Where's the Panic Button, Pens lose.

Main Storylines:

- Tonight marks the half way point of the season

- The Pens have lost their last 4, scoring a measly 5 goals

- Injuries have taken the spotlight for this team

- The Sens come in with 1 regulation loss in their last 11

Result:

Sens 5  Pens 1

Goals:   Evgeni Malkin (17), unassisted

The Good:

- James Neal and Craig Adams played despite concerns about potential long-term injuries

Evgeni Malkin – Went 11 for 20 in faceoffs and scored the only Pens goal. 

Not the best week for Pittsburghers to see you on one knee, Geno.

Joe Vitale – Provided a spark and drew a penalty with his limited ice time.  He also played a strong 2 mins on the penalty kill as he helped replace Jordan Staal.  Vitale was the best faceoff man of the night as well, going for 8 for 11.

Brooks Orpik – He tried his best to lead by example, shelling out 10 hits on the Sens, not that the rest of the team seemed to notice. 

The Bad:

- The Pens looked completely lost on their only powerplay, and let up a powerplay goal against in 4 chances.  The Pens are 11-0-2 at home when they score a powerplay goal FYI.

- Paul Martin missed the game with an undisclosed “illness” (I realize some of you would argue this is not bad, shut it)

- The crowd was largely lifeless as soon as the Sens scored their first goal, and each additional goal led to a funeral procession

Brent Johnson – He received no help on the first 2 goals, but his awkward play on Spezza’s goal to make it 3-0 both ended his night and provided a seemingly insurmountable lead for the Pens.

Zbynek Michalek – He did well in the shot blocking department (3), but misplayed the puck in the neutral zone a few times and missed the net quite a bit.  A -2 did not help his cause.

Eric Tangradi – It was nice to see him throw the body a little bit, and he did get 3 shots on goal, but his defensive zone coverage might as well have been non-existent.  Oh wait, it was.

The Ugly:

- The Pens lost their 5^th straight game, making it 6 goals in 5 games for the offense.  This is their 4^th in a row scoring only 1 goal.

Fan in blue...I agree.

- Watching Simon Despres go out of his way for a hit (when he should have probably played the puck) and coming up with a hurt foot/ankle.  No diagnosis yet, but he didn’t return to the game after the halfway mark in the 1^st period.

- Seeing Marc-Andre Fleury come in for Johnson and watching the first shot he faced promptly deflect off of a Senator and into the net.

Ben Lovejoy – He missed his coverage completely on the first goal, allowing Neil to attack Johnson as many times as he wanted to shoot the puck.  He proceeded to get completely undressed on the 2^nd goal.  This was certainly not his finest outing.

Thoughts:

- I think the team’s problems go well beyond injuries right now.  Compared to the opening day lineup, Staal, Letang, and Martin were the guys out of the lineup, with Orpik being added in.  While there is no question that is a significant loss, it isn’t enough to warrant how this team is playing right now.

- The Pens looked dejected and defeated, especially after the 2^nd goal.  Bylsma teams have been well known for never quitting and avoiding long losing streaks.  I’m very curious to see what he has in store for the team here, or if it’s going to fall on Ray Shero’s shoulders.

- Biggest difference I see between last spring’s team that survived all of the injuries and this team right now is just in mental lapses.  Last spring’s team played their system to perfection and won quite a few 1 goal games because of it.  This team appears to be getting frustrated quickly, which is then followed by mistakes, and the end of hope.  Million dollar question is how will it be turned around. 

Pens Record: 21-16-4, 46 pts, 4^th in the Atlantic, 8^th in the East

Next Game:  1/11 @ Was, 7:30pm