Who Says You Can't Go Home, Pens Lose

New format for the hell of it as losses to the Flyers spark change.

Main Storylines:

- Jaromir Jagr and Maxime Talbot play their first games after not signing with Pittsburgh in the offseason.

- The Pens and Flyers entered the game tied for 2^nd in the division with 46 points each

- It’s the Pittsburgh-Philly rivalry, what else do you need?

This kid would make a good Flyers fan with signs like that.

Result:

Flyers 4  Pens 2

Goals:   Jordan Staal (15) from Kennedy,

             Tyler Kennedy (5) from Malkin, Despres

The Good:

- Pens get on the board less than a minute in with Staal’s goal, causing the crowd to erupt.

- Despite being a rivalry game, nothing truly ugly happened between the two teams.  Always nice to see no fighting or biting every once in a while.

- The Pens were unreal in faceoffs tonight, winning 68.5 % (37 for 54).  Adams (6-0) and Staal (13-5) were the highlights.

Tyler Kennedy – After seeing his name floated around newspapers because Jagr was questioning how he was a priority for the Pens in the offseason, Kennedy put up a goal and an assist to extend his scoring streak to a career high 5 games.

Simon Despres – The kid is NHL ready as far as I’m concerned.  He knows when to pinch, knows how to shoot the puck from the points safely, and steps up on D when he needs to.  Strong body, smart play, it’s going to be tough to send him down.  His stats looked good with an assist and a +2 tonight.

Staal finds a tasty looking stick.

Jordan Staal – He certainly gave the Pens chances, winning 72.2% of his faceoffs (13 for 18) and scoring his 15^th goal of the season.  Staal is quietly on pace for a career high in goals despite lingering injury problems. 

Zbynek Michalek – He had 4 blocked shots and was a +2 tonight in 20 minutes of ice time.  He did exactly what he gets paid to do tonight.

The Bad:

- The Pens lost the special teams battle, allowing a powerplay goal and not scoring any of their own.  As common knowledge suggests, lose that battle against a good team and lose the game.

- The refereeing was iffy at times.  Most notably, when Matt Cooke was bear hugged and taken down, but then got yelled at by a ref.  Gotta feel for Cooke on some days.  

James Neal – He’s starting to trend as the powerplay trends this season.  Neal was a -2, had 2 giveaways, and took a crucial tripping penalty in the offensive zone, leading to the Flyers taking the lead on the ensuing powerplay.  No offensive production from him tonight.

Chris Kunitz – He was pretty much invisible after a solid first 2 or 3 shifts.  In the past against the Flyers, Kunitz has been a big hitter and momentum changer, but he was very quiet tonight.

The Ugly:

- Watching Jagr score a beautiful backhander to give the Flyers the lead

- Jagr following it up with his usual salute to the crowd

- Watching Talbot on the ice with a minute left and Fleury pulled and just knowing what he wanted…followed by watching him score the empty net goal

- Hell, watching the Flyers win

Welcome back Max...now leave.

Matt Niskanen – He was a -3, added no offense, and looked a bit intimidated against the Flyers forwards baring down on him.  He gave them a prevent defense effort, allowing plenty of room for the Flyers to stickhandle and pass the puck deep into the zone. 

Thoughts:

- Though both teams have their injury issues, the Flyers really kept to their game and wouldn’t let the Pens get to their own.  Letang was a big factor out of the lineup tonight, he would have been a great guy to have stepping up on the Flyers forwards and moving the puck up.

- The Pens are a middle of the playoff pack team as their roster stands right now.  Stealing a couple games from the top of the Conference (yes, the Flyers) might have to suffice this season.

- The shot total was rather low tonight and the Pens as a team seemed hesitant to shoot from all angles.  I wonder if Bobrovsky is getting into their heads a little.

- Bobrovsky is undefeated in Pittsburgh and the Flyers are undefeated in Consol (4-0 for each)….ouch.

Pens Record: 21-12-4, 46 pts, 3^rd in the Atlantic, 5^th in the East

Next Game:  12/31 @ NJ, 3pm

Survival of the Fittest, Pens win!

Pens 3  Hawks 2

Goals:  Kunitz (12) (PP) from Malkin, Niskanen

            Neal (19) from Malkin, Niskanen

            Kennedy (4) from Lovejoy, Malkin

Recap:  http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400047322

Top 3:   

1)  Evgeni Malkin.  Geno put up 3 big assists, springing a breakaway and a 2 on 1 to help get the Pens a win and move into a first place tie in the NHL scoring race.  He also ended up with 6 shots on goal to keep the pressure on Emery, and also went 16 for 24 in faceoffs (66.7%).  He still has some giveaway issues when he tries to carry the puck too much, but he had costly problems tonight and propelled the team yet again.

All-World scorer...still awkward celebrations.

2)  Marc-Andre Fleury.  Flower faced an absolutely onslaught in the 3^rd period, making 17 stops on 19 shots to go along with his 19 saves from the first 2 periods.  He was instrumental in keeping the Penguins in the game, not allowing a soft goal despite the Blackhawks’ many efforts to bank a puck in off the side of his pads.  The only 2 goals he allowed were both unreachable cross crease passes that were certainly not his fault.  Another great game from Fleury as he earned win #201.

3)  Pascal Dupuis.  Dupuis, and also Matt Cooke, earned this spot with very solid penalty killing, great backchecking and forechecking, and all-around solid play.  Both players kept the pressure on Chicago big time in the neutral zone, slowing down their attack through the first 2 periods.  They were also quite valuable in the 3^rd period as the Pens went into survival mode and both players had some very important clears when things were getting hot.  The effort of these 2 was a big reason why the Pens escaped with a regulation win.

Bottom 3: 

1)  James Neal.  Despite having a goal and maybe getting called for a questionable penalty, Neal still belongs in this spot for the fact that he did get called for 3 minors.  Regardless of how bad a call may end up being, a player shouldn’t put himself in such a situation to get called for it.  Neal’s 3 minors gave a very talented Chicago team a chance to comeback in the game.  His tripping minor with over a minute left in the 3^rd period could have been a back breaker for the Penguins, but he was bailed out by the PK and Fleury.  He was a PP goal away from being a big goat in this one.

One of the odder calls against Neal.

2)  Brooks Orpik.  I continue to be unimpressed with Orpik’s play recently.  In tonight’s game, it appeared that the Blackhawks learned by the 3^rd period that if they took the puck wide towards the boards against him, he would get caught in between the net and going after the player.  Chicago used this to their advantage on the first goal, even though Niskanen put the puck in on accident, the pass was open because Orpik was far out.  The Hawks tried this again numerous times, but a few stellar saves by Fleury, and some backchecking help from Staal and Sullivan saved Orpik.

3)  Jason Williams.  For as well as Williams did in his limited time on Saturday, he did the opposite in this game.  He took a penalty, and missed on 3 or 4 pucks in the offensive zone.  He had trouble controlling the puck on the powerplay, and basically didn’t take advantage of the time he was given on the ice.  As I used to say with Vitale, if you aren’t going to get many minutes, at least don’t screw up during them.

Injury Report:

- Brian Strait (elbow) has been sent down to the AHL and is healthy again

- Ben Lovejoy (wrist) returned to the lineup after missing 5 weeks with a broken wrist

- Dustin Jeffrey is on the IR as he rehabs his knee

- Kris Letang is on the IR with a concussion

- Zbynek Michalek remains day to day with concussion symptoms

- Richard Park is out 4-6 weeks with a broken foot

- Sidney Crosby is out indefinitely with concussion like symptoms and was placed on the IR

- Robert Bortuzzo is out indefinitely with concussion like symptoms and was placed on the IR

- Jordan Staal returned to the lineup after missing a couple of games with a lower body injury

- Paul Martin missed his 2^nd straight game with a lower body injury (believed to be right leg)

- Craig Adams played despite leaving the Buffalo game early over the weekend

Random Notes:

- Matt Niskanen’s 2^nd assist was his 100^th career point in the NHL

- Malkin’s 16 faceoff wins was a career high

Random Thoughts:

- Why do we still boo Hossa?  We beat him in the Cup finals after he left…get over it!

- Chicago is a very talented team and very fun to watch…I can safely say after we won.

- The Pens can’t go into survival mode in the 3^rd period against good teams like Chicago.  They were lucky to get away with this one, but most top teams will just run over the Pens when they do that.

- No one new got hurt tonight…it’s amazing!

- Deryk Engelland may have a couple of hits from this game reviewed, more to come I’m sure.

Takeaways:

1)  Learn to Play 60 Minutes.  As I alluded to in my thoughts, the Pens really can’t afford to play a strong 40 minutes and then go into a shell for 20 minutes.  Fleury has been a rock in net, but the defense definitely has its lapses that come with youth.  Teams like Chicago have no problem taking advantage of that (look at their 2^nd goal, tic tac toe).  We’ve seen the Pens play a great first 40 mins, and a great last 20 minutes, but they are still having trouble putting together a full game.  Even against Buffalo, they allowed a quick 2 goals that could have changed things quickly.  This team is going to have to learn to control the game for a full 60 sooner than later.

Bylsma had to use his timeout early in the 3rd after 2 quick goals against.

2)  Every Healthy Player is a Boost.  How nice was it to have Ben Lovejoy back in the lineup, especially as he carried the puck in and assisted on Kennedy’s goal (the game winner).  Lovejoy looked very solid on defense, blocking 2 shots.  He didn’t get much special teams time which was surprising with Picard and Despres in the lineup, but perhaps he will be worked into that.  Regardless, it was very nice to have a steady body back into the lineup.

3)  Malkin is Back.  Geno has put together a long enough string of games that I am willing to suggest he may be back to Conn Smythe form now.  He looks like the player that can potentially take over (though not consistently yet) when the team needs it the most.  His play right now reminds me the most of when Crosby went down with the high ankle sprain a few years back.  He drew 3 penalties in this game, and looked very calm and controlled with the puck, using his open options better than he had earlier this season.  There are a lot of trophies well within his reach right now.

Pens Record: 19-11-4, 42 pts.

Goals For: 110

Goals Against: 90

PP %:  20% (28 for 142)

PK %:  88% (107 for 122)

Next Game:  12/23 @ Win, 8:30pm  LET’S GO PENS!!!

Geno lucky today, Pens win big!

Pens 8  Sabres 3

Goals:  Williams (1) from Picard, Adams

            Despres (1) (PP) from Kennedy, Williams

            Malkin (13) from Kunitz, Orpik

            Malkin (14) from Sneep, Picard

            Neal (18) (PP) from Malkin, Niskanen

            Engelland (2) from Asham, Dupuis

            Malkin (15) (PP) from Neal, Niskanen

            Kunitz (11) from Malkin, Engelland

Recap: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/recap?gid=2011121716

Top 3:   

1)  Evgeni Malkin.  With his 7^th career hat trick, Geno iced this spot easily.  Malkin has played at the all-world level we have expected out of him over the past couple of weeks, and showed his best tonight.  Buffalo couldn’t contain him, even when he was double teamed, and Malkin put up 5 points as he makes a move on the scoring race.   I’m sure it was a great feeling for him as Buffalo was the team that ended his season early last year.  As I write this, he has moved up to 3^rd in scoring in the NHL.

Geno would not be denied tonight.

2)  Chris Kunitz.  Kunitz set the tone on the first shift of the game, throwing 3 hard body checks as the Penguins came out showing they were ready to play.  His physical play caused turnovers, allowing the Pens to dominate early and roar out to a dominant victory over the Sabres.  He also added an assist and a late goal to get in on the scoresheet action. 

3)  Deryk Engelland.  Engelland played great both in the defensive end and taking over for Kris Letang in pushing the puck forward.  He came up with a goal and an assist, and led the rush a few times for the Pens.  Despite my concerns about his skating ability, he is acquiring a knack for knowing when to step up on the far side of the ice to help the forwards out and create room on the rush.

Bottom 3: 

1)  Brooks Orpik.  Despite being the most experienced defenseman in the lineup, Orpik put together another bad game, though no one will remember it with the win.  He was a -1 and was at fault on 2 of the Sabres goals when he didn’t stick tightly to his coverage.  He hasn’t been a big force in front of the net lately, but at least it didn’t matter on a night like this one.  He did get his 100^th career point at least!

2)  Matt Cooke.  Cooke played a perfectly fine game, but he gets on here for 2 turnovers in the offensive zone.  That’s really all I have.  Hard to complain about many players tonight.

3)  Eric Tangradi.  Tangradi makes the list for his lack of impact.  Every time I see him in the lineup, I hope that I’m going to get a physical game from him and a lot of hard work in front of the net.  Maybe it’s just time to drop my expectations for him.  He didn’t do anything wrong necessarily, but I see higher potential in him than he’s showing.

Injury Report:

- Brian Strait (elbow) is getting close to returning and has been skating with the team

- Ben Lovejoy (wrist) is out 2-4 more weeks

- Dustin Jeffrey is on the IR as he rehabs his knee

- Kris Letang is on the IR with a concussion

- Zbynek Michalek remained out with a concussion as he felt headaches earlier in the day

- Richard Park is out 4-6 weeks with a broken foot

- Sidney Crosby is out indefinitely with concussion like symptoms and was placed on the IR

- Robert Bortuzzo is out indefinitely with concussion like symptoms and was placed on the IR

- Jordan Staal sat out his 2^nd straight game with a lower body injury

- Paul Martin sat out the game with a lower body injury (believed to be right leg)

- Craig Adams left the game in the 2^nd period with an undisclosed injury

  

Random Notes:

- Carl Sneep made his NHL debut

- Brooks Orpik’s assist on Malkin’s goal was his 100^th point

- Ryan Miller was pulled after allowing 3 goals on 7 shots half way through the 1^st period

- Carl Sneep recorded his first point (an assist) in the NHL on Malkin’s 2^nd goal

- Miller was put back in at the start of the 2^nd period, and allowed a goal in the first minute

- Pascal Dupuis earned his 300^th point in the NHL on Engelland’s goal

- Miller was pulled AGAIN going to the 3^rd period

- Fleury won his 200^th NHL game tonight

Welcome to the goalie carousel, Ryan Miller.

 Random Thoughts:

- Ryan Miller must absolutely hate Pittsburgh more than anywhere else

- If MacIntyre can’t get in the lineup over half the AHL team, I don’t understand why we have him

- I’m just not impressed by anything that Eric Tangradi has shown at the NHL level so far, he’s pretty invisible

Takeaways:

1)  Shoot, shoot, shoot.  One thing the Pens did very successfully in this game, much to Ryan Miller’s dismay, was shoot the puck a lot.  Earlier in the season, the Pens had been getting shot totals in the upper 30’s or 40’s on some nights in smothering opposing goalies.  The Pens didn’t have a crazy high shot total tonight, but their shots attempted was up there as the Sabres blocked roughly 20 shots.  Add that to a Ryan Miller off-night as he let in a couple soft goals, and the Pens cruised to an easy win.

2)  Youngsters Can Play.  Personally, I figured with Picard, Despres, and Sneep composing half of the defense, then Pens would be out of luck on their own zone and struggle to move the puck up.  Little did I know that they would hold their own very well, with Despres getting his first NHL goal, Picard adding a couple assists, and Sneep getting his first NHL point in his first NHL game.  The young defensemen did a fantastic job of staying composed under pressure and moving the puck up for the forwards to go to work.

Despres look NHL ready.

 3)  Powerplay FTW.  The powerplay had 3 goals and all of them were at the perfect times to put the Sabres back in their place.  The first powerplay goal gave the Pens a 2-0 lead, the 2^nd one came 53 seconds into the 2^nd period after the Sabres had put Ryan Miller back in, and the 3^rd one was midway through the 3^rd after the Sabres had scored 2 quick ones to scare everyone a little bit.  Not only was it great that the Pens had 3 powerplay goals, but their timing couldn’t have been better.

Pens Record: 18-11-4, 40 pts.

Goals For: 107

Goals Against: 88

PP %:  20% (27 for 135)

PK %:  87% (104 for 119)

Next Game:  12/20 vs. Chi, 7:30pm  LET’S GO PENS!!!

Another One Bites the Dust, Pens Lose.

Sens 6  Pens 4

Goals:  Sullivan (6) from Asham, Vitale

            Niskanen (2) (PP) from Sullivan, Kunitz

            Malkin (12) (PP) from Sullivan, Neal

            Kunitz (10) from Despres, Malkin

Recap:  http://espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400047204

Top 3:   

1)  Steve Sullivan.  Sullivan was the Penguins offense in a lackluster game that went from downright boring to a shooting gallery at times.  He picked the corner beautifully for his goal and had the primary assist on the powerplay goals by Niskanen and Malkin.  His puck movement was very strong in the offensive zone, and he created his own space by using the net to his advantage down low at times.  He also made a great defensive play on the powerplay to deny the Senators a short-handed chance.

2)  Chris Kunitz.  Kunitz had a strong game the last time the Pens played the Sens, and he went with the same game plan in this one to be successful again.  He was a major factor in front of the net, screening Auld on both powerplay goals, getting a secondary assist as well.  Kunitz added a late goal, tipping a puck in front of the net from his usual spot.  He also played well in his own zone, breaking up 2 passes and covering for a pinching Paul Martin a couple of times. 

3)  Evgeni Malkin.  Geno keeps trying to carry the team on his back, and scored another goal in this game.  He could only do so much for the team though despite his fantastic efforts.  He played his usual game, with strong stickhandling and great skating.  Malkin just didn’t get too many chances as he was double teamed frequently around the net and he didn’t get much help from the rest of the team here.

No double team here, but couldn't finish it.

  

Bottom 3: 

1)  Paul Martin.  Martin simply either couldn’t keep up with his defensive assignments throughout the night or was pushing too hard to get offense.  He was cleanly beaten on 2 of the Senators goals that basically turned into 2 on 1’s because of his lack of coverage.  He also turned it over twice going into the offensive zone causing quick rushes back the other way that he couldn’t cover on.  Martin did not play defense first tonight, and that’s something the Pens can’t afford.

A step behind as usual tonight.

2)  Deryk Engelland.  The other half to the Martin pairing, Engelland struggled just as much as Martin did tonight.  He found himself out of position even when Martin was caught pinching or caught out of position.  He was also on for the 6^th goal and was very deep in the offensive zone where there was no hope of getting back to cover.  I understand pinching when the team needs goals, but when a guy skates as slow as Engelland, pinching has to be very limited and carefully done.  Engelland has to succeed on positioning, and tonight was not his night.

3)  Brooks Orpik.  Goal off of his skate aside, Orpik still did not play a strong game.  A -3 on the night, Orpik’s worst effort came on the Senators 2^nd goal, as he wandered all the way out to the blue line to make a hit, leaving a 2 on 1 going back the other way for an easy Senators goal.  His positioning was bad and his luck was even worse (see: goal off of his skate).  His physical game was also lacking in this one, and he did nothing to the 2 men in front on the Senators powerplay goal late in the 2^nd period.  The whole defense pretty much blew in this one.

Injury Report:

- Brian Strait (elbow) is getting close to returning and has been skating with the team

- Ben Lovejoy (wrist) is out 2-4 more weeks

- Dustin Jeffrey is on the IR as he rehabs his knee

- Kris Letang is on the IR with a concussion

- Zbynek Michalek remained out with a concussion as he felt headaches earlier in the day

- Richard Park is out 4-6 weeks with a broken foot

- Sidney Crosby is out indefinitely with concussion like symptoms

- Robert Bortuzzo is out indefinitely with concussion like symptoms

- Jordan Staal sat out the game with a lower body injury

- Paul Martin hurt his right leg in a collision with Chris Phillips and went to the locker room in the 3^rd period.  He did not return.

- James Neal got hit in the face and went to the locker room in the 3^rd period but returned for his next shift

Random Notes:

- Pascal Dupuis started at center with Staal out of the lineup

- Dupuis also played in his 700^th career game

- Eric Tangradi and Alexandre Picard were recalled and played tonight

- Brent Johnson got the start in the 1^st game of back to backs

- Johnson was pulled after allowing 5 goals in 19 shots through 2 periods

Sorry BJ, did you want defense in front?

 Random Thoughts:

- The first period was about entertaining as watching paint dry

- Niskanen showed his biggest value, actually shooting the puck from the point unlike Paul Martin

- The Sens powerplay goal with 5 seconds left in the 2^nd period was just crushing

- The game really wasn’t Brent Johnson’s fault…the defense hung him out to dry and he faced some bad bounces

Takeaways:

1)  Find the Open Man.  This one is aimed mostly at Malkin and Neal, with everyone else occasionally.  Point being, some of the Pens get in the mode of trying to carry the team, whether it be for a shift, period, or a game.  One of the best things about Sidney Crosby is that once he draws attention, he is great at dishing the puck out to open guys, especially when he’s being double teamed and someone is blatantly open.  Malkin seems to struggle with this when he is being dominant.  Teams look to double him when he tries to take over, but there is rarely an attempt to dish the puck off to the rest of the open team.

2)  Stick to the System.  The key to the Pens surviving this rash of injuries will be sticking to Byslma’s defensive system that got them through last winter and spring without Crosby and Malkin.  Bylsma’s system requires a great amount of discipline in terms of positioning and breakouts.  The Penguins took the better part of 2 periods to get into it tonight and it was too late at that point after the 2^nd period onslaught.  With this roster, a full 60 minutes of perfect play is pretty much a must.

3)  Wake up, Penalty Kill.  The penalty killers let another goal up tonight, and this one was a back breaker with 5 seconds left in the 2^nd period.  The Pens are on a bad streak with their penalty kill, allowing a PP goal in their past 3 games, as their success rate has dropped off greatly over the past 3 weeks.  Not having Staal, Michalek, and Letang hurts the penalty kill quite a bit, but the time for excuses is over.  Penalty kill requires hard work, and the Pens better start giving it when they are down a man if they want to turn this slide around.

Pens Record: 17-11-4, 38 pts.

Goals For: 99

Goals Against: 85

PP %:  18% (24 for 130)

PK %:  87% (102 for 117)

Next Game:  12/17 vs. Buf, 7pm  LET’S GO PENS!!!

#ThingsRootSportsWouldMiss, Pens lose.

Red Wings 4  Penguins 1

Goals:  Malkin (11) from Neal, Orpik

Recap:  http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400047070

Top 3:   

1)  Evgeni Malkin.  Despite not taking the gameday skate and being a gametime decision in the lineup, Geno played at a very high level, doing his best to take control of the game.  He scored the only Penguins goal, and put 9 shots on Jimmy Howard, which was 1/3^rd of the Pens shot total.  The one downside to his game was the 4 for 20 faceoff performance as Malkin always struggles against Detroit there.  Against a very stingy and careful Detroit team, Malkin at least made some waves.

The lone bright spot of the game.

2)  James Neal.  One thing that no one talks about when referring to Neal is his passing abilities.  Yes, he’s 3^rd in the league in goals, but he has a very strong ability to create and he showed it against Detroit.  He made a beautiful pass to Malkin to set up his goal and also set up quite a few chances for other forwards, though no one finished.  Neal’s playmaking was superb in this game, though it didn’t appear on the scoresheet.

3)  Brooks Orpik.  On to the 3^rd part of the only goal, where Orpik blocked a shot with his chest before it got to Neal and up to Malkin.  Orpik played a solid game, leading the team in both hits (4) and blocked shots (3).  On what has become a very young and inexperienced blueline without Michalek and Letang, Orpik has provided a sturdy foundation for others (especially Despres) to learn from. 

Bottom 3: 

1)  Matt Niskanen.  Niskanen continued in his string of bad games, at fault for the first Wings goal where he got beat by a forechecker and the 2^nd goal where he took the penalty that led to the Penguins being shorthanded (after turning the puck over in the Wings zone, mind you).  He received a lot of powerplay time in this game and did manage 3 shots on net, but his offensive production surely didn’t make up for his lack of defense.

2)  Jordan Staal.  Staal was a gametime decision going into this game and definitely did not look 100% throughout.  He couldn’t keep up with his coverage on what turned into a Wings 3 on 1 goal and he also led the team in turnovers.  His faceoff % was solid as he went 70%, but faceoffs aren’t worth much when you can’t control the puck.  Hopefully a couple days off will help him heal up his “lower body injury” fully.

Pictured:  Not Jordan Staal covering his man.

3)  Jason Williams.  Williams only received 10 minutes of ice time, but had a surprising 3 minutes on the powerplay, mostly on the top unit.  He has a wicked shot, but couldn’t place it anywhere near the net as he missed wide 3 times.  I realize he’s a short term call up, but if he’s going to receive valuable productivity time like that, he has to at least make some sort of impact.

Injury Report:

- Brian Strait (elbow) is getting close to returning and has been skating with the team

- Ben Lovejoy (wrist) is out 2-4 more weeks

- Dustin Jeffrey is on the IR as he rehabs his knee

- Kris Letang is on the IR with a concussion

- Zbynek Michalek is on the IR with a concussion but may play on Friday

- Richard Park is out 4-6 weeks with a broken foot

- Sidney Crosby is out with concussion like symptoms

- Robert Bortuzzo is out with concussion like symptoms

- Jordan Staal returned to the lineup after missing a game with a lower body injury

- Evgeni Malkin played despite missing the gameday skate with an unknown issue

Random Notes:

- Craig Adams played in his 700^th game

- Marc-Andre Fleury made his first attempt at win #200 (which failed clearly)

Random Thoughts:

- The first period was like Game 1 of the Cup finals between these 2 teams…except at about 1/10^th of the speed.

- Root Sports cut away to commercial during the Wings powerplay in the 3^rd period where they scored to make it 2-1…horrible job by the production crew

- It’s going to be a long December with that injury report…

Takeaways:

1)  Special Teams Must Step Up.  The Pens went 1 for 2 on the penalty kill and 0 for 4 on the powerplay.  These numbers are unacceptable against top teams, especially when the Penguins are a decimated team as it is.  The penalty kill has fallen apart over the past few weeks as we’ve watched their kill rate drop away from the top spot.  The powerplay has also fallen on hard times.  These are the key moments and turning points in games that the Pens can’t afford to lose out on with a half-AHL roster.

2)  Injuries are the Norm.  At this point, it’s time to accept the Penguins will never have their full roster healthy.  Many players are out indefinitely and the attitude has to change from “we’ll be great when everyone is back” to “this is what we have to win with.”  Byslma did a great job with that mindset in the stretch run last year, but it’s going to be even more difficult with more key injuries this season.  Here’s hoping he defends his Jack Adams trophy valiantly.

3)  Time to Look for Garbage.  The Pens have turned into a role player team more than a skill team with all of the injuries, and as such, they need to look for role player type goals.  It’s time to stop getting fancy and look for the tic-tac-toe plays.  Crashing the crease and scoring the garbage goals will be a big key for this team in surviving the next month or so.  Winning the scrambles in front of the net are a must now.

These chances have to be capitalized on.

Pens Record: 17-10-4, 38 pts.

Goals For: 95

Goals Against: 79

PP %:  17% (22 for 126)

PK %:  88% (98 for 112)

Next Game:  12/16 @ Ott, 7:30pm  LET’S GO PENS!!!