Good evening Penguins fans and welcome to the latest edition of Big Dave's Pens Pregame. Tonight, our boys continue their road trip across the West Coast as they head into Anaheim to face Corey Perry and the Ducks.
Puck drops on the action tonight at 10:00pm, but you can enjoy my Pregame starting now...
Tonight's "Big Dave's Gameday Jam" comes from a legend of rock. This is one of my favorite old school rock songs and it comes from a man that is also quite the golfer! It is the showman himself, Alice Cooper and this is his song "No More Mr. Nice Guy!" Enjoy!
The State of the Penguins
Saturday night's game was far from pretty, but few games involving the Flyers are. The Penguins continue to play hap-hazard hockey. They are finding a way to win, which good teams always find a way to do, but the Penguins are still far too sloppy for their own good and that is a trend that needs to mend itself sooner rather than later.
The good things to take out of the Flyers game was the play of the Penguins two best players. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin each chipped in two goals in the Pens 5-4 win in Philthadelphia on Saturday. Malkin has consistently put up points in the season's early going. He has five goals and ten points to this point of the season, and sits just two points off Edmonton's Connor McDavid for the league scoring lead. If Malkin can find a way to stop taking stupid penalties, he'd really be having a dynamic year to this point. As for Sidney Crosby, all he has done in his three games this year is score four goals and five points. Crosby hasn't missed a beat after sitting the first few games with a concussion, and if he can stay healthy and on this roll, Connor McDavid will have some company atop the score table soon enough.
Now, the Penguins start a West Coast trip that will see them play three games in four days. They are in Anaheim tonight to complete the season series with them after a 3-2 win at home in October. Then it's off to LA on Thursday to face the injury plagued Kings. On Saturday, the Penguins will return to the Shark Tank for the first time since they raised the Stanley Cup on June 12th and complete the regular season series with the Sharks. The California trip is always a tough one for the Penguins, and even with a relatively healthy cast at this point, the Penguins need to be a much cleaner team in terms of play. That is what they will need to do to have a successful trip.
Tonight, it starts with the Ducks...
So-Cal, So-So: The Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks aren't playing terribly, but they aren't playing nearly as well as some would expect with names like Kesler, Perry and Getzlaf on the roster. They have really struggled on the road, going 1-3-1 this season including a loss to the Penguins in Pittsburgh on October 15th. At home, they have only been marginally better with a 2-1-0 record heading into tonight's contest with the Penguins.
Anaheim is talented, but they aren't nearly as deep as years past. And injuries are certainly not helping. The Ducks will get Hampus Lindholm back in the lineup as the restricted free agent finally signed a long-term extension, but he still hasn't played quiet yet as he works himself back into shape. Former Penguin Simon Despres has been placed on IR and their are serious concerns over his future as he continues to struggle from concussion issues. Winger Rickard Rakell hasn't played yet this season, though he could return this week some time.
The Ducks need to right the ship. They have some generational talent in Getzlaf and Perry, but it looks as if they're destined for another disappointing season. Getting healthy will be key, but this team needs to get deeper if they hope to make a significant impact on the Western Conference race.
The Lowdown on the Ducks (as of Nov.1,2016):
- 3-4-2 on the regular season, currently 5th in the Pacific Division with 8pts.
- The Ducks are 2-1-0 at home this season
Pens/Ducks Matchup:
- The Penguins won the first meeting of the year in Pittsburgh 3-2.
- Ian Cole, Conor Sheary and Phil Kessel scored the Penguin goals.
- Marc-Andre Fleury earned the win in net.
- Cam Fowler and Corey Perry scored for Anaheim.
Scoring Leaders:
- C Ryan Getzlaf - 8pts
- D Cam Fowler - 7pts
- RW Corey Perry - 6pts
- D Sami Vatanen - 6pts
- LW Andrew Cogliano - 4pts
- C Ryan Kesler - 4pts
Injury Report:
- D Hampus Lindholm (hold-out) could make his season debut this week. Lindholm was holding out for a new contract, which he finally signed last week.
- D Simon Depres (concussion) is OUT tonight. The former Penguin's career may be over as he continues to suffer from concussion symptoms.
- G Jonathan Bernier (upper-body) is OUT tonight. Bernier is still suffering from an upper body injury that has held him out of practice for about a week now.
- LW Nic Kerdiles (concussion) is OUT.
Projected Lines:
- Nick Ritchie - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry
- Andrew Cogliano - Ryan Kesler - Jakob Silfverberg
- Antoine Vermette - Rickard Rakell - Chris Wagner
- Ryan Garbutt - Michael Sgarbossa - Jared Boll
Projected Pairs:
- Cam Fowler - Josh Manson
- Clayton Stoner - Sami Vatanen
- Shea Theodore - Kevin Bieksa
John Gibson is expected to start in net tonight.
News & Notes from the Pens
- D Kris Letang (upper-body) is a game-time decision tonight. Letang has skated with the team the last few days, but has yet to play since leaving the October game v. Montreal. Letang could return tonight to top pair duty.
- D Derrick Pouliot (undisclosed) is on IR with no other updates.
- LW Conor Sheary (eye) was returned to practice yesterday wearing a full face cage. It was the first time Sheary practiced with the team since leaving the Montreal game with that eye injury.
- RW Daniel Sprong (shoulder) has resumed on-ice workouts. The Pens 2nd round pick in 2015 required offseason shoulder surgery that will keep him out of game action until at least January. However, he skated last week with Pens staff at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
Scoring Leaders:
- C Evgeni Malkin - 10pts
- RW Phil Kessel - 9pts
- RW Patric Hornqvist - 8pts
- C Matt Cullen - 7pts
- C Sidney Crosby - 5pts
Miscellaneous Notes:
- C Evgeni Malkin scored his 300th career NHL goal in Philly on Saturday night.
- The Penguins earned their first road win in their new white unis on Saturday in Philadelphia.
Community News:
- Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby is running his "Learn to Play Hockey" initiative again this season. All the information and how to register for FREE youth hockey gear is in this link: https://www.nhl.com/penguins/community/learn-to-play
- The Penguins have announced there will be a roughly 3-hour documentary on the team's 50 year history released in November. The link here discusses how you can view that documentary: www.nhl.com/penguins/news/penguins-50th-anniversary-documentary/c-283147420
#askBigDave
I actually discussed this question the last time I did #AskBigDave last week Patty. This is what I had to say about tightening up the defense and preventing the odd-man rushes:
Firstly, the forwards need to do a much better job of covering for defensemen who have joined the rush. Hockey 101 states that you cover for the defenseman who leads the rush in case of a counter attack. The Pens forwards, for the most part, have done a bad job of this. If they do a better job of this, odd-man rushes will certainly be cut down.
Secondly, the is defenseman need to have better positioning and a better first step on the counter-attack. As a defenseman, it is easy to get caught watching the play ahead of you and be off when you need to get involved. I'd like to see better positioning and better anticipation so the first step is a hair quicker. That should help the defense on these problems as well.
Now, as to controlling shots against, there is no way to really do that besides keeping possession of the puck more often. The Penguins go through streaks in their puck possession totals. I'm not a huge CORSI fan, but I see its importance. The Penguins just need to be smarter with the puck and try not to force too many things. When the Pens are firing on all cylinders, they aren't trying to be overly fancy and looking for that extra pass. They simplify and keep the puck more and score more. That's what they need to do.
As for Johnny Boychuk's comments, I don't remember the hit in question but he's probably just whining because they lost. If he did that hit to Sid, as he said, he would've been hearing from the NHL. I don't buy that, especially with the lackluster, half-assed nature which NHL Player Safety hands down those punishments. Boychuk is just running his mouth and frankly, let him. No skin off our rear ends haha.
From Alex on the Tweety: In the Spirit of Halloween what type of candy would you use to describe the Penguins?
Hmmmmm, Sour Patch Kids. Just like the Penguins, they are fun, sweet, but occasionally they are sour as hell and hard on your teeth hahahaha. I don't think I can really go more indepth on this one. I definitely think Sour Patch Kids though.
Projected lines & Pairs
- Scott Wilson - Sidney Crosby - Patric Hornqvist
- Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - Phil Kessel
- Carl Hagelin - Nick Bonino - Bryan Rust
- Tom Kuhnhackl - Matt Cullen - Eric Fehr
Pairs:
- Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
- Ian Cole - Justin Schultz
- Olli Maatta - Trevor Daley
Matt Murray is expected to be in net tonight.
My 3 Keys to the Game
2. Superstars: Sid and Geno had four goals for the Penguins v. Philly. They are the horses, and they need to score. I want to see those two continue to roll offensively, which will create the trickle down through the rest of the lineup as well.
3. Power Play: I want to see this unit keep rolling. Justin Schultz is a fine quarterback, and adding Sid back to the mix will only make it more lethal. This unit is key to every team, but the Penguins need to take advantage of those situations, especially with the talent available.
My 3 Penguins to Watch
2. Kris Letang: I fully expect him to return to the lineup tonight and play his usual 26+ minutes. Letang is the straw that stirs the drink. He leads the rush and adds an extra element of offense to this team. More importantly, he is there best defenseman, and not having him certainly hurts this team. I expect him in there tonight and think it'll boost this team.
3. Matt Murray: I expect Matty Ice to make his season debut tonight. He has rehabbed the hand and has backed up Flower the last few games. But I don't think he can sit any longer. Fleury has played 9 straight games and with back-to-backs tonight and tomorrow, seems logical to throw Murray out there for this one.
What to Know for Watching/Listening
- The game will be televised on ROOT Sports.
- Coverage begins with Penguins Pregame at 10:00pm and Penguins Post Game following the action.
- Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey will have the call, with Dan Potash handling the interviews.
What to know for LISTENING to the game:
- Full coverage will be available on 105.9 the X, iHeartRadio and on the Penguins app.
- Penguins Pregame will precede the game coverage, starting at 9:30pm with Josh Getzoff.
- Hall of Famer Mike Lange and Phil Bourque will have the game coverage starting at 8:00pm.
- Penguins Hot Line follows the game action with Josh Getzoff.
Pens Points:
- Radio Keyword - 5pts
- ROOT Pregame Keyword - 5pts
- ROOT Postgame Keyword - 5pts