What’s going on?

I just got home from the game. I know that the Pens made a nice comeback win in the third period. I do not want to diminish that achievement, but I found myself actually getting mad during the first two periods. As soon as I watched their pathetic effort on the two man advantage, I came to believe that they were trying to lose the game. That is the only excuse I can come up with, for how poorly they were playing. Can anyone think of another reason why a team that, we know, can play so well, can turn around a play so poorly.