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Kyle Dubas Sets His Expectations for the Pittsburgh Penguins During Weekly GM Show
On his local weekly radio show with Josh Getzoff, General Manager Kyle Dubas talks in details about his expectations of the team and what he wants to see.
President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas emphasized the importance of consistency and power play execution coming out of the All-Star Break.
More from the GM Show with @JG_PxP ⬇️— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 8, 2024
Kyle Dubas Talks About the Need for Consistent Play by the Penguins
In the show, Dubas really emphasizes what he feels is a big part of the team's issue. The lack of consistency.
«So, for me now, this next month and how we come out of the break, (it's about) whether we show that consistency that we've talked about so much throughout the year. Because when we're at our best, we show that we're right there with anybody, we can play with anybody, and really take it to anybody but there's been too many other times where we don't have that night in and night out. It's time for us now to show, this is who we are, we're going to impose ourselves every night.»
It is something that Dubas has been looking for all season long and thinks that the Penguins are one of the better teams in hockey when they are playing up to their potential.
Dubas Hints at What he Sees the Penguins Potential Is for the Second Half
«There's 72 points available to us the rest of the year. To get to where we want to get to, we're going to have to win between 44 and 50 of those points,"
Dubas said about the team's second half.This tells us that his expectations and projections are within a range of 95-101 points for the team. The Penguins are coming off a great return from the break with a solid 3-0 shutout win over Winnipeg.
This could also speak to why he has not made any significant changes to the team or coaching staff. The Penguins are looking to get into the playoffs as a wild card team, and not contend for the Conference title as this point.
The Penguins stand as of now projected to reach 92-93 points for the season. Some projections do have them higher. But with the consistency in their game, and the play we have seen since Mid-December with a 12-5-4 record, they could meet their team goals of a wild card bid.
Power Play Issues are the Reason the Team is Where They Are in the Standings
We have watched the Penguins struggle with their powerplay. It was a good change of pace Tuesday night when they scored 2 of their 3 goals on the PP against Winnepeg. But the struggling PP is not lost on Dubas.
«But the reason why we're at where we're at in the standings is, number one, our power play is near the bottom of the league."
It is not lost on anyone that the powerplay has to improve for the Penguins to move forward into a playoff spot. Currently, it is 30th in the league at 14.1%.
Dubas Gives His Final Thoughts on the Process and Why It Does Not Matter if it Looks Good if it is Not Working
«So, you can quote the process, and I could regurgitate a number of analytical measures and data points. But this is where you tread to that line of how much is process and how much is going out executing and getting results. It's a result-oriented business and the standings don't lie, we're at where we're at. Everyone could point to our goal differential or five-on-five differential and say, we're due to become better. We have to execute better in those close games, we have to close out games that we have in hand better, and we have to execute on the power play.»
Well said by the GM who emphasizes the consistency and the powerplay as the two big factors that need to improvement for the Penguins to move forward.
As Read On: Pensburgh - Dubas: Penguins need to be consistent, improve in one-goal games
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February 8 | 102 answers Kyle Dubas Sets His Expectations for the Pittsburgh Penguins During Weekly GM Show Do you think that consistency and the powerplay are the two big factors in the Penguins gameplay? | ||
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