Weekend News.

Happy Hockey Day in America!

Amidst the trades that are taking place before the trade deadline on February 27th, it was announced today that James Neal has signed a 6 year contract extension with the Pens. This makes Neal a Penguin through the 2017-18 season with an average price about $5 million a year. Great news with this signing as we have all seen the positive effects of having Neal in the lineup and on a line with Malkin this season. I'm happy to see that Neal will be a Penguin for a while!

In yesterday's game, Jordan Staal was assessed a boarding penalty and it was announced after the game that Staal had been fined the maximum amount allowed, $2,500, for the hit against the Flyers' Braydon Coburn.

Yesterday's game was a different game to say the least. Missed calls and penalties that were questionable. Things that do not happen all the time that were a welcome sight: Matt Cooke scoring two goals and the Pens scoring two short-handed goals, one while down two players while the Flyers were on a 5-on-3. It was a game that was filled with excitement, which is guaranteed with a Pens-Flyers game. The Pens beat the Flyers for the first time this season with a final score of 6-4.

Now we are moving on quickly from the Flyers game and are moving right into an early afternoon game in Buffalo against the Sabres.
The Sabres are desperate for a win as they have lost the past 4 games and are currently sitting in the last spot in the Eastern Conference. They are not particularly strong in any one area this season. Their offense and defense do not have much to brag about and their power play and penalty kill are not much to brag about either. While Ryan Miller is one of my favorite goalies around the league, he is not having his best season, in fact, it is his worst season statistically of his career with a 16-17-4 record and a 2.82 goals-against average and .906 save percentage.
Those numbers and statistics certainly show that the Sabres are having a tough season, but it shows that they are a desperate team and a team not to be taken lightly this afternoon. The Pens need to continue to play a strong game and make another great weekend, a great Hockey Weekend Across America.