Pens and Lightning meet tonight.

The Pens are playing against the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight, looking to rebound from a two game losing skid. With a win tonight, the Pens will clinch a playoff spot. The Lightning have no hope of making the playoffs. The Lightning are without their number one star, Vincent Lecavalier, for the remainder of the season because of wrist surgery. However, that doesn't mean that the Lightning is a team that can be easily dealt with. Most teams who are not making the playoffs play take joy from spoiling playoff bound teams with a loss. The Pens will have to come out strong like they have been recently and hopefully chances will go our way tonight.

Collection Thursday for "Fallen Heroes Fund."

The Pittsburgh Penguins will be taking donations Thursday night at Mellon Arena to benefit the "Fallen Heroes Fund." The fund will help the families of the victims of the tragedy that occurred this past weekend in Stanton Heights.
http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=416931

Pens lose back to back games.

The Penguins played two games this weekend against teams that are fighting for a better position or a spot at all in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs. The Pens ended up losing both of them. The Pens were in the same boat, trying to climb up in position and even trying to claim a guaranteed playoff spot. However, the Pens lost to the Carolina Hurricanes and the Florida Panthers this weekend. The Pens outplayed both teams for a good amount of each game, taking over in shots and having some intensity, but it was not enough to win and the Pens remain at 93 points and 6th place for right now. The Pens will play the Tampa Bay Lightning tomorrow night and they will once again be trying to claim a guaranteed playoff spot with a victory. The Pens will need to refocus and come out strong once again, and hopefully they let nothing stand in their way of getting a victory tomorrow night.

Zigomanis could get back on ice next week.

Mike Zigomanis has been out from a shoulder injury since early December. He said that he is ahead of schedule and plans on returning to the ice next week.

Pens defeat Devils.

Perhaps I gave the New Jersey Devils a little too much credit in yesterday's post. I thought they would be desperate for a win. However, it seemed like the only thing they wanted was to extend their losing streak to an even number. Well, congratulations to the Devils, they have now lost 6 in a row and the Pens handed them their sixth loss in great fashion. A 6-1 win. One where the Pens were successful on the power play and penalty kill. Well, they were successful in almost every way last night. The Pens need to continue playing the way they did last night for the remaining 5 games of the season and we will see where the Pens end up in the playoff race. With last night's win, the Pens moved into a tie with the fourth place Philadelphia Flyers, however the Flyers have a game in hand.

Boucher still expected out tonight.

Philippe Boucher is expected to be out of the lineup again tonight against the New Jersey Devils. Craig Adams is expected to be in the lineup and playing on the fourth line.
Fleury will be in net tonight.
Patrick Elias, of the New Jersey Devils looks to be out for tonight's game.

Pens take on Devils tonight.

The New Jersey Devils have lost 5 straight games. I find that not only to be discouraging to the Devils, but to the Pens as well. The Devils will be desperate to snap out of their losing streak and the Pens have to stay sharp in tonight's game. Not that the Pens can not keep their focus and win, but the Devils, who are a tough team regularly, will have extra motivation tonight. No one is taking this lightly, at least I hope not. The Pens can capitalize on their power play. The Devils are 20th in the league in their penalty kill, but the Pens' power play has been pretty bad recently. Though, the Pens did work on the power play more in the last few practices. Let's hope it shows in tonight's game. The Pens are still in 6th place in the Conference and not that far from 9th or 4th for that matter, but they realize how big each game is. Therefore, both teams have a lot to show tonight.