pittsburgh happened to your defense

Posted by Dave Nicholas on 11/12/08 at 03:43 AM ET

What a game! Both teams fell asleep for one period, but that just led to the excitement at the end. It’s no Cup, but I’ll admit, it felt good to stick it to Detroit for just one game. If Staal plays every game like he did in the third period, he’ll be one of the top power forwards in the game. Let’s hope that continues.

Posted by penguinsfan on 11/12/08 at 05:50 AM ET

Once again, you can pin part of the blame for this loss on Babcock.  Up 6-4, he decided to just sit back and play ultra-conservative defense—something you can’t do in the post-lockout NHL.  It’s something Babcock has never adjusted to since.  This is why you’ll find Babcock’s teams often blowing leads in the third and eventually losing.

That said… what a joke that last 5 min. of the 3rd and OT were in terms of officiating.  PIT earned the 5th goal because of Babcock’s tendency to sit back…. they did NOT earn the 6th goal though.  PIT began hauling players down and grabbing, and the refs refused to call it.  Similarly, on the Datsyuk “giveaway” in OT, replays show that Staal basically hauled Datsyuk down with his stick.  That’s why Datsyuk didn’t turn the puck over—he fell.  He fell because Staal stuck his stick in his feet and yanked… and once again, the refs ignored it.

This league is becoming a joke.  Players can’t hit one another without getting suspended, and yet teams can come in and manhandle DET without fear of being penalized.

Posted by Primis on 11/12/08 at 09:05 AM ET

Let’s not forget to give the Penguins credit to. You can’t say they won just because Babcock let them, or because of the refs. (DET got a ton of calls in the first 2 periods, which led to their goals, so it evens out.) The Penguins were there too. Are the Penguins better than Detroit right now? Probably not. But last night, they didn’t give up when down 5-2, and were good enough to comeback and beat a great team. Go Pens!

Posted by penguinsfan on 11/12/08 at 09:18 AM ET

that was a joke.  not only are the wings looking like they think they can turn it on anytime they please (doesn’t work that way) but the refs were awful.  i know that the league wants high scoring and even more fighting are we to believe we will see the clutching and grabbing of the devils era i thought we went away from that. wings ‘d’ is very timid and lazy right now and ozzie is not sharp either. 

hope they can get it fixed soon.

Posted by rocketman on 11/12/08 at 11:41 AM ET