Matinee feature against the New Jersey Devils.

The Pens got back on a winning track yesterday with their 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins. Fleury was strong in net against the Bruins and the Pens played a strong game.

Now, we must play another strong game today against the New Jersey Devils in New Jersey. If today's game is anything like New Jersey's game yesterday against the Flyers, then we will need to be strong in net again. The Devils beat the Flyers 6-4 yesterday. The Devils were sputtering just before the All Star break but have not lost since coming back to play afterwards. In their past 11 games, they are 7-3-1. The Devils have recently put together Ilya Kovalchuk, Patrik Elias, and Zach Parise together on one line and the results have been pretty good. They are putting up some good numbers and are a line that needs to be contained best as possible.

Overall, the Pens will need to play a strong game and be responsible defensively against this offensive team as well as getting enough shots on net to get past Martin Brodeur.


Yesterday I mentioned Cal O'Reilly making his debut in the Pens' lineup and yesterday he had a promising debut on a line with Tyler Kennedy and Steve Sullivan. He had a shot on net in his nearly 14 minutes of ice time. He saw some time on the second power play unit and won 4 of 8 faceoffs, though also had one giveaway.

In yesterday's afternoon game, Brooks Orpik had a highlight reel hit against Boston's Daniel Paille, sending him flying in the air a few feet. A nice clean, good hit like that is something to see. It will surely be added to Orpik's repertoire of great hits.

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.

Pens faceoff against Atlanta tonight.

The Pens will look to get back on track with their game against Atlanta tonight. They hope to improve their record at Philips arena, which since the lockout is 1-3-2. People expect tonight's game to be more open since the Thrashers style of play resembles the Pens' in some ways. Atlanta plays a much more open game than our Tuesday opponent, the Minnesota Wild, that's for sure. Many players say they will have to keep an eye on Ilya Kovalhcuk tonight and his shot.
Fleury, who did not make the trip down to Atlanta, obviously did not practice with the team today, missing his 4th in a row.