They have two goals in overtime while claiming a 2-1 mark in shootouts.

In the course of several days to a few weeks, Pittsburgh has lost Pascal Dupuis, Beau Bennett, Kris Letang, Chris Kunitz and Patric Hornqvist. The Pens picked up Rob Klinkhammer in a trade with Phoenix Coyotes. Was that enough or should Jim Rutherford and Company do more to improve the roster? Does Pittsburgh have enough in the farm system to obtain another forward?

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On the other hand, the latest word is that Hornqvist and Letang could be back on the ice for the game with Calgary on Friday. Perhaps the strategy should be one of patience and give the players time to recover?

Meanwhile, let’s check in with the experts around the internet to see where they place the Black and Gold this week in the pecking order of the NHL.

Bleacher Report – This Week #7 / Last Week #6 – Dave Lozo takes a look at the slew of injuries to the forwards in the Black and Gold.

CBSSports – This Week: #4 / Last Week: #2 – Chris Peters looks at the last 10 games and sees a team that is struggling to string together wins.

ESPN – This Week: #6 / Last Week: #3 – Scott Burnside is concerned that while Sidney Crosby has 35 points in 27 games, he has just two goals in his last 18 contests.

FanSided – This Week: #3 / Last Week: #2 – Patrick Schmidt likes that the Pens +25 goal differential is good for third best in the league.

Fox Sports – This Week #2 / Last Week #1 – Craig Morgan likes that Pittsburgh has been able to play through all of their injuries in staying on top of the Metro Division.

The Hockey News – This Week: #4 / Last Week: #4 – Ken Campbell is in favor of the acquisition of Rob Klinkhammer from the Coyotes last week.

Puck Drunk Love – This Week #5 / Last Week #4 – Mike Burse brings his own set of analytics to the table in evaluating the NHL.

SBNation – This Week: 3 / Last Week: 2 – For Andrew Hirsh, it is more about the rise of the Chicago Black Hawks and the Tampa Bay Lightning than the Penguins falling in the rankings.

Do you agree with the experts? Is Pittsburgh ranked a little too high or too low in your opinion? Perhaps the Penguins ranking is just about right? Let me know in the comments section below.