When things are going your way, everything seems to be clicking, you play with confidence, you tend to get the breaks here and there. You feel as if nothing is ever going to go wrong.

However, when you’re struggling it’s a completely different ball game. All of a sudden you’re not catching the breaks, nothing is going your way. It seems like you’ll never get things back on track.

Unfortunately for Boston, after a two month stretch of dominating the competition, the Black and Gold just can’t seem to get much going as of late. That trend would continue on Saturday afternoon when they hosted Evgeni Malkin and the red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins.

After what most would consider a rather lifeless first frame from both sides, the Pens would take advantage of a late-period power-play opportunity as Malkin would knock a rebound past Tim Thomas to put Pittsburgh ahead with only 0:09 seconds remaining on the clock. The 6’3” Russian forward once again re-asserted himself as the best player in the game today, picking up his 28^th goal and league-leading 60^th point of the season as he continues to run roughshod on the rest of the NHL .

“He’s been the catalyst for our group all year. It’s amazing sometimes. When you don’t think he can do it anymore, he goes out there and scores another goal. He’s been great for us and hopefully we’ll keep him going.” – Joe Vitale

The B’s where not able to muster up many real offensive chances throughout the entire second frame despite being given a four-minute power-play chance courtesy of a Pascal Dupuis double minor for high sticking.

Early in the third Pittsburgh would tack on an insurance tally when the villainous Matt Cooke out-worked two Bruin defenders in front of Thomas and knocked in his 9^th  goal of the season. The man Bruins’ fans love to hate has now scored two goals in as many games against Boston this year and has put up sixteen points in twenty-five career games against the Black and Gold.

Atoning for his earlier mistake, defenseman Joe Corvo would find the back of the Penguins’ net as his wrist shot made it through a Marchand screen and past Marc-Andre Fleury to cut the deficit to one.

“Marchand did a great job of standing in front of him until the last minute until it kind of got to the net. It was the right height to where the goalie was kind of staying low and trying to see it and it just went in.” – Joe Corvo

Unfortunately for Boston, the rest of the third period would simply be more of the same for a Bruins  squad that simply cannot find it’s groove right now. They unloaded nine more third period shots against Fleury but were still unable to tickle the twine and tie the score.

“You’ve got to give credit to the last two goalies we’ve played. They played really good games I think, and the last two teams we’ve played have played a pretty solid 60 minutes of defense.” – Tim Thomas

Boston has now only managed one goal on their last 81 shots through their last 132:51 minutes of play.

“The last two games, we’ve had almost 80 shots and only one goal showing for it. It’s frustrating right now, but thankfully we got a game tomorrow to focus on.” – Daniel Paille

Boston hasn’t managed to beat the Penguins at TD Garden since November 10….. of the year 2009. Today’s loss marks the B’s fourth defeat in their past six games and their record has dropped to 4-5-1 over their last ten games.

KEY STATS

Goals–                PIT (2)   BOS (1)

Shots–                PIT (28)   BOS (29)

Power-Play–    PIT (1-3)   BOS (0-2)

Penalty-Kill–   PIT  (2-2)   BOS (2-3)

Ben’s Three Stars….. 3.) Matt Cooke  …..2.) Evgeni Malkin …..1.) James Neal

What’s Next?

It’ll be a quick turnaround for the Black and Gold as they depart from Boston this afternoon for a 12:30 PM Super Bowl Sunday matinee contest with the Caps at the Verizon Center in Washington tomorrow. The Pens will also be on the move fairly quickly as they are scheduled for a 1 PM contest in New Jersey tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks For Reading!

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The Bolts are in fifth (last) place in the Southeast Division and trail the division leading Washington Capitals by twelve points. Tampa Bay is in 15th place in the 15 team Eastern Conference, twelve points out of a playoff spot.

After 44 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team and the NHL in goals with 30. He leads the Bolts in points with 50 (third in the NHL). Martin St. Louis is tops in assists with 25. Marc-Andre Bergeron leads the team in rating with a +8.

Forward Steve Downie is last in rating with an alarming -19 and has accumulated 107 penalty minutes. Goalie Mathieu Garon has 11 wins, a 2.94 goals against average and a .900 save percentage.

Defenseman Eric Brewer leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 23:18 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 152.

The Lightning have scored 119 goals (12th in the NHL) and allowed 153 goals (30th (last) in the 30 team NHL). The Bolts special teams remain bad. The power play success rate is 14.1% (26th in the NHL) and the penalty kill is at 78.9% (26th in the NHL). The league average power play percentage is 17.3% and the average NHL team kills off 82.7% of their penalties successfully. Currently, the Lightning is mired in a 4-41 power play drought, including a 1-34 road power play skid.

Tampa Bay is 23rd in the league in faceoff percentage, winning just 49% of their draws.

Box Scores

Game 41 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – Vancouver Canucks 5 SO

Game 42 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Carolina Hurricanes 5

Game 43 – Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – Washington Capitals 4

Game 44 – Tampa Bay Lightning 3 – Pittsburgh Penguins 6

Three Stars of the Week

Vincent Lecavalier – One goal and four assists.

Martin St. Louis – Five assists.

Steven Stamkos – One goal and three assists.

Transactions

The Lightning announced a two year-one way contract extension for $600,000 per year for forward Tom Pyatt.

The Lightning called up forward Trevor Smith from Norfolk (AHL).

Injuries

Forward Ryan Shannon is out 2-4 weeks with a lower body injury.

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. Ohlund has had a major setback and his return this year is questionable.

Defenseman Victor Hedman is out indefinitely with a concussion.

Forwards JT Wyman is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Forward Adam Hall is out 6-8 weeks with an upper body injury.

Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

Forward Dana Tyrell is day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Bolt Notes

The Bolts went 0-4 this past week. Tampa Bay has dropped their last seven games and nine of their last twelve. They are at the bottom of the Southeast Division and the Eastern Conference. They are 27th of the 30 NHL teams. Tampa Bay is an awful road team going 6-16-3 so far in 2012.

The numbers don’t lie. The Lightning are a last place team with a brutally bad defense and ineffective goaltending. Of the 77 NHL goalies that have suited up this season, Mathieu Garon and Dwayne Roloson rank 58th and 72nd in goals against average respectively. The duo is 58th and 71st in save percentage.

While many believe this is a team that has the ability to come back after trailing…don’t believe it! The Bolts have won only 26% of the games when they have trailed in the first period.

The Lightning is giving up 31 shots per game on average, while getting 28 shots on goal.

At this point, Tampa Bay looks like a seller, but one without much to offer. GM Steve Yzerman will not trade a prospect, as one player, not even a goalie can save the season.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay hosts Boston on Tuesday, travels to Dallas on Friday and Phoenix on Saturday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About The Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey and supporter of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. I am also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

The Norfolk Admirals faced off for a rare Tuesday night meeting with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins at home in the “friendly” confines of the Norfolk Scope. The previous meeting, a week ago, resulted in a win for the Admirals. This meeting would not be as nice as the Penguins had revenge on their minds.  Paul Thompson and Ben Street of the Penguins would give the Baby Pens an early 3-0 lead in the first period. Michel Ouellett and Radko Gudas would get the Admirals on the board in the second. Unfortunately for the Admirals these would their only goals of the night. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton held Norfolk scoreless the rest of the way and went home with the 3-2 win.

Next, the Connecticut Whale and Sean Avery arrived in town for a weekend series with the Admirals. The Fans were disappointed when Avery was scratched for disciplinary reasons. The Admirals were not focused on the former NHL bad-boy, but instead, focused on the game and getting two points. Mike Kostka opened up the scoring midway into the first period. Cory Conacher added another goal early in the second period. Matt Fornataro score five minutes later to put the Ad’s up 3-0. The Admirals shut-out was ruined as Aaron Voros put the puck past Admirals netminder, Dustin Tokarski. The Voros goal would be the Whales’s only score as the Admirals shut down the Whale for the 3-1 win.

The Whale and the Admirals were back at it on Saturday night for Norfolk’s annual “Pink in the Rink” night to benefit the Susan G. Komen Cure for Cancer and Breast Cancer Awareness. A season high crowd of 7,227 was on hand to see the game and the bonus was an appearance by Sean Avery. The night was Richard Panik’s night as he gave Whale goalie, Cameron Talbot, a “Panik Attack”. Panik opened up the scoring with a goal in the first and another midway thru the second period to give Norfolk a 2-0 lead. Kelsey Tessier and Aaron Voros would score later in the second to tie the game at two each. Mike Kostka and Matt Fornataro would combine to put Norfolk ahead early in the third period. Fornataro deflected Kostka’s pass past Talbot for his second goal in two nights. Mike Angelidis added the insurance goal late in the third.Norfolk won the game 4-2 and swept the Whale.

Trevor Smith (16G 28A 44Pts +17) and Cory Conacher (22G 21A 43Pts +7) find themselves at the top of Norfolk’s scoring list. Smith and Conacher continue to keep moving forward. Mark Barberio (4G 31A 35Pts +20) leads all Norfolk defensemen and is in third place amongst all Admirals in scoring. Carter Ashton (15G 13A 28Pts +9) is seriously falling behind the leaders, but maintains a hold on fourth place in scoring. Dustin Tokarski (16-9-0 2.9GAA) went 2-1 this week. Jaroslav Janus (7-5-2 3.04GAA) did not play this week.

For the Season the Admirals are 23-13-1-2 with 49 points. They are currently 6 points behind the East Division leading Hershey Bears. Norfolkis currently on a 2-0-0-0 streak and is 6-2-1-1 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Richard Panik – Two goals.

Mike Kostka  – One goal and two assists.

Mark Barberio – Three assists.

Transactions

Kevin Quick – Assigned to the Florida Everblades (ECHL).

Charles Landry – Assigned to the Florida Everblades (ECHL).

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed – Day-to-day

An Observation from the Stands

Tuesday night was not pretty. The Penguins totally outplayed Norfolk. While the score on paper looked close, it was nowhere near that. Friday and Saturday the Admirals played like they played at the beginning of the season. I don’t know what went on in practice, but whatever they discussed they were on point this weekend. Mark Barberio is having a great season. He is all over the place on the ice and holds the defense together. Richard Panik has shown what he is capable of doing, but needs to keep doing it on a regular basis.

Sean Avery lived up to his reputation. He was scratched from the first game for disciplinary reasons. He was spotted out on the town sitting at a bar being ignored by fellow members of the Whale. During warm-ups on Saturday night he was heckled and challenged a few of the hecklers to come on the ice. During the game he would argue with the referees, slashed an Admirals player, and got tossed for abusing the officials. Yes, he definitely lived up to his reputation. Even though he was very entertaining, I wouldn’t want him on my team.

The Week Ahead

Next up for the Admirals is a three-game road trip starting Wednesday night in Albany, N.Y.against the Devils, Friday night against the Syracuse Crunch, and a rematch with the Whale on Saturday night in Connecticut.

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Follow Ken Peacock on Twitter @VBKen.

Not only do I enjoy watching the NHL, I’m a fan of international hockey and I love seeing the best taking on the best.  As a puckhead, I’ve gone to see the games in the Canada Cup and the World Cup of Hockey. Not only do you get to see the best players represent their country, but watching the fans soak it all in is just as special.

Over the next few days, the city of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, along with neighboring cities Lasalle and Tecumseh, are hosts to the World U-17 Hockey Challenge.  For those who are not familiar with this event, it is a 10-team round-robin tournament that features the best hockey players under the age of 17 displaying their talents on an international stage. Next to the World Junior Championships, this is second biggest international tournament. These kids are two to three years from being drafted by NHL clubs.

Players from the United States, Russia, Czech Republic, Sweden, and Germany take part, along with five regional Canadian teams, which are Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic (the provinces east of Quebec), West (New Brunswick and Manitoba) and Pacific (Alberta and British Columbia).

The game that I went to today was between Team Germany and Team Ontario and the Canadian colors of red and white were well represented.   Here’s how I can tell: A few rows in front of me, there was a family of seven wearing Team Canada #87 Sidney Crosby jerseys. How’s that for commitment?

Team Ontario has won three of the last four gold medals and they pretty much have the home-ice advantage. I wanted to see Team Ontario play just because of the fact that I’m an OHL fan and I wanted to see these future OHL stars. They are to the U-17 Tournament what Team Canada is to the World Junior Championships. They are a well-oiled machine and they are an example of why the OHL are the best at producing young talent.

Here’s a small sample size of the future Hall-of-Famers who have taken part in this tournament: Joe Sakic (Pacific) and Brendan Shanahan (Ontario) took the first step to Canada’s Program of Excellence by playing in what was formally known as the Quebec Esso Cup.

The NHL stars of today who have participated in the World U-17 include Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Marc-Andre Fleury and Vincent Lecavalier.

The stars of tomorrow took part in this tournament not too long ago.  The “Young Guns” such as Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin, Ryan Strome, John Tavares (all have represented Ontario) and Jonathan Heberdeau (Quebec) got their feet wet before representing Canada in the World Junior Championship.  Being among the best players in this tournament doesn’t mean that they can cut it in the next level of international play—Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Pacific) excelled in the U-17, but didn’t make the cut for Team Canada in the 2011 WJC.

There some NHL bloodlines involved in the tournament, especially coming from the Canadian teams. Max Domi, who is currently on loan from the London Knights (OHL), is the son of former NHLer Tie, but they are complete opposites.  While Tie was known for being an agitator and for his fights with Bob Probert, Max is a player that’s gifted offensively and has a burst of speed that reminds me of Pavel Bure.  While PK Subban currently stars for the Montreal Canadiens, his younger brother, Jordan is on leave from the Belleville Bulls to help shore up the defense for Ontario.  Cole Cassels was taken in the first round of the OHL draft by the Oshawa Generals and is the son of former NHLer, Andrew.

Bo Horvat and Aaron Ekblad are two that you’ve probably never heard of before, but you probably will very soon.  Ekblad was the first overall pick of the Barrie Colts this summer.  The kid is a 6 foot 3 inch defenseman and, just like any teenager, is still growing. He reminds me a lot of a young Chris Pronger.  Horvat, who is property of the Knights, scored one of the goals in Ontario’s 5-0 shutout of Germany. He, like his teammate Max Domi, is another offensively-gifted player, but he looks like the type of player who will do whatever it takes to win.  Maybe he can bring back the phrase “Bo Knows Hockey,” but time will tell.

Going to an event like this was neat.  I was surrounded by mostly Canadian fans and they were really into it. Being at an international sporting event doesn’t happen that often and I wanted to take advantage of it. I’ll be going to another U-17 game tomorrow as Russia will take on USA in another matinee affair.  Who knows if I’ll see the next Alex Ovechkin or the next Phil Kessel, but it will be exciting to watch.

Pavel Datsyuk scored the game-tying goal midway through the third period and 56 seconds later, Niklas Kronwall scored the game-winner to send the Red Wings (23-12-1) to their second straight win and their 11th straight on home ice.  Jimmy Howard was once again sensational in net by making 29 saves for his league-leading 22nd win.

The Blues started the scoring at 6:51 of the first period as Kevin Shattenkirk rifled a shot from the point, which was deflected in front of the net by Matt D’Agostini for the 1-0 lead.  The Red Wings had their opportunities to tie the game up in the first period, but couldn’t capitalize on their chances.

The Blues extended the lead to 2-0 at 13:08 of the second period thanks to an alert Alex Steen; Howard came out of the crease to stop a shot by Jason Arnott—but the refs didn’t blow the as the puck was still in play. The puck creeped by Howard, and Steen took advantage of the play and tapped the puck in the net to extend the Blues’ lead.

Steen’s goal seemed to be the smelling salts for the Red Wings prompting them to press even harder to get on the scoreboard. The Red Wings cut the deficit to 2-1 with 63 seconds left in the second period when Nicklas Lidstrom shot a laser from the left point and the goal pumped up the crowd at the JLA.

The home team threw everything at the Blues, including the kitchen sink, and it paid off with Datsyuk’s goal that tied the game at 2-2. Datsyuk tipped-in an Ian White shot and it was redirected past Blues’ goalie Brian Elliott to tie the game.  Less than a minute later, Kronwall scored the game-clincher with a wrist shot from the left point, helping the Red Wings to their first win against the Blues this season.

This was a classic battle reminiscent of an old-school Norris Division battle. This game brought out the best in both teams and was perfect for a national audience. The Red Wings and Blues will face each other once again this Saturday at the JLA so expect the same effort from both teams.

Tomas Holmstrom will be out of the lineup for up to two weeks with a groin injury. In his place, Joakim Andersson was called up this morning from Grand Rapids and made his NHL debut against the Blues and played 5:10 of total ice time.  Defenseman Mike Commodore was once again in the lineup in place of Jakub Kindl.

Jimmy Howard was sensational once again for the Red Wings.  It should be time to talk about Howard’s status among the top goalies in the NHL.  Despite the Red Wings being knocked out by the San Jose Sharks in the playoffs last spring, Howard stood out as he kept the Red Wings in the series.

This season he has taken the next step so is he a top-tier NHL goalie, just yet? Not yet, because that’s a designation reserved for Tim Thomas, Henrik Lundqvist, Roberto Luongo (who found his groove over the last few weeks) and Marc-Andre Fleury.  I would put Howard in fifth right now ahead of guys like Jonathan Quick, Carey Price, and Pekka Rinne. Where would you rank Howard among the NHL netminders?

Howard has been the difference maker in some of his team’s wins this season and is getting better each season.  Once again, fans here in Detroit determine a goalie’s fate in the playoffs, but Howard has the mental toughness to make it.  The only concern for him right now is workload so hopefully he doesn’t burn out in the spring.

The Red Wings have another old-school Norris Division game this Friday as they head to Chicago for a date with the Blackhawks at the United Center.

Pavel Datsyuk currently leads the team in scoring with 10 goals and 23 assists, while Johan Franzen is now in second with 14 goals and 16 assists.   Valtteri Filppula is third (10 g, 25 a) and Henrik Zetterberg is climbing the ladder as he is now in fourth(8 g, 14 a).

Nicklas Lidstrom leads the team’s defense corp in team scoring with seven goals and 14 assists, while Ian White (4 g, 11 a) leads the team with a plus/minus rating of +21.

Jimmy Howard’s play in goal has slipped “just a little bit,” to quote Robert DeNiro, with a 1.91 goals against average and a .929 saver percentage, but he still leads the NHL with 19 wins.  All kidding aside, this is his breakout year, folks, and don’t be surprised if he’s nomintated for the Vezina Trophy this season.

Game 29:  Detroit Red Wings 4  Pittsburgh Penguins 1

Pavel Datsyuk led the offensive charge with a goal and an assist, while Jimmy Howard stopped 25 shots as the Red Wings invaded the Consol Energy Center with a 4-1 win.  Danny Cleary scored twice in the third to help put the game away for the Red Wings.  Johan Franzen scored the game-winning goal as he shot a rocket from the left circle past Marc-Andre Fleury early in the third period.

Game 30:  Detroit Red Wings 3  Nashville Predators 4

The Red Wings let one slip away in the Music City as they took a two-goal lead in the third period, but Shea Weber scored the game-tying goal on the power-play and scored the winner late in the third period.  Pekka Rinne was brilliant in goal as he stopped 37 shots and outdueled his counterpart Jimmy Howard, but his hooking call in the third period led to Weber’s game-tying goal.  A couple of the bright spots for the Red Wings was that they went a perfect two-for-two on the power play.  One of them was scored by Tomas Holmstrom and he passed Sergei Fedorov for fourth in team history with 118 goals with the man-advantage.

Game 31:  Los Angeles Kings 2  Detroit Red Wings 8

Cory Emmerton and Drew Miller led the team with two tallies each leading the Red Wings to an 8-2 drubbing of the Los Angeles Kings  at the Joe Louis Arena.  Out of the 18 skaters that suited up, 14 of them got at least a point.  Jimmy Howard stopped 27 shots to stretch his NHL-leading wins total to 19.  It was their third straight home game that they chased a starting goalie out of the net in the opening period as starting goalie Jonathan Quick didn’t escape the first half of the opening period.

Red Wings Three Stars of the Week

Pavel Datsyuk-two goals, three assists, +4

Danny Cleary-two goals, three assists, +5

Cory Emmerton-two goals, one assist, +2

Team Transactions:

December 15: F Chris Conner placed on short-term injured reserve, F Tomas Tatar called up from Grand Rapids (AHL)

December 16: F Tomas Tatar reassigned to Grand Rapids

This week’s games:

The Red Wings go back on the road to start a four-game road trip and will kick it off with a stop at Rexall Place for a date with the Edmonton Oilers.  After that, they will have back-to-back games on Wednesday and Thursday with stops in Vancouver and Calgary respectively and will take a few days off for Christmas.  They go back on the road next Monday for a rematch with the Nashville Predators at the Bridgestone Arena.

Even though the Penguins were without their best player in Crosby, it was a hard-earned two points for the Red Wings,who have won their third game in a row.

Evgeni Malkin scored the lone goal for the Penguins with five seconds left in the first period by blistering a shot toward the far right side, which Howard didn’t have a chance to stop.

Despite the Penguins missing some key players, Malkin, who was questionable before the game, was the best player on his team.  His effortless skating and stickhandling abilities are world-class and he showed why he’s one of the best players in the NHL when he’s in the lineup.

Howard was terrific between the pipes; especially in the second period when he stopped all 12 shots on goal.  His biggest save in the second period was when he made a sprawling save on Malkin by using his stick to keep the puck from crossing the line.

The Red Wings got on the board toward the end of the second when Todd Bertuzzi moved the puck up the boards in the Penguins’ zone and made a perfect pass to Datsyuk, who used a vicious backhand and shot a screaming puck past Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury for the 1-1 tie.

The Red Wings went one-for-two on the power-play and that helped decide the outcome of the game as Franzen scored a howitzer of a shot from the left face-off circle past Fleury early in the third period.

Danny Cleary’s sixth and seventh goals of the season in the final period helped seal the Red Wings’ 19th win of the season.  Former Penguin Chris Connor started a three-on-two break for the Red Wings as he moved down the right wing and centered it to Cleary, who beat Fleury for the insurance goal.  Cleary scored the other goal on an empty net with six seconds left.

Even though Crosby wasn’t in the lineup tonight, it was a goaltending battle between two possible Vezina Trophy candidates in Fleury and Howard.  It was as good as advertised for the first 40 minutes of the game, but the Red Wings broke it wide open in the third, giving this round to Howard.

Not only did the Penguins miss Crosby, they also missed the quarterback of the power-play, Kris Letang, and it showed as the Penguins scored only once in their 36 chances with the man-advantage.

Regarding Sidney Crosby, his status is that he’s out indefinitely with concussion-like symptoms, but he should be listed as day-to-day for the rest of his career. It’s unfortunate, but true.  Instead of leading the league in scoring and helping the Penguins’ contend for the Stanley Cup, he’s in the same conversation as Eric Lindros and Pat LaFontaine for very talented players who had their careers derailed because of concussions.

When Crosby’s on the ice, he’s the best player in the NHL and in the world, hands down (and this is coming from a Red Wings’ fan).  He’s the face of the NHL and if he were to retire at an early age, it would be a huge blow to the league, just like Bobby Orr’s meteorite-like knees forced him to retirement in 1979 at the age of 31.

Crosby is still young.  He’s only 24 and has a lot of hockey to offer, but it should be on his terms as to when he’ll return to the ice.  Even if he decides to take the rest of the year off, it’s his call.  Not only the NHL, but the sport of hockey and sports in general is a better place with Sidney Crosby in it.

The Red Wings’ next game is on Thursday in the “Music City” as they face the Nashville Predators.  Their previous match-up was at the JLA on November 26 when the Red Wings prevailed 4-1.

Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, reigning Vezina trophy winner Tim Thomas proved to be  Crosby and Malkin’s kryptonite at CONSOL on Monday.   Stopping 45 of 46 shots faced, Boston’s franchise goaltender proved himself the most valuable player on the ice. Receiving three goals of support, courtesy of two second period tallies from Gregory Campbell and Benoit Pouliot, and a third period power-play goal from Tyler Seguin, the 37-year-old Thomas was able to best his counterpart Marc-Andre Fleury and win his 10th consecutive start. If not for the 6th tally of the season from everyone’s favorite Penguin Matt Cooke at the 10:54 mark of the final frame, Thomas would have recorded his 4th shutout of this young season.

Despite Thomas clearly outshining all those who took the ice on Monday in Pittsburgh, it wasn’t just no. 30 in Black and Gold who stepped up their game against the Pens. In what was undoubtedly what was  the marquee performance of the 2011-12 campaign for the Boston Bruins, an elite performance up and down the lineup was the most dazzling feat of all.

Killing all five Pittsburgh power-plays, including over three and a half minutes of 5-on-3 time, Boston’s commitment to team defense was indelible on Monday evening. Not only did Boston kill off every second of Penguin power-play time, they managed to stymie one of the league’s most high-powered offenses all night long. They won the key face-offs, they blocked shots, and most importantly they shut down the Penguins’ top-duo of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to no points and only 14 shots on goal in over 42 minutes of ice time.  Evidenced by Brad Marchand’s second fight of the season when he dropped ‘em with Penguin defenseman Matt Niskanen after no. 63′s “life on the edge” playing style lead him to a leg sweep of the Pens’ 2nd pairing blueliner, and even more so when Gregory Campbell threw down with Joey Vitale after the Pittsburgh centerman went crashing into Tim Thomas, it was also clear that Boston brought the physicality on Monday evening.

On the offensive side of the equation, the B’s “scoring-by-comittee” continued to shine on Monday, as Boston received a contribution from three of the team’s four lines. The Bruins’ much-criticized power-play unit also got involved, when Tyler Seguin notched his 13th of the season after a beautiful dangle and pass from Patrice Bergeron early in the third period.

The Bruins’ elite performance in all aspects of the game on Monday night proved to the world what people who watch this team on a daily basis already knew; this team is indeed the beasts of the east.

KEY STATS

Goals–                        BOS (3)            PIT (1)

Shots–                       BOS (27)           PIT (46)

Power-Play–           BOS (1-5)          PIT (0-5)

Penalty-Kill–           BOS (5-5)          PIT (4-5)

• Three Stars– ….. 3.) Joe Vitale  ….. 2.) Rich Peverley     ….. 1.) Tim Thomas

What’s Next?

Boston is back in action on Tuesday night as they make their first trip to Winnipeg since New Year’s eve of 1995. In the first meeting between these two squads, the B’s rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win a 4-2 game at the TD Garden.

Thanks For Reading!

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The Lightning are in third place in the Southeast Division three points behind the Florida Panthers and 12th in the Eastern Conference.

After 19 games, forward Steven Stamkos leads the team in goals with 11 and points with 19. Marc-Andre Bergeron is tops in assists with 14. Martin St. Louis, leads the team in rating with a +9.

Forward Steve Downie has accumulated 49 penalty minutes (4th in the NHL)  and goalie Mathieu Garon has three wins, a 2.80 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. Dwayne Roloson has six wins, a 3.16 goals against average and an .898 save percentage.

Defenseman Victor Hedman leads Tampa Bay in ice time, averaging 22:42 per game. Steven Stamkos leads in shots on goal with 71.

The Lightning have scored 53 goals and allowed 58 goals. The Bolts power play was awful this week and now is clicking only 15.28% (21st in the NHL) of the time, down from 19.05% just three games ago. The penalty kill is successful 82.50% (15th in the NHL) of the time, just below the league average of 82.53%.

Box Scores

Game 17 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – Winnipeg Jets 5

Game 18 – Tampa Bay Lightning 4 – Pittsburgh Penguins 1

Game 19 – Tampa Bay Lightning 2 – New Jersey Devils 4

Three Stars of the Week

Vincent Lecavalier – Two goals and an assist.

Steven Stamkos – One goal and two assists.

Martin St. Louis – Two goals.

Transactions

No team transactions this week.

Injuries

Defenseman Mattias Ohlund remains on IR after undergoing surgery on both knees. He is skating with the team while wearing the red “no contact” jersey. His return is still a couple of weeks away.

Defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron may miss Tuesday’s game with a lower body injury.

Bolt Notes

The Lightning earned two of a possible six points this week. Tampa Bay’s defense has been nothing short of horrible, especially five-on-five. In that situation they have given up 41 goals (26th in the NHL). The Bolts are 21st in the NHL in goals against (3.05)  and shots against (31.3) per game. Brett Clark is -6, Eric Brewer is -5, Bruno Gervais is -2, Victor Hedman and Pavel Kubina are -1. Marc-Andre Bergeron and Matt Gilroy are the only defensemen that have a positive +/-. If this keeps up, with no real help in Norfolk, look for Yzerman to make an Eric Breweresque type move, just as he did last season.

The Week Ahead

Tampa Bay is home vs. Toronto on Tuesday, at Florida on Friday and home vs. Florida on Saturday.

The Quarterdeck Log – Norfolk Admirals Week In Review

By Ken Peacock

About the Author

A man with an identity crisis. A full time fan of all things hockey, fan of the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals. A fan of two NHL teams in the same division? Really? Yes, it can be done. It’s tough, but it can be done. Ken is also a full time husband, IT Professional, and a Norfolk Admirals Hockey Blogger at Vultures Row.

Weekly Log

The St. John’s IceCaps played host to the Admirals this weekend at the Mile One Centre. The Atlantic Division leading IceCaps last played host to Norfolk during training camp and the preseason. Friday night’s game was all Admirals as the offense came alive with a 6-2 victory.  Tyler Johnson and Trevor Smith led the Admirals in scoring with two goals each. Mike Angelidis and Carter Ashton contributed one each. Cory Conacher assisted on three of the goals and was a +2 for the night. Jaroslav Janus stopped 26 of 28 in the win. St. John’s turned the tables on the Admirals Saturday night. They jumped to an early two goal lead and shut Norfolk down. Cory Conacher was the only Admiral to add any points to his stats. Conacher’s goal in the second period was the only sign of life in the Admirals offense. Dustin Tokarski stopped 22 of 25 in the Admiral loss.

Cory Conacher (9G 13A 22Pts +1) and Trevor Smith (8G 12A 20Pts +12) lead the Admirals in scoring. Carter Ashton (12G 7A 19Pts +4) has been rather quiet, but rounds out the top three in scoring.   Mark Barberio (3G 13A 16Pts +11) leads the defense. Dustin Tokarski (5-5-0 2.70 GAA) and Jaroslav Janus (5-2-1 2.85 GAA) continue to rotate in goal.

For the season, the Admirals are 10-7-0-1 with 21 points. They are second in the East Division and trail the WB/S Penguins by 3 points. Cory Conacher and Carter Ashton have led the AHL in rookie scoring since the beginning of the season.Norfolk is currently on a 0-1-0-0 streak and is 5-5-0-0 in their last ten games.

Three Stars of the Week

Cory Conacher – One goal and three assists.

Tyler Johnson – Two goals and an assist.

Trevor Smith – Two goals.

Transactions

Jean-Philippe Cote – Signed to a Professional tryout contract.

Injuries

Richard Petiot – Undisclosed – Day to day

Michel Ouellet – Undisclosed –Day to day

Kevin Quick – Lower body injury – Day to day

An Observation from the Stands

Norfolk had great success in the preseason against St. John’s, but you can only take that success with a grain of salt. The IceCaps are the hottest team in the AHL right now. The Admirals were lucky to split the two games this weekend. The offense came alive on Friday, but looked like they took a late night trip to Tim Horton’s before the Saturday night match. If the Admirals seriously want to contend this year,  they will need to be consistent every night. Playing good one night and then mailing the game in the next is what they did last year. While they managed to make the playoffs, they were consistent in doing what they had done in previous seasons…….bowing out in the first round. The season is still early and there is no need to worry (yet), but sixty minutes every night is what we need from the offense and the defense.

The Week Ahead

Norfolk returns home for a six game homestand. The Charlotte Checkers come into town Wednesday for a Thanksgiving eve match up. Providence then comes to town for games on Friday and Saturday.

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Follow Ken Peacock on Twitter @VBKen.

Buffalo Sabres young goaltender Jhonas Enroth is no different. Enroth was drafted by the Sabres with the 46th overall selection (2nd Round) in the 2006 NHL Entry after posting a 2.17 GAA and a .922  save percentage for his Sodertalje SK “J-20″ league team in Sweden in the 2005-’06 season. The 5’11″ native of Stockholm, Sweden would then play three more seasons in his home country, working his way up to the top league in the nation, the Elitserien. In 2007-08 –his final season in Sweden– , after posting splits of 2.13 (GAA) and .932 (Save Percentage) Enroth was given the honor of being one of three candidates for the Elitserien league’s Rookie Of The Year award.

Leaving Sweden after the 2006-’07 season, Enroth would sign his entry level deal with the Sabres on May 31, 2008 and was assigned to Buffalo’s AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates. Enroth would go on to play three seasons in the American Hockey League, posting a 2.63 GAA and a .915 save percentage in 147 games for the Pirates, Enroth would finally break through in February of 2011, when he became the full-time back-up to Ryan Miller, supplanting veteran netminder Patrick Lalime. Jhonas would go on to make 14 appearances in the 2010-’11 season, earning a 9-2-2 record with one shut-out while posting a 2.73 GAA and a .907 Save Percentage. Despite only seeing 14 games of action in 2010-’11, the opportunity to be around and learn from a proven NHL all-star like Ryan Miller is something that can be a great benefit to any young player.

Following Saturday’s 6-2 loss at the hands of the Boston Bruins, a game in which Enroth came in to relieve Miller after the second period — “I knew pretty much right after the 2nd period. Ryan didn’t feel very well there so they told me pretty much right after the second period.” said Enroth — I had the  chance to speak with the Sabres’ 23-year old Swedish netminder about  how he has benefited from the guidance of Ryan Miller, over the course of the past two seasons:

“It’s a great opportunity for me to see him practice and prepare for games and play games everyday. It’s been great to learn from him.” – Jhonas Enroth

Entering the 2011 season, as Lalime was no longer a part of the organization, it was clear that Enroth had earned the right to the no. 2 job in Buffalo. As the season began, expectations of a championship ran rampant through the streets of Buffalo after the off-season acquisitions of high-profile d-men Robyn Regehr and Chritian Ehrhoff and former Flyer forward Ville Leino. It was also expected that former Olympic Silver medalist Ryan Miller would return to his 2009-’10 form after a relatively down season (by his standards) in 2010-’11. Unfortunately for the 31-year-old Miller, that has simply not been the case. Despite his 2.86 GAA and .909 save percentage, his team just has not performed for him this season, posting a below average 5-6-0 record in the 11 starts made by the East Lansing, Michigan native. On the other end of the spectrum is Jhonas Enroth, who has posted a 1.75 GAA and a .944 save percentage this season, while sporting an undefeated 5-0-0 record.Prior to the season, Enroth was not expected to see much playing time, and was only slated to spell Miller once in a great while. However, it is only logical to play the hot-hand and right now, the hot goalie is Jhonas Enroth.

“I didn’t think I’d be playing as much. That wasn’t the plan I think but obviously, but I’ve been winning a couple of games. It’s been fun playing a couple games in a row there.” – Jhonas Enroth

The play of Jhonas Enroth, who currently holds a 14-3-2 career record in 22 NHL appearances, seems to have caused quite the stir in Buffalo. Now with Miller shelved due to a concussion suffered on Saturday against Boston, now is the time Jhonas Enroth to step-up and take the reigns as starting goaltender of the Buffalo Sabres. If Enroth can take advantage of the increased playing time and keep up the stellar play that he has enjoyed thus far in his brief NHL career, there could be a once unthinkable goaltending controversy brewing in Buffalo.

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The Red Wings scored first at 4:23 in the first period as Fabian Brunnstrom got a pass from Patrick Eaves and the puck past Flyers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky for a 1-0 lead.  That was the only time the home team found the net for the rest of the game.

The Flyers tied as James Van Riemskyk got the puck and put a wrist shot in for a 1-1 tie.  The visitors went ahead 52 seconds later as Jagr scored for a 2-1 lead.  Matt Read closed the scoring for the night at 10:41 of the second period.

Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard made 19 saves on 22 shots in the loss while on the other end, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 22 of 23 shots.

It seemed that the tide turned for the Red Wings when they failed to score during a five minute power play.  Brunnstrom, who is competing for a spot on the Red Wings’ roster, helped his own cause with the lone goal and was effective with and without the puck.  Red Wings center Cory Emmerton, who is also competing to stick with the big club, had an assist tonight.

Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds didn’t play in tonight’s game.  The big story was in last night’s game when Simmonds was facing Red Wings goalie Jordan Pearce in the shootout, a fan threw a banana peel on the ice.  It had drawn disgust within the entire hockey community. The authorities have not found the moron.

The youngsters on the Red Wings have played decently over the past couple of days, especially against two of the powerhouse teams in the Eastern Conference: Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.  Some of the Grand Rapids ‘Red Wings’ such as Brendan Smith, Cory Emmerton, Tomas Tatar and Jan Mursak are getting more than a sample-size when they’re facing some of the elite.

Wednesday, the Red Wings got a big dose of Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury while tonight it was the line of Jagr, Van Riemsdyk and Sean Couturier stood out.  Jagr must have found a time machine because he’s playing like it’s 1999. Van Riemsdyk is in line for a breakout season while Couturier is making lives tough for the Flyers coaching staff, as the 8th overall pick in this summer’s draft is playing like he doesn’t want to go back to the junior ranks.  Philly has another star in the making in Brayden Schenn.  He was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in a blockbuster trade that sent Mike Richards (no, not Kramer) to Hollywood. He’s an early favorite for the Calder Trophy.

The Red Wings and Flyers battled it out in London, Ontario last night as the Red Wings beat the Flyers 4-3 in a shootout.  The next time these two teams will meet this season is February 12, 2012 at the Joe Louis Arena.

The Red Wings’ next game is this Sunday at 5:00 pm as they host the Chicago Black Hawks at the JLA.

The Red Wings got goals from Niklas Kronwall and Jiri Hudler.  Hudler, who had a forgettable 2010-’11 season, is trying to get back into the good graces of head coach, Mike Babcock, and his goal could be a start.  Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard played two periods and let in three goals on 20 shots.  Howard is trying to shake off a bruised bone from his left foot, which he suffered at last weekend’s practice.  His backup for tonight, Joey MacDonald, did admirably well by stopping all six shots in the final period.

The best player for the Red Wings was Pavel Datsyuk as he assisted on both goals for the Red and White.  Datsyuk is going to wear #24 this preseason in honor of former Red Wing teammate, the late Ruslan Salei.  Salei was in the tragic plane crash in Russia that claimed the lives of the entire Locomotiv Yaroslavl KHL team on September 7.

The next Red Wings preseason game is tomorrow night in London, Ontario as they will face off against the Philadelphia Flyers at the John Labatt Centre.  Game time will be 7:00 pm.

Two of the top Red Wings, Henrik Zetterberg and Nicklas Lidstrom, did not play in tonight’s game.

Roloson rolls into the semi-finals

Going into the quarterfinal series the spotlight was on Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. He had, after all won a Stanley Cup and kept the Penguins title hopes alive despite the injuries to superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. But, as it turned out, a 41 year old journeyman goalie stole the show. Tampa Bay’s Dwayne Roloson stopped 36 shots to earn his second career playoff shutout and send the Tampa Bay Lightning into the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.

In an epic game seven, defensive struggle between two grinding teams, the Bolts prevailed 1-0. Roloson is now 6-0 in elimination games in his career, second only to Chico Resch who was 7-0. The Bolts netminder ended the series with a league leading .941 save percentage and 1.77 goals against average, second only to the Capitals Michal Neuvirth.

The Lightning won its third consecutive game and third road game while becoming the 24^th team in NHL history to come back from a 3-1 deficit and win a series.

For the first time in the entire series, the Bolts and Pittsburgh Penguins played a scoreless first period. The Lightning’s penalty kill remained near perfect stopping the Penguins twice with the man advantage.

Pittsburgh’s power play was 1 for 32 after the period. Tampa Bay was outshot 15-7 and the Penguins won 14 of 22 faceoffs. Pittsburgh controlled the play for much of the period, but Roloson stood tall. The Bolts best scoring opportunity occurred with 45 seconds left when Simon Gagne redirected a Nate Thompson shot toward the net. Marc-Andre Fleury made his best save of the night to keep the game scoreless.

Tampa Bay must have felt pretty good going to the locker room with the score tied. They had weathered the Penguins initial emotional storm.

The only goal of the game was scored by the Bolts Sean Bergenheim at 5:41 of the second period off a no look, backhand pass from Dominic Moore. For Bergenheim, it was his third goal in four games. Moore’s assist was his fourth point of the series. Steve Downie, the game six hero also assisted on the goal for his seventh point in the series.

Dwayne Roloson had to make only seven saves in the period as the defense tightened up very nicely.

Tampa Bay outshot the Penguins in the second period for the first time in the series, 11 to 7, but the superior goaltending of Fleury kept the Bolts from opening up a two goal margin. He made a brilliant, acrobatic glove save on defenseman Pavel Kubina’s power play shot.

Dwayne Roloson stopped all 14 shots the Penguins threw at him in the third period. The Lightning went into a defensive shell and held on to beat the Penguins. The contributions of Mattias Ohlund, Eric Brewer, Mike Lundin, Pavel Kubina, Brett Clark and Victor Hedman cannot be overlooked. Although Pittsburgh held the play in the Lightning zone for most of the period, the Bolts blueliners were magnificent.

The Lightning defensive corps was outstanding throughout the series, giving up less than two goals per game despite the team being outshot 257 to m180.

In a class move, the Penguins presented the Lightning with a game puck to commemorate their first series win since 2004. The Bolts will give the puck to assistant coach Wayne Fleming who is battling brain cancer. Fleming is the Bolts penalty kill coach, an area that the Lightning were near perfect in the series, giving up only one power play goal in 35 Penguins chances with the man advantage.

Tampa Bay will face a familiar foe, the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals starting on Friday in the Verizon Center in Washington.

Eastern Conference Semi-Final Schedule

No. 1 Washington Capitals vs. No. 5 Tampa Bay Lightning

Game 1: Friday, April 29 at Washington, 7:00 p.m. (VERSUS, TSN only)

Game 2: Sunday, May 1 at Washington, 7:00 p.m. (VERSUS, CBC only)

Game 3: Tuesday, May 3 at Tampa Bay, TBD (Sun Sports, VERSUS, TSN)

Game 4: Wednesday, May 4 at Tampa Bay, 7:00 p.m. (Sun Sports, TSN)

*Game 5: Saturday, May 7 at Washington, 12:30 p.m. (NBC, TSN only)

*Game 6: Monday, May 9 at Tampa Bay, TBD (Sun Sports, VERSUS, TSN)

*Game 7: Wednesday, May 11 at Washington, TBD (Sun Sports, VERSUS, TSN)

*If necessary

Steve Downie celebrates

The gritty Steve Downie is showing the Penguins and the NHL what we in Tampa have known for a while. He’s a valuable, complete hockey player, not just an agitator. The Bolt forward scored to break a 2-2 tie in the third period to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Pittsburgh Penguins and force a Game 7 in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

Downie finished the game with a goal and two assists. Teddy Purcell, Ryan Malone and Sean Bergenheim also scored for the Lightning.

Dwayne Roloson remained on fire, stopping 27 of 29 shots and was the Bolts best penalty killer, stopping all four of the Penguins power play chances. Forwards Nate Thompson, Adam Hall, Dominic Moore and Sean Bergenheim were relentless on the penalty kill and were a big reason for the Lightning’s 4-2 win.

The Penguins scored first when Pascal Dupuis beat Dwayne Roloson off of the goalies own turnover. If history prevailed, the Pens would have scored again and won the game. That wouldn’t happen as the Lightning became the first team to win in the series after not scoring first.

The Penguins came out firing in the third stanza. Jordan Staal scored after a beautiful Dupuis pass to tie the game early in the period. The turning point may have come thirty seconds later when Dwayne Roloson stopped Maxime Talbot on a breakaway and a rebound chance and then made a third, acrobatic save on Pascal Dupuis rebound chance. Bolstered by Roloson’s brilliant goaltending, the Bolts came down the ice and Vincent Lecavalier found a wide open Steve Downie in the slot, who was stopped on his first shot but jammed the puck by Marc-Andre Fleury off the rebound to put the Lighting ahead.

Former Penguin Ryan Malone then applied the finishing touches off a tremendous feed from Mattias Ohlund. Bugsy skated away on a breakaway and didn’t fool around with a fancy deke. He simply put the puck on a tee and blasted it by Fleury to put the exclamation point on the night.

Tampa Bay is trying to become the 24^th team in NHL history to come back from a 3-1 deficit. The Bolts will travel to Pittsburgh, where they have already won twice in the series, to play Game 7 on Wednesday night.

*Photo courtesy of Chris O’Meara

He's back!

Superstar Steven Stamkos, Pavel Kubina and Simon Gagne each had two goals and Vincent Lecavalier and Dominic Moore also scored as the Tampa Bay Lightning destroyed the Pittsburgh Penguins in game five of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, 8-2. The Bolts avoided elimination and pulled themselves to within one game of tying the series at three games apiece. They’ll get that chance on Monday night in Tampa.

Gagne, Stamkos and Lecavalier each netted goals in a ten minute span spreading over the first and second periods and forced the early exit of Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury after he gave up four goals on 14 shots. Fleury’s replacement, Brent Johnson followed suit, giving up four goals on just eleven shots. The Bolts were battering the Penguins 7-0 before Mike Rupp and Chris Conner each scored in the third period.

Teddy Purcell had three assists, Marty St. Louis and Steve Downie (just back from a one game suspension) each pitched in with two helpers. 14 different Lightning players had at least one point. Tampa Bay’s eight goals and four power play goals were team playoff records.

Steven Stamkos had one point in the first four games of the series, but exploded to score his first two NHL playoff goals and ended the game with three points. He played with a renewed sense of urgency and positioned himself in front of the net all game and battled.

Goalie Dwayne Roloson remained solid in between the pipes for the Lightning, saving 31 of 33 Pens shots.

The Bolts special teams were nothing short of amazing, going 4-7 on the power play and 7-7 in killing penalties.

This game could signal a turning point in the series as the sleeping giants for Tampa Bay have awoken. Up until now, Steven Stamkos and Simon Gagne have been very quiet. They are quiet no more.

*Photo courtesy of Gene Pusker.

Dwayne Roloson reacts to giving up game winner

With just over three minutes left in the second overtime, the Penguins James Neal flung a bad angle shot from the side board that tipped off of goalie Dwayne Roloson’s glove and then the crossbar to give Pittsburgh a hard earned 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning and a 3-1 series lead.

It’s hard to blame Roloson who was terrific most of the night and made fifty saves in the loss, but allowed two bad angle, unscreened goals. In comparison, Marc-Andre Fleury only had to make 29 saves in the game. Roloson’s goaltending was a big reason that the Bolts were able to stay in this game, but the goals he allowed were soft. Even though the Bolts trail 3-1 in the series, Roloson has not allowed more than three goals in any of the four games.

It’s hard to blame the heartbreaking loss on lack of effort. The Bolts came back from yet another two goal deficit to tie the score. The heart and soul, Marty St. Louis scored late in the second period off a beautiful flip pass from Vincent Lecavalier. Marty made a highlight reel move as he brought the puck from his backhand to his forehand and beat Marc-Andre Fleury to pull the Lightning within a goal. Sean Bergenheim played like a man possessed all night and was rewarded late in the third period as he found the puck amidst a scrum around the goal and fired it home to tie the score. I believe that Bergenheim was the best player on the ice for the Bolts. Talk about effort. Eric Brewer and Marty St. Louis played just short of 35 minutes in the game.

Perhaps the blame can be placed upon the special teams. The Bolts effective power play (4-11 going into the game) was silenced by the leagues top penalty killing unit. Tampa Bay went 0-4 with the man advantage last night. Pittsburgh scored their first power play goal of the series when Lightning killer Tyler Kennedy beat Roloson short side at 8:14 of the first period.

Perhaps you can blame it on the inability of the Lightning to win a faceoff that mattered. The final numbers looked okay, but Tampa Bay seemed to lose every draw in the defensive zone.

Perhaps you could put the blame on the Bolts struggling superstar Steven Stamkos who took a pass from Marty St. Louis in front of the Pittsburgh net with five minutes to play and missed everything despite having an open net to shoot at.

Ultimately though, the blame needs to be put upon the Lightning’s inability to start fast. Tampa Bay was off its game for the first 30 minutes last night. Players could be seen standing around and not skating. Getting the puck over the blue line and through the neutral zone seemed impossible. Much of this was due to the playoff savvy Penguins who refused to give the Bolts an inch of ice to maneuver.

This may be as far as the Lightning can go this season and that’s okay. This team and organization has come a long way in just one year. But, there is still a glimmer of hope and Tampa Bay need look no further than their teammate Simon Gagne for inspiration. After all, Gagne was a big part of the never say die Flyers of last season. Philadelphia, the number seven seed in the East, overcame a 3-0 series deficit and a 3-0 deficit in the first period of Game 7 before rallying to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.

The barely breathing Bolts have two days to rest and get ready to start their steep, uphill climb.

Fleury was the difference

The Pittsburgh Penguins recuperated from a 5-1 beating at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning in game two, and beat the Bolts 3-2 last night in Tampa to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference first round series.

In the first home playoff game in four years the Lightning saw Pittsburgh’s Maxime Talbot and Arron Asham score 45 seconds apart in the first period and Tyler Kennedy score 21 seconds after the Bolts fought back to tie the game. The Kennedy goal was a true back-breaker as it knocked the wind out of the Bolts who spent almost 40 minutes mounting a comeback.

The Pens won despite giving up two more power play goals, both to Martin St. Louis. The Bolts overcame an early 2-0 deficit, but Kennedy’s late goal was enough to stave off any Lightning comeback.

The Penguins have won six consecutive Game 3’s and are 10-1 in the third game of playoff series dating back to the 2008. Over the same period, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is a sparkling 12-4 following a playoff loss. Fleury was the difference in this game as he stood on his head and stopped 25 of 27 shots.

Bolts goaltender Dwayne Roloson was solid again, stopping 27 of the 30 shots he faced.

Pittsburgh is missing superstar Sidney Crosby due to injury just as the Lightning is missing Steven Stamkos. The difference is that Stamkos is actually playing in each game…sort of. The Bolt phenom had just three shots on goal last night to give him a grand total of five for the series. He has scored just four times in the last 25 games. Stammer looks confused on the ice and has lost his swagger. Stamkos did record his first career playoff point, assisting on St. Louis’ first goal. Simon Gagne, Vincent Lecavalier and Eric Brewer also recorded assists for the Lightning.

The Bolts special teams remained hot as the power play went two for four and the penalty kill went two for two, making the Bolts a perfect 15 for 15 for the series. These statistics do not add up to a 2-1 deficit for the Lightning, but the Penguins are playoff tested and know how to win close games; Something Tampa Bay will learn with time.

The Lightning’s Steve Downie and the Penguins Chris Kunitz may face suspensions for separate incidents.

Game four will start at 7:00 PM in Tampa Bay on Wednesday night.

*Photo courtesy of wstera2′s.

Brewer impresses

Defenseman Eric Brewer was a wrecking ball that rolled over the helpless Pittsburgh Penguins Friday night in Pittsburgh. The veteran defenseman played almost 25 minutes, had a goal, two assists, three shots, three hits, was a +2 and led the Tampa Bay Lightning to their first playoff win in four years. The Bolts totally dominated the Penguins and came away with a 5-1 victory to tie the series at one game apiece. Brewer’s patient, in control game gave the Bolts the boost of confidence from the back end they needed.

Three broken teeth and two root canals equaled a goal and an assist for the heart and soul of the Bolts, Martin St. Louis.  Vincent Lecavalier, Nate Thompson and Mattias Ohlund also scored for the Lightning. For Ohlund, the empty net goal was his first goal in his two years with the Bolts. Simon Gagne was a force with three assists.

The first period was the direct opposite of the last period of game one. The Lightning scored on two of their first three shots. Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was a brick wall on Wednesday night but gave up three goals on eight shots in the first period last night. Fleury struggled mightily, stopping only 16 shots on the night.

Bolts backstop Dwayne Roloson continued to sparkle as he stopped 35 of 36 shots including 14 in the third period. Roloson had only himself to blame for not getting a shutout as he went on a walkabout and put himself in no mans land and was scored on by Craig Adams.

Superstar Steven Stamkos continued to struggle as he could muster only one shot on goal and was demoted to the third line for most of the game.

Tampa Bay’s special teams were dominant. The Bolts power play was two for six. The penalty kill was a perfect seven for seven and added a shorthanded goal.

This game will go a long way for the young Lightning team. They played physical, playoff style hockey and beat the Penguins handily. They forced Pittsburgh to play undisciplined hockey.

And now, the best of five series shifts to Tampa on Monday night at the St. Pete Times Forum.

Fleury was brilliant

The playoff savvy Pittsburgh Penguins scored twice in eighteen seconds early in the third period and went on to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-0 last night. The Bolts were making their first playoff appearance in four years.

Despite being the second highest scoring team in the Eastern Conference, the Lightning couldn’t solve Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who stopped all 32 Lightning shots  en route to his fifth career playoff shutout.

Bolts backstop Dwayne Roloson deserved a better fate as he played superbly, stopping 37 of 39 shots in the loss.

The Bolts came out flying in the first period and rifled 14 shots at the acrobatic Fleury. The second period belonged to the Penguins, who seemed to gain confidence in front of their netminder and outshot the Bolts 18-7. The game remained scoreless solely because of the stellar play of both goaltenders.

In the third period, Alex Kovalev and Arron Asham scored and Chris Kunitz added an empty net goal for Pittsburgh.

Tampa Bay killed off all six of its penalties and did not convert its only power play chance.

Superstar Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis could get off only three shots between them. The Pittsburgh defense out-muscled and hit them every chance they got. The tone was set early when Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik destroyed Stamkos with a solid, legal check that sent the Lightning star, crumpling to the ice.

Defenseman Pavel Kubina was nothing short of terrible as he turned the puck over three times, seemed lost on the ice and lost track of Alex Kovalev, allowing him to score the Penguins first goal. Defensemen Matt Smaby and Marc-Andre Bergeron were healthy scratches and Randy Jones is near returning from his ankle injury. Perhaps Kubina needs to sit for awhile.

Martin St. Louis suffered two fractured teeth in the loss and underwent two root canals following the game. He’ll play on Friday night. After all…It’s the playoffs!

If Tampa Bay wants to stay in the series they will need to play with much more urgency and be physical for 60 minutes. Game two is Friday night at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.

Lightning vs. Penguins First Round Schedule

Game 1 – Wed., April 13, @Pittsburgh, 7 PM
Game 2 – Fri., April 15, @Pittsburgh, 7 PM
Game 3 – Mon., April 18, Home, 7:30 PM
Game 4 – Wed., April 20, Home, 7 PM
Game 5 – Sat., April 23, @ Pittsburgh, TBA
Game 6 – Mon., April 25, Home, TBA
Game 7 – Wed., April 27, @ Pittsburgh, TBA

Tale Of The Tape

So puckheads…Who ya got?

You can click here: 2011 NHL All-Star rosters to see the players that will participate in this year’s All-Star game in Raleigh, NC.

James had the first pick and promptly chose Team Eric Staal, so I got Team Lidstrom. His alternate captains named by the NHL are Ryan Kesler and Mike Green, while mine are Martin St. Louis and Patrick Kane.

Below you will find our mock draft picks and the projected lines for the game.

Team Staal projected line-up:

Line combos:
Alex Ovechkin-Eric Staal-Rick Nash
Steven Stamkos-Jonathan Toews-Paul Stastny
Matt Duchene-Ryan Kesler-Jeff Skinner
Patrick Elias-Claude Giroux-Phil Kessel

Defensive Pairings
Zdeno Chara-Duncan Keith
Shea Weber-Mike Green
Marc Staal-Dan Boyle

Goalies:
1st Period: Cam Ward
2nd Period: Marc-Andre Fleury
3rd Period: Carey Price

Team Lidstrom project line-up:

Line combos:
Daniel Sedin-Henrik-Sedin-Martin St. Louis
Loui Eriksson-Brad Richards-Patrick Kane
Patrick Sharp-Anze Kopitar-Corey Perry
David Backes-Danny Briere-Martin Havlat

Defensive pairings:
Kris-Letang-Nicklas Lidstrom
Keith Yandle-Dustin Byfuglien
Brent Burns-Erik Karlssson

Goalies:
1st period: Tim Thomas
2nd period: Jonas Hiller
3rd period: Henrik Lundqvist

Forwards Sidney Crosby, Evgeny Malkin, Henrik Zetterberg, Jarome Iginla and Ales Hemsky, as well as defenseman Tobias Enstrom will miss the All-Star week-end due to personal reasons or injury.

The 2011 NHL All-Star draft will be aired on Friday January 28th at 8PM, while the Super Skills will be on Saturday January 28th at 7PM Eastern time. The All-Star game will be played on Sunday January 29th at 4PM Eastern time.

You can also follow me on Twitter for updates on the Montreal Canadiens and the NHL in general.

“He’s [Fleury] going to have good games. It’s not like he can change overnight. He’s going to put strings of games together, and he can’t do that with one game. So, you’ve got to be patient, too, and let him get back there.  With a goalie, you’ve got to give him time. He’s got to play four or five games maybe to prove that, but to sit here and question his psyche doesn’t really give him a chance.”

Love Marc-Andre Fleury or hate him, I couldn’t agree with Sid more.  Flower deserves a chance to get back on his game. The 09′ Cup earns him that.   Sid shows us all why he is a captain right here.  He is speaking directly in opposition with Coach Dan Bylsma’s current operating methodology of win one and get another for Flower.  That is treating Fleury like the backup, which he isn’t.   Bylsma has thrown Fleury under the bus a few times this year, but yesterday put Flower’s confidence directly under the spotlight.

“[Fleury] understands he doesn’t have confidence right now”

Nice coach.  Hang him out to dry to the press.  That’s just what he needs.  I mean if we are going to hold people accountable then  it is time to start tossing some of the fringe guys you are obsessed with giving chance to out there too.  Why is it that Tyler Kennedy gets a pass when he plays back to back crappy games?  Why has Mike Comire not been set on fire for pretty much pooping on the ice and then taking his next shift?  By his own player’s anonymous admission Dan is obsessed with the 3rd/4th liners and likes to give them opportunities.

Powerplay, line juggling, and all of the other nonsense aside, Disco has fumbled the handling of the goalie situation. You don’t take your confidence struggling starting goalie and burn him like you have four times this year to the press.  Sid and backup Brent Johnson have handled it like leaders.  Johnny went so far as to bark pretty hard at Shelly Anderson of the PPG when she tried to use baited questioning to get him to cut Flower’s legs out.  Good on those two for being teammates.

I agree with Sid, and the next opportunity where you can commit to giving Flower a solid chance to get his confidence back is to win or lose start him at home against the Canucks and Hurricanes next week and then at Florida and Buffalo the week after.  Vancouver is a West team so losing two points there isn’t going to hurt as bad and then next three games are against teams at the bottom of the East.  Creampuffs.  Tuneups.  There isn’t another opportunity like this on the schedule until the end of January (DET/NJD/CAR/NYI).  If Fleury hasn’t found it by the conclusion of the Buffalo game on the 24th, you have you answer from Fleury.

Other things in my notebook today:

• Apparently the All-Star game is moving to a format when players are voted to the teams and the elected captains pick sides.  Sure it sounds nifty, but it has a chance to put teammates on opposite teams which is why I hated the North America vs The World format.  I’m not sure why the All-Star game isn’t just a skills competition anymore anyway.
• Eric Tangradi upon his return to Wilkes-Barre has been rode fairly hard by new baby Pens head boss John Hynes.  Tangradi was drilled extra hard while being yelled at on the ice by Hynes during a practice last week for quitting on a rush drill according to Citizen’s Voice beat reporter John Bombulie.  There is some speculation that the directive came from on high to get Tangradi motivated but Hynes is also a taskmaster more like Michel Therrien than appeasing creativity man Dan Bylsma.
• So Mark Madden doesn’t think that Marc-Andre Fleury is over using his pokecheck.  The rest of the vision empowered world does.  Madden also said today on his HD-2 show that the Capitals are the Penguins biggest rival.  For a guy who knows so much about Penguins history I wonder how he cold ignore the Flyers like that.  The Caps won’t generate near the level of hate until they actually defeat us somewhere.
• Good to hear out of the GM’s meetings the Florida GM Dale Tallon’s proposal for a coach’s challenge/replay was shot down due to lack of support.
• The Bruins are rolling into town Wednesday pretty banged up.  Marco Sturm and David Krecji are both doubtful or worse.  Marc Savard won’t be back either but expect the Bruins to remember to take a few shots at Matt Cooke for last spring and maybe the Pens’ stars.  By the way, that’s why the game is on NHLN.
• After being absent from practice Monday both Evgeni Malkin and Johnson returned to the ice at Southpointe Tuesday.
• Of all of the centers that Crosby has taken more than 30 draws against the Bruins Patrice Bergeron owns him winning more than 60%.  Sid has a worse FO% against Bergeron than anyone.  Expect Disco to exploit last change on that one Wednesday night.

On a personal note you can expect more of these lump sum type summaries moving forward from me.  I finally an employed again and writing during the day is a non-starter.  I am taking notes in a real notebook now and bringing them here.  Be sure to follow me on Twitter:  @Ozman51

Goaltending battles:
- Scorching: game-to-game musical chair
- Blazing: no clear-cut starter
- Moderate: mild battle going-on
- Low: a clear number one, but the back-up is talented enough to steal the job

Atlanta Thrashers: Moderate Mason got the job because of the concussion Pavelec suffered during the season opener and he intends to keep it, but Pavelec is their goaltender of the future, so he will get his starts.
#1 Chris Mason: 11 games 6-4-1 3.45 & .910 Save %
#2 Ondrej Pavelec: 2 games 0-0-1 2.68 & .910 Save %

Boston Bruins: Low Thomas regained his starting job earlier this season after a few great starts, but don’t forget Rask was the number one last season, so if Thomas falters, Claude Julien will not hesitate to give Rask some playing time.
#1 Tim Thomas: 7 games 7-0-0 0.72 & .980 Save %
#2 Tuuka Rask: 2 games 0-2-0 3.54 & .890 Save %

Colorado Avalanche: Moderate With Craig Anderson’s knee injury, Peter Budaj got the chance to play more. He still hasn’t loss in regulation despite mediocre numbers. Anderson is out indefinitely, so Budaj will likely get a few more starts on a good offensive team.
#1 Peter Budaj: 4 games 3-0-1 3.43 & .880 Save %
#2 Craig Anderson: 7 games 3-4-3 3.15 & .910 Save %

Columbus Blue Jackets: Blazing Steve Mason is still the number one, but Mathieu Garon played very well in his three starts this season, blanking Montreal Tuesday, while Mason hasn’t played consistently well.
#1 Steve Mason: 8 games 4-4-0 3.30 & .890 Save %
#2 Mathieu Garon: 4 games 3-0-0 1.15 & .960 Save %

New York Islanders: Scorching Scott Gordon doesn’t have a clear-cut starter as Dipietro has struggled so far this season and Roloson is like 72 years-old. Dipietro’s monster contract ensure him to play consistently, but Roloson’s better performances will allow him to start more frequently.
#1a Rick Dipietro: 7 games 2-3-2 4.21 & .850 Save %
#1b Dwayne Roloson: 5 games 2-3-0 2.40 & .920 Save %

Ottawa Senators: Moderate When Pascal Leclaire suffered his latest injury (it sounds like a broken-record), Brian Elliott became the default starting goalie. And now that Leclaire has healed, Elliott will have to perform well on a nightly basis to keep his job.
#1 Brian Elliott: 9 games 5-4-0 3.22 & .900 Save %
#2 Pascal Leclaire: 4 games 0-2-1 3.24 & .900 Save %

Philaldephia Flyers: Low Rookie Sergei Bobrovsky took advantage of Michael Leighton’s injury to become the Flyers’ clear-cut starter. Brian Boucher has been playing well too, but Peter Laviolette has been riding Bob most of the time. Leighton has resumed skating and should be back by month’s end.
#1 Sergei Bobrovsky: 8 games 6-2-0 2.39 & .920 Save %
#2 Brian Boucher: 4 games 1-2-1 2.26 & .900 Save %
#3 Michael Leighton

Pittsburgh Penguins: Scorching Brent Johnson is off to a torrid start this season, and coupled with M-A Fleury’s struggles, Dan Bylsma didn’t have the choice but to rotate his goalies. Johnson had is first bad outing yesterday in a 5-2 loss against the Dallas Stars. Expect Fleury to get the nod next game, but for how long?
#1 Marc-Andre Fleury: 6 games 1-5-0 3.35 & .860 Save %
#2 Brent Johnson: 7 games 5-1-1 1.70 & .940 Save %

San Jose Sharks: Low Antero Niittymaki was certainly mad when the Sharks decided to sign Antti Niemi to a contract this summer, but that didn’t seem to affect him on the ice as he’s been stellar so far this season, and he’s now the clear-cut number one in San Jose.
#1 Antero Niittymaki: 6 games 4-1-1 1.75 & .930 Save %
#2 Antti Niemi: 4 games 1-3-0 4.50 & .850 Save %

Tampa Bay Lightning: Blazing Mike Smith has four wins and no loss but his play has been mediocre at best, while Dan Ellis has been terrific in all but one game this season (3 goals in 15 mins vs Florida). Ellis is the more talented of the two and Smith is injury-prone, so it won’t take long before Ellis owns the starting job in Tampa.
#1 Dan Ellis: 7 games 3-2-2 2.46 & .910 Save %
#2 Mike Smith: 6 games 4-0-0 3.59 & .870 Save %

Toronto Maple Leafs: Blazing Jean-Sebastien Giguere has played fairly well this season for the Leafs and thanks to a big contract, he’ll get his fare of starts. However, Jonas Gustavsson is the goaltender of the future and Ron Wilson won’t hesitate to start him, especially in back-to-back games.
#1 J-Seb Giguere: 8 games 4-3-1 2.37 & .910 Save %
#2 Jonas Gustavsson: 4 games 1-2-1 2.71 & .910 Save %

Washington Capitals: Low Named the NHL rookie of the month of October, Michal Neuvirth took advantage of the injury to Semyon Varlamov. Neuvirth has been stellar so far and he has the abilities to be a great goalie. Varlamov is still injured, but when he returns he should get a shot at the number one job despite Neuvirth great performance.
#1 Michal Neuvirth: 12 games 8-3-0 2.31 & .920 Save %
#2 Semyon Varlamov: 2 games 0-1-0 2.90 & .900 Save %

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You can also ask me your fantasy questions at jiffypak@hotmail.com.

Mike Yeo was blamed for the Pens' PP woes last year. O for the last 27 and Yeo in Houston coaching the Aeros I think its safe to say it wasn't him.

The Pittsburgh Penguins rolled into Dallas Wednesday night eying to continue riding the momentum they started in Carolina last Saturday.  Those hopes, and maybe Brent Johnson’s hot streak ended quickly in the 1st period after the Penguins and their poor passing and defensive play gave up a quick 2-0 lead to the Stars on goals by Stephane Robidas and Brad Richards.  The Penguins went to the locker room after the first intermission down 2 and were outshot 12-4. Tyler Kennedy dropped the gloves at the end of the period with Jamie Benn.  It was a spark your team kind of move as the Pens had been completely outplayed for the entire 20 minutes.

The second period was the epitome of what I don’t want to see out of my hockey team.  After Kennedy got the Pens back to within one in the early part of the period the Stars Brenden Morrow made one of the most classless moves I’ve seen in a while, giving Kris Letang no opportunity to walk away from dropping the gloves after Morrow slashed him at least five times.  Letang is battling a hand injury from the Tampa game a week ago and was visually disgusted with Morrow for forcing the issue and in essence making him fight. Classless.

Then it just got stupid.

On the ensuing faceoff Sidney Crosby dropped the gloves with Matt Niskanen, and dropped him with a right.  This was in a situation with Deryk Engelland on the ice.  Nine seconds later Chris Kunitz and Benn dropped the gloves as well.  In between the two fights Brooks Orpik took what can only be categorized as a run at the Stars Steve Ott.  After the Kunitz fight Stars’ coach Marc Crawford could be seen mouthing the words “What the f*** are you doing?” to Penguins coach Dan Blysma.

That’s my question.  What were we doing?  The frustration was mounting due to the Pens getting down quick again in a game and then failing to capitalize on a 5 on 3 for over 90 seconds in the first.   It was frustration for getting back into the game and then being slammed right back out of by the 3rd goal from Ott.   I understand that.  However it was no excuse to turn into the Flyers in the second.  We see this team once a year.  There is no rivalry here.  The Pens decided the game was over or that they weren’t interested in playing their game anymore and went goon.

We scream at Flyers fans when their teams behave like this almost every time we play them.  To not be critical of my own team when they stop playing hockey and turn into an mindless bunch of goons would be hypocritical.  I was embarrassed for my team in the 2nd period.  That’s not who were are.

• Penguins wasted a chance to get right back in it in the first be squandering 1:37 of 5 on 3 time with five minutes left in the 1st and the score only 2-0.  It’s the fifth 5on3 wasted this year.
• The penalty shot awarded to Loui Eriksson in the mid-2nd was a joke.  Ericksson scored on it and the game was over.  Johnson did not look good at all on the effort either
• Letang’s injured hand likely led to the turnover that Eriksson buried in the 3rd to make it 5-1.  Letang’s hand will be a matter to watch now until Friday.
• Ben Lovejoy was a healthy scratch for Deryk Engelland tonight with Zybnek Michalek’s return to the lineup
• Brent Johnson was good in this game but 5 goals on 25 shots in the middle of the 3rd is still not good enough.  That’s the same criticism that people lambasted Marc-Andre Fleury with after he gave up too many goals on too few shots despite it being his defense’s fault in mid October
• Michalek was on the ice for the first two Stars goals that set the tone for this entire game. Not a great return for him.
• Matt Cooke added a goal late and is now tied with Evgeni Malkin with 3.  There is something very wrong there on November 3rd.
• I’d have bet that Flower got the start in Anaheim before tonight.  Now I’m sure he gets it.
• Pens 0 for their last 27 on the Powerplay.  Look right there for the reason we are losing so many game like this.  No scoring with the man advantage and you can’t climb back into game.
• If Bylsma draws one thing from the line combos tonight it should be that Cooke-Max Talbot-Kennedy clicked.   Sorry Mark Letestu but you go with what works. It might be time to try Tubes on the wing on the second line.
• Penguins still took 8 non-fighting minors tonight.  Play is still far too undisciplined.
• Pens drop to 6-5-1 and sit 8th in the East.  They are 3rd behind the Rangers and First Place Flyers in the Atlantic Division.
• Penguins played with no desire, no drive they didn’t want it enough and that’s becoming a reoccurring theme.  If you want to blame Jordan Staal’s reinjury for the drop in attitude so be it, but I think that’s a cop-out.
• Here’s the Crosby fight, not to glorify it, but because it happens so infrequently.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I read as much as I can about the Team and the Fans, listen to everything I can (apart from Mark Madden).  There is now a small group of loyal fans beginning to question Bylsma.  The major question is was 09′ a perfect storm and does he have any real X’s and O’s beyond Sid and Geno paired?  Yeo was obviously not the problem on the PP.  The Pens keep playing lose one win one it’ll be a mob by March.

Go vote or stop whining.

Lets get this out of the way.  Go Vote today.  Imagine if you got to vote for NHL Commissioner, you’d all be there.  If you don’t vote you lose your right to complain in my book.  Now moving on…

Penguins fans are all still dealing with the aftermath of the tragic news regarding Jordan Staal’s broken hand.  I told my sons (10 and 12) yesterday and they both looked at me like I had told them there was no Christmas this year.  In listening to the interviews and reading the available literature after the fact I have a few things that I think merit mention.

• Dan Bylsma needs to sound informed or at least confident in interviews.  He was asked immediately about Staal and all he had was “the doctors are looking at him”. Now I get it, he didn’t know. He needs to sound less like he is looking for a non-specific out and more like the head boss of a hockey team.
• The press immediately pivoted to the status of Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang and Bylsma’s first words were “There’s not a clear understanding”.  Hardly what you want to hear from your coach.  I’m sure he knows but he needs to sound like he knows.  He sounded like he had no clue yesterday and I am sure that’s not the case.  It’s a matter of word choice.  On what was likely the toughest day of the Penguins regular season as a fan, Bylsma failed to instill any sense of confidence that he had a handle on things.
• Some press members have indicated that 6 weeks is a conservative figure.  It makes me hold out hope that it is more like 4 weeks.  However today’s surgery puts a damper on that hope.

Now that we sort-of know the extent of Staal’s situation the Penguins question of the week is “Who needs to step up?” I sent my response to Penguins Live, but they like me to keep it short.  Here is a more elaborate version.

• Mike Comrie must take advantage of what is likely his last chance to stay on the Penguins roster.  He was signed to be a top 6 guy and lately he has been playing with the bottom 6, mostly on the 4th line.  At lease one Comrie fan has taken me to task, citing statistics that Comrie has been getting some assists.  Check my Twitter stream.  I’ve given him his nods for getting those assists.  The problem is that the rest of the time he is out of position and failing to bury any opportunity that finds his stick.
• Maxime Talbot if we ever needed you to find your 08/09 form, its now.  The goal in Carolina was great but by his own admission accidental.  He failed to get the puck to his forehand and got lucky.  We’ll take garbage goals but Max is not the player he was for this team two years ago.  This team is in dire need of a scoring threat at forward.
• Chris Kunitz needs to score some goals.  After a promising two goal start to the year he has gone as cold as he was to start last season.  Kunitz hasn’t netted a goal in several weeks (1 goal in last 8 games).
• Mark Letestu has cooled after rocketing to the top of the rookie goal scoring stat sheet.  It’s a lot to ask a rookie to fill the shoes of Jordan Staal but Tubes is the closest thing we have to him.  He can play both sides of the game and has shown scoring touch.
• Craig Adams should not be looked at to fill the void for Staal in any capacity beyond the penalty kill.  Adams will continue to be looked at as a primary PK forward.  He has done well in that role thus far and we need him to maintain.  Anyone looking for more goals from Adams or a lack of goals as a reason to sit him obviously has not been acquainted with this team for long.
• Arron Asham has to ability to contribute some time on the second line and maybe chip in a goal here and there.  He is more suited to be Matt Cooke’s buddy on the 3rd line.
• Tyler Kennedy needs to keep shooting, but he also needs to realize he is a grinder and play more like one.
• Finally and most importantly Evgeni Malkin must step up.  More appropriately he must step back up to his normal output.  Geno is paid 8+ million a year to score at least a point per game.  He has 3 goals this year.  Even with a healthy Jordan Staal, that’s not good enough.  Out of everyone Geno has to show he is a leader and he has to show he is not in line for back to back disappointing seasons.

On the goaltending front:

• Pensblog said it well after Brent Johnson’s shutout in Carolina.  If you are advocating that Marc-Andre Fleury get night in night out starts right now you are putting your love of MAF above the best interests of the team.  Ride the hot hand.  Johnny is second in the NHL in GAA at 1.16.  That’s fairly insane.  Fleury is still the number one guy but you have to take advantage of the fact that Johnny is seeing beach balls
• While not confirmed I fully expect Johnson to start 2 of 3 on this road trip.  It is my opinion that Fleury is most likely to start against the struggling Anaheim Ducks in a back to back situation.
• If Johnson can stay hot it can surely mask some of the other deficiencies on this team.  The absence of Staal and Geno’s lack of production could be hidden by more 1 and 2 goal performances out of Johnny.
• Johnson will cool off.  Be ready for it.  It will happen.  When it does I hope Fleury has found his game again or things could get ugly, fast.

Further information on injuries:

• Malkin (knee), Letang (hand), and Alex Goligoski (unknown) are all day to day.  Geno and Tanger missed practice on Monday. Goose did not finish practice. Their statuses for Wednesday are up in the air.
• Geno and Tanger did work with Dan Bylsma on the ice prior to Tuesday’s practice.  The pair both participated in practice after-wards but Goligoski missed the Tuesday session.   Geno worked as the extra forward on the 2nd line and his availability for Wednesday will be a matter of how much pain he can play with.  Letang took a normal practice with D-partner Paul Martin.
• By all account Zybnek Michalek should return to the lineup in Dallas barring a setback.
• As the Penguins get ready to hit the road there have been no call-ups from Wilkes-Barre as of 11am EST Tuesday.  If there is a forward brought up, don’t be surprised if it is someone not named Eric Tangradi.  I’ve heard Nick Johnson offered up as a more likely possibility.

Some Random Information:

• The Bruins Marc Savard continues to struggle with concussion problems stemming from the hit Matt Cooke laid on him last spring.  You will remember that Cooke served no time for the incident which was questionable.
• Coincidentally, Matt Cooke is also November’s mustache boy following the shootuout competition at Tuesday’s practice.

• Jordan Staal and Zbynek Michalek are expected to play Wednesday in Dallas.  The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that both players are targeting this Wednesday as the date they will return to the lineup.  Staal came off of the LTIR and is now eligible for play.
  
• Kris Letang left for the locker room after taking only 2 shifts in the second period of the Penguins 3-0 win in Raleigh Saturday night.  Letang was stung a hand he injured the previous Wednesday at Tampa Bay.  Seth Rorabaugh posted in his assists column that Letang is day-to-day.
  
• Evgeni Malkin was a surprise scratch Saturday night.  After assurances all day that he would play following a knee bruise sustained the previous night versus the Flyers, Malkin struggled in warmups and quickly left the ice. There has been no update on his status but Coach Dan Bylsma has said that the injury is not structural.  I expect Geno to play Wednesday.
  
• Brent Johnson did little to help Marc-Andre Fleury’s case to remain the starting netminder in Pittsburgh after posting his 14th career shutout and first since 2006 Saturday Night. Johnny is now 2nd in the NHL with a 1.16 GAA behind the Bruin’s Tim Thomas at 0.50  As Dan Bylsma left the bench in Raleigh he gave Flower a tap on the pads which would indicate that he would likely get the nod in Dallas.  At this point riding the hot  hand is probably the best thing for the team but long term you have to consider both Fleury’s confidence and Johnny’s durability.  The Penguins could find themselves in big trouble quickly in the spring.
  

With the return of Staal and Michalek the question is who sits? At forward I think the obvious answer is Mike Comrie.  He’s had a solid month to legitimize his signing and has done nothing except play out of position and fumble every chance he’s had to score.  Given their recent play you cannot bench Craig Adams, Pascal Dupuis, or Tyler Kennedy who all have goals in the last three games.  Adams especially needs to stay in the lineup given that scoring is not even his role.

On the defensive side it’ a tougher question.  Do you sit Ben Lovejoy or Deryk Engelland?  In my opinion Engelland has moved himself into the 6th spot by the way he played all October.  While Lovejoy is the better skater Dan Bylsma said this during training camp:

If you look at the top five guys, you can expect them to play more than the sixth guy, whoever that is,” Bylsma said.  “I think the sixth guy is going to have to bring some kind of different element to the table, whether that’s on the penalty kill or maybe with grit and physicality.

If that’s not Engelland (who has dropped Colton Orr and Jody Shelley in the past month), I don’t know who is.  It’ll be a tough decision for Bylsma Wednesday afternoon.

The Penguins were given a day off Sunday and will return to Southpointe for practice Monday before getting on the road this week.

One other note.  Rob Rossi of Trib Total media made the following ridiculous suggestion in his postgame blog last night:

Blue uniforms are 2-0-0, and they’ve stopped a three-game home losing streak AND a 0-2-1 stretch. Make the move now, MR. Team CEO/President DAVID MOREHOUSE: Next season the Penguins should wear the 2008 Classic uniforms at home and the 2010 Classic uniforms on the road. Blue will be the answer, let it be.

I hope Rossi was joking.  If not it’s the dumbest idea I’ve heard in some time.  First off all it would leave the Pens without a white jersey for road games.  Secondly the Penguins are black and Vegas gold.  They just spent a lot of money making everything in the Consol Energy Center Black and Vegas Gold.  They have the current Black and Vegas Gold Penguins logo emblazoned on everything in that building.  The color change is a really dumb idea and something I would expect a puck bunny who didn’t care about the team until 2005 to say.  Oh yeah Rossi didn’t start covering the Penguins until 2007 as a beat writer for the Trib.

The City of Pittsburgh is the only city that has a unified color scheme for its professional teams.  I’ve taken pride in that since I grew up there.