The Penguins look to build off their win Tuesday tonight in the second game of the home stand. Tonight, the Penguins will play host to Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche.
The puck drops on Pens/Avs at 7:00pm tonight, but the Pregame begins right now....
Tonight's "Big Dave's Gameday Jam" comes from a solid band I have come to like over the years. They are Every Time I Die, badass southern rock/metal from Upstate New York. This song comes off their 2012 album Ex Lives, it's "Partying is Such Sweet Sorrow." Enjoy!
The State of the Penguins
The Penguins did a lot of talking following their disastrous weekend against Columbus and New Jersey. Malkin came out and said the Penguins "aren't working hard, aren't playing right and that the players were mad at each other." Others backtracked on that later, but what Malkin told us Saturday was truth, guaranteed.
Tuesday night, Malkin delivered.
The Penguins needed to have a good showing on Tuesday night to quiet the critics and the fan base. Malkin led the way in this contest, going out and scoring four points, including two goals. What I like most about Malkin's night was not the points, but the fact that he backed up his words and played like a dynamic, world-class player for the first time this year. He needs to keep that going. Sidney Crosby played very well too, even considering he didn't post a point. The captain was inches from added points on this night, but almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. I want to see more from him going forward, but besides the Florida game a few weeks back, this was probably Sid's best 60 minutes. Marc-Andre Fleury was great and players like Perron, Kessel, Bennett and Hornqvist were all very solid.
While the Penguins got the win, they still have work to do. We have seen them play horrendously before this season and rebound with a solid win. What we have yet to see is the Penguins come out and put solid performances together on an night-in, night-out basis. When the Penguins start doing that consistently, then and only then, will I buy into this team as a real contender.
However, Pittsburgh will have to move forward without the likes of Olli Maatta in the lineup. The Pens lost the young defenseman in the 2nd period on Tuesday night on a questionable hit. He was taken to the hospital and will likely be out week-to-week. The loss of Maatta will certainly hurt this defensive corps, but it will really hurt Kris Letang, who to this point has been a shell of his former self.
The Penguins need to continue their solid play tonight against a last place team. Don't take them for granted, because Colorado still has the fire power to steal one from us tonight.
Mile High Funk: The Colorado Avalanche
That is a question I find myself asking when looking at the likes of the Colorado Avalanche. There is no questioning the talent on this team, especially with the likes of Jarome Iginla, Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog up front. That being said, the Avs had a huge regression in 2014-15 and have yet to really get flying in the new season.
The Avalanche had high expectations entering last season. They went out and signed the likes of Jarome Iginla away from Boston to provide veteran leadership to a young group of forwards. They had a Vezina caliber goaltender in Semyon Varlamov in the cage and had two young, solid defensemen on their blue line. Yet, the Avs struggled and failed to make the playoffs.
Many saw it as a down year after a year of overachieving. Many thought they would take a step forward this season, especially with the offseason additions the club made. Joe Sakic went out and made a splash when he traded center Ryan O'Reilly to Buffalo for the likes of youngsters Mikhail Grigorenko and Nikita Zadorov. Then Sakic made the move to acquire Carl Soderberg from the Bruins to be their new second line center. In free agency, the Avs added former Penguin Blake Comeau to the bottom six and defenseman Francois Beauchemin from Anaheim.
The forward corps was upgraded, the defense got better with the moves made too, but we have yet to see the dividends of these moves. Colorado currently sits at 7-10-1 and last in the Central division. They have gone 5-5-0 in their last ten games and have posted an even goal differential.
Part of the struggles for the Avs has come from the crease. Semyon Varlamov has been atrocious. He is 3-6-1 in his ten games with a 3.26 goals against average. Those numbers were good enough to see him lose his job to youngster Reto Berra. Berra is only 4-4-0 in his 9 games played, but he has a 1.83 goals against average with two shutouts.
The defense has been better than years passed. Francois Beauchemin has stepped right in to lead this group, posting a plus-6 rating and 10 points in 18 games. Beauchemin's partner, Erik Johnson, has been just as solid. He has posted 8 points and a plus-6 rating after signing a new deal recently. Tyson Barrie, the Avs stud defenseman, has been even with ten points on the season.
Up front, the Avs are finally getting what they expected from Nathan MacKinnon. The Cole Harbour native, I'm sure you've heard of that town, had an atrocious sophomore year. This year however, he has come out to lead the Avs in scoring with 20 points in 18 games. His linemate Matt Duchene follows him with 8 goals and 15 points in the same amount of games. Future Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla has been solid, posting 7 goals in 18 games while captain Gabriel Landeskog has posted 12 points in just 16 games.
If the Avalanche could solve their woes in net, they very well could put together a run to make things interesting. They will have a tough time of things in the Central division, but anything can happen. Don't be surprised if the Avs put up a hell of a fight tonight, and steal one out from under the Penguins' noses.
What You Need To Know About the Avs:
- Colorado is currently 7-10-1 on the season and last in the Central.
- They have a goal differential of even on the season.
- The Avs have gone 5-5-0 on the road this year, and coincidentally have gone 5-5-0 in their last 10 games.
- Colorado is currently 12th in the NHL in scoring, posting 2.78 goals per game.
- Likewise, their 2.78 goals against per game has the Avs ranked 21st in the league.
Scoring Leaders:
- C Nathan MacKinnon - 20pts (8G-12A)
- RW Matt Duchene - 15pts (8G-7A)
- RW Jarome Iginla - 13pts (7G-6A)
- LW Gabriel Landeskog - 12pts (5G-7A)
- D Francois Beauchemin - 10pts (2G-8A)
- D Tyson Barrie - 10pts (10A)
Injury Report:
- C John Mitchell (upper-body) is a game-time decision tonight. Mitchell missed Tuesday's game after aggravating a lingering oblique issue.
- G Semyon Varlamov (lower body) is OUT tonight. Varlamov has been struggling this season and the groin issue hasn't helped. He is on IR, but has traveled with the team to town. He may return soon.
- D Brad Stuart (upper-body) is OUT tonight. The veteran returned to Denver after suffering some back-related issues.
- LW Alex Tanguay (lower-body) is OUT tonight. The veteran winger hasn't played since the first week of November after suffering a knee injury on the 6th. He is expected to miss an "extended period" of time according to Colorado journalists.
Projected Lines:
- Mikhail Grigorenko - Nathan MacKinnon - Matt Duchene
- Blake Comeau - Carl Soderberg - Jarome Iginla
- Cody McLeod - Chris Wagner - Andreas Martinsen
- Dennis Everberg - Ben Street - Jack Skille
Projected Pairs:
- Francois Beauchemin - Erik Johnson
- Nick Holden - Tyson Barrie
- Brandon Gormley - Nate Guenin
Reto Berra is expected to start in net tonight.
News & Notes Around the Pens
- D Olli Maatta will be out "week-to-week." Maatta suffered a scary injury in the second period on Tuesday night and had to be stretched to the hospital. The worse fear was internal organ damage, luckily that is not the case as of now. He was released from the hospital last night with soft tissue and muscle injury. The Penguins expect him to miss 3-4 weeks.
- C Nick Bonino is a game-time decision. The third line center was a late scratch on Tuesday after skating in the morning. There was no update on him, but DK on Pittsburgh Sports' Josh Yohe reported on Monday that Bonino didn't skate due to an injury.
Transaction Notes:
- The Pens have recalled D David Warsofsky from WBS. In 13 games at WBS, he has two goals, six points and a plus-five rating. Warsofsky is a two-way defenseman with more offensive leanings, but I would expect Clendening to get more of the playing time and Warsofsky being the #PressBoxHero regularly.
Pens/Avalanche Matchup:
- These two teams split the season series last year. Both home teams took the wins, with Pittsburgh winning in OT in December and Colorado winning 3-1 in March.
- Pittsburgh has gone 6-2 in their last eight games v. Colorado.
- Evgeni Malkin and Rob Scuderi are the two leading returning scorers in this series from last year. Geno had a goal and assist while Scuds posted an assist.
- Marc-Andre Fleury won one of two starts, the win coming via a OT shutout.
- Gabriel Landeskog led the way for Colorado with a goal and three total points. MacKinnon and Iginla each added a goal.
Miscellaneous Notes:
- Evgeni Malkin's PP goal on Tuesday was his 100th in his NHL career. He joins only Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and Kevin Stevens to have scored at least 100 power play goals while playing for Pittsburgh.
- The Penguins are 6-1-0 when scoring a power play goal this year.
- Kris Letang set a Penguins season high with 29:37 played in Tuesday's game. He currently ranks 5th in the NHL with an average of 26:31 TOI per game.
- Kris Letang had two assists against Minnesota Tuesday. He currently has 8pts in his last 8 games at Consol Energy Center.
- Adam Clendening's assist on Malkin's second goal on Tuesday marked his first point with the Penguins.
- The line of Perron, Malkin and Kessel have produced 23 points since they were aligned on October 28th. Malkin leads the way with 9 points, while Kessel has 8 and Perron 6.
Projected Lines and pairs
- Pascal Dupuis - Sidney Crosby - Patric Hornqvist
- David Perron - Evgeni Malkin - Phil Kessel
- Chris Kunitz - Nick Bonino - Beau Bennett
- Sergei Plotnikov - Matt Cullen - Eric Fehr
Defensive Pairs:
- Kris Letang - Rob Scuderi
- Brian Dumoulin - Ben Lovejoy
- Ian Cole - Adam Clendening
Marc-Andre Fleury in net.
My 3 Keys to the Game
2. Defensive Chemistry: The loss of Olli Maatta will hurt this defensive corps, especially Kris Letang. Letang will likely be with Rob Scuderi, which has the makings of disaster. Cole will pair with Clendening, which leaves Lovejoy and Dumoulin as the "top" pair going into the game. The Pens will need to work really hard to find chemistry and success in their zone tonight.
3. Feed the Slot: The Penguins got three of their four goals Tuesday by feeding guys IN the slot instead of passing through it. Bennett, Malkin and Perron all scored from that area and that is where the goals will need to come from. I want to see the Pens, primarily the stars (Malkin, Crosby, etc) feed guys IN that zone before they start forcing those cross-ice passes.
My 3 Penguins to Watch
2. Adam Clendening: I though Clendening played really well after being a last-minute addition to the lineup. With Olli Maatta now expected to miss extended time, Clendening will finally get his chance to play. In both games he's played this year, he has gotten better as the games have gone on. Once he gets in a groove, as we saw in the final 40 Tuesday, he can become a legitimate two-way defenseman who can perform well in this "system."
3. Brian Dumoulin: Dumoulin will be expected to step up with the injury to Olli Maatta. Dumoulin has been a pleasant surprise this year, and now he will be looked upon to take more minutes. I think you will see him more on the PK, but you may also see him get power play time as well on that second unit. There are guys more senior on this roster than him, i.e. Lovejoy and Scuderi, but they don't have the legs or skillset to pick up where Maatta left off. Dumo can fill the void best, and he will be expected to.
What to Know for Attending/Watching/Listening
- The puck drops on Pens/Jackets at 7:00pm. Gates at Consol open at 6:00pm.
- The Penguins will wear their traditional home jerseys tonight.
- Pens Gear's Gameday Special is 30% off '47 Brand merchandise.
- Tonight is a give away night! Every fan in attendance will receive a 2015-16 Penguins Yearbook presented by Consol Energy.
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 7:00pm. Dan Potash will have the interviews.
- Penguins Pregame will precede the game coverage beginning at 6:30pm.
- 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 7:00pm.
- Penguins Pregame will precede the game coverage at 6:00pm. 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 North Park Lounge Cranberry Bamboo Bar in Cranberry Township - 25pts