Happy Thursday Penguins fans and welcome to the latest edition of the Big Dave's Pens Pregame show. The Penguins are home once again tonight to play host to Jordan Staal and the Carolina Hurricanes. It will be the final matchup between these two teams this season.
Game action begins at 7:00pm tonight, but the Pregame is live now for your enjoyment....
Tonight's "Big Dave's Gameday Jam" once again comes from the Guardians of the Galaxy Soundtrack. I went on the Youtube to find a music video and this was the suggestion. Just couldn't pass it up. It's no "Hooked On A Feelin'" by Blue Swede, but it's still pretty damn good. It's the classic "Come and Get Your Love," by Redbone. Enjoy!
The State of the Penguins
Pittsburgh is getting hot at the right time of year and it is exactly what this team needs if they are going to make a push for the playoffs. The Pens will enter tonight's final showdown of the season with Carolina on a four-game win streak. Over their last 10 games, they have gone 7-3-0 including being winners of six of their last seven games. It's a good streak for this team to be currently on.
What makes this level of play even more important is that they are doing it against their divisional opponents, many of which are playing good hockey right now. Among the names the Penguins have beat over their last 10 games are the Rangers, Islanders and Blue Jackets. They will face Carolina for the final time tonight, the play back-to-back games against the Flyers and Capitals this weekend.
It is still far from a foregone conclusion that the Penguins will make the playoffs, but if they continue at this high level, they should. More importantly, with one more game against each the Islanders and Rangers, and three more v. Philadelphia, the Penguins could make a push up into one of the guaranteed playoff spots in the Metropolitan. Entering tonight, the Penguins are just three points away from that 3rd spot.
Tonight's game is still vitally important for the Penguins. Carolina won't shy away and will look to make this difficult on them. Most importantly, the Penguins cannot look past this matchup at what is coming this weekend. That is a sure-fire recipe for disaster if they do look past the Canes.
Goodbye, Farewell: The Carolina Hurricanes
In just their second season under Bill Peters, the Canes made huge leaps forward and have remained relevant in the playoff discussion entering the final few weeks of the season. Currently at 75 points on the season, Carolina is just four points back of the final wild card spot and could still mathematically make the playoffs if they were to get really hot and teams ahead of them faltered. It is an unlikely scenario, but crazier things have happened.
Regardless of the end result, the Hurricanes did take a huge step forward this season and look more promising for the future. Following the trade of long-time captain Eric Staal at the deadline, his little brother Jordan is now the star for this Carolina club. He hasn't lit the world on fire since the trade, but the top line minutes are having the former Penguin look more like the dynamic two-way player of old. The departure of Staal the Elder has also led to more minutes for the emerging Victor Rask. The sophomore center has already surpassed his rookie totals for goals and points, and the increased minutes has seen him add four points over his last five games. Finally, Jeff Skinner has gotten hot and replaced some of the production lost by the Staal deal to the Rangers. In his last five games, Skinner has three goals and six points, including back-to-back multi-point games against Ottawa and Tampa.
Carolina is a team building for the future, but a future that is not far off. They still have some quality pieces coming through the pipeline and they will have 11 picks, including seven in the first three rounds, of this summer's NHL Entry Draft. Former Penguins star and current Carolina GM Ron Francis is doing a great job retooling this team for what many in the Tar Heel State hope will be a run at another Stanley Cup.
The Lowdown on the Hurricanes:
- 31-26-13 overall record.
- 75 points on the season, good for sixth in the Metro and just four points back of the final wild card spot.
- Carolina has struggled of late, thanks in part to their deadline sale, with a 4-3-3 record over their last 10 games.
Scoring Leaders:
- LW Jeff Skinner - 43pts (25G-18A)
- C Jordan Staal - 41pts (18G-23A)
- C Victor Rask - 41pts (16G-25A)
- D Justin Faulk - 34pts (15G-19A)
- C Elias Lindholm - 34pts (9G-25A)
Injury Report:
- RW Andrej Nestrasil (upper-body) is OUT tonight. The young winger was having a career year skating alongside Jordan Staal on the second line before a fractured vertebra against Toronto last week ended his season.
- D Justin Faulk (lower body) is OUT tonight. The former US Olympian hasn't skated since late-February and is considered "week-to-week" at this point.
- D Ron Hainsey (illness) is a game-time decision tonight. Hainsey missed Tuesday's game v. Washington because of illness, and his status for tonight remains up in the air.
Projected Lines:
- Joakim Nordstrom - Jordan Staal - Elias Lindholm
- Jeff Skinner - Victor Rask - Phil De Giuseppe
- Nathan Gerbe - Riley Nash - Chris Terry
- Brad Malone - Jay McClement - Brody Sutter
Projected Pairs:
- Jaccob Slavin - Brett Pesce
- Noah Hanifin - Ryan Murphy
- Trevor Carrick - Michal Jordan
Cam Ward is expected to start in net for the Canes tonight.
News & NOtes From Around the Penguins
- D Ben Lovejoy (lower-body) is a game-time decision tonight. He will likely sit again, but HC Mike Sullivan stated Wednesday that Lovejoy was ahead of schedule in his recovery and that he should play again soon.
- RW Beau Bennett (upper-body) is a "work in progress" according to HC Mike Sullivan. Bennett suffered a set-back last week after returning to full practice. He practiced Wednesday, skating on the third line, but his return hasn't been disclosed.
- LW Scott Wilson (lower-body) is OUT tonight and could be out "longer term" and will require surgery as of today, according to the team. Wilson was seen on crutches at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex on Wednesday.
- No update on Evgeni Malkin.
Pens/Canes Matchup Notes:
- Fifth and final matchup between the Penguins and Hurricanes this season.
- The teams have split the season series thus far, with the Penguins going 2-1-1 so far.
- Sidney Crosby leads all Pittsburgh scorers in the season series with two goals and five points.
- Marc-Andre Fleury has both wins on the season series, including a shutout on January 17th.
- Carolina's Elias Lindholm leads their team in scoring v. Pittsburgh with three points.
Miscellaneous Notes:
- The Penguins enter this game with a 13-3-2 record in their last 18 games at home.
- Pittsburgh has won three straight and seven of their last 10 overall.
- The Pens have 11 wins out of 15 games v. the Metropolitan Division so far this season, including two against Carolina.
- C Sidney Crosby enters this game on a 9-game points streak (4G-10A).
- LW Chris Kunitz played in his 800th NHL game on Tuesday night v. NY Islanders.
- Marc-Andre Fleury collected his 19th win at home on Tuesday, giving him the third most in the NHL behind Chicago's Corey Crawford (20) and Washington's Braden Holtby (23). Fleury's victory was also his 30th of the season, giving him 8 seasons with at least 30 regular seasons wins. That number is currently second amongst active NHL goaltenders (Lundqvist 10 seasons of 30+ wins).
#AskBigDave
This is a question I have answered a few times over the last few weeks, but honestly, every time has probably had a different answer Tyler. This time is no different.
If the Penguins continue to play at this pace, even without Malkin, it is possible to sneak into the guaranteed spots from the Metropolitan Division. Now, will they? I wish I could tell you, but I don't think it is inconceivable to believe they could jump up into the first or second spot in the Metropolitan. This could be made easier by making sure they beat the Islanders and Rangers in their final matchups of the regular season over the next few weeks. Same can be said if they can take out the Flyers in at least two of their last three games against them.
Ultimately Tyler, I think the Penguins will remain pat, and enter the playoffs as the first wild card team. I think the Islanders and Rangers will battle for home-ice, but the Penguins will fall just short of them. In the long run, I think that is best for their chances. If they remain in the number one wild card spot, they'd likely face either Tampa or Florida, which I am not against.
From Lets Talk Pens on the Tweety: "Who is your MVP and most surprising player at this point of the year?"
This is a great question and one I will certainly have to give more thought over the next few weeks as I create my end of the year awards for the Penguins. That being said, these would be my early choices for both spots you specifically ask about.
Most Valuable Player (MVP) - Marc-Andre Fleury: I don't think this one has much doubt behind it. While Crosby and Letang have played better since Sullivan took over, and Malkin played well from November onward, it has been Marc-Andre Fleury that has assured the Penguins are still in the playoff hunt at this point in the season. His numbers are also really good, despite the team's slow start to the season. For the year, Flower is 30-16-6, has five shutouts, a 2.32 goals against average and .922 save percentage. Those are really good numbers from a guy who got little offensive support for the first third of the season. So Flower is my MVP for sure.
Most Surprising Player - Matt Cullen: This one is really hard for me, as I'd love to give it to defenseman Brian Dumoulin just as much, but I have to go with Cullen. When the Penguins signed the then 38-year-old center in August, I thought it was a stupid move by GMJR. I wanted to see this team get younger and use guys like Oskar Sundqvist, Rust, etc and not bring in another aging veteran. I can eat crow now, because where would the Penguins be without him. Cullen has been the biggest surprise all season. He has played in every single game, a feat only himself, Dumoulin, Phil Kessel and Patric Hornqvist have achieved. He has been outstanding offensively, producing 11 goals and 22 points through 69 games. Defensively and on the penalty kill, he's been the best forward without a second thought. Finally, his 56.6 faceoff win percentage is best on the Penguins this season. As I said in the open, I think Brian Dumoulin is the only other guy who has surprised so much in a positive way, but I'll go with Cullen.
This one comes from Ryan B. on the Tweety: "What are your thoughts on the roles of Bryan Rust, Scott Wilson and Tom Kuhnhackl next season? Will Matt Cullen return? And your thoughts on Ian Cole over Derrick Pouliot?"
All excellent questions Ryan. Let me answer these in reverse order, starting with Cole/Pouliot.
I'd honestly rather see Derrick Pouliot in the lineup over Cole at this point and time. Cole is a decent defenseman, but I see him more as a number seven than anything else. That being said, he has played really well since being reinserted in the lineup a couple weeks back. I'd like to see Pouliot in there, especially with Malkin out. However, the emergence of Justin Schultz as a legitimate offensive threat and top power play player has made that move less necessary with each passing game. I honestly don't think we're going to see Pouliot back in the lineup much over the next few weeks, and I think Cole's days are numbered with Lovejoy returning soon as well.
Now, for Matt Cullen. It goes against my long-felt belief that the Penguins need to get younger and soon, but I would absolutely bring Matt Cullen back for one more season. I love everything this guy has done for us so far this season. As I mentioned in the answer above, he has greatly exceeded my expectations and his durability and production has made him a key to the success the Pens have had this year. I would bring him back, especially if they could move Fehr or Bonino this offseason, preferably the latter.
Finally, the newly-extended guys' futures. I think Bryan Rust is a legitimate top-nine player in the NHL. He needs a little more polishing, but his speed and energy have been huge for this team since becoming a regular in the lineup. Same can be said for Tom Kuhnhackl. I see him as a bottom six winger and a guy who would be perfect on the Penguins fourth line next year. In fact, if the Pens brought Cullen back, I'd love to see the line of Kuhnhackl - Cullen - Wilson as the fourth line. They have a little touch of everything and would be a legit scoring threat. I think Wilson could develop into a top-nine player too, but I like the way he plays with the likes of Cullen and Fehr, so I have no issues with him in the bottom six. I think there will be moves made over the summer, and other guys will factor in as early as next year too, including Daniel Sprong and Dominik Simon.
From Crazy4Pens on the Tweety: "What is the main difference between Sullivan's and Johnston's systems?"
This is a tough question for me to answer, but I'll do my best. I think the biggest difference is that Mike Sullivan allows these guys to take more chances offensively and be less concerned with shutting down everyone defensively.
I think the best way of characterizing Johnston's system was to call it reminiscent of the New Jersey Devils of the 90s-2000s where they played boring, defensive hockey with little concern for scoring a ton of goals. Granted, those Devils teams could get away with that style with hall of famers like Kevin Stevens on the blue line and the greatest goalie of all-time in Marty Brodeur in net. While Flower is very good, he is no Brodeur and the Penguins defense is not that good either. Thus, Johnston's system could never really work, and never let its creative players like Crosby, Malkin and Letang create anything offensively.
Sullivan's system is different. Sully understands that he needs to sacrifice a little defense to create offense. By doing this, he allows his stars to create more space and opportunities. He also allows his defenseman to join the rush more, this creates more space for the forwards and thus, more offense is created.
I think the biggest difference between the two is Sullivan allows his players to play to their strengths. Johnston asked guys like Crosby and Malkin to play like Fehr and Cullen, which just isn't their style. He also asked guys like Cole and Lovejoy to play top pair roles and minutes when neither is built for that. Under Sullivan, he is allowing his players to use their specific talents and not asking them to do things they cannot. Sullivan essentially is allowing them to play as a team, where the whole is better than the sum of the parts, while Johnston hoped that the sum of the parts could make up for the evils of their makeup.
I hope that sufficiently answers your question!
Projected Lines & Pairs
- Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Patric Hornqvist
- Carl Hagelin - Nick Bonino - Phil Kessel
- Tom Kuhnhackl - Matt Cullen - Bryan Rust
- Dominik Simon - Eric Fehr - Conor Sheary
Pairs:
- Olli Maatta - Kris Letang
- Brian Dumoulin - Trevor Daley
- Ian Cole - Justin Schultz
Matt Murray is expected to start in net tonight.
My 3 Keys to the game
2. Take Advantage: The Canes are finally losing steam. They have gone 4-3-3 over their last 10 games, traded away key veterans in Staal, Versteeg and Liles and are without their top defenseman in Justin Faulk. For the Penguins, I want to see them keep the rally rolling and take advantage of the struggles and depleted roster of the Canes. Don't over look them, don't come out flat. Play 60 and destroy them like we've seen the last two games against Carolina.
3. Power Play: This unit needs to score. I know the loss of Malkin is monumental, but there are still plenty of talented guys on this unit. I'm looking particularly at Schultz, Letang and Crosby in this matter. Letang now becomes the trigger man on the left-half wall and he needs to shoot those. Same goes for Sid, he needs to look to shoot first, pass second. Finally, Schultz needs to feed them and move the puck with authority. If these three can make it work, then Kunitz and Hornqvist will work out whatever chances they get off rebounds.
My 3 Penguins to Watch
2. Matt Cullen: The Matt Cullen Fanboy Hour continues. Cullen has been so good for the Penguins, but especially of late. He seems to create chances with whoever he is out there with and his play on the PK alongside Eric Fehr is as deadly offensively then as he is when it is even strength. I think Cullen will have another solid game tonight, and if he scores, I would guarantee the Penguins win this game.
3. Conor Sheary: I really like the way he has played the last couple games, especially alongside Eric Fehr. While Fehr is the big-body guy on the line, Sheary uses his small size to zip past and through defenders to create opportunities for himself and Fehr. I also like the occasional pairing of those two with Crosby, which has led to several outstanding shifts in the offensive zone the last couple games. Watch for that again tonight.
What to KNow About Attending/Watching/Listening
- Puck drop is at 7:00pm with the doors to CEC opening at 6:00pm.
- The Penguins will wear their alternate "Pittsburgh Gold" jerseys tonight.
- Stop by Pens Gear tonight for the gameday special. Tonight, it's St. Patrick's Day T-Shirts just $19.99!
- The Pittsburgh Penguins will autograph and auction green St. Patrick’s Day jerseys worn during Tuesday’s morning skate and pre-game warm-ups to raise money for the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation. Place bids on your favorite jerseys starting March 23 through April 6 at pittsburghpenguinsfoundation.org!
- The Penguins will celebrate the 200th anniversary of Pittsburgh’s incorporation as a City by wearing a commemorative patch on their jerseys during Thursday’s game. City of Pittsburgh Police Officer Elizabeth Vitalbo Merkel will sing the National Anthem followed by a ceremonial puck drop by Mayor Bill Peduto and Penguins alumni Ken Schinkel and Duane Rupp. For information about Pittsburgh’s bicentennial celebration, visit pgh200.com.
- Dollar Energy Fund volunteers will be selling tickets for their Fan Appreciation Night Raffle during Tuesday’s game. Buy a $5 ticket to enter to win two tickets to the April 3 game and the chance to participate in the Shirts Off Our Backs ceremony! Proceeds benefit the Dollar Energy Fund.
- “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 http://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 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:
- Game Attendance: 50pts
- Concession Purchase: 10pts
- Merchandise Purchase: 10pts
- ROOT Sports Pregame Keyword: 5pts
- ROOT Sports Post Game Keyword: 5pts
- Pens Radio Keyword: 5pts
- Miller Lite Nite at Paps Family Restaurant and Sports Bar in Blairville: 25pts