Well, the Penguins lost 5–3 to Chicago, because apparently we can’t have nice things. Sidney Crosby finally got on the board this season, scoring twice to keep the Guins in the game. But before the heavens could open, the floor fell out. The Penguins forget how to shoot, but they will never forget how to breakdown on defense. And the power play continues to be missing in action. At least Sid showed up. While some wanted to drag the baby goalie through the mud, Big brother Malkin said, not so fast.

The goaltender shouldn’t have to shoulder all the blame when the defense leaves him hanging. At least for now, it is a team loss.

FRIDAY @ AVALANCHE

Well, the Penguins are heading out West for a back-to-back against Colorado and Vegas. I completely forgot how many back-to-back games we have this season, so prepare yourselves to see both goalies get some action.

The Avs have been putting up goals like they’re trying to meet a quota. Nathan MacKinnon is still a nightmare to defend, and apparently, he has chosen violence this season. The Twitterverse, say that dumb stuff animal from the Olympics sent him over the edge.

Martin Nečas just scored twice in Colorado’s last game, so best to keep an eye on that guy. As for Cale Makar, his status is up in the air after his wife recently gave birth, so we’ll have to wait and see if he’s in the lineup. This game should be a good, honest test of whether all the moves Dubas made this offseason are actually going to pay off.

SATURDAY @ VEGAS

Vegas had its four-game winning streak snapped by Minnesota before bouncing back with a 5–2 win over Nashville. The Golden Knights have Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner driving the offense, and they have plenty of scoring depth to make life difficult. League-wide, Vegas is almost as hated as the Panthers, so I don’t have much to say about them beyond one thing: “The North Remembers.”

Two tough opponents. Two games on the road. Road trips are a great opportunity to build team morale, so maybe the Penguins can string together a few wins and keep this momentum going. Of course, that means actually showing up for both games, not just the first period. The Penguins showed in their first few games that they can put up multiple goals, and we need to see that again if we don’t want this team to become a ghost of its former self.

LGP