Pens face off against Islanders for a rematch.

After a short break, I am back finally. Work and sickness got in the way, but I wasn't the only one feeling a little under the weather. I am sure most of the Pens did not feel right about their 5-3 loss to the Islanders Tuesday night. Luckily, we have a chance to correct our mistakes when the Pens take on the Islanders again tonight for a rematch. The Pens were not strong defensively as is proven with allowing the Islanders to score 5 goals against them the other night. The Pens need to be strong on the blue line.

With the loss Tuesday night and the Rangers winning, the Pens are now 5 points behind the Rangers in the standings and the Pens will look to close that gap tonight. Time to forget about the poorly played game Tuesday night and focus on tonight's game. While the Pens are trying to reach the Rangers and will try to make amends for Tuesday's loss in tonight's game, the Islanders are trying to postpone being eliminated from the playoffs. A loss tonight would do just that. Therefore, expect the Islanders to come out with power to win this game.
The Pens will need to be more consistent tonight and be stronger defensively. Limiting the amount of turnovers tonight will also be helpful.

Kris Letang and Matt Niskanen did not make the trip with the Pens who continue on a road trip to take on the Buffalo Sabres Friday night. Letang is listed as day-to-day. Joe Vitale, who has missed the past 5 games, participated in a full practice yesterday but is not quite ready to return to the lineup just yet.
Brad Thiessen was sent back down to the Baby Pens today meaning that Brent Johnson is healthy enough to reclaim his duties as back-up goalie.

Pens take on Bruins today.

The Toronto Maple Leafs snapped the Pens' 8 game winning streak on Wednesday and now it is time for the Pens to start the next win streak today in Boston when they face the Boston Bruins.

The Bruins started this season looking like they were going to be making a run at a consecutive Stanley Cup with the way they were playing. Surely, we know that a season is long though and more recently the Bruins are having mixed results and winning a game and losing one in a pattern. The Bruins are 4-4-1 in their last nine. However, they are still a very strong team and a threat for sure. They sit second in the east and are on top of their Northwest Division.

The Bruins are a deep team that can score goals and though they have not been so strong defensively as of late, that does not mean they are not capable of being strong defensively. When the Bruins are on their game, they are a tough team to beat and when they aren't quite on their game, they're still not all that easy to beat. The Pens will need to play a full 60-minute game and some secondary scoring won't hurt in this game today.

The Bruins are a strong team at home as well and today's game should be an exciting one!

Sidney Crosby, Jordan Staal and Simon Despres travelled with the team for their road trip that will take them to New Jersey tomorrow and then Montreal, though do not expect any of them to be in the lineup during the trip. Coach Bylsma did say though that Despres and Staal could join team practices this upcoming week.


In other Pens' news: The Pens have resigned forward Joe Vitale to a 2-year contract extension. The annual amount of this deal is about $550,000.
Also, on this trip, we'll get to see Cal O'Reilly, the Pens newest memeber.

Pens win Home Opener

The Pens opened the Consol Energy Center with a win last night against the Florida Panthers. The Pens pulled off a 4-2 win last night at home without Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. Not that that should surprise anyone. Especially with our wonderful line of Matt Cooke, Joe Vitale, and Pascal Dupuis. That was meant to be read with a tone of sarcasm, because some might not expect that line to be as lethal as they have been, but they have been fantastic. Last night's game was no exception either. They have been chipping in offensively, Matt Cooke has 3 goals in 4 games, and work hard every shift they are out there. With key players out of the lineup, it's great to see the rest of the team click and make our great team that much stronger.

Matt Cooke is not only adding goals to the Pens, he is adding a new perspective to his game. That would be less hitting, or at least the kind that would get him suspended, which for Matt Cooke could be any hit he delivers since he has earned a reputation for the suspensions he receives for hits. Last night Matt Cooke got his first penalty of the season and it was for interference. He knows he hurt the Pens last season with a hit that caused him to have a 17 game suspension including all 7 games against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs. The Pens struggled and who knows what might have been if Cooke had been able to pitch in during that first round elimination. Now, Cooke has a new philosophy and it seems to be working well. I commend Matt Cooke on the changes he has made to his game and look forward to seeing the changes continue the rest of the season.

Also, last night, Marc Andre Fleury was trying to get that empty net goal and I was rooting for him to get it just as much as he wanted it. It would be great to see Fleury get an empty-net goal and I loved seeing him trying last night because it is a tad funny to watch and see the team trying to help him. I hope he can achieve that goal this season and I'd love to see that huge grin of his when it does happen.

The Pens play host to the Washington Capitals tomorrow night and a question most are wondering is if Evgeni Malkin will be in the lineup. We'll see.