Penguins 5, Ducks 2

So what happened?
You never want to say it was an easy game, but the last time the Pens had one this easy was against the Habs before Halloween. The Ducks were anxious to self-destruct tonight with bad penalties and worse turnovers. The Pens were willing to let do it. Both teams had some great scoring chances, but the Pens had the better ones in that they finished theirs.

Who scored?
Cooke (3,4), Guerin (5), Staal (5), Skoula (1)

Any surprises?
The young defensemen from Wilkes-Barre really acquitted themselves well. Lovejoy played big minutes on the power play while Engelland and Guenin were solid. Sure is nice to confirm that the Pens have some depth.

Any change in the standings?
Yep - the Devils lost to the Flyers, so:
Division: 1st (tied with New Jersey)
Conference: 1st (tied with New Jersey and Washington)
League: 2nd (tied with New Jersey, Washington and Los Angeles)

Who's next?
On the road for three straight, starting with Ottawa on Thursday.

Notes:

• Giguere really looked bad early on, but he recovered to hold the fort for a little while until the Pens broke it open in the third.
• When your three stars are Staal, Cooke and Engelland, you know it's a good night for the role players.
• The Ducks could be pretty good if they could stay out of their own way.
• Getzlaf would drive me nutty if he played here with all of the stick infractions. There's no reason to take dumb penalties like that.
• After the early 2-0 lead, the Pens seemed to step it down a notch, allowing the shorty to Marchant and giving the Ducks some hope.