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AHL Pens Look for 9th Straight Win

By TonyAndrock
Chris Collins (left) and Zach Sill (right) have been instrumental in providing a good forecheck and helping out the penalty kill to a 93% kill rate, tops in the AHL this year.
Chris Collins (left) and Zach Sill (right) have been instrumental in providing a good forecheck and helping out the penalty kill to a 93% kill rate, tops in the AHL this year.


After opening the season at 8-0, the Pens will look to start with nine straight wins for the second time in team history.  The 2005-06 team that started 9-0 featured Marc-Andre Fleury in goal, Noah Welch and Ryan Whitney on defense and Colby Armstrong, Daniel Carcillo and Erik Christensen up front.  Not too bad for an NHL team to have today.  More on the three games in three nights, the amount of bus travel (weird scheduling), and what the team will look like this weekend after the jump.

 

 

Lineup notes:

- Brett Sterling has practiced this week and will probably play tonight. A look at what I think the lineup will look like.

- Reports from practice indicated the team still has 15 forwards on the roster, along with seven defenseman and two goaltenders.  I picked Bryan Lerg, Ryan Schnell and Keven Veilleux as the three who sit tonight.  But with the Pens playing tonight in Rochester, home on Saturday against Syracuse then back to Rochester for Sunday, there will likely be a mix of three forwards out each night.  I also have Joey Mormina as the seventh defenseman. Mormina might play sometime this weekend too.

Brett Sterling - Dustin Jeffrey - Tim Wallace
Chris Conner - Ryan Craig - Nick Johnson
Eric Tangradi - Joe Vitale - Chris Collins
Geoff Walker - Zach Sill - Jesse Boulerice

Steve Wagner - Corey Potter
Brian Strait - Robert Bortuzzo
Andrew Hutchinson - Carl Sneep
Brad Thiessen

 

Tonight it's Rochester Americans on the road. Rochester holds the AHL record for most wins to start a season with 11 and with a win tonight the Pens could make it 9 straight.  Saturday the Pens play in Wilkes Barre against the Syracuse Crunch.  John Curry will probably get the nod Saturday setting up Thiessen with another matchup in Rochester on Sunday.  Tough weekend for the Pens but if anyone is up to the test it is the guys in their locker room.

Hopefully they can continue playing well and get that consistent goaltending. Puck drops tonight at 7:35 p.m., Saturday at 7:05 p.m. and Sunday at 5:05 p.m.

I should have recaps and updates all weekend.  Go Pens!

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