Matt Murray's pad came crashing down.
And no, I'm not describing one of the 37 times he bailed out the Penguins' sloppy skaters in what, despite his extraordinary effort, wound up a deflating, 5-4 overtime loss to the Islanders on this Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena. Rather, the reference is to the man himself slamming one of his pads from a standing position onto the locker room floor in front of his stall, just as I'd entered.
That was everywhere. Every expression. Every snapped-off-sentiment. Every bit lip.
"This," as Marcus Pettersson told me, barely audible, "was bad."
No doubt. Regular-season losses in mid-November aren't supposed to resonate like this. But when a head coach hardly known for public criticism dials up "brutal" into his dialogue ... yeah, this was as bad as it gets this time of year.
So, being one who's always eager to seize the mood and the moment, while we're all wholly miserable, I thought I'd put into print 10 thoughts that ... well, will only make it worse for most.
10. Bryan Rust can't do that.
These will run in descending order, though this one will rankle enough on its own. Because everyone loves a goal-scorer, and that love is multiplied many times over when that player also gives everything he's got. They're never anyone's lower-case-G goat.
Rust scored for the seventh time in 10 games since returning from injury, which is wonderful. He also set up a Zach Aston-Reese shorty that was rightly waved off for offside, plus all his usual good deeds. But he also had a team-worst Corsi For percentage of 33.3 -- on the ice for 11 chances at five-on-five compared to 22 against -- and he's supposed to be the defensive conscience of the new top line.
Moreover, he was sent to the box for a pivotal penalty late in the third period, handing the Islanders the momentum they'd turn into a two-goal rally to tie, then Brock Nelson's winner in overtime. It was the Penguins' second attacking-zone minor of the three they took in the game, but Rust was adamant he wasn't at fault on his.
"No," he replied firmly. "You've got to fight for your ice. Two guys got tangled up. Ref saw it one way."
Uh, no ...
... that's a trip, 1,000 times out of 1,000. Glaring leg-whip on Nick Leddy.
9, The youngsters stunk.
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