Wings Blog - Winging it in Motown
Mike Comrie scored two goals and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 22 of 24 shots to give the Penguins a 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings, bringing the overall preseason record to 5-1.
Evgeni Malkin was easily the first star of the night after he assisted on three of the five Penguins goals and scored on one to close out a four-point night in total Beast Mode. If you were at any point concerned that he needed time in the preseason to find his form again, let this game stand out as evidence that he's in peak form once again.
It was good to see Chris Kuniz mixing it up a bit tonight as well, as he scored a goal, added two assists and tallied a few tough-guy minutes in the box for roughing. That's the style of play we've come to expect from him and it's good to see he's also healthy and ready to throw his body around again.
Not much more you can really take from this game other than the fact that the Pens are geared up and ready for regular season play. As mentioned in the preview, Arron Asham, Sidney Crosby and Brooks Orpik all sat out this game, but the latter of the three remain on target to return for the home opener against the Flyers on Thursday. All that's know about Asham at the moment is that he's still get evaluated, however if I had to guess I'd say the more time we go without hearing an answer the worse the prognosis may ultimately be. You may recall the Penguins did the same thing with Gonchar two years ago when he dislocated his shoulder. Here's to hoping I'm completely wrong in my assumptions.
The Pens open the regular season and the new arena (officially) on Thursday against the Flyers. Bring your game thread faces.