Alright, so the Pittsburgh Penguins give up their team's heart and soul (Colby Armstrong), a lower-end, but gifted, center (Erik Christiensen), a top prospect (Angelo Esposito), and a 1st round pick in a very deep draft for....Pascal Dupuis--and 10 minutes of play from superstar Marian Hossa.
Unfortuanately, I witnessed live the Pens' 5-1 defeat at the hands of the Boston Bruins tonight. Hossa skated hard during his first shift, but that was about it. I believe it was early in the second when he went off with a "slight MCL sprain." The Pens were just plain flat (other than newcomer Dupuis). They weren't going for loose pucks and just didn't have any jump. I think losing Armstrong has really hurt team chemistry and has led to them losing their energy. I don't think people realize how important he was to this team. At a game I went to in Pittsburgh earlier this season (a 4-3 OT loss to the Rangers), Armstrong was a healthy scratch and it was obvious that something just wasn't right or normal with the Pens players.
A friend of mine told me that on the NY Islanders' broadcast of the Pens-Isles game the day of the trade deadline, they said that all of the Pittsburgh players planned a prank to play on Armstrong where they packed up all of his stuff to make him think he'd been traded...turns out he was and he was crushed. None of the players ever thought that a guy who could be considered their heart and soul would be shipped out.
To add to the bad news for the Pens, their flat play in the first and beginning of the second led to a few shoddy goals that got Ty Conklin pulled. M.A. Fleury didn't look bad for his first game back. It should be a good battle for number 1, I just feel bad for Dany Sabourin, who has been a great, reliable back-up all season and is now relegated to the number 3 position. At least he's a great insurance policy...
Jarkko Ruutu and Milan Lucic had a decent scrap, but way too much grabbing onto jerseys. Ruutu probably only got in one or two good punches after yanking Lucic's helmet, while Lucic got in some great punches and jabs. There was no take-down, but I'd probably call Lucic the winner. A video of the fight is below.
Lastly, Hal Gill is absolutely HORRENDOUS! I have no clue how he could be worth a 2nd and 5th round pick (especially in a good draft). I would struggle with the idea of giving up a 7th round pick for a man that can barely skate. Yeah, he's big, but he doesn't hit much and his lack of foot-speed caused at least one of the goals this evening.
If you have any questions about the game tonight, leave them in the comments please.
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