Penguins vs Rangers Game 58 match 5 of 6.

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."

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!

Tim Wallace reassigned to the Penguins from AHL Wilkes-Barre.

Well didn't think it would take too long before a call up was made. Was just a matter of who it was going to be, the info just came off the presses and it looks like Tim "I want to call him William" Wallace is on his way to N.Y for the battle against the Rangers at 3:00pm tomorrow.

Wallace didn't get much production in the 2 previous games he appeared in however he did get into a fight, and as we all know, the Penguins do that more than anybody in the league. This game though Tim, why don't we try for an assist or a goal on the board instead of 5 minutes in the box.

Nikolai Khabibulin and Chris Neil get into it. Goalies (not) fighting everywhere.

So apparently the past 2 weeks Brent Johnson has made a trend of Goalies not taking anything from anybody. Khabibulin and Neil get into a little bit of a spat today during the Sens vs Oilers game. Apparently Neil kept his cool and I haven't seen any footage yet but this is the fourth altercation involving a goalie in 2 weeks. Brent Johnson vs DiPietro, Tim Thomas vs Carey Price, Brent Johnson vs Haley, and now Khabibulin and Neil.

***Update*** So still no footage but heres some photos of them jawing. In so far as I know, there were no fighting majors listed, so I suppose you can't really call this one a goalie fight, but it definitely still stands, that goalies are not taking any crap from skaters lately.

Good trend I guess for the excitement of it all, but really Johnson is the only one actually hitting people and taking hits.

Talk about an Empty bench.

So what happens after 346 penalty minutes, 14 fighting majors and 21 misconducts? Your bench looks just about this depleted, and the penalty minutes list is this long:

1st Period Summary

Time		Penalty Detail
2:37		Micheal Haley: 2 Minutes for Roughing Zbynek Michalek
10:22		Micheal Haley: 5 Minute Major for Fighting Craig Adams
10:22		Craig Adams: 5 Minute Major for Fighting Micheal Haley
14:33		Travis Hamonic: 2 Minutes for Hooking Mike Rupp
15:51		2 Minute Bench Penalty for Too Many Men on the Ice (Served by Eric Tangradi)
17:56		Eric Godard: 5 Minute Major for Fighting Trevor Gillies
17:56		Trevor Gillies: 5 Minute Major for Fighting Eric Godard
20:00		John Tavares: 2 Minutes for Slashing Kris Letang

2nd Period Summary

Time		Penalty Detail
5:21		Josh Bailey: 5 Minute Major for Fighting Pascal Dupuis
5:21		Josh Bailey: 10 Minute Game Misconduct
5:21		Pascal Dupuis: 5 Minute Major for Fighting Josh Bailey
5:21		Pascal Dupuis: 10 Minute Game Misconduct
5:21		Travis Hamonic: 5 Minute Major for Fighting Mike Rupp
5:21		Mike Rupp: 5 Minute Major for Fighting Travis Hamonic
5:21		Mike Rupp: 10 Minute Game Misconduct
5:21		Deryk Engelland: 2 Minutes for Roughing Matt Martin
5:21		Deryk Engelland: 10 Minute Game Misconduct Matt Martin
5:21		Travis Hamonic: 10 Minute Game Misconduct
5:21		Matt Martin: 2 Minutes for Instigator Deryk Engelland
5:21		Matt Martin: 5 Minute Major for Fighting Maxime Talbot (Served by Trevor Gillies)
5:21		Matt Martin: 10 Minute Game Misconduct
5:21		Matt Martin: 10 Minute Misconduct
7:51		Frans Nielsen: 2 Minutes for Slashing Alex Goligoski
17:20		Eric Godard: 2 Minutes for Roughing Jack Hillen
17:30		Zbynek Michalek: 2 Minutes for Slashing Michael Grabner

3rd Period Summary

Time		Penalty Detail
1:19		Brooks Orpik: 2 Minutes for Charging Kyle Okposo
1:19		Kyle Okposo: 2 Minutes for Roughing Brooks Orpik
4:47		Brent Johnson: 5 Minute Major for Fighting Micheal Haley (Served by Marc-Andre Fleury)
4:47		Eric Godard: 2 Minutes for Roughing Micheal Haley
4:47		Eric Godard: 10 Minute Game Misconduct
4:47		Eric Godard: 2 Minutes for Roughing Micheal Haley
4:47		Eric Godard: 10 Minute Game Misconduct
4:47		Maxime Talbot: 5 Minute Major for Fighting Micheal Haley
4:47		Craig Adams: 2 Minutes for Roughing Trevor Gillies
4:47		Craig Adams: 10 Minute Game Misconduct
4:47		Micheal Haley: 2 Minutes for Instigator Eric Godard
4:47		Micheal Haley: 5 Minute Major for Fighting Brent Johnson
4:47		Micheal Haley: 5 Minute Major for Fighting Maxime Talbot
4:47		Micheal Haley: 10 Minute Game Misconduct
4:47		Micheal Haley: 10 Minute Misconduct
4:47		Trevor Gillies: 2 Minutes for Roughing Eric Tangradi
4:47		Trevor Gillies: 2 Minutes for Roughing Eric Tangradi
4:47		Trevor Gillies: 5 Minute Major for Elbowing Eric Tangradi (Served by Jesse Joensuu)
4:47		Trevor Gillies: 10 Minute Game Misconduct
4:47		Trevor Gillies: 10 Minute Misconduct
12:12		Brett Sterling: 2 Minutes for Roughing Kyle Okposo
12:12		Kyle Okposo: 2 Minutes for Goalkeeper Interference Brent Johnson
12:40		Tyler Kennedy: 2 Minutes for Holding Frans Nielsen
16:04		Zenon Konopka: 2 Minutes for Roughing Maxime Talbot
16:04		Maxime Talbot: 2 Minutes for Roughing Zenon Konopka
16:04		Maxime Talbot: 10 Minute Misconduct
16:04		Kyle Okposo: 2 Minutes for Roughing Kris Letang
16:04		Zenon Konopka: 10 Minute Misconduct
16:04		2 Minute Bench Penalty for Too Many Men on the Ice (Served by Jesse Joensuu)
16:04		Kris Letang: 2 Minutes for Roughing Kyle Okposo
16:04		Kris Letang: 10 Minute Misconduct
16:04		Kyle Okposo: 10 Minute Misconduct
16:12		Brett Sterling: 10 Minute Misconduct Jack Hillen
16:12		Jack Hillen: 10 Minute Misconduct Brett Sterling
17:43		Andrew MacDonald: 2 Minutes for Cross checking Joe Vitale
17:43		Joe Vitale: 2 Minutes for Cross checking Andrew MacDonald
17:43		Andrew MacDonald: 5 Minute Major for Fighting Joe Vitale
17:43		Joe Vitale: 5 Minute Major for Fighting Andrew MacDonald
17:58		Ryan Craig: 2 Minutes for Cross checking Frans Nielsen (Served by Alex Goligoski)
17:58		Ryan Craig: 10 Minute Misconduct

So you think TK might of been a little bored there? Granato looked like he wanted to lace up and hit an Islander also. Here is hoping Bylsma doesn't get suspended but he probably will for a game, until then, Free Bylsma 2011.

Penguins vs Islanders... Hate fueled rant? Nah. Game Recap

My God...

346 Penalty minutes, from 14 fighting majors, and 21 game misconducts. What the hell...? I said the Isles were expecting to get physical, but this was an all out brawl Royal Rumble style.

 "The first half of the game, was a hockey game." said Dan Bylsma during the post game press conference, "The second half of the game, was not. I certainly did not anticipate the third period looking like that." When Bylsma was asked if he expected the game in April to be similar, "It's tough to forget a game like that." Hopefully, we don't get another fiasco like the show in Long Island last night when the Penguins go back April 8th, it was a disgrace.

Between Gilles at the end of the game taunting an injured and concussed Tangradi, Martin making a run at Talbot near center ice trying to sucker punch him, the slash on Letangs right knee before the end of the first period, the fact that the Islanders kept taunting Fleury in the 2nd period and coming down and giving him crap, OR the fact that they did run Johnson into the net twice, one time taking out both him and Letang, but this game pissed me off to new heights.


Gilles taunting Tangradi, fan filmed:


Right out the gate in the first period, it looked like we were going to be treated to a long, cold night on Long Island, and that could not have been more true. Speaking of gates, by the end of the game, an iron gate was put up in the runway between locker rooms. The Isles came out tough, as was expected, there was good hitting in the first, but unfortunately for the Penguins, there was a lot of offense... 4 goals by the Isles they slipped passed Johnson in the first. Talk about getting revenge for a fight. Johnson did stop a penalty shot but that's basically about the extent of Johnson's saves.

Sadly that wasn't it. When the second period begins, we're barely three minutes into it before 2 more goals are scored. After an all line scrum, Bylsma decides to put Fleury in, and honestly, I have absolutely no idea why he even bothered to shake Fleury's confidence. As expected, the Isles were not going to let up in this game and they end up dumping 2 more past Fleury himself. The Penguins did get 2 goals off of a 5 minute Power Play after the first all team scrum. Letang and Staal tallied the power play goals.

In the video above you basically get the run down of all the fights, penalties, the cheap run, everything. You also get the Tangradi hit that leads to his concussion symptoms, and the fact that Gilles is a complete and utter asshole. You also see Haley and Johnson fight, as Big Brent Johnson will fight you if you come at him, I can only presume that was the other reason why Disco Dan put BBJ back in the net, the first being to save Fleury from these animals.

After the second all line scrum and another 5 minute power play situation for the Penguins. Tyler Kennedy scores another goal, whoopdedoo it's 8-3. The fighting didn't end after the second all team scrum. Vitale got into it at the end, in what was literally the longest Pens game of the regular season so far, that didn't go into overtime. I blame the ref's and coaches not knowing what to do with who was left.

By the end of this game I think the Penguins had about 2 guys on the bench, 5 guys on the ice, with guys in the box through the whole game basically. Despite all of that, Vitale still threw down, I guess he was feeling left out.

So Thursday Bylsma receives his 100th win as a Penguin's coach. Friday night Bylsma is treated to a $10,000.00 fine and is under review for an automatic Suspension. He watched his team fall into utter disarray until Goddard spared him anymore punishment by leaping off the bench to 'save' Johnson, who doesn't need saving. Goddard gets an automatic 10 game suspension and Bylsma is asked to leave. Not too big of a deal I guess considering Godard hasn't performed well and only basically instigates at this point, we have Engelland for that. Tangradi, as I said above suffered a hit in the final minutes of the third period, and is suffering from concussion type symptoms. This means that the Penguins have lost 2 more forwards and have already made an extra call up from Wilkes-Barre for tomorrow's afternoon game against the Rangers.


The good news? Talbot and crew don't seem to be too dejected from this game, as they were all smiles riding in the Cab's to Central Park to practice on an outdoor rink today. The team dressed at MSG but after their bus encountered an accident had to get off and get the cabs. Hard birthday for Talbot last night but he's a hockey player and he'll get over it.

I leave you with Steigerwalds disgust at this game. One of Steigerwalds finer moments, especially after the first period he said P.A Parentaeu was his friggen boy. Steiggy...

Penguins vs Islanders game 57. Islanders look to get physical.

So we meet again, Islanders. Didn't particularly like the end of the last game did you? When Brent Johnson came out and laid down the law against your goalie, now you are on your 5th goalie of the season, and this one isn't named Evgeni. Mikko Koskinen should be in net for the Islanders tonight, another Rookie goaltender that will be starting for them this year, however it is rumored a 6th goalie may start for the Islanders, Al Montoya who was recalled from the AHL today. Kevin Poulin suffered a season ending knee injury during warmups of their previous game.

Both of these teams are absolutely riddled with injuries, there are more holes in these line-ups than a 1lb of Swiss Cheese. The Penguins are skating without eight of their players. Seven of which are out on injury, the other being Matt Cooke, who is serving his 2nd of a 4 game suspension tonight against the Islanders. The most recent and one of the more devastating injuries is one to Dustin Jeffrey who was just coming into his own for this Penguins team. He did not travel to Long Island and is being evaluated by team doctors.

After winning again last night Marc Andre Fleury is 8-2-0 in his last 10 games. He continues to be a force in net after a slow start early on in the first 10 games or so. Fleury has gotten a lot of help from teammates this season in the crease but still stands tall behind his brick wall.



However tonight looks to have Brent Johnson in net against a team that he forwent a shutout on, only to tally a big time K.O and face demolition of DiPietro instead at the end of the game. It probably felt better than any shutout.

With the 14 or so injuries suffered by both teams, the line-ups for the Penguins without Jeffrey may look like this, but could change come game time:

Tyler Kennedy - Jordan Staal - Pascal Dupuis
Mike Rupp - Maxime Talbot - Chris Conner
Brett Sterling - Joe Vitale - Nick Johnson
Ryan Craig - Craig Adams - Eric Tangradi

 The Penguins will be facing one of two possible goalies that they haven't seen before. Historically when this is the case, the Pen's offense doesn't seem to do too well when they haven't faced a goalie before, and that goalie usually ends up playing out of their minds for 60minutes or more. Recently however the Penguins have shutout the Islanders in back to back games, 1-0 and 3-0 respectively.

We're in for another long night in Long Island but hey... Lets go Pens!

Dustin Jeffrey suffers lower body injury, out tonight against Isles. Eric Tangradi called up from Scranton.

Jeffrey suffered a lower body injury to his right leg in the third period of last nights game against the Kings. Jeffrey did not travel with the team to Long Island as he his staying in Pittsburgh for evaluation. It is unknown yet the extent of the injury but he most likely will join a list of depleted team members consisting of Sidney Crosby, (16th game), (Y)Evgeni Malkin, (8th game since knee soreness prior to MCL/ACL long term IR) Mark Letestu, (7th game) Aaron Asham, (6th game) Chris Kunitz (3rd game), and Mike Comrie, who has been on Injured Reserve since December 10th, missing his 41st total game of the season.

Jeffrey was making a statement for himself as a sure fill in for a long time on this Penguins roster, hopefully his injury is not severe and he can rejoin the team when they face the Rangers on Sunday.

As a result of Jeffrey not being able to make the trip to Long Island, Eric "Big Dog" Tangradi was called up to do battle with the Islanders. The team he did best against in his three game stint with the Penguins before being called back down to Wilkes-Barre.

Kings Vs Penguins Recap. Quit Staaling and Score already.

Dan Bylsma. 100 career wins, and it came in overtime off the stick of a persistent Jordan Staal, but this victory like others, has a price. It started however, with a little boost from some new fresh faces. The Penguins had been held to just one goal in the previous 120 minutes of hockey, and the goal didn't come until the third period against Columbus by Tyler Kennedy. This game however, would not have a similar feel to it.

Right out of the gate in the first period the Penguins had a lot of energy, most of which they may have burned out during the course of the period as the action slowed in the late 2nd and 3rd periods. It didn't take long to open up the scoring action, however the Kings were trying to be the first ones on the board. Zybenek Michalek had other plans however and makes not one, but two goal saving stops in the crease for a beaten Fleury.

Not but 30 seconds later on another offensive series, Jeffrey, from a Nick Johnson pass, coming around the back of the net along the corner boards, cuts to the face off circle, dishes the puck off to Sterling who fires it into the back of the net off the top glove corner for a 1-0 Penguin lead after 6:53 had expired in the first. An all Wilkes-Barre Scranton goal for the first of the night, and the crowd loves it.

That facial expression? The feeling of being the greatest man alive.

Los Angeles would not be stifled however, as they charged again and again. Michalek had to make yet another crease stop, his second of the period to keep the game at 1-0. However with 17:17 expired off the clock the Kings were able to get one past Fleury finally off of J. Stoll's stick. It begs to question, how many people thought Stoll was Stall all night long during officiating. End of the first.

The second period was pretty much just about uneventful except for a couple of good scraps. Deryk Engelland decided to show Los Angeles who the real King was by knocking off the crown of Kevin Westgarth. Reclaiming his seat upon the throne as the King of Engelland. These two tussle for a while and Engelland takes a series of body blows to the pads, no big deal, and delivers quite a few blasts to the face.

Ryan Craig, not to be out shone in the spotlight decided he was going to man up and try to beat someones ass. That someone was Wayne Simmonds. The two got into a pretty good scrap after some pre-bout stretches. Craig throws a series of good blows but only connects a few, over all though Craig is pretty much the winner in this bout.


You could call that the end of the 2nd period.

The third period for all intents and purposes didn't exist, with the exception of Dustin Jeffrey experiencing an injury that he left the game for, and also will not play on Long Island tonight, and for the final 2 seconds where Jordan begins his persistent rush to finish out this game. With time ticking away, wrapping around behind the goal Staal tries to slide one in at the feet of Quick against the post, he gets denied, we go to Overtime.

4 on 4 hockey for 5 minutes and we're going to decide a winner and who gets their 2 points without losing a point in the conference. Tick tick, tick tick, tick tick, thats the sound of time running out as the Penguins fail to capitalize on several chances, mostly generated by Jordan Staal. However on what seems like his 1000th charge to the net this overtime period, Staal finally gets one home after he takes the puck away in the neutral zone.

The goal was so devastating that Quick dies on impact.

Game over, and like always Dupuis celebrates like he won the lottery when all he did was assist the goal. Still love Dupuis for his hustle.

Great way to earn 2 points, great way to break in the Baby Penguins, great way to break the curse of the 2011 winter classic jersey's as well as a 2 game losing streak, and a great 100th victory for Dan Bylsma.

Pens face the Isles tonight on Long Island at 7pm on FSN.

Kings vs Penguins Gameday 56

The Penguins will face a L.A Kings team that is 5-0-1 in their previous six games, has an all star center in Kopitar, a goalie in Johnathan Quick who has won his five previous games, and a team not nearly wracked with as many injuries. The Kings are facing a team that has lost three of its centers for months or a season, missing three forwards including Chris Kunitz who is 4th on the team in points, missing Matt Cooke for four games due to suspension, and has lost it's two previous games.

Penalty Killing and Goaltending have been the key factors leading to many of the recent Penguin victories. Even when the team lets in 2 goals in some instances they will battle back off of Fleury's netminding to keep the team in the game. Capitalizing on scoring opportunities and staying out of the box will be big things the Penguins need to work on in this game.

Will the four new Wilkes-Barre boys fit into the action? They had better because they're playing the same system. The four new call ups will join Dustin Jeffrey tonight against the Kings. Jeffrey has filled in fantastically for the Penguins at Center. Creating all the quality opportunities you would expect, scoring chances, face off wins, goals, assists, the kid can do it all and he is developing nicely and fits right into where we need him, which so far has been on basically every line.

Possible Line ups for tonight's game are:
Dupuis-Staal-Kennedy
Rupp-Talbot-Conner
Craig-Vitale-Adams
Sterling-Jeffrey-N.Johnson/Godard

Marc Andre Fleury will be between the pipes for the penguins, and he is trying to snap a 2 game losing streak.

Lets do it Pens.

Penguins Injury news for 2-10-11

Just some quick updates on a few players who are still out.

Chris Kunitz is out for about the next 4-6 days with his lower body injury. It's still unknown what the actual extent of the injury is but Chris will be out of action until next week.

Evgeni Malkin underwent successful knee surgery and is expected back in 6 months for training camp.

Sidney Crosby arrived in Pittsburgh today and was immediately hounded by press in the locker room.



He says he's better but still isn't practicing full time. Doctors told him to skip town, no surprise there really. Still no timetable for when he'll be returning. Some Penguins fans frustrations are starting to reach a boiling point regarding the Crosby situation, however patience must be taken into account while he heals up.

Arron Asham is still out with his injury to the upper body and was not practicing today and is still not expected to return any time soon.

Big shoes to fill for the 4 boys from Wilkes-Barre coming into the lineup tonight.

Can you even call this a Goalie Fight?

I guess for all intents and purposes this is a Goalie Fight. It isn't much of a "fight" though. Price goes for a punch, Thomas goes for the takedown, but Price gets Thomas's shirt over his head and it's game over within about 3 seconds. Just like Johnson's fight only this time not as exciting or manly and brutal.



Tim Thomas just looks too old trying to fight. Too old. This was one hell of a hockey game though in Beantown. like 6 goals in the 2nd period alone. Check the highlights and see for yourself.

Pens call up four new WBS Penguins to NHL line up this morning.

Around 9am four new Wilkes-Barre Scranton Pens got the call up to action for the NHL. Nick Johnson, Brett Sterling, Ryan Craig, and Joe Vitale.

Nick is the leading scorer for the WBS Pens.He has tallied 20G 19A and 10 PP goals.

Ryan Craig has 13G and 20A in 49 games.

Brett Sterling is tied with Johnson at 39points 18G 21A.

Vitale has produced as well putting up 8 goals but also 19 assists.

 After Wallace and Tangradi went back to WBS yesterday it was questioned if Kunitz or Asham were coming back but as of practice this morning neither took the ice. These four gentleman will be plugged into the appropriate roles against the King's tonight. Since the entire team isn't too up to speed on the King's game, extra meetings are scheduled to go over tendencies and strategy. 

Welcome back to the big time Baby Pens.

Evgeni Malkin to undergo surgery for torn ACL and MCL. Out 6 months.

Malkin is gone for the next 6 months. He will be back in time to report for training camp in September but the Penguins are without his services for the remainder of this season. There was a delay in deciding whether to go into surgery or not while the knee lost some of it's swelling, but the rehab option isn't there so he will have to go under the knife tomorrow.

Injury woes continue for the Penguins, but hopefully will end soon as the dawn of Crosby comes back over the horizon.

Two Baby Pens sent back to Wilkes-Barre.

Eric Tangradi and Tim Wallace are recalled back to WBS Penguins today, but the pair could very well be called up again tomorrow back to the Penguins. It is unknown yet whether Aaron Asham and Chris Kunitz are ready to play yet so the move could only be a temporary one to work out cap concerns. I wouldn't go out on a limb just yet and say that Kunitz and Asham are ready for action based on this move, as there are other prospects like Nick Johnson who could get called up to play for the Pens.

Tangradi still only has 2 points in the 13 games he's played for the Penguins, not producing any points himself in the games he's played filling in, he did however create opportunities for the other linemates. Wallace has not produced in either game with the exception of a fight in his first game back. Still though, keep an eye out tomorrow to see if these two have to drive back to Pittsburgh from Scranton or if they're staying put.

Matt Suspended 4 games for Cooking.

So there it is. The hit that cost us another winger for 4 games. A hit that Cooke shouldn't of made, but shouldn't of been suspended 4 games for either. What is this the NFL where we pick on the Pittsburgh team for being too aggressive? It was a charging call, that Tyutin knew was coming, Bylsma even saw it in his eyes that he knew it was coming. Gets up uninjured and plays every subsequent shift.

Yet we're stuck without Cooke for 4 games. Add that onto a long list of Injury names and pretty soon one of us is going to be out there playing forward for the Penguins. Kunitz going down last night with his lower body injury, Asham being out, Testu, Crosby, Malkin on long term and now Cookie out for 4 games, leaves this team in terrible shape and puts even more of a daunting task on them to play .500 hockey down the stretch.

Cooke knows what he's doing, he knew what he did there, and he knew he caused even more trouble by starting a fight after the hit. He should of slowed up and not even taken the penalty. They spot each other before Cooke is even at the faceoff circles and they still collide and Cooke still leaves his feet to make the hit. A lot of time to dial down the speed, a lot of time to decide not to take the penalty, but the choices are made, and now he sits.

Ton's of people everywhere are screaming for Cooke's banishment from the frozen lands of the NHL. Others, mostly Penguins supporters, say that the suspension is too much for the penalty. No matter what side of the fence you sit on the fact remains, stupid penalty during a game full of stupid mistakes and short comings, leads to a suspension and even more detriment to the Penguins.

The clouds will clear and the sun will shine again soon on the Penguins, but can they survive until then?

Blue Jackets vs Penguins Recap Game 55. Ugh.

Well.

Where to start. Cooke hit that guy up there, then gets 5 minutes in the box for Cooking. Basically checking from behind, boarding, left his feet, it was bad play central. Story of the night for the Penguins. Series after series turnovers, not developing the plays or missed opportunities. The ones that did come weren't capitalized on, leaving many to question where the offense has gone. Part of that could of been the absence of Chris Kunitz who is now day to day with a lower body injury and did not start in this game. There is no word yet as to the extent of the injury to Kunitz.

It's hard to lose a game, but it's especially hard to lose a game against a team you've recently beaten 7-2, and resides in Columbus, Ohio, however if you don't capitalize on the opportunities you will not win the games. The plays were there but they just weren't making them and it doesn't look good for where the Penguins are headed.

Though all they have to do is play .500 hockey or better at this point to get into the playoffs, so what does a playoff team do to get ready for the playoffs? Well first and foremost the team needs to get healthy and the clouds surrounding Sidney Crosby need to dissipate. The team needs the spotlight lifted off of them and their roster for a little while too but until after the trade deadline and Crosby gets back it's unlikely that will change.

Columbus came out like they said they would, out for blood. Bit into the Penguins jugular and were it not for Tyler Kennedy's life-support goal in the 3rd period, the Penguins would of been left reeling after being shutout in back to back games.

Lovejoy fought early on in the game, if you could really call it a win for him, and took it down with a jersey pull. He took a lot of punches just standing there before he actually got to the pull down.

Eric Goddard fought in the third period and you can really get a look at his fist getting ready to impact face.

Still though, the energy wasn't there tonight. The crowd wasn't energetic from the start like in Columbus, and you could tell there is still a lot of gloom hanging over the heads of people in the Burgh', not to mention all across the globe if you're a fan of any shade of the black and gold.Fans need to keep their heads up though as the team is not out of the Cup chase and the season is not over.

Next game is against the Kings at home on Thursday. Bounce back and avoid that 3rd straight L.

Blue Jackets vs Penguins Gameday 55

Last time these two teams met it was during the great invasion of Columbus on December 4th.



Not being in attendance at that particular game I can't give you the exact numbers, but I'd say there were probably all 200 Columbus fans in attendance and the rest were Penguins fans. The game ended as a 7-2 rout by the Pens including 2 goals by Crosby and 2 goals by Martin, back when he did that sort of thing.

Now the Penguins will actually face the Blue Jackets at home and they are expecting the CBJ's to be out for blood. Pretty natural reaction after a 7-2 trouncing in your arena with all of the opposite teams fan's in attendance. This time things are a little bit different however, the Blue Jackets aren't facing a team in the middle of a high powered streak. They aren't doing battle against a team with Crosby and Geno, or even Letestu, last time the Pens were only wondering when Jordan would quit Staaling and get back out into action. The Jackets are going to be facing a team with 3 WBS Pens called up to play, 3 high caliber scoring forwards out of the action, and hopefully a team highly ticked off by the 3-0 goose egg laid in D.C

There were thoughts that a few line changes would be coming this game for the Penguins after Bylsma had mentioned in the past couple press conferences about possibly not seeing Dupuis and Kunitz on the same lines among other changes he had planned. Those changes didn't reflect in the practice line up as we were still treated to the usual set up:

Kunitz-Jeffrey-Dupuis
Cooke-Staal-Kennedy
Rupp-Talbot-Conner
Wallace-Adams-Tangradi/Godard

Between the pipes for the Penguins? You should see Marc Andre Fleury.

Coincidentally this is basically the only photo of Fleury in net against CBJ last game, aside form the celebration.

Pens look to bounce back from their loss in D.C and start the week strong. Welcome aboard everyone from the Steelers fanbase who remembered it was hockey season. There is a lot of room on the bandwagon but keep the trade rumors to yourselves.

Lets go Pens!

Talk about a bad day in Pittsburgh.

I don't even really want to write much about yesterday but I figure I may as well offer some kind of opinion. Too many mistakes, way too many. Typical Steeler football in the Superbowl's of recent memory, only this time they were facing a much more dominant team. Turnovers always rule the day and in the end like always, defense won a championship. Only it wasn't the Steeler defense that we know and expect to win these games. Being down by 3, you feel like you're going to get back into the swing of things and bring the trophy home to Pittsburgh.

Unfortunately penalties and lack of discipline result in a game ending drive allowing the Packers to kneel down in victory formation and celebrate. Was it because we all had this sense of self entitlement? The fans of Pittsburgh, including myself, come to expect championships now, and perhaps this was the wake up call. Roethlisberger just wasn't making all the right decisions, he made several good ones, but the ones he didn't make were costly every time. Including one where he missed his check down which would of gone for a first down and extended a drive that otherwise fizzled out.

Injuries all over the field on both sides, but in the end Green Bay's defense would not relent. Without Woodson his backup continued to blitz just as if Woodson were on the field. Clay Matthews forced a fumble on Mendenhall and really I was expecting him to cause one somewhere, sadly I have to give him credit he's some kind of freakish athlete.

I guess I feel less bias because I'm still just shocked at the fact that the Steelers didn't win. Unfortunately I was one of the people who basically expected the Steelers to win, had no concern over Green Bay and was just left stunned by the fact that they couldn't pull it off. Been a long time since I've seen this team lose in the Superbowl, but it hopefully will be another 15 years before it happens again, and with frequent returns.

With the lock-out looming over the league and contracts that need tinkering, veterans who may retire, and a myriad of other concerns coming into the off season will the Steelers still be in shape for Superbowl runs? Will Dick Lebeau come back to try and win another Lombardi after falling short this time? Will Hines Ward stay with the team or will he retire? There are a lot of questions that will need to be addressed in 6 months, including our draft pick. Here is hoping we use it on some kind of CB to help supplement a secondary that could use a little bit more depth.

Then there was the disaster of a game by the Penguins vs the Capitals in D.C. 3-0 Goose egg laid by the Penguins started off the day on a very, very low note. Trying not to be a superstitious person I didn't want to allow it to cast a pall on the rest of the afternoon, but it was a tough pill to swallow. I could handle the Pens losing, it was the regular season, but to see the Steelers lose too, it's a lot to take in a day.

I don't even know where to begin with the game yesterday afternoon. It reminded me too much of a game of NHL 2011 against my roommate, who is from the NoVA, DC area so it is of course, Pens vs Caps. Sadly it was reminiscent of a game where I wasn't doing so well as the Penguins, and period after period it just kept looking similar. Even down to Tyler Kennedy breaking up a play by Neuvirth along the boards trying to play the puck and dishing it off to Staal facing an empty net. If Staal wasn't D'd up he's got an empty net. The slot just wasn't there for the Penguins and they kept forcing the play there anyway.

Then the turnovers. Turnover city, population Penguins. They are going to have to work on the possession of the puck over these next few games. Bylsma is testing new lines so there are going to be some new combinations of guys together on the ice. Crosby is supposedly due back to Pittsburgh this week, however he is still rehabbing from the concussion. The Pen's are 3 points behind the Flyers (75) and 5 behind Vancouver (77) which honestly is not too bad considering they were without Staal for 35 games or so, Sid for going on 13 games, Malkin now for 8 or so games, Letestu gone for 6 weeks, and yet are still putting together wins. I suppose it's just a blessing they all understand the Bylsma system so well.

So long Football Season, welcome to full time Hockey Season. We get more Sunday Hockey on NBC and of course, it's getting close to the trade deadline. Pens need help at Center, there is cap room after the Malkin move to Longterm IR, will Shero make a move?