Hello ladies and gents, and welcome to the latest edition of the Big Dave's Pens Pregame show. Tonight, our Penguins travel to Raleigh for the last time this season to face Jordan Staal and the Carolina Hurricanes. It is also the first stop on the Penguins "father's trip" for this season with all the players' fathers along for the ride.
Puck drops on Pens/Canes at PNC Arena tonight at 7:00pm, but you can begin enjoying my Pregame right now...
We're gettin' southern comfortable with my "Big Dave's Gameday Jam" tonight. Since the Pens are in North Carolina, I felt it appropriate to get a little country for the evening. I am a big fan of Brad Paisley and this one comes off one of his latest albums. Enjoy it folks, it's "Southern Comfort Zone."
The State of the Penguins
Though we all hoped for a big offensive night with Andrew WK in the house, Party Hard, we did not see a horrendous game by the Penguins as a whole. There were plenty of good things to take away from the effort, even with a 3-0 score in favor of our division rivals.
Firstly, the defense was outstanding. Losing Trevor Daley early in the game was a big blow for the Penguins and it could have hurt them greatly. Instead, the five remaining defensemen played one of their most solid games all year. Ben Lovejoy was outstanding in my opinion. After getting riled up in the second period by one of the Rangers, Benny went on to play one of his best games since November. He had six hits on the night, a block and created a few good scoring chances with shots from the point. I'd like to see more of that Lovejoy moving forward. Olli Maatta and Brian Dumoulin also played well. Kris Letang fired the puck regularly on the night, leading the team with six, and creating a lot of opportunities, but Lundqvist was on his game. Finally, there was Derrick Pouliot, who I felt played his best game of the year.
Then there was the Penguins chances. While they didn't get a ton of outstanding scoring chances, besides posts hit by both Conor Sheary and Brian Dumoulin, they did fire 34 shots on Lundqvist. The negative was they did not get many second chance opportunities.
Finally, the bottom six guys, the AHL guys, played really well in this game. Conor Sheary had a great scoring chance early in the second period. Same can be said for Tom Kuhnhackl, who missed a chance a little later in the second. Oskar Sundqvist continues to impress me, using his big frame to play physical in the corners and slow down opposing team's breakouts on the forecheck. Finally, Bryan Rust continues to impress me not only with his speed, but his improved play overall. He is miles better than the guy we saw 14 games from last year.
However, with the good, there is the bad.
Problem number one continues to be the lack of production by Phil Kessel. He was terrible in Wednesday's game v. New York, and pretty poor the last four games without Evgeni Malkin in the lineup. Kessel was the talk of Pittsburgh sports talk radio yesterday and for good reason, he's been crap. The one trick pony isn't performing his trick, and he's doing little else to make up for it. He isn't lazy as people will insist, nor is he not being utilized correctly. No, Kessel is simply underachieving and the only person who can fix it is himself.
Next, there was Chris Kunitz. I loved the guy we saw over the five, six games leading up to Wednesday night, but he looked like the old, sloppy guy of the first half of the season against the Rangers. Kunitz needs to play to a higher level, a level we saw from him coming out of the all-star break. Games like Wednesday cannot become the norm for him again.
Finally, though they got a ton of shots, the Penguins failed to breakdown the New York defense or get any second chance opportunities. The majority of shots came from the perimeter, which were far from great chances. Once shot, many were blocked and more still were cleared by Ranger blue liners before the Pens had a shot of a rebound chance. The Pens have been better at the net front, but still seem to struggle against quote-on-quote "bigger teams."
Wednesday was not a terrible loss for the Penguins. In fact, they could have won that game somewhat easily. It is not a game to worry about and I don't expect them to struggle greatly tonight when they travel to Raleigh to face the Canes once again.
Yes, These Guys Again: The Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina surprised many in the first half of the NHL season by not being, for lack of a better term, a complete train wreck they were expected to be. They entered the All-Star Break just a few points out of a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. I expected them to be in the basement of the Metro by this point, not contending.
The Canes still find themselves in the wild card hunt, but the floor is coming out from below their feet slightly. They have gone 5-3-2 in their last 10 games, but only 1-1-1 since the break. In those games, they have given up 9 goals and only scored a single goal in two of those games. If they hope to continue their playoff hopes, they will need to score with more regularity and keep it out of their net.
What really remains to be seen about this team will be what they do at the trade deadline. Much of the conversation continues to revolve around captain Eric Staal. While there are still talks between team and player, it is looking more and more as if the life-long Hurricane could find himself in a different sweater come March 1st. Several other guys could also be on the move. Topping that list is veteran winger Kris Versteeg, who has been solid through 53 games this season, scoring 31 points. Defenseman John-Michael Liles may also be on the move. The 35-year-old could be a real asset to a playoff contender who needs a solid bottom pair defenseman with some power play pedigree.
Carolina will not win the Stanley Cup this season. In fact, I still do not believe the Canes will even be a playoff team. If Ron Francis was smart, and I think he is, he will trade his impending UFAs for pieces that will add to a very good young core of players. The Hurricanes could rage again and be a contender, but they need to stay committed to the rebuild to do so.
The Lowdown on Carolina:
- 24-21--9 overall record.
- Currently sitting in sixth in the Metropolitan Division with 57 points and four points out of the final wild card spot in the East.
- Carolina is 5-3-2 over their last 10 games and just 1-1-1 since the All-Star Break.
- The Canes have gone 12-9-5 at PNC Arena so far this season.
Scoring Leaders:
- D Justin Faulk - 34pts (15G-19A)
- RW Kris Versteeg - 31pts (10G-21A)
- C Jordan Staal - 31pts (12G-19A)
- LW Jeff Skinner - 31pts (19G-12A)
- C Victor Rask - 31pts (12G-19A)
- C Eric Staal - 30pts (9G-21A)
Injury Report:
- RW Kris Versteeg (illness) will be a game-time decision tonight, though he is expected to play. He missed a few practices while feeling under the weather.
- D James Wisniewski (lower-body) is OUT tonight. He will remain out the remainder of the season after ACL surgery in October.
- D Brett Pesce (lower-body) is likely OUT tonight. The rookie defenseman missed time before the ASG with the injury and was placed on IR after coming out of the break. He skated this morning and could replace Justin Faulk if he cannot go.
- D Justin Faulk (undisclosed) is a game time decision tonight. The Canes leading scorer missed skate this morning after suffering an injury in practice. Coach Peters thinks he will play.
Projected Lines:
- Kris Versteeg - Eric Staal - Elias Lindholm
- Andrej Nestrasil - Jordan Staal - Joakim Nordstrom
- Jeff Skinner - Victor Rask - Phil Di Giuseppe
- Nathan Gerbe - Jay McClement - Riley Nash
Projected Pairs:
- Justin Faulk - Ron Hainsey
- John-Michael Liles - Jaccob Slavin
- Noah Hanifin - Michal Jordan
Cam Ward is expected to start in net tonight.
News & Notes From Around the Penguins
- D Trevor Daley (upper-body) is a game-time decision tonight. Daley left Wednesday's game in the first after an awkward crash into the Penguins net. Coach Sullivan stated yesterday that it was nothing serious and very likely could play tonight.
- C Evgeni Malkin (lower-body) will not play on this two-game road trip. Malkin hasn't played since the Ottawa game on Feb. 2.
- D David Warsofsky (concussion) has returned to skating. He has been out for several weeks due to a concussion.
- No updates on Eric Fehr, Nick Bonino or Beau Bennett
Pens/Canes Notes:
- Game 4 of 5 between these two this season.
- Carolina has won two of the three matchups to date, while the Penguins have gone 1-1-1 so far.
- Carolina won the only game in Raleigh so far this season.
- The Penguins won the last matchup on January 17th via a 5-0 shutout.
- Sidney Crosby leads Pittsburgh scorers with five points in three games. Patric Hornqvist has three assists as well.
- Elias Lindholm leads Carolina scorers with three points through three games. Eric Staal, Kris Versteeg and Justin Faulk each have two points.
Miscellaneous Notes:
- The Penguins are currently tied-4th in NHL scoring in February. Their 3.60 goals per game trails only Los Angeles, Florida and Ottawa.
- Sidney Crosby has been hot in Feburary, scoring 7 goals and 12 points in 5 games.
- Chris Kunitz has five points (3G-2A) in his last five games away from Consol Energy Center.
- Olli Maatta is a Hurricane staller, as he has more career points (6) against Carolina than any other team.
#AskBigDave
Naughty boy Spencer, for I answered this question in Wednesday's Pregame as well. But here it is again. I don't think the Penguins are going to do anything with Plotnikov. I think he will continue to be a #PressBoxHero for the remainder of the season unless there is another injury to a winger. Unfortunately, the coaching staff just doesn't seem all that keen on playing the young Russian.
Now, luckily his cap hit is not very big. He is only an 895k cap hit, which is less than Beau Bennett who has been equally as disappointing. I don't see the Penguins sending him to Wilkes-Barre, but I also don't see them trading him either. I think he will remain on the roster through the end of the year and head back to the KHL afterwards. It is a shame really, would have liked to see him get a bigger chance with this team.
From Reedie on the Tweety: "Any clue why the Pens passed on Ehrhoff on waivers?"
To be completely honest Reedie, I am stunned he cleared waivers, period. He has a mere 1.5 million dollar cap hit and is a solid two-way defenseman with a lot of offensive upside. I am shocked the Penguins and many other contending teams didn't put a claim on him.
Though he is a quality player with a lot of talent, I see a few reasons why teams were hesitant. First, is his injury history. We saw last year that Ehrhoff can succumb to injuries, he missed the last two months of the season with a concussion. He has had injury issues in the past and many would keep away because of them.
Then there is the way he is playing this season. While I don't see him as a solid fit in the Kings' system, Ehrhoff has been far from stellar in Tinseltown. Through 40 games in LA, he has just 2 goals, 11 points and is a minus-10 on the year. Unlike all his other stops where he's been a top-four defenseman, he has averaged a mere 15 minutes per night with the Kings. In fact, Ehrhoff has played less than 13 minutes three times over his last 5 games.
I see Ehrhoff very much in the same light as Trevor Daley has been since the pickup. He could have been a great pickup for a contender, play close to 18-22 minutes a night in any role and add to both the PK and the power play. I'm surprised he didn't get picked up but he may still move before the deadline.
Projected Lines & Pairs
- Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Patric Hornqvist
- Carl Hagelin - Matt Cullen - Phil Kessel
- Tom Kuhnhackl - Oskar Sundqvist - Bryan Rust
- Scott Wilson - Kevin Porter - Conor Sheary
Pairs:
- Kris Letang - Olli Maatta
- Trevor Daley - Brian Dumoulin
- Ben Lovejoy - Derrick Pouliot
Marc-Andre Fleury will likely start in net tonight.
My 3 Keys to the Game
2. Power Play: The power play struggled Wednesday and a lot of that has to do with Evgeni Malkin's absence. One thing that can change that is Phil Kessel. Kessel needs to become the trigger man on the left half-wall and start firing pucks on net. He needs to start doing one-timers and become a bigger threat in Malkin's absence.
3. Pepper the Net: I want to see the Penguins pepper Cam Ward tonight, but I want to see them get quality scoring chances as well. They forced shots from the perimeter on Wednesday, which resulted in them getting shutout. I want to see them get shots on net, but also make sure they get second chance opportunities from those shots.
My 3 Penguins to Watch
2. Derrick Pouliot: Played probably his best game in the NHL on Wednesday night. Pouliot continues to impress me, mostly with his defense. He has really made a big step forward from the 30 games he played last year in that respect. You can also see he is getting more comfortable offensively, and taking more chances. I like that and his higher level of play helps the Pens greatly heading into the stretch run.
3. Ben Lovejoy: I thought Benny was great Wednesday night, his best game since November. He was physical, solid in his own zone and created chances and kept plays alive in the offensive zone. I'd like to see more of that tonight from him and I think he could do it.
What to Know for Watching/Listening
- 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:
- ROOT Sports Pregame Keyword: 5pts
- ROOT Sports Post Game Keyword: 5pts
- Pens Radio Keyword: 5pts
- Miller Lite Nite at Rum Runners Saloon in Pittsburgh: 25pts
- Miller Lite Nite at Millerstown Inn in Chicora: 25pts