The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the New Jersey Devils last night.  It took a third period explosion of three goals and overcoming a short handed goal by the Devils to tie the game at 1-1 at the very beginning of the period, but they won.  And while Marty Brodeur did not play, still recovering from a bruised right shoulder, the Devils had Ilya Kovalchuk in their line-up and are always dangerous.  The Devils were 3-1-1 heading into last night’s game.

It was Marc-Andre Fleury who stole the show early and often throughout the game.  Whether it was by using the tip of his toe or his leather of his glove, Fleury kept shot after shot out of the net.

At 6:07 of the first, Jordan Staal (4) put the Penguins up 1-0 and Matt Cooke got an assist on the goal proving something I said last year.  In my post Lemieux Is Right, League Is Disgraceful – Gillies And Islanders Got Off Easy I said of Cookie:

But here is something else that Matt Cooke does.  He plays offense.  He plays hockey with the puck as well.  Matt Cooke this season has 10 goals and 13 assists and is a plus 9.  He is not a goon no matter how badly you want him to be one.  Last year he scored 15 goals and 15 assists and was a plus 17.  In 2008-09 he had 13 goals and 18 assists and was  even one the score sheet.  He is also one of the league’s premier penalty killers and has 2 short handed goals this season.  He is not, by any stretch of the imagination, some no talent hack like so many of those employed by other teams for the same purposes.

Through 10 games this year, Cooke has 3 goals and 4 assists, 7 points and is a +3. He is on pace for 25 goals, 33 assists and +25. Now, he probably will not finish with those numbers since when Sid and Geno return he will get less playing time, but he appears ready to prove the naysayers wrong.

Back to the game …

The game remained 1-0 until Patrick Elias (3) scored short handed with Petr Sykora in the box on a high sticking double minor.

The Penguins responded however. On the second of the two PPs Chris Kunitz (2) scored to put the Penguins up 2-1. Jordan Staal (5) added his second goal of the night just over a minute later to make it 3-1. Then it was James Neal (8) who scored yet again to make it 4-1.

Fleury stopped 23 shots on the evening.

The Penguins are proving right now, just like last year, that even without Sid and Geno, they can play hockey. They are a good hockey team right now. And they can be an instant contender for the cup. The superstars just need to be added.

Billy Guerin officially announced his retirement today after am 18 year stint in the NHL. Having played with eight different teams, Guerin’s last official home was in Pittsburgh where he helped the team win the Stanley Cup in 2008-2009. He remained with the team for the 2009-2010 season but was not tendered a new contract for this year. He tried out for the Philadelphia Flyers this year but was released before the season began.

Bill Guerin will be honored by the Penguins in a ceremony before tonight’s home game versus the New Jersey Devils. “We were only here a short time, but my family and I developed such a deep connection to the city, the team and the fans,” said Guerin.

It was obvious how much the fans in Pittsburgh appreciated Guerin’s presence. Despite being a veteran, the fans regularly cheered for Guerin on the ice and applauded when his kids were shown on the old Igloo’s scoreboard.

Guerin was no doubt thankful that the Penguins acquired him from the New York Islanders for literally a song. He was struggling on a team that showed little penchant for winning and that was obviously frustrating to a player of Guerin’s caliber.

Guerin made his reputation as a player that could both finish and set up his teammates and also as a no-nonsense player on the ice who was not adverse to getting down and dirty. He often exceeded 100 penalty minutes by year’s end.

Considering the success he had at the tail end of his career here in Pittsburgh and how much the fans and the players loved him on the ice and in the locker-room I do not think it is any surprise that tonight, bad boy Billy Guerin retires a Penguin. Billy, I salute you. And with your announcement of a well deserved retirement after a long and productive career I am proud to see that you will now forever be a Pittsburgh Penguin.

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.

Ottawa had the unfortunate privilege of coming into Pittsburgh just two days after the Penguins suffered another humiliating defeat at the hands of the New Jersey Devils. After a game in which the Penguins literally handed Martin Brodeur his record setting shutout, the Senators had to know they were walking into the lion’s den.

Although it might all have ended differently if not for Marc-Andre Fleury. In the first period alone Flower had to face 24 shots and allowing just one goal. Leclaire, returning from injury for the Senators, faced just nine but also allowed a goal to Evgeni Malkin (11) on the power play to end the period tied at 1-1.

While it looked like a hockey game was afoot, what was about to happen is so horrific that young children, women and people with heart conditions are advised to look away. As the second period started a murder started to took place. The victims were the Ottawa Senator.

The period went like this:
1:03 Billy Guerin (10) – PPG and 2-1 Pens
7:35 Ruslan Fedotenko (7) and 3-1 Pens
11:25 Chris Kunitz (5) and 4-1 Pens
13:57 Billy Guerin (11) – PPG and 5-1 Pens
18:27 Evgeni Malkin (12) and 6-1 Pens

The bloody and beaten carcass of the Senators though still had life matching the Penguins 15 shots with 15 of their own but nothing to show for it due to a brick wall in net for the Penguins.

In the third the Penguins put the Senators of out their misery as Sergei Gonchar (5) added a seventh goal and Evgeni Malkin (13) capped off the hat trick for an 8-1 lead. Ottawa, in its death throws, added a late goal to make the final score 8-2 but died a short while after.

The crowd was ruckus late in the third repeatedly cheering for Billy Guerin to get more ice time in search of his own hat trick. After failing to finish on a couple opportunities however it was not meant to be.

Fleury finished the night with a massive 45 saves as the Penguins improved to 26-11-1 (53 pts) ahead of a Sunday match up with Toronto, one of the worst teams in the East at 13-17-8. Currently the Penguins sit in 4th place in the East in large part due to their inability to beat New Jersey who is in first place and also with 53 points.

Notes:
Craig Adams (-1) was the only Penguin to finish the game in the red when it comes to +/- rating.

Kunitz (1G, 3A) and Guerin (2G, 2A) both paced the Penguins with four points on the night.

As snow fell heavily all over the east coast, a Fleury fell in Buffalo – a Marc-Andre Fleury. And it was mightier than any snow storm. Stopping 31 of 32 saves in 65 minutes of regulation plus over time, the Penguins net minder added two more in the shoot out to earn his 21st win of the season the hard way. Yeah, his saves were not always pretty and a handful were just down right lucky but Fleury put himself in that possition to be lucky all night long as the Sabres peppered him with shots and crashed the net regularly.

If Fleury has not secured his spot on Team Canada for the Olympics as at least the back up then something is oh so very wrong.

Despite a face paced second and third period with Pittsburgh and Buffalo each traded rushes up the ice it was the first period where both teams scored their lone regulation goals. Jason Pominville (8) buried a rebound off Fluery’s pad at 15:05 and Chris Kunitz (4) wristed a shot past Lalime with less than a minute to go.

In the shootout Kris Letang buried his chance to put the Penguins up 1-0 after Fleury stood tall at the other end of the ice. Then, a little controversy as on Crosby’s shot, Lalime went nearly entirely into the net with the puck somewhere on or under his body. The Buffalo goal tender shimmied quickly out of the the net and the puck dropped outside the line. No review was called or needed as Fleury stopped both the prior shot and the shot afterwards to end the game.

Buffalo, who leads the Northeast Division, was a good test for the Penguins who had just come off two bruising victories against the lowly Philadelphia Flyers. The Penguins are now 25-10-1 (51 pts) and just behind the New Jersey Devils, also 51 pts but who have two games in hand in the Atlantic. Both teams will square off Monday night in Pittsburgh for a showdown.

Notes:
The Penguins power play, which had shown signs of life lately, was 0-5 despite some good chances.

With the win in Buffalo, Pittsburgh is currently riding a 5 game winning streak after starting the month 1-1-1.