Another One-Point Game: Devils Beat Pens 2-1 in OT

I thought Kennedy played very well tonight. Connor I think was the best Penguin on the ice tonight. He really looks like he is playing for a spot in the lineup every night.

On the contrary I think Kovalev easily had his worst game as a Penguin. He really looked slow out there again and had several bad turnovers. The Kovalev, Letestu, Neal line just doesn’t do it for me. They have the most potential, but I think they work the least. Neal seems to be the only one in on the forecheck and teams can easily beat a 1 man forecheck. Hopefully we get Kunitz back tomorrow and Bylsma will shake that up.

That was a tough call on Michalek. I can’t say it was a bad call because the ref could have called either Engelland or Michalek. But with some of the fouls that weren’t called everybody figure the refs swallowed their whistles.

Fact is, there aren’t any one-point games in the postseason. It’s going to end one way or another with 4-on-4 hockey, and from what the Pens have shown lately it’s not going to end pretty if it trends in any way similar to the regular season.

No 4-on-4 OT in the postseason, so I’m not sure we can predict much from the Pens results.

I think they’re playing some good hockey. As you mentioned, the Devils are a good team, one of the hottest teams in the league right now. We went into their building, outplayed them and came way with a point. Recently we had the rare treat of going into another team’s building twice in five days, a team that has also been playing well lately and fighting for survival, and we took 3 of a possible 4 points. Of course everyone said we shouldn’t drop a point to a team like the Leafs, but then that Leafs team went out and beat the best team in the conference last night.

I probably tend to be more of an optimist than the average fan, but I’d like to see more. I’d love some regulation wins, more goals, maybe a shutout or two to steal some wins. But I’m not too discouraged by what I’ve seen. How many of us saw the Devils go up 1-0 and figured that’s it, might as well call this one a loss? But the team kept fighting and got the tying goal. I don’t know how the hell they didn’t manage to get another one past Brodeur. They certainly had a few chances.

We’re getting healthy. Guys are coming back that haven’t played a whole lot of hockey lately, and we’re still integrating new guys into the team. I’m glad we still have a month left to get everybody on the same page, and once the playoffs roll around we may not be world beaters but I sure think this team will be a tough out, and not one that other teams are going to relish having to play.

Well, at least we got a goal. I wasn’t expecting that much from this one.

As for the playoffs, I’m pretty resigned to the fact that unless Sid comes back, we’re going to be ousted in the first round. Especially if we end up playing the Caps, who will more than likely sweep us by four shutouts if the regular season is anything to go by.

I’m so glad I’m not a fan of theirs. Unless I had a bad case of insomnia. They are the masters of boring hockey. That’s probably why I have disliked them so much for such a long time.

Personally, I don’t think anytime you come away with just one point on the road is disappointing at all. I’m surprised they are still the fourth seed with all the injuries they have endured. The Caps are right behind them so getting any point is going to be beneficial. Take care of business at home and try to pick up as many points as you can on the road.

I’ve only seen a handful of games this year and only a couple after the Crosby-Malkin injuries. In those few games, it seems the Pens are lacking leadership. When things start to go badly, I don’t see anyone rallying the team or anything of the sort. Anyone else notice this?

Honestly, I have to say I’m impressed with these boys. They’re down, but they are certainly not out. They are getting one point here, one point there, but they are right in these games. The Devils are the hottest team in the NHL, so are the Hawks, they’ve battled right there with the both of them. If they stick it out tonight with the Bruins, these boys surly will be confident going. If #87 is to come back, I think they’ll be serious contenders. This is a hard-working bunch and I think as a fan base, even without the big guns, we all appreciate the effort they are putting forth right now.

I forget what it feels like to earn two points.

Helped the Pens LOSE this game. His half-assed attempt to stop the puck with his
foot instead of laying his body out, in the final seconds of OT, that was one of the laziest
plays I have seen in a very long time. In the minutes before, I watched Crag Adams sacrifice
his body—and his life, according to Staggy—excellent shot blocking.
I replayed that over and over and Talbot could have and SHOULD HAVE done more
with seconds remaining in OT. IMO.

But the rest of the guys, most of them, they fought hard.
I am proud of the way most of them played.
I just wish we could have gotten the win and two points.
We are going to need all the help we can get against Boston today.

Probably the highest quality of posts per thread I have seen so far. As a lifelong Pens fan, I have seen quite a few ups and downs. I saw the line of the century play in their heyday. I’ll play the optimist.
I find it odd that no one mentioned Niskanen. Here is, what i consider the most reasonable post I could find from the Stars NHL.com message board.

“keep in mind, Chara at this stage of his career (and this age) had no offense and was -60 for his career…he got better. Nisky is -5 and has 3 times as many points as Chara had. Patience…and some sanity please”

I feel that he has played very well and has stepped up to be a solid #3 defenseman on a unit that went from the teams strength to a shambles in a weeks time. Losing Gogo, Orpik, and Martin has not stopped him from sliding right in. The fact of the matter is, with all the injuries, callups, and HCDB trying to put the proverbial “square peg in the round hole”, this team has played VERY well. I watched the Toronto-Philly game Thursday night and they played, and they are playing well as a unit now. To take 3 out of 4 from them with the M*A*S*H unit playing on adrenaline and heart was an accomplishment, both on the road. As a college basketball referee, I have insight into “what makes a game look good” as far as how it was officiated. The call against Z was a no-brainer. Here is a team that hasn’t committed a penalty the entire game, a road team, no less, and they have already secured one point. In a playoff game? Probably not. But my second favorite credo is “Perception is reality”, so that call fit perfectly at that time in that game.
I disagree that the Pens outplayed them. I felt it was even. The difference was that they could not score on the power play.
Lastly, I’ve been hard on Staal of late and I probably need to give him a pass, but if he’s hurting that bad right now, why not rest up for the postseason? As was pointed out, he is arguably the best 3rd line center in the game WHEN healthy, and he was on the first line (playing hurt) until Testtube returned.
THAT should tell you all you need to know about the condition of this team.

In all fairness, I have been critical of Conner in past games But I thought last night he played the best game he ever had. I think he is fighting for a spot in the team, and knows that when Kunitz comes back, he could be out. Whatever the reason he played well.