Pens continue in battle to get higher in the Eastern Conference.

With their win against the Rangers on Saturday, the Pens moved up, but other teams below us in the standings are winning and the place where the Pens will finish the season is still an unsure thing. The Pens played a spirited game against the Rangers. However, the power play once again was a low point for the Pens. They need to improve their power play if they want to continue winning games and contending. Another thing: Empty net scoring. For the second game in a row, the Pens failed to score into the empty net on their chances. Though, this is not an area of concern. This is merely just some weird circumstance. They will eventually go in when we have the chance.

Eaton has some stitches under his jaw and in his nose after a hit from Colton Orr into the boards in Saturday's game. Though, it will not hold him out of any games.

Eaton up for Masterton Trophy.

Mark Eaton is a nominee for The Masterton Trophy.

"The Professional Hockey Writers’ Association today revealed the names of the nominees for the 2009 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy from the five Atlantic Division clubs – Scott Clemmensen of New Jersey, Mark Streit of the New York Islanders, Blair Betts of the New York Rangers, Mike Knuble of the Philadelphia Flyers and Mark Eaton of the Pittsburgh Penguins."

The award goes to the NHL player who "best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey."

Congratulations to Mark Eaton.

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=415953

Rangers and Pens meet today.

The Pens are currently ahead of the Rangers in the standings by just one point. The Rangers are coming from a loss in which they had the lead in the game and lost it in overtime to the Atlanta Thrashers. Therefore, they are looking to get back and prove themselves. The Pens will not take them lightly, hopefully, and they know how important these last games are and how they need to keep this lead. The Pens need to be a little better on the power play from here on out and for this afternoon's game, the Pens need to come out strong and play a physical game.
The Pens are expected to keep the same lineup as Wednesday's game against the Calgary Flames. Boucher is believed to be a game time decision, but it seems unlikely that he will play.

Pens re-sign Mark Letestu.

The Pens have re-signed Forward Mark Letestu to a two year contract. Letestu has achieved career highs this season while playing for the Baby Pens and currently sits in third place in scoring on the team.

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=415683

Pens put out the Flames.

The Pens beat the Calgary Flames last night with a score of 2-0. A shutout for Fleury, his fourth of the season. The Pens played a tight game and a physical one as well. The Pens were taking a lot of penalties, but the penalty kill was strong and was so Fleury. The one thing that may need work after last night's game: How to score into an empty net! The end of the game is funny now, but it was pretty bad watching Crosby and Malkin miss the open net and Matt Cooke missing it twice. Fleury tried shooting but Malkin stopped that, trying to gain control. So, just a few minutes in practice on how to shoot into an empty net, that should do the trick.

Pens take on Flames tonight.

The Pens have fallen to 6th in the East when they were tied for 4th in points just this past weekend. That goes to show that every game is important. The Calgary Flames, the Pens opponent tonight, are a great team that has been overshadowed by other elite teams in the West this season. However, that does not mean that anyone underestimates them, at least they shouldn't. They play a physical game and tight games. The Pens need to come out strong and never let up. A lead against this team is no guarantee, and the Pens will have to battle tonight.

Little Fact:
Evgeni Malkin will play in his 235th consecutive game, tying for the third-longest streak in Penguins history (Ron Stackhouse, 235).

Boucher probably not in tonight.

Philippe Boucher is ready for game action and Bylsma intends to put Boucher in for a handful of the 8 remaining games. However, Bylsma says, "it probably won't be tonight."
There are no expected line changes for tonight's game against Calgary.
Fleury will be in net tonight.

Godard and Staal visit Children's Home.

On Tuesday, Eric Godard and Jordan Staal visited Children's Home and Lemieux Family Center. The idea was Godard's and was organized with the help of the Penguins relations staff. The players enjoyed making the children happy and putting smiles on their faces. They played games, finger painted, and pushed kids on a swing set during their visit.
Nice to see that the players think of making a difference in a child's life even if it is something as small as finger painting.

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=415257

Malkin named 2nd Star of the week for 3/15-3/21.

Evgeni Malkin was given the honor of receiving the #2 star of the week in the NHL. Malkin tallied 8 points. 3 goals and 5 assists.

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=415012&page=NewsPage&service=page

Pens host Children's book drive for tomorrow's game.

The Penguins will be hosting a Children's Book Drive during tomorrow night's game against the Los Angeles Kings. These books should be new or gently-used. Cash Donations will also be accepted. Those who donate will be entered to win autographed memorabilia.

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=414363

Tangradi: "I'm over Philly. I'm excited to be in Pittsburgh."

Eric Tangradi was part of the trade that sent Ryan Whitney to Anaheim and Anaheim sending Chris Kunitz and Eric Tangradi to the Pens. While Chris Kunitz is paying off playing alongside Sidney Crosby, Tangradi is also capable of being a great asset that we received in this trade. Though Tangradi is from Philadelphia, he now says, "I'm over Philly. I'm excited to be in Pittsburgh." Which is great news! Tangradi is a winger with size and toughness. He loves to be in front of the net and wearing down the other team. He views the Pittsburgh Penguins as a great organization and a great team. He also says that the thought of one day playing with the likes of Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, and Jordan Staal is a motivation for him and will be a huge motivation during his summer workouts.
I am excited to see Tangradi some time in the future and seeing what he is capable of. This is a player that I will keep tabs on and wait to see what he does.

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=414517

Pens beat Thrashers.

The Pens beat the Atlanta Thrashers last night by a score of 6-2. Malkin exploded with a 5 point game. Gonchar had a 4 point game. There were a number of mentionables, but none as great as Malkin coming back from going pointless in his previous 2 games and then bursting with 5 points. Along with his outburst of points, out came the MVP talk for Malkin. People have been calling to get a chant going during the games and there was one last night, but it may need to be a little stronger, like as strong as Malkin's play last night.

Pens take on Thrashers tonight.

Evgeni Malkin will be playing tonight. Ilya Kovalchuk of the Thrashers, will be out of the lineup tonight making it the third game in a row he will miss. Johan Hedberg will be in net for the Thrashers. It will be his first time playing in Mellon Arena after he was traded, though he has been back numerous times.
The Thrashers have been on a roll lately, winning 6 in a row, so the Pens can not take them lightly. Every game from now until the end of the season is important.

Malkin takes break from practice with sickness.

Malkin has been playing through an illness recently, so he opted to take the day off today from practice to rest. The illness is not expected to be serious and he is expected to play tomorrow night against the Atlanta Thrashers.

Philippe Boucher returned to practice today. There is no target date for his return to game action as of yet, but he is getting closer.

Crosby named NHL's third star of the week.

Crosby earned 8 points in 4 games last week, earning him the NHL's third star of the week. His point totals moved him up to 90 points and into second place right behind teammate Evgeni Malkin and above Alexander Ovechkin.

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=414093

Sykora out for tonight's game.

The Pens will face the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight at 7:00 p.m. and they will do so without Sykora. He will miss his third straight game tonight.
The Pens will need to make sure they continue their recent habit of making a high number of shots. The Pens will need to capitalize on their chances because Columbus has a shut-down style of play.

Also, Satan will be reporting to the Baby Pens.

Sykora and Boucher skate today.

Both Petr Sykora and Philippe Boucher skated before practice today. Sykora's status for tomorrow night's game is still unknown but he will make the trip with the team and a decision could be made tomorrow morning whether he plays tomorrow night or not.
Boucher does not have a target date for his return after he underwent foot surgery and has missed the past 18 games as a result.

Pens beat Panthers in shootout.

The Pens put together another 60-minute performance but still had to go into a shootout, thanks to Vokoun, the Panthers goalie who was faced with 50 shots last night from the Pens. Both goalies, Fleury and Vokoun, were strong last night, but Fleury proved to be the stronger in the shootout as he only had to face two shooters and successfully stopped them both. Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin scored for the Penguins in the shootout to ensure the Pens the second point. The Pens were down 3-1 but came back in the third to tie it and most of the Pens were confident they could do so. The locker room was calm before the third period because the Pens knew that if they continued playing a strong game and kept the Panthers in our end, we had a chance of winning.

Sykora out for tonight's game.

Petr Sykora will sit out his second straight game tonight. Bylsma is saying the injury is not bad, it is just the time in the season where it would be better if Sykora rests and rehabs his shoulder injury rather than make it worse.

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=413184

Pens take on Panthers tonight.

After a successful road trip for the Pens, they don't get a break. The Pens go into tonight's game against the Panthers with the same amount as points as the Panthers and still battling for a playoff spot in a tight race. Therefore, this makes tonight another important game. It was less than a week ago that the Pens defeated the Panthers 4-1 and the game was one of the best 60-minute performances the Pens have put together. The Pens must execute the same kind of play tonight to get a win. The Panthers have a great record when leading after 2 periods, a 24-1-1 record for that matter, so it would be great if the Pens get a lead and keep it.

Sykora misses practice today.

Petr Sykora sat out yesterday's win over the Capitals with a believed to be shoulder injury. He also sat out practice today at Southpointe. He is listed as day-to-day. His status for tomorrow night's game against Florida is unknown at this time.

Fleury named NHL's 2nd star of the week.

"Carolina Hurricanes center Eric Staal, Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Rick Nash have been named the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending Mar. 8.."


"Fleury stopped 92 of 97 shots in posting a 3-0-0 record with a 1.63 goals-against average and .948 save percentage as the Penguins (35-26-6) moved into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. He began the week by recording 32 saves in a 3-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning Mar. 3, turned aside 30 of 31 shots in a 4-1 victory over the Florida Panthers Mar. 5 and made 29 stops in a 4-3 shootout victory over the Washington Capitals Mar. 8. Fleury has posted a 27-16-4 record, 2.78 goals-against average, .911 save percentage and three shutouts in 49 appearances this season"

-NHL.com

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=413037

Pens wrap up successful road trip.

The Pens won all five games on their recent road trip! The Pens finished off the Capitals yesterday in Washington in the shootout to make the road trip perfect. Crosby was the only one to score in the shootout and Fleury stopped all 3 shots he faced, including the last player... Alexander Ovechkin. Ovechkin missed an opportunity right after Crosby buried his chance in the net. It was a nice ending! To the game and the road trip.

Battle for two important points tonight.

The Florida Panthers, the Pens' opponent for tonight's game, currently sit two points and one spot ahead of us in the Eastern Conference. The Panthers are in 6th place, while the Pens are tied for 7th. The Pens would love to claim two points tonight and move into a tie with the Panthers. However, the Panthers would love to claim the two points and make the Pens recent move up the standings start descending down again. This is an important game tonight and also because we will see what the expected first line of Crosby along with Kunitz and Guerin can do. This should be an exciting game and it is an important one.

Crosby in, Gonchar out tonight.

Sidney Crosby will be back in uniform tonight to take on the Florida Panthers. Sergei Gonchar will not be playing tonight because he is back in Pittsburgh to be with his wife who is expected to have their second child. Alex Goligoski has been called up to take Gonchar's place in the lineup.

Satan and Thomas clear waivers.

Forgot to mention that Miroslav Satan and Bill Thomas cleared waivers and were sent down to the Baby Pens as well today. Also, Tim Wallace has been re-assigned to the Baby Pens.
I thought some team may try to grab Satan off waivers, but was not all that surprised that he cleared either. He just did not fill the role that he was brought here to fill. Though he seemed to be playing a little better lately, he still lacks some physical play and grit.

Trade Deadline.

The Trade deadline has come and passed. The Pens claimed Craig Adams from waivers from Chicago. There was a minor league trade: Danny Richmond to St. Louis for Andy Wozniewski. The Pens also got Bill Guerin from the New York Islanders for a conditional draft pick. It will be a 5th round pick if we miss the playoffs, 4th if we make it in, 3rd round pick if we win at least one round in the playoffs.
All in all, I was pretty happy that we did not sacrifice a lot to get who we did. Some teams in the East upgraded with some acquisitions today and we will have to wait and see what impact that makes. The Pens will hopefully stay on their current track and I look forward to seeing what Guerin can do on this Pens team. Now, it's just a matter of waiting and seeing the outcome.

Pens take on Lightning tonight.

The Pens will play the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight and the game will be on Versus. The Pens have been playing better lately and the Lightning have had their share of ups and downs this season. Let's hope the Pens don't take the Lightning too lightly. The Pens need to continue playing strong and they need to get a victory tonight, especially when we need every point we can get.
Sidney Crosby will not play tonight, missing his fourth consecutive game.
Satan, despite being put on waivers, will be playing tonight.
The Pens have also placed Bill Thomas on waivers.

Pens place Satan on waivers.

Miroslav Satan has been placed on waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins. He will still play tonight against the Lightning, however. He has 24 hours to clear, of course.
When I first heard this, I thought they made to move to make some salary room. With the trade deadline tomorrow at 3 p.m. there are a number of possibilities. We will have to see what happens.

Pens beat Dallas, move into playoff spot.

The Pens have been winning lately and everyone is hoping that it stays like that. The Pens moved into the final playoff spot in the East with their win, but they have to continue winning to stay in the playoff picture. There is no room for small error. Malkin had a great game, with a goal and an assist. However, it would have been nice to see the Pens shut the Stars out from scoring. Fleury was close, but let in a goal on a power play in the third. The Pens have been improving most facets of their game lately, but I would still like the power play to be a little better. I don't expect to score every power play, but more consistently and more often would be nice.