Quitting - Penguins 5, Predators 1

So what happened?

No one on the home team was quitting at all tonight.  They kept after Nashville, taking away time and space as the Preds tried to come back from a multiple goal deficit.  Nothing worked for the Predators tonight.

This was the closest blowout you could imagine for the first two period.  The Predators had multiple glorious scoring chances, with several wide-open nets, and couldn't finish a play.  They were off ever so slightly, and that cost them a chance to earn points.

The Pens, for their part, got two grinder goals from Dupuis and Cooke, and Geno's line did the rest.  I guess the Cooke goal was also on Geno's line, since he was out there instead of Chris Kunitz at the time.

Solid offense and solid goaltending from the Pens tonight.

Who scored?

Malkin (44, 45), Dupuis (22), Cooke (17), Kunitz (22)

The Good?

• Malkin had 10 shots.  Everyone else combined for 13.  TEN shots... in a game that was pretty tightly played.  Wow.
• The role of Sidney Crosby was played by James Neal, who had 4 assists.  It was a career high in assists, and tied a career high in points.
• Letang has two points and was +2.

The Bad?

• Matt Niskanen left with an injury.  Letang looked like he may have hurt his knee and went to the locker room for a spell, but returned and played the rest of the game.

The Ugly?

• The Preds effort level in the third period.  They looked like they were going through the motions.

Any Surprises?

• I was surprised at how much better the Pens seemed than the Predators.  Maybe it was because the Preds couldn't find the net, but it felt like the Pens kicked the stuffing out of one of the better teams in the West.

What's their record now?

The Pens are 46-21-6.  They are all alone in fourth place in the conference, four points ahead of Philly and just one point behind the Rangers.

Who's next?

Saturday night - Ottawa - Consol Energy Center.

Game #73 - vs Nashville Predators

2011-12 Game 73

Nashville Predators (42-23-8, 92 points) at Pittsburgh Penguins (45-21-6, 96 points)

Will Radulov propel the Preds deep into the playoffs?

Why does it matter?

The Pens didn't waste much time getting things turned around again in destroying the Jets on Tuesday.  Now they face a much stronger opponent who are getting back a potential game-changer in Alexander Radulov from the KHL.

What has been happening lately?

• Pens - Going back to the middle of February, 13 games, 25 points earned.  It doesn't get much better than that.
• Predators - Three losses in their past four, including a bad home loss to the lowly Oilers on Tuesday.

Questions to be answered

• How much impact will Radulov have?  He will play tonight, for sure, probably with Hornqvist and Legwand.  That makes a pretty tough top line.
• Can the Pens stay out of the box?  The Preds power play is deadly (#1 in the NHL), and the PK for the Pens is suddenly leaky over the last two games.
• Will Sid ever score a goal?  I'm joking, of course, but it would be nice to see him rip one past Rinne on the rush tonight, wouldn't it?

Keys to the game

• Play even-strength.  The Preds haven't been involved in too many special teams situations lately, but then they get a power play chance, they're very good.  Don't give them extra chances.
• Match up.  The Preds are deep, with good scoring depth.  They won't blow you away with their talent, but they will keep coming at you.
• Traffic.  Create chaos around Rinne, who is another big goaltender (6'5")

Game #8 - at Nashville Predators

Game 8

Penguins (4-3-0, 8 points) at Predators (3-0-2, 8 points)

Why does it matter?
This game is supposed to feature the return of Marc-Andre Fleury. His level of play will determine how far this team can go, maybe more than anyone else.

What has been happening lately?

• Pens - Three straight wins and a red hot power play.
• Predators - The Preds have been playing close games so far, winning two and losing two in OT.

Questions to be answered

• Who will start in goal, Fleury or Johnson?
• Can the offense continue to put the puck in the net? Nashville has allowed at least 34 shots in all of their games except one, so you have to figure the Pens will get their chances.
• Can the Pens avoid allowing a power play goal?

Keys to the game

• It's a team game in Nashville - no forward plays more than 19 minutes per game, and none less than 10 (save Wade Belak if he plays). That means keep your shifts short and make good changes, because you know their legs will be fresh.
• Use speed to draw penalties - the Predators have been weak on the PK so far this year.
• Keep getting shots on net. The Pens have been doing a good job of that so far, especially on shots from the D.

Predators 4, Penguins 3 (OT - SO - 2-0)

So what happened?

Nashville is a good team and the Pens, while they played better, did not play a complete hockey game. They seemed to let up in the second period, and it cost them two points. Nice to come out with one, but there was another chance to get the lead in the division that was blown.

Who scored?
Crosby (42), Cooke (12), Orpik (1)

Any surprises?
Orpik scored a goal! The best part was that the shot was from the blue line and it was wide. It was only because Dan Ellis tried to stop it that it went in at all.

Any change in the standings?

One point is better than none.

Division: 2nd (one point behind New Jersey)

Conference: 4th (one point behind New Jersey)

League: 7th (tied with Colorado, Vancouver and Ottawa)

Who's next?
The Olympic break is here. No game for a few weeks.

Notes:

• As The Wife likes to say, Gonchar is The Man. He led the team in power play minutes, short-handed minutes and was second (to Orpik) in even-strength minutes.
• Dan Ellis was very good for most of the game.

Game #62 - vs Nashville Predators

Game 62

Predators (32-23-5, 69 points) at Penguins (36-22-3, 75 points)

Why does it matter?
The Pens again can catch the Devils and tie for the division lead with a win. They can also go into the Olympic break secure in the top half of the playoff bracket (Ottawa is just one point behind the Pens). A win would make these next few weeks much nicer when thinking about hockey.

What has been happening lately?

• Pens - Too many holes in the D have led to losses in three of the past four.
  
• Predators - They're on one of their bad streaks, going 3-7-2 over the past month.

Questions to be answered

• Can the Pens take advantage of the Preds run of poor hockey? On October 24th, they were 3-6-1. Over the next several months, up until January 15th, they were 26-10-2. Since then, as noted above, just 3-7-2.
  
• Can the Pens win the special teams battle? The Preds have both scored and allowed a power play goal in 5 straight games.
  
• I'm still looking for a shut out from a Pens goalie. Can they get one? (this question is staying here until they do)
  

Keys to the game

• Use the forecheck. The Pens are up against a similar style in Nashville, built using a similar methodology. The game is going to the team that is more successful in establishing offensive zone time.
  
• Give the goalie some support. The Pens have allowed more than 30 shots for three four five straight.

Predators 5, Penguins 3

I still don't want to think about this game.

It was horrible to watch them build a 3-0 lead and then allow five unanswered.

So, I'm not going to spend any time thinking about it, seeing as how they play in Colorado in under four hours.

So instead, here's a look at the weather outside the house this morning.

Oh the weather outside is frightful...



That's about 6" of snow, with another 6" on the way. Woo hoo!

Penguins 4, Predators 1

The Penguins carried the play for the majority of this one. It was a really encouraging effort because the Preds are the top team in the NHL right now. I know the game was in Pittsburgh, but the way the Pens played, you wouldn't know that Nashville was so good.

The Preds took a lead into the first intermission with a late goal that was originally credited to Brookbank, but later changed to Nichol. It was starting to feel like trouble because the Pens had several power play chances in the first period but weren't able to convert. That changed in the second.

Sidney Crosby took off down the middle of the ice towards Mason, momentarily drawing both defenders. He passed to Staal, who shot a slapper. It deflected off the stick of Brookbank and went top shelf on Mason, who never had a chance.

Later, on the power play, Recchi made a nice pass from behind the cage to Malkin, who buried the puck. Mason didn't have much of a chance there, either.

In the third, Recchi did one of his patented shots aimed at the far post and beat Mason, who probably did have a chance to stop that one, but was unable to, not that it mattered.

The Pens tried to make it exciting down the stretch by taking a few penalties (maybe they were just trying to get the PK some work...), but unlike Sunday, the PK stood tall and kept the Preds from getting back in the game. Another really nice thing to see.

The Pens have remained hot for an extended period. I'm interested in how they react the next time they face some adversity. You know it's coming. They'll lose a game or two in regulation. Then we'll see how they respond. Hopefully we don't have to see that for a little while longer, especially since Philly is the next opponent.

Random points:

• Fleury was stellar again tonight. He just keeps on going.
• Ruutu continues to earn an increased role.
• Has Petro taken a dumb penalty lately? I can't remember any off the top of my head.
• Is it too soon to shift from talking about making the playoffs to talking about getting into the top 4 to get home ice? I can answer that myself - it's way too soon. They're hot right now. Let's see where they are in about 15 games.

Next up: at Philly on Thursday. No need to worry about a letdown when the Flyers are the opponent.

Game #53 - vs Nashville Predators

Nashville Predators (37-14-3, 76 pts) at Pittsburgh Penguins (26-17-9, 61 pts)

Be glad the Pens aren't playing in Nashville. The Preds are a different team on the road. Their record is still good (18-11-0), but it's certainly not indicative of the best team in the NHL. They have that standing mostly because of their work at home, where they've lost three times in regulation all season.

It's not just the records either - the Preds have allowed more power play goals than they've scored on the road, and their overall goal differential on the road is just +10. They still draw penalties on the road, but their power play clicks at just 13.1% away from Nashville. That's pretty poor - just 26th in the league. Their penalty kill percentage is about the same no matter where they play.

The Preds lost two road games last week before taking it out on the Ducks at home on Saturday.

The Pens have earned points in 10 straight games, and their power play has been on fire, going 21 for 59 during the 10 game stretch. They'll need to keep it going to have a shot to earn two points.

Weber and Tootoo are out for the Preds for the game. That's a break for the Pens. Weber is a good young defensemen, while Tootoo doesn't play much (less than 8:00 per game), and fills the Ruutu role.

Predators blog - Not much here to talk about - I'll point you to Go Predators!, which isn't really a blog, but rather a LiveJournal. It's better than anything else I could find.

I'm looking for a strong home effort from the Pens. They should be up for the game, seeing as how Nashville is #1 in the NHL. Have to beat the best to be the best.

Let's Go Pens!