Game night: Pens vs. the Blues.

Before I discuss tonight's game against the St. Louis Blues, I forgot to mention some good news in my post yesterday. Dan Bylsma and Marc Andre Fleury are being recognized for their contribution to hockey and the Pens in the year of 2011 as Dapper Dan Sportsmen of the Year. They surely had a hand in making an injured team reach the playoffs last season and are still a major part of the team this season as well.

Also, soon after my blog post was written, some more good news came out of the NHL. It was announced that Alexander Ovechkin was suspended for 3 games for his hit on Pens' player Zbynek Michalek. He left the ice and targeted Michalek's head in the hit. On the other hand, Michalek, who also had a hearing with the league yesterday, was not given a punihsment from the league for his hit from the same game.
It's good to see Ovechkin get a suspension for a hit that would suspend any other player, because he did not receive a penalty for the hit during the game. This is Ovechkin's third suspension in his career and if he continues to play the way he does, it certainly won't be his last. There is no denying that Ovechkin is a talented player and when he is on his game, it is something to see most nights, but if he continues to think he can take any hit that he wants and play that style of hockey, he will surely see those suspension lengthen. At least we could hope that would be the case and that he would not receive any special treatment because of who he is. Hopefully this suspension sends a message.
It may have sparked something inside Ovechkin. It was announced today that he will not be participating in the All Star Game this upcoming weekend. Ovechkin stated that he did not feel deserving to attend the All Star game because of his suspension and that his "heart is not there." I think I know someone who should replace him, a very deserving player from the Pens lineup, goes by the last name of... Neal.


Now, on to tonight's game against the St. Louis Blues. Despite having a slow start to the season that prompted a coach change, the Blues are one of the top teams in the NHL at the moment. They have been receiving some great goaltending and have been winning a lot of hockey games. It says something that their 3-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings last night was their first regulation loss in January. They have gone 8-1-1 in this month and are a stellar 13-0-2 in their last 15 home games.
Ok, they have a lot of good stats to look at, but we won't let those numbers and facts get in the way of what we have to do. The Pens have been playing very well against some good hockey teams and they will have to approach this game with just as much effort and determination.

The Blues have a strong lineup that consists of a number of players that chip in and do their part, with no real stand-outs, well, no Evgeni Malkin at least. They have a strong group of players who play well together. While the Pens have been a one-line team most recently for scoring, we are certainly capable of having more memebers of the team chip in and we may need to see that tonight against the Blues. The Pens would love to see their win streak continue going into the All Star break tonight and we all know... 7 is better than 6.

Pens fall short against Detroit.

The Penguins just could not pull off a win last night against the Detroit Red Wings. Despite leading a good portion of the game 1-0 on a late first period goal by Evgeni Malkin, the Red Wings came on strong in the third and beat the Pens 4-1. It was not a game in which the Pens played horribly. Are there areas to improve in, of course. There are after every game. Every area of our game has to be strong with or without our best players in order to win hockey games, especially against other strong teams.


Marc Andre Fleury states that he needs to be better in order to give the Pens a fighting chance every night. He knows it's not good to give up 3 goals to a good team and that in doing so, it makes it tougher on the team. He knows he can play better and step up and be a stronger force in net. We all know what Fleury is capable of and have seen him at his best. He has carried this team through injuries numerous times before and needs to do it again.


Alex Picard and Jason Williams have been sent back down to the Baby Pens and Zbynek Michalek says he may return Friday night.

Flyers vs. Pens tonight.

It's a game that will attract more attention and viewers than most Pens games tonight, oh wait... there's a Steelers game tonight too, or so I've heard. Then no, this game will only have the regular viewers and the true Pens fans tuning in to watch the Pens take on the Flyers in Philadelphia.


Anyways, you may have heard that our Captain, Sidney Crosby, is not playing tonight or Saturday's game either. It's just a precaution. He took some hits in the tough loss to Boston and he had a headache, but don't worry, his imPACT test didn't show anything troubling. This is just what we will have to deal with. After missing 10 months of hockey due to a concussion, I guess one could be a little apprehensive when feeling a headache after taking some hits, so we will need to be patient as Crosby and the Pens want to take every headache seriously due to the seriousness of one for Crosby.


We've been without Crosby in the lineup plenty of times to know how to play without him. This game will be a tough test for the Pens with or without Crosby because the Flyers are on a bit of a streak right now and are coming off a 5-4 overtime win over Buffalo just last night after being down 3-0 in that game. Therefore, the Pens will have to be at their best tonight and stay out of the penalty box and step up on their power play.


Also, Steve MacIntyre was taken off of IR today for tonight's game and Zbynek Michalek was placed on IR retroactive November 26th, so he can be taken off at any time.

This is the first game this season between the two rivals and also the first time the Pens will be versing the Flyers with Max Talbot and Jaromir Jagr as part of their team. We'll see what these former Pens do against us tonight.

Pens face Rangers tonight.

First off, the Penguins have recalled two defensemen, Alex Picard and Robert Bortuzzo. This is due to the fact that Kris Letang and Zbynek Michalek are coming back to Pittsburgh to be further evaluated.


Tonight's game will be a good test for the Pens. The Rangers have won six straight at home and have won 9 of their past 11 games. The Rangers are behind the Pens in the Atlantic Division creeping up on us. Brad Richards, newly acquired this offseason, has been finding his rhythm lately and now has 8 goals for the season and presents that offensive threat. The Rangers have been a hot team lately and tonight's game should be a good one between the Pens and Rangers.

Pens host Islanders tonight.

The Pens have Sidney Crosby coming back and the Islanders have a player making their NHL debut tonight. It is their goalie, Nilsson. The Islanders have been plagued with some injured goaltenders quite a bit over the past few seasons and that is due in large part to Rick Dipietro pretty much always being injured and I don't need to remind any of you what happened to him last season after Brent Johnson landed a punch. Dipietro and the Islanders signed a 15 year deal years ago and that has got to be one of the biggest mistakes, he has barely even played with all he has been through.

Well, anyways, with Michalek returning as well to the lineup tonight, the defense pairings are different and Picard will be sitting tonight's game out and here are the matchups:
Martin-Michalek
Orpik-Letang
Niskanen-Engelland

Crosby will be joining his former line along with Pascal Dupuis and Chris Kunitz. Here are the lines from today's morning skate:
Sullivan-Malkin-Neal
Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis
Cooke-Staal-Kennedy
Asham-Park-Adams

All in all, there are a few things that have me excited for tonight's game and this game has the potential to be a good one and I hope it is. Don't want to disappoint all the people watching just for Crosby's return. Let's give them a show!

He's Back!

That's right, he is back in the lineup, the moment we have all been waiting for... Zbynek Michalek is back in the lineup for tonight's game when the Pens host the New York Islanders. Oh and Sidney Crosby is also returning to the lineup tonight as well. Now, I am just as excited as the next person to have Sid back in the lineup tonight but I believe some people may be getting a tad too excited. We knew the day was coming, sooner or later, and yes, at moments the later part seemed to be the most true, but he has been taking contact and reported no side effects, so we all knew the day was coming. Except for those people who chose to believe that Sid was retiring or he would take this whole season off. However, some people out there are treating this like Easter, one would think Jesus has risen from the dead and not that Sidney was coming back from his concussion.
I understand some of the excitement and of course the attention, he has been out for so long and he is one of the best players, if not the best, player in the league. Just like everyone else, I am excited to see what the Pens can do with Sid back in the lineup since we have been doing fairly well with him out of the lineup, but let's take this slow. Though, it would not be unlike Sid to come back to his original form and just tear into scoring, I'll still give him a break and let him get acclimated to the game action that he has missed for so long. Who knows what will happen tonight, but some people are acting as if they thought he would never play again. Most of those people though could probably not name many other members of the team.

So here we are, Monday, November 21, 2011- the date of Sid's comeback and Michalek's too. We'll see what happens and I am excited to see the fresh goaltender the Islanders will have in net, Nilsson. It will be his first NHL start. Wow, first game in the NHL and it just so happens to be the game Sidney Crosby is returning after a long recovery from a concussion, talk about pressure.

Yes, I am excited to have Sid back in the lineup, thrilled even, and can't wait to see what tonight's game will bring, but for more reasons than just Sid returning to the lineup!

Pens face Lightning tonight.

Again, the Pens are in a warmer place preparing for a game, tonight's game is against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Fleury will be in net tonight and Crosby, is not in the lineup, just to reiterate. Michalek practiced with the team today, nearing the 4-week mark of a 4-6 week recovery period.

The Pens are on their annual dad's trip and in the past, that has usually meant the Pens have stepped up their games to make dear old dad proud, so let's hope that trend continues tonight. Also, the motivation of being eliminated by the Lightning in last year's playoffs may be an incentive to bring their "A" game as well. Either way, look for tonight's game to be an exciting one, not sure if it will be quite as exciting as the Colorado game, but you never know in the game of hockey.
Let's Go Pens!

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!