Penguins Re-Assign Pesonen

Again, Janne Pesonen's NHL career was short-lived as the Penguins announced today that they've re-assigned him to their AHL affiliate the Wilke-Barre / Scranton baby Pens only 3 days after being called up. Although he did get some solid playing-time in and I believe he made some good contributions (like the penalty he drew which led to Petr Sykora's powerplay goal in the second period).

Injury Updates / Scratches

• After returning to practice on November 21st, Ryan Whitney completed a full week of practice this week, but said his status "doesn't change on a day-to-day basis" and that it's more week-to-week. Whitney has yet to participate in full-contact drills but should be doing so soon.

"Hopefully, at the end of the road trip this week, I'll be doing everything in practice," Whitney said.

• Newly acquired defenseman Philippe Boucher was injured during last Friday's game against the Buffalo Sabres and was out of the lineup last night against the New Jersey Devils. Boucher's injury is "undisclosed" and he is listed as day-to-day. He was replaced in the line-up last night by Mark Eaton who had been a healthy scratch in five consecutive games and was paired with Alex Goligoski.
  
• Pascal Dupuis was a scratch in last night's game against the Devils. He was replaced by Ruslan Fedotenko who had been a healthy scratch the game before.

Crosby's Second Career Hat Trick

Last night Sidney Crosby earned his second NHL career hat trick during the Penguin's win against the New Jersey Devils and the goals making up that hat trick were nothing less than miraculous (as too were the assists by Malkin), so here's a video highlighting all of them. GOOD STUFF!!

Penguins Win and Hold NJ to One Goal

Penguins - 4, Devils - 1

Sidney Crosby

Evgeni Malkin

Petr Sykora

(Pens win 4-1)
SHOTS ON GOAL: Pittsburgh - 7, New Jersey - 10

• 17:59 - PITTSBURGH GOAL (EN)!!!! Sidney Crosby - HAT TRICK!!! assisted by Evgeni Malkin and Mike Zigomanis
• 1:54 - NEW JERSEY GOAL - Mike Rupp; assisted by Patrik Elias and Brian Gionta
  

(Penguins keep the Devils scoreless 3-0)
SHOTS ON GOAL: Pittsburgh - 12, New Jersey - 8

• 11:29 - PITTSBURGH GOAL!! Sidney Crosby; assisted by Evgeni Malkin
• 7:26 - PITTSBURGH GOAL (PP)!! Petr Sykora; assisted by Sidney Crosby and Tyler Kennedy

(Penguins lead 1-0)
SHOTS ON GOAL: Pittsburgh - 16, New Jersey - 12

• 1:21 - PITTSBURGH GOAL!! Sidney Crosby; assisted by Miroslav Satan and Hal Gill

PRE-GAME Notes: Sabourin will start in goal tonight against the Devils; Fedotenko is back in the lineup on the 4th line and Janne Pesonen gets his second start on the 2nd line with Malkin and Sykora.

Wednesday, December 3rd @ 7:00 PM (New York Rangers)

Another QUICKIE Pre-Game News

RUSLAN FEDOTENKO
Fedotenko returns to the lineup tonight (on the 2nd 4th line) and Janne Pesonen will be the healthy scratch against the NJ Devils. Pesonen is on the 2nd line. [FSN pre-game news was wrong again this evening - sorry, guys -- they were probably "projecting"]!!

DANY SABOURIN
Sabourin will start in goal tonight for the Penguins.

MARC-ANDRE FLEURY
Fleury worked with the Penguins strength trainer on the ice today even though there wasn't an official practice. It's been reported that Fleury could return to the lineup as early as next week.

Game Pics (Pens vs. Sabres - 11/28/2008)

Shannon S. was at the Penguins game against the Buffalo Sabres last night and was nice enough to send along some pictures to share with all of us.

THANKS, Shannon!!

Penguins - 3, Sabres - 4

Paul Gaustad

Drew Stafford

Sidney Crosby

(Sabres win 4-3)
SHOTS ON GOAL: Pittsburgh - 3, Buffalo - 10

• 3:11 - BUFFALO GOAL - Drew Stafford; assisted by Thomas Vanek and Derek Roy
• 16:36 - BUFFALO GOAL - Paul Gaustad; assisted by Jason Pominville and Jochen Hecht
  

(Penguins lead 3-2)
SHOTS ON GOAL: Pittsburgh - 15, Buffalo - 11

• 12:21 - BUFFALO GOAL (PP) - Paul Gaustad; assisted by Drew Stafford and M. Mancari
• 12:55 - PITTSBURGH GOAL!! Sidney Crosby; assisted by Evgeni Malkin
• 19:04 - PITTSBURGH GOAL!! Sidney Crosby; assisted by Evgeni Malkin

(game tied at 1)
SHOTS ON GOAL: Pittsburgh - 12, Buffalo - 11

• 10:29 - PITTSBURGH GOAL!! Tyler Kennedy; assisted by Matt Cooke and Hal Gill
• 11:25 - BUFFALO GOAL - Drew Stafford; assisted by Maxim Afinogenov and Jaroslav Spacek
  

Saturday, November 29th @ 7:30 PM (New Jersey Devils)

QUICKIE Pre-Game News

SORRY for the delay with this tonight, guys, but we just got home from the Pitt - WVU game (AWESOME game - BTW -- Pitt won, so I'm happy!! John is a HUGE WVU fan so he's sulking)!!

MAX TALBOT
Talbot is back and playing on the fourth line on the top line with Sid! It appears that Ruslan Fedotenko will be a healthy scratch and Dupuis is on the top line with Sid and Satan.

JANNE PESONEN
Pesonen is playing on the second line with Malkin and Sykora!

JOHN CURRY
Curry will start in goal tonight (first in his NHL career).

Inside Penguins Hockey

The first episode of "Inside Penguins Hockey" will be broadcast on FSN - Pittsburgh this Saturday at 6:30 PM.

This year the shows are being taped live in the Igloo Club at the Mellon Arena and their first guests are Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill (is it just a coincidence that they're this month's alternate captains too?).

CLICK HERE for a "behind the scenes" look at the making of this episode brought to you by PensTV!

Malkin's Latest Interview (11/26/2008)

Don Farr Presents: Milestones Video

This is a video recently posted on PensTV of milestones reached by Miroslav Satan (350 assists), Sidney Crosby (100 goals; 200 assists; and 300 points), and Evgeni Malkin (200 assists) within the same week in October. This was played on the jumbotron at one of last month's games.

Pesonen Gets the Call

   

The Pittsburgh Penguins recently announced on their webpage that they recalled Janne Pesonen from their AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre / Scranton baby Pens.

I'm excited, but this doesn't look good for Max Talbot - I would think this means he won't be playing and they're really unsure as to when he will.

The last news I read said Talbot's injury is undisclosed, his status is "day to day" and they're unsure whether or not he'll be playing against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday.

With the Penguins calling Pesonen up, it looks very doubtful!

A Thanksgiving Day Treat: Video of Curry Getting Creamed!!

BIG THANKS to Molly M. for sending a link to the YouTube video of John Curry getting a towel-full of shaving cream in the face from Eric Godard while being interviewed by Dan Potash after the game!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING from the Penguins!!

Eric Godard vs. Mitch Fritz (11/26/2008)

In case you missed Eric Godard's most recent fight, here's the video. It wasn't one of his best, but it was a fight.

On this Date in Pittsburgh Penguins History

November 27, 1991

Penguins honor the memory of late coach Bob Johnson in a candlelight ceremony during game vs. New Jersey.

Pens Nation UNITE to Boycott the NHL All-Star Game

We were recently among the blogs contacted by Penguins Experience blog regarding their efforts to gather together Penguins fans in order to boycott the NHL All-Star game.

Read their post HERE and join their FACEBOOK Group if you're interested in joining the rest of Pens Nation in the boycott.

"Together we can make a difference."

Don't forget, you can also send your thoughts about the current situation directly to NHL.com!!

Penguins Come From Behind to Win Over the Islanders (5-3)!

This was the Penguins 10th "come-from-behind" win this season!
Penguins - 5, Islanders - 3

Evgeni Malkin

Sidney Crosby

Trent Hunter

GODARD CREAMS CURRY DURING POST-GAME INTERVIEW WITH DAN POTASH (I'll be sure to post it as soon as it hits YouTube)!!

(Pens win 5-3)
SHOTS ON GOAL: Pittsburgh - 14, New York - 6

• 6:18 - PITTSBURGH GOAL!! Sidney Crosby; assisted by Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang
• 11:03 - PITTSBURGH GOAL!! Evgeni Malkin; assisted by Sidney Crosby and Brooks Orpik
• 11:53 - PITTSBURGH GOAL!! Evgeni Malkin; assisted by Sidney Crosby
• 19:42 - PITTSBURGH GOAL (EN)!! Evgeni Malkin - HAT TRICK; assisted by Rob Scuderi

(Islanders still lead 3-1)
SHOTS ON GOAL: Pittsburgh - 6, New York - 7
John Curry replaces Dany Sabourin in net for the Penguins

• 9:26 - NEW YORK GOAL (PP) - Bill Guerin; assisted by Josh Bailey and Mark Streit
• 19:41 - PITTSBURGH GOAL!! Brooks Orpik; assisted by Pascal Dupuis

(Islanders lead, 2-0)
SHOTS ON GOAL: Pittsburgh - 10, Vancouver - 12
Max Talbot foot is injured by shot with a puck

• 7:45 - NEW YORK GOAL (PP) - Doug Weight; assisted by Trent Hunter and Mark Streit
• 8:55 - NEW YORK GOAL - Trent Hunter; assisted by Andy Hilbert and Josh Bailey
• 9:38 - FIGHT: Eric Godard VS Mitch Fritz
  

Friday, November 28th @ 7:30 PM (Buffalo Sabres)

Pre-Game News

Tonight's Game is on FSN - Pittsburgh

**FREE**

LIVE STREAM of Tonight's Game

(CLICK HERE!)

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS

The Penguins played with new defensive pairings at Wednesday's morning skate. Brooks Orpik remains with Kris Letang which has proved to be a solid defensive force.

Orpik - Letang

Rob Scuderi - Alex Goligoski

Hal Gill - Philippe Boucher

Previously Gill and Scuderi were together, as were Goligoski and Boucher.

DANY SABOURIN

Sabourin will be in goal again tonight against the New York Islanders for the fourth straight game. He will also be wearing a brand new goalie mask which features a pair of frogs.

“We always get a new one at the beginning of the season,” Sabourin said. “I just got a new one now because they were late a little bit. That’s the only reason why I got it now.”

“It’s a joke in the dressing room because we’re French,” Sabourin said. “I don’t know all the stories about the French and the frog but we always joke about it. It’s good to include that on my mask.”

NOTE: these ARE NOT the frogs that are on Sabourin's mask!

On this Date in Pittsburgh Penguins History

November 26, 1991

"Badger" Bob Johnson passes away at his home in Colorado Springs, CO at the age of 60.

New Look to Penguins Power-Play (Add a Dash of Kennedy & Cooke)

We knew it was coming; hell, Therrien SAID it was coming and according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the Penguins power-play will have a new look (with some "grit" thrown into the mix).

Here are the new powerplay units as they were set up in practice today (and I'm kinda liking them; it's seems to be a simple solution to one big problem; almost like, "why didn't anyone think of this before?!"):

FIRST UNIT
Right point: Malkin
Left point: Goligoski
Half-wall: Crosby
Down low: Satan
Front: Kennedy

SECOND UNIT
Right point: Letang
Left point: Boucher
Front: Staal, Cooke, and Sykora

“One thing we’re really missing is gaining puck control,” said assistant coach Mike Yeo, who is in charge of the power play. “At the end of the day, a lot of times, it’s your battle level, your ability to protect the puck and how hard you work to support the puck. These guys (Kennedy and Cooke) are willing to get into the corners, win those battles, and give us a better chance to get puck control. Along with (Staal), they’re also willing to get in front of the net.”

Although, as coach Therrien said, it's not always about the end result but the "jump" the players / team get(s) from working hard during the power-play that may make all the difference (and whether or not the opposing team takes advantage of the "boost" they could get from Penguins play that's lacking as in the Penguins previous game against the Vancouver Canucks).

“It’s not always about the result,” Therrien said. “We need momentum from the power play, and right now it’s the opposite. We’re losing all the momentum — and when you lose it, it’s tough to get it back.”

We all know that Kennedy and Cooke have no problems fighting for the puck ("puck-retrieval ability and grit" in the words of Joe Starkey), so this could be good and I'm really anxious to see these units in action tomorrow!!

Orpik, Letang, and Godard Help Hand Out Thanksgiving Day Food Items

Yesterday afternoon, Brooks Orpik, Kris Letang, and Eric Godard handed out turkeys, and bags of potatoes & carrots to underprivileged families in the Hill District. This was the second year that the Penguins organization and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank joined together to provide food to those less fortunate.

“It humbles you a lot,” Orpik said. “You’re a lot more thankful than you usually are. These are people that have a lot less than us and appreciate it a lot more than we do. It reminds you, especially at this time of year, not to take anything for granted.”

This is the stuff that makes me proud to be a Pens fan because our players are not only good on the ice, they're just as good [hearted] off (a great bunch of guys)!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Coach Therrien Thinks the Pens Power-play is "Soff"

Penguins head coach Michel Therrien is not happy with the team's power-play and why would he be? They are currently at 18.3% (PP%) which ties them for 15th in the league. Up to this point, they've had 93 opportunities with only 19 of those converting into goals according to NHL.com stats - that is just not good; I mean, there are teams worse than we are, but this just doesn't fit who we are as a team and just isn't good enough!

And we all know what that means as fans, when Coach Therrien is frustrated with something he feels his team is capable of, he tends to "call them out" on it and Saturday was no exception when they were 0 for 4 on the power-play.

"We don't have the right attitude out there," Therrien said. "It can't be tic-tac-toe all the time. There are times when you have to battle. ... Anytime there's a battle, most of the time we lose those battles.

"The penalty killers on other teams outwork our power play. It's pretty simple. That's the reason we struggle. Until they change that attitude, until they change their work ethic, it's not going to work.

"We might do a tic-tac-toe play every once in a while but, other than that, we're getting outworked by every penalty-killing [unit] in the league now, whatever team we play. If we're not working, it's not going to work."

Let's hope they find out what works soon (I'm pretty confident they will)!!

Malkin's New Pre-Game Superstition

SportingNews.com is reporting that Evgeni Malkin has a new pre-game superstition and that the media will have to hold off talking to him until after the game (instead of following the morning skate). He now believes it is bad luck.

"Please, after game," he pleaded when asked to chat Thursday morning. "Bad luck."

Maybe other players will start catching on and make it a new superstition of theirs as well; maybe even go further and tell all the media that it's bad luck to talk to them at all. No - that's a bad idea because then we fans wouldn't have any interviews to watch and be entertained by (that would be worse than the "undisclosed injury" drama!)!!

Could Curry Make a Start in this 3-Game Stretch?

Nothing new on Marc-Andre Fleury, but now there's a slight "pass the buck" mentality with coach Therrien (he must be getting tired of all this injury drama too).

“He’s still day-to-day,” Therrien said. “That’s what they told me.”

With the next three games being played within four nights and the possibility that Fleury may still not be well enough to be back in the lineup, there's already speculation that Therrien may need to consider playing backup John Curry in to rest Dany Sabourin.

“We’ll take it one game at a time,” Therrien said.

Nothing New on Fleury

There' hasn't been any word on Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury since Saturday when the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that he remains "day-to-day" with an undisclosed injury. He missed practice on Friday at the IceoPlex and missed the past three games.

The longer this continues, the more grim the injury appears without even knowing what it is. Missing this much practice and being out of the lineup for these many games the more it appears that Fleury's injury has gone beyond "cautious" as he himself told the media the trainers were being and now appears to be more serious than they once led on it was.

This could be one of the downfalls to the organization using the "undisclosed injury" policy; the less that is released and the more everyone tries to make it appear less serious than it really is, the more they will have to continue to talk about it and change the story, so maybe this "undisclosed" business isn't all it's cracked up to be. Just tell us what it is and how long he'll be out and it'll be over with; no one will have to continue talking about it because it will be old news after that and we'll all have moved on to the next thing!

"We don't know right now how long Marc-Andre will be out," coach Michel Therrien said. "(Sabourin) is definitely playing really well. He's very sharp. He's square to the puck. He gives us a chance to win hockey games, and that's what you're looking for from your goaltender."

Pittsburgh vs. Vancouver (from LUXURY BOX Seats)!

TSCSF reader, Lauren, was fortunate enough to attend last Saturday's Penguins game against the Vancouver Canucks (in LUXURY BOX seats, no less) and she was nice enough to send along a few pictures as well as her very own game summary to share with the rest of us.

ENJOY (and thanks again, Lauren, for sharing)!!

Lauren, her sister, brother-in-law, and brother

My dad’s company insurance is through Highmark (a major sponsor of the Penguins) and his Highmark rep was the one who invited us to sit in their box!It was definitely an experience I will never forget!

Sitting in the box was surreal – I’d always dreamed of what it would be like, and it pretty much met all my expectations! At one point, Ryan Whitney walked right by our box on his way upstairs to the press box, but we were all had our attention directed towards the ice (by we, I mean my siblings and I).


One of the highlights of the day was meeting Iceburgh! I’ve been to tons of Penguins games over the years, but today was actually the first time I got to meet and get my picture with Iceburgh! I noticed a big group of kids walking toward the elevator at one point, and I immediately thought those kids had been Sid’s special guests and that Iceburgh had paid them a visit! I don’t know if that’s really the case or not, but I like to think it is!

The fight 25 seconds into the game was great!!! I hadn’t seen any good fights lately (I was still at class when the Gronk dropped the gloves a few nights ago) and this one was definitely one for the books! Too bad it cost the Cookie Monster a game misconduct L Hearing John Barbaro list off all the penalties was kind of amusing.

I was very sad that I wouldn’t get to see Fleury play, but I was slightly consoled by the fact that I was going to get the rare opportunity to see Roberto Luongo play in person – I’ve heard so much about him and the Pens don’t play them often. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury early in the game and had to be helped off the ice by his teammates.

The Highmark rep who invited us said he loved watching the game with all of us, and we would have to do this again sometime! Of course, we all agreed whole-heartedly! So, with any luck, this won’t be the last game I get to enjoy from the box!

Also, they showed a video clip that I really hope they decide to post on PensTV for everyone to enjoy. It was Dupuis, Max, and Sid sitting in the locker room and it went like this:
Max: Hi! I’m Max Talbot!
Sid: And I’m Sidney Crosby and we’d just like to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving!
Max: Don’t eat too much turkey.
Dupuis doesn’t say anything, but has this big goofy grin on his face the whole time. Sid was smiling too – a nice change from his usual serious self!