Pittsburgh Penguins lost to the Philadelphia Flyers again, at home, like clockwork. The Flyers beat the Pens 6-5 at Consol last night and there was some good but mostly bad from the game. The Pens got outplayed and out coached, again.
Let's get the good things out of the way first.
Brandon Sutter was amazing, and the third-line in general played really well. Sutter scored the biggest goal of his career, at least with the Pens last night by tying the game 5-5. Tyler Kennedy also miraculously scored a goal in the game as well. There's that secondary scoring.
Pens were 2-7 on the power-play. You'd think that would be a bad thing but the % is actually above league standards so anytime you score two power play goals you'll take it. I thought the PP looked really good last night.
The Pens actually came back. The Pens blew a two goal lead to end up down by two in the third period. The Pens fought back and tied the game 5-5 thanks to Sutter.
NOW THE BAD.
The Flyers get under the Penguins skin way too easy. The love it, they run their mouth, they run the Pens players, the get the Pens to lose their minds and find a way to get them to lose their hockey focus. They always do it and they were able to do it again last night, without SCOTT HARTNELL.
For example letting Zach Rinaldo run around causing the Pens to lose their minds I.E. Kris Letang. Trading Letang off the ice for Rinaldo off the ice is a loss for the Pens on a epic scale.
The Pens were up 2-0 last night and they still let the Flyers control their own emotions. The Flyers irritated the Pens and made them stoop down to their level. The Pens took 9 penalties and blew a 2-0 lead. The Pens also turned the puck over a billion times, which has been a problem in every loss this year.
Evgeni Malkin took two more penalties and he currently leads the team in total PIM. Again that's a lack of discipline. The Pens taking 9 penalties in a game is a lack of discipline. The Pens being in the top 10 in total penalties is a lack of discipline.
Speaking of Malkin, he gets zero help from Bylsma his head coach. Sean Couturier terrorized Malkin in last year's first round playoff loss, so why would Malkin and Couturier be on the ice so often with each other again? Especially when the Pens get the last line change at home, Bylsma does not believe in match ups. Bylsma rarely makes any in-game adjustments.
Bylmsa also made a terrible choice by starting Tomas Vokoun. Marc-Andre Fleury is on fire right now, 6-1 this month with a save % of .934. Fleury also had two full days rest coming into the game. So why not start him? I realize they don't want to want to wear Fleury out again but you also have to pick and chose the right times to start your backup. This was a big game, two days rest, Fleury's hot. Now Vokoun played terrible, gave up 6 goals in a loss.
Sure Fleury played bad in last year's series loss to the Flyers, but he played great in the opener against them this year. It's a new year, you can't base all of your decisions on last year. If that's the case why is Malkin out there against Couturier? The Pens have two games coming up against the Florida Panthers, who suck. Perfect opportunities to give Vokoun some starts against his former team and a great chance for Fleury to get some rest.
Plus I thought you ride the hot goaltender? That's what I heard when Vokoun was playing well...."Maybe the Pens should ride Vokoun, the hot goaltender for a while". But it's not the case with Fleury though? Hypocritical.
Bylsma also bothers me by his decisions on who plays and who doesn't outside of the goaltending situation. Simon Despres has been scratched two games in a row. Despres was playing great but apparently the Pens say he has a bad attitude. Ok that's fine. I've also been told that the Pens are trying to shop Despres around.
Tyler Kennedy sucks, but he gets to play every game. I've been told that the Pens don't want to scratch him because they're also trying to trade Kennedy. So how do you scratch a really good player you're trying to trade but you continue to play a terrible player you're trying to trade? How does that make sense on any level?
Despres should play every game along with Robert Bortuzoo. Deryk Engelland is not good. He should be scratched.
Speaking of defense, once again against the Flyers they were awful. Brooks Orpik said he hates all the penalties the Pens are taking, apparently Orpik also hates clearing the opponents away from his goalies. The Flyers owned the Pens down low all night. They were all up in Vokoun's grill. Again zero adjustments made by the Pens.
The coaching is not good right now. Bylsma has a stacked roster in terms of talent. The Pens are a perenial Stanley Cup favorite. But since winning the cup in 08-09, the Pens have won 1 playoff series in 3 seasons. That's unacceptable. Hockey coaches come and go all of the time. Bylsma has not improved as a coach. Like I said before, if the Pens don't make a serious run at the cup a coaching change HAS TO BE MADE.
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