Race for Home Ice Tightens, Pens Lose to Flyers

**I’m actually going to talk about hockey here more than the circus acts allowed by the Refs and NHL, so be forewarned.

And so it begins...

Main Storylines:

- It’s Philly, not much needs to be said, and I can imagine the Pens are still bitter about losing in OT with .9 seconds left in their last meeting.  A big key for the Pens will be not getting suckered in by the likes of Hartnell and company.

- If Philly wins this, they will be 1 point behind the Pens for 4^th place/home ice with 3 games left to go including another head-to-head.  The Flyers do have the tiebreaker (non-shootout wins).

- Kris Letang returns to the lineup after missing 3 games with a lower body injury.

Result:

Flyers  6  Pens  4

Goals:  Sullivan (16) from Crosby, Dupuis

            Neal (39) from Malkin, Kunitz

            Sullivan (17) from Dupuis, Michalek

            Kunitz (24) from Malkin, Crosby               

Stats/Milestones:

- Pascal Dupuis extended his career high point streak to 14 games with an assist on the 1^st goal.  He is now up to a career high 56 points this season as well.

The Good:

- The Pens came out storming in the first period to a quick 2-0 lead.  Consol was loud and in playoff mode (at least for the first 10 minutes) and the team responded with a terrific start.

- While not the classiest set of events, I love seeing Tony Granato going to the defense of his team and his head coach.  All of Pittsburgh will hate on Laviolette for it, but I was impressed with his fire as well (at least until he picked up Talbot’s stick and broke it in between the benches, that was pathetic and awful).

Maybe not the best execution, but it could be a team rallying maneuver.

Steve Sullivan – Though many will not remember a thing any player did before the last 2 minutes, I want to start off with yet another great game by the wily vet, Steve Sullivan.  He scored twice, once on an odd changeup and the second on a rocket from the slot that came out so fast that half the players on the ice didn’t realize it went in.  He certainly looked bad when he had to take a penalty on the powerplay to prevent a Flyers breakaway, but that will happen from time to time and it was a smart penalty to take.  (Yes, there are smart penalties to take).  He has looked very good when paired up with Dupuis no matter who the center is.  Their speed together has caused great problems for other teams.

Yes, the game had happy moments at one point.

Joe Vitale – Poor Joe Vitale, he’s like that guy on the road who made a proper left turn and everyone crashes behind him because they weren’t paying attention.  Before the game went nuts, Vitale had another strong start, throwing some big hits (including an accidental knee on Grossman that knocked him out of the game) and drawing an interference penalty on Briere.  But now he’ll be known best by a clean hit on Briere towards the end of the 3^rd that started chaos.  Vitale is a great spark plug, and while Laviolette lumped him in as a goon on the 4^th line, I’m not sure many Flyers fans or players would agree.

The Bad:

- The Pens have developed a penchant for getting very fancy once they are up 2 goals.  Honestly, I read the game as starting like this: Pens wanted to make a statement, Flyers weren’t ready.  2-0, Timeout.  Pens coasted as the more skilled team, Flyers knew they had to work harder and did so.  The amount of drop passes in this game was ridiculous.  The Flyers have always been a very opportunistic team and the Pens should know that better than anyone, getting fancy gives them far more opportunities.

- The Pens had TWELVE giveaways to the Flyers 3.  The Baby Pens would beat the big team with all those extra chances.

- Arron Asham was a -2 with 5 minutes of ice time...I'm not even sure how that happened so I can't write about it.

I can tell you he tried to fight 2 Flyers at once though.

Kris Letang – Everyone feel free to hate me for this, but deal with it, he didn’t play that well.  He was out of position just as much as anyone, which is normally perfectly fine because he tends to make big plays as he freewheels around the ice.  However, when Letang isn’t making game-changing plays, his style tends to hurt the team.  I’m not tearing his play down, 80% of the time he will make a positive game-changing play and no one will notice, today just wasn’t one of those times.  Talbot’s goal to the tie the game was completely on Letang.  There was no reason for him to move up away from the crease to take the shooter, his assignment was Talbot on the crease the whole time and he just abandoned him there.

Matt Niskanen – Niskanen looked amazingly flat-footed today.  He kept getting burned on the blue line, which caused him to start backing off when the Flyers entered the zone, which turned into the Flyers taking advantage of that room to make passes.  Basically, Philly adapted to him one step quicker than he was adapting to the game.  The Voracek semi-breakaway goal was basically because he looked like he was skating on concrete.

Zbynek Michalek – Also not a strong game for Michalek (notice how it’s one guy on each pairing, that’s why the Pens looked so dismal in the defensive zone on every shift), as he simply got drawn away from the net too much.  While he is usually the key to the PK, today he chased a Flyer all the way out to the faceoff circles, leaving Orpik to cover 2 guys on the crease.  That’s a pretty sure fire way to give up a powerplay goal. 

Do this BEFORE they score, Z.  Not after.

Chris Kunitz – While he is still racking up points here and there, his overall play has been pretty bad recently.  He has been taking bad penalties, missing hits, and turning the puck over far too much.  He had the same type of performance in the last game against Philly and I am slightly concerned about his mentality going into the likely playoff series with them.  He led the team in hits, but at what cost to his general play?

The Ugly:

- I have two topics here and they are in order of importance, regardless of how they are reported.  The Pens defense was simply awful today.  There were far too many odd man breaks and uncovered guys, especially around the crease.  This didn’t just start today, or against the Isles, or the Senators; this was happening during the great wins too.  Going back to the “statement” win against Nashville, the Pens still allowed 33 shots and some great crease chances. The difference in that game was Rinne had a very off game and Fleury was on top of his.  That result seems to have taught this team some horrible lessons in fundamentals.  They can’t expect Fleury to bail them constantly no matter how well he plays.  Teams are dominating the Pens crease and slot areas and that has to stop immediately if this team wants to go anywhere.  There is far too much puck watching by everyone and I simply don’t understand how the basics of covering guys disappeared.

Give a flower some help, geez.

- The brawl was seriously a disaster.  I don’t fault the teams or the coaches for what they did, as everything was in the heat of the moment.  However, the refs need to set a standard early with these teams, next week and in the playoffs.  They have to call a tight game and call everything, or things will get dirty.  Yeah, Schenn had a “gutless” crosscheck to Crosby’s back, but don’t forget Crosby got away with at least 2 slashes in the game.  Perhaps the Flyers were hitting too much after the whistle, but Malkin was also punching Giroux in the back of the head during the play.  I don't condone any of it.  The problem is, if the refs don’t call any of that, then why shouldn’t chaos just break out?  I give a lot of credit to the Pens 4^th line for responding as they did, to both benches for being fired up, to Wayne Simmonds for fighting despite taking a puck off of the face yesterday, and to Scott Hartnell for simply being playful and entertaining, and interacting with the fans.  I hate Hartnell just like all Pens fans do, but isn’t this what we pay for?  This type of entertainment?  Every hockey player is dirty to a degree, don’t pick and choose when you want to acknowledge it.  And honestly, I would love it if every player taunted the crowd, that’s what makes hockey a wonderful sport – it’s simply a passionate game.

If you don't have respect for Simmonds after that, you're officially a homer.

Thoughts:

- Deryk Engelland only received 9:50 of ice time in this game.  I am not sure why, he clearly was healthy as he was on for the last shift of the game.  This was a bad move on Bylsma’s part I feel.  Engelland was covering for Niskanen rather successfully for most of the afternoon, and he also had the size to deal with the Flyers heavy forecheck.  I expect him to be a bigger part of the game on Saturday.

- The 5 forward powerplay is awesome and awful.  It is awesome on the rush when there is a lot of movement and that talent simply can’t be contained.  It is awful once they are set up because no one is decisive and the points can be pressure very hard for bad results.  Letang should definitely be on the first PP, but not at the expensive of Sullivan, who QBs the PP better than many people realize.  Kunitz is the guy I take off and move to the 2^nd line.  Crosby is more than capable of hanging around the net and deflecting shots. In fact, I’m pretty sure he’s the best at deflections.  If you don't want to take Kunitz off, then move Crosby to the second PP.  Yeah I said it.  Put Crosby on the 2nd PP with Staal and Dupuis/Cooke, think that line can't score?

- As the Rangers have lost tonight, the Pens are still mathematically in the race for 1st in the Conference, though that's asking for a lot.  More importantly, they are 1 point up on the Flyers for home ice in this inevitable 4/5 matchup with Philly and each team has 3 games to go.  Pittsburgh has Boston, NYR, and of course, Philly to end the season.  I won't even go through the Flyers schedule because that set of 3 games is enough for the Pens to worry about on its own.

- As a continuation on the brawl rant, the fans throwing stuff at the Flyers bench should be sent to Philly.  Seriously, everyone in this city gets on the fact that Philly is such a dirty city and then we do the exact same things that they do?  Twitter was simply comical today.  Everyone wants Asham to kill someone, but if Hartnell looks at a player, Hartnell is the scum of the Earth.  Just take an extra second and try to be a little less hypocritical.  If we’re a better city and a cleaner city, let’s act like it.

Props to Malkamania and to Hartnell.
This image defines a rivalry, and it's why we all love hockey.

Pens Record: 48-25-6, 102 pts, 2^nd in the Atlantic, 4^th in the East

Next Game:  4/3 @ Bos, 7:30pm

Pens Awaken as Playoffs Approach, Beat Buffalo 5-3.

Main Storylines:

- The Pens have now lost 3 out of their last 4 games and look nothing like the team that dominated the NHL over the last month.  Sloppy defense and poor puck possession seem to be the biggest issues, along with horrible special teams.  They have allowed an avg of 5 goals per game over the past week.

- Brent Johnson, Joe Vitale, and Matt Niskanen all return to the lineup.  Bylsma suggested that Johnson might get one more start this season, so eye up April 3^rd @ Boston for that one.  Simon Despres and Eric Tangradi sit down for the other returns.

If Johnson doesn't start again, I'm sure the Pirates have spots open in the outfield.

- Buffalo provides a very formidable opponent right now.  Ryan Miller is 10-1-2 this month and the Sabres are fighting the Caps for the last playoff spot in the East.  Miller generally has not done well against the Pens, but he is on another level right now.

Result:

Pens  5  Sabres  3  

Goals:  Malkin (48) (PP) from Sullivan, Crosby

            Crosby (5) from Sullivan, Dupuis

            Neal (38) (PP) from Crosby, Malkin

            Sullivan (15) from Dupuis, Crosby

            Staal (25) (EN) from Orpik

               

Stats/Milestones:

- Evgeni Malkin recorded a new career high for goals at 48.

- Pascal Dupuis extended his point streak to a career high 13 games with an assist on Crosby’s goal.  He also added to his career high point total, making it 54 now.

- Sidney Crosby became the 7^th youngest player in NHL history to hit 600 career points.  Just imagine what he could have done if he didn’t miss a year with that concussion…

- James Neal added to his career high totals in goals (38) and points (79).

- Brooks Orpik recorded his 100^th assist on Staal’s empty netter.

The Good:

- After a game in which the special teams was downright horrible, they were the big reason for tonight’s win.  The powerplay went 2 for 3 and the penalty kill was 2 for 2 as we learned a couple lessons.  First, the powerplay seems much better on the rush than when situated in place.  Movement is the key for a group of 5 forwards and they appear to play much worse when they are settled into the zone, go figure.  As for the penalty kill, the forwards were much more aggressive on the points and boards tonight and Buffalo had trouble getting chances because of it.  It was a great game by both units (though I still want to see Dupuis on the 2^nd PP).

- The Pens were also much less predictable in terms of forcing “stretch” passes and their puck possession was much better.  If you take a look at a majority of the rushes, the Pens implemented a lot of weaving to open up players rather than just try to look for a long pass (same on the PP rushes as well).  This helped them a) get the puck into the zone and b) have more players in to forecheck by the time a puck was behind the opposing net.  It worked very well at times, though the Sabres also got some quick rushes the other way because of it.  Regardless, it was a nice change of pace and worked tonight.

"This isn't weaving for weaving's sake"  It's clearly to get Neal wide open.

- It was great to see Brent Johnson get a win and get some confidence back in his game.  He admittedly started very shaky, which will keep him off the list below, but he looked better and better as the game went on and was back to his normal self in the 3^rd period.  That’s the Brent Johnson that we all know as a very dependable backup.  His ability to shake off the bad start and move forward makes him a very valuable veteran (woo alliteration) to this team.

Sidney Crosby – His 3^rd four point night of the season (points 598-601) let us know that he will simply own Ryan Miller no matter the circumstances.  Sid didn’t even score a nice goal, Miller simply let up an awful 5-hotel shot (oddly familiar).  But anyways, Crosby looked like his normal self, making absurdly perfect passes on his backhand and he had some good jump in his skates tonight as well.  No ill effects from that puck to the face appear to be present.

Steve Sullivan – Sullivan scored on a beautiful “chip” from the slot and also had the primary assist on the first 2 goals.  He makes a big difference on the 1^st powerplay as he looks far more comfortable on the point than either Crosby or Malkin.  The big aspect to his game that I did not expect this late in the season is his speed and agility.  I honestly thought he might be dead for the season by this point.  His fluid play and stellar passing have made him a great linemate for all of the stars on this team so far and tonight he shined brightest with it.

Based on the pic, I'm pretty sure Sulli scored this with his mind.

The Bad:

- Both goaltenders were just plain awful in the first period.  Miller’s 5 hole seemed to score on himself when Crosby shot the puck for the Pens 2^nd goal.  Meanwhile, Johnson’s first goal allowed was no gem either.  Many Pens fans will argue that it should have been goalie interference…I’m on the fence, that’s a tough call.  But regardless, Johnson should have gloved and controlled that rebound so it wouldn’t have mattered anyways, that goal is still on him.  His 2^nd goal allowed was even worse as he clearly got caught anticipating a pass and Ennis beat him with on a 5 hole the size of...(inappropriate joke).  Miller and Johnson rebounded very nicely as the game went on though.

Crosby is Miller's kryptonite, no clue how this became a goal.

- How about a broken stanchion to stop the play and tack on almost 2 minutes to the 3^rd period as both teams went to intermission early.  Seen that before?  Actually, that wasn’t bad, just odd.  The bad part was Steigerwald laughing about it and asking whether they would continue play as a 10 year old girl sat behind cracked glass.  Not often that I say Bob Errey is a professional, but he absolutely was in reporting that they would probably go to intermission early and continue the game in the 3^rd because it had to be fixed.

The Ugly:

- I still don’t know how the Sabres 3^rd goal happened.  The puck was cleared up off the boards…no it wasn’t, it bounced somehow off the boards directly in front of Johnson, where only Tomas Vanek was standing.  Root Sports AND MSG cameras all missed it as did 10 out of 12 players on the ice.  Only Vanek and Johnson saw it and Vanek then beat Johnson all alone.  Talk about crazy.

Can't blame BJ on this one.

Thoughts:

- This game had the intensity of a playoff game and it’s about time the Pens reached that intensity after the 2 flops against the Isles.  Some people see the daunting schedule ahead (Flyers, Bruins, Rangers, Flyers) and question whether the Pens can keep the 4^th seed and if they are prepared.  I disagree with that line of thought.  This is the perfect schedule to ramp up into playoff mode and prepare for the grueling journey that is the NHL playoffs.  By the time Game 1 starts, most likely against the Flyers, they will be battle-tested, ready, and already in playoff mode.  That’s what you want, not a team going in after a bunch of layups. 

- The Buffalo crowd, though seemingly half Pens fans, was simply magnificent to listen to on tv.  I hope one day Consol can have a crowd like that.  The crowd seriously made the game more enjoyable on tv, much like the Leafs, Canadiens, and Jets crowds are capable of.  Pens fans need to take notice and make the effort in their own arena to build that kind of atmosphere.

- I meant to include this in my last recap, but it works even better here.  I'm calling BS on everyone that says the Pens struggle without Letang.  I understand he is incredibly important to this team, and undoubtedly makes the Pens much better, but he isn't the cause of their lack of defense over the past week.  The Pens played fine without him a few weeks ago and even tonight.  Letang is a stellar defenseman, I won't dispute that, but the Pens' problems are/were on account of their decision making and execution, not their personnel.  The easy answer isn't always the right one, and that's the case in saying this team can't win without Letang as many did after 2 losses to the Isles.

- Time to look at Sunday, a 12:30pm matchup at home on NBC vs. the Flyers.  First off – I’m never moving to the West Coast because can you imagine watching the Pens at 9:30am every other week?  But moving on, this game is essentially the battle for 4^th place.  Beat the Flyers, and it’s a big 4 point swing that won’t clinch 4^th, but makes it pretty easy to finish off.  Lose it, and every game is a battle the rest of the way.  The Flyers play Saturday vs. Ottawa, so the Pens need to come out extremely hard.  Bryzgalov is not expected to start against the Pens, which is a huge bonus.  Tonight may have been like a playoff game, but Sunday will demonstrate whether the Pens are playoff ready or not.

Pens Record: 48-24-6, 102 pts, 2^nd in the Atlantic, 4^th in the East

Next Game:  4/1 vs Phi, 12:30pm

Defense Optional, Pens Let Up 8 in a Loss.

Main Storylines:

- Brad Thiessen gets the start tonight as Fleury rests up for a big Atlantic Division matchup against the Devils tomorrow.

- With the Rangers losing to the Sabres last night, the Pens have a chance to take over 1^st place in the Conference tonight.  The Rangers do play the Leafs though, so no matter what happens the Pens will have one less game played after tonight and be in striking distance of 1^st.

- Tangradi and Lovejoy get back into the lineup as Park gets a healthy scratch and Niskanen sits out with an upper body injury.  Vitale remains hurt as well.

Result:

Sens 8  Pens 4

Goals:  Cooke (18) from Engelland

            Cooke (19) from Crosby, Martin

            Kennedy (9) from Sullivan, Staal

            Crosby (3) from Asham, Dupuis

Stats/Milestones:

- Matt Cooke added to his career high goals total, making it 19 now.  He’s had 7 goals in his last 6 games with Crosby.

How do you score over a 6'7 goalie??

- Pascal Dupuis added an assist to extend his career high scoring streak to 9 games

               

The Good:

- The game is over and the Pens get a chance to rebound immediately against the Devils at home tomorrow night.

- Honorable mention to Engelland and Lovejoy, who didn’t do anything spectacular, but I felt played very solid and responsible games on a night where no one else felt like doing that.  Also, it was very nice to see Sid get his first goal in his 2nd comeback.

One of the rare reasons for everyone to smile tonight.

Matt Cooke – Another 2 goal game for Cooke, his 3^rd since Crosby’s return, has him vying to become the 6^th Penguin to hit the 20 goal mark this season.  He pretty much has kept it simple with Sid, either going directly to the net or getting the puck to the net.  It’s a shame he got called for a complete BS penalty, but that hardly nullifies his new found scoring prowess.

The Bad:

- Forwards in their own end.  Everyone got caught up with watching the puck in the zone on three of the Ottawa goals.  There were signs of this in the Nashville game as the Preds certainly had their chances from in close.  The Pens are going to have to start watching closer for players on the backside sneaking in looking for passes.

- The powerplay.  Ottawa played a very energetic and aggressive large box setup against the Pens and it disrupted them completely.  The powerplay couldn’t complete passes, got very few chances, and allowed a shorthanded breakaway goal to Daniel Alfredsson as well.  This powerplay is simply too talented to get caught by Ottawa’s aggressiveness like they did.  We need to see more instinct and less thinking in those situations.

- Odd Man Rushes.  The Pens allowed a disgustingly high amount of odd man breaks and breakaways to the Sens.  Thiessen surely didn’t bail them out on anything, but the defensive was pretty much horrible in providing support.  There were 2 breakaway goals and 2 odd man rush goals against the Pens tonight.  That’s absolutely pathetic.  You can add another goal to that list where an Ottawa player skated in 1 on 3, got through 3 Penguins, and slid the puck over to a wide over Alfredsson.  A horrible effort on defense by the Pens.

A goal celebration covering half the zone shouldn't be this devoid of Penguins.

- Steve Sullivan left at some point in the late 2^nd or early 3^rd period (I didn’t catch when clearly).  Reports seem to be that whatever injury has is minor, but we shall see tomorrow.

This is the last play I recall seeing Sullivan, maybe overextended something?

The Ugly:

- The anthems before the game were seriously horrendous.  The singer sounded like Ms. Piggy, botched the words, and held both anthems out to a total of over 6 minutes.  She even paused at one portion to ask the crowd to get into it.  The Pens bench was laughing the whole time and it was seriously just an embarrassment to both countries.  I won’t even give you a youtube link because you deserve better than that.

- The Penalty Kill was uncharacteristically inattentive tonight.  Both powerplay goals were scored on cross-ice passes where the Pens simply weren’t watching the backside.  There was just a serious lack of focus by the Pens in the defensive end.  I am just going to call it a lapse in judgment for the night and leave it at that.

Orpik/Michalek – By far the worst pairing of the night, they put up a -4 and simply never got to their styles.  Orpik wasn’t very physical and got caught in the offensive zone a few times, including on Spezza’s breakaway from his own blue line.  Meanwhile, Michalek was wandering too far away from the crease looking for stick checks and checks instead of doing his usual good job of blocking passes and shooting lanes.  Both players simply did not stick to their strengths and Thiessen is the one who paid for it.

Uh yeah, one of you should probably cover the future Hall of Famer.

Brad Thiessen – Speaking of Thiessen, his effort wasn’t exactly sharp either.  He had issues controlling rebounds and simply looked small in the net.  I can’t blame him solely for this game as the Pens gave him no help, but he also has to come up with a couple more big stops along the way.  20 saves on 28 shots looks bad for pretty much anyone.

Thoughts:

- I didn’t want to see Bishop injured for Ottawa necessarily, but after the major dive he took when Cooke skated past him, you couldn’t help but think the Hockey Gods were getting him back for that move.  Especially since Ottawa scored on that powerplay they never should have had.

- This team can clearly score.  This team clearly has a Cup winning goalie in Fleury.  But the defensive effort over the past week has been all over the place.  Winning the Cup requires defensive consistency just as much as goaltending and probably moreso than scoring.  So while this team can light it up, the kind of effort they showed tonight is the type of effort the Caps showed in previous years with early exits in the playoffs.  This needs to be fixed immediately.

- The Pens looked more tired/sluggish than the Senators did today even though Ottawa played last night.  With the Sens slumping, I wonder if the team got caught being a little too excited about the Nashville win and looking ahead to NJ tomorrow night.

- Everyone get over Thiessen getting the start.  The argument that the Pens could get first place is not a reason to start Fleury for every game for the rest of the season.  The playoffs are more important than first place, so Fleury will need to sit sometimes.  He will likely sit March 29^th as well.  Johnson looks to be healthy again, so I’m pretty sure this was Thiessen’s last start and Johnson will get the nod on Thursday.  Regardless, if Fleury goes out in the playoffs, all is lost anyways.  So protect him, not a chance at first place.

Guess what, not many goalies are stopping one timers from the crease

Pens Record: 46-22-6, 98 pts, 2^nd in the Atlantic, 4^th in the East

Next Game:  3/25 vs NJ, 7pm

Pens Head to the Trade Deadline Content with Winning

Main Storylines:

- Brad Thiessen will make his NHL debut today, getting the start against Columbus.  This will give Ray Shero a last look at a potential backup before the trade deadline.  The trade deadline is Monday at 3pm EST.

- Arron Asham will not play in today’s game after hurting himself delivering a hit yesterday.  Dustin Jeffrey will enter the lineup for him.

- Though it has nothing to do with the Penguins, all eyes will be on Rick Nash as he potentially plays his last game with Columbus.  Nash is easily the best player that could move before the deadline tomorrow.

Columbus fans made the trek to Pittsburgh to potentially see their captain off.

- Dan Bylsma is going for career win #150 and he could be the 4^th quickest coach to achieve that mark with a win today.

Result:

Pens  4  Blue Jackets  2

Goals:  Malkin (37) (PP) from Neal, Sullivan

            Dupuis (15) from Sullivan, Staal

            Letang (9) (PP) from Park, Cooke

            Vitale (4) from Tangradi, Cooke

               

The Good:

- Congrats to Brad Thiessen for his 1^st NHL win in his 1^st career start and congrats to Dan Bylsma on his 150^th career regular season win!

- The powerplay had another solid day, scoring on 2 out of 5 chances.  A black mark for that short-handed goal allowed though.

Pascal Dupuis – Dupuis has been playing very well since the line of him, Staal, and Sulivan was put together.  All 3 did their part on Dupuis’ goal with Staal committing to the forecheck, Sullivan getting the puck, and both of them causing traffic to give Dupuis room to take the shot and score.  His speed and increase in scoring have been a great complement to the second line.

Dupuis wasn't fazed by Sanford's raspberry freeze pop pads

Matt Cooke – Cooke has also seen his play improve over the past few weeks as he added a couple assists today and has looked very good on the 2^nd PP.  He screened goalie Curtis Sanford perfectly, allowing Letang to score his PP goal easily.  Cooke also played very well on the PK as usual, getting his stick on a couple passes and helping the PK unit go perfect on the day.

Kris Letang – Letang’s offense has slowed down as of late, but he still managed to score 2 PP goals, even if one didn’t count today.  He also has acted very responsibly on defense with Paul Martin as his partner.  Letang may not be jumping up as much to score, but his commitment to defense is one of the biggest reasons why the Pens have only allowed 3 goals in their past 3 games.

The Bad:

- Sullivan’s blatant turnover breaking the powerplay out of the zone led to Nash’s short-handed breakaway and goal.  He made up for it with 2 assists in the game, but that was just a senseless play to give the Blue Jackets the early momentum and lead.

The Ugly:

- Kunitz had 2 goals waived off.  One for kicking the puck in, where there was no distinct kicking motion that anyone could see.  Another for goalie interference, where Sanford came out of his crease and pushed Kunitz.  I understand the first one just because it was called no goal on the ice, so it’s harder to overturn.  The second one was flat out ridiculous.  Even Sanford said afterwards that he was surprised the goal was waived off.

Thoughts:

- Shero told the media that he still doesn’t have a timetable for Crosby, but he won’t make a trade that relates to his cap space in any way.  He’s happy with Johnson as a backup and isn’t looking to add another.  And he isn’t close to making any moves, he’s happy with the roster as is.  I’m guessing a minor league deal will happen, maybe a depth move for the big team, but don’t expect much.

Looks like Thiessen will remain 3rd on the depth chart, and it will still be behind Johnson.

- Paul Martin looked pretty good today, only having one major gaffe as he got blown past on a semi-breakaway which Thiessen stopped.  He has certainly seen fewer goals against when paired with Letang, but Letang has also contributed less 5 on 5, so it’s an interesting trade off.  I’d still rather see Martin with Engelland I think.

- It was nice to see Eric Tangradi get a point today and get some PP time as he played pretty well with his 8 minutes of ice time.  He moved a spot up on the depth chart it looks like as Dustin Jeffrey only played 6:34 and was the low man on the list.  This is definitely a hard lineup to get minutes with at this point, which is why I don’t anticipate much of a move at the trade deadline for the Pens.

- Not a Pens thought, but it was a rough debut for Jack Johnson with the Blue Jackets.  Malkin's goal deflected in off of his shin and he screened Sanford on the Dupuis goal.  Thanks for the help Johnson!

Pens Record: 36-21-5, 77 pts, 2^nd in the Atlantic, 4^th in the East

Next Game:  2/29 @ Dal, 7:30pm