Chris Kunitz scored a hat trick and Sidney Crosby recorded three assists as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Washington Capitals 6-3, at the Verizon Center, Sunday afternoon. After the Capitals scored on a fluke goal off the boards in the second period, the Penguins rebounded to score three straight goals within seven minutes of each other, then relied on back up goaltender, and former Capital, Tomas Vokoun to shut the door in the third. The Penguins, as they had in seven of their ... Read More
Penguins crush Devils; score five on Martin Brodeur
The Pittsburgh Penguins were lackluster in their first two home games of the season, being outscored 9-3 in the process. Today, it was a completely different story as the Penguins defeated the New Jersey Devils 5-1 in dominating fashion. This was truly a game of attrition for the Penguins as they wore down the Devils from start to finish. The Penguins controlled play in the first period, took a one goal lead after the second period, then blew the doors off the Devils in the third. In the ... Read More
Yinzer of the Week: Tomas Vokoun
Tomas Vokoun was perfect for the Pens this week. With Marc-Andre Fleury struggling late in the game Tuesday night, the Pens put Vokoun in to close out the game. While he only defended seven shots, he saved all seven of them. The Isles were already up comfortable but the late game performance was good enough to get Vokoun the start Thursday night. While in the goal against the Rangers, Vokoun posted another perfect performance. He fought off the Rangers all night, defending and saving all 28 ... Read More
Tomas Vokoun turns Rangers away; Pens win 3-0
The Pittsburgh Penguins may want to play all over their games on the road for the rest of the season. Coming off a brutal 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders at home, their second home loss in as many games, the Penguins stormed back against the New York Rangers to stir up some boos at MSG. Evgeni Malkin scored his second goal of the season, Simon Despres scored the second goal of his career, and James Neal added his team-leading fifth goal. Behind Tomas Vokoun who stopped all 28 shots, the ... Read More
Penguins on Familiar Path
Come on, Pens fans. The panic button is right over here, and you know you’re about to push it. Stanley Cup favorites? Cripes, their best home game so far was an intrasquad scrimmage. The consensus among the talk-radio-show-calling crowd is that Fleury should be traded, Malkin is a bum, and Bylsma will be gone by the end of February. But let’s all take a deep breath and look at the big picture – not this season, but this second golden era, which is starting to feel very familiar. Think ... Read More
Power play problems; it’s the plan not the personnel
After scoring just one goal in their last fourteen power play opportunities, the Penguins decided to change things up yet again. Evgeni Malkin will now play the point while James Neal will command the half-boards. Anyone whose watched more than five games with Malkin on the point knows he's not comfortable in that position. When you consider how pass-happy both he and Kris Letang (playing on the other side of the blue line) are while on the man-advantage, it's amazing this idea has found ... Read More
Penguins embarrassed at home; lose 4-1 to Islanders
For the second straight home game, the Penguins had a record crowd on hand and for the second straight game, they sent them home disappointed. The Penguins were blown out by the Islanders in front of a record 18,634 fans. Their power play continued to struggle, going 0-3 with only three total shots, while the Islanders cashed in on both power play chances to put the game out of reach. While Marc-Andre Fleury struggled, allowing four goals on 17 shots in two periods, Evgeni Nabokov shined, ... Read More
Lack of secondary scoring an early concern for Penguins
Going into this season, the Penguins were the favorites to win the Stanley Cup. This was the case because of such a high-flying offense that has the two best players in the world headlining the group. You know that you are going to get production out of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin which is almost as certain as knowing you are going to have to do your taxes. But in order for the team as a whole to achieve what they want to do; there are going to have to be more than just those two ... Read More
Pens squeak past Sens; win 2-1 in shootout
The Pittsburgh Penguins already lost two straight games due to poor puck management and team defense. They ensured there would not be a third result in the same fashion. James Neal scored and Evgeni Malkin clinched the victory in a shootout as the Penguins snapped a brief losing streak of two games, defeating the Ottawa Senators 2-1, Sunday night. Marc-Andre Fleury made 32 saves behind a defensive corps that played sharper than they had in a week, despite losing Matt Niskanen in the first ... Read More
Crosby shines early but Jets rebound for 4-2 win
If Penguins fans forgot how their team, comprised of several elite players, lost in six games to the Philadelphia Flyers last April, this game served as a reminder. After going up 2-0 in the first period, the Penguins allowed four straight goals, including three in the second period, as the Winnipeg Jets skated away with a 4-2 victory. The game reflected the same issues the Penguins had in the playoffs last season; blowing leads, turning the puck over in the defensive zone, and abandoning ... Read More