Going into last night's game against the Detroit Red Wings in the building where the Pittsburgh Penguins lifted the Stanley Cup the last time they visited, everyone knew that the team most likely to win was the one that played "their" puck possession, attacking game the most.
After Pittsburgh's 3-1 defeat last night, it was clear to me that, while both teams got to their game in a highly energetic and contested first period, the Red Wings stayed with it and the Penguins did not.
And the scoreboard told the tale last night, for sure.
I was looking forward to seeing the Penguins matched up against a team that plays like them and would force them to be at their best, but if last night was any indication, it merely reinforced that, despite their 2nd place seed in the Eastern Conference, they have a lot of work to do before they are postseason-ready.
I understand the Penguins were without Evgeni Malkin again last night, but Pittsburgh has to do better regardless. The Boys of Winter were outshot last night, 33-27, and have now lost 5 of their last 7 games.
Certainly not the type of roll they want to get on going into the post-season.
The defense pair of Mark Eaton and Sergei Gonchar particularly struggled last night. They were on the ice for all 3 Detroit goals against, including two by Henrik Zetterberg and one by Valterri Filppula.
Zetterberg's 2nd tally, a wrister from 45 feet inside the blueline in between the top of the circles, came on an even-up rush. It may have been slightly deflected, but that's a shot which Pens' goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has to have.
Pascal Dupis got the Pens' only goal in the 2nd period after whacking a puck by Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard in a scrum around the goal.
It was Dupuis' 18th goal of the season.
With the loss, what do the Penguins have to look forward to now? A date with the team that has more points in the league than any other outfit -- the arch-rival Washington Capitals -- on Wednesday night.
Pittsburgh has yet to beat the Caps' this year in 2 tries, and hasn't fared well against the teams at or near the top of the league standings all season long. They're going to have their hands full against the Caps again for sure in a game that I'll be watching live, in person.
It would help if Sidney Crosby pitched in on the scoresheet more, too. Without being critical of the Penguins' Captain, he's scored only 3 goals in the last dozen or so games, and it's no coincidence that the Pens' record is what it is during that stretch. I hope he's not suffering from post-Olympic fatigue, because it certainly isn't going to get any easier.
Another guy who's been too much of a non-factor lately is Max Talbot. He got back in the lineup last night and centered the Penguins' second line in Malkin's absence, but I'm lucky if I remember his name being called more than twice last night, and that's a shame, beacuse he had a good opportunity to make an impact in a game the Penguins needed him to show up in. Unforunately, and for whatever reason, he wasn't able to feed off the energy he should have gotten from being back in the lineup -- let alone at the same place where he cemented his place as one of the biggest heros in Stanley Cup history last season.
It just boils down to consistency for the Penguins. I hope they don't think they'll just be able to turn it on when the playoffs roll around. They need to be playing at their best if they want to make a good Cup run again.
More tomorrow on the latest showdown between the Pens' and Caps'
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