PensBurgh

Penguins 5th in the league in man games lost to injury

2009-11-20T15:54:00Z

Penguins 5th in the league in man games lost to injury

I was curious where the Pens stood in this department but will also admit I was too depressingly unmotivated to do the work myself. Not to mention it likely would've changed and changed again by the time I actually pooled together all the information. So we turn to Mr. Mirtle. This is why he gets paid the big bucks.

Tales of the Tape: Ottawa Senators, Eric Godard vs. Chris Neil

2009-11-20T13:10:45Z

There's not much good to say about the Pen's game last night, but I'll do my best to try to raise the sagging spirits of the Pensburgh crowd. Would watching Eric Godard pound on Chris Neil make you feel better? Dry those eyes and take a look.

The fight started with Neil doing the increasingly popular move of grabbing the jersey and jabbing with the same hand, but Godard quickly got Neil's hand away from his face and came out swinging. Neil was switching hands, swinging with whatever he could get free, but Godard stayed dedicated to his right hand, and his right hand stayed dedicated to Neil's face. After blows back and forth with both players stopped and looked as if they were going to await the linesmen. Then Neil took the opportunity to take a cheap swing, and Godard answered with a direct shot to the face (or right in the button, if you're listening to the clip). At this point, Neil's face started bleeding, but he kept at it. The energy was sapped, though, and shortly the linesmen broke the two up.

What a bout from Godard. Neil came out with some quick jabs, but Godard just pounded his face over and over again. This is a solid win for Godard - just look at the blows he connected! By the end of the bout, Neil's left cheek was swollen and bloody, but that can be expected when one gets repeatedly punched in the face. Definitely a good fight - I just wish it had come in a better game.

Next up is Atlanta, who thus far have 9 fights this season (coincidentally, the same number Chris Neil has) - five of which coming from Eric Boulton. You may recall a memorable bout last season in which Ruslan Fedotenko broke his hand on Colby Armstrong's face. Let's hope any fights that we may see have similar results without the unfortunate effects.

(Thanks to GhostWalker40 for the video!)

Poll

Who won the fight?

Sergei Gonchar and Max Talbot return but it's not enough, Senators smoke Pens 6-2

2009-11-20T03:03:13Z

Check out Senators coverage over at Silver Seven

Hooks is out of the Pensburgh lineup for the next three to five days, so I'll be standing in for recap action tonight and Saturday. Following the Atlanta game, it is believe he'll be listed as day to day.

The awesomeness that is Lindon Slewidge rocked the anthems before the puck even dropped. The guy's got a set of pipes, that's for sure. Always great to see him during Ottawa games.

Pittsburgh's first goal was fast and pretty thanks to the long reach from Jordan Staal and a great set up on behalf of Pascal Dupuis from Sergei Gonchar. Definitely the sort of thing you wanna see your returning defenseman get involved in right off the bat. And hey, for all the times we've knocked Dupuis, that was one hell of a pass.
Unfortunately the highly anticipated return of Max Talbot was stalled by two minutes when he went to the box for tripping. No worries though, as the PK killed that one off with ease.
With roughly eight minutes to go in the first, Ottawa showed some serious puck control in the Pittsburgh zone. What felt like too long wound up being just that, as Matt Carkner got an angle on Marc-Andre Fleury and sent one home to tie it at one a piece. In 2006-07 Carkner played with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Pens, so his ability to score against Pittsburgh should stand as no surprise to anyone. These things always happen.

The second period and depressing third after the jump

The Pens started the second period on the power play but quickly found themselves down a man after Bill Guerin took a goalie interference call. Ottawa made the Pens pay on a Milan Michalek deflection in front of Fleury that put the Sens up 2-1.
Gonchar's return to the lineup brought with it high hopes for an immediate boost to the power play. Sometimes it takes time, as evidenced during the second period when the Pens had two PP chances and failed to make it work. At times it looked like they were having issues just getting a rush out of their own zone.
The second period closed out with the Pens down 2-1 but with a carry-over PP waiting to open up the third.
Despite some nice puck work and a few strong shots from Gonchar and Malkin, the Pens were unable to capitalize on the third period's opening power play. Unfortunately the d-men pinched too far into the Sens' zone, allowing Ottawa's Chris Kelly to rocket out of the box, charge ahead on Fleury with the puck and score to open up a two-goal lead.
The Penguins just looked flat for the first five minutes of the period. Ottawa jumped on this opportunity to wear down the Pens in their own zone with strong puck control. Chris Phillips let one go from the boards that slipped right past Fleury to give the Sens four straight unanswered goals. At this point the Pens would need a drastic change in chemistry and a total shift in momentum to work back from three down with less than 15 minutes to play.
They wouldn't get it. Not tonight. Chris Phillips picked up his second of the game two minutes later, beating Fleury blocker-side as the wheels continued to come off the bus. Bylsma pulled Fleury, Brent Johnson went in, and this one turned into a "just try and close the gap" sort of game.
If you needed one play to define this loss then look no further than the 6-minuteish mark in the third when Brent Johnson came out of his net to play the puck. Johnson got tangled up with Gonchar, the puck squirted free as BJ lunged back into the crease and Jonathan Cheechoo launched one top shelf to make it 6-1. That's how the puck was bouncing for the Penguins. No breaks tonight.
Oh wait. That power play. Right right, how did that fare? Well, they got one. Yes, they really got one. Before all was said and done Evgeni Malkin picked up his first goal since coming back from injury to put the Pens' power play at 1-for-5 on the night and the final score at 6-2, massively in favor of Ottawa.
Eric Godard and Chris Neil threw down as well in what can only be labeled a heavy weight bout. Dunman will have more on that for you tomorrow.

What can ya say? Ottawa played a strong game. They closed out lanes, prevented shots from getting through and made the Pens chase in their own zone.

Are you worried or concerned, or is this just an example of taking all of these injuries in stride? If so, then this is going to be a bumpy run.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators [Open Thread]

2009-11-20T00:30:11Z

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS vs. OTTAWA SENATORS

IN OTTAWA @ 7:30pm ET

RADIO FEED ON WXDX.com

SENATORS BLOG: SILVER SEVEN

So, amidst the injuries, isn't great to get our QB of the PP back, and then Mr. Superstar? I'm interested to see how they take to the ice tonight, tentative out there or not, it's great to see both out there!

With the Penguins having a certain amount electricity jolted to the system when Geno returned, I got to believe this will only be a plus with that. This will be a lot of fun to watch, having them back to the mix.

Cheers, and Let's Go Pens!

It's official: Sergei Gonchar and Max Talbot return tonight

2009-11-19T17:36:55Z

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

The PP quarterback returns.

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It figures - mere seconds after I toss up a fanshot that questions whether Gonch is still questionable, the Pens release official word that both Sergei Gonchar AND Max Talbot will return to the lineup tonight.

This, in case you needed me to tell you, is a good thing. However I still have my reservations with Gonch, and that is more or less rooted in the concern that he may be getting rushed back before he's 100% ready to hit the ice. I know, I know, he was cleared for contact last week. So was Max. But I think Gonch was still mentioning some discomfort in his shoulder and wrist last week, so there's a chance he won't be 100% tonight.

But in all honesty I'd love to be proven wrong.

Looks like the Chris Lee call up is a precautionary thing. I haven't read anything that leads me to believe that Mark Eaton is injured - or at least admitting to it. He did miss today's practice but is listed on the defensive pairings that were released this morning.

Chris Lee called up from WBS

2009-11-19T17:30:37Z

Chris Lee called up from WBS

According to WBS beat writer Jonathan Bombulie's Twitter page, the Pens have called up Chris Lee to man the blue line tonight. Don't know if this means Gonchar is a definite 'no' or Lee is considered a 7th d-man, but at this point the WBS bus should just follow behind Pittsburgh's.

Let's take a look at the Ottawa Senators

2009-11-19T12:30:20Z

More photos » by FRED CHARTRAND - AP

Chris Neil. Brutal.

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[SBN Ottawa Senators blog - Silver Seven]

The Penguins kick off a short three-game road trip tonight as they head north of the border to take on the Ottawa Senators. In the last meeting between the two, the Penguins skated away with a 4-1 victory thanks to goals from Bill Guerin, Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy, the latter of whom actually scored two of em.

It goes without question that the recent injury report regarding Jay McKee puts the Pens in an interesting situation, as they now officially find themselves with only one of the starting six defensemen from the first day of the season (Mark Eaton). Martin Skoula, announced earlier in the year as the seventh d-man, looks as if he has his work cut out for him over (at least) the next two to four weeks.

On a positive note, Max Talbot makes his triumphant return to the ice, confirmed yesterday by the Trib-Review.

But enough about the Pens - you know what's going on here. Take the jump and check out what's going on with the Senators.

Ottawa (9-6-3) sits 10th in the East and second in the Northeast division after picking up a 3-2 win over the Leafs Tuesday night. Overall the month of November hasn't been all that bad for the Sens, as they've posted a 3-2-1 record that includes an OT and SO win. Goaltender Pascal Leclaire has developed an interesting pattern of W-L-W-L-W over his last five and with any luck the pattern continues tonight and results in an 'L' for the Sens.

But he'll definitely have help from Ottawa's firepower. On a team that consists of Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek, it comes as a bit of a surprise to see Mike Fisher leading the team in goals with nine. A hot streak, or is he on pace to top his career-high of 23 set back in 2008? Fittingly Michalek isn't too far behind with eight of his own (he also scored the only Ottawa goal against Pittsburgh last month) while Alfredsson leads the team in total points with 19 (6g, 13a).

Historically the Pens haven't faired all that well on the road in Ottawa. Up until the last win on October 12, the Pens hadn't won a regulation game at Scotiabank since April 2007. A win tonight puts Pittsburgh on a three-game win streak with Atlanta and Florida left to close out the trip before returning home to host Montreal.

Can Pittsburgh get out of this one without an injury? Let's hope so. For those of you wondering how long the Pens have gone without an injury report, please direct your attention to the right sidebar beneath the Pensburgh Twitter feed on the main page. You'll find a handy little "Days since injured" counter that records the days, hours, minutes and seconds since the last injury. This was added during Monday's game against the Ducks. It has yet to record more than two days.

The puck and thread drop tonight at 7:30. Stop by and join in.

Sports Illustrated nominates Sidney Crosby as Sportsman of the Year

2009-11-18T23:21:18Z

Sports Illustrated nominates Sidney Crosby as Sportsman of the Year

Sid's going up against the likes of college football QB Tim Tebow, golfer Tom Watson, NASCAR's Jimmie Johnson, WNBA's Diana Taurasi and former Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy. Personally I'm a bit surprised Geno wasn't nominated.

Jay McKee out 2-4 weeks

2009-11-18T17:39:22Z

More photos » by Jay LaPrete - AP

20 days ago: Columbus Blue Jackets' Jakub Voracek, center, of the Czech Republic, passes the puck between Pittsburgh Penguins' Jordan Staal, right, and Jay McKee during the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Oct. 30, 2009, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

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Just when it looked like the Penguins could make it a game without an injury, Jay McKee wasn't at practice this morning and coach Dan Bylsma has to announce the news that he's had to do so many times. McKee will be out the next 2-4 weeks with what's described as a "finger infection".

McKee's had issue with broken fingers before, and hey it's pretty hard to play hockey if you can't wrap your fingers around a stick. McKee appeared to be stung and in pain on the bench after blocking one of his five shots on the night.

However the news wasn't all bad, as defensemen Kris Letang and Brooks Orpik were back in practice. Letang was sporting the fimiliar red jersey (meaning no contact), but Orpik had on the regular black jersey. Sergei Gonchar has been wearing the black jersey and practicing regularly for a couple days now as well.

Mark Eaton is now the only Penguins defensemen still in the lineup from opening night. That's not entirely rare in the NHL, but the fact that it's only mid November, and that there's five injuries at the same time is.

No word if the Penguins will have to re-call yet another player from Wilkes-Barre, or if an injured defenseman --likely Gonchar or Orpik, given their practice statuses -- will be able to be in the lineup tomorrow night in Ottawa.

Same system, same results

2009-11-18T15:38:08Z

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Another feather in the cap of Dan Bylsma: organizational transparency.

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Wonder why the Penguins could import three minor league defensemen and hardly miss a beat? Quotes from today's PG shed some light on it. Ben Lovejoy said:

"When I first got here, I had a meeting with Dan [Bylsma]. He told me there's one faceoff play where there's a bit of a nuance from what we do down in Wilkes-Barre. It's one faceoff play, and that's it."

Nate Guenin added:

"Everything is the same, it's awesome because when you get called up and you're put in that situation, you feel comfortable because all the terminology's the same, and it makes the transition that much easier.

Organizational transparency is a big deal, it's important that teams play similiar styles, for the very reason we're seeing: when a team needs to dip into the minors, it's a lot easier for all parties if everyone knows what's going on.

The Penguins once were thought to have synergy between Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre under former head coach Michel Therrien, but that was more a result that he was promoted from WB/S, so some of his elements (and personnel) were between both places. As that faded, and as Therrien began stressing more and more defensive structure and responsibility, the schism between teams grew.

Don't expect that to happen again. Dan Bylsma and Todd Reirden (head coach of the Baby Pens) are on the same page. They worked together in Wilkes-Barre and said to have a strong professional relationship. Bylsma is a much better communicator than Therrien and seems to have made it more of a point to keep things together.

It's paid off lately, no one expects to use the #7-10 defensemen all at the same time in an NHL game, but if you have to, it's not the end of the world if you can use organizational transparency to help the transition.

This is simply hilarious. The Pens don't host the Caps until January, but that's plenty of time to...

2009-11-18T11:09:44Z

This is simply hilarious. The Pens don't host the Caps until January, but that's plenty of time to loosen up the glass for a certain player's goal celebration.

Credit to Pensblog for the find.

Mark Letestu sent down to WBS

2009-11-17T20:30:18Z

Guess this answers the question I posed earlier. The Penguins have reassigned Mark Letestu to Wilkes-Barre Scranton to open up a roster spot. That spot, of course, would seem to be an open slot for Max Talbot's return on Thursday.

Can't say I really saw enough of Letestu to make an overall judgment, but at the least he didn't cause any turnovers or miss wide-open nets to warrant any sort of negative impression. He was held pointless in only two games.

Here's the official release from the PG.

Max Talbot aiming for Thursday return

2009-11-17T16:43:56Z

Max Talbot aiming for Thursday return

Hopes to play against the Sens, but will more or less be a game-time decision following the morning skate.

Does this mean a forward is going down? If so, who?

Tales of the Tape: Bill Guerin vs. Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim), 11-16-09

2009-11-17T14:01:34Z

Barely into the 3rd period, Bill Guerin got smacked from behind by Ryan Getzlaf, then again as he got back to the skates. Guerin and Getzlaf stayed near each other, and then the gloves came flying.

Getzlaf got some weak head shots in before Guerin caught him in a headlock, which pulled off his helmet. Getzlaf went for a shot that was blocked by Guerin, and then the two went down to the ice. I'm not quite sure if Getzlaf pulled Guerin or vice-versa, but it doesn't really matter. This one's a draw.

This is both Guerin and Getzlaf's first fight this season. Next up is Ottawa, who is tied for 4th in the NHL for fights, with 16. The Penguins are just behind them with 14, tied for 7th.

Poll

Who won the fight?

Cooke, Staal, Guerin fuel a team effort; Pens take down Ducks 5-2

2009-11-17T04:26:06Z

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

3 days ago: Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, right, makes a second period save on a shot by Anaheim Ducks' Petteri Nokelainen (17) of Finland during an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh Monday, Nov. 16, 2009.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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Ducks vs Penguins coverage - Anaheim SB Nation team blog Anaheim Calling

Down seven regular players to injury, it has to be a team effort to get by. The Penguins found it tonight as they got contributions from everyone. Even the power-play kicked in with a goal, snapping a streak of weeks without one. Sure the Penguins gave up a short-handed goal, but hey, one step at a time.

Just a minute and a half into the game, Matt Cooke collected a turnover from the Ducks and deposited it past Jean-Sebastien Giguere for the first goal. Then a few minutes later, the power-play finally broke through when Sidney Crosby rifled the puck to Bill Guerin and the old man whipped it from the high slot for a 2-0 lead.

Anaheim would halve the lead when after some lackadaisical Pittsburgh power-play work resulted in Todd Marchant getting a step on the defense and he beat Marc-Andre Fleury to take the score at 2-1 into intermission.

Jordan Staal made a play short-handed that ended up being the game winner. Credit Deryk Engelland who got the puck, kept his head up and made a great pass up to Staal. As has become his habit, Staal beat the defensemen and used his reach to deke the goalie out. 3-1 Pens.

Early in the 3rd period, Martin Skoula scored his first career goal as a Penguin, shooting a puck from the point past the screen of Mike Rupp into the net. Teemu Selanne got a goal late in the game to bring the Ducks within two goals but Cooke put the icing on the cake with an empty netter for a 5-2

Down their top four defensemen (in terms of minutes played) the Penguins needed and got contributions from everyone. Engelland, as mentioned, made a great pass to make the game-winner possible and also played phyiscal with five hits. Nate Guenin looked confident and comfortable in his NHL season debut, also credited with five hits. Mark Eaton carried the load, playing a lot of the power-play in route to a game-high 27:09 of ice-time. Skoula, as mentioned above, got his first goal. Ben Lovejoy got an assist and generally played well.
Jay McKee, the final member of tonight's defensive corps, was his usual shot-blocking self; getting 5 on the night. The last one appeared to sting him, but he still took shifts deep into the 3rd period. Hopefully it wasn't enough to cause an injury,
Guenin and Engelland I think deserve a little more recognition for their efforts. Neither one of them tried to be a guy like Sergei Gonchar or Alex Goligoski -- they played within themselves. But they played very well. Several little plays showed they made good decisions and executed them well all night long.
Keeping on the theme of team contributions: every Penguin who took more than one faceoff was better than 50% in the circle; led by rookie Mark Letestu who won 75% of his eight draws.
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin absolutely unleashed some rockets on the power-play with slapshots. Judging from those, I'd say about all systems are go for those two. Again though, Crosby got the PP assist but Geno was point-less. This win wasn't about them.
It was about guys like Staal and Cooke. 2/3 of the third line went a combined 3 goals, 1 assist and +5, 5 shots on goal, 6 hits.
Several more "ohh man" moments by Chris Bourque, who didn't win anyone to his bandwagon tonight; including missing another wide-open net.
For Anaheim, they just don't look like they have it all together. Given the talent on their roster, and the fact they won the Cup just over 2 years ago, it's hard to believe they're in last place in the entire Western Conference. Then you see some of the turnovers they make in the game, the careless penalties they take and it sets in a little. They have some pieces, but it's not coming together correctly.

The biggest thing to take away from this game was the team effort. Marc-Andre Fleury got 23 of 25 shots, only eluded by a breakaway and late game goal. The patchwork, mainly minor-league level defense held up very well and they all played well to a man. Grinders showed up on the score sheet and skated hard all around.

More than that, they played a style Dan Bylsma had to like; a lot of puck possesion and controlling the pace of the game. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has a saying that goes something like "the standard of expectation hasn't changed" when it comes to replacements pressed into duty due to injuries. That was the case tonight. Obviously it's impossible to replace the skill of guys like Gonchar, Goligoski and Kris Letang on the blueline, but everyone that got a jersey did his job, and did it well. That's all you can ask.

The Penguins now have a two day break before they embark on seven games in 11 days to close out the month of November, starting off with a three game roadie. The games are about to come but hopefully reinforcements will be trickling in. But the standards of expectation will not, and cannot change. Whoever plays has to produce, and they have to perform exactly like they did tonight.

Anaheim Ducks vs. Pittsburgh Penguins [Open Thread]

2009-11-17T00:30:11Z

ANAHEIM DUCKS vs. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

IN PITTSBURGH @ 7:30pm ET

RADIO FEED ON WXDX.com

DUCKS BLOG: ANAHEIM CALLING

I don't know about you, but I'm still jazzed about last game. Something about having Malkin back.

As was the case with the past game against the Ducks on the road, I'm expecting tons of fun comments from this one. Comments such as their best player has been scratched tonight for excessive cake consumption.

I'm hoping for more of what we saw against the Bruins, in terms of Geno being a spark plug, and am going out on a limb saying he'll net the first goal tonight.

Cheers, and Let's Go Pens.

The next 9 injuries the Penguins will have to worry about..

2009-11-16T19:59:32Z

With the news that Alex Goligoski is out 2-3 weeks with a groin injury, things are starting to get ridiculous for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Four of their top six defensemen are injured - which include their best (read: only) three puck moving defensemen, and three of the top nine forwards are out - aided only by the recent return of superstar Evgeni Malkin.

Things simply can't get any worse, right? Well, they probably can't get any more comical, which has inspired this list....The next 9 injuries the Penguins' training staff may have to worry about, after the jump.

#9 Bill Guerin's broken hip: falls are a common worry for the elderly, you see.

#8 Craig Adams' migraine headaches: Adams, a graduate of Harvard University, has to sit in the locker room and listen to the chatter of meatheads. It must be wearing on him.

#7 Eric Godard's muscle atrophy: Use it or lose it. Godard's averaging 4:33 of ice-time per game, third lowest in the league among players that have appeared (briefly) in at least 11 games.

#6 Jordan Staal and a tractor accident: Sure, helping the old man harvest the sod during Thanksgiving break seemed like a good idea at the time.....

#5 Pascal Dupuis' hand re-attachment surgery: Don't look now, but everyone's favorite hardworking but low scoring winger now has five goals on the season - all in the last 13 games. That's a pace of a 32 goal regular season. Surely he's going to have to miss some time to let those newly attached hands heal up.

(image at the courtesy of the Pensblog)

#4 Jay McKee's gunshot wound: McKee currently leads the NHL in blocked shots. If someone tries to assassinate a public figure, somehow McKee will probably be there to block that shot too.

#3 Mark Letestu's flash blindness: Little known Penguin rookie hazing stunt - rookies have competition on who can stare at Marc-Andre Fleury's toothy smile the longest. Letestu wins, then loses his vision from the brightness, remarking only "it's like staring at the sun".

#2 Chris Bourque's torn elbow tendon: From excessive practicing of the Arnold Palmer fist pump that he'll never get to use in an NHL game, because of his inability to score a goal.

and the #1 injury the Penguins training staff may have to deal with next....

#1 Sidney Crosby's tendonitis: Spend all summer toting around a 35 pound Cup and it happens.

Ok, so that's enough of that. We'll leave the lists, the attempted funny and the harassment to that guy on television. Too much has happened not to point these impending injuries out, hey, everything else has gotten hurt on everyone else, right?

Alex Goligoski injury update: Out 2-3 weeks, lower-body injury

2009-11-16T19:24:52Z

More photos » by Gus Ruelas - AP

Side note: This is killing my fantasy team. Well, one of them at least.

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There was a healthy amount of speculation surrounding this one, so forgive me for the late update. Just wanted to make sure I got the info straight.

In either case, tally up another injury for the Pens and their battered blue line. GoGo will join Brooks Orpik, Kris Letang and Sergei Gonchar on the shelf for the next two to three weeks, although it would seem that time period is more a guesstimate than an actual return date.

"He's getting an MRI today; He's got a lower-body injury. We are going to estimate 2 to 3 weeks on Alex."

Dan Bylsma
Pittsburgh Penguins.com

At this point we can only hope that the prognosis of "two to three weeks" is, at best, the longest the team can expect to have him out. In other words, I'm really hoping that's not perceived as the minimum with the potential for more weeks or days to get added to it.

Let's play a game. How many injured players can you name in under 30 seconds? Extra credit if you include the farm.

Let's take a look at the Anaheim Ducks

2009-11-16T16:45:21Z

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

Jonas Hiller made some big saves against the Pens earlier in the month. Is he up for a repeat effort tonight?

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[SBN Anaheim Ducks blog - Anaheim Calling]

[SBN Cali blog - Battle of California]

Tonight the Pens and Ducks meet up once again for the second of two regular season meetings. Earlier in the month Pittsburgh shot out to the west coast for a series of games some of us (and I'm sure the Pens are included in this) would like to forget. However it did kickoff on the right track, and that was with a 4-3 win over the Ducks.

This home-ice rematch for Pittsburgh gives them a chance to tally up another 'W' to the record and perhaps launch a new streak of sorts. Of course, it would seem every game this season is met with a new set of challenges.

Since the November 3 meeting in Anaheim, the Pens have posted a 1-4 record that still gives them a spot at the top of the division and conference. However, with New Jersey well on its way to a hot eight-game win streak and three division games against the Islanders and Rangers pending at the end of the month, now's the time for the Pens to really pick up some points.

For Anaheim, the stretch between the last meeting has been only slightly better at 2-2-1. Former Penguin Erik Christensen is back in the Ducks' lineup after filling an injured Saiku Koivu's spot. Nothing special really going on for him since getting sent to waivers earlier in the month, but I always feel obligated to mention when a former Pen is set to go up against the current roster. If you wonder why, consider Mark Recchi's recent milestone of 900 points and who he recorded the assist against. In that respect I guess I should also mention Ryan Whitney while I'm at it.

There, I mentioned him.

Corey Perry still leads all Ducks in points with 23 (13g, 10a), followed closely behind by Ryan Getzlaf with 22 (2g, 20a). In the last meeting, Perry picked up two goals, while Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan tallied an assist each. Koivu, who notched the third goal, will be out of the lineup with an obligatory "lower-body injury."

Puck and thread drop at 7:30. Come on by and join in.

Alex Goligoski questionable, defenseman Nate Guenin re-called from Wilkes-Barre UPDATED

2009-11-16T14:33:23Z

More photos » by Jay LaPrete - AP

20 days ago: Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby, left to right, Bill Guerin, Chris Kunitz, Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski celebrate Goligoski's game-tying goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the third period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Oct. 30, 2009, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

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Yesterday Alex Goligoski missed practice, suspicions were raised that his status for tonight's game against Anaheim may be in question. Dan Bylsma said Goligoski was "banged up", and other reports said he might have suffered an upper leg injury against Boston.

In light of this, Pittsburgh has re-called defenseman Nate Guenin from Wilkes-Barre.

After signing with the Penguins in the offseason, Guenin became the third Pittsburgh native to join the Penguins organization in the last three seasons (Bill Thomas, 2008-09; Ryan Malone, 2003-08). Guenin, 26, is a Hopewell High School graduate and played one season (1999-00) with the Pittsburgh Hornets.

In his first 15 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this year, Guenin has posted a plus-1 rating to go with his 22 penalty minutes.

You'll notice the press release didn't mention any points in the minors this season. That is not a mistake or omission, Guenin has no points and isn't considered a puck moving defenseman. Guenin has appeared in 12 NHL games over the course of the past few seasons, so at least he has a small bit of experience to draw from, if he's pressed into duty.

The Penguins will have to rely on guys like Mark Eaton and Martin Skoula to move the puck from the blueline, not their strong points. Still the best options of guys who will be in the lineup.

It remains to be seen how long Goligoski may be on the shelf or what exactly his injury is. If Goose can't go tonight, it'll mean four of the top six defensemen in the organization will be out with injuries.

However, reinforcements could be back soon:

Sergei Gonchar has had his cast removed, is practicing regularly with contact now. He could be back in the lineup in less than two weeks.
Kris Letang was said to be out for about two weeks with a bruised shoulder, and that was over a week ago. If he follows the rehab schedule of similiar injuries, he ought to be back on the ice soon, slowly progressing back towards the lineup.
Brooks Orpik was injured almost a week ago and said to be out for about two weeks as well. In a few days one would have to believe he'll be back on skates too, getting back into gear to return, if he's responding well.

So help is on the horizon. It's not unreasonable to think in about two weeks time the Penguins could almost be at full strength defensively. You know, assuming no one else gets hurt.

Finally how cruelly ironic is it that the only two Penguin defensemen not to suffer injuries this season (Jay McKee and Mark Eaton) are the two rugged stay-at-home defensemen that were considered the most prone to being injured? Sometimes you just never know how things will shake out.

UPDATED: Goligoski did not take the morning skate, further questioning his status for tonight. Seems safe to assume he probably won't be able to go. Now the question is becoming "how much longer?".

Without Goligoski, here's how the defensive pairings will probably look like tonight. One NHL veteran on each pairing with one inexperienced callup.

Skoula-Lovejoy
Eaton-Engelland
Guenin-McKee