Pittsburgh Penguins: Starting November Off Right

EDMONTON, AB - NOVEMBER 01: Mark Letestu
EDMONTON, AB - NOVEMBER 01: Mark Letestu

The Pittsburgh Penguins picked up a much needed win against the Edmonton Oilers last night.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are now 8-5-1 on the season after defeating the Edmonton Oilers by a score of 3-2. This marked a crucial matchup for the team as it was the second time this season that Sidney Crosby went up against Connor McDavid. Fortunately though, the Penguins took both meetings with them, allowing us to move on from those pesky narratives around the matchup.

Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Penguins

October had a series of ups and downs for the Penguins. We started off with a skid, picked it up at times, had goaltending issues and finally finished the month off strong. We bounced back from adversary and we’re rolling now.

We have to keep this roll going. We just defeated Connor McDavid and the Oilers and we are well on our way to getting back on top of our division. This season is a big one, and we definitely should be going for that three-peat.

Things are looking better

A lot of things have changed in the last couple of weeks. Mainly, our goaltending issues of early October have gotten better.

The waiving of Antti Niemi seemed to help. He was a risky signing which unfortunately did not pay off. We need to move on from him though and it looks like it’s working. Matt Murray is looking better and Casey DeSmith may be useful as a backup goaltender.

Our defence has also been carrying their weight a bit more. If we keep this play up this month, we should be able to boost ahead in the standings. November is a crucial month.

Put things in the past

We have to move forward and leave the bad games in the past. We just lost badly to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday, but let’s not dwell on it.

We’re bouncing back now and if we stay focused, we can be the best team in the league. We’re not far off.