Devils 2, Penguins 1

It's still early in the season. Those were the only words spoken by Michel Therrien in his post game remarks. He said them twice, the second time more slowly than the first, in response to two questions from reporters (both questions were about slow starts and being in last place). He also appeared to stare down the second guy who asked if they expected to be in last place at this point in the season.

It wasn't quite a meltdown from Coach Therrien, but a few more losses and there's no telling what we'll see.

But, this is a game review, so let's talk about the game.

The Pens played well. They were betrayed by their special teams - the couldn't come up with a timely stop or a timely goal. That was one of the main differences in the game.

The other big difference between the teams was the Devils have Martin Brodeur. He was great tonight, and the Pens were just a little bit off. Whitney hit the post of an open cage, Letang blew through Colin White and shot the puck into Brodeur's glove, Sid missed a breakaway attempt and Sykora couldn't lift the puck quite enough on a great backhand shot.

In short, the Pens had great scoring chances and couldn't cash in enough to tie the game or take the lead early on.

Fleury played well tonight. He made the saves you'd think he would. He didn't allow many rebounds that were out in front of him - most of them were directed to the corners.

Army played well in his return. Both he and Gary Roberts played well, making the simple plays and establishing a presence on the fore check.

I don't know about anyone else, but it feels like all of the ingredients are there for the Pens. They're not playing poorly - they're just not quite able to get it done. I still think they'll get there, and do so in enough time to at least make the playoffs this year.

Next up: Off to Thanksgiving dinner in Ottawa, where 6-8" of snow is expected.