Good day Penguins nation and welcome to the latest edition of the Big Dave's Pens Pregame show. Glad to have you here early on this Saturday to enjoy another preview of Penguins hockey. Today, our boys will conclude their season series with the defending Eastern Conference Champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Puck drops at Consol today at 12:30pm, but you can enjoy the Pregame starting now...
Today's "Big Dave's Gameday Jam" comes from one of the best bands of the previous two decades. Formed out of the ashes of Nirvana, lead singer Dave Grohl started one of the best rock bands of my generation when he created the Foo Fighters in the mid-1990s. Since then, they have gone on to multiple Grammys, gold albums, ect. This song comes off their 2011 album, "Wasting Light" and performed live on the David Letterman Show at the Ed Sullivan Theatre in NYC. This is one of my favorites from them, "Bridge Burning," enjoy!
The State of the Penguins
The Penguins came back to CEC after a 1-1-1 stretch of games against multiple Eastern Conference foes. Thursday, the Pens began a three games in four days stretch that started with the 2nd in the Atlantic Detroit Red Wings. On that night, the Penguins returned to the high flying, high scoring style we saw for the past few weeks. Goals were aplenty, and the whole building, the whole of Penguins nation, was partying hard.
Pittsburgh got points from 12 different players in their six goal outburst against the Red Wings Thursday night. Ben Lovejoy, who despite being the whipping boy for many in the nation and has had a solid overall season, scored his third of the season mid-way through the first to get the scoring started. The Penguins record improved once again when Matt Cullen adds a point, as the 39-year-old veteran scored his 7th of the season. Near the end of the second, rookie Scott Wilson, who led the AHL with 22 goals at the time of his call up, got his first career NHL goal. Phil Kessel added another two goal game, thanks to a line switch that saw him up on the top line with Kunitz and Crosby for the majority of the game. Sid added a late empty netter to finish off the scoring.
Important on this night was the secondary scoring from the Penguins. Lovejoy got a big goal from the bottom pair. Derrick Pouliot added his third assist of the season while Conor Sheary assisted on Wilson's first. Matt Cullen, despite playing on the second line on this night, added a goal and assist, which should bode well for the bottom six with the return of Malkin coming up soon, hopefully. The Penguins need this group to score more regularly. They don't need three goals a game, though it would be nice, but they need to consistently create chances and get the occasional goal.
The big guys also broke their three game funk tonight. Crosby posted a two-point night after three scoreless games. Hornqvist and Kunitz each added two assists tonight, and Phil Kessel showed what he is capable of doing when given time to play with Crosby. Kris Letang and Olli Maatta each added an assist and Carl Hagelin was instrumental in keeping plays alive that led to goals.
The Penguins played a great overall game on Thursday. What I really want to see is them carry that momentum over into this weekend back-to-back stretch. Today is a big game against the Lightning, who have already taken the first two games from Pittsburgh. I'd love to see the Pens get a huge home win before heading to Buffalo tomorrow to face Bylsma and the Sabres.
Average of Late: The Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa took down the Penguins three weeks ago in their own building for the second time, dumping six goals in on Marc-Andre Fleury and the Pens. Since then, however, the Lighting have struggled. They enter today's game with a mere 5-5-0 record in their last 10 games. Tampa has lost to the likes of Ottawa, Montreal, St. Louis and San Jose over the past two weeks, and only beat Nashville and Winnipeg in extra time.
The Lightning still have the pieces in place to succeed, but for multiple reasons have not been able to consistently get it going this year. Firstly, the distractions have certainly been there. The biggest revolving around Steven Stamkos, who will be an unrestricted free agent at season's end. The contract negotiations have not gone well to date, but GM Steve Yzerman publicly proclaimed on Monday that he would not trade his captain at the deadline. Until Stamkos re-signs, that looming cloud will continue to affect that room. The Jonathan Drouin has also yet to be resolved, but that has been much less of a distraction than the Stamkos situation. Then there are the injuries. Tyler Johnson hasn't lived up to his breakout numbers last year, mostly due to missing so much time with nagging injuries. The Bolts have also been without other big name players, such as Palat and Jason Garrison for a spell. Finally, the playoff hangover certainly affect this team earlier in the season. Their fans are hoping for them to find their stride and at the right time.
Tampa has gotten solid play out of many of their players despite the up-and-down nature of their season. Nikita Kucherov leads the team with 24 goals and 49 points. Stamkos has 23 goals and 43 points thus far. Victor Hedman has had another solid season on the blueline, posting 36 points. In net, Ben Bishop has been outstanding, going 22-17-3 with a 2.14 GAA in his All-Star season to this point.
Tampa is struggling of late, but they certainly have the Penguins number. It should be a great game, but hopefully the Penguins can salvage this game and go 1-1-1 v. Tampa this season.
The Lowdown on the Lightning:
- 31-22-4 overall record.
- 66 points on the season has the Lighting just one point out of the last playoff spot in the Atlantic.
- Tampa has gone 5-5-0 in their last ten games, including losing 4 of their last 6 games.
- The Lighting are an average 12-12-2 team away from the Forum this year.
Scoring Leaders:
- RW Nikita Kucherov - 49pts (24G-25A)
- C Steven Stamkos - 43pts (23G-20A)
- D Victor Hedman - 36pts (6G-30A)
- C Alex Killorn - 28pts (10G-18A)
- C Valterri Filppula - 27pts (7G-20A)
Injury Report:
- C Vladislav Namestnikov (upper-body) is a game-time decision for today. Namestnikov hasn't played in the past few games due to an UBI, but has returned to skating. It is likely he could return today.
- D Jason Garrison (lower-body) is OUT today. The veteran defenseman will be out the next 3-5 weeks due to a lower-body ailment.
Lines:
- Alex Killorn - Steven Stamkos - Ryan Callahan
- Ondrej Palat - Tyler Johnson - Nikita Kucherov
- Cederic Paquette - Valtteri Filppula - JT Brown
- Erik Condra - Brian Boyle - Jonathan Marchessault
Pairs:
- Victor Hedman - Andrej Sustr
- Matt Carle - Anton Stralman
- Nikita Nesterov - Braydon Coburn
Ben Bishop is expected to start in net for Tampa today.
News & Notes From Around the Penguins
- C Evgeni Malkin (lower-body) is OUT today and tomorrow. He has resumed skating, but he won't play this week for the Pens.
- D David Warsofsky (concussion) continues to skate with the team.
- No updates on Fehr, Bonino, or Bennett
Pens/Lightning Notes:
- Tampa has taken the first two games of the matchup this season.
- Tampa has outscored the Penguins 11 to 7 in these two games, both at the Tampa Times Forum.
- Today's game is the only regular season matchup between the Pens and Bolts at Consol Energy Center.
- Pittsburgh has won 9-straight home games against the Lightning.
- Patric Hornqvist leads Penguin scorers v. Tampa this year with 2 goals and 5 points.
- Chris Kunitz has also chipped in 3 points, while Letang, Crosby, and Kessel each have two.
- Vladislav Namestnikov leads Tampa v. Pittsburgh this year with 3 goals and 4 points. Tyler Johnson (1G-3A) also has four points, as does Steven Stamkos (4A).
Miscellaneous Notes:
- The Penguins are 7-1 in their last 8 home games.
- The Penguins PK has killed its last 14 penalties.
- Marc-Andre Fleury is 8-1-1 in his last 10 starts at CEC.
- Patric Hornqvist is just ONE point away from 300 for his career.
#AskBigDave
Thanks for the question Jonathan and I'm glad to discuss this a little deeper today. Rumors began to spread on the interwebs on Wednesday that the Penguins were interested in acquiring forward Scotty Hartnell from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Rumors picked up yesterday when the site, Hockey Buzz Eklund (@Eklund on the Tweety) posted a piece on the rumors. Since then, there has been a lot of chatter amongst the fanbase.
Now, here are the numbers on Scott Hartnell before I go into my opinions on the matter. Firstly, Hartnell is a hell of a player. He is a gritty, pain in the ass, agitator with a ton of talent. Unlike other noted goons/agitators, this guy can be very productive. In over 1086 career games, the 33-year-old Hartnell has 296 career goals and 634 career points. He has 178 career power play points and has averaged over 100 hits per season in his career. Monetarily, Hartnell's contract isn't very friendly. The Flyers moved his deal to Columbus last year, but the 33-year-old will have three more years past this season at 4.75 million dollars annually.
Jonathan, I personally would love to see Hartnell play for the Penguins. He is so much like Matt Cooke was, you hate him on the other team but love him on your own. Hartnell would add power play help, would be a great fit on the first or third line and would bring that grit and physicality you mentioned. I love everything about the way he plays and how he has produced over his career.
But I do have some serious reservations as well. Hartnell is 33 and would be near 40 when the deal is up. We already have one of those deals in Kunitz, expiring after next year, and I don't know if I'd want another one of those on the books. Which leads me into the contract. 4.75 million is a huge cap hit for a guy who is realistically a third liner at this point of his career. He still has some hands and given a chance alongside either Malkin, Crosby or even Bonino he would probably be a big help offensively. Plus he has the grit. But 4.75 is way too much if a lot of it isn't eaten by the Jackets, which I don't think they will be willing to do.
Now, the Penguins don't have a ton of money to play with; only about a 1.7 million dollars as of today. If the Pens were going to make this deal, they would certainly need to free up some money, but they would also require Columbus to eat a significant portion of Hartnell's deal. If I were GM, I'd send the Jackets Ian Cole and his 2 million annual contract for the next three years to the Jackets for Hartnell. This would free up 2 million for the Pens, but also give the Jackets some help on defense which they certainly need. Plus, Cole would be controllable for another two years for the Jackets. Now, I'm figuring the Jackets would need to eat at least half of Hartnell's contract, if not more. If the Pens could trade Cole and have Columbus eat money so the Pens get Hartnell for essentially 2 million a year, I think they should do it.
I hated Hartnell as a Flyer, but man, he is a good player and would be an asset for this team! He's a guy you'd love to have on your team and if the money is done right, I'd love to see the Penguins make this deal no question.
From Dustin T. on the Tweety: "When Malkin, Bonino and Fehr return, who goes? The WBS guys have been performing well."
Excellent question Dustin. The WBS guys have been really good for the Penguins this season and let's face it, we'd be screwed without them and Sid and Tanger's resurgence. But as you mentioned, Malkin, Fehr, Bennett and Bonino will get healthy eventually, and the Pens will likely make some kind of move at the deadline that could bring in another forward. So, who stays and who goes?
Let me start with the goes.
I think the first ones to go will be Oskar Sundqvist and Scott Wilson. No knock on Sundqvist, who I think has been outstanding, but there are 5 centers ahead of him currently and they will get the time before him. He will return to WBS without a doubt. I think Scott Wilson will also go. He has been alright for the big club, but he has definitely been outplayed by the likes of Kuhnhackl, Sheary and Rust. So I see him going down next after Oskar.
Then, I think Kuhnhackl is the next odd man out. He has played a great two way game, despite not scoring at all. I love his big frame and the way he works the net and on the PK. However, whether its Fehr, Bennett or someone brought in by trade, he's going to end up back in WBS.
As for the stays, I think Bryan Rust and Conor Sheary have earned the right to stay. Both of them have played very well, and created offensive chances. Sheary has 5 points so far and Rust has two goals. I'd love to see both of them stay on. That being said, I have a feeling Bennett is going to get yet another chance, though I'd rather see him take a long walk off a short pier, and I still think that Porter will stay in the lineup and a move will be made. I would be comfortable with Rust playing a third or fourth line role down the stretch and into the playoffs, but I don't know if I'd trust the undersized Sheary just yet. Regardless, I think the Penguins will make some move to add to the bottom six and then you'll have the injured return.
Hope that answers your question Dustin.
Projected Lines & Pairs
- Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Phil Kessel
- Carl Hagelin - Matt Cullen - Patric Hornqvist
- Tom Kuhnhackl - Oskar Sundqvist - Bryan Rust
- Scott Wilson - Kevin Porter - Conor Sheary
Pairs:
- Kris Letang - Olli Maatta
- Brian Dumoulin - Trevor Daley
- Ben Lovejoy - Derrick Pouliot
HCMS has confirmed that Marc-Andre Fleury will start in net today.
My 3 Keys to the Game
2. Top Line: We are going to see the Phil up on the top line again with Sid and Kuny today. I am for it, but only if Phil and Sid don't try to over-extend themselves to help the other. They each need to play their game and let the game come to them. Also, this means Kunitz needs to do the dirty work on that line. Don't stand in the slot waiting for a pass, get in and mess with Bishop.
3. Power Play: The Power Play still needs to improve, though I don't see it happening much until Evgeni Malkin is back on the ice. However, I'd like to see some more of what we saw Thursday, as the Conor Sheary experiment seemed to work better than Kunitz in that spot. Maybe that gets things going for them and they can get one today.
My 3 Penguins to Watch
2. Olli Maatta: Maatta has had a very good, but "quiet" year. It isn't a quiet in the sense of underachieving, but "quiet" in the manner of speaking that he doesn't get a lot of notice for a job well done. Today, Maatta will be key because we know that Letang will take chances and get caught. Maatta will have to be especially strong to counter the Tampa rushes.
3. Oskar Sundqvist: Oskar's games are likely numbered with Bonino and Malkin getting closer to return. He has performed really well thus far and I am happy to see he is ready for this level. Ultimately, I'd love to see him score a goal before he leaves and one today against the Lighting would be huge. I just have a feeling, the kid gets his first today.
What to Know for Watching/Listening/Attendings
- Puck drop is at 12:30 with doors to CEC opening at 11:30.
- The Penguins will wear their traditional home jerseys today.
- The Pens Gear Gameday Special is all items at PensGear stores at CONSOL Energy Center are 50% off during Thursday’s game and all remaining home games during the month of February!
- “The Bulliest Dozer,” co-written by Penguins center Eric Fehr, is now available for sale at the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation’s silent auction stand outside of the First Niagara Club. This children’s book about why bullying doesn’t pay is signed by Fehr for just $20. You can also purchase the book by using the Foundation’s mobile bidding app at bidpal.net/pens.
Here is what you need to know for WATCHING tonight:
- ROOT Sports has the coverage tonight. Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey with the call beginning at 12:30pm. Dan Potash will have the interviews.
- Penguins Pregame will precede the game coverage beginning at 12:00pm.
- Penguins Post Game will follow the game action.
- The latest edition of "In The Room" is available on the Penguins website at the link here: https://www.nhl.com/penguins/video/c-41378403
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 12:30pm.
- Penguins Pregame will precede the game coverage at 11:30pm. Josh Getzoff will host.
- Penguins Hot Line will follow the game action.
Pens Points:
- Game Attendance: 50pts
- Concession Purchase: 10pts
- Merchandise Purchase: 10pts
- ROOT Sports Pregame Keyword: 5pts
- ROOT Sports Post Game Keyword: 5pts
- Pens Radio Keyword: 5pts