Wow - I thought last night was bad (against the Senators). Tonight was worse. It started out okay, but then the parade to the penalty box began, and things weren't the same after that.
Despite the adversity, the Pens almost tied this one up in the third, with a goal not being allowed (even after video replay) due to insufficient evidence. In short, there was no clear camera angle that showed if the puck crossed the goal line. After that, Thibault allowed a real soft goal and things spiraled out of control. No matter what the Pens tried, it didn't work the way they hoped, right down to Therrien pulling the goalie just in time for a Hurricanes empty net goal.
The Pens were out shot again, and only managed 20 shots for the entire night. It was dramatic to see the difference between the way the Hurricanes controlled and passed the puck and the way the Pens would try to whack it up the ice (or carry it). There just isn't much consistency right now to their game.
It is encouraging to see the penalty killers be aggressive when they have the chance. I think that will serve them well when they're not getting quite so much practice at it.
I'm half expecting a little bit of a rant from Therrien after these two performances, and I'll update the blog if that happens.
Next up: vs Philadelphia on Monday.
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3 comments:
I thought for as bad as they played last night they were still in the game going into the 3rd. When Thibault gave up that softie (and it was really soft) to go down 4-2 the Pens just lost their mojo and could not get it back against a good team.
With the Pens giving up the first goal in what seems like every game since Phily they are starting to remind me of last seasons team. A real big difference though is the way they continue to fight and get back into the game and even the score when they go down 1-0 or 2-0. If the lose to Phily on Monday I would expect we'll see Therrien's head explode.
I'm with you - in the paper this morning, Therrien was quoted as saying that they team didn't play too badly last night... and that the some of the penalty calls were suspect.
The penalties last night were lame. I had not seen the refs that inconsistent since last season. They would let a total hook go one play then a min later if someone even thought about touching the arm with a stick it was called. Seemed to happen more against the Pens and Carolina really made them pay. With the way we've played Phily this year I hope they bounce back tomorrow.
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