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Photo Courtesy of South Central The most glaring thing of the Penguins 3-2 shootout loss against the Islanders Monday afternoon is playing in front of their new coach for the first time they couldn’t come up with enough of a adrenaline rush to beat the worst team in the league. Personnel wise this team is flawed. There is no way around it. I am all about the Penguins moving to a more up-tempo system but all Dan Bylsma will be is a fresh face. Until the roster is upgraded where the Penguins can be effective playing a up-tempo system, were not going to see much improvement. Sidney Crosby is clearly frustrated and he is just doesn’t seem like himself lately.

Game 58: Penguins fall to Islanders 3-2

The Dan Bylsma era begins The Dan Bylsma era didn’t get off to the best start as the Penguins suffered a 3-2 shootout loss to the New York Islanders (17-33-6) who are the worst team statistically in the National Hockey League. Ryan Whitney (2) and Evgeni Malkin (25) scored for the Penguins. Marc Andre Fleury made 28 saves on 30 shots but was beaten twice in the shootout. Penguins RW Petr Sykora was the Penguins lone goal scorer in the shootout. The Penguins registered 37 shots ( a season high)

Around the NHL

Evgeni Malkin leads the NHL with (24 goals – 56 assists – 80 points) and is a +19. Despite leading the NHL in the points, Malkin is not even in the top 3 when it comes to the M.V.P. discussion. For him to get into the top three by the end of the season, he will have to get the Penguins into playoffs and there’s been talk he will have to get into the 40 goal plateau. A lot of experts who have votes look at goals, Ovechkin and Parise are going to easily top 40. Is it right to overlook the assists Malkin is putting up? No it’s not but he’s going to need at least 40-43 goals to

Canadiens hand Penguins third straight loss; Post-Game Buzz

Montreal 4 – Pittsburgh 2 Despite a strong performance from Luca Caputi who opened the scoring 2:30 into the game, the Penguins gave up three unanswered goals and lost for the third straight game Tuesday night against the Monteal Canadiens. Caputi appearing in his first NHL game scored in his first NHL shift. Caputi started the game on the fourth line with Bill Thomas and Eric Godard but was rewarded with minutes on the first power play unit and saw some ice time with the 2nd line. Roman Hamrlik scored a 1st period goal for the Canadiens. Chris Higgins and Maxim Lapierre scored second-period goals and Andrei Kostitsyn scored with 4:15 left to seal the Canadiens 4-2 win. Goaltender Carey

Penguins have mishandled Whitney since returning from injury

The Penguins begin a crucial 5 game stretch beginning Tuesday night against the Montreal Canadiens. So much for the Penguins turning the corner after beating the Rangers 6-2 Wednesday night. Losing to a rebuilding team like the Leafs shouldn’t happen. The biggest disappointment with this team is their inability to clear the front of the net in the defensive zone. Head coach Michel Therrien and associate coach Andre Savard are defensive minded coaches and just as Mike Yeo takes the heat for the power play struggles, Savard and Therrien deserve some criticism for the Penguins defensive struggles. The Penguins have mishandled Ryan Whitney since he came back from off-season foot surgery. Whitney is clearly struggling and since his first game

The Latest Buzz from the BOG Meetings

The economy has halted any talk about expansion in the United States. That is a good thing because the NHL needs to downsize or relocate some cities. This talk of expanding into Europe would not be a good thing. The cap will remain in the $55 Р$57 million range for the upcoming season but after that it could go down to the $49 Р$50 million range. Las Vegas continues to be the most talked about city that could get a team via relocation. Mats Sundin was a popular subject at the meetings. Glen Sather has been telling rival GM’s that Sundin is only considering the Rangers, Canucks and a mystery team. Dave Tallon has been aggressive in his

The Latest Penguins Buzz

Has Marc Andre Fleury gone from day-to-day to being out for 4-5 weeks? Plus the latest speculation and more