The biggest news to start this game was the return of Patric Hornqvist, who has apparently recovered from his 5th concussion of the year

After playing from behind most of this road trip the Penguins finally got off on the right foot not even 4 minutes in when Phil Kessel got on the board early

PHIL KESSEL (20) Assisted by MAATTA (11) & MALKIN (38) @ 3:51

Pretty solid pass by Maatta here, who continues having a very good season under the radar, and an even better finish by The Phil on a deflected puck. The last time Phil Kessel didn’t score 20 goals in a season he was 20-years-old and in his second NHL season when he scored 19 in 2007-08.

Unfortunately for the Penguins, the Kessel goal would be the only bright spot of the period as the Knights responded and then some. First it was Shea Theodore on the powerplay

The game was tied for 9 minutes before Vegas banged in two quickies just 43 seconds apart and suddenly the game looked a lot like every other game on this trip. First it was Max Pacioretty

Fake Shot Burntown: Population DeSmith. Less than a minute later it was Lindberg putting the Knights up 3-1

Letang juuuuuusst missed the pass with his skate. DeSmith’s biggest weakness is tracking while simultaneously moving side-to-side, not that it matters here as this was a perfect shot regardless, but he looks like your uncle Barry playing Twister after two forties of Natty Ice when tracking pucks side to side.

The Penguins managed to not allow any other goals in the period.

Right off the opening faceoff Jake Guentzel goes into the zone, the puck pops up and ends on Dumoulin’s stick. Dumo with a slick pass to a very smart Guentzel who kept moving towards the net, Guentzel across to Simon and 13 seconds into the fram the Pens have made it a 1 goal game

DOMINIK SIMON (7) Assisted by GUENTZEL (22) & DUMOULIN (14) @ 0:13

This goal doesn’t happen if Jake Guentzel doesn’t recognize that Dumoulin will be receiving the puck and continues moving to get open. Instead of a broken play going nowhere this subtle move results in a bang bang goal.

The Penguins continued the pressure and 5 minutes later it was the Captain evening things up on the scoreboard

SIDNEY CROSBY (21) Assisted by GUENTZEL (23) & LETANG (29) @ 5:56

That is a Sidney Crosby level assist from Guentzel, man those people saying Guentzel was a one hit wonder last year look like idiots. The assist gives Jake 47 points in 48 games this season has the Penguins suddenly have yet another point per game player.

The Crosby goal was the last bright spot of this game. The Penguins scored a 4th goal but it was overturned due to a distinct kicking motion. Jonathan Marchestiresauce scored to put the Knights up 4-3 12 minutes into the period

**Knights Twitter decided gifs aren’t cool anymore**

Four minutes later the guy with the weird last name scored again to regain the two-goal lead for the Knights.

That would do it for the Penguins comeback and the second period

There would be no comeback int he third by the Penguins. Karlsson scored 13 minutes in and Marcheswhatever finished off his hattrick 17 minutes in. The Penguins may or may not have played the third period.

GAME

THOUGHTS:

• Not the best 5 game swing for the team heading into their bye week, finishing 2-3-0 with wins only against the Ducks and Coyotes.
• Not sure getting their one week bye the same week every team already has days off for the ASG is an advantage considering Crosby and Letang have to travel.
• DeSmith was not DeBest in this game, .824 save percentage.

Personal Update: I have been going through a few things in my personal life and have no choice but to step away from the blog for some time. If anyone wants a shot at recapping games just speak up, as you can see from the effort above you don’t have to try too hard. I don’t know when I will return but until I do I hope you all stay healthy, continue living your best life, and keep Ungs mom busy. Between the commenters on this site, the friends I’ve added through Twitter and the silent readers of this blog your support over the last two years while we’ve grown has meant more than I can explain, and you deserve more than the efforts I will be able to give at this time. I appreciate your continued support of this site and what we have to offer. We have built one of the best Penguins communities on the internet and I am very proud of that. Until we meet again, remember the three truths of life, I love you, the Patriots cheat, and the Flyers suck. Thank you for understanding.

-Rad

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