Brodeur Streak Ends at 51

In inner-division news, Martin Brodeur suffered what looked to be a left arm injury in last night's win against the Thrashers. Information about the injury is unclear at this point, but the Devil organization will be taking a close look over the next few days. Brodeur, who had started 51 consecutive games, will sit out in Monday night's game. I will be sure to update everyone on the Vezina holder's status as more information becomes available.

Matt@Penstation

Penscap - Blues Medicated, Pens win 6-3

Look for Penscaps throughout the season. Penscaps will be a special edition recap that is updated throughout the game. Due to my inability to be at the tv for the full length of every broadcast, Penscaps won't be available for every game. Feel free to comment or email at Penstation.Blog@gmail.com

1st Period

The Pens came out looking much better than I had anticipated. Malkin and committee look like they have some of the fire back that makes them a championship contender. The Pens had quite a few chances on their first power play opportunity of the night, but couldn't put one home. Cooke and Orpik are looking like they are ready to make a physical statement in St. Louis and we'll be looking forward to them putting bodies on ice through the 2nd and 3rd.

Satan was reunited with Crosby and scored his 6th of the year. Unfortunately, the Penguins still enter the dressing room with a 2-1 disadvantage. It is good to see, however, that Therrien is giving Satan another shot up with The Kid. I had always thought that he separated the line prematurely, but only time will tell. Letang and Crosby had helpers on the goal.

My favorite part of the 1st period was the new-look Jordan Staal. Staal has a jump in his step that we haven't seen since the postseason; hopefully a trade rumor or two reminded Jordan that he has to work for his new contract. Staal is playing with Kennedy and Cooke which could turn into a very productive grinder line. The two high energy players on Staals wings will hopefully spark him towards his first goal of the season.

2nd Period

Uh oh, Letang.

Letang is continuing to play out of his mind defensively. His small stature means nothing since he throws his body like he's got Orpik's frame. With that said, it did appear that he suffered a hand injury on a big time slash in front of of the Pens net. Letang did return to the ice and appears to be his normal self. Hopefully the wrist will be fine.

Staaly had a 2v1 with Kennedy and chose to rip a big snap shot. It was great to see the big guy throw the puck at the net and we are hoping he continues to do so. The line is moving very well and we are looking for bigger things from our third line.

Goligoski tied the game at 2 as predicted, but in the 2nd period. He took a weak wrist shot but provided proof to the old adage that 100% of the shots you don't take, don't go in. I'm just glad he remembered how to shoot. Throw the puck on net and the Pens will generate goals and opportunities.

Tkachuk buried a puck that was disallowed due to a high sticking call next to The Flower's mask. Blues fans were disappointed, but we're certainly ok with it.

Oshie left for the Blues' locker room after Zigomanis' stick appeared to bend his knee on a faceoff. Injuries aren't fun for anyone, especially knees. We'll certainly hope for his return.

The Penguins continued to look dumbfounded on their 3rd power play of the game until Malkin put a sniper-shot between the eyes of the twine. 3-2 Pens.

Annnnnnnnd there's our grinder goal. Tyler "Teagues" Kennedy put his effort to work on Mason's pad and fought a puck into the net beside the post. 37 seconds between goals, 4-2 lead, St. Louis timeout. Welcome back Penguins.

3rd Period

The Pens power play unit looked fantastic, but again failed to take advantage of the extra man. Goligoski had a prime opportunity to bury the puck, but fanned on the pass from Malkin. If the Pens are going to continue using Malkin with a defensemen, they need to look at using Letang more. Goligoski was lined up stage-left where he has a tougher shot to take. Letang would have been on his off-side wing and would have had a much easier time burying that puck. With Sid playing the right-side wing, Letang would be perfect across from him and Gino up top.

On a side note, Steigerwald seemed to be confused as to why Staaly doesn't slip through defenders more often. As an example, he cited the "Big Guy" Mario's ability to do just that. Luckily for those of us watching at home, Errey politely let Steigy know that he was talking about Mario vs Jordan Staal. Thanks for reassuring us that they weren't on the same level............

The Penguins did get a brief power play opportunity, but didn't have much time since it followed a 4 on 4 session. I just wanted to point out that the Penguins did throw Letang out there with the top unit. Hopefully the boys on the bench realized that he would have the more natural shot with the power play line they put out there tonight.

Though the Guino's defensive effort remained solid, the Blues were able to make it a 4-3 game at about the 16 minute mark of the third.

Don't worry, though. Talbot picked a spot and made sure it connected to make it a 5-3 game. Less than a minute apart, "Handlebars" made sure the Pens would go home with more than a point.

The Blues pulled the tender with 2:30 left in order to make a last-minute effort. Jordan Staal played an excellent game and deserved EVERY OUNCE of the empty netter that Gino fed him. Congrats, Staaly. Glad you showed up, would you like to stay a while?

6-3 Pens and Elvis has just left the building.

Matt@Penstation

Pesonen, Malkin, Sykora

Initial thoughts led to Pesonen being Sid's new "star" wing, but at the start of tonight's game against the Blues, Pesonen sits as Malkin's left hand man. We will see how this chemistry works, but I am loving the high point potential the line sits on.

Matt@Penstation

Pens Recall Janne Pesonen; Crosby to Play

In an effort to generate more points, the Penguins recalled Finnish Elite League superstar Janne Pesonen. Pesonen has 9 points in just 7 games (2g, 7a) for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (Baby) Penguins looks to have Petr Sykora potential in the NHL, especially with his potential centers. He finished last season with Oulu Karpat scoring 78 points in 56 games (34g, 44a). Look for Pesonen to possibly get some playing time next to Crosby to try and bring a scoring touch to the Pens' first line.

On that note, Crosby is set to play tonight. Expect Crosby, who suffered an undisclosed injury Thursday, to come out working on all cylinders. Captain Kid is going to come out on the ice tonight looking to prove that the Penguins are still everything that they were last year. When you are a captain, there are times when you must handle criticism by talking to the media and times that you need to take care of business on the ice. This is one of those times where Crosby needs to set the on ice pace for the Penguins.

Lead us into temptation, Sid. Deliver us some goals.

Matt@Penstation

Road Trip Blues

The Pens enter St. Louis tomorrow night at 8:30 following a three game road skid. To make matters worse, they may be without league phenom Sidney Crosby who will be a game time decision. St. Louis is a team that is without a doubt below the Penguins ability level; whether the Penguins are capable of playing at their own ability remains a question and will ultimately determine the outcome of this game.

I'm thinking that the Penguins will play with the "desperation" that Sid says they need, but only in the third period. I don't think that they will come out strong and it might take nothing less than Michel Therrien pulling down his pants in front of the team to illustrate how embarrassing their play has been. Sometime between moons-over-my-hammy and the drop of the puck in the 3rd, the Pens will pull it together. This is where the desperation and at-will-scoring will finally make an appearance this season. Let's not forget to mention someone else that needs a seat at the dinner table, the road power play. The way I see things, the Pens will tie it up in the 3rd with a power play goal from the point. It's not going to be from Malkin, but look for Goligoski or Letang to remember how to shoot. From there, I believe we'll play off that momentum and get a big goal from one of our grinders. Look for Max "handlebars" Talbot or Mike Zigomanis to get on the board late for the game winner. It is these unsung heroes that the Penguins have a wealth of that will make or break this season for the 'Burgh, not Sid and Gino.

Matt@Penstation

Huge THANK YOU to Chris @ Icethetics!

Thanks to Chris at Icethetics, we at Penstation have a beautiful collection of team icons. I was going to just grab some standard team logos for use on the site; I was ecstatic to learn we would be able to use Chris's logo set. The icons are colorful and bright and will be a welcome addition to the site. Thanks again, Chris!

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I am not real sure how exactly they will be used, but I threw those in just to give you an idea for what the images look like.

Matt@Penstation

Crosby Day2Day

We still have not seen anything surface as to what is actually bothering Sidney Crosby. There were reports out of Phoenix that he hurt his ribs, but those were shut down by a Penguin representative. Crosby only hinted to feeling discomfort, but that was the extent of his explanation. Penstation is hoping to see The Kid on the ice tomorrow in St. Louis against Andy McDonald and company. Look for a game preview later tonight.

Happy Halloween from Penstation!

Matt@Penstation