Goal Assessment: Game 48 - Pens 8 Hurricanes 3

Link to Game 48 Thoughts:  The PensNation



+/- Assessment

1st Goal For (Malkin): + for

• Fleury – passes the puck all the way to the offensive blue line for Neal
• Neal – skates the puck deep into the zone, then turns and passes back to Malkin
• Morrow – plants himself on the crease to screen Peters
• Malkin – dekes around a defender and slides a puck along the ice that beats Peters

2nd Goal For (Neal): + for

• Kunitz – hustles back to the blue line to keep the puck in the zone and passes it down to Letang on the half boards
• Letang – takes the pass and waits for Neal to slide into an open area of the ice before passing to him
• Neal – skates towards the net and rips a shot past Peters’ glove

1st Goal Against (Westgarth): - for

• Kennedy – misses a pass interception and falls behind the play
• Martin – tries to poke check the puck at the blue line but misses and gets burned by E Staal, then fails to tie up Westgarth on the rebound
• Letang – gets caught out of position and can’t recover to make a play on E Staal or the rebound

3rd Goal For (Jokinen): + for

• Letang – corrals the puck in the defensive zone and moves it up to Iginla in the neutral zone
• Iginla – taps the puck up to Dupuis
• Dupuis – taps the puck over to Jokinen and enters the zone on a 2 on 1 with him
• Jokinen – puts a wrist shot on Peters that he can’t handle and then scores on the rebound

2nd Goal Against (Ruutu): - for

• Despres – has the puck bounce off of his skates directly to Ruutu in front of the net

3rd Goal Against (Westgarth): - for

• Sutter – loses the faceoff cleanly in the defensive zone
• Murray – can’t get out to Westgarth quick enough to disrupt his shot
• Martin – has the puck deflect off of him past Fleury

4th Goal For (Neal): + for

• Iginla – pokes a loose puck behind the net to Neal, eventually passes the puck back and forth with Martin up high
• Martin – moves the puck back and forth with Iginla before returning it to Neal
• Malkin – returns the puck back to Neal for a shot
• Kunitz – skates in front of the crease to distract Peters as Neal is setting up his shot
• Neal – moves the puck up high for Martin, then sends it down low to Malkin when Martin returns it, then takes Malkin’s pass and beats Peters on his stick side

5th Goal For (Neal): + for

• Murray – takes the puck in the defensive zone and passes it to Kunitz at the blue line
• Kunitz – chips the puck off the boards up to Malkin entering the zone on a 2 on 1
• Malkin – carries the puck in and passes it across to Neal
• Neal – one-times the pass in for the goal

6th Goal For (Morrow): + for

• Cooke – backhands the puck to the net and it ends up on Sutter’s stick
• Sutter – passes to Morrow at the backdoor of the crease
• Morrow – initially carried the puck in and passed it to Cooke, taps Sutter’s pass into the net

7th Goal For (Cooke): + for

• Despres – chips the puck in the defensive zone to Martin on the boards
• Martin – moves the puck up to Morrow on the boards
• Morrow – moves the puck up to the offensive zone where Cooke can chase it down
• Cooke – gets to the puck, slides it with one hand through Faulk’s legs, and beats Peters

8th Goal For (Jokinen): + for

• Letang – corrals the puck at the defensive blue line and moves it up to Jokinen
• Iginla – returns a pass to Jokinen
• Dupuis – drives to the net, causing a 2 on 1 situation and the defender to back away from Jokinen
• Jokinen – passes the puck to Iginla entering the zone, tries to backhand it to Dupuis and has it go into the net off of Faulk

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

Goal Assessment: Game 33 - Pens 2 Flyers 1 (OT)

Link for Game 33 Thoughts:  The PensNation



+/- Assessment

1st Goal Against (Giroux): - for

• Martin – in the penalty box for a retaliatory slashing penalty
• (no one else – bad bounce off of Glass, who had his stick in the right spot)

1st Goal For (Crosby): + for

• Bennett – keeps puck in the zone, eventually passes up to Martin
• Neal – gives Crosby an opening and then feeds the puck to back down to Bennett
• Martin – takes the pass from Bennett and sets up Crosby
• Crosby – passes the puck to Neal and then gets into a shooting position, one-times Martin’s pass to tie the game

2nd Goal For (Kennedy): + for

• Niskanen – feeds Kennedy from the point
• Kennedy – recovered his own rebound, passed it to Niskanen, moved into open space, ripped a shot past Bryzgalov for the winner

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

Goal Assessment: Game 29 - Pens 3 Rangers 0

Link for Game 29 Thoughts:  The PensNation

+/- Assessment

1st Goal For (Bennett): + for

• Kennedy – passes the puck up the right boards from the defensive blue line
• Jeffrey – chips it along to Bennett into the offensive zone
• Bennett – takes a quick shot that beats Lundqvist on the far side

2nd Goal For (Kennedy): + for

• Letang – good keep on the powerplay when the Rangers almost block the puck out, passes around with Martin and Bennett
• Martin – quarterbacks the powerplay and keeps passing from the point
• Bennett – rotates around with Martin and Letang at the points to keep the Rangers back
• Sutter – draws two defenders next to him at the crease
• Kennedy – one-times a pass from Letang past Lundqvist on the far side

3rd Goal For (Dupuis): + for

• Orpik – stands up Richards with the puck to force a turnover
• Cooke – retrieves the loose puck and passes it up to Jeffrey
• Jeffrey – passes across to Dupuis on a 2 on 1
• Dupuis – waits til Lundqvist goes down, takes the puck to his backhand, and scores

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

Game 26 - Penguins 6 Islanders 1: Goal Assessment

Get the full thoughts here:  The PensNation - Game 26

+/- Assessment

1st Goal For (Dupuis): + for

• Kunitz – gives the puck away but takes it back at the blue line and gets it to Sid, then eventually passes down to Dupuis
• Crosby – beats Hamonic to the puck to help Kunitz and gives the puck back to him
• Dupuis – takes a sharp angle slapshot that goes off the post, off Nabokov, and in

2nd Goal For (Kunitz): + for

• Letang – fantastic keep at the blue line by batting the puck down in midair, eventually puts the puck in the corner for Neal
• Bennett – rotates down to give Letang an outlet and then gives the puck to Crosby and gets open for Crosby before giving it back to Letang
• Crosby – rotates to give Bennett a passing option, pulls a defender away from Neal, then gives Neal a passing option and feeds it right back to him
• Neal – gives Kunitz a perfect pass on the crease
• Kunitz – taps in Neal’s pass for a PP goal

3rd Goal For (Kunitz): + for

• Martin – break out pass to Crosby at the blue line
• Crosby – passes it to Kunitz in the middle
• Neal – passes the puck to Kunitz on the crease
• Kunitz – taps the puck to Neal and then receives a pass from Neal and shoots it past Nabokov

1st Goal Against (Boyes): - for

• Despres – trips over the puck / his own feet / the blue line, which leads to a 2 on 1 that Boyes shoots in

4th Goal For (Kunitz): + for

• Dupuis – throws the puck into the offensive zone for Crosby to retrieve
• Crosby – beats out Moulson to the puck in the offensive zone and drops it for Letang
• Letang – gets a low shot on net that leaves a rebound
• Kunitz – starts the break out in the defensive zone and buries the rebound in front when he gets to the crease

5th Goal For (Neal): + for

• Letang – clears the defensive zone with a hard pass off the boards
• Neal – takes the puck, goes in on a breakaway, and beats Nabokov

6th Goal For (Dupuis): + for

• Kunitz – forces a turnover in the offensive zone, receives a pass from Dupuis and sends it down to Crosby
• Crosby – passes the puck across the slot to Dupuis
• Dupuis – one-times the puck past Poulin

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

Game 25 - Penguins 5 Maple Leafs 4 (SO): Goal Assessment

Full thoughts here:  The PensNation

+/- Assessment:

1st Goal For (Neal): + for

• Malkin – wins the faceoff
• Letang – passes over to Niskanen
• Niskanen – shoots the puck, which gets blocked, but makes it to Neal
• Bennett – provides traffic and a screen in front of Reimer
• Neal – fires the loose puck past Reimer

1st Goal Against (Van Riemsdyk): - for

• Bennett – in the penalty box for a high sticking penalty
• Orpik – nowhere close to JVR on the crease to even get a stick on him

2nd Goal For (Crosby): + for

• Bennett – sends the breakout pass to Letang
• Letang – rushes the puck into the offensive zone, gets a shot on Reimer and picks up his own rebound which he throws at the net off the post
• Crosby – corrals the puck off the rebound off the post and shoots it into an open net

3rd Goal For (Martin): + for

• Orpik – pinches in slightly to keep the puck in the zone
• Neal – provides support to keep the puck in and whacks it past 2 defenders
• Malkin – picks up the loose puck and throws it across to Martin
• Bennett – draws Gunnarsson’s attention on defense, which leads to him putting the puck into his own net
• Martin – takes the shot which glances off of some sticks and into the net

2nd Goal Against (Franson): - for

• Crosby – in the penalty box for tripping
• Letang – stands next to JVR in front of Fleury, adding to the screen Fleury tries to look around unsuccessfully

4th Goal For (Dupuis): + for

• Kunitz – forechecks in the corner to win the puck battle
• Crosby – forechecks in the corner to win the puck battle and passes it up to Orpik
• Orpik – passes the puck over to Martin
• Martin – gets the puck deep into the zone to Dupuis
• Dupuis – originally kept the puck in the zone to start the sequence, gets a shot on Reimer, grabs his rebound, and banks the puck in off of Fraser’s skate

3rd Goal Against (MacArthur): - for

• Niskanen – hesitates as MacArthur comes in and neither steps up to him nor goes for the shot block

4th Goal Against (Kessel): - for

• Martin – doesn’t follow Kessel moving to open space while everyone else has a guy/spot covered, tries to take Niskanen’s defensive position

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

Pens Player Power Rankings - Week 6

The Pens went 2-1 with an ugly loss to Philly last week.  Malkin is out, Eaton is back, and GMs are starting to make trades.  Look out, Shero!  (Eaton will debut on the rankings next week)

Rank	Player (Last Rank)	Last Week's Performance
1	Paul Martin (4)	Quietly had the most productive offensive week of any Penguin.  Wait, what? Still playing solid defense too. What, again? (1g, 4a)
2	Marc-Andre Fleury (1)	Continuing to set aside doubters with steady play throughout February. (2-0, 2.00 GAA, .925 Save %)
3	Sidney Crosby (2)	Pacing the Pens in offensive creativity, but could stand to make a few less passes. (2g, 2a, 12 shots, 42/72 faceoffs)
4	Kris Letang (9)	Playing at full speed and more importantly, getting smarter with the puck. (4a, 5 hits)
5	Matt Niskanen (8)	Showing off a very accurate shot from the point and increasing his physical game in the defensive zone. (2g)
6	James Neal (6)	Still leans heavily on the PP for production, but transitioned very well to the top line on Sunday. (1g, 3a, 3 hits)
7	Matt Cooke (13)	Out of his early season slump and playing well at both ends of the ice finally. (1g, 3a)
8	Brooks Orpik (3)	Consistently leading the team in blocked shots but could be more physical on the crease (1a, 4 hits, 11 blocks)
9	Chris Kunitz (10)	Slowing down on offense but still forechecking heavily to make Sid's job easier (1g, 1a, 10 hits)
10	Brandon Sutter (15)	Still great on defense and is improving his transition game in the neutral zone. (1g, 1a, 27/47 faceoffs)
11	Pascal Dupuis (5)	No offensive production and getting shuffled around, but still very dependable in his own zone. (7 hits, 4 blocks)
12	Beau Bennett (19)	Scored his first NHL goal and looks very smart all over the ice. Hopefully will get more ice time moving forward. (1g)
13	Deryk Engelland (16)	Seems to get easily distracted at times, but has generally done his job well. (4 blocks)
14	Joe Vitale (11)	Questionably scratched once last week but flat out dominating in faceoffs and provides tons of energy. (13/15 faceoffs)
15	Tanner Glass (14)	Still throwing the body and forechecking but it doesn't look like his game will improve beyond that. (9 PIM,  7 hits)
16	Dustin Jeffrey (23)	Awful in the faceoff circle so far but is looking better with the puck and a regular shift (1g, 7/21 faceoffs)
17	Simon Despres (18)	Inconsistent but not making any costly errors. Still has room to grow. (no significant stats)
18	Craig Adams (7)	Took a couple of rough penalties this week that hurt the team.  (4 PIM, 5 hits)
19	Tyler Kennedy (17)	Perhaps the most frustrating player alive right now. Showing flashes of improvement followed by 8 turnovers. (1g, 1a)
20	Robert Bortuzzo (21)	Struggling to get into the lineup and will not be helped by the Eaton signing. (no significant stats)
21	Tomas Vokoun (22)	Looked simply awful in his only appearance of the week. (0-1, 6.11 GAA, .813 Save %)
22	Zach Boychuk (20)	May never see the Pens lineup again (Did Not Play)
INJ	Evgeni Malkin (12)	Out Indefinitely - Concussion (1g, 2a, 4 PIM, 10 shots, 8/16 faceoffs)

Paul Martin is America, Pens Win

It was a happy Hockey Day in America!

Result:

Pens 4  Sabres 3

Goals:  Dupuis (6) from Orpik, Kunitz

            Crosby (7) (PP) unassisted

            Dupuis (7) from Letang, Kunitz

            Martin (2) from Crosby, Dupuis

ESPN Recap: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400442686

Positives:

America cheers for Paul Martin.

• Marc-Andre Fleury:  Even with 3 goals allowed, Fleury was marvelous in a 30 save effort.  He was especially on his game in the 3rd period when he made 16 saves and was a major factor in killing off the only penalty of the period.  None of the 3 goals can be blamed on him as they came on 1) a defensive breakdown on the crease, 2) a ridiculous deflection on the powerplay, and 3) a bad bounce directly back to Buffalo.  It was another strong effort from Flower.
• First Line: The 1st line (when kept intact), easily had the best day against Buffalo as Kunitz, Crosby, and Dupuis combined for 14 shots and scored 2 goals as a line.  They had a strong forecheck going most of the game and played an incredible shift (eventually scoring) after Ott gave the Sabres the lead early in the 3rd period.
• Matt Niskanen:  Niskanen looked completely healthy again and played possibly his best game of the season in a very quiet and dependable performance.  He was especially adept at each blue line, keeping pucks in at the offensive zone and poke-checking pucks away in the defensive zone.  He also led the team with 4 blocked shots.
• Paul Martin:  Martin only played 22 minutes but his production remained strong with the game-winning goal and 2 blocked shots.  He has been incredibly useful to the powerplay at the point and has demonstrated the ability to decide between pass, shoot, or carry the puck very well.  Much like Niskanen, his poke-checks short-circuited quite a few Buffalo chances too.

Noteworthy:

Crosby goal...scored by Weber.

• Evgeni Malkin:  Geno had 3 shots, 3 missed shots, a slashing penalty, and was 3 for 9 in the faceoff circle.  His overall puck rushing ability and defensive support has been great the last few games, but he still can’t seem to put a complete game together.  It probably doesn’t help that he has new linemates every other shift at this point.
• Sidney Crosby:  Crosby had a solid offensive day with 3 points but was a complete moron on his cross-checking penalty and was also credited with 3 giveaways.  While racking up points will cure everything, Sid should be leading by example instead of cross-checking players in the back away from the play. 
• Tyler Kennedy:  While everyone wants to hate TK, and he did put himself offside twice in the game, he actually played a very well-rounded game.  Kennedy had 3 shots (0 missed) and 5 hits in 13:20 of ice time.  He returned to that quick, gritty style of game that got him to the NHL and propelled the 3rd line to some strong shifts, especially the first shift after Ott’s goal.  His defensive work was above average as well against Buffalo.  Hopefully things are turning up for TK.

Negatives:

• Stupid Penalties:  Malkin’s slash, Neal’s interference, Crosby’s cross-check, and Kunitz’s slash…they were all incredibly stupid, needless, and mindless penalties.  The four best forwards on this team took 3 penalties in the offensive zone and 1 in the neutral zone.  That performance has to be unacceptable in Bylsma’s eyes and that discipline is pathetic.  This group still has some maturing to do.
• Line Combinations:  The line combinations were downright ugly yesterday.  At one point, Malkin had 3 different left wingers over 3 shifts (Cooke, Bennett, Glass).  Crosby found himself on a shift with Vitale and Adams at one point.  Dupuis-Sutter-Neal came out as a line.  Even if the Pens need a jumpstart to their game at times, there is something to be said for consistency and chemistry for lines.  This certainly can’t be helping with the 2nd line’s lack of production so far.  Watching the 1st goal against over again, the forward line was Cooke-Vitale-Dupuis.  All 3 forwards failed to support each other beginning with Cooke’s attempt to clear the puck and all of them were out of position in the end.  That isn’t a shocking result for 3 players not used to each other, even if they are all strong defensively.

+/- Assessment:

Don't blame Flower for any of these.

• 1st GF (Dupuis): + for Kunitz (forecheck, pass to Orpik), Orpik (shot towards net), Dupuis (forecheck, goal)
• 2nd GF (Crosby): + for Martin (lead pass up), Kunitz (pass to Malkin), Malkin (shot on net), Crosby (tap in goal)
• 1st GA (Hodgson): - for Cooke (can’t clear puck), Bortuzzo (releases on Hodgson), Vitale (over-pursues into zone), Dupuis (doesn’t provide outlet support for Cooke)
• 2nd GA (Vanek): - for Crosby (penalty), Glass (penalty)
• 3rd GA (Ott): - for no one (unfortunate bounce)
• 3rd GF (Dupuis): + for Niskanen (forces turnover at blue line), Letang (backhand pass to Dupuis), Dupuis (won earlier puck battle and goal)
• 4th GF (Martin): + for Niskanen (moves puck up to Crosby), Dupuis (rotates puck to Crosby), Crosby (drives puck towards center of the zone), Martin (slapshot goal)
• Season +/-:  Click here for the Season +/- Spreadsheet

Thoughts:

Where'd he go?

• 2nd Line Wing:  At this point, I hope whoever is the starting 2nd line wing stays there for the whole game.  There have been flashes of good and flashes of bad from Cooke, Glass, Bennett, Kennedy, and Boychuk at this point.  Give someone two full games there and work from there.  (I realize this will never happen, but it needs to.)
• Scratching Despres:  Bylsma opted to scratch Despres to add some toughness and grit into the lineup in the form of Bortuzzo.  While that reasoning makes it silly to remove Engelland from the lineup, I would still have rather seen Despres than Engelland.  That being said, Bortuzzo was on for a goal against that was partially his fault (and only received 2:09 of playing time in the first period because of it).  Based on the move to sit Bortuzzo for a while after that goal, I would imagine Despres returns in place of Bortuzzo vs Philadelphia.  I’m not sure anything takes Engelland out of the lineup at this point.
• Glass Fight:  A game after Adams stood up for Niskanen, Glass took his turn and stood up for Sutter by fighting Cody McCormick.  Glass earns a stick tap for that.  On top of it, McCormick was a gentleman and did not pound Glass when his jersey was over his head.  McCormick waited until Glass could see again before the fight continued.  Stick tap for that.  Finally, Glass gave McCormick a big slap on the back after the fight was over to thank him.  Stick taps all around.  It was just a classy fight if there ever was one.
• Responding to Adversity:  After Ott scored to make it 3-2 Buffalo, the Pens were at a fork in the road.  They had taken each direction before – either get frustrated and fall apart or show resiliency and attack.  This time they chose the mature route and the 3rd line followed up Ott’s goal with a dominant shift in the offensive zone.  After their work was done, the first line came out and completed the task with the tying goal.  Give tons of credit to Bylsma, the staff, and the team for responding like they did after a bad bounce and stunning goal against.  That’s the type of composure we need to see from the team (even if the forwards couldn’t act like that all game).

Pens Record: 11-5-0, 22 pts

Next Game:  2/20 vs Phi, 7:30pm

Pens Player Power Rankings - Week 4

The Penguins went 2-2 over the past week and honestly, no one had a great week to run away with the rankings.  The season averages and previous rankings are posted here.  Without further ado, argue away and yell at me for how much these rankings suck.

Rank	Player (Last Rank)	Last Week's Performance
1	Paul Martin (4)	Continues to lead the team in minutes and has added to the PP in Letang's absence (2a, 4 blocks)
2	Marc-Andre Fleury (12)	"Took back" the #1 role with 3 solid starts (2-1, 2.36 GAA, .920 Save %)
3	Pascal Dupuis (9)	Playing great in the defensive zone and doing all the little things right all over the ice (2g, 13 shots, 4 hits, 2 blocks)
4	Sidney Crosby (2)	Working hard and creating chances but suffering through shifts of invisibility at the same time (1g, 3a, 55/91 faceoffs)
5	Evgeni Malkin (6)	Improving defensively, but lacking in discipline and 5 on 5 play (1g, 3a, all PP points, 16 shots, 26/45 faceoffs, 4 blocks)
6	Robert Bortuzzo (10)	Playing very well positionally and adding plenty of grit to the defense (11 PIM, 5 hits, 3 blocks)
7	Chris Kunitz (3)	Playing well on the PP but has been quiet at even strength a bit (0g, 4a, 6 hits)
8	James Neal (7)	Dominating on the PP but hasn't scored an even strength point in 9 games (3g, 1a, all PP points, 8 PIM, 4 hits, 2 blocks)
9	Deryk Engelland (11)	Getting a little too aggressive at times but generally providing strong defense (8 hits, 7 blocks)
10	Brooks Orpik (5)	Seems to be having trouble with assignments and closing gaps as of late (5 hits, 10 blocks)
11	Brandon Sutter (16)	Finding his scoring touch, but only when playing with Malkin or Crosby (2g, 1a, 28/58 faceoffs, 5 hits)
12	Simon Despres (13)	Clearly growing into an NHL defenseman despite inconsistent play. (1g, 1a, 4 PIM, 2 hits, 7 blocks)
13	Dylan Reese (NA)	Has been quiet, safe, and dependable on defense (4 blocks)
14	Craig Adams (17)	Not producing, but not hurting the team 5 on 5.  Logging a plethora of PK time lately (3 hits)
15	Tomas Vokoun (1)	Only one start and was overmatched. (0-1, 3.08 GAA, .870 Save %)
16	Matt Cooke (19)	Starting to play better, chipping in offensively, and helping with the PK (1g, 1a, 7 hits, 3 blocks)
17	Tanner Glass (15)	Continues to be a forechecking machine but it hasn't led to any production yet (9 hits)
18	Joe Vitale (14)	Strong forecheck and defensive zone faceoffs, but dropped to a healthy scratch on Sunday (4 PIM, 14/22 faceoffs)
19	Tyler Kennedy (20)	Has looked lost since the opening weekend of the season, but is improving with turnovers (1a, 7 shots, 5 hits)
20	Zach Boychuk (18)	Gaining chemistry with Malkin but has nothing to show for it yet (2 shots, 2 hits)
21	Dustin Jeffrey (21)	Scratched for 3 out of 4 games and looked average on 4th line against New Jersey (1 shot)
22	Eric Tangradi (23)	Did Not Play
INJ	Kris Letang (8)	IR - lower body injury (groin?) (1a, 2 hits, 3 blocks)
INJ	Matt Niskanen (Inj)	IR - ankle injury, Did Not Play