Pittsburgh’s aggressive forecheck yields poor defense on the backend

The Penguins have a regular habit of trying to out-score their opponent in the offensive zone night in and night out rather than out-play them, as Mike Sullivan has pointed out a handful of times this season (most notably in bad losses). As a result, they’ve pinched too hard, over-worked their forecheck, and it’s causing eye-popping issues in the defensive zone.

This team is probably one of the most top-heavy clubs in the NHL this year when it comes to forward talent, and that breeds noticeable issues that’ve led to entirely too many goals against. When they fall into their wrongful pattern of focusing on scoring more than focusing on game control, the Penguins fail to control the puck as…