Pens dim Stars 4-1

The Penguins marched on to a three-game win-streak Friday night with a win over the Dallas Stars. Fleury was sensational in net and the offense was unmatched despite a few key injuries to Sergei Gonchar and Maxime Talbot.

Amazingly all of the Penguins' goals were scored at even strength. The Stars played a well disciplined game, entitling the Pens to only one power play chance in the closing minutes of the third period.

Crosby kicked off the scoring for the Pens, and wind up finishing with two on the night. The youngster Tyler Kennedy netted one as well, showing his potential in the way of scoring. Despite his small frame that often results in being on the receiving end of hits along the boards, Kennedy brings speed and a sharp stick to the third and fourth lines.

Evgeni Malkin also lit up the ice with a late third period goal to further secure the lead for the Pens.

Marc-Andre Fleury's only slip on the night came on a slapshot from Mike Ribeiro via a screen from former Stars defenseman Daryl Sydor.

The three wins at the end of the month put the Penguins at 5-8-1 for November. Earlier in the month the Pens seemed to be struggling. However, the offense was able to turn it around, as was the netminding of the team to secure some W's before the month's end.

Tomorrow we'll take a look at the month of November in review, in addition to a recap of the Pens vs Maple Leafs game.

Penguins vs Stars preview

Pittsburgh Penguins (10-11-2) vs Dallas Stars (13-8-4)

Mike Modano and the Dallas Stars head into Pittsburgh tomorrow night to take on Sidney Crosby and the rest of the Penguins squad. The Penguins, winner of two straight, haven't seen action since Saturday against the Thrashers and should be well rested for tomorrow's game. Defenseman Sergei Gonchar (groin) is questionable, but will more likely be a scratch on the night.

Prior to their recent loss against the Devils Wednesday night, the Dallas Stars posted a six game win-streak that has since put them as leaders in the Pacific Division and second in the Western Conference behind the Detroit Red Wings. Behind the duel goaltending efforts of both Marty Turco and Mike Smith, the Stars held their opposition to only seven total goals in those six games, one of which was a shutout.

Offensively the Stars can put up points. Brendan Morrow leads the team with 23 points, while defenseman Sergei Zubov and center Mike Ribeiro are tied at 22 a piece. Zubov is also second on the list of defenseman, behind none other than the Penguins' Gonchar.

The Penguins have seen some fluidity coming from two-way forward Ryan Malone. Malone's mustered up four points in two games, including three goals, and has really started to be the extension of Crosby's stick. In addition, Jordan Staal has snapped back into play by netting one and helping another in the past two games. The added depth is evidence to any team in the league that one line can not win a game.

Penguins vs Stars Friday night in Pittsburgh. Puck drops at 7:38pm.

Taking a look ahead

Since the Penguins have both tonight and tomorrow night off from action, I figured this would be a good time to take a brief look at the remaining games for this month. As usual, I'll put up a preview before the game - so I suppose just take this as a slight preview to the preview. Small blurbs with some quick stat hits. I know it's a bit "empty" considering the Pens haven't played three of the four teams yet this season, but I think the format is something I'll consider carrying over to next month.


11.21
Home against the Devils (8-10-2)
Season Record: 1-2
Goals for: 11
Goal against: 8

Best single game performance came on November 5th when the Penguins shutout the Devils 5-0 in New Jersey. In their last meeting the Devils beat the Penguins 3-2. Martin Brodeur officially reached 500 career wins since then, coming against the Flyers on November 17th. This game will be the fourth meeting of eight this season.

11.22
Away against the Senators (15-3-0)
Season Record: 0-0
Goals for: N/A
Goals against: N/A

Perhaps a chance for the Penguins to settle some bad blood between themselves and the Senators following last season's playoff elimination. This is the first of four meeting against the Senators, who have not only jumped to the lead in the Eastern Conference, but also lead the league in 30 points. Goaltender Martin Gerber has kept the team in excellent shape while starter Ray Emery has been nursing an injured wrist back to health.

11.24
Home against the Thrashers (9-10-0)
Season Record: 0-0
Goals for: N/A
Goals against: N/A

The first of four between these two teams. The Thrashers started off to a less than admirable start, losing six straight right out of the gate. Following the firing of their coach Bob Hartle and a groin injury to starting netminder Jari Lehtonen, the team has been 9-4 in their last 13. The Thrashers possess a firing squad for forwards who aren't afraid to take chances and crash the net. Ilya Kovalchuk registered two consecutive games with a hat trick this season (against Ottawa and Tampa Bay) while Marian Hossa has registered two or more points in five of the last six games.

11.30
Home against the Stars (8-7-4)
Season Record: 0-0
Goals for: N/A
Goals against: N/A

Not exactly off to as good a start as anticipated, the Dallas Stars hope to clinch another playoff spot this season behind the human wall that is Marty Turco. By the time the Pens face the Stars, both are on track to be evenly matched in both records and goals for. Despite both teams have offensive threats, it may very well come down to a defensive stand-off.