Pens head to San Jose for a Californian sweep

Penguins head to San Jose for a Californian sweep

The Penguins head to the SAP Center tonight to take on the San Jose Sharks and look to make it a Californian sweep. The Penguins enter this game having won their last in a back-to-back with Anaheim and Los Angeles. The Penguins started the trip with a 5-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday which was followed up with a 1-0 overtime win against Los Angeles on Saturday. 

The Penguins entered the three game swing with a 3-1 loss against the Colorado Avalanche in a rather uneventful game that failed to incite much interest. Many predicted a tough trip with Anaheim and  Los Angeles being two tough teams to beat, even with LA outside the play-off picture. San Jose have had a tough time of late and didn't win a single game in February at home but the Penguins have a horrid record there which has seen them go winless in 17 years. 

The Penguins were outshot 29-21 by the Ducks last Friday but managed to make their shots count and raced into a 3-0 lead in the second with some a tic-tac-toe goal from Hornqvist and a rasping laser of a shot from Comeau which was unstoppable. Hornqvist added a second for himself with a tip-in on a shot from the point by Cole. Malkin scored a fourth early in the third before the Ducks attempted a come-back of sorts with 2 goals in 4:05 seconds. Crosby wrapped the game up with an EN goal late in the game after some hustle to get past the last defenceman back to skate to the goal and tap it in. One thing that was noticeable in the game was that the puck was bouncing about a lot and seemed to be taking odd bounces a lot. 

The Penguins were back at it after a nights sleep to take on the Los Angeles Kings in a game that was marked by the unveiling of a statue for Luc Robitaille who played over 1,000 games for the Kings which, for a player drafted in the ninth round, is impressive. The Penguins and  Kings traded blows for the whole game with Fleury in stellar form saving all 31 shots put on the Pens net. The Penguins had some offensive highlights, mostly from Crosby, but couldn't end the game until a defensive error by the Kings in over-time gifted the puck to Hornqvist just outside the goaltenders paint. There was no way he was missing and that goal meant that Hornqvist has more goals as James Neal has in Nashville but with 9 fewer games played.

I'm hoping that the Penguins put in a similar effort that we have seen in those games tonight against the Sharks but with the Penguins poor record at SAP it'd be a surprise to see them win. Saying that, this team appears to be in a strut right now and I think currently they could beat anyone in a one-off game so I see no reason why they can't beat the Sharks. Crosby and  Malkin are also 4 and 3 points behind Tavares in the Art Ross race so they'll be hoping to catch some ground on him as well although it is worth baring in mind that they had a few games in hand on him. Here's to a Pens win tonight.

Go Pens!