More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

Orpik smash.

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Scratch another one off the shelf (or in the case of Pens Universe, remove a picture from the mantle).  Brooks Orpik is expected to play against the Atlanta Thrashers, which I'm sure will send Hooks into a gitty fit as he takes this one in at Philips Arena.

As a result of Orpik's return, defenseman Nate Guenin was sent back down to WBS.  Guenin played in two games for the Pens and picked up zero points, finishing only with a -2 rating.

For a team that has a lot of decisions to make on the blue line after this season, I have to say it's at least a benefit to see some of these younger guys filling in during this bout of injuries.  Many of us can't catch WBS games anywhere, so to see them on the ice, no matter how short the stint may be, gives a decent reference point outside of just some preseason play.

There's not much good to say about the Pen's game last night, but I'll do my best to try to raise the sagging spirits of the Pensburgh crowd.  Would watching Eric Godard pound on Chris Neil make you feel better?  Dry those eyes and take a look.

The fight started with Neil doing the increasingly popular move of grabbing the jersey and jabbing with the same hand, but Godard quickly got Neil's hand away from his face and came out swinging.  Neil was switching hands, swinging with whatever he could get free, but Godard stayed dedicated to his right hand, and his right hand stayed dedicated to Neil's face.  After blows back and forth with both players stopped and looked as if they were going to await the linesmen.  Then Neil took the opportunity to take a cheap swing, and Godard answered with a direct shot to the face (or right in the button, if you're listening to the clip).  At this point, Neil's face started bleeding, but he kept at it.  The energy was sapped, though, and shortly the linesmen broke the two up.

What a bout from Godard.  Neil came out with some quick jabs, but Godard just pounded his face over and over again.  This is a solid win for Godard - just look at the blows he connected!  By the end of the bout, Neil's left cheek was swollen and bloody, but that can be expected when one gets repeatedly punched in the face.  Definitely a good fight - I just wish it had come in a better game.

Next up is Atlanta, who thus far have 9 fights this season (coincidentally, the same number Chris Neil has) - five of which coming from Eric Boulton.  You may recall a memorable bout last season in which Ruslan Fedotenko broke his hand on Colby Armstrong's face.  Let's hope any fights that we may see have similar results without the unfortunate effects.

(Thanks to GhostWalker40 for the video!)

Check out Senators coverage over at Silver Seven

Hooks is out of the Pensburgh lineup for the next three to five days, so I'll be standing in for recap action tonight and Saturday.  Following the Atlanta game, it is believe he'll be listed as day to day.

• The awesomeness that is Lindon Slewidge rocked the anthems before the puck even dropped.  The guy's got a set of pipes, that's for sure.  Always great to see him during Ottawa games.
  
  Pittsburgh's first goal was fast and pretty thanks to the long reach from Jordan Staal and a great set up on behalf of Pascal Dupuis from Sergei Gonchar.  Definitely the sort of thing you wanna see your returning defenseman get involved in right off the bat.  And hey, for all the times we've knocked Dupuis, that was one hell of a pass.
• Unfortunately the highly anticipated return of Max Talbot was stalled by two minutes when he went to the box for tripping.  No worries though, as the PK killed that one off with ease. 
• With roughly eight minutes to go in the first, Ottawa showed some serious puck control in the Pittsburgh zone.  What felt like too long wound up being just that, as Matt Carkner got an angle on Marc-Andre Fleury and sent one home to tie it at one a piece.  In 2006-07 Carkner played with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Pens, so his ability to score against Pittsburgh should stand as no surprise to anyone.  These things always happen.

The second period and depressing third after the jump

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More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

The PP quarterback returns.

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It figures - mere seconds after I toss up a fanshot that questions whether Gonch is still questionable, the Pens release official word that both Sergei Gonchar AND Max Talbot will return to the lineup tonight.

This, in case you needed me to tell you, is a good thing.  However I still have my reservations with Gonch, and that is more or less rooted in the concern that he may be getting rushed back before he's 100% ready to hit the ice.  I know, I know, he was cleared for contact last week.  So was Max.  But I think Gonch was still mentioning some discomfort in his shoulder and wrist last week, so there's a chance he won't be 100% tonight.

But in all honesty I'd love to be proven wrong.

Looks like the Chris Lee call up is a precautionary thing.  I haven't read anything that leads me to believe that Mark Eaton is injured - or at least admitting to it.  He did miss today's practice but is listed on the defensive pairings that were released this morning.

More photos » by FRED CHARTRAND - AP

Chris Neil. Brutal.

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[SBN Ottawa Senators blog - Silver Seven]

The Penguins kick off a short three-game road trip tonight as they head north of the border to take on the Ottawa Senators.  In the last meeting between the two, the Penguins skated away with a 4-1 victory thanks to goals from Bill Guerin, Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy, the latter of whom actually scored two of em. 

It goes without question that the recent injury report regarding Jay McKee puts the Pens in an interesting situation, as they now officially find themselves with only one of the starting six defensemen from the first day of the season (Mark Eaton).  Martin Skoula, announced earlier in the year as the seventh d-man, looks as if he has his work cut out for him over (at least) the next two to four weeks.

On a positive note, Max Talbot makes his triumphant return to the ice, confirmed yesterday by the Trib-Review.

But enough about the Pens - you know what's going on here.  Take the jump and check out what's going on with the Senators.

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More photos » by Jay LaPrete - AP

21 days ago: Columbus Blue Jackets' Jakub Voracek, center, of the Czech Republic, passes the puck between Pittsburgh Penguins' Jordan Staal, right, and Jay McKee during the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Oct. 30, 2009, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

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Just when it looked like the Penguins could make it a game without an injury, Jay McKee wasn't at practice this morning and coach Dan Bylsma has to announce the news that he's had to do so many times.  McKee will be out the next 2-4 weeks with what's described as a "finger infection".


McKee's had issue with broken fingers before, and hey it's pretty hard to play hockey if you can't wrap your fingers around a stick.  McKee appeared to be stung and in pain on the bench after blocking one of his five shots on the night.

However the news wasn't all bad, as defensemen Kris Letang and Brooks Orpik were back in practice.  Letang was sporting the fimiliar red jersey (meaning no contact), but Orpik had on the regular black jersey.  Sergei Gonchar has been wearing the black jersey and practicing regularly for a couple days now as well.

Mark Eaton is now the only Penguins defensemen still in the lineup from opening night.  That's not entirely rare in the NHL, but the fact that it's only mid November, and that there's five injuries at the same time is.

No word if the Penguins will have to re-call yet another player from Wilkes-Barre, or if an injured defenseman --likely Gonchar or Orpik, given their practice statuses -- will be able to be in the lineup tomorrow night in Ottawa.

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Another feather in the cap of Dan Bylsma: organizational transparency.

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Wonder why the Penguins could import three minor league defensemen and hardly miss a beat?  Quotes from today's PG shed some light on it.  Ben Lovejoy said:

"When I first got here, I had a meeting with Dan [Bylsma]. He told me there's one faceoff play where there's a bit of a nuance from what we do down in Wilkes-Barre. It's one faceoff play, and that's it." 

Nate Guenin added:

"Everything is the same, it's awesome because when you get called up and you're put in that situation, you feel comfortable because all the terminology's the same, and it makes the transition that much easier.

Guess this answers the question I posed earlier.  The Penguins have reassigned Mark Letestu to Wilkes-Barre Scranton to open up a roster spot.  That spot, of course, would seem to be an open slot for Max Talbot's return on Thursday.

Can't say I really saw enough of Letestu to make an overall judgment, but at the least he didn't cause any turnovers or miss wide-open nets to warrant any sort of negative impression.  He was held pointless in only two games.

Here's the official release from the PG.

Barely into the 3rd period, Bill Guerin got smacked from behind by Ryan Getzlaf, then again as he got back to the skates. Guerin and Getzlaf stayed near each other, and then the gloves came flying.

Getzlaf got some weak head shots in before Guerin caught him in a headlock, which pulled off his helmet. Getzlaf went for a shot that was blocked by Guerin, and then the two went down to the ice. I'm not quite sure if Getzlaf pulled Guerin or vice-versa, but it doesn't really matter. This one's a draw.

This is both Guerin and Getzlaf's first fight this season. Next up is Ottawa, who is tied for 4th in the NHL for fights, with 16. The Penguins are just behind them with 14, tied for 7th.

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

4 days ago: Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, right, makes a second period save on a shot by Anaheim Ducks' Petteri Nokelainen (17) of Finland during an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh Monday, Nov. 16, 2009.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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Ducks vs Penguins coverage - Anaheim SB Nation team blog Anaheim Calling

Down seven regular players to injury, it has to be a team effort to get by.  The Penguins found it tonight as they got contributions from everyone.  Even the power-play kicked in with a goal, snapping a streak of weeks without one.  Sure the Penguins gave up a short-handed goal, but hey, one step at a time.

Just a minute and a half into the game, Matt Cooke collected a turnover from the Ducks and deposited it past Jean-Sebastien Giguere for the first goal.  Then a few minutes later, the power-play finally broke through when Sidney Crosby rifled the puck to Bill Guerin and the old man whipped it from the high slot for a 2-0 lead.

Anaheim would halve the lead when after some lackadaisical Pittsburgh power-play work resulted in Todd Marchant getting a step on the defense and he beat Marc-Andre Fleury to take the score at 2-1 into intermission.

Jordan Staal made a play short-handed that ended up being the game winner.  Credit Deryk Engelland who got the puck, kept his head up and made a great pass up to Staal.  As has become his habit, Staal beat the defensemen and used his reach to deke the goalie out.  3-1 Pens.

Early in the 3rd period, Martin Skoula scored his first career goal as a Penguin, shooting a puck from the point past the screen of Mike Rupp into the net.  Teemu Selanne got a goal late in the game to bring the Ducks within two goals but Cooke put the icing on the cake with an empty netter for a 5-2

• Down their top four defensemen (in terms of minutes played) the Penguins needed and got contributions from everyone.  Engelland, as mentioned, made a great pass to make the game-winner possible and also played phyiscal with five hits.  Nate Guenin looked confident and comfortable in his NHL season debut, also credited with five hits.  Mark Eaton carried the load, playing a lot of the power-play in route to a game-high 27:09 of ice-time.  Skoula, as mentioned above, got his first goal.  Ben Lovejoy got an assist and generally played well.
• Jay McKee, the final member of tonight's defensive corps, was his usual shot-blocking self; getting 5 on the night.  The last one appeared to sting him, but he still took shifts deep into the 3rd period.  Hopefully it wasn't enough to cause an injury,
• Guenin and Engelland I think deserve a little more recognition for their efforts.  Neither one of them tried to be a guy like Sergei Gonchar or Alex Goligoski -- they played within themselves.  But they played very well.  Several little plays showed they made good decisions and executed them well all night long.
• Keeping on the theme of team contributions: every Penguin who took more than one faceoff was better than 50% in the circle; led by rookie Mark Letestu who won 75% of his eight draws.
• Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin absolutely unleashed some rockets on the power-play with slapshots.  Judging from those, I'd say about all systems are go for those two.  Again though, Crosby got the PP assist but Geno was point-less.  This win wasn't about them.
• It was about guys like Staal and Cooke.  2/3 of the third line went a combined 3 goals, 1 assist and +5, 5 shots on goal, 6 hits.
• Several more "ohh man" moments by Chris Bourque, who didn't win anyone to his bandwagon tonight; including missing another wide-open net.
• For Anaheim, they just don't look like they have it all together.  Given the talent on their roster, and the fact they won the Cup just over 2 years ago, it's hard to believe they're in last place in the entire Western Conference.  Then you see some of the turnovers they make in the game, the careless penalties they take and it sets in a little.  They have some pieces, but it's not coming together correctly.

The biggest thing to take away from this game was the team effort.  Marc-Andre Fleury got 23 of 25 shots, only eluded by a breakaway and late game goal.  The patchwork, mainly minor-league level defense held up very well and they all played well to a man.  Grinders showed up on the score sheet and skated hard all around. 

More than that, they played a style Dan Bylsma had to like; a lot of puck possesion and controlling the pace of the game.  Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has a saying that goes something like "the standard of expectation hasn't changed" when it comes to replacements pressed into duty due to injuries.  That was the case tonight.  Obviously it's impossible to replace the skill of guys like Gonchar, Goligoski and Kris Letang on the blueline, but everyone that got a jersey did his job, and did it well.  That's all you can ask.

The Penguins now have a two day break before they embark on seven games in 11 days to close out the month of November, starting off with a three game roadie.  The games are about to come but hopefully reinforcements will be trickling in.  But the standards of expectation will not, and cannot change.  Whoever plays has to produce, and they have to perform exactly like they did tonight.