Crosby-Less Pens Fall to Islanders

PENGUINS 1
ISLANDERS 4

Captain Sidney Crosby missed his sixth straight game and 27th in 30, and the Penguins dropped a 4-1 decision hosted by the New York Islanders on Monday night.

Bill Guerin's goal and assist led the way for New York, keeping the Penguins' playoff hopes at bay for at least one more evening. "We just came out flat," Jordan Staal said.

You can always tell it's a bad sign when the highlight of the night is a mere photo op of Evgeni Malkin.

Ty Conklin got the start in goal and stopped 32 of 36 shots. The only Penguin offense came from Petr Sykora's first-period power play goal set up by Jeff Taffe and Mr. Kennedy.

The Pens don't have much time to dwell on this one, as they will be back at it on Tuesday night with a 7:00 date at New Jersey. A busy week then includes a rematch with the Isles on Thursday and PLAYOFF TICKETS on FRIDAY!

Isles stop Pens from clinching playoff spot; Crosby sits sixth straight game [ESPN]

Dave Littlefield Sighting!

Look who was spotted by eagle-eyed reader Marcus at the Pens game on Saturday night sitting in section D6:

"So I am at the Pens game on Saturday, sitting in section D6, good seats, not great. I look to my right and who do I see? None other that Dave Littlefield. I mean, I know he's unemployed at the moment, but those are the best seats he can get? Maybe the Nuttings wouldn't pay him either. Or he really is that cheap."

Poor Dave Littlefield. He can't even go to a Penguin game without speculation based on his boss, his salary, or his performance. That being said, he had a lousy boss, he didn't make as much as other GMs, and his presence made no difference in the organization's success. But he gets Brownie Points for supporting the Pens.