Pens 3, Caps 2; Redundancy in its true form...

Is this getting absolutely ridiculous, or what ?!

In yet another mediocre effort, the Pens did just enough to defeat the Caps Sunday afternoon with a 3-2 win.

That's 16 straight games with a point for the Pens, with a 14-0-2 record over that stretch.

You have to give props to the Caps. They came out strong, delivering punishing check after check. The vast majority of those were not reciprocated by the Pens.

The Pens sure looked like they were going to blow the Caps out today, especially after the early powerplay deflection goal by Recchi.

They quickly gave up the tying goal in the 1st, and it stayed that way until Malkin uncorked a laser from the right goal line on a one-timer to make it 2-1 in the 2nd.

Talbot continued his strong 2nd half play by scoring on a one-timer to make it 3-1. The Caps scored with about 40 seconds remaining in the game with an empty Caps net, but that was all they could muster.

I'm really trying not to sound like a broken record here (showing my age on that one), but I think that most knowledgeable Pens fans would concur that although the Pens continue to win, they're showing considerable chinks in the armor, so to speak.

The Islanders are up next on Monday afternoon at 1PM.

Pens 5, Devils 4; Flirting with Disaster....

On behalf of all Pens fans, let me exclaim, "we'll take it".

Another game, another game with a big lead, another game with a blow....

Not so fast.

The Pens combined some fortunate deflections with a less-than-Brodeur-ish effort, and then held on for dear life in defeating the Devils 5-4 in front of thousands of empty seats at the Meadowlands. The official attendance was 15,404, but obviously the weather played a part in many of those paid ticket holders staying home.

MAF let his share of bad goals in tonight. The shot from the blue line from Zajak that went in the net off of MAF's glove was really bad.

Sid finally got off of the schnide tonight with his 26th goal of the season when he beat Brodeur by the 5-hole.

Next up are Ovechkin and the Caps on Sunday afternoon on NBC.

Pens 5, Flyers 4 (SO); Don't be fooled by the wins...

It's true in every sport, professional and otherwise.

Good teams will find a way to win games in which they played poorly.

So in that respect, yes, it's nice to see that for the first time in six years, we're getting confirmation that indeed, the Pens are a good team.

But while they continue to win and get points, they've won and/or gotten points in three out of the last four games in which they've played quite badly.

The Pens 2-0 win vs. the Caps last Saturday was just as much a result of a lousy Caps offense (less Ovechkin and Semin) as it was the Pens performance.

They then went to Montreal the next day and for the most part should have walked out of there with zero points. They played that poorly, especially the defense.

The Pens rebounded on Tuesday against the Predators, leading the NHL in points. After a very sluggish first period, they refocused and played inspired hockey, dominating the Preds.

But then they went right back to their lackadaisical play last night against the Flyers.

Constantly trying to make the pretty pass, the Pens were fortunate to get two of their goals on tips, not deflections, but tips that made their way into the net.

I know I counted at least five turnovers for Malone alone. I don't care what anyone says, his presence on the first line is hurting this team. His ability to freeze the puck along the boards just doesn't cut the mustard to keep him with Sid's line.

Even after the Pens scored twice in the 3rd period to make it 4-2, they still found plenty of time to play on their heels to allow the Flyers to tie it up to force overtime and the shootout.

Speaking of the shootout, I think it's time Christensen gets a new move. The league has seen him plenty by now.

Malkin's move was decent, and I think he had Nittimaki beat, but he just shot it wide.

And FINALLY, Sid puts one past the goalie, and combined with MAF's goose egg, sealed the win for the Pens.

But make no mistake my friends, this team had better take it up a notch, or they WILL get blown off the ice by the Leafs tomorrow night.

Pens 2, Caps 0; Muckers bail out flat Pens....

I could've sworn that was the Devils out there as the Pens opponent today.

An obvious flat effort this afternoon, combined with a good defensive effort by the Caps, aided by new arrival Milan Jurcina from the Bruins, really turned this into a snoozer.

But we'll take a 2-0 win as a snoozer, as opposed to a 2-0 loss.

MAF registered his 2nd shutout in his last 3 games, as well as the Pens winning their 6th straight, with points in their last 9 games.

In addition, I believe I also recall the stat that this is the 1st game that the Pens have won in which Sid has not scored at least one point.

And oh by the way, as of this writing, the Pens are a paltry two points away from the Habs and Senators in 4TH PLACE in the Eastern Conference (the Habs lead 2-1 right now late in the 2nd period against the Isles as I type this).

Speaking of defensive efforts, the Pens played an excellent defensive game themselves. I would also give high marks to Ryan Malone, who really did a great job today against the boards.

Ron Petrovicky's wrister kinda fooled Ollie Kolzig for the Pens only main goal. Jordan Staal had an empty netter in the final minute to close the scoring.

Well, the Pens got away with one today. There is no way that they can have that type of effort tomorrow afternoon in Montreal and come away with a win.

And I don't think they will. That place will be jumping tomorrow, and I'm sure that the Habs will be throwing plenty of elbows to wake up the Pens really quickly.

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UPDATE: Montreal lost 4-2 to the Islanders this afternoon. If the Leafs beat Ottawa tonight, and the Pens beat the Habs tomorrow afternoon, your Pittsburgh Penguins will be in 4TH PLACE in the Eastern Conference.

Pens Gameday; Alex and the boys pay a visit...

For as much as the prospect of Alex Ovechkin and the Caps visiting the Igloo this afternoon should be enticing to the Pens, I'm a little concerned about the Pens overlooking the struggling Caps while looking forward to the rematch in Montreal tomorrow afternoon with the Habs.

I firmly believe the Caps look forward to facing the Pens nowadays much like they would face a divisional rival.

In fact, I would love to eventually see the Caps and Pens back in the same division, like the old Patrick Division days.

But if the Pens overlook the Caps today, and aren't as mentally sharp as they've been the past week, I have no doubt that the Caps will take advantage of that and pounce.

This will not be an easy game.

In much the same way that opposing teams have recently turning up the heat and applying physical pressure to Sid, I would hope that Therrien will call out the dogs and start doing the same to their opponent's stars, starting today with Ovechkin today, and definitely tomorrow with Koivu or anyone else they deem necessary.

Also gonna be interesting to see if Therrien plays MAF in both games today and tomorrow, or if he'll play Thibault for example tomorrow.

I'd also expect now that Chris Thorburn is back from his personal departure from the team that he'll be back in the lineup to apply more muscle.

LET'S GO PENS !!!!

Pens 5, Habs 4 (SO); Now that was a hockey game....

Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Sunday's rematch in Montreal will be, shall we say, physical.

Tonight's game had just about everything you'd want in a great hockey game, including ferocious hits, end-to-end action, and most importantly, a big 5-4 Penguins win.

Yeah, I'm still pissed off that they gave the Habs a point by playing on their heels for the last half of the 3rd period.

But give them credit. They got it to overtime, killed a penalty in overtime, and for the 2nd time in row, won in a shootout.

By the way, how many spears does Crosby have to take before 1) the other guy at least gets a penalty, and 2) he gets suspended ?? It's absolutely ridiculous the shots that Sid is taking nearly every game now.

Army's vicious hit on Koivu was completely clean, and Souray deserved every minute of the penalty that he got, although I believe he was right for standing up for his captain.

But like I said, the Pens should have never been in that predicament late in the game, I hope they'll learn from it.

Next up for the Pens is Ovechkin and the Caps on Saturday afternoon.

Pens 5, Craps 4 (SO); Win of the Year....

I spent the first half of the 2nd period last night stewing about what the most negative adjectives were that I could think of for this post.

"Flat" - Nah, too generic.

"Uninspired" - Nah, not harsh enough.

My 13 year-old son tells me about halfway through, "the game's only half over Dad".

Grumble, grumble.

Then, that sniper Max Talbot sneaks one past Olly the Goalie. 4-1.

[[ "OK, at least they're not going to get frickin' shutout." ]]

Few minutes later, Erik Christensen rings one off the post and in. 4-2.

[[ "Hmmm, they're still two down. Don't get your hopes up just yet." ]]

About two seconds later (or so it seemed), Sid with the one-timer from the beauty feed from Geno. 4-3.

[[ "OK, NOW we've got a hockey game." ]]

From there, another Malkin-esque goal knotted the game at 4, and you know the rest.

A few items of interest from my seat at home;

• Speaking of my seat, no frickin' thanks to the NHL for not putting any of the two Pens/Caps games in D.C. on weekends this year, 'cause my hairy ass would have been there. I enjoy D.C., I was stationed at the Pentagon from '91-'94, so I know the area, and the Verizon Center is in a nice section of town.
• And what was another result of a Monday night game, even with Sid vs. Alex ?? Why, it was those thousands of empty seats that Versus did their best not to show. The announced attendance was around 13,000, and you can bet that at least 5,000 were Pens fans. They were good and vocal alright. I heard more than once "Let's Go Pens !!!". Pretty poor showing overall though, I'm sure neither the NHL nor Versus was too happy about that. Next time, schedule it for Saturday night, dunces.
• How about those rally helmets ?? Of course, it should be no surprise that it was Army's idea. But the Pens have enough loonys (Talbot comes to mind) to join in, no doubt. I even saw Geno throw his on for a while, but I'm sure someone eventually had to bring him to the side, "Uh, you have to shoot, comrade".
• LOVED the check by Orpik, clean as a whistle. I really don't know even now why Orpik was thrown out of the game, the Caps initiated the retaliation. But someone needs to tell Ruutu that it's much easier to fight with the jersey NOT over your head. And it can be argued that the fights were what turned the tide of momentum.
• Is it just me, or is Sid being VERY hesitant in the shootouts ever since he juked Theodore out of his jock ?? I mean, I don't think he's made ONE move since that game. Entirely straight on, with a simple wrist shot.
• Irregardless of the Pens comeback last night, if the Pens miss the playoffs this year, they need to look no further than the lack of intensity in the 1st periods that caused their downfall.
• Speaking of bringing Geno to the side, I think someone needs to tell him that he can't throw elbows like Superfly Jimmy Snuka.
• The Leclair situation is getting ugly, and quickly. I know Shero is being patient and respectful of Vermont's career, and deservedly so, but this soap opera needs an ending.

Great win, without a doubt the win of the year. Remember these two points in April.

Five points out of six on the three game road trip, I'll take that all day long.

Onto Wednesday night back at home vs. the Flyers. Keep the intensity up against a team with a boatload of injuries.

Pens gameday; Um, who's playing tonight ???

Little humor there, forgive me.

You couldn't build this one up anymore than it already has (unless it was on ESPN, but that was yesterday's topic, I digress).

Tonight's game at the Verizon Center in Chinatown, D.C. is just another example why I really wish the Caps were still in the same division as the Pens.

If you ask me, it's the Caps, and not the Flyers, who are the Pens' most hated rival nowadays. This isn't 1987 anymore. The Pens/Caps series over the last several years has been hard-hitting (borderline dirty), fast-paced, and has generated an excellent hatred between it's fans.

Versus is pulling out all the stops tonight. Mikes on both Sid and Alex, interviews with both coaches during the game, and pre-game interview with Geno, with Alex as his translator (that should be fun).

In terms of the game itself, I have to give Brian credit at The Pittsburgh Penguins Report, as well as a contributor to Hockeybuzz.com, 'cause he basically read my mind on this one.

I think that it's Malkin, and not Crosby, that could very well be the deciding factor in tonight's game. You'd have to know that Geno will be extremely pumped up to play against his buddy Ovechkin tonight for the first time. In addition, we should also see a continuation of Malkin's aggressiveness that he showed in Atlanta last Saturday.

I haven't seen anything indicating that the lines will be shuffled too much at all tonight, which should be a good thing. Perhaps we're seeing an indication of what Therrien believes will be the quasi-permanent lines for the team, unless injuries take their toll.

This should be a good one, I'll be interested to see how Versus pulls this off.

LET'S GO PENS !!!!

Isles 5, Pens 3; Where's Hee Haw when you need it ??

Gloom, despair, and agony on me

Deep, dark depression, excessive misery

If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all

Gloom, despair, and agony on me

If that doesn't describe the Pens performance last night vs. the Isles, I don't know what does.

After missing about 3 completely open nets, hitting about 3 posts, and just missing about 3 tap-ins, the Isles converted those missed opportunities into goals, quite often directly in transition from the Pens' misfortunes.

I really thought the Pens had quite a bit of jump in them last night, there were several times that they sped through the D-men with little effort.

The problem was that several times during those rushes, their centering passes were nowhere near their target, thus resulting in 3-on-2's the other way.

I read a lot of quotes this morning describing the Pens offensive performance as "too cute", and boy is that an accurate statement. How many games will it take for the Pens to not make that last pass before they attempt to put the puck on net ??

The officiating was terribly inconsistent. How about the Isles player covering the puck with his hand in the crease ?? What the hell was that ??

So now, the Pens have all of a sudden forced themselves into a crucial point of the season. Not only did the Pens get zero points the last two games against divisional opponents Jersey and NYI, but the Devils got four points (winning in OT vs. the Flyers last night), the Rangers got one in a shootout loss to Buffalo Friday night, and of course the Isles got two last night. They are 3 points behind the Isles, and 4 behind the Rangers and the Devils, as well as only 6 points ahead of Philly. The Pens cannot afford to get too far behind, if they have any aspirations at all for a playoff run.

The Pens host Florida on Tuesday, then embark on a 3 game road trip to the Rangers, Thrashers, and the 1st trip of the year to visit Ovechkin and the Caps.