Game 1 tonight.

Finally, playoff hockey gets underway tonight. The Pens will be taking on the Flyers at Consol Energy Center at 7:30 tonight.
Daniel Briere and Nicklas Grossman will be in for the Flyers tonight after missing some time due to injuries.
Ben Lovejoy may return to the lineup for the Pens tonight. Matt Niskanen was not in practice today.

The Pens are facing an opponent that is pretty close in range for statistics in some facets of the game with the Flyers. Some may even say that the two teams are similar in a lot of ways. Not to mention the fact that the two teams have quite a volatile relationship and this is quite a playoff series. However, I don't care if we were opening the playoffs against the Florida Panthers; playoff hockey is taking the game to the next level and every mistake could be the one that leads to the end of a season. Every goal or amazing play could be the one to lead a team to victory. For instance, look at the fight former Pens' player Max Talbot had with Daniel Carcillo of the Flyers in the series against the Flyers a couple of years ago. Yes, it got the fans more into the game, but while it was happening, we did not know what would result from it. That fight is now credited for pumping up the fans and players and the Pens never looked back.
Therefore, the Pens need to be strong in every aspect of the game and not allow the Flyers' antics to result in taking stupid penalties. Special teams need to be strong. During the season, a team can win a lot of games and still not have the best special teams at times. Though, in the playoffs, special teams play a much larger role in the way a series unfolds. We know all too well with our dismal power play and penalty kill from last season's first round exit courtesy of the Tampa Bay Lightning. We have had good numbers on special teams during the season and the Pens need to be sure to remain strong in special team play.
The Pens know what is at stake and are focused and determined to reach their goal of making it all the way, to raise Lord Stanley's Cup once again. Now all they have to do is play a strong game, stay focused and show the Flyers who the better team is.

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 face off against Stars.

Happy Leap Day to you all!

An extra day of the year, and what better way to celebrate this extra day than with a Pens game?

The Pens are in Dallas tonight to take on the Stars. The team that Matt Niskanen and James Neal came from in a trade last season for Alex Goligoski. Well, the trade has payed off for both teams, but Niskanen says it will be really weird playing in Dallas for the first time since the trade and that he wants to prove to his former team what they're missing.

Niskanen, and the rest of the Pens for that matter, should be prepared to face a team that has won 4 straight games including a great game against the Vancouver Canucks a short time ago. The Stars are in the eighth place in the Western Conference, but are only a few points behind their Pacific division leader. If they reach their division leader, the Phoenix Coyotes, they could jump all the way up to one of the top spots in their Conference. They are a team on a mission, just as the Pens are and the Pens better come out tonight ready to complete their mission of reaching the Rangers and ready to battle against the Stars who will be playing their best to reach their goal.
It's the last stretch of the season and most teams are focused on reaching certain goals and the teams completely out of the playoff spots like to play spoiler, so the Pens will need to stay determined and focused and continue to play a strong team game if they want to catch up to the Rangers.
The Pens will need to fire a good amount of shots on net tonight to beat the Stars' goaltender, Kari Lehtonen, who has been playing great between the pipes as of late. The Pens should stick to their game in tonight's matchup and this can be a very good game.

Call-ups, practice, and trades.

Matt Niskanen was back at practice today after missing yesterday's due to sickness. However, Brent Johnson was not at practice today and apparently he may have tweaked an injury in practice yesterday. Therefore, Brad Thiessen was called up again and we will have to see who will be backup for tomorrow's afternoon game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Johnson is listed as day-to-day and so is Brooks Orpik with his upper-body injury.

A pretty big trade took place in the NHL yesterday, with the Los Angeles Kings acquiring three-time 30-goal scorer Jeff Carter from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for defenseman Jack Johnson and a first-round selection in either the 2012 or 2013 NHL Draft. The Kings have not been doing so well offensively this season and they hope Carter can help to rectify that. They hope he can be better than he was with the Blue Jackets.
Jeff Carter was also part of a big off season trade from the Flyers that drew a lot of attention along with teammate Mike Richards. Richards and Carter were close friends on the Flyers team and were involved in some off-ice antics that were said to be bothering the Flyers and they were dealt. Carter went to the Blue Jackets while Richards went to the Kings and now his good friend Jeff Carter is joining him. Maybe now that they are on the same team again, Carter can step it up. People in the NHL have described Carter as a bitter person, so maybe being back with his friend will turn that frown upside down. Perhaps he was just suffering from some seperation anxiety.


The trade deadline has not brought us many huge trades at all this year, but there are still rumors around about Rick Nash and Dustin Brown and some other players. We will have to see what the weekend and and the early part of Monday bring in trades.

Updates.

Game day is still a couple days away for the Pens, but they were practicing this morning. Sidney Crosby was out there with the team for practice, but settle down... he was not in any contact drills.
Brooks Orpik was practicing and is slowly recovering from his upper-body injury but he says he is not sure if he will play this weekend or not. Brent Johnson was back in practice from his sickness but Matt Niskanen did not practice today due to illness.

The Pens sent Cal O'Reilly down to the Baby Pens. If we want to bring him back up at some point O'Reilly will have to clear waivers to rejoin the team.

That trade deadline keeps getting closer and closer. For the Pens, it is a different situation than most teams. Crosby's status and whether he will return this season or for the playoffs is unknown and if the Pens were to get him back, that would be just about the best move any team could ever make. Though, if Crosby does not improve, then the Pens might want to get someone to be a little extra help down the stretch. The uncertainty of the situation for Shero makes things a little tricky, but we have seen how good of a lineup the Pens have without Crosby certainly, so there is not a ton of pressure to pick up a player this year. While there doesn't seem to be as much going on as other years for the Pens, you just never know. The trade deadline always seems to bring some surprises, who knows what this year's deadline will bring to the Pens or other teams.