The Penguins fought all night, but a combination of non-calls and a disallowed goal that wasn’t a goal did them in. The Pens got down 2-0 early in the first period and was close to becoming 4-0 but this team didn’t quit. Colby Armstrong got the Penguins on the board with a powerplay goal his 11th of the year on a cross ice pass from Sidney Crosby. The game was back and fourth from their. Montreal countered quickly with a goal from Higgins then Tomas Surovy poked one in short side and got the Penguins within a goal. Alex Kovalev who was quiet for most of the night scored a power play goal to put the Habs up 4-2 then Brooks Orpik was called for a iffy hooking penalty. All of sudden Andy Hilbert broke down ice shorthanded and Colby Armstrong poked in a rebound to get the Penguins and the crowd back in the game. The Pens had momentum heading into the third period but Alex Kovalev threw one to the net and rookie Noah Welch shot the puck into his own net. It was embarassing moment for any player but the young rookie would redeem himself.

Minutes into the third Noah Welch did shake that mistake of putting the puck in his own net by blasting a slap shot for the first goal of his NHL career. In the end though the bounces just didn’t go the Pens way. Mike Ryder put the Canadiens up 6-4 but the once again the Penguins fought back as John LeClair scored a beautiful goal that started with tic-tac toe passing from Malone and Koltsov. The Penguins couldn’t muster another goal late as they would fall to the Canadiens 6-5. We worked hard, we played hard and I thought we were the best team,” Therrien said. “But you need breaks to win games, and we didn’t have any.”

Bucks Penguins Insider….

The Penguins now stand with a (18-41-12) compiling 48 points. They are now four points behind the Blackhawks for the right to guarantee a #1 or #2 draft pick. Their level of play since the Olympic break has been encouraging but lets play Caron a few times before the end of the season to secure that #1 pick.

Noah Welch has shown that he is a legitimate prospect and may have more upside than Ryan Whitney. I love his skating ability and he throws his body around with effectiveness. Time will tell if he can keep up this level of play as we have seen with other younger players like Whitney and Christensen as they weren’t able to sustain the level of play they brought the first couple weeks they entered the NHL. Andy Hilbert has picked up his play of late and has been rewarded by moving up to the first line with Crosby and Armstrong. One play i have to give some props to is Melichar was awful for 3/4 of the season but has been one of the teams best defenseman the past week.

With the Boston Bruins firing their General Manager just this past week, the reports just keep coming in that Craig Patrick is the front runner for the job. I’ve said more than a enough times that Craig needs to go but Boston may be a good place for him as they already have a semi decent team that isn’t rebuilding from scratch.

Joey Porter and the defending champs host the Miami Dolphins opening night

Steeler News….

The Steelers will open the season Thursday September 7th against the Miami Dolphins who will come into the season as one of the favorites in my opinion to come out of the AFC.

The Steelers have also resigned wide receiver Quincy Morgan and are working on a extension with Bill Cowher that will pay him up to 6-7 million annually. One rumor around here is that the Steelers are in disscussions of landing Buffalo wideout Eric Moulds for a 3rd round pick but as of right now the Texans are the front runners to land the pro bowler.

Check in Thursday morning for Pens recap and who i believe will replace Craig Patrick as general manager next season