Sure, sometimes defenses win championships, but Monday night, the Pittsburgh Penguins' (16-7-3) offense certainly won the game against the Ottawa Senators (15-9-2) by a final score of 8-5. Bryan Rust lead Pittsburgh’s staggering offensive onslaught with his first career NHL hat trick. “I can't say I expected it,” Rust said. “(The last time I scored a hat trick) was more of a blowout. The team wasn't as good. This game was just find a way to get open in certain situations, and I was lucky ... Read More
Pens Preview: Murray looks to continue win streak, strong play
Pittsburgh Penguins (46-25-8) In his first chance with an NHL team, goalie Matt Murray looks to have the confidence of a veteran, starting his third-straight game tonight. Marc-Andre Fleury still has no timetable for when he will return to the net after his second concussion of the season. Jeff Zatkoff will back up Murray in tonight's game. With his recent play, Murray has helped solidify the depth in between the pipes. In the last 13 games, Pittsburgh is 12-1-0. The Penguins have gotten a ... Read More
Pens get defensive; Sprong gets on the board in first win of season
With the offseason additions of Phil Kessel and others, the Pittsburgh Penguins were supposed to be an offensive juggernaut this season. Having failed at that task through the first three games, the Pens won their first of the season on Thursday night with some good, old-fashioned defense, shutting out the Ottawa Senators 2-0. The Penguins defense was aided by an offensive attack that outshot the Senators 36-22 and kept the puck in the Ottawa end of the rink for large stretches of time. ... Read More
Pens call up Rust, sit Scuderi vs Ottawa
After three straight losses to start their season, the Pens have shaken things up a bit going into their game tonight against the Ottawa Senators. Not all of them are willing changes. Right-winger Beau Bennett, one of the team’s best players in Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, has suffered an undisclosed injury and will miss tonight’s game as a result. With Bennett out of the lineup, expect rookie right-winger Daniel Sprong to get his first shot an increased role. Sprong, who ... Read More
Pens blow another lead; lose fourth straight
The Pittsburgh Penguins blew a 3-0 first-period lead en route to a devastating 4-3 overtime loss at the hands of the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night. Much like on Sunday in Philadelphia, the Penguins dominated the first period, outshooting the Senators 12-7 and jumping out to a big lead thanks to the inspired play of captain Sidney Crosby. Just ten seconds into the contest, Crosby fired a slap shot past Ottawa’s rookie sensation, goaltender Andrew Hammond. It was the fifth consecutive ... Read More
Playoff berth on the line for Pens and Sens
The Pittsburgh Penguins are playing in what is perhaps their biggest regular season game in recent history tonight. The Pens, despite their recent run of poor play, know exactly what they need to do to get into the Stanley Cup playoffs: beat the Ottawa Senators tonight. With a win, the Penguins would not only clinch their ninth consecutive playoff berth, they would also be able to rest a banged up roster for back-to-back games against the New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres this ... Read More
Penguins Dominate Senators; Advance to Eastern Conference Finals
Daniel Alfredsson was right. There's really no other way to put it. When the Ottawa Senators captain was asked if his team could win three in a row to take the series from the Pens, he said no. It wasn't the politically correct thing to say in the situation, but he was just telling the truth. Alfredsson's words came to fruition on Friday night as the Penguins finished its series with the Senators with a 6-2 victory. Once again, Tomas Vokoun was solid in net as he brought his playoff record to ... Read More