-The Pens closed this one out early, but you gotta give the Panthers credit—they really battled hard to try and get back in this one. If you’re going to lose, you want to lose that way. If I’m Dan Bylsma, I don’t think I’m too happy with the effort the Pens gave in the final 40 minutes. Nevertheless, the Pens got a little lucky tonight in that they were playing a much weaker team. Hopefully, they’re saving their energy for Washington tomorrow.
-Johnny gave up a bad goal to start the game, but man was he solid after that. This game could’ve been a lot more interesting had he not been as sharp as he was in the second period. I hope his injury isn’t too serious.
-Flower gave a pretty valiant effort in his backup role. It’s not the way the Pens wanted him to get in goal but, hey, sometimes it happens.
-For the first period, we saw what a complete team effort looked like. The first line, second line, and third line all chipped in with goals. The fourth line, although not on the score sheet, wasn’t too shabby themselves.
-Sid was just Sid. If there’s something that I can say that I’ve really seen him improve on from last year to this year is his speed. He just flies through the neutral zone now. After not having a shot in the two, he now has taken 16 shots on goal in the two games since. And how about that rocket of a shot for the goal tonight?
-I wasn’t too impressed with Geno. He had a pretty nice first period, but he did not look good in the final two periods. He gave the puck away more than a few times to start the second, then he seemed to take some hard hits. I hope, for the team’s sake, that he’s not hurt again. One thing that’s worse than a lethargic Malkin is no Malkin.
-I’ve been pretty hard on Benny Lovejoy in the past, but he was great tonight. A fight, a goal, and no major defensive lapses. I think he might’ve just earned himself a spot in the lineup tomorrow night.
-I think Michalek is my new favorite Pen player. The guy is just so subtle out there that it’s easy to miss the awesome work he does. This guy will, hands down, be the most underrated and underappreciated Penguin while he’s here.
-The Buzz line did some great work tonight. How about TestTube’s faceoffs? For all the attention Sid gets for his faceoff prowess, Testtube has really stepped up his game.
-Max Talbot brought a lot of energy.
-I wasn’t overly impressed by any one defensive player, but I think I liked how they all worked as one pairing. Each pairing seemed to really click tonight.
-Big, big game against you know who tomorrow.
My thoughts on Episode 2 of 24/7 coming tomorrow.
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