This week, the Penguins are still bad, but they’re also good. Hey, what can we expect at this point? #PlanTheParade, #PenguinsTankathon, #WhatIsGoingOn.
On Sunday, March 24, the Penguins were in Colorado to play the Avalanche. Jesse Puljujarvi opened scoring for the Penguins eight minutes into the first, and Bryan Rust followed just seven minutes later to bring the Pens lead 2-0. In the second, captain Sydney Crosby put another one in the back of the net and was followed a short two minutes later by another Penguins goal from P.O. Joseph. With the score now 4-0 Pittsburgh, the Avs locked in. Just 35 seconds after the Joseph goal, Colorado put their first point on the board. Another Avalanche shot would get past Alex Nedeljkovic in the net with 30 seconds left in the second period. The Avs momentum carried on into the third, where they scored their third goal. After a nasty collision took Nedeljkovic out of the game, my one and only pookie Tristan Jarry was in for the last 10 minutes. Colorado was not satisfied yet, and scored once more with five minutes left in the third, tying the game. In overtime, the Avalanche scored less than a minute in for an impressive comeback win. Despite a 4-0 lead in the second period, the Penguins fell to the Avalanche, 5-4.
On Tuesday, March 26, the Penguins were back in Pittsburgh to go up against the Carolina Hurricanes. This game was extra special, because it was Jake Guentzel’s first time playing against the Pens since his trade at the beginning of the month. After a scoreless first period, Puljujarvi once again put the first point on the board three minutes into the second. The Hurricanes responded with a goal of their own nine minutes later, but a Rust goal brought the Penguins back into the lead, 2-1. After most of the third passed without Carolina able to regain any ground, they decided to pull their goaltender for the extra attacker. This would prove to be a bad plan, as both Drew O’Connor and Crosby scored empty net goals, and the Hurricanes scored nothing. Pittsburgh defeated Carolina, 4-1.
On Thursday, March 28, the Columbus Blue Jackets came to Pittsburgh to face the Pens at home. This game was extra special because I was there in person (yippee)! I’m just as shocked as you are that they let me into the same building as Jarry. Unfortunately he wasn’t in the net, but I was starstruck just being able to see him on the bench. Anyway — hockey happened!
After another scoreless first, the Blue Jackets opened scoring in the second period. Just five minutes later, a power play goal from Evgeni Malkin tied the game. After Columbus retook the lead, the Penguins once again tied the game… with another Malkin power play goal! At the top of the third period, a goal from O’Connor put the Penguins back in the lead, where they stayed until the end of the game (despite copious requests for “more drama” from the people I was at the game with). We left with a super exciting, in-person Peng-win, 3-2.
On Saturday, March 30 the Penguins went to Ohio for another meeting with the Blue Jackets. In the first period, Columbus opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal (how embarrassing). In the second, goals from O’Connor and Rust put the Penguins into the lead. A goal from Rickard Rakell furthered the Pittsburgh lead in the third period. Unfortunately, a goal from Columbus followed just nine seconds later, with another coming in before the end of the third. At the end of regulation, the score was tied at 3-3. No one was able to score in the extra period, and the game went to a shootout. Despite a goal from Crosby, the Blue Jackets scored two and ultimately took the win, 4-3.
The Penguins really had me feeling some type of way last week. I have truly been experiencing the Epic Highs and Lows of Penguins Hockey. With just nine games left in the season, the Pens aren’t definitively out of the playoffs yet, but their odds are quite slim. I’m not sure whether to hold out hope for an insane win streak leading them to the playoffs, or to plan the tankathon. This week, the Penguins are on the road. They’ll play the Rangers in New York on Monday, the Devils in New Jersey on Tuesday, and the Capitals in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. To finish out the week, the Penguins return to Pittsburgh to go up against the Lightning. Let’s go Pens!
Leave a Reply