Habs (17-21-8, 9-12-1 Road) at Pens (25-17-4, 12-7-2 Home), 7:00 PM Eastern, CONSOL
Follow me on Twitter @JohnToperzer
Here’s the alleged Matt Cooke slew foot on Brad Richards on Thursday. That play is pretty common but when it comes to Cooke, anything appears to be fair game. It almost reminds me of PK Subban's slew foot of James Neal that caused Neal's stick to come up and clip Subban, causing a two-game Neal suspension. Laughable.
*****
The Pens will be gunning for a fifth consecutive victory Friday night when they play host to the Montreal Canadiens. Pittsburgh is tied for sixth place with New Jersey in the Eastern Conference standings with 54 points in 46 contests. Montreal checks in with 42 points in 46 games, 13th in the East. A 1-7 slide to close out December did little to help the Habs.
But the Canadiens won’t get much sympathy from the Penguins, a team that went through a six-game losing stretch of its own. Pens fans surely won’t have too much sympathy for forward Max Pacioretty. Pacioretty knocked Kris Letang out of commission with a broken nose and concussion. He received a mere three-game suspension for his patently illegal hit.
Letang, who scored the overtime game-winning goal after returning from Pacioretty’s Rule 48 check, missed the Penguins’ ensuing 21 contests, only to return Thursday night.
The Pens have fought in the first period of each of their last five contests; look for that trend to continue Friday.
*****
Because there was no morning skate, coach Bylsma didn’t speak to the media. It wouldn’t be surprising to see backup Brent Johnson get the nod in goal for Pittsburgh. The Pens would be wise to give the Flower a bit of rest, rather than run the risk of using a spent goalie in the playoffs. At some point Johnson needs to step up, and what better time than now when his team is in the midst of three games in four nights? Johnson might be a better matchup for Sunday’s tilt against Washington, so he figures to play in one of the Pens’ next two games.
Montreal backup Peter Budaj will start Friday, giving Carey Price the night off. Budaj is just 2-4 but beat the New York Rangers on Sunday afternoon, stopping 28 of 29 shots in a 4-1 win. The Czech goalie has only two career starts against Pittsburgh, going 0-1-1 with a 2.43 GAA and .925 save percentage.
*****
Pens-Habs: By the Numbers
Goals For/Against per game
Pens: 2.96-2.52
Habs: 2.50-2.61
5-on-5 For/Against Goal Ratio
Pens: 1.05
Habs: 0.98
Power Play
Pens: 17.2 percent, 15-for-87 (Home)
Habs: 12 percent, 9-for-75 (Road)
Penalty Kill
Pens: 90.2 percent, 55-for-61 (Home)
Habs: 92.5 percent, 86-for-93 (Road)
Team Plus/Minus (Home/Away)
Pens: plus-1/plus-6
Habs: plus-5/minus-12
Record Leading After 1st Period/2nd Period
Pens: 14-3-3/14-0-2
Habs: 9-2-2/14-1-3
Record Trailing After 1st Period/2nd Period
Pens: 6-9-1/3-14-1
Habs: 4-9-0/1-16-3
Record Scoring First/Trailing First
Pens: 17-6-3/8-11-1
Habs: 9-7-5/8-14-3
-- Pens actually have a better plus/minus on the road (+6) than home (+1).
-- Habs' power play clicks at just 12 percent on the road.
-- Habs feature the best road penalty-killing unit.
-- Pens are 20-14-1 when outshooting opponent, 5-3-3 when getting outshot.
*****
Sidney Crosby leads the league in points per game, averaging 1.50 points. Of course, Crosby has played in only eight games. Evgeni Malkin leads all qualified players with a 1.38 average. If you can name the Pens’ third-ranked player (qualified or non-qualified), then you might want to consider playing the lottery or at least going on Jeopardy. Answer after next blurb*.
*****
Kris Letang-Max Pacioretty: Since November 26
Pacioretty participated in 19 games after taking Letang out of the lineup (including his three-game suspension).
Pacioretty played 12 times in December, scoring one goal and adding six assists. He also registered 39 shots.
Pacioretty played seven games in January prior to Letang’s return. He netted four goals, including two game-winners, and chipped in with two assists and 30 shots on goal.
Letang returned Thursday. He led Pittsburgh with 24:17 TOI, assisted on one goal and finished plus-2.
Letang, who also blocked two shots and registered three hits against the Rangers, helped Marc-Andre Fleury out when he made a sprawling shot deflection with his stick.
*****
*Carl Sneep picked up an assist in his only contest for Pittsburgh, thus averaging 1.00 points per game, third-best on the Pens.
*****
On the injury front, Brian Gionta will miss Friday with a biceps injury that could keep him sidelined for the remainder of the season. Andre Markov hasn’t been on skates since undergoing arthroscopic surgery in December. Forward Ryan White, who has five points and 70 hits in 27 games, will miss with a groin injury.
Arron Asham is Pittsburgh's only recent injury addition. Asham is experiencing concussion symptoms and will not play Friday. The ex-Canadien has two goals in his last four games against Montreal. He celebrated his most recent goal with a Mario Lemieux salute.
*****
We’re still waiting on word from Sidney Crosby and his visit to Georgia. Hopefully he’ll get some good news on that front. Simon Despres is more than a week into his Grade 1 MCL knee sprain and Jordan Staal remains a projected 2-4 weeks away with a knee injury.
*****
Treasure Life & Let's Go Pens!
JT
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»