Penguins beat Ducks

The Pens are off on a West Coast trip this week where the weather is warm and the beach is near. Their first stop was in Anaheim to play the Ducks and visit old teammate Ryan Whitney. The Pens obviously didn't take in too much sun because they were able to pull out a victory, beating the Ducks 4-3.

The Ducks got on the board early with a goal from Corey Perry only four minutes into the game but the Ducks would put themselves up against the wall for almost the rest of the first period. The Ducks committed four penalties in a row and gave the Pens four chances to even the score at one but the Pens failed on all four chances. Things weren't exactly looking great for the Pens after not being able to score on four power plays but the lack of scoring wouldn't last for long.

About three minutes into the second period the Pens would get a goal from Mike Rupp, his FOURTH of the season, to tie the game at one. Tyler Kennedy and Jay McKee would get the assists. The Ducks would get a power play but the Pens successfully killed it. Jordan Staal also had Fleury's back when he made a fantastic save on a sure goal into an empty net and it wouldn't be the only time someone saved Fleury in this game. With a little less than ten minutes left in the second Kris Letang would score a goal on a Ducks delayed penalty in which the Pens had six on the ice. That put the them up 2-1. But then with under four minutes to go in the period, Corey Perry would strike again to tie the score at two. The game would remain tied going into the third.

Things were pretty back and fourth to start the third period until Alex Goligoski would score on a slap shot with just over twelve minutes left in the third period. Tyler Kennedy would show several times in this game what the Pens were missing without him in lineup but not more than on Gogo's goal. TK dove to keep the puck in the Duck's zone to get it Gogo who then let go on a slap shot that beat Jonas Hiller and put the Pens ahead 3-2. The lead wouldn't last long though as the Ducks quickly scored to tie it up. But that wouldn't last long either. Pascal Dupuis would score about a minute later on a slap shot to put the Pens up for good 4-3.

The rest of the third period was not easy though as the Ducks had their chances to tie it up again. Fleury would make a big glove save on Koivu, who thought for sure he had a goal. The second person to save a goal would be none other than Sidney Crosby. The Ducks were swarming a bit in the Pens' zone and we would see Sid break his stick, have Kunitz give him his and then giving it all he had playing without a stick. Fleury got caught out too far so Sid would lay down in front of the net and keep the shot out of it and keep the Pens' lead. Fleury owes Staal and Sid a drink for those remarkable saves.

The Pens would keep the Ducks from scoring in the last, frantic couple minutes of the game to win 4-3.

Recap

Aftermath: Penguins 4, Ducks 3

- Tyler Kennedy sure showed why the Pens don't want to be without him. He brings energy to any line he's on and isn't afraid to get gritty along the boards. He also plays hard and doesn't give up, as evidenced by his diving save to keep the puck in the zone and give it to Alex Goligoski for a slap shot that beat Hiller. How many people predicted Kennedy would be a player the Pens would miss that much?

- Jordan Staal and Sidney Crosby would show they have some goalie skills when they prevented two sure goals from going into empty nets. Crosby sure showed some grit and dedication when he threw himself on the ice to block a shot.

- The Pens first line didn't score, which means more now without Geno and the second line intact, but they still won. This sure shows the depth of this team when a guy like Mike Rupp has his fourth goal of the season (one more than his total last year) and two defensemen are scoring goals, with Gogo making a habit of it. Scary to think how good they really are considering how well they've done when not playing to the best of their abilities.

- Overall a pretty good game for the Pens even though things weren't clicking 100%. And the power play needs some serious help but without Geno and Gonch we kind of doubt it'll get better.

Next game is Thursday at 10:30 against the L.A. Kings.

Go Pens!

Pens beat Leafs 5-2

The Pens went into Toronto last night with a less than stellar record when playing at the Air Canada Centre. Their last win there came in 2007 and we all remember the loss on February 14th that was Michel Therrien's last game as the Penguins' head coach. For some reason the not-so-great Maple Leafs had had the Pens' number in the past, but not last night.

The Pens would score five goals, three on the power play, to beat the Leafs 5-2 in their house. The Leafs tried to play tough but it wasn't going to work on the Pens who can play physical but not fall into that trap. The Pens capitalized on their power play chances by scoring on three out of four, not counting a fifth at the very end of the game in which Eric Godard was on the ice. The Pens outworked the Leafs and did not take stupid penalties like they had done in games past. Sidney Crosby had two power play goals and Geno picked up three points to lead the Pens to victory.

Recap

Aftermath: Penguins 5, Maple Leafs 2

- Matt Cooke had his 100th career goal last night that made the game 1-0. Congrats!

- Marc-Andre Fleury is now 4-0 to start the season.

- The Pens sure made the Leafs look bad. The Leafs aren't the best team in the league, we all know that, but they looked pretty horrible and that definitely includes Vesa Toskala.

- Sid and Geno look great to start the season. We also like the Cooke, Staal, Kennedy line. Geno and Staal also look like they could be good on a line together every so often.

- Alex Goligoski looks like he's been playing with the Pens for years. He's been strong in these first few games.

- What do people have against Kris Letang? He gets bit by Scott Hartnell and then Rosehill decides to spear him in this game. What did Letang do to deserve this treatment?

- The refs calling that spear on Letang a high stick was a horrible decision, especially since they were right there. Ridiculous. It was nice to see Billy Guerin come in and defend his teammate as well.

- The way the Pens were controlling the puck on the power play was pretty incredible. Again, the Leafs aren't exactly great, but many times last season the Pens couldn't get anything going on the power play against anyone. It looks promising.

- Geno's English is pretty stellar these days:

Marc-Andre Fleury and Max Talbot had a little fun after the game:

Talbot was in town for the team dinner at the Hockey Hall of Fame and said he would be returning to Pittsburgh tomorrow.

"I don't mind a little action in there"

Scott Hartnell will not be suspended or fined for biting Kris Letang. He had a phone hearing with the NHL yesterday. We would love to know what was said in this so-called hearing. With no video evidence to back it up, Hartnell was obviously not going to say that he bit him. Personally, we think that bite marks would be enough evidence of what obviously happened in that scrum but does this stuff ever really get solved logically? Nah.

Letang is fine and will have no problems playing today in Toronto. The only thing he had to say about the lack of discipline on Hartnell was "what happened, happened...I don't have to worry about it." Nice to see he chose to take the high road in all of this.

You're probably wondering what is with our choice of title for this post. It's a quote from Marc-Andre Fleury. Please get your mind out of the gutter now. Especially the ladies who fall for that amazing French-Canadian accent. Fleury was referring to the action in his crease in Thursday's game when Flyers Captain Mike Richards barreled into him in the final seconds of the game. He also decided to take the high road and say it's hard to know whether players run into the goalie on purpose and even felt bad for kicking him in the face, but said "I don't mind a little action in there." We're sure it was said with a smile.

Ever since we saw this commercial on Versus, we'd been looking for it on YouTube. Finally found it and here it is for you. Enjoy Sid in a more comical moment.

Filthy in Philly

You didn't really think that the Pens could get out of Philly without something shady going down did you? We didn't think so. The Flyers proved once again how dirty they are with a few displays, none bigger than Scott Hartnell's biting of Kris Letang's finger. In our opinion there aren't too many things that are worse, or more disgusting, to do to someone on the ice (or field) than biting someone. Especially when you break the skin. Kris Letang should be due for a tetanus shot.

Biting someone is extremely juvenile, but not surprising coming from Hartnell. He denies biting Letang, but a Philly blog claims he chucked as he said it. Sounds like he's telling the truth. Or not. We don't know how the league handles situations like this when replays are inconclusive but if he bit Letang, we'd have to think that Letang's finger would have marks consistent with a human bite. (That was horrible to type.) If the league decides that Hartnell did in fact bite Letang, we're assuming a suspension and fine would be in order. Last year, Jarkko Ruutu was suspended two games without pay for biting an opponent and this should render the same.

We'll have to wait and see how all of this plays out but it's definitely something the league needs to look into because biting is beyond disgusting and should not be tolerated in any form. This should also add fuel to the rivalry. As if it needed any more.

The video of the scrum:

Letang's comments after the game:

Thoughts on the game:

- Physical as usual but then, what else would you expect?

- Still too many penalties. Why are Sid and Geno going to the box so much? Geno was in there three times last night. That has to change.

- Fleury looked great. Yes, Fleury let in four goals but none of them were soft. Not to mention two were power play goals and one was on a 5-on-3.

- How weird was that goal by Goligoski? It was nice of Braydon Coburn to put it into his own net off of Ray Emery. Gogo can just consider it payback for his non-goal the night before.

- Will Philly fans ever stop the Crosby sucks chant? Dumb question, we know. It's bad enough when he's on the ice but is it really necessary all game long? What did Crosby ever do to you? Play well and average 2 points a game against your team? Yeah, that's what we thought.

- We're going to assume that you saw the mother and son behind the Pens bench with Pens stuff on and then a "no" sign over it. Who in the world buys a Stanley Cup Champs t-shirt for a rival team and does that? And your kid a jersey?! That alone speaks volumes. Nice of them to contribute to the sales of more Pens stuff.

Go Pens!

Pens lose Scuds, DVD release and signings

Of no real surprise, the Pens have lost Rob Scuderi to the Los Angeles Kings. He has agreed to a four-year deal worth an average of $3.4 million per year. We can't really blame him for going for the money, he is 30 years old and this is his big payday, but we hate to see him go. The LA Kings aren't exactly too exciting either. We wish him the best out in sunny California.

Pretty slow day today for the Pens, although we're sure it wasn't exactly quiet behind the scenes. The Pens are thought to still be trying to sign Ruslan Fedotenko but sources seem to think he won't be staying with the Pens. The Pens are probably also looking for a defenseman now that they have lost both Gill and Scuderi. They are also reportedly still talking to Petr Sykora. Should be interesting to see who is playing with Geno next season.

On Tuesday July 7th the official Pittsburgh Penguins Stanley Cup Champions DVD will be in stores. This is a must own for all Pens fans so you can relive winning the Cup over and over again. The DVD includes a look back to the regular season all the way through to their Cup win. The DVD also includes exclusive player interviews and highlights from the victory parade. The suggested retail price of the DVD is $24.98.

Also on Tuesday, Kris Letang and Tyler Kennedy will be signing copies of the DVD in the Pittsburgh area. You must purchase a copy of the DVD to receive your autograph. Kris Letang will be at Donaldsons Crossroads Giant Eagle and Tyler Kennedy will be at Dick's Sporting Goods at the Mall at Robinson. Details for each:

Kris Letang
Donaldsons Crossroads Giant Eagle
4007 Washington Road
McMurray, PA 15317-2520
Signing will take place from 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM

Tyler Kennedy
Dick’s Sporting Goods
The Mall at Robinson
5000 Robinson Centre Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15205
Signing will take place from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

If you're able to go to one of these locations (or both!) enjoy!

Pens win game 4, tie series 2-2

(Getty)

Jordan's face says it all. The Pens beat the Red Wings 4-2 in game 4 to tie the series up at 2-2. The Pens played a good game last night and wore the Red Wings down, coming back from another 2-1 deficit at home. The Pens saw another great game from Marc-Andre Fleury, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin, but also from a couple recently quiet players (at least on the score sheet) in Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy.

The Pens have all the momentum going into game 5 back in Detroit and need to use that to get a win and take a 3-2 lead over the Wings before heading back home for game 6. And this team can do it.

There's a lot we liked about this game. We'll try to get it all out. Better late than never.

- Sidney Crosby really broke out in this game. He's been playing well all series, but definitely not like he has dominated the rest of the playoffs. He finally got on the scoreboard with a goal from a nice two on one with none other than the other head on the two headed monster, Geno himself. Geno did two good things on this play. One, he was playing good defense and had a takeaway. Two, what a pass. A defender sprawled out on the ice to try to stop that pass and did succeed at first, but the puck came back to Geno who was ready for it and slid that puck to Crosby to put past an out of place Osgood. Awesome.

- We don't think Crosby was expecting what happened in the above picture. Kris Letang just came over and tackled him to the ice. We've seen the replay over and over and Crosby just looks stunned. What made the whole thing priceless was Geno coming over and standing over Crosby yelling. What a sight.

- Not long after that, Crosby was involved in another goal with Chris Kunitz and Tyler Kennedy. We've been thinking all series that TK deserved to cash in because he has been working hard. He's just tons of energy, working hard along the boards and not afraid to take on anyone. Where he gets all that energy we have no idea. But in game 4, it really paid off. Kennedy got a turnover near center ice that he dished to Kunitz who then passed it to Crosby, who then passed it to Kennedy who was standing alone next to the net for a nice goal. How beautiful was that?! That was just insane. Osgood was the one stunned this time.

- Someone else on TK's line would get on the score sheet as well. Jordan Staal has played well as of late both defensively and with his line mates grinding away and keeping the puck in the offensive zone, but he hadn't scored. The Wings had two power plays back to back and Jordan Staal had a chance for a breakaway. With a smaller defender on him, he was able to keep him at bay and get a shot off and beat Osgood. What a play. That turned the entire game around. Not only was it short handed but it tied the game and set the Penguins off on a three goal scoring streak in less than six minutes. What a time for him to step up.

- Speaking of Jordan, are we the only ones who feel his confidence isn't always up there in terms of his play offensively? His defense is sound and he seems comfortable with that, as well as grinding it out along the boards, but when it comes to taking a shot it seems like he has no idea what to do with it. After his shortie it seemed like he was more confident. He took at least a couple more shots and looked like he knew what to do with the puck then. He has the talent, he just needs to use it. As well as believe in himself.

- Marc-Andre Fleury played great, rightfully earning him the number one star. He looks like he's getting into form and if  he can take one in Detroit in game 5...the sky's the limit. And maybe then the media and fans will let up on him. We never thought he deserved the criticism to begin with.

- Detroit looks tired. The Pens have really taken it to them overall, especially physically. The Pens also made the Wings frustrated, something that's just not supposed to happen to the Wings. These Wings aren't the big, bad force they were last year. Don't get us wrong, they are good and this won't be easy for the Pens, but they can and have worn them down. If you look at the Wings goals, they aren't too impressive. A couple soft ones, a couple bad bounces, not much of any real quality. The Pens can take this if they don't let up.

Game recap

Aftermath: Penguins 4, Red Wings 2

Post-Gazette

Yinz Luv 'Da Guins Game 4:

Go Pens!

Greetings from Pittsburgh

We were in Pittsburgh last week and took a few pictures along the way that we thought we'd share and they are now all resized for your viewing pleasure. The disclaimer here is that we are definitely not professional photographers by any means and we did just get a new camera that we'd only used for a few days so please be kind. There are also a few shots we took from a semi-moving vehicle and it's hard to line up a good shot when there's traffic around.

If you're anything like us and don't have the pleasure of living in Pittsburgh, you like any pictures that take you there. Whether you had to leave, have never been there but feel connected somehow, or you're like us and always feel more at home there than your real home, these pictures are for you. Enjoy.

Some young Carolina Panthers fan and his friend were calling Art Colonel Sanders. Eh.

The banners on Consol Energy Center

Consol Energy Center from Mellon Arena

Spray painted on the pavement all around Mellon Arena

We had an appointment in the city last Monday and our way back out of town we were going to stop at the store at Mellon Arena, PenStation. We turned up the road to get there and saw a bunch of people and a fancy BMW leaving the player's parking lot. It was Max Talbot. We didn't know the schedule for the morning skate, which wouldn't have mattered because we had to be at the appointment, but just as we got there Max was leaving. We finally got to get out and just missed Sidney Crosby. Ahhh! We guess Marc-Andre Fleury had been right before that as well. Ahhh! If the lady at the office just would've have hurried it up and the doctor wasn't late we would have had an even better experience. We did manage to get a few pictures of players leaving. We didn't have the best location but it was still a fun experience anyway.

The back of Jordan Staal

Jordan's ride

Pascal Dupuis and some nice Tom Clark Auto employees picking up his ride

Mike Zigomanis

Flip flops were a popular footwear item, most of the guys had them on

Petr Sykora

We actually said hi to him and he was very polite and smiled while he responded

Kris Letang

We also spoke to Kris and told him good luck. He was also nice and waved and smiled. Even though the Pens didn't win that night, he did score a goal. You'll see in the picture below that he got out to sign autographs for everyone and take pictures. All other guys stopped and signed autographs as well except Jordan Staal.

Dan Bylsma and Ray Shero waving at the fans who were cheering. They walked right down the street and over to the hotel pictured at the bottom. Lunch maybe?

And a woodchuck for good measure.

Hockey stuff later. Can't wait for the game.

Go Pens!

Pens make series 2-1

(Matt Freed/Post-Gazette)

Wooooooo! What a game. The Pens by far outplayed the Caps but once again, Varlamov kept them in it. How many chances were the Pens going to miss out on? So frustrating! It was nice to see them dominating play, but at the end of the day all that matters is the score. Thank goodness Kris Letang scored the goal in OT. We don't know how much more we could take. Our hearts were pounding out of our chests. The Pens just did not deserve to lose that game. Especially when the Caps' first goal was what it was. Eh, we don't even want to talk about it.

But we kinda will anyway. To start the game, less than two minutes in, the puck took a weird bounce off the boards behind Marc-Andre Fleury and came out right to Ovie. 1-0 just like that. What a mood killer. Right away it seemed like it might not be the Pens night once again.

Later in the first the Pens started putting the heat on Varlamov and steadily taking over the game. Crosby had a nice chance at the end of the period but then some idiot got scared and decided to dislodge the net on purpose by pushing it. Uh, hello?! The Pens would get a power play and this is where we started writing CHANCES! AHHH! in our notes and that would continue throughout the night.

The power play transferred into the second period and the Pens had some good chances but they just couldn't get one behind Varlamov. But with 10:31 left in the second period, the Pens would finally get a goal. Talbot created a nice chance and passed the puck to Feds on a 2-on-1. Feds tried to pass the puck to Talbot but a defenseman blocked that with his stick. The puck bounced off his stick and right to Feds who put it behind Varlamov. Talbot and Letang with the assists. The Pens would get a couple more power plays but would fail to score.

The Pens had another power play that carried over into the third but they would fail to capitalize once again. Although they were still putting the pressure on Varlamov. We would once again be writing CHANCES! AHHH! The Pens got a power play with 5:50 left in the third and guess would step up? GENO! He was doing things all night but none better than his power play goal. Crosby and Gonchar got the assists but Bill Guerin deserved one for screening Varlamov on that shot. Pens up 2-1 and all they have to do is play smart and keep the Caps off the board. Not so fast. Versus announcers made us believe the Pens were getting yet another power play, which was awesome because with 2:28 left, that would just about run down the clock. Here's the not so fast part, Backstrom would bounce a puck off of Fleury's pad and into the goal. Tie game. Ah crap.

Overtime is where you start to hold your breath. Sudden death. Next goal wins. The Pens would get a power play early on in the first overtime period because of a delay of game. Once again, they had CHANCES! but nothing was going in. By now we're freaking out. We can't handle all this. Way too nerve wracking. With 8:37 left in the first overtime period, Kris Letang would hit a slapper that would bounce off a Caps defensemen and behind Varlamov. Game. Wooooooo!

Game recap

Aftermath: Penguins 3, Capitals 2 OT

- The Pens out-shot the Caps 42-23. Hard to believe the game was as close as it was with stats like that. Maybe the Pens are starting to get to Varlamov. With that many shots, game after game, they should.

- Kris Letang didn't look good all night. Every time he got the puck he was fumbling with it, fanning on shots, and not handling passes. And then he comes up with the game winner. Amazing. We forgive whatever he did the rest of the game.

- The Pens truly outplayed the Caps. They were dominate all over the ice. This game should have been a blowout, but their goalie kept them in it. Hopefully the Pens can keep getting a lot of shots on him and maybe he'll break.

- Geno had an amazing game. We don't think he's been horrible like some other people, but he obviously was tired of hearing that he sucked because he sure stepped up. Mom and Dad Malkin sure were happy for their son. And Malkin owning Ovie during the game: priceless.

- Speaking of Ovie, this video is a must watch. We're sure there's better video but for now this is what we have. Ovie complaining during his press conference and acting like a big, whiny baby. Pathetic. Have you ever seen Sidney Crosby act like that? No. Get over it Ovie, you were outplayed. Which also brings to light that he was pretty quiet last night. Rob Scuderi did a good job defending him.

- Brooks Orpik sending Ovie flying?! AWESOME! Ovie goes for the hit and Orpik shows him who's boss. Not much better than that.

- Max Talbot brought some life to Geno's line. We liked it.

- What a nerve-wracking game. But we'll take those the rest of the series if it means the Pens win.

Last night's game was really promising. The Pens dominated even if the score doesn't make it seem like it. If the Pens can keep getting a lot of shots on Varlamov, a couple are bound to go in. If the Pens only put a couple of those chances behind him, this game would have been over. The momentum has shifted and the Pens need to keep it on their side.

Penguins Notebook

Post-Gazette coverage

Go Pens!

And Remember:

We have some Versus hockey stuff to give away! We'll randomly select a few winners to receive a Versus hockey merchandise pack. If you're interested in entering please send us an e-mail at faceoffsandfirstdowns @ gmail.com with GIVEAWAY as the subject. Please include your full name and address where it can be sent. We'll pick the winners Wednesday at NOON so please send your e-mail before then. Thanks!

EDIT: We will take entries until THURSDAY at NOON. Also, if you don't want to send your full address to enter, send us an e-mail and if you are chosen we will contact you to get your address.

Also our 350th post!

Woooooooooooo!

(Both AP)

Pens win a thriller in overtime 3-2. Kris Letang had the game winning goal. Series is now 2-1. We're all over this thing.

Go Pens!

More later.

Game 3

The Pens are back home for Game 3 in what we consider a must-win. There is no excuse for not stepping up at home in front of a crazy, whiteout crowd against a growing rival. The Pens cannot go down three games to none and it's time to play desperate. Despite their sub par play, they could have won either of the first two games. It's time to wake up, go to the net, and get as many shots as possible on Varlamov. It worked for Crosby, it can work for others. We like the Pens chances if they can do this. Although the defense needs to play better and not allow Ovechkin to be wide open time after time because he will burn you time and time again.

Time to get desperate. Time to step-up. Let's go.

Game preview

Penguins Confident Heading Into Game 3

Today is Black & Gold day, rally outside Mellon Arena, and a whiteout

Penguins Notebook  Kris Letang is questionable for the game although the injury isn't as bad as initially thought

Capitals Notebook  The Caps aren't happy about Chris Kunitz's cross-check on Varlamov in game 2. Kunitz was not suspended but was fined by the league. We do understand why the Caps would be upset, it was pretty blatant, but this coming from a team with a player suspended for just that is a little hypocritical. Ovie also had plenty to say that you can read in the link above and we have to say the same thing. It's not like it's never been said that Ovie takes cheap shots. He threatened revenge. Maybe he'll be too busy head hunting to score. Bring it Ovie.

There is also talk of Ovie's stick having an illegal curve. That may be true and it wouldn't surprise us, but we're not really going to comment on this one. Unless the Pens are going to ask for it to be checked there's no point in even talking about it. If you don't know, a Captain or Alternate has to ask for the stick to be checked. Can you imagine the backlash on Crosby if he asked for Ovie's stick to be measured? If the stick is in fact illegal that player's team will be assessed a minor penalty and be fined $200 and obviously said player cannot use that stick. If the accusing team is wrong, they will get the minor penalty and be fined $100.

The rest of the Post-Gazette's coverage

The crowd in Mellon Arena tonight better be loud and behind their team 100%. It's time to show Washington how hard it can be to play in Pittsburgh. We also hope Mom and Dad Malkin are there to give Geno a boost. If Geno plays well, the Pens have an awesome chance of making this series 2-1 with the next game still in Pittsburgh. Who knows what happens then.

Go Pens!

P.S. We've been watching hockey all night between Versus and NHL Network. We are now the proud owners of both channels. Ah, it's wonderful. Go Ducks.

Remember:

We have some Versus hockey stuff to give away! We'll randomly select a few winners to receive a Versus hockey merchandise pack. If you're interested in entering please send us an e-mail at faceoffsandfirstdowns @ gmail.com with GIVEAWAY as the subject. Please include your full name and address where it can be sent. We'll pick the winners Wednesday at NOON so please send your e-mail before then. Thanks!

EDIT: We will take entries until THURSDAY at NOON. Also, if you don't want to send your full address to enter, send us an e-mail and if you are chosen we will contact you to get your address.

Sykora's out, Satan's in

The Pens have decided to sit Petr Sykora tonight and play Miroslav Satan. We were a little surprised by this decision but at the same time not. Sykora hasn't really done anything for quite a while, which is obviously frustrating, and after that open net miss maybe that was enough for Dan Bylsma. It should be interesting to see how Satan performs tonight. After heading down to the Baby Pens maybe he has a new passion and will play out of his mind tonight. The Pens really need to end this tonight and not head back to Philly. 

Dan Bylsma has said that he will be shuffling the lines as he did in game 4. He said you will see Satan with Geno and Feds but you'll also see others with Geno as well. We've also heard Satan will be on the fourth line the majority of the night. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Kris Letang is also a game-time decision after some kind of injury in game 4. Philippe Boucher will take his place if he is unable to go.

Time to get this done. Go Pens!

Defensemen strike for Pens

(AP)

The Pens beat the Flames last night 2-0 with both goals coming from defensemen. You expect Kris Letang to score goals but not Hal Gill, who had his second goal of the season off of a drop pass from Evgeni Malkin. This was a physical, up and down game that was a lot of fun to watch. The man who really stole the show though was Marc-Andre Fleury who had his fourth shutout of the season turning away 31 shots.

The game started out with a Flames power play, not exactly the best way to start out a game but the Pens were up to the task and killed it. With over 13 minutes left in the first period the Pens would get their first power play out of only two chances and would cash in. Letang had the goal with assists from Crosby and Kunitz. Crosby used his skate to kick a loose puck to his stick to pass it across the crease to Letang who put it into the empty net. Good dirty power play goal for the Pens. The Flames would have two more power plays in the first but were denied.

The second period was full of big saves from Fleury who would keep the Pens in the lead and in the game. The Pens had a flurry of chances this period that was crazy to watch but nothing would go in. The Flames would get a four minute power play with 3:16 left to play in the second in which Dupuis had a shorthanded chance with his speed but he was denied. Fleury would make a big save and Jordan Staal had a good shorthanded chance with a pretty open net but he just couldn't put it home. The Pens would go to the third short-handed for another 30 seconds.

The Pens would kill the rest of the Flames' power play and get one of their own this period but would fail to cash in. With just over 13 minutes left in the game, Hal Gill would score the Pens' second goal, as well as his second goal of the season, to give the Pens a cushion. Geno made a nice play and left a drop pass for Gill who took full advantage of the opportunity and shot a really nice wrister into the net. He looked like he scored goals all the time. The Pens would end the game not being able to hit the empty net. They missed the net about four or five times, including Matt Cooke missing it twice. Even Fleury gave it a shot. Oh well, nothing to complain about, Pens win 2-0.

- We're a fan of Geno's celebrations. He looks like a kid in a candy store whether he scores or not, he's just happy for his team. After Letang's goal he grabbed Letang and a teammate in a huge hug. Classy Geno, classy.

- How many times was Fleury going to get interfered with by his own teammates? You usually don't see that but he got ran into at least twice. After losing his stick, Brooks Orpik gave him his to use and it was a good thing he did because Fleury made a play with it to keep a puck out of the net.

- Hal Gill wore a Snuggie before the game and then scored only his second goal of the season. He's obviously going to have to wear that before every game now. He said that Sid would probably be after him to wear it again since he's superstitious. We really wish we got a look at that.

- Quote of the day: Fleury's comments on his teammates missing the empty netter, "I think tomorrow we will have a little discussion about how to put the puck in the net with no goalies I guess." Good idea Fleury.

Game recap

Aftermath: Penguins 2, Flames 0

Notes & Quotes: The Fleury Factor

Fleury saves 31 in 4th shutout

Penguins Notebook

The Pens next game is a big one on Saturday at 1:00 against the Rangers.

Go Pens!

P.S. Pitt will play Xavier tonight at 7:27 for a chance to move on to the Elite Eight. Pitt hasn't made it past the Sweet Sixteen in the last several years after making it to the tournament. If you're not a basketball fan, you should tune in anyway, watching DeJuan Blair and Sam Young is more than worth it. Go Pitt!