Ok, so none of that really happened, but believe me you, the thought about what the Lightning had done to cause the Penguins to show them no mercy last night crossed my mind just ten minutes into the first period with the score already 4-0.  In the end the Penguins would win 8-1 after a dominating performance against a team that is no slouch and leading the South East Division of the Eastern Conference.

Evgeni Malkin had a chance to do something very spectacular last evening as he scored right off the opening faceoff after intercepting an errant pass.  Tampa Bay won the draw but Malkin pushed forward and went in on goal uncontested.  He bobbled the puck and instead of scoring in an amazing five seconds had to settle for the ever so less amazing feat of scoring with just seven ticks of the clock gone.

It was an omen of bad things to come for Tampa Bay.

What followed was a clinic of scoring prowess even as the Penguins gave up a few chances in their own end.  After about eight shots on net or so the Penguins had galloped to a 4-0 lead with just 7:42 gone. Malkin (15), Conner (5), Kennedy (6) and Kunitz (11) lead that flurry but the team was not done.  To add insult to injury, Tampa Bay took a late penalty and Kunitz (12) added his second goal of the evening on the power play to set the score at 5-0 at the end of the period.

Letestu (9) added goal number six half way through the second and Kunitz (13) got his second career hat trick (his first with the Pens) with time running out and another power play being had for the Penguins.

Adam Hall (5) scored early in the third for the Lightning but Alex Goligoski (7) answered right back just a shade over a minute later to stretch the score to 8-1.  Pittsburgh tallied 41 shots on the night.  Tampa Bay had 32.

It wasn’t an easy time in net for Marc-Andre Fleury however as he needed to time and again make big and spectacular stops as the Lightning fought tooth and nail for a goal.  Meanwhile the Lightning played musical net minders all night.  Roloson started the game.  Then he was chased in favor of Ellis.  Then he was chased in favor of Roloson.  Then Roloson was again chased in favor of Ellis.

The win comes just days after the Penguins lost in the Winter Classic to the Washington Capitol on a rainy New Years Day night here in Pittsburgh.  And the Penguins looked like they wanted to reestablish themselves early in this matchup and show that that loss was more of a hiccup than anything else.

Today the Lightning are tending to their sores.  Hey, when you get screwed like the Penguins screwed them last night you are bound to have some sore spots.

Tonight the Penguins take on the Montreal Canadiens who are 21-16-3 and no slouch themselves.

Fleury, not looking like he had a clue in net, was pulled in favor of Brent Johnson who backstopped the Penguins the rest of the way. Pittsburgh came back with two goals in the second, one of which was score by Malkin (4) to tie the game in the second. Pheonix went back on top 3-2 and then with the period winding down the anemic Penguins power play finally found the net as Kunitz (3) netted the game tying goal.

The third period wound away, then overtime passed. It wasn’t until the final shooter of the shootout that the Penguins sealed the deal. And that final shooter was not Crosby or Malkin but rookie Mark Letestu. Puck in net. Pens win 4-3 in the shoot out.

Now the Penguins (7-7-1) have a few days off before returning home to host the Boston Bruins on Wednesday, November 10th at 7:00PM. I don’t know what they will do with that time off. But hopefully they will realize, finally, how bad they are as a team right now and take no solace that they escaped Pheonix with a win.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Shaking it out, you have the Penguins dropping about $4 million in cap room but picking up Kunitz for $3.725 million and getting a little bit of an upgrade. You have the Penguins relieving themselves of a player who has not played up to his potential (but then again have any of them this year except maybe Malkin) for a guy who has managed 81 goals over four seasons which is pretty decent.

I have been saying that one of the Penguins defensemen were going bye-bye this year based solely on the number we were carrying. I even said it would be one of the offensive defensemen. But I really thought it would end up being Gonchar because he had the most value and a year left on his contract (if I am counting 5yrs correctly). I knew Letang was safe and figured it would be Goligoski or Whitney. But for some reason, I don’t know why, this trade just doesn’t make my nipples hard yet. That’s probably because the team as a whole hasn’t done that either.

Lots of people do not seem to like Whitney. There are even a couple in my office who have some unfounded resentment for the man. I think it is probably because he spoiled us by have that one really kick butt season which landed him his $4 dollar deal and people sort of expected him to keep getting better despite still being young and this year playing on a team that under performed. I hope these people that hated him and are joyous to see him leave are happy because I think he is going to be yet another player that in a couple year they are going to wish was still with the Penguins. All I can say is thank God he is in the Wester Conference so he can’t burn us much.

Perhaps with Whitney gone, does this mean that the Penguins are going to work to lock up Gonchar for a few more seasons? I hope so because he is the most underrated defenseman in the league if you ask me and certainly has a few more years left in him.