Another series of back to back games against New York teams. Last time the Penguins faced a 3 game stretch against NY clubs they went 3-0.This time however it's just the Isles and the Rangers, and we all know what happened on Long Island already.
When these two clubs met February 1st, the Pens went down 2-0 quick only to go and tally 3 goals in the second period starting with Dustin Jeffrey's to get the team tied 3-3 and head into Overtime. Dustin Jeffrey also tallied the game winning goal in the 7th round of a shootout against King Henrik Stunnedqvist. This game also featured a lot of Prust, and frankly I was tired of seeing him after the game. He scored the opening goal, fought with the king of Engelland, and got hit by Staal's left cross of justice and took a dive trying to get Staal suspended. Nice try Crusty.
The game saw forward Aaron Asham take a spill which led to his injury, one which is still keeping him out of the action tomorrow afternoon. When the Penguins faced this team last their injury woes were still there, only now they're increased with suspensions to two forwards, possibly Dan Bylsma, and at least 7 players including the last games hero Dustin Jeffrey on the Injury list. Craig Adams thankfully won't find himself on there, even after getting a little dinged up in the game last night against those garbage cans on Long Island.
Fleury stood tall last game and kept the Penguins alive after they had mounted their offensive in the second period. After Johnson let in 7 goals and Fleury 2 last night one can only hope that the Flower hasn't wilted because of the fiasco. Also due to last night it's fairly guaranteed Fleury will be in net against the Rags.
Not even going to begin to give you predictions on the lineups.
With the majority of our Centers out on injury and many of the Forwards also dead or on crutches, the Penguins are going to have to rely on their #1 P.K unit and All Star netminder Fleury again to win this game. Staying out of the box is also key, after last night it should be a no brainer.
The team practiced today on an outdoor rink in Central Park. They didn't arrive without incident however as the team bus was in an accident with another vehicle. The driver of the car in the accident had gotten out of his car with that typical "WTF" reaction. Until he saw a whole team of guys in hockey uniforms and sticks get off the Bus, then he backed off. Bylsma muses that he wonders if it was because he had heard there was a game last night. Mark Letestu injured himself during practice at MSG and we lost him for 4-6 weeks, maybe that's why Bylsma basically said "Nah... Lets go to the park." to avoid any other costly injuries. Here's to hoping there won't be a morning skate before tomorrows game just so we don't lose another player in N.Y.
Dupuis had a little quip about the incident; "It's a good thing we were wearing helmets."
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| Letang, Dupuis, Johnson, and Craig Adams looking for a cab after the accident. Are they next to Optimus Prime? |
Last time these two teams met they were a lot closer in the standings. Now they're 12 points apart and the Rangers appear to be playing themselves out of any type of contention. You'd think the Penguins wouldn't be in 3rd place in the league overall at 74points, let alone 3 points behind the Flyers for first place, but despite injuries they still find ways to keep the losses at bay.
Lets hope that happens tomorrow at MSG at 3:00pm when these two teams clash.
Lets Go Penguins!
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