Welcome to Big Dave's Pens Pregame! Tonighit, while we all try to avoid becoming part of the epidemic in the city at present, the Penguins will host Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche. Make sure you have your surgical masks in tow tonight if you are in attendance, but otherwise, sit back and enjoy tonight's show...
Tonight's Pregame song is paying respects to the final installment of Peter Jackson's Hobbit/Lord of the Rings saga. Coming from the "Desolation of Smaug" soundtrack, popular artist Ed Sheeran's "I See Fire."
The State of the Penguins
Through all the grim news of injuries and, more so, illness the last few days, the Penguins have endured to win two of their last three games. Monday night saw the Pens take down the other powerhouse in the East in the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was a solid team win, one that saw bottom six guys like Downie, Farnham, Rust and rookie defenseman Brian Dumoulin have huge nights in a 4-2 Penguin win. The stars continue to play good hockey and the Pens seem to be on the verge of getting the mumps-ridden Crosby and Chris Kunitz back in the lineup. Just imagine this team with no injuries or swollen faces.
Tongith, the Penguins welcome in Jarome Iginla, Nate MacKinnon and the struggling Colorado Avalanche.
Rocky Mountain Blues
But the Avs have struggled. No, the Avs have face-planted to start of the 2014-15 campaign. The departure of Paul Statsny has certainly had an affect on the scoring of the Avs, but they've really struggled on the back end. The questionable blue line has been an utter disappointment to date and last year's Vezina candidate in Semyon Varlamov has been horrible. They are trying to fight their way back, but they will have a long, uphill climb to get back into talk of contention.
Here is what you need to know about the Avalanche:
- The Avs are 10-13-7 overall, totaling 27 points on the season. They currently sit last in the Central Division.
- The Avs lost their previous contest in OT to St. Louis 3-2 and have gone 4-4-2 in their last ten games.
- All things point in the Pens favor favor as the Avs are horrible on the road this year. They are currently 4-6-4 away from the Pepsi Center.
Pens/Avs Notes:
- Tonight is the first of two meeting between the Pens and Avs. Pittsburgh will invade the Pepsi Center later in the season.
- The Pens split the season series last year. Each winning on the opponent's home ice.
- Pittsburgh has won 5 of 6 against Colorado.
- Evgeni Malkin will look to keep up his solid play tonight against the Avs. It would be a safe bet that he adds a point in this contest, as he has nine points (3G-6A) in six career games against Colorado.
Colorado's Leading Scorers:
- C Matt Duchene - 20pts (10G-10A)
- D Tyson Barrie - 20pts (3G-17A)
- LW Alex Tanguay - 19pts (9G-10A)
- LW Gabriel Landeskog - 19pts (7G-12A)
- C Nathan MacKinnon - 19pts (5G-14A)
- RW Jarome Iginla - 18pts (7G-11A)
- C Ryan O'Reilly - 16pts (5G-11A)
Injury Report:
- C John Mitchell (leg) is probable to return tonight. He has missed time with a leg issue.
- G Semyon Varlamov has missed several weeks with a groin injury. He worked out in full pads yesterday, but it is unclear whether he will rejoin the roster tonight.
- RW Ben Street (hand) is OUT tonight. He has been on Injured Reserve for about a week now.
- LW Jamie McGinn is OUT tonight and likely out the rest of the season. He underwent back surgery last week.
- D Ryan Wilson (shoulder) is also OUT tonight and likely out for the remainder of the season.
- C Jessie Winchester (concussion) continues to suffer from concussion-like symptoms. He suffered the concussion back in October.
Projected Lines tonight:
- Alex Tanguay - Matt Duchene - Jarome Iginla
- Gabriel Landeskog - Nathan MacKinnon - Ryan O'Reilly
- Cody McLeod - Max Talbot - Danny Briere
- Marc-Andre Cliche - John Mitchell - Borna Rendulic
Projected D-Pairs:
- Jan Hejda - Erik Johnson
- Nate Guenin - Tyson Barrie
- Nick Holden - Zach Redmond
Calvin Pickard is expected to start in net tonight.
News & Notes
- C Sidney Crosby is over his case of mumps and skated yesterday morning at Consol Energy Center. He will be a game-time decision, but it is very possible he returns to the lineup tonight.
- LW Beau Bennett adds to his list of maladies and injuries as he is the latest to officially be diagnosed with mumps. He is currently in quarantine.
- Bennett's roommate, defenseman Robert Bortuzzo is also quarantined with mump-like symptoms.
- G Marc-Andre Fleury was tested for mumps but was cleared.
- Backup netminder Thomas Greiss is now in isolation and being tested for mumps.
- Olli Maatta will also be found on both lists today too. He is currently being quarantined as well.
Alright, now let's shift from the ill to the injured.
- Chris Kunitz (foot) skated the last few days and is close to a return. He was ruled out tonight, but it is entirely possible he plays Saturday night against Florida.
- Beau Bennett was working his way back from his knee injury before the mumps. Once he is symptom free, he shouldn't be far off.
- Not the same can be said for Olli Maatta. If the rumors are to be believed, we may not see the young defenseman for the rest of the season. Apparently, he is having a lot of soreness in his surgically repaired shoulder.
- There has been no injury update on Robert Bortuzzo or Scott Wilson.
Monday night was a special night for to Penguin rookies. Bryan Rust and Brian Dumoulin each scored their first NHL goals in the 4-2 victory over the Lightning. It was the first time to Penguin teammates scored their first goals in the same game since October 12, 2006 when a young Kris Letang and Jordan Staal completed the feat.
Brandon Sutter scored another shorthanded goal on Monday night. Since joining the team in 2012-13, Sutter has scored 5 of the Pens 9 shorthanded goals.
Speaking of Greiss' quarantine, it resulted in Jeff Zatkoff being recalled from Wilkes-Barre. Zatkoff has been solid for the Baby Pens and was good as the backup for Flower last year.
Also, Scott Harrington will finally get to play tonight! After numerous recalls and stints as #PresBoxHero, the young defenseman will make his NHL debut tonight.
Pens lines were as follows at practice this morning. I don't think you'll see these tonight, but here they were:
- Evgeni Malkin - Sidney Crosby - Patric Hornqvist
- Blake Comeau - Brandon Sutter - Steve Downie
- Nick Spaling - Marcel Goc - Bryan Rust
- Rob Klinkhammer/Bobby Farnham - Andrew Ebbett - Craig Adams
Projected LInes & Pairs
- Steve Downie - Sidney Crosby - Patric Hornqvist
- Evgeni Malkin - Brandon Sutter - Blake Comeau
- Nick Spaling - Marcel Goc - Bryan Rust
- Rob Klinkhammer - Andrew Ebbett - Craig Adams
Dumoulin will sit tonight, while Harrington makes his debut. I expect these to be the pairs tonight:
- Kris Letang - Paul Martin
- Christian Ehrhoff - Simon Despres
- Rob Scuderi - Scott Harrington
Marc-Andre Fleury will start for the Penguins tonight. Jeff Zatkoff will back up.
My 3 Keys tonight
2. Talking Defenseman: With Harrington making his debut, I expect him to skate alongside Rob Scuderi. The reason being is Scuds is constantly talking and helping his partner see things when they can't be looking for them. That will be key for Harrington in his debut. It will also be important for Simon Despres and Christian Ehrhoff. They played a bit Tuesday night, but they need to grow their chemistry too.
3. Injury/Mump Free: Don't know if its a game key, but a key overall to just get the hell out of a game without an injury or illness. Seems like we have been unable to do that for a few weeks now.
My Players to Watch
2. Sidney Crosby: The Captain is a game-time decision, but I'd be surprised if he doesn't play. He certainly wasn't himself before the illness, but maybe the week off to heal the neck and get over mumps has him revamped and he can start scoring in bunches again.
3. Blake Comeau: Comeau's emergence as a top six forward has allowed the Penguins to survive the barrage of injuries and illness. He will continue to be key regardless of health or trades, and that includes tonight. He has the hottest hand behind only Malkin, so the longer he keeps it up, the better it is for the Pens.
WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU'Re Watching or Attending
- The doors open at 5:30pm for a 7:00pm puck drop.
- The Penguins will wear their new third jerseys tonight when the host Colorado.
- Every fan in attendance will receive one of these gold shirts (pictured above) courtesy of Consol Energy.
- The Pens Gear gameday special tonight is 10% off all Pittsburgh Gold apparel collection.
- The Pens and Paws calendars are still available at Pens Gear. Be sure to pick one up and support the Pens charities with your purchase.
- If you stop by the Club at Pens Gear tonight, you could meet former Penguin Pierre Larouche. Also, if you spend over $50 at the store, you will receive a free Penguins golf towel. The Club at Pens Gear is located on the PNC Legends Level in the lobby of the Verizon Gate (Center Ave. Side)
- Also, the Penguins Holiday Auction baskets are up now. Be sure to bid on your favorite player's basket with all his favorite Christmas goodies for you fans. The link for the auction is here:http://auction.nhl.com/iSynApp/showPage.action?sid=1100803&pageName=profilePage&pgmode1=penguins&navid=DL|PIT|home
Here is what you need to know if you are quarantining yourself from Consol Energy Center:
- ROOT Sports has the regional coverage starting at 6:30pm.
- Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey will have the television call starting at 7:00pm. Dan Potash will handle interviews.
- NHL Network will have national coverage of the game tonight, so if you are out of market, you can still enjoy the Pens.
- Pens Radio Net and 105.9 the X will have the radio call for the Pens tonight. Bob Grove will have the Pregame starting at 6:00pm and follow the game with Penguins Hot Line.
- Mike Lange and Phil Bourque will have the radio call starting at 7:00pm.
There are plenty of Pens Points available tonight. Here is how you can earn them:
- 50pts - Attending the Game
- 10pts - Concession Purchase
- 10pts - Merchandise Purchase
- 5pts - ROOT Sports Pregame Keyword
- 5pts - ROOT Sports Post Game Keyword
- 5pts - Pens Radio Net Keyword
- 25pts - Miller Lite Night at Redd Dawg's in Vernon.
Just a heads up for the next few days everyone. With the holidays, I will be traveling a lot. So on Saturday and next Tuesday, I will not have Pregame shows. I will likely have one on Monday, but that will be a game-day decision. I will have one ready for you all on December 27th when the Pens host Brooks Orpik, Matt Niskanen and the Washington Capitals at Consol.
I would like to thank you all for tuning in. I hope you enjoyed tonight's show. Please continue to spread the word about the page and the blog! You guys have helped me immensely in growing the page over the last four months. Thank you all so much!
I will tweet my post game thoughts tonight. Be sure to check in about an hour after the game for that.
Enjoy the game and LETS GO PENS
Cheers!