Last night the Pittsburgh Penguins brought to an end an important chapter for hockey in the city as the team played the final regular season game ever at the Igloo. The question now is how many playoff games will be seen before the final post season game is played there.

Facing off against the lowly New York Islanders, the stars looked align for a good night which started with commemorative tickers to all fans in attendance, then a ceremony celebrating all the great players who have skated on the arena’s ice and which fans hopes would end with a victory. Especially considering that there is still a chance for the Penguins to rise in the standings before the end of the season depending on what they and the Devils do.

Just 23 seconds in, Brooks Orpik (2) helped the Penguins stake out a 1-0 lead. At 5:01 Alex Goligoski (8) made it 2-0 on the power play. But the Penguins gave the Islanders a chance with a power play and the lead was cut to 2-1 just three and a half minutes later.

Evgeni Malkin (26) stretched the score to 3-1 with just under five minutes remaining but not even two minutes later the Islanders against scored to make it a 3-2 game. With just 58 seconds left in the first period however Sidney Crosby (49) notched another goal to make it a 4-2 contest.

Fleury, honestly looked shaky in net. When the second period resumed and with just about seven minutes gone the Islanders scored again to once again make it a one goal game and move the score to 4-3.

It took a while but the Penguins put the hammer down. Bill Guerin (20) added his twentieth of the season on the power play and two minutes later Mr. (Tyler) Kennedy (13) added another marker. When the smoke cleared at the end of the second, the score stood at Penguins 6 and the Islanders 3.

Bill Guerin (21) added goal number seven at 1:46 of the third and the Penguins cruised to a victory to put them back into a points wise tie with New Jersey in the Eastern Conference. However New Jersey holds all tie breakers.

Some people have been wondering when the Penguins, who frankly have looked like they were willing to sleep walk through the final month of the season were going to flip the switch and get serious after failing to put up much of a fight against teams like New Jersey and Washington. Well, honestly, it probably still hasn’t happened even though last night was a positive sign. And spare me please the stats about how the Penguins have won more than they have lost over the past thirty some odd days. Their record is not that good.

Since March 1st, by my count, this team is 10-5-4. Which is basically .500 in the win loss department when you properly count the over time and shoot out losses as what they are – losses. This team is 10-9. Not only are they 10-9 but the have lost to both New Jersey and Washington twice in that span. You know, important teams that they will have to face more likely than not come the playoffs?

But there were some good sings that this team actually has their fingers on that switch and are indeed ready to flip it and get serious. After a first period where the Penguins defense and goal tending (yes, Fleury is not playing well and highly at fault so stop making excuses for him about how the defense is letting him down) Fleury played like Fleury on a flurry of shots by the Islanders in the second where he had to stop three point blank shots. The last one he was badly out of position but still defending his net like the man that helped Pittsburgh win the Stanley Cup.

The Penguins put their boots on the Islanders necks after this and never let them get up. Again, another problem the Penguins have had is letting teams stick around and not putting them away.

Two games remain. And neither are cake walks despite them being against Atlanta and the New York Islanders again. The Penguins need to build momentum and win both. Not just to convince fans that they are ready for another run at Lord Stanley’s cup but also to convince their opponents that the Penguins are a threat to win against anyone, anywhere and any time. And besides, there is still the chance to finish even higher in the standing at stake as well.

Last night due to a snafu without our babysitter, I wound up taking my daughter to the Penguins game against the New York Rangers rather than my wife and 2 month old son. She is still toilet training and wearing pull ups which, with about 5 minutes left in the first she proudly told me she had wet through and needed changed. With the score 1-1 we got up at a stoppage in play and went to the bathroom. Just as I was finishing changing her the horn sounded and the crowd erupted letting the few of us in the mens room before the intermission rush that the Penguins had just taken the lead. Barely a minute later as I finished packing up the diaper bag the horn sounded again and the crowd erupted again. It was now obviously 3-1 Pens and as we walked out of the restroom the usher was watching the monitor above the door.

I asked who scored the last two goals and he informed me that it had been Crosby (13) and Talbot (1). I remarked saying it was about time because Valiquette for the Rangers had looked shaky for the 15 minutes of the period that I had a chance to watch. I said that there would be a lot more.

How right I was. Although apparently the hosts of the post game show on 105.9 disagreed with me and thought that Valiquette played well but his team had quit on him, it was obvious to anyone that was watching the game that the Rangers back up goalie was not playing at all well and would be no match for the Penguins now mostly health lineup.

But like the day before against the Islanders, a game which the Penguins let slip away, it was clear that the Rangers were not going to go quietly. Early in the second period Matt Gilroy (4) scored to cut the lead to 3-2. Then with 3/10ths of a second remaining in the period Mark Eaton (3) found the back of the net after the Penguins refused to just dump the puck and concede that a one goal lead headed into the third would be enough.

That was a good thing as just 0:33 into the third period former Penguin Michal Rosival (1) beat Fleury to make it 4-3. That however woke up the sleeping giant as the Penguins poured on the offense for the rest of the game. Sidney Crosby (14, 15) scored twice more for a hat trick on, surprisingly enough, a night where the free giveaway was hats and Dupuis (7) and Missssterrrrrrrrrrrrrr Tyler Kennedy (6) added two more goals for an 8-3 victory.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped just 22 of 25 shots on a night were despite holding the net well he often looked like he was scrambling and uncertain.

Towards the end however the Rangers gooned up taking any Penguin they could find with them for a scrap. And of course Sean Avery had to get involved taking a solo fighting major, game misconduct and instigator penalty with just over six minutes remaining in the game to put the Penguins on the power play for the remainder of the contest. However the Penguins really did not seem all too interested in racking up more goals and were obviously content to control the puck and run down the clock.

It was all a sad spectacle from the Rangers (13-12-1) considering that they have a chance on Monday night to settle scores as the Penguins (18-9-0) visit them in New York.

Notes:
Chris Bourque was scratched to make room for Tyler (Mister) Kennedy in the starting lineup following his return from injury. Bourque is playing on borrowed time it seems with the Penguins. He plays hard and is aggressive but he has only managed 3 assists in 18 games and is a -4 with the Penguins this year despite playing along side of some of the premier players in the league. How much longer the Penguins keep Bourque on the active roster when there are other talents in the minors making a case for playing time is anyone’s guess.

It could have been Montreal’s last visit ever to the Igloo last night. Baring an always possible playoff meeting between two Eastern Conference foes, Montreal will have to deal with that potentially last visit being a loss. With last night’s 3-1 victory, thanks to lots of on the ball … uh puck … saves by Fleury, the Penguins have pretty much trounced the Canadians this season by a goal total of 9-2. They have now won four straight against the Habs.

The Penguins took advantage of a Montreal squad that had to come from behind the night before and limited them to just 17 shots on net. Had there been more, the score might have turned out differently as Fleury definitely saved the Penguins bacon with several great plays and a little bit of luck. The Penguins accomplished the low shot total on Fleury by pressing the attack in the Montreal zone for most of the night.

The Penguins received goals from Crosby (12), Guerin (6) and Gonchar (3) to stake out a 3-0 lead heading into the third period that they would not relinquish. Crosby scored on a rare shot from high at the left circle that surprised Carey Price. Guerin bashed a loose puck between Price’s pads in the second and Gonchar took a puck right up the middle and opened up Price for the Penguin’s third goal.

The win was the Penguins 17th in 25 games this season and ties a team record. The club also won 17 of its first 25 in 94-95 and 95-96.

After last night the Penguins held on to first place in the East with 24 pts just ahead of Washington who also has 24 pts but fewer wins also in 25 games. Montreal sank to 12-12-1 and are still struggling with injuries.

The Penguins however must face a back to back test this week on Friday and Saturday. On Friday the Pens have to travel to Long Island for a 2:00 PM scrum with the 9-9-7 Islanders and then return home Saturday to host the 13-10-1 Rangers.

After loosing four games in a row as the Penguins injury situation looked bleak, the Penguins have since been getting more healthy and have gone 5-1 in their last six games.

How good John Tavares, the Islander’s 2009 first round pick, will be and how much he will help a team that has struggled in recent years despite trying to build a formidable team will not be known for some time. But there is no denying that the kid has talent and his hungry to prove himself as an NHL talent. With a goal and an assist in his debut, he will have to be watched.

But even with that performance it was Sidney Crosby and the Penguins that won on Saturday night, a day after the Penguins opened their season with a win against the Rangers and on a night that was the Islanders season opener. His Sidness opened the scoring at 8:50 of the first taking a bank pass off the board from Fedotenko and the other side of the ice to get behind the defense. Crosby cut into the offensive zone, behind the defense and opened up Islander goal tender Roloson for the 1-0 lead. The first period was a sloppy period for the Penguins however as they started taking too many uncharacteristic and down right bad penalties. After Brenden Witt put a clean open ice hit on Ruslan Fedotenko McKee and Malkin both got sent to the box and McKee’s penalty for instigating, a penalty the NHL has said they would enforce this year, was extremely painful as it gave the Islanders a 5-3 on which they scored to tie the game at 1-1.

In the second Tavares (1) scored to make the game 2-1. But in the third at 7:19 of the frame Mark Eaton (1) scored to not the score at 2. Less than half a minute later however, the Islanders Trent Hunter (1) put the home team back on top. It wasn’t until less than four minutes remained at 16:11 that Fedotenko (1) scored and the Penguins played hard down the stretch to force overtime.

After a scoreless 5:00 of OT the shootout sealed the deal for the Penguins with both of the first two lslander shooters missing high glove side on Fleury (something I have regularly pointed out in the past seemed to be his weakness) and both Letang and Crosby beating Roloson on the first two shots the Pens would take.

Fleury was spectacular again stopping 25 of 28 shots and making big saves by kicking out the pads and flashing leather when needed to stop what appeared to be primo scoring chances by the Isles. With a 2-0 mark to open the season the Penguins are off until Wednesday when they return home to host the Pheonix Coyotes.

After the Penguins clinched a playoff birth on Tuesday with their win over Tampa Bay, they could have just looked past the New York Islanders. But with playoff positioning still to be determined they did not. The game last night saw Mathieu Garon in net instead of Fluery and the return of Philippe Boucher to the lineup against the lowly Islanders.

Boucher was obviously overwhelmed in his first shift starting the game and quickly was replaced on the ice after several fumbles and missteps. The Penguins as a team played sloppy as well and took two penalties in the first five minutes which lead to an early 0-1 deficit for Pittsburgh. But Boucher and the Penguins stormed back. Boucher (3) scored off a rebound and, crashing the net late in the first to tie the game and the team never looked back as they rattled off five more unanswered goals from Dupuis (12), Cooke (13), Guerin (21), Crosby (33) and lastly Misterrrrrrrrrrr Kennnnneddyyyyyyyyyyy (15) to end the scoring.

The win keeps the Penguins with an outside chance at home ice advantage in the playoffs however, for that to happen Carolina must lose their final game against New Jersey (a possibility) and Philadelphia must do no better than split their remaining games against the Islanders and Rangers (also possible). But the Penguins must also win Saturday against the Canadiens which would give them, if this scenario plays out, two more points than Carolina, and the either the same or two more points than Philadelphia with the Penguins holding the head to head tie-breaker.

Regardless, the Penguins have the 6th seed locked up and can drop no further. All that is left to be determined is who they will face in round one and where.

Wednesday was a somewhat busy day for the Penguins. Satan cleared waivers and the Penguins got at least one winger who might be playing along side His Sidness soon. One of those wingers the Penguins acquired is Craig Adams who the Penguins claimed off waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks. The 31 year old has just six points in 36 games this season. But the other winger is bad boy Billy Guerin whom the Penguins got from the Islanders for a conditional draft pick.

Guerin has just 36 points including 16 goals this season for the hapless Islanders but is a perpetual 20 goal scorer with an appetite for destruction and taste for physical play making him a prime candidate to be along side Crosby as not only a scoring threat but also an enforcer to keep other teams honest about liberties they might choose to take on Crosby. Sure he is 38, but I remind you he has scored 16 goals for a pathetic Islander team so hopefully he will only get better once in the Black and Gold.