Whitney Returns, Battered Penguins Still Lose

Even the return of defenseman Ryan Whitney couldn't stop the recent slide of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, among the worst teams in the league according to the standings, waltzed into the Mellon Arena and skipped out with a 2-0 victory.

Where does that leave the Penguins? 18-12-4, 40 points, fourth place in the Atlantic Division. Yuck. Happy holidays.

Under normal circumstances, I would be pissed. However, this season's circumstances can be perceived as anything but normal.

Take into consideration that Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts, Jarkko Ruutu, Georges Laraque, Ty Conklin, Marain Hossa, and Adam Hall (...is that everyone?) left via free agency after last year's playoffs. Those guys added a lot of grit and filled some significant roles. By August we knew this had the potential to be a frustrating season.

That's when things got worse. Whitney needed surgery and would miss 3 months. Gonchar is out until March after a pre-season cheap shot. Tyler Kennedy is currently missing in action, and Marc-Andre Fleury just got back from an extended hiatus. Oh yeah, and defenseman Kris Letang is now out with an undisclosed lower body injury.

What does this all mean? Well, it took a while for this year's Penguins to get rolling. Once they did, the injuries began to mount. If they can survive until Gonchar comes back without having any other stars go down, the Pens will be tough to deal with.

As Penguins fans, this is just something we are going to have to learn to live with. Not only is there a whole new class looking to cash in on free agency next off-season, but it will happen on a regular basis with Crosby, Malkin, Orpik, Whitney, and Fleury locked into big-dollar, long-term deals.

Ain't it great being a fan?

Let's go Pens.