Game 64- Penguins @ Dallas Stars

The Pens got some much needed help on Saturday night as their main competition for the playoffs, the Carolina Hurricanes, Buffalo Sabres, and Florida Panthers, all lost their games in regulation time. Pittsburgh is now just one point out of the playoffs.

The Stars started the season poorly, but are now firmly in contention in the Western Conference. After Sean Avery was booted from the team for vulgar comments about the NHL's best stickhandler, Elisha Cuthbert, the Stars got on a roll.

James Neal, Loui Eriksson, Mike Ribeiro, and Fabian Brunnstrom provide a good bit of excitement up front, while a young blueline lead by Stephane Robidas has overacheived and surprised fans all year.

Chris Kunitz will appear in his second game in a Pens' uniform, but whether or not he'll be playing with his likely future centerman is not yet clear.

Sidney Crosby is questionable with a sore groin for the third straight game.

Marc-Andre Fleury and Marty Turco are the probable netminders for the 3:00 contest.

Penguins-

Kunitz-Crosby-Fedotenko
Satan-Malkin-Sykora
Kennedy-Staal-Cooke
Dupuis-Talbot-Godard

Orpik-Gonchar
Letang-Eaton
Scuderi-Gill

Fleury

Stars-

Eriksson-Ribeiro-Lehtinen
Neal-Modano-Brunnstrom
Parrish-Ott-Sawada
Barch-Lundqvist-Conner

Robidas-Daley
Sydor-Niskanen
Grossman-Fistric

Turco

GO PENS!

Pens top Blackhawks with extraordinary overtime goal

The first Penguins scoring chance was a slapper from Kris Letang. The teams seem to be evenly matched to start. But then Gonch wrists one toward the net with Kunitz, TK and Staalsy crashing the net and Staalsy sovels in the rebound.
At the other end, Flower is way out of position but Sykie saves him by making a huge defensive play to get the puck out. Fedo is called for delay of game as the puck goes up over the glass. Staal goes in shorthanded and passes to Dupuis who is robbed by Huet. Some solid skating and lots of play in the Blackhawks zone. And then Chris Kunitz gets his first goal in a Penguins sweater. Incredible.
There’s nothing to say for awhile except that the Penguins are skating with more speed and momentum than the fans have seen for awhile. Geno weaves through the Chicago defensemen and everyone thinks he has it, but Huet makes a great save. TK is called for hooking and the Penguin’s PK is back in action. Literally two seconds into the penalty, Toews tips in a slapshot from the point. Flower makes the essential saves to keep the Penguins in the lead.

The European line gets a couple good chances to begin the period. Then Max Talbot draws an interference penalty on Brian Campbell. Kunitz is on the top PP unit with Sykie and Geno. Decent PP but the Penguins could not convert. TK, Staalsy, and Kunitz make an incredible play but Huet makes the save. Gonch is called for holding. Toews wrists in his second PPG of the night: Beware the Toews hat trick attempt. Dave Bolland is called for hooking Kris Letang. Great cycling and chances in the PP: Kunitz has some great net-front presence. Godard is called for roughing. Pens need a great PK here. Flower makes a fantastic save on Seabrook. Tanger has a great chance but Huet robs him. Fedo gets another delay-of-game penalty as the puck goes over the glass as he tries to clear it. Jonathan Toews tips in another slapshot for his first career hat trick. But the refs look at it since his stick may have been above the crossbar. The call is reversed. Toews does not have the hat trick and the score is still tied. Dodged that bullet. Penalty killed. Blackhawks have too many men on the ice as 2 men shove Matt Cooke. They don’t get called for too many men, but Cam Barker, James Wisniewski and Cookie all get 2 for roughing. Penguins on the PP. The power play is puke. But then, Miro Satan shovels in a rebound just after the power play is over. Before Pens fans could recover from the surprise of Satan getting a goal, Maxie Talbot hits in a feed from Dupuis.

Chicago makes a goaltender change to start the period. Antti Niemi is in net. Miro Satan is called for tripping. Penguins PK comes out to play. Jonathan Toews gets the hat trick. After the dominating PK in the first period, the Penguins penalty kill has taken after its PP. Flower makes some saves and a scrum ensues in front of the net. Fleury makes an incredible save on Bolland. Geno grabs the puck behind the net and tosses it to Sykie who is blocked by the defense. Fleury makes a beautiful save on Patrick Kane. FSN tells us that TK is MIA: he is sick and will not return. Rob Scuderi is called for delay of game as the puck sails over the glass again. Oh $^&*. Bolland ties the game as the penalty expires. This cannot be happening. Martin Havlat and Gonch exchange punches. Both get roughing penalties. Geno takes it behind the net and throws it in front for Fedo but he can’t connect. Geno draws a tripping penalty on Kris Versteeg. The PP will carry over into overtime.

Gonch to Geno. Geno is a beast.



THOUGHTS:
--Fleury shut it down in the third period
--Jordan Staal was incredible
--Great game for newbie Chris Kunitz
--Geno/Gonch are great in the clutch
--Jonathan Toews is a fantastic player...but thank God the Penguins beat him
--Hands down the most exciting, nail-biting game since the 7-6 win over Detroit in November

Stars on Sunday.

Do it.

LET'S GO PENS!!!

Game 63- Penguins @ Chicago Blackhawks

The Penguins visit the Chicago Blackhawks for a 8:30 tilt tomorrow night on FSN.

In Pittsburgh we have the dynamic duo of Sid and Geno. In Chicago, they have Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. The pair of 20-year-olds is fast and skillful. They’ve been dominating their team’s points race along with Martin Havlat. Toews and Kane, whether playing together or apart, could spell disaster for the Penguins. If the Penguins’ defense can contain them and if they have a decent backcheck, this is completely possible.

Probable in net for the Hawks is Cristobal Huet. Though his career against Pittsburgh is 3-3-0, he has some incredible moves. He is a solid goal tender and had a phenomenal season last year in the 13 games he played with Washington.
The Hawks play run-and-gun hockey. If the Pens can shut down Kane and Toews and spend a good deal of time in the offensive zone, they should be able to break down the solid Hawks defense.

New acquisition Chris Kunitz has his first chance to prove himself as he’s listed as on the top line, bumping Dupuis to the fourth line. Tim Wallace has been called up, Pesonen sent back to WB/S. And the Pens still have Billy Thomas sitting around waiting to be used to his full capacity.

The Blackhawks will be playing without Brent Sopel, Nikolai Khabibulin and high-scoring forward Patrick Sharp.

The Pens have the same long-term injuries to Philippe Boucher and Mike Zigomanis. Sidney Crosby will be a game-time decision.

Penguins-

Kunitz-Crosby-Fedotenko
Satan-Malkin-Sykora
Kennedy-Staal-Cooke
Dupuis-Talbot-Godard

Orpik-Gonchar
Letang-Eaton
Scuderi-Gill

Fleury

Blackhawks-

Keith-Campbell
Seabrook- Walker
Barker-Wisniewski.

Kane- Toews-Brouwer.
Byfuglien-Bolland-Havlat.
Ladd-Versteeg-Eager.
Burish-Fraser-Adams.

Huet

EDIT:

Sid will sit this one out...Dupuis or Thomas will take his top-line position: game-time decision.

Do it.

LET'S GO PENS!

Whitney traded to Anaheim for wingers

This headline wasn't even on the Pens home page when I checked.
I guess they hopped off the Whit-train after the playoffs last year.



Ryan Whitney has been traded to Anaheim for Chris Kunitz and prospect Eric Tangradi. Solid trade.



Also, Chris Minard has been put on waivers to make space for the new acquisition.

Sid missed practice today: day-to-day...uncertain for tomorrow's game.

Blackhawks tomorrow.

Do it.

LET'S GO PENS!

Pens top Isles in boring contest

Well, that was a snooze-fest, but it was a win.

Just some thoughts.

-Yawn.
-Gonchar is soooo awesome.
-If this team had five Malkins, it would be undefeated.

-Go Pens.

Game 62- New York Islanders @ Penguins

The Pens look to continue their playoff push Wednesday night with a home contest against the abysmal New York Islanders at Mellon Arena. The Pens lead the season series three game to one, but the Isles took the last contest in a shootout on Long Island.

Captain Sidney Crosby left practice early on Tuesday, but he's probable for the game. Defenseman Kris Letang, scratched for the last three games, will finally be back in the lineup. Marc-Andre Fleury makes yet another start in goal.

The Isles recently traded two of their best players, Mike Comrie and Chris Campoli, to the Ottawa Senators for a late first round pick in next year's draft along with veteran Dean McAmmond.

Penguins-

Dupuis-Crosby-Fedotenko
Satan-Malkin-Sykora
Kennedy-Staal-Cooke
Godard-Talbot-Minard

Orpik-Gonchar
Whitney-Letang
Eaton-Scuderi

Fleury

Islanders-

Sim-Bailey-Guerin
Comeau-McAmmond-Okposo
Bergenheim-Nielsen-Hunter
Tambellini-Hilbert-Jackman

Streit-Gervais
Witt-Martinek
Hillen-Callahan

MacDonald

GO PENS!

Pens can't solve Caps

Nothing exciting happens until Boyd Gordan is called for tripping. Our PP apparently went out to lunch. Brooks Laich draws a holding penalty on Whitters. Laich and Fedo exchange some shoves. 4-on-4 hockey. Then the penalty to Gordan expires and Ovechkin scores. Gonch took a great shot but a Caps defenseman drops to block it. Geno had an incredible chance but Jose Thedore made the save. Idiot Alex Semin does something useful for once and is called for tripping. Gonch had another great opportunity but Theodore somehow got a piece of it. PP hasn’t returned from lunch yet: Staalsy is called for some joke penalty. Theodore came way out of the crease to block Eaton’s shot and Max Talbot hits the rebound home. Before Pens fans could even celebrate, Alex Semin beats Fleury. Puke. Then Maxie is called for boarding. Ovechkin’s drive was denied by Flower. Then Sid went shorthanded but shot a muffin. Geno and Staalsy go shorthanded but Geno decides to pass instead of shoot. Penalty killed. TK had a great chance but Theodore gloves it. Geno was pounded by Nickolas Backstrom. But its Brashear that takes the hooking penalty.

Before Pens fans can even settle down on their couches, Sergei Fedorov slaps one past Fleury. John Erskine is called for interference on Duper. The Penguins need to capitalize on this PP or the momentum stands a slim chance to turn around. The Caps have too many men on the ice: Ovechkin serves the penalty. About a minute of 5-on-3 for the Pens. Caps have a shorthanded chance but Flower is there. Then Gonch blows one past Theodore. Ovechkin grabs the puck and almost gets his second goal in the game but Flower says NO. Sykie has a quality chance but Theodore made a great save. Flower answers with another incredible save on Ovechkin. The play was great and fast and all of a sudden something happens and out of nowhere there’s another Capital goal. The announcers rag on Flower for a couple minutes. And then he lets another one in. Let’s try Garon in goal, mkay? Yep, Mathieu Garon playing only his second time in a Pens sweater. The Penguins need more offense. Now would be nice. Coincidental slashing minors were doled out to Semin and Orpik to make it 4-on-4 hockey. Sid hits Ovechkin cleanly by the Caps bench and then Ovechkin roughs Sid. Prediction: AO and Cookie/Maxie get physical next period.

The Pens start off the period in the Caps zone. Gonch has a great chance from the center point, but Theodore was there. The Caps pound Garon with shots. Tom Poti is called for elbowing. Whitters shovels one at Theodore but he makes the save of his life to keep it out. Satan slaps the puck at the net but it was wide. Bylsma is not looking happy. The Penguins PP is lackluster: they are 1 for 6 on the day. Fedorov is called for holding, so the Pens are on the PP again. Sid had a great shot but it went just over the net. Satan shoots another one wide. Ovechkin goes into the zone with Scudsie in hot pursuit. Scuds makes a diving play to get the puck off his stick: incredible. Mike Green hammers one toward the net and hits Whitters right in the side of the face. He gets to the bench and is looked over by the medical staff. JStaal failed on a play and angrily breaks his stick on his way to the bench. Whitters is back out, and is hit by Donald Brashear. Godard exchanges words with Brashear. Shaone Morrisonn is called for tripping and Pens on the PP. Alex Semin and Nicklas Backstrom go 2-on-1, but Garon saves it. The last three minutes are vomit.

THOUGHTS:

--Garon let in 0 goals: nice...hmmm

--Penguins PP is gross.

--Maxie showed up big time but had no help.

--Gonch is incredible, but he also had no help.

Islanders Wednesday.

Let's not get embarrassed again.

Do it.

LET'S GO PENS!!!

Game 61- Penguins @ Washington Capitals

There's no buts about it: we all know that Washington has a fantastic team.
Though we know AO's a douche, he's got something like 42 goals on the year and is currently third in the NHL in scoring right behind Geno and Sid. Tool of the team Alex Semin: well, he's not as talented so there doesn't have to be any respect there. Besides the fact that he insulted our captain by calling Sid an "average" player, basically saying that Sid's all hype. Nice try, Semin: Sid has about 30 more points than you. Defenseman Mike Green has broken the record for longest goal streak by a defenseman by scoring a goal in 8 secutive games. Since setting that record three games ago, he has recorded one point, an assist and a -1.
The Caps are coming off an embarrassing 1-4 loss to Colarado Friday.
The Pens are coming off an extraordinary 5-4 win against Philadelphia yesterday.

The Caps are without Brian Pothier, Brett Johnson, Chris Clark and Viktor Kozlov.

The Pens are still without Mike Zigomanis and Philippe Boucher (both out indefinately recovering from surgery). Kris Letang and Billy Thomas are the healthy scratches again for the Penguins.

Penguins-

Dupuis-Crosby-Fedotenko

Satan-Malkin-Sykora

Kennedy-Staal-Cooke

Godard-Talbot-Minard

Orpik-Gonchar

Whitney-Eaton

Scuderi-Gill

Fleury

Capitals-

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Semin
Fleischmann-Fedorov-Fehr
Laich-Nylander-Bradley
Brashear-Steckel-Gordon

Kronwall- Green
Jeff Schultz-Jurcina
Morrisonn-Poti

Theodore

Do it.

LET'S GO PENS!

Pens down Flyers in Philthadelphia

The Pens start out strong with Sid going right into the Flyers zone and Gonch taking a wicked shot from the point. Then the hugest tool in the league, Scott Hartnell cross-checks Sarge. Cookie goes after Hartnell, but Hartnell’s the only penalty. Then on the next play Kimmo Timonen punches Geno in the face and gets 2 for roughing. Pens on a 1:49 of 5-on-3. Mike Richards dove to get Staalsy called for tripping. What a dirty team. Biron robs Sykie of his second scoring chance of the power play. Richards takes a late hit on Sid: no call. Flower makes a great save on Hartnell. Flower makes some absolutely fantastic saves and tries to draw a penalty on Hartnell, but none called. Penalty to Staalsy killed. TK and Staalsy have a great opportunity, but Biron saves it. And that’s just the first five minutes. We are informed that Letang and Thomas are scratched again. Ugh. The Penguins’ forecheck is incredible and they force a turnover: Jordan Staal takes a shot from TK’s pass but Biron makes the save. [note: Flyers fans really need to grow up and stop booing Sid just because he’s more talented than their entire team] The Penguins defense is solid and Flower is great. Just then, Joffery Lupul shoots one past Flower. And then, just what we’ve been waiting for happens: another rematch, Gods vs Riley Cote. Down and dirty.

Biron makes another huge save on Sykie. Hartnell takes a cheapshot on Maxie. Idiot. Geno with some intense puck handling and then TK with some incredible speed. Flower poke checks the puck from Mike Richards and Pens fans everywhere were cheering. Brooksie gives some Free Candy to Scottie Upshall: priceless, worthy of another cheer. Flower makes another incredible save and then Sid, Whitters and Cookie have the best scoring chance of the game. But Biron has parked himself in from of the net and refuses to move. The Penguins come at Biron hard for the last 40 seconds of the period.

Sid starts off the period by smacking it past Biron. Huge goal! This is some of the best hockey of the year. The defense is aggressive just like the offense. The offense is helping out the defense. This is incredible. Then Jeff Carter is called for cross checking Cookie. Here it’s worth noting that the Flyers have 15 shorthanded goals on the season. Then Geno tips in Gonch’s slapper from the center point. Absolutely incredible. Mark Eaton makes a beastly hit on Claude Giroux. Braydon Coburn’s shot hit Scott Hartnell in the face and he’s down. Solid play from the Pens results in a crazy 3-on-2: Super Duper to Fedo with Sid as the screen and Fedo gets his first goal since his return from a broken hand. At the whistle, Malkin crushes Hartnell by the benches. That’s the reason Pens fans get up in the morning. They come back from commercial to tell us that there has been the worst call in hockey: Geno gets 2 for hooking and 2 for unsportsmanlike conduct…dear God, please tell me when has Geno EVER been unsportsmanlike?! Puke call. Staalsy is epic on the PK. Flower makes some phenomenal saves. Sid with a poke check, Duper with a blocked shot, Gonch with a couple clears. Incredible. Huge penalty kill. Flower denies Randy Jones at the buzzer. Fantastic period.

Solid skating to start the period. Penguins are getting the shots on the net. Scottie Upshall is called for tripping Sid. A PPG would be great right now. Instead, Richards grabs the puck and gets one shorthanded right through Flower’s five-hole. Penguins don’t even get a shot on that PP. Just when you start thinking that Flower needs to close this down, Braydon Coburn slaps one past Fleury. @%&^!%*&#. Deep breaths: the boys can still get this done. Just then, Fedo grabs a pass from Sid and shovels one past Biron for his second of the game. Hartnell dives again by grabbing Dups stick and falling on it: Dupers is called for the hook. Puke call. Flower makes a crazy save on Giroux and Staalsy takes the rebound into the Flyers zone. Penalty killed. Whew. Flower makes another huge save this time on Simon Gagne. Then right off the draw, Gonch breaks his stick, and grabs one from Maxie, but then Mike Knuble gets one past Flower. I feel sick: this cannot be happening. Giroux limps down the runway. Gonch is called for roughing and Scottie Upshall is called for slashing. Then the Penguins catch Biron way out of the net and Sid smacks one in: INCREDIBLE!!! Then they put the pressure on and Staalsy nearly scores. Flower comes up big making some huge saves in the clutch. Less than a minute left. Hyperventilation is occurring. Cookie shoots it wide of the empty net but no matter: PENS WIN!

THOUGHTS:
--Sid and Fedo both with 2 goals (Sid had 4 points)
--This new, aggressive system = EPIC
--Staalsy, Duper and Gonch were incredible
--Geno is in his own effing league: absolutely phenominal

Caps tomorrow.

Do it.

LET'S GO PENS!

Pens pick up big win at home against Habs

A huge win for the boys tonight...

Kris Letang was scratched for this game. What the hell Dan Bylsma was thinking by that move, I have no idea, but he's already making me hate his ass.

Things started off with a fight between Eric Godard and former Pen Georges Laraque. It was a horrible bout, and very few punches were landed, disappointingly.

Chris Minard, back in the lineup for the first time in what seems like forever, took a shot on Carey Price that rebounded right to Petr Sykora, who buried his 22nd marker of the season. Evgeni Malkin picked up a point, further distancing himself from the rest of the NHL.

The Pens lead 1-0 on the scoreboard after one, while the shot clock read 8-3 in their favor.

The Habs tied things up things up a few minutes into the second after a Pens turnover in Montreal's end. Andrei Kostitsyn and Tomas Plekanec worked some magic, and Plekanek finished off a pass with a nice rip past Marc-Andre Fleury.

Pittsburgh would jump back ahead just seconds later.

Ryan Whitney took a decent shot from the point, and Miro Satan managed to get a stick on it and redirect it past Price to make it 2-1.

While the Habs were on the powerplay, Plekanec sent a high stick into the mouth of Rob Scuderi (no sexual pun intended) that was seen by every fan in the building and all those who watched on television. However, the two referees with opinions that mattered, decided to let the blatant foul go, and then call Max Talbot for slashing in the ensuing moments.

On the five on three, Mathieu Schneider ripped a slapshot past Fleury to the upper left corner.

Under a minute after the start of the third period, the Pens' dynamic duo of Crosby and Malkin teamed up to put the Pens in front once more. Ruslan Fedotenko moved it to Crosby to the right of the goal, who sent it over to Malkin. Geno then fired it low but off the ice into the twine.

With 17 minutes left, Max Talbot potted his seventh goal of the year to make it 4-2. The puck was lose in front, in with the net nearly off its pegs, Talbot hit what was largely an open net.

As that goal was being announced, Kostitsyn beat Fleury with a wrister from the right wing that really quieted the building and silenced the crowd. Ouch.

Plekanec, a Penguin killer, then put a slapper past Fleury coming down the opposite left wing that tied the game and really deflated the whole arena.

Sergei Gonchar, in his third game back from injury, then beat Price with a slapshot from the point, even one more time giving the Pens the edge, this time by a 5-4 score.

From that point on, Fleury, who had been bad all evening, really stepped it up. The Canadiens had what was no less than a shooting gallery on him for the game's final ticks, but Fleury allowed nothing more past him.

The Pens got the win, Dan Bylsma's first as interim head coach.

Notes-
-I don't know why Letang was scratched, but let's hope he's back in there soon.
-Fleury's going to need to play better down the stretch than he did tonight.
-Crosby and Malkin were all over the place in this one.
-Congrats Coach Dan!
-Some other teams gave the Pens help tonight. Now just two wins or so out of the playoffs.

GO PENS!

Game 59- Montreal Canadiens @ Penguins

Two struggling teams will no doubt be desperate when the Montreal Canadiens visit the Penguins at 7:30 Thursday night at the Igloo. The Habs are coming off a 3-2 shootout loss in Washington to the Caps, and the Pens a loss by the same score in the same way on Monday at the New York Islanders. These squads have both struggled mightily of late, and the Habs are only a few points up on the Pens for the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.

It will be the second game as head coach for interim bench boss Dan Bylsma.

Penguins-

Dupuis-Crosby-Fedotenko

Satan-Malkin-Sykora
Kennedy-Staal-Cooke
Godard-Thomas-Talbot

Orpik-Gonchar
Letang-Whitney
Scuderi-Gill

Fleury

Canadiens-

Higgins-Koivu-D'Agostini
Pacioretty-Plekanec-Kostitsyn
Stewart-Lapierre-Kostopolous
Laraque-Chipchura-Dandenault

Markov-Schneider
Hamrilik-Komsarek
Boullion-Gorges

Price

GO PENS!

Punchless Pens embarrassed in loss on Long Island

This is just about rock bottom. The Pens just proved that they are no better than the worst team in the NHL, the New York Islanders.

The Islanders are on a five-game losing streak. The Penguins will try to extend it to six as they visit the Isles at the Nassau Coliseum. Garon was to get his second start today, but new head coach Dan Bylsma has put Fleury between the pipes.

A scrum in front of the Pens net to start. Gadard’s in the middle of it: no surprise. Flower made some crazy saves to start it off. Turnovers galore in the neutral zone. Fedo tries to poke in Sid’s shot but it’s just wide. Staalsy has a nice chance, but it was poke-checked away. Duper lets loose another slapper, but it’s been an eternity since he’s tickled the twine. Staal goes hard for the net again but MacDonald stands tall and blocks it. Satan sends a muffin towards MacDonald who makes the easy save. The Isles came bursting into the zone but Flower pounced on the loose puck and covered it. TK gets an amazing chance: he thought he had a goal but somehow it was still in play. Then NY comes out on all cylinders and catches the defense out of position and Chris Campoli tips one in. Vomit. Tim Jackman is called for holding. Penguins on the PP…but they don’t show up. Great. Billy Thomas crashes the net with Sid but somehow the puck stays out. Then Thomas makes a crazy defensive play and keeps it out. Then Geno rockets down the left side, uses the NY defenseman as a screen, and wrists his 25th of the season past MacDonald. Thank God he didn’t pass to Satan. Beastly.

Flower denies Jackman. Geno is double-shifting. Jon Sim is all up in Fleury’s face and Staalsy gives him a few shoves to send the message.

The Penguins should not be giving up this many opportunities; they should be dominating. The Isles are so organized. Then Joey MacDonald reaches his stick out and trips Geno. No call: what a joke. Staalsy takes an incredible shot but MacDonald makes a great save. Whitters and Duper go in, but then the Isles get it back. Pens fans have never been more afraid of the Isles. Islanders are fore-checking like there’s no tomorrow. The Pens cycle, cycle, cycle, then it’s taken away. Cookie and TK go in on a nice chance but TK’s shot is blocked. Sid tries for a wraparound but MacDonald read it easily. A 3-on-1 develops for the Isles. The shot was a muffin and easily saved. Then Frans Nielsen whacks one past Flower to give them the lead. With this effort, Bylsma will be fired before the game's over. Islanders are dominating. The Pens need to draw some penalties or something. Sykie, Gill and Scudsie all get shots on net and with the pressure applied, draw a holding penalty on Mark Streit. Pens on the power play...PLEASE get a PPG, PLEASE. Sarge gets a shot in but the Isles clear it. Sid feeds one to the wide-open Whitters who whips it in past MacDonald. WOO! Bylsma puts out a strange line: Satan-Malkin-Thomas, but it makes stuff happen, drawing another penalty: Kyle Okposo for holding. Gonch is wide open but he tries to hit it to Sid, but MacDonald got to it. Great cycling for the Pens, but Sykie's shot is just wide. Geno gets aggressive with Campoli, throwing some puches; he goes off into the locker room. WOW. [When it's all sorted out, Campoli gets 2 for roughing and Geno gets a 4 minute double minor for roughing] The period expires with a ray of hope as the Pens are getting aggressive and showing some passion. Huge PK to start the third.

On the powerplay, Whitney nets one on a backdoor pass from Crosby.

The game goes to overtime, and the Pens fly all over the ice, but cannot score. Dupuis had his chances, several times, but blew them in epic fashion.

Nielsen scored in the SO for the Isles.
Sykora answered for the Pens.
The Isles got another goal.
Crosby and Malkin both miss, ending the game.

The Pens continue to be garbage.

Game 58- Penguins @ New York Islanders

Monday afternoon at 2:00 on Long Island, a new era in Penguins hockey begins, as interim head coach Dan Bylsma will make his first start behind the bench for the Pens in the wake of Michel Therrien's firing on Sunday night. Bylsma takes over a team loaded with talent that has somehow managed to underachieve its way out of the top eight in the Eastern Conference over the last two months. The Islanders are the worst team in hockey, and they provide what should be an easy first test for the Bylsma Penguins. That said, anything is possible the way Pittsburgh has been playing.

The game is during the work/schoolday, so many people around Pittsburgh will be forced to miss the first period or so, myself included. A loss in this game might mark the end of the road for this season's rendition of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Penguins-

Dupuis-Crosby-Kennedy
Cooke-Malkin-Sykora
Minard-Staal-Thomas
Fedotenko-Talbot-Godard

Gonchar-Scuderi
Orpik-Whitney
Letang-Gill

Garon

Islanders-

Sim-Comrie-Guerin
Bergenheim-Nieslen-Okposo
Hilbert-Bailey-Jackson
Tambellini-Park-Comeau

Witt-Martinek
Gervais-Campoli
Hillen-Callahan

MacDonald

GO PENS!

Therrien fired

Just a quick post here.

Michel Therrien has been "relieved of his duties". Savard has been reassigned in the organization. Mike Yeo and Gilles Meloche will stay on as assistant coaches.



WB/S Baby Pens head coach Dan Bylsma has been named interim head coach. He will coach tomorrow afternoon in NY against the Islanders.

Crazy. I'm stunned. I never thought it would happen. Wow.
More about Bylsma at http://penguins.nhl.com

Hardly a hero's welcome for Gonchar, Fedotenko

Before Pens fans could settle down and get comfortable, Cookie Monster snaps one past Toskala. WOO! But then Whitters makes up for it by getting called for tripping. Billy Thomas and JStaal are just fantastic on the PK. That’s when my cable went out. Grr. I fixed my TV just in time to see Orpik called for interference. Billy Thomas and JStaal come out on the PK again. BT goes quick and hard down the right side and slaps one in on a feed from Staalsy. Easy as pie. Shorthanded Goal=Money in the bank. Sid waltzes into the Leafs zone and whirls around, splitting the defense. It looks like he’s going to get a scoring chance but a Leaf grabs it off his stick. Maxie and Dominic Moore exchange blows. Then Gods grabs Jonas Frogren and pushes him around a bit, but Frogren’s not dropping the gloves. Both get 2 for roughing. Flower makes great save. He’s been solid this whole period. Everybody is shooting. What a crazy game. Sarge takes his first shot of the game but it was saved by Toskala’s glove. Whitters records his best scoring chance in weeks: the goalie actually had to make a save. Brad May roughs up on Cookie so Geno goes after him; then Cookie and Whitters. After all that, May is the only one in the sin bin with 2 minutes for roughing. Pens on the PP. Kubina pushes Staalsy into the net to dislodge it since he knew Sid was baring down on the net. No goal but, boy, was that a show. Then, at the other end of the pond, MAF passed his audition for Barnum & Bailey’s with flying colors, making a series of phenomenal saves. As the buzzer sounds, Flower pumps his fist in celebration and Pens fans everywhere let out a “WOOHOO!”

Sid has a good chance early and Steiggy and Errey talk about Fedo’s broken hand for a ridiculous amount of time. It’s okay, though, because nothing exciting is happening except that Mark Eaton is blocking shots like nobody’s business. Gonch is in so close to Flower that I start to feel uncomfortable…well, it is Valentine’s Day. Then MAF makes a beautiful diving save. The Leafs come into the zone, four of them, but Sarge gets there to whack the puck off a Leaf’s stick. TK is back-checking “like a dog”, according to Steiggy. Pens are playing that 1-2-2, trying to get turnovers in the neutral zone. Flower jumps across the blue paint to make another save. Cookie feeds the puck to Sykie but he just can’t get to it. Flower is in top form and standing tall as he makes another save, this time on rookie defenseman Luke Schenn. Fedo feeds one to TK who slaps one towards Toskala. Billy Thomas has mounds of confidence tonight as he shoots it towards the net. Staalsy retaliates after a Leaf elbowed him in the face and Staalsy takes the retaliatory roughing penalty. The Pens are on the PK with a great PKer in the box. But Billy Thomas kills about 15 seconds by going shorthanded and wasting time in the Leafs zone. White takes a shot but hits the side of the cage. Just after the penalty expires, Nik Antropov taps one in past Flower who was tied up by the Leaf’s shield. Sid goes in 1-on-2 and takes a shot that is easily saved by Toskala. The Leafs clear it but then Sid and TK rush back in to shoot again. Antropov, who was set up from behind the net, shoots one at Fleury who makes a great save. Duper fans on a slapper. Billy Thomas took a late hit from Antropov, but no penalty is called. Toskala makes a save on Sid. A close-range Antropov shot saved by Flower as time runs out.

Sid gets a good chance early and then Fedo tries to tip in a Whitter shot but fails. Jason Blake becomes the first Leaf with 20 goals on the season as he catches Flower out of position. Just then, you think FSN is showing a replay of that last goal, but then you realize that Jason Blake just got another goal. You look around for the trashcan to puke your guts out. Disgusting. Gonch shoots a nice wrister towards the net but Toskala decided to show up this period. Scudsie holds off the Leafs offense nicely and gets control of the puck just before Flower makes another save on Nik Antropov. Pens fans everwhere ask where their fore-check is…Duper tries again, but no dice. Tanger and Geno are skating really well, but then Mikhail Grabovski grabs it and heads towards MAF who is all alone. Mark Eaton trips him on the way and luckily the officials call a minor penalty instead of a penalty shot. Maxie and Geno are great on the PK, but Mitchell snaps one over Flower’s shoulder. MAF is angry that he let that one in, but his defensemen (aka Whitney) were behind the net. Flower makes up for it via an incredible glove save on White who was looking for the hat trick. Geno and Sid, who have been basically hiding this game, need to come out hard in the last 12 minutes. Gonchar took another great shot, but Toskala makes a pesky toe save. John Mitchell is called for hi-sticking. Pens on the PP. Sykie plants himself in front of the net; Sarge takes shot after shot. The Pens PP has gone missing once again. Schenn wrists one at the net but Flower is there. Geno gets a good chance with Sid but Sid couldn’t get to Geno’s pass. Pens finally get the puck and cycle it well, but Scudsie shoots a muffin. This game is over…with 6 minutes left: Ponikarovsky pokes one past Flower. Orpik goes down trying to block a shot and skates slowly to the bench. &#%@! Just what the Pens need: another injury. Can the whole team be healthy at once?! Not to worry: Orpik returns on his next shift. Stajan grabs Toronto’s sixth goal on the night. Flower has lost the confidence he had in the first 2 periods. This is just ridiculous. Fedo launches one at the net but Toskala is there. TK steals the puck and goes hard down the right side but the Leaf’s defense isn’t letting anything through.

THOUGHTS:
--Sid playing with the flu = bad idea
--Toskala decides to show up for one period. Way to choke, Penguins
--Gonchar and Fedotenko both played well, Sarge ridiculously so
--Flower made great saves and played really well tonight but he has major confidence issues
--VALENTINE’S DAY MASSACRE
--Trades, anyone?

Islanders on Monday.
If the Pens lose that game:

Do it.

LET'S GO PENS!

Game 57- Penguins @ Toronto Maple Leafs

The Pens will get some much needed boost tonight at the Air Canada Centre when Sergei Gonchar and Ruslan Fedotenko return to the lineup after long time periods spent on injured reserve. Gonchar was injured in September in the Pens' first preseason game against Tampa Bay, and Fedotenko broke his hand in a game against Atlanta while knocking out Colby Armstrong over a month ago. Gonchar brings some much needed stability, and the Norris candidate will, in time, give some much needed help to an abysmal powerplay. Fedotenko is one of just two top six wingers on the team, and that helps so much as well.

With wins by Florida and Buffalo last night, the Pens are five points out of the playoffs, in desperate need of a win tonight to keep pace.

The Leafs are bad, but they are 2-1 against Pittsburgh this season.

Mike Zigomanis is out for the Pens, and the Leafs are missing Tomas Kaberle and Mike Van Ryn.

Penguins-

Kennedy-Crosby-Dupuis
Cooke-Malkin-Sykora
Thomas-Staal-Satan
Fedotenko-Talbot-Godard

Gonchar-Scuderi
Orpik-Whitney
Letang-Eaton

Maple Leafs-

Hagman-Stajan-Stempniak
Kulemin-Grabovski-Antropov
Blake-Moore-Mayers
May-Mitchell-Hollweg

Kubina-Schenn
White-Finger
Stralman-Frogren

Toskala

GO PENS!

Pens That Fly weighs in on trade rumors

As the trade deadline approaches, rumors are flying around. Some are credible, while others are just stupidity. Bottom line is, though, that Shero has 2 and a half weeks to infuse the Penguins with enough energy to make a legitimate playoff push. Let’s take a look at two probable deals.


Martin St. Louis—The Bolts need some fresh blood. Especially on their defense. Their defense has been lagging as of late and the probable trade would be for Ryan Whitney. Whitters is a great player but I’m not so sure he’s so good for the Pens anymore. Last year he was fantastic in the SCF, but this isn’t the same Pens team as last year. That’s an understatement, but it’s fairly obvious that Therrien and Shero want to clear a roster spot for Goligoski. So, what the Penguins need is a winger for Sid. We’ve heard it ever since Benedict Arnold headed for Hockeytown in July. St. Louis would probably be a good fit. He battles for pucks deep in the corners and could be valuable on the forecheck. The problem is that he’s Tampa Bay’s top scorer; what kind of “perks” will they want? How many prospects and/or draft picks will they demand along with Whitney for St Louis? That’s what we don’t know. Reporters in TB are grossly overestimating St. Louis’s value: they want Jordan Staal, too. But, we all know that the Pens would rather keep Staalsy around for scoring depth.


Colby Armstrong—The search for Sid’s winger would come full circle. Army was just starting to shine when he was traded in the Hossa deal. He was a fan favorite and, let’s face it, he was pretty awesome. He and Sid have chemistry…maybe not like Sid and Hossa, but they do have it. With the reintroduction of Army to the Pens line-up, the boys would be invigorated and it would take less time overall for him to get into play. Also, it would be cheaper to get Army than St. Louis. Who GM Waddell will demand is the question. They might ask for Whitney, which would be okay with Shero, but will the Pens get another player from Atlanta or will Waddell try and wheedle to get Whitters and another player?

Nothing would make me happier than seeing Army in a Pens sweater again. I'd prefer him just because he was a favorite of mine when he was here and I think it’d be easier for him to mesh with the new team. But I also see what a veteran like St. Louis would do for Pittsburgh.

Big decisions coming up for the franchise.

In Shero we trust.

Do it.

LET’S GO PENS!

Pens score huge win in shootout over NHL's elite

What a great team win. Everyone contributed, and Crosby and Fleury were clutch in the shootout to seal the deal. Now, carry this momentum into Saturday in Toronto.

The Sharks outshot the Penguins 4-0 through the first four and half minutes of the game, and gave off the impression that we were in for a long night. However, the Matt Cooke-Evgeni Malkin-Petr Sykora line put together two quality shifts in a row, generating several quality scoring chances on the way.

With time, though, things were once again as they were at the game's beginning.

Marc-Andre Fleury made some big-time stops in tight on Milan Michalek and Joe Pavelski, keeping the game even as his team was being outshot by an ungodly ratio.

Bill Thomas and Jordan Staal had a nice rush up the ice, but that was all killed when the puck came to Miroslav Satan, who nonchalantly put a wrister into the chest of Brian Boucher.

All in all, it was a run and gun first period. Sharks led 15-11 in shots, but the Pens were at least sticking with them, which was really all we could hope for.

The Pens were flying to start the second, throwing everything at the net, and coming incredibly close on numerous occasions to beating Boucher.

Pascal Dupuis drew a hooking minor on Rob Blake, but the powerplay was nearly a disaster. A couple of defensive blunders led to a golden scoring chance for Patty Marleau, but Fleury was there for the save.

By the time two minutes remained in the second period, the Pens had closed all the way to take the lead in the shot count, and they'd soon follow suit on the scoreboard.

Satan skated the puck from his own end before flipping the puck to Thomas, who just sent the puck to the front of the net. Blake accidentally redirected the puck five-hole through the wickets of Boucher, putting the Pens up 1-0 on Thomas' first goal as a Penguin.

Cooke, Malkin, and Sykora had a three on one break, but time expired in the middle frame.

Three minutes into the third, San Jose's Clowe-Pavelski-Michalek line controlled the puck in the Penguins' defensive zone for the better part of a minute, the climax of that span coming when Fleury stoned Clowe from point blank in the slot.

Chants of "Fleury! Fleury," reverberated around the Igloo.

Thomas had a breakaway shorthanded while Staal was in the box for roughing, but Boucher stacked his pads and just barely fended the biscuit off.

The Sharks established somewhat of a shooting gallery on Fleury by the midway mark of the third, but MAF continued to hold down the fort.

Finally, the Sharks tied it up.

Dan Boyle dangled around the Pittsburgh defensive core, and floated a high puck on net. Eventually, Michalek poked it over to Pavelski for the easy, deflating slam dunk goal.

Clowe was called for hooking Malkin, and the powerplay that insued was pure mayhem.

Malkin, Crosby, and Letang all had golden chances, but the post and Boucher wouldn't allow the puck into the back of the net.

Mike Grier found himself with a breakaway on Fleury, but Fleury made a fantastic kicksave. After the puck was stopped, Ryan Whitney, sliding along the ice, almost carried it into his own cage, but Fleury still kept it out.

Regulation came to a frantic finish, but nobody scored, and the Pens took a crucial point with an equally important one up for grabs in the overtime.

In overtime, the Pens got a few opportunities, especially on the powerplay, but no goals came.

It was on to the shootout.

Sykora went first, and missed.
Michalek missed for the Sharks.
Malkin shot into Boucher's pads.
Pavelski was stopped by Fleury.
Crosby was up, and he beat Boucher. Same move as always, but this time it worked!
Boyle had to even it up, and Fleury stopped him!

Game.

What an important W, and against scuh a great team no less.

Woooooo.

Game 56- San Jose Sharks @ Penguins

Things have gotten a whole lot tougher for the Pittsburgh Penguins, even as they sat idle on Wednesday night. The Florida Panthers came back from a three goal deficit in the third period to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime on home ice, catapulting themselves three points ahead of the Penguins for the eight and final Eastern Conference playoff spot. Even worse, the Cats have two games in hand on the Penguins as the teams get ready for the stretch drive.

The Penguins will need to rebound from a tough home loss to the formidable Detroit Red Wings, but it surely won't come easy, as the Sharks are the NHL's best team, coming off a 5-2 pounding of the East-leading Boston Bruins in Beantown. The game was among the most intense of the season, and the Pens can only hope that the Sharks are a bit worn down from it all.

Also working in the Penguins' favor, backup goalie Brian Boucher is expected to get the call for San Jose, while perennial Vezina Trophy candidate Evgeni Nabokov rides the pine, resting up after the hard-fought win against the Bruins.

The Sharks boast a full compliment of top six forwards headlined by one of the game's best playmakers in Joe Thornton and a few sniping wingers in Devin Setoguchi and Patrick Marleau.

The defense is rather scary as well, boasting rocks like Dan Boyle and Rob Blake, coupled with exciting young puck movers Christian Ehrhoff and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

The Sharks a consummately professional organization that does nothing but win.

Mike Zigomanis, Sergei Gonchar, and Ruslan Fedotenko are out for Pittsburgh.

If Michel Therrien was smart, Miroslav Satan would be scratched for this game. We'll just all have to wait and see if it finally happens, but it couldn't be much longer.

The Sharks will be without Brad Lukowich, Jeremy Roenick, Torrey Mitchell, and Jody Shelley.

If the Pens are to win this one, Marc-Andre Fleury is going to have to stand on his head and form somewhat of an impentrable brick wall around his net. Also, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are going to have to have big nights, or this could get very ugly very quickly.

Fleury and Boucher, obviously, will be the netminders for the 7:38 game.

Penguins-

Dupuis-Crosby-Kennedy
Cooke-Malkin-Sykora
Caputi-Staal-Minard
Talbot-Thomas-Godard

Orpik-Whitney
Eaton-Letang
Gill-Scuderi

Fleury

Sharks-

Marleau-Thornton-Setoguchi
Michalek-Pavelski-Clowe
Grier-Goc-Cheechoo
McGinn-Plihal-C. Lemieux

Boyle-Vlasic
Blake-Ehrhoff
Murray-Semenov

Boucher

GO PENS!

Penguins sit two points out of playoff spot with 25 games to play

The Pittsburgh Penguins started the 2008-2009 campaign flying, but have since cooled of dramatically, and now in tenth place in the Eastern Conference, two points out of a playoff spot.

Let's take a look at their competition for the eight and final playoff spot, shall we?

-Florida Panthers

-currently in ninth place
-three games in hand on the Penguins
-one point ahead of the Penguins with 58 points
-three remaining games against the Penguins

-Carolina Hurricanes

-currently in eight place
-one game in hand on the Penguins
-two points ahead of the Penguins with 59 points
-one remaining game against the Penguins
*Note- If the Pens win that game, they own the head to head tiebreaker

It will be interesting to see how things play out down the stretch.

Conklin shuts out Pens

The Pens play in their baby blue third jerseys. Conklin faces Fleury in net. The crowd greets Hossa with a chorus of boos. Eaton makes a great play to block a shot. Billy Thomas tries to put one in the net and almost does but Conklin reaches out and blocks it. Zetterburg tries to go to the net but Orpik says no. Hossa steps out onto the ice again and the boos begin. Those boos turn to cheers as Sykie plasters him along the boards. Billy Thomas was able to draw a penalty on Samelsson for holding. Geno has a great chance but Conklin wouldn’t let it in. Penguins do not capitalize on their advantage. Samelsson tries to go after Sid but the refs jump in. Both get two for cross-checking and slashing respectively. Boos? Here comes Hossa again. Cookie goes hard to the net to shield Conklin from Tanger’s shot but he saw it and saved it. Niklas Kronwall is called for interfering with Dups. The biscuit came right from Tanger to an open slot right in front of Geno, who fanned on it and Conklin had time to block his second attempt. That was so close it’s depressing. Random stat: Kris Letang has taken three shots in less than two minutes of ice time. Duper is called for interference nobody saw. Staalsy goes shorthanded with Billy Thomas but they are surrounded. And then Geno goes shorthanded. And then Maxie. And then Hal Gill clears it. Flower makes a crazy save on Kronwell, then Rafalski. Incredible PK. Maxie hits Cleary. Nice. Draper was called for holding someone’s stick. Sykie take a crazy shot but Conklin made a crazy save. No PPG. NBC makes a big deal about how Sid is not on the ice with his line mates for the last 12 seconds or something. Whatever. Period over.

Intermission: NBC has a lengthy discussion about the Malkin-Ovetchkin “beef”. Who are the Pens playing again? Oh right, NOT WASHINGTON. Ridiculous.

Cookie Monster takes a shot but Conklin gloves it. Caputi receives a pass from Staalsy and goes down the left side and takes a shot. Best chance so far. Hossa has a great chance but Flower shuts the door. Petr Gunn is called for hooking. Datsyuk shoots the puck in off a toe save from Flower for a PPG. Then Flower came back with a huge save on Hossa. Flower needs to control his rebounds or the Wings will get more goals. Eric Godard goes alone down the wing but the save was made. TK slaps the puck at the net but Conklin is there. Another TK shot blocked. Super Duper streaks down the ice and shoots one but again Conklin stops it. Nicklas Lindstrom is called for tripping and a number of good chances are recorded on the ensuing PP. But time runs out just as the Pens are warming up.

The Pens start the period with a bit over a minute on the PP. Twenty minutes is plenty to come back. Kirk Maltby tries to goad Sid. Flower grabs the puck out of the air and covers it. Zetterberg hits Cookie right in the face. Ouch. Hossa is plastered by Cookie again. The Pens are breaking down. They need to pick up the speed. Letang and Sykie have great chances but the Wings defense are everywhere. Then Hossa flips a back hander into the net. Caputi has to serve some joke bench penalty. Sid is foiled by the defense. The boys pick up the speed, getting pucks to the net like there is no tomorrow, but somehow Conklin and the defense is always in the way. Datsyuk gets his second of the game. Fleury bangs his stick off the ice. Game. Fail.

This loss wasn't unexpected, but that doesn't make it sting any less.
Sharks on Wednesday.
Do it.
LET'S GO PENS!!

Game 55- Detroit Red Wings @ Penguins

Sunday at 12:30 at Mellon Arena, ex-Penguin Marian Hossa will return to his old arena for the first time since stiffing the Penguins in free agency, leaving for the team that had just beaten him and the Pens in six games to win the Stanley Cup.

Why Hossa left such a generous offer on the table to stick with the team that had given so much for him, only to head off to the most crime-ridden, disgusting, economically downtrodden city in the nation, is clear-- He wanted to win a Stanley Cup.

Call him a traitor, an asshole, a dirtball, a d-bag, or what ever you please, because there really may be none bigger.

So, let's take a look at the chronology of events that led up to Hossa's boning of the Penguins on July 2nd, a day after the start of free agency last summer, shall we? To figure out just why Pens fans feel the way they do...

June 19th, 2008:
On the eve of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa, Ontario, Hossa declares that he will test unrestricted free agency, but tells GM Ray Shero that he is interested in remaining a Penguin.

July 1st, 2008:
Hossa sits idle on the first day of free agency, leaving Penguin Nation holding its collective breath. Meanwhile, the bulk of quality wingers on the trade market are signed to deals with other teams...Naslund, Ryder, Hagman, Rolston and others get contracts with new teams.

July 2nd, 2008:
The morning passes without any activity, as Shero continues to wait for word.

12:35 PM:
TSN reports that Hossa has agreed to terms with the Red Wings on a 1 year contract.

Evening:
Hossa pulls no punches in stating the Wings superiority over the Penguins, remarking that the Penguins are a "great organization with great people," but that it didn't matter. Hossa shows no remorse over his harsh departure, and leaves the Pens with few decent winger options.

July 3rd, 2008:
The Pens sign floater Miroslav Satan and grinder Ruslan Fedotenko to replace Hossa.
Satan has since been the poster-child for an absymal Penguins' season.

So, there you have it. That's the story of how Marian Hossa screwed the Penguins from every angle, and let down an entire fanbase en route to being a passenger for what may turn out to be another Detroit Stanley Cup run.

The Wings have other weapons though, and none are as dirty, selfish, and greedy as Hossa.

Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, and Nick Lidstrom are arguably the three best two way players in the business, and dilligent workers like Johan Franzen, Brad Stuart, Nik Kronwall, Brian Rafalski, Jiri Hudler, Valtteri Flippula, and now Ville Leino epitomize what good hockey is supposed to be all about.

Franzen is questionable with an injury for the Wings, and Tomas Holmstrom is not playing.

Sergei Gonchar, Ruslan Fedotenko, and Mike Zigomanis are out for the Pens.

The Pens are starting to turn things around, but this is a huge test in the midst of a pivotal stretch of games that will go a long way in determing the Pens' playoff fate.

Marc-Andre Fleury is in net for the Penguins, and diver Chris Osgood likely for the Wings.

Penguins-

Kennedy-Crosby-Dupuis
Cooke-Malkin-Sykora
Caputi-Staal-Satan
Godard-Talbot-Thomas

Orpik-Whitney
Eaton-Letang
Gill-Scuderi

Fleury

Red Wings-

Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Cleary
Franzen-Flippula-Hossa
Hudler-Helm-Samuelsson
Kopecky-Draper-Maltby

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Lilja
Lebda-Chelios

Ogsood

GO PENS!

Penguins down Jackets for second win in a row

The Pens (aka Mark Eaton) test Dubielewicz early, volleying a lot of shots at the net. At the end of his shift, Sid shoots one high. After Cookie flattens Pittsburgh native RJ Umberger, the BJ grabs the puck but Flower makes an incredible save. Staal works himself into perfect scoring position but it’s saved by Dubielewicz. Sid misses the goal again. Staal goes in again, skating strong, and passes to Miro Satan, who shoots one toward the net. After the first few shifts, it’s all Blue Jackets. Luca Caputi comes from behind the net and tries to bump it into the net, but Dubielewicz is there. Billy Thomas is called for slashing. He’s one of the Pens best PKers, but Staal makes sure to win the draw and clear it. Flower makes an incredible save on Nash and then Geno and Tanger go shorthanded, but it jumps over Tanger’s stick. Penalty killed. But then Hal Gill is called for tripping Modin as he goes to the net. Billy Thomas is there on the PK this time. Penalty killed. Staalsy steals the puck, shoots it, and gets his own rebound. He centers one and Sykie shoots but it’s saved. Time expires.

Sid, Duper and TK play really well on their shift with a little help from Mark Eaton. Sykie and Geno make a great play but Geno’s shot goes off a leg and RJ Umberger goes hard toward Flower. MAF makes it look easy as he makes another save. Geno weaves through the Jackets but he can’t get a shot on net. TK draws a hooking penalty on troublemaker RJ Umberger. Pens on the PP. Whitters is on the ice: don’t hold your breath. Tanger’s slapper is wide. Then Tanger bangs one in off of the goal tender. Huge goal. Staal throws his shoulder right into Christian Backman. Talbot works hard on the boards but Columbus comes up with the biscuit. Orpik hands out some Free Candy. Manny Malhotra fires one off the post. Whew. Tanger almost got his second goal of the game but Dubielewicz is somehow there. Then Petr Fever hits the Igloo as he redirects an Orpik feed past Dubielewicz. Petr Gunn. Wow. Super Duper lets a slapper loose, but it’s blocked. Sid almost makes it 3-0 off Duper’s rebound but Dubielewicz holds it down. Orpik, who has been crunch-happy all night, takes Chimera down with a doozie of a hit along the boards. The crowd cheers but Chimera goes after Orpik. Sid goes down the left wing with Tanger who lifts a wrister over the shoulder of Dubielewicz. And just like that the Pens are up 3-0. Orpik hits Chimera again and the Jacket skates slowly to the bench. Derek Dorsett seemed to have a gimme goal, but MAF made another incredible toe-save. Tanger spins out of a check. What a human. Empty net for Columbus with 3.5 seconds to go. Thomas wins the draw and the period expires.

The person with the most shots besides Kris Letang is Super Duper. He is long overdue for a goal. Maybe this period. Geno almost got a goal but Dubielewicz has his pad down to save that. The puck was deflected over the glass but Cookie takes a penalty for delay of game because there was nobody else to blame. Puke call. Flower and Hal Gill flop down in front of the net and rob Fredrik Modin of a goal. Absolutely unbelievable. Flower makes another save on Nash. Staal goes shorthanded with Geno but Dubielewicz makes a great save on Staalsy. Staal tries to take a lead pass but it’s too hard and Nash tries to get one in on Fleury. He gets a little aggressive and Caputi tells him what’s what as they exchange words. Thank God Billy Thomas wasn’t a scratch tonight. He has been a force in the face-off circle. Super Duper lets another slapper go, but he just can’t hit the net. Geno is in the box for high-sticking. Again, one of the Penguins’ best PKers is in the box. Fedor Tyutin knocks one in past Fleury with about 15 seconds left on the PP. Staalsy grabs the biscuit and goes down the left side and centers one for Caputi who takes a great shot but it’s blocked. Luca Caputi goes down the right side all by himself and shoots one off of a defenseman’s leg. Pens go 3-on-2 but no goal. Then they go 2-on-1 but again no goal. Duper goes all by himself, and Dubielewicz comes out way too far. Duper goes around him but his shot is blocked by a defenseman. Fleury makes another good glove save. Empty net for Columbus. (C’mon Tanger!) Sid gets the empty netter for his 21st goal of the season. There is a scrum at center ice involving Gods and Maxie. It means nothing although Gods and Dorsett both get 10 for misconduct.

PENS WIN!

Thoughts:

--Kris Letang is fantastic

--Staalsy was awesome

--Every piece of the machine was working tonight

--Flower Power...MAF was just incredible

Red Wings Sunday.

Do it.

LET'S GO PENS!

Game 54- Columbus Blue Jackets @ Penguins

The Pens will carry momentum into tonight's game against the Blue Jackets that built during the third period and overtime of a dramatic come from behind "W" against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday that saw Evgeni Malkin turn in one of the best individual performances in Penguins history, looking like Mario Lemieux as he did it.

The Jackets are an "up team" with a great young goalie in Steve Mason, and Rick Nash, Kristian Huselius, and Manny Malhotra manning a makeshift, yet successful top line.

Fedor Tyutin is solid as they come on the back end, but Mike Commodore is a disaster.

Mason, however, is out with an injury, so Wade Dubielwicz looks to be in goal vs. M.A. Fleury.

Penguins-

Dupuis-Crosby-Malkin
Caputi-Staal-Sykora
Kennedy-Talbot-Cooke
Minard-Thomas-Godard

Whitney-Scuderi
Letang-Eaton
Gill-Goligoski

Fleury

Blue Jackets-

Nash-Malhotra-Huselius
Umberger-Williams-Voracek
Modin-Chimera-Boll
Murray-Peca-Dorsett

Tyutin-Commodore
Hejda-Klesla
Russell-Tollefson

Dubielwicz

GO PENS!

Malkin's Lemieux-esque performance averts potential disaster

Big Ben was in the house tonight.

The first period was one of the worst of the season, in a season that has seen no shortage of horrific play by the Penguins. The Pens went to work on the PK early in this one, for good measure.

Brooks Orpik unintentionally high-sticked Ryan Malone in the face, and Tampa went to the PP for four minutes. About a minute in or so, Kris Letang unleashed a high line drive of a wrister that flew all the way across the ice and into the seats, but the referees called the puck tipped.

Malone, a former Penguin who could still be here if Ray Shero wasn't such a piss-poor general manager, found the puck in his office (the high slot) and fired one past Marc-Andre Fleury.

The Pens found themselves on a powerplay of their own with seconds left in the first, but they gave it up and allowed little Marty St. Louis a breakaway, though Fleury was able to make the stop.

FSN interviewed Steelers' Director of Football Operations Kevin Colbert between periods. Maybe, Colb could talk to Ray Shero about how to properly construct a professional sports team.

The Penguins committed a bad team giveaway in the defensive zone, and Vinny Lecavalier found St. Louis, who beat Fleury with a slapshot.

The Pens were then awarded a 5 on 3 for who knows what reason, and they responded by putting one shot to the net in two minutes, blowing the opportunity in full.

More garbage from a garbage team.

Pittsburgh got another powerplay. No quality shots. Surprise, surprise!

Lecavalier had an empty net to shoot at as Penguins' defenders and forwards alike were sprawled out on the ice, well out of position.

Lecav buries it. 3-0.

Evgeni Malkin scored what looked like a meaningless goal in the third after Pascal Dupuis hit the post. The puck sat in the crease, and Geno went around the net and pickle stabbed it into the twine.

But the Pens didn't stop, suddenly looking like the Penguins of old.

Luca Caputi screened in front, and a Mark Eaton wrist shot hit a Tampa skate and deflected home to make it 2-2. There was finally life in the Mellon Arena.

Then, ex-Penguin Gary Roberts took a pot shot at Matt Cooke, who goaded him into it all the way down the ice. Roberts was called for roughing, and the Pens got a chance that they didn't relinquish.

As the puck was floating around in Tampa's crease, Petr Sykora and Kris Letang hacked away at it, and the biscuit somehow trickled past Mike McKenna. Crosby, Letang, Malkin, and Sykora were jumping for joy, literally.

In the midst of this season, we needed an emotional boost, and oh boy did we get it.

In the overtime, Tampa dominated for the vast majority of the frame, but it would be the Penguins who would get the game winning goal from the likeliest of sources--Malkin.

Jordan Staal outfought the Lightning defense in the corner, and dished to Malkin, who had no trouble ending the game with a seeing-eye shot.

Wow.

This team is playing absolutely horribly right now, but Malkin just took over, and because of that the Pens are one point out of a playoff spot. That man got pissed, put his team on his back, and won the game.

What a human.

GO PENS!

Game 53- Tampa Bay Lightning @ Penguins

The Penguins hope to redeem themselves from a failed road trip as they host the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at 7:30. The Bolts sit at the 12th spot in the conference and aren’t a threat in the standings. Their last three games are losses, but just before that they were on a 3 game winning streak. Their play has been inconsistent at best.

The real threats are Vinny Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, the dynamic first-line duo. The combined +/- of the Bolts is an embarrassing -74. All in all, there is not much scoring depth to the team, though TB shut the Pens out in their last game in December. Ryan Whitney returned the last time the Pens played the Bolts and so far he’s been lackluster compared to his former seasons with the Penguins, taking an humiliating -4 last night.

The Penguins’ defense needs to be kicked into gear tonight or they can’t hope to win, even against the Bolts. Mark Eaton is the only one showing up for the Penguins defense with occasional sightings of Rob Scuderi. On the offense, however, the Pens have found a bright new talent. Last night, Luca Caputi scored his first NHL goal on his first NHL shift. The last Penguin to do that was someone you all might have heard of, a little someone named Mario Lemieux. Tonight, he (Caputi, that is) kicks Satan out of the lineup for the Pens and rockets up to the second line. Meanwhile, Pascal Dupuis, who can’t seem to buy a goal since the All-Star break will play on the fourth line

TB has been dealing with a ton of injuries recently. They have injuries to Gary Roberts, Jamie Heward, Paul Szczechura, Marek Malik and Olaf Kolzig.
Meanwhile, the Pens are still without Ruslan Fedotenko, Sergei Gonchar and Mike Zigomanis.

Penguins-

Cooke-Crosby-Malkin
Caputi-Staal-Sykora
Minard-Talbot-Kennedy
Dupuis-Thomas-Godard

Orpik-Scuderi
Eaton-Letang
Goligoski-Whitney

Fleury

Lightning-

Proposal-Lecavalier-St. Louis
Malone-Halpern-Artyukhin
Downie-Stamkos-Recchi
Pettinger-Craig-Hall

Ranger-Meszaros
Eminger-Krajicek
Malik-Murphy

Smith

While I’m at it, I might as well say that these lines are pretty much not what’s going to happen in the game. Maxie will probably move up to play with Sid and Cookie. Staal will take Maxie’s place in the third line and Geno will most likely play with Sykie and Caputi, since that line played the best last night.

Do it.

LET’S GO PENS!

Caputi's amazing performance overshadowed by devestating loss

Sid doesn’t waste any time and goes hard toward the net. He leaps over Price as the puck gets poked away from him and Alexei Kovalev goes down the other way. WB/S call up Luca Caputi grabs the puck on the boards and takes it to the net. He gets his first NHL goal on his first NHL shift (Billy Thomas gets his first NHL point for assisting this goal). Incredible. The last Penguin to do that? Mario effing Lemieux. Wow. Gods decides to drop the gloves in celebration. He and Alex Henry dance for a full minute before the refs separate them. Hamerlik hammers one past Flower. Mike Komisarek roughs Geno up and he gets 2 for roughing and 2 for hooking (served by Max Pacioretty) while Geno gets 2 for roughing. Pens do not score on their advantage. Fleury makes a nice save on a Steve Begin one-timer. Steiggy and Errey inform us that the Penguins don’t have a shot since Caputi’s goal. Andrei Markov is called for tripping Geno. Pens do not score on their advantage. Chris Minard is called for hooking. And the Canadiens finish the period on the PP.

There’s about 1:46 left on the penalty to Minard. Duper tried to go short handed but the defense strips him of the puck. Flower makes a crazy glove save on Saku Koivu. Penalty killed. Geno shows his awesome puck handling skills as he takes it into the Canadiens’ zones. All of Satan’s shots are going high. Caputi is playing on a line with Sykie and Staalsy. Oh man. Flower gloves a Komisarek shot. Ryan O’Byrne throws his shoulder into Caputi. Sykie and Tanger both take a shot, but both are saved. Flower is playing really well tonight, saving another shot from Kovalev. Mike Komisarek is called for delay of game as the puck sails over the glass and the Pens are on the PP. The Habs almost got a shorthanded goal, but Flower was there. Oh wait, they go shorthanded again and Higgins threw one behind Flower. Sykie and Staalsy both take a shot and again both are blocked. Pens do not score on their advantage. Nothing special happens for a long time. And then Max Lapierre shovels one in. Play is all Habs for the last part of the period, though Flower does make a fantastic diving save. This is the play of some retirement community, lethargic and with zero defense.

Caputi is playing with Sykie and Geno. That is just incredible. Just then, he is called for hooking Kovalev. Flower has decided to stand tall this period. Good. Luca Caputi jets out of the box and takes the puck down to the net, but Carey Price has his number and won’t let another one in. MAF makes a save on a Komisarek shot. Maxie tries to stuff one in and then tries to stir something up. No penalty is drawn, however. Maxie draws a penalty on Tom Kostopoulos for hooking. Pens on the PP. Geno trickles one through Price’s five-hole. PPG. Yes. Just what they needed. There goes Geno, proving that he deserves that permanent alternate captain’s “A” on his sweater. Geno sends a nice feed to Caputi but Price makes a pad save. MAF denies Max Pacioretty. Andrei Kostitsyn hammers one in. Three minutes to go and down by two. MAF is pulled for the extra attacker. Geno draws a penalty on Markov for hooking with about 35 seconds to go. Game over.

THOUGHTS:
--Luca Caputi made things happen. I'm calling Minard being sent back to WB/S as TK comes back from suspension tomorrow.
--Devestating loss
--Geno was great again
--Florida picked up at least a point tonight. In overtime right now. Ew.
--Tampa Bay tomrrow. Comeback city.

Game 52- Penguins @ Montreal Canadiens

No lines tonight, and a brief preview.

The Habs are solid as it comes, and they'll be a tough test on the road. They just lost Robert Lang to injury for likely the whole season, but they're still a formidable opponent.

Expect the worst.

Go Pens.