Pens drop Caps 4-3 in OT

It's safe to say at this point that every time the Caps and Pens faceoff, you can expect a fight from Georges Laraque and Donald Brashear. Those guys genuinely hate one another.

What you can't predict is a come from behind victory. Frankly, I hate games like this. They leave me cursing and yelling and screaming one minute, and then cheering and praising and hailing the next. If my neighbors were actually capable of hearing, they'd think I had a combination of a bi-polar disorder and turrets.

Regardless, Pens took down the Caps in overtime tonight by the score of 4-3 in front of the home crowd. Crosby had two assists on the night, with some goal-age coming from the otherwise silent Sydor and new-comer Jeff Taffe. The game-winner in OT came courtesy of Sergei Gonchar who hit a wide open net on a slapper from the point via a Crosby dish. Get used to seeing Sydor on the lines again, as key defenseman Mark Eaton is out with a torn ACL. Therrien has so far experimented with who he plans to pair with Gonch, with Scuderi looking like the go-to-guy at the moment. If his juggling of forwards is any evidence to his ADD tendencies when it comes to line formations, then I'd expect to see every D-man on the team get a fair shot in pairing with Gonch.

The Pens played a very disciplined game tonight. However, much to the power play unit's chagrin so did the Caps. Each team only had two power play attempts and a total of three penalties on the game (including the Brashear/Laraque first period dance.) Pens went one for two with the man advantage, converting in a dire situation in the closing minutes of the third to send the game to OT. The Pens' PK unit killed penalties at an OJ Simpson-like 100 percent. Although not on the PK line, Gary Roberts explained how he'd do it if he was.

Pens are off now till the outdoor extravaganza that is the NHL Winter Classic. Or, as many are calling it, The Ice Bowl. Should Ty Conklin get the start in net for the Pens, this will be his second appearance in an outdoor game. Conk was in goal for Edmonton in the 4-3 loss to Montreal back in 2003.

Penguins vs Caps preview - Crosby vs Ovechkin II

Tonight the Penguins come back from the holiday break hoping to make it two in a row against the Caps at home in Pittsburgh. As is the case in any Sidvechkin game, the NHL hype couldn't be greater. Never mind the fact that if the playoffs started tomorrow both the Caps and Penguins would be watching the games from home.

I don't want to turn this into a who's better match either. I really hate the constant Sid vs Ovechkin battle. Personally, I feel Ovechkin is lost on the Caps. He's an amazing player trapped on a crappy team. Similar to Sid's predicament in his rookie season, the team is struggling to get out of last place in the conference. However, unlike the Pens' 2005 season, the Caps failed to rebound the following year. Or even the year after that. Comparatively speaking, the Caps are the Pittsburgh Pirates of hockey. Ovechkin is to the Caps and Freddy Sanchez is to the Pirates. Rookie of the Year and Slugger of the Year can't do it all.

Ty Conklin has really been holding his own in net, much to my surprise, but I'd expect Sabu in net tonight. Conklin goaltended that almost unspeakable display in the 5-4 Bruins shootout match that nearly led to a loss, but we'll just remember that as a win and move on from there.

Then there was the other 4-2 win later in the week against - you guessed it, Boston. Seems Therrien wants to make Conklin the go-to-guy for Boston matchups. Don't blame him when the kid goes 2-0 in two games against them...

Sid is both hot and cold so far this month. Clearly not his best play of the season, but after all, he's only human. Perhaps the thrill of competition against Ovechkin will really help Sid take off again.

Scary Gary nets two in the last game against the Bruins. Laraque gets another. Now all we need is the first two lines to score. I don't know about you, but I'm missing Max Talbot right about now. Some quality scoring depth would work wonders for this team. That and some solid goaltending...

Lastly, when talking about the aspect of a pattern and potentially falling into a somewhat superstitious state, let's not consider the last six games. (I'll just throw it out there anyways.) If you needed further explanation, then here you go.

L-W-L-W-L-W-(?)

Here's to a W...