Why Can't the Pens Hold a Lead?

It was an ugly weekend for Pittsburgh Sports. The Pitt Panthers losing to Rutgers on Saturday with the injury of their star quarterback only to be followed later that night with the Penguins shootout loss to the Rangers. Sunday wasn't much better as The Steelers dropped to 5-2 after a loss to the New York Giants.

Anyway... the question seems to be why can't the pens hold onto a lead in the third period?

Well they looked pretty flat footed in the third after turning in 2 excellent periods previously. Are they content to sit on a lead of 2-3 goals and play defensively? If they are thats fine - if they actually played good defense. The problem seems to be that they fall apart completely in the third allowing Nikolai Zherdev to tie the game at 2 with just 8.1 seconds left in regulation. If I were Fleury I would be pretty pissed after playing out of mind for the rest of the game.

Of course Lunqvist was playing out of his mind as always but the Pens sure didn't help any.

Now the Pens set out on a lengthy road trip to the West visiting the Sharks, Coyotes, and Blues in the next 3 meets. All I can ask is that we don't take an early lead. And if we come out of any of these losing after a 3-0 lead going into the third - well you might as well stick your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye.

Trade for Marian Gaborik?

Its only October and the rumors have already started flying. Word on the street is the pens are looking into a trade to obtain Minnesota Wild's super star Marian Gaborik. First of all, the Pens are only a few games into the season, and personally I would rather see them sort the lines out that they have already before concerning themselves with who else they can sign. Secondly, its only October. The trade dead line 5 months down the road and there is a lot to be done before then.

Having said that, Gaborik is indeed a free agent after this season with the Wild which makes them all the more likely to trade him before his contract expires. Not to mention the fact that he has expressed his feelings toward the Wild which can be considered less than flattering. Gaborik is looking to go somewhere else because the chances of the Wild actually making the playoffs let alone having a shot at the cup in the next few years is pretty much slim to none. But of course, as soon as I say that they will win a Stanley Cup. Anyway, keep the ears open for possible trades, but dont get too excited about it just yet - it may be a while before anything escalates.

Dany Sabourin to start in Boston

Michel Therrien announced today that Dany Sabourin would be getting the start in net tonight in the face off against the Boston Bruins. I can't say i disagree with the call all that much. Fleury has certainly played excellently thus far this season and I am sure would appreciate a break. Not to mention it is always a good idea to keep your backup reminded that he may have eventually play sometime rather than sit on the bench and collect pay checks. Boston is certainly not a high powered offense but I'm sure Sabourin will see his fair share of shots tonight. Hopefully the penguins number one line of Crosby, Malkin, and Doop can keep things together and put up some points again.

Prediction: 4-2 win for the Pens

Crosby and Malkin Pair Up

Well it looks like Therrien finally did something to get Pens into gear. Pairing Malkin and Crosby together on the first line gave the pens the boost they needed to get a much needed win. The duo racked a combined 8 points between the two of them leading the Pens to a 4-1 victory over the on Saturday.

Tonight: Crosby vs. Ovechkin

So tonight the pens take on the caps at mellon arena for another meeting of Crosby vs. Ovechkin. There has been alot of dispute around the league about who is really the better player. Crosby of course being a dynamic player who in turn makes the players around him better vs. the gunslinging goal scorer that Ovechkin is.

It is pretty clear that Crosby has established himself as the dominant player after taking on team captain and leading his team to the Stanley Cup Finals last season. Ovechkin is pretty much a jackass that likes bitch about how much ice time he is getting, how terrible the players around him are, and who has a bigger contract than him (pretty much no one at this point).

So, tonight we will see what happens between the two. And don't be surprised to see sparks flying between Ovechkin and Malkin either after the whole agent punching thing last year - because Ovechkin is a whiny twat and hates Malkin who is also better than him.

Gotta open the mouth when shooting a slap shot

Power Play

The Pens power looks like it lacking right about now with the absence of Gonchar and Whitney. Lets hope they can get things sorted out before long

Pens vs. Flyers

First posting on this blog just something to try to get used to how things work and get things started.

The pens looked a little flat in the first period registering only 6 shots on net while Fleury stopped 7 from the Flyer's offense. They came out firing in the second taking a quick 2 goal lead with goals from Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik and newly acquired forward Mike Zigomanis. But in the span of just 21 seconds the Flyers were able to tie up the score forcing a stalemate in the third and heading to overtime.

Penguins forward Pasqual Dupuis ended the game shortly into OT with a slap shot from the left wing to win the game.

The Penguins will face off against the Washington Capitals Thursday night at the Mellon Arena