Pens lose to Maple Leafs

Not much of a recap from us tonight, it's probably not as interesting to read a recap after a loss for you anyway. It's definitely not fun to continue writing about a team that has problems and can't seem to quite get out of a slump. Don't get us wrong, we'll be here till the end and will continue to watch every game from start to finish, but it's getting hard to come up with anything different to say. The Pens still need to win win win and they're not not not. They're definitely not mathematically eliminated by any means, but they need to pick up some points, and now. They should have beat a Toronto team who isn't so good itself and they couldn't. Their upcoming games are not easy by any means so it will only get harder.

The defense last night was pretty horrible. There were constantly Leafs open in front of the net and that's a pretty obvious problem. Garon's first start was unimpressive to say the least. Yes, the defense was bad, but Garon wasn't so hot himself. We feel pretty confident saying that if Fleury was in net tonight, they would have won. Fleury has played well and could have stopped at least one of those goals tonight.

We give the Pens credit for their effort to come back and even tie the game at one point, but it's too little too late. There are three periods in hockey, and while comebacks are more than possible, you need to play a full three periods to win and continue to win.

Glad to see Gill on the ice and Gogo, even though he played on offense. And how much do the Pens need Matt Cooke right now? He was in on a lot of the goals the Pens scored. Creating turnovers, making passes, whatever, he was in on it. He's playing great right now, one positive on a mostly losing team right now.

Tyler Kennedy's fight is going to be reviewed by the NHL because he might have violated a rule in coming off the bench and getting into a fight. Anyone want to take a guess on how long he'll be suspended? 

Game recap

Aftermath

On the Penguins: Alex Goligoski's situation creates quite the quandary

Penguins Notebook: Gonchar's return due in about three weeks