Déjà vu all over again? Pens lose 4-1 to Tampa Bay on Thursday
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On the surface it looks like the Lightning handled the Penguins easily for their fourth straight win over Pittsburgh – dating back to the playoffs.
Dwayne Roloson made all the saves and then some, Vincent Lecavalier scored a pair of goals, and Tampa Bay held Pittsburgh’s power play off the score board.
But anybody who watched the game knows that the outcome could’ve easily come out differently. This was no Alexei Kovalev-led Penguins game plan.
The Pens doubled Tampa Bay’s shots, 34-17, and outchanced them 2-to-1, according to Pens announcer, Phil Bourque.
It’s disappointing Pittsburgh was unable to extract some modicum of revenge against the team that extinguished its playoff hopes in 2010-11, but in the end it was just another mid November game in a long six-month season.
What is a bit troubling is the Pens’ road record of 5-4-2, including a 1-3-1 mark in their last five games away from CONSOL.
Pittsburgh plays 12 of its next 14 games against Eastern Conference foes, with eight of those contests coming on the road.
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Hedman wants Sidney Crosby back, too, the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
"I finished my hit, and he was out for the season. That's always tough. I told him, too, [that] I hope he recovers fast because hockey needs him. He's a hell of a player, and it's a lot of fun to play against him. That's a big challenge, every night. It's going to be a lot of fun when he's back on the ice."
Also in the same article, coach Dan Bylsma commented about the team’s 5-on-5 play.
"Our five-on-five [play] isn't where we'd like it to be, in terms of scoring goals and keeping goals out of our net," he said.
Astute Hockey Buzz readers might note the “By The Numbers” game-day posts which have shown the Pens scoring problems throughout the regular season.
Roloson stymies Penguins as he did in playoffs, the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
"It's frustrating when you have shots like that and you don't bear down and score," said winger James Neal, who launched six of those shots at Roloson.
"We had some good chances that I'm sure guys would want to have back."
Kris Letang talks about the Pens’ current power-play difficulties, specifically with 5-on-3 chances, the
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.
They're playing two guys up high on me and Geno (center Evgeni Malkin)," defenseman Kris Letang said of the team's recent troubles with two-man advantages. "(We need to start) working plays down low."
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Have a great Friday!
JT
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
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