Pens collect two points Tuesday in 5-3 win over Boston
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- Kris Letang bought a penalty that made it a 5-on-3 for the Pens on Tuesday and it was very nice to see. Letang, coming off two concussions and giving his body at every opportunity for the better good, deserved to get a call – even if it wasn't legit – after all of the ones the referees miss. Well done.
How did Letang celebrate? Try three assists. He still needs one more goal to reach 10 and tie his career best.
- Boston coach Claude Julien reminds me of an older, more mature brother of Bruce Boudreau.
- What did Sidney Crosby do in Boston to deserve the derisive chants usually reserved the likes of Philly? I thought they hated Matt Cooke the most. Unlike some organizations, the Bruins actually have some tangible reasons to hate Pittsburgh, like losing Cam Neely to Ulf Samuelsson and Marc Savard to Matt Cooke. At least a third period break gave the fans a chance to produce a Kumbaya moment. Mark Recchi was announced and everyone cheered -- Bruins and Pens fans, alike.
- Crosby was rightly named the game’s No. 1 Star. He scored 4-on-4, netted his first power-play of the 2011-12 campaign (20 games), and added an assist. It was great to see Crosby maintain his sanity, too, in a game that featured brutal physical play by Milan Lucic, Zdeno Chara and James Neal, in particular.
- Remember to shoot me if I ever go on Twitter and ask for followers.
- Congrats on Neal reaching the 40-goal mark. Our Hockey Buzz faithful made a bunch of preseason predictions. I had Neal for 31 goals and Malkin for just over 100 points. It will be interesting to revisit those numbers. Neal leads the NHL with 18 power-play goals, two more than Philly’s Scott Hartnell.
- Don’t be surprised if Johnson starts one of the two remaining regular-season games. If the Flyers game Saturday is meaningless, then he’d be a good bet to get the nod.
- Crosby has exactly 100 points (39,61) in the last two seasons, covering 61 contests.
- Matt Cooke snapped a six-game minor-penalty streak Tuesday. He has 38 points and 42 PIMs heading into the final weekend.
- It was great to see fourth-liner Arron Asham pot his fifth goal, with assists to Vitale and Craig Adams. That’s exactly the kind of unexpected offensive production every good team needs.
- We’ll take this Brent Johnson, won’t we? His 2-on-0 glove stop of Tyler Seguin made up for another porous overall defensive effort and gave the Pens a chance to breathe. What’s wrong with the defense? Are the forwards too offensively-minded with Crosby back?
Pittsburgh employs some of the most defensively-responsible forwards around. Pascal Dupuis extended his point streak to 15 games, the second-longest season stretch since the beginning of the 2010-11 season. Only Crosby’s 25-gamer is longer than Dupuis’. How crazy is that?
-It was funny to see Dupuis just smile when Milan Lucic apparently uttered “don’t touch me” after one third-period scrum. ROOT Sports’ Bob Errey said, “That’s what guys say when they roam the jungle.” Of course Steiggy made some uncomfortable with his ramblings about Lucic’s “thick and unusual ” body type.
-Pittsburgh’s win reduces its magic number to two points. A win over New York on Thursday or a regulation loss by the Flyers on Thursday locks up a No. 4 playoff seed for the Pens.
-Phil Bourque said on the radio side that Tuesday’s game might be Marty Turco’s last in the NHL. He was signed from Europe after the trade deadline and can’t be a part of Boston’s playoff roster. If that’s the case, then fare thee well Mr. Turco on a very nice NHL career.
-Buffalo’s 6-5 OT comeback win Tuesday would’ve been a lot more historic against a better team.
-Getting hit in the face by a Zdeno Chara slap shot probably isn't on many NHLer’s bucket list. Unfortunately, Joe Vitale was struck on the right side of his face by a Chara slapper. We still haven’t received word on Vitale’s condition.
-Paul Martin scored a “good hockey goal” for his second goal of the year and first in 41 contests Tuesday.
- The playoffs won’t begin until Thursday, April 12, after Saturday’s finale. It’s said that players don’t want much time off but the Pens have been playing at a break-neck rate the last three weeks and can use the time to rest up and heal some wounds.
-Kris Letang returned to the Pens’ top power-play unit. Hurray!
-Did you know Philadelphia lost all six games in regulation to the Rangers in 2011-12? The Penguins might want to look at that tape.
-Boston’s Daniel Paille was whistled for a charging penalty on Matt Niskanen, launching himself into the boards on a cheap hit. He must have remembered
this hit from earlier in the season.
*****
Treasure Life!
JT
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
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