Game number two is in the bag.  And the Penguins kept the good things going early in the season.

In beating the Calgary Flames 5-3 last night, the Penguins netted another two power play goals (Niskanen and Malkin) and held the Flames to just 20 shots on goal.  The Penguins added goals from Mr. Tyler Kennedy (1), Craig Adams (1) and Jordan Staal EN (1) to improve to 2-0 on the young season.  Fleury got his second win of the season.

The Penguins power play managed 10 shots on net.

James Neal added notched an assist.

Jordan Staal and Matt Niskanen where the only two Penguins to notch more than a point with a goal and an assist each to give the Penguins a well balance attack.

Tonight the Penguins head to Edmonton to face the Oilers who have not taken to the ice yet this season.

The Pittsburgh Penguins were not weighed down by too much turkey on Thansksgiving as on Friday night they won a hard fought game against the Ottawa Senators 2-1 and on Saturday they breezed past the Calgary Flames 4-1. The Senators, now 9th in the East, have struggled.

Through Saturday the Senators had scored 14 less goals than they have allowed and are 4-6-0 in their last ten. Despite jumping out to a 1-0 lead against the Pens, Evgeni Malkin (8 – PPG) and Alex Goligoski (5) provided all the offense needed in front of Marc-Andre Fleuy’s 43 save performance. Despite 21 shot in the first period, Ottawa just could not find the net.

Calgary has been on of the worst teams in the Western Conference this year. After loosing to the Penguins their record stood at just 9-12-2 but with a goal differential of just -5 on the year they are capable of staying in games. But the Penguins jumped on them early in the second with a goal by Arron Asham (3) and a hat trick by Sidney Crosby (16, 17 & 18) thanks to the empty net to make the game never in doubt. Brent Johnson spelled Fleury who has been red hot lately and made 30 saves as the Penguins shot the puck 43 times.

The win against the Flames was the Penguins sixth in a row and they have points in their last 9 going 8-0-1 in that time. Over their last ten games the Penguins are 8-1-1.

Next up for the 15-8-2 Penguins are the 14-10-1 Rangers on Monday night. Last time these two teams met the Penguins scored two late goals to take a 2-1 lead only to see the Rangers score late to tie the game and then finish the Pens off in overtime.

Carolina plays an up tempo game. Vancouver prefers that style too, but the Penguins newly found commitment to defense shut them down. Last night was another test for that new found respect for focusing on the blueliners.

However, Pittsburgh struggled. However, so did Carolina.

Both teams found the net four times during regulation and overtime and Fleury looked stronger than that record as his defense let him down a couple times. Fleury stopped 30 of 34 shots and kept the Penguins in the game despite a teamwide collapse that let the Hurricanes tie the game with just 0:52 left in regulation. Pens fans no doubt had visions of the game against the New York Rangers dancing in their heads. In that game the Penguins down 0-1 late scored twice to take a 2-1 lead only to give up a late goal in regulation and then lost in overtime.

But not last night. After goals in regulation by Chris Kunitz (6, 7), Tyler (Mr.) Kennedy (4) and Sidney Crosby (14) the Penguins shut the door in overtime despite playing much of it in their own end. Then came the shootout.

In the shootout it was not even a contest. Kris Letang scored on the Penguins first shot. Fleury stones Jeff Skinner. Crosby scored on the Penguins second shot. Then Fleury flipped out his pad and stopped Jussi Jokinen. Game over. Two points.

The win in the shootout moves the Penguins to 11-8-2 on the season and they have won four of their last five and have a point in each of those games.

Pittsburgh produced consistent offense all night tallying 36 shots in regulation and overtime. 10 shots in the first, 12 in the second, 11 in the third and 3 in the five minute overtime show that the Penguins never let off the gas. His Sidness paced the Penguins with four points (1 G and 3 A) while Malkin added three quality assists. Jussi Jokinen had four point for the Hurricanes (2 G and 2 A) and menaced the Penguins all night.

Pittsburgh is now off until Monday night until they face the 8-9-0 Florida Panthers on the road.

There is no denying it; the Penguins have problems. Despite loads of talent, the forwards are not playing up to snuff (Malkin has been downright horrid), the defense since the return of Brooks Orpik and Michalek has been porous and Marc-Andre Fleury, despite his earlier troubles being related to the problems on the rest of the team, has been getting worse in net. The team had been just 1-4-1 in their last six heading into Pheonix. And after Fleury looked like he had forgotten everything there is to know about playing between the pipes the Coyotes mounted a 2-0 lead over the Penguins on just five shots.

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.

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.

It looks to be a stormy night in the ‘Burgh with thunderstorms rolling through the area.  And with the temperature dropping Pens fans are wondering if there will be a chance of Fleurys as in Marc-Andre Fleury playing they way all Pens fans know he can rather than the way he has been playing as of late.

In Wednesday’s night loss to the Senators Fleury was not on his game.  He let in four goals that he should have stopped or at least had a better chance of stopping than he did.  Without their star goal tender bringing his A-game the Penguins are going to be behind the eight ball and will have a good chance of falling behind 0-2 in the series.

Malkin and Crosby could not have been asked to do more in game one combining for several goals and assists.  Now with injuries mounting on the Senators bench and Ottawa’s third line not likely to produce at the same level again two nights in a row the Penguins will have to find a way to get a victory on home ice before heading north for the next game.

Mike Rupp will be in the lineup tonight after sitting out game one according to reports.  Rumors are that he will replace Ruslan Fedotenko in the lineup after Feds had a sub-par first game.  If you ask me he should probably be replacing Ponikarovsky who has not played at all up to expectations since joining the team at the trade deadline.

We will have to see how it all shakes out.