Pens Fall to Leafs (Leaves?)

The grammatical plural of the Toronto Maple Leafs aggravates me to no end. Just thought I’d throw that out there. Anyway, the build-up to Phil Kessel vs. James Neal ended with Kessel up by one in goals, placing him back in the spot of league leader.

Coming off a five game winning streak, the Pens were statistically due for a loss, even after last season’s unbelievable 12 game winning streak spanning November and December. (Unfortunately it was ended by our cross state rivals, the Flyers. Screw them.)

With James Reimer out after a collision with Brian Gionta last weekend against the Canadiens, I figured last night’s game would be a cake walk, even without Jordan Staal. The Pens have gotten damn good at winning without their big guns. They’ve had to be given the past five months of play, with almost every player being out at least one game due to injury, with the exception of Kris Letang, who has only sat two games because of suspension (basing this solely on the roster in place at the end of the 2010/2011 season).

The Leafs drew first blood with 8:29 left in the first period with a power play goal by Mikhail Grabovski on a redirect from a shot by Dion Phaneuf. Only 30 seconds or so later, Steve Sullivan almost grabbed his first goal in a Pens uniform, but was denied by Jonas Gustavsson.

At 6:17, Beej had an amazing glove snag on shot by Clarke MacArthur coming down the ice on the breakaway.

Ben Lovejoy showed some serious signs of life in the first period, as did Paul Martin, poking away a shot in front of Brent Johnson late in the first. The first ended with the Pens still not on the board.

Halfway through the second period, Lovejoy (who apparently hates being called “Benny” per his second tweet last night) sent a shot from the blue line screaming through traffic. Gustavsson blocked it, but Matt Cooke helped the puck in on the rebound to tie the game 1-1. At this point, the game started turning into a nail biter, with goals going back and forth. I’m thanking the hockey gods that the game didn’t turn into the Flyers vs. Jets game from the other night. What a disaster!

The Leafs quickly responded with a goal by Tim Connolly on an open net, for their second PP goal of the night. Jesus. PK? Has anyone seen our PK?  A few minutes later, the Pens had an opportunity to respond on the power play after Matthew Lombardi was sent to the sin bin for hooking James Neal. They heeded the call, with Chris Kunitz scoring on the rebound from a shot by Evgeni Malkin to tie the game back up at 2-2.

The third period opened with some amazing defense by the Pens, but the Leafs played a fast game and were relentless. MacArthur got one by Johnny just over five minutes into the period. The Pens took advantage of a 5-on-3 to tie the game up (again), with Geno one-timing a pass from Letang through the passing lane and caught Gustavsson not looking. Beautiful goal. The party didn’t last long. Kessel had to make his presence known and topped Neal, getting to 10 goals first.

The Pens battled furiously in the last minute to push the game to overtime. The final chance came on a pass to Sulley, who fanned on it. Face palm. Poor Sulley couldn’t buy a goal if they were on clearance at Walmart.

The Pens have five days off before their next game, a much needed and deserved break after playing 13 games in October, the most of any team. The next game is Thursday in San Jose. This break will give players like Staal and Geno some time to rejuvenate, Sidney Crosby more time to take contact in practice and all of the guys an opportunity to get some rest and spend time with their families after traveling to every time zone in the continental United States (and Canada) this month.

Game notes:

1. Kris Letang is unreal. He has 1 goal and 10 assists and second in the league for assists and points for any d-man. He had two assists against the Leafs. He once again dominated in minutes, playing 25:56.

2. Chris Kunitz is 3 points shy of his 300^th career point.

3. The Leafs most likely won’t maintain this sort of momentum. They haven’t seen the playoffs since 2004. I actually like the Leafs and want them to make the playoffs this year. I just don’t want them to survive into the finals, obviously.

4. James Neals was pretty invisible for a lot of the game. He didn’t stand out like he has in previous games. He didn’t play poorly, just with a little less skip in his step.

5. Dan Carcillo is suspended for 2 games for boarding. I still can’t stand this guy, even in a Blackhawks sweater. I know this isn’t a game note for the Pens, but it makes me smile. 

I have a few days to catch up on DVR’d shows. Terra Nova is pretty good. I’m about three weeks behind and decided to take up The Walking Dead. Enjoy your time off from the Pens this week, fans!

Contact me:
Twitter: @Letangueray
email: snwats58@gmail.com