Blackhawks Scalp Penguins 5-1

Recently, I’ve spent lots of time lamenting the Penguins’ injury woes. And it sure is tough to watch our guys repeatedly take it on the chin. Like last night’s 5-1 loss to Chicago at PPG Paints Arena, a defeat that was equal parts humbling and stinging.

Talk about a slap in the face. The Pens have lost four games in a row for the first time since Mike Sullivan stepped behind the bench back in December 2015. The past two by a combined score of 11-3. Both on home ice, before a national TV audience on NBCSN.

A lousy time for a skid. Especially with second place—and the much-coveted home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs—still very much up for grabs.

Although the games have been downright painful to view from a Penguins perspective, I applaud Sullivan and his staff for resisting the temptation to rush our injured players back.

Better to get everyone fully healed.

On to last night’s hiding. Obviously, there wasn’t much to cheer. Conor Sheary returned to the lineup following a one-game absence, as did Chad Ruhwedel. Bryan Rust scored his first goal since coming off IR six days ago. His first since January 22.

Oh, and Justin Schultz actually returned from the locker room after blocking a shot with his foot. A welcome change from our usual.

That’s about it.

On the negative side of the ledger? Plenty to choose from. Our depleted Pens allowed more odd-man breaks than a minimum security prison. Something like eight of them, all told. Including a doozy of a 3-on-1 in the waning seconds of the first period that led to a fourth Chicago goal by expatriate Pen Marian Hossa. And possible shell-shock treatment for poor Marc-Andre Fleury between periods.

You’ll think I’ve taken permanent leave of my senses for what I’m about to write. But getting cuffed around a bit may be just what the doctor ordered.

How can that be, you ask?

Let me explain.

The Pens are a proud team. A defending Cup champ. Getting trounced on a regular basis can’t be sitting too well in the locker room. Especially with the guy wearing the ‘C.’

“The last couple of games haven’t been good enough,” snapped Sidney Crosby. “We’ve just got to be better. That’s the bottom line.”

Might be generating a little fire in the gut, if you know what I mean. A fire that hadn’t burned—at least not as intensely—before all the adversity hit. One that’ll make ‘em feel like they’ve got something to prove come playoff time.

Ready for some truly good news?

According to sources, a full-scale return (except for Carl Hagelin) is just around the corner. In time to let the returnees iron out the kinks before the postseason begins, while affording the holdovers a chance to unleash a little pent-up frustration on an unsuspecting foe.

What happens when you pull back on a rubber band…then release it? It flies…full bore…in the other direction. Or to quote Newton’s Third Law of Physics, for every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction.

I pity the first team we play when everyone comes back. I really do.

I’ll wrap up my ramble with a little message to the Blackhawks. Hope you enjoyed clobbering our JV team. It won’t be so easy next time.

See you again. Say, in about two months.

Puckpourri

The game was closer statistically than on the scoreboard. Chicago held a slight edge in shots on goal (36-32); the black and gold led in hits (32-11) and controlled the faceoff circle (59 percent).

Fleury made 31 saves. All but two of the Pens finished the game a minus. Matt Cullen and Patric Hornqvist were even.

The locals trail Metro Division leader Washington by seven points and second-place Columbus by two points. The Blue Jackets, our likely first-round opponent, have a game in hand.

Crosby continues to lead the league with 42 goals—four more than Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov. Sid trails Connor McDavid by seven points in the race for the Art Ross Trophy.