Wow. Talk about a kick in the gut. That's what the end of the game was if you were watching it. Malkin almost wins the game with a fluky chip shot in OT. Staal can't convert on a penalty shot in OT. The Rangers then get the winning goal with 2.2 seconds remaining in the OT. Kick in the gut. Ugh.
This one was all about the third period. The Pens were protecting a 1-0 lead and got a bit too conservative. The Rangers out shot the Pens 12-4 in the third period. When Jagr caught a lucky bounce, he buried it into the empty cage to the right of Fleury. There was nothing that Flower could have done. Recchi had been shadowing Jagr, but lost track of him, which allowed Jaromir to slip free.
The Pens could have had this one be out of reach if they had been able to convert on a few more power play chances, especially during their two man advantage in the first period. Thankfully, that's exactly when they converted during the second period.
Therrien has been riding Recchi and Malkin really hard in terms of minutes played. It will be good when Sidney returns to have someone else share some of the heavy lifting. Geno really looked tired during parts of the late third period and OT.
One other thing - Nils Eckman was really flying tonight, and was second on the team with 5 shots. That's good to see. Would be nice if some of his teammates might go to the net for any rebounds off of his shots. Nils always looks like he'd teetering on the edge of his skates when he's going full speed - it's kinda funny.
Next up: a rematch with the Isles on Tuesday at the Igloo.
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1 comment:
Too bad the pens couldn't win this game. They had suck good chances late and played good til the final seconds. You can't win em all, at least their hanging tough in the standings so I can live with that. The division games this week could be huge for them.
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