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Monday, 21 March 2011 19:33

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

PREGAME

-Hey, guess where we are:

-No... not quite:

-The Penguins' starters are Tyler Kennedy, Chris Kunitz, Jordan Staal, Paul Martin, Zbynek Michalek and Brent Johnson.

-Their scratches are Matt Cooke, Eric Godard and Mark Letestu.

-The Red Wings' starters are Todd Bertuzzi, Dan Cleary, Henrik Zetterberg, Niklas Kronwall, Brad Stuart and Jimmy Howard.

-Their scratches are Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, Jiri Hudler and Chris Osgood.

-The Penguins should re-united the Kennedy-Cooke-Staal line if you ask us.... wait...

-The Penguins' alternate captains tonight are Martin, Kunitz and Staal.

FIRST PERIOD

18:09: Tomas Holmstrom gains the offensive zone on the right wing and cranks a slapper from the faceoff circle. Ben Lovejoy deflects it out of play.

17:52: Darren Helm flies into the offensive zone on the left wing and puts a little wrister on net. Johnson kicks it out. Eaves follows up on the right rebound. Johnson fights off his chance as well.

17:38: Eaves whips a wrister on net from the slot. Johnson kicks it out.

15:18: After Howard fails to corral a dump in behind his net, Lovejoy strikes a slapper on net. Howard eats it up.

14:09: In the slot, Deryk Engelland takes a puck to the face after Mike Modano flips it out of the left wing corner of the Penguins' zone. He remains on the ice.

13:46: Maxime Talbot backhands a loose puck in the slot. It hits a stick and deflects out of play. Engelland retreats to the locker room with a towel on his face.

12:01: Tyler Kennedy chase after a dump in into the right wing corner of the Detroit zone with Brad Stuart. He bodies Stuart off the puck just enough to claim possession and deals a pass to the slot. Staal is there and chops at the puck. Zetterberg manages to get a stick on the puck and deflects it away. Nice hustle play by Kennedy.

10:17: Drew Miller dumps the puck into the left wing corner of the Penguins zone, makes a nifty move around Martin in the left circle and swats the puck on net. Johnson kicks it out with his right leg.

8:32: Zetterber has a chacne with a seemingly wide open net in the right circle but he can't bury it.

8:04: Jonathan Ericsson gives a side hip suplex Kunitz on the right wing wall in the Detroit zone. That's two minutes for holding.  Kunitz, Kenedy, Staal, Letang and Neal take the ice. Neal is on the right point. Huh? Interesting. Coming back from commercial, "Pierre" McGuire invades the personal space of Detroit coach Mike Babcock:

6:40: Off a drop pass from Miller, Justin Abdelkader puts a slapper on net from the left circle. Johnson snags it.

6:29: Rupp gets a little space on the left wing and rips a wrister wide to the far side.

6:21: Martin sneaks a slapper on net from the right point. Howard eats it up despite a screen from Rupp.

6:04: Ericsson's minor expires. More of the same there for the Penguins. Not much.

4:50: Pascal Dupuis punches a slapper from the left circle wide on the near side.

4:46: Welcome back to the score sheet Pascal Dupuis. Dupuis corrals a puck behind the net emerges to the right of the cage and whips a blind backhander towards the net from along the goal line. It squeaks through Howard's five hole and into the cage. Not a good goal for Howard to allow. It's Dupuis' first goal since the Mubarak administration, Feb. 25. Staal gets the only assist. Penguins 1-0.

4:18: Staal is sent off for hooking Valtteri Filppula. Dupuis, Martin, Michalek and Craig Adams take the ice.

4:02: Brian Rafalski takes a pass on the left point, tees up a slapper and puts a shot on net. Johnson kicks it out with a thud. Dupuis lifts it down ice to clear the zone.

2:18: The Staal minor is killed. No Staal. No Cooke. No problem for the Penguins' penalty kill.

1:28: How did that not go in?!? Lovejoy chops a slapper on net from the right point. Howard kicks it out with his right leg. Kovalev collects the rebound and calmly deals to Staal to the right of the net. Rafalis is scrambling to block. Staal puts the puck off the side of the wide open net. Argh. He has to bury that.

0:42: No Crosby. No problem for the remnants of the first line. Kris Letang pinches in at the right point and bodies Cleary off the puck along the wall. Dupuis whips a wrister on net from above the right circle. Howard kicks it out. Kunitz is right there and cleans up the garbage sweeping the puck by Howard's stick. That's Kunitz's fourth goal in his past four games. It his 22nd of the season. Not bad for someone who isn't a "real" first-liner in the eyes of many. Dupuis and Letang get assists. Penguins 2-0.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 2, Red Wings 0.

FIRST INTERMISSION

-Quite a period for the Penguins. They fought off an inital surge by the Red Wings and let the period kind of even out. Eventually, the challenged Howard, forced him to allow some rebounds and cashed a few in.

-The Penguins' defense looks pretty good. They've had some difficult plays to make in their own zone and they have handled them pretty cleanly.

-Howard looks shaky. Far too many rebounds.

-Arron Asham was hardly noticeable in his return. He has 1:56 of ice time on three shifts.

-The Red Wings have an 11-8 edge in shots.

-Dupuis leads the game with three shots.

-Eaves, Helm and Modano each lead the Red Wings with two shots.

-The Red Wings lead faceoffs, 12-6 (67 percent).

-Kris Draper is 3 for 3 (100 percent).

-Staal and Talbot are each 3 for 5 (60 percent).

-No one has more than one blocked shot.

SECOND PERIOD

19:27: Off a give and go with Kunitz, Kennedy snaps off a wrister from the right wing. It rings off the near post and ricochets out.

18:34: Neal collects a loose puck on the right wing and seems to have a open net to shootout with Howard swimming around his crease but Howard is juuuust able to get a piece of Neal's shot with his glove.

17:50: Dupuis blasts a one-timer from above the left circle. Howard kicks it out.

15:46: Michalek floats a wrister from the right point. Howard "waffle boards" - to borrow a phrase from Mike "Doc" Emrick - the puck out of play.

15:38: Craig Adams gets a goal and the officials wave it off? Life'sjust not fair. Off a faceoff win in the left circle of the Red Wings' zone, Adams lifts a wrister from just outside the circle. Asham and Rupp crash in. Asham appeared to be driven into the crease partially by Jakub Kindl. An official immediately waves off the goal citing Asham's presence in the crease. A brief review confirms the call. No goal.

12:38: Modano knocks his former Stars teammate Matt Niskanen off the puck along the right wing wall of the Penguins' zone and rips a shot on net from a bad angle. Johnson kicks it out.

12:07: Off a cross ice pass from Cleary, Bertuzzi gets a chance in the left circle but Johnson is able to squeeze the puck between his leg and freeze play.

10:36: Battling for a puck behind the Penguins' net, Niskanen shoves Abdekader between the shoulder blades and knocks his head into the boards. Abdelkader falls to the ice in distress. Niskanen is sent off for boarding. That's the right call. Dupuis, Marktin, Staal and Michalek take the ice. 

9:09: What. In. The. World. Is. Going. On? Dupuis pushes the puck up the right wing on a two-on-one against Brad Stuart with Letang. Dpuis elects to shoot... Kind of. He tries to go to the backhand but loses the puck. Howard kind of overplay Dupuis who recovers the puck behind the net and tucks it between the left post and Howard's left foot and into the cage. What a weird play. Its the Penguins second shorthanded goal in as many days. Staal and Lovejoy get assists. Lots of multi-point nights all around. Penguins 3-0.

6:44: Uh... wow. Kunitz flicks a weak little backhander from the right circle to the net. Howard makes the save and allows another rebound. Kennedy jumps on it and lifts it over the stick side of a stretched out Howard. Another weak goal to allow. Kunitz and Kennedy get assists. Howard is pulled for Joey MacDonald. Unreal. Penguins 4-0.

6:09: Kronwall sneaks a pass to the slot for Filppula. Filppula slips in on net and lifts a wrister which Johnson fights off with a tough blocker save.Oct.

4:10: Coming back from commercials, more awkward invasion of personal space by McGuire:

2:19: There goes the shutout. Zetterberg beats Rupp to a loose puck in the right wing corner of the Penguins zone and flips a seemingly innocent backhander from the left circle. It hits off the skate of Letang and deflects under Johnson. Rupp needs to be more heads up on that puck. Great work by Zetterberg to recover the puck. Cleary and Stuart get assists. Penguins 4-1.

1:29: Kunitz chases after Rafalski for a loose puck in the right wing corner of the Red Wings' zone. Bertuzzi interferes with Kunitz and gets two minutes. Kennedy, Kovalev, Staal, Martin and Letang take the ice. Kovalev and Martin take the points. Letang kind of mans the old "Rover" position Alex Goligoski had.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 4, Red Wings 1.

SECOND INTERMISSION

-We know the Red Wings are missing some of their big guns like Datsyuk and Franzen, but there's no excuse for them be getting out-played like this.

-Howard was clearly not prepared for this game. He just was so shaky. So many rebounds.

-We'll have a bottle of whatever Pascal Dupuis drank for breakfast today. Thank you.

-The Red Wings actually have a 23-16 lead in shots.

-Dupuis and Modano each lead the game with four shots.

-Letang leads the game with 18:14 of ice time.

-Kronwall leads the Red Wings with 15:04.

The Red Wings have a 21-17 lead in faceoffs (55 percent).

-Abdelkader is 3 for 4 (75 percent).

-Staal is 7 for 12 (58 percent).

-Kronwall leads the game with three blocked shots.

-Lovejoy and Martin each lead the Penguins with two.

THIRD PERIOD

20:00: The Penguins have 30 seconds of power play time on fresh ice. Staal, Letang, Martin, Kunitz and Neal take the ice.

19:30: The Bertuzzi minor expires.

19:18: According to McGuire, Abdelkader returned to the game.

18:03: And this game got all the more interesting. Stuart is in deep on the right wing and taps a backhanded pass to the slot. Filppula fights off Engelland in the slot and is able to push the puck under Johnson. The puck hits off Johnson's left skate and deflects into the cage. Stuart and Tomas Holmstrom get assists. It is Holmstrom's 500th career point. Penguins 4-2.

17:15: Rupp levels Rafalski in the right wing corner of the Detroit's zone.

16:50: Helm and Lovejoy race for a dump-in into the left wing corner of the Penguins' zone. Lovejoy sticks a shoulder into Helm and sends him staggering.

15:37: Cleary snaps off a wrister from the left wing. Johnson kicks it out with.

13:29: Eaves circles around the Penguins' net and from the left corner, he deals a pass to the slot. Kronwall is there but is hit by Kennedy before the puck gets there. No call. That should have been two minutes.

13:00: Letang cross checks Letang on the right wing corner of the Penguins' zone. That's two minutes. Adams, Michalek, Martin and Staal take the ice.

12:06: Filppula makes a mad dash into the offensive zone, fights off a check from Martin and pushes a backhander from the right circle juuuuust wide to the far side.

11:54: And this is a totally different game. Zetterberg wins the faceoff cleanly against Talbot in the left circle of the Penguins' zone. Lidstrom gets the puck at the left point and deals it to Kronwall on the right point. Kronwall tees up a slapper. Clear appears to get a piece of the puck from right in front. He gets credit for the goal. Kronwall and Lidstrom get assists. Joe Louis Arena comes to life. Penguins 4-3.

10:52: Miller whips a heavy wrister from the slot into traffic. Johnson fights it off. Kovalev is sent off for holding Helm. Adams, Niskanen, Staal and Michalek take the ice.

10:40: Kronwall cranks a slapper from the right point. Bertuzzi is in front and gets a stick on the puck. It hops up and is eaten up by Johnson.

10:13: The Red Wings are all over the Penguins' zone. Bertuzzi backhand taps a pass from the right wing to the slot. Zetterber re-directs it on net. Johnson eats it up. With the faceoff in the right circle, Holmstrom and Letang mix it up and officials need to separate the two teams.

10:09: Rafalski booms a slapper on net from the right point. Johnson fights it off.

9:33: That was only a matter of time. Filppula controls the puck deep on the left wing and draws some defenders towards him. He zips a cross-ice pass from to the right circle. Modano is all alone. He rips a wrister which hits off Johnson's chest and deflects into the net. Unreal. The Penguins' discipline bites them again. Dan Bylsma calls a time out to get his team organized. Filppula gets the only assist. Penguins 4, Red Wings 4.

8:43: Dustin Jeffrey coats up the right wing and rips a wrister on net. MacDonald fights it off. That's only their second shot of the period.

7:41: Holmstrom punches a slapper on net from teh slot. Johnson eats it up. Holmstrom skates in looking for a rebound. Letang takes exception and gives him a cross check to the midsection. No call.

7:15: After some marvelous movement of the puck around the Penguins' zone, Filppula has a nice chance in the slot and jabs a shot wide to the left ot he cage.

6:50: Letang pins Eaves along the left wing boarsd at the Penguins' blue line and drops him.

5:49: Kunitz swats a loose puck on net from the left wing with a slapper. MacDonald eats it up.

4:39: Jeffrey rips a wrister from the left circle. It hits a stick and is blocked wide.

4:22: Letang lifts a wrister from the left point. MacDonald hugs it against his chest.

3:56: Eaves flings a wrister on net from the right point. Johnson kicks it away.

3:48: Conner blocks a dump in attempts by Kronwall at the left point. Conner chases after the puck. Kronwall just pins him against the boards. That's two minutse for interference. This is huge for the Penguins. Staal, Kennedy, Letang, Neal and Kunitz take the ice. Neal mans the right point.

3:24: Neal tosses a wrister from the left point. It gets deflected wide.

3:13: Staal snaps off a wrister from above the right circle wide on the near side.

3:02: WHAT! A! SAVE! Letang fails to keep a puck in at the left point. Helm pushes it up the right wing creating a two-on-one with Abdelkader against Neal, a forward. Helm gains the Penguins' blue line and deals to Abdelkader. Neal flops down hoping to take away a shot. Abdelkader deals back to Helm.  Helm moves in on net and tries to lift a shot over the sprawling Johnson but can't get it past Johnson's left leg. Wow! Letang owes Johnson a beer after that.

2:28: Nal sneaks up the right wing and jabs a quick slapper wide on the far side.

1:59: Martin controls a bouncing puck at the top of the slot and snaps off a wrister which gets deflected wide by Abdelkader.

1:44: Just as Kronwall's penalty expires, Letang booms a slapper from the left point wide to the far side.

0:54: Off a face off win by Filppula, Modano spins and fires a wrister on net. Johnson fights it off.

0:37: Michalek jabs a quick slapper from the right point juuust wide on the near side.

THIRD INTERMISSION

-The Red Wings have a 37-22 lead in shots.

-Someone threw an octopus on the ice and it appeared to blow up on contact:

OVERTIME

4:22: Staal booms a slapper from the left wing. MacDonald shoulders it away.

3:31: Abdelkader attacks the offensive zone with speed and tries to go to the outside on the left wing by Niskanane. Niskanen sticks with him and poke checks the puck away.

2:57: Miller hustles up the right wing and flips a backahnder on net. Johnson kicks it out.

2:12: Dupuis chucks a wrister on net from the left circle. MacDonald eats it up.

1:49: Niskanen snaps off a wrister from the left point. MacDonald juuuust get a pice of it.

1:27: Helm floats a wrister on net from the left wing. Johnson eats it up.

1:22: Off another faceoff wing by Filppula in the left circle, Rfalski chops a slapper from the left point. It hits a skate in front and deflects on net. Johnson sticks with the puck and kicks it out.

0:54: Neal attempts a wraparound on his forehand from behind the net but sweeps it wide of the crease.

0:11: Lidstrom air mails a slapper from the neutral zone. Johnson kicks it out.

0:03: Kennedy air mails his own slapper from the neutral zone. Howard kicks that out.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 4, Red Wings 4.

FOURTH INTERMISSION

-Whew!

SHOOTOUT

-Bertuzzi is up first. He goes in on net with all the urgency of a turtle, dekes to his forehand and is denied by by Johnson's right leg.

-Kovalev gets the call for the Penguins. Kovalev moves in slowly, goes to the backhand and appears to have MacDonald beat but MacDonald sticks with it and gloves it.

-Modano attacks the net with speed, lifts his right leg at the hash marks and rips a high wrister. Johnson robs him with a glove hand.

-Letang comes in, fakes forehand, goes backhand and has the puck knocked away by MacDonald's stick.

-Cleary goes slightly wide to the right and uncorks a wrister but his stick breaks. Johnson kicks out the puck.

-Welcome to the shootout James Neal. Neal goes slightly to the right, moves back to the slot and rips a sick wrister which toasts MacDonald on the glove side. End of shootout. Penguins 1, Red Wings 0. End of game. Penguins 5, Red Wings 4.

POSTGAME

-So what do you take frm this game. Was this just a thrilling shootout win? Or did the Penguins get luck to escape with two points? We're thinking a combination of both, but with a slight edge towards the latter.

-The Penguins' penalty kill has disappeared since Matt Cooke was kicked out of yesterday's game. They've allowed four goals on the penalty kill. We're not saying Cooke's absence is the sole reason, but he's certainly a major component of that unit.

-The Penguins had another meltdown in terms of discipline. Thankfully, they had a four-goal lead tonight. If they don't cash in on all their chances early, the Red Wings win this in regulation.

-Whatever book they keep talking about throwing at Matt Cooke, make sure it's the part about hockey being 60 minutes. His team doesn't seem to understand that every night.

-Oddly, the Penguins seemed to dominate most of overtime after being spectators in the third period.

-Amazing what a goaltending change can do to wake up a team.

-Imagine if the Penguins had played a starting goaltender who was even halfway ready to play? Jimmy Howard gave them some absolute gifts tonight.

-The power play is ridiculous. It doesn't even matter what personnel is on the ice. Something is flawed with the scheme.

-Letang lost his composure quite a bit in the third period, particularly when Tomas Holmstrom was around. He's luck the officials let a lot go.

-Johnson could have stolen a goal or two, but his teammmate left him out to dry quite a bit.

-The Red Wings had a 41-25 lead in shots.

-Modano led the game with seven shots.

-Dupuis and Kennedy each led the Penguins with five shots.

-Letang led the game with 28:39 of ice time.

-Kronwall led the Red Wings with 25:16.

-The Red Wings dominated 42-24 (64 percent).

-Filppula was 10 for 15 (67 percent).

-Staal was 10 for 24 (42 percent).

-Kronwall led the game with four blocked shots.

-Lovejoy and Martin each led the Penguins with two.

-Kennedy moved past Orest Kindrachuk for 65th place on the team's all-time scoring list. Both palyers have 118 points, but Kennedy (55) has more goals than Kindrachuk (38).

-Dupuis (110) moved past Wayne Bianchin (109), Jim Johnson (109)and Petr Sykora (109) for 71st place.

-Dupuis' last three-point game was in a 4-3 loss at Minnesota, Jan. 11, 2010.

-Game summary.

-Event summary.

Comments (60)

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written by Purple Moose, March 21, 2011 - 08:57 PM

Couldn't agree more with the Cooke suspension and he has to be on his last warning to remain with the team.

Good for Shero and his strong statement against what Cooke did. At some point, somebody has to take a stand against these deliberate attempts at injury. I mean how much fun has it been watching the Pens without Crosby.

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written by Okel Dokel, March 21, 2011 - 08:57 PM

Two days in a row of Pierre Mcquire may be more than I can handle.

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written by Okel Dokel, March 21, 2011 - 09:04 PM

I agree with the Cooke suspension but think the Pens will give him a chance to rehabilitate himself in the offseason ala Todd Bertuzzi.

Can't wait for the sh/tstorm from the Caps and Red Wings fans. Two of the most hypocritical fan bases in the league.

I am interested to see how the league will handle the next repeat offender who is not a Penguin.

Can it be called a "Power Play" with Rupp on the ice.

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written by Okel Dokel, March 21, 2011 - 09:06 PM

Nice job Pascal!

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written by Purple Moose, March 21, 2011 - 09:11 PM

Good points Okel but if Cooke hasn't learned by now, then not sure what it will take.

I try to stay off all of those national hockey posts. 80% of those folks are either 12 year olds just talking silly or total idiots trying to get a rise out of people.

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written by Okel Dokel, March 21, 2011 - 09:16 PM

Beautiful play Kunitz !

I think the Pens have two years and approximately a million reasons to try and rehabilitate him. One of the differences I noticed was the team was not very supportive of him after the game. That and a long time off may be the first step towards controlling his issues.

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written by Okel Dokel, March 21, 2011 - 09:18 PM

Mubarak administration! Nice one, Seth!

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written by Louder_Is_Best, March 21, 2011 - 09:19 PM

Heckuva response so far by the Pens. Kunitz continues to make plays, the pace is absurd....these are two teams that know how to play modern hockey the right way. They're both phsyical, and they both zoom up and down the ice to generate offense.

Keep it going, Pens! You ahd one stolen from you because of a bonehead headhunter....you're kicking some keister so far in this one.

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written by krikker, March 21, 2011 - 09:39 PM

Johnson was the difference in that period. Nothing to add on Cooke. Just hope to see more consistency in supplemental discipline as Cooke should be able to book a golf outing with Gillies the goon and that is not the case.

How long til Neal heads for Poni territory? The excuses are getting tired and he has shown ZERO ability to bury any of his chances. Clearly not Poni yet but certainly a disappointing first month+.

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written by krikker, March 21, 2011 - 09:44 PM

Pens doing a great job tonight of quickly transitioning out of their zone tonight. Keep it up boys!

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written by krikker, March 21, 2011 - 09:55 PM

Wheeee!!!!!! Pierre Mcguire sounds positively depressed!

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written by Purple Moose, March 21, 2011 - 09:58 PM

Boy has Brent Johnson been an unsung hero or what this year.

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written by Okel Dokel, March 21, 2011 - 10:05 PM

Let's take advantage of them pinching in. Let 's go Pens!

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written by Okel Dokel, March 21, 2011 - 10:13 PM

@Krikker I could not agree with you less about Neal. Has he set the house on fire ? No. I, for one, always believed he was picked up to play with Sid and he will show his worth when that happens. I do not think he is Poni v2.

How about Kovy. Thank god we gave up a late round draft choice for him. He would benefit from having Malkin around IMO and for that reason may be workroom signing for one year.

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written by Bones, March 21, 2011 - 10:25 PM

I never once saw Poni dig for a loose puck in the corners or take a pounding in the crease. I am underwhelmed by Neal so far, but I will reserve judgment until I see what he can do with Sid or Geno feeding him pucks. What really makes the Poni trade stink is the fact that Shero gave up a top prospect at a position where the Penguins are relatively shallow at. I think Gogo has got some serious potential and could develop into an elite offensive d-man, but the Pens are just so deep at the blueline. Somebody was going to be the odd man out and Goligoski was the best candidate to bring the most in return. Neal could easily develop into a consistent 25-30 goal scorer. Don't forget that he is young, there is plenty of time for him to find some consistency in his game to game production.

My expectations were fairly low on Kovalev, but yeah, he has been pretty brutal so far. The skill is still there, but the heart is not. He could still find some motivation come playoff time.

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written by krikker, March 21, 2011 - 10:30 PM

I just don't understand the philosophy that says wait until he plays with Sid. That statement covers every player in the league. We need guys who can step up without Sid.

Neat. Come on boys. No let up here. What is Engelland doing there?

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written by Okel Dokel, March 21, 2011 - 10:30 PM

Very sloppy boys!

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written by Bones, March 21, 2011 - 10:31 PM

Not a good way to start, these guys will make you pay if you give them hope.

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written by tennpen, March 21, 2011 - 10:33 PM

i think Neal and Kovalev both would benefit greatly from having top-caliber centers. i would like to see what kinda damage Crosby-Neal-X and Malkin-Kovalev-X could do. as for Cooke, if the nhl wants to make an example out of him, thats fine but the bar has been set. i think all most fans want from the league is consistency. i understand the repeat offender should factor into a suspension but what difference does it really make what someone did or didnt do in the past if this is the situation now. 2 paltry games for heatly because he doesnt have a history doesnt make it any less vicious, it was the same thing cooke did and he gets up to 17. in the future the suspension should start at 10 games for any player.

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written by Okel Dokel, March 21, 2011 - 10:36 PM

I remember a time on these boards where the Martin and Michalek signings were questioned.

I could be wrong about Neal but I am willing to wait and see.

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written by krikker, March 21, 2011 - 10:40 PM

Big PK here. They get one and we may be adding this game to the shockingly long list of 3rdperiod meltdowns this year.

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written by Okel Dokel, March 21, 2011 - 10:44 PM

Come on guys. Please not another third period collapse.

What has happened to Max Talbot?

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written by Bones, March 21, 2011 - 10:45 PM

Epic collapse in the making.

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written by Louder_Is_Best, March 21, 2011 - 10:45 PM

What a horrible, horrible collapse. A loss in this game would be inexcusable. Even going to overtime would be a disgrace.

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written by Okel Dokel, March 21, 2011 - 10:45 PM

Lack of discipline = third period meltdowns.

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written by Bones, March 21, 2011 - 10:46 PM

Yeah, not to echo the broadcast team, but Max can't let them win that draw cleanly.

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written by krikker, March 21, 2011 - 10:46 PM

Wow. Time for a HCDB timeout. Kovy? Neal? I may have to turn this off. Oh, there's Kovy, taking another penalty. Unreal. Who is this team?

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written by Purple Moose, March 21, 2011 - 10:47 PM

I agree about Talbot Okel. Other than being the "clown" in the locker room, not sure what he contributes to this team anymore.

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written by Purple Moose, March 21, 2011 - 10:48 PM

*t is like these guys get a big lead and start clowning around and laughing on the bench and then lose their intensity........that is a coaching problem.

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written by krikker, March 21, 2011 - 10:50 PM

Staal not even skating? Just coasting and reaching with his stick.

What an embarrassment. Bad job by HCDB there. Truly a disgrace. Sick to my stomach.

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written by Purple Moose, March 21, 2011 - 10:50 PM

4-0 to 4-4. At least the sports writers don't have to write a new story tomorrow, they can just recycle the same story from about 6 games this year and just change the other teams name.

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written by Okel Dokel, March 21, 2011 - 10:51 PM

Johnson has to make that save. He went down way too early. Nice effort guys way to give this game right back. Very disturbing tend heading to the playoff.

HCDB needs to get this fixed quickly.

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written by Louder_Is_Best, March 21, 2011 - 10:52 PM

What a complete and utter joke to blow a 4-goal lead, and make it look easy.

Johnson has been mediocre in goal, but the Penguins got lazy after they made it 4-0. Rupp has been terrible tonight, and Max Talbot has basically played himself out of Pittsburgh.

Terrible, terrible loss.

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written by Bones, March 21, 2011 - 10:53 PM

Hasn't been Johnny's best night. The Z-berg goal was a bad one too.

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written by KRC, March 21, 2011 - 10:54 PM

What a monumental collapse. Now all we need is another stupid penalty!

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written by saneman, March 21, 2011 - 10:54 PM

This is a weird season. We have the best defensive corps in a long time. Best penalty kill in Pens history, maybe? Yet, this club has blown so many huge leads in the 3rd period like no other Pens club has. And the worst thing they didnt even make it to OT in a lot of those losses where they had a huge lead going into the 3rd period.

THis is why I felt Ottawa made a great trade even if they got rid of Kovy by giving up an extra player along with Kovy in return for nothing. Kovalev has been useless.

I think the Dallas d guy Nikkasen or whatever his name is should sit in the playoffs once Orpik comes back. So far, Shero's magic hasn't worked this trade deadline.

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written by Okel Dokel, March 21, 2011 - 10:55 PM

We are missing Orpik. Holmstrom would be nullified with him in the lineup. I respectfully loathe that guy.

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written by saneman, March 21, 2011 - 10:56 PM

And why did the Pens players start letting Detroit take free shots in open space on the PP when they made it 4-4?

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written by Purple Moose, March 21, 2011 - 10:56 PM

Talbot is out there on a damn free skate. He just left a man wide open in the slot.

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written by krikker, March 21, 2011 - 10:58 PM

Does anyone know what Ottawa's return policy is?

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written by Louder_Is_Best, March 21, 2011 - 10:59 PM

This is a team that is actually fading a little bit in the stretch run (reminds me of a certain college basketball team that choked in an epic manner recently).

The Penguins have shown that they're capable of beating really, really bad teams....but they're not effective against good ones.

For this team and its defensive corps to blow this lead is just downright shameful. And you just know Detroit will score again before regulation ends.

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written by saneman, March 21, 2011 - 11:02 PM

Johnson has had a bad 3rd period, but his puck handling really kept the Detroit score lower earlier in the game because he made the lil passes to get the puck out of danger.

Michalek needs to step up in the 3rd period better than he has.


Oh, and the refs in the NHL need to be consistent on what is goalie interference. That Craig Adams goal being disallowed is stupid considering what has been allowed all season.

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written by Purple Moose, March 21, 2011 - 11:03 PM

I hate to criticize HCDB as he has kept this team in it with all the injuries but discipline is a big problem. Me thinks he is too easy on the boys.
DISCIPLINE taking bad penalties all year.
DISCIPLINE by not making smart hard working plays on the PP for two years now.
DISCIPLINE in not sticking with the game plan and getting too easy with big leads.
DISCIPLINE in Matt Cooke
DISCIPLINE

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written by Okel Dokel, March 21, 2011 - 11:05 PM

Letting WTF! This power play is not even worth putting on the ice.

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written by krikker, March 21, 2011 - 11:06 PM

Simply no words for this PP.

N
O

W
O
R
D
S

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written by Purple Moose, March 21, 2011 - 11:07 PM

And yet another Letang shot wide with a good scoring opportunity

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written by tennpen, March 21, 2011 - 11:09 PM

same story all season long, cant win stinkin faceoffs, lazy stupid penalties, crappy PP, PK thats not up to the task when it matters, 3rd period collapse - blah,blah,blah. agreed, they arent up par against good teams - unfortunately thats all that's in the playoffs

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written by KRC, March 21, 2011 - 11:13 PM

I have a word for the Power Play. Rhymes with Pitt and is sometimes preceded with "complete and utter".

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written by saneman, March 21, 2011 - 11:14 PM

One wonders why Staal cant be better at Faceoffs with his reach. Kunitz has really stepped it up this year.

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written by tennpen, March 21, 2011 - 11:16 PM

Letang's shot is nothing but a souvenier(sp?) in waiting

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written by Okel Dokel, March 21, 2011 - 11:16 PM

Kovalev should sit when Letestu comes back. Give Connor the time he deserves it.

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written by Okel Dokel, March 21, 2011 - 11:20 PM

My earlier comment on Letang was his inability to keep the puck in on the powerless play.

Very close by Neal

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written by saneman, March 21, 2011 - 11:22 PM

Letang will score in the shootout.

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written by Purple Moose, March 21, 2011 - 11:23 PM

That may have been the worst shoot out attempt of all time by Bertuzzi

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written by Okel Dokel, March 21, 2011 - 11:25 PM

Neal. Yes, sir!

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written by saneman, March 21, 2011 - 11:28 PM

Wow, I never thought a shootout win would be great for a team that blew a 4 goal lead, but considering what went on this season with multiple brutal defeats in regulation, I will take this for now.

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written by saneman, March 21, 2011 - 11:44 PM

Well, disagreeing with Seth on the Penalty Kill. As great as Cooke is on the penalty kill, the Pens looked awesome on that 5 min penalty until it became a 5 on 3 and then they looked just as great in the first couple of penalty kills against Detroit. What they need to maintain that aggression. They seemed taken aback by Detroit's surge in the 3r5d period.

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written by djbst75, March 22, 2011 - 01:46 AM

what a weird game but a win is a win is a win....

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written by leahbackus, March 22, 2011 - 02:14 AM

OK...now that I have recovered from my Penguins induced coronary...

That game was almost enough to make me want to turn in my Max Talbot fangirl membership...good grief. He'd better start playing better than that if he wants to wear a Pens uniform next season. (I have to disagree with whomever said he doesn't contribute anything...he had an amazing game last night. But consistency is everything in this game.)

The PP is an embarrassment. I'm not going to beat that dead horse. Give the PK a break, will ya? They need a few days to regroup. They'll be fine. I liked what I saw from Staal, Depuis and Johnson was a monster. Too bad the guys hung him out to dry. Kovy continues to underwhelm me. So does Neal, but at least he's pretty (sorry guys, I had to say it...)

I thought it was hilariously ridiculous that VS gave the "Bud Light Star of the game" to freaking Neal. Really? A single shootout goal and one shot on net gets you star of the game over Depuis who had two goals and an assist? Idiots.

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written by eman41, March 22, 2011 - 11:14 AM

Letang needs Orpik. His game will turn right around at the right time. Tanger made huge strides in his game this year, but he's still not at the point where he can command the game 30 minutes at a time with no defensive anchor. He will eventually but that time is not now.

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