Still Looking for One, Pens Fall to Habs 3-2

I think it’s a good thing that we’re heading away from the Consol for a quick road trip. It could be the hype & jitters from the new arena. I think it might do the Pens some good to step away & learn how to win again.

I think it’s time to consider trading Jordan Staal.

Probably for Jason Spezza.

-The only thing I’ll say on Flower is that in any league, (NHL, AHL, ECHL, etc) that goal is inexcusable by a veteran goaltender. He did, however, play a pretty solid 58 minutes.
-Paul Martin was easily the best Pen on the ice tonight.
-I would love to know who PK Subban thinks he is. With all the injuries to the Habs on D, he’s the equivilant to what Tyler Myers is for the Sabres. But that doesn’t mean he should be getting in Sid and Geno’s face in only his second regular season game. Have some respect.
-Sid is pretty snake bitten right now. He can’t buy a goal. He had a lot of really nice chances that just wouldn’t go in. That being said, he was pretty much floating around tonight; waiting for plays to happen instead of creating things. We haven’t seen Sid Crosby yet and I’m not sure if that’s injury related or not
-The PP still sucks, but it looked better.
-The Pens defense already looks great. With two new big guys, you’d think they’d be out of sync, but they looked pretty good to me. And this is just game 2. They’re going to be unreal by game 70…can’t wait to see that.
-Didn’t notice Ben Lovejoy tonight…that’s probably a good thing.
-TestTube has looked like he’s been in this lineup for two seasons, rather than 12 games.
-Lapierre is a prick and a douche and *insert something derogatory here. Sad thing is, that means he did his job.
-Apparently, there were a bunch of altercations between Pens fans and Montreal fans in the bathrooms and outside CEC after the game. Bad form. Bad, bad form.
-Apparently, Hilary Duff was at this game. Comrie played a complete game. Huh.
-Apparently, I need to shut up. Frank should just have me write the recaps, I have so much to say.

Two thoughts from me:

1. Cammalleri is the new Jason Blake. Just what we didn’t need.

2. Fleury clearly had his mind on that second goal when he allowed the third in. He’s gotta put that stuff past him faster.

No way I’m giving Letang half the blame on that last goal. He manged to keep a very speedy player to the outside where he could only get a weak shot off. Liability shouldn’t be anywhere near his name for that play and Gomez didn’t blow by as if he was standing still either.

First off, I was watching this game with a bunch of people, and had to watch it on FrenchTV because of Toronto/Ottawa, so I could have easily missed something, but here’s a bunch of random thoughts on last night.

I feel that this one was a lot like the Philly game, in that we played, overall, pretty good, but still lost. We had a lot of great scoring chances, most of which Price closed the door on. We played a pretty good puck possession game. We seemed to be moving the puck through the neutral zone well, aside from a few sloppy moments.

And I thought Letang had a really good game too. He had some big defensive plays I noticed, and I really don’t see how he could have been expected to play Gomez any differently on the goal. Gomez is quick and slimy, and would have been tough to stop completely. The right play was to force him to the outside. He just got lucky when he threw the puck on net and caught Fleury daydreaming. I wish our guys would throw the puck on net when they get in all alone instead of always looking for the pass back, maybe we could buy some of that luck.

And, boy, are Tangradi and Letestu ever making great cases to stay on the pro roster. Tangradi really protects that puck well for a guy who’s been playing his third and fourth NHL games this week, and Letestu looks really comfortable at 3C. When Staal comes back, I hope Letestu stays on the roster centering one of the bottom two lines.

Speaking of young guns, I thought Subban’s jawing with Crosby/Malkin was great. I see some people on here didn’t like it, and Cherry really didn’t like it, going so far as to imply that Subban got what he deserved when Comrie sticked him in the lips, but I liked it. Sure, respect is huge in hockey, but I don’t think that means rooks can’t mouth off to veterans on the ice. I, for one, would love to see Tangradi or Engelland mouthing off to Pronger, Parise, Gaborik, or Ovechkin.

And Crosby’s clearly frustrated out there, which is too bad. I’d hoped that an easy goal or two off Carey Price would get him into the groove, but, alas, that didn’t happen. He doesn’t look as good as he usually does out there, so I hope he gets something going soon.

MAF lost the game for the Pens last night, he has had a problem with mental lapses, and leting in soft goals, at key points in the game. Letang played Gomez the right way, pushed him to the outside, however Gomez, who is a smart player, knows (because he has scored before on MAF like this) that MAF, has a propensity to let this type of shots go in, so he took it. This is all mental, MAF is very talented, but he needs to work on a 60 minute game. 58, 59 and 1/2 don’t cut it when you are the goalie. Maybe somebody should advice him on this. I am a supporter of MAF, and think that he has great talent, but it is time for him to step up now, to that level, play 60 minutes. If he wants to be considered among the top goaltenders, he is certainly being paid like one. Gone are the years as a rookie, now it’s time to do it. You can’t let this happen when there are 2 minutes lefy in the game, that’s the time when the great ones become tougher.

Is it just me, or have others had this thought?
The Pens have a way of making average goaltenders look like Hall of Famers.

Kunitz-Crosby-Comrie
Tangradi-Letestu-Malkin
Cooke-Talbot-Kennedy
Rupp-Adams-Dupuis/Godard

I like em. Duper has not played well at all. While, TestTube and Comrie are being rewarded. Some may not like the second line, but lets just see how it goes.

After an 0-2 start, the last team I want to see is the Devils. Love the new line combos though.