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Game Night: Pens go for 10 straight Tuesday against Caps

March 19, 2013, 11:53 AM ET [445 Comments]
John Toperzer
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Poll Results

Question: Which player, Evgeni Malkin or Kris Letang, would you prefer the Pens keep long-term if the organization doesn't sign both?

Sixty percent of voters favor keeping Malkin around, while 39 percent prefer Letang. Judging from the comments, an interesting dynamic formed between Penguins fans and fans from around the league. Most Pittsburgh fans voted for keeping Malkin. Fans with avatars from other teams were more likely to in favor of seeing Malkin traded.

Of course, some of the league fans likely want to see Malkin traded to their favorite NHL organization.

One aspect that was touched on, but just a little bit, was how much of a return Malkin might fetch. If the Pens ever decided to move Malkin, the possible haul would likely be staggering.

As always, thanks for taking the time to vote and share your opinions.


Caps (12-15-1, 4-8-1 Road) at Pens (22-8, 10-4 Home), CONSOL Energy Center, 7:30 pm ET



Would you be surprised if I told you the Penguins have already beaten the Washington Capitals during a long winning streak? What if I mentioned that the Pens did it with the league’s best player and with the NHL’s winningest goalie? What if I mentioned the names Mario Lemieux and Tom Barrasso. Confused yet?

Twenty years ago, on March 18, 1993, Mario Lemieux netted four goals and two assists in a 7-5 victory over the Capitals.

The Penguins were in the midst of a franchise-record 17-game winning streak, much like they’ve currently won nine straight. Lemieux led the league in scoring with 160 points in 60 games in 1992-93 while Barrasso back-stopped a league-high 43 wins in his finest season ever.

Fast forward a score (a Gettysburg Address score).

Sidney Crosby is leading all NHL players with 48 points in 30 games. He has eight points more than the next point-getters, Chris Kunitz and Steven Stamkos. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is tied with Montreal’s Carey Price for the most wins.

Sometimes, the more things change, the more they stay the same.


**



Tuesday’s matchup sounds like an easy win for Pittsburgh, but a Dave Molinari Tweet listed below might indicate otherwise. The Pens lead the Atlantic Division by 12 points over New Jersey and the Caps rank 13th in the Eastern Conference with 25 points.

Chris Kunitz led his team to a 6-3 win on Feb. 3 in Landover, Maryland, when he popped in four goals. Tomas Vokoun allowed three goals on 24 shots, including one goal which went in after a crazy dump-in.

Less than a week later, the Pens pumped in three power-play goals against Washington, winning by the score of 3-2 at Consol Energy Center. Marc-Andre Fleury got the win in this game, stopping 23 0f 25 shots.

Washington netminder, Michal Neuvirth, was pulled after allowing two goals on 11 shots. In the first contest, Braden Holtby was not yanked despite surrendering six goals on 26 shots.

Neuvirth started two straight contests last week, playing for the first time in more than a month. After allowing four goals in Boston, coach Adam Oates went back to Holtby in the Caps’ most recent game. The young goalie responded with a 27-save effort in a 5-3 win over Buffalo.

For the Penguins, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang appear to be out Tuesday. Malkin skated with the team but didn’t take part in any power-play work. He’s close to returning, though. Letang wasn’t on the ice Tuesday morning. By resting Letang, the Pens are giving a few more days to return from a lower-body injury – likely a groin pull – before Friday’s tilt on Long Island.

Plenty has changed since the Penguins put together a 17-game winning streak in 1992-93. The names have changed but the results are still the same. Pens fans just have to hope that Pittsburgh does a better job of bringing home the Stanley Cup this time around.


Goals For/Against

Pens: 3.53-2.67 (goals per game)

Caps: 2.79-3.04


5-on-5 Play

Pens: 1.33

Caps: 0.93


Power Play

Pens: 25.5 percent, 13-for-51 (home)

Caps: 21.4 percent, 9-for-42 (away)


Penalty Kill

Pens: 79.5 percent, 31-for-39 (home)

Caps: 74.1 percent, 43-for-58 (away)


PP minus PK Time

Pens: -14.22

Caps: -24.53


Hits-Blocked Shots-Missed Shots-Giveaways-Takeaways

Pens: 298H-203B-158M-74G-56T (home)

Caps: 255H-183B-127M-63G-59T (road)


Faceoffs

Pens: 51.7 percent, 950W-887L

Caps: 50.4 percent, 870W-854L


Record When Leading After 1st Period-2nd Period // Trailing After 1st Period-2nd Period

Pens: 15-3, 13-0 // 3-3, 3-6

Caps: 4-3, 7-3 // 3-8-1, 3-10-1


Record When Scoring First // Trailing First

Pens: 16-5 // 6-3

Caps: 8-7 // 4-8-1


Shootouts

Pens: 2-0

Caps: 0-0

The Pens have won both of their shootouts on the road. Washington is the only team in the league not to go to a shootout.


*****


Tweets 'O the Day


Dave Molinari ‏@MolinariPG

Washington, which will visit Consol Energy Center tonight at 7:38, is 9-1-1 in its past 11 games in Pittsburgh.


Dave Molinari ‏@MolinariPG

Jeffrey, not Malkin, skating between Neal and Bennett during line rushes at game-day skate.


Pittsburgh Penguins ‏@penguins

Geno remains on the ice as the whistle blows to start morning skate. Kris Letang and Matt Cooke missing.


Pens Inside Scoop ‏@PensInsideScoop

Niskanen working in place of Letang with the top PP unit for #Pens. Malkin not doing any PP work -SK


*****


Treasure Life!
JT
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