More photos » by Gus Ruelas - AP

1 day ago: Anaheim Ducks right wing Corey Perry, center, is stripped of the puck by Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Jay McKee, right, right wing Bill Guerin (13) during the second period of a NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Gus Ruelas)

Browse more photos »

Penguins vs Ducks coverage - SB Nation blog Anaheim Calling 

It was a matchup of two of the past three Stanley Cup champions, and it didn't disappoint.  Highlighted by a total of three total goals in 1:13 of game-play towards the middle of the third period, two of them scored by Pittsburgh, which proved to be enough to take a win away from Anaheim.

Kris Letang with a rough series leading up to the game's opening goal....First a bad clearing attempt from behind his net around the wall (where he had no friendly jerseys in sight) led to a turnover. Then as the puck got to the front of the net; Letang froze hand-cuffed, unable to make a split second decision on whether to help a teammate try to neutralize Corey Perry.

Look at these absurd totals for the Penguins top power-play unit for total ice-time in the first period: 9:22 Crosby, 7:55 Guerin, 7:54 Kunitz, 9:13 Goligoski, 9:17 Letang. But when you spend 40% of the period on the PP that happens....On the other hand, 2:39 Selanne, 3:58 Getzlaf -- those guys don't kill penalties so they barely got to get in the rythym of the game with those first period minutes.

Mike Rupp got the Pens even when he ripped a nice shot by Jonas Hiller. Credit Tyler Kennedy for rushing the puck up and the nice dish for the goal.

Letang would make up for his gaffe in the second period. He took a stick to the choppers but stayed in the game. Later, on a delayed penalty against Anaheim, Letang cut to the middle of the rink and put a hard shot on goal that "had eyes" to avoid the bodies in front and hit the back of the net.

It was nice to see Letang show some authority. Perhaps he too was tired of seeing Goligoski and Crosby pass the puck to one another?

Corey Perry would strike again pounding home a rebound to make it 2-2 by the end of the 2nd period.

Then the flurry of three goals in 1:13 of gameplay:

• First a total team effort by Pittsburgh; Dan Bylsma re-united "the third line" of Matt Cooke - Jordan Staal - Kennedy and they cycled well on this shift.  Credit Jay McKee with a nice hold in before Staal found a diving TK who poked the puck back to Goligoski.  With Cooke right in Hiller's field of vision Goose made no mistakes driving the puck to the back of the net.
• Anaheim bounced back on the next shift with some zone time of their own.  In my recollection, this was truly the first "soft" goal of the season allowed by Marc-Andre Fleury, he wasn't tight enough to the post and Saku Koivu popped out from behind the net and squeezed a shot by him.  Tie game 3-3.
• Undeterred, Pittsburgh left the same exact five man unit on the ice (Pascal Dupuis - Craig Adams - Mike Rupp with Letang and Brooks Orpik) while Anaheim elected to change.  The Pens got in the zone and moved the puck all around the blueline.  Eventually the defense found Dupuis who ripped a hard slapper for the game winner.

That would be the last goal, but certainly not the last of the action.  Both teams continued to press but nothing went in.  Sidney Crosby, who didn't factor into the offense, made a terrific defensive play by DIVING into an abandoned net (Fleury was out of the crease, lunging for the puck).  The shot came but Crosby went all Rob Scuderi on the Ducks, saving the goal.

• Hate to say it but overall it was a tough night for the runaway winner for Pensburgh player of the month Alex Goligoski. Goose, who's been sensational this season, had his first "off" night. In addition to not converting much on the PP early, he had a wide open net in the 2nd (just prior to Rupp's goal) and misfired.  Goligoski also couldn't tie up or stop Perry from scoring Anaheim's second goal. Everyone's entitled to a bad day now and then, hopefully Gogo brushes it off and moves forward. 
• Still, Goligoski did score an important goal and no defenseman in the league has more, so perhaps that's a little rough on his performance.  More experience for him to draw on and be a better player in the long-run, that's for sure.
• On a night where neither Jordan Staal nor Sidney Crosby were forces offensively, both saved sure goals at point blank range.  When your best offensive players are your best defensive players that's a good sign.  Those two also won 54.8 of their combined faceoffs.
• Thumbs down to the official Anaheim scorer who only awarded Brooks Orpik one hit (in the last minute of the game).  No way #44 didn't record a hit when he plastered Koivu and Joffrey Lupul in plays that stand out in my mind.  Overall hits were officially 26-21 in favor of Anaheim, which may have been about right, but come on man.
• Power-play was power-less tonight going a dreadful 0 for 7.  The last PP was only 1 second at the end of the game, so it was really a true 0 for 6.  But still it was bad.  Guys like Guerin and Kunitz racked up PP minutes and didn't do much to justify it.  Will there be a change in philosophy to get guys like Kennedy and Staal more time?  The question deserves to be asked.
• Guerin, in particular, didn't have a game to remember in number 1200 of his NHL career.  He was -2, nicked with 4 giveaways and didn't have any real scoring chances, despite piling up the time on the man advantage early.
• Tyler Kennedy, on the other hand, was my player of the game.  In his first game back from injury he only got 13:18 of playing time but still had a tied for team high three shots (and a team high seven attempted shots), he got 2 assists, was a game high +3 and had 3 blocked shots.  He's a whirling blur of activity and was excellent tonight, providing a badly needed spark for his team.
• In case you were wondering, our old friend Ryan Whitney played a game high 28:37, though it wasn't very eventful.  Whitney's among the league leaders in ice-time this season, so it's nice to see he has seemingly recovered from his feet problems enough to play a lot.

At day's end, a tremendous team effort lead Kennedy and Letang.  As they've done for quite some while, the Pens found a way to get offense with unlikely players in Rupp and Dupuis coming through with goals.  Fleury didn't have his best night, but he flashed his glove late to make a game saving effort.  When you're on the road, it's about finding a way to win.  Pittsburgh did tonight, and now are among the best in the history of the league (also with the New Jersey Devils) by extending their mark to 7-0-0 on the road.

More photos » by Keith Srakocic - AP

Crosby's not taking any grief. Plant him into the boards and have the audacity to return a slash and he just might have to beat you up.

Browse more photos »

[Wild vs Penguins coverage - SB Nation blog Hockey Wilderness]

You win some, you lose some in an 82 game season.  A lot of crazy things tend to happen when the year's that long.  You know, like out-shooting a road team by a margain of almost 3-1, playing almost the entire game in their zone, out-hit them, but come up emptyhanded.  That's the Penguins story tonight, just couldn't catch a lucky bounce or get a small break to result in a win.

• For Minnesota not to have been laughed out of town Nicklas Backstrom (no not THAT one) had to be terrific.  He was, recording 34 saves on 35 shots.  Backstrom looked very poised, very confident in his crease and proved too tough for Pittsburgh to crack.
• The Pens defense actually blocked the same number of shots (15) that the Wild players got through to Marc-Andre Fleury.  Several of those shots were at the blueline or behind it.  Fleury must have great costume ideas, he surely had a lot of time to not worry about stopping pucks tonight.  He deserved a better fate in terms of taking the loss, but his counter-part put on a show at the other end and Fleury didn't even get the chance really to do his part, since the Pens controlled so much of the action.
• Sidney Crosby's string of not taking crap has carried over.  After Marek Zidlicky planted Crosby awkwardly into the boards, Sid gave him a little slash.  Zidlicky returned the stickwork, tensions were high and gloves were dropped.  Nice fight win by Crosby landing a few rights and pulling the jersey over Zidlicky's head.
• At the same time, the Pens were of course without the services of the injured Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar.  With Crosby in the box, the not so dreaded power-play unit was Bill Guerin-Jordan Staal-Chris Kunitz.  That hurt not having #87 out there, give him one more chance with the man advantage and that's possibly a couple of chances for him to make a play.  But it's impossible to make a play when you're penalized, as was the case.
• 8 hits by Brooks Orpik; he was handed out even more free candy to Wild players than you probably did to neighborhood children tonight.
• The Penguins have been able to run a couple of set-plays off of faceoff wins (thanks to more wins in the circles) and they got their only goal on it.  Credit Craig Adams on the win and a nice pass made by Martin Skoula to Pascal Dupuis who ripped it home.
• Dupuis, by the way, had a game high five shots on goal and played pretty well against his old team.  Pens fans have no problem piling on the guy, so I'll use this space to give him some props.
• Petr Sykora had a very quiet night in his Pittsburgh return.  He was credited with one shot on goal in just 13:59 played and the only time he stood out was when Kris Letang shouldered him post-whistle.
• Seen enough of Chris Bourque?  Dan Bylsma may have, he only gave Ray's kid two shifts in the third period.  That was a team low (except for Eric Godard, who didn't get any ice-time at all).
• I watch hockey almost every night with Center Ice, I play in a couple pools, I follow a wide variety of people on twitter, I consider myself realtively plugged in.  But these Western Conference teams always seem to have one guy I've never heard of and one guy I didn't think was still in the league.  Tonight's winners were John Scott and Owen Nolan, respectively.

This was the last of 3 games in 4 nights, but neither focus nor effort was the issue.  Backstrom was.  He was outstanding and the Pens couldn't find a way to scratch and claw enough to beat him more than once.  Now we have a few days to re-charge the batteries before a game against each California team on the west coast next week (starting with old friend Ryan Whitney and Anaheim on Tuesday).

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Sidney Crosby collects teammates' congratulations, fans' hats and opponents' tears. Pens win again and big over the Montreal Canadiens, 6-1.

Browse more photos »

[Canadiens vs Penguins coverage - SB Nation blog Habs Eyes On The Prize]

Three days have passed since the Penguins dropped a game to the New Jersey Devils, and in the final game of a lengthy home-stand.  Business as usual for the Penguins, courtesy the strength of Sidney Crosby's third career regular season hat trick.

• It was all about the top line, in addition to Crosby netting the goals, Bill Guerin (3 assists) and Chris Kunitz (1 goal, 3 assists) were big time players.  They were a combined +9 (meaning, no goals against) and 13 shots on goal.
• A little more for Kunitz, a four point night should go a long way to quieting the "why is this guy on the first line" portion of the fanbase, but his goal means a lot.  Throw out that the game was 5-1 at the time, the Pens were on the power-play and Kunitz got a breakaway, the circumstances aren't as important as the result.  The result was he scored a goal, which has to help him not "squeeze the stick" so hard and ought to take some of the pressure off of him in games to come.
• Crosby also won 67% of his 24 faceoffs and threw in a hit and a takeaway on the night.  About as complete of a game as one could imagine.
• The Penguins were equal opportunity abusers tonight, with every Montreal skater coming away at least with a minus in the plus/minus tally.
• Alex Goligoski continues his stellar play: a goal, an assist, +2 in 20:36 of work.  Aside from his mandated moustache growth, a very smooth game for the young defenseman.
• Sure sign the Penguins won: they gave Eric Godard 7:26 of ice-time, including a full minute on the power-play in the third.  If you knew only this, you could probably guess it was a winning night.
• Marc-Andre Fleury had a quiet, but successful night stopping 23 pucks on 24 shots, only beaten on a 5-on-3 man advantage for the Habs.  Montreal never got a lot of sustained pressure or any excellent chances, but when they threw pucks to the net, Fleury had the answers.
• Seemed to be a quiet night for Evgeni Malkin, but he did notch an assist and register 6 shots on goal.  Like most stars, seems like Geno's points come in swells and even though it's about low-tide right now, he's still involved and dangerous.  Only a matter of time before he has a night like Crosby did.

In the bigger picture, tonight begins three games in four nights for the Penguins, with a short roadtrip to Columbus on Friday night before coming back to Mellon to meet Minnesota before a California swing next week.  In this short three game segment of the year it'd be nice to take 4 (or 5 or 6) points away from it, so this keeps the Pens on track for that.

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

No dice. Tonight, anyways.

Browse more photos »

[ Devils vs Penguins coverage - Devils vs Penguins recap - SB Nation blog In Lou We Trust]

Nothing good lasts forever and that applies to the Penguins' winning streak.  New Jersey jumped to an early lead, clamped down in the trap behind their Hall of Fame goalie and rode out a victory.

• Martin Brodeur, the epitome of an active living legend, was up to the task tonight.  32 saves on 33 shots, he had all the answers.
• The Devils forwards did the rest, with Travis Zajac going 1 goal and 1 assist and being the most dangerous skater on the ice -- no easy task with the firepower the Pens have.
• Don't look now but Alex "You can call me Al" Goligoski is on a five game point streak, he was the only shooter to solve Brodeur.
• Not for the lack of trying, Tyler Kennedy had a game high 6 shots on goal.
• Evgeni Malkin recorded a grand total of 0 shots on goal (0 missed and 0 blocked).  Add that to 7 of 10 faceoffs lost and it's easy to say the reigning scoring champ and playoff MVP has to do better than that to give his team a chance.
• Power play went 0 for 4 without Sergei Gonchar.  The Pens still have plenty of skill out there, but were unable to execute.  Tough.  A PP goal would have changed the course of the game, but it wasn't to be on this night.
• Only 6 blocked shots for the Penguins, not the recipe for success for the Pittsburgh team known to get in the way of shots.

So that's it.  The winning streak is over, beaten by a great goalie and a terrific all-around defensive game.  It's not the end of the world, just an October game.   Pittsburgh has to re-group, not the best effort in back-to-back games, and plenty to work on as they move forward.

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Evgeni Malkin, boss of the league, had 1 goal and 12 shots on goal tonight.

Browse more photos »

 Blues vs Penguins coverage - Blues vs Penguins recap -  SB Nation Blues' blog: St. Louis Game Time

 The first period was one of the most dominanting performances by one professional team against another. Shots were 20-3 Penguins. Faceoffs were 60%-40% Penguins. Hits were 13-9 Penguins. Goals, most importantly, were 2-0 Penguins. Everyone was in on the act, even Eric Godard was getting chances. Tyler Kennedy corralled a puck from Jay McKee and wired one home to open the scoring. Right after that Andy McDonald high-sticked Brooks Orpik and Evgeni Malkin kept with it and buried the second goal.

Second period was more of the same, with Ruslan Fedotenko wiring a wrister on the power-play followed by Matt Cooke with a great tip off a Kris Letang shot. Pittsburgh applied more and more pressure but St. Louis would get one back off some great effort by T.J. Oshie to keep a play going. The Blues in general had a great shift after a power-play, keeping Letang out there for a 2:29 shift. Paul Kariya would tip in Erik Johnson's point shot for the goal.

The last stanza saw the Blues steady themselves. They trotted out Ty Conklin to the net as something of a relief to Chris Mason. He wasn't bad -- far from it -- but he was shelled and deserved a relief. Especially to shock the rest of the team into a better effort. It worked, sort of, as St. Louis stopped the bleeding, save Alex Goligoski getting a pass from Sidney Crosby and regaining the final victory margin of four goals.

• Mentioned above, the Pens got caught on a long shift after a power-play that resulted in St. Louis' goal. Sergei Gonchar wasn't quite on the ice when the goal was scored (he got off just before), but he was out there for a 3 minute and 11 second shift. He wouldn't return, with an "undisclosed injury" according to Versus. Someone say when it's safe to breath again.
• The #1 and #2 best defensive pairs have to play Crosby/Malkin, so that means Matt Cooke - Jordan Staal - Tyler Kennedy are going to see 3rd pairing defensemen. And, for the most part, 3rd pairing defensemen just aren't going to hold under the constant pressure, cycling, physical play and shots those three can create. Tonight the best 3rd line in the league was a combined 2 goals, 2 assists, +4, 9 shots on goal and 8 hits.
• Team balance, part II: 13 of 18 Penguin skaters recorded a point. The only names not on the scoresheet are the ones you wouldn't expect to be (Godard, Orpik, Mike Rupp, etc).
• As much as team balance is a great thing, "your best players have to be your best players" as Barry Melrose likes to say. In addition to his goal, Malkin had an amazing 12 shots on goal, 3 hits, 2 blocked shots. His faceoff percentage remains low but an all-around awesome game from the reigning scoring champ.
• Jay McKee had four shots on goal all season up to this point. Had four shots tonight. Think he was pressing for a goal against his old team? Don't fear, with four blocked shots and the usual stellar play in his own end, it wasn't like he abandoned his job to do seek his revenge.
• Marc-Andre Fleury was never really tested for prolonged periods, and the only one that beat him was a worm-burner of a great low shot tipped from just a few feet out. The fact there was about three Penguins in his field of vision couldn't have helped. Still, nothing else got by and Fleury got 22 of 23 to raise his save percentage to .926. His record is bumped to a perfect 8-0-0 and Fleury's got a GAA of 2.00 or under in five of his last five starts.

The Pensblog twitter is reporting Sergei Gonchar's injury as a broken wrist. If so, that would be tough to deal with losing the #1 defenseman on the team again. Hate to follow that up with a "but", however Goose got a goal tonight, Letang had two assists and Martin Skoula is a NHL caliber defenseman that hasn't even been able to crack the lineup yet. We'll have to wait until tomorrow for the official diagnosis from the Pens', but it doesn't look good.

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Magic man Dan Bylsma can do no wrong.

Browse more photos »

-Lightning vs Penguins coverage- -Lightning vs Penguins recap-  -SB Nation Tampa blog Raw Charge-

The first game after a road trip generally can be tricky for teams.  The Penguins broke out their blue jerseys and kept their blue collar work ethic to get up 2-0 and extend it 4-1 for a win over the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning.

• The power play final broke through with a goal in the first period after a lengthy drought.  They got 5 shots on goal before Evgeni Malkin faked another shot and pulled three Tampa players (and goalie Antero Niittymaki) out of position before finding Bill Guerin.  Guerin had a slam dunk goal.  Easy money.
• The second goal came towards the end of the period, Sidney Crosby won an offensive faceoff cleanly back to Brooks Orpik.  Orpik passed it over to his partner Sergei Gonchar who wired it towards the net.  Niittymaki wasn't in good position and the shot found the back of the net. 2-0.
• Youngster Steven Stamkos put the Lightning on the board by batting a Martin St. Louis rebound out of the mid-air on a Tampa power play for their only goal.  As Bob Errey said, it was like "picking flies out of the air with chopsticks".  A sweet goal by Stamkos, but the only time Tampa would end up piercing Marc-Andre Fleury.
• Less than two minutes after the Stamkos goal the Penguins were again buzzing.  Evgeni Malkin was flying around, taking passes off his skates and setting his teammates up.  Ruslan Fedotenko found Gonchar near the blueline.  Sarge sent a measured wrister that Pascal Dupuis got a piece of, and Malkin obstructed Niittymaki's view enough to have it find the back of the net.  3-1 Pens and any momentum Tampa had to build on got completely erased.
• The Penguins got an extended 5 on 3 power play towards the tail end of the second period.  And even though they didn't strike, they set up and Guerin, Crosby, Malkin and Alex Goligoski all got quality shots/chances.  Niittymaki made some great saves and the Lightning held on.
• Noted goal scorer Mike Rupp (???) took a second to settle the puck and wristed it for the game's final goal.  Crosby made the play by stealing the puck behind the net from Steve Downie and backhanding a perfect pass to Rupp.  Big Mike now has goals in two straight games, for what it's worth. 4-1 Pens.
• Jay McKee was credited with 7 blocked shots, Tampa Bay as a team had 11.  McKee currently leads all NHL players with 28 blocked shots on the season.
• Credit NHL.com with this great stat: the Penguins are 20-0-2 under head coach Dan Bylsma when they score the first goal.  Simply unreal, they get a lead and they pile on the road to victory.  That's pretty much what happened again tonight.
• Note to Mr. Steve Yzerman: Marc-Andre Fleury is 7-0-0, .922 save percentage and a goals against average in the 2.20 range.  You want to win, right Stevie Y?
• Now the question, who gets their name under the puck the Penguins will keep in the lockeroom for the win?  How about a vote for the first star of the game, Sergei Gonchar. A goal, an assist, a game high +3 rating and a game high 25:28 of icetime.  Sarge was awesome in this game.

At 7-1-0, Pittsburgh is almost off to a franchise best start (hangover what?).  A pretty lax week is on tap for the Pens, as they'll welcome the St. Louis Blues to town on Tuesday before seeing the Florida Panthers at home on Friday.  Like clockwork the Pens keep on tickin' and keep on winnin'.  The power play again continues to frustrate, but Pittsburgh racked up 15 shots with the man advantage and had a lot of great zone time and passes around.  They might not have found the net (except once), but they are doing a lot of things right, and with all the skill they have one has to think that will change sooner or later.

More photos » by Gerry Broome - AP

21 days ago: Pittsburgh Penguins' Evgeni Malkin (71), from Russia, Chris Kunitz, and Pascal Dupuis (9) celebrate Kunitz' game-winning goal against the Carolina Hurricanes during an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009. Pittsburgh won 3-2 in a shootout. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Browse more photos »

[Penguins vs Hurricanes coverage]   [Canes Country]    [Penguins vs Hurricanes boxscore]   [Penguins vs Hurricanes recap]

Another road game followed the usual script, the Pens get any early lead, maintain a healthy advantage of puck possesion and hold a shot advantage (23-18 through two).  Everything was going just according to plan, up until pesky Ray Whitney got Carolina back in it.  The game was decided in a shootout, a virtual coin-flip that went Pittsburgh's way tonight.

• How about that Mike Rupp goal?  I didn't even know he had any moves like that.  Goes to show: give an NHL player that much time and space -- even if he's got 27 NHL goals in 341 games -- and he just might surprise you.
• Evgeni Malkin always brings his "A" game playing the Hurricanes and tonight was no different.  His pass up the wall sprung Rupp's goal and then Geno buried a wrister high and short-side from a harsh angle that was simply unfair.
• Similiarly, Ray Whitney loves playing against the Penguins.  That's 20 points in his last 12 regular season games against Pittsburgh.  He flashed a quick release and used Kris Letang as a screen for his first goal, on his second he posted up in front of the goal and used excellent position to deflect defenseman Tim Gleason's point blast in for a goal.
• Cam Ward also did his part, robbing Bill Guerin from point-blank.  Billy G basically shoveled it right into Ward, looked like Guerin did more to blow it than Ward did to make a great save AND Guerin probably had a second to steady the puck and have a completely empty net.  Still, credit where credit's due, Ward flashed the glove and kept the puck out.
• 14 of the 18 skaters that dressed got into the physical game -- only Malkin, Guerin, Jay McKee and Mark Eaton didn't have a hit credited to them by the Carolina scorekeeper.
• Another "o-fer" night for the power-play.  Is this becoming a disturbing trend?
• Another 100% success rate for the penalty-kill.  Is this becoming an encouraging trend?
• Munch munch munch.  Don't mind Sergei Gonchar eating up all those minutes; led the Pens with 27:44 of icetime tonight.
• Random memory: remember last season when Michel Therrien had Alex Goligoski playing winger?  How long ago does that seem as Goose has become a mainstay NHL defensemen.  And Therrien used Brooks Orpik as a forward just a couple years ago.  How wonderful that those days are long gone, in general.

A win is a win is a win, even if it comes after a shootout, still counts the same in the standings as Dallas' 6-0 pasting of Nashville tonight.  To a man the Penguins know that there's work to be done, adjustments to make and areas for improvement in every facet of the game. 

The team is winning consistently and has played a good string of road games.  The highs won't be too high for this bunch (a couple wins in October is nothing compared to winning in June) so it'll be exciting to watch them make some tweaks and move forward.  Namely, get the power-play clicking and keep on keeping the shots down on Marc-Andre Fleury.  Onward, back to Lady Mellon.

More photos » by FRED CHARTRAND - AP

23 days ago: Pittsburgh Penguin Tyler Kennedy, center, (48) celebrates his goal against the Ottawa Senators with teammates Craig Adams, right, (27), Alex Goligoski (3) and Matt Cooke (24) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Ottawa, Monday, Oct. 12, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Fred Chartrand)

Browse more photos »

Another game, another workman-like effort and another win for the Pittsburgh Penguins.  They're up to 4-0 on the road off the latest result against Ottawa.  All summer long we heard "hangover this", "not enough rest and time off" that, but the players haven't seemed to notice or let that bother them much at all.  Pittsburgh's been business-like this year; effort in, wins out.  So far it's worked.

• On a night where the two big boys didn't find the scoresheet, the 3rd line produced.  Tyler Kennedy's two goal effort was another big night (another game winner too) and Jordan Staal iced the game with a goal in the third period.
• Three goals in as many games for Staal now, they're using him in his traditional center role, but also picking and choosing spots to get him up on Evgeni Malkin's line.  Staal got a shift with Malkin and Sidney Crosby on the powerplay too, gotta find a way to get the big guy some minutes and Pittsburgh is using him more fluidly than in year's past.  With good reason, as the results have been there.
• If we lived in ancient Greek times, a poet might write a diddy about Kennedy's slapper from just inside the blueline that smoked Pascal Leclaire.  Instead TK only gets a couple pixels on some blogs, such is the times.
• Marc-Andre Fleury was again rock solid with 30 saves on 31 shots.  9 of the shots came off the old Shark sticks of Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo, Fleury only saw three total shots off of the Sens top gunners of Daniel Alfredsson, Alexei Kovalev and Jason Spezza.
• Solid night for the raccoon-eyed Craig Adams: 2 assists, +3, 3 blocked shots and 4 hits in 13:17 of work for Adams.  His brothers-in-black-eyes (Michael Rupp and Eric Godard) had good nights too with Rupp picking up an assist and 2 hits.  And Godard, well he played.
• Bad night for the powerplays units on both sides -- or a good night for the penalty kills if you're a "glass half full" type of person.  Pittsburgh went 0 for 4 with the man advantage and Ottawa faired even worse going 0-5 including, an extended two man advantage.  Better believe coaches are going to go to the video to pin-point missed chances and blown opportunities on both meeting rooms tomorrow.
• In what's becoming a trend, the Pens are answering goals against them quickly.  The very next shift after Michalek opened the scoring, Bill Guerin drove the net, collected his own rebound and buried it while falling to the ice.  That seemed to take a lot of wind out of the sails of the Ottawa players and crowd, who never really got back into the game again.

Ottawa looked out of sync and never found a rhythm, their own off night or a product of the Penguins frustrating them and making them look bad?  As always, it's probably a combination of both.  Anytime you go on the road and play a solid road game and take the two points away, it's a good night.  Pittsburgh played strong again, bumping their record to an impressive 5-1-0.  Another day, another dollar for all-business Pittsburgh Penguins. 

The show moves on the road to Carolina on Wednesday, a team that's surely not forgotten about getting swept in the Eastern Conference finals last spring.