Riding The Rollercoaster

Sure, I'm a fanatic.

I take in hockey on the Penguins' off-days sometimes.

Especially late in the season when the standings are tight and every point means something to most teams.

And so it will be for the last 10 days of this year's NHL regular season, with Pittsburgh battling for position in the top 4 of the Eastern Conference, and a group of potential first-round playoff opponents waiting in any of the bottom 4 spots.

Much like the Penguins' subpar effort in an unexpected 2-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, the team that vaulted right by them two nights before, the Buffalo Sabres, similarly came up lame last evening, losing 4-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

After letting them come back to beat them on Saturday, the Leafs certainly did the Penguins another favor by winning last night.

Tonight, I'll be tracking the New Jersey Devils/Chicago Blackhawks game closely, hoping that the 'Hawks can get back into a groove after several weeks of subpar play.

Meanwhile, at Southpointe, there was a somewhat sobering mood to the Penguins' practice, unlike the jovial mood the team tends to be in most of the time.

And not just because it kicked off at 8:30 AM.

Losing to the Lightning -- and the way that the Penguins did -- can do that to a team.

After conducting a focused, early-morning practice, the urgency remained on the tongues of the Flightless Birds.

Speaking of their sub-par play of late, Pens' elder statesman and veteran Bill Guerin had these telling remarks:

"We've been talking about this stuff way too much lately."

"The time for talk is over. It's time to produce."

When asked if his team was putting in enough effort, #13 said that he never questions the team's legs, but instead has wondered lately about the mass between the ears.

"The mental preparation hasn't been there," Guerin said.

"It had better come quickly."

Brooks Orpik then took his turn, singing a familiar refrain first heard from him about 3 months ago after another loss to the Lightning.

"It's a matter of accountability and focus with this group."

Finally, you had the increasingly outspoken Captain's continuation of displeasure with the team's play, first expressed in the immediate aftermath of Wednesday's loss:

"That's not the kind of hockey we accept. It shouldn't [be] happen[ing] at game 77."

Clearly, the spoken urgency is there.

Will it be on the ice?

Time will tell.

The Penguins have 5 games left in their season.

Win 4 or 5 of them, and they can go into the post-season feeling somewhat better about their game.

Continue their inconsistent play down the stretch and potentially face a short post-season for the first time in 3 years.

It starts Saturday against Atlanta. One game at a time.

More over the weekend.