Happy Tuesday Penguins nation and welcome to the latest edition of the Big Dave's Pens Pregame. Glad to have you aboard for one of the final regular season pregames of the regular season. Tonight, the Pens head north of the border to the capital of Canada to face the Ottawa Senators.
Puck drops on the action tonight at 7:30pm, but you can enjoy the Pregame starting now....
STAR WARS CAME OUT TODAY!!!! Sorry folks, but I am an absolute Star Wars nerd and today the Force Awakens came out on DVD and Blu Ray. You best believe I've already watched it several times today. Due to the release of Star Wars today, I went with some of its music for my "Big Dave's Gameday Jam." Below is an hour long loop of "The Force Theme" or "Skywalker Theme" composed by John Williams for the Star Wars movies. It is an iconic tune and I hope you enjoy it while reading the pregame. May the Force be with you all.
The State of the Penguins
The Penguins enter the final week of the regular season making a joke of the remainder of the league. They enter tonight's showdown in Ottawa on a six-game win streak. They have won 12 of their last 13 games, many of which without the likes of Evgeni Malkin, Olli Maatta, Bryan Rust, Brian Dumoulin and/or Marc-Andre Fleury. If that wasn't impressive enough, the Penguins have been pouring goals into the back of the net with increasing regularity. In each of the last four games, the Pens have scored at least 5 goals. In seven of their last eight games, they have scored at least three goals and have scored at least four in six of those eight. It is quite impressive.
Equally impressive has been the play of the Penguins backup netminder. 21-year-old rookie Matt Murray continues to prove that he is more than ready for his current assignment with the Penguins. Murray, who struggled Tuesday night despite winning, went on to a huge weekend and earned the NHL's 3rd Star of the Week. For the week, he was 3-0 with a 1.95 GAA. He earned his first career shutout on Saturday v. NY Islanders and had a 1:22:05 sequence of shutout hockey starting Tuesday and rolling through the first period on Sunday. Many thought the loss of Marc-Andre Fleury would be a huge blow, and no discounting the situation as it is a blow, but Matt Murray is ready to play in these game and he can win them. There is no doubt in my mind about that.
Tonight, the Penguins enter the final stretch of the regular season. They have three games remaining against Ottawa, Washington and Philadelphia. Pittsburgh enters tonight's game with a five-point lead over the Rangers in the Metropolitan, making a second place finish and home ice in the first round ever more apparent. However, that is not locked up yet, meaning these games still have a vital importance to the Penguins' season. I want to see the Pens clinch that home ice for the first round, but more importantly, I want to see them continue to play at this high level. I don't want to see them pull off the pedal and coast through the final week. I want to see them play these games as if they needed the six points to get in. That is what wins in the playoffs, and that's a mentality that cannot be let up on even for a week.
All that being said, with Mike Sullivan at the helm, I don't expect regression or a lazy attitude this week. I expect to see this team go for the jugular and continue to play some outstanding hockey.
Outside Looking In: The Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators were still contending for the the Stanley Cup Playoffs around the trade deadline. They pulled off a blockbuster move by acquiring D Dion Phaneuf from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a couple players and looked poised to make another run down the stretch.
Unfortunately, injuries hit hard and the Senators were unable to lead another big run down the stretch for entrance into the playoffs.
Among the names missing from the lineup for the Senators include Phaneuf, who played 20 games for the Sens before going down. Top line center Kyle Turris has been lost for the season with an ankle issue. He was having a decent year before going down for the year. Clarke MacArthur is out with a concussion, and likely won't play again this year. Chris Phillips and Patrick Wiercioch have missed time with a variety of injuries. It has played a huge part in why the Sens were unable to recapture the magic of last year at this time.
So the Senators will look to the future. They will close out the 2015-16 season and look forward to a summer of building around a group of young players. They are not far off and a couple right additions to this lineup and they could find themselves contending for a playoff spot again next season.
What to Know About Ottawa:
- 36-34-9 on the season.
- Currently have 81 points, which is the 12th best record in the East.
- Ottawa enters tonight losing in their previous game and going 5-4-1 over their last 10 games.
Scoring Leaders:
- D Erik Karlsson - 79pts (15G-64A)
- RW Mark Stone - 61pts (23G-38A)
- RW Bobby Ryan - 56pts (22G-34A)
- LW Mike Hoffman - 56pts (28G-28A)
- C Mika Zibanejad - 48pts (19G-29A)
Injury Report:
- RW Mark Stone (illness) will be a game-time decision tonight. Stone has missed a few games due to an upper-body issue, and was hopeful to play tonight. However, illness knocked him out of practice yesterday and his status for tonight remains up in the air.
- D Mark Borowiecki (lower-body) is OUT for the remainder of the season. The 26-year-old defenseman tore his MCL and will miss the remainder of the season.
- D Marc Methot (illness) is a game-time decision tonight. Methot missed Saturday's game with an illness but is expected to return to the lineup tonight.
- C Kyle Turris (lower-body) is OUT tonight and the remainder of the year. Turris hasn't played since February and he isn't expected to return this season.
- D Patrick Wiercioch (upper-body) is game-time decision tonight. Wiercioch hasn't played in a couple games due to injury, but he hopes to play in the final couple of games for the Sens.
- LW Clarke MacArthur (concussion) is OUT for the remainder of the season
- D Dion Phaneuf (lower-body) is OUT for the remainder of the season.
- D Chris Phillips (back) is OUT for the remainder of the season.
Projected Lines:
- Zach Smith - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Mark Stone
- Mike Hoffman - Mika Zibanejad - Bobby Ryan
- Nick Paul - Curtis Lazar - Alex Chiasson
- Matt Puempei - Scott Gomez - Chris Neil
Projected Pairs:
- Fredrik Claesson - Erik Karlsson
- Marc Methot - Cody Ceci
- Mike Kostka - Chris Wideman
News & Notes From Around the Pens
- No updates from the team on the injured players. They are still home seeing specialists today, so they won't have news until Thursday likely.
Pens/Sens Matchup Notes:
- The final regular season matchup between these two sides.
- The Penguins have won the first two games of the season series, both at Consol Energy Center.
- Sidney Crosby leads Penguin scorers v. Ottawa this season with 4 points (3G-1A). Kris Letang and Chris Kunitz each have three points.
- Marc-Andre Fleury earned wins in both games, including a 2-0 shutout in October.
- Mark Stone, Cody Ceci, J-G Pageau and Zach Smith each have two points in the regular season series.
Miscellaneous Notes:
- Pittsburgh enters tonight's game on a six-game winning streak.
- The Pens have won 9 of their last 10, and 12 of their last 13 overall.
- If the Penguins earn 4 points out of the next 3 games, they will clinch home ice for the first round of the playoffs.
- The Penguins reached 100 points on the season with their win over Philly on Sunday, the 10th time in franchise history they have achieved that number.
- Pittsburgh remains perfect when leading after the second period. They are 38-0-0 in that circumstance.
- G Matt Murray was named the NHL's 3rd Star of the Week. Murray had a 3-0 record with a 1.95GAA and a shutout.
#AskBigDave
My goodness that is a tough one to answer... Man... I really don't know where to go with that.
I think being in attendance at Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in general would be an amazing experience. It would be heartbreaking if the Penguins lost that game and I was there, but euphoric if they won while I was there. I think it is a one of a kind experience that you don't know if you'll get a chance to experience often, unlike the Masters which is held every year.
That being said, I honestly think I would pick Sunday at Augusta. There is just something about the Masters that pulls you in and never lets you go. Whether it is the scenery, the players (both past and present) or Jim Nance welcoming you into Butler Cabin, there is just something special about the whole thing. No one does a tournament like Augusta National and no one could ever really do one like Augusta National does the Masters. Championship Sunday there is a one of a kind experience. I have always wanted to go and God willing one day I'll get to go to the Masters, but yeah, I definitely would have to pick Augusta on Championship Sunday. I could never be disappointed by that experience.
From Joshua G. on Facebook: "How long until Beau Bennett gets hurt again?"
Now, Joshua, that is just a mean spirited question... But a very fair one to ask haha.
Beau Bennett is really a story of tragedy. He has some real raw talent there, but man, he just cannot stay on the ice. He looked relatively solid while he was healthy early in the year, but that upper-body injury has really hampered him since December.
Frankly, if Malkin and Rust were healthy, I still would scratch Bennett for the likes of Sheary or Sundqvist. Despite the goal Sunday, he just doesn't impress me. He is still scared to go to the corners and the dirty areas. He reportedly considered retiring just 6 weeks ago when injuries seemed to keep happening. If you have the mindset, you already got one foot out the door and frankly, I don't want that on my team. Commit yourself, healthy or not, or get the hell out.
Now, Joshua, I don't know if or when Bennett will get hurt again. However, they will face teams with goons like Chris Neil tonight, Tom Wilson Thursday and an entire roster of them in Philly on Saturday. Maybe one of those games knocks him out.
From Jeff W. on Facebook: "In honor of baseball season starting, if the Pens and Pirates had to swap a player, who would it be and what effect would it have on the teams?"
Wow, tough question Jeff. I think a lot of the Penguins probably grew up playing little league and we all know Sid hit that doozy out of PNC Park a few years back. But with the way he is playing on the ice right now, I certainly don't want to swap him out of our lineup.
If I had to send a Penguin to the Pirates, I'd just send Beau Bennet. I got no use for him anyway so what difference would it really make? Let him sit on the Buccos bench making faces at the camera. No skin off my rear end.
If I had to take a Pirate off the field and put him on skates, I think I would pick either Gerrit Cole or Sean Rodriguez. Cole is a big, strong kid and I could see him being a big body to help this team. But I wouldn't want to take the Bucco's ace away from them. So I'll take Sean Rodriguez. S-Rod is a fringe player for the Pirates, but he could be the grit we need on that fourth line. I mean, Jeff, did you see what he did to that water cooler last year? Wowza! He'd certainly pack a punch in the face of a Chris Neil or Wayne Simmonds.
These two questions fit into each other, so I'll combine them. From Missy, Matt and Danny on the Tweety: "If we clinch home ice, do you sit stars like Letang and Crosby and call up Sestito to avoid injuries or let them play? What's your opinion on the Caps & Flyers trying to injure some of the Pens in the last couple of games? Will/Won't/Who?"
If the Pens clinch, then yes, I would like to see them sit Sid and Letang and play WBS guys for a game or two. My only reservations about sitting those guys, even just to protect them, is to lose the mojo this team has going. They're all playing really well and I hate to disrupt that for any reason. But if teams like Washington or Philly try to take liberties against us, I don't want our big name guys subjected to that. So depending on how things play out, I may sit them for the finale.
Now to the next question. I don't know if anyone will explicitly go out of their way to cause harm to the Penguins, but they won't be sorry if they do. I think the Caps won't really go after anyone, simply because someone could run one of their guys too and they'd be in trouble. Philly is in a precarious situation. If they are going to make the playoffs, then all bets are off. They may play a quiet game and avoid big injuries too. If they are in the hunt and need to win that game, I don't see them playing dirty. If they are out, then you know damn well they will play dirty.
It is a concern I have and it will be one to watch out for. Anyone on the Flyers is capable of being a complete asshat and hurting someone for the sake of hurting someone. So hard to specify a certain player. For Washington, you know Tom Wilson will be flying around and running his mouth. Pens need to keep eyes on him and watch if he starts to get a little cavalier.
Projected Lines & Pairs
- Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Patric Hornqvist
- Carl Hagelin - Nick Bonino - Phil Kessel
- Tom Kuhnhackl - Matt Cullen - Eric Fehr
- Conor Sheary - Oskar Sundqvist - Beau Bennett
Pairs:
- Trevor Daley - Kris Letang
- Brian Dumoulin - Ben Lovejoy
- Ian Cole - Justin Schultz
Matt Murray is expected to start in net tonight.
My 3 Keys to the Game
2. Stop Karlsson: Ottawa's Erik Karlsson has 79 points on the season from the blue line. That is unbelievably impressive. However, if you shut him down, it is rather easy to beat the Sens. The Penguins need to play Karlsson hard and make sure they keep him off the board. If they do that, they should win this game.
3. Bottom Six: The bottom six guys continue to score with regularity and that is simply phenomenal. Eric Fehr had two on Sunday. Beau Bennett scored his first since returning to the lineup. Matt Cullen had two assists. The Penguins need these guys to stay hot and keep scoring. It makes this team miles, MILES, scarier when everyone is scoring.
My 3 Penguins to Watch
2. Matt Murray: The kids is better than alright, good, great. He has been OUTSTANDING! Hard to believe this is a 21-year-old rookie playing such important games down the stretch. Tonight, we need more of what we saw this weekend against the Islanders and Flyers. I hope to see it again.
3. Eric Fehr: The veteran scored two huge goals in Sunday's game, including a big shorty. I love this guy's game, especially in the defensive end. One thing I would love to see from him though is to be more physical. He was a physical presence while playing with Washington for years, and I'd love to see him start throwing more hits down the stretch and into the playoffs. Something to keep an eye on.
What to Know for Watching/Listening
- ROOT Sports has the coverage tonight. Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey with the call beginning at 7:30pm. Dan Potash will have the interviews.
- Penguins Pregame will precede the game coverage beginning at 7:00pm.
- 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 7:30pm.
- Penguins Pregame will precede the game coverage at 6:30pm. 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 Sharky's Cafe in Latobe: 25pts