Senators goaltenders got beat on last night in Ottawa as the Penguins racked up seven goals, four against Elliott and three more against Leclaire.  Elliott was yanked after the score ran up to 4-0 and the sad part for him is that it could have been much worse had he not played as well as he did in the first period while keeping Ottawa in the game.  But even he could not hold back the Penguins attack as once again His Sidness racked up 4 points (2 G, 2 A, +3).  Cris Kunitz and Sarge added 3 points each and Evgeni Malkin added a goal in what could have been a rout had the Penguins not taken their foot off the gas and allowed four Ottawa goals.

They were almost pitty goals and it reminds me of the scene from the Princess Bride where the Fezzik (played by Andre the Giant) is fighting the Man in Black.  Outmatched and frustrated but not totally defeated the Man in Black/Westley/the Dread Pirate Roberts complains, “Look, are you just fiddling around with me or what?”  To which Fezzik responds, “I just want you to feel you’re doing well.”

Fezzik eventually loses because he fiddles around too much but last night the Penguins had an aswer for everything the Sens threw at them getting goals from E. Malkin (PPG, 11:50 – 1st) , S. Crosby (03:47 – 2nd) , M. Cooke (03:59 – 2nd) , S. Crosby (06:12 – 2nd) , M. Talbot (SHG, 12:38 – 2nd) , C. Kunitz (18:11 – 2nd) and J. Staal (PPG, 12:27 – 3rd)

Pittsburgh however needs to learn how to get a little more of a killer instinct as they got sloppy and allowed the Senators two five on three advantages which resulted in goals.

But in the end the final score still read Pittsburgh 7 and Ottawa just 4 with the Pens holding a 3-1 series lead.  Can’t argue too much with that.

Tomorrow I’ll have comments on the crucifixion and six game suspension of Big Ben as the NFL seems determined to make itself into a laughing stock of stupidity and idiots here in Pittsburgh, who are in a minority but really believe they are a majority with all their hearts, are still saying that the punishment is not enough.

Despite squandering four power play chances in the first period and falling behind the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, the Penguins found a way to win on the West Coast. Something that has been more difficult for Pittsburgh than Eric Lindros taking to the ice and not getting a concussion. The underachieving Ducks (now just 4-7-2 this season) could not overcome the Penguins despite another pathetic performance with the man advantage that makes me wonder exactly what the coaching staff will have to do to wake up a bunch of guys who have plenty of talent but apparently not the desire to play on the ice when the other team is down a man.

The game seesawed back and forth with Anaheim’s Corey Perry (9) scoring early in the first, Pittsburgh’s Mike Rupp (4) scoring early in the second on a snap shot, the Kris Letang (1) finding the net midway through the period and finally Corey Perry (10) scoring again as the second period wound down.

Then in the third it was a fabulous flurry. That’s flurry, not Fleury, even though the Pen’s netminder performed well once again in the game stopping 26-29 shots he face. No, it was a flurry of goals that decided the game and then a save that sealed it.

At 7:55 of the third Alex Gologoski (6) put the Penguins up 3-2. Nineteen seconds later Saku Koivu (2) tied it up again. Fifty-nine seconds after that it was Pascal Dupuis (3) that put the Penguins up for good. With a few minutes remaining however it was Sidney Crosby who stacked his pads and stopped a Niedermayer shot that kept the Penguins on top.

The victory pushed the Penguins to a 7-0-0 road record this season and a 12-3-0 (24 pts) record overall at a time when they are missing key pieces to their lineup; Talbot Gonchar and Malkin. Tyler Kennedy returned to the lineup and tallied 2 assists.

The Penguins now have to travel to Los Angeles to battle the Kings and former Penguins Rob Scuderi on Thursday night.

The Penguins had already proven that they could get by without Stanley Cup Final Game 7 MVP Max Talbot as they roared out to a 10-2-0 record to start the season. They even proved that they could win without Sergei Gonchar on the blueline. Then they proved they could win without Mister (Tyler) Kennedy who has provided a lot of offense on the young season. But what about a win without Evgeni Malkin? Yep, they did that too beating the Blue Jackets in Columbus last night.

It was what people in sports call a character win, when a team that is beat up and missing key components still finds a way to muck it out and get the victory. Yeah, Columbus is struggling after a decent start but they still found a way to win even after falling behind first 2-0 and then 3-1. Oh, and I don’t want to overlook the contribution of thousands of Pittsburgh fans that made the trek to Columbus and repeatedly roared to life to drown out the hometown fans either.

After Rick Nash (7, scored twice, Chris Kunitz (2) scored his second goal in two nights (after a long drought) and short handed to cut the Penguins deficit in half. But when Derek Dorsett (1) scored late in the second to make it 3-1 it would have been easy for the Penguins to mail it in and start thinking about a Halloween night showdown against Minnesota.

In the third the Blue Jackets played conservative and Brent Johnson stopped all six shots he faced. Meanwhile the Penguins, especially late, put their noses down and played hard. With the clock winding inside three minutes to play it was Ruslan Fedotenko (3) who found a rebound and buried it.

3-2 Columbus.

Just 39 seconds later it was Alex Goligoski (5) who wristed a shot past Mason.

3-3 and a tie hockey game.

Columbus held Pittsburgh off in the overtime and then the cardiac kids took the game into a shootout. In the end the winning shot was not that glorious or awe inspiring. But it did come off of the stick of Sidney Crosby. In the shootout Crosby wound his way down the ice and flipped a puck at Mason who looked to stop the puck in his chest. But as the play continued, Mason drifted, could not find the puck, it dropped to the ice and momentum carried it between his stick and his pads.

Victory to the Penguins.

At 11-2-0 the Penguins own the best record in the league and kept pace with Colorodo (10-2-2) who also has 22 pts. Their opponent tonight is one of the worst teams in the league as Minnesota (4-9-0, 8 pts)comes to the Igloo. It’s Halloween and hopefully the injury riddled Penguins won’t play too scary and notch a win against a team that is just two for their last five and three of their last seven.

When Mike Rupp fakes you out and puts the puck behind you, as a goalie you have every right to be a little upset. Cam Ward certainly did and while Mike Rupp is not a fourth line scrub and does have hockey skills, they don’t admittedly get showcased on a nightly basis. So when he came in on a two on one with Cam Ward sitting between the pipes, moved to the forehand and then at the last second, with Ward leaning, flipped back to his back hand and buried the puck to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead you could almost see Ward’s eyes rolling under his mask.

It was Rupp’s first goal of the season and it won’t be his last.

Malkin (3) scored early in the second to put the Penguins up 2-0 but the Hurricanes answered back in the third with two redirects from Ray Whitney (2, 3) to tie the game up and Cam Ward committed highway robbery on a point blank chance from Bill Guerin. Guerin was standing in the crease when the puck came to his stick and Ward was halfway passed the post but still was just barely able to snatch out his glove hand and put it right where the puck was headed into the net. A video review showed that while close his glove was not completely in the net which would have made the play a goal.

In overtime both teams played up and down the ice trying to end the game to no avail. Fleury was one again solid in goal stopping 27 of 29 shots on the night.

In the shootout it took a while to determine who would earn the extra point for the win. Fleury stopped Samsonov then Ward stopped Letang. In round two both Jussi Jokinen and Sidney Crosby found the net. Then came round three and both Ruutu and Guerin were stopped. Off to round four … Matt Cullen and Alex Goligoski both missed the net. Round five anyone? Fleury redeemed himself by stopping Whitney and Ward answered by stopping Evgeni Malkin who looked less than enthusiastic in his attempt. But it was round six that would decide everything.

Eric Staal was tapped for Carolina and Chris Kunitz got the nod for the Penguins. Fleury stopped Staal but Ward could not do the same against Kunitz. Kunitz buried his shot five hole against the Carolina net minder and the rest, as they say, is history. The Penguins capped a 5-0 road trip record to start the season and moved to 6-1-0 (12 pts) on the season.

They return home Saturday to face the Tampa Bay Lightning who are 2-1-2 and leading the once again anemic South East with just 6 points.

Notes:

- Chris Kunitz has been under a little heat this year for not having scored a goal during regulation or overtime. Although he has registered 4 assists and is a plus one, most people expect him to put the puck in the net playing along side Crosby and Guerin. The truth is that not everyone can score and sometimes players have droughts. It is not like Kunitz has not contributed and hopefully his goal in the shootout last night will silence some of his critics.
- Marc-Andre Fleury continues to make a case that he belongs on Canada’s Olympic team and possibly even be the starter. He is 6-0 with a .917 Sv% and a 2.27 GAA this season.
- -5? Yep that is what Sergei Gonchar is after six games this season. Maybe not that big of a deal you say? Well, he has 5 points himself (4 of which have come at even strength) … that means that he has been on the ice for 9 of the opposition’s even strength goals! The Penguins have allowed 17 goals (6 on the PP and 11 at even strength). That means that Gonchar has been on the ice for 82% (9 / 11 = .818%) of the opposition’s even strength goals which is unacceptable and I am sure Sarge knows that.

Pittsburgh is doing well so far on this current road trip but excitement over three straight road wins (and four straight overall) has to be tempered by the knowledge that both the Stars and the Bolts are pretty banged up and sinking fast. Tuesday’s 3-1 win over Tampa Bay was important for the standings but the real test will be Thursday as this team heads into a must win game against the Panthers who are ahead of them in the standings.

Kunitz is proving his worth for the Penguins, although I still cringe at giving up a talent like Whitney to get him, and scored the opening goal last night for his 18th of the season between Pittsburgh and Anaheim. He also got a second goal in the game bringing his season total to 19 and the Staal line has been firing on all cylinders since the acquisition meaning Shero might be looking for another winger to play with Crosby which was what Kunitz was supposed to be. But how can you break up a line playing so well?

Obviously you cannot.

Carolina also won yesterday so the Penguins needed a win to remain in eighth place overall in the East.

Satan was also placed on waivers despite playing which seems to point towards the Penguins looking to make as move before today’s 3:00PM trade deadline. We will have to wait and see.

Kunitz had better pay dividends for the Penguins because they gave up a lot in Ryan Whitney to get him. In his first game with the Penguins, Kunitz helped power the Penguins past Chicago by providing a powerful and aggressive presence on the ice netting a goal and an assist playing along with Jordan Staal. With the way those two played together they might still be looking for someone to slap on the wing with Crosby even though Kunitz was supposed to be that man.

The Penguins jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead last night against the Blackhawks on a goal by Jordan Staal (16). A shot by Sarge was not handled well by Huet and Staal roofed the rebound with energy that he has not had since signing his contract extension. The Penguins then went up 2-0 as Kunitz (17) slipped a puck softly under Huet’s pads.

But penalties would be the Penguins nemesis. Late in the first period Tyler Kennedy (who later left the game with illness) took a hooking call and Toews (23) scored his first of three goals on the power play to make it a 2-1 game. Toews would have had four goals on the night had he not batted another power play chance down with what was, despite moans from Blackhawk fans, a clear high stick.

The Penguins regained a two goal cushion in the second after Toews (24) tied the game thanks to goals by Satan (16) and Talbot (9). But in the third, the Penguins went into a shell and let the Blackhawks beat on them with twenty shots. Two of those twenty found the net and tied the game. The Penguins had a golden opportunity to put pressure on Antti who replaced Huet in the third but simply could not.

So into overtime the contest went. The Penguins carrying over a late powerplay set up in the Chicago end 4 on 3. Gonchar came high and had only one man in sight – Evgeni Malkin. Sarge fed him the puck and Geno fired it to the back of the net behind Antti for the win.

The Blackhawks got really lucky last night as the only reason the game was not 4-0 or worse before they scored their first goal was the play of Huet who made some incredible saves on great opportunities by the Penguins who seem to be taking their playoff run seriously. Finally.

The win moved the Penguins record in February to 7-4-1 and their overall record to 31-26-6 (68pts) and still a point out of the playoff race. On Sunday the Penguins face another Western Conference foe in the Dallas Stars in Dallas.

Dallas is 5-5-0 in their last 10 games and are hanging on to eighth spot in the West and will be desperate for a win against the Penguins who are 6-3-1 in their last 10 and trying to get into the playoffs.