Good evening Penguins fans and welcome to the latest installment of Big Dave's Pens Pregame! Tonight, the Penguins begin a home-and-home series with the division rival New York Islanders. The Pens hope to continue their winning ways and it will all begin at 7:00pm tonight. The Pregame begins now....
Tonight's Gameday song is from one of my favorite bands currently. Straight out of Iceland, where it's more green than ice, comes this awesome band of the indie-folk persuasion. The first song off their debut album, My Head is an Animal, Of Monsters and Men's "Dirty Paws." Enjoy!
The State of the Penguins
There is still hockey to be played for the rest of the team. The Pens took Tuesday night's game in grand fashion, shutting out the NHL's best team in their own barn. The win against the Canadiens was their third straight victory. The tough week continues as the Pens will begin that home-and-home series with Islanders tonight. The Isles are off to a fast start and they hope to continue that against the Pens tonight.
Stunner Island
The Islanders have continued their solid play since our first showdown with them a month ago. The Pens took that win at Consol by a score of 3-1. Since then, the Isles have continued to play solid hockey. This home-and-home series will be a big test for them, especially since the Pens are playing at such a high level. The big guns in Okposo and Tavares are leading the team and Brock Nelson's hot start hasn't turned out to be a fluke just yet. The defensive corps continue to play good hockey and Jaro Halak continues to be a steady force in net.
Here is what you need to know about the Isles:
- The Islanders are currently 12-6-0 this season. That is good for 24 points and 2nd in the Metropolitan Division.
- The Isles are 7-4-0 on the road and 6-4-0 in their last 10 games.
- Pens won first matchup of the season 3 to 1 in Pittsburgh.
- Pens will play on the Island tomorrow.
Leading Scorers:
- RW Kyle Okposo - 18pts (5G-13A)
- C John Tavares - 18pts (7G-11A)
- C Brock Nelson - 18pts (9G-9A)
- C Frans Nielsen - 12pts (5G-7A)
- D Johnny Boychuk - 12pts (2G-10A)
- C Ryan Strome - 12pts (3G-9A)
Islander Injuries:
- C Michael Grabner (hernia) - Day-to-Day, but will travel to Pittsburgh
- D Matt Carkner (back) - OUT
- LW Eric Boulton (undisclosed) - OUT
Projected Lines:
- Nikolai Kulemin - John Tavares - Brock Nelson
- Mikhail Grabovski - Frans Nielsen - Kyle Okposo
- Anders Lee - Ryan Strome - Josh Bailey
- Matt Martin - Casey Cizikas - Cal Clutterbuck
Projected D-Pairs:
- Nick Leddy - Johnny Boychuk
- Calvin de Haan - Travis Harmonic
- Thomas Hickey - Lubomir Visnovsky
Chad Johnson will get the start for the Isles tonight. Jaroslav Halak tomorrow.
News & Notes Around the Pens
Thomas Greiss will get the start tomorrow night on the Island. Not surprising, no sense in having Flower go back-to-back, especially when the Pens will play in Boston Monday night.
Coach Johnston discussed the Pens penalty kill a little bit today. He stated the Comeau, Kunitz and Crosby will see PK action in the last 20-30 seconds of the kill and that Zach Sill will see more time as well. Sill is a good penalty killer, so I am not too concerned about him getting more time there.
Projected Lines & Pairs
Lines:
- Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Blake Comeau
- Nick Spaling - Evgeni Malkin - Patric Hornqvist
- Steve Downie - Brandon Sutter - Beau Bennett
- Zach Sill - Marcel Goc - Craig Adams
Pairs:
- Kris Letang - Paul Martin
- Olli Maatta - Christian Ehrhoff
- Rob Scuderi - Simon Despres
Marc-Andre Fleury in the cage.
My Keys to the Game
2. Avoid A Letdown: The Dupuis news is huge and it is devastating. The Pens need to avoid a letdown in wake of the news. They need to play hard. They need to play a full 60. Its pivotal. Don't give up an important divisional game because your head isn't all there.
3. 3rd Line: What we saw from the 3rd line is something we haven't seen since 2008-09. That year it was Cooke-Staal-Kennedy and they were good. But this group may be just as good, maybe better. I loved Jordan Staal, but I think Sutter will be a better player. Downie is similar to Cooke and Bennett (when healthy) is miles above Tyler Kennedy. This line will be key moving forward and they need to play consistently on a night-in, night-out basis.
My 3 Players To Watch
2. Rob Scuderi: I love the way Scuds has played this year. At 36 years old, he is playing much better than expected. He may not be the top 4, shutdown guy he was two or three years ago, but his role is incredibly important to this team. He will need to be like Sutter, become an even bigger presence int he locker room and on the ice. He won't score like Dupuis or even Martin, but he can do the little things to prevent goals. Same in the locker room. He won't be the funny guy, but he will be that veteran voice that Brooks Orpik was. Scuds is vital, if you can't get on board with that, you're not paying very close attention.
3. Patric Hornqvist: I would like to see him play more to the level he played with on Crosby's line. He's played alright with Malkin, but he needs to elevate his game a little. He hasn't been bad, but he's not doing what he was doing the first 12 games. Just pound the net and jab home,
For Those Attending and Those Watching At Home
- Puck Drop is at 7:00pm.
- Doors to Consol Energy Center will open at 5:30pm.
- Remember, if you arrive between 5:30 and 6:00pm you will receive the 50% off concession coupon.
- The Penguins will wear their home, black jerseys tonight.
- Pens Gear Gameday Special is buy one ladies top and get a second one at 30% off.
If you are WATCHING from home or elsewhere tonight, this is what you need to know:
- ROOT Sports had the game coverage tonight. Bob Errey and Paul Steigerwald have the call beginning at 7:00pm. Dan Potash has the interviews.
- Penguins Pregame will be on ROOT starting at 6:30pm. Post Game will follow game action.
- Pens Radio Net and 105.9 The X will have the call on the radio. Mike Lange and Phil Bourque have the game call.
- Bob Grove will have the Pregame coverage starting at 6:00pm and will follow the game with Penguins Hot Line.
Pens Points are available tonight, here is how you can earn them:
- 50pts for attending the game
- 10pts for concession purchases
- 10pts for merchandise purchases
- 5pts for ROOT Sports Pregame Keyword
- 5pts for ROOT Sports Post Game Keyword
- 5pts for Pens Radio Net keyword.
- 25pts for attending Miller Lite Night at McFaddens on the North Shore.
Final Comments
I may have a "View From Where I Sat" tonight. Depends on what time I get home from the arena and other circumstances.
I will be traveling tomorrow, and since we're playing the Isles again, there WILL NOT be a Pregame.
I will have a Pregame and Post Game on Monday for the Bruins game.
I will likely not have a Pregame or Post Game for either of the Carolina games.
Thank you all for tuning in. I am glad to see that the view numbers are going higher and higher every day. I have you wonderful people to thank for that. Continue to read and tweet at me, I love to hear from you guys.
That is it for me! Everyone enjoy the game. LETS GO PENS!!!!
Cheers