Pens falls to Devils 5-4

20 minutes. That's how much time the Penguins spent inside the penalty box. Ten penalties; 20 minutes. If you really break it down, we practically gave the Devils an extra period to work with.

Both teams combined for 5 powerplay goals, in this penalty-ridden game. The Penguins converted 3 times on 5 attempts, while the Devils were 2 for 7. All in all, a great performance by the Penguins' powerplay unit.

Once again the issue tonight was poor management in our own zone. Lanes were left wide open for Zach Parise, who set up three on the night, and the inability to clear in such situations led to detrimental turnovers and ultimately conversions from the Devils.

The score was well on its way to being tied on a Malkin goal from Staal on the breakaway, but the Penguins were penalized for too many men on the ice. The goal was called off, but at this point the arena was absolutely insane. Cups, programs, paper; whatever people could think of throwing wound up on the ice. Such is the frustration when your team takes six straight penalties.

All in all, the third period proved to be better played and less penalty ridden then the previous ones, but if you ask me, at this point the damage was already done. Brodeur shutout the Pens on their only 5 shot attempts in the third to ultimately seal the deal for the Devils.

If I had to highlight the Penguins for anything on the night, I'd say the powerplay did a phenomenal job compared to previous attempts in other games. Gonchar was firing from the blueline, netting one and assisting on another coming from the tip-in on his howitzer shot. Crosby assisted two of the three PP goals, while Malkin had a goal of his own.

Despite letting in 5 goals, Fleury looked a lot better in net tonight. I still stand by my statement when I say that there was an interference call on (Gionta?), but the goal stood because the penalty was not called and is ultimately not reviewable with the replay.

What the Penguins really have to do is work better in their own end. Again, this game is evidence to the fact that you can't win games by relying strictly on goals, especially when the other team has Brodeur between the pipes. Granter Brodeur hasn't started this season to the best of his abilities, but he somehow magically manages to play incredibly well against the Penguins.

Final thought: It's a tough loss, but I'll take it. The game was bound to be a neck and neck competition, but this time around the Devils came out on top. There's still seven more meetings on the season, and I'm really looking forward to what the next game has in store for these two teams.

Penguins Goals

Italicized = PP
1st Period
Talbot from Whitney - Roberts
Roberts from Gonchar - Sykora

2nd Period
Gonchar from Crosby - Malkin
Malkin from Crosby - Gonchar

3rd Period
None

Fleury : 30-35
Brodeur : 26-30

Pens vs Habs preview

The Pens take on the Canadiens this Wednesday night for the first time this season. At least, when it counts. In the two preseason games against the Habs, each team took a win, with a former Penguins generously handing us that overtime loss.

Alexei Kovalev (or as he is known now, simply Alex) [why?] scored in game one of the preseason on a pass from Mark Streit with under 30 seconds remaining before a shootout decision. In that same game, Kovalev also assisted the two other goals for a Canadiens 3-2 win. To say the struggling Pens defense will have to contain Kovalev is certainly an understatement.

Speaking of, the defense has spent far too much time idling around the net. Although I don't expect (nor do I want) them to over-commit to the puck, they hardly even play the man. There is no pressure on to the boards to push the puck out, and the other team is spending far too much time putting shots on net towards Marc "Still Waiting To Find My Groove"-Andre Fleury. If the Pens want to play this way Wednesday night, then they best be putting up 7 goals if they hope to even stay in it.

Continuing with the Habs, we'll look at threat number two - Saku Koivu. In game one against the Hurricanes he netted two powerplay goals, one of which proved to be the overtime game winner. If Koivu and Kovalev hit the Pens on the powerplay, then the PK unit is going to have their work cut out for them. Ideally I'd like to see Talbot and Staal working the corners in the Habs' zone, eating up time and controlling the play. In the last game against Anaheim, Talbot showed some good work on the PK unit. I'd like to see a repeater.

The Canadiens' defense, led primarily by goaltender Cristobal Huet, is nothing short of average. In the Habs' 3-2 preseason victory over the Pens, Huet faced 12 shots, giving up zero goals before Yann Danis got his shot. Danis let in 2 goals on 9 shots while Huet let in none. In game two, Huet was scratched from the line-up. Coincidentally, the Pens and Canadiens have each struggled a bit in the defensive area. Both Fleury and Huet are easily flustered when faced with a barrage of shots, and I'd expect to see nothing less in this contest.

On to the Penguins.

There's no better time than now for Crosby to step up and show us how he brought home the hardware last season. Everyone predicts and expects and suspects and whatever you wanna say that he's going to have a 120+ season. But if he keeps playing at the rate of hardly one point every two games, he's on track for a 41 - 60 point season. I want to see, at the least, a goal and an assist Wednesday night.

Now for the Fleury situation. There's been a lot of talk about how much longer Therrion is going to keep him in net. The way I see it; it's only game three. Give him two more, and I genuinely mean that. Give him two more games to find his groove, and if he doesn't improve yank 'em and put in Sabourin. If there is one player on the Penguins roster who I've inherently doubted, it's Fleury. I personally have never perceived him to be a franchise goalie, and I see him in the same light as Ken Wregget and Patrick Lalime. On a similar note, he'd have to find a home on a high-scoring team if he hopes to play elsewhere and collect some wins. In other words, he better pull himself together and stick it out with the Pens if he ever hopes to touch the cup.

I predict a highly offensive contest Wednesday night, and I'm going to go on a whim and say Pens win 4-3. Not only will Sykora have the stints out of his newly remodeled nose, and Crosby hopefully playing at 100% by then, but the home crowd will hopefully carry them to another victory.