The aging Pittsburgh Penguins are down in their opening-round playoff series, two games to none, because they are being outplayed and outhit by the upstart Philadelphia Flyers.
But mostly, they are in desperation mode because their power play, which ranked seventh in the NHL in the regular season, has been absent in the first two games.
The power play went 0-for-5 in Monday's 3-0 loss to the hated Flyers, the Penguins' second consecutive home defeat.
In NHL history, teams that win the first two playoff games on the road are a staggering 90-22 (.804 winning percentage) in a best-of-seven series.
Sidney Crosby, a certified Flyers killer but someone who has been blanked in the first two games, said the Penguins aren't looking at the long odds.
Instead, they're looking at their track record.
"I think we've been in some tough spots all season," he told reporters after the game. "We've always responded really well to adversity. It seems like it's brought out the best in all of us."
Still, the Flyers, who return home for Wednesday's Game 3, are in the proverbial driver's seat.
"Getting on the road and having a situation like this hopefully brings out the best in us," Crosby said.
Oddly, the road team has won the last seven playoff games between the Flyers and the Penguins.
"We're excited to get back home in front of our fans," Flyers right winger Owen Tippett said. "But obviously you can't get too high or too low."
The Penguins are feeling low, especially because they were outscored, 1-0, when they had a man advantage Monday.
It was Tippett who made the game's key play, getting around three Penguins while the Flyers were shorthanded before faking a shot and finding Garnet Hathaway in front for a shorthanded tap-in. That gave Philadelphia a 2-0 lead with 2:17 left in the second period and took the air out of PPG Paints Arena.
As Tippett somehow got free down the left side, Pittsburgh goaltender Stuart Skinner leaned toward the high-scoring forward, expecting him to fire at the net.
"If I was their goalie, I'd be scared of his shot, too," Hathaway said.
Takeaways: Frustration Beginning To Boil As Penguins Go Down 2-0 In Series Against Flyers The Pittsburgh Penguins were, once again, unable to generate anything in Game 2 against the Philadelphia Flyers - and they find themselves in a compromising 2-0 hole as the series heads to Philadelphia for Games 3 and 4.
The Penguins had just a combined two shots on their five power plays. In the series, their PP is now 0-for-7 (with only three shots) against the Flyers, whose penalty kill ranked 22nd in the NHL during the regular season.
"We don't really get in sync," defenseman Erik Karlsson said about the Penguins' power play.
"We have to find a way to get Game 3 and get some momentum back," Crosby said.
Translation: the Penguins' suddenly hapless power play needs to wake up.