Pittsburgh Penguins at Boston Bruins
Pittsburgh - 0-3-4 - 4 pts - Last place Atlantic Division
Boston - 3-5-0 - 6 pts - Last place Northeast Divsion
The good news is that the Pens are playing a last place team.
The bad news is that the Pens ARE a last place team.
The good news is that the Pens have a better record on the road than they do at home.
The bad news is that road record is 0-1-3.
The good news is that the Bruins haven't yet won a home game.
The bad news is that the Pens haven't won a road game.
The Bruins offensive stars are all playing fairly well. Murray, Thornton, Bergeron, Isbister and Samsonov all have decent numbers. Raycroft has played far better than Toivonen, though he (Raycroft) hasn't had much support. He has a 2-4 record despite a respectable 3.25 GAA and save percentage over 90%... respectable, but not earth-shattering.
Their PP has been decent the last two games at 20% (3-15; better than then Pens for sure - they're 1-7 in their last two games). They've been outshot in every game this season except for two. One was their opener against Montreal. Guess which game the other one was? I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count.... Yup - they outshot the Pens 41-29 in their last meeing with us two weeks ago.
The Pens need to up the effort and intensity. It's kind of funny to say, but I think going on the road might help them. It'll take some of the pressure of the home crowd off of them and let them try to find their rythm offensively.
Everything seems bleak right now, but winning cures all. The Pens get a win tomorrow night and use that as a springboard into their three game homestand next week, and it could look like an entirely new season once Halloween rolls around. Here's hoping...
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Here's hoping... That's cute. I think i'm expect-to-lose mode so i can be pleasantly surprised.
I have tickets to the Pitt/Rangers game on the 7th. I'm hoping that they've won by then.
But hey! Coke cans offer $10 off selected Rangers games. It's time to feel that Jagr magic!
Or perhaps tonight's game calls for some Jaeger magic to ease the pain.
Ok, enough negativity. My prediction: Recchi has a monster game and Caron is put into goal and stands on his head. Dicky Tarnstrom shows why not resigning him would have been a stupid idea. (I pick him to be the team's number one D-man by season end. Arbitration my ass...) Mario continues to be middling flanked by a still rusty Leclair and a still looking for his sealegs Malone. Crosby continues to fail in his neverending attempts to thread passes through a sea of legs and sticks but will get some points because Recchi will own the ice tonight. Do we have a third line? The fourth line continues to impress with two rookies and tons of grit. Unfortunately, their entire family tree is devoid of any scoring talent if the goalie is paying the slightest bit of attention.
So can Recchi own the ice and still lose? You betcha!
Deciding factor: If the Pens playing a punishing, physical game, they win. Plain and simple. If bodies aren't lying on the floor by the end of the first period, i think they're done.
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