Wild 4, Penguins 0

So what happened?

Yeah, this was about as exciting as the score would make you think. The Pens hit the post twice, but it really was a butt-kicking for most of the game.

Who scored?

No one.

The Good?

• Um... Michalek hit the post?
• No one got hurt?

The Bad?

• Everything else was bad. The Pens didn't get to their game until the third period, and then it was only for the first part of the period. That ended when there was a no-call on the Wild for tying up Mike Rupp and Cal Clutterbuck put the Wild up 3-0 right afterwards.
• Too many penalties. The self-discipline is there some nights and strangely missing other nights.

The Ugly?

• Getting out shot 27-16 in the second and third period when already down 2-0.

Any Surprises?

• I can't come up with one. This is exactly what most Pens fans were afraid of.

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

The Pens are now 26-13-4. They have 56 points and are one point behind Philly for the lead in the Atlantic.

Who's next?

Boston comes to Consol on Monday night.

Game #43 - vs Minnesota Wild

Game 43

Wild (20-15-5, 45 points) at Penguins (26-12-4, 56 points)

Why does it matter?
This will be a difficult game for the Pens. They need to find some offense without Sid in the lineup, but the Wild have been playing extremely well on the road lately. Having Jose Theodore in net against them doesn't help either - he usually tortures the Pens.

What has been happening lately?

• Pens - Not enough offense and a few breakdowns cost them the game against the Habs.
• Wild - Three straight wins, including a nice victory over the Bruins in Boston on Thursday.

Questions to be answered

• Will Dupuis rise to the occasion facing his former team? He had four points in two games last year, and the Pens need the help.
• Can Geno put this team on his back like he did a few seasons ago when Sid was out?
• Can Fleury pitch the shutout tonight? If there was ever a time for one, it's now.

Keys to the game

• Score three goals. The Wild have won just three games when they allow three or more.
• Score first - it will keep them from sitting back.
• Watch out for Brent Burns. He has 12 goals on the season from the blue line. He's not the physical force the Byfuglien is, but he's just as big (6'5").

Wild 4, Penguins 3

So what happened?
Only saw bits and pieces of this game, as it wasn't available on DirecTv. I didn't like what I saw - allowing four goals to the Wild, including the go-ahead goal twice in the third period is no good.

Who scored?
Crosby (28,29), Dupuis (10)

Any surprises?
Yeah - that Versus hasn't worked out their dispute with DirecTv yet - that's ridiculous at this point in the season.

Any change in the standings?

Not enough time to look right now, but it isn't good.

Who's next?
Calgary - Wednesday night.

Notes:

• Fleury isn't at his best right now, is he?

Game #47 - at Minnesota Wild

Game 46

Penguins (28-17-1, 57 points) at Wild (22-20-3, 47 points)

Why does it matter?
Second game of a long road trip and the Pens need a win before they really head west. It won't be easy in Minnesota.

What has been happening lately?

• Pens - A nice win over a tough Toronto team on Saturday night and the Pens have won two of their past three.
  
• Wild - A four goal comeback in the last 14 minutes of the game against the Blackhawks.

Questions to be answered

• If the Pens have the lead in the third, can the stem the tide? The Pens have been known to blow some leads this year and the Wild just overcame a big deficit.
• Will we see Harding or Backstrom? I'd rather see Harding, but it will probably be Backstrom.
  
• 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

• Take advantage of special teams play. The Wild have had some trouble on the PK lately, but they don't take many penalties.
  
• Petr Sykora has been a healthy scratch for the past two games and has just two goals this year. If he's playing, you know he'll be geared up for this one.
  
• Use your speed to break the trap and get onto the power play.
  

Game #14 - vs Minnesota Wild

Game 14
Wild (4-9-0, 8 pts) at Penguins (11-2-0, 22 pts)


Mellon Arena - Pittsburgh

Two good defensemen. Burns can be excellent on the offensive attack while Orpik is more of a defensive guy.

Why does it matter?
Minnesota is the home of GM Chuck Fletcher and coach Todd Richards, both out of the Penguins system. They're trying to build in a fashion similar to Pittsburgh.

What has been happening lately?

• Pens - The Pens earned two points with a late rally last night in Columbus. The team has been amazingly good (and probably lucky) in the early going this year.
  
• Wild - The early season for the Wild has not been kind, but they did have a nice win over the Rangers last night at home.
  

Questions to be answered

• Can the Wild win back to back games for the first time this season?
• Can the Wild win on the road for the first time this season?
• Can the Pens beat a team they should beat at home?
• Who will have more hits, Clutterbuck or Orpik?

Keys to the game

• Avoid the slow start.
  
• Execute on the power play.

Wild 2, Penguins 1 (OT - SO - 1-0)

So I sat down to write about this right after the game, but every time I thought about it, I just got bored. This had to be one of the worst hockey games to watch in regulation. When you get excited over Dupuis or Staal coming down the wing and wristing a shot to the net, then you know things are slow.

Overall, Sabourin played a good game. The complete fluke of a Minnesota goal in regulation was unfortunate. Even more so in that it cost the Pens the game. I think the Wild had about three legitimate scoring chances all night. The Pens didn't have many more than that.

The OT, however, was a bit more exciting with more end-to-end action. That's how regulation should be played in the new NHL. If I had to watch the Wild stacking up at the blue line to force the other team to dump the puck 82 times per year, I might gouge my eyes out.

Either way, not a good home loss for the Pens. Nice that they got a point, but not good.

Did anyone else think Staal was going to get killed getting into a fight? Fortunately, the guy he fought wasn't very good. Eric Reitz has fought a few times per season, but not very often. Staal landed the only three punches and both guys went down quickly.

Let's just put this snooze fest behind us.

Next up: The Pens go south to face Atlanta on Thursday night.

Game #18 - vs Minnesota Wild

Minnesota Wild (10-4-1, 21 pts) at Pittsburgh Penguins (11-4-2, 24 pts)

The club from Minnesota has the least appropriate name in the NHL. There's nothing "Wild" about the way they play. Now, if they called them Zzzzzzz, or mentioned that Insomniacs Anonymous meets at their games (because that's the only way they can finally get some sleep! Ha!), then we'd be onto something.

The Wild scored more goals in the first three games of the season (14) than they did the rest of the month of October (12 goals in 6 games). Their power play is hit or miss (0-10 against Montreal, but four game with more than one PP goal) and their PK is excellent. They've yielded just 4 goals on the PK all year.

For the Pens, Fleury will miss the game. That means Sabu is between the pipes, and John Curry is one injury away from his NHL debut. Sid, Geno and Jordan will all try to remain hot and the Pens will try to keep the goals flowing.

Immovable object meets irresistable force?

Pretty close.

Let's Go Pens!

Penguins 4, Wild 2

Nothing happened in this one until Gonchar rang a puck off of the crossbar in the second period. Literally - NOTHING. It may have been the most boring period of hockey I've ever seen. There may have been some skating and calling people names, but that's about it.

After the Gonchar shot, things got a little bit looser. The play started to go end-to-end, but even with that, the Pens were limited to the outside cycling game. There weren't able to really generate any chances from the slot or the middle of the ice. They tried working shots from the points, but no go (other than the Gonchar shot).

The Penguins first goal was a bit of a fluke - Crosby faked like was going behind the net and tried to come out on the short side. The puck rolled off of his stick, behind the net, where it was picked up by Malkin who stuffed it in on a wrap-around.

The first goal by the Wild was also a fluke. The shot by Radivojevic rang off of the crossbar, straight out to Veilleux who put it into an empty net. It's worth noting that the shot by Radivojevic was made possible by a really bad turnover by Eric Christensen, just outside his own blue line.

Malkin's second goal was much the same - Crosby's shot deflected straight over to Malkin, who had a slightly tougher shot.

Rolston tied the game with a nice move in the third, but then the Pens got their only power play chance of the night. Sykora converted to give the Pens the lead. Crosby added a breakaway later to put the icing on the cake.

Sabourin played pretty well, making all of the saves he needed to make. Crosby had four points, Malkin has two goals and Malone had two points.

The Wild work really hard. You can see their effort on the ice. They're relentless. The Pens would do well to take a page from their book.

Next up: the road trip continues on Thursday in Colorado

Game #11 - at Minnesota Wild

Pittsburgh Penguins (5-4-1, 11 pts) at Minnesota Wild (7-2-2, 16 pts)

vs

The Pens are coming off of a game where they had to fight to earn a point. They've been inconsistent so far this year, but it's still early.

The Wild started the season 6-0-1. They've since lost three in a row on the road. They're returning home, where they are perfect on the year (4-0). Their hot start has been a result of defense and goal tending, with much of the credit going to Niklas Backstrom.

Backstrom missed Sunday's game with a tweaked groin. No word yet on his availability for the Pens game.

This will likely be two different games, depending on whether or not Backstrom is in goal. If he is, the Pens will be hard-pressed to win. If not, they may have some better offensive opportunities.

The offensively challenged Wild will have an even harder time scoring, since they're likely to be missing both Gaborik and Demitra.

Wild blog - check out Mike Russo's blog on the Star Tribune website.

Let's Go Pens!

Pens send Dominic Moore to Minnesota

The Penguins have sent Dominic Moore to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a third round draft pick.

This essentially means that the Pens got Georges Laraque in exchange for Moore and Carcillo.

I liked Dominic Moore, but something had to give with the Pens acquiring two forwards (Roberts and Laraque) while not moving anybody out. I think the writing was on the wall for Dominic. He was a PK specialist, but with the emergence of Max Talbot, he was largely made redundant. The Pens are in good shape on the PK with the play of Army, Staal, Talbot and Malone.

Good luck to Dominic in Minnesota. I think he'll fit in quite well there.