The Daily Bongo

Game Recaps for the 2007-2008 Season

Wednesday, June 4, 2008 -- Evening

It was not to be this year. The Pens lost to the Red Wings this evening, and it was a sad moment. It was so close. In the last second of the game, Marian Hossa almost got the puck into the goal, but the puck just skimmed over the line and didn't cross it. The Pens lost with a final score of 3-2. The Pens were playing like a tired team, and Fleury wasn't at his best. As the handshake was happening at the end of the game, the fans were chanting Marc-Andre Fleury's name. Henrik Zetterberg won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the series MVP. It was heartbreaking to see the Red Wings celebrating the Stanley Cup, but the stands were full of fans. Well, there is always next year. The Pens did a great job this season, and that is something that we should try to keep in mind.

Sixth Game of the Stanley Cup Final

Goals

Red Wings

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Red Wings

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	5:03	DET	B.RAFALSKI(4)	H.ZETTERBERG(14)	P.DATSYUK(12)	PP
2	2	8:07	DET	V.FILPPULA(5)	M.SAMUELSSON(8)	N.KRONVALL(14)	EV
3	2	15:26	PIT	E.MALKIN(10)	S.CROSBY(21)	M.HOSSA(14)	PP
4	3	7:36	DET	H.ZETTERBERG(13)	P.DATSYUK(13)	N.KRONVALL(15)	EV
5	3	18:33	PIT	M.HOSSA(12)	S.GONCHAR(13)	E.MALKIN(12)	PP

Monday, June 2, 2008 -- Late Evening

The Pens played the Red Wings in game five this evening. The Pens came out to fight and got the first two points with goals by Marian Hossa and Adam Hall. The second period was a rough one for the Pens. The Red Wings scored, Sergei Gonchar slid face first into the boards behind Chris Osgood, and Ryan Malone got a puck in the face in the last seconds of the second. Malone was back in the game at the beginning of the third period with tissue up his nose and blood caked on the side of his face. Gonchar was back too. The third period was a rough one with a close one where in the first five minutes when it looked like the Red Wings had knocked in a puck, but it has just gone off the crossbar and didn't cross the line. Unfortunately, the Red Wings tied things up and then got the go ahead goal in the third period. With 34 seconds left in the third, Max Talbot scored! The game was tied, and it went to overtime! In fact it went into three overtimes. Both sides were playing with a frenzy, and Fleury was making some great saves after facing 58 shots. In the second overtime, Petr Sykora told Pierre McGuire that he was going to score the game winner. Well, midway through third overtime, Sykora scored on a power play. Who would have thought! It was the most exciting game--almost 110 minutes of great hockey. It was the best because in the third period, the announcers were showing the Cup, and getting ready for the presentation. Now it comes back to PIttsburgh for game 6! Final score: Pens 4 - Red Wings 3. First star of the game was Fleury. Second star was Sykora.

Fifth Game of the Stanley Cup Final

Goals

Pens

Red Wings

1st

2nd

3rd

OT 1

OT 2

OT 3

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Red Wings

1st

2nd

3rd

OT 1

OT 2

OT 3

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	8:37	PIT	M.HOSSA(11)	S.CROSBY(19)	P.DUPUIS(5)	EV
2	1	14:41	PIT	A.HALL(3)	unassisted	--	EV
3	2	2:54	DET	D.HELM(2)	K.MALTBY(1)	--	EV
4	3	6:43	DET	P.DATSYUK(10)	H.ZETTERBERG(12)	B.RAFALSKI(10)	PP
5	3	9:23	DET	B.RAFALSKI(3)	J.FRANZEN(5)	H.ZETTERBERG(13)	EV
6	3	19:25	PIT	M.TALBOT(3)	M.HOSSA(13)	S.CROSBY(20)	EV
7	6	9:57	PIT	P.SYKORA(6)	E.MALKIN(11)	S.GONCHAR(12)	PP

Saturday, May 31, 2008 -- Late Evening

Things are definitely looking bad for the Pens. Tonight was game four of the Stanley Cups, and although the Pens were the first to score, the Red Wings came out to win. They tied things up immediately after the Pens scored, and then went on to get the winning goal in the third period. Evgeni Malkin played like he was tired, which he claims he is. He was out of position on some of the plays and made shots like someone's grandmother. The next game is Monday, and the Pens have to win to bring the series back to Pittsburgh. Most of the fans at the arena were not very optimistic, and after seeing how the Pens played during a five on three advantage, I don't hold out much hope for the Pens. You have to shoot at the net in order to get the puck in, and the Pens have had problems with putting the puck near the net all season. The Pens aren't known for being a high shot team. The real star of the game for the Pens was Marian Hossa. He was all over the ice and playing hard. I should have my pictures from the game ready tomorrow. Come back to look for them then.

Fourth Game of the Stanley Cup Final

Goals

Red Wings

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Red Wings

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	2:51	PIT	M.HOSSA(10)	S.GONCHAR(11)	S.CROSBY(18)	PP
2	1	7:06	DET	N.LIDSTROM(3)	B.RAFALSKI(9)	P.DATSYUK(11)	EV
3	2	2:26	DET	J.HUDLER(5)	D.HELM(2)	B.STUART(6)	EV

Wednesday, May 28, 2008 -- Evening

Finally! The Pens finally go a goal in the first period of the third game this evening to be the first to score. Sidney Crosby scored on a pass by Marian Hossa. The same pair scored a second goal in the second period. Today's game was much different than the first two games. The Pens obviously came out to play and to win, and they did just that. Now if only they can keep this up, all might not be lost. I have to admit that I thought that the Pens would lose this evening, especially after most of the first period. But the third period was the most energetic that I have seen the Pens play lately. The final score Pens 3 - Red Wings 2.

Third Game of the Stanley Cup Final

Goals

Red Wings

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Red Wings

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	17:25	PIT	S.CROSBY(5)	M.HOSSA(11)	--	EV
2	2	2:34	PIT	S.CROSBY(6)	M.HOSSA(12)	R.MALONE(10)	PP
3	2	14:48	DET	J.FRANZEN(13)	N.LIDSTROM(10)	N.KRONVALL(13)	PP
4	3	7:18	PIT	A.HALL(2)	M.TALBOT(6)	G.ROBERTS(2)	EV
5	3	13:37	DET	M.SAMUELSSON(5)	B.STUART(5)	V.FILPPULA(6)	EV

Monday, May 26, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens and the Red Wings played in the second game of the Stanley Cup this evening. Michel Therrien had played around with the lines abit in the hopes that doing it would generate some goals. However, the Pens weren't able to generate any sort of offense, and for the second game in a row, they were held scoreless. There was some controversy before the game when Evgeni Malkin was quoted as saying he was tired. Boy, the guy needs to take some sort of energy pills because to be tired at his age is unacceptable. So the Pens come back to Pittsburgh on Wednesday two down. Marc-Andre Fleury has been doing a great job, but there is only so much that he can do. He can't go down the ice to score.

Second Game of the Stanley Cup Final

Goals

Pens

Red Wings

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Red Wings

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	6:55	DET	B.STUART(1)	V.FILPPULA(5)	--	EV
2	1	11:18	DET	T.HOLMSTROM(4)	H.ZETTERBERG(11)	--	EV
3	3	8:48	DET	V.FILPPULA(4)	J.FRANZEN(4)	B.STUART(4)	EV

Saturday, May 24, 2008 -- Evening

Tonight was the first game in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Pens had opened up Mellon Arena for the fans to watch the game televised on the jumbotron. They charged $5, and $2 of that went to the Mario Lemieux Foundation. The game started out with alot of charging of the net and pushing and shoving. The Red Wings had the disadvantage of taking some bad penalties, but the Pens weren't able to make anything of the opportunity. The Red Wings scored first with a goal late in the second period when the Pens made a bad line change and left tired defensemen on the ice trying to stop the onslaught from a poorly dumped puck. The Pens were unable to generate any sort of opportunity for a score, even though they had some good chances and power play advantages. The main problem was that the players weren't helping Marc-Andre Fleury clear the puck. Before the second goal, Fleury tried to reach out to clear the puck and Evgeni Malkin knocked the puck right back in front of Fleury, and the Red Wings took advantage of it. The Pens just weren't able to get shots on goal in the second and third periods. They had only four shots in the second and three shots in the third. The Red Wings took full advantage of the Pens and won the game with a final score of 4-0.

First Game of the Stanley Cup Final

Goals

Pens

Red Wings

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Red Wings

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	2	13:01	DET	M.SAMUELSSON(3)	unassisted	--	EV
2	3	DET	2:16	M.SAMUELSSON(4)	unassisted	--	EV
3	3	17:18	DET	D.CLEARY(2)	B.STUART(3)	--	SH
4	3	19:47	DET	H.ZETTERBERG(12)	T.HOLMSTROM(8)	N.LIDSTROM(9)	PP

Sunday, May 18, 2008 -- Early Evening

The Pens played the Philadelphia Flyers this afternoon in game five of the Eastern Conference Finals. I didn't go to the game today because the costs have become more than I can afford, and I am saving money to go to the Stanley Cup games. The Pens came out flying in the first period and got a two point lead within the first ten minutes of the game. The Pens were really playing like they wanted to win the game, and the Flyers were playing like they had already given up. The fans were so noisy that you could barely hear the announcers because of all the noise from the fans. Ryan Malone, Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Marian Hossa, Jordan Staal all contributed to goals and Marc-Andre Fleury was stellar in goal, making some really great saves. The game ended in a shutout for Fleury, and the Pens are headed for the Stanley Cup! What a great moment! Final score was Pens 6 - Flyers 0.

Fifth Game of the Eastern Conference Final

Goals

Flyers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Flyers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	2:30	PIT	R.MALONE(5)	S.CROSBY(16)	M.HOSSA(8)	PP
2	1	9:50	PIT	E.MALKIN(9)	R.MALONE(9)	--	EV
3	2	8:24	PIT	M.HOSSA(9)	S.CROSBY(17)	M.TALBOT(4)	EV
4	2	11:42	PIT	R.MALONE(6)	S.GONCHAR(10)	M.HOSSA(9)	EV
5	2	19:02	PIT	J.STAAL(6)	M.TALBOT(5)	A.HALL(1)	EV
6	3	4:03	PIT	M.HOSSA(10)	P.DUPUIS(5)	B.ORPIK(2)	EV

Thursday, May 15, 2008 -- Evening

The game betwwen the Pens and the Philadelphia Flyers did not start out well for the Pens. The Flyers scored three, yes three, goals in the first period. Poor Marc-Andre Fleury was under attack with Daniel Briere getting in between Fleury and Hal Gill. What's a goalie to do? In fact, the Flyers had 17 shots in the first period after having 18 shots in three periods in the last game. The Pens couldn't seen to get anything going in the second period, and the Flyers continued to have their three goal lead. Jordan Staal came on in the third period to try to tie things up, but it just wasn't enough. The Flyers won with a final score of 4-2, and we will have a game five here in Pittsburgh on Sunday. I don't be at the game this weekend, but I will be watching on television and hoping for a win!

Fourth Game of the Eastern Conference Final

Goals

Pens

Flyers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Flyers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	8:27	PHI	J.LUPUL(3)	S.HARTNELL(2)	R.PARENT(1)	EV
2	1	11:48	PHI	D.BRIERE(9)	R.JONES(2)	S.HARTNELL(3)	PP
3	1	18:50	PHI	J.CARTER(6)	R.UMBERGER(5)	J.MODRY(3)	PP
4	3	3:16	PIT	J.STAAL(4)	T.KENNEDY(3)	M.TALBOT(2)	EV
5	3	14:11	PIT	J.STAAL(5)	T.KENNEDY(4)	M.TALBOT(3)	EV
6	3	19:27	PHI	J.LUPUL(4)	S.HARTNELL(4)	--	EV-EN

Tuesday, May 13, 2008 -- Evening

Tonight was the third game in the Eastern Conference final between the Pens and the Philadelphia Flyers. The game started out in the Pens' favor with Ryan Whitney and Marian Hossa with only a little over two minutes between the goals. Both got an assist from Sidney Crosby. RJ Umberger got a goal in the first period to make things closer. There weren't any scores in the second period, but the Pens sealed the deal when Ryan Malone scored off of a feed from Petr Sykora. Sykora got a late hit that knocked him to the ice, but he was back in the game later. The Pens put the nail in the coffin with an empty net goal from Hossa in the final minute of the game. Final score: Pens 4 - Flyers 1.

Third Game of the Eastern Conference Final

Goals

Pens

Flyers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Flyers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	5:03	PIT	R.WHITNEY(1)	S.CROSBY(14)	S.GONCHAR(9)	PP
2	1	7:41	PIT	M.HOSSA(7)	S.CROSBY(15)	--	EV
3	1	10:59	PHI	R.UMBERGER(10)	V.PROSPAL(10)	D.BRIERE(7)	EV
4	3	9:58	PIT	R.MALONE(4)	P.SYKORA(3)	E.MALKIN(10)	EV
5	3	19:08	PIT	M.HOSSA(8)	H.GILL(1)	--	EV-EN

Sunday, May 11, 2008 -- Evening

I did not go to tonight's second matchup between the Pens and the Philadelphia Flyers. The cost for the tickets is high, and I'm saving for a possible Stanley Cup run. Max Talbot was back in the game with his broken foot. Talbot has missed a few games because of the foot. The game started where the other left off, with both teams coming out with physically agressive play and fighting/roughing. Tyler Kennedy and Scottie Upshall. Sidney Crosby scored the first goal. With less than four minutes left in the first period, it looked like Crosby got another goal in. From the things that they were showing, it looked like it crossed, but Martin Biron covered it with his glove, and the refs were too scared to give the goal to Crosby. After a four or five minute review, they called off the goal, but anyone seeing some of the replays would know that the Pens were robbed! The Flyers tied things up at the beginning of the second period. The Pens got a power play with abit over six minutes left, and Marian Hossa scored to give the Pens the lead. The Flyers came back to tie things up with only seconds left in the second period, and while they were short handed. In the third period, Talbot showed why he is needed on the team when he scored a goal to give the Pens a 3-2 lead. With less than a minute left in th egame, the Flyers pulled Biron, and Jordan Staal sealed the deal with an empty net goal. Final score of the game: Pens 4 - Flyers 2. The Pens are the first team to go 10-1 in the playoffs.

Second Game of the Eastern Conference Final

Goals

Flyers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Flyers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	10:48	PIT	S.CROSBY(4)	S.GONCHAR(6)	--	PP
2	2	5:46	PHI	J.CARTER(5)	J.LUPUL(6)	J.MODRY(2)	PP
3	2	13:43	PIT	M.HOSSA(6)	R.MALONE(8)	S.GONCHAR(7)	PP
4	2	19:36	PHI	M.RICHARDS(7)	unassisted	--	SH
5	3	8:51	PIT	M.TALBOT(2)	G.ROBERTS(1)	G.LARAQUE(2)	EV
6	3	19:31	PIT	J.STAAL(3)	S.CROSBY(13)	S.GONCHAR(8)	EV-EN

Friday, May 9, 2008 -- Late Evening

The Eastern Conference Finals returned to Pittsburgh when the Pens met up with the Philadelphia Flyers this evening. There were tons of fans outside Mellon Arena to watch the game for free on the giant screen while those of us inside dressed in white for "Whiteout night." The game was a nerve-wracking one. The Pens took the early lead, but then the Flyers tied and then took the lead. However, the Pens came back to tie and then take the lead themselves. Evgeni Malkin played like a man possessed, and he scored two of the Pens four goals. His second was a short handed goal that put the nail in the Flyers' coffin. The Pens take a one game lead in the series, and the team celebrated with fireworks after the game. It was quite a night. The final score was Pens 4 - Flyers 2. I should have my pictures posted tomorrow morning.

The only annoying part was the "Statue of Liberty" guy. He's this tall goober who sits two rows ahead of me. For some reason, he thinks that because he bought a ticket, he can stand to watch the game, even when no one is standing in front of him. It was really annoying because the guys sitting in the row behind me couldn't see any of the play in the Flyers end during the first period because of this guy. So I asked him during the second intermission if he would do me a favor and try to limit the standing when there wasn't anyone standing in front of him. The guy became quite a jerk and said that if I wanted to see the game, I should stay at home and watch it on Versus. Hmm, obviously the guy doesn't have all his brain cells functioning because that's why I bought a rather expensive ticket to the game. Through the next two periods, he kept on commenting on how people couldn't see, how they should watch on Versus, and randomly standing up. Granted he did sit more when the play was in our end, but he was acting like a really a$$hole. The woman and man right behind the guy were also acting jerkish--I guess because they like the loser--and would stand too. I thought that was stupid because the woman is shorter than me, and if she's in the row immediately behind him, she isn't seeing any of the game. I guess some people are stupid and want to pay money without actually watching the game. Anyway, here's a photo of the jerk who makes my Hall of Shame.

First Game of the Eastern Conference Finals

Goals

Flyers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Flyers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	6:19	PIT	P.SYKORA(5)	R.MALONE(7)	E.MALKIN(9)	EV
2	1	8:30	PHI	M.RICHARDS(5)	R.UMBERGER(3)	B.COBURN(6)	EV
3	1	12:50	PHI	M.RICHARDS(6)	J.LUPUL(5)	R.UMBERGER(4)	EV
4	1	14:11	PIT	S.CROSBY(3)	M.HOSSA(6)	--	EV
5	1	19:53	PIT	E.MALKIN(7)	R.WHITNEY(5)	--	EV
6	2	4:50	PIT	E.MALKIN(8)	S.GONCHAR(5)	--	SH

Sunday, May 4, 2008 -- Late Evening

What a day and game! I went to game five of the Pens and Rangers series. Everyone in PIttsburgh hoped that the Pens would seal the deal, and win today. When the first period went by, and there was no score, I was getting nervous. The Pens came back in the second period to score two goals, and things were looking up. At the second intermission, people were starting to plan the next series against the Philadelphia Flyers. Well, the Rangers came back to tie things up in less that 90 seconds at the start of the third. The game went into overtime, and everyone was nervous. But then Marian Hossa showed why he was a good deal when he scored his second goal of the game, winning the game in OT with a final score of 3-2. The Pens are now moving on to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Flyers. There was so much excitement in the stands and outside the arena. You would have thought that the Pens won the Stanley Cup! Check out my pictures of the game, and my video of the end of series handshake.

Fifth Game of the Second Round

Goals

Rangers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

1st OT

Final

Shots on goal

Rangers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

1st OT

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	2	8:45	PIT	M.HOSSA(4)	R.MALONE(6)	S.CROSBY(11)	PP
2	2	12:40	PIT	E.MALKIN(6)	K.LETANG(2)	R.WHITNEY(4)	EV
3	3	2:03	NYR	L.KORPIKOSKI(1)	M.ROZSIVAL(5)	C.DRURY(3)	EV
4	3	3:25	NYR	N.DAWES(2)	S.GOMEZ(7)	R.CALLAHAN(2)	EV
5	4	7:10	PIT	M.HOSSA(5)	S.CROSBY(12)	P.DUPUIS(4)	EV

Thursday, May 1, 2008 -- Evening

It was game four between the Pens and the New York Rangers. The Rangers had a do or die attitude, and they definitely came out to play. They took the early lead, and Henrik Lundqvist did a good job of keeping the Pens' pucks out of the Rangers' net. He even held off a penalty shot by Evgeni Malkin. Granted, Malkin came at the net at a snail's pace. I think my grandmother could have stopped that puck. Marc-Andre Fleury did a great job and managed to keep the Pens in the game. However, the Pens couldn't seem to get anything into the net and kept on taking really bad penalties. The Pens were shutout, and will be back in town on Sunday to play in game five. Final score was 3-0 in favor of the Rangers.

Fourth Game of the Second Round

Goals

Pens

Rangers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Rangers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	2	12:45	NYR	J.JAGR(4)	B.DUBINSKY(4)	F.TYUTIN(3)	EV
-	2	17:53	PIT	E.MALKIN	Unsuccessful Penalty Shot	--	EV-PS
2	3	0:44	NYR	B.DUBINSKY(4)	M.STRAKA(7)	J.JAGR(10)	PP
3	3	19:46	NYR	J.JAGR(5)	B.SHANAHAN(4)	C.DRURY(2)	PP-EN

Tuesday, April 29, 2008 -- Late Evening

The Pens played the New York Rangers in the third game of the series. There was alot of talk about how the Pens have lost every game in the regular season at Madison Square Garden when playing the Rangers. However, the Pens came out fighting at the start of the game. Marian Hossa scored the first goal. Georges Laraque got his first goal of the playoffs. Evgeni Malkin scored two goals and had an assist. The Pens had an early 3-1 lead, which they lost, and then came back to win the game with a final score of 5-3. Marc-Andre Fleury also did a great job stopping 36 of 39 shots. What a game, and now the Pens lead the series 3-0.

Third Game of the Second Round

Goals

Pens

Rangers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Rangers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	1:02	PIT	M.HOSSA(3)	P.DUPUIS(3)	S.CROSBY(9)	EV
2	1	14:32	NYR	M.STRAKA(3)	J.JAGR(9)	P.MARA(1)	EV
3	1	16:17	PIT	G.LARAQUE(1)	E.MALKIN(8)	P.SYKORA(1)	EV
4	1	17:41	PIT	E.MALKIN(4)	S.GONCHAR(3)	M.HOSSA(5)	PP
5	2	12:07	NYR	R.CALLAHAN(2)	S.GOMEZ(5)	S.AVERY(3)	EV
6	2	13:11	NYR	J.JAGR(3)	S.GOMEZ(6)	M.STRAKA(6)	EV
7	2	17:53	PIT	E.MALKIN(5)	S.CROSBY(10)	S.GONCHAR(4)	PP
8	3	2:30	PIT	R.MALONE(3)	K.LETANG(1)	P.SYKORA(2)	EV

Sunday, April 27, 2008 -- Evening

What a game! Today was the second game for the Pens and the New York Rangers. I went to today's game, and the experience was so overwhelming. The crowd was so excited and cheering throughout the game. It was a slow moving game with the first period going by without a goal by either team. The Pens got the first score with a goal from Jordan Staal. The Pens were playing well, and they held onto the lead into the third period, when it looked as if the Rangers scored with only a few minutes left in the game. However, the play was called off because Marc-Andre Fleury had trapped the puck, and the ref had blown the whistle. The Rangers pulled Henrik Lundqvist, who was doing a stellar job in goal and got the third star of the game, and pushed hard for the tie during a power play in the last two minutes of the game. However, the Pens sealed the deal when Adam Hall got an empty net goal. The Pens took a two game advantage with the 2-0 win today. Fleury got a shutout for the second time in this year's playoffs. I did take a few pictures at the game, but it was difficult to get many with one hand. My left hand was still in the sling, and will hopefully be out of the sling tomorrow.

Second Game of the Second Round

Goals

Rangers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Rangers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	2	13:55	PIT	J.STAAL(2)	E.MALKIN(7)	R.WHITNEY(3)	PP
2	3	19:43	PIT	A.HALL(1)	R.SCUDERI(3)	S.GONCHAR(2)	EV-EN

Friday, April 25, 2008 -- Evening

Tonight was the first game in the semifinal round of the conference playoff matchup for the Pens and the New York Rangers. The game was played here in Pittsburgh, but I did not attend the game because I am recouperating from some minor hand surgery that I had yesterday. My left arm is in a sling, and I am planning on going to the second game on Sunday. However, I probably won't have alot of pictures from the game. This game generated a ton of press because Jaromir Jagr is back in Pittsburgh and playing in the playoffs. Unfortunately, he is playing against his former team. Jagr was nice though, and spent alot of time talking to the media about being back and Pittsburgh and why he left 8 years ago. The main reason was because Jagr knew that the team couldn't keep him and the other strong players on the team. Jagr thought that if he left, the other players could be kept. However, that wasn't the case. I love Jagr back when he played with the Pens, and I was upset when he left. However, I quickly got over it. I would love it if Jagr would come back to play with the Pens.

Back to the game. The Pens requested that the fans come to the game dressed in white shirts so the team would have a white-out. It was quite impressive to see all the white t-shirts in the stands. The Versus announcers were commenting on the dedication of the Pens' fans, and they are right. The experience in the stands can be great. The only problem is that most times you can't see because of tall people standing in front of you all the time. I've missed several nice goals because I don't have x-ray vision to see through people. The Rangers were the first to score on a power play caused by Ryan Whitney. The Rangers took a 3-0 lead early in the second period, and as the Versus announcers were saying the Pens never came back from a 3 goal deficit, the Pens scored two goals within 14 seconds of each other! At the start of the third period, the Pens were still down one point when they scored two points in matter of 20 seconds! The game was so exciting with the Rangers tying the game, and then Sidney Crosby scored with less than two minutes. It was later credited to Evgeni Malkin because it came off of his leg. The Pens held on and got the win. Boy was the audience jumping at the end! It was quite a game! Final score Pens 5 - Rangers 4.

First Game of the Second Round

Goals

Rangers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Rangers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	13:40	NYR	M.STRAKA(2)	J.JAGR(7)	M.ROZSIVAL(2)	PP
2	2	1:52	NYR	C.DRURY(3)	M.STAAL(1)	N.DAWES(2)	EV
3	2	3:37	NYR	S.AVERY(4)	M.STAAL(2)	M.ROZSIVAL(3)	EV
4	2	8:13	PIT	J.RUUTU(2)	J.STAAL(1)	B.ORPIK(1)	EV
5	2	8:27	PIT	P.DUPUIS(1)	S.CROSBY(7)	--	EV
6	3	4:40	PIT	M.HOSSA(2)	R.SCUDERI(2)	R.MALONE(4)	EV
7	3	5:00	PIT	P.SYKORA(4)	E.MALKIN(6)	R.MALONE(5)	EV
8	3	NYR	10:04	S.GOMEZ(4)	J.JAGR(8)	--	EV
9	3	18:19	PIT	E.MALKIN(3)	R.WHITNEY(2)	S.CROSBY(8)	PP

Wednesday, April 16, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played Senators in the fourth game of the first round. This game was one of the most nerve-wracking of the series. I wanted the Pens to just end the series, and the game was so close. The Pens held on though with goals from Evgeni Malkin, Jarkko Ruutu, and Sidney Crosby. Crosby's was an empty netter in the last seven seconds of the game. Final score was Pens 3 - Senators 1. Now the Pens have to wait around for the other games to finish.

Fourth Game of the First Round

Goals

Pens

Senators

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Senators

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	2	1:40	PIT	E.MALKIN(2)	S.CROSBY(6)	S.GONCHAR(1)	PP
2	2	10:31	OTT	C.STILLMAN(2)	W.REDDEN(1)	A.VOLCHENKOV(1)	EV
3	2	15:28	PIT	J.RUUTU(1)	T.KENNEDY(2)	--	EV
4	3	19:52	PIT	S.CROSBY(2)	unassisted	--	EV

Monday, April 14, 2008 -- Evening

What a game tonight! The Pens played Senators tonight in Ottawa. I missed the first two periods of the game due to a prior commitment, and from watching the replays, I realize that I missed some great hockey. Ottawa was playing well, but Marc-Andre Fleury was playing even better. His save percentage is .956 in the playoffs, and he was stellar this evening. Fleury kept the Pens in the game when the third period started with a 1-1 tie. Sidney Crosby scored in the first 12 seconds of the third, and Jordan Staal scored abit over a minute later. Then finally, Marian Hossa got his first playoff goal. The Pens won with a final score of 4-1 and take a three games to none lead in the series.

Third Game of the First Round

Goals

Pens

Senators

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Senators

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	2	1:11	OTT	N.FOLIGNO(1)	J.SPEZZA(1)	--	EV
2	2	5:39	PIT	M.TALBOT(1)	M.HOSSA(4)	P.DUPUIS(1)	EV
3	3	0:12	PIT	S.CROSBY(1)	M.HOSSA(5)	R.SCUDERI(1)	EV
4	3	1:30	PIT	J.STAAL(1)	T.KENNEDY(1)	J.RUUTU(1)	EV
5	3	8:55	PIT	M.HOSSA(1)	R.MALONE(3)	S.CROSBY(5)	PP

Saturday, April 12, 2008 -- Afternoon

The Pens and Senators was an exciting one. The Pens had a 3-0 lead in the second period when they decided that they really didn't need to play. It was very obvious as I watched the play that the players were watching the action instead of participating. The Pens would be standing around and looking at the puck as it went past them with the Senators flying after it. The Senators tied the game in the third period, and it was looking like it would go to overtime. With only one minute and two seconds left in regulation, Ryan Malone scored, and the Pens took a 4-3 lead. Then with seven seconds left, Malone got an empty net to give the Pens a 5-3 win. They lead the series 2-0. Petr Sykora also score two back to back goals in the second period. Marc-Andre Fleury played well, but unfortunately when the team stopped playing in the second and third periods, it was the defense that went first. The first Senators' goal could have been prevented if Kris Letang had challenged Cory Stillman instead of backing up and letting him come up unopposed to the net. Check out my pictures of the game.

Second Game of the First Round

Goals

Senators

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Senators

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	16:40	PIT	S.GONCHAR(1)	E.MALKIN(3)	S.CROSBY(1)	PP
2	2	5:22	PIT	P.SYKORA(2)	E.MALKIN(4)	S.CROSBY(2)	PP
3	2	10:52	PIT	P.SYKORA(3)	E.MALKIN(5)	R.MALONE(2)	EV
4	2	11:25	OTT	S.DONOVAN(1)	C.NEIL(1)	M.COMMODORE(1)	EV
5	2	16:11	OTT	C.STILLMAN(1)	D.HEATLEY(1)	A.MESZAROS(1)	PP
6	3	8:51	OTT	C.BASS(1)	R.ROBITAILLE(1)	M.COMMODORE(2)	EV
7	3	18:58	PIT	R.MALONE(1)	M.HOSSA(2)	S.CROSBY(3)	PP
8	3	19:53	PIT	R.MALONE(2)	M.HOSSA(3)	S.CROSBY(4)	EV-EN

Friday, April 11, 2008 -- Late Afternoon

The Pens will be playing the Ottawa Senators tonight at 7:00 pm. I won't be posting my pictures and comments about the game until tomorrow. Let's go Pens!

Thursday, April 10, 2008 -- Evening

What a game last night! The whole atmosphere around the arena was electric. As I came up to the arena, I was amazed at the number of news trucks in the area. I don't remember seeing that number last year. There was even a newscaster from CTV. The Pens had the jumbo screen setup by the gate that I usually enter from, so I got to check out the fans who were there for it. Some had brought chairs, some drinks, but all brought enthusiasm for their team. There was so much noise in the arena when the pre-game video started. It was really neat with lightning crashing from the ceiling to the jumbotron, and images projected onto the ice. When the players came onto the ice through a smoke machine, the crowd went wild. We were all screaming and waving the white towels that were handed out as we entered the stadium. It was just great. Jeff Jimmerson sang the Canadian and US national anthems, and people sang along with both. The energy transferred itself to the team, and they came out flying. I know that yesterday I was saying that I would not play Gary Roberts because he's old and just came back from a broken leg and high ankle sprain. I take my words back now. Not only did Roberts score the first goal, he scored another in the third period, and was whopping butt all over the ice. In the last two minutes of the game, he was trying to give a younger Senator a punching, and struggled against the ref to make it happen. There was alot of physicality throughout the match. Marc-Andre Fleury gave Martin Lapointe a whack with his stick. When Lapointe got into Fleury's face, Max Talbot rushed to his best buddy's defense and roughed up Lapointe. Later when Sidney Crosby got a whack in the face from Wade Redden, Ryan Whitney jumped to Sid's defense and gave Redden a few roundhouse blows. Fleury did a stellar job in goal, and really showed all those nay-sayers that he is a quality goalie. As Michel Therrien said after the game, Fleury has been the best goalie in the NHL in his last 15 games of the season. The Pens won with a final score of 4-0. I can't wait for this Friday's game! Check out my oodles of pictures.

First Game of the First Round

Goals

Senators

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Senators

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	1:08	PIT	G.ROBERTS(1)	G.LARAQUE(1)	M.TALBOT(1)	EV
2	1	12:28	PIT	P.SYKORA(1)	E.MALKIN(1)	--	EV
3	3	13:58	PIT	E.MALKIN(1)	R.WHITNEY(1)	R.MALONE(1)	EV
4	3	18:25	PIT	G.ROBERTS(2)	E.MALKIN(2)	M.HOSSA(1)	PP

Wednesday, April 9, 2008 -- Early Afternoon

Pictures and game recap from tonight's first round playoff game between the Pens and Ottawa Senators game will be posted Thursday evening. Check the game recaps page for information on this season's home and away games.

Sunday, April 6, 2008 -- Late Afternoon

The Pens played a repeat match against the Philadelphia Flyers this afternoon in the last game of the regular season for both. The Pens needed a point (win or overtime win) to take first place in the Eastern Conference. However, they weren't able to get that. Sidney Crosby didn't play basically because the team was afraid that the Flyers were specifically target Crosby as someone to injury and take out of the playoffs. The Flyers have been playing with a dirty mentality all season long, and unfortunately, the team hasn't been penalized by the NHL for such behavior. That really sucks. Marc-Andre Fleury was in goal and played a great game. Unfortunately, the rest of the team wasn't up to the challenge of winning the game. Gary Roberts was back after his broken leg earlier in the season. I don't know what was the deal with bringing him back. After all, it's not like he was playing that well before he broke his leg (he was a -3). He's old, and he really doesn't have alot of playing time. Anyway, the Pens lost with a final score of 2-0, and will be facing the Ottawa Senators probably on Thursday night. The Senators have been playing the worst hockey in the league since January, so I'm hoping that we can get past them in the first round and make it the second round.

Eighty Second Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Flyers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Flyers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	2	18:30	PHI	S.UPSHALL(14)	M.KNUBLE(26)	J.CARTER(23)	EV
2	3	19:07	PHI	M.KNUBLE(29)	J.CARTER(24)	--	EV

Wednesday, April 2, 2008 -- Late Evening

The Pens played the Philadelphia Flyers this evening in the last home game of the regular season. The next time I see the Pens it will be in the playoffs. The game tonight was a really rough game, with the Flyers being very physical. George Laraque got into a great fight with Riley Cote. The Flyers were all over Sidney Crosby, roughing him up. The Pens played well though, and Marc-Andre Fleury was phenomenal in goal. The Pens won with a final score of 4-2, and finish first in the Atlantic Division. Now if the Montreal Canadiens lose tomorrow, the Pens will be first in the Eastern Conference! I won't have my pictures ready until tomorrow.

Eighty First Game of the Season

Goals

Flyers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Flyers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	8:58	PIT	S.HARTNELL(24)	D.BRIERE(41)	V.PROSPAL(37)	PHI
2	1	10:24	PIT	S.GONCHAR(12)	S.CROSBY(48)	E.MALKIN(59)	PP
3	1	13:13	PHI	J.CARTER(29)	J.LUPUL(26)	B.COBURN(27)	PP
4	2	6:26	PIT	S.CROSBY(23)	S.GONCHAR(52)	M.HOSSA(36)	PP
5	2	14:33	PIT	E.MALKIN(47)	R.WHITNEY(28)	--	PP
6	3	18:26	PIT	S.CROSBY(24)	S.GONCHAR(53)	M.HOSSA(37)	PP

Monday, March 31, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played the New York Rangers again this evening (back to back games for both teams.) The Pens really stunk up the joint with only one shot on goal in the first period. However, they managed to keep the Rangers from scoring with some stellar play by Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury has just been playing wonderful hockey since he came back from his injury. The only goal in regulation was one where Jaromir Jagr shot at the goal, and Rob Scuderi hit the puck from the air into the Fleury's helmet and into the net. The game went into over time, and the Rangers got the winning goal on a power play. The final score was Rangers 2 - Pens 1.

Eightieth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Rangers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Rangers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	2	11:43	NYR	J.JAGR(21)	C.DRURY(32)	B.SHANAHAN(23)	PP
2	3	10:03	PIT	M.TALBOT(12)	R.MALONE(24)	G.LARAQUE(9)	EV
3	OT	1:46	NYR	C.DRURY(24)	J.JAGR(45)	S.GOMEZ(54)	PP

Sunday, March 30, 2008 -- Late Afternoon

The Pens played the New York Rangers in an early afternoon game today. The Rangers got the first goal, but the Pens came back to take the lead with two goals. The second period was one of the worst with the Pens getting only four shots on goal. Fortunately, the Rangers didn't score, but the Pens are going to have to start getting more shots on goal in the playoffs. It was scary for a second when Evgeni Malkin fell to the ice clutching his face towards the end of the second period. He just got a cut and was back in the third period. Marc-Andre Fleury was in goal, and he did a good job. He was playing alot more aggressively in this game, and was playing the puck behind the net or off to the side more than I like. I always get nervous when the goalies do stuff like that because they can get burned with an open net goal. The Pens won this game with a score of 3-1. Check out my pictures of the game.

Seventy Ninth Game of the Season

Goals

Rangers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Rangers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	3:03	NYR	B.DUBINSKY(14)	J.JAGR(44)	C.BACKMAN(13)	PP
2	1	10:21	PIT	M.HOSSA(29)	P.DUPUIS(15)	S.CROSBY(46)	EV
3	1	17:56	PIT	E.MALKIN(46)	S.GONCHAR(51)	S.CROSBY(47)	PP
4	3	19:13	PIT	M.TALBOT(11)	J.STAAL(16)	R.SCUDERI(5)	EV

Friday, March 28, 2008 -- Late Afternoon

The Pens played the New York Islanders last night. The Pens were determined to make the outcome different from their match up with the Islanders last week, where the Pens lost. Marc-Andre Fleury was in goal, and he only let one goal get past him. The real stars of the games were the third liners, Jarkko Ruutu and Georges Laraque. Laraque got his fourth goal of the season, and Ruutu was a huge presence on the ice, having a hand in all three goals. He got two assists, and scored a short handed goal. Not only that, but he was just Ruutu, getting under everyone's skin. Fleury did a great job too. The only problem was when he attempted to score a goal himself when the Islanders had an empty net at the end of the third. The puck went in front of the net, and Fleury had to scurry to prevent a goal. He did. Check out my pictures of the game. The next game is Sunday afternoon, and I hope to have the pictures up sometime that evening. My service provider is moving its servers, and my site might be down over the weekend.

Seventy Eighth Game of the Season

Goals

Islanders

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Islanders

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	6:53	PIT	E.MALKIN(45)	J.RUUTU(9)	G.LARAQUE(8)	EV
2	1	16:31	NYI	J.VASICEK(15)	B.GUERIN(20)	F.MEYER(8)	EV
3	2	15:12	PIT	J.RUUTU(6)	unassisted	--	SH
4	3	6:40	NYI	G.LARAQUE(4)	J.RUUTU(10)	H.GILL(21)	EV

Tuesday, March 25, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played the New Jersey Devils this evening, and it wasn't the same as yesterday. For one, Marc-Andre Fleury gave a stellar performance, earning a shutout. Ryan Malone scored a goal for the Pens in the first period, and that goal was good enough to take them to the end of the game when Marian Hossa scored an empty netter. I think that Fleury's performance this evening should have shut up all those Fleury neighsayers, but some people are hard to please. The Pens won with a final score of 2-0, and have a four point lead over the Devils in the conference.

Seventy Seventh Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Devils

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Devils

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	5:18	PIT	R.MALONE(27)	R.WHITNEY(27)	S.GONCHAR(50)	PP
2	3	19:18	PIT	M.HOSSA(28)	R.MALONE(23)	B.ORPIK(10)	EV-EN

Monday, March 24, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played the New York Islanders this evening. Ty Conklin was in goal for the Pens because he had a good record against the Islandesr. Sidney Crosby did not play this evening as planned because he felt his ankle still wasn't ready. If he had been playing, he would have been blamed for the Pens poor performance. As Ryan Malone said in the second intermission, the Pens were playing crappy hockey. The first period wasn't so bad, and the score was tied 1-1. However, the Pens really just let the game go in the second period. The Islanders took a two goal lead into the third period. The Pens only had three shots on goal in the second period! There were alot of tensions between the teams, but it didn't help the Pens in the end. They lost with a final score of 1-4.

Seventy Sixth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Islanders

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Islanders

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	3:22	NYI	R.PARK(10)	K.OKPOSO(2)	M.SPILLER(1)	SH
2	1	3:58	PIT	P.SYKORA(28)	T.KENNEDY(9)	J.TAFFE(7)	PP
3	2	11:45	NYI	B.GUERIN(23)	J.VASICEK(19)	R.MARTINEK(14)	EV
4	2	14:53	NYI	S.BERGENHEIM(10)	B.GUERIN(19)	M.SATAN(24)	PP
5	3	12:41	NYI	T.HUNTER(12)	M.SATAN(25)	J.TAMBELLINI(3)	EV

Sunday, March 23, 2008 -- Morning

The Pens played the New Jersey Devils yesterday evening. With only seven games left in the regular seaon, and all those games against others in their conference, this game had huge importance. The first two periods were good, and the Pens took an early lead. The score was still close. When the third period startd, the Pens came out with renewed energy. They scored five goals in the third period, and even caused Martin Brodeur to be pulled from the game in the third period after the Pens' fourth goal. Kevin Weekes did not do much better, letting in three goals. Marc-Andre Fleury was in goal, and did a good job, and although he spent alot of watching the game in the third period. Evgeni Malkin got three points (two goals) and now has 102 points in the season. Everyone has been talking about how much better the team has been doing without Sidney Crosby. I know that I have been saying that he can take off longer because he seems to change the chemistry of the team in a negative way. The Pens score less and win a few percentage of games when Crosby is in the lineup. No one can explain it, but I think that it's because everyone on the team expects Crosby to score. Also, I think the lines have chemistry, and when Crosby comes back, the Malkin, Petr Sykora, and Ryan Malone line get broken up, and that's the most productive line! Final score in today's game was 7-1. Check out my pictures of the game. I have some good ones!

Seventy Fifth Game of the Season

Goals

Devils

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Devils

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	1:30	PIT	J.RUUTU(5)	M.HOSSA(33)	D.SYDOR(12)	EV
2	1	9:04	NJ	B.GIONTA(21)	J.MADDEN(22)	--	SH
3	2	16:14	PIT	R.MALONE(25)	P.DUPUIS(14)	B.ORPIK(9)	SH
4	3	3:00	PIT	R.MALONE(26)	S.GONCHAR(48)	M.HOSSA(34)	PP
5	3	4:51	PIT	P.DUPUIS(12)	M.HOSSA(35)	S.GONCHAR(49)	EV
6	3	8:24	PIT	E.MALKIN(43)	K.LETANG(11)	P.SYKORA(34)	PP
7	3	11:21	PIT	E.MALKIN(44)	P.SYKORA(35)	--	EV
8	3	18:18	PIT	P.SYKORA(27)	E.MALKIN(58)	R.WHITNEY(26)	EV

Thursday, March 20, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played the Tampa Bay Lightning at Mellon Arena this evening. I didn't go to the game because I am still trying to recouperate from the flu. This one really knocked me for a loop, and I have been feeling tired. The game was quite fun with goals by Jarkko Ruutu and Jordan Staal. Right after Ruutu scored, he got a high stick to the mouth and nose that left him with a bloody nose and swollen lip. That didn't stop Ruutu from making some great plays. At one point in the third period, Ruutu lost his stick, and shuffled the puck between his feet down the ice and feed it to Max Talbot who missed the net. Marc-Andre Fleury was in goal, and did a good job of stopping the puck, although truth be told, his teammates tried to cut down on the shooting chances of the Lightning. All in all, it was a good game, with the Pens winning with a final score of 4-2.

Seventy Fourth Game of the Season

Goals

Lightning

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Lightning

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	14:20	PIT	J.RUUTU(4)	B.ORPIK(8)	M.TALBOT(14)	EV
2	2	4:18	TB	V.LECAVALIER(40)	J.JOKINEN(21)	F.KUBA(22)	PP
3	2	10:05	PIT	E.MALKIN(42)	R.WHITNEY(25)	--	EV
4	3	0:35	PIT	J.STAAL(12)	P.DUPUIS(13)	--	EV
5	3	0:51	PIT	P.SYKORA(26)	E.MALKIN(57)	R.MALONE(22)	EV
6	3	1:51	TB	F.KUBA(4)	M.ST. LOUIS(56)	J.JOKINEN(22)	PP

Tuesday, March 18, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played the New York Rangers this evening. Ty Conklin was in goal, and he did not do a very good job. The Rangers got five goals in the game, and the Pens were only able to get two. The dads of the players were on hand for Sunday's game and tonight's game. This is something that Ray Shero has been doing for the teams that he manages to get the team members happy and bonding. There was talk from the announcers about Conklin's performance. They think that letting Marc-Andre Fleury play screwed up Conklin's rhythm. I think it was just that he had a hot streak, and now he's not so hot.

Seventy Third Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Rangers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Rangers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	11:07	NYR	S.AVERY(14)	J.JAGR(42)	M.ROZSIVAL(23)	EV
2	1	11:47	NYR	R.CALLAHAN(8)	C.DRURY(27)	M.STRAKA(21)	EV
3	2	1:38	PIT	J.RUUTU(3)	R.WHITNEY(24)	D.SYDOR(11)	EV
4	2	3:11	NYR	J.STAAL(11)	P.DUPUIS(12)	M.HOSSA(32)	EV
5	2	3:55	NYR	F.SJOSTROM(12)	unassisted	--	EV
6	3	5:37	NYR	S.AVERY(15)	D.GIRARDI(18)	B.DUBINSKY(23)	EV
7	3	11:29	NYR	M.STRAKA(13)	C.DRURY(28)	--	EV

Sunday, March 16, 2008 -- Late Afternoon

The Pens played the Philadelphia Flyers this afternoon. The game was a special offering on NBC and had a special start time of noon. It was difficult to get into hockey mood that early, but it wasn't hard for the Pens. Although Sidney Crosby was a scratch with his high ankle sprain acting up, but Marian Hossa played, and he got a goal and an assist in his second game for the Pens. Petr Sykora and Evgeni Malkin also scored two goals and two assists each in the Pens' 7 to 1 route of the Flyers. Marc-Andre Fleury was in goal, and did a very nice job. It doesn't look as if the Pens have a goalie controversy because after the game, Ty Conklin and Fleury seemed to get along really well after the game, joking and chatting together as they skated close to each other. Check out my pictures of the game.

Seventy Second Game of the Season

Goals

Flyers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Flyers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	4:33	PIT	E.MALKIN(40)	P.SYKORA(32)	--	EV
2	1	8:38	PIT	P.SYKORA(24)	P.DUPUIS(9)	E.MALKIN(55)	EV
3	2	4:15	PIT	.KENNEDY(10)	M.TALBOT(13)	H.GILL(20)	EV
4	2	12:43	PHI	M.KNUBLE(27)	P.THORESEN(3)	--	EV
5	2	14:54	PIT	E.MALKIN(41)	P.SYKORA(33)	R.MALONE(20)	EV
6	2	15:25	PIT	M.HOSSA(27)	S.GONCHAR(47)	P.DUPUIS(10)	EV
7	3	9:00	PIT	P.SYKORA(25)	E.MALKIN(56)	R.MALONE(21)	EV
8	3	15:38	PIT	H.GILL(3)	P.DUPUIS(11)	M.HOSSA(31)	EV

Wednesday, March 12, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played the Buffalo Sabres this evening. Petr Sykora wound up getting over his backache and played this evening. However, Sidney Crosby didn't play because his high ankle sprain was acting up. Tyler Kennedy got a breakaway in the first few minutes of the game, and scored the first goal. The Sabres haven't been doing as well since they had the fire sale of their best players last year. Right now, they are battling to get into the playoffs, and this game didn't help them. After the Pens took the lead, it looked like they would keep it with Ty Conklin in goal. The Sabres scored two goals in a little over two minutes at the beginning of the third period to make the score Pens 4 - Sabres 2. From there, it became a scoring fest on both sides. The third period took forever, with everyone getting a hand in to score. The final score in the end was Pens 7 - Sabres 3. This is the first time that the Pens won every game played in the season against the Sabres.

Seventy First Game of the Season

Goals

Sabres

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Sabres

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	3:30	PIT	T.KENNEDY(9)	P.DUPUIS(7)	--	EV
2	2	6:35	PIT	J.TAFFE(5)	D.SYDOR(9)	K.LETANG(10)	EV
3	2	18:08	PIT	S.GONCHAR(11)	R.WHITNEY(23)	P.SYKORA(31)	PP
4	3	0:56	PIT	P.SYKORA(23)	unassisted	--	PP
5	3	3:02	BUF	J.HECHT(18)	M.WEBER(1)	M.AFINOGENOV(16)	EV
6	3	5:11	BUF	D.PAILLE(15)	D.ROY(35)	H.TALLINDER(13)	SH
7	3	8:56	PIT	E.MALKIN(39)	D.SYDOR(10)	T.KENNEDY(7)	PP
8	3	10:03	PIT	C.MINARD(1)	J.STAAL(15)	R.STONE(1)	EV
9	3	10:49	BUF	D.PAILLE(16)	D.PAILLE(16)	--	EV
10	3	13:23	PIT	K.LETANG(6)	T.KENNEDY(8)	P.DUPUIS(8)	EV

Sunday, March 9, 2008 -- Late Afternoon

The Pens played the Washington Capitals in an early afternoon game today. The game was showcased on NBC. There was alot of talk about the points race and how the Caps hoped to get into the playoffs. The Pens weren't playing well through most of the game. In fact, the Pens only had 13 shots on goal in the first two periods! Ryan Whitney sucked at defense per usual, but Petr Sykora and Sidney Crosby scored two goals. Marc-Andre Fleury was back in goal, and did a great job considering that he was being used for target practice (22 shots in the second period alone.) The score was tied until until the last 28 seconds of the game when Nicklas Backstrom tried to clear the puck from in front of Cristobal Huet, and instead knocked the puck into the net. Crosby got create for the goal, but it was an "own goal" on the part of the Capitals. The Pens went on to win with a final score of 4-2 when Jordan Staal scored an empty netter.

Seventieth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Capitals

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Capitals

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	2	7:23	WSH	B.LAICH(17)	A.SEMIN(14)	A.OVECHKIN(40)	PP
2	2	8:42	PIT	P.SYKORA(22)	E.MALKIN(52)	J.TAFFE(6)	EV
3	2	18:08	PIT	S.CROSBY(21)	E.MALKIN(53)	S.GONCHAR(45)	EV
4	2	19:46	WSH	A.SEMIN(21)	A.OVECHKIN(41)	S.FEDOROV(21)	PP
5	3	19:32	PIT	S.CROSBY(22	unassisted	--	EV
6	3	19:47	PIT	J.STAAL(10)	E.MALKIN(54)	--	EV-EN

Friday, March 7, 2008 -- Late Morning

On Thursday night, the Pens played the Florida Panthers. Unfortunately, the Pens did not come out to play, and Michel Therrien did the thing that we were all hoping he would not do when Sidney Crosby came back from his injury. He put Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on the same line. You would have thought that with Malkin's scoring burst after Crosby left that Therrien would see that there is goal scoring chemistry between Malkin and Petr Sykora, but no, but no. Instead Sykora wound on a line with Jordan Staal (who wasn't out for very long with his bruised ribs) and the team had a scoring drought. No points for Malkin, either. Marc-Andre Fleury started the game, but got pulled after the first period because our defense sucked at clearing the puck from our end. After three goals in the first Ty Conklin was back in goal. After the game, the post-game show guys were showing how crappy Ryan Whitney was at clearing the puck from his end or acting defensive in any way. I really wonder why some folks think Whitney is all that, but I suppose it is because he can score every now and again. However, I'd rather have a defenseman who knows how to play defense and does a good job at it, than having some goober who can score a few goals a year. After all that gets negated when the other team is able to score them right back because you don't clear them from your zone. Final score: Pens 2 - Panthers 5.

Sixty Ninth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Panthers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Panthers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	4:19	FLA	D.BOOTH(20)	S.WEISS(28)	N.HORTON(32)	EV
2	1	4:58	FLA	R.OLESZ(12	B.MCLEAN(14)	O.JOKINEN(33)	EV
3	1	6:19	PIT	R.MALONE(24)	H.GILL(19)	P.SYKORA(30)	EV
4	1	17:54	FLA	S.WEISS(11)	D.BOOTH(14)	M.JOHANSSON(10)	EV
5	2	3:34	FLA	B.MCLEAN(11)	O.JOKINEN(34)	B.ALLEN(13)	EV
6	2	9:02	PIT	K.LETANG(5)	S.GONCHAR(44)	S.CROSBY(45)	EV
7	3	19:08	FLA	B.ALLEN(2)	unassisted	--	EV-EN

Tuesday, March 4, 2008 -- Evening

When I was in class today, I got a text message from the Pens saying that Sidney Crosby would be playing in tonight's game agains the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was great to have Crosby back, but in the first period, the injury jinx struck again. This time Jordan Staal took a hit and left the game. They said tyhat he bruised his ribs. There was a scoring drought for most of the game, but with 2:44 left in the game, Crosby passed the puck to Max Talbot who got the puck into the net. Marc-Andre Fleury was in the net, and got a shut out with 35 saves. Talbot did a great job without a stick and passing the puck to Evgeni Malkin who got an empty netter. It was a great game for both Fleury and Crosby!

Sixty Eighth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Lightning

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Lightning

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
-	2	13:53	PIT	P.SYKORA	Unsuccessful Penalty Shot	--	EV-PS
1	3	17:13	PIT	M.TALBOT(10)	P.DUPUIS(6	S.CROSBY(44)	EV
2	3	19:55	PIT	E.MALKIN(38)	M.TALBOT(12)	--	EV-EN

Sunday, March 2, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played the Atlanta Thrashers this afternoon at Mellon Arena. For the first time in a few months, we finally got to see my favorite goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, start for the Pens. Fleury did great job, and only let in two goals when he was under attack with no defense. I've always thought the Fleury did a great job, and got a bum rap for some reason. One of the people behind me was moaning about how the Pens got rid of that great player, Colby Armstrong. She was saying that he was going to get a hat trick and show everyone. I thought that was amazingly funny because Armstrong sucks, and he wasn't going to become a goal scorer for Atlana. I don't know why people have such trouble admitting that Armstrong was funny and personable, but not much on the ice. Anyway, the game was tied in regulation and went into overtime. With no score in overtime, it went into a shootout where Fleury stopped every puck and Kris Letang scored to give the Pens the win. Check out my pictures of the game.

Sixty Seventh Game of the Season

Goals

Thrashers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

0 (0-3)

1 (1-3)

Final

Shots on goal

Thrashers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	0:50	PIT	R.MALONE(23)	S.GONCHAR(43)	E.MALKIN(51)	EV
2	1	2:09	PIT	M.TALBOT(9)	J.RUUTU(8)	A.GOLIGOSKI(2)	EV
3	1	14:25	ATL	J.SLATER(4)	E.BOULTON(5)	J.KWIATKOWSKI(2)	EV
4	3	1:11	ATL	V.KOZLOV(15)	C.ARMSTRONG(17)	J.KWIATKOWSKI(3)	PP
5	SO	--	PIT	K.LETANG	--	--	--

Saturday, March 1, 2008 -- Early Evening

The Pens played the Ottawa Senators in an afternoon game today. It was a disappointing game because it wound up being another loss. What irritated me throughout the game was that Ty Conklin was not playing his best, and in fact let in five goals. The irritating part for me was not that he was not playing his best, but that the announcers were making excuses for him, saying "well, he's been playing so well in the past." Meanwhile Marc-Andre Fleury is sitting on the bench. Does he get the same sort of respect? No. In fact, one of the local sports guys was saying that Conklin won the games for the Pens while Fleury's 40 wins last year weren't wins by Fleury, but by the team. I'm really tired of the Fleury bashing that goes on in this city. I guess we won't respect him until he leaves. Meanwhile Evgeni Malkin was stellar as usual this year. The Pens lost with a final score of 5-4, and will be playing again here in Pittsburgh tomorrow afternoon against the Atlanta Thrashers. Colby Armstrong and Erik Christensen will be back in town with the Trashers.

Sixty Sixth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Senators

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Senators

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	8:43	PIT	R.MALONE(21)	E.MALKIN(49)	P.SYKORA(29)	EV
2	1	15:11	OTT	A.VERMETTE(15)	W.REDDEN(30)	C.STILLMAN(31)	EV
3	1	16:12	OTT	D.ALFREDSSON(36)	A.VOLCHENKOV(11)	--	EV
4	1	19:48	PIT	P.SYKORA(21)	S.GONCHAR(42)	J.STAAL(14)	PP
5	2	1:30	OTT	D.ALFREDSSON(37)	unassisted	--	SH
6	2	2:35	PIT	R.MALONE(22)	A.GOLIGOSKI(1)	E.MALKIN(50)	EV
7	2	14:40	OTT	M.LAPOINTE(4)	W.REDDEN(31)	--	PP
8	2	16:21	OTT	D.HEATLEY(31)	D.ALFREDSSON(41)	C.STILLMAN(32)	PP
9	3	14:06	PIT	E.MALKIN(37)	unassisted	--	EV

Thursday, February 28, 2008 -- Evening

Tonight was not a good night for the Pens. They played the Boston Bruins. Marian Hossa suffered a grade 1 MCL sprain in the second period, and left the game. He's probably going to be out for a week. What is up with the injury jinx that has been following this team?! Ty Conklin let in three goals in 22 minutes, and was pulled in favor of Marc-Andre Fleury. The Pens really sucked this evening, and they lost with a final score of 5-1.

Sixty Fifth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Bruins

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Bruins

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	9:49	BOS	M.STURM(21)	C.KOBASEW(14)	G.METROPOLIT(17)	EV
2	1	12:07	BOS	M.STURM(22)	G.METROPOLIT(18)	A.WARD(6)	EV
3	2	2:21	BOS	Z.CHARA(15)	D.WIDEMAN(20)	M.SAVARD(57)	EV
4	2	16:01	BOS	P.AXELSSON(12)	S.THORNTON(2)	M.SAVARD(58)	EV
5	3	13:03	PIT	P.DUPUIS(11)	J.TAFFE(5)	T.KENNEDY(6)	EV
6	3	17:49	BOS		D.KREJCI(2)	M.STUART(2)	C.KOBASEW(15)	PP

Tuesday, February 26, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played the New York Islanders this evening, and it was a game that no one was expecting the Pens to win. However, the players came out flying, and they pulled out a win. Everyone contributed, even Connor James who got a goal in the third period. The Pens really picked things up after their weekend of losses in overtime.

Sixty Fourth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Islanders

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Islanders

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	10:50	PIT	E.MALKIN(36)	P.SYKORA(27)	J.TAFFE(4)	EV
2	1	17:52	PIT	J.TAFFE(4)	T.KENNEDY(5)	K.LETANG(10)	PP
3	2	10:26	NYI	F.NIELSEN(1)	J.TAMBELLINI(1)	F.MEYER IV(7)	EV
4	3	12:55	PIT	J.STAAL(9)	E.MALKIN(48)	P.SYKORA(28)
5	3	16:58	PIT	C.JAMES(1)	R.WHITNEY(21)	--	PP
6	3	18:43	NYI	R.REDOTNENTKO(15)		M.SATAN	--	PP

Sunday, February 24, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played the San Jose Sharks this afternoon. The first two periods, heck most of the game, was incredibly boring. In fact, the most interesting thing to happen was when the Zamboni broke down before the start of the game, spewing red motor oil all over the ice. It took around 15 minutes to clean it up, and the ice didn't seem like it was in good shape for the first period. There was only one Zamboni to clean the ice for the entire game. The Pens had a hard time even getting the puck out of their own end. The first score happened when Jonathan Cheechoo scored. Erik Christensen was finally back from his shoulder injury, and he scored the tying goal. The game went into overtime and then a shootout. Ty Conklin wasn't able to stop a single puck in the shootout, and the Sharks won. Marc-Andre Fleury was recalled from Wilkes Barre, and he was at the arena. He will probably be playing in the next game. Check out my pictures of the game.

Sixty Third Game of the Season

Goals

Sharks

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

1 (3-3)

0 (2-3)

Final

Shots on goal

Sharks

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	3	3:10	SJ	J.CHEECHOO(18)	J.THORNTON(54)	J.SHELLEY(4)	EV
2	3	10:02	PIT	E.CHRISTENSEN(9)	S.GONCHAR(41)	J.TAFFE(3)	PP
3	SO	--	SJ	J.ROENICK	--	--	--

Saturday, February 23, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played the Ottawa Senators in a late afternoon game today at Mellon Arena. This is going to be a weekend of hockey because the Pens are playing the San Jose Sharks tomorrow afternoon. Today's game had the fans in a feverish state because the Pens are so close to the lead, and if we won today, the Pens could have taken first place in the Eastern Conference. However, Devils won today, and the Pens lost. They had the early lead, a 3-0 lead, but they pretty much blew the lead in the third period. The game was tied and went into overtime. With only three seconds on the clock, Daniel Alfredsson scored for the Senators. Ty Conklin made some really great saves, but he still let in four goals. Meanwhile, Marc-Andre Fleury has been on a conditioning assignment in Wilkes Barre, and has been doing a great job. Fleury should be back with the Pens this coming week, and it will be interesting to see how things pan out. I am really tired of the Fleury nay sayers in the audience who have been complaining as if Fleury had been playing poorly for months instead of injured. Check out my pictures of the game.

Sixty Second Game of the Season

Goals

Senators

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Senators

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	1:47	PIT	P.SYKORA(20)	R.MALONE(18)	R.WHITNEY(21)	PP
2	2	4:09	PIT	C.ARMSTRONG(9)	M.TALBOT(11)	R.SCUDERI(4)	EV
3	2	10:20	PIT	J.TAFFE(3)	J.STAAL(13)	D.SYDOR(8)	EV
4	2	12:47	OTT	C.STILLMAN(23)	C.KELLY(15)	A.VERMETTE(23)	EV
5	2	17:14	OTT	D.HEATLEY(29)	C.STILLMAN(29)	W.REDDEN(28)	EV
6	3	6:09	OTT	D.HEATLEY(30)	R.ROBITAILLE(14)	J.SPEZZA(50)	EV
7	OT	4:56	OTT	D.ALFREDSSON(35)	A.MESZAROS(19)	--	EV

Thursday, February 21, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played the Montreal Canadiens. Dany Sabourin was in goal because the Pens will be playing the Ottawa Senators on Saturday afternoon. That will be an important game because the Senators are still leading the Eastern Conference. The Pens took the early lead, but the Canadiens fought back. Jarkko Ruutu is on a hot streak getting his second goal of the second (and second goal in the past week!) The game was a scoring fest for both teams. The Canadiens tied things up in the third period, but the Pens were not to be undone, and they went on to win with a final score of Pens 5, Canadiens 4.

Sixty First Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Canadiens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Canadiens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	6:46	PIT	R.WHITNEY(12)	E.MALKIN(46)	P.SYKORA(25)	EV
2	1	18:47	PIT	J.RUUTU(2)	unassisted	--	EV
3	2	3:27	MTL	S.KOIVU(12)	S.KASTSITSYN(10)	R.O'BYRNE(4)	EV
4	2	6:59	PIT	R.MALONE(20)	R.WHITNEY(19)	P.SYKORA(26)	PP
5	2	18:07	MTL	C.HIGGINS(19)	A.KOVALEV(33)	A.MARKOV(36)	PP
6	3	0:21	MTL	M.RYDER(12)	M.STREIT(33)	J.GORGES(5)	EV
7	3	3:25	MTL	R.HAMRLIK(4)	S.KOIVU(33)	A.KOVALEV(34)	PP
8	3	10:22	PIT	E.MALKIN(35)	R.MALONE(17)	--	EV
9	3	10:58	PIT	S.GONCHAR(10)	R.WHITNEY(20)	E.MALKIN(47)	PP

Tuesday, February 19, 2008 -- Evening

I did not go to this evening's the Pens and the Florida Panthers. I had gotten rid of the tickets to the game a couple of months ago when I thought I was going to have class on Tuesday evenings. It was also a Jordan Staal bobblehead night. I was watching the game on TV, but it wasn't very exciting. The Panthers took the early lead. However, as the Pens have done in the past, they came on in the third period to tie things up. Ryan Malone scored the go-ahead goal in the final 22 seconds of the period. Malone got the puck into the net, but the play was reviewed because Malone was shoved into the goaltender. That was the second goal for Malone in the last four minutes of the game.

Sixtieth Game of the Season

Goals

Panthers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Panthers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	16:24	FLA	D.BOOTH(18)	K.KREPS(14)	B.ALLEN(11)	EV
2	2	12:18	FLA	B.MCLEAN(9)	unassisted	--	SH
3	3	4:43	PIT	C.ARMSTRONG(8)	E.MALKIN(44)	--	EV
4	3	16:40	PIT	R.MALONE(18)	R.WHITNEY(18)	E.MALKIN(45)	EV
5	3	19:37	PIT	R.MALONE(19)	S.GONCHAR(40)	T.CONKLIN(1)	PP

Sunday, February 17, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played the Boston Bruins this evening. The Pens had to get a win because the last two games were losses. At this time of the season, the team can't afford to put together too many losses. Not goals in the first period. But in the second period, Jarkko Ruutu scored his first goal in 60 games on a breakaway as he came out of the penalty box. The Pens scored another two minutes later when Petr Sykora scored. The Bruins ended that period with a goal, but in the third, Evgeni Malkin scored to give the Pens a two point lead. The Pens won the game with a final score of 4-1 (with an empty netter by Colby Armstrong.

Fifty Ninth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Bruins

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Bruins

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	2	7:28	PIT	J.RUUTU(1)	R.MALONE(15)	R.SCUDERI(3)	EV
2	2	9:28	PIT	P.SYKORA(19)	E.MALKIN(43)	S.GONCHAR(39)	PP
3	2	14:45	BUF	T.VANEK(22)	D.ROY(27)	J.POMINVILLE(36)	PP
4	3	8:13	PIT	E.MALKIN(34)	M.TALBOT(10)	P.SYKORA(24)	EV
5	3	18:48	PIT	C.ARMSTRONG(7)	R.MALONE(16)	--	EV-EN

Thursday, February 14, 2008 -- Late Evening

The Pens played the Carolina Hurricanes this evening. They ran into trouble tonight too. The problem is that the team just isn't shooting at the net. The Hurricanes had more than twice as many shots on goal as the Pens. I think that the other teams have realized that Evgeni Malkin's line is the only one that scores. So they have been watching him more. Also, Michel Therrien has been playing Malkin alot and the guy just looks exhausted on the ice. Final score: Pens 2 - Hurricanes 4.

Fifty Eighth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Hurricanes

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Hurricanes

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	3:13	CAR	E.COLE(13)	R.WHITNEY(30)	J.HAMILTON(13)	PP
2	1	13:00	PIT	B.ORPIK(1)	C.ARMSTRONG(15)	J.RUUTU(7)	EV
3	2	2:37	PIT	E.MALKIN(33)	unassisted	--	PP
4	2	10:36	CAR	E.STAAL(28)	R.WHITNEY(31)	F.KABERLE(13)	PP
5	3	3:45	CAR	R.WHITNEY(22)	E.STAAL(22)	E.STAAL(22)	PP
6	3	11:39	CAR	R.BAYDA(1)	S.WALKER(11)	G.WESLEY(4)	EV

Thursday, February 14, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens really didn't show up for last night's game against the Boston Bruins. The Bruins scored two goals in the first period, and the Pens weren't able to get anything going. Ty Conklin was doing a great job, but that only goes so far when your offense is on a power play and doesn't get a shot on goal. Evgeni Malkin got the only goal for the Pens in the third period. The final score was Pens 1 and Bruins 2. Check out my pictures of the game.

Fifty Seventh Game of the Season

Goals

Bruins

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Bruins

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	12:58	BOS	P.NOKELAINEN(6)	G.METROPOLIT(14)	M.LUCIC(11)	EV
2	1	14:43	BOS	V.SOBOTKA(1)	J.REICH(2)	S.THORNTON(1)	EV
3	3	13:02	PIT	E.MALKIN(32)	P.SYKORA(23)	J.STAAL(12)	PP

Wednesday, February 13, 2008 -- Afternoon

Pictures and game recap from tonight's Pens vs. Boston Bruins game will be posted Thursday evening. Check the game recaps page for information on this season's home and away games.

Sunday, February 10, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played the Philadelphia Flyers this afternoon. This was the third game in four days, and the third straight win. I don't know how the players managed to keep up the energy because I was tired after attending the three games. Everyone anticipated a great game, not only because of the intense rivalry between the two teams, but also because of the fight for the lead in the Atlantic division. The game was a good one with the Flyers taking the early lead, but the Pens battled back to take the lead. Evgeni Malkin was on fire again and had a hand in all four of the Pens' point this afternoon. Jarrko Ruutu treated us all to another great fight when he went toe to toe with Steve Downie. The fight went on for around a minute. Downie broke up the fight when he just gave up and skated away. That's the first time that I saw a fighter just give up. The final score was Pens 4, Flyers 3. Check out my pictures of the game.

Fifty Sixth Game of the Season

Goals

Flyers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Flyers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	6:34	PHI	R.UMBERGER(10)	J.CARTER(16)	R.JONES(20)	PP
2	1	16:20	PIT	P.SYKORA(18)	E.MALKIN(40)	R.MALONE(13)	EV
3	2	0:38	PIT	R.MALONE(13)	E.MALKIN(41)	K.LETANG(9)	PP
4	2	18:43	PIT	E.MALKIN(31)	P.SYKORA(21)	R.MALONE(14)	EV
5	3	0:46	PHI	R.UMBERGER(11)	S.DOWNIE(6)	J.VANDERMEER(12)	EV
6	3	12:14	PIT	K.LETANG(4)	E.MALKIN(42)	P.SYKORA(22)	EV
7	3	19:27	PHI	S.HARTNELL(18)	M.RICHARDS(39)	K.TIMONEN(22)	EV

Saturday, February 9, 2008 -- Evening

This is going to be a busy weekend with two Pens home games. Today, they played the LA Kings. It's been awhile since the Kings were here, but the Pens have a good track record against teams from the Western Conference. Today was no different, and the Pens took an early lead with a goal in the first. They followed that up with three more in the second. Evgeni Malkin scored two of the four, and almost had a hat trick with an empty netter at the end of the third period. Malkin has been doing a superb job over the past few weeks since Sidney Crosby has been out. In fact, the whole team has been pulling together very well. Even Jordan Staal has been doing a great job, and scored a goal today. The final score for the game was Pens 4 and Kings 2. Check out my pictures of the game.

Fifty Fifth Game of the Season

Goals

Kings

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Kings

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	11:09	PIT	E.MALKIN(29)	R.MALONE(12)	K.LETANG(8)	PP
2	2	0:54	PIT	R.MALONE(17)	E.MALKIN(39)	P.SYKORA(20)	EV
3	2	11:41	PIT	E.MALKIN(30)	R.WHITNEY(17)	S.GONCHAR(38)	PP
4	2	19:57	PIT	J.STAAL(8)	E.CHRISTENSEN(11)	J.TAFFE(2)	EV
5	3	1:54	LA	D.ARMSTRONG(7)	M.CAMMALLERI(15)	A.FROLOV(31)	EV
6	3	18:28	LA	B.BOYLE(3)	A.FROLOV(32)	M.CAMMALLERI(16)	EV

Friday, February 8, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played the New York Islanders last night at Mellon Arena. This was one of those games where you wanted the Pens to win in regulation so they wouldn't give away any points to someone in the same division. Things weren't promising when the Islanders scored first, but the Pens came on to score two to take the lead. After being publicly reprimanded by Michel Therrien for not performing up to snuff, Ryan Whitney scored the first goal, and then went on to score another. I can't say that I blame Therrien for his reprimand. Our defense has been sloppy for most of the season, and Therrien's biggest beef with Whitney was Whitney's lack of aggression around our net. I think that we tend to blame the goalie far too often for problems that are caused by a too weak defense. Well, everyone was cheering Whitney last night. Yeah, it's nice that he scored, but we still need a more aggressive defense. The Islanders tied things up in the third period, and I was starting to get worried that we were going to give up yet another point to others in our division, when Kris Letang scored the go-ahead goal with a smidge over three minutes left in the game. The Pens held off a viscious attack by the Islanders and won with a final score of 4-3. Check out my pictures of the game.

Fifty Fourth Game of the Season

Goals

Islanders

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Islanders

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	4:31	NYI	M.COMRIE(15)	A.HILBERT(6)	B.GUERIN(11)	EV
2	1	9:04	PIT	R.WHITNEY(10)	P.SYKORA(19)	E.MALKIN(36)	PP
3	2	2:24	PIT	R.MALONE(16)	R.WHITNEY(16)	E.MALKIN(37)	EV
4	2	6:30	NYI	R.FEDOTENKO(9)	T.HUNTER(20)	F.MEYER IV(4)	PP
5	2	11:33	PIT	R.WHITNEY(11)	E.MALKIN(38)	S.GONCHAR(37)	PP
6	3	10:47	NYI	M.COMRIE(16)	R.PARK(13)	F.MEYER IV(5)	PP
7	3	16:21	PIT	K.LETANG(3)	unassisted	--	EV

Thursday, February 7, 2008 -- Morning

Pictures and game recap from tonight's Pens vs. New York Islanders game will be posted Friday evening. Check the game recaps page for information on this season's home and away games.

Monday, February 4, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played the New Jersey Devils this evening. The gap between the top three teams in the Atlantic Division is two points, and two of the three are the Pens and the Devils. It was really important for the Pens to take the lead and win the game to get the two point advantage in their division. They had a great second period, taking a two point lead. Petr Sykora scored his 600th goal in the game. Things fell apart in the third period, and the Devils tied things up to take the game into overtime. 37 seconds into OT, the Devils scored to get the two points. Final score of the game was Pens 3 - Devils 4.

Fifty Third Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Devils

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Devils

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	2	2:26	PIT	R.MALONE(15)	E.MALKIN(34)	D.SYDOR(7)	PP
2	2	11:50	PIT	P.SYKORA(17)	E.MALKIN(35)	S.GONCHAR(36)	EV
3	2	19:18	NJ	J.LANGENBRUNNER(9)	Z.PARISE(27)	P.ELIAS(18)	PP
4	3	4:30	PITT	J.STAAL(7)	M.TALBOT(9)	K.LETANG(7)	PP
5	3	9:37	NJ	P.ELIAS(16)	Z.PARISE(28)	--	EV
6	3	11:21	NJ	D.CLARKSON(7)	D.ODUYA(14)	J.MADDEN(15)	EV
7	OT	0:37	NJ	P.ELIAS(17)	P.ELIAS(17)	--	EV

Saturday, February 2, 2008 -- Late Evening

The Pens finally made it back into town today, for the first time since the NHL All-Star game. They played the Carolina Hurricanes. The first two periods of the game were not very exciting or promising. The Pens were lackluster. It was hard to keep my interest in the game. The third period was a totally different story. The Pens came out flying and Erik Christensen was the first to break the scoring drought by getting a goal in the first 37 seconds. The second Pens goal was a controversy. The Pens stormed the net, and the crowd of people who stood in front of me, blocking my view of the net, seemed to think that Ryan Malone scored. The refs didn't seem willing to review the play, and they seemed to want to take Cam Ward's word that the puck did not cross the net. Michel Therrien almost came out of his skin and off the bench. He had the door open and was ready to get on the ice, calling over the refs. Well,they reviewed the play, and the puck did indeed cross the line. Two more goals later, and the Pens had a 4-1 win. That third period was really good, and got the crowd energized. Check out my pictures of the game.

Fifty Second Game of the Season

Goals

Hurricanes

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Hurricanes

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	8:27	CAR	S.SAMSONOV(4)	A.LADD(4)	R.BRIND'AMOUR(29)	EV
2	3	0:37	PIT	E.CHRISTENSEN(8)	M.TALBOT(8)	J.STAAL(11)	EV
3	3	7:26	PIT	R.MALONE(14)	E.MALKIN(32)	S.GONCHAR(34)	PP
4	3	9:42	PIT	E.MALKIN(28)	P.SYKORA(18)	B.ORPIK(7)	EV
5	3	13:03	PIT	P.SYKORA(16)	S.GONCHAR(35)	E.MALKIN(33)	PP

Wednesday, January 30, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played the Atlanta Thrashers in the first of a seven back to back games that the Pens have between now and the end of the season. In fact, in February, there are two weeks with games on both Saturday and Sunday. Ty Conklin started tonight's game too, and that might have been a bad decision. The Thrashers proceeded to just score away on the Pens. The first goal was indicative of the evening, when the puck went off of Conklin's skate and into the net. Jarkko Ruutu was given a game misconduct for a check that resulted in a knee on knee hit with Ilya Kovalchuk. Poor Ruutu also got a penalty for fighting in addition to the game misconduct when Steve McCarthy started hitting Ruutu for the check. I hate to see any player get hurt, so it wasn't a good thing when Kovalchuk left the game and didn't come back after the check. Finally after two and a half periods of no goals, Ryan Whitney finally got one for the Pens.

Fifty First Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Thrashers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Thrashers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	7:08	ATL	R.HOLIK(9)	C.THORBURN(4)	E.BOULTON(3)	EV
2	1	16:42	ATL	I.KOVALCHUK(38)	S.MCCARTHY(5)	M.HOSSA(24)	PP
3	3	1:32	ATL	E.PERRIN(9)	unassisted	--	SH
4	3	3:46	ATL	J.SLATER(1)	M.RECCHI(20)	--	EV
5	3	8:42	PIT	R.WHITNEY(9)	E.CHRISTENSEN(10)	M.TALBOT(7)	EV

Tuesday, January 29, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens came back from the All-Star break to play the New Jersey Devils this evening. Kris Beech was not playing tonight because he has visa problems and was stuck in Canada. Since the Pens were short on offensive power, Brooks Orpik was called into action as a forward. It didn't look like it was going to be a good game for the Pens in the first period when the Devils took the early lead. However, the Pens came back to tie things up with a goal by Jordan Staal. The Devils pulled ahead again (with Mike Rupp scoring both Devils' goals.) The Pens were not to be detered, and they came on again to tie things up. Then Ryan Malone scored two more to give the Pens a 4-2 lead. Once the Pens had a two point lead, they started playing the neutral zone trap, the trick that the Devils play when they have the lead. The Pens managed to hold off the Devils to win! Final score is Pens 4 - Devils 2.

Fiftieth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Devils

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Devils

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	8:54	NJ	M.RUPP(1)	D.ZUBRUS(16)	P.ELIAS(17)	PP
2	2	1:12	PIT	J.STAAL(6)	E.CHRISTENSEN(9)	M.TALBOT(5)	EV
3	2	13:49	NJ	M.RUPP(2)	R.PELLEY(4)	--	EV
4	2	14:41	PIT	E.CHRISTENSEN(7)	M.TALBOT(6)	--	EV
5	2	16:13	PIT	R.MALONE(12)	P.SYKORA(16)	--	EV
6	3	5:21	PIT	R.MALONE(13)	P.SYKORA(17)	S.GONCHAR(33)	PP

Thursday, January 24, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played the Philadelphia Flyers this evening. There has been alot of bad blood between the two teams, and it has intensified over the past season. Georges Laraque and Riley Cote engaged is some fisticuffs two minutes into the game. Evgeni Malkin scored again in this game. He has really been on a hot streak over the past few weeks. Both sides traded goals through the first two periods to be tied at two goals. Then with three second left in the second period, Laraque made a stupid decision by shoving Steve Downie, who went into the boards headfirst. That resulted in a five minute penalty which carried into the third period. It also resulted in a game misconduct and will probably lead to Laraque being suspended for a game. The Pens weren't able to pull out a win and lost to the Flyers with a final score of 3-4.

Forty Ninth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Flyers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Flyers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	9:34	PHI	R.UMBERGER(9)	J.SMITH(5)	D.BRIERE(28)	EV
2	1	16:37	PIT	E.MALKIN(27)	J.RUUTU(6)	D.SYDOR(6)	EV
3	2	12:59	PHI	R.JONES(3)	S.HARTNELL(13)	R.UMBERGER(25)	EV
4	2	17:54	PIT	P.SYKORA(15)	S.GONCHAR(32)	R.WHITNEY(15)	PP
5	3	3:53	PHI	J.VANDERMEER(3)	R.UMBERGER(26)	J.CARTER(14)	EV
6	3	4:51	PIT	R.WHITNEY(8)	R.MALONE(11)	J.STAAL(10)	EV
7	3	5:25	PHI	M.KNUBLE(16)	J.CARTER(15)	--	EV

Tuesday, January 22, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played the Washington Capitals last night, and it was a high scoring game. Unfortunately, Dany Sabourin was letting the Capitals score, and he was pulled seven minutes into the second period. Ty Conklin did a good job of stopping the bleeding, but it was too late. The game ended in a tie during regulation. Even though the Pens had a power play in overtime, and at one point had a five on three advantage (and continued to play five people even after the penalty--and there should only be four players during overtime), they could only get one shot on goal. Yes, they did score some goals, but with only 15 shots on goal, they really weren't putting on the attack as they should. The fans were screaming in frustration for the team to shoot the darned puck! Evgeni Malkin has picked up his game and had two more goals in the game. Unfortunately, the Pens lost in the shootout, but at least, they did get a point. Check out my pictures of the game.

Forty Eighth Game of the Season

Goals

Capitals

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

1 (2-3)

0 (1-3)

Final

Shots on goal

Capitals

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	4:30	PIT	M.TALBOT(8)	J.STAAL(9)	E.CHRISTENSEN(8)	EV
2	1	10:43	WSH	T.FLEISCHMANN(6)	B.GORDON(9)	A.SEMIN(8)	EV
3	1	16:04	WSH	V.KOZLOV(7)	A.OVECHKIN(24)	N.BACKSTROM(28)	EV
4	1	16:49	PIT	E.MALKIN(25)	R.MALONE(9)	--	EV
5	2	1:48	WSH	A.OVECHKIN(37)	T.FLEISCHMANN(12)	N.BACKSTROM(29)	PP
6	2	3:34	PIT	E.MALKIN(26)	R.MALONE(10)	S.GONCHAR(29)	PP
7	2	6:13	PIT	P.SYKORA(14)	R.WHITNEY(14)	S.GONCHAR(30)	PP
8	2	7:58	WSH	A.OVECHKIN(38)	N.BACKSTROM(30)	M.JURCINA(4)	EV
9	3	5:04	PIT	R.MALONE(11)	S.GONCHAR(31)	E.MALKIN(30)	PP
10	3	15:29	WSH	V.KOZLOV(8)	M.PETTINGER(4)	N.BACKSTROM(31)	PP
11	SO	--	WSH	A.SEMIN	--	--	--

Monday, January 21, 2008 -- Early Afternoon

Pictures and game recap from tonight's Pens vs. Washington Capitals game will be posted Tuesday evening. Check the game recaps page for information on this season's home and away games.

Saturday, January 19, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played the Montreal Canadiens this evening. It was their first game with out Sidney Crosby, and the team played together really well. You have to commend Michel Therrien for managing the depleted lines when Colby Armstrong left the game because of a hit that caused Arsmstrong to slide into the boards where he bruised his right hip. Petr Sykora got a shutout in the game, and Evgeni Malkin and Petr Sykora were playing very well together. Final score in the game was Pens 2 - Canadiens 0.

Forty Seventh Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Canadiens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Canadiens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	6:14	PIT	J.TAFFE(2)	G.LARAQUE(7)	J.RUUTU(5)	EV
2	3	19:47	PIT	E.MALKIN(24)	P.SYKORA(15)	--	EV-EN

Friday, January 18, 2008 -- Late Evening

The Pens played the Tampa Bay Lightning this evening, and it wasn't a pretty sight. The most distressing part of the game was that Sidney Crosby left the ice only eight minutes or so into the first period when he crashed into the boards with his right leg and hurt his ankle. They announced later in the game on the jumbotron that Crosby had a high ankle sprain. That means that optimistically, Crosby will be back in four to six weeks. Crosby is going to be evaluated in more detail tomorrow. The Pens just went downhill in the game, and they lost in a shutout. The final score was 3-0. There is alot of concern among people in the audience and on the news shows about what this means for the Pens. Check out my pictures of the game.

Forty Sixth Game of the Season

Goals

Lightning

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Lightning

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	4:34	TB	K.WANVIG(1)	A.ROY(1)	C.GRATTON(9)	EV
2	1	10:51	TB	C.GRATTON(7)	A.ROY(2)	S.O'BRIEN(14)	EV
3	3	5:32	TB	A.ROY(4)	B.RICHARDS(26)	M.ST. LOUIS(37)	EV

Monday, January 14, 2008 -- Late Evening

The Pens played the New York Rangers this evening, and it was some game. I thought that a fight might break out, and Georges Laraque did not disappoint. He and Colton Orr got into a fight in the first seven seconds of the game. The Pens went on a scoring streak in the first period with Evgeni Malkin scoring two goals. The team slumped in the second period, only putting two shots on goal in the whole 20 minutes. Ty Conklin gave a superb performance, stopping 43 of 44 shots. There were alot of tensions between the team, and things were getting pretty rough in the game with shoving, hits, and scrumming. Sidney Crosby getting held to the ice for a few seconds by one of the Rangers. Malkin got a hat trick by scoring and empty netter in the final seconds. With only two seconds left in the game, the fourth line started a general fight that finally resulted in Adam Hall and Marc Staal. Final score of the game was 4-1 with the Pens winning another. Check out my videos of the Laraque and Orr and Hall and Staal fights. My pictures from the game will be posted tomorrow evening.

Forty Fifth Game of the Season

Goals

Rangers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Rangers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	3:31	PIT	E.MALKIN(21)	S.CROSBY(42)	S.GONCHAR(28)	PP
2	1	6:33	PIT	E.MALKIN(22)	S.CROSBY(43)	R.SCUDERI(2)	EV
3	1	16:48	PIT	S.GONCHAR(8)	K.LETANG(6)	P.SYKORA(14)	PP
4	3	9:16	NYR	J.JAGR(13)	S.GOMEZ(32)	P.MARA(11)	PP
5	3	19:36	PIT	E.MALKIN(23)	D.SYDOR(5)	--	EV-EN

Monday, January 14, 2008 -- Afternoon

Pictures and game recap from tonight's Pens vs. New York Rangers game will be posted Tuesday evening. Check the game recaps page for information on this season's home and away games.

Saturday, January 12, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played the Thrashers this evening. This is the first time that the Pens have played against Mark Recchi since he went to Atlanta. Sidney Crosby scored first for the Pens 5:23 into the game. Unfortunately, Ilya Kovalchuk tied things up for the Thrashers. In the second period, Crosby was getting banged around by the Thrashers, and he fought back the best way he knows...by scoring another goal to give the Pens the lead again. At the beginning of the third period during a four minutes power play on a penalty against Petr Sykora for high sticking (and causing bleeding), the Thrashers scored during a scrum at the net. Ty Conklin didn't have a chance. The game ended in regulation in a tie and went into overtime. Although both teams had chances in overtime, neither scored, and it went to a shoot out. 13, 18, 17. The Thrashers went first, but Conklin stopped Vyacheslav Kozlov. Then came Petr Sykora who was stopped. Then Conklin made a great save off of Marian Hossa. Conklin just pulled the puck back from the line before it crossed. Kris Letang was stopped. Now it was down to Kovalchuk who was stopped by Conklin. The third shooter for the Pens was Crosby, and he missed the net! Fourth for the Thrashers was Mark Recchi, who scored! Damn him! Then it was down to Evgeni Malkin who just couldn't get the puck up to score. The Thrashers won in the shoot out. At least we got a point out of it. Final score was Pens 2 - Thrashers 3.

Forty Fourth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Thrashers

1st

2nd

3rd

1 (0-4)

0 (0-4)

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Thrashers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	5:23	PIT	S.CROSBY(19)	E.MALKIN(29)	R.WHITNEY(13)	EV
2	1	9:31	ATL	I.KOVALCHUK(37)	M.RECCHI(15)	T.ENSTROM(23)	PP
3	2	5:06	PIT	S.CROSBY(20)	C.ARMSTRONG(14)	K.LETANG(5)	EV
4	3	1:40	ATL	R.HOLIK(8)	M.HOSSA(23)	V.KOZLOV(13)	PP
5	SO	--	ATL	M.RECCHI	--	--	--

Thursday, January 10, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played the Tampa Bay Lightning this evening. The Pens haven't done too well against the Lightning in the past five years. The Lightning have won the last 12 meetings between the teams. Yep, you read that right, the last 12! The first period did not see any scoring. The Lightning were the first to strike, scoring a goal 4:11 into the second period. The Pens came back to score two in abit over two minutes. Both goals were credited to Jordan Staal who hasn't been scoring alot this season. Petr Sykora assisted on both goals. When they asked Staal about the goal during the intermission after the second period, he said that he didn't think he had touched the puck, but that the officials probably felt sorry for him since the puck almost hit him in the face. The Lightning were given a gift by the refs when Shane O'Brien was high sticked in the face by one of his teammates, Martin St. Louis. Unfortunately, the refs blamed Maxime Talbot, who got four minutes because O'Brien was bleeding near his eye. Too bad the refs don't review their plays in the NHL, and that there isn't a way to challenge the call. With less than three minutes in the game, the Pens scored again with a puck that came off of Staal's foot, and Ryan Malone put into the net. Staal had a hand, or should we say a foot in the first three goals. (Staal caught the puck with his foot on his second goal before he tapped it into the net with his stick.) Evgeni Malkin finished off the game by putting the puck into the LIghtning's empty net. The Pens have now won the last eight games, and finally beat the LIghtning for the first time in five years. The Pens have really been hot, over the past few games, and Ty Conklin has been exceptionally hot! Final score: Pens 4 - Lightning 1.

Forty Third Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Lightning

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Lightning

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	2	4:11	TB	P.RANGER(8)	P.RANGER(8)	B.RICHARDS(25)	EV
2	2	14:33	PIT	J.STAAL(4)	P.SYKORA(11)	K.LETANG(4)	PP
3	2	14:33	PIT	J.STAAL(5)	P.SYKORA(12)	R.MALONE(8)	EV
4	3	17:21	PIT	R.MALONE(10)	P.SYKORA(13)	J.STAAL(8)	EV
5	3	19:48	PIT	E.MALKIN(20)	S.GONCHAR(27)	--	EV-EN

Tuesday, January 8, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played the Florida Panthers in a return match this evening. The first period was boring without any scores on either side. In fact, the only controversy in the period was when the Panthers thought they scored, but the puck had been kicked in. The second period was a scoring fest for the Pens, and Tomas Vokoun was pulled from the game after the third Pens goal in a little over two minutes. The scorers were Petr Sykora, Sidney Crosby, and Georges Laraque. Laraque is on a scoring spree this season, and this was his third goal. In the third period, it looked like Jarkko Ruutu might have had a goal in regulation, but it was called off because it wasn't clear if the puck crossed the line, or if the refs had blown the whistle. So the goal was called off. The Pens have been playing clean hockey lately, and in this game, Ty Conklin got the only penalty (a delay of game) when he cleared the puck, and it went over the glass. It was looking like another shutout for Conklin. However the streak was ended when Gregory Campbell scored a short handed goal with only a smidge over four minutes left in the game. The Pens won with a final score of 3-1. Crosby got the first star of the game, Conklin the second, and Malkin the third.

Forty Second Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Panthers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Panthers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	2	10:55	PIT	P.SYKORA(13)	S.CROSBY(41)	E.MALKIN(28)	PP
2	2	11:21	PIT	S.CROSBY(18)	R.MALONE(7)	S.GONCHAR(26)	EV
3	2	13:11	PIT	G.LARAQUE(3)	J.TAFFE(1)	A.HALL(4)	EV
4	3	15:50	FLA	G.CAMPBELL(3)	R.DVORAK(7)	R.SALEI(13)	SH

Saturday, January 5, 2008 -- Evening

The Pens played the Florida Panthers in a game played late this afternoon. The game time had been moved because of the Steelers playoff game this evening. The Pens came out fighting today. They scored first with two goals in the first period. Tyler Kennedy has been hot, and scored another beautiful goal. Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby scored the other two goals in the 3-0 win. Ty Conklin has been hotter than hot, and scored another shutout. I hate to say this because I am a huge Marc-Andre Fleury fan, but when Fleury comes back from his high ankle sprain, I think we still need to go with Conklin. You go with the hot goalie. Check out my pictures of the game.

Forty First Game of the Season

Goals

Panthers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Panthers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	4:26	PIT	T.KENNEDY(8)	R.MALONE(6)	--	EV
2	1	6:17	PIT	E.MALKIN(19)	R.WHITNEY(12)	S.CROSBY(40)	PP
3	3	17:19	PIT	S.CROSBY(17)	E.MALKIN(27)	--	EV

Friday, January 4, 2008 -- Morning

The Pens played the Toronto Maple Leafs last night, and it was quite a game. Whenever the Pens and Leafs play, there is always alot of action, on the ice and in the stands. Quite a few Toronto fans come to the game since it's so close, and they are extremely vocal. Well, of course, this ticks off the Pens' fans. Fights break out in the stands (someone was ejected a few sections over from my seat--I didn't see what happened). The Maple Leafs scored first, because as is typical of the Pens, they didn't show up to play in the first period. The Pens only had four shots on goal in the period. A great fight broke out between Jarkko Ruutu and Darcy Tucker in the second period. The fight was almost a minute long, and it was very reminiscent of Rock 'em, Sock 'em Robots. That was the kids' game where the two robots hit each other in the face until one of them knocks the other's head off. Ruutu and Tucker kept on punching each other in the face, and finally when they paused in the punching, the refs stepped in. It was a great fight. In the third period, the Pens scored three goals in a span of 48 seconds. The Leafs called a timeout after the third goal to let Scott Clemmensen get his act together. Ryan Malone and Mark Bell fought for abit, but nothing on the scale of the Ruutu fight. Evgeni Malkin got his first career hat trick in the game, and the Pens won with a final score of 6-2. The Pens have won 14 of the last 19 games which is not a bad stat. Let's hope they keep up the wins. However, they aren't going to get deep into the playoffs if they don't remedy the problem they have of not showing up to play for a period. This happens practically every game, and they usually wind up losing because of this behavior. Check out my pictures of the game. Links to the Ruutu and Malone fight are on the picture pages and my YouTube Channel.

Fortieth Game of the Season

Goals

Maple Leafs

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Maple Leafs

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	10:34	TOR	J.BLAKE(7)	M.SUNDIN(27)	A.STEEN(12)	EV
2	2	1:24	PIT	E.CHRISTENSEN(6)	P.SYKORA(10)	J.RUUTU(3)	EV
3	2	14:22	PIT	E.MALKIN(16)	S.CROSBY(38)	C.ARMSTRONG(13)	EV
4	3	3:00	PIT	T.KENNEDY(7)	J.STAAL(7)	S.GONCHAR(24)	EV
5	3	3:37	PIT	E.MALKIN(17)	S.CROSBY(39)	K.LETANG(3)	EV
6	3	3:48	PIT	P.SYKORA(12)	J.RUUTU(4)	B.ORPIK(6)	EV
7	3	12:53	TOR	J.BLAKE(8)	P.KUBINA(16)	M.SUNDIN(28)	PP
8	3	15:28	PIT	E.MALKIN(18)	R.WHITNEY(11)	S.GONCHAR(25)	PP

Thursday, January 3, 2008 -- Morning

Pictures and game recap from tonight's Pens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs game will be posted Friday morning. Check the game recaps page for information on this season's home and away games.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008 -- Afternoon

Finally, it's here! It's time for the Ice Bowl (as it is being called her in Pittsburgh) or the Winter Classic as NHL. This is the game that the Pens and Buffalo Sabres are playing outdoors in Buffalo. I wish that I could be at the game because I know that it would be a great photographic opportunity, but what can you do? I'll be recording my impressions of the game as I watch it. Right now, it is snowing, and we are seeing the opening events. It's amazing how it looks with snow coming down and the players dressed in throwback clothes. The Pens are wearing the old powder blue uniforms that they wore years and years ago. Dany Sabourin is wearing the old style pads that I took pictures of during the last game. The announcers were just saying that the Sabre fans showed up early so they could snowball the Pens' bus when it came into the arena. It seems that everyone is really getting into a great spirit! The only thing that I would have to say is that people who are at the game probably won't have a good view of the game. It seems that the best seats are worse that the seats that have at Mellon Arena. The reason is because the rink is in the center of a football field (Ralph Wilson Stadium--where the Buffalo Bills play) with snow and other things filling in the rest of the field. Then the seats start. The players are now coming out, and they are entering through a tunnel at the same time with smoke and flames shooting out of the tunnel. Even though both teams are American, they are starting with the Canadian National Anthem. They have an Irish tenor, Ronan Tynan, singing God Bless America. Why don't they have the Star Spangled Banner?

First Period: Now it is time for the first period. Sidney Crosby is starting center, and Ty Conklin is in goal for the Pens. I feel sorry for Sabourin who was trying out the old style equipment on Saturday! 21 seconds in, and Crosby feeds the puck to Colby Armstong who scores! It is really hard to see, and i doubt that anyone at the game is actually seeing anything with all the snow. It seems that the puck is moving alot quicker on the outside ice. Ryan Miller looks funny with a toque over his helmet. Darren Pang, ice-side announcer, is saying that the snow is sticking on the ice and is maybe 1/2 inch. One of my friends is at the game, and he sent me a picture message from the game, and he can maybe see more than I thought. NBC is showing some neat commercials. The funniest so far was Ryan Miller and Jean-Sebastien Aubin competing in a "Yo Mama" competition. Miller wins when he does a Yo Mama in Japanese. Darren Pang is showing us how much snow is on the ice. The refs called a time out to resurface the ice. Now on to the second half of the first period. The announcers are talking about how some people may just be getting to see Sidney Crosby play for the first time. So far, the Sabres have been the only team to get a penalty. They have three with 7:43 left in the period. They have someone doing some ice repairs with a bucket as we wait for the game to resume. They are taking a long time to repair the ice with water, CO2 spray, and trowels. That would be another thing that would suck because the players are just waiting around for the ice to be fixed. Ryan Malone just missed making a goal, and the Sabres got the puck and almost scored. Now in the final minutes of the first period, the snow has slowed, and the ice is in better shape. The first period ends with the Pens leading by a score of 1-0.

Second Period: The Sabres came out in the second playing hard, and they scored in the first minute to tie things up. The Pens were making a line change at the time and only had four people on the ice. It would be nice if this game went to a shoot out! The snow has stopped, and it is now sleeting. Halfway though the period and the snow is back with a threat of higher winds to come. The second period has been much faster paced with lots of hits and entertaining play. The audeience has been making constant noise. The Pens finish the period without getting a shot on goal. They are given credit for two shots that didn't get anywhere near the goal. It seems that the ice is good at the beginning of the period, but the quality rapidly declines. That probably explains why both goals happened in the first minute of each period.

Third Period: The third period has started, and it would be important for the Pens to score as soon as possible since the ice condition deteriorates so quickly. Unfortunately, no one was able to score, and it is fast approaching the mid point of the period. When the 10 minute mark is hit, a horn will sound, and the teams will switch ends. That is to make it fair for both teams with the outdoor conditions. Neither team is able to score in regulation so the game goes into overtime. What a way to end a spectacle like this!

OT: OT will be played in two 2.5 minute halves. The teams will switch sides just as they did in the third period. No score again, so that means a shootout! What a way to end the spectacle!

Shootout: The shootout will all be on one side so things are fair and square. First up were the Sabres. Ales Kotalik went first and scored. Then Erik Christensen went for the Pens and was stopped. Then Tim Connolly came on for the Sabres and didn't score. Next up was Kris Letang. So far, he has scored in every shootout, and this time was no diffferent. Now both the Sabres and Pens have one goal in the shootout. Then Maxim Afinogenov came on for the Sabres, and Conklin stopped him! Now it was all down to Crosby, and he slid the puck between Ryan Miller's legs to score. The Pens won with a final score of 2-1. There was alot of celebrating and face rubbing with some of the players grabbing snow off the ice to rub in others' faces. The players really seemed to have alot of fun, and we get a win!

The time for the Pens' game this coming Saturday has been changed from 7:30 to 3:00. The reason is because of the Steelers playoff game that will be played in town at 8:00 the same night.

Thirty Ninth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Sabres

1st

2nd

3rd

1 (2-3)

0 (1-3)

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Sabres

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	0:21	PIT	C.ARMSTRONG(6)	S.CROSBY(37)	--	EV
2	2	1:25	BUF	B.CAMPBELL(4)	T.CONNOLLY(23)	D.PAILLE(11)	EV
3	SO	--	PIT	S.CROSBY	--	--	--

Saturday, December 29, 2007 -- Late Evening

The Pens played the Sabres this evening at the Mellon Arena. The two teams will meet again in three days on New Year's Day in the Ice Bowl. That's the game that will be played outside during the day in Buffalo. The game was quite exciting, at least what I could see of it when the guy who wears the Malkin jersey a few rows ahead of me wasn't standing so HE could see the game better. He glares back at the rest of us who complain because we can't see around hiw tall frame. Ryan Malone was back on the ice and doing what he does best on the team--sitting in the penalty box. Malone got the first two of four penalities that the Pens had in the game. I groaned because I thought that Malone got the most penalities on the team. I checked in the Ice Time, and found that I was right. Malone now has 63 minutes. Sidney Crosby ricchoted a puck off of Colby Armstrong. (Of course, Armstrong got credit for the goal--and yes I am not an Armstrong fan.) Bad news for Gary Roberts! He received an honor for Ray Shero for 900 career points. Then in the second period, Roberts fell over Tim Connolly and Roberts broke his left tibia. He should be out for several weeks. Ty Conklin was in goal and got a shutout. The Pens won with a final score of 2-0. Check out my pictures of the game.

Thirty Eighth Game of the Season

Goals

Sabres

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Sabres

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	2	0:12	PIT	C.ARMSTRONG(5)	S.CROSBY(35)	D.SYDOR(4)	EV
2	3	19:38	PIT	E.MALKIN(15)	S.CROSBY(36)	C.ARMSTRONG(12)	EV-EN

Thursday, December 27, 2007 -- Late Evening

The Pens played the Washington Capitals this evening. The Pens were really sucking up the joint. You would have thought that they played last night instead of the Capitals playing last night. Sergei Gonchar was really sucking. In fact, thanks to him, the Caps got two goals. As you look at the game stats, you will see that the Caps have two goals without the third assist. That's because Gonchar was the third person to turn the puck over in the Pens' zone. Also, the Pens were sucking because they were not shooting the puck at the net. The fans were screaming and booing because of the lack of shooting and the awful puck handling. It was amazing that they managed to tie things up in the last two minutes of regulation, and that Gonchar scored the winning goal in overtime. Check out my pictures of the game.

Thirty Seventh Game of the Season

Goals

Capitals

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Capitals

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	12:01	PIT	J.TAFFE(1)	J.RUUTU(2)	D.SYDOR(3)	EV
2	1	15:24	WSH	D.BRASHEAR(2)	B.GORDON(3)	--	EV
3	1	17:53	PIT	C.ARMSTRONG(4)	R.WHITNEY(10)	S.CROSBY(33)	EV
4	2	5:23	WSH	B.POTHIER(5)	N.BACKSTROM(18)	V.KOZLOV(19)	EV
5	2	18:26	WSH	A.OVECHKIN(26)	N.BACKSTROM(19)	--	EV
6	3	17:44	PIT	D.SYDOR(1)	E.CHRISTENSEN(7)	--	PP
7	OT	1:33	PIT	S.GONCHAR(7)	S.CROSBY(34)	C.ARMSTRONG(11)	EV

Sunday, December 23, 2007 -- Evening

The Pens played the Boston Bruins again today in an afternoon game. The Bruins were the first to score, but the Pens came back in the second period to score three goals to take the lead. Ty Conklin was in goal for the Pens and did a great job, earning him the third star of the game. Georges Laraque has been playing very well this season and today he had an assist and this second goal of the season. Mark Eaton was slew footed in the game (when Player A comes up in back of Player B, then Player A uses his foot to take Player B's legs out from under him.) Eaton hurt his right knee and had to be helped from the ice. No word on the injury yet. The Pens won with a final score of 4-2. Check out my pictures of the game.

Thirty Sixth Game of the Season

Goals

Bruins

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Bruins

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	3:48	BOS	P.AXELSSON(6)	Z.CHARA(16)	M.SAVARD(31)	EV
2	2	2:16	PIT	G.ROBERTS(2)	G.LARAQUE(6)	E.CHRISTENSEN(5)	EV
3	2	13:04	PIT	E.MALKIN(14)	J.STAAL(6)	S.GONCHAR(23)	PP
4	2	13:34	PIT	G.LARAQUE(2)	G.ROBERTS(12)	E.CHRISTENSEN(6)	EV
5	3	19:06	BOS	P.NOKELAINEN(4)	P.SCHAEFER(11)	M.LASHOFF(1)	EV
6	3	19:50	PIT	G.ROBERTS(3)	S.CROSBY(32)	C.ARMSTRONG(10)	EV-EN

Saturday, December 22, 2007 -- Morning

The Pens played the New York Islanders last night, and it wasn't the best of games. Some of the people sitting around me commented on the fact that the Pens seemed tired and that they might have been worn out from their game last night. Jordan Staal didn't seem tired though when he scored his third goal of the season with an assist from Gary Roberts. Roberts' assist was his 900th point so there was a mini-celebration. For some reason, the Pens are having serious problems with winning in their division, and tonight was no different. The final score was Pens 2 - Islanders 4. Check out my pictures of the game.

Thirty Fifth Game of the Season

Goals

Islanders

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Islanders

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	0:44	NYI	M.SATAN(9)	J.VASICEK(5)	B.WITT(4)	EV
2	1	18:50	PIT	E.CHRISTENSEN(5)	G.ROBERTS(11)	G.LARAQUE(5)	EV
3	2	4:20	PIT	J.STAAL(3)	S.CROSBY(31)	S.GONCHAR(22)	PP
4	2	8:42	NYI	A.HILBERT(3)	T.JACKMAN(2)	T.JACKMAN(2)	EV
5	3	10:28	NYI	B.COMEAU(1)	A.HILBERT(4)	--	EV
6	3	11:05	NYI	T.HUNTER(6)	M.SILLINGER(7)	R.FEDOTENKO(10)	EV

Friday, December 21, 2007 -- Early Morning

Pictures and game recap from tonight's Pens vs. New York Islanders game will be posted by Saturday morning. Check the game recaps page for information on this season's home and away games.

Thursday, December 20, 2007 -- Late Evening

The Pens played the Boston Bruins this evening, and the game started out in the Pens' favor. In the first period, Evgeni Malkin scored two goals, and Sidney Crosby scored one. Georges Laraque attempted to get into a fight with Zdeno Chara twice in the first period. That didn't work out very well because Chara is 6 feet 9 inches to Laraque's 6 feet 3 inches. As soon as Laraque would swing at Chara, he would miss and the pair would tumble to the ice. The crowd would boo because of the disaapointment of the fight. Ty Conklin started the game, and did a good job in goal. Shocker of Shockers! Crosby got the Gordie Howe Hat Trick in the second period. Crosby had a goal, an assist, and a fight. Andrew Ference shoved Sid, and Sid just had enough, and threw down his gloves. Wow! Crosby's first fight in his NHL career. The Pens scored four in a row, and then the Bruins started scoring in the latter part of the second and had things tied up by the end of the third period. The game went into overtime. No score during the overtime and it went into a shoot out. Erik Christensen and Kris Letang scored, and the Bruins couldn't get one past Conklin. The Pens win a tight one, one that they almost let get away from them. There is much to be desired on the part of the Pens. They only had four shots on goal in the third period. Final score: Pens 5 - Bruins 4.

Thirty Fourth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Bruins

1st

2nd

3rd

1 (2-2)

0 (0-2)

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Bruins

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	0:55	PIT	E.MALKIN(12)	S.CROSBY(29)	C.ARMSTRONG(7)	EV
2	1	8:26	PIT	S.CROSBY(16)	C.ARMSTRONG(8)	S.GONCHAR(21)	EV
3	1	11:53	PIT	E.MALKIN(13)	S.CROSBY(30)	--	EV
4	2	11:28	PIT	E.CHRISTENSEN(4)	R.WHITNEY(9)	C.ARMSTRONG(9)	EV
5	2	16:04	BOS	M.STURM(11)	A.FERENCE(6)	P.AXELSSON(8)	PP
6	2	17:38	BOS	P.AXELSSON(5)	J.REICH(1)	--	SH
7	3	13:14	BOS	.NOKELAINEN(3)	A.FERENCE(7)	A.FERENCE(7)	EV
8	3	17:05	BOS	D.WIDEMAN(4)	M.STURM(12)	M.SAVARD(30)	PP
9	SO	--	E.CHRISTENSEN	--	--	--	--

Tuesday, December 18, 2007 -- Evening

The Pens played the New York Rangers this evening. The Pens were determined to lose this evening, and they did. The Pens only had three shots on goal in the first period and two in the second period. How a team would expect to win with that attitude is beyond me. I wound up turning off the game with only five minutes left in the game because it was one of the worst games that I've seen in ages. The Rangers shut out the Pens with a final score of 4-0.

Thirty Third Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Rangers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Rangers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	1:12	NYR	S.GOMEZ(7)	M.STRAKA(5)	J.JAGR(16)	EV
2	2	10:30	NYR	M.STRAKA(5)	M.STAAL(4)	M.ROZSIVAL(11)	EV
3	2	13:21	NYR	S.GOMEZ(8)	C.DRURY(15)	M.ROZSIVAL(12)	PP
4	3	12:20	NYR	C.DRURY(8)	M.ROZSIVAL(13)	B.SHANAHAN(13)	PP

Saturday, December 15, 2007 -- Evening

The Pens played the New York Islanders this evening. The game started out in the Pens' favor with Sidney Crosby getting a goal for the first time in 21 shots. In the game this past Thursday, Crosby had a couple of breakaways, but didn't get anything. It was good to get the monkey off his back. Rick DiPietro was really not doing well in the first period with the Pens really hammering him with shots. Towards the end of the first period, Gary Roberts took on Andy Sutton. Roberts is 9 years older, 40 pounds lighter, and 4 inches shorter, but he really cleaned Sutton's clock. Sure, Sutton got in some punches to Roberts' face, but Roberts didn't give up and wound up being the one to knock down Sutton. Roberts was irritated because Sutton had been putting some cheap shots on Jordan Staal. Right after the fight, the live feed went out on our FSN sports channel, so I had to resort to online streaming radio. It was probably due to the storms that have been hitting the East Coast. Finally the broadcast came on, and I got to see the Islanders tie things up in the begining of the second period. Score was 2-2 then. Tyler Kennedy gave the Pens the lead again in the second period. Things turned nasty as the third period when the thug, Chris Simon knocked into Jarkko Ruutu after play had ended. When Ruutu fell over, Simon stomped on the back of Ruutu's leg! Fortunately, Ruutu didn't get seriously injured, but Simon got a five minute penalty for intent to injury. It's thugs like Simon that give the NHL a bad name. The jerk should not be allowed to play hockey, and should not be on the ice. He is one of those thugs who go out with an intent to injure or maim someone, and that should not be tolerated! Things like this really anger me, and Simon needs to be suspended for life from the NHL. Simon has a history of acts like this--including a 25 game suspension for what he did to Ryan Hollweg last year. The Pens held off a late charge by the Islanders, and won with a final score of 3-2.

Thirty Second Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Islanders

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Islanders

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	2:48	PIT	S.CROSBY(15)	T.KENNEDY(3)	--	EV
2	1	6:35	PIT	R.WHITNEY(7)	B.ORPIK(5)	T.KENNEDY(4)	EV
3	2	4:57	NYI	R.PARK(5)	M.COMRIE(16)	B.GUERIN(8)	PP
4	2	5:42	NYI	J.VASICEK(10)	M.SATAN(11)	S.BERGENHEIM(6)	EV
5	2	14:16	NYI	T.KENNEDY(6)	J.STAAL(5)	K.LETANG(2)	PP

Friday, December 14, 2007 -- Evening

Yesterday's Pens / Senators game was disappointing. The first period when by without a goal, then in the second, Tyler Kennedy scored a goal for the Pens but the lead was quickly lost when Dany Heatley got one for the Senators. That was just the beginning of the end for the Pens. In the last two periods, they were only able to get 10 shots on goal. It seems that we spent alot of time either in our own end or the neutral zone. It was a disappointing game. The highlight came two minutes into the game when Georges Laraque pummelled Brian McGrattan. McGrattan sprained his shoulder when he fell to the ice at the end of the fight. The final score was Pens 1 - Senators 4. Check out my pictures of the game.

Thirty First Game of the Season

Goals

Senators

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Senators

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	2	14:29	PIT	T.KENNEDY(5)	E.MALKIN(26)	R.WHITNEY(8)	EV
2	2	16:17	OTT	D.HEATLEY(17)	A.MESZAROS(9)	J.SPEZZA(27)	EV
3	3	5:43	OTT	J.SPEZZA(7)	C.SCHUBERT(8)	D.ALFREDSSON(23)	PP
4	3	12:19	OTT	D.HEATLEY(18)	J.CORVO(12)	.SPEZZA(28)	PP
5	3	19:11	OTT	J.SPEZZA(8)	A.MESZAROS(10)	M.FISHER(12)	EV-EN

Thursday, December 13, 2007 -- Late Afternoon

Pictures and game recap from tonight's Pens vs. Ottawa Senators game will be posted Friday evening. Check the game recaps page for information on this season's home and away games.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 -- Early Afternoon

Last night's Pens and Philadelphia Flyers game was something else. The entire game was filled with fights, which is typical of some of the past games between the teams. The Pens had seven roughing, four fighting, three 10 minute misconduct, and one game misconduct penalties. There were a total of 23 penalties for the Pens. It was just a rough house game, and a very lopsided scoring match with the Flyers dominating with 8 goals to the Pens' 2. Dany Sabourin was finally pulled from the net at the start of the third period after a somewhat lackluster performance. It was a great game to watch if you didn't mind that the Pens were getting their clocks cleaned. Tomorrow, the Pens will play the Ottawa Senators here in Pittsburgh tomorrow.

Thirtieth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Flyers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Flyers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	1:11	PHI	J.LUPUL(7)	R.UMBERGER(13)	M.RICHARDS(18)	EV
2	1	3:44	PHI	J.LUPUL(8)	B.COBURN(9)	M.RICHARDS(19)	EV
3	1	12:39	PIT	R.WHITNEY(6)	S.GONCHAR(20)	S.CROSBY(27)	PP
4	1	14:28	PIT	P.SYKORA(11)	E.MALKIN(25)	S.CROSBY(28)	PP
5	2	8:10	PHI	R.UMBERGER(4)	J.LUPUL(12)	M.RICHARDS(20)	EV
6	2	10:10	PHI	R.UMBERGER(5)	J.LUPUL(13)	J.SMITH(3)	EV
7	2	19:50	PHI	M.KNUBLE(9)	J.LUPUL(14)	K.TIMONEN(13)	PP
8	3	4:07	PHI	J.LUPUL(9)	M.KNUBLE(9)	D.BRIERE(19)	PP
9	3	6:09	PHI	B.COBURN(2)	R.UMBERGER(14)	R.JONES(10)	PP
10	3	17:48	PHI	R.UMBERGER(6)	R.POTULNY(1)	--	PP

Saturday, December 8, 2007 -- Late Evening

The Pens played the Vancouver Canucks this evening as their last game in the Western Canada trip. Dany Sabourin was in goal since Marc-Andre Fleury is still recovering from the twisted ankle. The game was a hard played one with alot of shoving and punching going on. Petr Sykora gave the Pens the early lead in the last two minutes of the first period. The Canucks tied things up at the start of the third period. Regulation ended in a time, and the game moved into overtime. Halfway through overtime, Sidney Crosby was tripped on a breakaway and was awarded a penalty shot. Michel Therrien called a time out to give Crosby a break. Crosby couldn't get it past Roberto Luongo. For the second game in a row, the Pens go to a shootout. Erik Christensen scored for the Pens, the Canucks scored one. Then we started going through the players trying to get a win. Then as the sixth shooter, Kris Letang won the game in a shootout again! It was just amazing. The team is really gelling at this point, and the players really seem to get along as could be seen as the team gathered around Letang. Final score: Pens 2 - Canucks 1.

Twenty Ninth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Canucks

1st

2nd

3rd

2-6

1-6

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Canucks

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	18:19	PIT	P.SYKORA(10)	E.MALKIN(24)	G.LARAQUE(4)	EV
2	3	3:40	VAN	R.KESLER(8)	A.BURROWS(6)	W.MITCHELL(4)	EV
-	3	18:03	PIT	S.CROSBY	Unsuccessful Penalty Shot	--	EV-PS
3	SO	--	PIT	K.LETANG	--	--	--

Friday, December 7, 2007 -- Evening

The Pens played the Calgary Flames last night. It's hard to watch the west coast games because they run so late, but I managed to watch most of the game last night. The most distressing part for me was ehen Marc-Andre Fleury stumbled while blocking a shot and twisted his ankle. At first, the announcers thought it was his knee, but it looked like his ankle twisted under him to me. It turns out that was the problem. Fleury was wearing a boot after the game, but x-rays were negative. Dany Sabourin came in for Fleury and did a good job. The Pens fell behind by a goal, pulled even then fell behind to pull even. Regulation ended with the game tied. Overtime didn't bring any points, so it was on to the shootout. Petr Sykora scored in the shootout, but Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin missed. With the shootout scores tied at 1, it was down to the fourth shooter. Matthew Lombardi missed for the Flames. Then Michel Therrien had Kris Letang try--and he got the winning goal. Letang has been doing a great job since he joined the Pens a few games ago. That's why Mark Recchi isn't playing with the team, because there are so many young kids on the roster who are actually doing a great job. The Pens are on a roll now, with three wins in a row, and have moved into eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Final score of last night's game: Pens 3, Flames 2.

Twenty Eighth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Flames

1st

2nd

3rd

2-4

1-4

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Flames

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	19:32	CGY	J.IGINLA(15)	A.TANGUAY(19)	D.PHANEUF(11)	EV
2	2	13:54	PIT	E.MALKIN(11)	P.SYKORA(9)	S.GONCHAR(19)	PP
3	2	16:23	CGY	J.IGINLA(16)	K.HUSELIUS(13)	D.LANGKOW(15)	PP
4	3	11:29	PIT	R.MALONE(9)	unassisted	--	SH
5	SO	--	PIT	K.LETANG	--	--	--

Thursday, December 6, 2007 -- Evening

The Pens played the Edmonton Oilers last night. Because the game was on the West Coast, the game started late and ran until midnight. The first two periods of the game did not look good, and I thought for sure that the Pens would lose. However, the team showed up to play in the third period. They scored four goals in the third to win the game. The final score was Pens 4, Oilers 2. Sidney Crosby had three assists and got the number one star in the game. The media and fans turned out for Crosby's first appearance in Edmonton since Crosby entered the NHL. That's how it is in most places where Crosby goes. The amazing part is how the kid handles himself with the media. He is always so poised.

Twenty Seven Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Oilers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Oilers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	5:39	EDM	R.NILSSON(2)	J.PITKANEN(3)	K.BRODZIAK(6)	EV
2	2	17:22	EDM	S.HORCOFF(12)	A.HEMSKY(12)	--	EV
3	3	6:05	PIT	M.TALBOT(7)	E.MALKIN(22)	M.EATON(2)	EV
4	3	6:26	PIT	K.LETANG(2)	S.CROSBY(24)	C.ARMSTRONG(6)	EV
5	3	10:57	PIT	C.ARMSTRONG(3)	M.EATON(3)	S.CROSBY(25)	EV
6	3	13:30	PIT	R.WHITNEY(5)	S.CROSBY(26)	E.MALKIN(23)	PP

Tuesday, December 4, 2007 -- Evening

The Pens played the Phoenix Coyotes this evening here in Mellon Arena. The game for the first two periods was fairly lackluster. The Pens only scored in the last seconds of the first period, and then there was nothing in the second period. The Coyotes tied things up at the start of the third, but fortunately, the Pens pulled ahead. I thought that Ilya Bryzgalov did a nice job in goal for the Coyotes. He made some really nice saves, and faced 33 shots. The final score was Pens 3, Coyotes 1. Check out my pictures of the game.

Twenty Sixth Game of the Season

Goals

Coyotes

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Coyotes

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	19:24	PIT	M.TALBOT(6)	G.LARAQUE(3)	--	EV
2	3	1:26	PHX	S.DOAN(6)	S.REINPRECHT(10)	D.MORRIS(4)	PP
3	3	11:46	PIT	K.LETANG(1)	S.CROSBY(23)	E.MALKIN(21)	PP
4	3	15:14	PIT	T.KENNEDY(4)	J.STAAL(4)	G.ROBERTS(10)	EV

Monday, December 3, 2007 -- Morning

Pictures and game recap from tonight's Pens vs. Phoenix Coyotes game will be posted Tuesday evening. Check the game recaps page for information on this season's home and away games.

Sunday, December 2, 2007 -- Evening

I was busy working on a paper for class, so I just watched the Pens' game last night from the corner of my eye. (That means that I didn't pay close attention except when something happened--like a goal.) Unfortunately, there weren't alot of goals for the Pens, although they did seem to get into the game in the third period. The Toronto Maple Leafs came out to play, and they won their second in a row. Dany Sabourin was in goal for the Pens. Since they are playing again on Monday, here in Pittsburgh, Marc-Andre Fleury was resting. The final score was Leafs 4, Pens 2.

Twenty Fifth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Maple Leafs

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Maple Leafs

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	3:56	TOR	9 M.BELL(1)	M.SUNDIN(19)	--	EV
2	2	2:01	TOR	J.BLAKE(3)	K.WELLWOOD(2)	A.STEEN(9)	EV
3	2	14:09	TOR	N.ANTROPOV(10)	B.MCCABE(8)	A.PONIKAROVSKY(5)	PP
4	3	8:15	PIT	R.MALONE(8)	C.ARMSTRONG(5)	--	EV
5	3	17:55	PIT	E.CHRISTENSEN(3)	S.CROSBY(22)	R.WHITNEY(7)	PP
6	3	19:02	TOR	A.PONIKAROVSKY(9)	N.ANTROPOV(15)	M.SUNDIN(20)	EV-EN

Saturday, December 1, 2007 -- Early Morning

The Pens played the Dallas Stars Friday evening at the Mellon Arena. Marc-Andre Fleury was in goal today, and he played well. Actually, the whole team played very well. The defense was keeping the pucks out of their end, and doing their best to help Fleury clear the pucks from the net. The offense was doing a great job of putting the puck on the net. Sidney Crosby scored two goals this evening, but the most beautiful goal was made during a line change, when Petr Sykora grabbed the puck before going to the bench and heading towards the Dallas net. Evgeni Malkin came dashing back, took the pass from Sykora and scored. It was a great game, and very fast paced. I hope that the Pens can keep the energy level as intense as it has been since the Ottawa game on Thanksgiving evening. Final score was 4-1 with the Pens winning. Check out my pictures of the game.

Twenty Fourth Game of the Season

Goals

Stars

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Stars

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	0:24	PIT	S.CROSBY(13)	C.ARMSTRONG(3)	B.ORPIK(4)	EV
2	1	3:38	PIT	T.KENNEDY(3)	J.STAAL(3)	G.ROBERTS(9)	EV
3	2	5:31	DAL	M.RIBEIRO(10)	S.OTT(3)	P.BOUCHER(9)	EV
4	2	8:34	PIT	S.CROSBY(14)	D.SYDOR(2)	C.ARMSTRONG(4)	EV
5	3	14:28	PIT	E.MALKIN(10)	P.SYKORA(8)	--	EV

Friday, November 30, 2007 -- Afternoon

Pictures and game recap from tonight's Pens vs. Dallas Stars game will be posted Saturday morning. Check the game recaps page for information on this season's home and away games.

Saturday, November 24, 2007 -- Late Evening

It was a glorious night at Mellon Arena tonight. The Pens played the Atlanta Thrashers. The analysts were right when they said that they thought the Ottawa Senators' game might have been a turning point for the Pens. Everyone seemed to want to come out to play. There was some talk about Dany Sabourin starting, but it was Marc-Andre Fleury in goal, and he played great this evening, earning a shutout. The Thrashers seemed to not be able to handle the Pens at all. Jordan Staal got his first goal since the beginning of October, and Fleury got a shutout. Mark Recchi was a health scratch again, and his churning old legs weren't missed. The Pens won with a final score of 5-0. Check out my pictures from the game. There were some Sidney Crosby fans sitting in the row in front of me. They came from around Toronto to see Crosby whoop some butt, and he did with a goal and an assist. They had some really neat signs which are in my pictures. Hope you guys come back for some more games!

Twenty Third Game of the Season

Goals

Thrashers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Thrashers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	3:38	PIT	J.STAAL(2)	G.ROBERTS(7)	T.KENNEDY(1)	EV
2	1	11:53	PIT	R.MALONE(7)	S.GONCHAR(16)	K.LETANG(2)	PP
3	1	15:09	PIT	C.ARMSTRONG(2)	S.CROSBY(21)	S.GONCHAR(17)	EV
4	2	8:59	PIT	S.CROSBY(12)	S.GONCHAR(18)	E.CHRISTENSEN(3)	PP
5	3	5:01	PIT	R.WHITNEY(4)	G.ROBERTS(8)	T.KENNEDY(2)	EV

Thursday, November 22, 2007 -- Evening

The Pens played the Ottawa Senators this evening. The team flew into Ottawa around 1:30 am, and they weren't able to have a practice this morning because of some harsh winter weather in Ottawa. Marc-Andre Fleury started the game, but was pulled in the first 15 minutes when the Senators scored two goals. The problem wasn't Fleury, but that the Pens weren't clearing the puck. I hate to say this because I have been a Michel Therrien fan, but he's not doing the team justice this year. For one thing, he doesn't let the lines play together for any length of time to get a chemistry to build. Also, he has been switching frequently between Fleury and Dany Sabourin which doesn't allow Fleury time to work though whatever problems he has. I wonder how secure Therrien's job is. The Washington Capitals fired their coach, Glen Hanlon, today, and have named Bruce Boudreau as interim coach. It just goes to show that if a team isn't performing up to expectations, the coach's head is on the line. The Pens are far from performing up to expectations. The game was a scoring fest for both teams. Suprisingly, Colby Armstrong showed up for this evening's game and actually got two points. The game went into overtime and then a shoot out. Martin Gerber, the Ottawa goalie, did a great job of staving off the scores in the shoot out. Only Erik Christensen got a goal, and then there was a drought until the fifth shooter, Jarrko Ruutu, scored the winning goal. The Pens get a much needed win with a final score of 6-5.

Twenty Second Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Senators

1st

2nd

3rd

1 (2-5)

0 (1-5)

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Senators

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	4:58	OTT	J.SPEZZA(2)	L.RICHARDSON(1)	D.ALFREDSSON(12)	EV
2	1	10:55	OTT	C.PHILLIPS(3)	C.KELLY(6)	A.VERMETTE(9)	PP
3	1	18:07	PIT	E.MALKIN(9)	P.SYKORA(7)	--	EV
4	1	18:25	PIT	R.MALONE(5)	S.CROSBY(20)	C.ARMSTRONG(1)	EV
5	2	8:00	PIT	T.KENNEDY(2)	J.STAAL(2)	--	EV
6	2	14:20	OTT	J.SPEZZA(3)	W.REDDEN(9)	D.ALFREDSSON(13)	EV
7	2	16:15	OTT	D.HEATLEY(11)	D.ALFREDSSON(14)	J.SPEZZA(17)	PP
8	3	1:04	OTT	C.SCHUBERT(2)	A.MESZAROS(7)	C.NEIL(3)	EV
9	3	5:56	PIT	R.MALONE(6)	S.GONCHAR(15)	K.LETANG(1)	PP
10	3	7:07	PIT	S.GONCHAR(6)	C.ARMSTRONG(2)	R.MALONE(5)	EV
11	SO	-	PIT	J.RUUTU	--	--	--

Wednesday, November 21, 2007 -- Late Evening

The Pens played the New Jersey Devils this evening, and it was not the most exciting of games. The Devils are really good at keeping the puck in their scoring end or in the neutral zone. The Pens weren't able to get the puck on ice, and the only person who scored (unassisted) for the Pens was Evgeni Malkin. That means that Sidney Crosby's scoring streak was ended. Colby Armstrong was back on the ice after being a healthy scratch over the last few games, and obviously he didn't learn much from sitting out, and was his usual sucky self. Mark Recchi was a healthy scratch again. Unfortunately, we would need to sit quite a few people because only Malkin and Crosby are really producing. The final score this evening was 2-1.

Twenty First Game of the Season

Goals

Devils

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Devils

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	14:50	NJ	Z.PARISE(7)	J.LANGENBRUNNER(1)	B.GIONTA(7)	PP
2	3	2:33	NJ	Z.PARISE(8)	J.LANGENBRUNNER(2)	M.MOTTAU(3)	PP
3	3	7:11	PIT	E.MALKIN(8)	unassisted	--	EV

Sunday, November 18, 2007 -- Morning

The Pens played the New York Rangers last night, and it was a disappointing game. The Pens came out playing well, and scored two goals in the first period. From there, things went down hill. The Rangers scored three goals in the second period to take the lead. The Pens tied things up in the third to lose in overtime. Some of the folks were blaming Marc-Andre Fleury who was in goal last night. However, the problem is that no one other than Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin is consistently scoring. I'm not sure where the problem is--other then the fact that our defense is lackluster and the offense doesn't score. I did get a nice video of a fight between Jarkko Ruutu and Brandon Dubinsky. Final score was Pens 3, Rangers 4.

Twenty Game of the Season

Goals

Rangers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Rangers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	5:51	PIT	M.TALBOT(5)	S.CROSBY(19)	--	SH
2	1	8:51	PIT	S.CROSBY(11)	P.SYKORA(6)	S.GONCHAR(14)	EV
3	2	0:49	NYR	M.ROZSIVAL(5)	B.DUBINSKY(2)	B.DUBINSKY(2)	EV
4	2	4:05	NYR	M.ROZSIVAL(6)	S.AVERY(6)	M.STAAL(2)	SH
5	2	18:35	NYR	D.GIRARDI(2)	P.PRUCHA(3)	F.TYUTIN(3)	PP
6	3	14:28	PIT	P.SYKORA(9)	E.MALKIN(20)	E.CHRISTENSEN(2)	EV
7	OT	1:40	NYR	J.STRUDWICK(1)	P.MARA(4)	S.GOMEZ(11)	EV

Saturday, November 17, 2007 -- Morning

Pictures and game recap from tonight's Pens vs. New York Rangers game will be posted Sunday morning.

Thursday, November 15, 2007 -- Evening

I didn't go to the Pens game this evening, but I should be there on Saturday. They played the New York Islanders this evening, and there was a tribute before the game for the Pens' 2007 Hall of Fame inductees, Paul Coffey and a longtime Pens' equipment manager, Frank Sciulli. Kris Letang was called up from the Baby Pens and will be playing tonight. Michel Therrien said that he has always had faith in Marc-Andre Fleury. As Therrien said, he made a point of talking to Fleury this morning to make sure that Fleury understood that Therrien has never lost faith in him--that Fleury is the go-to guy. Fleury was back in goal this evening. The surprising thing is that Mark Rechhi was scratched this evening. I'm not sure if he was a healthy scratch, but he definitely should have been! The guy has not been playing up to snuff this season. The Pens played better this evening then they have in the past several game. Even Georges Laraque scored a goal, his first in 40 games. Fleury got to add a check to the win column. Final score, 3-2.

Ninteenth Game of the Season

Goals

Islanders

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Islanders

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	14:17	NYI	M.COMRIE(6)	B.WITT(3)	T.HUNTER(4)	EV
2	1	18:22	PIT	S.GONCHAR(5)	E.MALKIN(18)	M.FLEURY(1)	EV
3	2	0:58	PIT	P.SYKORA(8)	E.MALKIN(19)	S.GONCHAR(13)	PP
4	2	8:51	NYI	J.VASICEK(6)	B.GERVAIS(6)	S.BERGENHEIM(3)	EV
5	2	16:45	PIT	G.LARAQUE(1)	S.CROSBY(18)	--	EV

Monday, November 12, 2007 -- Evening

The Pens played the New Jersey Devils this evening at the Mellon Arena. Unfortunately, I didn't go to this evening's game. My boyfriend is in Dallas for a conference, and I have alot of home work. So I sat at home and watched the game. Dany Sabourin was in goal for the Pens, and Kevin Weekes was in goal for the Devils. That was abit of a shocker since they do have Martin Brodeur. However, the Devils have not been playing up to potential so far this season, and you know what that means. The first person blamed is the goalie. Geeze, he let in a goal because our defense is shoddy--must be that he's just not good enough. Maybe I just have a pro-goalie bias. The Devils came out swinging and pulled ahead by two goals in the first period. Sidney Crosby scored one for the Pens at the start of the second. Evgeni Malkin tied things up in the third period, but the Devils came back again to take the lead. They went on to win the game with a final score of 3-2.

Eighteenth Game of the Season

Goals

Devils

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Devils

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	4:40	NJ	T.ZAJAC(4)	Z.PARISE(9)	D.ZUBRUS(7)	EV
2	1	10:33	NJ	Z.PARISE(5)	B.GIONTA(4)	P.ELIAS(6)	PP
3	2	0:26	PIT	S.CROSBY(10)	R.MALONE(4)	R.WHITNEY(6)	EV
4	3	10:34	PIT	E.MALKIN(7)	S.GONCHAR(12)	S.CROSBY(17)	PP
5	3	14:37	NJ	P.ELIAS(3)	B.GIONTA(5)	--	EV

Saturday, November 10, 2007 -- Evening

The Pens were in Philadelphia this evening playing the Flyers. Unfortunately, the game was a repeat of Wednesday's game. Tensions were running very high, and there were quite a few shoving matches. The Flyers usually go around acting like a bunch of thugs, and tonight was no different. Of course, I could be saying that because of the anti-Flyer feelings that run high with Pens' fans. The announcers were saying that games like this bring the team together, and that Sidney Crosby feels Georges Laraque makes him feel safer on the ice. What a bunch of hooey from Crosby. Laraque is a huge softie on the ice, and seems to spend alot of time avoiding confrontation. The only people he scares off (as even Crosby admits) are the little yappy dogs. My grandmother would scare off the yappy dogs--so? Laraque was playing tonight, and the only person putting up his dukes was Ryan Malone. Marc-Andre Fleury was in goal, and suffered a barage of pucks again, and gave up some goals. The team needs to find the answer to its problems. One thing might be the confusion the team has. The Flyers got an opne net goal in the final minute because the Pens were confused on who was supposed to be center on the face-off. Unacceptable! The Pens had two five on three opportunities, and didn't get a single shot on goal! Unbelieveable! The Pens lose with a final score of 5-2.

Seventeenth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Flyers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Flyers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	1:31	PHI	K.TIMONEN(1)	D.BRIERE(12)	.LUPUL(9)	PP
2	1	7:51	PHI	M.KNUBLE(5)	D.BRIERE(13)	K.TIMONEN(7)	PP
3	2	5:40	PHI	J.LUPUL(6)	M.RICHARDS(8)	K.TIMONEN(8)	SH
4	2	8:39	PIT	E.MALKIN(6)	R.WHITNEY(4)	S.CROSBY(16)	PP
5	2	19:59	PIT	S.GONCHAR(4)	E.MALKIN(17)	R.WHITNEY(5)	PP
6	3	7:54	PHI	D.BRIERE(6)	M.RICHARDS(9)	K.TIMONEN(9)	EV
7	3	19:01	PHI	S.HARTNELL(1)	M.RICHARDS(10)	--	SH-EN

Thursday, November 8, 2007 -- Evening

The pictures are now posted for last night's Pens game.

The Pens are playing again tonight. This time, they are in New York playing the Rangers. There were some problems with the Pens' flight out of Pittsburgh last night, so they wound up leaving for NY this morning. That obviously wasn't a good thing for them, or for poor Marc-Andre Fleury. He was in goal this evening, and was under unbelievable attack by the Rangers. They had 22 shots on goal in the first period alone! Fortunately, due to Fleury's good play, only two goals were scored. The Pens are really having some issues. Chief is that the Pens really don't have any defense, and that means that the opposing team usually has free rein around our goalie. Also, there isn't any scoring. Jordan Staal has been cold on the ice, and there was talk on the Pens' after game radio show about how Therrien should bench Staal to send him a message. By the middle of the second period, the Pens had three power play opportunities, and in that tiem, they didn't have any shots on goal. The Pens are really not playing very well, and it's hard to tell what the problem is. Sometimes you have to wonder if it is the coach when the team isn't performing up to expectations. The game was a huge disappointment, and the Pens wound up losing with a final score of 2-4.
Sixteenth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Rangers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Rangers

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	7:35	NYR	S.GOMEZ(4)	S.AVERY(2)	S.AVERY(2)	EV
2	1	11:31	PIT	S.GONCHAR(3)	S.CROSBY(15)	E.MALKIN(16)	EV
3	1	17:26	NYR	M.ROZSIVAL(4)	S.GOMEZ(5)	J.JAGR(12)	PP
4	2	9:40	NYR	S.AVERY(1)	D.GIRARDI(3)	P.MARA(3)	PP
5	3	2:48	NYR	B.DUBINSKY(1)	N.DAWES(1)	--	EV
6	3	4:22	PIT	M.RECCHI(2)	G.ROBERTS(6)	S.GONCHAR(11)	PP

Wednesday, November 7, 2007 -- Late Evening

The Philadelphia Flyers were in town this evening, and they aren't last year's Flyers. This year, with the addition of former Buffalo Sabres, Martin Biron and Daniel Briere, the team has been winning and playing well. Tonight was no exception. The crowd at the arena wasn't very happy with the Pens performance, and there were alot of cries of "come on, shoot the puck!" There were alot of tensions during the game, and a fight broke out between Brooks Orpik and RJ Umberger. It wasn't the best fight, but Umberger had a bloody face afterwards. The only goal that the Pens had was a nice one that Sidney Crosby fed to Ryan Malone. Dany Sabourin was in goal again for the Pens, but I'm not sure if that will be the case in the next game. Sabu let in two goals on three shots in the first six minutes of the game. Final score was 3-1. I should have pictures of the game posted tomorrow evening.

Fifteenth Game of the Season

Goals

Flyers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Flyers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	0:28	PHI	J.LUPUL(5)	D.BRIERE(11)	R.UMBERGER(6)	EV
2	1	5:33	PHI	J.CARTER(7)	S.HARTNELL(3)	S.UPSHALL(1)	EV
3	1	19:23	PIT	R.MALONE(4)	S.CROSBY(14)	E.MALKIN(15)	EV
4	2	8:46	PHI	M.RICHARDS(9)	J.SMITH(1)	B.COBURN(5)	EV

Wednesday, November 7, 2007 -- Morning

Pictures and game recap from tonight's Pens vs. Philadelphia Flyers game will be posted Thursday evening.

Monday, November 5, 2007 -- Evening

The Pens played the New Jersey Devils this evening in the new Devils arena. It was a sorry picture because there were alot of empty seats in the brand new arena. Dany Sabourin was in goal, and got his first NHL shutout. That probably means that he will be back in goal on Wednesday's home game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Sidney Crosby got two goals in the game. I felt for Martin Brodeur because the announcers were commenting on how he has gone 28 games without a shutout. After the fourth goal of the game, Brodeur was pulled in favor of Kevin Weekes. It was good for the Pens to get a win, but the Devils have been playing crappy this season. Not to downplay, Sabourin's shutout, but I could have had a shutout as the goalie with the Devils only making three shots on goal in the second period! Final score was 5-0.

Fourteenth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Devils

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Devils

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	12:00	PIT	S.CROSBY(8)	P.SYKORA(5)	S.GONCHAR(10)	PP
2	1	16:19	PIT	A.HALL(2)	B.ORPIK(2)	M.TALBOT(3)	EV
3	2	5:48	PIT	P.SYKORA(7)	E.MALKIN(14)	--	EV
4	2	11:18	PIT	E.CHRISTENSEN(2)	M.TALBOT(4)	G.LARAQUE(2)	EV
5	3	3:28	PIT	S.CROSBY(9)	B.ORPIK(3)	--	EV

Saturday, November 3, 2007 -- Evening

The Pens played the New York Islanders this evening. Marc-Andre Fleury was back in goal, and he played a good, consistent game even though it resulted in a loss. The Pens were the first to score with a goal by Ryan Malone. He has a reputation for being a Islander killer because he has had two hat tricks against them. The most memorable was last year's game on President's Day. In that game, he had a goal in the first minute of all three periods. In the second period, new addition to the team, Tyler Kennedy scored his first NHL goal. It looked like the puck skimmed the top of the inside of the net. However, the refs didn't call it a goal, and the game continued. When play was halted, the refs box blew the horn. The refs went over, and we saw that Kennedy did indeed score. The clock was turned back three minutes, and things really did seem to be going well for the Pens. The Islanders scored in the second period, and then come back to score two more goals in the third to take the lead. Ryan Whitney didn't play because of a groin injury. He was in the broadcast booth during the game, and said that he hopes to be back by Wednesday. Colby Armstrong was a healthy scratch. I'm surprised that he hasn't been a healthy scratch before this because he basically sucks. He has only had one point this season, and is a -4. I've never been a big fan of Armstrong. He may be very personable and be a hard worker, but that doesn't matter to me if you don't produce.

Thirteenth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Islanders

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Islanders

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	12:06	PIT	R.MALONE(3)	E.MALKIN(13)	S.CROSBY(13)	PP
2	2	1:48	PIT	T.KENNEDY(1)	G.ROBERTS(5)	M.TALBOT(2)	EV
3	2	8:20	NYI	T.HUNTER(3)	M.SILLINGER(4)	--	EV
4	3	5:30	NYI	M.SATAN(2)	J.VASICEK(2)	A.SUTTON(3)	EV
5	3	17:19	NYI	M.SATAN(3)	M.BERGERON(3)	R.PARK(2)	EV

Thursday, November 1, 2007 -- Late Evening

The Pens played the Colorado Avalanche this evening. For the second game in a row, Marc-Andre Fleury was not in goal. There has been lots of talk that Michel Therrien is very uphappy with Fleury and that he doesn't think that Fleury deserves to be in goal. However, Therrien hasn't actually said that he doesn't think much of Fleury. I think that at this point, if Dany Sabourin continues to do well in goal, he will continue to play. Sidney Crosby scored two points in the first period to give the Pens a 2-0 lead. Crosby likes this time of year; last year at this time, he had his only hat trick. The Avalanche came back in the middle of the second period to tie things up, and very quickly take a one goal lead. They took advantage of some very sloppy play by the Pens. Now if Fleury had been in goal, he would have been blamed for letting the goals in. Sabourin was given a pass by the game announcers (Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey) who said that there wasn't anyway he could stop the puck. Yes, I am a Fleury supporter. The Pens weren't able to score again in the game. Final score was Pens 2 - Avalanche 3. Now I wonder if it will be Fleury or Sabourin in goal on Saturday when the Pens play the New York Islanders.

Twelfth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Avalanche

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Avalanche

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	10:21	PIT	S.CROSBY(6)	S.GONCHAR(8)	M.EATON(1)	EV
2	1	18:07	PIT	S.CROSBY(7)	E.MALKIN(12)	S.GONCHAR(9)	PP
3	2	10:26	COL	J.LILES(1)	R.SMYTH(5)	J.SAKIC(9)	PP
4	2	11:06	COL	W.WOLSKI(5)	I.LAPERRIERE(2)	B.GUITE(2)	EV
5	2	13:58	COL	B.GUITE(1)	W.SMITH(2)	I.LAPERRIERE(3)	EV

Tuesday, October 30, 2007 -- Evening

The Pens played the Minnesota Wild this evening. Dany Sabourin started in goal. He is getting rewarded for his performance in Saturday's game. The first period wasn't a very exciting one, no penalties and no goals. However, the action picked up at the beginning of the second period when the Pens scored two goals in three minutes by the same threesome. Evgeni Malkin got the goal, and Sidney Crosby and Ryan Malone got the assists. The Wild scored in between the two goals. The Wild tied things up in the third period, but then Petr Sykora helped the Pens take the lead again. Sykora is the goal leader on the Pens. It wasn't the end of the scoring for the Pens. Crosby came on to score a beautiful goal with a feed from Sergei Gonchar and Malkin. Michel Therrien had a great idea when he paired Crosby and Malkin on the same line. The Pens held off the Wild and won the game.

Eleventh Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Wild

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Wild

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	2	3:30	PIT	E.MALKIN(4)	S.CROSBY(10)	R.MALONE(2)	EV
2	2	6:14	MIN	S.VEILLEUX(1)	B.RADIVOJEVIC(5)	M.KOIVU(5)	EV
3	2	6:29	PIT	E.MALKIN(5)	S.CROSBY(11)	R.MALONE(3)	EV
4	3	6:26	MIN	B.ROLSTON(6)	M.KOIVU(6)	B.BURNS(2)	EV
5	3	10:05	PIT	P.SYKORA(6)	S.CROSBY(12)	S.GONCHAR(6)	PP
6	3	14:29	PIT	S.CROSBY(5)	S.GONCHAR(7)	E.MALKIN(11)	EV

Saturday, October 27, 2007 -- Late Evening

The Pens played the Montreal Canadiens. The game finally became a thriller, but in the first period, it looked as if the Pens were not interested in winning the game. Marc-Andre Fleury wasn't at his best, and he was pulled when the Canadiens scored their third goal at the start of the second period. The thing is that I wouldn't have blamed Fleury because he wasn't getting alot of support either offensively or defensively. Dany Sabourin did a good job in goal, and the Pens seemed energized, scoring two goals in the second period. As the third period was coming to a close, some of the fans around me were booing because they felt that the Pens weren't putting alot of effort into winning. With abit over two minutes left in the game, the Pens pulled Sabourin, and with the aid of two penalty calls against the Canadiens, they tied the game. Not score in the overtime, and it took 16 shooters before someone scored in the shootout. Unfortunately, it was the Canadiens. I couldn't believe that Michel Therrien had Mark Recchi and Sergei Gonchar in the shootout, but not Jordan Staal. There are some issues in the team, and they are not being resolved. My seat was chosen as a winner if the Pens scored five goals in tonight's game. I didn't have alot of hope that would happen, and it didn't. No prize for me, and no win for the team. The next home game is on Nov. 7. Check out my pictures of the game and shoot out video.

Tenth Game of the Season

Goals

Canadiens

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

1 (1-8)

0 (0-8)

Final

Shots on goal

Canadiens

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	7:13	MTL	M.DANDENAULT(3)	A.KASTSITSYN(1)	M.KOMISAREK(3)	EV
2	1	10:53	MTL	A.MARKOV(4)	C.HIGGINS(5)	S.KOIVU(8)	PP
3	2	0:49	MTL	M.RYDER(2)	J.GORGES(1)	R.HAMRLIK(6)	EV
4	2	3:03	PIT	P.SYKORA(5)	E.MALKIN(8)	A.HALL(3)	PP
5	2	8:16	PIT	S.CROSBY(4)	E.MALKIN(9)	R.WHITNEY(3)	EV
6	3	18:08	PIT	R.WHITNEY(3)	E.MALKIN(10)	P.SYKORA(4)	PP
7	SO	--	MTL	A.MARKOV	--	--	--

Thursday, October 25, 2007 -- Late Evening

What a disappointing game this evening. The Pens played two great periods of hockey against the Toronto Maple Leafs. In the third period, things fell apart and the 1-1 time turned into a 5-2 loss for the Pens. Marc-Andre Fleury made some great saves, but that just wasn't enough. What irritated me was this guy in the stands who was yelling to pull the goalie after two goals. My gosh, they aren't going to win every game, and the goalie is going to let some pucks in. Even Martin Brodeur has losses. The major problem with the Pens is that they really are in a scoring slump. The wins have been coming when the defense plays above and beyond, and unfortunately, that wasn't happening this evening. After the game, Michel Therrien said that the guys just weren't playing up to snuff. One of the problems is Mark Recchi. Just because he has had a good past that doesn't mean that he isn't past it now. Unfortunately, he is very much past it. When he is on the ice he seems to be moving in slow motion. As one fan stated, Sidney Crosby looks like he has a ball and chain attached to his leg when Recchi is on the ice. Crosby makes the pass, but then his line mates just aren't stepping up to the plate. There was a scary moment this evening when Maxime Talbot went face first into the boards at the end of the first period. It was very scary looking, but he did get up to leave the ice. He didn't play after that, and I heard on the news that he had injured his neck. I will post the pictures for the game tomorrow evening.

Ninth Game of the Season

Goals

Maple Leafs

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Maple Leafs

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	16:20	PIT	S.CROSBY(3)	E.MALKIN(6)	M.RECCHI(6)	EV
2	2	10:18	TOR	A.STEEN(2)	N.ANTROPOV(6)	M.STAJAN(5)	EV
3	3	1:45		J.TLUSTY(1)	A.STEEN(6)	P.KUBINA(6)	EV
4	3	2:20	TOR	J.TLUSTY(2)	P.KUBINA(7)	V.TOSKALA(1)	EV
5	3	10:02	TOR	T.KABERLE(4)	A.STEEN(7)	M.SUNDIN(12)	PP
6	3	10:35	TOR	B.DEVEREAUX(1)	N.ANTROPOV(7)	--	EV
7	3	14:51	PIT	S.GONCHAR(2)	S.CROSBY(9)	E.MALKIN(7)	PP

Tuesday, October 23, 2007 -- Evening

I wasn't able to go to the Pens versus the New York Rangers tonight. There are three games this week, and with my classwork picking up, I didn't think that I could spend so much time having fun. Marc-Andre Fleury was in goal for the Pens. The first period was well played, and Fleury made some good saves. The second period started with a power play goal by Evgeni Malkin with assists from Ryan Whitney and Sidney Crosby. Shortly after that, Jordan Staal was obstructed as he went to the goal. You know what that means: penalty shot! Staal missed, but I notice that huge cut on his forehead. It appears that he was hit with the puck yesterday during practice. Staal had a huge goose-egg on his head and eight stitches. Michel Therrien said that Staal was finally looking like a hockey player. This was a bad night for me to miss the game because Marc Staal was playing for the Rangers. So I missed the opportunity to get J. Staal and M. Staal pictures. I definitely started to get nervous as the third period winded down, and Fleury had a shut out on the line. Fleury was great this evening, and the shut out was save. Final score was 1-0. Fleury got the number one star of the game, with Malkin getting the second star, and Brooks Orpik getting the third star.

Eighth Game of the Season

Goals

Rangers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Rangers

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	2	0:44	PIT	E.MALKIN(3)	R.WHITNEY(2)	S.CROSBY(8)	PP
2	2	1:10	PIT	J.STAAL	Unsuccessful Penalty Shot	--	PS

Saturday, October 20, 2007 -- Evening

The Pens played a back to back game tonight. They traveled to Washington to play the Capitals. The game was one of the most exciting that I have seen this season. The game was low scoring, and the Pens won with a final of 2-1. The game had everything: great saves by Marc-Andre Fleury (who was the first star of the night) and a nice fight between Georges Laraque and Donald Brashear. The most surprising fight (yes there were two) was between Jordan Staal and Matt Pettinger. It was funny to see Staal fight, because he is such a scrawny guy, but he is scrappy. It was great to see Fleury in his element tonight. He did a great job. As Fleury told Don Potash after the game, he is just going to take it a goal at a time and be confident. Michel Therrien denied all reports that the Pens are looking for a vetern goalie to backup Fleury. Everyone played well in this game, and the fans can only hope it continues.

Seventh Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Capitals

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Capitals

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	13:45	WAS	B.POTHIER(1)	M.NYLANDER(3)	N.BACKSTROM(5)	EV
2	2	3:58	PIT	J.STAAL(1)	M.RECCHI(5)	B.ORPIK(1)	EV
3	2	17:59	PIT	R.WHITNEY(2)	S.CROSBY(7)	R.MALONE(1)	PP

Saturday, October 20, 2007 -- Early Morning

Dany Sabourin was in goal for the Pens game against the Carolina Hurricanes yesterday evening. This wasn't because the Pens didn't have faith in Marc-Andre Fleury, but because Fleury will be playing tonight against the Washington Capitals. Again, the Pens didn't come out playing well in the first period. In fact, the Hurricanes scored within the first minute. It wasn't until later in the second that the Pens seemed to pick up the momentum when they were down 3-1. They managed to tie things up, and the game went into overtime and a shootout. The Pens scored on all three attempts by Erik Christensen, Petr Sykora, and Sidney Crosby. Fortunately Sabourin was able to stop Ray Whitney to get the win. Sykora got the first star of the game for his two goals during regulation and his shootout goal. Crosby was the second star. There was some drama when the Hurricanes Scott Walker suddenly bent over, skated to the bench, and then fell to his knees. At first I thought it was a wrist injury, but I found out when I got home that it was a torso injury. It looked like Walker was going to be taken off by a stretcher, but he got off the ice with the help of the Pens' team doctor and a couple of Hurricane players. Walker was checked out at the hospital. Fortunately, there were no serious problems, and he was released. I have videos of a fight between Ryan Malone and Mike Commodore fight and the shootout. Also, I have my pictures. All are available from my Pens' multimedia page.

Sixth Game of the Season

Goals

Hurricanes

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

0 (2-3)

1 (3-3)

Final

Shots on goal

Hurricanes

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	0:59	CAR	R.WHITNEY(2)	M.CULLEN(3)	R.BRIND'AMOUR(6)	PP
2	1	18:58	PIT	P.SYKORA(3)	S.CROSBY(5)	M.RECCHI(4)	EV
3	2	3:57	CAR	T.LETOWSKI(1)	J.WILLIAMS(8)	R.BRIND'AMOUR(7)	EV
4	2	15:20	CAR	J.WILLIAMS(2)	unassisted	--	EV
5	2	17:54	PIT	A.HALL(1)	J.RUUTU(1)	M.TALBOT(1)	EV
6	2	19:54	PIT	P.SYKORA(4)	S.GONCHAR(5)	S.CROSBY(6)	PP
7	S0	-	PIT	S.CROSBY	--	--	--

Friday, October 19, 2007 -- Early Evening

Pictures and game recap from tonight's Pens vs. Carolina Hurricanes game will be posted by Saturday morning.

Thursday, October 18, 2007 -- Evening

Last night's Pens vs. New Jersey Devils game was something else. The Pens weren't playing well at the beginning of the game, but they picked things up. The refs, however, were calling one bad play after another. At one point in the second period, they gave the Devils a goal when Fleury was on his back, in the net, with a Devil on top of him while Travis Zajac knocked the puck in. As most of the sports reporters were saying afterwards, the refs should have called the play dead. What was Fleury to do as he was pinned to the ice by another Devil? The crowd went wild, and there was a stoppage of play while people booed and threw the promotional mouse pads and Ice Time magazines on the ice. The Pens wound up losing the game in a tight one, with a final score of 5-4. Things are not going well for the Pens, and right now, they are last in the division and 14 out of 15 in the conference! I did take pictures of the game.

Fifth Game of the Season

Goals

Devils

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Devils

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	6:46	NJ	J.PANDOLFO(2)	D.CLARKSON(2)	J.MADDEN(2)	EV
2	1	9:58	NJ	J.MADDEN(4)	D.CLARKSON(3)	J.PANDOLFO(2)	EV
3	1	15:58	PIT	M.TALBOT(4)	R.WHITNEY(1)	G.ROBERTS(4)	EV
4	1	17:48	PIT	G.ROBERTS(1)	S.GONCHAR(3)	P.SYKORA(3)	PP
5	2	0:52	PIT	S.GONCHAR(1)	S.CROSBY(3)	E.MALKIN(5)	PP
6	2	6:67	NJ	T.ZAJAC(2)	Z.PARISE(6)	P.MARTIN(4)	PP
7	2	14:48	NJ	T.ZAJAC(3)	B.GIONTA(2)	Z.PARISE(7)	PP
8	2	18:42	PIT	E.MALKIN(2)	S.CROSBY(4)	S.GONCHAR(4)	PP
9	3	10:38	NJ	A.ASHAM(2)	Z.PARISE(8)	P.ELIAS(3)	EV

Wednesday, October 17, 2007 -- Early Evening Pictures and game recap from tonight's Pens vs. New Jersey Devils game will be posted Thursday evening.

Saturday, October 13, 2007 -- Late Evening

The Pens played the Toronto Maple Leafs this evening. Dany Sabourin started in goal. Michel Therrien said that it was because Sabourin really hasn't played a full game in awhile, so he wanted to give him that practice. However, it was not to be. Sabourin was pulled out of the game in the first period when he was slammed into the goal by a Leaf who was supposedly pushed into Sabourin by Brooks Oprik. Sabourin had to get some stitches for bleeding near his left ear, and Marc-Andre Fleury was in goal. Fleury stayed in for the rest of the hard playing game. In total, the Pens had 52 shots on goal, and there were ten goals in total. The final score was 6-4 with the Pens winning the game! Orpik left the game in the second period after a hit to the head that left him with a slight concussion. Mark Recchi, Evgeni Malkin, and Ryan Malone had to help a very unsteady Orpik to the locker room. Sidney Crosby finally got scored a goal (make it two) this evening, and Maxime Talbot also had two goals. In fact, Talbot's last goal was an empty net goal while the Pens were short handed in the last 50 seconds of the game. Talbot usually practices shooting at the net before the warm-up at home games. It obviously helped him today. Finally, the Pens gave a good showing. I was definitely worried earlier in the game when the Maple Leafs had a 3-1 lead.

Fourth Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Maple Leafs

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Maple Leafs

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	5:09	PIT	E.CHRISTENSEN(1)	A.HALL(1)	--	EV
2	1	6:37	TOR	D.TUCKER(1)	H.GILL(4)	S.GAMACHE(2)	EV
3	1	8:39	TOR	N.ANTROPOV(4)	J.BLAKE(4)	A.STEEN(4)	EV
4	2	0:55	TOR	M.SUNDIN(3)	N.ANTROPOV(3)	P.KUBINA(4)	EV
5	2	6:31	PIT	S.CROSBY(1)	P.SYKORA(2)	S.GONCHAR(2)	EV
6	2	6:50	PIT	M.TALBOT(2)	G.ROBERTS(3)	A.HALL(2)	EV
7	2	16:00	PIT	R.MALONE(2)	J.STAAL(1)	E.MALKIN(4)	EV
8	2	16:27	TOR	J.BLAKE(1)	M.SUNDIN(7)	A.STEEN(5)	EV
9	3	14:38	PIT	S.CROSBY(2)	D.SYDOR(1)	M.RECCHI(3)	PP
10	3	19:10	PIT	M.TALBOT(3)	unassisted	--	SH-EN

Thursday, October 11, 2007 -- Evening

The Pens played the Montreal Canadiens last night. It was a disappointing game because the players did not seem to play well together. There were moments of brillance, but the lines do not appear to be solid yet. In fact, I think there are some serious problems with the Sidney Crosby line. Michel Therrien doesn't seem to have that line setup yet, and I have to wonder why. Is it because there isn't anyone who plays well with Crosby? Is is because he is limited by some of the players on the roster? At this point, the weakest links are Sergei Gonchar and most of the others on the defensive zone. Mark Eaton and Ryan Whitney are play makers, but the others are struggling to keep up with the action. Speaking of struggling to keep up, Mark Recchi seems two steps behind everyone else. There are chemistry problems on this team, and I hope that they start playing better soon. I did manage to get some nice pictures of the game.

Third Game of the Season

Goals

Canadiens

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Canadiens

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	2	7:08	PITT	R.WHITNEY(1)	M.RECCHI(1)	S.CROSBY(2)	PP
2	2	13:07	MTL	T.PLEKANEC(1)	A.MARKOV(3)	M.STREIT(1)	PP
3	2	17:00	MTL	A.KOVALEV(1)	T.PLEKANEC(1)	--	EV
4	3	2:51	MTL	A.MARKOV(2)	M.RYDER(2)	S.KOIVU(2)	EV
5	3	3:48	PIT	M.TALBOT(1)	E.MALKIN(3)	M.RECCHI(2)	EV

Saturday, October 6, 2007 -- Late Evening

The Pens played their home opener this evening against the defending Stanley Cup champions, Anaheim Ducks. Was it a great evening! The Pens won in the end, although there were some tight moments. Marc-Andre Fleury was in goal, and I think that he got so disgusted with the defensive play of the team that he started to make some moves on his own. The Pens' defense sucks, and the moves that Ray Shero made over the summer didn't do much to improve the level of play in that area. Sergei Gonchar has to be one of the worst defensive players on the team and in the NHL. He cannot handle the puck at all. Every since time the puck came near him, Gonchar would let it go past. In fact, in the final seconds of the game, Gonchar let the puck go past, and it resulted in an Anaheim goal on a breakaway. Gonchar's lazy efforts need to be erased from the team, and if I were Shero, I'd be encouraging Gonchar to retire. Petr Sykora scored two goals and had an assist on a goal by Evgeni Malkin. Malkin and Sykora really appear to have a chemistry together. Sidney Crosby got hit in the ankle with the puck, and although he continued to play in the game, there is concern that he might have swelling later. Anyway, the Pens won with a final score of 5-4. I have pictures and video from the game.

First Game of the Season

Goals

Ducks

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Ducks

Pens

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	6:34	ANA	C.KUNITZ(2)	F.BEAUCHEMIN(2)	C.PRONGER(3)	PP
2	1	16:39	PIT	P.SYKORA(1)	G.ROBERTS(1)	E.CHRISTENSEN(1)	PP
3	2	1:25	ANA	R.GETZLAF(2)	F.BEAUCHEMIN(3)	--	EV
4	2	3:58	PIT	C.ARMSTRONG(1)	G.ROBERTS(2)	--	EV
5	2	6:18	PIT	E.MALKIN(1)	P.SYKORA(1)	--	EV
6	3	SH	ANA	C.KUNITZ(3)	C.KUNITZ(3)	--	SH
7	3	13:32	PIT	P.SYKORA(2)	G.LARAQUE(1)	E.MALKIN(2)	EV
8	3	13:51	PIT	R.MALONE(1)	S.CROSBY(1)	R.SCUDERI(1)	EV
9	3	19:38	ANA	C.PERRY(3)	R.GETZLAF(1)	C.KUNITZ(1)	EV

Friday, October 5, 2007 -- Evening

The Pens played the Carolina Hurricanes in their season opener this evening. Tomorrow, the Pens will be playing in their home opener. The first period did not start well for the Pens with Eric Staal scoring two goals. Things didn't improve in the second period when Andrew Ladd scored for the Hurricanes. Things didn't improve in the second period as the Pens seemed to find it difficult to get the puck past Cam Ward, and Marc-Andre Fleury had troubles stopping the puck. The Hurricanes had a 4-0 lead after two periods. Michel Therrien pulled Fleury at the start of the third period. Dany Sabourin took over the net minding duties. Finally with less than four minutes left in the game, Mark Recchi scored. The Pens lost with a final score of 4-1.

First Game of the Season

Goals

Pens

Hurricanes

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

Shots on goal

Pens

Hurricanes

1st

2nd

3rd

Final

SCORING SUMMARY
G	Per	Time	Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist	STR
1	1	7:08	CAR	E. STAAL (2)	T. GLEASON (1)	J. HAMILTON (1)	EV
2	1	13:21	CAR	E. STAAL (3)	E. COLE (1)	J. HAMILTON (2)	EV
3	2	14:11	CAR	A. LADD (1)	J. WILLIAMS (2)	D.SEIDENBERG(1)	EV
4	2	17:35	CAR	J.HAMILTON(1)	R.BRIND'AMOUR(2)	R.WHITNEY(1)	PP
1	3	16:37	PIT	M. RECCHI (1)	E. MALKIN (1)	S. GONCHAR (1)	PP

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Game Recaps for the 2007-2008 Season

Wednesday, June 4, 2008 -- Evening

Monday, June 2, 2008 -- Late Evening

Saturday, May 31, 2008 -- Late Evening

Wednesday, May 28, 2008 -- Evening

Monday, May 26, 2008 -- Evening

Saturday, May 24, 2008 -- Evening

Sunday, May 18, 2008 -- Early Evening

Thursday, May 15, 2008 -- Evening

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Thursday, May 1, 2008 -- Evening

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Friday, April 11, 2008 -- Late Afternoon

Thursday, April 10, 2008 -- Evening

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Monday, March 31, 2008 -- Evening

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Friday, March 28, 2008 -- Late Afternoon

Tuesday, March 25, 2008 -- Evening

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Sunday, March 23, 2008 -- Morning

Thursday, March 20, 2008 -- Evening

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Sunday, March 16, 2008 -- Late Afternoon

Wednesday, March 12, 2008 -- Evening

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Friday, March 7, 2008 -- Late Morning

Tuesday, March 4, 2008 -- Evening

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Saturday, March 1, 2008 -- Early Evening

Thursday, February 28, 2008 -- Evening

Tuesday, February 26, 2008 -- Evening

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Thursday, February 21, 2008 -- Evening

Tuesday, February 19, 2008 -- Evening

Sunday, February 17, 2008 -- Evening

Thursday, February 14, 2008 -- Late Evening

Thursday, February 14, 2008 -- Evening

Wednesday, February 13, 2008 -- Afternoon

Sunday, February 10, 2008 -- Evening

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Friday, February 8, 2008 -- Evening

Thursday, February 7, 2008 -- Morning

Monday, February 4, 2008 -- Evening

Saturday, February 2, 2008 -- Late Evening

Wednesday, January 30, 2008 -- Evening

Tuesday, January 29, 2008 -- Evening

Thursday, January 24, 2008 -- Evening

Tuesday, January 22, 2008 -- Evening

Monday, January 21, 2008 -- Early Afternoon

Saturday, January 19, 2008 -- Evening

Friday, January 18, 2008 -- Late Evening

Monday, January 14, 2008 -- Late Evening

Monday, January 14, 2008 -- Afternoon

Saturday, January 12, 2008 -- Evening

Thursday, January 10, 2008 -- Evening

Tuesday, January 8, 2008 -- Evening

Saturday, January 5, 2008 -- Evening

Friday, January 4, 2008 -- Morning

Thursday, January 3, 2008 -- Morning

Tuesday, January 1, 2008 -- Afternoon

Saturday, December 29, 2007 -- Late Evening