Penguins/NHL
Blackhawks stomp Penguins with 10-goal outburst
The schedule makers did the defending Stanley Cup Champions no favors by opening up with St. Louis and then a back-to-back situation tonight in Chicago.
Still, from the goaltender on out, the Pittsburgh Penguins did not come to play tonight in suffering an embarrassing 10-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night.
Just about everything went wrong for the Penguins.
Patrick Kane dazzled minutes into the game and the Blackhawks erupted with 4 goals in a 2:55 span, ending Antti Niemi’s night after just 9:16 of play.
This was supposed to be a night off for Matt Murray but he was forced into action after Niemi allowed 4 goals on 13 shots.
Pittsburgh showed up in this one like tonight was a preseason game.
With Niemi chased from the game before the half-way mark, the Blackhawks in period one just kept coming and coming and Patrick Sharp would blow by a flat-footed Olli Maatta and beat Matt Murray for a breakaway goal with 2:59 left in the first.
It was 5-0 Blackhawks after one period and Chicago would keep pouring it on in the second period.
A three goal second period put the Blackhawks up 8-1 after 40 minutes and then Brandon Saad become the second Pittsburgh native to score a hat trick vs the Penguins, scoring at 5:21 of the third period for his third of the night and giving the Blackhawks a 9-1 lead.
Brent Seabrook would then make it 10-1 at 13:45 of the third.
The Penguins might as well as dressed the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins tonight, that’s how bad they played. Even last season the Penguins had some bad blow-out losses, but nothing like this in how awful the Penguins were defensively. They couldn’t protect the net-front area, couldn’t prevent a crease pass and players were so scattered through the neutral zone and d-zone, [hide] the Penguins looked like a bunch of chickens running around with their heads cut off.
Mike Sullivan is not someone who punts a game, especially before the 10 minute mark of the first period and by pulling Niemi so early it was to try to jumpstart his team, but the way things transpired and in a back-to-back situation, should have just let the backup take the beating that Murray also took after coming in and allowing 6 goals.
MINUSES
Olli Maatta -5
Kris Letang -5
Conor Sheary -5
Sidney Crosby -4
Brian Dumoulin -4
Justin Schuyltz -4
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Game 3 Analysis: Rangers put on a clinic in first 45 minutes, Lundqvist halts Penguins late push
Roster Shakeup: Penguins lack of drive to do the little things over 60 minutes of a hockey game will likely lead to changes in coming weeks
Post-Game: Crosby scores twice in 1st period as Pens dictate play in final 40 minutes
Top highlight play. How can Kane backhand a pass across the front of our net right past 2 defensemen? How can players come right down the middle untouched? How soft are these guys? Are Gonchar and Martin even watching any tape on these last 2 performances?
Dont’ you think you’re overreacting a little bit after two games? Two games that started a new season after a short summer on back to back nights, no less?
#blowitup
Overreacting by saying they are playing soft? What demands or asks did I make to show i’m overreacting? The team clearly didn’t come out of the gate with any passion and there was no coaching adjustment on defense to help it.
No – you didn’t say playing soft – you asked aloud how soft they were – and if, over the course of 30 hours, if anyone had watched some tape – i.e. did Gonchar and Martin watch any tape on the 2am flight to Chicago after their opening night game ended at midnight, and the players slept with no morning skate….
Well then, blow it up
Wasn’t Neimi one of the goaltenders that a couple of the local idiots were saying they wanted instead of MAF once upon a time? lol
In jest of course, in a 10-1 beating everyone was garbage. Not saying Neimi did himself any favours but the team was fucken lost last night
I blame Steve Mears. Lange picked a good game to sit out. That guy has seen a lot of these types of games over the years.
Fleury sitting back laughing after these first 2 games. Tough 2 games on the goalies…..lol
This team was so predictable last night. It will be like this all year 90’s penguins hockey high scoring games a lot of goals will be scored by other teams while pens will score more to win. It will be entertaining year for fans like Npl and tbj
Yeah you watched in the 90’s you virgin.
Why isn’t the “player grades” article up yet?
I thought the minuses were the player grades lol
I missed the game, but here you go…
Entire Team: -94.7
why you want to minus it….not need teams a minus 🙂
It looks like fat Sam got ahold of the Penguin score sheet and used all his accounts.
Don’t worry we will be fine once we get Letang back. He’s due to miss a month very soon. That dude is so overrated. D what did you grade him for tonight?
Schuyltz sucked tonight.
This game makes me Saad
Hahaha great title. All Niemi’s fault!!
ROFL all the minuses looks like Pens score sheet 🙂
I blame Reaves (and Fleury).
Racist
we should have never gotten rid of Pouliot
He did get an extra minute of ice time in a game that was over at 8:45. Dude can play.
You would know ball hockey boy
So I been busy with some issues DVR game and only seen score…..so do I delete it with out watching I mean is it painful 🙂
Burn the tape. It’s brutal.
Man is Sully pissed.
Yoda are you around 🙂
Olli Maatta the leader in the clubhouse at a -5. Sid keeping pace at -4.
Wake up call… back to basics and they will get things sorted out.
D can’t wait to see your article on player grades tomorrow.
Who are these guys in Penguins uniform?
Why bother having article now half the members here have turned off their TV since 2-0
Till April.
Who fed Sheary on the tying goal last night? You said Crosby which is more than enough evidence to prove you “closed” your TV you fucken hypocrite