Tough schedule awaits Penguins in December

Following a home-and-home sweep of the New York Rangers, the Penguins will take a rare two-day rest before opening the month of December at home against Colorado on Thursday night.  Captain Sidney Crosby exploded for five goals and three assists in the two victories over the Blueshirts while so-called grinder Mike Rupp, scored an unlikely hat trick in Monday’s 5-2 win at Madison Square Garden, establishing a career high for goals in a season in the process.

Rupp continues to supplement his primary skills of intimidation – hitting, checking and fighting – with an increasingly deft touch around the net.  His first goal came in the second period when centre Jordan Staal pushed forward on a faceoff in the far circle and fired a shot on goal.  Rupp waited for the rebound and slid the puck on a backhand shot just inside the left post to give Pittsburgh their first lead, 2-1.  Midway through the third period, with the game tied 2-2, Rupp gave the Pens the lead for good.  He skated with the puck down the left wing, then dropped to one knee almost exactly on the faceoff dot in the circle to the right of the New York goal and fired a wrist shot that sailed over the glove of Henrik Lundqvist.  Later in the period, he completed his first career trifecta when he shot the puck from inside his own blue line as he was in the process of getting blasted by New York forward Vinny Prospal.  The puck bounced a few times before settling into the Rangers’ empty net for the final goal of the game.

Coming on the heels of Crosby’s hat trick last Saturday night, it marked the first time in over eight years that hat tricks have been recorded by the Penguins in consecutive games.  (penguins.nhl.com)

Life is good right now for the Penguins.  So good in fact, that the aforementioned Rupp can lightheartedly dream of a date with teammate Bill Guerin.  (Yahoo! Puck Daddy)

In a fast-paced first one-third of the season, Pittsburgh has played twenty-eight games, tied with Colorado and San Jose for most in the NHL.  The Penguins have earned thirty-eight points on a league best nineteen wins, currently good for second spot in the Eastern Conference standings.  After a rash of injuries from mid-October to mid-November, the roster is almost back at full-strength.  While defenceman Alex Goligoski was scratched for undisclosed reasons one game after returning from injury, his defence partner at the beginning of the season, Jay McKee, stepped back into the lineup.  Only left wing Chris Kunitz remains officially sidelined.

The Penguins will certainly appreciate a full, healthy roster as they flip the calendar to December.  Although eight of thirteen scheduled December games are at home, just four are against teams that currently sit in the lower-third of conference standings (Carolina, Montreal, Florida and Toronto).

The month begins with rare visits from two Western Conference teams: Colorado and Chicago.  After a surprising 12-3-2 start, the Avalanche have since posted a mediocre 3-5-3 record and conceded the Northwest Division lead to Calgary.  Meanwhile, Chicago leads the Central Division and the Blackhawks are third in the Western Conference in goals per game and tops in fewest goals allowed per game.  Statistically, they are also the best even-strength team in all of hockey, with a 1.43 goals for/goals against ratio in five-on-five situations.

Fans of both the Penguins and ‘Hawks will doubtlessly be glued to the television or radio on Saturday night as both teams are legitimate Stanley Cup contenders this season.  When the teams last met at the end of February, Chicago centre and captain Jonathan Toews had a night to remember, scoring three power-play goals in a 5-4 overtime loss to the visiting Penguins.  Incredibly, he almost had four power-play goals but one was disallowed due to a high-stick.

The Penguins will also play twice at Northeast Division leader Buffalo, where they will have to contend with rock-solid goaltender Ryan Miller.  The tough schedule also requires a home date with surprising Ottawa, who thrashed the Penguins 6-2 two weeks ago.  In addition, Pittsburgh will play a pair of games against both Philadelphia and New Jersey.  Bad blood already exists after one game between the Pennsylvania rivals due to the possible bite that Scott Hartnell put on the finger of Pens’ defenceman Kris Letang back in October.

Finally, the Penguins will play the Devils, once before and once after Christmas.  With the king of defensive hockey back behind the bench for the Devils, it came as no surprise that the Penguins suffered a pair of 4-1 losses at home to New Jersey earlier this year.  The machine-like squad of Jacques Lemaire may be the most difficult test for the Penguins this month.