Welcome to the latest edition of Big Dave's Pens Pregame. It has been quite a while since our last evening together. I apologize for my absence, I do not get the Penguins games when I am home and the holidays kept me occupied with the family. But, I am back and ready to bring you more action. So let's get to it!
Tonight's game day song is a great song that is close to a decade old now. Man, hard to believe that. From one of the best rock bands of the last twenty years, the Foo Fighters' "No Way Back." Enjoy!
The State of the Penguins
Then it went to hell. Dupuis was lost for the season. Bennett last 10 minutes into the Boston game before he was lost for another two months with a knee injury. Marcel Goc went down against the Canes and Kris Letang didn't play the second game of the home-and-home with the Canes. The Pens are banged and battered, yet they find themselves at the top of the NHL.
Despite the injury issues, the Penguins are one point shy of leading the NHL in points. They currently sit with 34 points after 23 games. The Pens hope to hold the line when they face division foe New Jersey at Consol Energy Center tonight.
Seven Hells Filled With Devils
Injuries have been the name of the game for the Devils. They have lost big names for stretches early this season. Amongst the names they've been without from time-to-time are Marty Havlat, Adam Henrique and Travis Zajac. Despite the injuries, they are still in the middle of the road in the Metro thanks to the likes of 43 year old winger Jaromir Jagr. On Monday, they re-signed Scott Gomez, who was part of the Devils championship team in 2003. He is expected to play tonight.
Here is what you need to know about the Devils:
- Devils are 9-11-4 on the season. Good for 24 points and 5th in the Metropolitan.
- They have fallen back to earth after a fast start, losing their last game and going 3-5-2 in their last 10.
- They are 6-8-1 on the road this year.
- The goal differential for the Devils is a -13
- The last game between the Pens and Devils saw the Pens score 7 unanswered and taking the game 8-3 on October 28th.
Devils Scoring Leaders:
- RW Jaromir Jagr - 15pts (4G-11A)
- LW Mike Cammalleri - 14pts (10G-4A)
- C Adam Henrique - 14pts (6G-8A)
- RW Michael Ryder - 12pts (6G-8A)
- D Marek Zidlicky - 12pts (3G-9A)
Devils Injuries:
- RW Marty Havlat (lower-body) is OUT tonight.
- C Travis Zajac (lower-body) is on IR and is OUT tonight.
- D Bryce Salvador (lower-body) is on IR and is OUT tonight.
- LW Ryan Clowe (head) is OUT tonight.
- Patrik Elias - Scott Gomez - Jaromir Jagr
- Damien Brunner - Adam Henrique - Mike Cammalleri
- Tuomo Ruutu - Jacob Josefson - Steve Bernier
- Jordin Tootoo - Stephen Gionta - Dainius Zubrus
- Andy Greene - Damon Severson
- Peter Harrold - Marek Zidlicky
- Adam Larsson - Seth Heigeson
Cory Schneider is likely to start in net for the Devils tonight.
News & NOtes From the Pens
- LW Beau Bennett is OUT with a knee injury suffered a week ago in Boston. He was placed on IR today and is expected to miss another 6 weeks.
- C Marcel Goc injured his foot in the Pens lost to the Canes on Friday at Consol. He missed Saturday's game as a result. He skated Monday before practice and it is possible he plays tonight. He will be a GAME-TIME DECISION tonight.
- D Kris Letang was hurt on Friday v. the Canes. He was a late scratch on Saturday and has yet to practice since. Coach Mike Johnston said the lower-body injury isn't serious and shouldn't affect him long term, but he WILL NOT play tonight.
- D Paul Martin took a puck to the face during practice Monday. He missed the last bit to receive stitches, but he WILL play tonight.
Defenseman Brian Dumoulin re-called from WBS today. He may play tonight considering Robert Bortuzzo did not skate this morning.
Scott Wilson was also re-called from WBS today. If he plays tonight, he will be making his NHL debut. He would also be the first player the Pens drafted from the 2011 class to play for the team (Wilson drafted in the 7th round).
Sidney Crosby did not skate this morning either. According to the team, he is ill and a game-time decision tonight. If he cannot go, it appears Scott Wilson will fill in.
The Pens went with some interesting lines during practice on Monday. They looked like the following:
- Spaling - Crosby - Hornqvist
- Kunitz - Malkin - Comeau
- Adams - Sutter - Downie
- Megna - Ebbett - Sill
Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to get the start tonight.
Projected Lines & Pairs
- Nick Spaling - Sidney Crosby - Patric Hornqvist
- Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - Blake Comeau
- Craig Adams - Brandon Sutter - Steve Downie
- Zach Sill - Andrew Ebbett - Jayson Megna
The defense lost Kris Letang and he will be out of the lineup again tonight. Here are the pairs I am projecting:
- Paul Martin - Olli Maatta
- Rob Scuder - Simon Despres
- Christian Ehrhoff - Robert Bortuzzo
Marc-Andre Fleury will start in net.
My Keys to the Game
Defense: Again, with the looks of the bottom six, the Pens will need to be better defensively. That will be hard without Kris Letang, but they have the pieces in place to play solid defense. They need to be tight, smart and calm with the puck and make the job of the Flower a little easier.
Special Teams: The last time the Pens played the Devils, special teams was decisive. The Pens got a few power play goals, but also gave up a shorty. They need to put up more power play goals tonight, but keep those short-handed opportunities of the Devils to a minimum.
My 3 Players to Watch
2. Christian Ehrhoff: With Letang out, more of the burden falls on Ehrhoff. He will now quarterback the power play and his minutes will certainly go up. If he plays like he did in Carolina on Saturday, the Pens defense should hold in the absence of the Flow.
3. Brandon Sutter: He has practically nothing to work with tonight, so it is imperative that his shifts are productive in more ways than one. He needs to be good on the PK. Needs to create some sort of chances offensively and needs to keep the puck out of his own zone as often as possible.
For Those In Attendance and Watching From Home
- Puck Drop is at 7:00pm tonight.
- Doors to Consol Energy Center will open at 5:30pm and all fans arriving in the first 30 minutes (between 530 and 6) will receive a 50% off concessions voucher.
- The Penguins will wear their traditional black jerseys tonight.
- The Pens Gear Gameday Special is your choice of Reebok hat with purchase of any authentic Reebok jersey.
- All fans in attendance tonight will receive an Olli Maatta bobblehead (pictured above) courtesy of Trib Total Media.
- Also, the 2015 "PENS & PAWS" Calendars will be onsale at Consol tonight. They are priced at $20 and can be found for sale on the concourses and in Pens Gear.
For those of you WATCHING the game, here is what you need to know:
- ROOT Sports has the coverage beginning at 6:30 with Penguins Pregame. They will follow with Penguins Post Game.
- Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey have the call for the game starting at 7:00 on ROOT Sports. Dan Potash will be handling the interviews.
- Pens Radio Net and 105.9 the X have the radio call. Mike Lange and the Ol Two-Niner will call the game starting at 7.
- Bob Grove will host the Pregame show at 6pm and follow the game with Penguins Hot Line.
Pens Points are aplenty 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
That will do it for me tonight. Depending on what time I get home from the game I may have a "View From Where I Sat." I may just tweet my thoughts on the game. Either way, you will hear my post game thoughts tomorrow night.
Thank you all for reading and following. The Twitter page is almost at 400 followers now. We started the season at 160. You guys have blown me away with your support this year. I am forever grateful! Keep reading and sharing my pages with your friends. And keep interacting with me! I love talking to you guys.
That will do it for me. Enjoy the game! LETS GO PENS!!!
Cheers.