Pens drop Bruins 4-2

No, Sid didn't fight again. He didn't score either. He did, however, tally an assist on the night in the Pens' 4-2 victory over the Bruins.

Tonight's scoring was led by what some may deem an unlikely roster. How often do you see Gary Roberts score not only once, but twice in a game? Not to be out-done, Georges Laraque said he wanted a piece of the pie too with a goal in the second. Malkin - well, he scores frequently. In this game he did so just to secure the win.

Notch another win for Ty Conklin as well. Conk is 2-0 on the year, despite his poor efforts to relieve Sabourin in the Flyers beat down two weeks ago. Tonight's win against the Bahstonians was by far an easier game to handle than the 5-4 shootout win four days ago that nearly turned into an upset.

The Pens head into the holiday break with another win, putting their record at 7-5 on the month with only two more games remaining in December.

The Winter Classic is building a lot of hype, and I really look forward to what the overall take on it is on a day otherwise known for its college bowl games. Rumor has it the Pens will play outside again next year, only against their cross-state rivals on neutral territory on state college grounds. Check out the article here. (Thanks to The Sidney Crosby Show for finding it.)

Perhaps this will lead to more outdoor games along similar lines. Although I'm sure a Panthers vs Lightning outdoor game is completely out of the question, I don't see why a battle of Ontario wouldn't be considered.

The Pens return to action on Thursday against the Capitals. Game time 7:30 p.m.

My Return - Pens go 2-2

I'm back from my Northern ventures. In the past week I've tried to pack as much excitement and activity into seven days that I was hardly able to keep up on the news. In my visits to Toronto, Ottawa, Niagara and Buffalo, I was fortunate enough to at least have comprehensive hockey coverage to at least keep me in the loop of things.

Not at all shocked by Chris Simon's stomp on Ruutu. There had to have been something mentally wrong with a player to begin with if he's going to take a baseball swing at another's face. Last season I partially thought to myself, "Well, the trainers did say he acted out of character in part to a concussion sustained on the previous hit. Even still, that seemed like a stretch to me. But now I think it's safe to say that Chris Simon is certifiably insane.

Pens were victims to their first scoreless game of the season thanks in part to Lunqvidst and the Rangers. As upset as I was to see such a blemish come from the hands of the Rangers, I was just as equally happy to see Gaborik pop five goals past "King" Henrik a few nights later. The King looked more like a peasant.

Oh yes, holy crap, Crosby throws down! At first when I was checking a score online I was totally surprised to see Crosby in the box for a five minute fighting major. Before midnight hit I was able to find a TV and watch the action myself. You know what? The kid held his own. At first I thought he was a little late to drop his gloves, especially the right gauntlet he seemed to launch towards Ference's face. All in all though, the kid held his own. I don't care what anyone says; if you send the other guy away to the dressing room with blood trickling down, you made your point.

And finally Friday's game against the Islanders proved to be a disappointment. Why can't the Pens win games in their division? This is really going to kill them come the end of the season and the playoff race. Four wins...FOUR WINS out of the team's 17 are in the division. On a similar note, ten losses for a Atlantic Division record of 4-10-1. Not exactly what you'd call impressive.

But we have tonight against the Bruins to worry about. In their last meeting earlier this week Ty Conklin tallied his first win with the Pens, barely hanging on for the shootout victory. The Bruins managed to squeak a point out of that one, whereby at one time they were losing 4-0. Thanks to a collapsing Pens D and stupid penalties, the Bruins rallied back with two PP goals, one shorty and an even strength to send it to overtime and ultimately a shootout. Kudos to Conklin.

Happy to be home after a crazy week of traveling. I'll have some pics up soon, as well as some news as to where you can read Pensburgh in 2008. Till then, everyone enjoy the weekend, the holidays and the time spent with family. And remember - Ice Bowl at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo on January 1st, 1p.m. on NBC.