Game #32 - vs Sabres

Buffalo Sabres at Pittsburgh Penguins

Buffalo - 20-10-1 - 41 pts - Second in Northeast
Pittsburgh - 8-17-6 - 22 pts - Last in Atlantic

Buffalo is a hot team right now. They have won four straight and 12 of their past 14 games. Time for a little speedbump in the form of a flightless bird, eh?

The power play for the Sabres hasn't been all that great, scoring only three times in the last five games. Their PK has been pretty great, though. They haven't allowed more than one PP goal in a game since November 5th.

The Sabres are also just about equal in their home and road records, though their most recent two losses have come at home.

The Pens are obviously sporting a new coach and a modified lineup. Lemieux and Palffy will both play tonight, though Leclair is doubtful. Ouellet has been called up from Wilkes-Barre and presumably will play tonight. Despite how things looked at the beginning of the season, we now have a large contingent of Wilkes-Barre players here in Pittsburgh, including Ouellet, Surovy, Christensen, Whitney and Hussey (not to mention Fleury). This is probably a good thing.

In short, throw out the records tonight, and throw out any previous any previous Pens stats. This is a new team, most likely with a new system. They get a tough challenge tonight and tomorrow night. Let's see if they can live up to it.

Let's go Pens!