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Monday, 15 November 2010 18:43

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

PREGAME

-Greetings from a gloomy, glum day in Pittsburgh. It's overcast, gray and just kind of ugly today. In the mid forties. PPG Place:

-The Christmas tree is in place:

-So is the ice rink:

-If you didn't know all this stuff about about Henry Clay Frick, you do now:

-Whip the Wraingers:

-Consol Energy Center:

-The Student Rush line:

-An Ulf Samuelsson jersey:

-Marian Gaborik:

-The ice:

-Some more jerseys. Jaromir Jagr:

-Rick Tocchet:

-Henrik Lundqvist:

-Joe Mullen:

-Arron Asham:

-Cotton candy heeeee!!!! Cotton candy heeee!!!

-Kevin Stevens:

-Fans walking in off Centre Avenue:

-Ruslan Fedotenko still has a few fans here:

-A fan of former Ranger and Penguin Kevin Hatcher:

-Much like Rangers general manager, this Scott Gomez fan was probably a little too optimistic:

-Mike Bullard:

-Zbynek Michalek:

-Luc Robitaille and Jagr:

-Ken Wregget:

-Martin Straka:

-Marc-Andre Fleury Wilkes-Barre/Scranton:

-Warm ups:

-The Penguins' starters are Matt Cooke, Arron Asham, Evgeni Malkin, Zbynek Michalek, Paul Martin and Marc-Andre Fleury.

-Their scratches are Ben Lovejoy, Eric Godard and Tyler Kennedy.

-The Rangers' scratches are Ruslan Fedotenko, Brian Boyle, Brandon Prust, Marc Staal, Steve Eminger and Henrik Lundqvist.

-Their scratches are Michal Rozsival and Derek Boogaard.

-Sarah Marince handles the national anthem. No Jimerson = No photo.

FIRST PERIOD

18:52: A wrister by Mark Letestu from the left circle to the far side is gloved by Lundqvist.

17:50: Sean Avery touches the puck for the first time and is greeted with a smattering of boos.

16:39: Boyle launches a wrister from the right wing. Fleury punches it away with his blocker.

14:58: From the slot off a give and go, Alex Frolov dishes a nifty backhanded pass to Michael Del Zott0 on the left cicrlce. Del Zotto shuffles a backhander on net. Fleury makes the save and absorbs the rebound.

14:30: Pascal Dupuis unleashes a heavy shot on net. Lundqvist knocks it down with a "thud."

13:21: Off the right wing, Asham taps a pass to the right circle. Malkin lunges forward and chops it on net with a backhander. Lundqvist fends it off. More Asham-Malkin chemistry.

13:08: Malkin is taken down by Del Zotto near the right wing boards in the Rangers' zone. Both players get roughing minors. Four-on-four.

12:23: Crosby has the makings of a breakaway as the puck is played up ice towards the Rangers' net. But he's caught a little flat-footed in pursuit and Lundqvist is able to leave his crease to play it away.

11:22: Letang glides up ice, gains the offensives zone and rips a wrister high on Lundqvist from the right wing. Lundqvist fights it off.

10:31: Malkin gains the offensvie zone, skates again Dan Girardi one-on-one and from above the left circle, he rips a big wrister to the far side. Lundqvist sticks with the shot and gloves it. Tough save. Lundqvist has been tested early so far.

9:28: Lundqvist mis-handles a dump-in behind his net. Chris Kunitz takes it on his forehand, moves to his backhand and juuuuust barely puts the shot wide. Argh.

8:29: Gaborik attempts to take on Brooks Orpik and Letang one-on-two. He doesn't win that confrontation as Orpik pokes the puck away.

8:21: Malkin deals to Asham in the slot. Asham handles the puck, allows some defenders to clear out and patiently whips a backhand to the far side. Lundqvist kicks it out.

7:55: Letang snaps off a heavy wrister from the right half wall. Despite a screen by Cooke, Lundqvist fights it off.

7:32: Fleury punches away a wrister by Avery from the left circle.

7:05: Off a faceoff near the Rangers' blue line, Mike Comrie drops the gloves with Ryan Callaan. They stage a pretty entertaining bout. They hold off one another with their lefts while ducking and chucking rights. A few land. The fight ends with Callahan slips and Comrie falls on top. Comrie needs to show some spirit like that if he wants to find a way back into this line up on a regular basis.

5:02: Asham gains the offensive zone with some speed on the left wing. As he enters the circle, he winds up and cranks a big slapper on net. Lundqvist knocks it down and covers.

4:57: Off a faceoff win, Letestu chops a loose puck on net. Lundqvist kicks it out with his left leg.

4:35: Goligoski steps up and lays a big shoulder on shoulder check into Fedotenko in front of the Rangers' bench. As Fedotenko falls, his stick flies out of his hands and appears to clip Goligoski in the face. Goligoski stumbles off the ice to the bench. He appears fine for the most part.

3:16: Crosby steals a puck at the left point in the Penguins' zone, motors up the right wing and snaps off a wrister to the far side which sails wide.

2:59: Malkin has a wrister in tight denied by Lundqvist.

2:36: Lundqvist eats up another shot by Asham. A scrum develops in the Rangers' crease. The ultimate match made in heaven - Matt Cooke and Sean Avery - is escorted to the penalty boxes for unsportsmanlike conduct.

2:20: Marc Staal has a chance in tight but can't punch the puck by Fleury who is swimming in his crease.

1:22: Martin controls the puck in the right circle. He waits, waits, waits and moves a pass across the crease to Goligoski streaking up the left wing. Goligoski grips and rips a shot which ends up on Fifth Avenue. That might have been blocked. He had a pretty clean look at a fairly open net.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 0, Henrik Lundqvist Rangers 0.

FIRST INTERMISSION

-The story of that period was Henrik Lundqvist. The Penguins were very aggressive in attacking the offensive zone and put several quality shots on net. Lundqvist just stood tall and turned everythign away. He's the reason this is still a scoreless game.

-Asham looks like a 20-goal guy on Malkin's wing. They are just clicking.

-The Rangers almost seem hesitant to do much on offense. Perhaps they're a little gassed from yesterday's game against the Oilers.

-Letang is all over the ice.

-The Penguins have a 12-5 lead in shots.

-Letestu, Asham, Letang and Malkin each have two shots.

-Girardi leads the game with 8:49 of ice time.

-Orpik leads the Penguins with 7:29.

-The Penguins control faceoffs, 15-5 (75 percent).

-Crosby is 8 for 8 (100 percent).

-Boyle is 2 for 4 (50 percent).

-Martin and Steve Eminger each lead the game with two blocked shots.

SECOND PERIOD

18:48: Crosby flicks a nifty backhanded pass to the slot for Kunitz who is seemingly wide open. Girardi is Johnny-on-the-spot and deflects it away.

17:14: Off a drop pass, Conner snaps off a wrister wide to the far side.

16:50: New Pirates manager Clint Hurdle is acknowledged on the video board. He receives what we're willing to bet will be a rare ovation.

15:41: Malkin and Crosby are on the ice. Malkin dishes a feed to Crosby coming in off the right wing. Crosby grips and rips a rising wrister. Lundqvist juuust gets a piece of it with his glove. Lundqvist has been the best player so far tonight for either team..

15:13: Girardi dumps Cooke into the net. That's two minutes for interference. Crosby, Malkin, Kunitz, Letang and Goligoski take the ice.

14:28: Goligoski takes a pass at the top of the slot. He shows slapper but pulls down. Boyle defends as well as he can. Goligoski waits, waits, waits then rips a wrister through traffic which conks off the cross bar.

14:18: Goligoski pounds a slapper on net from the top of the slot. Lundqvist is square to the shot and eats it up.

13:22: A shot by Crosby hits off the left of the cage. Crosby recovers the rebound, moves behind the net and deals to Goligoski sneaking around the back door. Goligoski immediately snaps off a wrister which Lundqvist eats up.

12:49: EN reader Mike Bober spotted a Gary Rissling jersey:

12:34: Off a bad turnover behind the Penguins' net by Letang, Gaborik steals the puck and attempts a wraparound. Fleury boots it out. Letang owes Fleury a beer.

11:20: Artem Anisimov chucks a slapper on net from the right wing. Michalek blocks it.

11:10: Martin snaps off a wrister from the left wing. Lundqvist boots it out.

10:29: Deryk Englland booms a big one-time from the left point. Lundqvist boots it out to the right wing. Crosby jumps on it and swipes at the puck. It's takes a generous bounce and Crosby misses.

9:44: Fire. Ray. Shero. Former Penguin Erik Christensen corrals a loose puck in the slot. He spins and whips a wrister towards the slot. It deflects off the skate of Engelland and flutters over the glove-side shoulder of Fleury. That was a little fluky but the Rangers will take it. Fedotenko and Matt Gilroy get assists. Ugh. Double-fire Ray Shero. Rangers 1-0.

8:26: Frolov attempts a wraparound on his forehand. Fleury fends it off.

6:46: A wrister by Rupp from the right circle is fought off by Lundqvist despite some heavy traffic.

6:40: With an icing call, Rangers coach John Tortorella calls a time-out to get his team a rest. Either that, or to give them a chance to organize a night everyone can come over to watch "Fair Game:"

-We think.

6:16: Dupuis flicks a backhander on net off a wraparound. Lundqvist stands tall.

5:44: Attendance is announced as 18,125. It is the team's 175th consecutive sell-out.

5:05: Malkin guns a one-timer on net from the right circle. Lundqvist moves to his left and boots it out.

3:31: Orpik dumps Avery with a nice check in the right wing corner in the Penguins' zone.

3:05: Off the right wall, Avery snaps off a wrister. Fleury is square to the shooter and eats it up.

2:45: Staal and Dupuis have a pretty awkward spill near the Penguins' blue line in front of the Penguins' bench. As Staal tumbles, his stick come sup and clips Dupuis in the schnoz. Dupuis goes down like a ton of bricks. He apparently drew some blood as Staal is nabbed for a "four-minuter" high-sticking penalty. Big chance here for the Penguins, especially with one of their top penalty killers taking the penalty. Malkin, Crosby, Kunitz, Letang and Goligoski take the ice.

2:29: And of course, the first shot on net during the penalty goes to New York's Dubinsky as he gets behind the Penguins defense and chops a low wrister on net. Fleury knocks it dead and freezes play.

1:53: Malkin booms a big one-timer off the right half wall. It sails wide on the far side.

1:10: Brandon Prust does a marvelous job on the penalty kill and forces the Penguins to eat about 25 seconds of time with the puck in their own zone.

0:14: After Callahan forces a turnover by Fleury behind his own net and forces the Penguins to eat 15 more seconds, Michalek is finally able to skate the puck up ice only to have Cooke skat in offsides. Ugh.

0:00: End of period. Rangers 1, Penguins 0.

SECOND INTERMISSION

-It took a little while, but the rest of the Rangers have finally joined Lundqvist in this game. About midway through that period, they began to put pressure on the Penguins offensively and started challenging Fleury. As a result, they have the lead.

-We really can't add any sort of original thought about the Penguins' power play at this point.

-Henrik Lundqvist has looked outstanding. It's hard to imagine he missed a few games due to an illness.

-The Penguins have a 24-14 lead in shots.

-Malkin leads the game with four.

-Avery leads the game with three.

-Eminger leads the game with 17:57 of ice time.

-Letang leads the Penguins with 16:31.

-The Penguins control faceoffs, 29-14 (67 percent).

-Crosby is 16 for 17 (94 percent). Yeesh.

-Derek Stepan is 5 for 12 (42 percent).

-Eminger leads the game with three.

-Martin and Michalek each lead the Penguins with two.

-A left over from our jersey hunt. Juilian Talbot Lake Erie Monsters:

THIRD PERIOD

20:00: The Penguins will have 1:15 of power play time on fresh ice. Malkin, Crosby, Goligoski, Kunitz and Letang take the ice.

18:45: The power play ends. The Penguins had all of one shot on net in four minutes. Ick.

18:29: Letestu gets loose behind the defense and has a breakaway. He moves in and shoots glove side. Lundqvist fends it off. Big save.

15:18: After Crosby gains the offensive zone, he leaves a drop pass for Dupuis on the right wing. Dupuis windes up and cracks a slapper. Staal is right there and blocks it. He's smarting a bit after that.

14:27: Dupuis zips in from the right wing and leaves a drop pass above the circle. Letang steps up and booms a one-timer. Lundqvist eats it up.

13:49: Fedotenko gains the offensive zone and rips a heavy wrister. It misses wide. As Fleury turns to look for the puck. It takes a funny hop to the slot. Fleury flops down and covers to freeze play.

13:20: Malkin takes a shift with Cooke and Comrie.

12:53: Michalek pumps a slapper on net from the right point. Lundqvist spots it in traffic and gloves it.

11:39: Frolov glides up the left wing, zooms around the net and attempts a wraparound. Fleury appears to get a piece of it.

11:07: Girardi sneaks up the right wing and snaps a wrister to the far side. Fleury's right foot boots it out.

10:59: In transition, Malkin takes a pass on the right wing, coasts into the zone, winds up and puts a heavy slapper on net from the point. Lundqvist knocks it down and covers.

10:19: Gilroy grips and risp a wrister from the right circle. Fleury knocks it down above his crease and covers. Also, the Michel Therrien Memorial Bingo Ball Roller/Line Combination Machine appears as Comrie is on with Talbot and Cooke.

9:41: Gaborik is sent off for hooking Dupuis. Do or die here for the Penguins. Crosby, Malkin, Kunitz, Goligoski and Letang take the ice.

9:28: Letang controls the puck in the left circle and rips a wrister to the far side wide. The shot has so much on it, it ends up clearing the zone.

7:46: Goligoski controls a puck at the top of the slot and releases a wrister. Lundqvist is able to boot it out.

7:41: The Gaborik minor expires. Not much to brag about there for the Penguins.

7:28: Goligoski tosses a wrister on net from the left point. Lundqvist gloves it despite traffic. Cooke gets punches in the head by Staal. He retaliates and punches Staal in the chest. A scrum breaks out. Each player gets roughing minors. Four-on-four.

5:28: After a mostly uneventful two minutes, we're back to full strength.

4:45: Malkin chops a one-timer on net from the right half wall. Lundqvist fends it off. Crosby chops at the rebound but no dice.

4:37: Callahan trips up Malkin in the right wing corner in the Rangers' zone. That's two minutes. Once again, it's do or die for the Penguins.

4:28: If they can't score there, the Penguins aren't going to score at all. From the right of the net, Malkin feeds a little pass across the crease to Kunitz. Kunitz hurries a quick shot but is denied by Lundqvist who stretches out his right foot and holds the puck out with his right skate. Huge save!

3:48: Kunitz gains the zone on the left wing and chips a puck in. It hops up and catches Girardi right in the forehead. He goes down and a pool of blood collects on the ice along the boards. Ick. A trainer attends to Girardi who leaves the ice and retreats to the locker room with a towel or gauze over his face. Ouch.

3:20: Staal clears the puck for the second time in 25 seconds. He's been a beast tonight.

3:05: Crosby whips a backhander from the right left circle. Even though it appears to be going wide, Lundqvist gloves it.

2:31: And the Penguins finally break through. Letang goes deep on the right wing and leaves a drop pass for Crosby. Crosby takes the pass and centers it to Kunitz in the slot. Kunitz jabs a quick shot on net. Lundqvist makes the initial save. Malkin follows up on the rebound but can't beat a scrambling Lundqvist. Kunitz jumps on another rebound and chops it over a helpless Lundqvist. He celebrates like he just won the lottery. A stunning moment for the Rangers. Malkin and Crosby get assists. The "Woo-Hoo!" song finally  makes an appearance. Penguins 1, Rangers 1.

1:53: What a turn of events. Dupuis gains the offensive zone and distributes a pass to Cooke on the left wing. Cooke enters the circle and rips a pretty pedestrian shot under Lundqvist's right arm pit. A bad goal to give up by a guy who has been lights out most of the night. Unreal. Lundqvist breaks his stick over the net and throws the shaft across the ice near the penalty boxes. That gets him an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Avery will serve it. Game over right? Dupuis gets the only assist. The "Woo-Hoo!" song double shifts. This is the loudest we've heard this building in its short life. Penguins 2-1.

1:26: Un.Be.Leiv.A.Ble. Dubinsky gains the offesive zone and leaves a drop pass for Staal. The Penguins defenders stand around like dopes and watch Staal chops a wrister by Fleury 's stick side shoulder for a soft goal. He can't allow that goal. Period. Shothanded too. Dubinsky gets the only assist. Penguins 2, Rangers 2.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 2, Rangers 2.

THIRD INTERMISSION

-Stunning.

OVERTIME

4:54: Avery returns to the ice. Four-on-four.

4:09: Lundqvist fends off a wrister by  Malkin.

2:36: Gilroy pumps a wriste ron net from the left circle. Fleury goes to the butterfly and boots it out.

1:53: Girardi lifts a wrister on net from the right point. Fleury eats it up with ease.

1:22: Michalek blows a wheel at the neutral zone and takes a tumble. That creates a two-on-one for Callahan with Dubinsky against Martin. From the right wing, Callahan distributes to Dubinsky. Martin flops down to attempt a poke check. Dubinsky waits for him to slide by and calmly moves  pass to Callahan who easily pushes the puck by the left skate of a helpless Fleury. Dubinsky gets the only assist  End of game. Rangers 3, Penguins 2.

POSTGAME

-What do you say about this? The Bruins game last week was just a complete cave-in in the third period. It was rough to watch, but there wasn't much suspsense past the midway part of the third period. You knew the Penguins were going to lose.

-This game? It was cruel. It was cruel regardless of allegiances. The Rangers battled hard all game to protect a 1-0 lead only to see the Penguins take a 2-1 lead in a span of less than minute. Then the Penguins, while on a power play mind you, play some horrendous defense and watch Fleury give up a soft goal to go to overtime. Then Michalek slips and allows the Rangers to score on a two-on-one. Just cruel.

-According to Fleury and several others, including the Rangers, Staal's shot hit off Letang's stick and hit a post. Staal kidded "Yeah, it went straight in" and laughed. Fleury even went so far to call the goal "lucky."

-Regardless, the Penguins can't allow that goal. Period. They can't allow a shorthanded team to operate with that much time and space in the offensive zone. Especially when Henrik Lundqvist was juuuust getting off the ice.

-Michalek just kills us. We really want to root for this guy. We really want to see him succeed. And we think he will eventually. He just ends up being the focal point of some crucial goals this past week. Against Boston last week, he was manhandled along the boards by a 42-year-old Recchi who fed the puck to Blake Wheeler for a goal which all but sealed that game. Tonight, he forgets how to skate and that creates a two-on-one and the winning goal in overtime.

-Don't take anything away from Henrik Lundqvist. Outside of a brief spell late in regulation, he was nearly perfect.

-Fleury was solid for the most part. Two goals came off deflections from his own defensemen and the third one came on what was essentially a two-on-none. It's hard to blame a goaltender for not stopping that goal.

-Defensively, Staal and Girardi were tough. They reminded us of Montreal's Josh Gorges and Hal Gill in the playoffs last spring. They just seemed to challenge the Penguins constantly in the defensive zone.

-Lundqvist's effort aside, the Penguins' power play continues to be a pure and simple failure. Normally when a team gets a power play, there's that sense of excitement when the official points to the penalty box. With the Penguins, it's only dread.

-The Penguins ended up with a 39-25 lead in shots.

-Malkin led the game with seven.

-Conner, Comrie, Orpik and Craig Adams were the only Penguins skaters who failed to put a shot on net.

-Girardi and Avery led the Rangers with three each.

-Letang led the game with 31:41 of ice time.

-Staal led the Rangers with 29:24.

-The Penguins dominated faceoffs, 43-25 (63 percent).

-Crosby ripped it up going 25 for 32 (78 percent).

-Christensen was 5 for 10 (50 percent).

-Eminger led the game with five blocks.

-Michalek led the Penguins with three.

-Fedotenko now has a four-game scoring streak against the Penguins.

-Fire Ray Shero.

-Malkin now has 398 career points.

-Game summary.

-Event summary.

Comments (50)

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written by bastage42, November 15, 2010 - 07:32 PM

Was Callahan sharing Hillary Duff MP3s or something?

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written by bastage42, November 15, 2010 - 07:41 PM

Wow ... Malkin looked Marioesque with that circle just inside the blueline. Love it.

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written by bastage42, November 15, 2010 - 08:37 PM

Hopefully they won't spend the intermission discussing how to be entirely ineffective on the remainder of the PP. That was a pretty brutal "effort".

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written by bastage42, November 15, 2010 - 08:54 PM

Okay let's go boys, take this game back!

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written by Bones, November 15, 2010 - 09:14 PM

Gotta make some hay here boys.

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written by Bones, November 15, 2010 - 09:20 PM

Haven't seen such dysfunction on the power play since the days of Ramzi Abid and Dan Focht.

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written by bastage42, November 15, 2010 - 09:25 PM

Stupid Lundquist

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written by Luiz Mello, November 15, 2010 - 09:27 PM

Obviously, I shouldn't have kept to myself that idea of kidnapping Lundqvist at the 1st intermission.

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written by bastage42, November 15, 2010 - 09:31 PM

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The boys look like they won the Cup again LOLOL

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written by bastage42, November 15, 2010 - 09:33 PM

YEAAAHHHHHH!!!!!! Cookie Monster!!!!

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written by Luiz Mello, November 15, 2010 - 09:36 PM

Finally, the floodgates are open.

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written by bastage42, November 15, 2010 - 09:36 PM

And there's our dangerous power play again.

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written by Luiz Mello, November 15, 2010 - 09:39 PM

Apparently, just not scoring is not enough for our PP.

And you were right, bastage42, it *is* a dangerous PP! =(

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written by Louder_Is_Best, November 15, 2010 - 09:39 PM

How on earth do you give up a shorthanded goal with so little time left after a ridiculous come-from-behind victory? I was thinkg this would be one of those season-turning victories that we could point to as the start of a Pens run....until that short.

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written by bastage42, November 15, 2010 - 09:42 PM

You can bet that Jordan's hand hurts just a little more right now.

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written by KRC, November 15, 2010 - 09:43 PM

Oh man, we got too cocky there.

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written by bastage42, November 15, 2010 - 09:46 PM

What an amazing collapse!

Someone staple Gogo to the bench please.

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written by Bones, November 15, 2010 - 09:46 PM

Demoralizing way to lose a hockey game.

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written by bastage42, November 15, 2010 - 09:47 PM

(and yeah I know that was Michalek but Gogo drove me nuts all game again)

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written by Louder_Is_Best, November 15, 2010 - 09:48 PM

Story of the Pens season. They have nothing in the way of defense, and it hurts them virtually every game.

Plus....it sure seems like the new building is cursed.

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written by Luiz Mello, November 15, 2010 - 09:49 PM

Geez. Less than 10 minutes ago, if someone told me the Penguins could get a point out of this game, I would have taken it, the way Lundqvist was playing.

Now, it feels like most frustrating point ever.

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written by SonnyDrysdale, November 15, 2010 - 09:51 PM

Good game, should have been a tie. Ranger goalie is pretty good. He had some bad luck. Then Fleury had worse luck. Gotta point and thats a good thing

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written by Bones, November 15, 2010 - 09:52 PM

Can't argue with you L_I_B. A lot of money was spent on this defense and so far it hasn't paid off. Outside of Letang's contract extension it hasn't been money well spent. Still holding out hope that the M&M boys get things figured out, which I think they will. You can't afford to lose games like this.

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written by KRC, November 15, 2010 - 09:52 PM

Reminds me of the mid-90s, after the Stanley Cups. Good players, but we just kept spinning our wheels in neutral.

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written by andrew, November 15, 2010 - 09:55 PM

Very fun game to watch, regardless of the outcome. I'll disagree with some of you guys and say that was palatable just to get a point out of. Lundqvist was playing out of his mind. And the defense wasn't great, but it wasn't nearly as porous as it has been.

I was telling the wife into the 3rd period that I wouldn't be too upset if they dropped this one because it was a pretty solid effort. You have to win games like the Boston one so that you can afford to lose games like this one.

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written by andrew, November 15, 2010 - 09:57 PM

And Bones, the Ramzi Abid reference just made me cringe. Thanks for that

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written by Luiz Mello, November 15, 2010 - 09:57 PM

*t's too early to judge the return on the defense signings, IMO.

As for the PP, this is the second game a SHG costs us. Maybe they could just stick to not scoring?

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written by saneman, November 15, 2010 - 10:00 PM

Gogo is terrible. He seems to make it a habit to have strong starts only to fade fast in the season. He was laughable at times with his tentativeness.

Michalek has shown more comfort with the system in last few games. BUt I dont see how he is worth that much money. Trade him for a winger if they ever get the opporunity.

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written by EastPAFan, November 15, 2010 - 10:00 PM

That hurts. You cannot let a shorthanded goal in that situation. Just watched the play again and it was literally 2 on 5. Someone has to step up and take the man at the blueline. Good effort, but something seems to be missing so far and his name is Staal.

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written by bastage42, November 15, 2010 - 10:06 PM

I'll agree Luiz, I think it was partly the getting ahead so late that made this so disappointing, and honestly Lundqvist deserved the win as much as anything.

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written by bastage42, November 15, 2010 - 10:09 PM

Agreed, the PP should at least not be a liability even if it's not terrorizing the league. That's frustration to me that transcends a single game's outcome.

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written by andrew, November 15, 2010 - 10:09 PM

I really didn't think Gogo looked as bad as he has been tonight either. I think he's been looking more comfortable on the PP. And thank goodness Letang has started hitting the net.

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written by BPpensfan, November 15, 2010 - 10:09 PM

How can we be happy when the team collapsed at the end? Cooke scores a heroic goal and we quit playing. I am ready to trade Goligoski, Comrie, and Kunitz, and yes, I know he a scored. I can't watch Gogo anymore, Comrie is invisible, and Kunitz is overpaid for what he produces! The Pens' team was out-coached and their PP is an embarrassment. I love the Pens but this loss is too much, Time to look for a new coach and some PP specialists. The $10 million spent on defense has not paid off. I am a frustrated fan tonight!

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written by bastage42, November 15, 2010 - 10:12 PM

I dunno, Andrew. Just ... questionable decisions at the blue line over and over. I know he's young, but at some point you should know approximately how far you can skate to pinch and beat the opponent to the puck, and getting burned occasionally is one thing but at this point it's been better than 50/50. I'm not saying send him to the AHL, but maybe have a seat towards the end of a tight game where we're winning.

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written by andrew, November 15, 2010 - 10:15 PM

Comrie makes 500k a year. Very low risk there, so I don't mind if he doesn't pan out (obviously he hasn't).

I do agree Kunitz needs to start producing more, but I don't think that another team will be willing to take on the salary.

I think Gogo is one of the better pieces of trade bait that they have; however, I don't think they're going to trade him as they groomed him into the PP QB. I'm not saying I agree with that, but that seems to be reality at this point.

As far as the D goes, I think it's still to early to judge that investment. And lets not forget Michalek is still freshly back from an injury.

I agree that it's been a less than ideal start to the season, but I think it's still too early to be hitting the panic button.

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written by canadian_bacon, November 15, 2010 - 10:17 PM

I keep going back to the coaching staff. After their Cup win shortly after Therrien was fired, they've been on a steady team defense decline.

Not saying that Therrien is the answer as he went too defense heavy. But I think Bylsma is too offense/attack heavy without the wingers to support that playing style. So since Therrien the team D they stressed and learned from him is fading. They gotta find that balance.

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written by andrew, November 15, 2010 - 10:19 PM

I agree with that bastage. His biggest mistake is definitely his uncertainty or lack of confidence when it comes to deciding whether to pinch or not. And unfortunately for Gogo, that's a major proponent of HCDB's system, so when he messes that up, it's going to be a big mess up. He needs to quit second guessing himself.

And I also agree that he shouldn't be out there in those clutch situations until that confidence is there.

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written by bastage42, November 15, 2010 - 10:20 PM

I'm ok with M&M so far. I think they're slowly getting better and it will be some time yet before they're totally comfortable IMO. I get the sense that having a defensive system vs. having a defensive system entirely tuned to the abilities of a couple of insanely talented forwards is a very different thing.

At this point I just don't see Comrie bringing anything to the table other than being a competent spare part. But agreed, for $500K that's fine by me.

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written by Luiz Mello, November 15, 2010 - 10:28 PM

I vividly remember how Gonchar's signing got its fair share of criticism during his first season with the Penguins. Granted, Gonchar struggled with a bad team, but it's #55 I'm talking about, a world class defender, and it took him a season to adapt.

It's way too early to pass definitive judgment on Michalek and Martin.

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written by bastage42, November 15, 2010 - 10:32 PM

And nice summary, btw, SonnyDrysdale. Just with less venting than some of us (read: me) need to do LOL. I figure it's not my job to always be impartial or rational.

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written by bastage42, November 15, 2010 - 10:33 PM

Very good point, LM ... he was pretty questionable at first too. I'll try not to cause a firestorm by pointing out that a coaching change helped with that LOL cuz that'd just be messy.

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written by BPpensfan, November 15, 2010 - 10:34 PM

I am not panicking just frustrated. This team is either not getting a full effort from it's players or they just don't have the RIGHT players. The majority of our wingers would be 3rd line wingers on most teams at best. They just have not produced. I would rather bring up Dustin Jeffrey and play Chris Connor than continue to waste big money on Kunitz, although I know we probably can't dump him on anyone else. Goligoski is reminding me of Ryan Whitney more and more and our inability to improve our PP really concerns me. How can they expect to win games without a winning PP? My only positive was that Fleury looked pretty good and hopefully his confidence will continue to grow. Sorry for the rant -- but the Pens have so many problems to correct it is frustrating!

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written by andrew, November 15, 2010 - 10:34 PM

LOL bastage. Don't worry, there's quite a few commenters who have cornered the market on being irrational. I don't think you'll ever be lumped in with them.

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written by bastage42, November 15, 2010 - 10:37 PM

Thanks Andrew LOL

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written by jtsaf62, November 15, 2010 - 10:51 PM

Not a single mention of Malkin's horrible pass that led to the short handed goal that tied this game? You just took the lead 2-1 and have a PP. You try to control the game, not make forced passes like you are trying to tie or win a game. Without that, we are all ecstatic about how the Pens dominated this game and broke King Henry in the end.

Put in Charlie Batch!

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written by jameshutton, November 15, 2010 - 10:57 PM

Amazing. They played a really solid game until they got a lead and then quit. Nice to see Fleury playing a bit more solid.

I think some are being too hard on Michalek and Martin. They're proven and will come around. Orpik has had some bad games too as far as giving the puck away, but he's played better lately. Goligoski is a huge defensive liability. The whiff (or was it two) the other night on a hip check was embarrasing. Dave Burrows and Kaspar could both do it better - still - even at their advanced ages. Engelland has gotten absolutely torched a few times (not tonight). Like his toughness, but I think he's been in the AHL for a long time for a reason.

Bottom line - ultimately, defense won't be the killer; it will be the lack of any scoring punch -Same as it ever was.

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written by bastage42, November 15, 2010 - 11:08 PM

Very good point jtsaf62, that should have been a very conservative PP even if they were 0-38 on the PP for the game, and Malkin shouldn't get off the hook for that (and I'm sure the coaching staff will at least make a note to him of it if not exactly call him out).

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written by thenixhex311, November 15, 2010 - 11:50 PM

I'm surprised you didn't catch this one when you were down by the Student Rush line, Seth.

Slapping your name on a 66 black/grey practice jersey is up there with the hoodie and the franken-jerseys in my book!



note my wife on the far left laughing at me, as i told her "I'm going in (to snap this pic!)

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written by ems286, November 16, 2010 - 07:42 AM

As we all know Jordan Staal is injured and not playing, HOWEVER, I still counted at least 5 "Staals are brothers" last night... The over/under when he comes back will have to be at least 8.

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written by saneman, November 16, 2010 - 10:47 AM

I ma fine with Michalek, My problem with him is the cap hit. I dont think he is worth that much when you have MArtin and Orpik on the same club. If a club has an extra winger to spare and are short on defenseman, I wonder if they can do a salary swap sometime this seaason or next.

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