-Well…this game was weird. It looked like it could end up being a 1-0 defensive game, but ended up being absolutely nuts.
-Lundqvist was awesome in this game. He got rattled by the Kunitz goal (not his fault) enough to give up a goal to Cooke. Other than that, he was great and even though he floundered late, he definitely kept his team in the game.
-Fleury can not be blamed for any of the goals he gave up. Two went off defenseman and on the other, he was left out to dry. He was solid tonight and, like Lundqvist kept his team in the game. Except, he kept in the game for a longer amount of time than Lundqvist…if that makes sense. He was good tonight. Leave it at that.
-I thought Sidney Crosby had an excellent game. He couldn’t extend his multi-game point streak, but that was bound to end sooner rather than later and his 6 game point streak is still intact. He was a ridiculous 25 of 32 in the face-off circle tonight (78%), made a whole bunch of crisp passes, and was a monster on the puck. He had a few good chances to score a goal but couldn’t get it by Lundqvist.
-Malkin had a pretty good game as well. He definitely wasn’t as good in the second half of the game as he was in the first half. In the first half, he was absolutely flying. Making crisp passes as well as controlling the puck. He made a bad pass to set up the Marc Staal goal, but that was really just one mistake and the goal was pretty fluky. In no way am I trying to make excuses for him, he shouldn’t of made that pass.
-Crosby: 29:45, Malkin: 27:18, and Letang: 31:41 of ice time. These guys better get maintence days if the Pens practice tomorrow.
-For some of the flak Letang took this morning, he played a damn good defensive game tonight.
-The Pens played a good defensive game overall, but the one glaring mistake cost them the game.
-You know, just about every chance the Rangers had went in. The Pens carried the play for the overwhelming majority of the time.
-Even with his goal, Kunitz did not have a good game. He could not take a pass tonight.
-I thought Letestu quietly had a nice game. He had a few chances and he and Conner were tenacious on the puck.
-Marc Staal had an up and down game. Some great defensive plays, then two penalties, then a goal.
-The PP was hit and miss. When they looked good, boy did they look good. When they looked bad, boy did they look bad. This may not be a popular opinion, but the PP looks so much better this year than it did last season. Movement is so much more of an emphasis; when the Pens actually give a good effort, they look great. Last season, they would have the puck in the zone and they would still look terrible. This year, the only problem seems to be is effort at times and maybe the entry, but the Pens are very close to having a great PP.
-The Pens played a good game. They have a lot of positives to look at before the next game.
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