That's right! Our Pittsburgh Penguins return from an opening weekend trip out west to open Consol Energy Center for the first time in the 2015-16 NHL season. Tonight, the Penguins will play host to Hart Trophy winner Carey Price and the Montreal Canadiens.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 this evening, but the Pregame starts right now.....
Tonight's "Big Dave Gameday Jam" could be none other for such an occasion. It is the song we all hope to hear tonight after every Penguins goal. It's got everything we could hope for in a goal song, so you better get used to it if it's the case. Here it is, from the one and only Andrew W.K., "PARTY HARD!!!!"
The State of the Penguins
The Penguins opened up the season last Thursday night against the high-flying Dallas Stars. The Stars, a revamped and lethal scoring team, made easy work of the Pens on Opening Night, shutting them out three to nothing. The Pens were particularly flat in that game, especially early on. The defense struggled in front of Marc-Andre Fleury and ultimately led to three goals that Flower could do nothing to stop. It was a disappointing loss, but with the Coyotes slated for Saturday, optimism was still high.
However, Saturday didn't prove much better for the Penguins. They came out completely flat once again, struggling to keep it scoreless in the opening period before giving up two lousy goals in the second. The Pens mounted a charge in the third period, but once again would come up short. They opened up the season with two losses and come home with the hope of righting the ship against one of the best goaltenders in the league in Montreal's Carey Price.
The Pens simply haven't been very good. Captain Sidney Crosby has failed to register a shot on goal for two consecutive games, an incredibly rare occurrence. Evgeni Malkin hasn't been much better. Chris Kunitz has been great in the physicality department, but has done little in the offensive zone. David Perron, Beau Bennett and Sergei Plotnikov have been absent.
While the offense has struggled to start the year, there are some bright spots. Phil Kessel, perhaps you've heard his name a time or two, scored his first goal as a Penguin Saturday night. Phil the Thrill has looked incredibly sharp in the first two games, putting all the expectations aside and getting quality scoring chances. Same can be said for Patric Horqnvist. The net-front menace has been playing up to his incredible norm in the first two games, while others around him have floundered.
On the back end, Kris Letang and Ian Cole have looked very good. Letang was outstanding in the opener against Dallas, leading the team in ice time, shots and shots on goal. He was very good again on Saturday too. Ian Cole was steady on Thursday and even better on Saturday. He had 5 blocked shots and is looking more and more like Paul Martin by the day. If he can get to the same level as the former Penguin defenseman, the Pens will have less to worry about on the blue line.
The struggles and triumphs aside, the Penguins need to right the ship starting tonight. They open up Consol Energy Center this evening and need to put forth a complete game to erase the struggles of opening weekend. While I have all the faith in the world in them, they will still have to do it against a difficult foe in Montreal.
The Price is Right, but What About the Rest?: The Montreal Canadiens
Pittsburgh fans are accustomed to such hardware, as both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have won these awards in recent years. For Montreal, it was a great ride their goaltender brought them on in 2014-15. Price came off a gold medal winning performance in the 2014 Olympics and turned his next season into a career year. On the year, Price won 44 games, had a 1.96 goals against average, a save percentage of .933 and nine shutouts in 66 starts. That is quite the line for any goaltender and it was good enough for Price to take home the Hart Trophy, the Vezina, the Ted Lindsey and the William M Jennings trophy.
While Price was racking up wins for Montreal with relative ease, he watched some very talented players in front of him struggle to put the puck in the opposing team's net. Defenseman PK Subban was a Norris Trophy finalist last season and posted 60 points. It was second best on his team along with Tomas Plekanec (60pts) and American forward Max Pacioretty (67pts). However, the Canadiens struggled to score last season. They ranked 20th in the NHL and their lack of scoring would hold them back in the playoffs. They were eliminated in the second round by the high-flying Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Canadiens have been solid in the early going of 2015-16, despite playing their first four games on the road. Coming into tonight, they are perfect on the season. They took out rival Toronto on Opening Night by a score of 3-1. They found similar success against their most hated rival, the Boston Bruins, on Saturday. They ambushed the Bruins offensively and physically and took that game by a count of 4-2. Finally, on Sunday night the Habs took out Ottawa 3-1. They look to remain perfect on their opening road trip tonight.
Offseason Acquisitions:
- RW Zack Kassian (Trade from Vancouver)
- RW Alex Semin (Free Agency, Carolina)
Montreal on the Season:
- The Canadiens are currently 3-0-0 (6pts) and 1st in the Atlantic Division.
- They are 3-0-0 on their road trip to begin the season.
- Montreal was 24-13-4 on the road in 2014-15.
Leading Scorers:
- D PK Subban - 4pts (0G-4A)
- LW Max Pacioretty - 4pts (2G-2A)
- C Alex Galchenyuk - 4pts (1G-3A)
- D Andrei Markov - 3pts (0G-3A)
- C Tomas Plekanec - 3pts (1G-2A)
Injury Report:
- RW Zack Kassian (suspension) is OUT tonight. Kassian has been checked into "Stage 2" of the NHLPA's substance abuse program. Kassian suffered a broken foot and nose in a car accident after a night of partying. He will not be allowed to play until a doctor allows him.
Line Combinations:
- Max Pacioretty - Tomas Plekanec - Brendan Gallagher
- Lars Eller - Alex Galchenyuk - Alex Semin
- Tomas Fleischmann - David Desharnais - Dale Weise
- Brian Flynn - Torrey Mitchell - Devanted Pelly-Smith
Defensive Pairs:
- PK Subban - Andrei Markov
- Jeff Petry - Alexei Emelin
- Nathan Beaulieu - Tom Gilbert
Carey Price is expected to start in goal.
Penguins News & Notes
- Nothing new to report on the injury front. Both Dupuis and Fehr remain out for the foreseeable future.
Pens/Canadiens Matchup Notes:
- The Penguins were 2-1-0 against the Canadiens in 2014-15. They won 4-0 in Montreal in November. Lost 4-1 in Pittsburgh on January 3rd and won 2-1 in overtime in Montreal on January 10th.
- Sidney Crosby had 3 points in three games v. Montreal last season. He scored a goal in each of the Penguin victories and assisted on a goal in their 4-1 loss on January 3rd.
- Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin each had two assist in three games v. Montreal in 2014-15.
- Carey Price was 1-1-1 against the Pens last season with a 2.29 goals against average.
- Marc-Andre Fleury has an 8-2-2 record against the Habs in his last 12 starts including 5-1-1 in his last 7 home games against the Canadiens.
Miscellaneous Pens Notes:
- The Penguins are 25-13-9 all-time in home openers, including a 3-2 record in home openers at Consol.
- Sidney Crosby has 7 goals and 13 points in 9 home openers while Evgeni Malkin has 3 goals and 6 points in seven home openers.
- Sergei Plotnikov will drop down to the third line tonight. HC Mike Johnston stated that he believed Plotnikov was more relaxed and fit in better with Bonino and Bennett than with Malkin and Hornqvist. David Perron will replace Plotnikov on the second line.
Projected Lines & Pairs
- Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Phil Kessel
- David Perron - Evgeni Malkin - Patric Hornqvist
- Sergei Plotnikov - Nick Bonino - Beau Bennett
- Daniel Sprong - Matt Cullen - Kevin Porter
Defensive Pairs:
- Kris Letang - Ian Cole
- Olli Maatta - Ben Lovejoy
- Rob Scuderi - Brian Dumoulin
Marc-Andre Fleury will start in net.
My 3 Keys to the Game
2. Power Play: I'm almost as sick and tired off making this a key as I am "Full 60 Minutes." The Penguins need to figure out the power play. I dont know what Rick Tocchet is doing, but if he doesn't fix it soon, Johnston needs to take command of it. The power play has too many good pieces to not be taking advantage of the opportunities it is getting.
3. Superstars: So far this season, only three of the Pens five superstars have shown up on a nightly basis and the two that haven't are the two biggest stars. That needs to end tonight. Both Crosby and Malkin need to play at the level they are capable of playing if this team is going to have success. They need to shoot first and foremost. If they do that, they will create more room for them to be playmakers. If they do that, they can feed their linemates and more points will be scored. I know that seems like an oversimplification, but this isn't brain surgery, it really is that simple.
My 3 Players to Watch
2. Sidney Crosby: He needs to shoot. Plain and simple. Crosby is the best player in the world. He can do things and see things out there that no one else can see. However, I believe he is overthinking and deferring to much to what is around him. Sid needs to keep it simple. Start by shooting the puck. If Sid shoots more, that will open up more ice for his playmaking ability to feed Kessel and Kunitz. Do that, that line will really start scoring.
3. Nick Bonino: Bonino was nowhere to be found in Dallas, but he showed up in Arizona. I think he's still finding his spot after missing most of the preseason due to illness. Bonino is very talented, both offensively and defensively. We saw that Saturday night in Arizona. I just have a feeling we will see him score in his home debut tonight.
What You Need to Know for Watching/Attending
- Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm.
- The doors open at 5:30pm. Also, the NHL has mandated that walk-through metal detectors be used at all games. So be prepared for that.
- The Pens will wear their traditional home uniforms tonight.
- We have TWO giveaways tonight. The first is a Penguins magnetic schedule presented by Trib Total Media. The second is a Penguins LED wristband presented by Consol Energy.
- The Pens Gear gameday special is 30% off all '47 Brand Items.
- Opening Night ceremonies and player introductions will begin at 6:55pm. So be sure to be in your seat by then.
- The Pens will host some kind of "Red Carpet, Entrance" event for the team before opening night. I believe it is slated to begin at 4:00pm.
What you need to know if you are watching the game:
- The game can be caught locally on ROOT Sports. Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey have the call starting at 7:00pm with Dan Potash handling the interviews.
- ROOT Sports Penguins Pregame precedes game coveraged beginning at 6:30pm.
- Penguins Post Game will follow the game action.
What you need to know if you're listening to the game:
- You can listen to the game at 105.9 The X, as well as the Penguins app, Pens 24/7 radio on their website and on the iHeart Radio app.
- Mike Lange and Phil Bourque will have the call starting at 7:00pm.
- Josh Getzoff will have the Penguins Pregame show starting at 6:00pm and follow the game action with Penguins Hotline.
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
Thank you all for stopping by. I just want to take a second to thank you all for your amazing support so early in the season. The blog had over 2500 hits over the last week and the twitter page has gained close to thirty followers. I can't take all the credit for that. I wouldn't have any of this without the support of all you readers, tweeters and fans. You really are the best, so thanks for everything.
I will have a "View From Where I Sat" following tonight's game. It probably won't be up until late, so be sure to check back tomorrow morning if you're not up late.
I will have the Pregame show for you on Thursday, but likely won't have a "View From Where I Sat." So be sure to check that out.
That'll do it for me. Thanks for checking in enjoy the game! LETS GO PENS!!!