Tonight is a big night for a familiar face we haven't seen in the lineup in some time. Sergei Gonchar will make his season debut tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Not playing any games since the preseason won't be easy, but if anyone can come in and contribute, it's Sergei Gonchar. A lot of people expect Gonchar to be the team's savior and come in and take the Pens to the playoffs. We don't think it's too fair to put all of that on one man's shoulders, especially one that hasn't played any games since the preseason months ago. He'll definitely be a welcome face in the locker room and a great leader, which will definitely benefit the team. We also think even if he isn't 100%, which who could expect him to be right away, he should contribute on the power play, a place the Penguins are definitely struggling and need to improve if they want to win games. And winning games is what the Pens need to do, and often, at this point in the season.
There will be another familiar face on the ice tonight that we haven't seen in a while in Ruslan Fedotenko. Before he broke his hand and missed 15 games, he was on quite the hot streak. Maybe he can pick up where he left off.
The line combinations this morning were:
Tyler Kennedy-Sidney Crosby-Pascal Dupuis
Matt Cooke-Evgeni Malkin-Petr Sykora
Bill Thomas-Jordan Staal-Miroslav Satan
Eric Godard-Maxime Talbot-Ruslan Fedotenko
Brooks Orpik-Ryan Whitney
Mark Eaton-Kris Letang
Rob Scuderi-Sergei Gonchar
Marc-Andre Fleury will also make his sixth straight start in goal tonight.
Philippe Boucher had foot surgery on Friday after he suffered an injury in late December. He's played on and off, but not too well. This seems to answer the question as to why. He will be out indefinitely.
Luca Caputi was sent back to the Baby Pens before the team left for Toronto. Caputi should be in contention for a roster spot next year.
See you later for a recap.
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