Teemu Selanne - 1,200 NHL Points

A historic moment occurred tonight when the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Nashville Predators 4-3 in overtime when Teemu Selanne scored his 1200 point of his NHL career. A truely great hockey moment, check it out.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2008021054

Yay Internet

I've got internet again and what a fantastic night to get it back!!

First off -- Let's give credit where credit is due, CONGRATULATIONS Martin Brodeur for 552 Career wins, surpassing Patrick Roy, another Legend and well rounded individual. Always a fan of Martin, however, not always a fan of his division-rival team ;).

Malkin scored his first goal on you, remember that Marty .. maybe some History is in the making there..

Speaking of Malkin, is 2 goals and 3 assists good enough to consider yourself not in a slump anymore? Hm, yeah. A big 5 point night for Malkin was accompanied by a 6-2 shalacking of the Thrashers (should have used Thrashing, for the wittier folk, oh well) and also at the ball was Sergei Gonchar racking up 4 points, and Hey! Looks like scrappy ol' Maxime Talbot is back. Not that lackluster, 'how does my hair look?' 4th-liner skating aside Godard or an AHL-call up all season long. Don't get me wrong Max, you were sort of in it to start, but where was that grit that may have single-handedly dominated on our Penalty Kill throughout the playoffs last season? Glad you found it.

Anyway, 3 stars:

1 - Evgeni Malkin - 2g,3a - 3 PP points
2 - Sergei Gonchar - 1g,3a - +2
3 - Kris Letang - 0g,2a - +2

And we're back

I've got 5 minute before work to announce I am home from my close to a week long vacation back in PA. Had a great time, and got to see a couple more wins for the flying Penguins!

7 in a row! I think the right changes have been made. Bring on Lord Stanley!


Pittsburgh plays tonight against Columbus, game 2 of their 8 game home stand. I'll update the site after work.

Penguins acquire Guerin, claim Adams off waivers

Miroslav Satan did clear waivers yesterday at noon and was immediately sent to AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre Scranton. This move was made to allow room for the arrival of Bill Guerin who was acquired for a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. If the Penguins make the playoffs, it will be a fourth-round pick. If the Penguins win a playoff round and Guerin plays in 50 percent of the games, it will be a third-round pick.

Guerin is 1 point shy of the 800 points mark for his career, and is expected to start tonight in Florida. Sidney Crosby is still unsure whether he will play tonight and it will be a game time decision. Bill Guerin is expected to skate on Sidney Crosby's line and add the crucial scoring touch the first line has needed.

In another move by Ray Shero, the Penguins acquired gritty veteran Craig Adams off of waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks. Adams is also expected to start tonight against Florida.

To make room Bill Thomas and Tim Wallace had been re-assigned.

Penguins 3 - 1 Lightning

Well, let's just say I was surprised to see Miro Satan on the ice tonight. Reports were that he was waived, but if that were the case, he would not have suited up tonight, so I suppose the reports were false!

Regardless, the Penguins rode Chris Kunitz and Marc-Andre Fleury to a 3-1 victory in Tampa Bay this evening, resulting in Pittsburgh's 4th win in a row. Kunitz scored twice, including a PowerPlay goal and Matt Cooke later added to the lead, late in the 2nd.

Chris Kunitz has 6 points since coming to Pittsburgh, and his presence in front of the net was a huge factor in the win, along with the solid goaltending by Fleury (the lone goal by Vinny Prospal was a simple 2-on-1 break with Lecalvier feeding Prospal for a wide-open net).

Pittsburgh remains in 8th place (the last play-off berth) in the Eastern Conference with a win tonight (as 9th place Carolina Hurricanes also won), giving them 72 points in the standings, 1 point ahead of Carolina.

The Penguins will continue on the road, next to face Florida in the Sunny State where the Panthers will look to keep their 6th place pace, just 2 points ahead of the Penguins.

My 3 stars:
1 - Chris Kunitz, 2g-0a, GWG
2 - Marc-Andre Fleury, 32 saves 1 GA
3 - Vinny Prospal, 1g-0a, +1

NHL.com Recap
NHL.com Boxscore

Satan on waivers, Crosby out against Tampa Bay

Forward Miroslav Satan was placed on waivers earlier today by Penguins' GM Ray Shero. Satan has a 1 year $3.5M contract which will not count against the Penguins salary cap if he clears waivers. However, if he is picked up by another team, the Penguins will be responsible for half of his salary ($1.75M). If Satan clears, GM Shero will have around $7M of cap space to work with as the trade deadline approaches (Tomorrow @ 3pm), if Satan does not clear, Shero will still have near $5M available.

This is a big hint that something is about to go down. Shero has something in the works and it could come at a price for the Penguins (omg Kovalchuk? Not likely). With the recent departure of Ryan Whitney for Chris Kunitz, the Penguins have filled a small scoring hole, but with the release of Satan, more offensive wingers are still needed, leaving me little doubt in my mind that a high-tagged Winger will be soon suiting up in Black & Gold.

Of course, if no moves are made, the Penguins have opened a few extra $Million to use in Free Agency when the times comes (however, Malkin's contract will make a huge leap next season to $9M, but will still leave room to work with if Satan clears).

Also put on waivers today were Wingers Gary Roberts, Eric Perren, and Aaron Voros, Center Brendan Morrison, and Goalie Martin Gerber.

--
In an unrelated note, Penguins Center Sidney Crosby will miss his 4th straight game due to a lingering groin problem. He is still listed as Day-to-Day.

Penguins 4 - 1 Stars

Under new head coach Dan Byslma, the team continues it's winning ways. Pittsburgh picked up their 6th win in 10 games and have won 3 in a row.

Early in the first the Penguins took a 1-0 lead on a Jordan Staal rebound goal. The initial stop was made by goalie Tobias Stephan, but the rebound went to the blade of Staal who backhanded it in for a quick lead. As the period came to an end, Malkin picked up his second assist, and Kunitz added another as Kris Letang zoomed into the offensive zone, used his speed to get by defenders and roofed it on the backhand coming across the crease to beat Stephan. 2-0 Penguins after 1.

The 2nd period saw a couple of costly mistakes by the Dallas Stars. First was Miroslav Satan taking advantage of an errant pass that found it's way to his stick with only the goalie to beat, which he was able to, 3-0 Penguins. Just a short period later, another costly mistake gave Evgeni Malkin the puck in the slot with no one around where he easily scored a PowerPlay goal to make it 4-0. Both goals were unassisted.

In the 3rd period Loui Eriksson ended Marc-Andre Fleury's shutout bid with a PowerPlay goal to cut the lead to 4-1. Dallas was never able to recover however and the Penguins went on to a 4-1 victory and another road win.

My 3 stars:
1 - Evgeni Malkin - 1g-2a
2 - Kris Letang - 1g-0a, GWG
3 - Jordan Staal - 1g-0a


NHL.com Recap
NHL.com Boxscore

Crosby out 3rd game

Sidney Crosby will rest a sore groin Sunday and miss the game against Dallas. He is expected to return as soon as there is no more nagging pain.

Penguins 5 - 4 Blackhawks

The Penguins' Chris Kunitz made his debut a spectacular one scoring a goal and adding an assist. Fleury played well, but once again the Penguins allowed a 2 goal lead to slip away from them in the 3rd period. Malkin ended it in OT with a wicked slapshot to the top shelf. Jonathan Toews scored 3 goals (4, but one disallowed due to a high-stick) to earn his first career hattrick.

Apologies for lack of info on this one. But no time to write a recap.

My 3 stars:
1 - Johnathan Toews - 3g-0a
2 - Jordan Staal - 1g-1a, +3
3 - Evgeni Malkin - 1g-0a, GWG

NHL.com Recap
NHL.com Boxscore

Busy day for Penguins results in Whitney wearing Ducks uniform

That's right! Defenseman Ryan Whitney was shipped to Anaheim this afternoon in exchange for Powerforward Chris Kunitz and prospect Eric Tangradi. The move was prompted by Shero by the recent funk the team has been in and it's obvious lack of production from the Wingers.

I LOVE this trade. Absolutely. Chris Kunitz is what the Penguins have been missing. I even said last night that we need a "Matt Cooke with better offensive skills" and BAM! Chris Kunitz. Kunitz is a gritty character who plays the puck and cycles well. He's not afraid of contact either, racking up 148 hits so far this season. His numbers are down from previous season only scoring 16 goals and assisting on 19 others for 35 points, compared to his two seasons before where he scored 21g-29a-50 points in 2007-08 and 25g-35a-60 points during the Ducks' run for the Cup in 2006-07. However, Kunitz has been lacking the support that Malkin, Crosby, and Staal will undoubtably provide him. I think Kunitz will excel as a Penguin and I'm excited to see his debut!

Whitney, on the other hand, has been absent most of this season allowing younger players such as Letang and Goligoski show their talent, which is abundant. Since coming back Whitney has been a little behind and not handling the puck as well as before, especially on the PowerPlay where he had no success on the cross-ice passes that Crosby would feed him from below the slot that worked so many times last season. His passes have been errant and costly, notably in the 5-2 spanking they recieved in Washington. A change of scenary will help Whitney I believe, and he should fit in well in that system, but he will have to adapt to a more defensive style.

Great move again by Shero!

--
In other news the Penguins have recalled forward Tim Wallace and have re-assigned Janne Pesonen to Wilkes-Barre Scranton and have placed Chris Minard on waivers. If Minard clears waivers he will be re-assigned to Wilkes-Barre.

Not so sure Minard will clear waivers, but I hope he does. He had a great thing going on in WB Scranton with Bylsma as coach and I think he could get his game going under his regime with the Penguins. Oh well, let's hope Wallace will provide the spark he has before with his fast play and finishing hits.

Also, Sidney Crosby did not practice today, sitting out with a sore groin. He is day-to-day.

Islanders 0 - 1 Penguins

Marc-Andre Fleury and the Pens were sporting the baby blue as Fleury picked up a shutout in Mellon Arena last night. Petr Sykora picked up his 23rd goal late in the 3rd to help the Penguins to a 1-0 victory.

The Penguins dominated play early on and throughout the early parts of the second, but just could not finish. Malkin also looked very sluggish and incapable without Crosby out there providing a boost, maybe not Crosby, but he was missing something. Marc-Andre Fleury started to stand out later in the 2nd, denying the Islanders on some close range opportunities to keep the score at 0-0. The third period saw a rejuvenated Malkin and a focused Penguin squad. Passes started connecting, but again, shots were not being taken. Malkin started to heat up and really demanded the action with 10 minutes left. Eventually, even after a few missed PowerPlays, the Penguins found it in them to score with 2:38 left. Sergei Gonchar kept play alive and took it down the right wing boards, firing it in front. After a deflection (I couldn't see if it hit Yann Danis' glove or if Petr Sykora knocked it down), the puck laid at Sykora's stick with a gaping net to shovel it into, easy stuff. The Penguins then completed the victory by keeping the Islanders at bay in the remaining minutes.

My 3 stars:
1 - Marc-Andre Fleury - 21 saves, shutout
2 - Yann Danis - 27 saves, 1 GA
3 - Petr Sykora - 1g-0a, GWG

Sid, Whitney out versus Islanders

Sidney Crosby is listed as day-to-day after participating in scheduled practices after Sunday's game in Washington. Crosby has a sore groin and does not want to stress the injury further, which may sound like something to "tough up" against and play through, but groin injuries are one of the most severe injuries a hockey player can continually agitate and ignore. Smart decision to rest it (look at Marc-Andre Fleury last season and earlier this year).

Whitney has to attend to personal matters back home and will rejoin the team against Chicago Friday night.

Penguins 2 - 5 Capitals

The Penguins brief 2 game winning streak came to an abrupt halt early Sunday afternoon as Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals swarmed the Penguins into submission. Easily outplayed in the 2nd and 3rd, the Pens were lucky to keep this 5-2.

It was 2-1 after one period (again missed the 1st period, dang early games). Semin and Ovechkin each had a PowerPlay goal, and Max Talbot scored on a rebound.

The second started off with a turnover by Ryan Whitney and Jordan Staal that ended up in the back of their net after a Sergei Federov slapshot. The next few minutes were fine for the Penguins as they skated into the zone and created chances, eventually leading to a PowerPlay goal by Sergei Gonchar. Momentum never swung to the Penguins side however and the Capitals continued to surge. The dam finally broke with 8 minutes left in the second as Shoane Morrison scored a soft goal that Fleury thought was going wide. However, it caught the inside of the post and behind the surprised goalie. Mere seconds later Brooks Laich got a fortuitous bounce to the corner and just threw it to the net. Fleury scrambled to cover the side but the puck managed to squeeze through and go over the line by an inch before Gill swept it away. This led to Fleury being pulled in favor of Garon. Garon came in and played well stopping all shots he faced, including a few Ovechkin dandies.

The 3rd period saw intensified hitting, but just more standing around by the Penguins in their own zone. They played a collapsing defense, but the point of this is to collapse, then expand and put pressure on the puck carriers. This was poorly executed as they would just collapse and stand still hoping to clear the puck out of the zone. It was clear that exhaustion and fatigue played a huge role in the disappointing loss. 5-2 was the end result.

My 3 Stars:

1 - Jose Theodore - 31 saves, 2 GA
2 - Sergei Federov - 1g-1a, GWG
3 - Alexander Ovechkin - 1g-1a, 9 shots


NHL.com Recap
NHL.com Boxscore

Penguins 5 - 4 Flyers

Unfortunately I thought this was the 2:00 game so I missed the entire first period! Flyers led 1-0 after one.

The start of the second period was electrified by a quick wrist shot by Sidney Crosby over Martin Biron's shoulder to tie 1-1. It was all Penguins after that. Around 7 minutes later Evgeni Malkin scored on the PowerPlay after Gonchar took a slapshot from the point which was deflected first by Petr Sykora, then once more by Malkin. This made it 2-1 Pittsburgh. Ruslan Fedotenko scored on a great passing play off the rush to make it 3-1, Crosby and Dupuis on the assists. 3-1 after two.

Third period play was more than frantic, seeing 5 goals scored (reminiscant of last game). It all got started on a shorthanded goal scored by, who else, Mike Richards, his 7th shorthanded goal this season. After this, the Flyers tied it 3-3 on a Slapshot by Braydon Coburn. He was able to score after Hal Gill broke his stick and Matt Cooke had to swap his to Gill, allowing the Flyers to pass it across the ice without any pressure, resulting in a blast that hit Scuderi's stick and hopped over Fleury's shoulder. Quickly back, however, the Penguins' Ruslan Fedotenko scored his second of the game after being set up by Crosby and Dupuis once more, 4-3. Another broken stick, right off of the face-off, allowed the Flyers to score once more, Mike Knuble cashing in on the easy goal as a result. Gonchar's stick failed on him right off the draw, leaving Mike Richards ample time to set up Knuble across the crease with no Penguins able to defend, since Talbot had reached to give Gonchar his stick, both were out of position leaving the middle wide open. Again, another unfortunate event led to a 4-4 tie. A stroke of luck finally hit the Penguins with 2:45 left in the 3rd. Dupuis was sprung on a long lead pass to the blue line, allowing him in on a breakaway. Biron saw the forecoming trouble and raced out of his net to break up the play. He was successful, but was too far out of the net to cover the puck, or else he would have been whistled for a Delay of Game penalty. Knowing this, and after a motion from Dupuis indicating Biron was smothering the puck, Biron tossed the puck behind him out of his glove. The puck got caught in his webbing however and Dupuis was able to grab the loose puck and throw it towards the goal. Only one Flyer was back and able to make a play, but before he could Sidney Crosby snuck a backhand in and deflected it past the defender into the yawning net. 5-4 Pittsburgh. The game would end this way after the Flyers failed to get set up in the zone even after pulling Biron.

My 3 Stars:

1 - Ruslan Fedotenko - 2g-1a - Played great and made the most of his opportunities
2 - Sidney Crosby - 2g-2a, GWG
3 - Mike Richards - 1g-2a, SHG (7)

Great result for the Penguins, another HUGE, HUGE two points!
The coaching staff appears to have re-energized this squad, and Bylsma has been mixing the lines well, sometimes double-shifting Malkin and Crosby. The results are on the scoreboard as it is paying off, offensively, for the Penguins. Great stuff, it's refreshing to see them play so passionately again. Now all they need is a little tightening up on D, and a few less broken sticks and they can make a strong push into the PlayOffs.

Let's go Pens!

NHL.com Recap
NHL.com Boxscore

Fleury, save of the week - Amazing stuff

Check this out folks:
http://www.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?id=34002

Marc-Andre Fleury in the game against Toronto (unless you have NHL Network-us you missed this) robs Jason Blake of the hattrick. Just a ridiculous save.

Canadiens 4 - 5 Penguins

Let me start off by saying, what a game. The first two periods weren't much for show, but the third period had enough action in it to compensate. Huge win for the Penguins, great confidence boost for the new coaching staff, congratulations Dan Bylsma on your first NHL coaching win.

Penguins got on the board first with a delicate shot over Carey Price's left shoulder by Petr Sykora, Minard and Malkin assisting. The Penguins skated into the 1st intermission with a 1-0 lead and only allowing Montreal 3 shots. The second period was more of the same, with a few more pucks crossing the line. Tomas Plekanec snapped a shot by Fleury in the second, only to be answered a minute later by Miro Satan who deflected a Ryan Whitney blast from the point. Again, however, Montreal came back to tie it 2-2 after a wicked slapshot by newly acquired Mathieu Schneider on the PowerPlay beating Fleury over the blocker.

The third period saw 5 goals in the first 7:18 of the 3rd period. Pittsburgh jumped right out and got a goal from Malkin after recieving a one-touch, cross-ice pass from Crosby. Malkin had to dive to make contact (and was impeded briefly) and tapped it by Price. The Pens went on to lead 4-2 after Max Talbot shoveled a loose puck in front easily past Carey Price while a scrum continued to the side of the net, only 3 minutes in still. Merely 13 seconds later Kostitsyn took a wrist shot that hit the bullseye, beating Fleury by squeeking it in on off of the far post. Three minutes later and Plekanec added his 2nd of the night, tying the game at 4-4. Not to be outdone, the Penguins were right back on the issue. Sergei Gonchar released a laser from the point just 47 seconds later and took the lead 5-4 for the Penguins. After that there were countless odd-man rushes and great chances at both ends, eventually the Penguins stood their ground and walked away with 2 points in regulation.

My three stars:
1 - Sergei Gonchar 1g-0a, GWG
2 - Tomas Plekanec 2g-1a
3 - Evgeni Malkin 1g-1a, +3

NHL.com Recap
NHL.com Boxscore

Michel Therrien Fired

That's right. Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien has been relieved of his duties as the Penguin's head coach. Taking over as interim head coach is Dan Bylsma, head coach of the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, Pittsburgh's AHL counterpart.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3909857

10 of 13 on the road

If you're a Penguin fan, you know we're on the outside looking in, and at the same time, you're scratching your head trying to figure out what's going on. Times are not about to get easier. The Penguins must play 10 of their next 13 games on the road (11 of 14 including last night's game against Toronto).

The Penguins kickstarted the road-ridden stretch with a 2-6 beat-down versus lower-ranking Toronto, which, I'm guessing, was no help to the team's overall confidence, even with Sergei Gonchar and Ruslan Fedotenko back into the line-up.

I will say this, Gonchar is just getting back into the groove and will need a few games to get his game-legs, but it shouldn't take too long. I expect that with a 95-100% Gonchar and the healthy squad they have, the Penguins could earn 16-20 points during that stretch, if they play the way they have played against the League's Best lately such as Detroit, San Jose, and the Rangers.

Let's go Pens!

Penguins 2 - 6 Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs scored 6 unanswered goals and the Penguins start their road trip with a big loss. Thomas scored shorthanded and Cooke scored early to earn a 2-0 lead after 1. After that it was all downhill. The Leafs dominated play and led in scoring chances and shots easily. Again, I could not watch the game, so I couldn't get a gauge of how Gonchar and Fedotenko did on their returns into the line-up.

Either way, the Penguins got spanked. Let's hope this embarrassment fades and we can get serious about hockey again.

NHL.com Recap
NHL.com Boxscore

Pittsburgh-Toronto

Well, once again GameCenter decided that if games are being played on NHLN-us (NHL Network) then they are blacked out nationwide for GameCenter users and local broadcasts. Which is just ridiculous.

So anyway, won't be able to watch this game, however things are going well so far. Bill Thomas and Matt Cooke have both scored and it's 2-0 after 1.

2 Penguins return, another has surgery

Good news! Ruslan Fedotenko .. AND (drum roll, please) Sergei Gonchar will be on the 20-man roster against Toronto this evening. The only bad news is that Philippe Boucher is the latest Pens D-Man to have surgery. Boucher had foot surgery and is out indefinitely.

Gonchar has not played this season and Fedotenko has not played since going down with a broken hand, suffered during a fight against Colby Armstrong, January 6th versus Atlanta.

Sharks 1 - 2 Penguins (SO)

The Penguins topple the top team in the West, a huge win for the Penguins psyche and confidence. The first goal wasn't scored until 18 minutes and 26 seconds into the 2nd period. It was a bounce off of Rob Blake's stick between Brian Boucher's pads. Bill Thomas got the goal after he threw it from behind the net in an attempt to hit Staal or Satan (both driving to the net), and got the deflection back through the five hole. It was Thomas' first goal as a Penguin, and it's a relief to see him get that goal. Miroslav Satan started the break by finishing his check on Rob Blake at the point in the Penguin's zone then retrieving and maneuvering the puck to the Shark's zone and flipping it up to Thomas in the middle making it 1-0 Penguins after 2 periods.

Pavelski tied the game at one with 8:53 left in the 3rd. Dan Boyle wheeled around the right wing side, behind the net and tossed it to the circle, the puck got deflected in front and then popped out of the pile right to Pavelski's blade with an open net from the left wing.

Marc-Andre Fleury and Brian Boucher were fantastic. They were the reason this game was only 2-1 and not 7-6. Fleury made 36 saves, Boucher 35. Each team played fantastic hockey but these guys really stole the show.

In the end, the game was decided on a shootout and the lone goal came in the third round off the stick of Sidney Crosby. Quickly deking and going five-hole all in one continuous motion, the puck didn't stay still for a full 2 seconds and Boucher, not surprisingly, was beaten easily. Dan Boyle then tried his luck and feigned a shot, took it to the backhand, but was denied by the seemingly Stretch-Armstrong-like right pad of Fleury doing the splits.

Over the past games you can notice a trend of some decent scoring by the Penguins, but still playing under .500 because of the struggles in net. Fleury seems to have found his groove lately and really looks like he's ready to take-off down the stretch, his focus is great right now, and the Penguins need this more than ever. With the return of Gonchar and the surgence of play in net by Fleury, the Penguins should be gearing up for a play-off run. However, it's not going to come easy, the next 11 of 14 games are on the road for the Penguins.

NHL.com Recap
NHL.com Boxscore

Gonchar cleared by team doctors

Sergei Gonchar has been cleared to dress for the Penguins. Coach Therrien concluded that when the right time to return would be left up to Sergei and that no one would pressure him.

Well Sergei, we sure could use you in the line-up, eh?

This is, obviously, great news as the Penguins, despite winning big against Columbus, have been struggling mightily. They've needed this presence on the point that, despite best efforts, Ryan Whitney nor Kris Letang can fill on the PowerPlay and why it has been so inconsistent this season.

Oh right, good news, Internet is back online (stupid Verizon turned down my connection speed and with it being shared by so many people it was on life support and slow as a slug). So I'll be able to watch the game tonight and give a full report.

Sharks just handed the Bruins a 5-2 loss in Boston. The Bruins struggled on the PowerPlay and Joe Thornton noted that it allowed the Sharks to get back into the game (trailing 2-1 after two periods) and go on to a regulation win.
What can we take of this? TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE POWERPLAY!

Simple hockey = good hockey. Keep it simple and Let's Go Pens!

Busy Busy

Been a busy week, but here's the recaps of the Penguins games against Montreal and Tampa Bay:

Montreal 4, Pittsburgh 2

The Penguins looked like a team that had run 475 miles to Montreal rather than fly. They could not get to loose pucks and could not create any turnovers. Montreal hammered them from the get-go despite the Penguins jumping out to a 1-0 lead.

NHL.com Recap
NHL.com Boxscore


Tampa Bay 3, Pittsburgh 4 (OT)

What a 3rd period the Penguins had to pull off, after being down 3-0 going into it. Evgeni Malkin looked like a man possessed. The Penguins, again, started off shaky. Allowing shots to get to Fleury and an abundance of them. They started to play tighter in the 2nd, despite allowing 2 goals (on just 5 shots). The second period success (again, despite 2 goals) and Malkin's doggedness really propelled the Penguins to their comeback victory. You could tell they smelled blood in the water and started to go into a frenzy. Something we haven't seen since the 6-2 victory over the Rangers. Malkin finished with 2 goals and an assist increasing his total towards the Scoring Title, two goals which included a great one-timer goal from a feed by Staal behind the net with mere seconds remaining in Overtime (another period the Penguins dominated).

Either way, a HUGE-HUGE win, however, it would have been nice to take at least a point in Montreal. The Penguins still find themselves in 10th place, tied with a Florida team with 1 less game played than the Penguins.

NHL.com Recap
NHL.com Boxscore

In other news, Gonchar and Fedotenko have both been skating and doing light workouts with the squad. Fedotenko still lacks some of the strength in his hand and could be another 2-4 weeks. Gonchar should be expected to lace up within the coming month.

Penguins 4 - 5 Maple Leafs

The Pens continued their away stretch with a 5-4 loss in regulation last night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Unfortunately, since the game was airing on the NHL Network, it was blacked out on NHL.com's GameCenter (which I still don't get), so I listened to it via Mike Lange and Phil Borque. The Maple Leafs jumped out to a 3-1 lead over the Penguins through 2 periods, but the Penguins came surging back in the 3rd. Crosby struck right off the face-off and made it 3-2. Toronto answered a few minutes later, but not to be outdone, Evgeni Malkin made it 4-3 three minutes after the Toronto goal. Just a minute and a half later, Tyler Kennedy took a slapshot that caught Toskala by surprise and tied the game up at 4-4. Halfway through the period however, Jason Blake slipped one through back-up goaltender, Mathieu Garon (in his 1st start for the Penguins) and sealed the deal as the Maple Leafs walked away with a 5-4 win.

I wish I could have seen it, it sounded like the Penguins really came together in the 3rd and starting creating their magic. Unfortunately we came up short. Let's keep our heads up, because the 2 points in Montreal are possibly the biggest 2 points of the season. (We win, we move forward, we lose, we question).

STEELERS 17, Cardinals 7 Halftime

Go STEELERS!!! (Although I must admit the Cards are my 2nd favorite and always have been)

Penguins 3 - 4 (OT) Devils

The Penguins kicked off a 3 game road stretch with a disappointing 4-3 loss in overtime to the New Jersey Devils. Jamie Langenbrunner scored with less than 40 seconds left in regulation to tie 3-3 then once more in OT to win 4-3.

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin both had a goal and an assist each (Malkin's 100th career goal).
Max Talbot added a goal for the Pens.

This game should have been 3-2. The referees in the 3rd period right after the 10minute mark made possibly the worst call of the new year. They called Petr Sykora for hooking (then a 2 minute add-on for arguing), which he should have done more considering the result of the ensuing PowerPlay. Sykora was defending a Devil streaking up the middle and you could see clearly holding one hand on his stick reaching for the puck. The Devil actually grabbed the tip of Sykora's blade for a second, knocking him off balance, yet not off his skates, and continued on. There was no evident intent to hinder his progress, nor did he even lay both hands on his stick. Well, not 3 seconds after the next face-off, Brendan Shanahan rips a slap-shot past Fleury's glove hand.

Long story short, Langenbrunner scores on a wrap-around with 29 seconds left, the Devils absolutely dominate the overtime period and with exactly 1:00 left, Langenbrunner strikes again on a one-time pass from Travis Zajac, completely hopeless for Fleury to stop.

Again, irritating loss. Got out-played, but did well on our opportunities and really fell to an unfortunate circumstance where the game was forced out of their hands by the officials.

The NHL should apologize for ripping the Penguins off a point and handing the Devils 2 on a golden platter. Facists.

Bring on Toronto.

NHL.com Recap
NHL.com Boxscore

Penguins score 6 on the King in 6-2 win

As soon as the puck dropped at Mellon Arena, Colton Orr and Eric Godard engaged at center ice and threw wildly at eachother. After a few hits and misses, Godard delivered the knockout blow, catching Orr on the chin and dropping him to the ice. Sidney Crosby delivered the perverbial knockout blow to Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers Wednesday night when he roofed a backhand shot from the right slot. Crosby intercepted a pass and quickly spun to his left and caught everyone, possibly even himself, by surprise. The result was a jaw dropping goal and a huge boost for the confidence of not only the Penguins, but for the fans as well.

Kris Letang broke out of his scoring slump and scored twice, once from a feed by Crosby, and his second was a great individual effort. Letang maneuvered the puck to center ice and just put on the after-burners. He flew by a Rangers' defensemen and was able to slap the puck through the five-hole of Lundqvist. Petr Sykora also had two goals.

Ryan Whitney and Jordan both picked up two points, two helpers for Ryan, and a goal and an assist for Jordan. Evgeni Malkin increased his point total to 71 but now only holds a 7 point lead over team-mate Sidney Crosby for the scoring title after Crosby's four-point performance.

It was a great game for the team overall. Fleury held strong in net, especially early, and the team exploded for 5 goals in the third. Well, it's Friday and it's 7:00pm which means the Penguins are about to take on the Devils. Let's go Pens!

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On The Forecheck: Penguins eye up Trading Blocks

Once again, we have a few struggling teams with struggling, or rejuvenated stars who now find themselves being tossed around all over trade websites. I mean, let's just put the Bleu, Blanc, et Rouge on Vinny Lecavalier and call him the Habs' new #1 Center already. Or at least, that's what the trade rumors cease to rotate around.

There's no doubt that a Penguins club with high expectations, struggling to win and score goals at home could use a little help. Some familiar names are being thrown around. Ilya Kovalchuk's name has come up more than once.

The Penguins need a solid top-line winger. After the questionable departure of Hossa to Detroit and the loss of Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts, Mark Recchi to Free Agency (aka the Tampa Bay Lightning list of potential busts), Ray Shero scrambled to find some players with soft hands and an eye for the net. One of the two big names he was able to land may still have soft hands, but they'll be mending for the remainder of the regular season after Ruslan Fedotenko was in an altercation with former Penguin, Colby Armostrong. Miroslav Satan has been hit or miss all season. He's been warm, he's been cold, he's been warm, he's been cold, he's been ice cold, and on and on. I love the guy, he did great things in Buffalo, but he has been showing his signs of aging. However, to his credit, not as clearly as Gary Roberts or John Leclaire had.

So the question to be asked is, who's the next man to dawn the black and gold and play with some of the league's greatest?

Atlanta GM Waddell still says Kovalchuk will not be traded. Scott Burnside of ESPN.com says Kovalchuk is out of Atlanta as surely as Friday follows Thursday. Could he land in Pittsburgh? That would be wonderful, of course. However, Kovalchuk demands a lot of money. $7.5 million, in fact. To clear the space for that, someone making $2M plus would have to move. Mark Eaton makes $2M, Phillipe Boucher makes $3.5M, and Miro Satan makes $3.5M. Penguins would have to move either one of them and someone (or something) of future (as in immediate-future) value. This leaves Tyler Kennedy as an option, as well as Janne Pesonen, or even Jeff Taffe. This still leaves little cap space for Shero to work with after Malkin's contract will jump from around $1M this season to $9M next year. To make room Satan, Sykora, and Fedotenko/Gill (if not already out of town), would have to find a new place to work in the 2009/10 season.

So really, I don't think this is realistic, though I do hope some sort of trade could be proposed without too much loss.

For a quick solution there is Steve Sullivan. The Nasvhille Predators winger is lightning quick and is a definite threat to score. He would be a great compliment to Crosby and Malkin's smooth passes, and at a realistic fee of $3.2M ( around $1M cap hit), he could light up the lamp all post-season. The only thing here is Sullivan would probably be strictly temporary. He is an Unrestricted Free Agent and would probably sign back with the Predators if he was offered a long-term deal.

This could be the best option for Shero if he is looking short-term. It would help Pittsburgh be a contender in the Atlantic, that's for sure.

The long-term solution comes with the name of Nathan Horton of Florida. Many Penguin fans have been buzzing around this sniper. Horton is not afraid to stick up for himself either. He's a great competitor with a wicked shot and a strong jaw. Horton has a contract until the 2012/13 season, making $5M during the latter parts of his contract. He is set to make $3.5M next season and $4M the next.

Horton could be a good fill in the Penguins line-up, but to be honest, I'm still not sure he could be the #1 winger the Penguins need. He would be great on the 2nd line with Sykora/Satan and Staal, but I don't know if he's seasoned enough to be prepared for playoff hockey on a 1st line.


For now, I would say our best bet would be Steve Sullivan, for a short-term, quick solution.

Let's go Pens!

Talbot-Dupuis, skating

Both players have said that they feel healthier and should be ready for Wednesday's game against the New York Rangers. This is clearly good news for our 3rd line, but I'm still stumped as to who is going to fill out our 4th. Therrien needs to get the troops in order fast, the Penguins need to jump out of the gun and get a good start to the second half. If they don't climb into the 4-5th spot in the Conference they may have a hard time (pending injuries) hovering around the 8th and final spot. A lot of teams are starting to warm up and get into mid-season form, right as it seems the Penguins are losing rhythm.

Jaromir Jagr mulling over return to the Steel City

Former Penguins star Jaromir Jagr has been talking to the media lately about a possible come-back to the NHL. He's said he'd be interested in joining either the Rangers or the Penguins for a late season run.

"I would just go there and play for them for the minimum salary," Jagr told the Tribune-Review of playing again for the Penguins. "I owe Mario (Lemieux) so much because he taught me how to play hockey. If he would want me to, I would come back for the minimum and try to help him. But he doesn't need me. He has good players there."

We'll take him! Seriously? League minimum? You'd have to be a moron to not give one of your most beloved players in team history a chance to help a struggling, inexperienced, young squad. This should be brought to Shero's attention, what is his intern doing?

Thomas, Minard, Bissonnette, & Jeffrey Re-Assigned

4 Penguins call-ups have all been re-assigned back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL.

So what does this tell us? Well, that means Talbot should be back from injury and Dupuis could possibly be back as well.

Well, at this time you're probably thinking, "Ok, so 4 guys go down.. 2 come in.. what about the other 2 spots?". Great question. I personally thought Minard was going to play well enough to stay in the line-up, but with just the lone goal, Shero wasn't buying in just yet. So this leaves us with some possibilities. The Penguins are off until next Wednesday when they host the Rangers, in that time-span a possible trade could be pulled off, Shero may try his luck with a couple new call-ups (Pesonen didn't play poorly his last call-up), who knows. Regardless, I'll be keeping my eyes and ears open to see how Ray Shero decides to plug these holes.

Here's the stories with player stats:

Minard, Bissonnette, Thomas
Jeffrey

Hurricanes 2 - 1 Penguins

Cam Ward had a solid game, although he got to take a good 10 minutes off during the Hurricanes' barrage of counter-attacks following Penguins turn-overs. The attack resulted in a goal for Eric Staal and the eventual game winner thanks to strong play in net by Ward.

Marc-Andre Fleury was fantastic as well in the first period and managed to only allow two goals on 40 shots throughout the 60 minutes (-1 minute after being yanked in favor of a 6-4 PP and then a brief, but unclimatic 6-5).

Anyway, a quick goal by Malkin on the PowerPlay, a deflection off the Phillipe Boucher slapshot and a bounce to the far post which he then stashed away with one-hand on the second effort, all of which was set-up by a pass from behind the net by Crosby to Boucher for the one-timer. Ray Whitney tied it in the 2nd period on the PowerPlay with a wicked slap shot from the left circle just buzzed past a Penguin defender and over Fleury's glove shoulder. Eric Staal later added a goal, getting his stick on a puck thrown to the front of the net about 3 feet outside the crease, deflecting the puck through a surprised Fleury's legs. Justin Williams had got to a loose puck and threw it to Staal. Third period was fun but inefficient as either team was able to score, and the Penguins, despite their best efforts, were shut-down by Cam Ward and the Hurricanes' penalty kill after a 4 minute double-minor was assessed for high-sticking after Malkin took a cross-check to the mouth, drawing blood.

My 3 Stars:

3. Eric Staal » 1 G, 0 A - GWG
2. Marc-Andre Fleury » 2 GA, 38 Saves, .950%sv
1. Cam Ward » 1 GA, 32 Saves, .970%sv - Win

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NY Rangers 0 - 3 Penguins

The terrible towels were out and Marc-Andre Fleury picks up his 2nd shutout of the season. A one-timer by Chris Minard, his 1st of the season, kicked off the scoring and held up as the game-winning goal. A much needed home win, and the first time since early November we put together a 2 game winning streak, which is mind-boggling.

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(GO STEELERS!)

Update on Zigomanis: Out for the Season

Ouch.

Mike Zigomanis has surgery

To quote NHL.com:

"Pittsburgh Penguins forward Mike Zigomanis underwent successful surgery on his right shoulder Wednesday, Jan. 14th and will be sidelined for four to six months.

Dr. James Andrews of the Alabama Medicine and Orthopedic Center performed the surgery to repair the rotator cuff in his right shoulder. Zigomanis suffered the injury during the first period on Dec. 3rd against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

Zigomanis had six points (two goals, four assists) in 22 games this season. He led the Penguins with a 62.9 winning faceoff percentage at the time of his injury. "

The key stat there is that he led the Penguins in FO% which has been crucial to the Penguins this season. He was a key player in the defensive zone, played the puck well, and won face-offs. To me, this is devastating news, he could be gone for the season.

Penguins acquire Mathieu Garon

In exchange for goaltender Mathieu Garon, the Penguins traded goalie Dany Sabourin, forward Ryan Stone, and a 4th round draft pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, NHL.com reports.

Mathieu Garon has been brought in for Sabourin to be Marc-Andre Fleury's back-up. What Garon brings to the table is experience as a back-up, and at a few points in his career, starting as well. Garon is now Fleury's official insurance policy, should the injury-prone Penguins squad lose their star goalie once again. Garon has struggled just a bit this season in Edmonton, but hasn't gotten the support he's needed to excel as Roloson's #2. This will shake things up for both rosters as a pretty even swap, back-up goalie for back-up goalie. Garon's best season was in 2007-2008 when he backstopped 47 games for the Oilers going 26-18-1 with a 2.66 gaa, .913 save%, and 4 shutouts. I imagine the Penguins will try and get Garon in and playing right away. Possibly as early as Sunday afternoon, depending on how Marc-Andre feels, or in the following game Tuesday night in Pittsburgh against the Carolina Hurricanes.


Ryan Stone was able to see limited playing time on the Penguins' senior squad this season due to injuries. He was unable to register a point in his two appearances, however he did have 5 shots on goal and a +/- rating of +1. He was a second round draft pick in 2003 where he then went on to put up 33 goals and 66 assists in 70 games for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL. Once in Wilkes-Barre, Stone showed initial signs of success earning 36 points in 75 contests. As new forwards have been getting called up and given oppurtunities (Bisonette, Pesonen, Jeffrey, Minard), Stone's value in the Penguins' organization has been slowly diminishing, despite his ability to produce in the AHL.

Dany Sabourin will now become Dwayne Roloson's back-up in Edmonton. The Quebec native will return to Canada once again after a short stint with the Penguins. Sabourin had been unbeatable early in the season, but when Marc-Andre went down with injury, Dany did not perform as well as expected and the team began to struggle. This was a red-flag I'm sure for Ray Shero as the Penguins have been decimated with injuries and the back-ups will really need to perform now more than ever, thus the switch.