About 10 years ago I spent some time working for a Xerox sub-contractor that specialized in selling copy machines. Let me be the first to tell you that it wasn't a great gig, I mean...no one buys copy machines. Sure, every office you go into has one, but you never see the thing being purchased. It is like it just sort of materializes in places where it is needed.

On top of the fact that no one wanted to buy our product, we had a very hands off Sales Manager that most of the other managers seemed to hate. There was always a lot of back biting and playing folks off of one another. Unfortunately, it made for a very uncomfortable work place and I only stayed on the team for six months. I did gain one nugget of wisdom during my time there and it is a statement that has stuck with me until this day.

"Into all lives, a little rain must fall..."

It came from one of the other managers, who was full of these great euphemisms and one liners. He had been with the company for a long time and sort of made it his personal agenda to keep his team on track and moving forward. When we would complain about the back biting and civil warring, he would encourage us to do our best and say, "Into all lives, a little rain must fall..."

It was his way of saying that things can't stay perfect all of the time. Life just doesn't work that way, you have to take the good with the bad and move forward...all the while working yourself back to the point where things were going well. You see, that is the thing with rain...no matter how wet you get, it always eventually moves on.

The Penguins west coast road trip, Anaheim aside, can be looked at as a rain storm. One of those inevitable things that just passes through town, ruining picnics and family fun days.

Our boys in Black and Vegas Gold had been enjoying a Utopian existence of sorts...even though they were losing man games to injury, they just kept winning -- even when they weren't doing the right things. There were plenty of games during their first 15 in which they didn't stick to the plan for 60 minutes, where they abandoned Dan Bylsma's system for a couple of shifts here or there. But they lucked out...it didn't seem to bite them in the backside...ever.

That changed during this weekends "storm front" and the Birds didn't seem to like it.

They got knocked down a couple of pegs by two western foes that had something to prove. The Kings are off to their best start in years and wanted to prove that they aren't so much on the way, as they have arrived... The Sharks took the opportunity to show the rest of the league that they hadn't gone anywhere and that their window remains firmly opened.

Not only did the Penguins pick up back to back losses for the first time this season, but they lost another important body to injury in Kris Letang.

Though Letang is expected to miss two weeks with a shoulder contusion, it is worth noting that the sun is trying to creep out from behind those storm clouds. Those warming rays are taking the form of Evgeni Malkin and Max Talbot, who could each be back soon. Especially Malkin who has been practicing since Saturday. I would suggest that getting the league's reigning scoring champion back is one way to jump start a team that has looked rather lethargic as of late.

It is also a nice way to kick start a world class talent like Sidney Crosby, who is mired in a four game pointless streak. That streak is seemingly weighing on Crosby's mind a bit and he had some sharp words when told that teammates (Bill Guerin) said he was being a bit too hard on himself.

"You know what? Maybe he thinks that, but I don't," Crosby told the gathered media in Boston. "I've been through it. I always put pressure on myself, but it's not too much. It's what I need. Everyone needs to push themselves in different ways. Maybe what I need is different from what Billy needs."

You could read into the above comments and think that a beef is brewing, especially when you realize that the team is expected to unveil new line combinations for its game against the Bruins this evening. Lines that have Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz playing with Jordan Staal and Ruslan Fedotenko and Matt Cooke skating with Crosby.

I don't buy that there is any kind of rift, but a case of frustration that has been intensified by the "rain" that fell on the team in California...a normally sunny place.

Crosby despises losing and when losses are seemingly piling up, he isn't a happy camper. He holds himself and teammates accountable and will work harder than ever to get things back on track and out of the rain.

The first steps out of the rain take place tonight in Boston where the Penguins face a Bruins team that has posted a 2-3-1 record in their last six games. This doesn't take anything away from the Bruins, who are a very good hockey team, but it can't hurt that they have been in the same boat as the Penguins as of late. They have been afflicted by injuries, losing 29 man games thus far and have been on the wrong side of the bounces. For example, Tim Thomas has allowed only six goals in his last four games, but has an 0-3-1 record to show for it.

The good news for both of these teams is that one of them has got to win the game. Here is hoping that it is the boys in the White road jerseys, as they really need to begin the drying off process... after all, though rain falls, it always moves on...


Game Notes:

The Penguins trail the all-time series with the Bruins: 54-96-24 and it doesn't get much better in Boston, where they are 21-60-7.

Tonight marks the first of two meetings with the Bruins in a span of five days, as the B's will be headed to Mellon Arena on Saturday.

The Penguins hold a 3-0 record on the year against the Northeast Division.

Sidney Crosby has 21 points (4G-17A) in 13 games against the Bruins.

Tonight is a homecoming of sorts for many Penguins. Craig Adams - Harvard, Bill Guerin and Brooks Orpik - Boston College, and Chris Bourque - Boston University all played collegiately in the Boston Area.

Jay McKee has fallen to second in blocked shots with 55. He trails only Colorado's Brett Clark who sits at 57.

The Penguins are 8-0-0 when scoring first this season and are 21-0-2 when scoring first under Dan Bylsma.

Marc Andre Fleury has won 10 of his last 14 starts.

Pascal Dupuis needs two goals to reach 100 in his career.

Jay McKee needs one assist to reach 100.

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