Pens Points: Lightning Game Day

Good morning one and all!

I was in Washington, DC for three fun days and seems like I missed quite a few, um, exciting things that happened in Mumpsburgh over the weekend. Off we go with the newest news.

The Pens have credibility issues. They do. Kudos to Seth Rorabaugh for laying this out in such a no-nonsense way. Spot on. [Empty Netters]

Sid joins the growing list of NHLers afflicted with the mumps. Anaheim Ducks were the first players sidelined with it, but more recent cases prolong the incubation period for the virus. [LA Times]

"He woke up this morning and got the mumps." Alain Vigneault enlightened us all in regards to Derick Brassard, the latest mumps casualty. [NHL.com]

Why is the NHL such a breeding ground for a health threat from yesteryear? This is a decent, fact-filled article from a few days ago. [MacLean's Magazine]

Moving on. The Tampa Bay Lightning are in town today, and I had the pleasure of seeing them on Saturday in Washington in a 4-2 loss to the Caps. Nevertheless, a very solid season for the Bolts so far. [PPG]

Besides Nisky and Brooksy, it was really nice to see another ex-Pen, Brenden Morrow, whose experience and grit are proving to be valuable to the young Lightning team. [Tampa Bay Tribune]

This Steven Stamkos goal that would have given the Bolts the lead was disallowed on an interference call. Every season it seems like the refs have a pet peeve type of call, and this year we have goaltender interference up the wazoo. [CBS Eye on Hockey]

Last week Stammer became the 10th youngest player to score his 250th NHL goal and joined some elite company. [Sportsnet]

The Pen blogosphere's never-ending search caravan for winger trade targets makes a stop in Colorado. [Hockey Buzz]

The Road to the Winter Classic starts airing tonight. You can watch it on TSN in Canada and on Epix (for free) in the United States. Kevin Smith will break it down for you. [YouTube]

Seems like Dallas Stars' Jason Demers, Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn are totally into Christmas. These festive looks are going from bad to worse. [The Score]

Remember the Showtime Lakers? I do. Jake Virtanen and Brayden Point have been dubbed "Showtime" on Canada's WJC team. [The Canadian Press]

And last but definitely not least, one of the classiest guys to ever grace the blue paint in the NHL calls it a career, and what a career it's been. Tomas Vokoun retires with 300 wins. So long Vokie. [Pro Hockey Talk]