After missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for two straight seasons, the Pittsburgh Penguins enter 2024/25 with hopes of turning it around, and while they've had three big wins early, they've also dropped three games, posting a 3-3-0 mark through six games. On Friday night, the team fell 4-1 to the division rival Carolina Hurricanes, and on the back of a dreadful Sidney Crosby performance, frustration continues to mount.
The loss dropped the team to 1-2-0 at home this season, and after the game, Head Coach Mike Sullivan was frustrated with another underwhelming performance against a division rival.
On paper, the Penguins have one of the most talented rosters in the Eastern Conference, but with few emerging young stars and some question marks in the net, it's easy to see that they may struggle to play at a high level in 2024/25 consistently. One player in particular who showed frustration after the loss was Lars Eller, who pointed out many flaws in how the team played on Friday.
The team is there for the Penguins to end their two-year stint out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but if the effort isn't there on a nightly basis they simply can't compete, and this would be an awful way for Sidney Crosby's career to go after such a stellar stint with the Penguins thus far.