Hello hockey fans and welcome to the latest edition of Big Dave's Pens Pregame. Tonight, the Penguins begin a four game home stand when they welcome in Ryan Suter and the Minnesota Wild.
The puck drops on the action at Consol at 7:00pm, but you can start enjoying the Pregame right now...
Tonight's "Big Dave's Gameday Jam" comes from one of the best bands of the 80s and 90s. They are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and there are swirling rumors of their impending reunion. That's right, it is Guns N' Roses and this is my favorite song by them, "Dust N' Bones." Enjoy!
The State of the Penguins
The Pens entered the weekend coming off a huge win v. Montreal when they played pretty damn well. They went down in the second and fought back to win after trailing through two periods; the first time in nearly 2 years. I think we all thought, or at least hoped, that the Penguins had turned the page with that win and found their identity.
Then they played Friday and Saturday...
Both performances this weekend were a complete embarrassment to this franchise. Strong words, but I am far from wrong. The lost v. Columbus was bad enough, they were outplayed for 55 minutes before they decided to come back, but there was absolutely no excuse for their play Saturday in New Jersey. They didn't hustle, show any heart or fight and were a complete disaster from the opening puck drop to the final whistle.
The players held a closed-door meeting following the slaughter they suffered. For nearly 30 minutes, they talked things over and we got a real sense of how things were going from a surprising source, Evgeni Malkin.
Malkin is usually relatively quiet, but he took the lead on this night, saying the Penguins were quote "Not playing right, not working hard and we are mad at each other." It was the most honest assessment we could have gotten and it came from a source where I am apt to believe this is in fact the truth. Malkin doesn't talk often and when he does, he isn't going to b-s you.
The Penguins returned to the rink Monday, where they had another team meeting for nearly an hour before they hit the ice. Following practice, Crosby, Malkin, Dupuis and others spoke about the weekend. Everyone came out and said Geno misspoke when he said they were mad at each other; that he was misinterpreted. Geno back tracked as well, but folks, don't believe a word of what they said to the press on Monday. What Geno said the other night was the truth, not what the room was trying to spoon feed you today.
So where do the Penguins go from here?
This is a huge week for the Penguins. They have Minnesota tonight, Colorado on Thursday and San Jose on Saturday. All three teams are dangerous offensive talents that could come in here and keep the Penguins slide going.
I take the words from Josh Yohe on DK on Pittsburgh Sports' Friday Insider last week when his interview with GM Jim Rutherford, that Rutherford is not happy and that the brass has been in attendance for practice and games for the last week. To add to that, Dejan Kovacevic's "Tuesday Takes" on the same site said in no short terms that the entire organization, from players, to staff, and the brass are fed up with Mike Johnston. That means changes could be imminent and they should be at this point.
You can take my word now, if the Penguins struggle this week on the home stand, changes will occur. Mike Johnston would be the first to go, as would the likes of Rich Tocchet and probably Gary Agnew. A trade is possible, though I don't know who they would ship out besides the likes of Kunitz or Perron to get anything of consequence in return.
This team needs a change, and it will start behind the bench. Johnston would be the first casualty of this battle, but if that doesn't right the ship, don't think there could be a big shakeup come the offseason after another lost season.
Crunch time is now. Will the Penguins be men of their words and right this ship or will this week be the final straw that broke the camel's back? Only time will tell, but it will start tonight with Minnesota in town...
Wild Times in Minny: Minnesota Wild
At the turn of the calendar, when the Penguins struggles were just beginning, the Wild were in the height of their struggles. Mike Yeo was videoed chastising his team and shortly after that they dropped a game to Pittsburgh 7-2. Following that loss, they made a deal that brought them Devan Dubnyk in and have since gone 28-12-6. They made a decent showing of things in the playoffs before being taken down by the ultimate winners of the Cup, Chicago. But the Wild were ready for the next step...
Minnesota kept the solidly built defensive team intact in the offseason and re-signed Vezina finalist and Masterton winner Devan Dubnyk to a new six-year deal. Their only splash on the market was their signing of University of Minnesota stud defenseman Mike Reilly. Quiet, but effective offseason for the Wild who are off to a great start in the new season.
Minnesota currently sits in second place in the tough Central Division, just five points behind the Dallas Stars. Over their last 10 games, Minnesota has gone 6-6-2 and has been lethal at home with a 7-1-0 record.
How did Minnesota get here?
Devon Dubnyk picked right off where he left off. I thought he'd drop off significantly this season, but instead he has gone 10-3-2 in 15 games this season and has a goals against average of 2.44. The defense has fallen off from their usual level, but they are still decent with a 2.69 goals against per game, which is good for 19th in the league.
Unlike years past, it has been the offense that has carried this team along with the play of Dubnyk. The Wild currently sit at 3.00 goals per game, which is good for 7th in the NHL. Captain Mikko Koivu paces the team with 15 points and defenseman Ryan Suter is among the leaders in points among NHL defensemen with 14 points in 16 games. Face of the franchise, Zach Parise, was playing well with 7 goals in 12 games before he suffered a knee injury that will knock him out for a few weeks. Youngster Jason Zucker is playing very well with 5 goals and 13 points in 16 games. This team has gone from a mediocre scoring team to a team that is scoring at a good clip. The Penguins must be wary tonight....
The Lowdown on the Wild:
- 10-3-3 overall on the season.
- The Wild have gone 6-2-2 over their last 10 games.
- Minnesota is mediocre on the road, posting a meager 3-2-3 record on the season away from Xcel Energy Center.
- Their 3.00 goals per game average is 7th in the NHL.
- Minnesota has a plus-5 goal differential.
Scoring Leaders:
- C Mikko Koivu - 15pts (3G-12A)
- D Ryan Suter - 14pts (2G-12A)
- LW Thomas Vanek - 13pts (7G-6A)
- LW Jason Zucker - 13pts (5G-8A)
- D Jared Spurgeon - 11pts (2G-9A)
Injury Report:
- LW Zach Parise (lower-body) is OUT tonight. Parise has missed the last two weeks with a sprained MCL ligament in his knee. He skated yesterday, but he will likely not play for another week or two.
- RW Justin Fontaine (lower-body) is OUT tonight. Fontaine, like Parise, is on IR with a sprained MCL and is a few weeks away.
- C Zac Dalpe (lower-body) is OUT tonight. The youngster is likely out for the season after requiring surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left hip. 5 months is the early diagnosis on Dalpe.
- C Tyler Graovac (lower-body) is OUT tonight. Graovac required surgery for a sports hernia two weeks ago and will still miss about a month.
- C Erik Haula (undisclosed) is OUT tonight.
Projected Lines:
- Thomas Vanek - Mikael Granlund - Jason Pominville
- Jason Zucker - Mikko Koivu - Nino Niederreiter
- Ryan Carter - Charlie Coyle - Jordan Schroeder
- Chris Porter - Michael Keranen - Nate Prosser
Projected Pairs:
- Ryan Suter - Jared Spurgeon
- Jonas Brodin - Matt Dumba
- Marco Scandella - Christian Folin
Devan Dubnyk is expected to start in net tonight for Minnesota.
News & Notes From the Penguins
- RW Patric Hornqvist (upper-body) is likely to play tonight. He took a puck to the ribs in the 2nd period on Saturday and missed the rest of the game. However, he skated today and practiced with the top PP unit, so I'd expect he's in.
- C Nick Bonino missed practice yesterday and Josh Yohe reported it was due to injury. Bonino skated this morning and is expected to play tonight.
- C Matt Cullen, D Rob Scuderi and RW Daniel Sprong all missed practice yesterday due to illness. All were on the ice this morning.
The Pens/Wild Matchup:
- The Penguins took both games last season between these two teams. They won 7-2 at Consol in January and 4-1 in Minnesota in November.
- Sidney Crosby led the way with four assists in two games.
- Chris Kunitz had three points, including two goals, as did winger David Perron.
- Malkin and Letang each had three points as well.
- Marc-Andre Fleury won the game at Consol last season, but didn't play in the other matchup.
- Blue liners Jonas Brodin and Ryan Suter paced Minnesota in scoring v. Pittsburgh last year with two points each.
- The Penguins have won 4 of their last five matchups with Minnesota.
Miscellaneous Notes:
- The Baby Penguins are streaking right now, winners of 11 straight games after coming back from a 5-1 deficit Sunday to win 7-6 in over time.
- Forward Connor Sheary was named "CCM AHL Player of the Week" for the week that was with 8 points in three games.
- The Baby Pens are a perfect 8-0-0 at the Mohegan Sun Arena this year.
- Daniel Sprong's 12:50 on Saturday was a career-high for the rookie. I still think he should be playing more minutes, but I'm not the coach.
- The Penguins are 2-0 in their third jerseys and they will wear them again tonight.
- Pittsburgh is 17-9-4 in their last 30 games v. the NHL's Western Conference.
Projected Lines and Pairs
- Pascal Dupuis - Sidney Crosby - Beau Bennett
- David Perron - Evgeni Malkin - Phil Kessel
- Chris Kunitz - Nick Bonino - Patric Hornqvist
- Daniel Sprong - Matt Cullen - Eric Fehr
Pairs:
- Kris Letang - Olli Maatta
- Ben Lovejoy - Brian Dumoulin
- Rob Scuderi - Ian Cole
Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to be in net tonight.
My 3 Keys to the Game
2. Power Play: This needs to turn around and now. It is the one thing that can save this team. Stop the forced passes, the cross-iced passes and the playing out of position (yeah, I'm talking about #87 here) and just shoot and collapse the net. Do that, and maybe you can finally look like a power play instead of a power failure.
3. Defensive Rebound: The defense had been solid all year but fell apart the last two games. Hopefully the few days off will help them right the ship. Solid team defense could go a long way and will be key against the good, balanced team that is Minnesota.
My 3 Penguins to Watch
2. Sidney Crosby: Geno was the vocal one following the loss Saturday, not Sid. Sid tried to defend the team yesterday about "not being mad at each other," but regardless, he needs to lead this team tonight. If the Pens are going to right this ship, it starts and ends with him. Put your ego aside and do what is best for the team, I.e. goal line on the power play, shoot instead of constantly forcing cross-ice passes and be the dynamic player you can be, system be damned.
3. Marc-Andre Fleury: The rock and savior of this team. If the Penguins have any hope of winning, especially against an offensively hot team like Minnesota right now, he will need to be big. He's been good all year, hopefully he is big on his bobblehead night.
What to Know for Attending/Watching/Listening
- Gates open at 6:30pm for a 7:30 puck drop.
- The Penguins will wear their "Pittsburgh Gold" third jerseys tonight.
- Every fan in attendance tonight will receive a Marc-Andre Fleury bobblehead (pictured above) courtesy of TRIB Total Media.
- The Pens Gear gameday special is receive a free pack of hockey trading cards with every purchase of youth apparel.
Here is what you need to know if you're watching tonight's game:
- ROOT Sports has the coverage tonight. Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey with the call beginning at 7:30pm. Dan Potash will have the interviews.
- Penguins Pregame will precede the game coverage beginning at 7:00pm.
- Penguins Post Game will follow the game action.
Here is what you need to know if you're listening to tonight's game:
- 105.9 The X, the Penguins app, the Penguins website and iHeart Radio app are all places you can pick up the game tonight.
- Mike Lange and Phil Bourque will have the game call beginning at 7:30pm.
- Penguins Pregame will precede the game coverage at 6:30pm. Josh Getzoff will host.
- Penguins Hot Line will follow the game action.
Pens Points:
- Attending the Game: 50pts
- Concession Purchases: 10pts
- Merchandise Purchases: 10pts
- ROOT Sports Pregame Keyword: 5pts
- ROOT Sports Post Game Keyword: 5pts
- Pens Radio Keyword: 5pts
- Miller Lite Nite at Pub in the Park in Swissvale - 25pts
- Miller Lite Nite at North Park Lounge in Murrysville - 25pts