Pens face Sharks tonight.

The Pens are in San Jose to take on the Sharks tonight, which means a late start, 10:30 p.m.
Jordan Staal and Kris Letang are game-time decisions to play tonight and Alex Picard was called up from the Wilkes-Barre Sranton Baby Pens as a precaution. We'll have to wait and see who plays tonight.

Zbynek Michalek, who broke his finger a week and a half ago in a game against the Devils, skated today after the morning skate. His revovery was timed at 4-6 weeks.

The Pens haven't had much luck when playing in San Jose against the Sharks, so the Pens will be looking for a win tonight and also look to get back on track for their stellar penalty-killing, as it did not fare so well against the Maple Leafs on Saturday.

I am sure, like me, all of you are anxious to see the Pens play again. It was the longest break of the season so far for the Pens and I know some of you were uneasy waiting so long, but the Pens are finally back tonight. Don't fall asleep between periods though, or if you do, make sure you have someone or something waking you up, don't want to miss a second of any game action tonight!

Pens Hockey Withdrawal.

Pens fans got used to watching a Pens game usually every other night and this long break between Saturday's game against Toronto and tomorrow night's game against San Jose is a tad too long. I find myself going through a bit of Pens hockey withdrawal, not knowing what to do some nights from 7:00 p.m. until about 10:00 p.m. Ok, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration, but I am missing my Pens hockey and the fact that tomorrow night's game is a late start for us on the East Coast (game starts at 10:30) makes it a little bit harder.

On the other hand though, the Pens needed this break and got a chance to rest up and let some injuries heal and I even heard that Sidney Crosby took some hits in practice and is doing well, who would have thunk it? Yes, these long breaks can be tough on us Pens fans, but they can do wonders for our team. They can heal, practice and work on some areas that need improvement, get in some much-needed contact (a word we have heard so much recently), and anything else they may need to prepare for that next game. This long break happened to come after a loss and the Pens surely had enough time to analyze what they did wrong and things that went well in the loss against Toronto. Now, the Pens are hopefully more prepared and ready to go for tomorrow night's game. Let's hope that nice California weather isn't too distracting, I know I would love to be there right now!

So, we only have about 30 more hours to go until the next Pens game! Can't come soon enough.

Much needed break comes for Pens.

Just as the Pens are getting a break from the schedule, I took a small break from posting because of a busy schedule recently and I apologize. So here is the much anticipated next post:

After a pretty tough schedule for the Penguins for the month of October, they are coming to a stretch where they have some time off between games. Our next game is not until Thursday against the San Jose Sharks. This will give the Pens a chance to have some practices where they can focus on all facets of the game and work out any problems they may have noticed during the busy month of October.

Sidney Crosby will have a chance to get in some good practices and hopefully get some contact to see whether or not he is ready for some game action. However, with this time off and more chance for practices, we know that Crosby will be returning soon, hopefully. I am predicting a return shortly!

The Pens also will have a chance to reflect on their 4-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. The game was a bit back and forth in the goal-scoring, but the Pens could not pull off a tying goal and the loss ended their win streak at 5. They'll have plenty of time to analyze this loss and others and work on areas that are struggling perhaps, maybe 5-on-5 play. Their penalty-killing was not as strong as it has been all season Saturday night either. There is always room for improvement and the Pens who are exiting the first month of the season with the most games played and an 8-3-2 record, this time will give a pretty good team the chance to get even better and some injuries to heal.

Can't wait for Thursday!

Pens pull off great win against Sharks.

The Pens came out strong and kept the momentum throughout the game last night against San Jose. The Pens won in a shootout 2-1. Fleury was great in net, turning aside 36 shots. Bill Thomas got his first goal as Penguin to get us into the shootout. Crosby scored the only shootout goal to give the Pens a victory.
Even after San Jose scored in the third, the Pens seemed to come out stronger and battling. This was a great win for the Pens and hopefully leads to more. If we treat every game like last night's and approach it in the same manner, the Pens can't do that badly!

Tough test against Sharks.

The Pens will face the San Jose Sharks tonight. No break from their most recent game and loss against Detroit, the Pens face another one of the best teams in the league with the Sharks. The Pens know that the first goal is important to get in most games, but with the Sharks it is almost vital. The Pens can not have a weak period like most games this season and they must come out prepared to battle in this game if they want the victory. The Pens have to create chances and make good on them against the Sharks! Creating chances against the Sharks will be a tough task, but it will be crucial for a victory.

Gonchar cleared to play.

Sergei Gonchar has been cleared to play after recovering from shoulder surgery. He will not be in the lineup tonight against the Sharks though. Therrien says it is up to Gonchar when he will return. Gonchar will see how it feels and make that decision. He wants his timing to be ready and he does want to make sure that he will not hurt his shoulder again.

Max Talbot turns 25 today and would love a victory as a gift. His mom also asked him to score a goal in tonight's game! Happy Birthday Max!

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=408793

Pens fall to Detroit.

The Pens suffered a disappointing loss to the Detroit Red Wings at Mellon Arena yesterday afternoon. The outcome was 3-0 and a lack of effort. Coming off of two great wins, the Pens failed to carry on the success with a win against Detroit. Once again the same old is being said that the Pens need to get on a winning streak and continue it. Once again it is being said that the Pens need to play better if they want to have any hope to make it to the playoffs. I agree with all of this, how can you not when it is the truth? The Pens don't get a break either as they face the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night. Maybe they'll fight for a win in that one.

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!

Sabourin in net, Talbot and Gill out of lineup against San Jose.

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=389089

Dany Sabourin will get his second start of the season tonight against the San Jose Sharks.
Max Talbot will not play tonight due to an undisclosed injury. Hal Gill practiced with the team today, though is not ready for game action. He is still listed as "day to day."

I hope to rebound from the disappointing loss in New York tonight. San Jose is one of the better teams right now, but that hasn't stopped us in the past of coming out strong and winning. Hopefully the Pens come out strong and don't back down the entire game.
Being a West Coast game, it is a late one starting at 10:30 here. Little longer wait than usual.