Shark Attack

The Pens took the ice for a late game Tuesday night against the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks being the top team in the West posed a challenge for the Penguins who were coming off a shoot-out loss to the Rangers Saturday night.

Michel Therrien decided to start his back up goalie Dany Sabourin who now stands 1-1 after two games. But that`s wasn`t the only change to the line-up, center Max Talbot missed the game with an undisclosed injury mixing up the lines. However five minutes into the first frame line combinations were being switched up ion hopes of creating offense.

Early on Eric Godard dropped the gloves with Jody Shelly. Godard received his first loss of the season as he was not able to get free after his jersey was pulled over his head.

The Guins got the first of only two power plays and failed to capitalize while the Sharks cashed in. An Alex Goligoski give-away lead to an odd man rush in the Pens zone, the initial shot was stopped by goaltender Dany Sabourin but the rebound ended up behind him. Joe Pavelski scored at 10:12 with help from Milan Michalek, a short-handed goal.

At the end of the firs the Pens only had three shots on the board and obviously weren`t creating much offense.

In the second spectacular saves were made by both Dany Sabourin and Evgeni Nabokov keeping the score at 1-0. However in that period the Pens only generated five shots bringing their total to eight on the night.

At the start of the third the top line was where it had been at the start of the game, but that didn`t last long.

The Sharks scored again increasing their lead to two goals, making it seem impossible for the Pens to come back. This however lit a spark under the Penguins. Ruslan Fedotenko was put on the top line with Malkin and Crosby and it finally looked like Pittsburgh was in the game. Fedotenko put it in at 14:27 with help from Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Compared to some of the saves Nabakov had made this one should have been easy to stop.

It looked as though the Pens could score again to tie it up but with just under two minutes remaining Matt Cooke was called for high-sticking while trying to avoid hitting the guy. This blew the Pens chances and they took their second straight loss and third regulation loss of the season.

The three stars were 3.Milan Michalek, 2. Joe Thorton, 1. Joe Pavelski.

Ryan Whitney (foot), Sergei Gonchar (shoulder), Hal Gill (undisclosed), and Max Talbot (undisclosed) all missed the game. There were no healthy scratches and Hal Gill is expected to return to play soon after skating in his first team practice since being injured and is listed as day to day.

The Coyotes welcome the Pens Thursday night as the nine day four game road trip continues, the puck drops at 10:08.

Loss at the Garden

The New York Rangers are still atop the league as they came back to beat the Penguins in a shoot-out Saturday night. As all 30 teams took the ice, the Pens were in New York to take on their rival New York Rangers.

Veteran defenseman Darryl Sydor played in his second straight game in the absence of Hal Gill. To prove that he is still in playing shape Sydor notched his first point of the season with a blast from the point. Tyler Kennedy and Kris Letang assisted on Sydor's goal at 9:04.

Sidney Crosby scored his third goal of the season and in four games three quarters of the way through the second period. Evgeni Malkin kept his point streak alive with an assist on the goal along with defenseman Alex Goligoski at 15:59.

The Rangers had their chance when the Pens were down two men. Brooks Orpik and Mike Zigomanis were both sent to the box at 16:36 of the second. The Pens successfully killed both penalties with help from Marc-Andre Fleury`s spectacular goaltending.

The Rangers were held scoreless until the third period where Markus Naslund notched his third of the season on the power play. Jordan Staal had only been in the box to serve his hooking for seven seconds before the Rangers got on the board. Scott Gomez and Chris Drury assisted at 5:09.

Down by one with less than one minute left the Rangers pulled Lundqvist for the extra attacker. And unlike the Canes efforts on Thursday the Rangers did mange to beat Marc-Andre Fleury to tie the game at two. Nikolai Zherdev who was acquired in an off season trade scored the tying goal with eight seconds remaining, Markus Naslund and Brandon Dubinsky assisted.

In the five minute overtime period the Pens out-shoot the Rangers 4-2, but overall the Rangers won in the shots category 44-29.

It came down to a shoot-out and the Rangers came out on top. Fredrik Sjostrom scored the lone goal for the Rangers as Zherdev and Dawes were held off the board. Letang, Sykora, and Crosby were all stopped by "King Henry'.

The three stars were 3. Marc-Andre Fleury, 2. Fredrik Sjostrom, 1. Henrik Lundqvist.

Matt Cooke returned to play after missing four games with a rib injury. Ryan Whitney (foot), Sergei Gonchar (shoulder), and Hal Gill (undisclosed injury) missed the game along with healthy scratch Paul Bissonnette. Gill did however practice on his own and is expected to return soon.

The Pens have a late start when they take on the San Jose Sharks Tuesday night at 10:30 in San Jose.

Penguins Blow Hurricanes off Course

Tying the Canes at two games each in the season series last year the Pens hoped to take a series lead this season. The headline for the game was Staal vs. Staal, where Penguins second line center would be taking on his older brother Canes center Eric Staal.

Early in the first period Pens fourth liner Paul Bissonnette dropped the gloves with former Penguin Dan Lacouture in hopes of lighting a spark under his team. That however is not what ended up happening. At the end of the first the Pens did lead in shots 10-9, but the score board showed them trailing by one. Brandon Sutter scored when he was alone in the offensive zone after a Brooks Orpik give away. Sutter scored his first of the season unassisted at 13:07.

The score remained the same as Eric Staal and the rest of the Canes were robbed multiple times both in front of the net and in the neutral zone. Eric Godard refreshed memories that he's the fighter in town by dropping the gloves off a face-off with Wade Brookbank at 9:20 of the second period.

The third however is when things started to get going. Just over eight minutes in the Pens were doing a lot of cycling in the offensive zone while on the power play. Evgeni Malkin took a shot from the point and it deflected past Michael Leighton off of Sidney Crosby.

A mere thirty-two seconds passed before Ruslan Fedotenko slipped the puck behind Leighton. Fedotenko's first goal in a Penguins' uniform came with help from Jordan Staal and Petr Sykora at 8:47.

Three minutes later Max Talbot was in on a break-away when he some how managed to wedge the biscuit under the Carolina goalies' pads to make it 3-1. Tyler Kennedy assisted on the Penguins third goal in three minutes and thirty-six seconds.

The scoring wasn`t over however; with just less than two minutes left the Canes pulled their goalie for the extra attacker. Marc-Andre Fleury took a shot from his crease and the puck went just wide, but it was a terrific attempt on his part. However with less than one minute remaining Rob Scuderi connected with Sidney Crosby, Crosby made a crisp pass to Malkin, and Malkin got the Penguins their fourth goal of the game and the third period.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped all 25 shots he faced, as the Penguins out-shoot the Canes 35-25.

The three stars were 3. Max Talbot, 2. Evgeni Malkin, 1. Sidney Crosby.

Ryan Whitney (foot), Sergei Gonchar (shoulder), Matt Cooke (rib), & Hal Gill (undisclosed injury) all missed the game along with healthy scratch Bill Thomas. Thomas was sent to the minors today (Friday), where he will now play with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins.

The battle of the Staals continues as Jordan Staal and the Pittsburgh Penguins take on Marc Staal & the New York Rangers Saturday at 7:08.

First for Sabourin

Before Monday night Dany Sabourin had only started in one game against the Boston Bruins, and lost. However a loss is not what TD Bank North Garden held from him in his first start of the 08-09 season.

Making spectacular saves throughout the night Sabourin made the winning save when it came down to the B's fifth shooter in the shoot-out. He also stopped 35 of the 36 shot he faced in regulation.

Late in the first period Miroslav Satan stepped back onto the ice after serving two minutes for hooking. Crosby and Malkin, two NHL leading scorers, assisted on the rebound at 18:51.

Also in the first period Pens' tough guy Eric Godard, who was signed as a free agent this summer, fought Shawn Thornton. Godard received another win after toppling Thornton to the ice.

Mid-way through the second Jordan Staal was sent to the box for holding, and not but a minute later the B's had themselves on the board. Phil Kessel took a beauty of a shoot after an equally beautiful set up by Andy Ference. David Krejci also assisted on the power play goal at 13:53.

From there the score remained tied at one through the remaining twenty minutes. The game was intense with hard hits from both teams and at tussle in the corner involving Sidney Crosby & Marc Savard.

Overtime involved a span of three-on-three play when Marc Savard was sent to the box for hooking at 1:35 and Jordan Staal for slashing at 3:25.

The buzzer rang signaling the end overtime and that the game was going to a shoot-out. Dany Sabourin made saves on Bergeron, Ryder, Krejci, & Savard; he was unable to stop Phil Kessel. Kris Letang, Sidney Crosby, and Miroslav Satan were stopped by Bruin goaltender Tim Thomas. Petr Sykora scored a beautiful backhander and Evgeni Malkin scored the game-winner on Thomas' stick side.

The three stars were 3. Phil Kessel, 2. Dany Sabourin, 1.Evgeni Malkin.


Ryan Whitney (foot), Sergei Gonchar (shoulder), and Matt Cooke (rib) all missed the game along with healthy scratches Bill Thomas and Darryl Sydor. Paul Bissonnette made his first road start.

It will be a battle of the Staals when the Pens take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday in Pittsburgh, Eric and Jordan will "face-off" at 7:38.

Practice Pays Off

There`s no doubt that the tough practice Friday helped fuel the Pens big night. Four milestones were achieved by two of the team's top players; Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Sidney Crosby scored his 100th career goal, 200th career assist, and 300th career point. Evgeni Malkin reached 200 career points and then one with four assists on the night.

To start the game the Pens had three straight penalties to kill; four minutes for high-sticking, two for hooking, and two for too many men. The first two penalties were killed off with ease. When it came to the third penalty Nik Antropov netted his first of the season with help from Jason Blake & Tomas Kaberle at 14:25.

But less than a minute later the Pens got themselves in the game with a tip-in goal from Pascal Dupuis. Dupuis second of the season came at 15:16 with help from Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

At the end of the first twenty minutes the shots were tied and so was the game. But mid-way through the second the Pens took the lead for the first time in the game on the power play. Miroslav Satan redirected the puck in behind Curtis Joseph at 7:55 with help from Crosby and Malkin, Crosby`s 300th point.

In the third period Joseph dove out the net, a defenseman went sliding in; Crosby who was behind the net threw the puck out front and with luck and a crazy bounce it went in. Sidney Crosby scored his 100th career at12:15 with help from Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.

The Leafs thought they had gotten themselves back in the game when Nik Antropov put the puck behind Fleury again. But after review it was clear that a distinct kicking motion was used and the goal was waved off.

Petr Sykora scored his first of the season just over a minute after Crosby's goal. The tip-in on the goal line was scored at 13:36 with help from Malkin and Crosby.

It's clear that the changes that were made to the line combination helped. Crosby and Malkin have a chemistry that can`t be destroyed, and Staal`s played better than previously after being moved back to center. Marc-Andre Fleury whose play has been spectacular thus far stopped 26 of the 27 shots he faced.

The three stars of the game were 3. Marc-Andre Fleury, 2. Evgeni Malkin, 1. Sidney Crosby.

Bill Thomas made his debut at home in his hometown while Ryan Whitney (foot), Sergei Gonchar (shoulder), Matt Cooke (rib), Darryl Sydor, and Paul Bissonnette missed the game.

The Pens go on the road for their first real road game Monday night. They will be facing the Boston Bruins in their home opener at 7:08.

Tough Blow

Since Sidney Crosby joined the team the Pens were 10-1-1 and Marc-Andre Fleury was 7-0 against the Caps. This however is not he case anymore; the Pens blew a three goal lead to get their third loss of the season, second in regulation, and first to Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.

Alex Goligoski scored his second goal of the season after snapping a shot behind Jose Theodore at 12:58 of the first period. Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby assisted on the power play goal.

With less than a minute remaining in the first period the Pens were on yet another power play and Evgeni Malkin ripped the biscuit passed Theodore to give the Pens a 2-0 lead. With four second remaining in the period the Caps received a too many men on the ice penalty and to start the second period were down two men with John Erskine in the box for delay of game.

1:51 into the second period the Pens increased their lead to three goals with third power play goal of the night, this one coming with just seconds remaining with the two man advantage. Miroslav Satan tipped the puck in on the goal line after a shot from Petr Sykora; Evgeni Malkin received the second assist, his third point of the night.

The Caps got themselves in the game at 5:45 of the second, a goal from Tomas Fleischmann. The face-off took place at center ice where two wings dropped their gloves immediately after the puck was dropped. Pens rookie Paul Bissonnette dropped the gloves with former Penguin Matt Bradley. The fight was short lived as Bissonnette took Bradley to the ice, Bradley made his way to the locker room for repairs as Bissonnette made his way to the sin bin at 5:46. Bradley did return to play later in the game after receiving stitches.

Early in the third period the Caps brought themselves within one goal when Alexander Semin scored his fourth of the season with help from Brooks Laich at 3:38. At 10:00 the Caps tied it up; Michael Nylander scored his second of the season.

At to take the lead Boyd Gordon bounced the puck off the white post inside the net. Officials did not rule it a goal at first, two minutes later when the whistle finally blew it was reviewed & the Caps were awarded their fourth goal of the game.

Out of five games played this year the Pens have blown four leads, only winning two of the games.

The three stars of the game were 3. Michael Nylander, 2. Evgeni Malkin, 1.Alexander Semin.

Ryan Whitney (foot), Sergei Gonchar (shoulder), and Matt Cooke (torso) missed the game along with Bill Thomas and Darryl Sydor who were the healthy scratches. Paul Bissonnette started his first game in Mellon Arena filling in for the injured Matt Cooke.

The Pens take the ice Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7:08 at Mellon Arena.

Break-out Player-ERS

Tuesday night the Pens took the ice for the first time this season against their cross state rival, the Philadelphia Flyers. Coming off a though loss in the home opener to the Devils, and a challenging practice Monday a lot was expected of the men in black an gold.

In the first period shots were fairly even, the score tied at zero, and the only real excitement came at 5:23. Eric Godard and Riley Cote dropped the gloves right off the face-off. It doesn`t take long once you wear the black and gold to learn the hate felt towards the Flyers. Clearly Godard won the fight though linesmen broke it up after letting the two men go at it for quite some time.

The second period however was full of excitement for both teams. The Pens lit the lamp first with a top-shelf goal from defenseman Brooks Orpik. This is only Orpik`s fifth goal, and thirty-fifth point in 300 career NHL games. Kris Letang and Tyler Kennedy assisted on the power play goal at 14:12.

Not much later Mike Zigomanis scored his first goal in a Penguins' uniform with help from Matt Cooke and Eric Godard at 14:54.

Late in the period the Flyers had plans of scoring their own goal to get themselves back in the game. Jeff Carter somehow beat Marc-Andre Fleury to make it 2-1 at 19:16; Carter had help from Upshall and Vaananen.

Twenty-one seconds later the men in white slipped another puck behind Marc-Andre Fleury to tie the game at two. Simon Gange was awarded the goal with help from Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn at 19:37.

At this point the Pens may have been thinking about how they have never won when Brooks Orpik has scored.

The third period was hard fought by both teams, and the goalies kept the score the same taking the game to over-time.

With fears that the game might go to a shoot-out almost every fan in Mellon Arena yelled "shoot" as the Pens cycled in the offensive zone. Finally Letang and Orpik connected with Dupuis with just seconds remaining. Pascal Dupuis scored his first overtime goal to give his team their second win of the season. The goal was scored at 4:49; 10.2 seconds remaining.

The three stars of the game were 3. Kimmo Timonen, 2. Mike Zigomanis, 1. Pascal Dupuis.

Petr Sykora took the ice for the first time this season after suffering a groin injury during practice in Sweden, it was good to have him back in the line-up. However Ryan Whitney (foot) and Sergei Gonchar (shoulder) missed the game. Darryl Sydor, Paul Bissonnette, and Bill Thomas were healthy scratches.

Yet another rival is in store for the Pens this week in the Washington Captials. Alex Ovechkin will lead his team to Mellon Arena where the puck will be dropped Thursday night at 7:38.

Fleury Stands Strong while Pens Struggle

Saturday night the Pens took the ice for the first time since returning from Sweden. This time they would be taking on the New Jersey Devils in the home opener. They seemed ready when they were announced one by one in front of a sold-out crowd of 17, 132, but that seemed to change somewhere in the second period.

The lone Penguin' goal was scored in the first period on the power play by Miroslav Satan at 11:52, Jordan Staal and Evgeni Malkin assisted.

Also in the first period Eric Godard finally found someone who was willing to drop the gloves with him in Mike Rupp. The fight took place even before the Penguins' goal and in the Devils' zone.

David Clarkson who stands at 6'1'' 200 lbs dropped the gloves with Penguins' Hal Gill who stands at 6'7'' 250lbs, Hal Gill won the fight along the boards in the neutral zone.

Although being out shoot 25-12 through two periods of play the Pens still held the lead thanks to Marc-Andre Fleury and some amazing saves.

With two and a half minutes left in the third period Patrick Elias banked a puck off Pens' defenseman Hal Gill's skate and in behind Fleury.

The game was headed to overtime and somehow even though they were out-shot 45-14 the Pens still seemed to be holding on.

Zach Parise who was drafted the same year as Fleury beat him to win the game for New Jersey with thirty-eight seconds remaining in overtime, Travis Zajac and Colin White assisted.

The three stars were 3. Patrick Elias, 2. Zach Parise, 1. Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury stopped 47 of the 49 shots he faced.

Ryan Whitney (foot), Sergei Gonchar (shoulder), and Petr Sykora (groin) missed the game. Recently acquired Mike Zigomanis played causing Pittsburgh native Bill Thomas to be a healthy scratch.

The Pens take the ice on Tuesday night at 7:38 to take on cross state rival Philadelphia Flyers.

Higher Influence?

Why is it that every time Gary Bettman is in the arena during a Pens game they get completely screwed over? This wasn`t the only reason for the pens loss, but it played a big part. Lack of shots, saves by Alex Auld, turn-overs in the neutral zone, lack of communication, & some uncalled for hits thrown by Sens help them take the win.

Maybe the big win in over-time last night went to some of the Pens’ heads, but I highly doubt it. The game was scoreless at the end of twenty minutes, with the shots & saves were, like yesterday, fairly close.

Mid-way through the second however the Sens got themselves on the score board, Dany Heatley's second goal of the season on the power play. Penguins' Eric Godard was in the box serving four minutes for roughing, giving the Sens the advantage, even though Chris Neil was also in the box for roughing, only serving two minutes though. Godard was attacked in front of the net by multiple Senators, which is where he somehow picked up the extra two minutes.
Somehow at the end of two the Pens were leading in shots 15-11, but the Sens were leading on the score board. They increased that lead when Dany Heatley scored this third goal of the season & second of the game at 12:07 of the third while Mark Eaton was serving a questionable holding call.

Three & a half minutes later Antoine Vermette was off on a break-away, whiffed on the puck, but it still somehow slid past Marc-Andre Fleury to give the Sens a 3-0 lead.

One questionable play is when former Penguin Jarkko Ruutu "tackled" Sidney Crosby from behind on top of the net, and nothing was called. Maybe it`s just me, but the refs seem to screw the Pens over when Gary Bettman is in the house.

Senators' goaltender Alex Auld had dreams of a shut-out, but they were ended with less than two seconds remaining. Alex Goligoski, playing in his first NHL game snapped the puck in to make it 3-1. Sidney Crosby & Evgeni Malkin assisted at 19:58.

Jeff Taffe & Darryl Sydor were healthy scratches, making it possible for Pittsburgh native Bill Thomas & Alex Goligoski to play. Ryan Whitney (left foot), Sergei Gonchar (shoulder), & Petr Sykora (groin) also missed the game. The three stars were 3. Alex Auld, 2. Daniel Alfredsson, 1. Dany Heatley.

The Guins have six days off before the home opener against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. They will be returning home tomorrow night from Stockholm.

Grand Opening

The Pittsburgh Penguins opened the 2008-09 season in Stockholm, Sweden against the Ottawa Senators. Having spent close to a week in Europe the team was completely adjusted when it came to the time difference at game time. The game started at close to nine pm Sweden time, three pm Pittsburgh time.

Unlike in the opener last season the Pens seemed ready, even early in the first period. Tyler Kennedy scored forty seconds in to give the Pens a 1-0 lead; Jordan Staal got his first point of the regular season with the assist.

The Sens scored next, a goal by former Penguin Sean Donavan with help from Dean McAmmond and Filip Kuba at 9:13.

In the first the Sens killed off all five penalties, keeping the game tied at one. The Pens on the other hand only had one penalty in the first twenty minutes & they too killed off the Sens chance with the man advantage.

The shots, saves, and face-off won were tied at the end of the first, something that rarely happens.

Early in the second Evgeni Malkin got the puck in the neutral zone, short-handed, & as Mike Lange would say, “Was off to the races.” His first goal of the season came while Brooks Orpik served two minutes for interference. The unassisted goal was scored at 3:18.

From there however the Sens dominated, scoring at power play goal at 12:15. Dany Heatley scored with help from Jason Spezza & Filip Kiba while Eric Godard was in the box for hooking. Another Sens goal was scored in the second, this time short-handed, by Spezza from Antoine Volchenkov at 17:55.

At the end of the second the Sens had the lead score-wise but everything else was pretty even. The shots & saves were tied; the Pens however won one more face-off than the Sens.

In the third period the Pens faired better than they had in the second, scoring the only goal of the period. Rob Scuderi took a pass along the far boards from Sidney Crosby. Looking much like injured defenseman Ryan Whitney, Scuderi stepped up & snapped a wrister from the hash. Smiling like a child on Christmas Scuderi celebrated with his line mates; this was only his third NHL goal, his last game 96 games ago. Miroslav Satan received the secondary assist at 3:56.

With the game tied at three at the end of sixty minutes the two teams were headed to overtime. Jordan Staal had a chance to end the game with a minute & a half left in the period, but was stopped by Martin Gerber. However Jason Spezza was stripped of the puck by Tyler Kennedy. Kennedy blasted a shot from almost the same spot that Scuderi scored from to end the game with twenty-three seconds remaining.

Alex Goligoski, Bill Thomas, & John Curry were the healthy scratches. Ryan Whitney (foot), Sergei Gonchar (shoulder), & Petr Sykora (groin) also missed the game. The three stars were 3. Evgeni Malkin 2. Jason Spezza 1. Tyler Kennedy. The Guins take on the Sens again tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 in Stockholm, the Pens will be the home team.