2012 NHL Playoffs: 5 Key Takeaways for the Pittsburgh Penguins After Game 2

With the Philadelphia Flyers leading 7-5, Dan Bylsma decided to pull Marc-Andre Fleury to bring in the extra attacker.

The net was empty.

But for Pittsburgh Penguins fans, it seemed the net had been unoccupied all game long.

Although the Penguins scoring outburst continues, which gives them hope to still get back in the series, the defense and goaltending has completely fallen apart. 

Frustration seemingly set in for the Penguins every time the Flyers rapidly responded to Penguin goals. 

For the second time in as many games, the Penguins blew a multi-goal lead and lost the game. They now trail the series 2-0, and the Flyers have never blown a 2-0 lead in their playoff history.

Here are five key takeaways from Friday night's game. 

The Scoring Is There and Should Continue

If there was one positive aspect about the Penguins' game on Friday, it was the fact that they continued to stay hot in terms of scoring goals.

After Jaromir Jagr scored the sixth goal of the game to give Philadelphia a 6-5 advantage, the Pens let their emotions get to them, and it seemed like the Flyers were in their heads.

That being said, the Penguins can still put the puck in the net, and they should continue to do so because of guys like Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. They got plenty of solid scoring chances but were robbed by timely saves by Ilya Bryzgalov, who stepped up at the most opportune times, despite struggling for most of the game.

The Pens aren't dead yet. They just need to continue to their scoring ways past the first period. While they have six goals in first periods in the series, they only have two in the second and third frames.

Too Many Turnovers

Don't blame Marc-Andre Fleury completely for the loss. There's only so much he can do when his teammates keep turning the puck over in the neutral zone and on their own power play.

These turnovers resulted in odd-man rushes for the Flyers, and they were able to capitalize on their opportunities. Overall, the Penguins had five giveaways, and many of them led to Flyers chances and goals.

From Ben Lovejoy to Sidney Crosby, almost everyone committed a bonehead error in Game 2. The team can't afford to make careless mistakes, and there's no doubt that Dan Bylsma is going to spend plenty of time in the film room. 

Marc-Andre Fleury Needs to Calm Down

The nickname, "Flower," seems to be fitting for Marc-Andre Fleury lately. His emotions are as delicate as a flower. 

He's easily crushed after goals, and he has lost all of his swagger. He failed to make any big saves to give the Penguins any momentum in the game. Although his counterpart, Ilya Bryzgalov, allowed five goals, at least he made some key saves in timely moments to give the Flyers a jolt of momentum. 

Fleury, on the other hand, was flustered after each goal he let slide past him. It felt like he had a "here we go again" moment once the Flyers got back in the game. There's no doubt that the Flyers are in his head right now.

That being said, Fleury is known to bounce back after tough outings. The most memorable bounce-back game of his career was in Game 6 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final when he led the Penguins to a 2-1 win after allowing five goals in the previous game.

The Penguins Miss Matt Niskanen

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been without defenseman Matt Niskanen in the playoffs because of injury.

He's an under-the-radar guy, but he was a major part of the Penguins defense this season. Niskanen is a smart player, who plays a physical brand of hockey and also knows how to move the puck up the ice.

In fact, in the last 18 games with Niskanen in the lineup, the Penguins are 16-1-1. 

Yes, he's that important.

Plus, his presence means that the inexperienced Ben Lovejoy will be scratched, and Penguins fans won't have to pound their heads on their walls every time he makes a mistake in his own zone. 

The Flyers Are in the Penguins' Heads

The Pittsburgh Penguins came into this series as Stanley Cup favorites. They started off both games with big leads, and they expected it to be easy.

Generally when perfectionists see a flaw in themselves, it gets to their head, and it could lead to their collapse because they're constantly fixated on the fact that they weren't perfect rather than the task at hand.

The Penguins need to forget about everything going according to planned. It's the playoffs. They're not playing the Winnipeg Jets. It's going to be ugly. They need to cope well with goals they allow and continue to realize that the ultimate goal is to win the game, not to win it cleanly.

Right now, the Penguins feel that whatever they do, the Flyers are going to answer back and it bothers them that this is the case. It's getting on their nerves that they're not able to put this team away soundly and advance to the second round unscathed. 

Rather than trying to live up to expectations, the Penguins just have to play hockey. If they do that, they'll limit the Flyers' opportunities and actually win some hockey games in this series.