Pens Points Friday: Pens and Jackets - Rivals?

Good morning one and all,

Every November 1 I wake up to find my house still standing after a massive party the night before, and every year I swear I'm never doing it again. Sorry Pens Points are late this morning. My head's still kind of fuzzy.

I missed the fact that I don't have to dislike Max Talbot any more. Mad Max was traded to Colorado for Steve Downey. Who wins that trade?

Bwahahaha, we know who won the James van Riemsdyk-for-Luke Schenn trade. JVR is playing like a rock star, and Phil Kessel is lighting it up as well, so somewhere David Poile is smiling because they will make for 2/3 of a killer line for Team USA in Sochi.

After 8 games with the Charlotte Checkers, Manny Malhotra signed a 1-year two-way deal with the Hurricanes and is expected to play tonight. I'm glad to see him back in the NHL, although honestly I'm not sure he still has that much left in the tank.

Home and home against Columbus today/tomorrow, and Beau Bennett is back on the ice this morning. Can't come back soon enough, although officially there's not timetable yet. We will see plenty of Marian Gaborik, though, who says so far no talks with the Blue Jackets on a contract extension. Supposedly the Pens and the Jackets could make for an hexciting new rivalry. What do you guys think?

Just as Avs fans were relishing the hot start and I was having to re-do my Olympic projections (and my personal hopes) for Team Russia, Semyon Varlamov gets arrested for 2nd degree kidnapping and 3rd degree assault charges. After spending the night in jail, he was released yesterday on a $5,000 bond and permitted to travel with the team.

John Scott was suspended seven games for hitting Loui Eriksson. He already served three games. Sadly his absence makes Buffalo a better team, although that didn't help last night as they were shut out by the Rangers.

According to scouts, Connor McDavid is significantly ahead of Sid at the same stage. Same strength on skates, and greater speed than Crosby, according to several people who had been watching him for a while now with the Erie Otters.

What were you for Halloween this year? We were the Simpsons. Sid and Sutsy were Maverick and Goose. Geno wins again as Batman (not that dressing up as Batman is all that original but Geno has the power to pull it off). Actually Sid and Geno were the winning combo in one of the previous years. Jags went as himself, I guess.