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

Pens Week in Review - 2/3

Penguins Record Since Saturday:  1-1  (Overall: 29-18-4, 3^rd in the Atlantic, 5^th in the East)

- Beat Toronto, 5-4 (SO)

- Lost to Toronto, 1-0

Special Teams

- Powerplay:  0 for 3

- Penalty Kill:  6 for 7

*Steve Mears, who does the Penguins Live radio show on weekdays, did some research and came up with some interesting numbers on powerplays this season.  In the opening weekend of the season, teams were averaging about 5 powerplays per game.  This past Tuesday (with 13 games on the docket), teams were averaging just over 2 powerplays per game.  He suggested a few reasons for this difference:  players knowing what to get away with, refs relaxing on calls, teams being more careful with the playoff race at hand.  Interesting numbers to watch as the playoffs get close…

In case you forgot how to do the Macarena.

Injuries:

- Sidney Crosby (neck injury) is out indefinitely with what is now believed to be a soft-tissue injury in his neck.

- Jordan Staal (knee) is expected to be out another 2 weeks or so.

- Simon Despres (knee) is expected to be out another week or so.

- Arron Asham was diagnosed with concussion like symptoms and there is no timetable for his return.

Transactions:

- The Pens signed center Joe Vitale to a 2 year extension on Friday, worth an average of $550k per year.  While it's a good deal, and a solid price since Vitale has filled a big role as a center and energy guy this year, I have to wonder if this is just going to turn into another Letestu deal where the Pens get healthy and he suddenly doesn't have a spot in the next couple years.  For now though, another solid move by Shero.

- They also claimed center Cal O’Reilly off of re-entry waivers from the Coyotes.  This is a great move for the Pens as it adds depth at center and will only cost them approximately $190,000 for the rest of the season.  Also, he is a restricted free agent, giving the Pens options with him in the future.  A very nice, no-risk move by Ray Shero to get something for nothing.

O'Reilly celebrating with Sullivan, hopefully something we get to see in a Pens jersey.

Rumors:

- Rumors continue to still fly that Shero is looking to add another “scoring winger”.  The Pens have a lot of depth at defense.  Niskanen is a valuable trade piece with his RFA status after the season.  Lovejoy has been odd man out.  Engelland has shown a great improvement in his overall play.  I’d be shocked if all 3 remain on the team through the trade deadline.

Overall View:

- The Penguins ran their win streak up to 8 games in a crazy come from behind victory against Toronto before finally seeing the streak end the next day in Toronto.  Marc-Andre Fleury won all 8 games on the streak, and though it was no fault of his own, Brent Johnson was in net for the 1-0 loss on Wednesday.  Fleury had appeared in 23 straight games before Wednesday, and has now been in 43 games.  With 31 games to go, there is some concern that Fleury may be getting too much work as the playoffs haven’t generally been kind to goalies who play in over 60-65 games.

Random Notes:

- Yahoo’s Puck Daddy column had an interesting idea with a reader suggesting the Mario Lemieux hat trick.  The Lemieux hat trick would consist of a powerplay goal, even-strength goal, and a short-handed goal in a game.  The inspiration for it was Lemieux’s 5 goals in 5 different ways (those 3 + empty netter and penalty shot), which will likely never happen again.  If Gordie Howe has his own hat trick, why not Mario?

- As we have all seen, the Civic Arena is finally coming down.  The first implosion of 8 panels took place last weekend.  The rest of the panels are scheduled to come down every couple of weeks pending the weather in the next 2 months.

I think this would be considered "Dying Alive", Jagr.

- Through the All-Star festivities over the past weekend, Evgeni Malkin opened up to the media far more than usual and had fun with it in the process.  It appeared that he had a great time with the other all-stars, especially fellow countryman Pavel Datsyuk.  My favorite quote for the weekend involved Malkin being asked about the fantasy draft, where he stated, “I was waiting to see who’d get picked first in the draft.  I remembered the real draft when drafted second.  Now third.  I’m degrading.”  I hope the Pens remember that line when contract negotiations come up!

Week Ahead:

Sat 2/4 @ Boston, 1pm

Sun 2/5 @ NJ, 1pm

Tues 2/7 @ Mtl, 7:30pm

LET’S GO PENS!!!