He's Heating Up... HE'S ON FIRE!!!

Jordan Staal amazed all of the nation by putting on a spectacle and picking up a natural hat trick (3 goals in same period) in the third period of tonight's game. In a game that saw 6 of its 13 goals scored in the third period, Staaly's 3 did the trick. There is nothing more beautiful than a grinder with a scoring touch--at least to us at Penstation.

The Penguins went into the third period of the game with a 4-2 deficit. To make matters worse, Henrik Zetterberg scored in the 6th minute of play to make it a 5-2 game. Down by three, Evgeni Malkin was sure to do two things: Gino wanted to make sure that he would close the scoring gap as well as extend his point streak to 11 games. In the 7th minute of the third, he accomplished just that. Malks scored his goal on the power play with helpers from Satan and Crosby; the goal reduced the lead back to 2 and set him back atop the scoring race by one point.

When Jordan Staal got his first goal of the night, it was a mere 1:12 after Malkin's strike. The goal reassured the Red Wings and the fans coaching from their sofas that the Penguins were still a team that would do what it took to win games. Down 5 goals to 4, the Penguins had plenty of time to get the equalizer and look for points in the hostile Joe Louis Arena. It was right when the Penguins had finally gained all of the momentum that Jiri Hudler stole it back for the Red Army. Just 2:05 after Staaly's goal, Hudler added the important third period insurance that should have put the Penguins away, especially with Osgood in net. 6-4 Wings.

With only 5 minutes left in the game, Jordan Staal went to work. His line with Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy on his wings had some of the best shifts in the game. It was incredible to see the spark in Jordan's skates aside the two energetic wingers. Penstation had felt that Staal was due to break out, and after 2 games of hustling and playing great hockey, he got his swagger back. His 2nd goal came with just 4 minutes left in the game and gave the Penguins one last breath of hope. At this point, you had to think that it would be impossible for the Penguins to repeat their classic game 5 Stanley Cup performance to send it to OT--you were wrong.

The Penguins pulled Fleury to get the extra man with a minute left in regulation. With as many stars on the ice as there were Cosbys, you knew there was going to be an amazing finish. Crosby had an opportunity to tie the game on a spinning backhander, but was denied by Chris Osgood. With about 30 seconds to go in the game, the Wings took their time out to discuss strategy. Fortunately for the Pens, they had the best faceoff man in the NHL, Mike Zigomanis, on their bench. Zigomanis drew the faceoff that would break detroit hearts. Evgeni Malkin fired a slapper that would be rebounded in by Staal to complete his natural hat trick in the third period--6-6 game.. Just like game 5 of last year's finals, the Penguins had tied the game in the last minute of play. With around 5 seconds left in the game, Jordan Staal danced into the Wings end and drew a penalty which prevented another great scoring opportunity. This would send the Penguins into overtime with a near 2 minute 4 on 3 power play.

The Penguins dominated the full two minutes of the power play generating an incredible amount of scoring opportunities. Jordan Staal had done everything you could possibly ask out of a 20 year old athlete, but he wasn't finished. As Pavel Datsyuk, one of the league's best puck handlers and 2 way forwards, moved out of the Wings' zone, Staal performed a perfect stick lift and stole the puck from the big number 13. As he turned into the zone, Ruslan Fedotenko jumped back into the play turning the situation into a 2 on 1. Staaly fed a perfect pass to Tank who buried a one-timer from the top of the circle.

"You had to be here to believe it." - Mike Lange

There is nothing more that can be said about this incredible game. It is an instant classic and surely one of the greatest games we will see this season. With Jordan Staal awake and ready to play, the Penguins can feature 3 lines with incredible scoring potential. Your first 2 line centers are already among league leaders in more than one category, now you have a 3rd line that is needed to compete with the big dogs of the NHL. With the 7-6 win over the defending champions, the Penguins extended their win streak to 4 and proved that they are still the Heartbreak Kids that we've grown to love.

For compete game details, check out the official NHL score sheet.

Matt@Penstation

Pens vs Wings Game 7

The Penguins and Red Wings will play game 7 tonight in Hockeytown. Unfortunately for the Penguins, it's a few months too late. Malkin and company will be skating into Detroit looking for some type of redemption after losing game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Maxime Talbot and Petr Sykora will always be remembered for their game 5 performance last season. Maxy did what any fine grinder does and found a way to become the hero when no one else would emerge. Talbot scored the game tying goal with 34 seconds left in the third period to send the game into overtime. It was in overtime when Petr Sykora decided to be "Babe-like" and call his shot. Pierre McGuire, TSN and NBC broadcaster who won two cups with the Penguins as an assistant coach, was commentating from the section between the player benches. Petr Sykora turned to after a shift and told him he was going to score the game winning goal. McGuire let everyone listening on TV know what Sykora had said, explaining that this was the first time a player had ever made such a claim to him. After predicting so after the first OT period, it would take Sykora another period and a half to score the game winner. In the 10th minute of play in the third overtime, Sykora ended the game and Detroit's hopes of winning the series at home.

Tonight's game won't mean anything toward the outcome of the season, but it will mean a lot to the Penguins that left their hearts on home ice when their season ended. If it wasn't bad enough losing the Stanley Cup Finals, Sidney Crosby filmed this commercial to advertise for the NHL. You better believe that there is nothing more that these guys want than to beat the Wings in tonight's game. Pittsburghers believe that the young Penguins' days are still ahead of them, but players know that there is no guarantee of ever returning to the finals. Look for the Penguins tonight to play with the passion and playoff attitude that it will take for them to return to that final stage.

Game 7 - The Return to Detroit - 7PM - Joe Louis Arena - Hockeytown - VS. (Channel Varies) - WXDX (105.9 The X)

Matt@Penstation

Pens get K.O. in 5th Round

The Pittsburgh Penguins won their game tonight against the New York Islanders by a score of 4 to 3. The young stars on each team made it an exciting game by streaking up and down the ice relentlessly. Both goaltenders, Sabourin for the Pens and MacDonald for the Isles, were tested early and often in the fast paced game.

The first period set the pace for the game, but only contained one of tonight's goals. Veteran Doug Weight got the first goal of the game at 16:23 of the first with helpers from Guerin and Hilbert. Both teams had 2 minutes of power play opportunity during the first, but neither resulted in anything more than a minor penalty on the score sheet.

The second period continued the pace set in the first, but contained much more action on the score sheet. Teagues Kennedy scored at 2:16 of the second to tie the game at 1 (Zigomanis and Cooke). Jackman and the Isles retook the lead in the 9th minute of play to bring the score to 2-1 NYI (Weight and Sutton). Hilbert then added a security goal, assisted by Okposo and Sutton, that would make the score 3-1 in favor of the Isles. Luckily for the Penguins, Staal kept up his strong play and netted a short breakaway goal that would bring the score to 3-2 New York. Malkin and Letang had the helpers on the goal which brought Malkin's assist total to 18 on the year and continued his point streak to 10 games. The Penguins had 6:38 worth of power play time in the period, but failed to score a goal.

The third period was led off with a continuation of the Pens power play opportunity from the second. The Islanders successfully killed off the remaining 1:22 to hold the Penguins to 0-4 on their power plays tonight. Sykora fought to get back on an Islanders scoring opportunity but took a hooking penalty during the 12th minute of the third. Luckily, Sabourin and the Pens killed off the short handed situation and stayed within 1 shot's ability of stealing points in New York.

There is nothing that can sum up the Penguins third period performance more than the word "dominant". The Penguins defense held strong and gave up a massive 1 shot during the whole third period. Sid and company turned the tides of the shots-on-goal war by amassing 18 shots during the period. It was due to this relentless effort that Tyler Kennedy managed to tie the game at 3 on a magnificent redirect from near the right wing circle. Goligoski and Zigomanis each added 1 to their assist column on the goal. Although both teams had scoring chances, the game would remain 3-3 and head into overtime.

The 4 on 4 overtime period was pretty sloppy, but largely due to the poor condition of the ice. Both teams did generate a couple of chances, but sure enough the teams headed to a shootout; the winner of this game was still clear as mud.

Sabourin entered the shootout with an .800 (4 out of 5) save percentage during shootout opportunities. He continued his 1 on 1 dominance in tonight's game by stopping all 3 of the Islander shooters. It was Petr Sykora on a beautiful backhand top-shelfer that won the game for the Pens.

Final score: 4-3 Penguins over the Islanders in a shootout. (NHL Score Sheet)

A couple of our notes pointed to the continued strong play of Jordan Staal. It was good to see Staaly net one that he had to work for and we are hoping he will continue the strong 2-way game he is known for.

One of the best things that we saw in tonight's game was the confidence that Miro Satan is currently playing with. Of all the Pens, he is certainly playing with the most apparent "swagger". One of our biggest criticisms of Miro has been his soft play against the boards and his unwillingness to fight for the puck. Satan showed steps toward being Hossa-like an all-around-contributer by getting involved at the drop of the puck and fighting hard with his body throughout the game. He didn't get a goal tonight, but we feel that this might have been his strongest game.

Gino is turning into the best player in the league. Nothing more, nothing less. 100% solid. Can he have his A back permanently? (Brooksy too)

Tyler Kennedy continues to make Penstation's love for grinders look like it is justified. We are certainly looking for more efforts like tonight from Teagues. I personally would love to see him end up with shaving cream on his face at the end of every game.

Look for our extended preview of Tuesday's Detroit game coming soon.

Let's Go Pens!

Matt@Penstation

3 of a Kind?

The Penguins look to make it three straight Saturday night when they travel to Long Island to face the division foe New York Islanders. The game starts at 7PM and will be broadcast on WXDX FM (105.9 The X) as well as FSN. As much as the Penguins would love to get a streak going, they may have to do so without Captain Kid. Sidney Crosby did not practice today and Michel Therrien was unsure whether or not he would play tomorrow (Pens).

With Rick Dipietro out, Joey MacDonald will get the nod in the game. With either Fleury or Sabourin playing, the Penguins should have the advantage in net. From what I've been reading, it looks like the Flower will get the start. Penstation is just hoping that the team in front of him isn't the 3rd period team from Thursday night.

This is a game that the Pens should win, even on the road. The kicker is going to be that it is a division game against a young and energetic hockey club that will be extremely excited to line up across Crosby and Malkin. This should be a fast paced game with a lot of scoring opportunities; look for most of them, however, to come in the Islanders zone.

The difference maker for the Penguins is going to be the defense. Although the team broke down allowing the 4 goals in the Oiler game, most of the goals were result of an odd situation on ice. Orpik and Letang should lead the Penguins to 2 points and a victory.

3-0 Penguins: Defense owns the game.

On a side note, I saw Zack and Miri and wanted to post a picture of Elizabeth Banks in her baby blue Pens jersey. Unfortunately, 30 minutes of searching led me to nothing. We'll have to get that one up when it becomes available.

Until then, LET'S GO PENS!

Matt@Penstation

5-4 Thriller

If Penstation was right about anything, it was that there was no acceptable prediction for last night's game. The Pens took a game that should have been a no-contest and make it look like a close thriller. With a massive 5-0 lead, the Oilers found a way to go into the third down by 4.

Even though the Pens scored 5 goals in the first two, it seemed as if the 3rd period was where the action was. The Oilers killed off about 7 minutes worth of penalties in the middle of the period including a 5 minute major and a full 2 minute 5 on 3. Fighting through that, the Oilers managed to put 3 on the board to make it a 1 goal game. Hemsky scored a goal that will be on highlight reals all season. I'll grab a copy of the "breakaway" and upload it for all to see sometime later today.

When all was said and done, Satan and Sykora netted 2 apiece with Talbot scoring a single short hander. The team looked great until the letdown began after enjoying the 5 goal lead.

Sorry about the short post, but we didn't have a lot of time to get a full recap up tonight.

Let's Go Pens!

Matt@Penstation

Oilers @ Penguins 7:00 PM

The Oilers are in town to face off against your Pittsburgh Penguins at 7:00PM tonight. Only one thing is for certain in this game, some of the best young talent in the NHL will be facing off against each other in tonight's game.

Dustin Penner leads the young group of Oilers into Mellon Arena. Penner was a part of the Stanley Cup winning Ducks franchise and signed a big deal with the Oilers prior to last season. After a disappointing year, look for Penner to explode and motivate the young team to improve toward a playoff birth.

The Oilers haven't had a consistent season this year, but they know how to score goals. The Penguins have shown just as much consistency, but looked to take a step toward greatness again in their previous game against the Blues. The Pens should win this game after a long rest at home that followed the 3 point road trip. The Oilers are playing their second game in as many nights and will be tired on the road. There are a lot of things to watch for in this game, but keep your eye on Jordan Staal. Staaly played a solid game in St. Louis and we are looking for him to net a real goal in this game.

Sid might have said that he wasn't bothered by Semin's comments, but we might know Crosby better than he knows himself. Look for The Kid to leave a trail of fire on ice tonight while he leads the Penguins to a 4-1 victory over the Oilers.

Matt@Penstation

No Grinder Left Behind

When Colby Armstrong was traded away during last season's "blockbuster" deal, the Penguins lost a player that put his heart into every second he played. Armstrong was not the best skater, he didn't have the hardest shot and he didn't pass with the eloquence of "The Great One". Colby Armstrong was, however, one of the hardest workers on the ice at all times. Because of this, Armstrong found himself skating next to Sid "The Kid" Crosby during a large part of his games.

In case the fans haven't caught on, Penstation is a big supporter of using grinders to compliment the Pens high octane offense. During the Blues game, Max Talbot did just that for The Kid. We fully expect Talbot to be playing opposite of Satan on the Penguins first line tonight. Handlebars Talbot may be an A&L Motor Sales "Superstar", but he has always been a star to his cult-like following of fans.

Talbot's hard work is represented best by his game 5 goal in last year's Stanley Cup Finals. Penstation is looking for more hard work to come from Max during his time alongside Sid. Talbot has scoring potential with Sid, but will do his best work grinding the boards behind the cage and getting the puck to Sid and Satan. Look for Talbot to light up the ice tonight when the Penguins take on the Edmonton Oilers at 7pm EST.

By the way, you will be able to catch Talbot's goal again when FSN Pittsburgh plays game 5 during its Thanksgiving replay classics. The network will also air the Winter Classic '08 game along with all of 2008's instant Penguins classics (Pens).

Matt@Penstation