Crosby shines at home
The Penguins crashed and burned in an important game against the New York Islanders Tuesday night in Brooklyn. The Penguins enjoyed a four day rest which seemed to carry over to the Tuesday night matchup. The Penguins were lethargic against a hungry Islanders team who were motivated to not be shut out in the season series. The penalty kill was once again an Achilles heel for the Penguins who were unable to stay out of the penalty box which aided their demise in a 4-1 defeat. The Penguins looked tired, defeated, and not like the two time defending Stanley Cup Champions. Tuesday's defeat left fans hoping the Penguins would be able to bounce back the following night on their home ice.
In Wednesday night's game, Goaltender Casey DeSmith made his first career start against the Montreal Canadiens as he stepped his game up against his childhood team. The game got interesting at 1:59 in the first period when Derick Brassard was given a penalty shot against Canadiens Goalie Carey Price. That moment was defining for doubters in the Penguins acquisition of Brassard when his shot was denied by Price. Even though doubts are still swirling around Brassard, Wednesday night's game was defined by Captain Sidney Crosby.
Crosby finished the night with three points, one goals and two assists. The goal Crosby scored was one of the most impressive goals he has ever scored. This is the skillful goal from Crosby in the second period:
"I was just trying to follow the bouncing puck...I think it came off Jake's stick and came up. Just kind of came up. That's all,""I was just trying to follow the bouncing puck...I think it came of Jake's stick and came up. Just kind of came up. That's all," That has to be the best NHL goal of the year. The Penguins should just move out of Crosby's way and just let him do what he does best, make great plays. Of course Crosby cannot do it all by himself thought, it takes a team to be successful.
The team had moments of brilliance and moments of ineptitude. In the last 30 seconds of the first period, Letang misplayed the puck with the Canadiens entering the zone which left a two on one with Brian Dumoulin, who got a piece of the pass across center but was not able to clear the puck. The confusion led to a tip in goal by Jonathan Drouin to make it 2-1 in favor of the Penguins. The Penguins have been in the habit of taking the lead and keeping pressure up through a period but with just seconds left they break down and expect the opposing team to not make a push for a goal. As soon as that happens the Penguins get crossed up, no communication with each other, and the opposing team capitalizes. If the Penguins want to go deep into the playoffs they can not let their guard down and give momentum away at the end of a period.
Lack of effort at the end of the period and a weak power play have given the Penguins grief recently. The Penguins went on the power with 11:44 to go in the second period last night when an uncovered and wide open Nikita Scherbak took advantage of a bad Penguins line change to score shorthanded. Granted, it was only the third shorthanded goal the Penguins have surrendered all year but they continue to give up chances on the powerplay.
The Penguins have played three of the weakest teams in the NHL in their last four games: Rangers, Islanders, and Canadiens. Those teams should not pose a threat to a team as talented as the Penguins but they are 2-1-1 in those four games. The Rangers took the Penguins to overtime which the Penguins lost. The Stanley Cup playoffs are around the corner and the Penguins should be able to put weak teams away easily at this point in the season. A Three-peat is on the line for the Penguins as the regular season winds down. Grit, tenacity, and resiliency are required for the Penguins to win their third consecutive Cup. This means each game needs to have more brilliance and less ineptitude.
