Panthers Claw Punchless Penguins, 4-1

In the wake of the Penguins’ dreary 4-1 loss to the Panthers last night at FLA Live Arena, I thought I’d reprise a lead-in I’ve used before.

To borrow from noted rapper and lyricist Marshall Mathers (aka Eminem), will the real Pittsburgh Penguins “please stand up, please stand up.”

I don’t know if our guys relaxed now that the trade deadline has passed and jobs are more or less secure. Or maybe it was a matter of tired legs. After all, we are the oldest team in the league, and not just by a smidge.

Whatever the root cause, we went from playing top-notch hockey to…well…whatever you’d call that sorry excuse for a performance last night. As our attention to detail waned, old sins that hadn’t been evident during our glorious four-game winning streak resurfaced with a vengeance. Causing us to collectively resemble a claque of back-sliding church-goers who’d been out partying all night.

There was a slow start, for one. During a somnambulant first period, we tested Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky with three (count ‘em…three) shots on goal, while our adversaries peppered Casey DeSmith.

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