Goose egg, Pens lose.

Main Storylines:

- The Pens come into this one having lost their last 5, scoring a total of 6 goals

- Crosby has suddenly joined the team on the road trip and will address the media on Friday

- Paul Martin returned to the lineup, replacing Simon Despres who is out 2-4 weeks with an MCL sprain

- Dustin Jeffrey played his first game off of the IR, Joe Vitale was a healthy scratch as a result

Result:

Caps 1  Pens 0

Goals:   none

The Good:

- The team showed a lot more effort and fight than they did last night, forcing 13 giveaways by the Caps

- Special teams were perfect with the PK going 2 for 2…and the powerplay not touching the ice

- Team defense was strong, allowing only 21 shots on net and keeping it down to 1 goal against

Brooks Orpik – Orpik played a very strong game as he was on the ice for over 27 minutes (5 more mins than anyone else on the team).  He was 2^nd on the team with 7 hits, and did a great job of containing Ovechkin for the most part. 

Arron Asham – Asham didn’t even play 10 minutes, but he still managed 4 shots on Vokoun and had a solid forechecking game as he tried to spark the Pens.

May not have won it, but the effort is appreciated and noticed.

Craig Adams – He got into an early fight (which was a bit much for him) and led the team with 8 hits as he joined Asham in trying to get the team going.  The fire was there, though the results were not.

Marc-Andre Fleury – Had issues playing the puck as usual, got some lucky bounces from posts, and allowed only 1 goal on 21 shots.  Despite the first 2 issues, I’ll call that 3^rd one good any day. 

The Bad:

- Scoring droughts continue with (player, games without a goal):  Kunitz, 4.  Kennedy, 5.  Neal, 6.  Sullivan, 6.  Dupuis, 6.  Cooke, 12.  All of these droughts are fine…just not at the same time.

Evgeni Malkin – He played well with 6 shots and certainly dazzled at times.  But that was all wiped away with his turnover that led to a 2 on 1 the other way and the Caps only goal.  A 3 for 14 faceoff performance didn’t help either.

Paul Martin – First game back from an illness, so who knows how healthy he even was, but he looked timid at times and turned the puck over right out of the defensive zone twice.  He also was the defenseman who got caught too far up on the Caps’ 2 on 1 for the goal.

The Ugly:

- The 6^th straight loss for the team, now totaling 6 goals in 6 games.

- The Pens dropped below the 8^th spot in the conference for the first time this season.

- Washington passed Pittsburgh for that playoff spot (I know it’s early, and it’s not a big deal, but who wants to see that?)

- Jeff Halpern’s 10 for 12 faceoff performance made it feel like the early 00’s all over again as much as this losing streak does.

- Both penalties that the Pens took were in the offensive zone, causing more issues for a team that can’t score right now

- Hell, THE OFFENSE

Thoughts:

- All-Star reps will be released on Thursday – expect Malkin to be a shoe-in, Neal may get in as well

- Crosby is expected to skate on his own on Friday and address the media as well. Personal opinion – he is on this trip at Shero or Bylsma’s request for morale reasons more than anything.  This team was hanging their heads big time last night and need the boost that seeing him may provide.

- Letang is also expected to up his activity going into next week, though I’m not quite sure what that will lead to yet.

- I noticed this with Ottawa last night at first, and especially with Washington tonight, but other teams realize the Penguins aren’t confident and are pushing them around because of it.  Once Ottawa gained the lead last night, they pressed the Penguin with the puck heavily every time.  Washington followed suit tonight, and it is clearly stifling the offense.  The Pens are going to have to start winning every battle in the offensive zone to combat this until they earn their respect back.

Gotta fight through that check and this streak.

- Washington had 21 blocked shots and the Pens had 30 shots on goal.  While it’s certainly possible that a team can block a lot of shots, no one in the NHL hits %’s that high.  The Pens are not taking smart or good shots right now and they are forcing the issue too much.  It’s hard to blame them for it, but that’s not going to get the job done.

- The Pens generally played a much more spirited and sound game tonight, and it was a good step in the right direction, but there is still plenty of work to do.  The defense had a great comeback from last night’s game.  The offense…makes me want to kick a penguin.

Pens Record: 21-17-4, 46 pts, 4^th in the Atlantic, 9^th in the East

Next Game:  1/13 @ Fla, 7:30pm

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

Who Says You Can't Go Home, Pens Lose

New format for the hell of it as losses to the Flyers spark change.

Main Storylines:

- Jaromir Jagr and Maxime Talbot play their first games after not signing with Pittsburgh in the offseason.

- The Pens and Flyers entered the game tied for 2^nd in the division with 46 points each

- It’s the Pittsburgh-Philly rivalry, what else do you need?

This kid would make a good Flyers fan with signs like that.

Result:

Flyers 4  Pens 2

Goals:   Jordan Staal (15) from Kennedy,

             Tyler Kennedy (5) from Malkin, Despres

The Good:

- Pens get on the board less than a minute in with Staal’s goal, causing the crowd to erupt.

- Despite being a rivalry game, nothing truly ugly happened between the two teams.  Always nice to see no fighting or biting every once in a while.

- The Pens were unreal in faceoffs tonight, winning 68.5 % (37 for 54).  Adams (6-0) and Staal (13-5) were the highlights.

Tyler Kennedy – After seeing his name floated around newspapers because Jagr was questioning how he was a priority for the Pens in the offseason, Kennedy put up a goal and an assist to extend his scoring streak to a career high 5 games.

Simon Despres – The kid is NHL ready as far as I’m concerned.  He knows when to pinch, knows how to shoot the puck from the points safely, and steps up on D when he needs to.  Strong body, smart play, it’s going to be tough to send him down.  His stats looked good with an assist and a +2 tonight.

Staal finds a tasty looking stick.

Jordan Staal – He certainly gave the Pens chances, winning 72.2% of his faceoffs (13 for 18) and scoring his 15^th goal of the season.  Staal is quietly on pace for a career high in goals despite lingering injury problems. 

Zbynek Michalek – He had 4 blocked shots and was a +2 tonight in 20 minutes of ice time.  He did exactly what he gets paid to do tonight.

The Bad:

- The Pens lost the special teams battle, allowing a powerplay goal and not scoring any of their own.  As common knowledge suggests, lose that battle against a good team and lose the game.

- The refereeing was iffy at times.  Most notably, when Matt Cooke was bear hugged and taken down, but then got yelled at by a ref.  Gotta feel for Cooke on some days.  

James Neal – He’s starting to trend as the powerplay trends this season.  Neal was a -2, had 2 giveaways, and took a crucial tripping penalty in the offensive zone, leading to the Flyers taking the lead on the ensuing powerplay.  No offensive production from him tonight.

Chris Kunitz – He was pretty much invisible after a solid first 2 or 3 shifts.  In the past against the Flyers, Kunitz has been a big hitter and momentum changer, but he was very quiet tonight.

The Ugly:

- Watching Jagr score a beautiful backhander to give the Flyers the lead

- Jagr following it up with his usual salute to the crowd

- Watching Talbot on the ice with a minute left and Fleury pulled and just knowing what he wanted…followed by watching him score the empty net goal

- Hell, watching the Flyers win

Welcome back Max...now leave.

Matt Niskanen – He was a -3, added no offense, and looked a bit intimidated against the Flyers forwards baring down on him.  He gave them a prevent defense effort, allowing plenty of room for the Flyers to stickhandle and pass the puck deep into the zone. 

Thoughts:

- Though both teams have their injury issues, the Flyers really kept to their game and wouldn’t let the Pens get to their own.  Letang was a big factor out of the lineup tonight, he would have been a great guy to have stepping up on the Flyers forwards and moving the puck up.

- The Pens are a middle of the playoff pack team as their roster stands right now.  Stealing a couple games from the top of the Conference (yes, the Flyers) might have to suffice this season.

- The shot total was rather low tonight and the Pens as a team seemed hesitant to shoot from all angles.  I wonder if Bobrovsky is getting into their heads a little.

- Bobrovsky is undefeated in Pittsburgh and the Flyers are undefeated in Consol (4-0 for each)….ouch.

Pens Record: 21-12-4, 46 pts, 3^rd in the Atlantic, 5^th in the East

Next Game:  12/31 @ NJ, 3pm