Pens loss to the Blue Jackets overshadowed by Dubinsky

The Penguins overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets was overshadowed by a vicious use of the hockey stick by Brandon Dubinsky on Sidney Crosby. Late in the second period Dubinsky and Crosby were battling in front of the net when Dubinsky cross-checked Crosby in the neck and, as he was down, the back.

Today, the NHL's Department of Player Safety dished out the punishment that Dubinsky would have to face for such a cheap act. The result? 1 game. 1 solitary game. One has to ask how that is a deterrent or even a just punishment for what he did. It also opens into question the NHL's protection of players for hits to the head which, with an ongoing concussion lawsuit, isn't a good look for the league. The Penguins play Columbus in December and you can be sure that game will be an emotionally charged one.

In terms of actual play the Penguins were not at their best. The only goal they scored came off the power play with Malkin burying a shot off a lucky rebound from Crosby. Fleury was the teams best player, standing strong despite a barrage at times from the Blue Jackets. The defence had a very poor game and questions need to be asked of some players who are yet to show their talents this season.

In all honesty, the Blue Jackets deserved to win the game. They had a much better plan and executed it. By employing a heavy forecheck they gave the Penguins little time on the puck which led to more dump-ins than usual. It's a tactic that teams have used in the past on the Penguins, specifically on the power play. This has led to a lack of zone time and in turn, a reduction in conversions.

The  Penguins return home to face the Edmonton Oilers tonight and the best way to respond to the game last night is to light up the score sheet tonight. They probably won't get an easier opponent in Edmonton to do it either. Sidney Crosby is currently riding a four game point streak and it would be great to see him continue that as well and return to a more "realistic" production level.

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Pens beat Blues 4-3 - Crosby strikes

Sidney Crosby is enjoying a good spell right now with two goals against the Blues last night, meaning he has now scored against all other 29 teams in the NHL. He scored a solo blast from the point in the first period after a give-away from Gunnarsson. Sid put so much power in the shot it is a surprise it didn't come out of the other side.

I think it would be fair to say that this was Sid's best game of the season, even if you take into account his three pointer against Florida earlier in the season. He was everywhere with the puck and a real problem. It was enjoyable to see him move on the power play, where he scored his second. The Penguins power play has been far too static so to see him moving around and get an open shot in the middle was great to see.

Joe Sargent / Getty Images

The underlying stars of the game were the fourth line of Fehr, Cullen and Plotnikov who dominated the Blues top line which was weak defensively. All three had a CF% of over 65% which is ridiculous. Having a line like that which can take the pressure of the top players makes it a lot easier to control the play and force the opposition into mistakes. Cullen is also a much more refreshing player to have than Craig Adams, despite him being a year old than Adams.

Yet again Evgeni Malkin played a huge part by scoring the game winning goal in OT after a nice dish from Phil Kessel. Since criticising the team after the Devils game Malkin has had 7 points in 4 games. Phil Kessel is also riding a four game point streak which is his second of the season. I don't want to say it too much but the Penguins look to be getting to the level we expected of them offensively. If they could sort out the power play, they'd be deadly.

The Penguins have a break today for Thanksgiving before taking on the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday and the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. The Penguins should be looking to win both of those games before their Californian trip.

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Pens beat themselves, Sharks win

The Pittsburgh Penguins played a tough game against a red hot San Sharks last night and despite going toe-to-toe for most of the game, they shot themselves in the foot. Their defensive frailties were exposed with two goals from their own team on Fleury.

I have been highly critical of Rob Scuderi and I believe he is one of, if not the worst, defenceman in the league right now. For the second time in four games, the last being against the New Jersey Devils, he scored an "own-goal". Being fair, it wasn't as terribly embarrassing as the one against the Devils where he passed it into his own net. This time he got in the way of Fleury and deflected a Brent Burns shot into the net.

Not to be outdone, Ben Lovejoy joined in the act and scored his own own goal later on off a soft rebound from Fleury. Giving Lovejoy credit, the rebound was quite quick and there wasn't much he could do but he shouldn't have been in the position he was. Part of the blame should also lie on Fleury though as he should have covered or stopped the puck.

Overall though I think Fleury had a good game. Aside from the above he didn't look too troubled and was quite calm. The other goal was a quick shot from Brent Burns that he couldn't do much about. No-one covered Burns and it was too late for Fleury to get across his crease. Fleury has had a great season so far but the defence lately have let him down and it is showing when you realise that the Penguins have conceded at least three goals in a game in four straight.

One player who stood out for the  Penguins was Brian Dumoulin. He has seen an increase in his role this season alongside an increase in ice-time and he has taken it in his stride. He looked a consummate pro last night breaking up rushes and he was effective against Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. His future is promising.

Lastly, from last night. Patrick Marleau earnt his 1000th point in the city that he was drafted. It was great to see the Consol Energy Center crowd give him a round of applause. Paul Martin was also given a warm round of applause on his return to the Penguins, he scored the Sharks third.

Looking forward, the Penguins next three games are mixed. They face the St.Louis Blues next on Wednesday, a team that is traditionally thought about as being strong defensively but they are a middle road team right now. In their last six games they've let in 21 goals, 3.5 per game. The Jackets have had an upturn in results since appointing Tortorella. Since appointing him they've gone 8-0-6 and Bobrovsky has improved his form. They'll be tough to beat. Last is the Oilers, a team completely unpredictable. The Penguins should aim to score a few on them.

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Malkin leads Pens past Wild

After the game against the New Jersey Devils Evgeni Malkin made it quite clear what he thought of the team at the point. It was very clearly pointed out that they were not playing as they should be and not playing right in the system set up by Johnston. Whether that system is right or not is another question.

Against the Minnesota Wild Malkin delivered on his words and led the Pens to a 4-3 win with a four point night. It was his first four point game since the 23rd March 2014. The Penguins started the game superbly notching an early goal from David Perron on a nice pirouette shot. The Wild scored later on in the first to level the game. The puck was passed across the crease in front of Fleury and none of the forwards picked it up allowing Granlund to fire off a sweet shot off a Pominville dish.

The later part of the first period was beset by penalties on each side. Clendening committed a holding penalty on Brett Bulmer shortly after they scored but the Penguins were able to kill it off. The Penguins then had a power play opportunity of their own late on in the period. The power play has been poor but it was great to see some success for a change. Malkin dished a puck to Bennett just in front of the face-off zone and he rifled a shot straight through Dubnyk.

The Penguins continued to click on the power play with Malkin scoring an easy goal early in the second. Malkin earned his second goal of the game shortly after. Later in the game the usually resilient Penguins penalty kill blustered letting in two Minnesota power play goals from Jared Spurgeon and Mikko Koivu.

The game was overshadowed somewhat though by an injury sustained by Olli Maatta mid-way through the second period. Nino Neiderreiter boarded Maatta into the boards near the bench as Darcy Kuemper was opening the door by the bench. Maatta was taken to hospital and was today released with news that he would be out for between 3 to 4 weeks. It could have been a lot worse but losing a talented player like Maatta for any stretch of time in the early stages of their career is disappointing.

The Penguins will be pleased to win but disappointed at losing such a key player. They play Colorado next on Thursday night hoping to build another winning run.

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The Penguins scoring problems are a massive problem

This is something I have talked about before and mentioned a lot on my twitter stream. The Penguins offence is pitiful right now to say the least and it is the third worst through 17 games in franchise history. The fact that an offence with Crosby, Malkin and Kessel is able to be coached to such low totals is a big worry. If a team with that amount of talent struggles it is usually just a rut but the Penguins have had a continual problem which has stretched back to December last year.

Mike Johnston runs a defence first policy and looks to play it out of the back with quick passes, often two line ones. With the  Penguins personnel this isn't a wise choice. Right now Kris Letang is struggling and creating turnovers regularly. Outside of him Lovejoy, Cole and Scuderi are not puck playing defencemen. I'd barely class Scuderi as a player right now. Their CF% is illustrated below and it isn't pretty.

Lovejoy and Scuderi's CF%. Game 4 against Ottawa Scuderi didn't play.

The Penguins traded away one player who used to be a good puck player in Despres. They also have one sitting in Wilkes-Barre Scranton in Pouliot. Not to mention Clendening who is currently getting splinters sitting on the bench. The Penguins have a chance to make a few adjustments to see what the effect is and they should try them before making drastic decisions. Being honest though, I think it is the system more than anything that has led us here.

The Penguins are not entertaining to watch right now. Crosby currently has just 9 points in the first 17 games which is his worst start to a season. Something like that would have been completely unthinkable two months ago. Evgeni Malkin has bust a guy in numerous games to try and lead the team but he too is struggling. Phil Kessel has played well since being traded from Toronto but a sniper can't be expected to carry a team, look at James Neal.

The team that the Penguins built over the summer was continual lauded for the depth they had added. They brought Plotnikov over from Russia and appear to be scared of letting him play having scratched him in 6 games so far this season. There were signs of problems with Kunitz's game last year but he hasn't had his minutes reduced and it has left the Penguins relying on an ageing Dupuis, coming back from a blood clot, to lead the first line.

Just to show how bad the  Penguins scoring is, below is a table of a number of players alongside their current production. I've used their pace to get a full season total and compared that to see where it ranks in their career in terms of season.

I don't think that Johnston will be fired for a while. It was mentioned by DK that Rutherford hasn't been happy with the Penguins product recently though. So, maybe another couple of losses and a few more low scoring team efforts would get him the can?

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Pens take on Habs

The Penguins take on the Montreal Canadiens after returning to the 'burgh following a West Coast swing where they went 2-0-1. The Penguins only managed to score 7 goals in 3 games against some of the weakest defences in the league which is a bit worrying. But, it is sadly nothing out of the ordinary for the Penguins right now. They are not the same offensive prowess they were before, which is sad if anything.

On their welcome return to Pittsburgh they will be greeted by the Montreal Canadiens who have started superbly this season and their goaltending duo of Condon and Price has been one of the bigger talking points. The Canadiens have hardly been inadequate up front though with 59 goals through 16 games so far, the most in the league. It makes Pittsburgh's 31 through 14 games look rather tame.

The Penguins have played the Canadiens before this season with the Habs leaving with a 3-2 victory in a rough and tumble game back in early October.  I was there in attendance and the Penguins performance was below par and apart from Fleury playing like a brick wall and  Bennett impressing there was a lot to be disappointed about.

Bennett will be rewarded tonight after recent performances going by early reports stating that he will be appearing on Crosby's line tonight. Daniel Sprong has also been heavily pumped by Johnston in the pre-game press conferences lauding him on his effort and crediting him for improving his defensive work. Against a team like the Canadiens who hit hard, that is important for an emerging player.

The defensive pairings came in for a hit against Calgary. Their speed completely flat-flooted the Pens but they have given them another chance by not changing them today. I would personally like to see Pouliot called up now. He has improved his game whilst in Wilkes-Barre and would be a better fit right now and also give us a more rounded offense.

I'm hoping the Penguins win tonight but I think the Canadiens will be too much.

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Penguins start November with West Coast trip

The Penguins start their November schedule with a west coast trip to the great Canadian cities of Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary. The first game is tonight against the Vancouver Canucks at 10:00 EST and marks what will be a challenging and interesting three game swing.

The Penguins go into the game on Wednesday having won the last four in a row. In that span they have slowly gotten players back off the injured list to give their team a deeper look. Eric Fehr had a superb debut for the Penguins against Toronto last Saturday and the Penguins will be hoping to see more of that. Kunitz is a game-time decision to play as he is carrying a niggling injury according to Johnston. Former Penguin Brandon Sutter will play against his old club for the first time since his summer trade.

The games against Edmonton and Calgary should be more open and the perfect chance for Crosby to get back into his groove before the visit of the Canadiens on the 11th of November. The media has been harder on him this year but with him currently scoring only 5 points through 11 games you can understand the concern. This isn't the Sid we're used to and hopefully he comes back soon.

The Penguins will play the Oilers sans-McDavid who got injured against the Flyers last night. He has damaged his clavicle and will require surgery which will mean he is out for months, according to the Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli. A huge blow to those who wanted to see him go up against Crosby.

The Oilers are 28th for Goals against whilst the Flames are 30th. So the Penguins should look to fill their boots against such weak defensive opposition. The Penguins have a lot to thank Fleury for this season and hopefully he can continue his good start. I suspect that Fleury will play against the Canucks and Flames with Zatkoff against the Oilers. Lets go Pens!

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