The Pens take on the Canadiens this Wednesday night for the first time this season. At least, when it counts. In the two preseason games against the Habs, each team took a win, with a former Penguins generously handing us that overtime loss.
Alexei Kovalev (or as he is known now, simply Alex) [why?] scored in game one of the preseason on a pass from Mark Streit with under 30 seconds remaining before a shootout decision. In that same game, Kovalev also assisted the two other goals for a Canadiens 3-2 win. To say the struggling Pens defense will have to contain Kovalev is certainly an understatement.
Speaking of, the defense has spent far too much time idling around the net. Although I don't expect (nor do I want) them to over-commit to the puck, they hardly even play the man. There is no pressure on to the boards to push the puck out, and the other team is spending far too much time putting shots on net towards Marc "Still Waiting To Find My Groove"-Andre Fleury. If the Pens want to play this way Wednesday night, then they best be putting up 7 goals if they hope to even stay in it.
Continuing with the Habs, we'll look at threat number two - Saku Koivu. In game one against the Hurricanes he netted two powerplay goals, one of which proved to be the overtime game winner. If Koivu and Kovalev hit the Pens on the powerplay, then the PK unit is going to have their work cut out for them. Ideally I'd like to see Talbot and Staal working the corners in the Habs' zone, eating up time and controlling the play. In the last game against Anaheim, Talbot showed some good work on the PK unit. I'd like to see a repeater.
The Canadiens' defense, led primarily by goaltender Cristobal Huet, is nothing short of average. In the Habs' 3-2 preseason victory over the Pens, Huet faced 12 shots, giving up zero goals before Yann Danis got his shot. Danis let in 2 goals on 9 shots while Huet let in none. In game two, Huet was scratched from the line-up. Coincidentally, the Pens and Canadiens have each struggled a bit in the defensive area. Both Fleury and Huet are easily flustered when faced with a barrage of shots, and I'd expect to see nothing less in this contest.
On to the Penguins.
There's no better time than now for Crosby to step up and show us how he brought home the hardware last season. Everyone predicts and expects and suspects and whatever you wanna say that he's going to have a 120+ season. But if he keeps playing at the rate of hardly one point every two games, he's on track for a 41 - 60 point season. I want to see, at the least, a goal and an assist Wednesday night.
Now for the Fleury situation. There's been a lot of talk about how much longer Therrion is going to keep him in net. The way I see it; it's only game three. Give him two more, and I genuinely mean that. Give him two more games to find his groove, and if he doesn't improve yank 'em and put in Sabourin. If there is one player on the Penguins roster who I've inherently doubted, it's Fleury. I personally have never perceived him to be a franchise goalie, and I see him in the same light as Ken Wregget and Patrick Lalime. On a similar note, he'd have to find a home on a high-scoring team if he hopes to play elsewhere and collect some wins. In other words, he better pull himself together and stick it out with the Pens if he ever hopes to touch the cup.
I predict a highly offensive contest Wednesday night, and I'm going to go on a whim and say Pens win 4-3. Not only will Sykora have the stints out of his newly remodeled nose, and Crosby hopefully playing at 100% by then, but the home crowd will hopefully carry them to another victory.
