Rangers 3, Pens 2 (SO); Pens play not to lose in 3rd, and lose

Hindsight is 20/20 and all that crap, I get it.

But I swear, immediately during the very 1st shift in the 3rd period, I just had THAT feeling.

You knew the Rangers would come out flying in the 3rd, that was a no-brainer. But what you were afraid of happened quickly, right during that 1st shift.

The Pens started playing on their heels, playing very conservative, and yes indeed, they were playing NOT TO LOSE.

And when you do that, with that dreaded 2 goal lead, you're gonna get your collective pee-pee's smacked.

Fortunate tip-in, 2-1.

Laser beam by Shanahan, 2-2.

Uh-oh.

I'll give the Pens credit, at least they didn't blow it in regulation and at least got one damn point.

And then the stinking shootout.

Why is it with two of the greatest world-class players in the world did I have absolutely no confidence when they started that shootout ??

And golly gee, was I right.

For all of the moves that Malkin has, he's awfully damn generic when it comes to the shootout. Denied.

Ekman goes basic 5 hole, denied.

Sid slows down to, oh, I don't know, Steve McKenna speed, and misses off of Lundquist's glove. Ballgame.

Outside of the final score, it wasn't all doom and gloom for the Pens though.

Sid scored on, how else can you describe it but a Sid goal. I've run out of adjectives. I guess I'll quote Sam Rosen on last night's broadcast after Sid's 2nd dash through the Rangers' D-men, but missed, "How does he do that ??" If this kid isn't the best offensive player in the NHL, I don't know who the hell is.

My concerns for Malkin are still there. And judging from Therrien's comments last night, I'm not the only one. Therrien said "Malkin's line has to give us a lot more," Therrien said. "We can't rely on Crosby's line every game. Evgeni's got to pick it up a little bit."

And what a revelation !! Was it just me, or was the power play a helluva lot smoother with a right-handed D-man in there ??

Let me rephrase, when the Pens were given a damn power play, that is.

I thought Dupont played a strong game, he's got a good hard shot, and played well in his own zone.

Malone played a strong game as well, he needs to be consistently that good for him to deserve to stay on the 1st line, though. In my opinion, anyway.

Nice physical game, probably the most physical the Pens have been in quite a long time. Orpik had a few excellent hits, his best game of the year in that respect.

The Pens will need to be that physical again Saturday night in Atlanta. They got the snot smacked out of them last night 8-0 to Tampa, so they'll be plenty pissed. And I'm sure having Kovalchuk's buddy Sidney Crosby come to town will pump them up even more.

Pens gameday; Therrien's musical lines continue

Here we go again.

Coach Therrien has shaken the lines for tonight's tilt against the Rangers up again, big time.

Malone and Armstrong have been swapped, with Malone now on the 1st line with Sid and Recchi.

Mistake, in my view. Malone is too slow, and his hands are not the greatest either.

Army is now on the 2nd line with Christensen and Malkin. Very impressed on how Christensen has stepped it up since his callup. One thing is for sure, Malkin needs a supporting cast. The defense just has one big bullseye on him, they could care less what the wingers are doing.

Staal is back in the lineup, and on the 3rd line with Talbot and Ruutu. Ekman has been demoted to the 4th line with Moore and Ouellet, who's finally back in the lineup.

Thorburn, Scuderi, and Petrovicky are reported to be the scratches tonight.

Yes, the Melichar infatuation continues.

On defense, Micki Dupont (I think I've been calling him Dumont on this blog, my bust bro) gets his first start. The other defensive enigma, Alain Nasreddine, starts again as well.

Therrien ran the hell out of the team in practice yesterday. That should result in quite a spirited effort.

Now just to get some of that spirit to actually put the puck in the damn net.

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.

Rangers 2, Pens 1 (OT); Woulda, coulda, shoulda

You just had to know that eventually, the Penguins' luck would run out.

And while Marty Straka's OT goal with 2.2 seconds left just kicked all of us in the gut, it's not like the Pens didn't have plenty of opportunities to win the game.

And, let's not forget, the Pens got an absolute gift in the 1st period on the no-goal call. Geez, that puck was CLEARLY in the net by a wide margin, but somehow the refs did not allow the proper amount of time to get all of the replays before the resumption of play.

The Pens finally got a power play goal by Geno, but that was only after another failed 5-on-3. Overall, the Pens were 1-for-6 with the man advantage, with yet again more perimeter passing and very little shooting.

Quick question, just how many "too many men on the ice" penalties is the norm before it gets corrected ??

Jordan Staal had the chance to win the game in OT with a penalty shot, but the puck rolled off his stick as he went to his backhand.

And as expected, no Sid again. I guess they're thinking to give him a couple more days rest before their next game on Tuesday.

Islanders are up next at home on Tuesday night.

Isles 3, Pens 1; No Sid again, Power Play remains putrid, Malkin possibly reinjured

In all sports, statistics can sometimes be very deceiving.

Such was the case today on Long Island, where the Pens, despite getting 37 shots on goal, played very mediocre offensively in losing to the Islanders 3-1.

37 shots to a team that quite often struggles getting pucks on net, when looking at the stat sheet at face value, looks to be a decent offensive effort.

Not so fast.

Much like shooting 3o footers on the basketball court, the vast majority of shots that the Pens even got credit for were quite the low-percentage variety.

Even the goal scored by Geno in the 3rd period was one that DiPietro probably should have had.

It could be argued that the best shot on goal was the one that Geno threw in. By the way, rumor has it that Malkin will join the Pirates after the Penguins' season ends, only to be traded at the deadline by Dave Littlefield for Bobby Hill and a player to be named later.

However, Geno went directly to the locker room after getting nailed on a clean hit by Brendan Witt directly on his left (previously injured) shoulder. However, it didn't appear that his shoulder was hanging down much at all, so let's just hope that he'll be alright for tomorrow night's game.

But surely, his Penguins teammates stuck up for him. Uh, disregard that, absolutely no one came to his defense. Great comraderie boys, just great.

And how about that power play, huh ?? Zero for nine, well you guys are consistent, I'll give ya that much. But are you guys actually aiming for the D-men's feet ???

We all know that Sid is an amazing playmaker, that's a given. But the inability to even get the puck in the opponent's end on a man advantage is getting ridiculous.

The Pens had a frickin' 6-on-3 power play in the 3rd period, let me repeat that, a 6-on-3 power play, and got off absolutely zero shots.

I also attribute that to the Pens, once again, trying to make the perfect pass, rather than getting the pucks on net and pouncing on the rebounds.

Well, no rest for the weary. The Rangers come to town on Saturday night, surely still remembering the loss they took to the Pens one week ago. I'm sure they'll have absolutely no sympathy if Sid or Geno, or both, are not able to go.

Pens 3, Rangers 1; A plethora of penalties, and not for the Pens

Nice to see a team other than the Pens implode with penalties for a change, huh ??

The Rangers committed 12 penalties, resulting in three separate 5-on-3 power plays, in the Pens' 3-1 win tonight.

Let's not say "all is well" though.

The Pens were still woeful on the power play for the majority of the time with the man advantage going 2 for 11. It is definitely an area that they're going to have to devote more practice time on. This team has too many great playmakers not to be absolutely lethal on the power play.

The most interesting aspect of this game, to me anyway, is the fact that Ron Petrovicky made his Penguins debut tonight, and he did it by way of making John Leclair a healthy scratch. I have to give Petro props, he did quite a decent job tonight, and created a few good scoring opportunities.

I will be very curious to see if there are going to be any roster changes upcoming. I can't see the Pens continuously scratching Cairns and Roy, it leaves the Pens devout of any type of depth.

Jagr didn't really even come close tonight in his bid for #600. The Pens did an excellent job defending he and his line tonight.

It was getting ridiculous how many turnovers Whitney had tonight. I know nothing drastic will be done with him, but his play is starting to make those commercials that he's in look pretty silly.

Overall, good win, the Pens will sure as hell take it.

Pens gameday; Good time for back-to-back games

Usually, I don't think that back-to-back games suit the young Penguins very well.

You know, the legs are a little rubbery, passes aren't as sharp, yadda, yadda.

I don't think tonight's game vs. the Rangers falls under that category.

If I was a betting man, and I am, I'd bet that last night's loss to the Sabres has left the Pens with quite the shitty taste in their mouth.

I don't think that it'd be a stretch to suggest that the Pens absolutely gave that game to Buffalo last night.

It was obvious if you read Mark Recchi's comments, there were some pissed off people in that locker room that were not happy with some of the Pens' efforts (read: the defense). Mark said, "We didn't have everybody going, playing with enough desperation in certain areas. You come on the road against a team like this, you need 20 guys to play hard and do the right things, and it didn't happen."

And so, they now have to come right back tonight vs. a spirited rival in the New York Rangers (no, I'm not going to say "hated rival", that's reserved for the Flyers, or if the day ever comes that the Patrick Division is revived, I'll present that title to the Caps).

The Rangers' presence will present just enough extra energy that the Pens will need tonight. In addition, you just KNOW that the Pens do NOT want to give up goal #600 to Jags.

However, I will say this, if Jags does get #600 tonight, I would hope that the Pens fans are respectful to his accomplishments while in a Pens uniform and give him the ovation he deserves.

A couple of other items of interest:

Is it time to get Army off of the 1st line ?? It may be strictly coincidental, but Army has not been the same since the Letowski hit. He's not as aggressive, he's not checking anywhere near like he used to, and he's making bad decisions with the puck.

The power play needs to get back to basics, i.e. just start getting pucks on net and do what that type of power play does best, knock in the rebounds. It doesn't take an Al Macinnis-type of D-man to launch shot from the points on PP's. You've already got Malkin in the slot, where he could order a pizza with the lack of activity he's seeing. Sid and Geno are outstanding at "garbage goals", which the last time I checked, count as much as regular goals.

LET'S GO PENS !!!!

Pens nip Rangers 6-5 on Sid's deflection goal !!!!; Malkin re-evaluation tomorrow ?

Wow, what a hockey game.

On a goal by Sid that seemingly only the great ones get, with 3 seconds left in the game to boot, the Pens moved to 2-1 on the year after beating the Rangers 6-5.

Cap it off with the 1st NHL goals by both Jordan Staal (short-handed) and Kristopher Letang (power play), and it was an excellent road win for the Pens.

The power play finally starts to click for the Pens, going 4 for 9. While the penalty kill did give up a couple of goals tonight, overall the special teams did well again.

MAF gave up 5 goals, but in this guy's opinion, most of them he couldn't do much with. There was only one goal that I really considered soft, that being the dribbler that got behind him. He's still playing outstanding.

By the way, in addition to Bob Errey's pregame comment concerning Malkin being back in 7-10 days, the MSG announcers stated that Malkin's reevaluation is being moved up to tomorrow, and they repeated the contention that he'd be back in 7-10 days. So, we shall see.

Pens Gameday; Wrecking Ball on 1st line, for now

Pens at Rangers, 7PM Thursday...

It's looking like the Pens will again go with Mark Recchi on the 1st line with Sid and Colby for now.

I may be wrong, but it sure looks like they're biding their time until Malkin comes back, at which time the top two lines will have much more of a punch.

At first glance, that may be a slam at Leclair, and while I don't want it to sound like a slam, I mean, let's face it. Johnny's on his last legs. I'll say this, he's one of only a few Pens that actually realizes how to dump the puck and go for the forecheck to get scoring opportunities. The quicker Malone realizes that, and stops trying to weave through both D-men at the same time, the more scoring chances they'll get. But other than that, Johnny just doesn't have the legs anymore to keep up with the pace of this hockey nowadays. Leclair' game today, one that might have been considered blasphemous only a few years ago, really seems to be suited to the 3rd line now. He can still lay good checks, and combine with Moore and Ruutu for a decent amount of scoring opportunities for the 3rd line.

Anyway, let's hope for a good showing tonight in the Garden.

Let's Go Pens !!!!

Awestruck Pens blanked by Red Wings, 2-0

OK, so the Pens won't go 82-0.

But as I was afraid of, the Pens had absolutely zero intensity, at least for the first two periods, during their loss last night.

It was painfully obvious that they were on their heels most of the night.

MAF played well again, although this time he couldn't prevent the tap-in due to the defensive enigma that is Rob Scuderi, who along with his compadre Joe Melichar, just stump the hell out of me why they still have jobs. The second goal, with just over a minute left to play, was a laser to the top shelf.

The most pressing concern to me is the lack of offense generated, with 24 shots on goal, that's a total for both games so far. That's an average total for one game, much less two games.

I just hope that they aren't getting Jan Hrdina disease, 'cause they damn sure ain't shooting the puck.

I think the Pens will rebound Thursday in New York vs. the Rangers, another hated rival who they won't feel awestruck by. Follow that up with games against the Canes and Erik Cole, and the Devils, and I think the Pens will be alright.