Pittsburgh Penguins

[Rehdaun]

Yea, nice to see them get two big points from a metro division rival. Good to see the youngsters pitching in. They will need the entire lineup to produce down the stretch. With that win and hopefully another win tonight against the Islanders they will have a solid hold on the wildcard.

Speaking of youngsters, Rust, Kuhnhackl and Wilson all signed two year one-way extensions yesterday.

[Rehdaun]

Passing has been awful so far tonight. Playing most of the second period in their own end hasn't helped either. Thank goodness for Crosby.

[Zorro]

This Matt Murray kid looks really good, wow..

[Rehdaun]

Yes he does look good. Settled right down after giving up two early last night. Made some key saves in the second and the third too. Sullivan did it right by starting him against Carolina and saving the Metro games for Fleury. Helps the kid build confidence while still leaving the critical games to the veteran.

[bondon]

Any insight into Kessel's fluctuating ice time over the past few games?

With Malkin going down I'm kind of wondering if I'm going to regret acquiring Kessel for a pick upgrade. Nice to see Kessel heating up though, I have a bye this week.

[Rehdaun]

I believe that Kessel was moved to PP2 after Malkin's injury. They have been running Crosby-Kunitz-Hornqvist-Letang-Schultz. That has decreased his TOI down by a couple of minutes per game.

Malkin being injured does hurt Kessel a little but he has proven to make his own offense so it shouldn't hurt that much. I'm hoping his goal last night is the beginning of more to come. That line complemented each other nicely during that shift and quite a few other times that game.

[Rehdaun]

Another big win against a Metro rival. Up to four wins without Malkin. A little shakeup on the PP with Bonino and Kessel seeing time with Crosby/Hornqvist. Kunitz was dropped to PP2.

[Rehdaun]

6 wins in a row, going for 7 tomorrow against Ottawa. Kessel looking good with Bonino as his center.

[Axeman33]

6 wins in a row, going for 7 tomorrow against Ottawa. Kessel looking good with Bonino as his center.

Kessel's best seasons have been with a mediocre center (Bozak) so I guess it's only right his greatest success with the Penguins is with another one. What were they thinking putting him with a center with a high skill level? That will show them.

[Rehdaun]

Both Bonino and Bozak are similar in that both defer to Kessel. That doesn't happen as much with Malkin or Crosby at center as both of them like to dominate possession.

[2014olympicgold]

Both Bonino and Bozak are similar in that both defer to Kessel. That doesn't happen as much with Malkin or Crosby at center as both of them like to dominate possession.

I think teams over commit to Kessel when he’s the best on the line, and he has the passing skill/vision to make them pay. But he will take the shot 90% of the time.

Plus Crosby wasn’t playing well when he himself was defending the way Bozak/Bonino are when he played with Kessel. Crosby was too deep in his own zone making up for Kessel to play “Crosby’s Game”.

Kessel almost has to be the guy dragging along his line, and when typing this, one of the best plays Kessel did with Toronto was fly into the zone, slam the breaks and hit the trailer and cause teams to go scramble mode.

[Zorro]

I seriously can't believe that Pittsburgh has fought back and we ill have home ice in the 1st round of playoffs, that's insane..

Is Fleury going to be back at all??

[Dennis4022]

I seriously can't believe that Pittsburgh has fought back and we ill have home ice in the 1st round of playoffs, that's insane..

Is Fleury going to be back at all??

It looks like he will be back for the first play-off game.

[Rehdaun]

Here's the latest info that i have on the walking dead:

Fleury practiced today. He hoped to play a game last week but "it didn't happen"
Malkin didn't practice but skated before practice for about an hour.
Murray hasn't practiced and wasn't at practice this morning.
Maatta returned to practice. Still questionable for Wednesday.
Rust is still dtd. Skated before practice
Bennett wasn't at practice
Wilson isn't close to returning.

[2014olympicgold]

I hope Fleury and Malkin are playing on Saturday at least