Sweep Averted, Work to be Done as Pens Win 10-3

Quick Notes:

- I just created a facebook page for this site and other random hockey stuff if that’s more your style: https://www.facebook.com/CrosbyFTW

- Okay, not to burst everyone’s bubbles, but that was not a statement game; that was just 1 win.  If that was a statement game, then the Flyers have already made 3, so they are leading the statement game battle, 3-1.  One game at a time…but let’s move on to the happiness!!!

- Finally, this is the weirdest effing playoff series I’ve ever seen in any sport.

a) props to Pens fan there. b) lol @ porky pig sign.

Result:

Pens  10  Flyers 3

Goals:  Malkin (1) from Dupuis, Park

            Niskanen (1) (PP) from Crosby, Sullivan

            Crosby (3) from Niskanen, Malkin

            Staal (3) from Tangradi, Cooke

            Letang (1) (PP) from Crosby, Sullivan

            Staal (4) (PP) from Kennedy, Cooke

            Sullivan (1) (PP) from Fleury

            Dupuis (2) from Kunitz

            Staal (5) from Engelland

            Malkin (2) from Kunitz, Kennedy

               

Interesting Stats:

- 45 goals through the 1^st 4 games of a series is a new NHL record

- The 10 goals scored tonight set a new road playoff record and ties the overall playoff record for Pittsburgh

- Matt Cooke finally accumulated his first PIMs of the series, getting 2 for high-sticking, 2 for holding the stick, and then a 10 minute misconduct for being attacked (?)

How dare you get cross-checked 3 times!? Go to the locker room!

- Joe Vitale played only 7 minutes despite only 11 forwards dressing.  Meanwhile, Jordan Staal led the forwards with 23 minutes.  Anyone spreading rumors of him being unhappy with his role should probably go reconsider their line of work (more on that at the end).

The Good:

- Let’s start with the easy one, PENS SEASON ISN’T OVER!!! With their backs against the wall, the Pens came out with a very dominant win after a shaky start.  Their reward: another must-win on Friday.

- The powerplay came to play in this one and it was very clear that adjustments had been made with the 2 days off.  The Pens moved the puck quicker on the PP in this game than I have seen them try all season.  That was huge because the Flyers PK is one of the more aggressive units in the league, and their players could not shift fast enough to catch a big break or go the other way unhampered.  Also, for much of the PP, Crosby went back to his natural position on the half boards / rover.  This is no slight to Geno, but with Crosby scoring and Geno cold going into the game, I’m glad the adjustment was made.  It seems to have worked for both.  Finally with the PP: Niskanen was a stud on the point both in puck control and making quick decisions.  No complaints about the unit as a whole in this one.

- Malkin finally got on the board with 2 goals (and also an assist).  His first goal was pure will as he stormed to the net from the penalty box, gave the puck up to Dupuis and went to the net to pick up the rebound and score.  His second goal was also because he went to the net without the puck.  This is a big difference from the first 3 games where he wanted full control of the puck crossing the blue line every time.  The Flyers D clearly was not ready for it and stayed tight on him at the blue line, giving other players plenty of room with the puck and Malkin a chance to burst past clueless defensemen.  Great adjustment by Geno.

- The team finally provided support to players who were beaten by the Flyers puck carriers.  In the first 3 games, if one of the Pens was beaten on a play, there was no support and no chance of help.  In this game, there was always a second and sometimes a third man ready to shift into position.  The Pens played as a team tonight rather than as 18 talented individuals.

Puck support to the max.

Jordan Staal – Have to start with Staal, who backed up a very mature Game 3 with an explosive Game 4.  He scored his 1^st career postseason hat trick, on 3 shots.  He also led the forwards in ice time with almost 23 minutes, 2^nd on the team to Letang.  Another big part of his game was in the faceoff circle where he went 15 for 23 (66%).  He pretty much played a strong all-around game and made every shift count with every different set of linemates.  Everyone looks to Geno and Sid, but after his attitude in Game 3 and afterwards, plus his Game 4 performance, we may be watching Staal mature into that 3^rd franchise center and leader right now.

Steve Sullivan – Having Sullivan on the point for the powerplay clearly makes a world of difference for the team.  His poise and passing ability works great from the point as he (cliché) QB’s the first powerplay line.  His goal was a giant middle finger to the Flyers too, since they clearly did not respect his speed or slapshot which he just blasted past Bobrovsky.  All of this aside, I have Sullivan here for what he did defensively though.  On the PP, he made sure he stayed back and didn’t get caught in the offensive zone in a situation he couldn’t recover from.  At even strength, he was frequently the first forward back and was always there to cover the 3^rd Flyers forward coming in.  He showed great attention to detail in making sure every Flyer was covered, and that’s exactly what the Pens needed.

I'll be honest, didn't think Sulli could shoot like that.

Pascal Dupuis – Sullivan was only outshined by one forward in the defensive zone and that was Dupuis.  While Dupuis did add a goal and an assist on the scoresheet, I made many notes of the amount of times he covered a forward on Fleury’s crease or hustled back to cover the slot.  His defensive positioning was perfect all game and it was a big boost to the Pens defense and Fleury. He also tipped away at least 3 cross-ice passes in the defensive zone, doing a great job of keeping his stick in passing lanes.  While the defense has been crapped on all series, note that these forwards have a significant ability to make a difference in the defensive end. 

Commitment to defense, check.

The Bad:

- The refereeing performance was just ridiculous at times.  They started by calling every little detail, to the point that things that were almost a penalty actually became a penalty.  They then shifted to calling just regular penalties.  Then they let players play a little bit.  Then once the game was clearly out of hand, they went back to overreacting (though probably best for the sake of both teams).  It would be nice to see a full 60 minutes called the same way for the sake of, I don’t know, consistency?

- I know people are clamoring about Fleury’s play and the defense, but I’m still not sold on either one yet.  Fleury only faced 25 shots, about half of which were during the 1^st period when he did not look good.  The 1^st goal was partially his fault as he was scrambling and left his 5-hole open.  The second goal was all on him as it was a shot from the point that beat him 5-hole. Most of his shots after that were when the game was getting lopsided and as a goalie, it’s much easier to act confident when you have a big cushion to work with.  That being said, he did make some nice saves down the stretch, so the key will be if he can bring that confidence to the start of Game 5.  As for the defense, they received a lot of forward help and also benefitted greatly from having 7 defensemen in the lineup.  Everyone looked fresh throughout the game, though I personally believe the forwards (their forechecking and backchecking) are the reason that the Flyers only got 25 shots and pretty much rolled over by the end.  Let’s just say I’m cautiously optimistic about the D right now.

Kris Letang – Per usual, people will likely kill me for this, but Letang is off of his defensive game.  I counted 3 blatant giveaways from him in the defensive zone and his positioning wasn’t the best.  On the first Flyers goal, he followed Engelland into his opposite side corner unnecessarily, which left Giroux alone to beat Fleury for the 1^st goal on the PP.  He needs to be much smarter than that on the PK when defending the crease is imperative.  He did score on the PP, but honestly I discount that as a weak goal on Bryzgalov, who did not slide into his position with any sort of speed and was pulled immediately after.  Letang is not playing to Norris trophy form right now, and we all know he is capable of it, so it would be nice to see it when the games are do or die.

Stay in position and this won't happen, Kris.

Chris Kunitz – Kunitz is on here simply because he continues to take idiotic penalties every game.  Maybe the Flyers bought the interference call on him, but even if they did, he knew the game was being called tight and he put himself into that position to be called for it by skating into a player he could have easily avoided.  With the PK being absolutely horrendous, he needs to stop doing this immediately.  It was a big momentum shifter in Game 3 and he should have learned his lesson then.

The Ugly:

- If nothing else, you can say the penalty killing unit is consistent.  They entered the game killing just 4 out of 10 penalties, and then killed only 2 out of 5 in this one.  The 2^nd goal was on Fleury, but the 1^st and 3^rd ones were definitely on the penalty killers.  Both defensemen were out of position for the 1^st one.  The 3^rd one was the same Voracek play that I have complained about in every recap since Game 1.  Voracek is always looking for the puck from the backside and does not leave that area, but no one even looks at him as they all watch the puck.  This is inexcusable on so many levels since it has happened numerous times now.  The Pens apparently cannot take a penalty or their PK will inevitably finish their season off on their own.

Thoughts:

- So the sweep has been averted, but as we all know, only 3 teams have come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series.  The 2010 Flyers are amongst that small group.  Is this a good thing or a bad thing for them though?  On one hand, they are aware it’s possible, so they will be vigilant in keeping the Pens from doing it.  On the other, they are aware it’s possible, so they know that the Pens are capable of it and it plants a seed of doubt in their head.  Which is it?  I’ll tell you in a week.

- Expect Bryzgalov to start on Friday unless he has re-injured his foot.  He looked very slow to pick up the play last night and had difficulties controlling rebounds.  His side to side was slow as well.  I’m not sure if his foot injury would cause anything but the 3^rd one, but the Flyers certainly lost their Ace in the hole when Bobrovsky came in and got lit up for 5 goals still.  The goaltending battle has now turned into a war of attrition and a contest to see who can make just one or 2 big saves in a game.

Bryzgalov played his best this year when he wasn't talking the media.
Whoops.

- It will be interesting to see if the Pens go with 7 defensemen again on Friday.  As of now, Despres is still with the team and practicing today, but it’s also an optional skate.  Unlike everyone with pitch forks and torches, I have no problem putting Martin back into the lineup.  The whole D has been bad, not just him, so there is no point in blaming him for more than his share.  Personally, I’d love to see him in the lineup but only getting about 12-13 minutes of ice time.  Note, I’d sit Strait, not Despres.  Despres is a wonderful defenseman fundamentally and I see no point to ever sending him down again personally.

- Neal and Adams will be eligible to play in Game 5, so what does that mean for the lineup?  The PP operated fine without Neal, which is a lineup question in itself.  Neal obviously re-enters the lineup, but at whose expense?  Strait to even up the lines?  Tangradi, Vitale, or Park?  Vitale only played 7 minutes, easily the least on the team, so I would not be surprised to see him get scratched and Neal to step in with 7 defensemen still in place.  Bylsma loves to stick with what’s working, so 11 forwards might be his calling card.  Also, I would expect Adams to come back in for Park to sure up the PK…not that it has made any difference all series anyways.

One of the more unique box scores I've looked through.

- One caveat to Game 5: Hartnell has yet to make an impact on this series.  Look for him to go crazy on Friday, whether it be scoring on the Pens or physically attacking them and giving the Pens PPs.  He is the Flyer to watch on Friday.  Also, James Van Riemsdyk is a near lock to return to the lineup, giving the Flyers another skilled forward to work with.  The D will have its hands full.

- Finally, a note on Twitter, Re: Staal trade rumors.  Before you go crazy and start spreading rumors you hear or react to what people are suggesting, consider the original source and what they actually said.  No one ever said Staal is unhappy in his current role; I dare you to find that original quote.  The reporter’s quote was that “Staal would be unhappy (if kept in his current role).”  WOULD BE.  Meaning it’s speculation, and hypothetical, which is a proper analysis but has absolutely no bearing on this team right now or how Staal feels right now.  The simple nuances of a sentence can vastly change the meaning, so take the time to look into it before losing your mind.

Would Staal hold TK like he was the king of the world if
Jordan didn't want to be here?

Keys to Game 5:

- DEFENSE AND PENALTY KILL.  Also, ADJUSTMENTS.  The defense still needs to be sharper and keep their heads on a swivel, and this needs to extend to the penalty kill in the worst way.  Expect Laviolette to come back to Pittsburgh making some major adjustments against the Pens style, and Bylsma needs to be ready to adjust on the fly for it.  Fleury is still going to have to steal a game at some point in this series.  My gut feeling is that Friday is going to be that game as the Flyers want to crush any momentum the Pens can possibly build.

And remember...one game at a time.  Focus on game 5.

Flyers lead series 3-1.  Next Game: 4/20 vs Phi, 7:30pm, Root Sports / NBCSports

PS - Podcast Discussing Game 4 and Previewing Game 5 will be up tonight

Pens End the Regular Season with a Win

Main Storylines:

- While this is a “meaningless game”, quite a few players are looking for milestones.  Most importantly, the Flyers have yet to lose in Consol in heading into the last game of the season.

- These teams are locked into the 4/5 matchup.  Don’t expect too much craziness because they both know next week is far more important than anything today.

- While this is a playoff preview, it also isn’t.  Flyers aren’t dressing Giroux, Briere, and Grossmann.  Pens aren’t dressing Neal, Sullivan, Niskanen.

Result:

Pens  4  Flyers  2

Goals:  Dupuis (25) from Asham, Staal

            Kunitz (26) from Malkin

            Crosby (8) (PP) from Kunitz, Staal

            Malkin (50) from Letang, Crosby

Stats/Milestones:

- Goals: Dupuis (25), Kunitz (26), Malkin (50)

Just an unreal season for Dupuis, what a stud.

- Point Streak: Dupuis (17 games)

- Points Malkin (109), Staal (50), Dupuis (59), Kunitz (61)

- Evgeni Malkin will officially win the Art Ross Trophy for finishing as the league’s leading scorer.

Not quite how I want him celebrating #50, but better than Neal's #40 celebration.

- The crowd set a new record at Consol Energy Center, packing in 18,616 to see the season finale.

The Good:

- The refs did a fantastic job in this game.  Everyone was worried about what shenanigans may occur, but after an early fight between Joe Vitale and Harry Zolnierczyk, nothing dirty or gritty occurred.  The refs called a pretty tight game and even gave Shelley a 10 minute misconduct before he could get in any real trouble or take a penalty.  I expect that type of reffing all series.

Oh yeah, and Vitale won, by a landslide.

- The defense was the best I have seen in weeks, though obviously not going against Giroux or Briere helped a bit.  Michalek and Letang played exceptionally well, both making some great diving breakups and stops.

The Bad:

- I will be quite happy to see the end of the Engelland/Strait pairing.  Mostly on Strait’s part.  I don’t believe he’s nearly as ready as the Pens seem to, as I would prefer Despres over him right now.  The Schenn goal was on account of a lack of communication between Engo and Strait as neither knew who should go into the high slot to cover him.  Strait is a little too untethered in his coverage for my liking right now.  Hopefully Niskanen will be healthy and ready as the playoffs start.

- The powerplay did score a goal, but looked awful on their 5 minute major chance.  I will let this slide because they were trying to feed Malkin constantly and were also without Sullivan and Neal, but it still goes under bad for this game.

- It was sad to see Fleury get pulled on the verge of franchise record breaking win #227 just to see Johnson allow a goal instantly to give Fleury a no decision.  Fleury looked visibly displeased on the jumbotron, but hey, a game plan is a game plan.  Just have to wait til next year flower!

Johnson went straight to Fleury and shook his head in apology after the game.

The Ugly:

- Zac Rinaldo took a 5 minute major for checking from behind and a game misconduct when he crushed Michalek into the boards from behind.  I honestly believe half of this penalty was because of the refs wanting to keep control of the game and because his last name was Rinaldo.  He received a warning earlier in the shift from a ref after hitting Kennedy and was promptly thrown out after that hit.  The refs clearly wanted to take control and I approve of them acting in that way towards both teams.

Thoughts:

- Here are your East matchups: NYR – Ott, Bos – Was, Fla – NJ, Pit – Phi….guess who has the winning records in each series?  Not who you expect: Ott, Was, Fla, Phi.

- The 3^rd period was clearly both teams dropping into a stance of, let’s not get hurt, let’s not get into trouble, we’ll settle everything over the next 2 weeks.  Props to both teams for being smart with that.

- Though this was a meaningless game, I believe it was HUGE to beat the Flyers in Consol so they couldn’t go into the playoff series with that over our heads.  They will rationalize it based on the players they were missing, but the result does not change, it was a big psyche win whether anyone admits it or not.

- I’ll save the rest for future posts in the next few days, I PLAN on doing a Regular Season Review, Flyers Roster Preview, and Pens-Flyers Series Preview before the playoffs get underway…we’ll see how much I can accomplish.  Thanks for reading!

Pens Record: 51-25-6, 108 pts, 2^nd in the Atlantic, 4^th in the East

Next Game:  TBD, Playoffs announced Sunday, 4/8 at 1pm.  Likely 1^st 4 games: Wed, Fri, Sun, Wed

Powerplay Comes Up Clutch, Pens beat Bruins

Main Storylines:

- Forget the Philly nonsense (aside from the standings) until after the Rangers game on Thursday, the Pens have 2 key objectives right now: 1) Learn to play tight defense again and 2) Win

- Brent Johnson faces Marty Turco in the goaltending matchup…be still, my beating heart.

Result:

Pens  5  Bruins  3

Goals:   Crosby (6) from Dupuis, Letang

             Martin (2) from Kennedy, Letang

             Neal (40) (PP) from Kunitz, Crosby

             Crosby (7) (PP) from Letang, Malkin

             Asham (5) from Adams, Vitale

Stats/Milestones:

- The amazing Pascal Dupuis extended his career high point streak to 15 games with an assist on the 1^st goal.  Gotta give him credit, he always adds to it within the first 2 goals of the game so there’s no suspense ever.

If you're ever sad, just look at a pic of a Dupuis celebration.

- James Neal hit the 40 goal mark for the 1^st time in his career as he continues to set highs in goals (40) and points (81).

- Not a milestone, but Crosby has now matched Ovechkin in assists at 27 apiece.  This is just humorous.  Crosby has played 56 less games.

- Some game stats: Staal led the game with 8 hits.  Orpik led with 5 blocked shots. 

The Good:

- This crazy new concept of a powerplay with a defenseman on the point premiered tonight and the Pens made it work with 2 powerplay goals in less than 2 minutes, on a 5 on 3 and then subsequent 5 on 4.  As nice as it was to see the old 4 forward PP return and be successful, the biggest takeaway was that the powerplay was CLUTCH.  The Pens powerplay has been very successful throughout the season, but it has been a long time since I’ve seen them score early on a 5 on 3 and then score on the remaining powerplay as well.  Add the fact that the game was tied at 2 when this all occurred, you really can’t ask for more out of the PP.

Brent Johnson – Allowing 3 goals on 29 shots isn’t exactly anything to brag about.  However, when you stop multiple breakaways and a 2 on 0 because your defense doesn’t care about your well-being…yeah go ahead and brag Johnny.  Johnson came up even more clutch than the powerplay as he dealt with a plethora of odd-man rushes thanks to turnovers and just poor play by the Penguins defense.  The Bruins probably could have won this game if not for a nice mix of wasted chances and some fantastic and instinctive glove saves by Johnson.  He looks confident and back in his normal form, which may not matter if he doesn’t start another game for the Penguins ever (60/40 chance), but at least gives the team confidence if anything goes awry.

Despite many chances like this one, BJ was a wall when the Pens needed it most.

Sidney Crosby – Admittedly, Crosby and also Letang to follow this up would be somewhere between good and bad for me because I need to scold both.  But it leans good so here they are.  First the bad part – Crosby’s gotta quit with the no look passes in the defensive zone / passing up the middle.  He had another dangerous turnover in this game in the D zone and he’s simply smarter than that.  Speaking of being smarter, the Bruins scored their 2^nd goal when Crosby just didn’t follow his man closely to the crease, allowing him to get free and take a pass to score.  Are these a little nitpicky compared to most of the team, yes, but ya know what, he’s Sidney Crosby, he’s better than that.  On the good side though, a 3 point game (2g, 1a) with a powerplay goal is nothing to scoff at.  He looks very comfortable in the offensive zone, especially behind the net again, and was quite creative in his efforts tonight.  Most importantly, he found open space and was in the perfect spot for both of his goals, something that very few can pull off quite like Sid.  Keep racking up the points buddy.

Kris Letang – Again with Letang, I’ll start with the bad first.  Along with Crosby, he also missed his coverage on the Bruins tying goal, allowing the primary pass that scored the goal.  He also got blown past twice in the defensive zone, which was quite weird to see because who skates past Kris Letang?  In this game, it very much looked like he was trying to push the play forward too much or overcompensate for Paul Martin at other times.  But here as well, the good was worth far more than the bad and Letang chipped in 3 assists tonight.  The best part of his game shone brightly on the powerplay, as he helped the first unit move the puck around, and even get themselves moving around which created many more opportunities.  He is a must on the powerplay, case closed.

The Bad:

- The Pens still played poorly in their own zone.  There were far too many turnovers and puck possession was a problem once again.  If it wasn’t for the powerplay performance at the end of the 2^nd period, the Bruins could have, and should have taken this game.  I counted 3 times where there was a Penguin attempting to control the puck in his own zone or the neutral zone, and his other 4 linemates were already past the puck, heading to the offensive zone.  That is simply awful.  The Pens are doing a horrible job of providing support in their own zone and it turns every turnover into a great scoring chance.  There were just far too many chances for the Bruins on BJ.

Paul Martin – Martin gets the opposite treatment of Crosby and Letang in this one.  Sure he scored a goal, finally ending the Paul Martin Powerball and making someone very happy.  He then proceeded to play about as much defense as Alexander Ovechkin does.  He left Letang out to dry for multiple 2 on 1s, simply was skated past on a couple 1 on 1’s, and was caught pinching way too far into the offensive zone on the Bruins 3^rd goal.  Martin’s play tonight was the epitome of the team’s problem right now.  There was way too much of an offense first mentality and he needs to stop that.  It boggles my mind even more when he’s paired with Letang, so Martin SHOULD be the defensive guy in the pairing!  A part of me wonders if Martin needs to be paired with Engelland just because Engo will certainly stay back.  Also, because maybe Engo will just punch Martin out after a bad shift. 

Paul Martin WOULD score like this.

The Ugly:

- In a game that didn’t mean a whole lot (Boston is locked into 2^nd, Pens are fighting for 4^th ), there were some significant injuries undertaken by both teams.  Steve Sullivan left the game early with a lower body injury, though it is not expected to be severe.  Matt Niskanen left the game after getting crushed by Daniel Paille (who left his feet) in the corner.  Niskanen was livid as he went down the runway, smashing his stick on a wall.  He took one shift in the 3^rd but then was done for the game.  Meanwhile, Vitale took a puck to the jaw and was writhing in pain on the ice for a while before leaving the game late.  I have a feeling both will be out at least a game, and in Vitale’s case, it might be a few more based on how reacted.  On the Bruins side, Boychuk got into an awkward collision with Asham and couldn’t even skate off the ice after landing on his knee.  All 3 were unfortunate injuries that you especially hate to see in a rather meaningless game heading into the playoffs, especially for Boychuk and Boston.

Hopefully we don't see any more scenes like this heading into the playoffs.

- James Neal has clearly set a new precedent for celebrating milestone goals as he followed up his 40^th by fighting Andrew Ference.  The interaction was quite comical as Ference dropped his gloves while Neal looked on with a “WTF” stare before actually dropping his gloves.  While I gotta give credit to both of them for a very spirited fight, I do not want to see Neal dropping the gloves a week before the playoffs.  One bad punch to Ference’s helmet, and we’d lose a 40 goal scorer.  Save it James!

Neal...kinda frightens me now.

Thoughts:

-Gotta give credit to Boston for the effort they put in tonight.  This game was literally meaningless to them and they pushed the Pens as hard as they could until the end.  If the Pens played all of their games with 60 minutes of that kind of effort, I’m not sure they’d ever lose.  But, they should probably work on defense first.

- Ah yes, that defense thing.  I’m still not happy with how the Pens are playing defense and not convinced they can win a 7 game series based on their play right now.  Things that need work: puck possession, passing, defensive coverage, pressure on the puck, backchecking.  I am starting to wonder if we just have to wait for a switch to flip as soon as the playoffs start and fundamental hockey will return due to the fear of losing.  I’m sure I’m in the minority with this, but I would rather see the Pens win a 1-0 game right now than a 5-3 game just to see that they can do it and play responsibly.  It will be necessary for the playoffs.

- So, the Rangers beat the Flyers tonight.  NJ won as well.  Here are your scenarios.

*NYR has clinched the East Conference, forget them.

*Pit still plays NYR and Phi.  The Pens have a 3 point lead on Philly and need 2 points to clinch the 4^th seed right now.

*Phi still plays Buf and Pit.  Philly needs to win out and have the Pens lose out to get the 4^th seed.  They need 1 point to clinch the 5^th seed.

*NJ still plays Det and Ott. NJ needs to win out and have Philly lose out to take over the 5^th seed.

So, it is very likely that the Pens-Flyers-Devils finish 4-5-6.  But there is a small chance that NJ can get to 5^th and a greater chance that the Pens can drop to 5^th.

Pens Record: 49-25-6, 104 pts, 2^nd in the Atlantic, 4^th in the East

Next Game:  4/5 vs NYR, 7pm

Race for Home Ice Tightens, Pens Lose to Flyers

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

And so it begins...

Main Storylines:

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

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

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

Result:

Flyers  6  Pens  4

Goals:  Sullivan (16) from Crosby, Dupuis

            Neal (39) from Malkin, Kunitz

            Sullivan (17) from Dupuis, Michalek

            Kunitz (24) from Malkin, Crosby               

Stats/Milestones:

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

The Good:

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

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

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

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

Yes, the game had happy moments at one point.

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

The Bad:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Do this BEFORE they score, Z.  Not after.

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

The Ugly:

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

Give a flower some help, geez.

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

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

Thoughts:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Next Game:  4/3 @ Bos, 7:30pm

Winning Doesn't Take Sundays Off, Pens Extend Streak to 9!!

Main Storylines:

- 8 wins in a row so far, another would set a new season high!

- Evgeni Malkin’s next point will be his 500^th in the NHL…he’s been looking for it for 3 games now

- Two droughts to watch:  James Neal has gone 9 games without a goal, since the day before he signed his contract extension.  Also, the powerplay has not scored a goal since Letang went out a week and a half ago.

- Engelland returns to the lineup as Brian Strait sits.  Take note, Despres clearly just jumped Strait on the depth chart after one game.  Also, Tangradi is in for Park – I’m guessing for the inevitable physicality that will be on display with the Bruins.  Paul Martin remains out.

Result:

Pens  5  Bruins  2

Goals:  Asham (4) from Lovejoy, Adams

            Niskanen (4) from Malkin, Neal

            Neal (31) (PP) from Malkin

            Kunitz (20) from Neal, Malkin

            Dupuis (18) from staal, Engelland

               

The Good:

- 9 wins in a row!! A new season high for the Pens!

- Malkin earned his 500^th career point on the Niskanen goal and Neal earned his 200^th point.  Malkin is the 4^th fastest active player to reach that mark (behind Crosby, Ovechkin, Selanne)

- Neal and the PP both broke out of their slumps with the 3^rd goal of the game, a 5 on 3 PP goal.

So much relief, he's the real deal again!

- Staal’s assist extended his point streak to a career high 8 games.  Meanwhile, the PK has now killed 21 PPs in a row.

The First Line – Welcome back boys, after a few quiet nights the first line came out on fire with their physical game and they turned it into scoring.  Malkin and Neal put together 3 point nights, catapulting Malkin back ahead of Stamkos in the Art Ross race for the time being.  Malkin also went a stellar 15 for 20 on faceoffs today.  The Kunitz goal was simply unfair, as Malkin makes a perfect pass while falling to Neal, who threads the needle past 3 Bruins to Kunitz, who finishes it off with an easy one timer.  Speaking of Kunitz, his forechecking was simply unreal today.  They pretty much told me to go F myself for thinking about breaking them up (and yet, I still want to when Sid comes back).

Marc-Andre Fleury – I should just make a permanent paragraph for this.  He stopped 34 of 36 shots, and was vital in killing off a late 3^rd period powerplay when the Bruins were trying to make a comeback.  He made a glove save on his back that was absolutely the key save of the game.  I don’t know about anyone else, but I didn’t even notice how high the Bruins shot total was getting, and that’s largely because Fleury makes it look easy.

Joe Vitale – Vitale’s energy and effort is simply unbelievable.  No points on the day for him, but he did amass a blocked shot, 3 hits, and 2 takeaways, and was very noticeable on most of his shifts today.  Vitale is turning into the ultimate checking line player and I have a feeling he will come up big for the Pens at a key moment down the road.

Joe Vitale deserves a movie more than Rudy as far as I'm concerned.

The Bad:

- There were a couple of defensive lapses that led to both Krejci goals.  On the first one, Orpik and Lovejoy got a little ahead of themselves in moving up with the rush and both ended up out of position leading to Krejci’s breakaway.  The second one was a consequence of Kunitz not lifting Krejci’s stick even though he was in position to do it.

Tyler Kennedy – TK had a very quiet day, only getting one shot on net (with another off the post).  He simply was not noticeable on the ice at all.  I was rather surprised to see him not get involved physically with his old scrappy play.  Bylsma clearly noticed something to, as TK only had 10 minutes of ice time.

The Ugly:

- Malkin’s hit on Boychuk earned him a 2 min minor for boarding, and I’m guessing a phone call with Shanahan tomorrow.  There have certainly been worse hits, but my point of contention on this hit was Malkin had the chance to hit Boychuk in the shoulder, but placed his hand in the middle of Boychuk’s back and shoved him from behind instead.  I don’t think anyone can argue that it was a poor decision.

No injury to Boychuk as he returned later, I'm guessing $2500  fine for Malkin.

Thoughts:

- I loved the Tangradi for Park lineup change today.  That’s a rare move for Bylsma, who doesn’t like to change his lineups at all during win streaks, but it was a smart one.  Boston loves to play physical and Tangradi is much better equipped for that.  He had a solid game I felt, and has looked very good in the defensive zone when he has played during this call up.

- The Pens came out today like it was a playoff game and ran out to a 3-0 lead and ran Tim Thomas out of the game.  Despite that, it was still a close game throughout the afternoon due to sloppy play.  It was a good thing that the Pens capitalized on the first period, because the game was pretty much 50/50 the rest of the way.

- Point shots continue to be a big factor for the Pens.  The first goal was on account of Lovejoy’s shot from the blue line and the 2^nd was Niskanen’s blast from the point.  Both goals were off of odd bounces/blocks/tips, but the lesson remains the same – when the defensemen are getting pucks to the net, the Pens are going to do well.

- The Pens are (for now) 2 points behind the Rangers with a game against them on Thursday.  The Rangers still play before then, but Thursday’s game will certainly be a massive one, and one where Crosby may come back.  It will be the perfect playoff test as MSG will be rocking, especially if Crosby returns.

Pens Record: 42-21-5, 87 pts, 2^nd in the Atlantic, 4^th in the East

Next Game:  3/15 @ NYR, 7pm

Pens Own the West, Winning Streak at 6!

Main Storylines:

- The Pens have won 5 in a row coming into this game

- Kris Letang remains out indefinitely with a concussion, Deryk Engelland will sit out with a lower body injury, and Dustin Jeffrey is out with whatever illness has given him a 101 degree fever.  Brian Strait has been recalled and will join the defense tonight.  If you remember way back to the 1^st quarter of the season, Strait was called up and proceeded to injure his elbow half way into his season debut.

- Tyler Kennedy will also make his return to the lineup tonight after missing a month with a high ankle sprain.  Eric Tangradi takes a seat for him.

- Fleury gets the start tonight.  If he wins, he will become the 4^th goalie in NHL history to record at least 35 wins in 4 or more straight seasons.  The other 3:  Brodeur (11 seasons), Kiprusoff (6 seasons), Lundqvist (5 seasons)

Result:

Pens  2  Coyotes  1

Goals:  Michalek (2) from Staal

            Kunitz (19) from Malkin, Martin

Malkin managed to set up the GWG despite the awkwardness of this.

               

The Good:

- The Pens have won their 6^th in a row and continue to hold pace as the 2^nd best team in the East, though stuck at 4^th in the standings

- Tyler Kennedy looked very good in his return from injury, skating fluidly and shooting from all angles like his usual self

- I love watching Joe Vitale skate around like a nut case.  He went into that Cooke scrum with the intent of grabbing every Coyote.  He skates around at 120% at all times.  He really is just a great blue collar player.

Marc-Andre Fleury – The Pens have been allowing quite a few shots lately, but all that does is improve Fleury’s save percentage with the way he has been playing.  He finished with 36 saves and was named the #1 star, very deservedly so.  He made many purely instinctual pad saves and somehow kept the puck out of the net on quite a few crazy scrambles in front.  Also, no puck misplays = a solid game all around for flower.

Zbynek Michalek – Probably second to Fleury in the amount of times a player has appeared under this heading in the past month, Michalek put together another great game, even scoring a rare goal on his former team.  He finished with 3 blocked shots and played a team high 25+ minutes of strong defensive hockey. 

Brian Strait – Strait just proved how much of a luxury it is to have such a deep defensive core like the Penguins do.  He came into the lineup and led the team with 4 blocked shots and was 2^nd with 4 hits in 12 minutes of ice time.  The fact that the Pens can take their 8^th defenseman and give him a normal shift where he has an impact is a big key to this team’s future with Letang out.

The Bad:

- Mike Smith’s blocker side!  Both Michalek and Kunitz scored on Smith blocker side as he misplayed each and got a piece of both shots but could not stop them

Might wanna compensate to your right a little...

- The only Coyotes’ goal was due to a little bit of lazy backchecking by Malkin, who failed to cover a wide open Ray Whitney in the slot on the play.  Malkin did make the great play to get Kunitz the puck on his goal, but the lapse was definitely bad.

The Ugly:

- The scrum that started with Mike Smith and Matt Cooke was absurd.  Cooke later said that the ref told him that he got a penalty so the Coyotes wouldn’t go 2 men down.  Cooke literally did nothing but get his head shoved into the ice and received a roughing penalty for it.  Goalies apparently can take liberties with him and it will be an even-up at worst.

Maybe Cooke just wanted to grind?

Thoughts:

- As the Pens continue to firm up their grasp on the 4^th seed, start mentally preparing yourself for the Flyers or Devils.  It will almost certainly be an atlantic division foe for the Pens to start off round 1.

- Fleury did it, now only the 4^th goalie in NHL history to have at least 4 straight 35-win seasons.  Makes you wonder how anyone has complained about him EVER.

- The Pens now have 2 games against teams that are pretty much in playoff mode vs. Toronto and Florida.  They are beating teams pretty soundly right now, but the desperation that the next 2 teams show could go a long way in showing how strong the Pens really are.

Just a sweet pic of Neal's stick

Pens Record: 39-21-5, 83 pts, 2^nd in the Atlantic, 4^th in the East

Next Game:  3/7 vs Tor, 7pm

Less is More, Pens Win Behind 2 SH goals!

Main Storylines:

- It’s Pens-Flyers, do you need storylines?

- The Pens are 2 points behind the Flyers for 4^th place in the conference and 2^nd in the division.  A win here does not give the Pens that spot, because the Flyers own the tie breaker, but will at least get them close to passing the Flyers.

- Neal did not record a shot in the last game, a first for him this season, and the Pens had a lot of trouble generating offense against Anaheim, getting only 26 shots.  Look for the team to get back to their usual 35+ shots in this one.

- The PK hasn’t allowed a goal against in 7 games, a major reason for the team’s success in close games.

- The only lineup change will be Arron Asham returns after missing a few weeks with a concussion.  Cal O’Reilly sits for him.

Result:

Pens  6  Flyers  4

Goals:  Cooke (10), unassisted

            Staal (18) (SH) from Adams

            Cooke (11) (SH), unassisted

            Jeffrey (4) from Cooke

            Dupuis (13) from Staal, Sullivan

            Neal (30) from Malkin, Kunitz

               

The Good:

- Start with the basics, this was a big win over a division rival that the Pens are trying to catch up to.  It’s the first win for the Pens against the Flyers this season, and there are still 3 more games to go in this rivalry.  Expect fireworks.

- James Neal score his 30^th goal of the season, a continuing career high.  I didn’t think he would be putting up 30, and he’s on pace to go over 40.  Start clearing out room for his contract Shero!

- Marc-Andre Fleury wins his 30^th game of the season.  Despite allowing 4 goals, Fleury’s play was actually above average as he made some great saves at times, especially on the PK, to keep the Pens in it when the game was very close through the first 2 periods.

Don't care about the stats, I'll take a goalie who wins. 

- Engelland’s hit on Giroux was perfect, and may have had a big effect on Giroux’s game.  He was certainly quiet the rest of the night.  It was also hilarious seeing Hartnell bark at Engelland, but refuse to do anything that required physical contact.

- Short-handed goals.  Two of them.  One during a 5 on 3 penalty kill.  That’s called taking an opportunity and capitalizing on it right there.

Matt Cooke – Last recap, I talked about how Cooke was doing everything right aside from getting on the scoreboard.  Touche Cooke.  He blocked a shot and took the puck down on a 2 on 1 with Asham to score the opening goal.  He then somehow found himself going in on a semi-breakaway when the Pens were killing a 5 on 3 powerplay to score his 2^nd of the game.  He also added the primary assist on the Jeffrey goal that gave the Pens the lead early in the 3^rd.  His penalty killing was fantastic, his offense was fantastic, just a great all-around game from Cooke.

Poor Cooke had no one to celebrate with during the 5 on 3.

Jordan Staal – He scored his 18^th of the season, short-handed, and set up Dupuis’ goal for a 2 point night and a +2.  Just as important, however, is that he was matched up against the Giroux line.  Did you hear Giroux’s name aside from getting crushed by Engelland?  Giroux only had 1 assist on the powerplay and was a -3.  Staal continues to give the Pens a two-fold benefit of shutting down top players and adding goals on his own.

Brooks Orpik – In a game where 10 goals were scored, how much did you notice Brooks Orpik?  Not at all?  That’s the perfect answer for the stay at home defenseman.  Orpik was a +4 tonight and led the team with 6 hits.  He is probably playing the best hockey of his year right now.

Well, the Flyers surely noticed him.

 The Bad:

- The Pens allowed a powerplay goal for the first time in 8 games.  It was amidst all the bad reffing and during a 4 on 3, but it’s sad to see those streaks end.

- Paul Martin finally decides to display some sort of emotion, and proceeds to slash a Flyer while he’s laying on the ground in front of the ref.  Are you serious Martin??

- Malkin was a little off with his shooting tonight, only hitting the net twice, though he did hit the post twice as well.  He ended up with 4 missed shots.

Kris Letang – Letang was awfully quiet, and at some times awful, in this game.  He was caught completely flat-footed at the blue line for the first Jagr goal, where Neal attempted to cover for the fact Letang was well behind the play.  He was trying to jump into the play a little too much in this one, and got caught up a few times, especially on the powerplay.  Just a bump in the road for him I would imagine.

Joe Vitale – Vitale didn’t look all that sharp today, taking a bad penalty and not doing much throughout the game.  As the team gets healthy, he’s seeing a little less time, especially in penalty kill situations.  The kicker ended up being that he went 4 for 13 on faceoffs, so between that and the penalty, not his best effort.

The Ugly:

- Watching Jagr score 2 goals in 18 seconds on the exact same shot on Fleury was painful and shocking at the time.  Luckily, the Pens won out in the end.

- Watching Niskanen turn the puck over at the blue line, Engelland recover for him to save it from being a breakaway, and then Engelland just falls on his own accord with the puck in front of Fleury, leading to the Flyers 3^rd goal.  Talk about a comedy of errors.

- The reffing was flat out horribly inconsistent.  First nothing was called, then everything was called, then calls were being made when nothing happened.  Every part of spectrum from calling a game tightly to not calling anything at all was touched.  Both teams got completely screwed at times, esp when the Flyers’ Simmonds got called for goalie interference that never occurred.  Stephane Auger shouldn’t be allowed to ref in the NHL ever.

When a ref is a focal point of a picture, nothing good is being called.

- From the Flyers side – goaltending.  A good goalie probably allows 2 of the Pens goals, maybe 3.  The Bryzgalov – Bobrovsky combination better make you appreciate the luxury of having Fleury and Johnson in net.  That’s a big hole the Pens haven’t had to worry about in a relatively long time.

Thoughts:

- You wanted secondary scoring?  Well the first line only added one goal and the rest of the team put up 5.  Maybe we should worry a little less about the secondary scoring and the constant search for a scoring winger.  The defense certainly still needs to tighten up a bit.

- There is an above average chance that the Pens-Flyers find their way into a first round matchup.  I don’t think the Devils are strong enough to stay with them, and the Rangers are so far ahead that 4-5 seems inevitable.  If that holds true…yikes.

Even ice girls weren't safe in this game.

- With the team playing a slumping Buffalo (can I say slumping if they have sucked all season?), I would expect Johnson to get the start tomorrow.  Fleury could use a rest after the emotional insanity that occurred today.

- Has anyone missed TK?  Did anyone miss O’Reilly today?  Asham had a very solid, though quiet game.  He forechecked well, and was a key part of Cooke’s first goal.  The Pens, when healthy, have a solid amount of depth amongst their role players.  That depth may give Shero some extra trade pieces to work with, health withstanding.

- Look for Shanahan to analyze Staal’s hit on Coburn.  Staal got a 2 minute minor for boarding, but it was definitely an ugly hit.  Not sure how Shanahan will view it.  Staal has a few things on his side, he’s never been disciplined, Coburn did nothing to help his own cause, and Staal did show some compassion (which I think makes a difference even if no one says so).
UPDATE:  Staal was fined $2,500, the max under the CBA for his boarding penalty.  http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=617649

Pens Record: 33-20-5, 71 pts, 3^rd in the Atlantic, 5^th in the East

Next Game:  2/19 @ Buf, 12:30pm