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Pittsburgh Penguins: Three Takeaways from Thursday’s Loss to Tampa

By Matthew Rodrigopulle

TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 12: Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Conor Sheary (43) skates the puck away from Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Chris Kunitz (14) in the 3rd period of the NHL game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning on October 12, 2017 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL. (Photo by Mark LoMoglio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 12: Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Conor Sheary (43) skates the puck away from Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Chris Kunitz (14) in the 3rd period of the NHL game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning on October 12, 2017 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL. (Photo by Mark LoMoglio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Pittsburgh Penguins were handed a 5-4 loss by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night

This game was supposed to be a huge game for the Pittsburgh Penguins. After having a slow start and finding some success against Nashville and Washington, the Penguins should have treated this game as a must win.

Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins /

Pittsburgh Penguins

Momentum is everything right now and we needed it going into this game. Unfortunately, Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning got the best of us. Here’s three takeaways from the game that I noticed.

1) Goaltending Needs to Be Addressed

Our goaltending isn’t being talked about right now when it should be. I’m not saying we have bad goaltending at all. Matt Murray has actually been quite good in net, especially against Nashville on Saturday. However, we need to be more consistent.

Other than the shutout performance against Nashville, we have let in at least three goals in every game we’ve played. Don’t even get me started on the 10-1 loss to Chicago. We’ve got to be able to find some consistency in net quick as these numbers are concerning off the bat.

2) We Need More from the Big Guys

I’m expecting bigger games from Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel going forward. Other than an assist from Kessel, these three were left off the scoreboard. Let’s hope the can ignite our team more.

3) We Have to Treat Saturday’s Game Like a Game 7

We face the Florida Panthers on Saturday and it’s going to be a must-win for us. Thursday’s game should have been treated like a game seven, but we unfortunately lost. We don’t want to go down 2-3 this early in the season. Let’s get it together and pick up where we left off last season.

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