First, I will talk about the good signs from this game............Geno played his second strong game in a row for the first time since I can remember, posting a 3 point night, assisting on all three goals by the Pens......His assist on Letangs goal combined his tremendous talent, with some really good hustle. Kris Letang looked sharp, and Nick Johnson, despite one huge mistake, did not look out of place out there tonite. I am not sure there was a whole lot more to be excited about.....The Pens played the hottest team in the NHL straight up for forty minutes of intense playoff style hockey......the only problem for the Pens is that the game is played for 60 minutes! No reason to panic at this point, but there is some cause for concern...........The Penguins have continued to have the same issues cost them games for a month now:
Their Power Play is pathetic..............the Pens went 0 for 4 with the man advantage mustering six shots............the Caps were 2 for 2 only needing 2 shots to score 2 goals;
The Penguins were very sloppy in their own zone, were pressured into mistakes by the Capitals relentless forecheck, and missed defensive assignments;
The Penguins seemed unable to stem the tide once the Capitals tied the game in the second period, and really sagged after a mistake by Nick Johnson playing in his first NHL game resulted in a breakaway goal............when the Pens are on they respond to those types of plays with a quick answer;
This team has just seemed off for a month now..........they have the personnel to be an elite team, but truly have been mediocre for weeks........they lack the swagger of a champion right now, and I dont know why. If you really look at this team, they are barely above .500 since their 9-1 start. After the first ten games, the Penguins have been 22-19-1, which means they have won 2 games more than they have lost since late October. This is hardly the stuff of champions. The fact that the power play is so horrible just continues to mystify me as well. I think we will know a lot about the Pens over the next couple of weeks as noted based on the fact that the schedule brings all strong teams and divisional or conference rivals. We will know if the Pens are a playoff ready team, or if they need to make some moves in order to make a strong run again in the spring.
Their Power Play is pathetic..............the Pens went 0 for 4 with the man advantage mustering six shots............the Caps were 2 for 2 only needing 2 shots to score 2 goals;
The Penguins were very sloppy in their own zone, were pressured into mistakes by the Capitals relentless forecheck, and missed defensive assignments;
The Penguins seemed unable to stem the tide once the Capitals tied the game in the second period, and really sagged after a mistake by Nick Johnson playing in his first NHL game resulted in a breakaway goal............when the Pens are on they respond to those types of plays with a quick answer;
This team has just seemed off for a month now..........they have the personnel to be an elite team, but truly have been mediocre for weeks........they lack the swagger of a champion right now, and I dont know why. If you really look at this team, they are barely above .500 since their 9-1 start. After the first ten games, the Penguins have been 22-19-1, which means they have won 2 games more than they have lost since late October. This is hardly the stuff of champions. The fact that the power play is so horrible just continues to mystify me as well. I think we will know a lot about the Pens over the next couple of weeks as noted based on the fact that the schedule brings all strong teams and divisional or conference rivals. We will know if the Pens are a playoff ready team, or if they need to make some moves in order to make a strong run again in the spring.
By way of adding detail to the above statement about the Pens mediocrity since the start of the season, I will give their record by the month:
October: 11-3
November: 8-6
December: 7-5-1
January: 5-6
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