The Penguins took a quality team to the limit before losing in overtime......again. Hey, the Sharks are as hot a team as there is in the NHL, now 14-2-1 in their past 17 games. The already depleted Penguins lost Brooks Orpik in the first period after he was hit in the hand blocking a shot. Now, not only are half of the forwards AHL call ups, but half of the defense from 2 games ago is gone(Orpik, Martin, and Goligoski). Most teams don't have three defensemen this good, much less have them all out of the lineup at the same time, to go along with the injuries up front. It would have been easy to fold the tents tonight, but the Penguins, in front of a tremendous effort by Marc Andre Fleury snuck a hard earned point of this game. In addition to an heroic effort by Fleury, Tyler Kennedy scored goals 13 and 14, tying it up with 50 seconds left in the game. Kennedy now has 7 goals in his past 11 games, and I cannot think of anyone who has stepped up his game more than TK during this timeframe. This goal earned the Penguins a well deserved point after a hard fought game. In the overtime period, Fleury stoned Patrick Marleau on a breakaway with a save reminiscent of "The Save." At this point, I am thinking it is in the cards, the Pens are taking both points! However, the Sharks came back to steal the game with 4 seconds left in overtime. Kind of tough to swallow watching this team go toe to toe with the likes of the Blackhawks, Capitals, and Sharks with this lineup, fight tooth and nail, only to lose all three games by a goal, two of them in OT. The Penguins are now 1-3-2 in their past six games and have lost 7 of their past 9. Depite that fact, the Penguins remain 4 points ahead of the Captards for the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference, and the second most points in the conference with 78. We got our first look at the two players who came to the Penguins in the Goligoski deal, and I liked what I saw. James Neal logged 20+ minutes, and showed his ability to hit, skate, and shoot......HARD. He also made several solid plays backchecking, showing his value as a two way player who should thrive in Bylsma's system. As he gets more familiar with his current linemates, he should make a big difference on this team. I can only imagine how good he will look with either Crosby or Malkin setting him up. As far as Matt Niskanen goes, I was actually more impressed than I expected to be. He had that ugly turnover at the blueline in OT that led to the breakaway shot from Marleau, but that could have happened to anybody. The puck skipped over his stick to Thornton who made a great play to Marleau. Take that one play away, and I saw a guy who could skate, who made smart, simple plays, and even created some offensive opportunity. I would like to think that the change of scenery and coaching in Pittsburgh will get Liskanen back to the form he showed in his rookie season, where he netted 35 points. Hopefully Orpik will not be out too long, and we can get Kunitz, Martin, Letestu, and Jeffrey back for now. Maybe the big gun by mid March, and one more scoring winger. The Penguins are about to embark on a pivotal 5 game road trip, that could be key to their playoff positioning.
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