A.O. is out head hunting as usual but cant stand the dish Free Candy serves up. I wonder if his brain got rattled a bit on this one...

Kind of reminds me of the time he took a run at Malkin, but got the worst of that too...

Don't get me wrong, Ovie can throw his weight around. However, the same speed and power that make for big hits make for even bigger disaster.

The Penguins lost to the Flyers Saturday 6-3. The Special teams were the clear difference in this game, as the Flyers won their fourth straight game. The Penguins gave up four power-play goals and scored only one of their own, after the game was already pretty much decided. The Pens were also outshot 27-26, only the sixth time they've been outshot in the last 19 games.

The game started with an unusually high number of power-plays on both sides. Leaving the Pens no chance to get any kind of rhythm in 5-on-5 play, which was clearly a major advantage for the Flyers.

Scoring for the Pens were Jordan Staal, Ruslan Fedotenko, and Eric Godard scored his first of the year. For the Flyers, it was Joffrey Lupul, Mike Richards, Scott Hartnell, Jeff Carter, and Mike Knuble had two.

Evgeni Malkin added an assist and increased his league lead to 49 points on the season. Malkin is also still leading the league with 37 assists. Sidney Crosby was held scoreless, but is still second, only to Malkin, in the league in points (44) and assists (31). Jordan Staal has five points in the last five games, three in the last 2, with his second period goal. Ruslan Fedotenko scored the Pens' power-play goal and recorded an assist, giving him seven points in his last six games. For Godard, it was his first goal as a Penguin and his first of the season.

The Pens will have a short break before they try to bounce back against The Atlanta Thrashers, Thursday December 18.

The Penguins will take on the Buffalo Sabres, at Mellon Arena, Monday night at 7:30 on Versus. The Pens are hoping to bounce back from a crushing loss in Ottawa on Saturday afternoon. The Sabres are coming off of a 4-3 win over Tampa Bay on Saturday, which ended a three game losing streak for them.

As long as Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin Keep doing what they've been doing, the Penguins should have no problem handling the Sabres, or anybody else in the league. They'll also need Jordan Staal to keep up his production as of late. Staal has scored 11 points in his lat 13 games, while being mixed and matched on lines with almost every forward available.

The Penguins will once again be without Mike Zigomanis and Tyler Kennedy, who will miss at least four weeks with a sprained knee. Meaning, we'll get a better look at Chris Minard, who will likely play Staal's left wing on the third line, and Janne Pesonen, likely the fourth line left wing. Pesonen, however, has only been on the ice for more than eight minutes once with the Pens this season. We also might get a chance to see defenseman Ben Lovejoy, who was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Sunday. Lovejoy has 4 goals, 10 assists, and 36 penalty minutes with the Baby Pens this season.

The Sabres have had trouble scoring this season, averaging just 2.62 goals per game, tied for 21st in the league. Buffalo will need to rely on its defense, along with a big game from goalie Ryan Miller, to beat the Penguins.

Another disappointing loss for the boys of winter.

Sometimes the bounces just don't go your way and yesterday afternoon in Ottawa was no exception. Don't get me wrong, the Senators were playing hard and battling for pucks, but in all honesty, Jason Spezza's goals weren't all that impressive. Again, it appeared that the Penguins came out a little flat and waited to turn it on until the last possible moment. We have seen the potential these guys have, it's just getting frustrating that they don't play the entire game sometimes. Although we would gladly take a W coming from behind or leading throughout, this suspense has to start taking a toll on us. Heart doctors all around western PA will be over worked if this keeps up.

Eric Godard did his part to help energize the team. His boxing match that took place after Spezza's second goal with Chris Neil may have been one of his best fight wins so far this season...

Eric Godard v Chris Neil 12/06/08

It was looking promising for the Pens after Staal scored in the second. Congrats to Jordan on his 50th goal. You would have thought this was the spark that could ignite the comeback, but then the momentum was deflated when Ottawa responded right back. Geno's shorthanded goal was probably one of the best highlights from Saturday. It was good to see Malkin register a goal after what seems like a good while. Geno added to his points lead, now totaling 43 on the season with 11 goals and 32 assists. After Malkin's goal, again we were playing really hard and put up quite a few quality scoring chances toward the end. The puck just wouldn't go past Auld when we needed it to.

As a side note, did you guys hear when they were talking about skating down the canals around Ottawa? No matter how much you hate losing to the Senators, you have to muster up some respect for people can skate to work or school.

The Pens are becoming stars both on the ice and big screen. Who doesn't love the commercials these guys are pumping out?! A&L Motors started it off and greatness has only followed. Max Talbot is jumping out to an early lead in local appearances...




But you had better watch out Max, Geno has lost the translator and his English is coming along nicely...




Hopefully all the stardom off the ice doesn't become too great a distraction. If not, keep these things coming!

Last night was another exciting game to watch. The first period and a half were filled with frustration and disappointment. Just when we were ready to throw in the towel, trailing 3-1 at the start of the third, the young Pens turned it on again. These guys need to work at breaking this come from behind approach, but at least we are getting the needed results. The Penguins marked the tenth time this season already that we have come from behind to win the game.



Therrien again attempted to revive the dynamic-duo placing Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby on the same line. This time it was apparent that the two are meshing well. The pair teamed up to tally an amazing 4 goals in under 16, count 'em, sixteen minutes. Geno amazed us all with the natural hat trick. As a side, Ovi also racked up a hat on Tuesday night...what is it with these Russians? This was Malkin's third hat trick of his already impressive career, not to mention a 4-point night overall that adds up to his 35 point total.



After Dany Sabourin got yanked mid-second period, John Curry stepped in with a great rookie performance. This was another amazing display of how the Pens and Baby Pens have come to be an organization that continues to produce. It's hard to judge how Curry will play with a little more pressure, when the offense isn't gun slinging, but he did a good enough job stopping the 11 shots he faced.

The Penguins 29 points keeps them in second in the Atlantic Division. We trail the New York Rangers by 5 going into Friday's game at Buffalo. It would be nice to see these guys get out to an early lead and hold on. The emotional come-from-behind victory over the Islanders may be the spark these Penguins needed to start up another win streak. At least we should be able to ride it into the division match-up with the Devils on Friday.