Final Thoughts...

The Penguins did allow 13 third period shots, but they were not seriously tested until a late power play by Carolina. They were actually quite methodical in shutting the Canes down throughout the final frame. This was quite a treat for a group who has been a bit suspect during third periods as of late.

The Penguins turned 22 shots into 5 goals...though they had some great opportunities, it is a shame that the Carolina goaltending couldn't hold up better for them. Especially based on the fact that they posted 36 shots.

The Canes did do a good job of limiting the Penguins opportunities, but they made far too many mistakes with the puck in their own zone. Almost every one of those mistakes ended up in their net...they had trouble passing the puck out of their own zone all evening long and the Penguins take aways were turned into offense.

Though the Canes posted plenty of shots, Dany Sabourin was up to the task. He played a very strong first period, especially early when the Canes were flying around and producing plenty of opportunities.

Sidney Crosby picked up four more points...his third four point performance on the year. Funny how a couple weeks back everyone was worried about him having such a slow start. He has been red hot as of late and is giving Evgeni Malkin a run for his money in the scoring race.

Petr Sykora has now gone 43 games two games without a hat trick! Evgeni Malkin was working hard to get him the HT, but it wasn't meant to be.

Another great road win for the Penguins, which puts them at 8-3-2 away from Mellon Arena. They are on a record pace for road points this season.

More tomorrow...

Thoughts on the Second Period

An interesting period to say the least. The teams combined for five goals and an pretty entertaining period. The action has been back and forth, but the Canes just don't seem to have it tonight. The Penguins have 5 goals on only 14 shots and have swarmed Michael Leighton at every opportunity.

Petr Sykora was able to notch another power play goal, the 100th power play goal of his career. Sykora again finds himself looking for that elusive hat trick...he has 42 two-goal games under his belt and has yet to notch a third goal. Can tonight be his night? Why not...

Ruslan Fedotenko made his presence known by scoring the Penguins fifth goal. He has been much maligned this year, as he hasn't necessarily gotten off to the start he or anyone else would have hoped. I personally don't think he has gotten a ton of opportunities, but unfortunately he hasn't done enough with the ones he has gotten. He has skated with Crosby and Malkin at different times this year and only has five goals. Let's hope that the one he popped in this evening will get him going.

Tuomo Ruutu showed a lot of heart in answering a Penguins power play goal (on a Ruutu penalty) with a goal of his own. His offensive instincts came to the surface, as he took a pass, went backhand to forehand and threw a nice shot past Sabourin. The goal will go a long way towards showing his new coach what he brings to the table...it is a good thing to, since his two penalties came on bonehead plays.

Kris Letang made a very nice play to spring Sidney Crosby's line on what amounted to a three on two. He flipped the puck off of the boards and they were off and running. All three members of the line touched the puck as it looked to deflect in off of Chad Larose. The official scorer has given the goal to Crosby, but that will probably change to an assist.

The Canes may be wise to give Michael Leighton the rest of the evening off. He has not been sharp and could have done a better job of holding his team in this one...

After two, the Penguins lead 5-2. More post game...

Thoughts on the First Period

The Penguins came out of the gate flying, especially Evgeni Malkin who almost cashed in seconds into the game. Malkin picked the puck up in the neutral zone and came down the left wing boards with speed and rang a shot off of the cross bar behind Michael Leighton.

Chris Minard looks hungry. He is again looking much faster than he did last season and has worked hard during each of his shifts. One play comes to mind midway through the period. Minard took a pass in stride and kept his feet moving. He got himself clear behind the Canes defense and made a nice pass across the goalmouth. Unfortunately Matt Cooke's stick was tied up and he just missed knocking it behind Leighton. He is looking like a player who could fill a niche role for the Penguins. He definitely made the best of his 3:17 of ice time.

Janne Pesonen only received 1:44 of ice time. I just don't think he has had an opportunity to get into a groove at this level. He hasn't been very noticeable during his time on the ice. At this point he is the first guy back once Zigomanis is healthy.

Petr Sykora showed off his great wrist shot in scoring the Penguins first goal. He made a play in the neutral zone and the puck was turned back to the Canes zone. Sidney Crosby picked up the laundry and carried it across the blue line, Sykora sped into the offensive zone and set up for a shot. Crosby slid a beautiful pass across to him and he released a great rising shot while drifting backwards. The shot went against the grain and beat Leighton high over his left shoulder.

Speaking of Sidney Crosby, he is now sitting just 2 points behind Evgeni Malkin for the league's scoring lead. He picked up his second assist of the game compliments of former Penguins Joe Melichar. Unfortunately, Melichar showed off why he is no longer a Penguin in turning the puck over deep in his own zone. Pascal Dupuis made a nice play to steal the puck from him, fed it to Crosby, who quickly slid it back. Dupuis buried the puck and the Pens had a two goal lead. Melichar was the player who looked silly on the play, but it was really his defensive partner, Anton Babchuk who passed him the puck and went immediately to the bench. Melichar was left high and dry...

Dany Sabourin has looked strong, however he is looking shaky with pucks coming off of the back boards. It is the same way he was beaten last night and he came close a couple of times this evening thus far. Hopefully that doesn't come back to haunt him. He just isn't reacting well to those pucks...he seems almost surprised when they bounce quickly back to the front of the net.

The Penguins got themselves going with the man advantage and are 1-2 thus far.

More after the second...

* * * * *

Everything Old is New Again...Pens to Face Maurice Part Deux

The Penguins head into Carolina this evening to face a Hurricanes team that just hasn't been itself lately. Since hoisting the Stanley Cup back in 05-06 the 'Canes have been on the outside looking in during the Playoffs. As we all know, missing the playoffs, especially in successive years, is not an option once you have set a standard of winning. Ownership groups tend to budget considering a round or two of playoff revenue and when it doesn’t materialize something has got to break.

Thus, when they found themselves sitting in and around the 8th and final playoff spot at the quarter and a half pole, General Manager Jim Rutherford decided changes were in order. Rutherford replaced his current head coach, Peter Laviolette, with the guy who he originally replaced back in 03-04, Paul Maurice.

Maurice rejoins the Hurricanes as their all time leader in coaching victories with 268. He will be joined by former Penguins center, Ron Francis, who will serve as associate coach. Francis is has been praised in the past for assisting in the development of Eric Staal and now he will be able to work with the players on a daily basis.

A coaching change tends to give a team at least an initial burst and that doesn’t bode well for a Penguins team that has struggled over recent years against the Hurricanes. The Penguins have posted a 5-8-0 record against the ‘Canes since the 05-06 season and have not won a season series against the former Whalers since the 98-99 season.

Another thing that could play against the Penguins is the fact that they have to break up their third line. Tyler Kennedy will not be able to go due to an undisclosed injury, meaning that Jordan Staal may be centering a couple of new wingers.

Mike Zigomanis, according to the Penguins official site, is listed as probable. However, the Penguins may opt to hold him out based on the previously reported recall of Janne Pesonen and Chris Minard.

The Penguins official site also reports that Dany Sabourin will make his first back to back game start of the season. Sabourin, though allowing an occasional suspect goal, has been phenomenal for the team during Marc Andre Fleury’s absence.

Unfortunately, the team did not take a morning skate so we do not know the exact line-up, but it is worth noting that Marc Andre Fleury and Ryan Whitney did take the ice in Raleigh, NC this morning. Both seem to be making progress and some speculation says that Fleury could be back next week, with Whitney playing the week after.

Game Notes:

The Penguins sport an all-time record of 49-46-12 against the Hurricanes, with a 22-26-6 record on the road. The Penguins have dropped four in a row in Carolina.

This is the second of four meetings between the two teams this season, the Penguins took the first match up at Mellon Arena 4-1. Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby each post 1 G 1 A in the game.

Dany Sabourin is currently leading the league in goals against average at 1.84 and ranks fifth with a save percentage of .929.

Mark Eaton’s goal last night in New York was his first in 90 NHL games. The goal was the 17th of his career and it came in his 400th NHL game.

The Penguins will face Eastern Conference foes in their next 16 games. They do not meet an opponent from the Western Conference until January 8th, when they face the Nashville Predators.

Milestone Watch:

Pascal Dupuis is seven assists shy of reaching 100 in his career.
Petr Sykora needs two power-play goals to reach 100 in his career.
Marc-Andre Fleury is four wins away from tying Denis Herron for third all-time in wins (88) among Penguins’ goaltenders.
Jordan Staal is one goal shy of reaching 50 in his career and 13 games shy of playing in his 200th career game.
Rob Scuderi is eight games shy of appearing in his 250th career game while needing two penalty minutes to reach 100 in his career.
Miroslav Satan is four goals shy of reaching 350 in his career.
Philippe Boucher is nine goals shy of reaching 100 for his career.
Kris Letang is six games shy of playing in his 100th NHL game.
Michel Therrien is eight wins shy of winning his 200th NHL game.

Penguins Youtube of the day:

A very young Mario Lemieux hawks cars for a local dealership…