Flyers Blog: Broad Street Hockey
Well, that wasn't ideal, but what can you do? There's a certain level of expectancy that comes with opening up the new barn and the Pens didn't reach it. Does it make or break the season? No. Would it have been a nice way to open up the season? Hell yeah.
More after the jump.
Fact is the Pens looked sloppy at times. Like a team still looking to find itself before it could figure out the other team. Kris Letang, for all his courage in battling through a flu bug, handed the Flyers the game-winning goal on a weak drop pass to Paul Martin. There were some blatant turnovers and missed passes. Post hits and a ton of "close but not close enough" shots. Pucks trickling through the crease but not going in. Just high. Just wide. The list goes on. But before you misread that as being a list of excuses, you also have to hand it to the Flyers' rookie goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. He played a great game. He made some incredible saves and played like a seasoned pro in his rookie debut.
Charitable as the Pens may have been for his first start, they still have work to do. For what it's worth, Marc-Andre Fleury played an incredible game despite the loss. Claude Giroux's goal was a deke on a turnover. The Blair Betts goal was slo-motion pain, and the other was a bizarre Danny Briere tip-in that 9 out of 10 NHL goaltenders would have let in.
Fact is, it's one game. It's obviously a game the Pens would've liked to win given the opponent and the circumstances of the new arena, but it's still just one game. Nothing says they can't go...uh...81-1, right?
Key notes to take from the game:
- Matt Cooke registered the first penalty at Consol Energy Center.
- Danny Briere was the first player to score at Consol Energy Center.
- Tyler Kennedy goes down in history as the first Penguin to score at Consol Energy Center.
- Alex Goligoski is on pace to score 82 goals this season
- Just kidding
KatieLynn with the comment of the night:
YOU KNOW WHAT. I’M OVER IT.
81 GAMES LEFT.
OPENING A STADIUM WITH A WIN? WHATEVER. NO ONE’LL CARE IN TWO DAYS. I WANT THE BIG SHINY THING AT THE END.
LET’S GO PENS.