Pens 4, Lightning 1

The Pens continued with their winning ways on Thursday night by shocking the Lightning, 4-1. Pittsburgh goals were scored by Staal (2), Malkin and Malone. Ty Conklin got his ninth consecutive win in net for the Pens stopping 35 of 36 Tampa shots and making some acrobatic saves like this:




Photo from AP (Photo/Steve Nesius)

This was Pittsburgh's first win in Tampa since 2003! Their winning streak now stands at 8 games in a row which is their longest since winning 10 in a row in 1999.

Next Up - Saturday night at Atlanta.

Current Streaks - Penguins 8 wins; Ty Conklin 9 wins (are these first 2 some sort of coincidence? Could be; Sid Crosby did not score so his streak of 14 games with a point has come to an end; Jordan Staal consecutive games with 2 goals, 1 (keep up the scoring Jordan); most guys named Ryan on one NHL team, 3; consecutive games blogged by Home of the Penguins author, 2.

News of Note - Ryan Stone played his first NHL games against Tampa last night. Welcome to the Big Boys League Ryan! Oh, and to the referees from last nights game: Max Talbot was not the one guilty of a high stick in the third period. Replays clearly showed what your trained NHL referee eyes should have seen - O'Brien was clipped by his own teammate. Bad call on that one gentlemen...

Pens 3, Florida 1

The Penguins extended their winning streak to seven games by trouncing the Panthers last night, 3-1. Ty Conklin remains unbeaten in a Penguins uniform winning his 8th consecutive start in stellar fashion. Conklin stopped 27 of 28 shots and raised his stats in the process. He now sports a 1.88 GAA and a SV% of .941 Outstanding numbers!

Goals for the Pens were scored by Sykora, Crosby and Laraque. All Pens goals were in the 2nd period when Pittsburgh turned the intensity way up and went on a rampage.

The Penguins are really starting to look like a playoff caliber team right now. Since the Thanksgiving Day come-from-behind victory at Ottawa, the Penguins have won 16 of the last 21 games and have only lost more than one in a row one time. The team has come together, much like at this time last year, and has managed to go from last in the Atlantic (around 11/22/07) to within one point of first place. And if the playoffs started today they would, like last season, be a four seeding in the Eastern Conference rankings.

Next up - Thursday at Tampa Bay. The Pens have lost the last seven against the Lightening. Anyone want to bet that streak will some to an end??

Streaks - along with Conklin's 8 game winning streak, Sid Crosby has a 14 game scoring streak.

News of note - Sid has been named a starter in this months NHL All Star game. Congrats to Crosby!

Pens 6, Maple Leafs 2

The Penguins made it five in a row with a 6-2 crushing of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Pittsburgh goals were scored by Christensen, Kennedy, Sykora and Evgeni Malkin tallied his first NHL hat trick. Ty Conklin was spectacular in net once again, winning his sixth consecutive game.

The contest was kept very close through the first two periods but in the third, Toronto came out flat and the Pens took advantage of that by putting 4 pucks behind Maple Leafs goalie Scott Clemmensen. Three of those 4 goals were scored in a 48 second span between 3:00 and 3:48. Malkin added the fourth goal of the period, and his third of the game at 15:28 to wrap up the scoring.

One of the early highlights of the game was this battle between Jarkko Rutuu and Darcy Tucker midway through the first period:





Next up: Florida at the Igloo. 3pm Saturday

Injury Update: Fleury and Talbot continue to make progress and are both looking to return to the lineup soon.

Streaks: Sid Crosby has scored a point in 12 consecutive games.

Ice Bowl and Catch-up recap

Hello All and welcome back from the holidays! I've been merry-making with friends and family the past two weeks and have been unable to blog while doing so. Hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas and best wishes for a Happy New Year!

Well, let me begin by saying..."WOW!". What a tremendous job the NHL and Buffalo did with the "2008 winter Classic" yesterday! The weather was, as expected in January in Buffalo, the stadium was electric, and the game was one that will be remembered for ages.

The Pens got on the board at 0:21 of the first period with a goal by Colby Armstrong and a sweet assist from Crosby. Buffalo tied up the game early in the second and the score remained 1-1 through overtime. The Pens won the shootout and game 2-1. Shootout goals were scored by Letang with Crosby chipping in the winner by beating Miller 5 hole.

Nearly from the start of the contest snow began to fall. And it hardly let up throughout the game. The game was stopped in all 3 periods and before OT to repair the ice with the Zamboni's. The NHL's ice crew was also called out several times to repair large divots in the ice in front of the player benches. While the stoppages in play were unusual they were warranted by the weather and conditions. In an attempt to make the playing field more even in overtime, the NHL decided to stop the game halfway through the extra period so the teams could change sides. This reasoning would have been more meaningful if the ice conditions were better since one team would have had a large advantage with the wind at their backs.

Ty Conklin got his 5th win in six appearances. He has proven himself to be a more than capable replacement for the injured Marc Andre' Fleury the past 3 weeks and is challenging Sabourin for the backup job when Fleury returns. He has posted a 2.35 GAA and a .925 SV% (admittedly in a much lower number of games) which is best on the squad. Conklin posted his first shutout of the season, and third of his career three days earlier in a 2-0 win also against the Sabres.

Since my prediction on 11/25/07 that the team had turned a corner (see: click here)
the Pens have won 13 of 18 games and have managed to pull within one point of the Atlantic Division leader New Jersey Devils. I am extremely happy to have been proven correct on that prognostication!

Remembering back to last season (if my brain allows accurate thought at this time) the Pens had a bit of a slump before going into a 14 or 15 game unbeaten streak. Here's to hoping that the current winning streak of four games continues through the month and through the upcoming All Star break.

Injury Update: Ryan Malone returned after missing 2 weeks on Tuesday. Fleury and Talbot, both recovering from high ankle sprains, have been skating daily and look to return soon. Mark Eaton has been sidelined indefinately with an ACL tear after a horrible slew foot by Marco Sturm during the Bruins last week. By the way NHL, where is the suspension and/or fine on that one?? Gary Roberts is also out indefinately with a broken fibula. Ouch! The iron man even walked off the ice after that one, albeit supported by 2 teammates but on his feet nonetheless.

Next up: Thursday 1/3 vs Toronto.

News of note: The Pens/Panthers game on Saturday 1/5 has been moved to 3pm due to the Steelers game being scheduled at 8pm at Heinz Field. Here we go Steelers, here we go!

2000th Visitor!

The 2000th visitor to this blog occurred some time this morning. I'd like to thank all of you loyal readers for continuing to return. Much appreciated!

When I first started writing here, I never thought anyone would even read it. Much to my surprise, there actually have been people to visit and return on several occsacions. And, as a complete shock I've been pulled into doing some advertising for a marketing firm that represent Versus!

So, going forward, my goals remain the same as they were when I started this effort. To report on as many games as possible, to lend my own analysis to the conversation and to have a good time while doing so.

Once again, thanks to everyone that has stopped by...

Pens 3, Islanders 2

The Penguins finally won a game against a division opponent when they beat the New York Islanders by the score of 3-2. This was an important victory for the Pens as it kept them out of the Atlantic Division basement and insured that the Isles stayed there. Goals for the Pens were scored by Crosby, Whitney and Tyler Kennedy chipped in the game winner on a power play. This was Kennedy's first 3 point game in the NHL!

The win put the Pens in the top 8 of the East. I know it's a little early to be talking playoffs but with the Atlantic Division only separated by only 7 points first to last nearly half way through the season it seems to be a good time to start thinking about it. If the division remains as tight as it is, it's very possible that 4 teams from the Atlantic could make the playoffs. This is what makes December games against division opponents so important.

Next up, Tuesday 8pm against the New York Rangers.

News of Note: While I make sure to watch every game on TV, I am not able to attend many games in person, I will be going to the game on Friday night against the Isles. This will be my first game of the season (hopefully not last!) so I will have an abundance of news to report on Saturday morning. Make sure to check back this weekend!

Rough Week for the Pens

The Penguins had a rather tough week losing a bruising game to the Flyers by the score of 8-2 and dropping one last night at the Igloo to the Senators 4-1.
For the Flyers game, while being quite entertaining with the 4 fights and nearly 250 penalty minutes doled out by the referees, it was evident that the team was tired following a trip through Western Canada. They played uninspired and let Philadelphia have their way physically in the early parts of the game. When the Flyers build a lead in the second period it got ugly, real ugly. The Flyers took several cheap shots which the Pens retaliated for and it was downhill from there. Game misconducts, 10 minute majors, fighting majors and countless penalties followed.

The Ottawa game was a different story and was actually a much closer game than the score would indicate. The game was tied into the third when the Sens were able to get a couple past Dany Sabourin to make it 3-1 with an empty netter at the end.

Injury Update: Marc Andre Fleury is out for the next month with a high ankle sprain so the Pens called Ty Conklin up from the Baby Pens. Look for a Conklin start possibly against the Islanders on Saturday the 15th and probably on one of the back-to-back games on the 20th or 21st.

Notes: Sid Crosby was held without a point for only the third game this season. Sid is 5th in the NHL in points only 7 behind Tampa's Lecavalier. Sid continues to lead all NHL players in All Star votes.

Pens 3, Flames 2 SHOOTOUT!

An unlikely hero, Kris Letang, netted the game winner in for the Pens in a shootout victory over the Calgary Flames last night. Letang was the round four shooter and lifted the puck beautifully over Calgary's goaltender, Miikka Kiprusoff. Preceeding Letang in the shootout were Sykora (goal), Crosby (saved) and Malkin (saved). Calgary's Kristian Huselius was the lone scorer in the shootout for the Flames.

Marc Andre Fleury left the game a few minutes into the first period with an apparent leg (or ankle) injury and was replaced, admirably, by Dany Sabourin. Future updates on Fleury's status will be posted as they become known.

Regulation goals for the Pens were from Malkin, a power play goal, and Ryan Malone with an outstanding short handed goal that tied the score midway through the third period.

All in all an outstanding effort from the Pens the last three games. They have managed to come from from behind in two of the three and put a thorough pounding on the Coyotes in the other. They have played soundly in the defensive end and have been gritty up front, constantly crashing the net.

Pittsburgh has now won three in a row and 6 out of the last 7. Quite a good streak considering 5 of those 7 games have been on the road.

There has been a lot of media interest in the Pens this week as this trip was the first time Sid Crosby has played in Western Canada in his three years in the NHL. This is a result of the unbalanced schedule the the NHL recently trashed in favor of one where each team plays all other teams as least once a season. There will always be intense media scrutiny on Sid but should not be as much if Pittsburgh plays every other season in each arena. And by the way, how is it possible that a 20 year old is able to be so mature and stand up to all of the pressure placed on his shoulders the way Crosby is able to do?

Just a point of interest that I noticed and was dicussing with a co-working this morning - the ice up north is awesome! Just watching the past two games, and making a comparison to what I've seen in Pittsburgh this season, the speed of the game is incredibly different. The puck does not bounce around on the ice and the players are able to make crisp, clean passes without wondering where the puck is going to go. Great job to the ice crews in Edmonton and Calgary!

Penguins 4, Stars 1

The Pens put a beating on the Dallas Stars last night by the score of 4 to 1. Pittsburgh goals by Crosby, Sid had two, Kennedy and Malkin. Sid's first goal came on the first shift of the game, 24 seconds from faceoff, set the tempo for the entire game. Dallas was a tired looking bunch, always a half second behind whatever the Pens were doing.
Marc Andre Fleury had another solid game stopping 22 of 23 shots the Stars threw his way. It appears as if the confidence he was missing earlier in the season has returned.
While the first half of November was very miserable to the Pens the second half turned out pretty good. They have won 5 of the last 6 and are now within 6 points of taking over first in the Atlantic division.
Next up Toronto away tonight at 7. The Pens have a rather tough stretch of games coming up. 8 of the next 10 are on the road including a trio of games in Western Canada. If they can get 14 points of so in this stetch of games they will be in really good shape going into Christmas.

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Pens 5, Thrashers zip

Marc Andre Fleury earned his second shutout of the season by blanking the Atlanta Thrashers 5-0 Saturday night in the Igloo. Pittsburgh goals were scored by Staal (about time!), Malone, Crosby, Armstrong and Whitney.

The high scoring output looks to be the result of Head Caoch Michel Therrien constructing a top line of Crosby, Malone and Armstong. They seem to have instantly taken to each other and developed an amazing chemistry. This is the first time Armstrong has skated with Crosby since the beginning of the 2006 - 2007 season. I like it!

Fleury looked incredible. He displayed impeccable mechanics, was always in position to stop Atlanta shots and really looked as if his head was back to where it should be.

Looking at the last two games together, it looks like the team has turned a corner. The Ottawa game may be the turning point we have been hoping for this season. Being able to beat the top team in the East game the Pens a load of confidence that they have been missing and that confidence was on display from the first puck dropped last night.

Jordan Stall got his second of the season with a "garbage goal" early in the first, which proved to be the game winner. He was all over the ice the rest of the game. Hope he keeps this up as it will have a huge impact on the entire team.

Both Crosby and Malkin have seen their point streaks end in the past few games. Crosby finished with 18 and Malkin with 14.

The Pens have the next 6 days off. Quite a strange break in the middle of the season. This could have a negative effect on their momentum but I'm thinking that Therrien will really drill them hard in practice the next couple of days just to keep that intensity alive. Next up Friday night at the Igloo against the Dallas Stars.

Pens 6, Senators 5 SHOOTOUT

The Penguins won an exciting, well played game against the Ottawa Senators Thursday night in a shootout. The final score was 6-5. Pittsburgh goals were scored by Malkin, Malone with two, Kennedy and Gonchar. Christensen and Ruutu scored in the shootout with Ruutu getting the winner.

All in all a very intereresting game. The Pens overcame 2 goal deficits two times to force the game into overtime. The Pens put fourth the effort to bring down the best team so far in the East. This is the way they should be playing every night. They looked like they wanted to win and knew that is was possible.

Next up tonight at the Igloo versus the Thrashers

Pens Vs. Devils Tonight

The Penguins take on the Devils tonight at Mellon Arena. This is an important game for the Pens to win. They are tied for last (last!) place with New Jersey in the Atlantic Division at 18 points. A win tonight would put the Penguins 2 points ahead of the Devils who would then be in sole possesion of last place.

Pittsburgh's been pretty tough against the Devils so far this season losing 2 games by a goal each and earning a 5-0 vitory earlier this month. The home crowd is sure to get the Pens fired up early and might prove to be the difference. It is usually a very rowdy crowd at the Igloo on the night before Thanksgiving - I've been there myself many times - so here's to that type of crowd tonight.

Injury Update: Max Talbot is out for the next 3 games with a twisted ankle which he suffered during a practice early this week.

Don't forget the Pens play again tomorrow night in Ottawa. A rare Thanksgiving Day game...

Pens 3, Rangers 4 OT

The Pens lost one in overtime on Saturday at the Igloo. Once again they blew a 2 goal first period lead, allowing the Rangers to score 3 unanswered goals before tying the score at three five minutes into the 3rd period. A defensive error led to the OT winner less than 2 minutes into the extra frame. Pens goals were scored by Talbot, a shortie, his fifth of the year, Crosby, who kept his point streak alive at 19 games, and Sykora netted his 9th of the season. Malkin also kept his point streak alive by assisting on Sykora's goal.

Pittsburgh has had a very tough time playing with a lead this season. I count this to be the fifth game that they have managed to lose a two goal lead and either lose outright or lose in overtime. Not a good omen for the upcoming months. If the Pens are to go deep, let alone make, the playoffs they will need to learn to tighten down that defensive hatch when they have a lead, play a gritty, hard-nosed game that they have shown they are able to play, and learn to close out the games. Period.

Paul Coffey Inducted Into Penguins Hall of Fame

Defensemen Paul Coffey was inducted into the Pittsburgh Penguins Hall of Fame in a ceremony preceding the Pens/Isles game on Thursday evening. Paul played for the Pens from 1987 to 1992 helping the team to win two Stanley Cups.

Coffey played in 331 games for Pittsburgh scoring 108 goals and 332 assists.

Congratulations to Paul for a spectacular career!

Pens 3, Islanders 2

The Pens broke their 4 game losing streak with a win against the Islanders at Mellon Arena on Thursday night. Goals were scored by Gonchar, Sykora and Laraque (that's right in case you just did a double take - his first in a Penguins uniform) got the game winner. Fleury did a good job in front of the net stopping 26 or 28 Islander shots.

The Pens did a nice job against the usually pesky Islanders. The Islanders have given the Pens a though time the past 8 or 10 seasons. They are normally a gritty, hard nosed team that comes out and plays to win every game. Adding Ted Nolan behind the bench will only generate more of that same style. The Pens knew that they needed to bring two points out of the contest and they played the whole game with that desire on display. This is the way they should come out and play every game. Maybe it's a start of a good thing, maybe it will take more to wake them up. Either way they earned 2 much needed points and did not allow a division rival any points in the standings.

Somthing to take note of: Malkin and Crosby both have lengthy point scoring streaks going on. Crosby has scored a point or more in all 18 games this season and Malkin has a point in 12 consecutive. I will keep this updated as the steaks continue.

Another item of note: Mark Recchi and Darryl Sydor were both healthy scratches for the Isles game. I think maybe Michel Therrien read Joe Starkey's article in the Trib the other day?

Next up - tonight at the Igloo vs. the New York Rangers...I hate typing those words.

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Pens Drop Fourth In A Row

The Penguins lost their fourth consecutive game, and 6th out of the last 7, to the Devils on Monday night. The past 6 games have all been against Atlantic Division rivals and the Pens have only managed to earn 2 points. In a word, pathetic.

But Pittsburgh has a chance to redeem themselves in the upcoming days. The next 3 games are all against division opponents and are all at the Igloo. Now is the time to make up some of those points that were given away the past 2 weeks.

Joe Starkey of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review has a good analysis of the teams latest effort here.

Much of what Joe writes I completely agree with and have been saying myself for the past few weeks.

Pens Show off Finalized Arena Plans

The Pittsburgh Penguins unveiled the finalized plans for their new arena yesterday. The building will hold about 18,500 hockey fans, about 2,000 more than the Igloo, and will incorporate an eighty foot high glass wall which will offer sightlines of the downtown cityscape.

Click here for a slideshow presentation of the new schetches:

New Arena Slideshow

Pens Recall Letang, Send Two to WBS

Yesterday the Penguins sent D Alain Nasreddine and C Tyler Kennedy to their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. Kris Letang was called up from the baby Pens to fill the open defensemen spot.

Easy call to make in my opinion. This will be Letang's first stint with the big team this season after a relatively short 7 games with the Pens at the beginning of last season. Time for him to step up and show that he is ready to be an NHL defensemen.