James Neal (3, 4) scored two goals, one with time running down in he third to tie the game, but in the end the Penguins lost last nights match against the Washington Capitals 3-2 in overtime.  Neal has been proving that last year’s poor numbers after being obtained by the Penguins in a trade were perhaps just a fluke.  Neal had been a 20 goal scorer for Dallas but put up only 2 goal in over 20 games for the Penguins last year.  He has four goals in five games to start the 2011-12 campaign.

The Penguins avoided taking a penalty that lead to a Capital’s power play until the overtime frame.  At that time it was Jordan Staal who got caught for tripping which lead to the winning goal for Washington.  The Penguins with 41 shots on net for the game could not get any more than two pucks behind Vokoun.  Then Penguins held the Capitals to just 19 shots and Brent Johnson made 16 saves.

The OT loss pushes the Penguins to 3-0-2 on the season headed into Saturday’s matchup with Buffalo.

Its almost spring and while some brain dead fans in Pittsburgh are dreaming of Pirates baseball, and another losing season, anyone with a brain is excited about the new Arena Football League team in Pittsburgh; the Pittsburgh Power. And yes, I have season tickets.

Last night the Power kicked off their season to a crowd of 13,904 at Consol Energy Center. Many of these people, it appeared based on the lines at the ticket window, were walkups who decided to buy tickets the day of the game. I’d love to give you stats, but the AFL has not updated their site as of this morning.

The game was back and forth all night with both teams driving up and down the field on each other. The Power however made several key mistakes. They dropped interceptions, they were unable to sack Justin Allgood (Philly’s QB) several times when they had him dead to rights and they allowed the Soul to intercept a pass off the end walls late in the game.

But in the waning moments of regulation, with the Power trailing 52-49, and after a dropped touchdown pass that would have put the Power up, Paul Edinger, formerly of the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings tied the game up with a 35-yard field goal through the narrow AFL uprights.

The Power however self-destructed in OT. They were unable to get anything going and on fourth down an interception return for a touchdown capped the game. Bernard Morris, quarterback for the Power, watched as Philadelphia’s Mike Brown ran the ball in to end zone.

The crowd, which thinned out late as the Power were down, was loud and boisterous all night long cheering their new team on. Lots of people appear to be giving the Power a chance here in Pittsburgh. Which, considering the options (i.e. the Suckos who have a losing streak so long that if it were a person it would be old enough to legally have sex with) who can blame them?

Oh, but just one suggestion to the Power. It sounds really weird when the announcer comes on and talks about getting a “black Power” t-shirt. It would sound equally weird if he were to come across talking about a “white Power” t-shirt too. You guys might want to rethink that!

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.

Tonight the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Ottawa Senators renew a match up that is becoming commonplace in the post season. In recent years each team has had to beat the other in order to advance. Pittsburgh, the forth seed in the East, and Ottawa, the fifth seed, drop the puck in less than an hour at the Igloo.

Pittsburgh didn’t limp into the playoffs but did not impress in March and April nearly as much as they had in the previous two seasons where they used the final weeks of the regular season to build momentum. When you count overtime and shootout losses as what they are, losses, the Penguins were basically a .500 team. Ottawa on the other hand finished the season 7-2-1 so they are not going to be an easy first round opponent.

As much as Penguins fans want to be optomistic there are questions about whether star players who have not played up to snuff (Fleury, Malkin, Gonchar) lately can find that extra gear, bear down and play playoff hockey. Fleury has been one of the best netminders in the playoffs over the past two years winning 7 of 8 series and only loosing that one finals series against Detroit. He is capable but has to steady himself in net.

Tonight, not all answers will be given but a glimpse of what is to come is certainly going to be on view. Someone better find the switch and flip it soon. Because Crosby can’t win another cup on his own.

Chicago saw Detroit erase a 3-0 deficit at the end of the second period with three goals in the final six minutes of the period. But it was Patrick Sharp (7) that won the game for the Blackhawks just 1:52 into overtime after both teams managed only six shots each in the third period and failed to score.

The win makes the series 2-1 Detroit instead of 3-0 which would have been a tall order for Chicago to overcome and it was an outcome that looked in doubt after that second period explosion by Detroit. Chicago pretty much looked like the better team for most of the game except for that late second period lapse but what it proved once again is that you cannot let up when you have Detroit down. However, after Detroit tore down the (Khabi)Bulin Wall again, it was Cristobal Huet that came in and rescued the Hawks.

Both teams go at it again at 3:00 PM on Sunday.

Sharp’s post game interview:

Pittsburgh dominated then slumped then dominated again last night against the Florida Panthers and in the process salvaged a much needed two points over a conference foe just barely a head of them in the standings. With the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings more jammed than the parkway at rush hour, the Penguins had to win last night. Anything less would have seen them once again on the outside looking in. Conceding a point to the Panthers was not the ideal way to win, but considering how the game transpired, the Penguins should be thankful for getting the win.

Vokoun allowed only 3 goals on the fifty shots that he saw. Many more were blocked. Had he not been on his game, the score would never have been tied heading into the end of regulation. Fleury stopped 18 of the 21 shots he faced in 65 minutes of regulation and sudden death overtime with a few spectacular ones as well.

Malkin (30) opened the scoring in the first and the Penguins opened the second period with a 1-0 lead. But Florida somehow managed to escape the period with not just the lead, but a substantial 3-1 lead on only seven shots in the period. The third goal by Ballard (6) was in fact a good goal despite what fans at the Igloo thought. There was no kicking motion as the puck came off his skate leading to a review and the goal being upheld.

Pittsburgh however answered back quickly in the third with goals from Staal (18) just 2:20 in and then Crosby (26) a hair over three minutes later to tie the game. Pittsburgh squandered many power play opportunities and their troubles with the man advantage continue.

In the shoot out Fleury was perfect, stopping both of Florida’s first two shooters. For the Penguins, Letang scored on Vokoun, Crosby was stopped and Malkin made Vokoun look foolish with a move that in the end was simply him dragging the puck past the sprawled out net minder and pushing it into a yawning net.

The win vaulted Pittsburgh over Florida in the standings and 6th place in the Eastern Conference and just a point behind struggling Montreal. At 36-26-6 (78 pts) the Penguins are just four points behind Philadelphia for fourth and just two points ahead of the Rangers who are in ninth.

Next, the Penguins have to travel to Columbus where they will meet the not as bad as previous years Blue Jackets in another must win game against a hapless opponent in order to maintain their playoff position. Columbus is 34-27-6 (74 pts) and at 6-4-0 in their last 10 games are also trying to hang on to a playoff spot in the West.