Pens clinch home ice advantage with grueling win on Long Island

 

 Well it wasn't easy, even after the game couldn't be decided in regulation, Chris Kunitz found a way to escape from Long Island with a win and home ice advantage against whoever they face in the Playoffs. This was a huge game, and it came up huge. There weren't fireworks right out the gate but they came out after about 8 minutes. Off a beautiful setup from Eric Godard, Rupp comes up with the puck in front of the crease and sends it opposite side of Montoya into the goal. Pens take a big first lead in this game where goals were not coming at a premium. 

Right afterward on the ensuing face-off, Eric Godard and Handlebar mustache got into a fight. It was fairly uneventful but was a way for the Ref's to send a message early. Both players got a match penalty and removed from the remainder of the period. Good thing too because not having to see Gillies the rest of the period was a blessing. 

In the second period Michalek rifles in another beautiful goal to put up his 5th of the year after going almost the entire season without a goal. This one was the insurance goal, or so we thought until shortly after Comeau comes in and scores on a significantly easier shot, but it's the Islanders and they need any break they can get. 2-1.

Going into the third period it seemed like things were still going to be okay for the Penguins and they were going to hold onto the extra goal, but needed another insurance goal to finish it off. This unfortunately didn't happen as Comeau yet again came in and scored on another pretty easy gimmie from Grabner behind the net and the game is now 2-2. 

Not to be outdone, Mark Letestu comes in on a beautiful move and rifles his own goal home giving the Penguins fans another boost of confidence. Unfortunately there was still 8 or so minutes left in the game and there was much left to be decided. Still looking for the insurance goal the opportunities were there but not taken, even an empty net goal near the end of the game was just wide of the goal and would of put this one home. 

Instead, with just under 2 minutes left in the game, the Islanders appear to score again but it gets immediately waived off due to Tavares being in the crease interfering with Fleury, no penalty is called but the goal is wiped away. Unfortunately still with just :35 left in the period, with 6 on 5 off the empty net, the Islanders scored and put the game into a tie, again.

Pascal's cries for help go unanswered.

The game then goes in OT, and for the most part overtime was uneventful unless you count the outstanding hustle of Pascal Dupuis. His theme song if it isn't already should be "Everyday I'm Hustlin" because he is putting out some of the hardest work of anyone on the team half the time chasing down pucks.After getting seemingly done from behind by an Islander in the crease though, he doesn't get the scoring opportunity he hopes for after batting down the puck at the point with his stick, getting it to Tyler "They call me Crosby" Kennedy who does a few sweet dekes but gets rewarded with nothing. In the end the best thing to come out of this OT period was the fact that the Pen's sealed up home ice with this one point. One wasn't good enough, and one man knew this.

His name is Chris Kunitz, and after Letang and Kovy both fail to come in and score on Montoya in the shootout we get this beauty by Kunitz:

Puts the Islanders in their coffins, ruins the night of all 12 Islander fans in the upper deck in attendance and rides his mustache all the way to Georgia to get ready to play against the Thrashers.

In other news Philly ended up losing in OT, this is okay, but today at 7pm, if the Penguins hope to take the division they are going to need the Islanders to not lay an egg and hand Philly a win. The hockey gods will surely need to smile upon the Pens if they hope to capture the division and face Buffalo in the first round. No match-up is ideal in the playoffs, but I'm sure they'd take Buffalo over the Lightning. 

Pens take on the Thrashers tomorrow at 3pm in sunny Georgia, the Masters will not matter.

Pens vs Islanders Game Day 81. Wrestlemania 2? Not likely, expect offensive revenge.

Many many weeks have passed since the "Debacle on Long Island" took place on February 11th. This long over due rematch is finally going to take place as the fans invade Nassau Coliseum with many signs that will say "Bury Gillies." Emotions will be running wild during this game tonight.

From my recap:

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 Letang's 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.

Just in case anyone missed this tidbit of news, Eric Godard will be in the lineup tonight instead of Chris Conner. I have mixed feelings about this and here's why; this game needs to be won in the goal column, not the fight cards. We all know what Godard is good for, throwing his meat hooks around and tagging people in the face, now not everyone knows Chris Conner's value but to put it simply, gets to the dirty areas to keep pucks alive in the offensive zone, sets up good opportunities even if not always capitalized on. This means that Bylsma is prepared at least, for one fight involving Godard, at the sacrifice of an offensive minded player, and that fight is probably going to be against Gillies or Haley. Haley if you remember took a run at Johnson, and they scrapped, during that time Godard left the bench to go to Johnson's aid and suffered a 10 game suspension because of it. Gillies, well we all know why Gillies needs to be buried.

So to answer back in this budding rivalry, the Penguins will need to find their offense against Al Montoya and this joke squad of a hockey team. Jordan Staal has increased his performance in the past 2 games after going scoreless for 5. Tyler Kennedy continues to have a career year, Max Talbot and Pascal Dupuis are more than capable of putting up goals in this game, but I'd like to see James Neal and Alexei Kovalev get some work done this game on the goal sheets. They weren't there for the debacle and therefor won't care for the events other than team camaraderie, but should still be looking to rifle shots past Montoya to light the lamp. Really would like for Neal to get some confidence going into the playoffs via more than just a shootout win.

Tonight is even more so important because this is one step closer to finding their way to the top of the division. Philly is only 1 point ahead of us now in the standings, they play Buffalo. Buffalo is looking to keep it's own playoff spot and will be playing hard to win these 2 points. Philly already lost one of their remaining 3 games, it is huge to have today go that way, they will want to play hard to keep their number one spot. The Islanders are going to want to beat us to bring us down a peg, keep us in check with reality, but it is going to be necessary to win this game, and Sundays game against Atlanta to seal the division and flip this playoff table in a different direction. A win tonight and a Philly loss puts us at the top of the division by a point. A win tonight and a Philly OT loss keeps us tied. A loss and a Philly win and we're stuck in 4th. An OT loss and a Philly win we have a chance to tie at best and is unacceptable. Winning tonight is the only option for continuing their path of persevering through adversity.

A win tonight brings the Penguins closer to #2 in the conference and #1 in the division. A win tonight brings Dan Bylsma one step closer to a Jack Adams award. If he wins tonight, and wins in Atlanta, and takes the division win, it is a no brainer he is coach of the year if it wasn't clear enough already. So this, is the second to last must-win of the year, and it is against a team that both the coaches and players probably have no respect for what-so-ever, so it is imperative we show that lack of respect by pushing the goals dial up to 11.

Tonight's lines will look something like this based on practice:

James Neal - Mark Letestu - Alexei Kovalev
Chris Kunitz - Jordan Staal - Tyler Kennedy
Arron Asham - Maxime Talbot - Pascal Dupuis
Michael Rupp - Craig Adams - Eric Godard

Between the Pipes for the Penguins? Game time decision between Marc Andre Fleury or Brent Johnson. Expect Fleury.

Another must win in a series of must wins. Get the 2 points and hope to see Philly lose in the standings.

GO PENS!

Bucco's take series against Cardinals 2-1, start series vs Colorado today at 1:35

With a 4-3 win, 2-3 loss and 3-1 win against the Cardinals the Pirates took the series yesterday and begin their home opener at PNC Park in just about 10 minutes. Kevin Correia already has 2 wins under his belt in this first week of baseball that's been underway. With a 1.38 ERA and 6 strikeouts he's getting work done out on the mound.

Today the Rockies will be facing off against Paul Maholm who struck out 3 in Chicago against the cubs but hasn't recorded a win or loss yet. Walker and McCutchen both have 2 HR's so far this season, Walker however, thanks to his grandslam on opening day has 8 RBI's already and is bringing in the runs with McCutchen, Alvarez, and Overbay who all sit at 4 RBI's.

The Rockies sit at 3-1 so far on the year while the Pirates are 4-2 looking to increase their W column with a win at home. Lets get it done out there today Bucco's.

Penguins vs Devils Gameday 80. Final homegame at CEC, Tampa hot on our tails.

 

Tonight is another must win game in a season finale full of must win games. Pittsburgh will be looking to stay a point or more ahead of the Lightning with a victory against the New Jersey Trappers.  New Jersey as we all know likes to get a small lead and play shut down trap the rest of the game. So it will be imperative that the Penguins continue to get out of the trap as they did the last time they faced the Devils, winning in the shootout off of this very beautiful goal by James Neal against Brodeur. You've seen it before but see it again:

Brodeur will not be in net tonight for the Devils and instead the Pens will be pouring the pepper onto the ex 'Guin Johan Hedberg. The "Moose" was one of the more beloved of the Penguins netminders, despite not performing very well in the sweater. He did take the Pens to the playoffs for 18 games in 2001 but fell short of the ultimate goal. He was shipped out in 03' to the Canucks who sent him to the Stars after the lockout, who then sent him to Atlanta after just one season. He played there until this year backing up for the Devils.

The importance of winning this game shouldn't need an explanation, however it is key to holding onto home ice advantage in the playoffs should Tampa win tonight against Buffalo. Focus now is on having control over the situations that don't require any help, and that is winning the 3 remaining games to accumulate as many points as possible and contain home ice. It would be ideal to capture the division championship but that will require Philly to win only one of its remaining games at the most, and Tampa tapering off for the rest of the season. 

Here is why this is a difficult thing to ask the hockey gods for. Of the remaining three games for the Pens, they will face off against the Devils tonight, Islanders on 4/8 and the Thrashers on 4/10. Tampa however finishes their season against: Buffalo in Buffalo, Florida at home and the Canes in Carolina. It's possible they'll win all 3, ideally they lose them all but 2-1 is acceptable if the Pens get to 104pts. Philly on the other hand will finish against Ottawa in Ottawa, Buffalo in Buffalo and the Islanders at home. Ideally Philly loses all 3 of these games as well but the fact is, they'll also probably go 2-1, leaving them at 107pts for the year and Atlantic champs. So Philly must go 1-2 for the Pens to have a chance at tying or getting the division lead. Relying too heavily on these less than stellar teams to help the Pens out is not something they can afford to do, but winning out their last 3 games is definitely doable.

The Penguins seem to be very fertile despite the injury bug that riddled the team with more holes than a fine Swiss cheese, Brent Johnson was just the father of a new daughter last night, and now today Chris Kunitz has also had a new daughter of his own brought into his family. Kunitz however will be playing tonight in this very important match up. 

The lines for tonights game are probably going to still look like this:

James Neal - Mark Letestu - Alex Kovalev

Chris Kunitz - Jordan Staal - Tyler Kennedy

Chris Conner - Maxime Talbot - Pascal Dupuis

Mike Rupp - Craig Adams - Mike Comrie

Between the Pipes for the Penguins? Marc Andre Fleury!

Have got to get these 2 points tonight Pens. DO IT.

Bylsma for Jack Adams, defeating Florida and playoff talk.

Zybenek Michaleks one timer game winning goal. All 12 Panther fans in attendance were visibly upset.

After the Penguins come from behind victory against the Panthers on Saturday night, they held onto their home ice advantage for another night battling to stay one point ahead of Tampa Bay after they had won earlier that day. Philly after losing in a shootout last night brought their total to 103 points again, regaining first place tied with the Capitals. When I saw Washington in the top spot for even a second, I could taste the bile.

This squad has only three games remaining in their regular season culminating with a game against the Thrashers on April 10th in Atlanta. They'll play their final home game of the regular season in Consol Energy Center tomorrow night against the Devils, hoping to cap their new barn's season off at 25(24)-14-2 with the win against New Jersey. Afterward they'll hope to finish their road dominance with a record of 24(22)-11-6 with the remaining road games on Long Island and in Atlanta.

Tyler Kennedy enjoying a career year.

As many of us writing about the Penguins have stated before today, Dan Bylsma should be a sure choice for the Jack Adams award. This was before he totaled 100points for the team this season, and in some cases before he won his 100th career game. The man has kept a team riddled all year with injuries in the top four of the Eastern conference, and 3 points outside of Philly for first place in the Atlantic. Without the assistance for half a season of Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin, plugging holes with Wilkes-Barre Scranton Pens, and Shero's brilliance during the end of the trading season.

Through all the adversity Bylsma has been able to keep this team churning out points by using a solid and consistent system between both the WBS baby Penguins and the Pens organizations. The seamless transition for the players between their AHL duties and their NHL duties helped when this team had to fill in the gaps after losing both of their star Centers, and a myriad of forwards and defensemen through out the season. This is just the 7th time in franchise history the Penguins have achieved 100 total points as a team, and it was done while battling through adversity.

Kennedy celebrates a career high 20th goal.

This was not all his work alone however but for consideration in the Jack Adams award he certainly has to be the number one choice, no other coach in the league has had to battle through this much adversity and media frenzy, including going through a 24/7 filming month where camera crews were constantly circling the team.Players have stepped up to do the work that the superstars are not there to do. Players like Tyler "They call me Crosby" Kennedy with his shoot first mentality has finally been able to bury a lot of goals behind the net, putting up 20goals and 22 assists now sits currently 5th in total points on the team. He is leading the team in scoring since Crosby has been injured.

Jordan Staal and Chris Kunitz have done their fair share of work as well. Kunitz in the scoring department and Jordan in the unlimited ice time department. Jordan has played career high minutes on ice lately averaging 21 minutes on ice a game, which is 90 seconds more than his previous seasons. He is playing in almost every situation, and not as just a 3rd line shut down center. His defensive prowess and ability to dish out assists has definitely been on display this year. Chris Kunitz has been lighting the lamp consistently all year, sitting at 22goals and 25 assists. Coming back from injury he's scored 11 points (4G 7A) in the 12 games he's participated in, he was blanked for only 5 of those games. During this stretch of time Kunitz was able to come out with a 5 game point streak bolstering a weak offense.

Pens have won the first of the final 4 games in April, looking to tack on the last 6 points necessary and solidify home ice advantage once and for all this season. In other news, Big Brent Johnson was not at practice today because he was attending the birth of his new daughter. Hopefully she doesn't grow up to be a fighter like the Lawgiver, or maybe so. Craig Adams was sporting a Mohawk and the joke was if he scored the game winner Mohawks everywhere. Well he didn't get the game winner but he got the empty netter after Florida botched their goalie bench for an extra attacker as a power play expired.Wonder how many people in the Burgh' have mohawks now?

Battling through adversity with relentless work ethic, passion and integrity, the Penguins way, the pack of wolves mentality. Everyone who could possibly step up for this team has made an effort to step up, and it shows in the standings.

Pens face the Devils tomorrow at 7pm in Consol Energy Center to get within 1 point of Philly in the standings.

Buccos take 2 from the Cubs, begin 3 game road stand against Cardnials at 8:15.

The Buc's took down a huge come from behind win in the 9th inning against the Cubs yesterday afternoon with this soft liner that turns in two after a bad throw to first and late throw to home. The Buc's did lose on Saturday to the Cubs but after the come from behind victory and taking 2 on the road they can put that one past them. Good things so far for the Pirates who are under new management this year.

They'll take on the Cardinals and Albert Pujols who is not a machine tonight at 8:15 in Busch stadium.