Penguins Flame Out in Calgary

At the end of my last article, I noted our Penguins have been playing bipolar hockey. When we play on our toes we’re a force to be reckoned with. And when we don’t…

Our inability to play a full 60 minutes of hockey was prominently on display during last night’s 4-1 loss to the Flames. Hampered by an early penalty to Chad Ruhwedel, the black and gold once again crawled out of the starting gate to the tune of a 15-1 deficit in shots on goal (20-6 by the end of the opening period). Marquee addition Nazem Kadri scored twice to stake the Flames to a 2-0 lead.

The bad guys made it 3-0 early in the second period on a power-play tally by Jonathan Huberdeau, who shot the puck through a veritable chorus line of traffic.

To the Pens’ credit, they quickly countered at 4:32, thanks in no small part to a high-sticking call assessed to Kadri. Following a big save by Casey DeSmith on a 2-on-1, Evgeni Malkin scooped up the loose puck and headmanned it to rookie Sam Poulin.

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