That's Enough Canada, Pens win 3-1!

Pens defeat Canadiens 3-1

Goals:  Neil (7) from Sullivan and Park

Vitale (1) from Engelland

Asham (1) from Engelland and Niskanen

Recap:  http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400047252

Top 3:   

1)  Marc-Andre Fleury.  Fleury made 27 saves and came within 2 minutes of earning a shutout, which clearly bothered him in the post-game press conference.  Despite the goal he allowed, Fleury played wonderfully in net.  He looked calm and controlled, not over-compensating on cross-ice passes and playing very well positionally.  He made up for any rare defensive lapses there were, stopping a breakaway and slamming the door on a 2 on 1.  MAF earned his money tonight.

2)  Joe Vitale.  Vitale’s never-ending hard work was finally rewarded with a goal tonight.  Vitale deflected a point shot from Engelland that left Canadiens’ goalie Carey Price handcuffed.  Vitale had yet another strong game forechecking and backchecking.  He creates on almost every shift and he is very dependable on the ice.  It’s about time he reaped the benefits of his work.  He also received a 3 minute boost in ice time compared to the previous couple of games, well-deserved.

3)  Deryk Engelland.  Engelland recorded his first ever multi-point night, with 2 assists.  His play tonight was a clear demonstration that getting the puck to the net will lead to good things.  He had a slapper tipped in by Vitale for his first assist.  His second assist came as he shot the puck from along the goal line at Price, and Asham deflected the rebound out of midair to sore the Pens 3^rd goal.  Engelland also played much better in his own end than he has this season, looking very comfortable playing with Brooks Orpik, which admittedly was a pairing that I worried about going into the game.  To cap off his great all-around game, Engelland absolutely leveled Habs on 3 different occasions, bringing his physical game up greatly.

Even Orpik was frightened on the bench.

Bottom 3:

1)  Zbynek Michalek.  Preface:  Michalek is the only one that belongs on this list, the other 2 will be nit-picking because everyone played great aside from Michalek to me.  I had Michalek making the Bottom 3 after the first period alone.  He had 3 awful turnovers in his own zone, and couldn’t keep up with guys skating to the outside of him.  Michalek also took a bad penalty for hooking midway through the game (I have no qualms with his late penalty to stop a breakaway).  I am very unimpressed with his game so far this season, and he was absolutely the only player who did not create anything all night.

2)  Paul Martin.  Now as I said, this is largely nit-picking.  Martin had a couple of bad turnovers in his own zone, but he also had to make up for Michalek’s mistakes frequently.  Martin also made a couple of good pinches in the offensive zone.  Really, this is probably punishment for being paired with Michalek.  I would like to see him shoot the puck more as well.

3)  Steve Sullivan.  I really have no problem with Sullivan’s play.  He is all over the ice, makes great setups, and is responsible in both ends.  He only ends up as #3 here because he is completely snakebitten, as shown by Price’s diving save across the crease and Sullivan’s inability to beat Price on a breakaway.  Keep at it Sulli, and you’ll get a goal…or at least one would hope.  Now that I type this, I feel like I’m summarizing Neal from last spring….

Really?  Just really?!?

  

Random Statistics:

- Asham played in his 700^th game (1^st one was for Montreal oddly enough)

- The Penguins dominated in faceoffs tonight, winning 39 of 64 (61%)

Random Thoughts:

- Hal Gill was honored in a video by the Pens for playing in his 1000^th game and the fans welcomed him very warmly.  It was very classy by the organization and the crowd and it made me proud to be a Pens fan.

- With Letang back on Saturday, who sits?  Michalek is the one who looks the worst right now, but he surely doesn’t sit.  Based on ice time, it’s between Engelland and Lovejoy, and I imagine it will go back and forth between those 2 depending on the matchup.  My bet is on Lovejoy for Saturday.

- Can Neal do any wrong right now?  Shot – post – Price – across the goal line.  For as unlucky as he was last spring, he has gone the complete opposite way.  I want to know when the normal Neal shows up (not that I mind this one).

- Dustin Jeffrey looked decent in his debut, though quiet.  He only had 11 shifts, and I imagine Bylsma was trying to ease him into the lineup, but I surely like that way better than MacIntyre playing 23 seconds.

- This powerplay sucks again.

He's actually that much taller than Gomez while sitting.

  

Injury Report:

- Both Brooks Orpik and Dustin Jeffrey were taken off of the IR and made their season debuts tonight

- Tyler Kennedy has been officially diagnosed with a concussion and is out indefinitely, though the mood appears to be positive with him.  He was placed on the IR

- Evgeni Malkin continues to be day to day with his knee injury

- Crosby continues to wait for more contact to get him going…the Penguins have a couple of stretches of 4+ days off at the start of November which could be perfect for him

- Brian Strait was placed on the IR with a hyperextended elbow, he is expected to be out for a couple of weeks

Takeaways:

1)  Holy Centers.  With the return of Dustin Jeffrey, the Penguins added yet another center to the lineup, with their top 2 out.  So when Crosby and Malkin return, which could reasonably be within a couple of weeks, how is the lineup going to shift?  Depth down the middle:  Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Jeffrey, Letestu, Park, Vitale.  All of them are pretty strong on faceoffs and solid in the defensive zone.  Jeffrey was the odd man out of the 5 healthy ones tonight, but I don’t think Bylsma will want to keep him on the wing for too long.  What a great problem to have.

2)  This is the Tip of the Iceburgh.  (Yes, I said Iceburgh on purpose.  Largely, because his younger version, Tux from WBS, out performed him all night...but back to hockey...)  Speaking of great problems to have, the Penguins are playing great all-around hockey despite not having Crosby, Malkin, Letang, and Kennedy in the lineup.  Just look at that, the potential top 4 scorers on this team (okay maybe a stretch putting Kennedy in there, but still) are sitting out and the team is winning and scoring.  It’s a long season, and more injuries will occurs…hell, we don’t even know how Sid and Geno will be in their returns.  But, all I can think about is this team has unlimited potential right now, and that potential is getting healthier and better every day.  (And Tux might be ready for the NHL soon, who knows!)

3)  Who goes?  Along with the above points (it’s really hard to make takeaways when the team plays a completely game aside from the powerplay we’ve complained about for years), players are going to have to be sent down as the team gets healthier.  Letestu needs to pass through waivers, Vitale doesn’t.  Vitale is outplaying Letestu by 8 miles in my opinion.  So who goes?  Bylsma and Shero are going to face some tough decisions with how well this team is playing.  This reminds me of a mini-effect from after the first Cup run, when other teams wanted all of our players.  I have to imagine anyone we throw on waivers is getting picked up at this point, but does that mean we should deny worthy players of NHL time just because they still have options?  It probably does…

Pens Record: 5-2-2, 12 pts.

Goals For: 26

Goals Against: 21

PP %:  19% (7 for 36)

PK %:  97% (30 for 31)

Finally, a random shoutout to Dave Brooks for being the reason that I even went to the game tonight.

Next Game:  Sat 10/22 vs. NJ, 7pm  LET’S GO PENS!!!

Eastern Conference Preview: 2011-2012

So it took me like 8 years to do this because I’m lazy and the Penguins have played 3 games a day to start the season.  But here’s my Eastern Conference Preview finally!  (BTW – I had these predictions written down before the season started)  I’m going to do an NHL preview (awards, playoff results) at some point this week, but who knows when with how slow I am with these things.

And here we go…

Ottawa Senators

Last Season’s Record:  32-40-10, 74 pts (5^th Northeast, 13^th East)

PP%:  17.5% (15^th)

PK%:  83.7% (9^th)

Goals For:  190 (29^th)

Goals Against:  245 (25^th)

Acquisitions:  Tim Conboy, Zenon Konopka, Mark Parrish, Lee Sweatt

Departures:  Cody Bass, Curtis McElhinney, Ryan Potulny, Ryan Shannon, Derek Smith, Marek Svatos

Prediction:  The Senators struggled mightily last year in both scoring and allowing goals until a late season trade for Craig Anderson boosted their goaltending significantly.  Nevertheless, they still were beaten handily in the East and did very little to improve their team through free agency.  Their big guns (Gonchar, Alfredsson, Spezza) continue to age and show durability issues, and their young guns aren’t quite up to speed yet.  This is going to be a rough season for Ottawa.

5^th Northeast, 15^th East.

Winnipeg Jets (formerly Atlanta Thrashers)

Last Season’s Record:  34-36-12, 80 pts (4^th Southeast, 12^th East)

PP%:  18.3% (12^th)

PK%:  77.5% (27^th)

Goals For:  218 (20^th)

Goals Against:  262 (29^th)

Acquisitions:  Aaron Gagnon, Tanner Glass, Randy Jones, Kenndal McArdle, Derek Meech, Kyle Wellwood

Departures:  Anthony Stewart, Eric Boulton, Radek Dvorak,

Prediction:  The Jets are going to get a massive boost from having a home crowd that actually exists as opposed to the weak attendance figures in Atlanta.  However, a very rough travel schedule is going to plague them all season while they remain in the Eastern Conference despite being located out west.  The travel schedule is going to hurt them, along with the fact that this roster just isn’t very strong at all.  There are some younger up and coming players in the system, but this team isn’t built for a good season yet.

5^th Southeast, 14^th East.

Florida Panthers

Last Season’s Record:  30-40-12, 72 pts (5^th Southeast, 15^th East)

PP%:  13.1% (30^th)

PK%:  84.6% (6^th)

Goals For:  191 (28^th)

Goals Against:  222 (14^th)

Acquisitions:  Sean Bergenheim, Matt Bradley, Tomas Fleischmann, Marcel Goc, Ed Jovanovski, Tomas Kopecky, Jose Theodore, Scottie Upshall, Brian Campbell

Departures:  Niclas Bergfors, Mike Duco, Darcy Hordichuk, Kenndal McArdle, Patrick Rissmiller, Sergei Samsonov, Tomas Vokoun

Prediction:  The Panthers were the worst team in the East last year despite having one of the best goalies in the league.  So what did they do?  Got rid of the goalie…oh and everyone else on the team.  The Panthers faced the greatest overhaul of the offseason and honestly, I’m not sure where it will lead them.  Chemistry is going to be hard to come by, but there is a lot more talent on this team than there was last year.  It will be interesting to see if Theodore can fill the void in net and if the high priced veterans on this team can find their games.  My guess is no over the course of 82 games.

4^th Southeast, 13^th East.

Carolina Hurricanes

Last Season’s Record:  40-31-11, 91 pts (3^rd Southeast, 9^th East)

PP%:  15.9% (24^th)

PK%:  81.2% (20^th)

Goals For:  231 (12^th)

Goals Against:  234 (22^nd)

Acquisitions:  Brian Boucher, Tim Brent, Tomas Kaberle, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Anthony Stewart

Departures:  Erik Cole, Justin Pogge, Bryan Rodney, Cory Stillman, Joe Corvo

Prediction:  Carolina flirted with a playoff spot last year, ahead of the rebuilding schedule set by GM Jim Rutherford.  The issue with this team is that ownership continues to force themselves to limit their spending.  As such, valuable veteran Erik Cole left in free agency, along with Joe Corvo.  They were replaced by a highly suspect Tomas Kaberle and a few hockey sticks.  Carolina may feel some growing pains this year, and I think they are going to take a step back without more support for Staal, Skinner, and Ward.

3^rd Southeast, 12^th East.

New York Islanders

Last Season’s Record:  30-39-13, 73 pts (5^th Atlantic, 14^th East)

PP%:  17.2% (17^th)

PK%:  83.2% (12^th)

Goals For:  225 (15^th)

Goals Against:  258 (27^th)

Acquisitions:  Tim Wallace

Departures:  Bruno Gervais, Jack Hillen, Zenon Konopka, Nathan Lawson, Radek Martinek, Doug Weight

Prediction:  The Islanders have a young and exciting team, led by Jonathan Tavares and Michael Grabner.  Defenseman Marc Streit missed all of last season with an injury, but should return to all-star form this year.  The question for this team comes in the chaotic goalie situation that puts an unproven Al Montoya, with injury prone Rick DiPietro, and generally pissed of Evgeni Nabokov.  Expect Nabokov to be traded, DiPietro to get hurt, and Montoya to fall off as the season goes on.  This team is very close, but their division foes do not help their journey.

5^th Atlantic, 11^th East.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Last Season’s Record:  37-34-11, 85 pts (4^th Northeast, 10^th East)

PP%:  16.0% (22^nd)

PK%:  77.4% (28^th)

Goals For:  213 (21^st)

Goals Against:  245 (24^th)

Acquisitions:  Tim Connolly, Phillippe Dupuis

Departures:  Tim Brent, Fabian Brunnstrom, JS Giguere, Christina Hanson, Danny Richmond, Aaron Voros

Prediction:  Toronto came out of nowhere last year, led largely by rookie goalie James Reimer, to make a late playoff run in the last month of the season.  The roster remains largely unchanged, and a young team has gained a year of experience.  Toronto will likely make another push this year, as their coach’s job depends on it.  Adding Tim Connolly could help greatly…if he can stay healthy at all.  Reimer will determine this team’s future, which isn’t the news he probably wants to hear quite yet.

4^th Northeast, 10^th East.

New York Rangers

Last Season’s Record:  44-33-5, 93 pts (3^rd Atlantic, 8^th East)

Eliminated by Washington, 1^st round

PP%:  16.9% (18^th)

PK%:  83.7% (10^th)

Goals For:  224 (16^th)

Goals Against:  195 (5^th)

Acquisitions:  Brad Richards

Departures:  Matt Gilroy, Bryan McCabe, Vaclav Prospal,

Prediction:  The Rangers snuck into the playoffs last year, but didn’t have the depth to handle Washington in the first round.  As always, the goaltending on this team will be phenomenal, though Lundqvist can’t possibly continue to play 65+ game seasons every year for them.  My issue with this team is how injury prone they are.  Richards is a headshot away from retirement, Gaborik is a constant injury issue, and Marc Staal is beginning the season on the IR.  Injuries are going to keep this team out by a hair.

4^th Atlantic, 9^th East.

New Jersey Devils

Last Season’s Record:  38-39-5, 81 pts (4^th Atlantic, 11^th East)

PP%:  14.4% (28^th)

PK%:  83.4% (11^th)

Goals For:  171 (30^th)

Goals Against:  207 (9^th)

Acquisitions:  Eric Boulton

Departures:  Mike McKenna, Colin White

Prediction:  The Devils began last season as the worst team in hockey…seemingly ever.  They ended the season as the hottest team in hockey…seemingly ever.  They are the poster child for the difference that a coaching change can make.  However, now they are on their 3^rd coach in 2 years, and a new season begins.  The roster remains untouched for the most part, with Zach Parise returning from an injury that kept him out for most of the season.  NJ is some hybrid of the 2 halves we saw last year, and I have that hybrid being good enough for a playoff spot.

3^rd Atlantic, 8^th East.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Last Season’s Record:  46-25-11, 103 pts (2^nd Southeast, 5^th East)

Eliminated by Boston, 3^rd round

PP%:  20.5% (6^th)

PK%:  83.8% (8^th)

Goals For:  241 (8^th)

Goals Against:  234 (21^st)

Acquisitions:  Mathieu Garon, Bruno Gervais, Matt Gilroy, Richard Petiot, Alexandre Picard, Tom Pyatt, Ryan Shannon

Departures:  Sean Bergenheim, Simon Gagne, Randy Jones, Mike Lundin, Marc Pouliot, Matt Smaby, Mike Smith

Prediction:  Tampa Bay came on strong at the end of last season, led by a tremendous powerplay and fantastic goaltending from Dwayne Roloson.  They made it to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals before bowing out to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions.  I don’t believe a repeat performance is in order this year.  Roloson played above his pay grade, and has only added more wear and tear to his already old body.  The powerplay will stay strong, the scoring might be there, but the goals against may get even worse this year.  Expect a lot of run and gun games.

2^nd Southeast, 7^th East.

Montreal Canadiens

Last Season’s Record:  44-30-8, 96 pts (3^rd Northeast, 6^th East)

Eliminated by Boston, 1^st round

PP%:  19.7% (7^th)

PK%:  84.4% (7^th)

Goals For:  213 (23^rd)

Goals Against:  206 (8^th)

Acquisitions:  Peter Budaj, Chris Campoli, Erik Cole, Nathan Lawson

Departures:  Mathieu Carle, Jeff Halpern, Roman Hamrlik, Alexandre Picard, Paul Mara, Tom Pyatt, Benoit Pouliot, Curtis Sanford, James Wisniewski, Brent Sopel

Prediction:  Montreal tortured teams last year with their outstanding special teams and the goaltending of Carey Price.  Their Achilles heel was a major inability to score.  To fix this…they did pretty much nothing.  Montreal seems to have lost some of their depth, and continues to be without the constantly injured Andrei Markov.  Carey Price has matured greatly though, and will continue to keep this team contending.

3^rd Northeast, 6^th East.

Boston Bruins

Last Season’s Record:  46-25-11, 103 pts (1^st Northeast, 3^rd East)

Won Stanley Cup

PP%:  16.2% (20^th)

PK%:  82.6% (16^th)

Goals For:  244 (5^th)

Goals Against:  189 (2^nd)

Acquisitions:  Benoit Pouliot, Joe Corvo

Departures:  Tomas Kaberle, Mark Recchi, Michael Ryder, Boris Valabik,

Prediction:  Boston won the Cup last year, easiest summary ever.  They underwent very few roster changes like many of the East teams, but this could very well be a bigger problem for Boston than others.  Tim Thomas cannot possibly be expected to have the Vezina year that he had last year again.  Additionally, Boston pretty much got hot at the right time last year.  After a grueling season that went all the way to a Game 7 in June, don’t expect them to be quite as clutch this year.  Tyler Seguin and Tuuka Rask are going to have to play big parts this year to help keep this team in the realm of back to back cups.

2^nd Northeast, 5^th East.

Philadelphia Flyers

Last Season’s Record:  47-23-12, 106 pts (1^st Atlantic, 2^nd East)

Eliminated by Boston, 2^nd round

PP%:  16.6% (19^th)

PK%:  82.8% (15^th)

Goals For:  256 (3^rd)

Goals Against:  216 (11^th)

Acquisitions:  Jaromir Jagr, Andreas Lilja, Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, Jakub Voracek, Ilya Bryzgalov, Max Talbot

Departures:  Brian Boucher, Daniel Carcillo, Ville Leino, Sean O’Donnell, Darroll Powe, Michael Ryan, Danny Syvret, Nikolay Zherdev, Jeff Carter, Mike Richards

Prediction:  No one knows what to expect out of the Flyers this year.  They overhauled the face of their team, getting rid of Richards and Carter, adding Bryzgalov in net, and adding former Penguins Jagr and Talbot.  This team has all kinds of potential, both to succeed and fail.  Big questions remain on whether this team can gel, if Giroux can take over the top spot on this team, how Jagr will return to the NHL, and if Bryzgalov can handle the pressure.  I trust Giroux…I trust Jagr for half of a season, I trust Bryzgalov until late in the season.  This team will do well in the regular season, I don’t expect much for the playoffs though.

2^nd Atlantic, 4^th East.

Buffalo Sabres

Last Season’s Record:  43-29-10, 96 pts (3^rd Northeast, 7^th East)

Eliminated by Philadelphia, 1^st round

PP%:  19.4% (9^th)

PK%:  83% (13^th)

Goals For:  256 (3^rd)

Goals Against:  228 (17^th)

Acquisitions:  Christian Ehrhoff, Ville Leino, Michael Ryan, Robyn Regehr, Ales Kotalik

Departures:  Chris Butler, Tim Conboy, Tim Connolly, Mark Mancari, Mark Parrish, Steve Montador, Rob Neidermayer, Patrick Lalime, Mike Grier

Prediction:  The buzz around Buffalo is new owner Terry Pegula and his unlimited financial resources.  We saw these resources thrown into action as Ehrhoff and Leino received absurd contracts.  They are good players…but we’ll see how Buffalo feels in 4 years.  For the time being though, they are solid additions and will help this team greatly.  The defense in front of Miller has improved greatly, and Miller was already a stud to begin with.  If the forwards can grow and stay healthy, this team could make a very solid run.

1^st Northeast, 3^rd East.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Last Season’s Record:  49-25-8, 106 pts (2^nd Atlantic, 4^th East)

Eliminated by Tampa Bay, 1^st round

PP%:  15.8% (25^th)

PK%:  86.1% (1^st)

Goals For:  228 (13^th)

Goals Against:  196 (6^th)

Acquisitions:  Steve MacIntyre, Alexandre Picard, Steve Sullivan, Boris Valabik, Jason Williams, Richard Park

Departures:  Mike Comrie, Chris Conner, Eric Godard, Alexei Kovalev, Corey Potter, Mike Rupp, Brett Sterling, Max Talbot, Tim Wallace

Prediction:  Read my Penguins Season Preview for this.  It’ll be much more detailed than any paragraph I’m going to write here.  Here’s the link:  http://crosbyftw.blogspot.com/2011/10/pens-season-preview-2011-2012.html

1^st Atlantic, 2^nd East.

Washington Capitals

Last Season’s Record:  48-23-11, 107 pts (1^st Southeast, 1^st East)

Eliminated by Tampa Bay, 2^nd round

PP%:  17.5% (16^th)

PK%:  85.6% (2^nd)

Goals For:  219 (19^th)

Goals Against:  191 (4^th)

Acquisitions:  Troy Brouwer, Jeff Halpern, Roman Hamrlik, Christian Hanson, Ryan Potulny, Danny Richmond, Tomas Vokoun, Joel Ward

Departures:  Jason Arnott, Matt Bradley, Boyd Gordon, Scott Hannan, Andrew Joudrey, Michael Nylander, Tyler Sloan, Marco Sturm, Semyon Varlamov

Prediction:  Who else would you expect to see at the top?  The Capitals have made a habit of dominating the regular season.  They have added some crafty role players in Brouwer and Ward, and made a big impact in the goaltending market by signing Tomas Vokoun.  This team has all the talent in the world, and will demonstrate it as usual through the regular season.  Young defensemen Carlson and Alzner will continue to improve, and of course, they have that Ovechkin guy to score.  It will be interesting to see what the team does with Semin this year.  The real question for this team begins in April anyways.

1^st Southeast, 1^st East.

So my final order for the East this year:

1) Washington

2) Pittsburgh

3) Buffalo

4) Philadelphia

5) Boston

6) Montreal

7) Tampa Bay

8) New Jersey

9) New York Rangers

10) Toronto

11) New York Islanders

12) Carolina

13) Florida

14) Winnipeg

15) Ottawa

Interesting note after doing all of the previews....East - dominant on the PK.  West - dominant on the PP.

Pens find where the wild things are, defeat them 4-2

Pens defeat Wild 4-2

Goals:  Kunitz (1) from Dupuis

Staal (3) (PP) from Cooke, Michalek

Neal (6)

Dupuis (2) (SH) from Cooke

Recap: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400047221

Top 3:   

1)  Matt Cooke.  Has Cooke’s game become so impressive that it is now understated and assumed?  Another fantastic outing for him, both on the score sheet and defensively.  He blocked a few shots on the penalty kill, had a few key poke checks, and got the puck to Dupuis for a short-handed goal.  He also had a hand in the powerplay goal that Staal scored.  For a guy who was the most wanted man in the NHL, he has turned his game into a quiet and graceful success literally overnight.  

These 2 were fantastic tonight.

2)  Brent Johnson.  Not enough can be said of Johnson in this game, he probably should be my #1 but Johnson’s expectations are way higher than Cooke’s in my head.  Johnson played solid start to finish, controlling his rebounds and playing the puck incredibly well.  There’s a confidence in his puck possession skills that Fleury lacks (as pointed out by the thousands screaming stay in the net).  Johnson even had a clear on the penalty kill.  Aside from solid play, he is a beast.  Johnson went down with what looked like a right leg injury of some sort and promptly shook it off and made some great saves in the 3^rd period.  He is quite possibly the best backup in the NHL.

3)  Pascal Dupuis.  Dupuis put together another strong night with a goal and an assist, along with fantastic penalty kill work.  He did have one gaff when he was playing the point on the powerplay and lost a Martin pass that led to a short-handed goal against.  Despite this, he was still one of the best on the ice, getting the puck to the net 6 times and play great at both ends.  Dupuis has elevated his game as injuries have continued to take a toll on the Pens.

 

Bottom 3:

1)  Matt Niskanen.  Niskanen had a downright awful night, taking 2 penalties and he should have been called for a 3^rd.  He missed the net on all of his shot attempts and was also out of place on the 2^nd Wild goal.  I imagine that part of this can be blamed on the fact that he played what probably is a career high 27 minutes in this game because of Strait’s injury, but he still needs to do a better job of positioning in the defensive zone.  He is starting to remind me of Goligoski, without all of the offensive talent.  That’s not a compliment.

Uhhh, you can't do that Matt.

 2)  Mark Letestu.  Letestu didn’t necessarily do much wrong, but he didn’t do much right either.  Honestly, I’m not sure Letestu did anything.  Aside from Steigerwald and Errey clamoring for him to get a goal and talking about how he scored 14 last year, Letestu was pretty invisible on the ice.  He has been cycled out of the 1^st line center spot down to the 3^rd line spot, and at this rate, he will be out as soon as everyone is healthy.  This is the perfect time for him to step up, he needs to stop wasting it.

3)  Jordan Staal.  Staal’s game was good in some ways but bad in more.  He did get the powerplay goal by finding a puck right at his feet, so that was good.  However, he did take a late penalty that threatened the Penguins lead and also made a few errant passes throughout the game.  His work on the penalty kill is still outstanding, but his 5 on 5 game could use some work right now.  I can’t really complain too much about Staal, but he did just enough to end up on this list on a night where most guys played very well.  (I realize he was one of the 3 stars of the game, I don't care, I demand more Jordan)

Random Statistics:

- Steve MacIntyre played 23 seconds tonight

- James Neal had 7 attempted shots (4 on net)

- Martin and Michalek each played 29 minutes without Letang and with Strait getting hurt

- This was the Pens’ 8^th game in 13 days

- The Penalty Kill remains perfect on the road

Random Thoughts:

- The resiliency of this team is amazing.  Missing over a 3^rd of their salary cap figure on the ice, they managed to beat Minnesota thoroughly.  The Wild held a closed door meeting after the game.

- Joe Vitale still deserves more playing time.  Only 9 minutes tonight, yet he rarely makes a mistake when he’s on the ice.

- Less injuries please.

- As for the Letang suspension, Shanahan’s explanation makes sense.  I just don’t like that it was only a 2 minute minor.  If you want to erase boarding so bad, make it a 5 minute major, that will make players think right away.

- Kinda funny to watch Mike Yeo’s powerplay go 0 for 5 and then let up a short handed goal.

Beat him like a rented mule.

Injury Report:

- Malkin, Orpik, Crosby, and Jeffrey all did not make the trip to Winnipeg and Minnesota, so no updates on them as a whole.  All have been skating, and Bylsma hinted at 1 coming back Thurs, but it won’t be Crosby

- Tyler Kennedy missed his 2^nd game in a row with “concussion like symptoms”

- Brian Strait played in his first game of a call-up and left early with an upper body injury

- Joe Vitale missed a portion of the 2^nd period with a cut on his face, but returned to action

- Deryk Engelland took a puck to the face but also returned to action

Takeaways:

1)  Roster Issues Abound.  Well, the news going into tonight was that Strait was called up because Letang was suspended for 2 games.  Because of this, Orpik had to be placed on the IR to create room.  Strait promptly got injured.  The Penguins might start having roster issues and cap issues soon with the amount of players they have that are mildly injured.  Though I don’t think Orpik will be back on Thursday, I really hope he can be ready for the sake of roster spots and money.

2)  Forward on the Point = Goals Against.  Bylsma and Granato want to run a powerplay with 4 forwards and 1 defenseman this year.  While it has been quite successful so far, beware of the perils.  Dupuis was on the point and lost the puck on the short-handed goal that was scored against the Penguins.  Now, I have no problem with the 4 forward system.  Just beware, we will likely see a few short-handed goals against because of it.

3)  Enjoy the Penalty Kill.  The Penalty Kill is playing out of its mind as a whole, and every individual on it looks amazing.  At 96% right now, don’t expect it to last since the Pens lead the league with 86% last year.  The key is that the Pens must take advantage of these opportunities now, and win these games where they are controlling special teams.  Simple math says we are going to have a bad run of penalty kills at some point, so enjoy what you are watching now and let’s see how long we can stay hot.

Pens Record: 4-2-2, 10 pts.

Goals For: 23

Goals Against: 20

PP %:  23% (7 for 31)

PK %:  96% (26 for 27)

Next Game:  Thurs 10/20 vs. Montreal, 7pm  LET’S GO PENS!!!