The Penguins didn't make it easy on themselves, but they were able to roar back in the third period and secure another victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Penguins spent most of the first two periods taking ill timed penalties and turning the puck over to an attacking Blue Jackets team. Sure they had their own chances, but when they came, Steve Mason was up to the challenge.

The Jackets probably deserved to win this game, but allowed the Penguins to hang around far too long and it cost them. Goals from Ruslan Fedotenko and Alex Goligoski in a span of :40 seconds knotted the game at three and Crosby's shoot out goal clinched it.

The first thought that came to mind in watching last night's game was that the team has got to do a better job of putting together a full 60 minute effort. Though they are leading the league with an ultra impressive 11-2-0 record, they have had to turn it on during the third period to win games a few too many times this season. Those games are a bit reminiscient of last year's early season team...one that roared out of the gates, but seemed to sleep walk through most of the game before "out-skilling" teams during the third period.

Don't get me wrong, the team is playing great on most nights and I think we can cut them a bit of slack based on the injuries that they are dealing with currently. Having four regulars out of the line-up and still finding ways to win hockey games is very impressive.

Speaking of injuries, it has been amazing to see the bright spots pop up even as those injuries mount. The biggest has got to be Alex Goligoski. We all knew that he was in line for a break out season, but I am not sure anyone expected him to be sitting in second place amongst defensemen scorers. His 12 points (5G-7A) trails only Dan Boyle and Tomas Kaberle, who each have 13. The more impressive thing about that total is that he already has 5 goals. One thing that I noticed during last night's game is that his body language on the ice is very similar to that of Sergei Gonchar...you can clearly see the influence of the wily Russian on the young American.

Sidney Crosby seems primed for one of his biggest seasons yet. He picked up two more points against the Jackets, pushing his total to 16 (9G-7A) on the year. He is excelling in all areas of his game, scoring goals, setting them up, forechecking hard and leading the backcheck. He has also been very good in the face-off circle. He has also shown a ton of confidence during the shoot-out, an area that used to give him fits. He is 4-4 this season after notching another winner against Mason last night.

It is also worth noting that he has picked up his goalscoring significantly. The intersting thing about it is that it seems to have spiked along with his willingness to get back to the front of the net. Crosby scored an aweful lot of goals from in and around the net during his rookie season and then sort of altered his game for a couple years He started to play higher in the offensive zone...the goal totals started to fall off a bit. Late last season and during the playoffs he made a point to get back in the goalie's face, standing to the right of the crease and in the right face-off circle. Not surprisingly he has scored all 9 of his goals from that area this season.

Brent Johnson had another impressive start and took part in his second shoot-out of the season. I do believe that he would love to have the Jackets' third goal back, however there wasn't much he could do about the first two.

Chris Bourque is finally getting a shot to play some meaningful minutes and he hasn't looked bad. That isn't to say that he is going to challenge for significant minutes on a healthy Penguins team, but he is a viable option until the likes of Tyler Kennedy and or Max Talbot return.

Martin Skoula has also started to round into form...he has shaken off his rust, is blocking shots, playing close to 18 minutes a game and is even getting involved in the offense.

The Penguins won't have much time to dwell on last night's comeback victory, as they are back on the clock this evening against the Minnesota Wild.

The team had an optional skate this morning and some team meetings, but most of the guys decided to skip the ice time based on their late arrival back in Pittsburgh last night. Tyler Kennedy did skate for the first time in several days and was joined on the ice by Sergei Gonchar and Marc Andre Fleury.

The line-up for tonight will remain the same, though Marc Andre Fleury will get the call in net... Petr Sykora makes his return to Pittsburgh and it will be interesting to see how he performs. Though he had an impressive game last night, he was recently a healthy scratch for the Wild. I was sort of surprised to see him sign in Minnesota to begin with. His style wasn't meshing with the system that the Penguins were playing late last season and in the playoffs, which would lead me to believe that it wouldn't mesh with the new style being implemented in Minnesota...I mean, it is being implemented by former Penguins AGM Chuck Fletcher and Wilkes Barre-Scranton head coach Todd Richards.

The Penguis hold a 2-5-2 all time record against the Wild and a 1-3-1 record at home. Will the Penguins be able to keep it rolling tonight at Mellon Arena? We will see tonight at 7:30...


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