All in good fun...MAF posts a decent game then mocks Carey Price.

Another amazing game last night. The Pens upended the streaking Thrashers 6 - 2 with strong play on offense, defense and in goal. It looks like the Penguins are running on all cylinders at just the right time of the year. Now tied with the Flyers at 84 pts, we are looking at (knock on wood) a potential first round series with our state-mates. While, thats a ways off the Pens just need to stay focused and keep winning games. More scenarios to come. Congrats to Geno on surpassing 100 points on the season with his 5 point showing. Speaking of Malkin...

The legacy of Evgeni Malkin's post-game interviews has become the high point to many Pittsburgher's game day entertainment. This is for two good reasons. One, they only interview Geno when the Pens win (so far) and two, he has such a, um, er unique way of putting things. Thank you Sarge for helping him with the English. Without Sergei's aid, none of these fantastic spots would likely be possible.

The St. Patty's night game was full of just about everything you'd want to see in a game. Your team winning in a dominating fashion, the defensive pair 2 on 1 for a Mark Eaton goal, Staalsy playing like a beast and controlling the puck as if his blade were glue, Crosby continuing to tally points, MAF making some huge saves, Malkin inches away from the hat trick, the penalty shot (even though it missed the net completely) and of course and good old fashioned hockey brawl!

LETS GO PENS!!!

After a thrilling comeback in what turned out to be one of the most entertaining games of the season, the Pens faced the Panthers in a heated shootout. Hoping the luck we witnessed last week in Washington would somehow carry over, fans sat on the edge of their seat. With some heluva-moves Letang, Malkin and Fleury chalked up the additional point.

As if the game wasn't good enough, the hockey gods graced us with a Geno interview. Evgeni Malkin's post game interview was awesome as usual. Listen closely to when he explains how he practices the shootout.

Since that fatefull day back in September, Pens fans have long awaited the return of Gonch to the lineup.  Monday was another large step in the comeback.  Gonchar was cleared by team medical staff to participate in full contact drills.  Sergei has been skating for the last couple of weeks but this marked the first day he could get to building back his punishing physical style.

This news comes at a dire time.  We are on the verge of it potentially being too late.  As Sidney Crosby mentioned in an interview following the All Star break; "The playoffs start now for us."  The leadership Gonchar brings is noticibly missed as made apparent by the lackluster performances our talented D have put on.  Communication, commrodery and passion are the intrinsic attributes a playoff-bound defensive unit posess.  Sergei's influence isn't news to any of us, which is why he was requested to join the team in the locker room before he was even skating again.  Hopefully being on the ice and participation from the time tested star is just what our D needs.  The past few games have been absolutely dreadful for the defense.  Even when the offense is firing on all cylinders, giving up quick goals deflates any momentum we build.  It even makes Fleury look bad back there.  Sure it's taken Flower a little time to get back in the groove, but when they are practically inviting other teams to take position in front of the net, no goalie is going to look good.

Sergei's return has been a milestone on our minds throughout the season, now the end is in sight.  No matter what happens between now and when he's in the lineup again, we can be sure that he will give it all he's got.  A veteran leader like Gonchar can lead by example and help re-unite our defense to the calliber we've come to expect.  All we have to do is hope that we can play well enough to stay alive until then.

In case you somehow missed it. After being named the #1 star of the game, Marc-Andre Fleury waved his terrible towel and dawned an alternate Steelers helmet to show his support for the AFC championship game.

After the dismal performance Monday night in New York, it was starting to look pretty gloomy. Pens fans were starting to stir and the All Star Game couldn't come soon enough. Alas, reason to rejoice! The Pens top Atlanta 3 - 1 at Mellon Arena and the slump is (at least temporarily) over. So what if they are the worst defense in the league, we won. If this would have gone the other way, who knows what type of rioting would have arisen in the strip post game.



Time to look at the pluses. Fleury looked like he was returning to his All-Star-hopeful-self. Making a handful of game changing saves to keep the Pens in the game. It was even looking like he could go for the shut out for a while there. Malkin put up three more points to increase his league points lead back to 10. Crosby scored in dramatic fashion with a waist-high redirect. The defense looked good all around, not allowing many breaks and making wiser passes. Ruslan Fedetanko got a nice shot on that damned Colby Armstrong, even though he had to leave the game after. And of course...Petr Gunn was so close to a hat trick he could taste it. He was practically drooling when the Thrashers pulled Lehtonen with a little over a minute remaining. But couldn't quite close the deal due to a Kozlov cross-checking penalty. Maybe next time Sykora! Keep shootin buddy.

Even though it was a small victory and only two points, it's a start. The first power play goal of the game appeared to rejuvinate the boys and the rest was history. All hope is that it sticks and we continue to build confidence and gain momentum enough to keep racking up the wins. Come on...how depressing was it to see the graphic with Pittsburgh out of the playoff picture? We can't have that now!

Pittsburgh is coming off a long, overdue break rested and ready to head to the Philips Arena to meet a feeble Thrashers team. Atlanta had the biggest defensive efforts against Ottawa Tuesday night where they let up only one late third period goal, to win it 4-1.

Penguins

The Pens should be bursting with energy, after a four day break and a disappointing 4 game losing stint of the last 5. Danny Sabourin was thrown into a starting position after Marc-Andre Fleury's November 15 injury. He has been effective in the past and just couldn't muster the same performance when asked to move into the number one spot.

Today Michel Therrien has announced that Fleury will be in goal Thursday night in Atlanta. He was back to %100 percent before the game in Philly but Therrien wanted him to get some more practice to be as sharp as possible.


Jeff Taffe, Ryan Stone, and Tim Wallace have been called up to fill in for the injuried Tyler Kennedy, Max Talbot, and Mike Zigomanis. The other notable mention is Ryan Whitney. He has begun taking contact during practice and should be back soon.


Thrashers

Atlanta is coming off of one of their biggest games of the season over the Senators, holding them to just one goal. In their last 25 games they have given up at least two goals, and are in second place for allowing the most goals of the season. Atlanta is struggling but the Pens only have one win against them in the last four visits.