In all likelihood, the Penguins' 10-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks this week will end up being an aberration. Their bounce-back win against Nashville Saturday was certainly a step in the right direction.
But the situation they found themselves in Thursday night _ on the road in the second leg of a back-to-back against a quality opponent _ is one they should probably get used to.
As the Penguins attempt to jump-start their run to a third consecutive Stanley Cup title, they got no help from the NHL's schedule makers. Thirteen of their first 19 games are on the road. They have four sets of back-to-back games in October, and three more in November, all seven of which involve travel in between.
In three of those cases, they'll be playing Tampa Bay, a team considered to be a Stanley Cup contender, in the second game. Two more are against playoff teams from last year (Calgary and Nashville).
The schedule lightens up a bit after the first six weeks or so, but the Penguins still lead the NHL with 19 sets of back-to-back games this season.
"We know about our schedule, but I think every team goes through it, every team has their back-to-backs," winger Conor Sheary said. "We might have a few more, but I think we're just going to go out there and play. We can't worry too much about who we're playing or where we're playing or what the schedule is. I think we've just got to show up and work hard every night."
The Penguins aren't using their travel schedule as an excuse, but that doesn't make it any more enjoyable. Consider this past week. Their opening-night game against St. Louis ended just after 11 p.m. From there, they had to bus out to the airport and fly to Chicago, arriving well after 1 a.m.
With chartered air travel and luxury hotels, they're not exactly roughing it, to be sure, but for players who value routine above all else, it can be an adjustment with another game looming a few hours later.
"I think especially when you're going on the road for the second night, just getting in late, waking up late," Sheary said. "It throws off your routine a little bit, but I think other than that, it shouldn't be that difficult."
There are minor tweaks the Penguins can make (and have made) to adjust for the schedule. This week, for instance, they only did video work on Friday, the day after the loss in Chicago, rather than a full on-ice practice.
"I think the ability to rest and recover is going to be huge," defenseman Ian Cole said. I think that's probably why we didn't go on the ice (Friday). While everyone was disappointed in the game, I don't think that expending more energy would've been beneficial to playing (Saturday)."
Even within the game, Cole pointed to minor tweaks that can be made on the second leg of a back-to-back when energy may not be at an all-time high.
"I think that the ability to kind of know yourself and know the schedule and know what guys are feeling, maybe simplifying the game, putting more pucks in deep," he said. "Maybe not quite trying to do as much, limit those turnovers. These are things that I think good teams are cognizant of as they're playing the second game of a back-to-back or three-in-four or whatever."
The Penguins went 6-4-5 on the second legs of back-to-backs last year, so they're certainly aware of what it takes to win in these scenarios. And even if the loss in Chicago was the opposite of what they're looking for in those spots, they'll have plenty of chances to reverse it moving forward.
"It's not in our head," defenseman Justin Schultz said. "Yeah, we have a tough schedule, we know that. But it's no excuse. We're pros here, we've got to be ready for every game and take care of ourselves. That's part of it."
