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.

Pens stage comeback to beat Lightning!

The Pens got exactly what they needed last night, a win, but they did it in a dramatic fashion that showed we are not ready to go down without a fight. The Pens were going into the 3rd period down 3-0. Evgeni Malkin was not going to take another loss, so he pretty much took the game into his own hands. Malkin ended the night with 2 goals and an assist. Oh yeah, one of those goals was the game winner in overtime. The Pens pulled it together in the third and it worked to their benefit as they come out victorious in a 4-3 overtime win. Hopefully such a dramatic win can fuel the Pens to more victories, say the one tomorrow night against Columbus perhaps. That would be nice.

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.

Pens face off against Tampa Bay tonight.

The Pens will play the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight and this game has become a must-win situation. That is, if the Pens are looking to make the playoffs. Our next few games are against some tough teams to beat and the Pens will need to scrounge up all the points they need from now til the end of the season. The Pens are not in a great spot to make the playoffs and that is unacceptable to me. One season after the Pens make it to the Stanley Cup Final they are struggling to make it to the top 8 in the East more than midway through the season and are doubtful to make it in the playoffs. And to think, people said that the Pens would be back in the final this season to win it. Well, maybe someone should tell the Pens they have to win regularly during the regular season to make it to the playoffs and get their chance to claim Lord Stanley's Cup.

Pens take on Canadiens tonight.

The Penguins will play the Montreal Canadiens tonight and after two disappointing losses this weekend, the Pens will look to claim a win. Nearly everyone from the Pens, even the coaches have been saying that this is like the playoffs now. Well, I hope we start acting like that and play with desperation to win. The Pens need to focus on getting into the playoffs because the track we are going down does not lead to the playoffs.

Yesterday, Gonchar was deemed capable of handling contact during practice, taking a big step towards recovery. Some say he is just weeks from returning, but we'll see how his shoulder feels after he handles some contact.

Malkin given "A" permanently, Orpik until Gonchar returns.

The rotation of the "A" is over and Evgeni Malkin has been named a permanent alternate captain and Brooks Orpik will wear the other "A" until Sergei Gonchar returns from injury.

Kennedy suspended for 1 game.

Tyler Kennedy got a one game suspension for his fight against Luke Schenn in Saturday's game. Kennedy was suspended per Rule 70.2 which states: “A player who has entered the game on a legal line change... who starts an altercation may be subject to discipline ...”.

As a result of Kennedy's suspension, Luca Caputi was called up from the Baby Pens to participate in tonight's game against the Montreal Canadiens.