Yes, we're still alive

It's no secret we haven't been around for about a week. If you've read us long enough you know we have some health problems. Compound that with some eye issues that do not allow for staring at a computer screen and you've got some real fun. Unfortunately we don't have any backup or anyone to fill in for us so this blog gets a bit lonely. We're going to try to throw a few observations and thoughts out there but in all honesty, there isn't too much to say.

- Obviously the Pens have been ravaged by injuries the last couple weeks and as much as the team, or even us, doesn't want to blame it on that, how could you not? It's not just losing some of your best players, it's finding someone capable of taking their place as well as chemistry. The lines have obviously been switched around and unfortunately not all players can just find chemistry right away. Think about playing with Sidney Crosby. You can't be lazy, and you have to be able to keep up with him. Not an easy task. You also have to be alert at all times, you never know when Crosby can create something out of nothing, not to mention those ridiculous between the legs drop passes you better be ready for. Yeah, so Crosby is one of those players that are supposed to make the people around him better, and he does. But not everyone will gel with him right away, or any other linemate for that matter. There appeared to be some confusion in some of their recent games and unfortunately that's bound to happen. So for the fans that are freaking out, calm down. Oh and on to point two...

- Those bashing Crosby should calm down too. For one thing he's only human, in case you forgot, and he can't do everything by himself. People tend to forget anything he does that doesn't involve scoring. The Pens lost to the Sharks 5-0 last week but in our notes we noted Crosby's skills. Most Crosby haters will look past it and so will the ones who bash him one night and love him the next. He's still the hard worker he always was and still has those unbelievable, defense-splitting moves. He's working with new linemates on some nights and generally dealing with the other team's top defenders. Not excuses, and he'll agree, but let's not pretend it's easy.

- Tyler Kennedy has really shown this year how valuable he can be. He brings a lot of energy and hard work to the team and without it, they just aren't as good. In the Ducks game he proved how valuable he can be. Kennedy had assists on three out of the four goals the Pens scored that night including his diving "poke check pass" to Goligoski who then buried a slap shot. We're not completely surprised but we're sure there were plenty who were and wouldn't have thought that one of the most missed players would be Kennedy.

- We have to say Jordan Staal has flashes of brilliance where he looks unstoppable, and then most of the time he's just kind of good. We're not suggesting the Pens get rid of him or even that he's bad, but especially with Geno out, this was his chance to shine and unfortunately he hasn't impressed us. He's just not consistent enough. His penalty killing is invaluable though.

- Billy Guerin. We love the guy but he seems a bit slow out there. His play hasn't been very good from our point of view. We don't really have any suggestions or really anything else to say other than that. *shrug*

- All that being said, we felt that the Bruins game was entertaining and last night's game against the Devils wasn't what it was the last time they met. The first was pretty boring (we should know, we were there) and this game wasn't quite that. Things will look up, they already have in our book, and the Pens will be back to their winning ways. Although lets hope everyone gets healthy and there are no more injuries.

- Bob and Steigy said more than once that they hope Geno will be in the lineup Saturday. That in itself should help tremendously. Geno will be healthy and defenses won't be able to concentrate just on Crosby.

- Max Talbot's new A&L Motor Sales commercial was a big let down. Just sayin'.

New Yinz Luv 'Da Stillers:

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 dominate Blues

The Pens made it look mighty easy last night in their 5-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. The Blues didn't really look like they cared whether they won or lost, mistakes and turnovers were everywhere and their discipline left something to be desired.

- Gonchar is hurt and it is believed it is upper body but that's all that's been said. Pensblog has mentioned that some people hear it was a broken wrist. We won't know until later this morning more than likely. Let's just hope it's nothing serious.

- Tyler Kennedy just keeps scoring. He had his fifth goal tonight on a nice slap shot that went high glove side. All that energy and speed plus his goal scoring as of late make him someone the Pens don't want to lose. The Pens third line is the best third line in the NHL. Did we mention he leads the league in game winning goals (three)?

- We saw over at the Post-Gazette that Geno was trying out new skates tonight, some kind of prototype that Gonchar wore last year. Geno believes he is the only other player to have worn these skates. He said if he scored last night he would continue wearing the skates. Well guess what, he scored, so those skates should become permanent. Also, if you have Versus we hoped you enjoyed Geno in the Versus commercial like Sid's we posted earlier. We looked for it on YouTube and didn't see it, we'll look again later at some point. He produced a fine performance.

- Fleury still looks good. 8-0 looks even better. We're anxious to see if he plays in both upcoming games considering they have another back-to-back. We're just hoping he plays Saturday when we're at the game.

That's all for now, we can't even see straight. More to come.

Pens open the season with a win

The Pens took one last look back at their Stanley Cup Championship and then it was time to drop the puck on a brand new season with the same goal in mind. Dan Bylsma told his team that when they watched the banner being raised that they needed to remember that the banner symbolizes how they play and what they needed to continue to do. It was time to stop looking back on last season and drop the puck on the new season. The Pens didn't seem to have any trouble doing just that when they beat the New York Rangers 3-2 in the last opening night at Mellon Arena.

Not taking too long to score their first goal, with 12:12 left to go in the first period the Pens were on a power play when Gonchar let a shot go from the point that Malkin tipped in to make the game 1-0 Pens. Alex Goligoski and Gonchar had the assists.

It wouldn't take too long for us to see the first fight of the season either when Eric Godard and Donald Brashear would go at it with 8:05 left in the first. They didn't let the crowd down by putting on a good show. You can watch it here:

With 3:59 left in the period the Rangers would tie the score at one with a goal from Chris Drury. Sidney Crosby would take a slashing penalty with almost three minutes left but the Pens' penalty kill would be up to the task to keep the score tied at one.

Not long into the second period Marc-Andre Fleury would make a huge glove save on Vaclav Prospal. You know the type, think similar to his save in game 7 of the Capitals series on Alexander Ovechkin. What a way to start out the season for Fleury.

The Pens paid him back by scoring two goals in the second, one from Crosby and one from Tyler Kennedy. With 7:35 left in the second period Crosby would be parked in front of the net to take a feed from Kris Letang who gathered up a rebound from a Bill Guerin shot to make the score 2-1. But Goligoski and TK didn't think that was enough. Shortly after, with 6:27 left in the second period Gogo would take a shot at the net that Kennedy would tip in for another Pens goal and make the game 3-1. Staal would get the other assist. The Pens would also kill two more penalties that period.

The third period would see a goal from new Ranger Marian Gaborik to cut the Pens lead 3-2 but that's all the Pens would allow for the rest of the period, killing another penalty and beating the Rangers 3-2 to start out the season 1-0.

Part 1 of the Pens' banner raising ceremony:

Part 2:

Game recap

Boxscore

Aftermath: Penguins 3, Rangers 2

Overall the Pens looked pretty good. The penalty killing unit did not allow a power play goal, Marc-Andre Fleury looked great after a somewhat questionable preseason, Sid and Geno each scored, Alex Goligoski looks like he has all the confidence in the world, the power play scored a goal, Jordan Staal had some great chances, Tyler Kennedy is starting the season out great, Godard is in fighting shape, and Dan Bylsma looks like he's ready to defend the Cup.

The Pens get the chance to go 2-0 tonight against the New York Islanders in NY. The Pens can welcome first round draft pick John Tavares to the NHL. Maybe some Free Candy? What a way to enter the league, playing against the Stanley Cup Champions. Should be a memorable one. The game starts at 7:00 p.m.

Let's 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!

One more game

(Getty)

Pens win 2-1 to force a game 7 back in Detroit for the Stanley Cup. One more game. Friday can't come soon enough.

Wow, what a game. We're sure we weren't the only ones with our hearts pounding, sitting on the edge of our seats. This game was obviously huge for both teams, but especially the Pens. Marc-Andre Fleury needed to play a spectacular game and he did. His defense also helped him out by blocking a lot of shots and Rob Scuderi even decided to play goalie with just seconds on the clock with Detroit knocking on the door. And no, he didn't use his hand to cover the puck.

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were held scoreless, which means the Pens needed secondary scoring. And they got it. The third line last night was great, even scoring both of the Pens' goals. Jordan Staal scored first early on in the second period, while Tyler Kennedy scored the game-winner a little over five minutes into the third period. Kennedy also had an assist on the Staal goal for a great night.

One more game. A winner takes all game 7 for the Stanley Cup. Wow. Who would have thought after all the Pens went through? It's time to raise the Cup on their ice this time. If they play anything like they did last night, dominate most of the time, they have a great chance of doing just that.

Game recap

Aftermath: Penguins 2, Red Wings 1

Penguins coverage at the Post-Gazette

- Fleury was the first star of the game and deservedly so. What a game after such a disappointment in game 5. We didn't think that was all his fault at all, but getting five goals scored against you isn't exactly a good time. That save with less than two minutes left in the period on Cleary on a breakaway was huge. Who knows what would have happened had this game been tied.

- The Pens came out with the win and that's all that matters but what frustration when it comes to all the chances! After the first period we were in disbelief that none of those chances went in. They were dominating all the way around but had nothing to show for it at the end of one. Obviously it didn't get them down because sooner rather than later they got that first goal. They're going to need to play just like that in Detroit if they want to win the Stanley Cup on Friday night.

- The third line was spectacular. They were doing everything last night. Tyler Kennedy and Jordan Staal more than deserved what they got. Staal was great both offensively and defensively and TK was working hard. A third line like that is exactly what the Pens need, especially when you're top two aren't able to cash-in.

- Rob Scuderi is absolutely insane. What a beast. He was blocking shots, playing goalie, and just playing an all around awesome defensive game. He was a plus 2 with four blocked shots and a couple of saves in the crease. He cleared at least two pucks from the crease earlier in the game off of rebounds and then his three or four saves in the last seconds of the game were just insane. He was obviously giving 110% out there and that makes us feel good going into game 7.

- We have to say it. The announcers, especially Pierre McGuire, are horrible. It was a Detroit love fest all night, especially Chris Osgood. OMG, he's so amazing! Yeah, okay. But the worst of the night in our opinion was the talk of Rob Scuderi covering the puck with his hand in the final seconds. OMG because we haven't seen that before in this series! WTF?! Give Zetterberg a pass and criticize Scuds up and down for it. And the best part was that he didn't even touch it with his hand! Even after they showed it from above and it was obvious he never touched it, they were still like "oh, I don't know!" Are you blind? Ridiculous. NBC definitely sucks.

- The crowd seemed nice and loud last night all game. Exactly what the Pens needed. The Fleury chant before the game was extra awesome in our opinion. We're sure Fleury felt a little taller hearing that. Nice to see the entire city of Pittsburgh isn't on the Fleury bashing bandwagon.

- We also have to give credit to Brooks Orpik for a nice game with six blocked shots and obviously a ton of hits. Petr Sykora also deserves mention for getting in there and blocking a shot early. He might not have played much or had a huge impact on the game, but it's nice to see he's willing to do whatever he can for the team.

Friday really can't get here soon enough.

Go Pens!

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!

Pens take Game 2, up 2-0

(AP)

Whew! What a game. It was hard to settle down in this one, but what else is new? Crosby starting the scoring less than two minutes in felt good. But that didn't last long. It was back and forth goals until about half-way through the third period and then Geno decided that enough was enough and the Pens were going to win this game to take a 2-0 lead on this series. Who would have thought a 7-4 Pens win?

Game recap

Aftermath: Penguins 7, Hurricanes 4

- What a night for Geno. He was playing unbelievably awesome (Geno's word) hockey last night and scored a hat trick. The first goal he scored after jumping on the ice was a little nuts in our opinion. He made it look so easy. Jumps on the ice, goes hard to the net, shovels a puck past Ward and celebrates. Easy as pie. Right. And then if you thought he was done, you were so wrong. The crowd started a GENO! chant just before his second goal. Talk about perfect timing. Then right before his third goal we were like, okay Geno, time for a hattie! Oh yeaaaaah! What a shot! A no-look backhander? That's a Sidney Crosby move! We have to say it again, what a shot! The Versus announcer's call was pretty amusing, OH MY WORD! Lol. That was actually a play called "the Geno." Dan Bylsma said it isn't called the Geno for nothing. Talbot also said Geno told him what he was going to do and he did it. Lucky? No.

- How cool are Geno's parents? They get cooler every game. Geno's Dad was practically in tears after Geno's third goal and gave Mom a big kiss on the side of her head. What down to earth people. It's so nice to see something like this. Could  they fit in any better in Pittsburgh? We hope they never have to go back to Russia. Geno plays out of his mind when they're around. We couldn't find the Versus interview after the game with him but he was asked about his parents being here for this and he cited his Mom's good food. What a guy. He also said that his backhander goal was lucky. Yeah, okay Geno. His parents need to take the trip down to Carolina for sure.

- "My parents are superstars now." - Geno  Quote of the night for sure.

- Sidney Crosby: what a player. His drive is unmatched. Except maybe sometimes by Geno. He was out there doing everything and taking a beating doing it. He opened the scoring for the sixth, yes sixth, time in the playoffs. That's insane. We may be biased, but we're also not stupid. We'd take Crosby (or Malkin) over Ovechkin any day.

- Chris Kunitz finally had a goal! A nice one at that. His goal with 7.4 seconds left in the second period broke the tie and put the Pens up 4-3. We thought he had played well in the playoffs although putting in a goal or two is always good too. Now he finally gets off of people's bad list. At least for now.

- We don't know what it is with Max Talbot, but he scores big goals in big games. Geno got him the puck on a breakaway and Max decides to take a page out of Geno's book and blast a slap shot by Cam Ward. Nice.

- The Pens went 3-for-3 in killing penalties, including some 4-on-3 time. We liked how aggressive they were and they even got a couple chances to score shorthanded, including a Jordan Staal breakaway chance. Speaking of which...

- Are we the only ones that think Jordan Staal needs some confidence or something? His defensive play is great but his offense? Not so much. We're not saying he needs to bury that chance 100% of the time but geez. He's had quite a few chances to score in these first two games and the shots either haven't been good ones, he fans on it, or he decides to pass when he really should just shoot. Our answer is confidence and maybe he needs some but who knows.

- What happened to Miroslav Satan? He's looked really good in the playoffs. That one-on-one chance against Ward that he buries after some sick moves and now he's fighting?! Seriously, what's going on? He definitely deserves his spot in the lineup. We thought he always shied away from hits or fights. Not anymore obviously.

- Marc-Andre Fleury wasn't as sharp as he could have been, but he made the stops he needed to make. That big toe save early in the game was awesome. His love of his posts also obviously comes in handy at critical times. After a good shot hit the crossbar, Fleury could be seen giving it a nice pat down for it's fine work in saving that goal. You treat it well, it will treat you well back.

- Tyler Kennedy may not be scoring goals every night, but he continues to amaze us night in and night out. His energy is nuts. We have no idea where he gets it but it's pretty awesome. If he's racing to the puck, there's a good chance he's going to get possession of it. His work along the boards is great and he's not afraid to hit someone. He also had a heck of a shot on that empty netter. ;)

- Lastly, what is with the crowd? This is the Eastern Conference Finals, you need to be louder. There were plenty of times where we were like, WTF?! You're supposed to be jacked the entire game and you had plenty of goals to be jacked about. They were good at times but overall it was pretty unimpressive. Kind of embarrassing.

Geno's hat trick:

Geno's post-game comments:

Penguins at Post-Gazette

Go Pens!

Pens win in a Fleury, series 3-1

(AP)

The Pens beat the Flyers 3-1 last night to take their series lead up three games to one and will head back home for game 5.

Wooooooo! How does it feel to be up three games to one in the series? How about beating the Flyers in Philly and quieting the crowd? How about going home to play game 5 for a chance to win the series in five games? Good, huh?

The Pens didn't play their best game last night, but you wouldn't know it looking at the score. Marc-Andre Fleury stole the show by making 45 saves and holding the Flyers to one goal up until there was only a little over eight minutes left in the game. And those eight minutes were pretty crazy. Fleury stood tall against the Flyers and made save after save, many of them highlight reel worthy. Can you think of a better played game by Fleury other than game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals last year? We can't. He was seeing everything and making every save. How did he make that save when the puck came off of the boards and up next to his right post without even looking? Nuts. If he can continue to play like this, it will be awfully hard for the Pens to lose whether they play their best game or not. You heard that the Flyers thought they had Fleury figured out, right? Yeah, it sure looked like it.

The Pens may not have dictated the play but with Fleury's help, they did what they needed to do to get things done. The Pens gave the Flyers eight power play chances in which they couldn't even score once. That's not to say that they didn't any get shots off, but once again, Fleury stole the show and was the Pens' best penalty killer. But the Flyers figured MAF out. Yeah.

The first period was scoreless with both teams having a couple power play chances. The Pens also had a couple almost goals, including Sykora's open net miss. We weren't the only ones that screamed at the TV on that one were we? Sykora just can't get a goal. If he is hurt, it's obviously showing. But that miss! Ahhh! He must have bad luck because we don't know how that doesn't go in. We also saw some line switch-ups including seeing Malkin on Crosby's wing.  Dan wanting to be aggressive and get the first goal in Philly maybe? Nah.

The second period would see some scoring. The Flyers had a power play early in which the Pens would kill. At the end of that power play, the Flyers would turn the puck over and Chris Kunitz would get the puck to Matt Cooke who had just come out of the box. Cooke would get it back to Kunitz who then make a cross-ice pass to Sidney Crosby who was charging to the net. Crosby would fall going to goal but still managed to get his stick on the puck that would go into the net, while he followed. The goal was reviewed but held up. The Flyers are probably still complaining.

(AP)

The second goal came not long after the first when Tyler Kennedy scored his second goal of the playoffs on a nice backhander. Cooke would get his second assist on as many goals for his first two points of the playoffs.

(AP)

The Flyers would finally get a goal after all those shots with a little over eight minutes left in the period from Daniel Carcillo. The rest of the period would be a wild one with the Flyers trying to tie the game and the Pens trying to hold on to their lead. As one would expect, the Flyers would pull Biron for the extra attacker and with 51.3 seconds left in the game, Craig Adams would get possession of the puck and pass it to Talbot who would gain the red line and shoot it down the ice and into the empty net. Someone can score an empty netter?! Who would have thought! Pens seal the win 3-1 to put them up in the series 3-1.

- Tyler Kennedy has been really impressive. He's scored two goals, he's great at working the boards, and he's all over the ice. He may be kind of small, but he plays big and he's not afraid of anyone.

- It's so nice to see Jordan Staal playing so well. He really blossomed after Dan Bylsma took over and he's just gotten better and better. He may not always show up on the score sheet but he's definitely showing up on the ice. His defensive skills are awesome.

- Marc-Andre Fleury obviously didn't like it that the Flyers thought they had him figured out because after a lackluster game 3, he came out last night with a mission and he accomplished it. He by far was the best player on the ice last night and just stole the game for the Pens.

- Sidney Crosby makes big time plays in big time games, period. He really steps up to the task. Those Crosby sucks chants probably didn't hurt his motivation either.

- Geno had his first game of the playoffs without recording a point. He still leads the playoffs with seven, with Crosby right behind him now at six. We really don't think he played badly at all, just didn't get on the board last night. It happens. Although if Petr Sykora would start producing, it would help Malkin out a lot.

Game recap

Aftermath: Penguins 3, Flyers 1

Fleury steals one for Pens

Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins could go deep in playoffs again

Crosby again shuts up Flyers, fans

Post-Gazette - Penguins

The Pens can clinch the series Thursday night at home. Not only would we rather the Pens clinch as soon as possible, but let's save ourselves from another game on NBC while we're at it. Game 6, if necessary, will be Sunday at 3 p.m. on NBC. Game 5 is Thursday night at 7 p.m. on FSN.

Go Pens!

Pens gain a point, lose to Canes

The Pens lost 3-2 in overtime against the Hurricanes last night. Cam Ward was ridiculous for the Canes and really the reason the Canes won. The Pens had a ton of good scoring chances and just couldn't put them past Ward. Getting a point out of this game was a positive for sure and life will go on. Unfortunately for the Pens it will go on in the form of a 5 o'clock game against the Florida Panthers today. Talk about bad scheduling. Who schedules another game less than 24 hours from the first one? Especially when they have to travel. Stupid.

Last night's game was definitely entertaining. Up and down hockey and not a ton of penalties. Both teams had good chances and both goalies were good, but Cam Ward was just a bit better. The Pens definitely had more chances but couldn't cash in on enough of them. Either that or your teammate took a penalty mere seconds before you score a goal, but that's something else entirely. 

The Pens third line was playing great hockey and produced both of the Pens' goals. Tyler Kennedy had a great game, getting a goal and a point on the other Pens goal. TK was working hard along the boards to gain control of the puck and ended up putting a nice backhand shot behind Cam Ward to put the Pens up 1-0. Nice. There would be a 4-on-4 where Sidney Crosby ends up with a ridiculously long breakaway from his own end in which he couldn't score on Ward. Bummer. You could smell 2-0. Before the period was over though, one of the Staals on the ice would score a goal and it wasn't Jordan. Eric Staal puts one home to tie up the game. The Staal parents are proud.

The second period would bring a Canes goal not even a minute into the period. Matt Cooke attempted a pass at the blue line that was intercepted by the Canes and turned into a goal for Chad LaRose. Canes up 2-1. Bill Guerin would appear to score a goal about halfway through the period but hang on to your hats, no goal. Chris Kunitz was called for tripping just seconds before Guerin "scores" so no goal. Talk about bad luck.

Moving on to the third, just a few minutes in, TK comes up big again and makes a play to get the puck to Staal who put a nice shot behind Ward. The Staal parents are pround once again. The Pens tie it up at two and things are looking pretty good. Lots of physical play, not a lot of penalties, just a lot of up and down hockey. Then Geno gets a breakaway that gets interfered with and that's a penalty shot. Geno never seems to thrilled with this or shootouts and hasn't really been too good in them for whatever reason, excluding his shootout goal earlier this season when he used that sick move to get the goalie to belly flop. Anywho, Geno fails to score on his penalty shot and we're still tied at two. The Canes would get a power play with less than two minutes left in the period but the Pens would kill it. Even though they did, it obviously was not a good time (if there ever is one) for a penalty.

Overtime didn't last too long as the Pens really couldn't get out of their own zone and Babchuk wound up for a slap shot that would win the game for the Canes.

Overall we think the Pens played really well and so did Cam Ward. Ward really was the reason the Canes won because the Pens had plenty of really good scoring chances that not all goalies would have stood up against. They did torch Martin Brodeur the other night after all. The Pens third line looks good and got all the points last night, with Crosby and Geno's points streaks stopped. Geno needs to start gaining some points though because Ovechkin is only four behind him in the points race. Ovechkin somehow pulling out the scoring title in the last few games of the season would make us utterly sick. Geno needs to at least claim this one for himself if the media is going to take the MVP away from him. (Yes, that post is still coming soon)

Game recap

Aftermath: Canes 3, Pens 2 OT

Penguins lose to Hurricanes in overtime, 3-2

Thanks to the cruel scheduling of the NHL the Pens will play the Florida Panthers today at 5 p.m. Win today and the Pens are in the playoffs. Sweet.

Game preview

Go Pens!

Links

Taste good TK?

We couldn't resist starting out the post with this great picture of Tyler Kennedy. Why he is licking his hockey stick we have no idea, but it obviously tastes very good. No word on whether that helped his game at all. We're also going to give credit of that picture to Seth over at Empty Netters and the person on LetsGoPens.com who spotted it. We just borrowed it for this post.

Geno continues to dominate everyone else in the NHL but he's still reluctant to talk about himself. He should get to 100 points soon but he doesn't like to talk about it. He agreed to answer one question about it for PG's Shelley Anderson and he said, "I try because it's good for me, good for [the] team, I play with good guys." When asked if reaching 100 points a season or leading the NHL was something he aimed for he playfully said "one question!" before saying "I'm not thinking about 100 points or trophies." What a humble guy.

You probably heard last week that recently acquired Eric Tangradi's favorite team was the Flyers because he is from Philly. Over at the PG they have a nice article on him and his Philly roots. Should be exciting to see how he turns out.

Remember John Curry? He has tied Sebastien Caron for the top spot on the WBS franchise's all-time wins list with 48, surpassing Marc-Andre Fleury, Dany Sabourin, Andy Chiodo, and Rich Parent. That's definitely something to be proud of and at this rate he'll be a great backup to Fleury in the near future. We definitely liked what we saw when he played for the Pens earlier this season.

Analysis: Penguins' Deadline Moves

Let's Go Pens!