Name Johnny the Starter… NOW!

Just 24 hours after dropping a difficult decision to the Philadelphia Flyers at home, the Pens were on the road again to face the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night. What that meant for Pittsburgh was seeing a familiar last name out on the ice even though he wouldn’t be wearing their colors in Eric Staal of the Canes. Staal really had been the driving force for Carolina offensively through the early portion of the season with much of their cycle down in the offensive zone running through him. Seeing him out on the ice only made Pens fans envious and more anxious to see their own limb of that family tree return to the ice in Jordan Staal. That return is rumored to be just around the corner as many expect Staal to see his first game action when the Pens head out on the meat of their road trip in the middle of the coming week. Adding Staal back into the mix will give Pittsburgh a lot of additional flexibility in going from offense to defense with Jordan’s amazing ability to forecheck and harass opponents in their own zone.

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Tags: Alex Goligoski, Anaheim Ducks, Anton Babchuk, Arron Asham, Ben Lovejoy, Brent Johnson, Brooks Orpik, Cam Ward, Carolina Hurricanes, Chad LaRose, Chris Kunitz, Craig Adams, Dallas Stars, Dan Bylsma, Eric Godard, Eric Staal, Evgeni Malkin, Jamie McBain, Jiri Tlusty, Joni Pitkanen, Jordan Staal, Kris Letang, Marc Andre Fleury, Mark Letestu, Maxime Talbot, Mike Comrie, Pascal DuPuis, Patrick O’Sullivan, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Tyler Kennedy

The Flyers… Again!?

In what has to be considered an odd schedule quirk, the Pens returned home in the middle of a road trip for just one game to face the rival Philadelphia Flyers. The other oddity about this match-up is the fact that this was the third time already in the first three weeks of the season that Pittsburgh and Philly have faced off against one another. Clearly it isn’t possible for this rivalry to lose any of its luster, but with have of the slated games between these two teams in the rearview after less than a month of the season, the Pens will have to grind through their remaining tussles without that added adrenaline boost that a Flyers game gives to the team. These two clubs split their first two showdowns in each other’s buildings to really add some more fuel to their fierce rivalry, but aside from venue, there was another distinct difference in the winner and loser of each game. Pittsburgh began the season predictably with Marc-Andre Fleury in goal and was soundly beaten by Philly at Consol Energy Center while they started Brent Johnson in net on the Flyers’ turf to house their cross state rivals. This rubber match will feature the same face in net for Philly with Sergei Bobrovsky between the pipes and he had tremendous success against the Pens in their first meeting while crashing back to earth in game number two before being pulled. Fleury was the goalkeeping choice for Pittsburgh in the third meeting of the year while Bobrovsky again went for Philly.

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Tags: Alex Goligoski, Ben Lovejoy, Braydon Coburn, Brent Johnson, Buffalo Sabres, Chris Kunitz, Chris Pronger, Claude Giroux, Daniel Carcillo, Danny Briere, Deryk Engelland, Evgeni Malkin, James Van Riemsdyk, Jeff Carter, Jody Shelley, Kimmo Timonen, Kris Letang, Marc Andre Fleury, Mark Letestu, Matt Carle, Matt Cooke, Mike Comrie, Mike Richards, Mike Rupp, Paul Martin, Philadelphia Flyers, Scott Hartnell, Sergei Bobrovsky, Sidney Crosby, Todd Reirden, Tyler Kennedy

Early Season Eastern Supremacy

After Marc-Andre Fleury returned to his position in the four by six for the Pens win over the Nashville Predators, many thought that the Flower’s return in the 4-3 victory was satisfactory enough to get him back in goal permanently. Thankfully the majority didn’t influence Head Coach Dan Bylsma who made the decision to hand the gig back over to Brent Johnson (if only for a little while longer) against his former club in the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. In what really was a great hockey game to watch for the diehards, a 0-0 stalemate went into overtime with the Pens old nemesis Jaroslav Halak matching Johnson save for save at the other end of the ice. What ultimately cost the Pens in OT was an ill-advised turnover from defenseman Paul Martin that led to a bang-bang Blues goal from the stick of Erik Johnson at a deflating 1-0 margin. Plenty of defensive positives could be taken away from that tilt by the Pens including some dynamic play from first year starter Ben Lovejoy. He logged 1:19 of penalty killing time and also contributed some valuable work in five on five blocking three shots and leading several odd man rushes the other way. That fast paced, up-tempo style is what Bylsma loves to see his team utilize and seeing some success in that vein could be a positive trend for the team to ride into their latest game on the road trip.

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Tags: Adam Hall, Alex Goligoski, Arron Asham, Ben Lovejoy, Brooks Orpik, Chris Kunitz, Craig Adams, Dan Bylsma, Dan Ellis, Dana Tyrell, Deryk Engelland, Erik Johnson, Evgeni Malkin, Jaroslav Halak, Kris Letang, Marc Andre Fleury, Martin St. Louis, Matt Cooke, Maxime Talbot, Mike Comrie, Mike Smith, Nashville Predators, Pascal DuPuis, Paul Martin, Philadelphia Flyers, Sean Bergenheim, Sidney Crosby, St. Louis Blues, Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning, Teddy Purcell, Vincent LaCavalier

Pack Your Bags: Road Trip!

After getting off to a rocky start on their new home ice, the Pens finally got back into a groove at the Consol Energy Center before departing for their first extended road trip of the year. With only one game at home in the next week and a half, that trip began on Thursday night against the Nashville Predators who were one of the two teams remaining in the league without a regulation loss. Pittsburgh had struggled mightily on the road against the Preds losing six straight in Nashville and not leaving the city with a victory since 1999 prior to Thursday’s tilt. The Pens entered the game riding a three game winning streak all courtesy of a red hot goaltender in the veteran Brent Johnson. He offered these thoughts on the previous win over the Ottawa Senators before the faceoff in Nashville saying: “It’s really nice to play with the lead. I thought in the third period, they came out looking for every opportunity they could to go to the net. Our penalty killing was really good. We need to just keep rolling, that’s all that matters.” That short stint with Johnson in goal may have been exactly what this Penguins team needed to regain its confidence as Marc-Andre Fleury returned to the crease looking to keep that roll on for Pittsburgh.

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Tags: Alex Goligoski, Brent Johnson, Chris Kunitz, Cody Fransen, Dan Bylsma, David Legwand, Deryk Engelland, Eric Tangradi, Evgeni Malkin, Francis Bouillon, J.P. Dumont, Jerred Smithson, Jordin Tootoo, Kevin Klein, Kris Letang, Marc Andre Fleury, Mark Letestu, Martin Erat, Matt Cooke, Mike Comrie, Mike Rupp, Nashville Predators, Nick Spaling, Ottawa Senators, Pascal DuPuis, Patric Hornqvist, Pekka Rinne, Shea Weber, Sidney Crosby, Steve Sullivan, Tyler Kennedy

Spoiling Sarge’s Homecoming

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Tags: Alex Goligoski, Alex Kovalev, Andrew Hutchinson, Brent Johnson, Brian Elliott, Brooks Orpik, Chris Campoli, Chris Kunitz, Chris Neil, Dan Bylsma, Daniel Alfredsson, Deryk Engelland, Eric Tangradi, Evgeni Malkin, Jesse Winchester, Jordan Staal, Kris Letang, Marc Andre Fleury, Mark Letestu, Matt Cooke, Nashville Predators, Nick Foligno, Pascal DuPuis, Pascal LeClaire, Paul Martin, Robin Lehner, Ryan Shannon, Sergei Gonchar, Sidney Crosby, Zbynek Michalek

Early Season Passion Evaluation

In a surprising development on a back to back situation, the Penguins decided to go with their backup goaltender Brent Johnson for the second game in a row rather than stick to the plan and have starter Marc-Andre Fleury between the pipes. Could there be a controversy brewing for the starting gig? Most likely not, but this finally shows that Pens Head Coach Dan Bylsma is less concerned about the salary that a player is making and more concerned with the product that each individual is putting up out on the ice. Fleury’s struggles have been well documented, but in the past Bylsma has stuck with the Flower through thick and thin. This scenario is most likely a one-time deal, but fans can hold out hope that the Pens will ride the hot hand and the confidence that they are able to have while it lasts. The old adage in baseball is that momentum is only as good as tomorrow’s starting pitcher and if Johnson could continue pitching quality innings (so to speak) against the Philadelphia Flyers Saturday evening, he could find himself as the interim starter in net.

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Tags: Brent Johnson, Brooks Orpik, Chris Kunitz, Claude Giroux, Dan Bylsma, Danny Briere, Eric Godard, Eric Tangradi, Evgeni Malkin, James Van Riemsdyk, Jeff Carter, Jody Shelley, Kimo Timonen, Kris Letang, Marc Andre Fleury, Mark Letestu, Matt Carle, Matt Cooke, Mike Comrie, Mike Richards, Mike Rupp, Nikolai Zherdev, Philadelphia Flyers, Sean O’Donnell, Sergei Bobrovsky, Sidney Crosby, Tyler Kennedy, Ville Leino, Zbynek Michalek

The Islanders Come to Consol

Still winless in their new digs, the Pens settled in for a back to back situation beginning on Friday night with the New York Islanders at the Consol Energy Center. Some shaky goaltending to start the season has been the main culprit for the team’s struggles as Marc-Andre Fleury has yet to record a win with the Pens only triumph coming with backup Brent Johnson minding the goal crease. Penguins players have been quick to defend the play of their starting goaltender however as defenseman Ben Lovejoy said: “We got away from how we like to play. We want to be in control. None of those goals against can be attributed to (Fleury). They were all legit goals. We can’t have that happen.” Pittsburgh has been somewhat lackadaisical in their forecheck to begin the year as well which can certainly be linked back to the loss of center Jordan Staal for at least the first month of the year. Head Coach Dan Bylsma offered his own take on the team’s slow start saying: “We could have won some of those games, for sure. We’re trying to win hockey games, but we’re (just as much) trying to put the elements of being a good team together. That’s where we’ve got to get better. Some of that is attention to detail, some of that is playing your role, some of that may be special teams, some of that may be goaltending.” Staying out of the penalty box wouldn’t hurt either as the Pens have given their opponents an early power play on several occasions already this season.

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Tags: Alex Goligoski, Ben Lovejoy, Blake Comeau, Brent Johnson, Brooks Orpik, Craig Adams, Dan Bylsma, Deryk Engelland, Eric Godard, Eric Tangradi, Jordan Staal, Josh Bailey, Kris Letang, Marc Andre Fleury, Mark Eaton, Mark Letestu, Matt Cooke, Maxime Talbot, Mike Comrie, Mike Rupp, Milan Jurcina, New York Islanders, Nino Niederreiter, Paul Martin, Philadelphia Flyers, Radek Martinek, Rick DiPietro, Sidney Crosby, Trevor Gilles, Tyler Kennedy, Zbynek Michalek, Zenon Konopka

Home (Not So) Sweet Home

Upon the Pens return to home ice at Consol Energy Center, the team would find the still undefeated Toronto Maple Leafs awaiting their presence. The Leafs hadn’t started out a season 3-0 in a decade and they finally have some legitimate hope present within their fanbase. On the other side of the coin, the Pens had yet to record a point in their glorious new digs at Consol and have been ravaged by injuries already in the young season. Pittsburgh has already been forced to turn to their farm club in Wilkes-Barre recalling defenseman Andrew Hutchinson with Brooks Orpik out with an undisclosed injury and Zbynek Michalek now out with a shoulder ailment. There was some progress on the team’s most notable injured player with Jordan Staal getting in a skate on the ice surface at Consol on Wednesday. Certainly the Pens will be cautious with Staal and make sure that he is one hundred percent confident in his foot before having him suit back up, but there is no question that the team misses his two-way ability out on the ice.

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Tags: Andrew Hutchinson, Ben Lovejoy, Brent Johnson, Brooks Orpik, Chris Kunitz, Clarke MacArthur, Colton Orr, Deryk Engelland, Eric Godard, Eric Tangradi, Evgeni Malkin, Fancois Beauchemin, Jean-Sebastian Giguere, Jonas Gustavsson, Jordan Staal, Kris Letang, Kris Versteeg, Luke Schenn, Marc Andre Fleury, Mark Leestu, Matt Cooke, Maxime Talbot, Mike Comrie, Mikhail Grabovski, Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Nikolai Kulemin, Pascal DuPuis, Sidney Crosby, Tomas Kaberle, Toronto Maple Leafs, Tyler Kennedy, Zbynek Michalek

Changes

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Tags: Alex Goligoski, Andy Greene, Ben Lovejoy, Brent Johnson, Brooks Orpik, Colin White, Deryk Engelland, Eric Tangradi, Evgeni Malkin, Henrik Tallinder, Ilya Kovalchuk, Jason Arnott, Marc-Andre Fluery, Mark Letestu, Martin Brodeur, Maxime Talbot, Mike Rupp, Montreal Candiens, New Jersey Devils, Patrik Elias, Paul Martin, Scott Gomez, Scott Niedermayer, Sidney Crosby, Toronto Maple Leafs, Tyler Kennedy, Washinton Capitals, Zach Parise, Zbynek Michalek

A Second Try for Win #1 at Consol

The only thing worse than an 0-1 record to start a season is beginning with an 0-2 tally and the Pens looked to avoid that on Saturday night as they welcomed the Montreal Canadiens to their new home at the Consol Energy Center. Seeing the Habs back in Pittsburgh conjured up some less than happy memories of last season’s postseason debacle when the Pens lost a 3 games to 2 series edge including a whitewashing at home in game seven. After an overhaul on the blue line and a facelift to the rest of the roster, a new look Penguins team looked to right the ship and get their first victory of the season as well as the team’s initial win in their new arena. Pittsburgh knew that remaining disciplined would be a big factor in determining the winner of the game Saturday night as they relinquished a power play goal in their season opener as well as a shorthanded goal. Special teams is always a major component to deciding which side ends up on the better side of the final score, but the Pens placed an added emphasis on that aspect of the game heading into their tilt with Montreal.

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Tags: Andrei Kostitsyn, Carey Price, Dustin Boyd, Eric Tangradi, Evgeni Malkin, Jaroslav Halak, Jeff Halpern, Lars Eller, Marc Andre Fleury, Mark Letestu, Matt Cooke, Maxim Lapierre, Maxime Talbot, Mike Cammalleri, Mike Comrie, Mike Rupp, Montreal Canadiens, P.K. Subban, Paul Martin, Ryan O’Byrne, Scott Gomez, Sidney Crosby, St. Louis Blues, Tomas Plekanec, Tyler Kennedy