The Penguins get back to work this evening at Mellon Arena, as they face-off against the Carolina Hurricanes. Though Carolina has had a rough go of it this season, they are definitely capable of beating the Penguins if they bring their "A" game. The Penguins will not make it easy for them, as they will be hitting the ice with close to their full contingent of players.
Sidney Crosby returned to practice this morning and will play in tonight's game after having missed Saturday night's match-up with the Chicago Blackhawks. Missing Saturday evening worked well timing wise, as the team was off on Sunday, thus giving Crosby an extra day to rest his wonky groin. The Penguins did a nice job of offsetting Crosby's absence Saturday night, but they aren't complaining about getting their captain back tonight.
"With the speed and the pace and what other teams have to bring to the table, when he’s out there playing his game 5-on-5 and on the power play it’s a different level than your average player coming back to the lineup," said head coach Dan Bylsma. "We’ll gladly insert him in his spot."
Though Crosby isn't 100%, he has gotten the pain to a manageable point.
"I'm in," Crosby said. "I've had a good couple days of rest and got it worked on. There's no more pain. That's all I really wanted to get rid of. I can deal with it right now."
In addition to the good news surrounding Crosby's injury the team also got a couple more wounded birds back. Alex Goligoski and Chris Kunitz each hit the ice with the team this morning. Though Dan Bylsma stated that Kunitz could have been as much as 10 days away from skating, the Penguins forward has actually been skating on his own for several days. He is not as close to making his return as Goligoski, but both should be getting back in the mix soon.
"They’re both progressing," Bylsma said. "Chris and Alex have been skating for a handful of days on their own. (Monday) was back with the team for the first day, both positive signs and both progressing with the help of (head athletic trainer) Chris Stewart and (team physical therapist) Mark Mortland. They’re on different time lines, but hopefully we’ll see Alex soon."
It has not been determined if Mark Letestu will be in the line-up this evening. He had a great game on Saturday night in winning plenty of face-offs and creating opportunities for his line-mates. He really seemed to have some chemistry with Ruslan Fedotenko, which translated in to one of Fedotenko's finest games in weeks.
Bylsma stated that the line-up will be a game time decision and that Letestu will hit the ice for the warm up.
The Penguins did catch a bit of a break in that they will not have to face Cam Ward this evening. Ward, who has been nursing an injury, is slated to make his return to the net on Wednesday night.
I will be live at Mellon Arena tonight bringing you all of the action. Please join me here or in the comments section. More when I arrive on scene!
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It seems that Rod Brind'amour is a healthy scratch for the Hurricanes this evening...could Paul Maurice be sending a message to his team by scratching its captain?
Mark Letestu did get the scratch tonight...with Kunitz skating with the team, wouldn't be surprised to see him sent back down following the game tonight.
I didn't realize that Marty Lapointe was scouting these days...he is taking in this game for the Chicago Blackhawks.
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The coaches put the Staal brothers out there for the opening face-off. Jordan takes the early advantage by winning the draw.
There was also a pretty neat ceremony prior to the face-off, as two soldiers that were deployed in Iraq when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup presented Ray Shero with the flag that flew on their base the day it was hoisted... Very cool...
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The Penguins are working some magic in the offensive zone early in the period, though they have yet to beat goaltender Manny Legace. Both Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby have made some great plays with the puck .
For all the magic that the Penguins worked, they just watched as Andrew Alberts got himself free around the goal. He took the puck, made a couple of moves before sliding the puck into the open cage. Marc Andre Fleury was down and out and didn't see to have any chance at the puck. The Canes are 0-10-3 on the road this season and they look like that first goal has them feeling a victory...
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Some sloppy puck work by the Penguins just turned into a break out for the Canes. They came very close to scoring their second goal of the game, but MAF was on task when it came to getting across his crease to smother the puck.
1-0 Canes...
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Max Talbot is flying tonight. He just has an extra hop in his step that isn't always there. He is getting to all of the loose pucks and showing a deft passing touch as he creates some space for Crosby and Bill Guerin.
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Evgeni Malkin just galloped through the neutral zone and almost got himself behind the defense. Somehow he was whistled for holding along the way and the Canes are on the PP...
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Jussi Jokinen just walked through the Penguins defense, made a nice little move that brought Fleury into his splits and shot the puck past him into the goal.
2-0 Canes...
On the play, Jay McKee was whistled for holding... the Canes got the entire two minutes because they were already on the PP... they goal on the delay didn't eliminate the McKee call...
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The Canes have come out of the gates flying...they are now outshooting the Penguins 11-6 and are controlling the play for long stretches. The Birds had better shake the funk and get down to business. Not only are the Canes still searching for their first road win, but they probably want some retribution for the way that the Penguins manhandled them in the playoffs last year.
Still 2-0 Canes...
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Well, Bill Guerin and Tim Gleason just locked horns... can it swing the MO??? We will see. The two squared off right off the face-off and Gleason immediately landed some big shots. Guerin got him down and threw some jack rabbit rights before the officials separated the two of them.
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The Penguins seemed to get some inspiration from the fight, but none more so than Kris Letang. Letang singlehandedly controlled the puck in the offensive zone, passing to teammates and getting shots towards the net. Unfortunately they were not able to capitalize on the chances he created.
The Penguin finally got their first chance on the power play and several tipped shots just went wide. They will have :46 seconds to work with in the second period.
After one period the Penguins trail the Canes 2-0, but closed the gap in shots finishing the period with 8. They also held the Canes without a shot for the close to the final four minutes of the period.
Manny Legace has made all of the saves he has had too, however the Penguins have made it easy on him. They have tipped multiple shots wide of the goal and his defense has also blocked 9 Penguins attempts.
Crosby and Malkin each had some moments in the period, but they have yet to find the right set up to produce a goal.
Max Talbot has looked good, as I stated earlier. Hopefully his energy will produce some offense.
Mike Rupp is also having a nice game, though he has missed a couple of opportunities to bury rebounds. He has already taken shifts with both Crosby and Malkin.
The Penguins escaped a period in which they could have surrendered even more goals, so they have to be thrilled with the 2 goal deficit and it is certainly isn't insurmountable.
The Canes are outhitting the Penguins 12-5 after one...which speaks to why the game has played out the way it has. When the Birds are playing their game, they are bringing the physical play and leading in the hits department.
The crowd here at Mellon Arena is not very inspired...they need to pick it up as well...
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The Canes came out and killed the remaining time on the Penguins power play. They promptly got the offense going again and Ray Whitney threw a shot past Fleury on the short side. 3-0 Canes... Not a very good goal and one that I am sure Marc would love to have back. He just hasn't looked like himself tonight...
The team actually looks a bit unprepared or lethargic. They are also overpassing the puck...several times into the zone they have made an additional pass that has killed the play instead of shooting. Malkin did it moments before the Canes goal. He took a pass in the slot from Crosby, but tried to force another pass rather than shooting the puck on Legace...
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Jordan Staal just came within an inch of putting the Penguins on the board. He took a pass from Matt Cooke, one timing it off of the right post.
Still 3-0 Canes...
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Bill Guerin just created space and flipped the puck into an area where Sidney Crosby could one time it. Sid fought through traffic and chopped at the puck sending it past Legace, who didn't seem to expect as strong a shot...
3-1 Canes...
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Moments later the Penguins were on the attack again and the Canes came close to getting the puck cleared. They weren't able to get it out of the zone and the puck came loose to Mike Rupp in the left circle, where he fired a wrister through Legace's five hole...
3-2 Canes...
Paul Maurice immediately called his time out to try and take some of the electricity out of this building and to settle his team down...
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The Penguins are really pressing for the equalizer... you can sense that it is on the horizon. The building is now fully alive and there is a certain energy flowing that wasn't there earlier in the evening...
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The Penguins were pressing in the offensive zone and Eric Staal ended up being called for a slash.
Penguins back on the power play...
Manny Legace just robbed Bill Guerin...Guerin had a wide open cage and Legace threw himself across the crease in desperation...Guerin's shot glanced off of his stick and over the net.
Moments later, Evgeni Malkin was whistled for high sticking, wiping out the rest of the power play...
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Fleury is finally settling into his game and just made a huge stop to keep this a one goal game...
The Birds have picked up the physicality and have outhit the Canes 12-10 thus far in the period...
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Two periods in the books and the Penguins have gotten themselves back into this one. They were trailing 3-0 at one point, but scored rapid fire goals from Sidney Crosby and Mike Rupp in the span of :49 seconds putting the Canes on their heels.
The Penguins upgraded their physical play and with it gained control of the game. It is a staple of their system and when they aren't hitting, moving their feet and creating turnovers, they are typically losing...
Marc Andre Fleury seems to have settled down and made a couple of big saves to keep this a one goal game.
As I said above, you just get a vibe that the equalizer is on the way and based on what I have seen here I would say that it is going to come off of the stick of Sidney Crosby...
The Penguins outshot the Canes 15-4 in the second period...
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Congratulations Marty Brodeur on tying the all-time shut out record! He just beat the Sabres 3-0...
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The Penguins are buzzing around the offensive zone, but they are unable to to get that equalizer to this point. In the meantime, the Canes are starting to shoot the puck from all over the ice again...
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The Birds just got the break that they have been waiting for. Matt Cullen was whistled for hooking putting the Pens back on the power play...
3-2 Canes 13:47 remaining...
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The Penguins haven't been able to get anything going on the power play. Evgeni Malkin seems as if he is afraid to shoot the puck... just been shying away from releasing his slapper for some time now. Not sure what the problem is...
The Canes got the kill... back to even strength. The best chance that the Penguins had was a late one in which Gonchar unleashed a blast from the point...Legace snared it with his trapper and held for the face-off...
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Mark Eaton was just whistled for hooking...the Canes could sew this one up with a goal...
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Though the Penguins have put 28 shots on goal tonight, it is worth noting that they have had 14 others blocked.
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The chances are there, but the boys can't seem to do anything with them. The puck is popping over stick blades and getting lost in feet... time is starting to get away from the Birds a bit with 7:28 remaining...
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Martin Skoula was just whistled for holding... the third holding call of the evening for the Penguins...
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