text: Chris Mueller: Game 2 ugly, but no cause for panic - News - The Times - Beaver, PA
  Chris Mueller: Game 2 ugly, but no cause for panic
  Apr 14, 2018 at 9:06 PM Apr 14, 2018 at 9:12 PM
  Quick message for Penguins fans reading this column: Take a nice deep breath. Everything will be okay. And if everything isn't okay, just blame me. Still, though, everything will be okay.
  It's understandable that some fans would have been seriously jarred by the 5-1 beating Philadelphia put on the Pens on Friday night. The Flyers looked like a different team than the one that came out lifeless in Game 1 and got humiliated in historic fashion.
  Friday, Philly was confident, they cashed in when they had chances and they stifled the Penguins' power play while tallying twice with the man advantage.
  Perhaps most importantly, Brian Elliott looked like a good NHL goalie and validated Dave Hakstol's confidence in him. The Penguins were busier offensively than Philly, firing 35 shots at Elliott, all but one of which got gobbled up.
  On the flip side, Matt Murray wasn't bad, per se, just the victim of some strange bounces, a brilliant pass and one strong play off of a rush. He wasn't horrible, even though his numbers suggested he was.
  The words above would seem to fly in the face of that whole notion of not panicking, the notion that the Penguins have nothing to fear. But really, the Penguins have nothing to fear here.
  A closer inspection of the game reveals that perhaps this contest was Philly delivering their best shot, one that it won't be capable of producing again. And even if they do, there's no guarantee it will be enough.
  That was the main story, at least for me. In Game 1, the Flyers had precisely two top quality chances against Murray. Scott Laughton whiffed the first one, and then immediately thereafter, shot the second one directly into Murray's outstretched arm. That was all they got. The Penguins dominated.
  Friday night saw the Penguins outshoot Philadelphia in every period. Patric Hornqvist hit the post twice. Riley Sheahan also drew iron behind Elliott. Sidney Crosby missed a net just about every bit as wide open as the one Laughton failed to hit in Game 1. It is here that I should remind you that Sidney Crosby misses an open net about as often as Philadelphia fans say nice things about the opposing team.
  To his credit, Elliott did stone Crosby on a breakaway that could have changed the complexion of the game. He deserves credit for that. By and large, though, the only really frustrating thing for the Penguins was that they couldn't cash in on the power play despite Philadelphia giving them plenty of chances. That kind of thing is fixable, and quickly, especially with the talent the Penguins possess.
  Beyond all that, there's the little matter of Claude Giroux and his hit on Kris Letang. All I needed was one replay to decide that the play was dirty, and that Giroux was in control of his body and knew what he was doing when he hit Letang up high with an elbow. Giroux can claim all he wants that his collision with Crosby knocked him into Letang and that it was an innocent mistake, but the tape tells another story.
  The Penguins, to a man, seemed very angry about the play. Mike Sullivan's answer when asked about the play was two seconds long, but spoke volumes. Sullivan simply said, "I have an opinion, but I'm not going to share it."
  Doesn't sound like a guy who'll be sending Giroux a Christmas card this winter.
  Crosby also expressed his unhappiness with the play, but the real upshot of the whole situation was that Letang came back to play in the third period after missing about 13 minutes of the second. Everyone in the building breathed a huge sigh of relief, and it seems like he is good to go for Game 3.
  So, to recap, the Penguins hit a bunch of posts behind Elliott, but the puck stayed out. Murray gave up a few bizarre, bad-bounce goals, but nothing so leaky that you'd be concerned. The power play lagged, but Sullivan is a master of adjustments. Crosby got stuffed on a breakaway and missed a wide-open net. Oh, and Philadelphia's best player put a very questionable hit on Letang, one that angered the Penguins, who are long past the days of going off the reservation when they get angry.
  Oh, and Crosby tends to torture the Flyers in Philadelphia. Did you notice where Sunday's game is being played?