Good day Penguins fans and welcome to the latest edition of Big Dave's Pens Pregame! Today may be one of the biggest games of the season for both teams, as the Battle of Pennsylvania resumes in the City of Brotherly Love. That's right! It is Penguins and Flyers today at Wells Fargo Center on Broad St. in Philly.
Puck drops on the action today at 1:00pm, but my Pregame is live now for you to enjoy...
Today's "Big Dave's Gameday Jam" is a new one for me, but one I'm sure many of you out there are fans of. I have never been a huge Death Cab for Cutie fan, but I have heard this song a lot recently while listening to 105.9 The X on iHeartRadio. It's really catchy and reminds me a lot of bands like Mumford and Sons, Cage the Elephant, etc. This song, "Cath," is by far my favorite by DCC, so I'm rolling with it today. Enjoy it folks!
The State of the Penguins
We know all about the bad that is around the Penguins right now. They lost Evgeni Malkin for the foreseeable future with a hand/wrist injury. It's a devastating blow. Scott Wilson, who is not in the Malkin class but who has played well of late, is likely done for the year as well. Beau Bennett, who is so often injured it's more surprising when he's healthy, is still out of the line up, as is veteran defenseman Ben Lovejoy. Couple all of that with the fact the Penguins are still fighting for a playoff spot, it could be easy to have a bleak outlook.
But that is not the case in Penguins nation.
The Penguins enter today's game as one of the hottest teams in hockey. They have gone 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, and are riding a four game win streak into Philadelphia after a huge win v. Carolina on Thursday night. The Penguins went down early in that game, giving up a goal in the first two minutes of the game. By the midway mark in the first, they were down two. In the old days, this team would have folded, even against a struggling team like Carolina. Instead, the Penguins showed some real gumption, and took the game into their own hands.
Sidney Crosby was the leader of the turnaround.
Sid scored a huge answer goal just after Riley Nash's goal gave Carolina a 2-0 lead. With the lead cut in half, the Penguins gained the momentum and never let go. Midway through the second, Phil Kessel added his 21st goal of the season before the Captain redirected an Ian Cole pass for one of the nicest goals of the season. Crosby's 31st of the season and second of the game gave the Penguins a lead they would not relinquish. Nick Bonino added a goal in the third period and the Penguins took their fourth straight game in a huge game.
Now, the Penguins head east to take on the hottest team in hockey right now. We are heading into the gates of hell and it will be a huge game against our biggest rivals... BRING ON PHILADELPHIA!!!
The Hottest Team in Hockey: The Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers were down-and-out the last time we met in January. Everyone expected them to skirt along and finish outside the playoffs, maybe even earning a top 10 pick in this summer's draft. Instead, the players in the Philly dressing room have finally bought into new coach Dave Hakstol's philosophies and they are on a role.
The Flyers are currently 8-1-1 over their last 10 games. That is the best record in hockey at this time and they are sitting just a point outside the final playoff spot in the East. They enter today on a two-game win streak, including a huge win over the defending Stanley Cup Champions in Chicago on Wednesday night. This team has belief again, and they know have team ahead of them looking behind them.
One of the keys to Philly's turnaround is rookie defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere. The young defenseman has posted 39 points in just 51 games this season, becoming the standout, mobile defenseman the Flyers have needed for years. Captain Claude Giroux has quietly had a good year. He leads the team with 59 points through 66 games. Wayne Simmonds, who always seems to give the Penguins fits, has 49 points on the year. Finally, the Flyers will likely get Jakub Voracek back today, who not only has 48 points on the season, but repeatedly punishes the Penguins on the power play.
Philadelphia is rolling. The Penguins are rolling. This will be a huge game and one that could be a huge factor in the playoff standings at season's end. I don't expect a dirty, hostile, for lack of a better term sh*tshow in this game. This is a game that two teams need, and cannot afford to give up power plays for the sake of the rivalry. Expect a great hockey game today...
What to Know About Philadelphia:
- 34-23-12 overall record
- 80 points on the season currently has them one point behind Detroit for the final wild card spot in the East.
- Philly is 8-1-1 over their last 10 games, including winners of their past two.
- Wells Fargo has been a house of horrors for every visitor, as the Flyers are 19-9-7 at home this year.
Scoring Leaders:
- C Claude Giroux - 59pts (18G-41A)
- RW Wayne Simmonds - 49pts (25G-24A)
- RW Jakub Voracek - 48pts (10G-38A)
- C Brayden Schenn - 48pts (24G-24A)
- D Shayne Gostisbehere - 39pts (16G-23A)
Injury Report:
- RW Jakub Voracek (lower-body) is a game-time decision, but is expected to play today. Voracek has missed the last few weeks due to a foot issue, but he skated the last couple days and practiced fully yesterday.
- D Michael Del Zotto (upper-body) is OUT today and the remainder of the season. Del Zotto required wrist surgery a few weeks ago and will miss the rest of the year.
- LW Chris VandeVelde (suspension) is OUT today. VandeVelde elbowed Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews in the head Wednesday night and was penalized for the hit. He was handed a two-game suspension by NHL Player Safety on Friday.
Projected Lines:
- Brayden Schenn - Claude Giroux - Wayne Simmonds
- Michael Raffl - Sean Courturier - Sam Gagner
- Jakub Voracek - Nick Cousins - Matt Read
- Scott Laughton - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - Ryan White
Projected Pairs:
- Nick Schultz - Mark Streit
- Andrew MacDonald - Shayne Gostisbehere
- Brandon Manning - Radko Gudas
Michal Neuvirth is expected to start in net today for the Flyers.
News & Notes From Around the Penguins
- F Beau Bennett (upper-body) will NOT play in either game this weekend, per HCMS.
- D Ben Lovejoy (lower-body) could play this weekend and will be a game-time decision for both today and tomorrow.
- No updates on Malkin or Wilson.
Roster Moves:
- F Oskar Sundqvist has been recalled from Wilkes-Barre. The big Swede featured in 10 games in February, adding an assist.
- F Dominik Simon has been reassigned to WBS as the return for calling up Sundqvist.
- Just the second of four regular season matchups.
- The Penguins took the first game at Consol on January 21st by a 4-3 score.
- Phil Kessel leads the Pens in scoring with two goals. Crosby, Hornqvist and Kunitz each have two points as well.
- Marc-Andre Fleury was the winning goalie on that night.
- Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Brayden Schenn and Shayne Gostisbehere all had two points in that first matchup.
Miscellaneous Notes:
- Penguins enter tonight on a four game winning streak and winners of 12 games v. the Metropolitan Division this season.
- Pens have won 3 of their last 4 road games entering today.
- Pittsburgh fired a season high 48 shots on the Hurricanes on Thursday night.
- C Sidney Crosby enters today's game with a 10-game point streak.
#AskBigDave
I absolutely think he should consider making that change. For those of you not in the know, Phil Kessel uses a particularly "whippy" stick, that way his wrist shots get a lot more snot behind them when he fires them coming down the left wing. Granted, that worked great for him for years in Toronto, but we have rarely seen it while in a Pittsburgh sweater. Insert distressed emoji face.
It is because of this stick that Kessel cannot shoot one-timers and doesn't shoot slappers often either. Granted, there are plenty of reports he just doesn't like those shots either, but if you're going to play on that spot on the power play, you need to be able to fire those one timers.
I would absolutely to see him switch his stick. I think if he went to a stick with a more stiff shaft, he would be able to shoot those one timers with greater ease. Now, that being said, I don't see Kessel switching sticks. I wish he would, but I just don't see him doing it.
From Lets Talk Pens on the Tweety: "Do you believe that Jim Rutherford will still be the GM of the #Pens next season?"
This is a tough question to answer, but if I had to guess right now, I'd say that GMJR will be back next season. He signed a three-year deal with the Penguins prior to last season and though he doesn't expect to be here long-term, he doesn't expect to go on past that. If that is the case, I'd assume he will be back next year before retiring after the season.
Now, should GMJR be back is another question. I think he has done a decent job. I don't like some of the moves he's made, but some of the others have been really good. In the grand scheme, if the Penguins failed to make the playoffs this year, I think he would have been axed at the end of the season. But with the Penguins on their way to a tenth consecutive playoff appearance, I think GMJR is safe.
Jill B. and Crazy4Pens on Twitter both asked about this situation: "Ian Cole has been looking good. Where does Ben Lovejoy fit in now?"
To be honest Jill, he fits right into where Ian Cole is right now. Ben Lovejoy, despite the feelings of some out there in Pens nation, is going to be in the lineup when he's healthy. He is their best defensive defenseman. He is smart with the puck and he can start the rush pretty well for a guy without the same skating ability as a Dumoulin or Schultz.
What the Penguins have in Lovejoy is someone who is physical, responsible defensively and good on the PK on the backend. I really like what he brings not only on the ice, but in the room; Ben is very highly respected in that locker room. I think he needs to be in the lineup when he's healthy and I think it is Ian Cole that ultimately sits.
Now, if I could make one suggestion, it would be to sit Olli Maatta for a couple game and let Lovejoy play in his spot. Maatta is running on fumes and could really use a night off or two going down the stretch. If he were to sit say Sunday night, he would then get four days off before the Pens next game. That would be huge for him going forward.
From Joshua G. on Facebook: "If the Flyers and Penguins were to face off in a seven game series who do you think would win and how long would the series go?"
This is a really though question to answer Joshua, as it really is determinate upon multiple factors. And for me, the biggest thing is it is hard to answer until after today's game. After today, with both teams running on full cylinders, I'll have a better gauge on both of them.
But that's not what you're asking, so let me take a wild guess.
If the Penguins and Flyers played in a seven game series, I think either team could win the series, but it would go seven games. And just because I cannot bring myself to pick the Flyers, I'll pick the Penguins to win that series in 7.
Pros for Pittsburgh: The biggest thing is Marc-Andre Fleury. He is the superior goaltender and I think he could steal the series, especially if the Pens don't have Geno. Then, you have the play of the Penguins bottom six. While the Pens top six is still solid, I think our bottom six is more talented than theirs. I think Rust, Sheary, Cullen, etc could be the difference in that series. Finally, I don't think the stigma of years past is there anymore. Much of the 2012 playoff team is gone, and a lot of these guys are new to this rivalry. Because of that, I don't think this team has the Flyers in their head like the old days.
Pros for Philadelphia: Flyers are playing inspired, great hockey right now. They are the hottest team and the team that sneaks into the playoffs on a hot streak, often plays really in the first series. For that reason, I'd give Philly an edge in any series. I also love the play of the young Shayne Gostisbehere. One guy really can't change a series that much, but I think he'd have a huge impact. Also, Philly is relatively healthy. They have their big guns, Giroux, Voracek, Simmonds, Schenn, healthy heading into the playoffs. That is huge and cannot be discounted.
So Joshua, it is hard to answer this question until after seeing today's game. But, if you're twisting my arm, I'll go Pens in 7.
Projected Lines & pairs
- Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Patric Hornqvist
- Carl Hagelin - Nick Bonino - Phil Kessel
- Tom Kuhnhackl - Matt Cullen - Bryan Rust
- Oskar Sundqvist - Eric Fehr - Conor Sheary
Pairs:
- Olli Maatta - Kris Letang
- Brian Dumoulin - Trevor Daley
- Justin Schultz - Ian Cole
Marc-Andre Fleury will start in net this afternoon.
My 3 Keys to the Game
2. Special Teams: The Flyers PP always finds a way to kill the Penguins. The Pens PK needs to be up to snuff, as it has been the last few weeks. That being said, the best way to stop the Flyers PP is to stay out of the box, which is why key number one is what it is. The Pens PP needs to do something as well. No Malkin really hurts, but the Pens need to find a way to cash in with some regularity without him.
3. Second Line: We finally saw some good play out of the second line on Thursday night. Hagelin has been good the last few weeks. Phil has been underwhelming and Bonino has been a dumpster fire. Thursday though, they looked good. That needs to continue tonight. Kessel needs to be dynamic to make sure the Flyers have to keep an eye on someone else besides Sidney Crosby, and Bonino needs to do something with the increased minutes. If this trio could heat up, it would go a long way for this team moving forward.
My 3 Penguins to Watch
2. Phil Kessel: Kessel got a good goal Thursday against Carolina. He also had two goals in the first matchup against Philly. The Phil needs to be HUGE today. With no Malkin, the Flyers will place all their attention on Crosby. If Kessel could be dynamic and score some points, not only will it help the scoreline, but it'll take the focus off Sid a little bit.
3. Kris Letang: This is a huge game and a heated one. Letang has played really well of late, and more importantly, has kept his head of late. The Flyers know how to get under people's skin, especially Tanger. I want Letang to play smart in this game, and especially want him to draw penalties, not take retaliation ones. If Tanger can do that, the Penguins will be in a lot better shape.
What to Know For Watching/Listening
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 1:00pm. Dan Potash will have the interviews.
- Penguins Pregame will precede the game coverage beginning at 12:30pm.
- 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/in-the-room-trusting-the-process/t-277781208/c-42589103
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 1:00pm.
- Penguins Pregame will precede the game coverage at 12:00pm. 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 All-Star Sports Bar & Grill in Canonsburg: 25pts