Nothing lasts forever and today, the Pittsburgh Penguins dropped their first in nine games. This second game of the home-at-home series against the Toronto Maple Leafs had a different tone than last night's game. Instead of a goal scoring bonanza, both teams played tight defense, almost eliminating goalies as key figures in the outcome of the game.

The Pens came out very strong but couldn't find a way to get the puck on net. Maybe the shot was blocked, maybe it went wide, maybe it hit the post, it just couldn't get to James Reimer. Brent Johnson, making his first start in 23 games in what has been a sub par season for him, needed the support of a offense but they couldn't cash in. A defensive breakdown led to the lone goal of the game which is a great shame for Johnson who had his best showing of the season.

This was truly a close-checking game and the smallest offensive mistakes were exploited on the grandest scale. Pens ended up taking two penalties nearing the halfway point of the third and that took them out of their game. Including the emotional boost of seeing John-Michael Liles and Colby Armstrong return to the lineup, the Leafs had the fire it took to halt the Pens winning streak at eight.

No worries, plenty of hockey left to start another winning streak. Not a bad game for the Pens, just one that would eventually come.

More after the jump.

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I want to lead with Evgeni Malkin.

I want to lead with how his game is at another level. How he continues to make a strong case of being the league's most dominant player. How his Spintal Tap approved clutchometer goes up to 11.

"Where can you go from there? Nowhere."

But we'll briefly set Malkin aside, late game-tying goal and all.

This one is for Kris Letang, who scored a peach of a goal in his second game back from a lengthy absence due to a concussion, one caused by Montreal Canadiens' winger Max Pacioretty. And it goes to Dustin Jeffrey, who scored his first two goals of the season to cap off a three-point night, a moment of triumph following his painstakingly slow recovery from off-season reconstructive knee surgery.

It all added up to a dogged comeback from 4-2 down in the third period, and a 5-4 (1-0) shootout victory over the Canadiens in front of 18,588 at the Consol Energy Center.

It was the Penguins' fifth victory in a row following a six-game losing streak. Now they're in the Eastern Conference's sixth spot, making Ray Shero's braggadocios playoff guarantee seem all the more prophetic.

In reality, of course, it's simply a tie. One that's just looked at through more optimistic glasses because of the added point and pseudo-victory. The Canadiens played well, the Penguins answered. Both teams were sloppy for spells, and both have things they can take away from the game.

Even if the game simply ended at 4-4 and the points were split, the Pens could still feel comfortable taking more good than bad from this one, particularly in seeing Jeffrey and Letang show a great return to form.

And, of course, seeing Malkin continue to do what he's done most of the season.

Notes and anecdotes after the jump.

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The Penguins won last night. Evgeni Malkin was really good. My "he's so sick" count stopped around ten as he continuously improvised stick tricks and attacking methods during an official, sanctioned NHL contest.

Maybe it's time for an AND1 Streetballer alias for Malkin. Serial Skiller? Goals Galore?

He did this in the first period...

... and this in the shootout.

Keep watching and the supporting cast does the rest. Marc-Andre Fleury with a pair of nifty saves and James Neal with the winner.

Officially, Malkin wasn't even one of the three stars. Earning first was Neal, Fleury, strong throughout, took second and Cam Ward got the third arbitrarily honor.

In the real world, I think we all know who's atop the food chain on the ice of the Consol Energy Center. And again, he showed why.

When the Penguins surrendered a three-goal lead over a 4:50 span in the third period, things looked dire.

Not only had the Pens surrendered a number of leads in a similar fashion over the course of the season, but this was a team that had only won one of its last seven games. Not a hot team or a team prone to overcoming adversity. For all intents and purposes, it was a team prone to succumbing to such challenges.

But every now and then you get to see something special during a hockey game. Sometimes it's a beautiful goal or a gutsy defensive effort. Or it's a single player imposing his will on an opponent unable to cope.

Evgeni Malkin did that on Sunday, scoring a natural hat trick in spectacular fashion to cap off a five-point afternoon and lead the Penguins to a 6-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in front of 19,204 at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

It was Malkin's eighth career hat trick and fourth goal in two games. He's scored six goals in his last five games.

Precisely what the Penguins needed when they needed it the most.

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We're drifting into uncharted territory now.

Jason Chimera's first-period goal was all the offense the Washington Capitals needed, as they defeated the Penguins 1-0 in front of 18,505 fans and one Hooks Orpik at the Verizon Center Wednesday night.

The loss was the Penguins' sixth in a row, the longest losing streak in coach Dan Byslma's tenure, and the first time they were shut out since March 25, 2011. At least they managed to win that game.

The worst part of what amounted to an overall solid defensive effort was how completely awful the lone goal surrendered actually was.

Evgeni Malkin carries the puck into the Capitals zone, diagonally gliding towards the left wing. He enters some traffic, with Pascal Dupuis and James Neal not too far off, awaiting some sort of act of distribution from the Russian. Chip, pass, dump. Whatever. Paul Martin optimistically enters the zone down the right.

The three players nearest Malkin are facing him directly from three distinct angles. Problematically, none are Penguins. The puck is easily poke checked by Joel Ward into the neutral zone. Turnover. The odd-man rush is on, with only Zbynek Michalek back.

Instead of gliding into position to defend the 3-on-1, he commits to a race for the puck with Jeff Halpern. A race he is not capable of winning. Halpern gets there first and chips a simple pass to the onrushing Chimera who slots it past Marc-Andre Fleury.

Game over.

There was some good news.

Dustin Jeffrey played. He didn't get injured. He almost scored late. Didn't. Alas.

Dupuis almost got injured, but didn't. I think. Malkin disappeared for a little bit, but wasn't hurt. I think.

Sidney Crosby was in the building. He chilled in the press box, but at least he was there. He's still hurt. I think.

Bright spots, gotta find the bright spots.

Like, at least this isn't 2003-04, when the Penguins lost 18 games in a row. That couldn't possibly ever happen again.

Right?

This is getting bad. Not "write off the season, we're done" sort of bad, but still pretty bad. Normally in these situations there is an up-and-coming minor leaguer that Ray Shero keeps a "break in case of emergency" label on, but sadly the WBS squad is all tapped out. Eric Tangradi would in all likelihood be that guy, and we've already seen what he's been able to contribute over the past few seasons.

Pittsburgh's 5-1 loss to Ottawa Tuesday night marks the team's fifth straight loss - the longest of the season - and drops them into fourth place in the Atlantic Division.

Admittedly the one good thing to come of this whole situation is the fact that Pittsburgh fans, by nature, are smart enough to pinpoint what the problem is. By that I mean, it's pretty obvious injuries are absolutely destroying this team right now and thankfully a guy like Dan Bylsma is not seen as a reason for the drought. In a way you have to applaud him for still managing to put together a decent squad night in and night out given the depleted staff he has to work with.

With that said, the Penguins' biggest issue is on defense. They're not allowing all that many shots but the shots sure are finding their way through and past Marc-Andre Fleury. Or Brent Johnson. Or, in tonight's case, both.

Kudos to James Neal for putting in a valiant effort. The other day reports suggested he would be out "weeks" with an apparent foot injury, but it didn't stop him from lacing up his skates and giving it a go. Almost lost in all this "woe is me" flow of play as of late is Evgeni Malkin, who has scored two goals over the last two games and remains in the hunt for the league's scoring title with 45 points.

Things don't get much better for the Penguins as they prepare to take on the Capitals Wednesday night. Verizon Center has been a notoriously tough place for the Pens to play and this meeting couldn't come at a worse time. Or, perhaps, it couldn't come at a better time. Beating a team like the Capitals, no matter how much they've struggled this season, could help light a spark under this mangled, disjointed group of players sporting the black and gold.

In years past we've always said .500 hockey is all you can pray for when the injuries start to rack up. At this point, that's sadly all we can hang our hats on if we want to see postseason hockey.

In theory, 42 shots should be more than enough for a team to score a sufficient number of goals to pull out the win. But a lot of things work well in theory until applied to reality where they fall flat. This is, sadly, one of those things.

Pittsburgh launched 42 pucks at Martin Brodeur Saturday night and he managed to stop all but one. Obviously one of the best goaltenders in the history of the league possesses the ability to do this on any given night, but the Penguins' inability to score on said shots may also be a reflection of their own inner workings.

The other day, in the Rangers' recap, I asked for some help on identifying what the biggest issue with the Penguins is right now. Some of you said defense, others said injuries but Outcast made an interesting point as well - just not enough bodies in front of the goaltender.

If goalies like Henrik Lundqvist or Brodeur are going to have a clear look at 35 - 45 shots on goal without anyone in front of the net to screen or deflect, odds are each of them will stop 35 - 45 shots on any given night.

This sort of thing is hard to find though. Back in 2005 - 2008, Ryan Malone was that kind of guy. He wasn't necessarily the biggest guy on the ice, but he knew how to use his body to his advantage in front of goaltenders to pick up some dirty goals or deflect in some rockets from the point. The risk-reward was always high with him on either front, as you may remember when he took sticks and pucks off his face as a result of his play. In a way it comes with the territory.

Bill Guerin was the next guy to come on board in 2009 to do the exact same thing. Much bigger than Malone, Guerin could battle his way in front of the net, get some solid positioning and just use his puck sense to dig for the rebound or tip in the shot.

In theory (we'll keep with the trend), Tyler Kennedy has the makings of a Malone. Jordan Staal more like the build of Guerin. And yet each of them rarely contributes in this sort of way. With the exception of his rare snipes - in between a shoot it into the pads and see what happens shot - Kennedy has scored a number of goals by just hanging around the crease. Staal, while possessing a much larger frame, has some slick hands and deceptive speed, so he is rarely used in that way as well. Plus he was out of the lineup for the Devils game with a knee injury. If anything James Neal would also be a strong candidate for this sort of positioning, but lately he doesn't need to put his face on the line to get us goals. He's doing just fine with what his game plan is.

Against the Devils, a team that often has a stigma of limiting offenses on all fronts, the Penguins managed to put up over 40 shots. Outside of Evgeni Malkin's first period go-ahead goal, the Pens didn't see the lamp light up much on the Devils' end. Even with two power-play chances the Pens were unable to capitalize, but the Devils also possess the league's best penalty kill (91.2 percent).

And don't get me started again on shorthanded goals. Friday night it was Brandon Dubinsky. Saturday night Adam Henrique. That's two consecutive nights where the Pens have allowed shorties. How exactly is that going to help things?

On the bright side, congrats to Marc-Andre Fleury, who appeared in his 400th career game Saturday night. Although he's been allowing a few goals recently over the Penguins' four-game losing streak, let's not overlook the fact that he's been hung out to dry a number of times, remains second in the league for wins among goaltenders and has been one of the biggest pieces on this team.

Pens are back at it Tuesday against the Senators. Puck drops at 7pm.

There's no denying it - the Rangers are one of the hottest teams in the league right now. Not only do they hold a six point lead over Philadelphia for first in the Atlantic Division, but New York's 56 points also places them first in the Eastern Conference.

If this season has proven anything - especially lately - it's that the Penguins struggle against division rivals. Friday was no exception, as the Penguins fell 3-1 to the Rangers.

When it comes to looking at the bright side of a loss like this, I guess all we have to bank on is that it wasn't a shutout. Plus, when you consider Ben Lovejoy registered the only goal, it almost seems like a wasted contribution from a guy who isn't exactly known for lighting the lamp.

Nevertheless, Henrik Lundqvist proved to be the better goaltender tonight, stopping 37 of Pittsburgh's 38 shots to earn his 18th win of the season. Getting some offensive help didn't hurt his chances of picking up that 'W' either.

I don't know which broadcast you may have been privy to, but I know the MSG one showed a flashback to 2010 when Brandon Dubinsky pulled off a solid toe drag while rushing in 2-on-1 with Ryan Callahan on the wing. The short-handed duo connected for a goal last season and Friday's game more or less showed the exact same play only with a slight role reversal. Callahan hooked up Dubinsky for the goal, complete with the toe drag, to give the Rangers the lead in the second period. From thereon in it was just Rangers hockey until the final whistle.

The Penguins played a very well disciplined game which at least kept them out of the box and limited NY's power-play chances. But if they're going to give up a goal shorthanded, I suppose it doesn't really matter much either way.

Given the injuries to this squad, I'm seeing a Penguins team that is capable of staying afloat. Winning it all? Hard to say. Evgeni Malkin will have to crank up his production a bit more and James Neal will need to remain the team's prolific scorer if this team is to get by without Sidney Crosby for what could possibly be - gulp - the remainder of the season. Nothing will stop me from cheering for the team, but a first round bounce in the playoffs again isn't exactly far fetched given the current state of this team.

Which in turn leads to another topic of consideration - now that we've flipped the calendar to 2012, and the trade deadline is fast approaching, will Ray Shero and company once again be active to find players on the open market? Let's not forget who came on board by means of the deadline last season; Neal and Niskanen. While each struggled in his own right last year, they're undoubtedly found the groove from Day 1 of the 2011-12 campaign. So, is there a solution available as we edge closer to that February deadline? Because as it stands now, it would appear as if the team needs help...somewhere.

To his credit, Marc-Andre Fleury ranks second overall in the league with 19 wins, five behind the league-leading Jimmy Howard. But he can stop all but one shot and still lose a game if this team cannot find a way to gel offensively.

Wherein lies the problem? Is it a defensive lapse or an offensive one?

No rest for the weary as the Pens head across the Hudson Saturday night to take on the New Jersey Devils, another division rival that has put the Pens through fits not only this season but many seasons in the past. Puck drops at 7pm.