The Penguins have scored an average of 2.22 goals through their first 23 games, placing them below all but four teams in the NHL rankings.
It hasn’t mattered that their payroll, which flirts with the league’s salary-cap ceiling, includes some of the most celebrated offensive talents in recent hockey history.
To wit:
• Sidney Crosby, a two-time scoring champion, is on pace to finish with 53 points.
• Phil Kessel, acquired this summer for his goal-scoring, has seven, which projects to 25 over a full season. That would match his fewest since he got 19 in 2007-08.