ST. LOUIS -- Even one of the few players who is producing at or above an expected pace knows something is amiss with the Penguins.

A tentative grip on English didn't stop center Evgeni Malkin from expressing himself.

"We need to work every practice and game," Malkin said. "Last year we played the same system, [but right now] everybody plays bad in the defensive zone and offensive zone."

Malkin, who leads the team in scoring with 16 points -- tied for best in the NHL through yesterday -- wouldn't look on paper to be off his game.

Yet he included himself in the Penguins' lackluster performances lately. The team is 0-2-1 with four goals on a road trip that concludes tonight against the Blues -- a game that team captain Sidney Crosby, who has 13 points, could miss. He is day to day because of an undisclosed injury that forced him to leave the third period of a 4-1 loss Thursday against the Phoenix Coyotes in Glendale, Ariz.

After that game, several Penguins expressed frustration over the team's play lately, citing a lack of urgency or effort, a reluctance to follow coach Michel Therrien's system and the need for more time to adjust to several offseason roster changes.

Another recent recurring theme is turnovers and other trouble with the transition game with the team's top two puck-moving defensemen, Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney, out long-term because of injuries.

"There's a direct correlation with turnovers," winger Matt Cooke said.

Crosby, who along with the rest of the team was given a day off yesterday after the Penguins arrived from Phoenix in the wee hours, said the urgency level could be higher and acknowledged circumstances should be creating that urgency.

"Yeah," he said. "We have to execute, though."

Malkin didn't have any better answers.

"I try to play the system," he said. "Everybody plays the system. I try to shoot and play good in the defensive zone."

With an assist Thursday on the Penguins' only goal in Phoenix, Malkin kept alive his point streak. It stands at seven games and includes two goals and 11 assists.

He has one assist in each of his past five games.

Of course, it would be difficult for Malkin to be getting multiple-point games with any regularity given the Penguins' small offensive output.

Through yesterday, they had fallen to 27th among the 30 NHL teams with an average of 2.27 goals a game and to 26th with 26.9 shots a game. Last season, they finished seventh in scoring, 2.93, although it wasn't because of excessive shooting. They ranked 23rd with 27.7 a game.

If it's any consolation to the Penguins, the Blues have been singing the same tune. They have been shut out twice in their past three games.

Winger Miroslav Satan leads the Penguins with five goals. No one else has more than three. After Satan, Malkin and Crosby, who had his point streak snapped at six and has 13 points, only two others -- Tyler Kennedy with two goals and five points and defenseman Kris Letang with four assists -- have more than three points.

The team generated just 11 shots, tying a franchise low, Tuesday in a 2-1 loss at San Jose, then generated just two shots in the first period Thursday before breaking things open some against the Coyotes to finish with 28 shots.

Perhaps that was the beginning of a turnaround, although that would have been tough to gauge from Jordan Staal.

The downcast forward charged the Penguins, himself included, with abandoning the team's system.

Staal said he wasn't criticizing the way Therrien coaches or advocating a different style of play.

"We went to the Stanley Cup finals [in June] with this system, so it's nothing to do with that." Staal said. "It's a matter of showing up and being ready to play."

That's something the Penguins have had a hard time doing.

Cooke can pinpoint when this stutter-stepping started. It was a third-period collapse in New York at the start of the road trip a week ago, when the Rangers came back from a two-goal deficit for a 3-2 shootout win.

"The first two periods against New York, we were pretty much perfect," Cooke said. "We can't sit back.

"It's not because we can't play. We just can't have lapses like that."

Cooke eschewed any idea that there is a fractured locker room.

"There's a lot of character in the [locker] room that's going to help you get through times that are tough," he said. "At this point, I don't think that has any bearing on what's going on. It's more preparation and focus and determination."

Matchup: Penguins vs. St. Louis Blues, 8:38 p.m, Scottrade Center, St. Louis.

TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WXDX-FM (105.9).

Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury for Penguins; Chris Mason for Blues.

Penguins: Are 1-1-2 when leading after first period. ... Were tied for fourth-best team goals-against average, 2.27, before last night. ... Mark Eaton is only D who has played every game and has no points.

Blues: Are among league leaders in penalty killing, 86.8 percent. ... Andy McDonald leads NHL in faceoff proficiency, 64.3 percent. ... Have not played any games decided by two goals.

Hidden stat: After finishing last in NHL in power-play percent last season, St. Louis ranked first, 31.7 percent, through yesterday.