icedog97

"Penguins Hockeybuzz Blog"

Pittsburgh, PA • United States • 48 Years Old • Male

Waiting for a Miracle

Another loss.

2 more points that we can't get back.

Another win by the 8th place Panthers, who have 3 more points than us and two games in hand.

Oh sure, we play the Panthers 3 more times this year, which means we can make up some of those points head to head, right?

At this point, we would have to win all three of those games, just to get 3 points ahead of Florida, but they still have those other two games in hand.

If Florida keeps playing good hockey, like they have for the past 25 games or so, we won't be able to catch them.

In the Penguins last 5 games...games that the players, coaches and fans have all labeled the "start of the Penguins playoffs", they are 1-3-1.

1-3-1 ... 3 lousy points out of a possible 10.

In last year's REAL playoffs, the Pens went 7-1 in their first 8 games.

At this point, it has become difficult to watch the Penguins play.

I keep waiting to see some glimmer of REAL hope, but if there has been one, I must have missed it.

Sometimes when I watch, I get the imprsession that some of them are waiting around for the same thing. As if there will be one special moment when suddenly they all will see the light too.

When Luca Caputi scored a goal on his first NHL shift, I thought that might have been a sign of better things to come. If the rest of the game is any indication, either that sign was missed by the players, or it was just another glimmer of false hope...like the others we have seen this season.

Right now, the Pens are not strong in ANY area of their game. And that in itself might be the biggest problem of all. They simply have nothing to hang their hat on...nothing to point to and say, "Here's what we can feel good about".

Their Power play is awful and has been pretty bad most of the season (24 out of 30 teams)
Their penalty kill is nothing great either (20 out of 30 teams).
Their goalie play is below average (GAA 3.10 is ranked 24th)
And...aside from guys named Malkin and Crosby, very few forwards are generating any real scoring chances on a consistent basis.

They are not a great forchecking team.
They are not a great hitting/checking team.
They are not a great backchecking team.

In fact, once you get past Malkin and Crosby being the 1st and 2nd players in the league scoring race (look out, here comes Ovie), the Pens are not much of a team at all.

They say miracles happen every day.

We might have seen one with the Steelers winning their 6th Super Bowl title.

We should feel good about that I guess and stop looking for one to happen in the Penguins season.

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