Pens sign Fedotenko.

The Penguins and Ruslan Fedotenko agreed to a one year deal. Fedotenko was a priority of the Pens and he was interested in returning to the Pens. Fedotenko is happy to be back with the Pens and says that he believes the Pens have another chance of raising the Stanley Cup next season but he knows also that nothing comes easy. It will be a team effort once again.

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=433422

The Pens also signed forward Chris Connor and have worked out a deal with defenseman Chris Lee.
For more information on the players:
http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=433492

Minor lineup changes.

Matt Cooke will trade places with Ruslan Fedotenko, at least that is how it was in practice today and Eric Godard will take Craig Adams' place. Philippe Boucher will not be back tonight.
Marc Andre Fleury will be in net tonight.

Fedotenko could play Saturday.

Fedotenko alternated with Caputi today in practice, maybe being a sign that Fedotenko could return Saturday. If he does, Caputi would most likely be sent down to the Baby Pens.
Crosby did not practice today, still feeling effects of illness, but expects to be in the lineup Saturday.

Apparently, Boucher has asked for a trade. He is obviously not happy that he has not been playing. Right now he has a groin injury.
A lot of calls are coming in for Talbot.
Another rumor is that the Pens are in talks with the Lightning for Marty St. Louis. The Lightning are interested in Talbot, Whitney and Alex Goligoski and Dustin Jeffrey, currently in the AHL. These are just the 4 players that the Lightning are looking at.

Gonchar to meet with doctor tomorrow.

Sergei Gonchar says he has been feeling better with his injury and hopes that the prognosis the doctors give him tomorrow will be just as good.

The Penguins say that Fedotenko has yet to be cleared for contact, so much for the story that was out about him possibly playing tomorrow night. He was still wearing the red 'no contact' jersey today at practice.

Zigomanis is ahead of his recovery time from his surgery. The estimated time was 4-6 months. He has not idea when he will return, but the Pens would most likely have to make it deep into the playoffs before Zigomanis probably returns to the lineup. If that does not happen, Zigomanis said he really wants to come back to the Pens. He is a free agent after this season.

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=408688

Fedotenko could play Wednesday, Gonchar close to returning.

It is believed that Ruslan Fedotenko has been cleared to play and will be a game-time decision for Wednesday's game.
Also, some have heard that Gonchar is less than 10 days away from returning to the lineup.

Satan scratched tonight.

Miroslav Satan will be a healthy scratch tonight. Satan has 2 goals in the past 21 games. I am somewhat disappointed with Satan's play, but then again, the whole team is struggling. Satan just does not seem to play all that physically most of the time. He could add some grit to his game and polish up on those scoring abilities.
Luca Caputi is expected to be on a line with Jordan Staal and Petr Sykora tonight. Caputi scored his first NHL goal last night on his first shift against Montreal. I know there has been a ton of hype from fans about Caputi and I must say that I liked what I saw from Caputi last night. Maybe it was the adrenaline from being in his first NHL game, but Caputi had some great energy in last night's game. Caputi is expected to stay up here until Fedotenko returns from his injury, which is believed to be next week, but if he plays well, there may be a chance Caputi could stay longer! If he continues to play like he did last night, I would love to have him stay up here.

Players to return to action after All-Star break.

Sidney Crosby practiced today but it is still uncertain whether or not he will play Wednesday against the Rangers. Pascal Dupuis and Max Talbot are expected to be back in the lineup. Brooks Orpik may be on the verge of returning to the lineup as well after he was injured Jan. 16th. Scuderi did not practice today due to illness. Also on a good note, Gonchar started taking slap shots over the weekend. Fedotenko skated before practice by himself with his broken hand.

Evgeni Malkin had a pretty successful weekend at the All-Star game. He won the accuracy shot contest and added a goal in the game that the Eastern Conference won in a shootout, 12-11.

The Pens recalled Bill Thomas and Paul Bissonnette today.

Fedotenko out 4-6 weeks.

Ruslan Fedotenko is out 4-6 weeks with a broken right hand. Not great news especially because Fedotenko has been playing pretty well as of late.
Chris Minard has been called up from the Baby Pens as a result.

Pens face Nashville tonight.

Jordan Staal will be moved to wing on the top line tonight against the Nashville Predators. Staal will be with Kennedy and Crosby. Goligoski will be on the third line tonight. All these changes are of course due to injuries to Pascal Dupuis and Ruslan Fedotenko, both undisclosed injuries.
Hopefully the Pens can continue the momentum they gained from Tuesday's win into their game tonight. The Pens need to get on a better streak now that the season is already halfway over. If we complete the second half like we did the first half, the Pens will not make it to the playoffs.

Fedotenko status unknown as of now.

Ruslan Fedotenko will get x-rays on his hand once the swelling goes down. It is believed he has a broken bone in his hand.
The status of Pascal Dupuis is unknown at this point.

Pens WIN!!

The Pens finally win! Okay, maybe finally was a bit too strong, but a five game losing streak is a long time for what some Pens fans are used to. The Pens defeated the Atlanta Thrashers last night 3-1. Another plus in this win was that the Pens actually scored on the power play, not just once, but twice.
Hopefully, now the Pens can take this win and build on it with some confidence and great play and bring into their road trip that begins tomorrow night in Nashville.

Early in the game, Fedotenko dropped the gloves with none other than former Penguin Colby Armstrong. Fedotenko was hurt during the fight and the culprit may be Army's nose because after one great punch that caught some of Army's nose, Fedotenko went off the ice. There's no denying it is a big nose!

Fleury starting against Atlanta tomorrow night.

Fleury will be in net for the Pens when they visit Atlanta tomorrow night. He has been out since November 15th with an injury.

With Talbot out and Zigomanis as well, the Pens recalled Jeff Taffe and Ryan Stone from the Baby Pens.

Ruslan Fedotenko will be in the lineup and was back at practice today after missing yesterday's practice due to illness.

Sabres stage comeback to beat Pens.

The Pens have done it numerous times this season, make a comeback and win a game either in regulation time or going into overtime. However, the Pens have also been the team to give up leads as well and that is exactly what happened last night at Mellon Arena. The Pens had a 3-1 lead and ended up losing to the Buffalo Sabres 4-3. A disappointing loss and even more disappointing was not scoring on the 2 minute 5-on-3 the Pens had when they were leading. Getting a goal on that 5-on-3 may have been what the Pens needed to win. Ruslan Fedotenko had a 2 goal night and Kris Letang finally got his first of the season last night, too bad they came in a loss.
The Pens face the New Jersey Devils tomorrow night.

What a game!

The Pens played their most exciting game of the season so far last night in Detroit. The Pens defeated the Red Wings 7-6. With Jordan Staal's hat trick and the Pens determination to win, the Pens prevailed.
Jordan Staal has been lighting up the scoreboard more and more recently, and last night's hat trick gave the Pens a win and his assist on Fedotenko's game winning goal in overtime didn't hurt either!
Last night's games was one of the best Pens games I have ever watched and the fact that we did it against the Red Wings in the Joe, made it a bit more sweet. Honestly though, I think a victory like this would have been sweet no matter the opponent.
This will be a game I know I will be talking about for A WHILE.
Hopefully the Pens can carry the momentum they gained from this spectacular win over to tomorrow night's match-up with the Flyers.

Malkin and Crosby no longer together on top unit.

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=389299

Therrien shuffled lines in practice today following the upsetting loss to the San Jose Sharks.
Sidney Crosby will now be skating with Dupuis and Fedotenko. The second line will consist Malkin skating with Sykora and Cooke. Third line will be Tyler Kennedy-Jordan Staal-Miroslav Satan, and the fourth line :Paul Bissonnette-Mike Zigomanis-Eric Godard.
I am happy to see Malkin and Sykora back together, hopefully they can add the firepower they have had in the past. We need it!

Gill practiced with the team, but status for tomorrow night's game against the Phoenix Coyotes is still unknown.
Talbot did not practice with the team today and his status is also unknown.

Frustrating loss to Sharks.

Well, the Pens changed their game last night in San Jose, this time they decided to take the first two periods off and then most of the third as well, instead of just letting go in the third. The Pens showed up with less than half of the third period remaining. That is when Ruslan Fedotenko scored his goal.
Last night's game was disappointing and frustrating. I don't even have to say that the Sharks had the advantage in shots, it is pretty much a given with the current Pens that the opposing team out-shoots us. The shots were 34 to 11. Again, it was our goalie that kept us in the game, this time it was Dany Sabourin. The Pens need to play a FULL 60-minute game and figure out their system. These games are beginning to become grueling to watch, these are not the Pens I know!

Sykora to play tonight against Flyers.

Petr Sykora will be in the lineup for the first time this season tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers. He will skate on a line with Malkin and Staal.
Pascal Dupuis will rejoin Crosby on the first line, replacing Fedotenko.
With Sykora's return, Tyler Kennedy will be on the third line along with Fedotenko and Max Talbot.

Also, the Pens will debut their "classic" blue jerseys, similar to the ones worn in the Winter Classic against the Buffalo Sabres, on November 15th. A game at Mellon Arena against the Sabres. The Pens will wear the uniforms at several other home games throughout the season.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_593157.html?source=rss&feed=8

Ryan Whitney plans to start skating next month. That does not mean that his recovery is going faster than the original diagnosis. However, it may be before his worst-case scenario of not playing until January. Whitney says it is painful at the moment but looks forward to skating next month.

Pens win final Pre-season game against Jokerit.

The Penguins won their final pre-season game today 4-1 against Jokerit. Malkin, Fedotenko, Kennedy, and Dupuis scored for the Penguins. Dupuis had an empty-netter with 13 seconds left. Crosby added 3 assists. Jokerit's Janne Lahti scored on a penalty shot in the third after being upended by Brooks Orpik.
Fleury and Sabourin split playing time.
This means that the next game action will be Saturday, when the regular season opens against Ottawa in Sweden! I am extremely excited for this season to get underway.

Fedotenko to play Left Wing on Crosby's line against Jokerit.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_590781.html?source=rss&feed=8

Ruslan Fedotenko may not start the season on the first unit with Sidney Crosby and Miroslav Satan, but it will be that way Thursday in Finland against Jokerit for a preseason game. Of course, nobody expects to see great chemistry on a new line but if things go well, who knows? Fedotenko says being on a line with Sidney Crosby, or any line for that matter, is not something you can go "home and study." It is a "play and see" arrangement. So, let's just wait and see for ourselves.

Sykora is still out with a sore throat and other flu-like symptoms and he also did not take part in the scavenger hunts that took place today. He is expected to be back to practice Wednesday though.