I’ve been saying it for about a week now. Guerin is holding that line back

we desperately need some jump/scoring from the second line… without Geno they’re not even getting SHOTS on goal… 8 SoG (total for the three of them!) in 3 games since they’ve been put together.

And with TK out the 3rd line doesn’t fare much better either…

overall it’s been a couple of rough games, but I wouldn’t blame in on the first line (although it’s still beyond me how Guerin has zero goals the last two games with all the chances…)

My group was pretty bummed out last night. Two Red Wings fans there—and the Wings lost. And I’ve decided the NASCAR season is over for me even though there are 3 more races, between a really horrific crash involving Ryan Newman at Talladega last week and Jimmie Johnson getting an insufferably long red carpet straight to the championship. And then this—THIS!—in between. I do not want to have to give up on sports altogether and start living a productive and fulfilling life. (Actually, no, I won’t give up on the Pens. I remember last winter, too.)

Actual conversation at my house:
“Okay, who wants hot chocolate?”
“I do!” “Me!”
“Who wants Kahlua in it?”
“I thought that was a given tonight.”

I know the whole team will be happy to get the hell out of California, and I know y’all will have Letang injury updates as soon as they’re available. (That fall by McKee didn’t look good, either.) Hopefully soon players start getting off the injured list rather than on it.

That game was prety horriffic last night. I turned it off after flower was pulled. Did anything remotely good happen after that?

12-5. Look at that again. 12-5! You should hear the Stanley Cup losers here in Detroit! After last nights loss to the Leafs, they are wondering if they’ll make the playoffs. With losses to LA and San Jose can you see, I almost foresaw two losses that are redeemable under the loss column. Add Phoenix and New Jersey who are both playing well and you’re up to 4 losses that aren’t bad losses by any means. The Minnesota game was different but Backstrom was on fire even though the Pens spent a majority of the game in their zone. I’d be pretty happy with 12-5 as a fan, just saying.

With the number and quality of the Pen’s injuries right now, it’s just unrealistic to expect them to win at the rate they were before they started dropping like flies. In fact, I think we will be lucky if we go 2-2 on our upcoming homestand.

But it’s not all bad. With Gonchar out, Go-go and Tanger get some experience quarterbacking the pp, which while painful to watch right now, may prove valuable when Sarge is no longer with us. The team’s injuries also give fresh faces Bourque and Connor a chance for some NHL time, and Connor has really impressed me with his bat-out-of-hell style of play.

Finally, I’d rather the Pens peaked late rather than early, don’t you agree? Get these injury struggles out of the way right now and be healthy for the end of the season and playoffs.

But it seems like every media outlet talked about Pittsburgh’s injuries as a factor in this loss, but didn’t comment on the multitude of injuries also facing the Sharks.

Although Pavelski returned last night, he had been out for the last 15 games. Setoguchi is no Malkin, but he’s one of the best players on this team and was on pace to greatly improve on his 30 goal season last year. Our captain (Rob Blake) is on the shelf with a shoulder injury, and Torrey Mitchell (a solid third line center and penalty killer) still hasn’t played since signing his $1.7 MM contract.

Again, not saying that injuries don’t matter, or that Pittsburgh isn’t struggling with missing top talent. I just wouldn’t use the word “opportunistic” when talking about the Sharks win. They looked great last night, and no amount of injuries to either team should lessen that.

The Pens are banged up and on a roadie. Let’s not freak just yet.

I was at the game, and one thing that I noticed was that the Sharks looked much more “fresh” than the Pens did. I’m not factoring schedules or injuries, etc…into that description, they just skated better. Their passes were more crisp (and more timely and accurate), their shots were on goal, as opposed to the Pens sending numerous shots wide, and they were much more physical than the Pens. Even the fights I thought the Sharks took.
To me, it was reminiscent of watching the ‘08 Stanley Cup when we lost to the Wings: it looked like a more experienced, more refined, more disciplined team came out and whooped a younger, more athletic team, that didn’t trust or follow a game plan.
Sid did not look real good. He had a couple sweet moves with the puck, but he turned the puck over at least 4 times right in front of our seats.
Fleury looked lost…like he had no confidence, but he got NO help from his defense. The Pens couldn’t clear the puck Saturday night, which contributed to them being outshot 14-2 at one point in the 2nd.
Staal was the only guy who looked like he wasn’t overwhelmed. He hustled every play, and used those long arms to distrupt quite a few passes. Sid, looked overwhelmed. He constantly had a body on him, and only had maybe two opportunities to let his skill set take over so he could try and make something happen. He nearly scored what would’ve been a sick goal in the first when he passed the puck to himself between the defender’s legs, went around then put the puck on goal as he was falling down. But, that damn Nebokov made a nice save.
Also, Nebokov was amazing. He might as well have been a brick wall, because nothing was going to get past him Saturday night.
All in all, a terrible game, but damn, hockey is great live! I’ll give credit to the Sharks fans; their team blows out the defending champs, yet they still are cool enough to help a new hockey fan understand rules, line changes, etc…without rubbing it in too bad.
Geno, Max, Gonchar…hurry back!