Deflating - Ducks 2, Penguins 1

So what happened?

The Pens were unable to assert their style of play on the Ducks.  Instead, the Ducks were successful at taking away time and space from the Pens.  They didn't allow the Pens to set up shop in the offensive zone with any kind of consistency or regularity.  The one time the Pens were successful at zone time, they had two extended shifts, back-to-back, in the offensive zone.  Unfortunately, at the end of the second shift, they turned the puck over high in the zone and it led directly to the game winning goal by Selanne.

All told, you'd have to say this was a disappointing effort.

Who scored?

Staal (17)

The Good?

• It was nice to not put yourself into a hole by scoring first.
• Every Penguin had a winning record on faceoffs.  I don't know if that has ever happened.
• The first period was good - the Pens out shot the Ducks 13-7.

The Bad?

• The Pens managed just 13 shots combined for the second and third periods.
• The Pens should have been able to out work the Ducks, who had just played the night before and were essentially playing three lines (Parros and Pelley played just over 5 minutes each).

The Ugly?

• The slashing call against Kunitz at the end of the game.  No question it was a penalty, but it was also being ignored most of the night, especially on plays that weren't in a scoring zone (this was in the corner).  Why call it there?

Any Surprises?

• I was surprised how quickly the Pens went flat in the second two periods.

What's their record now?

The Pens are 32-20-5.

Who's next?

Another set of weekend games, both in the afternoon, starts on Saturday in Philly.