Showing Up Isn't Enough: Pens Lose

If you only watched the first period of tonight's hockey game you saw what the Penguins can bring to the table. You also missed how the Penguins went through the motions for most of the final two period and watched them lose. I know it was nice to get a point off the Rangers but you have to think we let this one get away as well.

The Penguins start out with Staal, Kennedy, and Cooke who get a nice chance after Cooke blows someone up along the boards. Cooke can't quite put the puck in on the backhand. Crosby then gets his 40th of the year set up by Guerin and Malkin. Sid looked for the one timer but settled for a quick release half slapper that beat Lundqvist. The Penguins continued to dominate in the Rangers zone until Letang is dumped and no penalty is called, a sign of things to come. Rangers got their chances but Johnson stood strong.

The Two Headed Monster got things going which led to the Pens first power play of the night...nothing doing but there were some great chances. I noticed Feds getting dirty more as of lately which can be a good sign if Talbot remains sidelined by all the injuries. Very late Erik Christensen showed the only move he knows and gets robbed by Johnson. The first period ends 1-0 Pens.

At the point the Penguins seemed to mail it in for a while, but then Rangers came out of the dressing room and just took it to Johnson. Dubinski scored early and Vaclav Prospal got one later in the second at the end of his shift to take the lead. The game started to slip from the Pens, then Matt Cooke brought it to Drury. Somehow Rozsival gets a 10 minutes misconduct penalty. This leaves New York with only 4 defensemen because of an early injury to Michael Del Zotto. This could have been the turning point by jumping on the Rangers and wearing them down to nothing. Hitting and fore-checking would send a message that we would beat New York down physically, instead we mailed it in.

The Rangers continued to outplay, out hit, and out work the Pens by getting chance after chance and even forcing an injury to starting goaltender Brent Johnson. Then this happens...

This hit in the NFL leads to penalties, fines, and possible suspensions. However that hit resulted in nothing. Nothing called by the refs and more importantly in my mind no response by the Pens. If your captain gets nailed cheaply, you have to respond. Run someone, fight someone, at least get in the face of someone but don't just ignore it. How does that happen?!?!?!?

Were the Olympics distracting them, maybe. I'm not even sure the Rangers have an Olympians outside Gaborik do they? Whatever.

At this point the rest of the game is almost meaningless for me, yes Sid scored late with a power play goal set up by Gonch to get his 41st. Hope was on the horizon forcing OT. Then Olli Olli Olli (sung to the tune of Olé Olé Olé) scored on a random wrister.

This gives the Pens a valuable point heading into the Olympic break, but a OT loss at home is loss.

Predators on Sunday in another Sunday afternoon escapade.

Posted in: post game analysis,Rangers