An UGLY win, but a win nonetheless

Hey refs, here is something to kiss!

Kunitz where he needs to be in front of the net!

Pretty clear evidence that Letang's hit was SHOULDER on SHOULDER, not a blow to the head. G

Well, it finally happened, the Pens won at the CEC in overtime 3-2. I was very happy to see the win, but honestly left more disgusted with certain aspects of this team than before. Crosby and Malkin did their best to make me feel like I had gone to the opening night of JACKASS for pretty much the entire evening. Crosby has done enough for the Pens that it is hard to criticize him at times, but he made so many sloppy plays tonight it was unreal. The same with Malkin. Sorry, but we are now five games in, and both of them have been so unproductive that it is not funny. They also must be the main reason they cannot get their power play untracked. We can no longer blame Mike Yeo for the power play, he is gone, and they look FAR worse if that can be believed. Yes, they won the game in OT on a power play goal by Goligoski, assisted by 87 and 71, but they were 0-7 including a 5 on 3 prior to that.......and looked even WORSE than 0 for 7 sounds. At the end of the day, the Pens get their first home win, and maybe it will be the start of something, but something on this team does not feel right to me. It is scary when I prefer to see the two stars off the ice for the power play and prefer anybody else on the second unit, because they get the puck to the net and follow up on it!!

I also thought Paul Martin looked bad tonight, and did not look at all like a power play quarterback.

After a great preseason, Mike Comrie looks like a $500,000 forward right now.

On a more positive note Brent Johnson gave a very solid performance, and I hope Bylsma comes back with him tomorrow night. In addition, the silver lining in the injury cloud on the blue line may be that Derek Engelland is showing he can be a legit top 6 defenseman, looking very comfortable playing in his own end, making very solid breakout passes, and throwing his body around in a way that reminds me of another Pens blueliner who sported the number 5.

In addition Alex Goligoski has been excellent, leading the Pens in goals and points. Goose has points in all five games, and has notched 3 goals already. The trick for Goligoski would be to stay consistent, as he had 6 goals in the first 15 games last season, and ended with only 8. He is playing with confidence, and his game winner tonite was a thing of beauty as he followed up a blast from Malkin, got the rebound, and from a bad angle roofed it past DiPietro.

I think Mark Letestu has been the Pens best forward thus far, and that is scary. He was a big factor in tonites game, even playing on the fourth line, and seems to always be productive. Finally, I like Tangradis game, and hope that Bylsma keeps him around. The Big Dog got his first NHL goal tonite, and to me seems to gain confidence every game.

Kris Letang got an early shower on a bull shit call for a blow to the head. The replays clearly showed a very solid shoulder on shoulder hit by Letang, but nonetheless he was assessed a five minute major penalty and a game misconduct. The Islanders took advantage of this horrendous call to score two goals and tie the game.

Tomorrow night, we look for revenge against the Flyers in Philadelphia. Go Pens.