Had a chance to catch the Blue Jackets and Sabres game tonight.   There is truly no reason the Pens should not extend their winning streak another game tomorrow at Nationwide Arena.  The Jackets, while having a very good season overall, looked awful against Buffalo.   A few thoughts about the Jackets v. Sabres game.

-The Blue Jackets gave up three PP goals tonight after playing solid special teams in recent games.  This was a rough night for the PK unit.  The PP unit appeared lost at times.  They never set up the passing lanes that make a power play like the Penguin’s effective.  They would rush down the ice, and then turn the puck over.  This probably explains their less than 10% conversion rate (28th in the NHL, worst in the West).

-Not a high scoring team so far this year, falling to 21st in the league.  Steve Mason is coming around, and my money is on seeing the Franchise tomorrow over Mathieu Garon, who saw 37 shots tonight.  Garon has been hot so far, though, with a 6-2-0 record and a a 1.70 GAA (with tonight’s five goals included).  Mason is beginning to come around, but he is no where near the goaltender he was 2 years ago.

-Even with Garon’s hot the start, the Jackets are showing the same patience with Mason as the Pens did with Fluery during Johnson’s hot streak.  They are hoping that he can begin to come around, and a .912 save percentage is not that bad.  Even in his rookie season, in which he had TEN shutouts, he had a GAA of 2.29 and a save percentage of only .916.  Mason has 16 starts this year, while Garon has 8.  Mason is 1-0-1 for his career against the Pens, allowing six goals in two games including a shootout loss at Nationwide last season.

-Offense has some work to do.  Nash is a great piece as the captain has proven year in and year out that he can score.  The problem is, their leading two scorers are wingers (Umberger with 19 and Nash with 18).  The Pens will center their lines with their best scorers (Crosby, Malkin, Staal when healthy) to get the scoring they want in the middle of the ice.  For the Jackets this year their centers are Brassard – 18 points, Vermette – 14 points, Wilson – 9 points, Phalson – 6 points, and Mackenzie – 5 points.

-The Jackets have 29 points this season with a record of 14-9-1.  This would be a good team to come out hard against after defeating a team like the NY Rangers.  This streak hasn’t be against the best teams in the league (having played Florida and Ottawa recently), but wins against the Blue Jackets and the NY Rangers (as well as an OT loss) certainly look good.

He is absolutely unstoppable.  Sidney Crosby has added yet another feather to his cap.  Not a bad way to start the month of December.  Crosby scored three goals (a natural hat trick, the first of his career) just two days after being named the first star of the month of November.  Here are some notes from the final game stats, as the Pens defeated the Atlanta Thrashers 3-2 at the Consol Energy Center tonight.

Scoring Summary -

Thrashers scored first at 6:21 in the first period.  Little scored the first PP goal against the Pens since OCTOBER.  Letang was a stick lift away from avoiding the goal, but the Pens will just have to start another 40-penalty kill streak…

Then Crosby went off.   He scored one in the first period to knot the game up, but added a pair in the second.  He has been literally unstoppable – as he sent his point streak to 14 games (29 points in that span).   One assist from Kunitz tonight, another from Kris Letang (19!), with Asham, Orpik, and Engelland also working their way into the scoring column.  Crosby now has 21 goals.  More on Sid later.

The final goal was scored late in the second, giving the Thrashers some life as they entered intermission down 3-2.  The way the Pens have been playing, though, the final hardly seemed in doubt.  The defense locked down Atlanta in the final period, allowing only 5 (FIVE) shots.

-Some notes on the post game stats-

-Arron Asham isn’t afraid to drop the gloves like he did in the first period.   He dropped the gloves against Thorburn like he has against so many other adversaries in the past.  You don’t rack up 126 and 155 PIM over the past two years without a little mean streak.  Good to see someone other than Engelland or Godard dropping the gloves once in a while.

-The Pens finished with 28 shots.  Not an astounding number, but with Crosby putting three in on his own, it was enough tonight.  They got good opportunities, which doesn’t necessarily show up in the SOG column.  As for the Thrashers, they had 22.

-Lovejoy, Comrie, and Godard were the scratches tonight for the Pens, hardly a surprise anymore.  It’s fair to say that Comrie – after an outstanding preseason – is either in the doghouse or a complete bust.  Still, Shero signed Comrie to a low paying deal late in the offseason, and the Pens haven’t come to need him – so it’s a bit of a wash.

-Fluery did enough tonight.  20/22 saves is good enough to win games most nights.  He played a solid game and got rewarded with win #10 (9th in the NHL).  His GAA is now 2.44 (12th in the league).  Still, he has a .908 save percentage (29th in the league), meaning he is taking less shots, not making more saves than the other goaltenders in the league.  All of these numbers are BETTER THAN LAST YEAR.  Hopefully he can sustain this, because this is what we expect from Fluery.  The occasional mind blowing save, but always being in the game and usually winning at the end regardless of what happens in between the first whistle and the last.

-SOG tonight for the Pens – five for Letang, five for Crosby, four for Kennedy, and ZERO, yes ZERO for Evgeni Malkin.  Malkin took only two faceoffs tonight, losing them both.  Malkin leads the league in shots on goal – it was stunning to see the stat sheet at the end of the game and realize he was non existent in the faceoff and shots column.

-The Thrashers were led by Dustin Byfuglien in shots.  He took three shots in the first, and DIDN’T SHOOT AGAIN.  That was a complete shutdown of the opposing team’s top scorer.   Ladd, the second leading scorer – had only one shot, coming in the third period.  The Pens defense right now is a thing of beauty.

- Letang was on the ice for both Thrashers goals tonight, but he ends up even in the plus minus column.  Orpik was his linemate when the Thrashers scored in the third.  Martin was the linemate on the first period power play goal.

- More on Sidney Crosby -

-Crosby won 12/21 faceoffs, including 8/12 against Rich Peverley.  This was his first 50% or higher faceoff percentage game since the Panthers game.  Good to see him rebound tonight.

-He lit the lamp with 3 of 5 shots.  He is scoring on 20% of his shot attempts.  That is a thoroughly rediculous number for a guy who is on pace for over 300 shots.  Speaking of total shots, his career high was last year with 298, looks like he is going to shatter that number.

-I have long said that Crosby does more (points) with less (shots, talent) than Alexander Ovechkin.  This season he is getting a similar number of shots, and he is scoring at a higher pace.  Better yet – Ovie is playing on a line with Backstrom and Semin.  Crosby has Pascal Dupuis and Chris Kunitz…  Love them both, but the talent discrepancy is there.

Semin is scoring about 80 points a year and Backstrom had 101 last year.  Semin, Ovechkin, and Backstrom each have 31, 33, and 30 points respectively.  For the Pens, Dupuis is on pace for about 40 points, Kunitz for 50 for the season..  Crosby is asked to score and he does. Ovie is asked to score, and he is one of three 80+ point scorers on the ice at any given time (not to mention Carlson and Green who are each on pace for 40-50 points this season).  That said, Crosby’s ability to make the Penguins a winner every season, his ability to play with any line combination (he had Guerin last year, he started with Letestu this year before Dupuis stepped in), and the outrageous numbers he has put up this year make him the best player in the league right now.  Better than Stamkos (with St. Loius), better than Ovechkin (with Semin and Backstrom), and better than the Sedin brothers.

- I’d love you hear your comments!  Leave them below! -

- Go Pens -

Having watched the Indians over the years, I can say that Victor Martinez is one of the top catchers in the league.  Martinez is a four time all-star.  He has a great bat, fairly good power and great average, was able to improve his defense.  When he left Cleveland, he was a well above average hitter, and a slightly above average defensive first baseman and catcher (his numbers don’t take into account that Cleveland pitchers have had significant issues holding runners, resulting in large jumps on the base paths).

These aren’t the reasons that Detroit got an absolute steal when they signed the 31-year old switch hitting backstop to a four year fifty million dollar deal.  Martinez exuded class and leadership through every season, win or lose, with the Cleveland Indians.  He was an unquestioned leader in the club house from the time he arrived to the time he was shipped off to Boston.  V-Mart handled the pitching staff, a staff that was often young and inexperienced.  Even though he will only be expected to play 2-3 days behind the dish during the week, he should still hold onto that role with the Tigers.

When Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore were out injured, Martinez was able to keep the Indians offense moving.  He was a .300 hitter throughout it all, giving 110% on the field regardless of the standings.  Now he will be hitting in front of or behind Miguel Cabrera, one of baseball’s best hitters.  The Detroit Tigers got a steal by protecting their top hitter in the lineup, finding a leader for their young catcher and their pitching staff, and finding a leader for the clubhouse.

Add Martinez in with the re-signings of Brandon Inge and Jhonny Peralta, and the Tigers are on their way to a top-5 offense in the American League.  Dave Dombrowski, the Tigers general manager said that when Magglio Ordonez went down, the Tiger lacked a bat in the middle of lineup to force opposing pitching staffs to have to pitch to Cabrera.  By adding a career .300 hitter that averages about 20 home runs and 100 RBI bat in the middle of the lineup, they have that presence. 

I’ll admit, they still have some issues pitching wise.  Verlander can’t sustain a whole rotation, and while Gallaraga has shown flashes of brilliance, they are only flashes (4.49 ERA).  Verlander himself only had a 3.37 ERA, an average ace by that measure.  Verlander also had 219 Ks, a top flight starter .  Max Scherzer pitched well, coming in with a 3.50 ERA and 8.46 k/9 ip.    Martinez should be able to help a bit with that pitching staff, another positive to bringing him in.

After watching seven years of Victor Martinez, I can say the Detroit Tigers got a steal.

Ray Shero has truly been a top of the line general manager for the Pittsburgh Penguin over the four years.  Every general manager has their ups and downs, but Shero has had few mistakes he couldn’t quickly undo.  A couple of his great additions include

-Craig Adams off waivers from Chicago; Miroslav Satan, Petr Sykora, and Matt Cooke in free agency; resigning Sid Crosby; trading for Tangradi, Billy Guerin, and Chris Kunitz; adding Jordan Staal through the draft; trading for Hal Gill, Pascal Dupuis, and Marian Hossa.

Shero has built the roster in an economically feasible manner through a series of free agent signings and trades.  Over this off season, the Penguins allowed Sergei Gonchar, Ruslan Fedotenko, Bill Guerin, Alex Ponikarovski, Jordan Leopold, and Mark Eaton to leave.  Of those players, Gonchar and Leopold are doing the best elsewhere.  Leopoldhas 15 points in Buffalo, and he had a way of playing well when it mattered when he was with the Pens.  We just saw Gonchar recently with Ottawa, and he is third on the team in points.

Poni is in the midst of a 4 point season where he has played in only half of the games for the Kings.  Eaton is stuck with the hapless Islanders, and Guerin was with the Flyers through training camp until he was tossed before the season began.

The Pens brought in Paul Martin, Zbynek Michalek, Arron Asham, and Mike Comrie.  None of the four have had truly great season.

-Martin is on pace for a 40 point year, with 11 assists and one goal through 25 games.  Martin is +3 to this point, and hasn’t spent much time in the sin bin (only 4 PIM).  Martin is averaging over 20 minutes.  He spent quite some time working with the Devils system, so it’s not surprising it took some time for him to adjust, but he has played well for the Pens as of late.

-Mike Comrie - Completely missing in action.   He had such a good preseason too.  It looked like he was in good shape to take a second or third line scoring role, especially with Staal out, for the start of the season.  He has found himself a healthy scratch often this season and an irrelevant player when he is on the ice.  He was the last player signed over the off season (a one year deal).

-Zbynek Michalek - still adjusting to the Bylsma system, he has been taking 25+ shifts a night as of late.  He is averaging over 20 minutes per game at the blue line, but he also has a -4.  He has registered only five points, but that isn’t all that surprising.

-Arron Asham – the 32 year old forward is coming off a solid year with the Flyers.  Injured for about 10 games this year, he is coming back into lineup and now has 3 goals and 3 assists. He is on pace for his normal 25 point season.  He provides a physical presence on the fourth line (he has 831 PIM in his career). He will only get better as he continues to get healthy and plays more in the Bylsma system.

So it’s been a bit mixed so far.  Martin and Michalek have earned plenty of playing time at the blueline and shored up a spot that was thin going into the off season.  Between Martin, Orpik, Michalek, Letang, and Alex Goligoski, he blue line production has hardly fallen this year.

As for Comrie and Asham, neither has done much.  Chris Connor and Mark Letestu have played fairly well this year, closing the gap on what either can do.  Comrie has been healthy all year, but has fallen into the Bylsma dog house.  Asham has been injured, but he is coming around.

With Staal returning, there will be a built in midseason acquisition for the Pens.  Overall, the offseason acquisitions filled the needed holes, but has been somewhat hit or miss.   The talent from old trades has made itself seen – as we have seen Tangradi, Connor, and Letestu have begun to make their mark.  Shero’s trades have proven to be good short term and long term, but this free agent class will need a little more time to weed out.

Calgary Flames v. Pittsburgh Penguins
Location – Consol Energy Center

Some things I noticed from the game and the final stats -

- 24 shots in the first period?  The Pens now have two 20+ shot periods in their past two games.  Those types of periods can wear a team down, especially on back to backs (like Calgary and Pittsburgh were in this game.)

-Brent Johnson got the start and saw 31 shots.  He allowed an even strength goal in the third period to Rene Bourque – the only time Bourque had a shot on goal.  He was his usual self (for this season), bagging his seventh win in nine starts this year.  His save percentage is .931, while MAF is up to .905.

-Asham scored his third of the season.  Good to see the former Flyer making an impact. Hopefully he can continue to play well as he gets back into the regular rotation.

-Three assists for Kris Letang.  Tanger has 18 assists and five goals on the season, taking over the spot that Sergei Gonchar held down last year.  He has taken a much bigger part in the offense this year.

-Another power play goal for the Penguins (Crosby, Assists by Martin (11) and Letang (18)).  The Pens scored shorthanded on an empty net, but we’ll leave that one out.  The Pens have continued to run the show on special teams – The penalty kill is now best in the league (90.2 %) and the PP has scored in three of the last four games.

-Mikka Kiprusoff kept the Flames in the game after one, but twenty four shots will take its toll on any goaltender.

-18, 317 in attendance at the Consol Energy Center, another sell out crowd (the official capacity is only 18,087)!  The lowest number of fans in the stands for a game this year has been 18,106 (when Montreal came to town in October).  The Pens played in front of 71,217 in Buffalo at the Winter Classic in 2008. When they play at Heinz Field  on New Year’s Day, they may have a chance to put over 60,000 in the seats.

-I’ll say that Derryk Engelland won the fight with Jarome Iginla.  Fight at the boards, Engelland appeared to get him on the ground.  Engelland registered 9 penalty minutes tonight, a fight and a double minor for roughing.  He was out last night, with Lovejoy taking the minutes.

-The Pens TV announcers spoke about Asham’s line trying to get itself in order, a score today didn’t hurt that cause.  Having a strong third line is essential – and something that the Pens miss at times with the injuries and instability to the lines early in the season.  They will only get better.

Three Stars were:

1. Sidney Crosby: 3 goals on five shots.  One goal on the PP, one Shorthanded empty net.  Only 19:05 of ice time.

2. Brent Johnson: 30 saves, allowed only one goal late in the game.  Spent 5:56 on the PK, stopping 9 shots with Calgary on the one man advantage.

3. Kris Letang: Three assists in 21:03 of ice time.  The 23-year old defenseman now has 22 points on the season.  His career high is 33 from 2008-09, and he only had 27 in 73 games a year ago.

Some things about Sid the Kid -

-Crosby scored a hat trick, his first of the season.  Somehow, this was Crosby’s first “game winning goal” of the season – although we all know that Sid is the unquestioned MVP and workhorse of this team (stats can lie sometimes).  He could have had four, but he missed a penalty shot in the first period.

-Only 43% on the faceoffs today (12/28).  He started the season with seven games over the 50% mark, he has three straight games now with a FO% under 50%.   Matt Stajan was especially effective against Sid on faceoffs – winning 7 of 8.

-Crosby’s (and Malkin’s as well for that matter) TOI was lower than usual today, a good thing to get a little rest on a back to back game.  Crosby spent 19:05 on  the ice, his first time under twenty minutes since Dallas on November 3.  He has played at least 20 shifts in every single game this season.

-His three goals tonight give him 18 on the season, good for third in the league.  He has 40 points, good for second in the league.  His seven power play goals are second in the league to Stamkos.  His point streak is now TWELVE games, the best in the league.  He has 25 points in that streak (12 goals, 13 assists).

-His second goal was good for his 200th lamplighter of his career!  Just another milestone in Crosby’s amazing run.  Hopefully he will have many more.  He now has 546 points, registering his 500th point late last season.

Next up:

New York Rangers – A Sunday off will be followed by the Rangers at the Garden.  The puck drops at 7:00 on Monday.  The Rangers sit in sixth in the East – 27 points (13-10-1).  For comparisons sake, the Pens sit in fourth, having two more games in the books than Montreal, but the Canadiens having 29 points to the Pens 32.

For the Rangers, Dubinsky has 19 points, 12 goals on the season.  Fedotenko has 11 points.  Sean Avery has 10 points, as does Gaborik.  Callahan leads the team with 12 assists (18 points is second).  Marc Staal, who scored against the Pens in their last matchup – has 3 goals and 8 points.

Lundqvist has an 8-8-1 record with a .917 Save Percentage.  His 2.72 GAA ranks 25th in the league.  He has three shutouts, including a forty save SO against the Panthers yesterday.  He has allowed 13 goals in his last five games, going 2-3-0.

“Maybe I destroyed the game.” 

A new commercial featuring Michael Jordan came out recently in which he asks .  Michael Jordan’s new commercial in the Jumpman23 campaign certainly seems to call out Lebron.  The commercial explains that nothing came easy for Michael Jordan.  Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.  He went to college, worked on his game, and became the best player that ever lived.  Jordan’s highlights certainly ”didn’t start at the free throw line,” but all we seem to remember are his incredible highlights. His intense focus on the game off the court, made people believe his on court achievements were really that simple, when he did what we difficult.  He did what was necessary.  He stayed in Chicago when the Bulls weren’t winning championships.  He did what was great, he earned his legacy.

Lebron James has never been forced to do what he didn’t want to do.  When he lost the Ohio High School State Championship as a junior in high school, he left the court instead of following the sportsmanship that makes high school sports great. When he lost the Eastern Conference Finals, he didn’t bother to shake hands or talk to the media.  His career low numbers this season may be evidence that he should have been more focused on his game than The Decision.  As of right now, he has zero rings and zero legacy.  Jordan gives us a stark reminder of this fact.

 James is statistical anomaly (average a triple-double?) and an unreal physical talent.  His regular season accolades are countless, and he has had some playoff games where he absolutely exploded (i.e. – Cleveland at Detroit).  That is all the God-given skill that Michael Jordan alludes to.  But James isn’t cold blooded on the court like Kobe, he’s not clutch like Wade, and he’s certainly not a leader like Garnett.  What made MJ great was that he was the leader and the cold blooded clutch superstar.   That’s what staying on the court when you lose brings to the table.  His pain made him who he was on the court.  He speaks to that fact in his commercial.

It’s true that none of these players have ever won without the talent around them (Garnett with the big three, Wade with Shaq, and Kobe with Shaq or Gasol).  Lebron asked for Antwan Jamison and Shaquille O’Neil, and he recieved.  He asked to keep Varejao, and Andy’s contract was extended.  Gilbert went into the luxary tax to give James exactly what he wanted.  Jordan had help of his own, no doubt.  When he asked for help and received – he stuck around long enough to pull that talent together and the team to the promised land.

Michael Jordan was the first basketball player to truly commercialize basketball.  Perhaps this is what he alludes to when he says “maybe this is my fault.”  Lebron’s Nike “what should I do” commercial says “should I just sell shoes?”  Jordan’s incredible endorsement potential fed off his growing legacy and his loyalty to the Bulls organization.  James mortgaged his future on The Decision.  He put himself above the organizations that pursued him by holding out on them, he made himself bigger than basketball.  This isn’t Jordan’s fault by any stretch.  MJ earned all of his publicity, you can’t blame him for another player believing he deserves the same treatment without the hard work or the post season accomplishments.  Even though Jordan took basketball mainstream, it wasn’t his fault that Lebron transcended basketball and maybe it all about him.

So maybe Lebron shouldn’t be asking “what should I do.”  Jordan never had to ask that question.  Instead he lived out his career. Did things the right way.  Now all he can ask is “is this my fault.”

No Michael it’s not your fault.  You “became legendary”.  Lebron “is just making excuses”.

Judge for yourself – and be sure to comment. (Let’s keep it civil, please).
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEVCjUG1Mww&feature=player_embedded This isn’t the commercial, it is a mashup of the Lebron and Jordan commercials)

Won’t be able to do this for every game, but I’ll have the time today.

Location: Pittsburgh, PA – Consol Energy Center.  1:00 PM start.

-Flower is starting his 318th career game.  In his career he holds a GAA of 2.82 (regular season). This season, his GAA is 2.68.  His recent streak (6-0-1) has already made up for his season opening 1-6-0 stretch, and even has a better GAA than his career numbers.

-Malkin took to the first shot for the second line.  He has over 100 shots this season, netting just over 7%.  At times he lacks confidence with his shot, but in recent games he has not been afraid to shoot.  Malkin has taken 24 shots in the last 5 games.  The Pens need him to turn it up a notch…Crosby can’t score in EVERY game.

-LaClaire is in goal for the Sens today – he has had injury issues in the early going, but he has plenty of talent.  The former first round draft pick has played well historically in Pittsburgh, including last year’s playoff game where he stopped 50+ shots.

-Crosby almost scored on a phenomenal play.  He squeezed between two Sens defenders including Sergei Gonchar.  Gonchar tried to box out Crosby, but a diving attempt by Sid nearly put the Pens up.

-Letang almost cashed in the seventh minute of the first period.  Rebound with a yawning net, he almost put the Pens up.  Letang has 15 assists on the year, but also four goals.

-Alex Kovalev now has over 1000 points.  347 came with the Penguins.  He held a PP QB role, with well over 100 PP points with the Pens.  Kovalev is still on my team in NHL 2k5…

-Tyler Kennedy has been everywhere on the ice for the Penguins all season long. He is working on the third line right now with Connor and Letestu.  Plenty of talent on that line, I’d like to see more offense, because Letestu and Connor have been non-existent recently.  Connor is only playing in his eighth game of the season.

-Winchester scores first, rebound out front that got redirected right over a sprawled out Fluery.  Rupp and Lovejoy were between the circles, but no one marked Winchester in the crease, who was able to chip it in.  Pens 0, Sens 1

-The Pens don’t look all that slow, but SOG show a very different story.  After one period, Ottawa has 21 shots.  The 21 shots is the most allowed in a period by the Penguins all season.  Fleury is a great goaltender in the 30-35 shots per game range.  The most shots taken against MAF this season was 34 against Carolina last week (which went to a shootout).  He allowed four goals, although the Pens managed the win.

-Arron Asham played only four shifts in the first period, he was on the shift that allowed the first goal.  Kris Letang and Brooks Orpik played 9 shifts a piece, each earning nearly eight minutes of ice time.

-Two power play goals in two periods.  The Pens continued to play well on the PP.

-Fluery had a brilliant game.  As always he made some of the great saves, while the only goal came off a rebound.  There is no reason he should need to make 43 saves, including 20 in the first period, but he stayed strong and finished for his fifth consecutive win.  You almost don’t want to take him off the ice tomorrow.  After eight consecutive starts, and a back to back between today and tomorrow – it should be Brent Johnson in net tomorrow.

-It was great to see Malkin score, PP or not.  As much as people say he is having a slow start – he has 22 points in 23 games.  He is on pace for his annual 70-80 points.  More importantly, #71 was 5/7 on faceoffs, the best percentage on the team today.

-Crosby’s secondary assist on the Malkin goal moves his point streak to eleven games – the highest in the league.  Crosby now has 37 points.

-Alex Goligoski scored the winner tonight.  Goligoski has five goals on the year, three of which were game winners.

-Tonight’s scratches were Engelland, Comrie, and Godard.  Comrie has continue to surprise me with his lack of playing time.  He seemed destined to take a big role in the offense, but he has found himself at the end of the pine.

-11 PP shots for the Penguins tonight.  Sometimes it seems that the PP is only allowed to pass, not tonight.  Put the rubber on net with the man advantage, and you usually won’t be disappointed.  Both goals came on 5 on 4 advantages.

Next Up:

-Calgary Flames – Saturday 11/27 – Puck drops at 1:00 PM.  Calgary is coming off a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in a shootout.  The Flames are 3-5-2 in their last ten, it’s a game the Pens should win if they can come out strong.

A few weeks ago Sidney Crosby spoke out about the slump of Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fluery.  Crosby told the media that Fluery needed to regain confidence on the ice.  At the time, Pens coach Dan Bylsma flopped between the strong starting 33-year old Brent Johnson and the playoff tested but slow starting veteran in Fluery.  Crosby told the Pittsburgh Tribune’s Rob Rossi “He’s 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.”  Bylsma showed the persistence that Crosby called for, and MAF has responded with one of his trademark hot streaks. 

On November 9, Crosby said that Fluery needed to play more in order to regain his confidence, even though Brent Johnson playing the best hockey of his career.  Fluery was 1-6-0 when Crosby spoke to the media.  November 12, three days later, Marc-Andre Fluery recorded his first game of the 2010-11 campaign with a save percentage over .900, a win over Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning.  The win sparked a 6-0-1 streak by Fluery and the Pens.  It’s worth mentioning that he has allowed only one power play goal in that time, something that plagued MAF and the PK lines in the first ten games of the season.

The Penguins recent winning streak has been a combination of Fluery’s improved play between the pipes, the Pens getting big time performances from Chris Kunitz and Crosby, and the defense beginning to solidify.  With center Jordan Staal on the shelf for another month, the Pens needed to solidify lines and create chemistry.  With Crosby leading the way, the first line of Kunitz, Crosby, and Dupuis has been very effective.  Crosby has a much publicized 10-game point streak (9 goals, 12 assists, 21 points), but he has a point in 19 of 23 games this season.  Kunitz has an 18.4% shot percentage, a career high and double his numbers from last season (it also leads the team).  I understand Kunitz doesn’t take all that many shots, but he has taken effective shots and played well with Crosby moreso this year than any time since he came over from the Ducks.  He has also provided a checking presence along with Brooks Orpik on the first line (more on the hitting below).

The second line has been so inconsistent it has been hard to keep track.  Talbot and Cooke are the current line mates for Malkin, but the return of Jordan Staal next month may be able to stabilize that line.

Some Notes:

- Seven defensemen have laced up their skates for Pittsburgh this season.  Letang (+10), Goligoski (+7), Orpik (+4), and Martin (+3) are in the positive for plus minus. 

- Fluery’s 30 save shutout was the first time he has recorded a shutout with more than 30 saves since March 25, 2009 against Calgary (31 saves).

- Miss Sergei Gonchar yet?  The power play general took his talents to Ottawa over the offseason.  While Kris Letang, Alex Goligoski, and Paul Martin have taken more of the blue line shots with Gonchar out of the picture,  the Penguins have a 14.56% conversion rate on power plays this season. Ottawa has an 18.06% conversion rate on the power play. 

- The penalty kill lines’ efforts have been remarkable this season.  The Pens have allowed three goals (94.23%) while on the PK on the road, a major reason the Pens have been so effective away from the Consol Energy Center (8-3-1 on the year).

- Rob Rossi wrote a great article about how role players adapt to the playing style of Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby – http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguiuns/s_711064.html

- After a blazing start by Mark Letestu, the 25-year old center has cooled down considerably.  Letestu has 13 and 12 shifts in his past two games, season lows.  In his first seven games this season, he had seven points.  He has added only three assists in the Pens most recent 16 games.

- The Pens are second in the NHL in hits.  Pittsburgh has 624 hits (Cooke – 71, Orpik – 63, and Kunitz – 62 ranking in the top-15 of the NHL), second only the Rangers 678 hits. – Source: penguins.nhl.com

Up Next:

Senators – Nov. 26, 2010 – 1:00 PM Start at the Consol Energy Center – Ottawa has 21 points (10-11-1) this season.  The Pens have only three power play goals in their eight losses.  Ottawa has allowed six power play goals in the last five games, a 1-4-0 stretch.  The Senators are currently healthy, while the Pens are missing only Jordan Staal.  Former Pen Sergei Gonchar has 14 points for the Senators (second best on the team), and Daniel Alfredsson has taken the offense reigns for the Sens – 8 G, 10 A, 18 P this season.