Pens Points: California Dreamin'

Wednesday night will mark the beginning of the Penguins' first extended road trip of the season. They head west for their annual California swing to face the Anaheim Ducks (Wednesday), Los Angeles Kings (Thursday), and San Jose Sharks (Saturday). All game begin at 10:30 PM ET. Good thing we gain an hour of sleep this weekend.

Matt Murray is scheduled to make his first start of the season on Wednesday night in Anaheim. It will be Murray's first game action since injuring his hand in the World Cup of Hockey. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

Evegni Malkin scored his 300th career goal on Saturday in Philadelphia. Mike highlighted some of his favorite Geno goals to honor the occasion. [Pensburgh]

Conor Sheary took part in a full team practice on Tuesday. Sheary wore a protective full face shield to protect his injured eye. [CBS Sports]

Jesse Marshall has a great piece on how the Pens puck support allows them to gain possession and go to work on offense. [Pensblog]

To say Jeff Zatkoff played an important role in the Pens Cup run would be an understatement. His play in Game 1 against the New York Rangers set the tone for the rest of the playoffs. On Thursday night he will be between the pipes for the Kings when the Pens visit the Staples Center. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

Another familiar face will be in the lineup for Los Angeles as well. The Kings recalled Rob Scuderi from the AHL to replace Brayden McNabb who was placed on IR. [Sportsnet]

Just a few years ago, the Western Conference was the NHL's place to be. Now, with the emergence of the Pens along with the likes of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Washington Capitals, speed is the name of the game and the balance of power is slowly shifting east. [Trib Live]

News and notes from around the NHL...

Vegas loves the Edmonton Oilers. A red hot October has taken the doormat franchise from 75-1 to 8-1 odds to win the Stanley Cup this season. [Sportsnet]

Sticking with the Oilers, they were in Toronto on Wednesday night to take on the Maple Leafs in what was the first meeting between Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews. The Maple Leafs won 3-2 in overtime. [CBC]

To prevent another John Scott situation the NHL will now put parameters on All-Star voting to define what an NHL player is. [The Hockey News]