Pens make statement win against Red Wings

After a horrible performance against the Devils on Thursday which saw the Penguins lose 3-0 to a goalie in only his second NHL start, the Penguins needed to respond today. They took a trip to the  Joe in Detroit to face the struggling Detroit Red Wings who were desperate for the two points to get them back into the Wild Card spots before Philadelphia played later in the day.

The Penguins have run the roost against the Red Wings over the course of this season winning 5-2 at the Joe on December 31st and again with a 6-3 scoreline at the Consol Energy Center on the 18th February. The Penguins were without Maatta today who was sidelined with a week to week injury before the game, it was picked up in the New Jersey game. The Penguins nearly missed Bonino too and had to call up Sundqvist as a precaution but he ended up being good to go.

The Detroit Red Wings determination to win this game was clear in the first period with the Penguins being caught flat-footed. Detroit kept a constant forecheck on the Penguins and took some early shots against the Penguins, requiring the defence to bail out Fleury. The Red Wings got the first goal of the game on a breakaway from Andreas Athanasiou who took the most of a turnover and a poor line-change by the Penguins.

That was about as good as it got the Red Wings as from that point it was pure Penguins dominance with 4 goals in the second period and 3 more in the third. The Penguins didn't waste time responding in the second with a goal within the first minute from Kunitz. Letang's shot bounced off the boards and was going in off Mrazek's pad but Kunitz made sure. Sadly, Kunitz would later leave the game due a head injury in a collision with Datsyuk, his condition is unknown.

The biggest impression left on me from this game was the impact that the combo of Bonino and Kessel had. Both of them combined tonight on four goals to earn 5 points a piece. Kessel had a goal and four assists, whilst Bonino had the same. Kessel's goal was something of beauty, a snipe that completely fooled Mrazek from the wing.

Kessel's goal came late in the second period and saw Mrazek pulled for Howard, who didn't fare much better. Letang and Hagelin had the other goals on Mrazek, Letang's on the powerplay and Hagelin's on a snipe from the dot. Perhaps the most impressive goal of the night was Hagelin's second. An odd-man rush with Kessel who dished a wonderful pass to Hagelin who buried it past Howard with ease to make it 6-2.

The other two goals came from Eric Fehr who did the dirty in the goalies sink and poked the puck in after a turnover from Bonino resulted in a free puck in front of Howard. Bonino himself got a goal late on with a powerplay tally with a shot over Howard's shoulder, again on the rush with speed. The  Penguins really responded tonight and they have another big test against the Rangers tomorrow. If they want home ice, they need to win that. Otherwise, the Islanders could pass them this week and take it themselves.

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Pens dominate Caps, leap into 2nd place in Metropolitan

Coming into this weekend the Penguins were staring two huge games against the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals. With the Flyers dispatched with relative ease on Saturday afternoon the attention turned to the league leading Capitals and Sunday evening.

The Capitals are the leading scorers in the Eastern Division and the biggest plan to beat them would involve limiting their chances and restricting their league leading #1 Power play unit from getting opportunities. Other the weekend the plan of stifling opposition offence work with the Flyers getting just 16 shots and the Capitals just 18. The only two power play opportunities that the Capitals did get the Penguins were able to kill it off relatively easily.

The Capitals had the best of the early stages and dominated the Penguins for a good period but the Penguins made their own chances count. The third line is this game could have been mistaken for the Penguins best players from an outsider and the first goal was full of skill that you would expect to see in seasoned players, not two players who have been called up this season from Wilkes-Barre. Rust broke through and collected a pass from Kuhnhackl before deking the puck around Holtby.

Crosby continued his current points streak to 12 games, breaking his 11 game streak set earlier in 2016 off Trevor Daley's backhand goal from close up after leaving the defence for dead. Despite being 2-0 up the Penguins lead slipped from their grasp with some luck off a poor Fleury poke check. Burakovsky tied it up after breaking free from the box after a scuffle between the two sets of players.

From that point on the Penguins controlled the game and scored four goals in a row to chase Holtby from the game. Matt Cullen continued to reap rewards for his cheap contract with a shot that hit Holtby's shoulder and bounced in. Crosby picked up his second point in the game with a quick turnover and pass to Kunitz who buried it.

Justin Schultz ended the game with his first goal for the Penguins on the powerplay, which had struggled greatly without Malkin. With this win the Penguins leapfrogged the New York  Rangers to temporarily take the second Metropolitan spot and potential home ice. With the Devils next there is no reason the Penguins can't extend their win streak to 7 games.

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Pens best Flyers in early game

With the Penguins have three games scheduled against the Flyers in their final 15 or so, today was a huge game. Saying otherwise would have been wrong. The Penguins were sitting in the 1st Wild Card spot before this game on 84 points, 4 ahead of the Flyers who sit in the first non-playoff spot. A Penguins win would mean a healthy 6 point cushion between the two at least.

Going into this game the Penguins had won four straight and the Flyers had won five of their last six, losing only to the Panthers in the shoot-out. So, these two teams were hot coming into this game.Their wasn't the same intensity in this game as there was in the Laviolette/Hartnell days but you could still see that the same raw hatred from both sides was there.

Despite the two teams being strong coming into this the first period was all about the goaltenders. A number of times they were both called into action, especially Mason who as confronted at all strengths. One theme throughout the game that was stark was the Flyers inherent reluctant to shoot. Throughout the game they totalled just 17 shots on net, which marks for their lowest ever against the Penguins.

Despite this shot differential it was the Flyers who took the lead first. Through Radko Gudas of all people on a shot from the point that was identical to his goal against the Blackhawks the game before. The Penguins teams of the past in this rivalry match-up would have capitulated and struggled to formulate a response. Not these Penguins.

It took them just a minute to respond through Daley. Bonino, who has had a rough season, picked him up with a sweet pass across the ice and Daley buried it with gusto. From there the game entered no-mans land. No inch was given and none was taken until a superb defensive play by Phil Kessel created the Penguins second goal.

A lot it made about Kessel's defensive game and how it is apparently lacking but recently he has been one of the most prominent back-checkers and really improved that aspect. Sure, his production is slightly below what you would want, but it is far from awful. It is criminal that Kessel didn't get an assist after holding the puck on the boards for Bonino to pick out Hagelin who rifled it home.

Crosby was riding a 10 point game streak going into this game, his second streak of the season that has reach such a length. A rivalry game with a quiet Crosby is something rare and he wasn't going to be kept quiet tonight. The Penguins benefited from a bounce off the boards and Mason to give them a 3-1 lead before a Crosby led breakaway with the Flyers net empty sealed the deal.

With the win the Penguins move just two points behind the New York Rangers in the second Metropolitan division spot and the last home advantage spot. It would have been crazy a month ago to think the Penguins could make that spot home, but they could yet. They need to beat the Capitals tomorrow though.

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Potential expansion draft poses questions

Today there were some rumours and snippets from GM meetings in Boca Raton in Florida about the potential process for an expansion draft in the summer of 2017 should the league grant expansion this summer. The team that is granted has been indicated to start play in the 2017-18 season so it makes sense to have the expansion draft beforehand.

The information in terms of what numbers can be protected are at least straight forward. Teams can either protect 1 goalie, 3 defencemen and 7 forwards or 1 goalie and 8 skaters. There is a clear difference in the second option in that you get to have a more open selection policy on players but at the cost of 1 roster spot.

There are a few rules that aren't that clear at the moment. Are players with NMC's exempt? What about NTC's or partial-NTC's? There is a clear rule with regards to a players pro years. If a player is in his first or second pro year he is exempt and those pro years include the AHL.

This two year pro rule is also open to interpretation as well though. Does a player count as a second year pro after the season? Does the player have to play a certain number of games to qualify as having been active enough that season? That would be interesting for Daniel Sprong as he played 18 games earlier this season for the Penguins.

One rule that won't be as hard to match is that you have to have 25% of your cap from the previous season. Basically, if you have a high salaried player, make him exposed. The biggest issue for the Penguins is in the goaltending position. Do they protect Marc-Andre Fleury and expose their best prospect and potential best prospect in net in the league or let their long time servant available?

Whatever happens in the expansion draft there are a few questions that need answering first before any real plans can take place. When those questions are answered we will have a better understanding of the process in place.

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Pens sign three to contract extensions

The Pittsburgh Penguins today announced the contract extension of three of their brightest players this season in Bryan Rust, Tom Kuhnhackl and Scott Wilson. All three have been given a two year extension on one-way contracts indicating that they're here to stay on the top squad.

All three started the season with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins and after putting in great performances they have been rewarded with the chance to have a go on the big stage. They have taken that chance with both hands. Wilson has scored the most goals with the Penguins so far with 5, most of them came in a brief run that saw him rewarded with 1st line minutes with Crosby.

Rust is the highest point producing player of the three so far with 3 goals and 5 assists through 33 games. Rust's biggest asset has been his demonstration of an incredible speed, something to rival Hagelin with. This speed has been instrumental on helping the Penguins fourth line gain increased zone time and puck pressure on the opposition.

Tom Khunhackl is the more physical amongst the three and after a rough start to his career after being drafted he has shown an incredible determination to get where he is. He had a rough start but has matured into his role and become a solid fourth liner.

Bryan Rust has been signed to a deal worth $640k whilst Wilson and Kuhnhackl's deals are smaller at $625k each. Both give the Penguins with a great dilemma on who to use on the bottom six next season and their cheap contracts help when the team is up against the cap. Other moves will have to be made, but they have deserved their contracts and I hope they will be a part for a long time to come. They'll have to keep it up as Dominik Simon (1st point in 1st game yesterday), Oskar Sundqvist and Carter Rowney will be knocking on the door.

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Depleted Pens stand firm against Rangers

The Penguins were rocked with the new that Malkin would be out 6-8 weeks before their matinee game against the New York Rangers this Sunday. That was a big blow and the Penguins called up Dominik Simon and Conor Sheary to make up the roster after Wilson's injury.

Dominik Simon was drafted in 2015 from the Czech Extraliga after being passed over in previous drafts. It makes him the second Penguins player to appear in the NHL from last years draft after Daniel  Sprong. Conor Sheary was undrafted Collegiate player signed two years back. Both were key in this win.

The Rangers started the game the dominant of the two teams consistently peppering Fleury with some early shots and putting him under a lot of pressure. They managed to get 19 shots on target in the first period compared to the Penguins 13. However, despite their early dominance and sustained pressure they went into the first break tied.

Hornqvist was very lucky to bank his puck in off Lundqvist after some great work by Letang on the Penguins powerplay to keep the puck in. Crosby got an assist on the goal extending his current point streak to 8 games. The Rangers, deservedly, got a goal to break Fleury's shut-out after some poor offensive zone work by Kunitz which resulted in a turnover and an easy 3-on-2 breakaway for Kreider to score on.

The second period was all about Conor Sheary who had his first two goal game with the Penguins and in the NHL. His first one came out of nothing really, the Penguins cycled the puck in the Rangers zone and Schultz took a shot from deep which was deflected over Lundqvist and in. The Rangers responded quickly on the powerplay but Sheary scored his second near the periods end to give the Penguins a 3-2 lead. He received a nice dish pass from Kuhnhackl in centre ice and took a shot whilst skating in that beat Lundqvist.

By the third period the Rangers shot dominance had diminished and they were reduced to just 2 shots in the second and 6 in the third. McDonagh scored a wrap-around early in the third, Fleury should have done better to cover his post. But the Penguins hard work and determination would not be undone and Matt Cullen scored a lucky goal off Staal's skate to get the Pens the lead with 9 minutes left.

The Penguins held off and ended it with an empty net goal from Sidney Crosby with just 39 seconds left. Dominik Simon, mentioned early, had his first point on Cullen's goal and had a great game. He had a rough start but got stuck in and played a great physical game. The player of the game was of course Conor Sheary. A guy of diminutive size who should be harder to stop. But he took full advantage and deserves the applause. The funny thing is that Malkin's injury has caused a nice problem of which WBS players to keep up for this season and in the future. Which is a nice problem to have when you're up against the cap.

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Pens pass Jackets test

The Pittsburgh Penguins left Columbus last night with a massive two points in the bag. The Penguins and Blue Jackets have built somewhat of a rivalry that is simmering and growing over the last few years. The play-off series previously and the incidents surrounding Dubinsky have helped add to that.

The Penguins came into this game on the back of a poor performance against the Isles in their first appearance in the new Barclays Center. The Penguins were without Carl Hagelin for that game and their offensive efforts were weak to say the least. One notably poor performer was Phil Kessel who seems to be having a real problem potting pucks this season.

Before this game a lot of noise was made about the inclusion of Tim Sestito in the roster, a potential deterrent to Dubinsky. He didn't play in the end and I think his comments beforehand had a play in that. He would have been going out there not with the intention of doing his best to score and prevent the other team from scoring but just to seek retribution on Dubsinky. That would just cause problems and we need the best players with actual hockey skills if we're to make the play-offs.

Pittsburgh started the strongest and put a lot of pressure and pucks on Bobrovsky, returning from injury, early on. However, a poor defensive assignment gave the Blue Jackets a 2-on-1 which Campbell slotted past Fleury for the opening goal on their first shot.

Pittsburgh had a number of powerplay opportunities throughout the game and at time the resulting play looked like something out of a Benny Hill sketch. The Penguins did manage to take the lead on a Letang point shot over 14 minutes through the first however. Kunitz, who has struggled this season and been invisible at times scored a quick banked goal early in the second after some great physical work by Crosby and Hornqvist. That stretched Crosby's point streak to 7 games.

Columbus scored against to tie on a break-away but Hagelin wrapped it up for the Pens to give them a hard fought win that they really deserved. At times the play was very rough and it was good to see the Pens stand up for themselves. The metro games keep coming with a matinee game against the New York Rangers on Sunday.

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Pens rout New Jersey 6-1

The Pittsburgh Penguins responded to the poor performance against the Calgary Flames but destroying the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center by a score of 6-1. The Penguins introduced new boy Justin Schultz after his trade from the Edmonton Oilers and he made a significant impact in an impressive game.

The Penguins were without Carl Hagelin for this game due to a late hit he received on Saturday's game. He was left out for precautionary reasons relating to concussions. The Penguins have mishandled treatments before, the last thing they need is to repeat those mistake.

The New Jersey Devils were without regular goaltender, Corey Schneider, due to injury. It showed as their replacement, Kinkaid, was far from up to scratch. He was slow a number of times to react and looks unsure of himself in net. At the other end Matt Murray looked confident. At 3-1 the Devils were given extended 5-on-3 time and Murray was able to replicate a brick wall to prevent them scoring at a key point.

The Pittsburgh Penguins controlled the game and this was evidenced on the shot clock with the Penguins having 30 compared to the Devils 18. Pittsburgh took a commanding lead in the first period after just under 10 minutes with goals 38 seconds apart from Evgeni Malkin and Matt Cullen. Malkin's came on the powerplay.

The only real mistake in the Penguins game came mid-way through the second, shortly after Bonino had added his fourth goal of the season to make it 3-0. The Penguins made a bad change and Kyle Palmieri was able to break through on goal and with ease he out-deked Murray to give the Devils hope.

This game really highlighted the improvements that the Penguins have made in their depth scoring, especially from their fourth line. Matt Cullen has had a superb season which has seen him hit 10 goals, the same as Jakub Voracek. The call-ups from Wilkes-Barre have more than done their part. Rust had his first multi-point game and three of the Wilkes-Barre club scored points.

The future of the Penguins has often been soured due to the lack of top prospects but in the likes of Rust, Wilson and Kuhnhackl they have a sound set that can add depth to the team and prolong its life. They have a good future and I can't wait to see what they'll do.

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Pens fall to Flames in disappointing performance

The Pittsburgh Penguins fell to the Calgary Flames in a disappointing performance which saw Jonas Ortio claim his first win of the season after 10 games. The Flames came into this game having lost their last seven in a row. The Penguins came into this game having won their last three games at home.

Marc-Andre Fleury was looking for his 350th win with today's game but the Flames goaltender was the first to be breached. A shot by Sidney Crosby bounced of the back-board and hit Ortio's pads before rolling into the net. Originally, the goal was given unassisted to Hornqvist. That was changed to Crosby after the game.

Despite being at the bottom of the standings the Flames refused to give in during this contest. Colborne got the Flames on the board with a clever redirect off his skate which fooled Fleury. Redirects are a topic of some discourse in the NHL. They can be very controversial depending on the action. But, in this instance the action wasn't deliberate so it stood.

Crosby scored his second of the game in the second period with a great tip shot that fooled Ortio completely. From that point on the Flames controlled the game and never looked back. The referees seemed quite reluctant to penalise the Flames but when the  Penguins did get a chance they blew it. The fans in attendance made their disapproval clear.

The Flames controlled the play from that point, exploiting the defence and some poor rebound control from Fleury. The Penguins were flat and didn't do their best this afternoon. A notable poor performer was Kunitz who looked like he wished he was elsewhere. The Penguins need to respond tomorrow against the Devils.

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Hornqvist hat-trick leads Pens past Coyotes

Patric Hornqvist scored his first hat-trick as a Pittsburgh Penguin and in his career to lead the Penguins past the Arizona Coyotes by a score of 6-0. The game came just hours after Sergei Plotnikov was traded by Pittsburgh to Arizona for a conditional 7th round pick and Matthias Plachta.

Arizona came into this game have lost the previous five games and were desperate for a win. Pittsburgh came into this game looking to win back-to-back games for the first time since February 2nd. Pittsburgh were 6-3-1 coming into this game in their last 10 and they lost the reverse game between these two sides, 2-1, way back in October.

Pittsburgh started the game brightly and Arizona played a physical game early on to try and put Pittsburgh off their game. It took 5 minutes to get the scoring going when Hornqvist latched on to a loose puck that Domingue, in the Coyotes net, failed to cover.

Crosby had a great game and benefited from a Hornqvist tip on a Kunitz shot which went through Domingue's glove. Domingue had a rough game after a good start but was left out to dry by his defence who really didn't look like they were trying that hard. Patric Hornqvist wrapped up his hat-trick by the end of the second period scoring his third goal on the powerplay.

The Penguins slowed down a bit in the third period but scored two late goals that really piled it on. Letang took a shot from the point which went through a crowd and squeezed through Domingue's five hole. Cullen scored just 16 seconds later with a shot that clipped the goaltenders body and went in.

The Penguins played well and they will face a bigger test tonight against the Metropolitan and Eastern Division leading Washington Capitals. It will be a real statement if they can get something against them.

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