Sidney Crosby declared himself good to go for tonight's game against Carolina. Chris Kunitz and Alex Goligoski also took to the ice, another step back in their return to the lineup. [Penguins.nhl.com]
The Penguins have no reason to complain about the schedule: they are tied with six teams for the easiest load in the month of December (games, wise). And for Pittsburgh eight of the thirteen games they play will be at home too. [From the Rink]
Grading the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton forwards to this point [Faceoff Factor]
Trending up: Jordan Staal. [Tribune Review]
Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby rank third and fifth, respectively, league-wide in a points per shift metric. [OGA]
Believe it or not, Dan Bylsma (who's been on the job about 10 months) is the 2nd longest tenured coach in the Atlantic Division. My new career: real estate agent to NHL coaches. [Empty Netters]
Ray Shero hasn't been on the job that long either (about 3.5 years), but he's ranked #6 on a list of general managers of the decade. [Puck Daddy]
Latest debunked announce cliche: Goalies don't need to see more shots to get in a groove. [Behind the Net]
THN hints at a lot of changes in their "People of Power" list, to be released later this month. [The Hockey News]
THN re-did the 2005 draft. Crosby went #1, natch, but Kris Letang (drafted 62nd overall) jumped up to 7th overall [THN magazine by way of HFBoards]
Flyers/Bruins won't be the only game to be played on the outdoor rink, as heated rivals Boston College and Boston University will go at it on Jan 8th. Bill Guerin and Brooks Orpik are BC guys, while former Pens Ryan Whitney and Chris Bourque spent time at BU. For this alone, BC is a lot more popular with the Penguins fan base. [NHL.com]
You'll never guess who Mark Streit would like to line up with a hit (hint: rhymes with Ron Ravery). [Fanhouse]
If you're a Twitter-head like me, check out Mirtle's list of NHL players that you can stalk, err follow on it. [From the Rink]
The Flyers and Ray Emery are in struggle mode. Most thought they'd get through more of the regular season than this before these articles would pop up, it's still satisfying. [Philly.com]