No silly headline tonight. Sorry. Pens lose this game 4-1.

Let’s just go on and crown the Norfolk Admirals the 2011-2012 East Division Champions and the odds on favorite to represent the Eastern Conference in the Calder Cup Finals. The Admirals winning streak is now old enough to drive, they have won SIXTEEN straight.

Funny game tonight. Fans on one side will say that referees Steve Patafie and Jason Rollins were downright awful. Fans on the other will say that the Pens just looked flatfooted all night. Others will say that the Admirals are just that good at this juncture. Some may add a potpourri of other random observations such as Norfolk’s speed, Munroe’ having an off night, etc. I will tend to agree with all thought processes.

Before I get into the game recap, hats off to Norfolk. The 15 wins in a row before this would have been enough to SWEEP through the ENTIRE Calder Cup Playoffs (emphasis added)

Scott Munroe vs. Jaroslav Janus

Lineup Notes: Joey Mormina was under the weather and scratched. So too Cody Wild yielding to Brian Strait and Simon Despres, down from Pittsburgh. Matt Rust took warmups but was scratched. Bryan Lerg returned to the lineup.

First Period: Brian Gibbons took a trip call. Pens killed it then a second later, Cal O’Reilly dropped a pass to Bryan Lerg who scored what would end up being the only Pens goal of the night, a slick wrister which handcuffed Janus. Then the Pens took another penalty in the form of a Bryan Lerg elbow. The Admirals wasted little time in evening the score at 1 when Mark Barberio fired a slap pass to Richard Panik who tipped it past Munroe. Then, next shift Radko Gudas scored from the top of the circles to make it 2-1 Admirals. They then came in 2-on-1 and didn’t score. Pens were juyst standing around.

Second Period: Admirals were on a carryover power play from the first period which Tyler Johnson wasted no time on scoring making it 3-1 before you were able to settle in for the second. After that, the Admirals just held the Pens at arm length the rest of the night really. Munroe made a stop on a two on none with Ondrej Palat and Richard Panik. Pens killed off a late Norfolk 5-on-3.

Third Period: Evan Oberg, fresh out of the box on an interference call, was sprung and beat Munroe clean to make it 4-1. Penguins only managed two shots on goal this period as the Admirals really did a nice job, I don’t want to say insulating Janus, but protecting the lead.

Final shots on goal were a robust 33 for the Admirals and a paltry 13 for the Penguins.

Thoughts: Not going to be discouraged by this result. The Admirals are as hot as hot can be. The pessimist in me will call this an out and out dismantling of the Penguins tonight. The optimist in me says it’s a learning experience for pretty much everyone.

Three Stars: 3) Radko Gudas (goal, +1) 2) Richard Panik (goal, assist, even) 1) Tyler Johnson (goal, two assists, +1)

Around the Division: Syracuse came back to beat Adirondack in Glens Falls 2-1.

Standings: Norfolk leads by 10 points, 89 to the Pens 79. Hershey has two games in hand on the Pens and sit five back at 72 points. Syracuse is 10 back of Hershey and the B-Sens are twenty behind Hershey and ten behind Syracuse.

Conference: 1-NOR (89) 2-StJ (83) 3-BRI (72) 4-WBS (79) 5-HER (72) 6-CT (72) 7-MCH (65) 8-ALB (64)

I heard Grace mention practice Friday in advance of Saturday home vs. Worcester then Sunday vs. Binghamton. Fodder between now and then may be scarce.

Let’s Go Pens!

Pens win their third game of the weekend, third in a shootout, winning today in Springfield 4-3 in a shootout. Patrick Killeen started the game and won his first AHL game. Pens finish off a perfect six point weekend.

But no one will remember any of that on this day. Why? Steve MacIntyre completely lost his mind and went into full rage mode. I will let the tweets of Penguins beat writer Jonathan Bombulie set this up:

MacIntyre received a five minute match penalty and a five minute roughing penalty which to me, was a bit lenient. However, the AHL is going to look at this and I would say that an undisclosed fine and a suspension in the neighborhood of ten games. More, if he went and struck a linesman, which may have happened.

Who knows. League usually announces these things Tuesday. We will see.

Anyway, another spirited tilt today in Springfield. For teams which played two games prior, three goals in 3:37. No flies on these teams in this third game in less than 48 hours.

Patrick Killeen vs. Paul Dainton – Brandon DeFazio was scratched for Matt Rust and Cody Wild for Philip Samuelsson.

First Period: Alex Picard takes a pass in the skates from Ryan Craig and scored. Next shift, ex-Pens prospect Nathan Longpre scored for Springfield to tie the game at 1. Then, Ryan Craig whacks in his won rebound to make it 2-1 Penguins. This was after lackadaisical defense from the Falcons blue liners, which let the Pens beat them to an icing call.

Second Period: Dainton made a pad save on a Craig shot, Jason Williams rebound. Joey Mormina took an interference penalty and Alex Giroux wasted no time in evening the score at two. Then, for some reason, Bill Guerin (yes, THAT Bill Guerin) got ejected for arguing a call. This put the Pens down two men as Brian Gibbons took a slashing call. In the power play, Alex Giroux scored a rebound goal to push the Falcons out to 3-2. Then, late, the MacIntyre insanity. He went full rage mode. He cross checked Amadio in the back, then went after Dainton. The scrum broke up then he suckered Dainton again. The Mass Mutual Center didn’t replay anything, but AHL Live will have it on archive probably tomorrow. I will take a look at it again to get a more better look. Out of it, the Falcons had an 8:00 power play.

Third Period: The Falcons could do little with the extended power play. They managed maybe one, two, shots on goal. Pens killed it all off. Then, Ryan Garlock (un)intentionally snowed Killeen and ended up in the box. On the power play, Alex Grant scored to even the game at three. Dainton had no idea where the puck was. He was looking the other way. Then it was on to…

Overtime: Solved nothing.

Shootout: Killeen let Cody Goloubef score in Round 1 but denied the next four shooters. Cal O’Reilly and Colin McDonald scored for the Pens. Game. Set. Match.

Three Stars: 3) Martin St. Pierre (two assists, -2) 2) Ryan Craig (goal, assist, +2) 1) Alexandre Giroux (two goals, -2)

Around the Division: Hey, a perfect three game weekend is great, but when the Norfolk Admirals have won FIFTEEN straight games, it’s downgraded to possibly insignificant. But the Pens remain on the heels of the Admirals, barely. The Admirals beat Bridgeport 6-3. A HUGE Wednesday tilt in Norfolk looms between the Pens and Admirals. The AHL record for consecutive wins is 17, set by the Philadelphia Phantoms a few years ago. Syracuse won 5-1 at home vs. Albany.

Standings: Admirals 87 / Pens 79 / Bears 72 / Crunch 60 / Senators 52

Conference: 1-NOR (87) 2-StJ (81) 3-BRI (72) 4-WBS (79) 5-HER (72) 6-CT (72) 7-MCH (65) 8-ALB (64)

Huge Wednesday game looms for the Pens. They will have help on the blue line as Simon Despres and Brian Strait were re-assigned this afternoon.

I drive home Monday morning. Fodder will be scarce otherwise as the team will most likely travel Tuesday. Stick with me on Twitter for the latest.

Let’s Go Pens!