Goal Assessment: Game 44 - Pens 3 Bruins 2

Link to Game 44 Thoughts:  The PensNation



+/- Assessment

1st Goal Against (Marchand): - for

• Cooke – in the penalty box for a slashing penalty
• Morrow – skates away from Marchand’s lane, giving him a free entry into the zone and down the boards
• Letang – goes for the poke check on Marchand and gets turned inside out as Marchand skates around him

1st Goal For (Jokinen): + for

• Adams – chases the puck on a forecheck and ties it up until help arrives, eventually ties up the Bruins defense on the crease
• Glass – originally dumped the puck in and chases after it to help out Adams, passes the puck to Niskanen at the point
• Niskanen – fires a shot from the point that lands in front of the crease through bodies
• Jokinen – skates through the open area vacated by Adams on the crease and puts the rebound past Rask

2nd Goal For (Iginla): + for

• Bennett – retrieves the puck in the corner and passes back to Iginla at the point, gives Iginla an outlet and passes back to him again
• Jokinen – retrieves an Iginla pass in the high slot and gives it back to Iginla
• Kunitz – screens Rask on top of the crease
• Iginla – quarterbacks the whole play from the point and finally fires a shot that beats Rask

3rd Goal For (Letang): + for

• Kunitz – goes into the corner to win a puck battle
• Jokinen – goes into the corner to help Kunitz and moves the puck back to Letang at the point
• Letang – fakes a look at a pass and then fires a wrist shot past Rask

2nd Goal Against (Seguin): - for

• Iginla – commits a giveaway in the neutral zone
• Letang – goes down to his knees to poke check Seguin at the blue line and gets beat

Season +/-:  Click here for the Season +/- Spreadsheet

Goal Assessment: Game 30 - Pens 2 Bruins 1

Link for Game 30 Thoughts:  The PensNation

+/- Assessment

1st Goal For (Crosby): + for

• Dupuis – beats Chara to the puck behind the net and spins away from him, passing to Kunitz
• Kunitz – makes a quick pass across the slot to Crosby
• Crosby – shoots the puck past Rask, who was sprawling out of position

1st Goal Against (Seguin): - for

• Eaton – extended sequence begins when Eaton clears it up the middle directly to Boston so everyone starts scrambling in coverage, eventually covers the same guy as Sutter leaving Seguin by himself
• Cooke – not playing anywhere near the points for defensive coverage
• Kennedy – not playing anywhere near the points for defensive coverage
• Sutter – slides towards Eaton’s position where neither one of them adjusts

2nd Goal For (Vitale): + for

• Orpik – makes the lead pass from the defensive zone up to Vitale
• Adams – takes a shot that Rask can’t handle with his glove that leads to a rebound
• Vitale – drops puck off for Adams, skates in for the rebound and puts it over Rask

Season +/-:  Click here for the Season +/- Spreadsheet

Game 27 - Penguins 3 Bruins 2: Goal Assessment

Link for Game 27 Thoughts:  The PensNation

+/- Assessment

1st Goal Against (Chara): - for

• Crosby – too many men penalty: he was the 6th man and easily could have / should have seen Kunitz go on a couple steps before him
• Martin – fails to retrieve the puck in the corner and then shifts a little high, leaving 2 guys on the crease for Orpik
• Orpik – doesn’t even attempt to keep Bergeron from screening Fleury

2nd Goal Against (Seguin): - for

• Cooke – has Bergeron on the crease and releases on his coverage as Bergeron skates behind the net to open himself up for a pass
• Letang – has Seguin on the crease and releases on his coverage as Seguin goes to provide an outlet for Marchand, then leaves the crease area to go after Bergeron once he receives the pass behind the net
• Kennedy – is left with coverage on Seguin due to above abandonments by Cooke and Letang, but doesn’t follow Seguin closely or try to tie up his stick

1st Goal For (Kunitz): + for

• Engelland – gives Letang a passing option and feeds the puck back to him
• Letang – gives Kunitz a perfect pass to one-time
• Dupuis – skates the opposite direction of Kunitz to pull Chara completely out of position with him
• Kunitz – does the forechecking job to retrieve the puck and pass it back to Letang on the point, then gets into shooting position on the other side of the ice and scores on a one-timer

2nd Goal For (Sutter): + for

• Bennett – carries the puck into the offensive zone and passes it to the left to Neal
• Neal – pulls the puck to the right to move a defender towards him and then passes it to the left to Sutter with an open shooting lane
• Sutter – made the initial pass off the boards in the neutral zone to spring Bennett and then took Neal’s pass and shot it past Khudobin

3rd Goal For (Sutter): + for

• Crosby – forces the defender to drop to the ground to cover a pass on the 2 on 1
• Sutter – intercepts the puck inside the offensive zone and rips it past Khudobin

Get the full season +/- here:  Season +/- Spreadsheet

Day 1: Lockout Underway

What Happens Now?

Worst case scenario...and not close to happening yet.

As we all counted down in a pointless fashion on twitter, the NHL and NHLPA rested comfortably in their beds.  There were no last minute negotiations, nor any negotiations on the last day before the CBA expired at all.  But here’s a question, does it make a difference? 

As of 12:00am on 9/16, teams can no longer use players as marketing devices.  Teams also cannot perform any transactions (signings, trades, etc) at all.  Players can no longer use team facilities and are not getting paid right now (though I believe everyone receives at least $100,000 in escrow payments to get them through such tough times, we could all be so lucky).

What changes though?  Nothing happened so far and nothing is happening now.  Training camps will be delayed…but they haven’t been yet.  No games have been cancelled yet.  Nothing has changed.  This artificial midnight deadline means literally nothing and will continue to mean nothing until something important (read: a regular season game) is cancelled.  Just remember that as you freak out about how there is currently a lockout.

Other Lockout Thoughts:

The Essential Problem:

The owners want the players to give up some of their share of revenue.  The players refuse to accept such a fate, whether it be via revenue splits or a salary rollback.  Even the definition of hockey related revenue seems to no longer be at issue; it’s just a matter of honoring contracts that have been signed and paying out revenue to the players.  The NHL and NHLPA both have taken the stance that there is no point in negotiating until the other side backs off of their desires a bit.  So how will this be resolved?  Either the owners have to honor everything as is or the players have to accept less money.  Once that happens, there will be a middle ground to create a common framework and then things will fall in place quickly.  This part will take a while, especially because Fehr will keep the players united.  The owners still have the upper hand though, so this could last a while for that reason.

Who’s At Fault:

This is a messy question and answer that most hockey fans seem to screw up.  The answer is EVERYONE.  Players aren’t budging, that isn’t good for the game or the fans.  Owners aren’t budging, same thing.  Fehr is representing his side properly, as is Bettman.  They are both doing their jobs and trying to get the best for their clients.  Personally, I think both sides are being absurdly greedy.  One side gets paid to play a game and other side makes money off of people playing a game.  If you can side with either group there, I question your logic a little bit.

This man is worth $2 billion.
Take a second and blame him.
Bet you didn't even know he existed.

While I do blame both the owners and players, both Bettman and Fehr, one thing is increasingly clear:  the top owners based on net worth in the NHL are ABSURD.  Jeremy Jacobs owns the Boston Bruins.  He is a billionaire and he is the leader of the owners.  He was at all of the meetings talking about how the owners needed lower salaries or more revenue.  He then signed Brad Marchand, Tyler Seguin, and Milan Lucic to long-term and lucrative deals in the week before the lockout.  Ummmm, what?!?  Other owners have done it to (Washington, Dallas, etc lately).  THAT is the problem.  The owners that can flex their bank accounts are doing so, but arguing that things need to change for the low budget owners.  Meanwhile, look at those low budget owners – Tampa Bay, New Jersey, etc – no long deals right before the lockout, they know what they need to fight for right now.  Owners like Jacobs are the ones hurting the NHL by arguing for the little guy but then bullying the market and spending like a big guy.  It should be one or the other, not both.  (With that being said though, the players are not in the clear either, taking 10-20% less to play a GAME is not nearly as unreasonable as one might have you think).

The owners will remain united though because if the top owners get what they want, the low budget ones will still get what they need as well.  This is a staring contest now.  Who is going to blink first and when will it happen?  My guess is the players will have to concede first, but I wish I could tell you when.  (I’m still thinking a Nov 23^rd start date, but I waiver on that constantly).

What Now for Fans?

GET A LIFE.  NHL 13 is a favorite for people to turn to as hockey seems to disappear.  Don’t forget in this internet age, you can watch and stream hockey from pretty much anywhere.  AHL, OHL, NCAA, WHL, KHL, etc. – name a league, find it online, follow it, watch it, stop complaining and remember that you love HOCKEY.  The NHL is one product.  What happens when a product disappears?  YOU REPLACE IT.  Want the best way to protest the NHL?  Do nothing and move on.

Podcast will be recorded tomorrow with a ton of transactions and hockey angst.  Pens AHL roster updates to come soon as well.  Thanks for reading!

First Round Predictions: 2012 Conference Quarterfinals

Western Conference

#1 Vancouver Canucks vs. #8 Los Angeles Kings

Offense:  There is no question on this one.  LA’s offense has been downright anemic all season and savior Jeff Carter is nursing an ankle injury to start the playoffs.  Vancouver, though without Daniel Sedin to start, still boasts impressive offensive depth.  Edge - Vancouver

Defense:  Both teams have a great amount of depth on defense and veterans that have been to the finals before.  I have a little more faith in the Canucks though because of their experience and more importantly, they have demonstrated the ability to perform at clutch times.  Edge - Vancouver

Goaltending:  Roberto Luongo will be the headcase story of the playoffs.  Jonathan Quick will be a Vezina nominee and might get a Hart nomination as well.  Easy.  Edge – Los Angeles

Special Teams:  Both teams have a great PK, but Vancouver gets help from their top 5 powerplay while Los Angeles continues with their anemic scoring.  Edge - Vancouver

Coaching:  Alain Vigenault is on a mission to get the Canucks one more win than last season to get them a Cup while Darryl Sutter is still trying to figure out which buttons to push at which times for LA.  Edge - Vancouver

Misc:  The Canucks enter the playoffs as the hottest team in the NHL.  LA entered the last week with a chance to clinch the division but blew it against a division rival.  Edge - Vancouver

Result:  Vancouver in 7.  Despite almost everything going Vancouver’s way, I believe in Jonathan Quick this much that he can take this series to the brink.  Quick has put the Kings on his shoulders all season, but it’ll come down to the clutch goal they can’t produce as Vancouver wins out in the end.

 

#2 St. Louis Blues vs. #7 San Jose Sharks

Offense:  Whether it’s a product of systems or talent levels, San Jose certainly has the better offense in this matchup and more pure offensive talent with guys like Marleau, Pavelski.  Edge – San Jose

Defense:  Ken Hitchock knows how to get a team to play strong on the defensive end and he has turned the Blues into a gritty, hard-check team that will work hard in their own end.  Edge – St. Louis

Goaltending:  Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott combined to win the Jennings trophy for lowest GAA and have combined for 15 shutouts this year.  No one beats this combination.  Edge – St. Louis

Special Teams:  San Jose quietly managed to put together polar opposites of the 2^nd best PP with the 2^nd worst PK.  Meanwhile, the Blues were on the low end of the PP list but higher on the PK.  In the playoffs, I’m siding with defense.  Edge – St. Louis

Coaching:  Ken Hitchcock, the likely Jack Adams winner from the Blues, vs. Todd McLellan, who consistently underachieves with the Sharks.  Edge – St. Louis.

Misc:  St. Louis is lacking playoff experience through most of their roster aside from a few veterans here and there.  San Jose finally enters the playoffs as an underdog, though that is after being Cup favorites before the season started.  The lack of pressure may help San Jose.  Edge – San Jose

Result:  San Jose in 7.  The Blues keep their opponents to low scoring close games, which may work frequently during the season, but leaves a lot to chance and bounces in a 7 game series.  The Sharks are talented enough to capitalize on those opportunities.  Here’s my upset special for the first round.

#3 Phoenix Coyotes vs. #6 Chicago Blackhawks

Offense:  Kane, Sharp, maybe a healthy Toews, and Keith vs. Vrbata, Whitney, Doan, Yandle…yeah this isn’t a tough one in my opinion.  Advantage - Chicago

Defense:  For the lack of offensive depth the Coyotes may have, the make up for it through a systematic defensive style that Dave Tippett could probably get 3 year olds to master.  Chicago has a strong blueline, but they are more prone to break downs than Phoenix.  Advantage - Phoenix

Goaltending:  Mike Smith ended the season with a 3 game shutout streak in his last for.  Chicago keeps bouncing back between Crawford and Emery as neither has been all that dependable this season.  Advantage - Phoenix

Special Teams:  Both teams have low-end powerplays despite the offensive talent on the rosters.  Phoenix has a great PK with their goaltending and style, while Chicago fails on that stat as well.  Advantage - Phoenix

Coaching:  Dave Tippett has been a great coach for the Coyotes and has installed a system that keeps defense at the forefront.  Joe Quineville though, he’s been there, he’s won the Cup, he knows how to handle the next 2 months.  Advantage - Chicago

Misc:  Much of this series will come to experience.  Phoenix still does not have a lot of playoff experience, and while Smith has been a solid goalie, he is untested as well.  Chicago has been through this and they know what to do.  Advantage - Chicago

Result:  Chicago in 5.  Though defense wins championships, I don’t see Phoenix having an impenetrable defense for this Blackhawks team.  Both teams enter the playoffs hot, and ultimately, I pick Chicago based on their experience and pure skill up front.  Also, I just don’t believe in Mike Smith in the playoffs yet.

#4 Nashville Predators vs. #5 Detroit Red Wings

Offense:  Both teams finished in the top 10 in goals this year with Detroit 7^th and Nashville 8^th.  While Nashville has made some nice additions with Radulov and Fisher over the past 2 years, I still can’t get over the Red Wings’ pure skill.  Advantage - Detroit

Defense:  Both teams were close in goals allowed as well, with Detroit edging it out yet again.  The Wings defense has been there, but I do have some concern about their consistency.  I’m picking Weber, Suter, and Nashville’s young D to be very hungry for a win this series.  Advantage - Nashville

Goaltending:  Pekke Rinne vs. Jimmy Howard is an all-star game matchup.  When healthy, Howard was playing as a top 3 goalie in the NHL this year.  Rinne had a “down” year in comparison to some of the Vezina candidate, but he’s still a top 5 goalie.  Advantage: Even

Special Teams:  Nashville had the top PP in the league (which I had not known and am now shocked by) and a top 10 PK.  Detroit was middle of the pack with both units.  Advantage - Nashville

Coaching:  Both of these coaches are great.  Mike Babcock has demonstrated it through the playoffs year after year and Barry Trotz somehow keeps Nashville playing above what their roster looks like every year.  They are both Jack Adams candidates on a yearly basis even if they don’t get the press.  In the playoffs though, you can’t bet against Babcock.  Advantage - Detroit

Misc:  Detroit faltered down the stretch and gave up their chance at home ice, where they play drastically better than on the road.  Nashville finally enters a series with the Wings as the favorites.  Advantage - Nashville

Result:  Detroit in 6.  I think this is the last big run for the aging Wings and they know it.  This will be a last gasp for Lidstrom, Zetterberg, and Datsyuk as age starts wearing on them with injuries.  The problem for Nashville is that a last gasp from Detroit is pretty much the full attack of a normal team.

Eastern Conference

#1 New York Rangers vs. #8 Ottawa Senators

Offense:  The Rangers have gritty depth, but the Senators have a lot of speed up front and use it very well.  Norris candidate Erik Karlsson also adds quite a bit of offensive punch from the blueline.  Advantage - Ottawa

Defense:  The Rangers boast a very impressive 3 pairings at D, where all 3 are capable of playing against a 1^st line.  Ottawa…well they are still learning how to play defense in many ways as Karlsson even faltered with it down the stretch.  Advantage – New York

Goaltending:  Henrik Lundqvist.  Doesn’t matter who Ottawa has (Craig Anderson).  Advantage – New York

Special Teams:  Both teams have their offensive and defensive strengths pour into their special teams in an exact manner.  Ottawa is stronger on the PP but weak on the PK.  New York had a top 5 PK but had a very weak PP.  Ottawa’s PP isn’t so great that it is overbearing though.  Advantage – New York

Coaching:  The Senators’ Paul MacLean has done an amazing job as a first year coach.  Personally, I had this team nowhere close to the playoffs.  John Tortorella meanwhile is downright crazy, though he knows how to get results and he does have a Cup as well.  That last aspect is the biggest to me, MacLean is a rookie for the second time this season.  Advantage – New York

Misc:  Both teams slowed down as the season finished up, but the difference is New York could relax as the #1 seed while Ottawa almost slipped out of the playoffs.  Advantage – New York

Result:  New York in 7.  I think Ottawa is simply the type of team that will give the Rangers trouble due to their quickness.  But much like a gnat or fly, the Rangers will swat at it in annoyance for a little before finally landing a killer blow.  The Rangers finish it off in the end.

#2 Boston Bruins vs. #7 Washington Capitals

Offense:  Boston had the #2 offense in the league, but Washington had a cold Ovechkin and an injured Backstrom to deal with for much of the year.  Despite Boston’s depth, Washington has more pure firepower when healthy and focused in my opinion.  Advantage - Washington

Defense:  Starting with Zdeno Chara (not a bad start, right?), Boston has a sizeable defense that can hold opponents to the outside and keep them out of the crease.  Washington’s defense has much less experience and doesn’t necessarily have the size to match up well here.  Advantage - Boston

Goaltending:  Washington is having all kinds of injury issues at goalie, as Braden Holtby steps to the forefront with Vokoun and Neuvirth nursing injuries.  Boston has Tim Thomas.  Yeah…  Advantage - Boston

Special Teams:  Both teams have middling powerplays but Boston comes out on top on the penalty kill as long as Chara is out there to dictate the pace of the other team’s powerplay.  Advantage - Boston

Coaching:  The Caps haven’t completely bought into Dale Hunter’s style it seems, and I’m not sure Hunter has either.  Claude Julien won the Cup last year, so I think he’s just a little more confident heading into this series.  Advantage - Boston

Misc:  There will be much talk about Tim Thomas being uncomfortable in the DC area but I can’t see him caring very much.  Stanley Cup Winners don’t go very far the next year historically, but Washington has been lost all season and is lucky to be here right now.  Advantage - Boston

Result:  Boston in 5.  The goaltending matchup is too much to overcome for Washington and Chara should be able to handle the Caps top line with his 90 foot wingspan.

#3 Florida Panthers vs. #6 New Jersey Devils

Offense:  Florida turned out to be one of the worst offensive teams in the league, but lucked into the #3 seed by playing in a flat out awful division.  Meanwhile, the Devils got big bounce back years from Kovalchuk and Parise to give Brodeur some support for once.  Advantage – New Jersey

Defense:  The Panthers are one of the rare teams that entered the playoffs allowing more goals than they scored.  New Jersey isn’t the trapping team of the previous decade, but they still know how to play good enough defense over there.  Advantage – New Jersey

Goaltending:  Martin Brodeur may be old, but he can still play the game.  Florida will be relying on a possible mix of Jose Theodore and Scott Clemmensen.  My money is not two goalies that would probably be backups around half the league right now.  Advantage – New Jersey

Special Teams:  One thing the Panthers did do well with this season was their powerplay, which scored a majority of their timely goals this season.  However, they counteracted it with one of the worst PKs in the game.  New Jersey on the other hand has the best PK, almost stopping teams at a 90% rate and an average PP.  Advantage – New Jersey

Coaching:  Kevin Dineen has done a wonderful job for Florida in helping them win their division and make the playoffs for the first time in a decade.  Meanwhile, NJ’s coach, Peter DeBoer, was the Panthers previous coach.  Think there is a revenge factor there?  Advantage – New Jersey

Misc:  Brodeur knows this might be his last run and he’ll leave it all out on the ice in this series.  Florida seems to be entering a little wide-eyed and surprised to be here.  Advantage – New Jersey

Result:  New Jersey in 4.  If you’re surprised by that after my analysis, I’m not sure how you read this far down.

Last, but certainly not least:

#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #5 Philadelphia Flyers

Offense:  Two of the top 3 offenses in the league this year, this is just a matchup of offensive juggernauts.  The amount of skill is unreal on both sides between Malkin, Giroux, Crosby, Hartnell (relax, it has to be said).  Both teams have 3^rd and 4^th lines that can score as well.  It’s impossible to bet against Crosby, Malkin, Staal when healthy though.  Advantage - Pittsburgh

Defense:  Both defenses have been rather inconsistent throughout the season, sometimes looking unbeatable and sometimes looking like they don’t belong in the NHL.  The Pens seem to have some trouble clearing out the crease in front of Fleury while the Flyers have no problem putting the body on people.  Advantage - Philadelphia

Goaltending:  In the regular season, Fleury demonstrated Vezina potential and Bryzgalov went on a crazy hot streak as the playoff race came to a head.  In the playoffs, Fleury has been there; Bryzgalov has been there and looked awful.  Advantage - Penguins

Special Teams:  Both teams had the exact same powerplay success rate, 19.7%.  The penalty kills differ vastly though as the Pens finished 3^rd in the NHL and the Flyers were in the middle of the pack.  Advantage – Pittsburgh, but this largely depends on the goaltending for the PK.

Coaching:  Dan Bylsma has faced some adversity in the playoffs since the last time he dealt with the Flyers in the postseason.  He has had to learn a lot about his team through this year and seems to have a decent handle on them.  Laviolette is masterful in motivating his team.  His timeout usage seems to always propel them to a win and he knows what buttons to push.  Pens fans won’t like this.  Advantage - Even

Misc:  The Flyers had a huge chip on their shoulder coming into this series, simply hating and wanting to beat the Pens for the first time in the playoffs as the core of these rosters are built.  One of the worst things they could have done was put a chip on the shoulder of the Pens with that disaster brawl at the end of the game a week and a half ago.  Grittiness may be a disadvantage depending on the refs, who will surely be on alert.  Advantage - Pittsburgh

Result:  Pittsburgh in 6.  The Flyers are certainly a team that scares me, but I believe the refs will call it tight early and that will help the Pens keep focus while Philly tries to distract them.  Also, Fleury trumps Bryzgalov in my head every way I play it out.  My unsung hero for this series:  Craig Adams will be huge with a key goal or 2; he’ll be big on the PK, and some big hits will make him a key factor in this series.

Las Vegas Gold Triumphs, Pens win!

Main Storylines:

- The Pens take on the 2^nd best team in the East in the Boston Bruins.  The Bruins thoroughly dominated them in a meeting earlier this season in Pittsburgh.  Time to see where the Pens stand against one of the best.

- Cal O’Reilly makes his Penguins debut, playing on a line with Tyler Kennedy and Steve Sullivan.

- Lineup Changes:  O’Reilly in. McDonald out. Engelland in. Lovejoy out.

Result:

Pens 2  Bruins 1

Goals:  Malkin (28) (PP) from Kunitz, Neal

            Cooke (9) from Jeffrey, Dupuis

               

The Good:

- While it can be argued that the Bruins aren’t the hottest team around anymore, the Pens showed they could take on a bigger and more physical team and dish it all back out.  The Pens outhit Boston in their own building, a feat that has been very rare for road teams this season.

- The Pens have now won 9 out of their last 10 and are quickly sneaking up on Philadelphia for 2^nd in the division and 4^th in the conference.

- Brooks Orpik’s open ice hit on Daniel Paille was flat out awesome.  I’m not sure Paille has even landed yet.

Marc-Andre Fleury – It has been a long time since the Pens starting goalie hasn’t led off this list, and it may continue the rest of the season at this rate.  Fleury was absolutely outstanding, making reflex saves, cross-crease split saves, breakaway saves, etc.  You name it, he did it.  The only goal he did let in was on a complete screen where he never even saw the shot. 

All alone?  Still not getting past Fleury.

Kris Letang – Though you never hear his name when it’s his defensive performance, Letang was very solid and helpful to Fleury’s cause today.  He had many #stickonpuck moments on rebounds that allowed Fleury to get back into position.  Letang’s own positioning was also very very strong in his own end today against a quick Boston team.  Gotta say though, his penalty was flat out stupid.  It has never been okay to close your hand on a puck in hockey and he knows better than that.

The Bad:

- Letang’s penalty as stated above

- The Martin/Michalek pairing played well enough that I won’t isolate them as bad players…but that pairing is just a heart attack through half of their shifts.  Martin seems to be getting beaten an awful lot as he’s skating backwards in the defensive zone lately.  I’ll give him credit for some very nice passes off of the boards today though.  He helped the Pens outlet the puck when the Bruins were coming hard.  The pairing seems to be a nightmare though.

Textbook defense, right Michalek?

The Ugly:

- The reffing was awful for the 3^rd game in a row.  This game was certainly in the Pens favor, as the slashing call on Peverly and the hooking penalty on Pouliot were both phantom calls.  Worst of all for the Bruins, that “slash” is what led to the Pens taking a 1-0 lead.

- I think Paille just landed.

Thoughts:

- Interestingly enough, the Pens aren’t the only team to win 9 out of their last 10.  Look over to the Western Conference, and you have those pesky Red Wings pulling off the same feat.  Let your imagination run wild with that one.

- Fleury isn’t getting nearly enough credit for how well he actually is playing right now.  He may not get the shutouts, and he may not face over 40 shots a game, but his saves have been downright spectacular over the past month.  He’s definitely playing at a Cup favorite level.  It’s just a shame that his GAA and Save % will never get him into true Vezina contention.

- The Bruins didn’t boo Matt Cooke nearly as much as I would have expected.  Did they already forget he’s the reason that Marc Savard isn’t playing?  Did they forget how good Marc Savard was?

Pens fans boo Jagr worse, and he didn't even kill anyone.

- Cal O'Reilly looked surprisingly comfortable with Bylsma's style of play.  Playing alongside former teammate Sullivan certainly helped, but it looks like that line could start producing with some nights together.

- Tomorrow’s game against NJ is certainly a big one.  The Devils are only 3 points behind the Pens after beating the Flyers, and they have one less game played.  It’s crazy how the Pens have been this hot and a couple losses would drop them instantly in the standings.

Pens Record: 30-18-4, 64 pts, 3^rd in the Atlantic, 5^th in the East

Next Game:  2/5 @ NJ, 1pm