In a must win situation the Penguins loss to a mediocre team at home that was missing it’s two best forwards. Sidney Crosby’s amazing goal in the 3rd period jump started the Pens but they could close the deal against the Panthers. Dominic Moore continues to take lazy penalties that are haunting this team. Don’t understand why he gets a free pass all the time while individuals love to bash players like Ryan Whitney and of late Evgeni Malkin has been the culprit of msg board bashing. With the game tied at 2-2 in the third Jocelyn Thibault did what he does best by not coming up with the “Big Save”. This is a ritual Thibault has been accustomed to since becoming a Penguin last season. I’m not putting the blame on Thibault for the loss but he was not able to bail out his teammates and Thibault reiterated that stance in his post game comments…”I gotta find a way to make that save somehow, I couldn’t get it done”. Head Coach Michel Therrien was not happy with the teams effort last night…”We don’t have the effort of all the players,” Therrien said. “We have some guys that give all they got…we got some guys that don’t”. Losing 12 out of 15 can not be helping Therrien’s job security
Final Word
The Penguins hot start of 7-3-1 proves how vital a good start is to a teams playoff chances. Despite losing 12 out of 15 the Pens are still only 5 pts out of first place but if things don’t turn around soon the rest of the pack will be off and running.
