Game one was a shootout. Game two was a brawl.

When Peter Regin (2) scored for the Senators just 0:18 into the game things looked bad for the Penguins and Fleury was once again beat high glove side which seems to be a recurring theme. But the Penguins responded. That goal was Ottawa’s only of the game and the Penguins unleashed Hell on ice amassing 52 hits with Brooks Orpik leading the way with nine. While Andy Sutton may have had the head shot that knocked out Penguins defenseman Jordan Leopold it was not enough.

Sidney Crosby (1) tied the game at 8:45 of the first fighting for a loose puck in the paint and it was His Sidness that helped cap the scoring late in the third. Crosby danced with the puck behind the Senator’s net defended diligently by Sutton. The sequence featured several starts and stops with Sid changing direction multiple times and looking to get to the front of the net. Unable to do so he pushed out from behind the net and from his knees fed the puck to the blue line and Kris Letang.

Letang took the shot and it beat Ottawa’s rookie goal tendeder to make it a 2-1 game in favor of teh Penguins.

Oh, and before I forget, I cannot not mention that Sidney Crosby made a great save too. An Ottawa shot trickled by Marc-Andre Fleury and was headed for the goal line but Sidney dove through the paint and cleared the puck slowed by late period snow accumulation on the ice. That play saved the game from the Penguins and Fleury who played much better than in game one.

The series is now tied at one game each and heads up to Ottawa from game three on Sunday.

It didn’t look so good a few days ago. The Penguins won their first game after the Olympic break against Buffalo behind Brent Johnson. Then against New York Marc-Andre Fleury looked like he shouldn’t even be playing for the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Penguins, got pulled and Johnson and the team rallied to win. Yesterday against Dallas it again did not look too good as Fleury and the defense let the team down early to let the Stars post a 3-1 lead that again required a comeback. Convincing as it was, with the Penguins winning 6-3, it was still worrisome.

Today against Boston Fleury looked like the #1 netminder he is. With the Penguins leading the Atlantic Division but New Jersey sitting in second with games in hand every point is precious and despite letting up the first goal and falling behind to Boston in the second period the team responded.

After Blake Wheeler (14) score to put the Penguins down, Pascal Dupuis answered back as the Penguins crashed the net and put a puck behind Thomas to tie it up at 1-1. Then Evgeni Malkin (23) scored early in the third to give the Penguins the lead and what would eventually be the win.

The Penguins defense played well, allowing just 11 shots in the first two periods but let up in the third to all that many in one period.  Although Fleury was up to the task to was tense to watch.  Jordan Leopold maintained his strong play and finish +2 while Ponikarovsky added an assist and a +1 to go along with his goal in his debut against Dallas.

The fourth straight win for the Penguins continues what has been a tradition as of recent years where the team puts the pedal down in March as they gear up for the playoffs. It also gives them a 5 point cushion over the Devils who skate later tonight and then still have two games in hand after that. Sixteen games remain for the Penguins then comes the playoffs but they cannot overlook any games or opponents because every point matters and a mini slump now could send the Penguins tumbling down the standings late in the year.

To say Marc-Andre Fleury had some rust when returning to between the pipes for Thursday night’s game against the Rangers would be an understatement. He was so corroded and full of holes that an anemic New York offense chased him from the net. Fleury faced only twelve total shots in 32:49 of action and allowed four goals.

Out came the hook and in came Johnson with the Penguins down 4-2 despite an offense that was completely smothering the Blue Shirts. Mike Rupp (12) answered the bell and brought the game to within one and Alex Goligoski (7) tied the game midway through the third as the Penguins clamped down on New York allowing just four shots in the remaining period and a half of regulation.

Then in overtime it was Evgeni Malkin (22) who scored with a 4-3 advantage after a Wade Redden hooking call. Game over. Guins win.

Fleury was obviously frustrated by his performance, refusing to even remove his mask as he sat on the bench for the rest of the second period. I don’t know if he was wearing his gold medal around his neck still and if that was the problem or not but for certain it was not a good performance from the Penguins starting netminder. The offense peppered the Rangers net for 55 total shots in what should never have even been a close game.

Newly acquired Penguins defenseman Jordan Leopold was even with two shots and 21:11 of total ice time. Bill Guerin was a late scratch.

The win vaulted the Penguins (38-22-4, 80 pts) over the idle New Jersey Devils into first place in the Atlantic Division by a single point and into second place in the Eastern Conference. The Devils have two games in hand however.

Saturday is a showdown with the Western Conference’s Dallas Stars and will mark the debut of rent-a-winger Alex Ponikorovsky for the Penguins who could not play against the Rangers due to visa problems. Ponikorovsky is in the last year of his current contract and comes to the Penguins from Toronto as a perennial 20+ goal scorer who looks to be placed on a line with Malkin and Fedotenko. He will probably command too much money for the Penguins to resign next year with all the cap implications that would be involved but I think he is a good addition to the team. Although I am not certain that long term it was a good move to trade away Luca Caputi who was looking ready to be a permanent NHL fixture and good goal scorer in exchange for a slight upgrade to a team that is already built have a good shot at winning another Championship.

The first game back from the Olympic Break resulted in a Penguins victory against the Buffalo Sabres as both starting goal tenders sat letting their backups carry the load. Miller sitting might have been understandable considering that he had just played two weeks of hockey for Team USA. But Fleury sitting is a bit of a mystery considering that he received his gold medal despite never seeing a single minute of game actions for Team Canada.

The game, which marked the debut for new defenseman Jordan Leopold, a veteran 29 year old blue liner, went well for the Penguins as they pretty much showed no real signs of rust against a great Eastern Conference team and wound up with a 3-2 victory, two points and kept pace with the New Jersey Devils who also won and remain a point ahead of the Penguins with a game in hand.

Gonchar scored his 200thcareer goal in what could very well be his last season as a Penguin as Leopold, who was a -1 in his debut for the Black and Gold provides the Penguins with another, although admittedly lesser, option on defense for providing offense.

What I am really waiting for is Saturday and the debut for the flightless birds of newly acquired rental player Alexei Ponikarovsky who came over from Toronto for the hefty price of Luca Caputi. Personally, I like Poni, or the Ukrain Train as he is known, but I do not like the Penguins giving up a man that has shown he was probably the best chance the Penguins had of a reliable NHL level scoring talentdeveloped from within the organization. That internal development is the best way to put a competitive team on the ice while not flirting with salary cap disaster as the Penguins are now doing.

Ponikarovsky is a free agent at the end of the year and at just 29.  As a proven reliable 20+ goal scoring wing it means he will probably command too much money for the Penguins to even think about resigning. But then again, if Goncharwalks looking for that one more big payday that does free up some money but I wouldn’t hold my breath.  The question for Gonchar is does he want more money or more championships and only he can make that decision on how to end what I think is a Hall of Fame career.

Mortgaging the future for quick benefit is a risky endeavor. I don’t think that the Penguins have destroyed their future and made winning future championships harder by dealing Caputi. But I don’t think they have made it any easier beyond this season.

Hopefully last night’s overtime victory against the Florida Panthers, in which the power play FINALLY scored a goal, means that the Penguins are back on the winning track. After an overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in which the Penguins clearly outplayed them and a loss in regulation to the Carolina Hurricanes, who have not been the same team this season since getting swept by the Penguins in the East finals last year, the Penguins needed another win to back up their 3-2 win in Montreal previously just to keep things rolling.

With Brent Johnson in goal, the backup netminder played more than well enough to win at times flashing leather like Marc-Andre Fleury to rob the Panthers of goals. After Steven Reinprecht (11) scored on the power play half way through the first, it was Pascal Dupuis (9) that answered with a wrist shot to tie up the game. The goal keeps Dupuis on pace to break the 20 goal mark for the first time since he played for the Minnesota Wild in 2002-2003. And that year he made the mark by playing on the power play and netting 6 goals with the man advantage. This year he is doing it in more of a utility role playing anywhere and everywhere the Penguins need him with a lot of 4th line time.

Ruslan Fedotenko (5) tipped in a cross crease pass from Malkin and Rupp mid way through the second to put the Penguins up. Then it was Steven Weiss (4) who wristed in a goal for the Panthers early in third and into an empty net as Johnson scrambled out for a missed poke check after a stop on a break away and tied the game.

The Penguins power play nearly cost them another game going 0-5 in regulation. But thankfully on their sixth chance it didn’t take long for Evgeni Malkin to find the net. With Jordan Leopold sent to the box just 0:30 into overtime for a hold on Jordan Staal as he crashed towards the net and Thomas Vokoun, the Penguins controlled the draw. Sidney Crosby pushed the puck back to Sergei Gonchar who fed Evgeni Malkin up high and Malkin (9) ripped the puck into the net on the 4-3 to win.

Brent Johnson finished with 29 saves on 31 shots faced, 15 of which came in the third period. He has a .907 save percentage and a 2.86 GAA, both very respectable for a backup goal tender who does not get regular chances in net.

The win helps the Penguins keep pace in the East with 45 points (22-10-1) which is good enough for 4th place and keeps them just a few games in hand behind New Jersey also with 45 points in the Atlantic. The Penguins now prepare for a home and home series against division rivals the Philadelphia Flyers (14-15-1, 29 pts).

Notes:
Winger Chris Kunitz returned to the lineup last night after missing 14 games with a lower-body injury marking the return to health of a Penguins team that spent most of November wondering who would get injured next.