Well, all three black-and-gold teams showed up last night at PPG Paints Arena during a 5-4 victory over the Canucks. Rather astonishingly, our first regulation win since November 8 and only our fifth of the season.
For the first half of the game, anyway, our Pens—buoyed by two days of practice—were downright impressive. Their passing crisp and sure, they skated with speed and authority, pounced on loose pucks and battled with vigor. Even our much-maligned defensive corps was reasonably air-tight.
As I watched with equal measures of awe and disbelief, I couldn’t help but think, “Where has this team been hiding all season?