First Division Game

PHEW!  Just breathe!  That's good... there you go, in and out.  Everything's going to be ok...

Wait, no its not!  A win is a win right?  Not when it reflects problems that serious teams won't let you live through.  I'll start with the good this time.

Goals from 5 different players.  I was going to write a post earlier about the differences between this and last year's starts for the Pens as compared to the Caps to point out the absolute importance of TEAM hockey.  This year, Crosby and Geno are barely in the standings in terms of goals or assists.  Sure, they are doing quite well, but the Pens are getting contributions from all over their lines, and a significant amount of it.  They are 7-1-0.  With goals from all over our lines, we had this game tucked away early and solidly.  Good thing too...

0-7 on the power play.  Enough said about that.

4 penalties in the last 3 minutes.  Enough said about that.

I'm still not sure as to what this team needs to get itself organized.  I'd like to throw out a new venture here and go with "leadership".  Part of having a team identity is having a leader.  Ovechkin is amazing, but his english skills (or lack thereof) and his carefree/silly manner make him a terrible "leader".  Unfortunately, our captain, the guy whose supposed to lead, is pretty poor at both leading and hockey.  Once again, I feel like we're a collection or immense talent with nothing funneling it.  In this case, the whole << sum of the parts.