Islanders 3, Penguins 2

For the second consecutive game, the Pens built a 2-0 lead on the road and lost 3-2. The Pens are slumping a bit right now. I'm not sure what's happening, because they don't seem to be playing poorly. The numbers speak for themselves, however. The Pens have:

• Lost 4 out of 5 games, earning only 3 points over those 5 games
• Had two or fewer PP chances in two of their last three games
• Been out-shot in EVERY game since putting up 52 shots against Toronto in game #4
• Have allowed 30 or more shots in three straight, including 39 last night, which was the high-water mark for the season

Last night's game was exciting to watch, with end to end rushes occurring regularly from the second period onward. The Pens jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a rebound goal by Malone and a great shot by Tyler Kennedy for his first NHL goal.

On Kennedy's goal, play continued for several minutes until there was a stoppage. Once there was, the refs were called over to the scorer and took a phone call, presumably from Toronto (maybe upstairs) to let them know that Kennedy's shot had indeed been a goal. The refs stood over there for several minutes. My question is this: if they knew that Kennedy's shot was a goal, how could they not be ready with all of the necessary info (mainly that it was a goal and how much time to set the game clock to) when play stopped? Why was there a need for a several minute delay? That just seemed kind of dumb to me.

Anyway, the Islanders started to creep back in when a weird bounce off of the end boards came straight out to Trent Hunter, who buried the puck with a nice shot. Satan scored the last two - the last one by taking a hard rebound and pushing it right behind Fleury. It was nice hand-eye coordination, and a TON of luck. I really don't like that guy (he is the Lord of Darkness, after all).

All in all, disappointing game to lose. They need to start finding ways to win these games.

Next up: the start of 4 games in 6 nights in New Jersey on Monday