Pens bomb Thrashers 5-0

The on going see-saw that is the "Faith in Fleury Campaign" has just been given a much needed insurance boost.

After facing the hook from Coach Therrien against the Ottawa Senators, Marc-Andre Fleury started and finished a 5-0 shutout performance against the Atlanta Thrashers. This goes down as his second blank of the year, the first coming against the Rangers in October.

The game started with what appeared to be the look and feel of a Saturday night blowout when the Penguins walked out of the first period up 3-0. As noted in the past games against the Avalanche, Rangers and Islanders, a two or three goal lead is hardly a cushion. However, it would be more than enough tonight, as the team would later pad the lead even more with two more goals.

Sergei Gonchar had a three point game, dishing three helpers that left the Thrashers seeing red.

Jordan Staal managed to break his season long drought with the first goal of the game, only his second on the year. After going 13 pointless games, Staal has a goal and an assist in the past two.

Ryan Malone scored his third goal in two games on a Gonchar pass halfway through the first. The scoring depth on the team is certainly apparant, as is the hitting from the fourth line consisting of Laraque, Ruutu and Hall.

The power play unit was playing at an extreme level tonight. Given only three chances in what was a relatively penalty free game, the Penguins converted twice on the night with a Malone goal in the first and Crosby tally in the second. The offense is finally back to producing, hitting the mark 11 times in the last two games. The Pens are starting to show signs of a full range hockey team as they're playing both sides of the puck much better and the goaltending debacle begins to settle itself down.

The Pens' biggest obstacle this week may in fact be themselves. Although too early to necessarily constitute as a 'streak', the Penguins have won their last two in a row. Now five days separate them between their next and last game of the month against the Dallas Stars. Hopefully the time away from the ice won't shut them down.

Penguins Goals

1st Period
Staal from Roberts-Kennedy
Malone from Gonchar-Letang
Armstrong from Crosby-Gonchar

2nd Period
Crosby from Gonchar-Christensen

3rd Period
Whitney from Roberts-Kennedy

Fleury - 28-28
Pavelec - 29-34

Coming soon: November in review, Dallas Stars preview and a look at the All Penguins team featuring the All-time best roster consisting of players to ever wear the black and gold.

Penguins vs Thrashers preview

Tonight the Pens take on the Thrashers at home in Pittsburgh for the first of four faceoffs this season.

The Thrashers started the season off 0-6, on what can only be described subtly as "The wrong foot." After firing Head Coach Bob Hartley, the team made a dramatic turn around that has since brought them to a .500 win percentage with a record of 11-11. On the wake of their first playoff berth in franchise history, the Thrash are looking for a repeater under the leadership of Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa.

Kovalchuk, went two consecutive games with a hat trick against both Tampa Bay and Ottawa, while Hossa has been nothing short of prolific averaging nearly a point a game. In there most recent game Friday night, The Thrashers were shutout by Martin Brodeur and the Devils squad, delivering Kovi and the gang their first loss in four games.

The Pens are hoping to wrap up the month of November on a positive note. In the 11 previous games this month, the Penguins hold the record of 3-7-1. As far as the Atlantic Division race is concerned, this was no doubt a harsh month for the Penguins to slump. Out of 18 potential points within their division, the Pens barely walked away with five. They suffered two losses from the Flyers, the Devils and one regulation loss and overtime loss from the Rangers.

However, things have started to look like they're turning around. In their last four games the Pens are 2-1-1. Most recently Pittsburgh dropped Ottawa in a 6-5 shootout victory that proved a variety of morale boosts to the struggling squad. The team tied their highest single game performance of the year (5-0 against the Devils), beat one of the best teams in the league and additionally sent a message out to teams everywhere that they're ready to play.

Tonight, the Penguins are hoping to finish the remainder of this month with two more wins. They'll have to fight past the Thrashers and goalie Johan Hedberg before the last battle of November against the Stars.

The puck drops tonight at 7:30.

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.