Letang could be back by this weekend.

There are reports that Kris Letang could play this Saturday, but nothing is official.

Also, Ryan Whitney did not have any setbacks with playing any games with his surgically repaired foot, only some soreness, and hopes to be fine and continue playing.

Pens face Bruins tonight.

Hopefully everyone enjoyed a nice Holiday break, but if you are a Pens fan, hopefully you did not focus on them. The Pens still have not gotten back on the right track and continue losing and winning and alternating. I don't think I need to discuss the 2-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. There are a lot of excuses, and I have heard them all, but now I want to see results. We can not continue on a downward spiral like this and expect it not to effect us later.
The Bruins are currently on an 8 game winning streak and sit atop the Eastern Conference. They are one of the best teams in the NHL right now and this will be a good test for the Pens.

Notes:
Hal Gill will be back from injury.
Jordan Staal will become youngest player in NHL History to play 200 games tonight.
Sidney Crosby will be playing in his 250th game tonight.
Bissonnette has been sent back down to the Baby Pens

Crosby passes Jagr's All Star vote record.

Yesterday Sidney Crosby passed Jagr's record of 1,020,736 votes for the All Star game set in 2000. Voting continues until January 2nd. Evgeni Malkin is not so far from breaking Jagr's record as well, so Pens fans want to keep it going!

Also, news from over the weekend, Max Talbot inked a two year contract with the Pens. I was absolutely thrilled to hear this news because Talbot is a player that I love to have on the Pens with the energy he brings on and off the ice! Congrats Max!!

Oh, and also, one thing a reader of my blog pointed out to me (Yes, I actually have at least one consistent reader of this blog!) was that I failed to mention the fact that Bob Smizik, a writer for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette has retired. In several blogs of mine, I have mentioned that I usually did not care for his writing though I acknowledged that he occasionally wrote some articles that were complimentary of Pens and their fans, but those were rare. So, farewell to Bob Smizik and I might just throw in a little Hooray too!

Pens play Buffalo Sabres tonight.

Well, after a 6-3 victory over Atlanta that did not showcase the Pens' best effort and then a disappointing 7-3 loss to Toronto the Pens will hope for a better performance for Christmas in the two games played before Christmas Eve. The Pens play the Sabres tonight and the Tampa Bay Lightning tomorrow. The Pens admit that they have not been playing all that well lately and some may suggest that the injuries to many players are starting to affect the team. Fortunately though, Ryan Whitney, who completed his one game conditioning assignment in Wilkes Barre, is supposed to play in his first game this season tomorrow night against the Lightning if all goes well. Also, Dupuis plans to be back tonight against Buffalo. Hopefully, these additions can boost the Pens. As the Pens have been going through a bit of a slump this month, many teams in the Eastern Conference are picking up, leaving the Pens to tumble. The Pens are currently 7th in the Eastern Conference, but not ahead by much. The Pens need to get back on track before they stumble too far.

Due to bad weather, the Pens took a bus to Buffalo for their game tonight, bringing back memories from years ago for many Pens players. However, all agree that this bus trip is a good thing for the team, especially after a disappointing loss to Toronto because everyone is usually more quiet after such a loss. Therefore, the bus will be another way for the Pens to "hang out together. "

http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=399475

Pens and Crosby introduce "Little Penguins-Learn to Play Hockey Program."

Sidney Crosby and the Penguins have announced their Little Penguins Learn to Play Hockey program for children 4-8 years old. Reebok and Dick's Sporting Goods will provide the equipment for the children and there will be several participating rinks in the Pittsburgh area.
http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=398852

Pens face Atlanta Thrashers tonight.

The Pens had hard practices full of drills recently to get them back on track. The Pens hope to put their skills to the test tonight in Atlanta. Atlanta has the worst penalty-killing in the league and if the Pens can improve their power play numbers tonight, they will take every opportunity and use it wisely, hopefully. The Pens were not pleased with their game against the Flyers and they hope that a little break between games and some full practices will be exactly what they have been needing lately.
As reported yesterday, Talbot and Zigomanis will not be playing tonight.

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.