Pens vs. Sharks - Recrap

First, to all the smug fans at Staples Center... How do you like your Kings today?

The LA Kings fell to the Nashville Predators in convincing fashion this afternoon.

PRE-GAME

Malkin, Gonchar and Talbot are all skating with the Penguins, albeit in red, "don't hit me" jerseys.

Kennedy AND Goligoski are doubtful for tonight's game. Deryk Engelland was called up for Goligoski. That one will be a game-time decision.

If the Penguins win, they will take the NHL lead back from the Colorado Avalanche. It's gonna be a good one!

FIRST PERIOD

Injury report:

Gonchar, Malkin, Kennedy and Talbot are out.

Goligoski isn't feeling well, but he's in the lineup.

Cooke-Staal-Rup starts for the Penguins.

The refs miss a pretty obvious trip on Rupp in the slot, :20 into the game. The zebras must have heard Bob Errey complain about it as they call a weak hooking penalty on Crosby.

The Pens do a good job killing an uninspired powerplay.

Letang makes a great move to dump the puck in, chase it down and steal a lazy pass by the Sharks behind their net. Letang's wraparound is stopped by Nabokov and nobody is there for the rebound.

3:27 - Sharks score. Fleury seemed to have good position on the post as McGinn digs the puck out and shoots it near side. Somehow the puck finds its way behind MAF. Fleury has actually given a few of those up already this season - something to work on.

Sharks lead 1-0

Not long after the goal, Fleury saves his own bacon after misplaying the puck behind his net.

- Fire Gilles Meloche

Bob Errey mention the earlier non-call on Rupp. The refs must have been listening, because they call Adams for elbowing. I guess Craig doesn't like it when the other team tries to clear him out of the crease.

How is the #2 team in the West, 30th in the league on the powerplay at home? (Okay, the Pens aren't much better and they are #2 in the NHL...)

The Pens kill that penalty and then get their own powerplay to work with. Billy Guerin should have scored... Crosby makes a play even surrounded by the four Sharks. He passes it off to Letang who is coming in late on the play. Letang drops the puck to Guerin who shoots and misses. Meanwhile, Letang skates past the top of the crease and is tripped by Nabokov (another miss by the refs). Letang hits hard and looks a little shaken up.

Cooke takes a very undisciplined penalty. It's a roughing minor for a late hit.

- Send him to Philly

16:04 - Sharks score. Boyle has forever to set up a shot-pass that is redirected beautifully by Pavelski. The Pens give up a powerplay goal after stopping the last eight.

Sharks lead 2-0

Rupp's fight with Staubitz at 16:45 wakes Fleury up as he absolutely stones Thornton.

With 1:40 to go, Nabokov makes a clutch save on a Crosby shot. Sid's attempt looked pretty harmless though, he merely directed the puck toward the net trying to elude the defenseman. The puck bounced off Nabokov's right pad and he grabbed it with his trapper.

Looks like Letang won't return to the game. Goligoski isn't feeling well (H1N1?), but he is playing and Deryk Engelland was scratched. Maybe the Pens should have gone with seven defensemen.

Sharks lead at the end of the 1st period, 2-0

SECOND PERIOD

Injury Report:

Add Letang to the list.

The Penguins get a good early chance as Crosby centers to Guerin in front of the net. Guerin connects but can't cash in.

Okay... I don't get this call... Pavelski is guilty of holding Cooke. How can Cooke be guilty of diving? I hate this call. If Cooke is diving, then Pavelski wasn't really holding... Am I the only one who finds this kind of thing baffling?

Well, Fleury gives up a bad goal on the ensuing 4-on-4. Brent Johnson comes in as Fleury is chased from the net (H1N1?)

Sharks lead 3-0

Pavelski comes out of the box and does some nifty skating at the blue line to keep the puck in the zone and get some open ice. The Sharks outwork the Pens on the play and Pavelski bangs a rebound into the net. I think Brooks Orpik actually helped dig the puck out (he was trying to sweep it away as Johnson was trying to keep it under control).

Sharks lead 4-0

Guerin gets another good chance from a centering pass. Who does he have to blow to get a goal?

Bourque goes off for something... For some reason I'm distracted by live updates from the World Series of Poker Final Table.

Pavelski interferes with somebody and evens it up. The Penguins will have an abbreviated powerplay in a minute or so.

Staal and Dupuis think the score is 1-0. They are working hard right now and got a scoring chance during the end of the 4-0n-4 then another chance early in the powerplay.

I'd like to see the Pens use the body a little more. It might take the pressure of the five remaining defensemen.

9:34 left and Staal gets dragged down in the slot - no call.

Nabokov is stopping everything the Pens are throwing at him - Kunitz had a nice chance on the PP.

Sharks still lead at the end of two, 4-0

THIRD PERIOD

It is hand 113 and blinds are at $250K/$500K ($50K ante).

James Akenhead finished in 9th place and fails to win any extra money. All the final table players were paid 9th place money ($1,263,602) when play was suspended back in July.

For the second year in a row, ESPN and the WSOP have brought the final table players back in November to coincide with the end of ESPN's television coverage. If you ask me, it's stupid unless they cover the final table live. Today's play won't air until Tuesday, and everyone will know who won anyway.

Kevin Schaffel finished in 8th place, good for $1,300,228.

Fan and pro favorite, Phil Ivey, is hanging in there with 25 big blinds.

Jeff Shulman and youngster Joe Cada are the short stacks with $7 million and $10 million in chips respectively.

Amateur and logger (yes, logger, not blogger) Darvin Moon has $40 million in chips. He was once the overwhelming chip leader but lost over $25 million by playing two hands horribly (yes, two hands). He has recovered a little bit.

Bill Guerin still can't find the back of the net.

Back when I bought tickets to the Ducks and Kings games, I had hoped to attend the Sharks game too since my fiancee's sisters live in San Francisco. Now I'm glad that I'm not there. After the abuse I took from Kings fans on Thursday, I might have ended up like McKee - 5 minute fighting major and game misconduct at 7:59.

This is turning uuuugly.

Sharks lead 5-0.

Pens are down to four defensemen.

Goligoski and Co. draw a penalty as they rush up the ice just when the Sharks' second PP on McKee's penalties expire.

13:30 - Nice shot by Fedotenko, looking for a redirection.

16:49 - Crosby makes a nice play to get a shot out of nothing. Trying to get through two players, the puck pops up into the air, but Sid keeps his eye on it an takes a whack. The puck just misses the corner over Nabokov's glove.

19:40 - last gasp as Crosby puts a pass on Kunitz's stick, but Kuni gets off a weak shot and Nabokov gobbles it up.

Sharks win 5-0

See you in Boston.

Lets' Go Pens!!!

Pens vs. Kings - Recrap

This ain't gonna be much, cuz I have to go to work really early tomorrow morning.

I took pictures for Empty Netters again. If you want to see them, go to their game blog, I don't have time to post them here tonight.

I will say that I still had a lot of fun at the game even though the Penguins lost. When I noticed that Tyler Kennedy was not going to be in the lineup, I thought, "uh-oh."

Not all of the seats were filled at Staples Center when the Kings scored first at :27. It happened right in front of us (we were to Fleury's left at the faceoff circle).

However, at 1:10, when Staal tied it up, the Penguins fans erupted in applause and cheering. I didn't get a good look at the goal.

The Kings fans behind us complained that they are always surrounded by fans of the opposing team.

The highlight of the first period was when the Staples Center honored a U.S. Serviceman. The gentleman they put the camera on, a guy in the U.S. Navy, garnered instant applause. Then he held up a "Let's Go Pens" towel!!! People actually started booing him. I protested to anyone who could hear me, "don't boo our servicemen!"

Early in the second, Staal has a nice opportunity to SHOOT, but instead, he passes to Connor. Connor has a goal if he knew how to go top shelf, but he puts it right on Quick's pads.

- Send him back to Wilkes-Barre.

I got a real good look at Kunitz's goal. You could feel it coming as the Pens worked hard in the offensive zone. There were a couple of near misses during the second period that looked like they should have been goals.

We did get to see a lot of nice saves by Fleury until...

The third period was just plain disappointing. Lack of concentration led to givaways and four goals from the Kings.

I don't know what Fleury thought was going to happen, but he seemed to wait forever to react to Kopitar behind the net. Not too long after that goal, Fleury kind of misplays the puck behind the net. The Kings find the net again. Fleury should have been credited with an assist.

Those two plays were only part of the worst period played by the Penguins this season. Epic fail. Check those guys for H1N1.

In an interview after the St. Louis Blues game, Andy Murray said it best, "it's a tough league. You gotta stick with it. You gotta play it shift by shift and keep grinding."

Someone should play Murray's postgame interview for the Penguins tomorrow. I still have it on my DVR... I'll put it on tape and FedEx it to San Jose for them.

Let's look at this one more time for a little reality check.

For the Kings:

Kopitar - leads the league in points

LA Kings - 4th in the West, 2nd in the Pacific, 2 points behind Pittsburgh

For the Penguins:

Gonchar - #1 defenseman, injured

Malkin - #2 center, injured

Talbot - #3 center, hero of Game 7, injured

Kennedy - #1 game winning goal scorer, scratched

Pittsburgh Penguins - 1st in the NHL

I'll be doing a blog for the San Jose Sharks game... Come back Saturday.

LET'S GO PENS!!!

Class of 1967 Matchup

Tonight, the Pittsburgh Penguins will face the Los Angeles Kings at the Staples Center in LA.

For the record thats the Los Angeles Kings, the Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, Philadelphia Jokes, Oakland Seals (who?) and the Minnesota North Stars. The Oakland Seals later changed their name to Spinal Tap and are currently residing in the "where are they now" file.

Had you heard that Rob Scuderi plays for the Kings now? Every time you hear that tidbit mentioned during the game - DRINK.

The Pens' victory against Anaheim relied on secondary scoring and a game winning save by Sidney Crosby.

The Cooke-Staal-Kennedy line did some damage, too. After Staal centering the 2nd line with no results for two periods, these three scrappers were put together and assisted on Goligoski's goal. Kennedy and Cooke were on the ice for Rupp's goal (Kennedy assist) and Letang's goal (Cooke assist). They are becoming my favorite line in the NHL (just after "she wants to sell my monkey").

GO PENS!!!

Record of sorts...

Across the North American continent, a record was set for misreporting a record. Most sports journalists have erroneously reported that the Penguins and Devils have both tied a record for best road record to start a season with seven wins and zero losses.

I read on Empty Netters today that everyone is wrong (including me)!

The best road start is 10-0-0 set by the '06-'07 Buffalo Sabres.

Don't forget... I'm attending the Pens-Kings game and will be doing the recap. Wanna say "hi"? I'll be in Section 118, Row 7.

Penguins vs. Ducks - Recap

PREGAME:

Hmmm... What do I wear?

I personally like the "Pennsylvania State Champs"

t-shirt, but I'm gonna have to go with the vintage

Lemieux sweater. I also like the red, "Class of 1967"

hat. The "2009 Champions" hat has a terrible fit.

I think I'll go with the blue, mesh with circle logo.

I am attending the game tonight with my brother (Penguins fan and former season ticket holder) and fiancee (converted Penguins fan). I'm psyched that the Penguins are playing in Southern California this year.

The Anaheim Ducks are currently in last place in the Pacific Division. The Pittsburgh Penguins are currently in first place... in the NHL.

Both teams lost their last game. Fleury and Hiller are expected to start in goal. Scratches for the Penguins are Gonchar, Malkin and Talbot. Kennedy will be a game-time decision but Dan Bylsma says that it's likely he'll play.

The Ducks will be without blueliner James Wisniewski. He was suspended for whacking Shane Doan in the head with his forearm (I guess if it was his elbow, there would have been a penalty on the play). Jean-Sebastien Giguere isn't expected to backstop the Ducks with his groin injury.

Former Penguin Ryan Whitney will have to get used to a new defensive partner with Wisniewski out. Erik Christensen, who was traded from the Pens to Atlanta who traded him to Anaheim, was placed on waivers.

Dan Bylsma played for the Ducks, and Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle played for the Penguins.

The puck drops at 10:08pm E.S.T. (did you remember to change your clocks?), give or take a few minutes.

The Game

This is going to be much more like a blog than a recap... It's tough to remember everything since I decided not to take notes and enjoy the experience of the game. I took a bunch of pictures and sent them to Empty Netters. Thanks Seth for posting the shots! Also, thanks to my brother Keith for spotting a bunch of the people and thanks Leyla for taking the shot of me in the Lemieux Yellow.

That's me

Wales Conference

Doesn't the guy in the home

sweater look like TK? It must

be a coincidence that he's

wearing #48...

The first thing I notice when we take our seats is how many Penguins fans there are! We sat in corner seats and were to Hiller's right for two periods. When the players take the ice, a chant rises up from the crowd... "Let's go Pens!" That's right - you read me - let's go Pens!

Crosby's line starts and Staal is centering the second line with Fedotenko and Dupuis. I had hoped he'd be with Cooke and Kennedy since TK is in the lineup.

The first period isn't too exciting. The Ducks score about four minutes into the game. I could actually feel it coming. The Pens were back on their heels and had trouble getting control of the puck and clearing the zone. I didn't get a good look at the goal. All I saw were Penguins' heads watching as Perry wheeled around and fired the puck past Fleury. MAF wasn't screened, he should have had that one.

I got a great look at Pittsburgh's horrible powerplay. Was it really four goose-eggs in the first? Crosby didn't shoot, Goligoski didn't shoot, Letang didn't shoot, Kunitz didn't get in front of the net, Guerin didn't get in front of the net and made some bad passes. Ugh. Crosby had so much room and kept passing to Go-go when he could have skated in on goal and created some garbage opportunity.

I would like to add that the Pens should have had two 5-on-3's. Guerin and Crosby had their sticks broken by slashes on two separate occasions. I'm not complaining about the officiating, I'm just sayin'.

The second was more fun to watch. Cooke and Kennedy got dirty and created a lot of havoc near the net. That created a great chance by Goligoski that had me out of my seat. Then, a few seconds later, Rupp gets a pass from the corner and fires it on net. Hiller got a piece of it but I had an unobstructed view of the puck landing dead center on the ice just behind the goal line. The Pens tie it up!

We get a little action in our end with a Ducks powerplay. After a few gasps, the Penguins kill it off. Then, I thought for sure Crosby had one. He made a nice fake and it looked like the Ducks D and Goalie bought it, but Sid couldn't cash in.

On Letang's go-ahead goal, I heard the crowd moaning before I saw the ref's arm. Fleury goes to the bench and with a 6th attacker, the Pens take the lead. My view was blocked and the red light in the Honda Center is slooooooooow. I knew they scored by half the crowd behind the goal jumping up and cheering.

My brother complains about the seats - all the goals are being scored at the other end of the rink.

When the Ducks tied it up, I thought that the ref's should have blown the whistle. It looked like he had it frozen. I felt like all those players on the ice who are shown on TV looking up at the Jumbotron watching the replay. Perry scores number two by banging in the loose puck. Fleury almost got his left toe on it.

My brother complains about the seats - the Ducks just scored right in front of us.

End of two and the score is 2-2. Jordan Staal is a big guy. So is Ryan Whitney. It's so much fun to go to a Pens game!

Beginning of the third and I tell my brother that if the Penguins win, at least we'll get to see the game winning goal. He says, "that's true, unless they go to overtime."

There seemed like a lot of back and forth there for a while. I notice that Staal is reunited with Cooke and Kennedy. The two kids under 8 behind us won't stop screaming.

The Arena does a great picture game during the TV timeouts. They take a blurry picture of a player and you have to guess who it is. Tonight's winning answer was (B) Joffrey Lupul. They did something similar at Mellon Arena with a silhouette of a player or a shot of them in high school... anyway, the answer that night was Pascal Dupuis - a couple weeks after the trade with Atlanta. I have a feeling that clubs do this to introduce new players to the fans, because the fans can't remember what these guys look like.

Sid lines up for a faceoff.

(Thanks Leyla for taking this pic)

Okay, back to the game...

The Penguins goal is exciting! Cooke, Staal and Kennedy are doing their thing on the cycle. They are just banging away and won't give up on the puck. They keep it moving and keep it in the zone. Kennedy pokes the puck toward the point just before Teemu Selanne got to it. The puck drifts back to Goligoski who wires it over Hiller's blocker.

Just as the announcer says, "Penguin goal," Koivu digs the puck out of a crowd behind the net and jams it past Fleury. I didn't even see it. The crowd erupts in tumultuous applause and cheering. Where did all these Ducks fans come from? They haven't made that much noise yet tonight. Oh well, I sit down and take it.

Not much time passes and the Pens have the puck in the offensive zone. I see a stick lying out there and I say, "someone doesn't have a stick." It's an Anaheim player and it looks like a powerplay out there, but the Pens have a lot more energy. The puck gets out to the point again and Dupuis rifles a shot past Hiller. (It's reminding me of the success the Pens had against Varlamov late in the Pens-Caps series in the spring.)

3 goals in less than 90 seconds? It seemed like less than a minute. Wow! Talk about secondary scoring. Rupp, Letang, Goligoski and Dupuis - gettin' it done.

I was on my feet for the save of the game. Fleury is totally beat and waaaay out of his crease, Crosby in goal for the Pens and stacks the pads to deny Anaheim the tying goal!

There was a lot of action late in the game. The Pens charged up the ice a lot, getting the puck deep. The Ducks had their share of opportunities and made the crowd gasp and groan on several opportunities. When Hiller skated off with :58 to go, I got a little nervous. The Pens held on and it was worth it to the last .6 seconds.

Pens WIN 4-3!!!

The Penguins improve their record to 12-3-0 and tie four other teams for the record by starting the season 7-0 on the road. One of those teams handed Pittsburgh a loss on October 24th, 2009 - the New Jersey Devils. The Devils play their next away game on November 7th, but the Penguins only have to wait until Thursday when they take on the Los Angeles Kings.

I'll be attending that game, too so come back to read my blog that night. It's a lot closer for me too so I'll be able to post my recap earlier. (It took a little over 90 minutes to get home after the Ducks game.)

A shout out to Caitlin and Aaron who tracked me down when they heard someone was taking pictures for Empty Netters. Caitlin writes the SoCal Black and Gold blog. Great meeting you both and see you at the Kings game!

Eric

California Preview

Tonight, the Pittsburgh Penguins begin a four game road trip. The first three games will be a tour through sunny California, the home of hockey.

Did I really just say that? Well, let's take a look.

The Anaheim Ducks are currently sitting at the bottom of the Pacific Division. However, they are a tough team and a perennial playoff favorite.

In the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs, they nearly knocked off Detroit which would have dashed the hopes of many for a finals rematch.

With a who's who lineup in Scott Neidermayer, Saku Coivu, Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan, Ryan Whitney (enough Ryan's for you yet? they've got Ryan Carter, too), Teemu Selanne, Luca Sbisa, Todd Marchant, and Joffrey Lupul, it's only a matter of time before this team starts clicking.

Since the lockout, the Ducks have made the playoffs every season and won the Stanley Cup in 2007.

As for the perennial losers, the Los Angeles Kings, they are neck and neck with San Jose for the Pacific Division lead. Anze Kopitar leads the league in points with Ryan Smith not far behind.

The Kings are finally coming together and part of their puzzle was solved when they acquired "the piece" from Pittsburgh. The Kings defense has decidedly improved since the addition of Rob Scuderi this past summer.

San Jose leads the Pacific Division and trails Colorado in the Western Conference by a single point. San Jose has been a Western powerhouse since the lockout but has choked consistently in the playoffs. Could this be their year?

These guys know how to play hockey and win games. Joe Thornton currently leads the league in assists, Patrick Marleau has 21 points (good for third in points behind Ovechkin), and Dany Heatley has found a home he likes and rounds out these top scorers in 11th place on the league leader list.

That brings me to the Penguins.

Let's take a quick look at their last 15 games. The first of these fifteen was a 2-1 victory at the Joe Louis Arena against the Detroit Red Wings. 2009 Stanley Cup Champions!!!!!

This season, the Penguins have shown little sign of letting up. After a disappointing pre-season, Pittsburgh has a record of 11-3 and is currently on top of the league with a game-in-hand on Colorado. (The Avs have the same amount of points, but fewer wins than the Pens.)

Marc-Andre Fleury has nine wins and Alex Goligoski leads the league in plus-minus. For the first time in recent history, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are not topping the points chart. Crosby is tied for third in the plus-minus column and has nine goals. Tyler Kennedy leads the league with three game-winning goals.

Pittsburgh's superstars might not be putting up tons of points, but the team is playing together as a winning team. All but two players on the roster have made the score sheet and eight players have three or more goals. Only four players reside on the minus end of the plus-minus rating. Add to that four shootout wins - these guys are finding ways to win.

If you ask me, I'd also add that this is a team that hasn't even played to their potential this season.

The problem for the Penguins recently has been injuries. Everyone knew Maxime Talbot, the hero of Game Seven (did I mention the Penguins won the Stanley Cup?), would be out for a few months after undergoing shoulder surgery in the off-season. But now, Gonchar, Malkin and Kennedy are out.

Gonchar's impact has been loss of veteran leadership on the ice. People say that the powerplay suffers without him, but it wasn't performing well with him and Alex Goligoski is loving the powerplay. When Sarge is playing, you can just feel the comfort level is higher.

Malkin is out for a few weeks with a shoulder problem. It was showing in a couple of games before he sat out. I also suspect he was a little under the weather for a few games. Hopefully, Geno's parents will show up and his mother will feed him properly.

TK is listed as day-to-day and he will probably play tonight against the Ducks but his absence was definitely felt the last few games. He has five goals on the season and is part of the Penguins' scrappy third line.

The Cooke-Staal-Kennedy line has been so effective for the Pens when it has been kept intact. They are the line that shuts down opposing team's first line. They are the line with the best cycle and forecheck in the NHL today. They come out after almost every goal (for or against) to provide an answer - either to get a quick goal to even things up or prevent a momentum shift.

With Kennedy back, I'm hoping this line will be together again. Staal centered the second line to ill effects against the Minnesota Wild. Sometimes, comfort level overrides any team's system.

The 2009-2010 Penguins are only one of a handful of teams to win 11 games in October. Dan Bylsma's regular season record is an astounding 29-6-4. That's pretty darn near close to a win rate of 75%.

I'm looking forward to three games of exciting hockey in California. I'm also looking forward to attending two of them (I tried, but couldn't work out a trip to the Bay Area for the Sharks game).

Look for my recap later tonight with photos and up close and personal insight.

LET'S GO PENS!!!

Sykora returns to the Igloo. We're all probably slightly hungover from last night's parties, or getting ready for tonight's, so please quit e-mailing me about nude pictures, Mr. Dupuis, you get none.

Period 1

Cal Buttercup takes a shot at Adams.

Goligoski slips away from a Boogard hit.

Crosby scores on Backstrom so hard, it was a save.

Staal and Bourque make a sick play, but gloved away.

Belanger hits the box after a nice penalty draw by Bourque. Pens PP. Brings nothing.

Brodziak scores.
Wild 1-0

Dupuis scores. Adams and Skoula with assists.
Tie 1-1

Both teams play soccer with Backstrom's water bottle.

Belanger scores.
Wild 2-1

End of the 1st.
Wild 2-1

Second Period

Crosby powerslides. It's sick.

Guerin guillotine's Backstrom.

Backstrom's in the net, laying down, and nobody scored.

Wild get a PP. Didn't see who got it because I was arguing with my buddy about the origin of Pokemon's name. Yeah, I'm a nerd.

Nice play as the box empties, Skoula nearly gives Staal a goal, but he overshoots it.

Sidney Crosby screws Zidlicky up after a dirty hit. He destroyed him. When are people going to quit pissing with Sid?

Guerin draws a penalty. Pens PP.

Period over, penalty carries over.

Period 3

Rupp destroys Zanon.

Pens PP.

Rupp nearly scores. Time to start nailing the back of the net.

Sykora smashes Tanger in the face with his stick. I smell bad blood (Granato?).
Tanger is serving half of Sykora's high stick penalty, for some reason.

Havlat gets destroyed by Orpik.

Rupp and Scott hit the box for both having last names that end with the same letter repeated.

Craig Admas misses the net on the best oppurtunity of the night.

Belanger got his face busted when it "got into the way" of the Pens and Wild's sticks.

We do all we can to score, but nothing went in.

Pens lose, 2-1. Against the Wild. Seriously. Come on guys.

*Pens aren't making the playoffs.
*Goligoski is not performing to his standards. He hasn't scored a goal in 1 game!
*Godard's not doing his job. If he would've fought Boogard, we would've won.
*Dupuis was the best player scoring wise tonight. That's how you know when SNAFU.

Pens Win in Ohio

Chris Kunitz got the Pens on the board in the 2nd period with a shorthanded tally.

The Jackets responded to rebuild their two goal lead.

The Cardiac Kids were not to be denied.

Brent Johnson kept the Pens in the game until the final buzzer, turning in another solid performance in relief of the Flower, who got the first day of back-to-backs off.

Ruslan Fedotenko and Alex Goligoski scored goals 39 seconds apart in the third period to secure a point for the Pens and force the extra frame.

Johnson stood tall in OT and made a dazzling glove save on Kristian Huselius in the shootout.

Sid looked at a loose puck in the crease after putting a shot on Mason in the shootout, and it went it.

Pens win 4-3.

It's Friday night after the Pens 6th straight road victory... cut us some slack.

Sykie returns to the Igloo tomorrow night. West Coast swing next week.

Let's Go Pens

Jay McKee Is The Man

The NHL's website finally gave Jay McKee some of the recognition he's deserved all season.
Read this article: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=503904
I swear, the link does not take you to a porno site, or Rick Roll.

In other news, I finally decided to try out the program GIMP, and I made a little shop for the best PK line we have had this year.

You know you love it.

In much less important news (if only), Geno's out for 2-3 weeks with a shoulder injury. He's played all year with it so far, and still managed to rack up 4 goals and 10 asses.
First time he's missed a regular season game with an injury for 39210 years.
Kunitz and Kennedy also missed practice, but Kunitz was probably on a maintenance day.

Wonder who's coming up from WBS to fill in. My guesses are either Letestu or Caputi.

Hats Off to Sir Sidney. Pens Destroy Habs, Wrap Up Homestand

On a night where the Pens turned in what was perhaps their best team effort of the season; Chris Kunitz finally snapped out of his goal drought by potting a third period marker on a breakaway; Billy Guerin put up 3 assists; the Pens consecutive home sellout streak hit 125 games (a new team record); and Marc-Andre Fleury was nothing short of stellar between the pipes, Sidney Crosby managed to steal the show by netting his third career Hat Trick as the Pens won in commanding fashion.

If you watched the game on FSN Pittsburgh, hearing someone recap all 3 of Sid's goals right now would be torturous.

FSN took the liberty of showing us all 3 of Sid's goals at least 12 times before the end of the broadcast.

After Crosby's first 2 tallies, Mike Rupp potted his third goal of the season by banging home a Mark Eaton point shot in front of the net.

3 goals in 12 games for Rupper puts him on pace to score 20 this season. Tell someone that 2 months ago and they punch you in the face.

Sid completed the trick before the end of the 2nd period, which signaled the end of the line for Habs' goaltender Jaroslav Halak.

After the ever consistent Penguin-killer Tomas Plekanec scored to spoil MAFs shutout bid, the Pens answered back with two more goals.

Alex Goligoski scored on the power play to extend his points streak to 8 games.

Then, late in the third, Chris Bourque capped off his most impressive performance as a Penguin by chipping the puck up the wall to spring Chris Kunitz on a breakaway.

Kunitz froze Price like a box of Mrs. P's pierogies before slipping the puck through the gaping five hole for his first goal of the season.

The Flower turned aside 23 of 24 shots in another sparkling performance.

Hal Gill took 2 separate delay of game penalties. It's nice when those don't go against you, but rather in your favor. Peace out Gillzy.

Kris Letang once again led all Penguin skaters in ice time, logging over 23 minutes.

He's been eating up the minutes in Gonchar's absence, but he isn't showing up on the score sheet as much as we all had hoped he would this season. Be patient, the points will come, this kid is playing some great two-way hockey.

Speaking of the absence of all-world Russian defensemen, how disgusting is Montreal's blue line corps without Andrei Markov?

Sidney Crosby now has 9 goals on the season... just 2 behind Alexander Blowvechkin for the league lead.

See you in Ohio on Friday night.

Let's Go Pens