Morning Pens Buzz: Slow start, unraveling for a short stretch led to continued problems for Pens in 2-1 loss to Stars

As the Penguins losing streak has reached four games and is now starting to have some playoff positioning implications, the Penguins can look at Thursday’s 2-1 loss to the Dallas Stars two ways
:

1. Pat themselves on the back for playing a dominant third period and take the stance that they ran into a hot goaltender or 2. Realize they struggled mightily with the Stars speed early and unraveled for a stretch and if it wasn’t for Marc Andre Fleury, they would have never been in that game when they finally decided to wake up late in the second and into the third.

“I think our first start needs to be better,” Kris Letang said afterwards. “Teams come after us, shoot from everywhere and gets us on our heels…..We didn’t build momentum right off the start.”

The Stars ability to get under Letang’s skin early in the game that led to Letang getting an unsportsmanlike conduct and running around the ice like the Kris Letang of the past for the first 30 minutes of the game, to the Penguins antics at the end of the second period where Chris Kunitz high sticked a ref in the face that might or might not have been intended for Antoine Roussel to Steve Downie spearing Roussel in the stomach, is why the Penguins again looked primed for an early playoff exit.

They don’t have it in them to stay composed and a fast team with a good goaltender that can agitate the Penguins is going to give them a number of problems.

Alexander Ovechkin has moved into the NHL points lead with 73 points and the Washington Capitals have surged into a tie with the Penguins for third place in the Metropolitan Division. Pittsburgh currently has one game in hand.

Second and third place in the Metropolitan Division are up for grabs between the Islanders, Penguins, and Capitals.