Its another hockey night in Pittsburgh. Our Penguins continue their homestand tonight as they welcome the legendary Jaromir Jagr and the up-and-coming Florida Panthers.
It is a 7:00pm puck drop for tonight, but you can find out everything you need to know about the matchup, right now, via my pregame show. So sit back and enjoy the ride and welcome to the latest edition of Big Dave's Pens Pregame...
Tonight's "Big Dave Gameday Jam" has a Florida touch to it. This song came on my iPod the other day and I knew I needed to use it for this game. The song is "My Life For Hire" by the metalcore band from Florida knows as A Day to Remember. I think you'll enjoy it.
The State of the Penguins
At this time last week, we were preparing for the Penguins home opener after an 0-2-0 road trip to start the season. Things went from bad to worse, when the Pens dropped the home opener to Montreal 3-2.
But things got better...
The Penguins played a superb game Thursday night in shutting out the Ottawa Senators at Consol. Evgeni Malkin broke his 18 game scoring drought when he got his first goal of the season. Just a few minutes later, teen-sensation Daniel Sprong got his first goal in the NHL. Marc-Andre Fleury would be flawless on this night, earning his 11th shutout over the last calendar year and the Penguins would earn their first win of the season.
The Penguins played again just two nights later with the hope of building off their stellar play Thursday v. Ottawa. Saturday's opponent, the Toronto Maple Leafs; Phil Kessel's old team.
The Penguins would take down the struggling Leafs Saturday to earn their second win of the season. Though they did it in less convincing fashion than two days prior, the Pens still emerged victorious. Evgeni Malkin got another goal in this one and Olli Maatta got his first goal in nearly a year just seconds later. Fleury would allow one goal, but Toronto couldn't beat him again. 2-1 was the final and moved the Pens record to 2-3-0 on the season.
The good news about the last two games was Evgeni Malkin finding his stride. The big Russian had struggled mightily over his last 20-odd games. He had an 18-game goalless streak going into Thursday and earned an assist on Tuesday to get his first point in over 12 games. Since then, Malkin has come alive and been a force for the Penguins. On the week he had two goals, an assist and had created several outstanding scoring chances for himself and his linemates.
On the down side of things, Captain Sidney Crosby has yet to register a point on the season. The 28-year-old has struggled to find his groove here early on. Crosby played much better in the loss to Montreal and was solid again in the Ottawa matchup. However, he didn't accomplish much against Toronto besides a really slick pass to linemate Phil Kessel to start the second. On the night, Crosby registered just one shot and won only 48% of his draws. Not the Crosby we are accustomed to. He looks frustrated and you have to feel for the guy. He just can't seem to get the lucky bounce that gets him going.
The Pens also received some good tidings on the injury front this weekend too. Despite losing Beau Bennett earlier in the week to Injured Reserve, the Penguins were rejoined on the ice by both Eric Fehr and Pascal Dupuis for morning skates. Fehr skated twice this past week, while Dupuis skated with the team on Sunday. If all goes according to play, both could be back in the lineup for the November 4th matchup with Brandon Sutter and the Vancouver Canucks.
Tonight, however, the Penguins look to push their win streak from two to three. To accomplish this, they will have to take down Jaromir Jagr, Roberto Luongo and the Florida Panthers to do it...
South Beach, Bringin' the Heat: The Florida Panthers
I'm sorry, I saw the picture and couldn't resist.
Anyway, let's get down to business when it comes to Jagr and the Panthers. This is no pushover team. They surprised everyone last year when they were still in contention at the trade deadline and made the big splash to bring the former Penguin to Florida. Jagr helped them remain into the hunt for the 8th seed going into the final week. The Panthers would miss out by just a few points, finishing the season 38-29-15.
The Panthers were busy on July 1st, 2014 when they brought in several veterans to stabilize a young core. Roberto Luongo was brought in at the 2014 trade deadline, Jussi Jokinen, Willie Mitchell and Shawn Thornton came in on July 1st. The core remains together. 2013 Calder Trophy winner Jonathan Huberdeau rebounded last season after a sophomore slump. Aleksander Barkov emerged as a top line center, especially beside Jagr late in the year and 2014 1st overall selection Aaron Ekblad was so stellar for the Panthers that he took home the Calder Trophy over Ottawa's Mark Stone and Calgary's Johnny Hockey.
The Panthers should be even better this season. They re-signed Jagr to a two-year deal. Made a big splash at the draft by trading Jimmy Hayes to Boston for top six winger Reilly Smith. Lawson Crouse was selected 11th overall in the draft and Quinton Howden emerged from the system to add to the forward corps. With the core entrenched and the new additions, the Panthers are poised to make an impact on the Eastern Conference race again.
Thus far, the Panthers have been solid. They enter tonight with a 3-2-0 record. Florida pounded the Flyers in their opener 7-1, before dropping the next game 1-0 in Philadelphia. The Panthers are beating the teams they should beat, as they also took down Buffalo and Carolina last week before falling to Dallas on Saturday. Tonight, they hope to earn their fourth win of the season.
The lowdown on Florida:
- 3-2-0 on the season, good for 6 points and fourth in the Atlantic Division.
- Florida is 1-1 away from South Beach this year and went 17-16-8 on the road last season.
- Florida has good scoring touch and with a solid Luongo in net, their goal differential is currently at plus-7 (16GF-9GA)
Scoring Leaders:
- RW Jaromir Jagr - 7pts (4G-3A)
- C Aleksander Barkov - 6pts (3G-3A)
- RW Reilly Smith - 4pts (2G-2A)
- C Brandon Pirri - 4pts (1G-3A)
- C Vincent Trocheck - 4pts (1G-3A)
Injury Report:
- No injuries to report.
Line Combinations:
- Jonathan Huberdeau - Aleksander Barkov - Jaromir Jagr
- Brandon Pirri - Nick Bjugstad - Reilly Smith
- Jussi Jokinen - Dave Bolland - Vincent Trocheck
- Quinton Howden - Derek MacKenzie - Shawn Thornton
Defensive Pairs:
- Brian Campbell - Aaron Ekblad
- Dmitry Kulikov - Alex Petrovic
- Willie Mitchell - Erik Gudbrandson
Roberto Luongo is expected to start in net.
News & Notes from the Penguins
- Not an injury, but F Daniel Sprong will NOT play tonight. He is currently in Canada getting an extension on his work visa. WIth that news, it is likely he will remain with the club past the 9-game limit for Juniors.
- Still no announcement on the nature of Beau Bennett's injury. He was placed on IR last Thursday.
- F Pascal Dupuis skated with the team on Sunday at Consol. He has missed the first two weeks of the season with a lower-body injury. Duper told DK on Pittsburgh Sport's Josh Yohe that he is "on schedule and probably about two weeks away."
- F Eric Fehr skated with the team multiple times last week. While he stated his elbow is fine, he is still not in "game shape" just yet. He was expected to return in November and that still seems the fair assessment.
The Pens/Florida Matchup:
- The Penguins have won 13 of their last 15 home games v. Florida.
- The Penguins went 2-0-1 last season in their 3 matchups against Florida. Both Penguins win came at home where they took the first matchup 3-1 in December and the final game between the two 5-1. The lone loss came in a shootout in Florida in late December.
- Sidney Crosby had 4 points in 3 games v. Florida in 2014-15 (1G-3A). Evgeni Malkin also had four points v. Florida including 3 goals. Patric Hornqvist had 3 goals v. Florida last season as well.
- G Marc-Andre Fleury played in all three games v. Florida last season.
- F Evgeni Malkin has stellar numbers in his career against Florida. In 28 games, he has scored 30 points (10G-20A).
Miscellaneous Pens Notes:
- Sergei Plotnikov tallied his first NHL point on Saturday night when he assisted on Olli Maatta's goal.
- It was also a milestone night for Fleury, as he played in his 600th NHL game.
- Kris Letang and Ian Cole both currently rank 2nd in the NHL in statistical categories. Letang is second in ice time while Cole is second in blocked shots.
Penguins Leaders:
- Scoring: 1. Malkin 3pts (2G-1A), 2. Letang 2pts (1G-1A), 2. Kessel (1G-1A)
- Shots: 1. Letang 19, 2. Kessel 18, 3. Hornqvist 17
- Hits: 1. Kunitz 16, 2. Plotnikov 13, 3. Letang 11
- Faceoff%: 1. Cullen 58.5, 2. Crosby 52.3, 3. Bonino 49.3
Projected Penguins LInes & Pairs
- Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Phil Kessel
- David Perron - Evgeni Malkin - Patric Hornqvist
- Sergei Plotnikov - Nick Bonino - Kevin Porter
- Bobby Farnham - Matt Cullen - Bryan Rust
Defensive Pairs:
- Kris Letang - Ian Cole
- Olli Maatta - Ben Lovejoy
- Brian Dumoulin - Rob Scuderi
Powerplay Units:
- Letang (point), Malkin (left half-wall), Kessel (rover, slot), Crosby (right half-wall), Kunitz (net front)
- Hornqvist (net front), Bonino (right half-wall), Perron (slot), 28 (right point), Maatta (left point/half-wall)
Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to start in net tonight.
My 3 Keys to the Game
2. Net-Front Presence: Florida netminder Roberto Luongo is... lets go with eccentric. Not to say that he isn't mentally strong in net, but the likes of Hornqvist, Kunitz, Plotnikov and Sprong could create havoc in front of Big Luo tonight that could lead to some "garbage goals." Look, it doesn't matter how pretty they are, as long as the puck ends up in the net. Attack the net, attack Luongo and the Pens should succeed tonight.
3. Power Play: Just need to get one. They currently sit 0-for-16 and Mike Johnston promised changes. The changes we saw today in practice, frankly, are stupid. He's taking the best net front guy off the top unit and putting two other players in positions they don't excel at. It's a bold move, but if the Penguins can just get the puck in the zone better (i.e. the breakout mentioned above), then the should get more opportunities in the offensive end and do less time chasing the puck.
My 3 Players to Watch
2. Patric Hornqvist: This guy has played too well this season to not have been rewarded with a goal yet. Every shift, every game, this guy is hustling. He currently sits third on the team with shots on goal and with his net-front play, he should get a goal. I think he does it tonight. Hornqvist scores.
3. Ian Cole: This guy continues to get better and better. The Pens hope they have found Paul Martin's replacement on the top pair, the second PP unit and the PK. He's done well in all three facets to start the year. Cole is very good defensively, and that is what has stood out the most this year thus far. That being said, Cole has an excellent shot and I would like to see him shoot a little more from the point. His booming shot may not only beat goaltenders, but it's powerful enough to create rebound chances.
What to Know for Watching/Attending/Listening
- It is a 7:00pm puck drop, with the doors of Consol opening at 6:00pm.
- The Penguins will wear their tradition home black jerseys.
- Tonight's giveaway is a "Penguins Selfie Stick" presented by Verizon.
- The Pens Gear gameday special is 50% off the price of jersey personalization
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
Final Statements
I should have a "View From Where I Sat" after tonight's game. Unless something comes up, I should be able to do so. Be sure to check back a little bit after the game for that.
I hope to live tweet throughout. I'm not going to the game so it makes it easier to do so while I'm just watching from home. So follow the Twitter throughout the game for my immediate thoughts on the action.
That's it for me for now. I will see you all later. Enjoy the game and LETS GO PENS!!!