Busy 26 Hours For Pittsburgh, NHL

The Penguins, who hoped to gain some ground on the resigning of UFA contracts on the team found that everything doesn't come easy. The day opened with Gonchar signing a 3 year deal with Ottawa and Leopold signing with the Buffalo Sabres. On the upper side, the Penguins replaced the holes with the signing of former Coyote Zybnek Michalek and New Jersey Devil Paul Martin. It wasn't until today at 2:00 pm that the latest loss was determined as Mark Eaton signed a contract with the New York Islanders. The Penguins came to agreements about a week ago on the contracts of Matt Cooke and Ben Lovejoy, as both were resigned to 3 year contracts. Free agency has just began, and many more aquisitions for teams are about to come with bigger names still on the market. With UFAs in Fedotenko, McKee, Guerin, and Ponikarovsky, we are in for a ride to see what else the Penguins will do. Stay tuned for updates as they come.

The Great [Ponikarovsky] Debate

With 9 points (2G, 7 A) in 16 regular season games with the Penguins, many feel that a guy of his caliber should be more productive for this team. But are they taking the wrong look at Poni? A player with an average of 20 goals a season over his NHL career shows that he is more of a set up man rather than a shooter. He played on a team drenched in talent with guys like Malkin and Crosby, and as we saw with Satan, the more stars on a team the fewer to points each will produce, especially wingers. Another question was about how he was used. He was used as a shooter on the Penguins PP, but with a body that big, why not use him to screen? I understand with his salary he may not be the best long term investment, but i really don't believe you can assess a guy based on 16 games. I hope to see Poni for one more year to see just exactly what talent he has.

Penguins to Host Capitals at Heinz Field on New Years Day

Announced by CBS affiliate WTAJ-TV out of Altoona, Pennsylvania that the official announcement will be made sometime tomorrow afternoon. This will be the Penguins second Winter Classic appearence after a 2-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres in the 2008 Winter Classic.

Pens Ink Nick Petersen to 3 Year Deal

The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed right wing Nick Petersen to a three-year entry level contract, it was announced today by executive vice president and general manager Ray Shero.

Petersen, who was drafted by Pittsburgh in the fourth round (121st overall) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, completed his first season with Saint John of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Petersen posted 39 goals, 40 assists, 79 points, 12 power-play goals and a plus-46 rating in 59 games with the Sea Dogs. His 79 points ranked third on the team, while his plus-46 rating paced the club.

The 6-foot-3, 188-pound winger added 28 points (7G-21A) in 21 postseason games.

Petersen, 20, played the previous two years with Shawinigan of the QMJHL, compiling 119 points (48G-71A). He finished sixth in the league in scoring in 2008-09 after posting 90 points on 37 goals and 53 assists in 68 contests. He also notched a plus-57 rating. The Wakefield, Quebec native followed that campaign with a strong showing in the playoffs after recording 22 points (10G-12A) in 21 games.

**Via Pittsburgh Penguins Website**

Pens Tame Bruins 2-1 in Shootout

2@ 1

One of, if not the best games played by the Pens so far this season. They had strong offense, and strong defense to back it up. Sabourin was placed in net, getting his first start of the season. He saved 35 of 36 shots against, as well as saving 4 of 5 shots in the shootout. Satan scored the lone Pens goal in regulation off of a rebound shot by Evgeni Malkin. Phil Kessel scored the only goal for the Bruins in regulation on the power play. Malkin and Sykora scored the 2 out of 5 shootout attempts, beating the Bruins in a score of 2-1. Kessel scored the lone shootout goal for the Bruins.

Scoring Summary:

Penguins Goal(s):

18:51 1st Pd: EV; #81 M. Satan(4): Assists: #71 E. Malkin & #87 S. Crosby

Bruins Goal(s):

13:53 2nd Pd;PP; #81 P. Kessel(5): Assists: #21 A. Ference & #46 D. Krejci

SHOOTOUT:

Round 1: Pit:#58 K. Letang(no goal) Bos: #81 P. Kessel(goal)

Round 2: Pit:#17 P. Sykora(goal) Bos: #37 P. Bergeron(no goal)

Round 3: Pit:#87 S. Crosby(no goal) Bos: #73 M. Ryder(no goal)

Round 4: Pit:#81 M. Satan(no goal) Bos: #46 D. Krejci(no goal)

Round 5: Pit:#71 E. Malkin(goal) Bos: #91 M. Savard(no goal)

Total: Pit: 2-5(W2-1); Bos 1-5(L)

Game Notes: Penguins went 0-2 on the PP. Paul Bissonette was in lineup, Bill Thomas was scratched.

Three Stars:

*** # 87 S. Crosby (assist)

** #81 P. Kessel(goal)

* #30 D. Sabourin(35 saves)

Pens Top Leafs 4-1 in Milemarker Game

1 @ 4

What was so great about this game? Was it the first goal of the season for Crosby and Sykora? Another PP goal by Satan? Malkin's 200th point? Sid's 100th goal and 300th point? Or was it the first win in regulation this season for the Pens? For me, it was the whole damn thing. What a game. The penalty killing was great. The power play was amazing. And the Pens actually looked like a hockey team. I love this kinda game that the Pens play. Keep it up boys!

Scoring Summary:

Maple Leafs Goals:

14:25 1st Pd;PP; #80 N. Antropov(1); Assists: #55 J. Blake & #15 T. Kaberle

Penguins Goals:

15:16 1st Pd;EV; #9 P.Dupuis(2); Assists: #87 S. Crosby & #71 E. Malkin

7:55 2nd Pd;PP; #81 M. Satan(3); Assists: #87 S. Crosby & #71 E. Malkin

12:15 2nd Pd; EV; #87 S. Crosby(1); Assists: #71 E. Malkin & #58 K. Letang

13:36 2nd Pd; PP; #17 P. Sykora(1); Assists: #87 S. Crosby & #71 E. Malkin

Game Notes: Petr Sykora now looks 100%. Both Malkin and Crosby received points milestones. Crosby also received goal milestone. Next Game Monday @ Boston.

Three Stars

*** #29 Marc-Andre Fleury (26/27 saves)

** #71 Evgeni Malkin (4 assists)

*#87 Sidney Crosby (1 goal; 3 assists)

Caps Score Four Unanswered to Beat Pens

4 @ 3

A sad, sad game. The Penguins, who had been dry on the power play from game 1 of the season started the game with 3 power play goals. But like the Pens like to do, they got lazy, and the Caps rallied back with 4 to win the game. The sad thing is the game winning goal. Now I'm not gonna sit here and whine, but that goal never should have occurred. Hal Gill was high sticked in the face, stalling him, keeping him behind the play, and allowing a 2 on 1 for the Caps. Now Gill got penalized for roughing Semin after Semin went after Crosby. If you commit the crime, you do the time. That simple. The officiating all throughout the NHL is horrible. They want to reduce head shots and hits from behind, yet you still see them. I hate Ovechkin. And no, not because of how him and Crosby have a rivalry, but how he can charge on every hit and get away with it. Malkin was charged and submarined numerous times by OV. I'm glad we have three games with them still, because OV is gonna get it.

Scoring:

Penguins Goals:

12:58 1st pd.;PP; #13 A. Goligoski(2), Assists: #71 E. Malkin & #87 S. Crosby

19:17 1st pd.;PP; #71 E. Malkin(2), Assists: #87 S. Crosby & #81 M. Satan

1:51 2nd pd.;PP; #81 M. Satan(2), Assists: #17 P. Sykora & #71 E. Malkin

Capitals Goals:

5:45 2nd pd.;EV; #14 T. Fleischmann(1), Assists: #21 B. Laich & #16 E. Fehr

3:38 3rd pd.;EV; #28 A. Semin(4), Assist: #92 M. Nylander

10:00 3rd pd.;EV; #92 M. Nylander(2), Assists: #14 T. Fleischmann & #28 A. Semin

15:43 3rd pd.;EV; #15 B. Gordon(1), Assists: #16 E. Fehr & # 91 S. Fedorov

Game Notes: Matt Cooke was scratched. Paul Bissonette took his place. The Penguins power play kicked in full gear at 3/6 on the night. Laziness cost the Pens the game.

Three Stars:

*** #92 M. Nylander

** #71 E. Malkin

* #28 A. Semin