Our mistakes and sloppy defensive play proved costly again last night as we fell 5-3 to the Craps. WE gift-wrapped multiple opportunities due to a staggering seven turnovers in the first period alone. While Bryan Rust managed to answer a rapid, opening-minute Washington goal to temporarily tie things up, our defense continued to poop the bed. Costly giveaways—including a blind zone pass from Thanks Letang and a clearing misplay behind the net by SheLove, allowed the Craps to build a daunting 4-1 cushion deep into the second frame.

Despite the brutal start, WE showed excellent resilience and completely turned the momentum late in the second period. Tommy Novak cleanly buried a rebound and Nick Robertson redirected a point shot just minutes later, swiftly cutting our deficit to 4-3. Our comeback bid ultimately fell short in the third period when the Craps crapitalized on a power play to secure their two-goal lead. A late breakaway stop on Lizotte sealed our fate, leaving us to clean up the slop in ‘aisle 4’ as we split our record to 2-2-0. Couple of bad games to start this season… time to flip the script, eh Sid? ….. Sid? SID…you there?

DR. J’s TAKEAWAYs

I’ve read this book, and I’ve seen this movie before. Shame on me for already envisioning a parade. I guess the purple dinosaur was right. I am delusional. You can’t fool me anymore Penguins.

Last game, we faced the Great 8 for the first of four meetings this season. It was Washington’s home opener, and after a painfully long, hour-long introduction, the game finally got underway. Before you could even kick your legs up on the ottoman, the Caps scored. But the prosthetic-winged phoenix, Bryan Rust, came to the rescue and tied the game.

And then? The team collectively took a nap for the next 50 minutes. Tommy Novak and Nick Robertson tried to jolt the Guins out of their slumber, but no dice. Apparently, the rest of the team had already clocked out for the evening. The bright side? At least Ovechkin didn’t score.

FRIDAY @ COLOMBUS

The Metro is always a dogfight, and we know exactly what’s at stake heading into Columbus tonight. Sitting at an even 2-2 to start the year, this road matchup is our chance to claim some critical division points and set the tone for how we handle our rivals this season. We had great success within the Metro last year, going 15-7-10, but none of that matters when the puck drops at Nationwide. We need to establish our fast, aggressive style early, test their blue line, and dictate the pace from the very first shift. AND PLAY SOME EFFIN DEFENCE.

Execution on special teams and taking advantage of our opportunities will be the deciding factors. Comeblowus is always a tough, physical test on their home ice, but if we can replicate the high-octane offensive pressure that put up 7 golas against the Philth, we can quiet their crowd, and silence that friggen cannon. It’s all about breathing the life back into the offence and locking down defensively to snagg these two points.

DR J EXTENDED CONTENT:

Tonight, we play the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Columbus opened the season by putting up six goals against Buffalo, then followed that performance with a loss to Utah. The Jackets have also taken a hit on defense, with Ivan Provorov on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. Columbus likes to activate its defensemen, and it has a young offensive core featuring Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson, and Kirill Marchenko. Pittsburgh will also need to keep an eye on Zach Werenski.

If the Penguins get sloppy with the puck, the Jackets can turn that into an odd-man rush pretty quickly. Of course, whether the Penguins actually decide to stay awake for a full 60 minutes is another question entirely.

SATURDAY vs DALLAS

In our first of a league leading 15 B2B games this season, WE face off against the Dallas Stars tonight. There’s no love lost when the Stars cross into our building, especially after they got the better of us here late last season. Hopefully Sid and Geno are dialed in, ready to command the transition game and exploit the Stars’ blue line, but it’s going to take a total team effort to shut down dangerous offensive weapons like Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen.

Protecting our home ice on Saturday demands that every single line plays with a relentless north-south mentality from the very first puck drop. Our power play needs to execute with precision, our backend has to clear out the crease, and we need to push the pace to keep Dallas on their heels.

LGP