Penguins 3, Rangers 1

So what happened?

The Pens had a relatively easy win tonight over the Rangers, who didn't look ready to play during the first two periods of the game. They were lucky to be down by only two when the third period started. By the time they turned it on, it was too late, because the Pens were up to the challenge of stopping them.

Top to bottom, this was an excellent road win. Tight play, great penalty killing, great work ethic and great goaltending.

Who scored?

Talbot (5), Letang (5), Conner (2)

The Good?

• The PK gets the gold star of the night with two HUGE kills during the third period.
• Flower was excellent again, allowing only a laser beam by Gaborik to beat him.
• The defense was solid around Fleury, clearing several pucks out of harm's way.
• The third line of Conner, Letestu and Kennedy has been excellent. They're not really playing the typical "shutdown" role that we're used to seeing when it was Staal and Cooke out there, but they're generating offensive pressure consistently.
• Sid was 14-5 on faceoffs. That's an incredible number, just like the last time these two teams met.
• Kennedy answered the bell with Sean Avery after Avery took a few liberties with Sid and Geno. That's one of the things that TK does really well.

The Bad?

• Steigerwald - "I Wear My Sunglasses at Night" - sung on live TV. That is about as bad as it gets.
• The ice was tilting against the Pens in the third. Ideally, you'd like to see them be able to keep the intensity and push back a little bit... but they didn't allow a goal, so you can't really complain too much.

The Ugly?

• The Rangers on Talbot's goal. It was like the Keystone Cops - Girardi caught the puck and dropped it towards his own net, not seeing Marc Staal. Staal stepped over the puck, cutting off Girardi, allowing Talbot to wrist it past an unprepared Lundqvist. Pretty ugly.

Any Surprises?

• The Pens lost the overall faceoff battle, despite Sid's amazing numbers (28-26)

What's their record now? Any important move in the standings?

The Pens are now 16-8-2. They are tied with the Flyers for the Atlantic division lead, and just two points behind the Caps for the NHL lead.

Who's next?

A few days off until the Thrashers come to town on Thursday.