Flyers coming in for a harsh landing

I'm upset. Very upset.

The Flyers' recent form has been nothing short of embarassing. They aren't trying anymore. Sure, some players are putting forth performances, but the team seems to have given up. Why? Last year they played like hell down the stretch. This year, when they sort of have a playoff spot locked up, they wilt. Wonderful.

Sure, the Devils are in a freefall. But who cares? They have the division locked up. They gave the Flyers three chances over the past week to catch up and the Flyers keep pissing them away. Now I'm just hoping to secure the 4 seed, which is looking less and less likely. Philly has an incredibly easy schedule down the stretch, but if they are going to be losing to teams like Toronto, I wouldn't be surprised with lower half finish.

I don't know what to think about Briere. At times he seems to rejuvenate the offense, especially on the powerplay. At other times he competely screws the lines. Because of his massive contract and acknowledged skill, it's clear he shouldn't really be getting 3rd or 4th line time. But when he's messing with chemistry, its trouble. It seems like he's near full strength as far as his skating goes, but the Flyers haven't exactly been better with him. The PP looked great for a couple of games and now everything is going down.

The good news? There's time left to turn this around. And an easy schedule. John Stevens needs to lay off his hands off approach and get in their faces. Immediately.

The Flyers have the talent and work ethic to match any team in the East, and at least give the Sharks/Red Wings a run for their money. They have a powerful offensive team that can respond to anyone. But if they aren't getting effort from all four lines (and right now I'm looking at you, top two lines) - they aren't going to come close to winning.

Prove me wrong Flyers, please.

Pens Go 1-1 Over Weekend

Things have been rather hectic for myself over the last few days so this will be relatively short as well.

I'm happy with the weekend's results for the most part.

The 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings was what I expected in that game. The Kings are not a team the Penguins should lose to. They showed up and competed and got the valuable two points in the standings.

The lone goal given up by the Pens can't really be blamed on anyone on the ice. It was a 5-on-3 powerplay goal on a bomb by Drew Doughty that was tipped by Michal Handzus.

Video Highlights Courtesy Of NHL.com


The blame here will go on the two guys in the penalty box. In this case, Mark Eaton and Jordan Staal took minor penalties 20 seconds apart that eventually set up this goal.

All around I was happy with the performance in this game and even Sunday's 3-1 loss to the hated Flyers.

The Penguins once again wore the ugly powder blue jerseys and paid for it as a result. Can we please stop this experiment already?

For the most part, the Pens dominated the game and forced Martin Biron to win the game for Philadelphia.

The Pens got a few pucks behind Biron, but just not over the goal-line. On several occasions a Flyers player was there to clear the puck out of danger, or Biron somehow found the puck just in time.

The first Flyers goal is entirely Rob Scuderi's fault.

With the Flyers on a powerplay in the first period, Mike Knuble fired a shot on Marc-Andre Fleury who made the save, but left a rebound. Scuderi attempted to clear the puck up the middle of the ice on his backhand while staring Fleury in the face and completely whiffed on it.

The attempted clear became a direct pass to Simon Gagne who buried the puck behind Fleury for the early 1-0 lead.

Video Highlights Courtesy Of NHL.com


The second goal was another penalty killing mishap in the second period. With the Flyers breaking into the zone and driving to the net, Brooks Orpik made a play on his man as he should have.

Mark Eaton was visibly confused and somehow didn't notice Scott Hartnell racing to the backpost looking for the easy tap-in goal. Jeff Carter saw Hartnell and attempted a pass to him that ended up hitting Hartnell in the skate and going in. The goal was reviewed and deemed legit.

Eaton takes the full point on this one for not blocking the pass and not picking up the backside player.

The Flyers third goal was an empty netter and I will not assign points for empty net goals, unless a Penguin puts it in their own net.

The effort was there, but the bounces went Philadelphia's way. Simple as that. No need to dwell on it. The Penguins just need to focus on continuing to play with high energy and effort and things will work out in the end.

Up next are the recently vastly improved Calgary Flames in what should be a good measuring stick for the Penguins. The Flames come to town on Wednesday.

Updated Hal Gill Quotient Standings:

Kris Letang - 6.34 - 15 GP
Marc-Andre Fleury - 5.08 - 17 GP
Sergei Gonchar - 5.08 - 16 GP
Hal Gill - 5.34 - 17 GP
Mark Eaton - 6.33 - 18 GP
Brooks Orpik - 5.09 - 18 GP
Rob Scuderi - 4.50 - 18 GP
Ryan Whitney - 3.5 - 6 GP - TRADED
Jordan Staal - 2.88 - 18 GP
Evgeni Malkin - 2.0 - 18 GP
Matt Cooke - 1.0 - 18 GP
Ruslan Fedotenko - 1.0 18 GP
Tyler Kennedy - 1.0 - 18 GP
Pascal Dupuis - .83 - 18 GP
Max Talbot - 1.0 - 18 GP
Sidney Crosby - 0.5 - 4 GP
Referee Paul Devorski - 0.5 - 1 Game Reffed
Bill Thomas - .33 - 5 GP - WAIVED

Pens Destroy Thrashers 6-2

Well, it's about time the Pens won a game and didn't force me to down a bottle of Tums.

This one was over before it started as the Thrashers were without several players, but most notably Ilya Kovalchuk.

The 6-2 win tonight ties the Pens with the Flyers for 4th in the Eastern Conference, but the Flyers have three games in hand.

There were some anxious moments early when Bryan Little banged home his own rebound just 34 seconds into the game.

The only reason this puck ended up in the net is because of Hal Gill who practically handed the lead to Atlanta.

Gill received a pass behind the net from Rob Scuderi and attempted a pass up the boards to Evgeni Malkin. The problem here is that Gill can't handle a puck to save his life and as such, the pass went awry.

Viktor Kozlov picked off the pass and one-touched it on to Little. After a give-and-go with Todd White, Little was wide open at the top of the left faceoff circle. Marc-Andre Fleury made a great first save, but his momentum took him out of the crease and Little slammed the rebound home.

Little should not have been as open as he was. The only reason he was that open was because Gill got confused as to where he was supposed to be and slid over to White was already being marked by Scuderi.

Gill is taking the full point in the standings on this one.

Highlights Courtesy Of NHL.com


Lucky for him, this was Malkin's night to shine as he gathered five points to put him over 100 on the season.

Midway through the first period, the Penguins went on a 5-on-3 powerplay and completely controlled the play. They would have scored had Johan Hedberg not done the splits and robbed Bill Guerin on the backpost.

Right after the two-man advantage ended Malkin fed Guerin who found Sergei Gonchar at the point. Gonchar teed it up and found the twine around a screen set up by Chris Kunitz to tie the game at 1-1.

With under a minute to play in the period, the Penguins went back on the powerplay and Kunitz found the back of the net on a rebound shot by Sidney Crosby. Kunitz has been unconscious since coming to Pittsburgh and is showing no signs of waking up any time soon. Malkin got the secondary assist for his second point of the night.

With the Penguins up 3-1, Malkin decided it was time to put on a show for the fans. Both sides were short a man and a short 4-on-4 play took place. Malkin won the draw back to Kris Letang who made a quick pass to Gonchar. Again, Gonchar wasted no time in letting one fly and Malkin was there to deposit the rebound into the empty net for his third point.

Just 43 seconds later Malkin connected again on a one-timer from the farside halfboards that beat Hedberg clean.

Malkin capped his evening when he took a big hit, but sprung Gonchar and Mark Eaton for a 2-on-1 on Hedberg. Gonchar waited out the defenseman and slid a slick pass to Eaton, who had a wide open net to make the score 6-2.

The Mellon Arena starting chanting "Geno! Geno!" for a majority of the third period hoping that he would get the hat trick and he had a golden opportunity to do so.

With about three minutes to play, Malkin was hauled down on a breakaway and was awarded a penalty shot. As he closed in on Hedberg, he threw a bunch of head and shoulder fakes to try and confuse the goaltender, but it did not work. Hedberg stuck with him and forced Malkin to shoot wide.

The game turned nasty and tensions finally boiled over late in the third period. A melee ensued behind Fleury's net that saw Eric Godard and Boris Valabik engage in a very short fight. Valabik threw one haymaker and immediately dropped to the ice favoring his shoulder. He skated directly to the gate and did not return.

Earlier, Matt Cooke went to put a hit on Zach Bogosian, but ended up colliding with the young defenseman's knee. Bogosian tried to stay in the game, but eventually left and did not return.

Jordan Staal scored his 20th goal of the season on the lone goal that Malkin didn't figure in on in the game. Staal has taken his game to a new level since Dan Bylsma became coach. Something tells me he likes the aggressive forecheck and wide open playstyle that the Pens have shown of late.

As for the second Thrashers goal:

Chris Thorburn moves out of the corner with the puck and Max Talbot draped all over him. Brooks Orpik slides over to him leaving Eric Boulton open with space five feet away from Fleury.

Boulton attempts a pass through Eaton, but the puck hits a stick and pops up and appears to hit Eaton in the face or upper chest and bounce behind Fleury to cut the lead to 5-2.

Talbot will receive 0.5 for allowing his man to beat him in the corner and Orpik gets the other 0.5 for not staying with his man when Thorburn had nothing to shoot at and would have had to make an incredible shot with Talbot in hot pursuit.

Updated Hal Gill Quotient Standings:

Kris Letang - 6.34 - 13 GP
Marc-Andre Fleury - 5.08 - 15 GP
Sergei Gonchar - 5.08 - 14 GP
Hal Gill - 5.34 - 15 GP
Mark Eaton - 4.83 - 16 GP
Brooks Orpik - 5.09 - 16 GP
Rob Scuderi - 3.50 - 16 GP
Ryan Whitney - 3.5 - 6 GP - TRADED
Jordan Staal - 2.38 - 16 GP
Evgeni Malkin - 2.0 - 16 GP
Matt Cooke - 1.0 - 16 GP
Ruslan Fedotenko - 1.0 16 GP
Tyler Kennedy - 1.0 - 16 GP
Pascal Dupuis - .83 - 16 GP
Max Talbot - 1.0 - 16 GP
Sidney Crosby - 0.5 - 12 GP
Referee Paul Devorski - 0.5 - 1 Game Reffed
Bill Thomas - .33 - 5 GP - WAIVED

Up next for the Penguins are the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night at the Igloo.

Pens Score 4 In 3rd, Win 6-4

If there was any doubt that the Penguins are trying to kill me before this weekend, it has officially been erased.

Why would a team willingly do this to its fan base? I have no answers, but I'm convinced that's what's going on here.

With a two-goal lead in the third against Ottawa, they blow it and later lose in the shootout to Ottawa.

Sunday against Boston, just more of the same.

With the Pens trailing 3-2 heading to the third period against the Bruins, I was hoping and begging for a win. They've made a season out of third period comebacks and blown leads, so why not one more for good measure?

I'm already in my paranoid playoff antics mode where apparently if I put my pants on wrong, the team is doomed.

Prime example?

I hadn't shaved during the recent seven-game win streak. Then, before the Columbus game on Thursday I had to shave out of necessity for work. The result? 4-3 loss in a shootout. The hockey gods then punished me some more with yesterday's 4-3 shootout loss against Ottawa. I'm so screwed and it's only March.

Moving onto today's third period where the question was, "could the Pens do it again?"

Yep. Sure enough the Pens delivered in a big way.

Blake Wheeler had a holding penalty called on him just 28 seconds into the final frame and the Pens pounced on the opportunity.

Sergei Gonchar fired a wrist shot through traffic from the point that bounced off something in front and dropped dramatically to the ice and behind Tim Thomas to tie the game at 3-3.

The initial call was that Chris Kunitz had deflected it, but it was later deemed that he did not. Why is this important? This was his second goal of the game. Still not important right? Read on.

Sixteen seconds later, Bill Guerin blocked a shot and the puck ricocheted to Kunitz who had a breakaway from his own blueline. With a little shoulder fake he got Thomas to open the pads and Kunitz slipped it through the opening for what appeared to be his third goal of the game and second career hat trick.

Thankfully, I was not in attendance and throwing my hat. If I had been, I'd want my hat back for sure.

In typical Penguin fashion, Petr Sykora takes a hooking call about a minute after Kunitz's go-ahead goal. As a result, Michael Ryder picks off a clearing attempt by Brooks Orpik and roofs it over the glove of Mathieu Garon to tie the game at 4-4.

Orpik will take the full 1.0 in this for an absolutely awful clearing attempt up the middle of the ice. Use the boards big guy or make sure you have a clear lane to get rid of the puck.

Just under seven minutes later, Jordan Staal protects the puck in the corner to the right of Thomas and finds Sykora in his sweet spot in the high slot. Sykora rifles a one-timer past Thomas to send the Mellon Arena into a frenzy with a 5-4 lead.

The Bruins upped the pressure and had some very good chances late to tie the game, but Garon and the Pens were up to the task.

The Pens iced the game when Staal picked off a pass from Zdeno Chara and deposited the puck into the empty cage with 57 seconds to play.

Video Highlights Courtesy Of NHL.com


I can't even begin to put into words the magnitude of this win. Huge does not do it justice. Normally, the Pens fold on the second day of back to back games. I was fully expecting the team to come out flat after yesterday's physical game with the Senators, but such wasn't the case.

This team has a new attitude about them. They want it now. They know they are feared and are preying on that fear in the opponent. The new aggressive forecheck is a nightmare to play against because you never know when it's coming.

Dan Bylsma has a system that fits this team like a glove and it's working. 10-1-3 under him is proof enough. Imagine where this team could be had Shero and Co. pulled the trigger on Michel Therrien a month sooner when it should have happened.

The Penguins have 11 games remaining in the regular season and currently sit 5th in the Eastern Conference with 82 points. Most teams they are battling with for playoff positioning have a game or two in hand, so it's time to start hoping for some losses from those teams to even things out.

Here's the other three goals against to update the Hal Gill Quotient:

Goal #1 - Mark Recchi Tips In A Mark Stuart Blast

The puck gets dumped into the far corner and Kris Letang is forced to retrieve it because Mark Eaton was slow to react. Letang attemps a pass to Staal in the faceoff circle, but the puck bonces away from Staal and right to Stuart who unloads a bomb. Letang and Eaton are both standing next to each other and Recchi is untouched in the slot and deflects the puck past Garon to tie the game at 1-1.

Points assigned: Letang gets 0.5 for the bad pass to Staal and Eaton gets the other 0.5 for not moving over and covering Recchi in the slot.

Goal #2 - Phil Kessel Tap In On Backdoor

Chara fires a wrist shot on goal through a crowd from the point. Wheeler beats Sidney Crosby to the rebound and passes through the slot to a streaking Kessel who buries it into the empty net behind Garon for the 2-1 lead.

Points assigned: Crosby gets 0.5 for being late to the rebound and allowing Wheeler to get the pass off. Eaton gets the other 0.5 goes to Eaton for looking lost and not blocking the pass to Kessel. Can we break up the pairing of Eaton and Letang please?

Goal #3 - Wheeler Shorthanded One-Timer From 3 Feet

This was the point in the game I thought would be the back breaker, but the Pens rebounded nicely as noted above.

Anyway, Wheeler leads the shorthanded rush up the ice and fires a puck off the side of the net. Evgeni Malkin comes back into the zone hard and drills Wheeler in the corner to free up the puck. Gonchar whiffs on it and David Krejci steals it away and feeds Wheeler out front for the easy goal.

Points assigned: Malkin gets 0.5 for a weak attempt at getting Gonchar the puck after the big hit. Gonchar gets the other 0.5 for his half of the mishap in the corner that resulted in the goal.

Updated Hal Gill Quotient Standings:

Kris Letang - 6.34 - 12 GP
Marc-Andre Fleury - 5.08 - 14 GP
Sergei Gonchar - 5.08 - 13 GP
Hal Gill - 4.34 - 14 GP
Mark Eaton - 4.83 - 15 GP
Brooks Orpik - 4.59 - 15 GP
Rob Scuderi - 3.50 - 15 GP
Ryan Whitney - 3.5 - 6 GP - TRADED
Jordan Staal - 2.38 - 15 GP
Evgeni Malkin - 2.0 - 15 GP
Matt Cooke - 1.0 - 15 GP
Ruslan Fedotenko - 1.0 15 GP
Tyler Kennedy - 1.0 - 15 GP
Pascal Dupuis - .83 - 15 GP
Max Talbot - 0.5 - 15 GP
Sidney Crosby - 0.5 - 11 GP
Referee Paul Devorski - 0.5 - 1 Game Reffed
Bill Thomas - .33 - 5 GP - WAIVED

Up next for the Penguins are the Atlanta Thrashers in the third game of an eight-game homestand on Tuesday night.

Pens Vs. Sens LIVE!

I haven't been able to do one of these in a while, but this should be fun.

The Cardiac Kids are back at it today opening up a franchise record eight-game homestand. A solid homestand here should solidify the Pens place in the playoffs and it all starts today against the hated Senators.

The Pens are coming into this game off a 4-3 shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night.

The reason there wasn't a post about that game is because of the massive chest pains and stomach pains that game caused me.

Down 3-0 after an early goal in the third period, the Pens storm back to tie the game with three goals in 3:08 to tie it.

In overtime, Chris Kunitz cleanly beats Steve Mason, but catches iron. Seconds later, Ruslan Fedotenko channeled Sidney Crosby's hands and deked two defenders out of their skates. Mason came out to challenge and Fedotenko slides a nice pass to Kris Letang who was streaking in from the point. Letang fires a one-timer only to be flat out robbed by Mason's blocker.

In the shootout, Kristian Huselius scored the lone goal in the third round for the win.

During the intermissions today, I'll break down the three goals against in the Columbus game to update the Hal Gill Quotient.

Video Highlights Courtesy Of NHL.com


Some things to keep in mind today:

- Lead after two periods and your odds of winning are very good as Ottawa is just 1-25-2 when trailing after two periods.

- Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to be the starting goaltender today with Mathieu Garon getting the call tomorrow against Boston.

- Petr Sykora is still listed as day-to-day, but could play this weekend. When he plays is the question.

- The Sentors lead the season series 2-1.

- Kunitz has caught fire since coming to Pittsburgh and has eight points in his last nine games. Thank you Ray Shero!

- The Pens are 9-1-2 under Dan Bylsma.

- Brian Elliot in net for the Senators

First Period

20:00 - Pens wearing the ugly powder blue jerseys.......

19:00 - Looks as if Sykora is in the lineup according to the Hockey Night In Canada crew. PP coming for the Pens. Mike Fisher for roughing.

18:17 - Couple solid chances down low for Bill Guerin, but Elliot is up to the task early

17:00 - Penalty killed, but some very good puck movement by the boys in blue and some solid saves by Elliot.

15:20 - Daniel Alfredsson rings a wrister off the iron behind Fleury, but it stays out.

14:07 - Senators get a ton of pressure thanks to two horrible pass attempts and turnovers by Hal Gill.

13:55 - SCORE! 1-0 PENGUINS - Eric Godard with an amazing individual effort. Who knew the big fella could skate like that?! Godard flew up the far boards to chase down a puck, beating the defenseman no less. He hauls in the puck along the wall by the hashmarks and makes a power move to the net looking for a teammate in the slot, but the pass goes off a Senator skate and behind Elliot.

13:30 - Fleury stones Mike Comrie on a breakaway. Nice save Flower.

11:24 - 1-1 Tie Chris Campoli fires a wrister from the point off a face-off. The puck had eyes and hit something in front of the net to deflect past Fleury. Malkin takes the blame on this one for losing the draw cleanly and then losing his man off the draw who set the screen. Full point for Geno.

5:34 - There hasn't been a whistle in a long time until Kunitz takes a tripping call. Sens head to the powerplay. Just as an observation, Gill has looked awful so far in this game. Every time he gets the puck on his stick, his hands turn to stone and he panics. Breathe Baby Huey Breathe!

4:27 - Pascal Dupuis runs over Nick Foligno for no reason. 53 seconds of 5-on-3 coming...

1:59 - Penalties killed, but the Sens rang two more posts on consecutive shots. Fleury getting help from his best friends.

End of period one and we're toed at 1-1. Pens lead 9-7 in shots, but most of those came early in the period.

Not a bad period, but the Penguins need to work on their in-zone play right now. Sens are getting to many good looks off turnovers and bad breakout passing.

In the offensive zone, the Pens need to stop looking for the pretty play and just fire it on net. Look what happened when Godard threw it on net. I rest my case.

Now let's go back to Thursday's game and breakdown the first goal:

Fedor Tyutin leads Huselius into the zone with a pass through a couple of Pens, but Kris Letang got caught flat-footed and a little out of position and ended up chasing Huselius instead of being in his face. Huselies protects the puck an moves to the top of the left faceoff circle. He fires a shot, but Letang recovered slightly to get a stick on Huselius' stick, but it wasn't enough to stop the shot. Instead, the puck comes off the stick as a changeup and beats Fleury through the 5-hole.

Points assigned - Letang 0.5 for being out of position, Fleury 0.5 for overreacting to the changeup and getting beat between the legs.

Second Period

17:43 - Elliot makes a nice save on a Sykora one-timer from the high slot. Pens are picking up the physical play early in the period.

16:14 - Dupuis takes his second penalty of the game on a trip on Brian Lee. Nice acting job by Lee.

14:04 - SCORE!!! 2-1 Pens! - SIDNEY CROSBY WITH A TAP IN ON A BEAUTIFUL TIC TAC GOAL FROM JORDAN STAAL AND MARK EATON. The goal comes just after the penalty to Dupuis had expired. Eaton brought the puck up ice and hit Sid in stride. After a weak clearing attempt, Staal sends the puck down low to Eaton who finds Crosby wide-open on the backpost for the tap in goal.

12:58 - Fedotenko takes a high-sticking penalty after failing to lift Jason Spezza's stick and catching him in the face instead.

10:05 - Comrie throws an elbow into Brooks Orpik's face while trying to get around him. PP Pens.

8:37 - Chris Phillips is not happy with a by Kunitz on Chris Neil and a melee ensues. Phillips goes after Kunitz, Crosby goes after Phillips, Neil joins the fracas and everyone on the ice pairs off in the scrum. Phillips is physically manhandled by a linesman while trying to kill someone. Nice job zebra.

5:57 - Pens can't find the back of the net on a couple solid chances by Tyler Kennedy and Staal. Pens are starting to find some open ice to move into now though. Looks like the goal woke them up a little.

5:20 - Trademark glove save by Fleury. Nothing less than what we've come to expect out of the young goaltender. Still looks impressive every time though.

4:12 - Jesse Winchester holds Staal. PP Pens. Time to make the Sens pay for taking these penalties.

1:34 - SCORE!!! 3-1 PENS! - Kennedy buries a wrister on a 2-on-1 from Matt Cooke after Cooke stole the puck from Campoli at the Pens' blueline. Prety play again.

End of period two and the Pens have a 3-1 lead. Remember that stat about the Sens and their record after two periods when trailing that's noted above.

The other 2 goals from the Columbus game will be broken down after the game.

Third Period

19:36 - Sens head to the powerplay after a hold by Sergei Gonchar, who has played a solid game so far.

16:59 - Penalty over. Fleury covers up the puck and takes a bump from Neil. Fleury punches Neil in the back of the leg with the blocker and another scrum ensues. Way to protect your paint Fleury, but he takes the penalty for slashing. Odd call, but in any event, the Sens have another PP.

15:59 - Dany Heatley drills Gonchar in the teeth with the stick while trying to lift his stick and draws blood. No word yet on how many missing teeth Gonchar might have now, but it's a four-minute penalty to Heatley.

13:50 - Anton Volchenkov has a "lower body injury" and will not return to this game.

11:13 - Kennedy has been something else lately. He's been flying around making plays and taking good shots. He's definitely been one of the best players on the ice today.

12-00 - 3-2 Pens - Foligno rips a wrister to the shortside twine through a sea of blue bodies. Fleury never saw it as Orpik, Staal and Gonchar were all screening him.

7:08 - Malkin gets wide open in the slot and takes a hard wrister, but Elliot is up to the task and leaves no rebound.

6:06- 3-3 Tie - Phillips ties it on a horrible turnover by Scuderi who attempted a breakoutpass/clearing attept. Heatley fires it off Fleury's shoulder and the puck rolls down him into the pain and Phillips pounds it home. This is all on Scuderi.

3:09 - I cant take this. Another two goal lead blown in the third period. Staring OT in the face for a 4th straight game.

2:02 - After a brilliant skate save by Fleury, Malkin kills the logo on Elliot's jersey again.

:5.8 - Gonchar battling with Heatley and somehow the refs call a tripping penalty on Gonchar. Complete and utter diver by Heatley.

End of period 3 and we go to overtime for the fourth straight game.

Overtime

4:36 - Huge save by Fleury on a cross-crease pass from Spezza to Heatley. Keeps us alive for now.

4:25 - Another save by Fleury on a slapper by Heatley.

3:58 - Fleury eats one in the chest on a bomb by Filip Kuba.

3:45 - Fleury makes two big saves on Alfredsson and Spezza off a rebound. Pens losing every draw so far.

1:48 - Fleury is standing on his head to keep the Pens alive in this game. Fans are on their feet chanting "Fleury! Fleury! Fleury!"

End of overtime and we head to a shootout for the fourth straight game. Unofficial NHL record has been set by the Pens for most consecutive shootouts.

Pens got a couple chances including a 2-on-1 with Crosby and Malkin, but Elliot got the shoulder on a rising shot by Geno.

If the Pens win this shootout, everyone owes this win to Fleury for his spectacular play tonight especially in overtime.

Shootout

Pens will shoot first.

Letang the first shooter - Letang bails on his usual move and Elliot makes the save.

Alfredsson - Dekes around the sprawling Fleury and the Sens lead 1-0.

Sykora - Stoned by Elliot on the backhand.

Spezza - Fleury makes a nice save on a backhander by Spezza to keep the Pens alive.

Crosby the last hope - SCORES!

Ruutu - Fleury makes the save and we're going to extras.

Malkin - Elects to shoot and not make a move and Elliot saves it with the glove.

Fisher - Fleury slams the door on the 5-hole and we play on.

Kunitz - Dekes Elliot out of hi jock, but goes over the net.

Comrie - Slides the pucks under the outstretched pad of Fleury and the Sens win the shootout 2-1 and the game 4-3.

Here's the remaining two goals:

Goal #2: Jackets dump the puck into the zone and Fleury comes out to play it. There's a big miscommunication between Letang and Fleury, which allows Antoine Vermette to steal the puck and fire an aerial pass out front from his knees. The pass connects with Jason Williams who fires a backhander from the slot to the shelf over Fleury's glove.

Points assigned: Letang and Fleury get 0.5 each for their little mishap behind the net that led to the goal.

Goal #3: Gonchar has the puck in the corner and coughs it up to Williams who finds Vermette out near the blueline in the high slot. Vermette tees one up and blasts it by Fleury for the 3-0 lead.

Points assigned: Gonchar takes full blame on this one as Fleury had no chance to stop that rocket.

Updated Hal Gill Quotient Standings:

Kris Letang - 5.84 - 11 GP
Marc-Andre Fleury - 5.08 - 14 GP
Sergei Gonchar - 4.58 - 12 GP
Hal Gill - 4.34 - 13 GP
Mark Eaton - 3.83 - 14 GP
Brooks Orpik - 3.59 - 14 GP
Rob Scuderi - 3.50 - 14 GP
Ryan Whitney - 3.5 - 6 GP - TRADED
Jordan Staal - 2.38 - 14 GP
Evgeni Malkin - 1.5 - 14 GP
Matt Cooke - 1.0 - 14 GP
Ruslan Fedotenko - 1.0 14 GP
Tyler Kennedy - 1.0 - 14 GP
Pascal Dupuis - .83 - 14 GP
Max Talbot - 0.5 - 14 GP
Referee Paul Devorski - 0.5 - 1 Game Reffed
Bill Thomas - .33 - 5 GP - WAIVED

Pens don't have long to think about this one that got away as the Bruins come to town tomorrow. Hopefully, this will teach them a lesson about those awful powder blue jerseys. For the love of God, STOP WEARING THEM! Show me a powder blue penguin in nature and I'll drop my argument. Until then, my point stands.

Pens Storm Back In 3rd, Win 4-3 In Shootout For 7th Straight Win

Is this really happening? The Penguins really are on a seven-game winning streak after a 4-3 shootout win over the Panthers tonight?

Seriously?

This isn't a joke?

Part of me feels like I'm in a coma and the abnormal delusional part of my brain is creating a false reality, in which the Penguins mysteriously show their true colors as a dominant team in the NHL, after treading along for most of the season in utter mediocrity.

If this really is true, where was this team all season?!

Granted the Pens didn't have the help that Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin have provided since coming over, but come on. The addition of those two guys is the sole reason this team woke up?

The dramatic change in play tells me that Michel Therrien lost this team months ago and that Ray Shero wasted too much time in replacing him.

The Penguins are now 9-1-1 since Dan Bylsma took over. Yeah, 9-1-1. Pretty nuts isn't it? It's like when the Pens called up a kid by the name of Patrick Lalime to lead them down the stretch and then into the playoffs. Hopefully history doesn't repeat itself with Bylsma compared to Lalime, who became about as useful as an orange pylon in the cage.

The Penguins absolutely dominated the majority of this game and were rewarded for their efforts. They outshot the Panthers 50-21 for the game. Tomas Vokoun played a phenomenal game between the pipes, but was no match for Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin in the shootout. Seriously, look at the move Geno pulled on Vokoun to win the game. Vokoun had no idea what hit him.

Video Highlights Courtesy Of NHL.com - Watch to see Hal Gill actually hit someone!


The game wasn't a cakewalk though. The Pens had a 1-0 lead after the first period and were dictating the pace of the game. Matt Cooke and Brooks Orpik were hitting anything that moved like this was a playoff game.

The second period saw the Panthers take back some control and thanks to some fortunate bounces and breaks, a 3-1 lead heading into the final frame.

The Therrien Pens would have packed it in and gotten down on themselves and lost this game by five. Thankfully, those days are long gone. The Bylsma Penguins are starting to believe in themselves once again and showed it again tonight.

They scored two goals in just over 3:30 of play to tie the game at 3-3 with over 14 minutes to play thanks to Jordan Staal and Sidney Crosby. This quick rally put the Panthers on their heels and the Pens were just unable to bury another one in regulation or overtime.

Vokoun flat out robbed Staal shortly after Crosby tied the game. Staal was moving toward the backpost in the slot and fired a one-timer off a rebound to the gaping net, but Vokoun dove over out of nowhere to smother the puck and preserve his team's chances.

Quick note about Crosby's goal. Guerin notched career assist #400 on the play. This makes two career milestones since coming to Pittsburgh. Welcome home Bill!

Malkin scored his 30th goal of the season on a nasty backhanded from just outside the crease with his back to Vokoun and a defenseman draped all over him. Rather than trying to make a move, Geno just rips the puck behind him without even looking. Vokoun looked around after the puck got by him searching for answers about how Malkin got that puck by him.

As for the Panthers, let's break down the three goals:

Goal #1 - Nick Boynton Wrister From The Point

Malkin tried chipping a puck up the boards from the corner, but got nothing on it. Keith Ballard held it in and passed it to the slot to David Booth who immediately passed it back to Boynton at the near side point.

Boynton let a wrist shot go through a screen masterfully set up by Brooks Orpik. Marc-Andre Fleury never saw the puck go over his right shoulder.

Points assigned: Malkin gets 0.5 for a bad pass up the boards, Orpik gets 0.5 for stepping in front of Fleury and not blocking the shot.

Goal #2 - Kamil Kreps Bangs Home Rebound

Boynton fires a low shot on Fleury and Kreps was in the right place at the right time with no one on him to hammer home the rebound past Fleury.

Points assigned: Mark Eaton takes the full 1.0 for being entirely out of position. Letang forced his man around the net, at which point Eaton should have slid over to cover Letang's position. Instead, Eaton followed his man out past the hash marks and never realized he blew the coverage until the red light was on.

Goal #3 - Ballard Deflects Home Rebound In Mid-Air Behind Fleury

The coverage in the defensive zone was pretty good except that no one picked up Ballard streaking to the backpost. Ville Peltonen threw a shot on net from a bad angle, but the resulting rebound went right to Ballard. Fleury made the right move in trying to deflect the puck to the boards, but just got unlucky with it.

Points assigned: Tyler Kennedy takes the full 1.0. Ballard was his man and he didn't do anything to prevent him from getting to the net.

Updated Hal Gill Quotient Standings:

Kris Letang - 4.84 - 10 GP
Hal Gill - 4.34 - 12 GP
Marc-Andre Fleury - 4.08 - 13 GP
Mark Eaton - 3.83 - 13 GP
Ryan Whitney - 3.5 - 6 GP - TRADED
Sergei Gonchar - 3.25 - 11 GP
Brooks Orpik - 3.25 - 13 GP
Jordan Staal - 2.25 - 13 GP
Rob Scuderi - 1.50 - 13 GP
Matt Cooke - 1.0 - 13 GP
Ruslan Fedotenko - 1.0 13 GP
Tyler Kennedy - 1.0 - 13 GP
Pascal Dupuis - .83 - 13 GP
Max Talbot - 0.5 - 13 GP
Evgeni Malkin - 0.5 - 13 GP
Referee Paul Devorski - 0.5 - 1 Game Reffed
Bill Thomas - .33 - 5 GP - WAIVED

Bruins at Blue Jackets LIVE!

So I admittedly slacked off a bit this weekend and we saw two distinctly average performances from the Bruins. They were lucky to secure the win against Chicago and certainly deserved the loss they put up on the board against the Rangers on Sunday.

Manny Fernandez has proven he should not be the Bruins backup goalie and he'll likely be gone one way or another next season. After every save Manny makes, he's quickly looking behind himself to make sure the puck didn't squirt through. It's an obvious sign of a goalie lacking all confidence in his ability. Considering his GAA and how above his potential he played before the back injury, it's not a surprise to see him regress, but maybe a surprise to see him regress so far. It's time for Tuukka Rask to be the understudy for Tim Thomas, because Rask is the future number one netminder for the Bruins.

Stephane Yelle is out for the second straight game, Byron Bitz will replace him in the lineup as he did on Sunday.

Video Highlights Courtesy Of NHL.com


First Period
It appears as if I have missed the first 6 1/2 minutes of the game and the score is 0-0 so I will assume absolutely nothing occurred while I was gone...

9:58 - Bruins get lucky on a turn over when Klesla blasts it wide. One of the B's biggest problems these past three weeks has been sloppy passing and bad play inside their own end. Wideman has been sent off for holding at 9:46.

7:51 - Five seconds left on the power play and I can confidently say the Bruins look very good on the penalty kill tonight. Ference blocked a shot, won the battle to the puck and got it up to Wheeler who held it for Krejci. A little bit of inventiveness from the two forwards after Ference created the play. Encouraging sign.

6:09 - Mark Stuart is bleeding out of the face and there's only a 2 minute high stick called for it.

4:09 - The Bruins power play is a fail. The Blue Jackets are the best first period team in the NHL and they are showing us why.

1:57 - Malhotra with one helluva shot block on Wideman. Looks like he's feelin' it a little bit on the bench.

:51 - Chara going off for a hook. Columbus held for about 45 seconds before Boston could touch it.

End of one period and the Blue Jackets are looking like the stronger off the two teams. They lead in shots 12-5 and have seemed livelier to the puck. Bruins seem to be working hard, but they're being plagued by the usual issues. Bad passing, shaky power play, lack of physicality.

Bring the energy and the intensity for 60 minutes and then I'll be happy.

Second Period
Bruins on the penalty kill for another 1:09 as we enter the period.

18:35 - Bruins kill the penalty, Krejci goes to the bench hurt after blocking a shot and Kessel is stoned by Mason on a breakaway.

18:01 - This is what we like to see. Kessel rings the post. He, Lucic and Savard are looking good to start the period.

15:49 - Bruins called for offside. They are looking to attack every time they touch the puck, whether it be from out of their zone or not. I like what I'm watching early on here.

12:37 - Huselius called for slashing and the Bruins will go on the power play, their hard work is paying off and they've completely dominated so far. They're banging on the door and the power play must be the time to punch it past Steve Mason.

10:52 - B's creating chances left and right. Mason making a number of terrific saves. Nash gives Savard a bit too much of a push, Savard takes offense and Nash kicks his ass without ever dropping the gloves. They both get two minutes for roughing. Jackets kill the penalty to Huselius as well.

6:24 - Kessel skates off the ice holding his face. Think he took a stick, he got rocked pretty hard into the half-wall as well.

5:32 - Stuart and Boll going at it! The big bruisers land some punches before the referees separate them. Boll with his NHL leading 21st fighting major of the season.

4:47 - Getting chippy in the Boston end. Loose puck, Thomas makes the stop, it trickles around, Jackets try a little too hard on Thomas after it's tied up and the Bruins ready to defend their goalie.

1:38 - Bruins doing a nice job of keeping the pressure up even while rotating through lines. It's certainly disappointing that they've yet to capitalize on anything, but Steve Mason should be commended for his job in this second period.

:03 - Montador fakes a slapper and gets Torres to go down, makes the shot, saved by Mason. Bruins upping the ante as we go along here.

An excellent period from the Bruins. They've upped the energy, intensity, physicality, everything that I called for after the first came into fruition here in the second. They're showing they're not afraid to fight back. They moved deeper into the Jacket's zone and should be able to break the door down in the third.

Hats off to Steve Mason and Tim Thomas though, some stellar goaltending tonight.

Let's laugh at Mike Millbury a moment, shall we?

"These two goaltenders are 1-2 in the NHL in most stats. Mason is a bit surprising, but Thomas is not."

You knew Tim Thomas would have a career year?

Third Period

19:04 - Oooh nasty glove save from Mason on Kessel's quick release.

18:52 - Commodore to the box for holding. Bruins 0/2, 2 shots on the power play tonight. Anemic.

16:52 - Back to full strength, Bruins were sloppy at first but really pulled it together and got sharp toward the end. Mason makes a couple of nice saves and the B's are now 0/3 on the man advantage.

16:04 - Stoppage in play after Thomas collides incidentally with a Blue Jacket, causing his helmet to fly off. Timmy's helmet is now being worked out, the Jackets fans are growing impatient, letting everybody hear it.

15:49 - Timmy is wearing Manny's helmet. This does not bode well.

15:05 - Chara to the box for a high stick.

13:10 PP GOAL 1-0 Blue Jackets - Raffi Torres! Along the half-wall on Thomas' blocker side and beats him with a strong wrister.

It's the curse of Manny's mask.

9:52 - Timmy has his helmet back. Sixteen minutes of repair time. If he doesn't allow a single goal, I give the loss to Manny Fernandez via mask.

8:58 - More bad passing from Savard.

4:50 - The third period Bruins are looking more like I'm used to seeing. They've completely lost any edge they had from the second period. They seem complacent again... not good.

2:53 - Can't beat Steve Mason. Looking for his league leading ninth shutout of the year.

1:17 - Thomas is on the bench. Extra attacker on. Urgency!

:26 EN GOAL 2-0 Blue Jackets - Rick Nash seals it! 150 foot shot to just clear the zone has just enough on it to get into the net.


The Bruins lose again and I'm out of energy on what to say at the moment.