Staal Falls

photo credit

Looks like Dan Bylsma has decided to mix it up a bit in the hopes of pulling the Penguins out of a slump. He chose to start Brent Johnson in nets, and called up Luca Caputi from the baby Pens (another Canadian, yay). Caputi is not a very pleasant name, so I think we'll call him Luca. Turned out to be a smart move in Tuesday's game against ATL, when newbie Luca scored a goal and Johnson blocked 31 shots. Final result...a 5-2 Pitt victory.

++Times Jordan Staal fell: 2

++Most people involved in a Staal fall: 2

++Staal falls resulting in a goal: 0 (but he did score, twice...so close to a hat trick!)

++Number of times Malkin landed in the box: 0, this was a surprisingly well-mannered game

Tonight's Jordan Staal Award for Excellence in Falling is hereby awarded to Thrasher forward Chris Thorburn and an unidentified referee. An unintentional collision behind the Pens net early in the first period led to one ungainly wobble and one full-on wipeout. Apparently Jay-Z's not the only one who can trip a referee. It could probably count as Penguins defense since it kept Thorburn from stealing the puck and scoring on a distracted Brent Johnson.

Riz and I had a plan to watch the latest matchup between the Pens and Flyers on Thursday, but TWC's suckitude reared it's ugly head again. Apparently all the extra $$ (on top of already outrageous cable prices) for NHL Center Ice isn't enough to gain access to NHL Net. Because that makes sense. It looks like the Flyers took an early lead in that game, and although the Penguins tried to rally in the third, Philly took their first victory over the Pens this season. Let's hope that's an event that doesn't repeat itself...the last thing the Flyers need is unattractive egos to go with such hideously unattractive hair.