Pens blow one of their games-in-hand

The Penguins blew a chance at making up ground on the Eastern conference today, falling 5-1 at Tampa. The loan Pens goal was from Gonchar, assisted by Malkin and Crosby on a 5-on-3 PP, but at the time it was scored in the 2nd, the Pens had been down 3-0.

Although the game was poorly officiated, that was not why the Pens lost. The Pens' effort was just not there, and Tampa came out like a team possessed. Thibault got the start in net for the Pens, but was pulled in favor of Fleury after the 3rd goal - though the way the Pens played in front of them, I doubt it would have made much difference. The Pens had some good chances, but the Tampa goalie was up to the task.

The Pens had beaten Florida in overtime on Thursday night, and for once their Florida trip were not on back to back nights. The Pens retain the 5th seed currently in the East, but failed to gain ground on 9th place, and their magic number to clinch a playoff spot remains 33 points. (They have 42 possible points to gain, so they control their own destiny) The max number of points the Pens can gain now are 117, still 3rd most in the east, while the 9th place max points is 107 (Carolina) 107-75 = 32 + 1 = 33.