Penguins end four game skid with win over Islanders

Tonight, for only the second time this month, the Penguins walked away with a win - this time over the rival New York Islanders by the score of 4-2. Crosby continues his point streak (18 games), Fleury gets a win and the Penguins make the most of what has been an otherwise dismal November.

How did it happen? The answer to that is rather simple.



It looks like a small bottle of champagne, but it tastes like heaven. When I drink one before a game, it emits powers that manage to not only promote the play of Evgeni Malkin, but apparently any other Russian National on the Penguins as evident by Gonchar's play tonight. As long as I keep drinking and edge closer to alcoholism, the Penguins will continue winning and edge closer to the cup. It's a risk I'm willing to take...

At least, that's my theory.

Overall a very solid game tonight. I wouldn't say Fleury looked superb, but he definitely managed to make some otherwise superior saves. His one Achilles heal, however, is his inability to redirect the shots to the corner. Rebounds just sit at the mouth of the crease, and if it weren't for the heads up play of his defenders it could've been an entirely different game.

Speaking of: Kris Letang's first game of the season tonight. He didn't break any records or achieve much, but he did stick to his man all game, at some points boxing out the crease. The one Islanders goal that managed to tie the score at two may have been his fault. He bit early on the faceoff and opened up the bottom of the net. Brooks Orpik had to come across the crease to stick it to Vasicek but was unable to get there in time. Over commitment has been a problem with Letang in the past, and was the one thing many coaches said he had to work on before his re-entry into the NHL.

Tyler Kennedy, initially sent back down to Wilkes Barre-Scranton, made an appearance on the roster tonight in place of the scratched Mark Recchi. He also remained silent on the night, despite having a golden opportunity to seal an empty netter towards the end of the game. Rather than take an otherwise sure-shot, Kennedy passed it into traffic and caused my heart rate to beat further out of rhythm until the final seconds of the game.

My ""Hero of The Night Award" goes to Georges Laraque. The man makes his presence known and no one is going to get in his way lest they choose to be run over. Scoring isn't exactly his forte, but seeing a guy like him step up tonight is exactly what the rest of the offense needs to use as an example. The deeper the scoring goes in the lines, the more games the team will win.

The Penguins also played a very disciplined game, keeping the Islanders scoreless on only two powerplay attempts. Orpik has to know when to keep his mouth shut and his hands down, as he single handedly killed a powerplay before a second could tick off the clock by mouthing off and following an Islander to the box. I suppose this is something to expect when you run a team of youngsters.

At last the Pens have broken their four game skid, in turn also sending the Islanders on course for two straight losses. An even bigger game awaits the team Saturday when the Rangers come to town.

Penguins Goals

1st Period
Gonchar from Malkin-Fleury

2nd Period
Sykora from Malkin-Gonchar
Laraque from Crosby

3rd Period
None

Fleury - 26-28
DiPietro - 24-27

Penguins vs Islanders preview

For the past four games Penguins fans have been saying, "this is a must win game." Well, allow me to reiterate. This is a must win game.

A team can drop four in a row in their division this early in the season and still make it back before the playoffs, but it doesn't make life much easier. Plus, when the Penguins have a team like the Rangers winning seven of their last eight, the gap only widens with each and every failed division victory.

Tonight the Penguins are hoping to change that as they take on the Islanders in front of the home crowd. If anything, this small run at the end of the month is the perfect opportunity for the Pens to rebound and hopefully reach .500 before December. Out of the next seven games, six of them are at home. The Pens are 3-6 in front of the home crowd this season and 1-6 overall this month.

A few rosters changes may just be the thing to help the Penguins redirect their play. With Kris Letang's call-up and Nasreddine and Kennedy heading back down, expect to see a lot of new line combinations from Therrien as he tries to find the right fit for Letang. It's been mentioned and it's sheer fact: no other line is scoring except the top one. What Therrien risks in taking Malkin off the Crosby line is far greater than what he will most likely gain. Now he is asking himself, "Do I potentially lose those one or two goals a game by switching him, or can I maybe jump start the second line?" It's a coach's call.

Up until their loss this past Monday night against the Flyers, the Islanders were on a four-game winning streak. DiPietro grabbed his first shutout of the season against the Lightning, but aside from that the wins were all by one goal. The scary thing about the Islanders is that they can score, but it seems to be they do it only when they want to. Their first win of the season still stands as their highes scoring game (6-4). But from there they went on to lose three games in the first month by only notching one goal.

They've had time though, and the lines are really clicking now. Comrie, Satan, Fedotenko and Guerin are all threats. Guerin was scratched last game against the Flyers, but I have no word as to why or if he'll play tonight.

Penguins and Islanders, tonight at 7:30. The Pens can still pick up six division points this month. Let's hope a win tonight can be the start of something good.

Therrien to Letang - "We need you."

The Penguins have promoted one of the future stars of the game, Kris Letang, from the WBS club in efforts to jump start the offense and improve on the defense. Letang has been a prospect hopeful for quite some time, often even seen as having a lock on the club in the preseason. However, he failed to ignite the coaches' interest and in turn spent the first few weeks on the farm.

Letang is a formidable threat on both sides of the puck, bringing not only a patient mind to the Penguins' defense, but also a hard and desperately needed right-handed shot to the Pens blueline. Last season, Letang played seven games with the Big Boys, netting two powerplay goals for two points in seven games.

With Letang's call, Nasreddine and Kennedy will find themselves back in the suits of the baby Pens. Nasreddine was a healthy scratch for most of the first 18 games, playing only while defenseman Ryan Whitney was listed day-to-day with an injured groin and tallying no points in the process. Tyler Kennedy wasn't much better, playing in six NHL games and scoring only one goal. He was often out-muscled by the opposition and had been a scratch in the past three games. If Kennedy takes this demotion as a sign of improvement, then I don't suspect it'll be long till we see him again. He's a fast skater who's quick on his feet to chase down the dump-ins, but tends to get rocked between heaven and hell by the bigger, tougher and older guys.

Letang's promotion is big news for the Penguins, who have struggled to a 1-6 record for the month of November and found themselves resting uncomfortably at the bottom of the Atlantic Division.

On a personal note, I'd like to say a thank you to Coach Therrien for taking my advice on promoting Letang earlier this week. Now it's up to Kris to make me look good.

The Pens may have even made a move to potentially work out some goaltending kinks. Maybe.

The Pittsburgh Penguins re-assigned goaltender John Curry to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Curry went 1-0-1 for the US National Team at the Deutschland Cup in Germany, posting a 1.92 GAA and .946 save percentage. Time to see what he can do with the Baby Pens.

Is this it for the Pens for now, or are there more moves in the future? This next game against the Islanders Thursday night will tell more than just a win or loss, but what can be expected of the Pens for the next month or so.

Preview soon to come.

Penguins lose to Islanders 3-2

For the second consecutive game the Penguins were the first to strike and the last to cheer. In two straight games the Penguins have jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead to only watch the hopes of victory slip from the confines of a hockey glove by giving up three consecutive unanswered goals. I for one could not be more disappointed.

I mean - who do you blame? Is it the coaching? Is it the players...defensive or offensive? Is it REALLY Fleury's fault, but no matter how hard a fan looks they won't point a finger? I'm just gonna go out there and say it's a collective effort by everyone, because when you really break it down that's what it is.

You can't blame just one aspect of a team. You hear that cliche term (and boy do I hate cliches) "The team that sticks together wins together". Yeah well someone forgot to tell the Pens that the team that fails together loses together as well.

I will say this though: Congratulations to Tyler Kennedy on his first NHL goal. The 21 year old, just called up four games ago, notched his first career red light goal roughly two minutes in to the second. So hey, all things considered; congrats.

But I'll also say this: WHY oh WHY do our best players spend the most time in the box? Malkin and Crosby each tallied up minutes in the box like it was a contest. Granted, there wasn't much that Crosby could do to avoid his (an inadvertent high-sticking call that cut DiPietro's right eye), but we need those guys ON the ice, not IN the box. Malkin acts like there's nothing wrong with a little tripping every once in a while. There is - our second best scorer spends two minutes in the bin. DiPietro by the way is listed day-to-day.

I am beside myself in sheer frustration. It's one thing to watch your team lose a game, even if they once held only a ONE goal lead. But, to watch your team take charge so early in a contest and ultimately fall apart with three consecutive gifts, there's just not much more to say then, "Hey, better luck next time".

Next time is tomorrow night, as the Penguins wrap up their four game road trip in New Jersey and the new Prudential Center.

Oh yeah, and as if Carey Price getting his first career win against the Penguins this year wasn't enough, Al Arbour also gets his 1500th career NHL coaching start and 740th career coaching win in the same night. Huzzah.

Penguins Goals

1st Period
Malone from Malkin-Crosby

2nd Period
Kennedy from Roberts-Talbot

3rd Period
NONE

Fleury 36 - 39
Dipietro 16 - 18
Dubielewicz 7 - 7

Penguins vs Islanders preview

Division rivals faceoff tomorrow night in Long Island as the Pens take on the Islanders in what will be their third consecutive road game and quite possibly the hardest.

The Islanders, led by goaltender Rick DiPietro and offensive threats Bill Guerin, Ruslan Fedotenko and Mike Comrie have certainly dismissed the cynics this season with an early burst from the gate. Skepticism surrounded the team last season for a number of reasons, most ranging from the acquisition of veteran Bill Guerin, to the poor front office negotiations that cost them Ryan Smyth and a first round draft pick.

And if the Islanders were looking to let the Penguins know they mean business then they certainly did so Thursday night as they took down the Lightning in a 4-0 Dipietro shutout.

The Lightning, similar to the Penguins, certainly have their share of offensive threats as well. If the Islanders can limit the play of superstars along the likes of Lecavalier, Prospal and St. Louis, then can they do the same for Malkin, Crosby and Sykora? Let's find out.

The Islanders were thought to have lost a key part of their defense in sending Jason Blake to the Toronto Maple Leafs but the void wasn't closed for long. Campoli, Gervais, Berard and Bergeron stepped up their play and are now asking, "Blake who?"

Consider this: the top three point leaders on the Islanders were NOT with the club last season. Comrie leads with 13 points, followed by Guerin (11) and Fedotenko (9).

Last season the Penguins saw these guys in action with their former teams (except Guerin), but now Fedotenko from the Lightning and Comrie from the Senators will be attacking as one with the Islanders. As far as my money goes, it's an under estimated and under appreciated attack.

I think the play of DiPietro is at this point highly respected and feared, but I'm going to say it anyways. It's highly respected and feared. When the guy's hot, he's hot and you can't get much hotter than coming off a 4-0 shutout.



So where does this leave the Pens? How do they match up?

Well, for starters the team has equally comprable offensive threats in Malkin, Crosby and Sykora, each of whom have had at least one-two goal games each this season. The first line has finally clicked and gone through it's shifts and changes to a point where I can comfortable say it's working. Even more threatening is the first powerplay unit which has clicked at least once every game this season. However a key part of that unit is listed day-to-day. Defenseman Ryan Whitney didn't play the third period against the Avalanche the other night, leaving with a sore groin. Although listed DTD, it's expected he'll play. Yet in the event he does not, the Penguins will have to promote an offensive defeseman to the line to match with the likes of Sergei Gonchar. If I had to pick I'd say Sydor. Although he only has an assist on the season, he certainly packs a punch that has yet to be unraveled since his acquisition from the Stars in the offseason. Sydor has yet to have a season with more than 50 points, but I feel that can change this year with the Penguins.

I think the biggest controversy surrounded the Pens this year is their goaltending. Fleury or Sabourin, hot or cold? It seems to be an on-going trend between the two. Fleury saw two straight outstanding performances against the Rangers and Capitals before slipping and sliding against the Leafs in a 5-2 loss at home. Since then it's been the Sabu show, who shouldn't have given up a game-winning wraparound last night considering his coverage of the net and the strength of the shot. But what's done is done, and personally I have no idea who they are going to start tomorrow night.

Outside of the starting roster, there have been some talks of bringing in veteran goaltender Curtis Joseph as a potential second string threat. I for one felt Thibault filled this position just fine, even recording a shutout last season against the Devils, but I'm not the front office, financial manager of Jocelyn Thibault for that matter.

Whatever the case may be, I feel the Penguins' offense needs to step up their play, and by offense I don't just mean Crosby. The forechecking in the first period against Colorado was phenomenal, as was the penalty kill. Then it just all went to hell. To win this game the Penguins need a solid performance on both sides of the puck. You can not get in to a shooting match with the Islanders, especially with DP between the pipes.

The puck drops at 7pm.