The Pittsburgh Penguins rolled into Philadelphia on Wednesday with high hopes of collecting two points. Unfortunately, they got blown out by their state rival Philadelphia Flyers 4-0.
The game was horrendous to watch as a Pittsburgh Penguins fan. Our offence was severely lacking and it really just wasn’t a good night defensively. The injury list just got longer, but at least that long, tiring road trip is finally over.
It really was sickening to watch, but we can only move on from here. It’s now crucial that the Pens bounce back stronger than ever before.
Game recap
The game started off slow with no goals scored in the first period. The Penguins had a strong period, leading the shot total by a margin of 8-7. Matt Murray also played strong in the first highlighted by a spectacular save to shut down Flyers forward Brayden Schenn.
Boooom. Nice one, @mattmurray_30! pic.twitter.com/uHSeQnDlQp
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 16, 2017
Unfortunately, things really went downhill once the second period started.
A pair of goals from Flyers forwards Sean Couturier and Wayne Simmonds put the bad guys up 2-0 to close out the frame.
Ron Hainsey left the bench after showing some discomfort once the second goal was scored. He didn’t return for the third either. Although the details are still unclear, it looks like he may be out a couple of games, adding to the already long list of injuries for the Pens.
Matt Murray also seemed to take a knee to the head, but stayed in the game after being down on the ice. Phew. The Penguins do not need any more injuries.
Once the third started, the Penguins were visibly out of the game. Claude Giroux and Dale Weise scored the next pair of the goals for the Flyers while Pittsburgh didn’t score at all.
They were dominated in more ways than just on the scoreboard, and it looks like the Penguins really need a good break. Maybe it’s because it was the conclusion of a very long road trip, but the Penguins were just out of it.
With that horribly tough stretch of games finished, we need to be ready to bounce right back. Why you may ask?
Pittsburgh Penguins
Washington retook a hold of the lead
We blew our one prime chance to really close in on the Washington Capitals in the division race by losing on Wednesday. I mean, yes, even if we won, Washington may have still tied with us in the standings, but it’s better than being behind.
We are now two points behind the Capitals once again, and they have a chance to expand the gap as they take on the Nashville Predators at home Thursday night. The Caps may have been sliding, but it seems like they have recovered after defeating the Minnesota Wild. I’m sure they’re only hungrier now for some wins.
This should essentially be the biggest motivation for the Penguins to bounce back even stronger from this loss. We missed one chance, but there’s still other chances. And those chances will only be there if we start winning. Otherwise we’ll be trailing for the rest of the season, and we don’t want that to happen.
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