Mike Sullivan likes to say that his team plays best with a "defensive conscience". A quick glance at the numbers seems to indicate that during the entire 2017-18 season, penguins did not do as much as in the past.
They gave up 3.02 goals per game, their average season in the average for Sullivan. In October and November, the problem of dropping too many strange aspirations was a problem, and he returned to bite them again in the postseason, which ultimately led to their elimination of the playoffs.
When looking at the defenders and goalkeepers, the results were a bit mixed bag. There were many positive moments to take away, but, ultimately, the inability of penguins to keep the puck out of their own network is the main reason they no longer compete for the third consecutive Stanley Cup.
For example, this year the defenders remained remarkably healthy. Justin Schultz sat from 19 games due to injury, but Chris Lathang, Brian Dumulin and Olli Maatt missed five combinations between them.
