Pens Points: Crucial Game 4 Tonight

Good morning one and all,

Game 4 is upon us tonight. Will the Pens manage to tie things up? We'll see. Here is today's Pens Report that will, as always, be updated throughout the day. [Penguins]

Larry Brooks nails it on the head. How the blind-eye refs are ruining the NHL playoffs. [NY Post]

Pens hope to improve line changes. Can't have Hagelin, Kreider, Brassard or Zuccarello out there catching people flat-footed. [Trib]

The Pens hope that reuniting Malkin and Comeau will get the line going. Geno maintains he's fine health-wise. [Penguins]

*Another recommended read for today: former NHL assistant coach Dave Farrish provides an analysis on how the Rangers were able to stifle the Pens through the first 40 minutes of game 3. [NHL.com]

Flower has been rock solid so far. Can the Pens netminder hold the fort until the cavalry arrives, though? [Penguins]

The Caps tied the Isles in a wild game 4 on Long Island that featured Tom Wilson (who else) blasting Visnovsky, Brooks Orpik getting his face cut by a skate, returning to finish the game and getting a beer thrown in his face. [Capitals Voice]

Don't count out the Red Wings just yet. Following last night's 3-0 win they are in the driver's seat in this series despite Tampa's considerable fire power. "Red Wings know what it takes to win in the playoffs" is like saying "Earth is round". [ESPN]

Does it make sense for NHL teams to spend big on goalies? In these playoffs so far the cheaper tickets are pushing the expensive contracts to the bench. [Globe & Mail]

The Habs go for sweep of the Sens tonight in Ottawa. An interesting look into the sometimes toxic relationship between segments of the two fan bases. [All Habs]

I missed this yesterday but it's golden. Rumors are Mike Keenan, who finished his season with Metallurg Magnitogorsk, wants to come back to the NHL. So, could the Flyers be a fit? Yes, please. My life would be complete. [Broad Street Hockey]

A tale of two rebuilds. Panthers way vs. the Oilers way. Thoughts creep into my head that the Oilers will find a way to completely waste McDavid. Please let that not happen. [Litterbox Cats]

Whatever happened to the rover position in hockey? A good question, and a great article. [Greatest Hockey Legends]

We haven't checked in on international hockey for a while. The 2015 IIHF World championships are about to kick off in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on May 1. Here are notable players and coaches participating. Jussi Jokinen will wear the "C" for Finland for the first time and I am happy to see him get the honor. I still think we should have hung on to him. [IIHF]

Oh and Ilya Kovalchuk finally gets a trophy! SKA St. Petersburg won the 2014-15 Gagarin Cup (and the franchise's first ever) by beating Bars Kazan 4-1 in the finals. Head coach Slava Bykov, goal machine Yevgeni Dadonov and Kovalchuk (named MVP) were at their best for the new champs. [IIHF]