Mark Madden: Stubborn Penguins in danger of missing playoffs

The Pittsburgh Penguins are in trouble. It’s not too soon to say that.

In fact, it may get late early.

Whatever can go wrong, is. Their recent seven-game losing streak is the headliner.

But the devil is in the Penguins’ details, and the New Jersey Devils are 13-3. They didn’t make the playoffs last year. They will this year. The New York Islanders might fit that description, too. That’s bad news for the local team.

The Penguins lost a one-goal lead three times in Saturday’s 5-4 overtime loss at Montreal. They have wasted leads epically, most notably a 5-2 edge in a 6-5 home loss to Boston on Nov. 1 and a 3-1 advantage in a 6-3 defeat at Buffalo the next night.

The Penguins conceded goals in the first and last minutes of the second period during Tuesday’s 5-2 home loss to Toronto.

Sidney Crosby’s line was on the ice for all five goals allowed vs. the Maple Leafs.

Botched pinches and activating defensemen gifted the Leafs frequent odd-man breaks.

Defensive-zone coverage was putrid. On Toronto’s first goal, John Tavares seemed momentarily confused by the time and space he had when he got the puck in the slot.

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The Penguins are 6-7-3 and four points out of the Eastern Conference’s second and final wild-card berth. That doesn’t seem like a lot. But there are five teams between the Penguins and that spot. The loser point turns catching up into treading sludge.

The Penguins’ plummet isn’t a new development.

As hockey writer Josh Yohe notes on Twitter, the Penguins are 16-20-5 since last season’s trade deadline. That’s 41 games, a half-season, and it’s a 74-point pace. Yuck.

The biggest problem: The Penguins aren’t fast anymore. Worse yet, they think they are.

They’re fast enough to deal with teams that are similarly aging out, like Washington. But Toronto, for example, raced by and around the Penguins all night Tuesday. The difference in speed against, say, Edmonton is embarrassing.

This space often has suggested that these older Penguins amend their high-octane, always-attack style.

Now, that suggestion isn’t about a mere tweak. It’s about survival.

But they won’t do it. That again was evident Saturday at Montreal.

On Friday, the Penguins wisely managed the third period of their victory at Toronto. They got the puck deep and cycled down low.

On Saturday, they did the opposite and kept blowing leads. They are determined to be hung with their own rope.

That’s to be respected, in an odd sense. It’s easily understood in the context of keeping the core of Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin together. The Penguins’ core and coach Mike Sullivan will be true to their vision, and to what once worked so gloriously.

Even as they go splat.

Even Friday’s mostly well-managed win at Toronto contained what is now a typical Penguins moment.

With approximately five minutes left and the Penguins up by one, defenseman Chad Ruhwedel joined the rush. The puck turned over, and Toronto got an odd-man break, one that was foiled by the Penguins frantically chasing back.

Ruhwedel has 11 goals in 271 NHL games. His offensive skills are less than marginal. Why is he joining the rush ever, let alone in that situation? Same goes for half their defensive corps.

Because that’s how the Penguins play. That’s their system.

They will ride it all the way to hell.