Jets Get Burned, Pens win 8-5!

Main Storylines:

- While the team say goodbye to Tyler Kennedy for 4-6 weeks (high ankle sprain), they welcome Jordan Staal back to the lineup.  Staal is expected to center the 2^nd line with Cooke and Dupuis.  This also bumps Dustin Jeffrey over to wing.

Staal may be back, but life for Cooke is no different.

 - The Pens have lost 3 out of 4 so far in February and need to get back to winning before they lose ground on NJ and Philly in the standings.  They enter the game 1 point behind NJ for 5^th place and 4 points behind Philly for home ice.

- Evgeni Malkin is playing in his 400^th career game and has 480 points in his 399 so far.

Result:

Pens  8  Jets 5

Goals:  Jeffrey (3) from Staal, Letang

            Neal (29) from Malkin

            Kunitz (13) (PP) from Malkin, Fleury

            Letang (3) from Malkin, Kunitz

            Malkin (30) from Kunitz, Neal

            Park (5) from Orpik, Adams

            Staal (16) from Dupuis, Cooke

            Letang (4) (PP) from Malkin, Kunitz

                                             

The Good:

- OFFENSE: Holy crap, an 8 goal burst from the offense, led heavily by the first line (3 goals) and the powerplay (2 goals).  The Pens took advantage of the Jets’ propensity for using defensemen to push the play, going in on at least 10 odd man rushes and scoring on a few of them. 

- Richard Park got his 100^th career goal.  Talk about a long trip to 100 goals!

- Jordan Staal looked very strong on his skates coming off of his knee injury.  His goal and assist certainly helped his cause, but most importantly – he doesn’t look hampered at all in his skating.

Evgeni Malkin – Malkin is just a beast right now.  Another 5 point night (3^rd of the season) gave him a 5 point lead in the race for the Art Ross.  He is definitely putting himself into the MVP race, though the team as a whole will have to move up in the standings for him to get it.  Every single assist he had was a primary one, including a perfect faceoff win on Neal’s goal and a beautiful pass to set up a breakaway for Kunitz.

Pavelec never had a chance.

Chris Kunitz – Speaking of, Kunitz also put together a dazzling night, getting 4 points.  His work in front of the net continues to be superb as he does the dirty work for Neal and Malkin.  He was the perfect mix of grinder and play maker in this one.

The Bad:

- GOALTENDING:  Fleury was not at his best by any means.  He had issues staying in position, though he may have been overcompensating for a lackluster defensive effort.  His inability to stay square to the puck led to some odd goals, but it won’t be talked about when the offense puts up 8 for him.

Gotta get that pad down, MAF

The Ugly:

- DEFENSE:  The defense was just flat out awful all game.  Out of position, chasing pucks too far, it was like they were trying to play Winnipeg’s style.  Lucky for the pens, their offense is far more potent than Winnipeg’s. 

Brooks Orpik – Orpik looked lost through most of the afternoon, over-pursuing players and maybe getting caught up in the free flowing gameplay a little bit.  As he’s not an offensive guy, his positioning needs to be perfect to contribute, and it wasn’t there for this game.

Deryk Engelland – Engelland pretty much had the same problems Orpik did, except he was clearly getting out of position looking for hits.  He had 3 or 4 very nice hits early in the 1^st period, but most of them took him out of the play and he followed his men way too far trying to make an impact.  He was a -2 on the night because of that effort.

Cal O’Reilly – O’Reilly  essentially scored the 2^nd goal for the Thrashers, as a long shot from inside the blue line glanced off of his shins and past Fleury.  I fault him big time on this because he didn’t square up the puck to block it, but was in perfect position to only have a bad effect for Fleury.  He’s gotta be smarter as a center covering the front of the net.  It didn’t help him that Engelland was vastly out of position, putting him in that spot.

Thoughts:

- Whoever decided the Pens should wear blue against the Jets is an idiot.  I personally like the blue jerseys, but don’t wear them against a team whose primary color is blue and whose primary jersey looks quite similar.

- It was kinda surprising that neither goalie was pulled in a game that combined for 13 goals.  I really hope Brent Johnson starts the next game, a) to give Fleury a break and b) to show at least a little bit of confidence in having Johnson as a backup.

One of the 8 faces of disappointment from Pavelec. 

- While I enjoy seeing the team put up 8 goals, allowing 5 to the Jets is rather inexcusable.  The Pens got caught up in a run and gun game and let go of their system for most of the afternoon.  Hopefully it’s just a fad and not a trend, as the better teams in the East will absolutely feast on the Pens for playing like that.

- I hate to say it, but Tyler Kennedy was simply not missed at all in that game.  Makes me wonder if he might be within healthy scratch range when he’s healthy and if Crosby comes back around the same time.  His lack of impact on the powerplay and lack of PK skills don’t really add much to the lineup at this point.

Pens Record: 31-19-5, 67 pts, 3^rd in the Atlantic, 5^th in the East

Next Game:  2/12 vs Tb, 7pm

Price outlasts Fleury, Pens lose.

Main Storylines:

- The Pens are coming off of an ugly 5-2 loss to New Jersey, in which Fleury got pulled after allowing 3 goals on 12 shots.  They are now only 1 pt ahead of NJ and 2 pts behind Philly in the crazy Atlantic race behind NYR.

- Tyler Kennedy is not with the team as he gets his leg checked out in Pittsburgh and Colin McDonald will take his place in the lineup.  Jason Williams was also called up today and Arron Asham was placed on the IR.  Williams will take Park’s place in the lineup.  I do not know why, nor do I like it.

- The first line has been flat out awful defensively, led by Chris Kunitz sporting a -7 since the all-star break.  They all skipped the optional practice yesterday, so hopefully that keeps their legs fresh for tonight.  According to the Pens Radio Network, the line is a combined -21 since the all-star break.

Result:

Habs 3  Pens 2 (SO)

Goals:  Dupuis (12) (SH) from Vitale

            Neal (28) from Malkin, Martin  

The Good:

- James Neal scored his 28^th goal of the season, a new career high for him.  He is still on pace for over 40 goals, which I’m pretty sure beats every pre-season prediction that came out.

- The first line did a much better job of back checking tonight, finally getting through a game without a minus for the first time in over a week. 

- The Pens crushed it in faceoffs, which is a rarity for road games usually.  Malkin went 11 for 14 to lead the way and the Pens went 31 for 45 overall.

- Malkin's shootout goal was just flat out disgusting.  A beautiful spin-o-rama move.  Youtube it.

Pascal Dupuis – Dupuis played his best game in months, looking like he was fired out of a canon on his very first shift.  He had a great forecheck going, and was a one man wrecking crew in the offensive zone at times.  He was rewarded with a shorthanded goal off of his skate from Vitale, his first in months.  Dupuis really elevated his game tonight.

Marc-Andre Fleury – Gotta take away from this a little because of the awful 2^nd goal he let up on a long shot off the post, off his back, and in.  However, Fleury did keep the team in it throughout the game when the defense didn’t feel like helping him.  He stopped quite a few odd man rushes, including a few ridiculous saves along the way (like on Erik Cole).  The goal was ugly, but the Pens wouldn’t have been anywhere in this game without Fleury.

So much defensive help in the picture.

 Matt Cooke – Cooke led the team with 6 shots, and also led with 4 hits.  He did a fantastic job for the team on the penalty kill, and also spent over 2 minutes on the powerplay as he saw an abnormally high 17+ minutes on the ice.  He had a very strong game all-around.

The Bad:

- The powerplay was bad tonight.  They had a few chances, but went 0 for 3 and gave up way more short-handed chances than they had with the extra man.  Montreal even had a 3 on 1 at one point, but Fleury bailed the team out. 

- James Neal needs to stop taking stupid penalties.  It’s almost like someone on that line is required to do so every game.  Both of his penalties were unnecessary and at very bad times (after the Habs went up 1-0, and then with 4 mins left in the game).

Paul Martin – Martin’s defensive coverage was lacking, and he made up for it by turning the puck over numerous times in overtime.  I don’t have much to say here.  He just simply needs to be better.

Zbynek Michalek – Michalek was pretty much incapable of handling the puck in the defensive zone tonight.  He had 3 big giveaways, all right in front of Fleury, yet somehow Fleury made one on one stops on all 3.  Michalek gets paid to be defensively sound, nothing else.  If he’s not doing that, there’s a major issue for the team.

Michalek...not going for the block, just laying around after a turnover.

The Ugly:

- The 2^nd goal that Fleury allowed was flat out hideous.  The Pens had just tied the game, had momentum, and Fleury expected a dump in from the red line.  He cheated to move out, Eller shot the puck from the red line, it went off the post, off of Fleury’s back, and in.  Vintage bad goal Fleury.

Thoughts:

- Playoff Race:  The Devils passed the Pens for 5^th in the Atlantic.  The Pens now sit in 6^th, tied with the Devils, 2 points behind the Flyers, and 3 points ahead of Toronto.  All 3 of those teams have one less game played than the Pens though.

- While I hate PK Subban just like everyone else, I was totally okay with him and Malkin going at it at the end of overtime.  I did, however, take issue with the fact that Darche decided to play 3^rd man in and nailed Malkin while he was engaged with Subban.  That was BS as far as I see it.

- A big part of me hates shootouts deciding a game since it feels very forced.  However, watching 8 rounds like tonight is absurd and quite a rush.  Still a weird way to end a game though.

- I’ll have a trade deadline post up later this week since it’s a light week.  I shall save the rest of my thoughts until then.  Based on Twitter, the Pens should trade Paul Martin for Jarome Iginla.  Good luck with that.

Spend some of your $5 mil on longer sticks if you aren't gonna be in position.

Pens Record: 30-19-5, 65 pts, 4^th in the Atlantic, 6^th in the East

Next Game:  2/11 vs Win, 2pm

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