The Penguins will lose Olli Maatta for the next month but they will gain two more NHL caliber bodies with the returns of Beau Bennett and Robert Bortuzzo.
Robert Bortuzzo and Beau Bennett have both been medically cleared to play. Bortuzzo will stay with the big club while Bennett will head down to WB/S for a conditioning stint.
Scott Harrington was called up and unlike the previous times it is expected that he will get some playing time during this stint.
For now the Penguins defense lines are as follows:
Martin-Letang Ehrhoff-Bortuzzo Scuderi-Despres
I have no issues here. Letang and Martin will do great together just like they did at the end of last year. Ehrhoff will provide Bortuzzo with a solid partner while he works his way back into game action. You could argue that Despres has earned a sniff in the top four but that is nitpicking at this point. If Mike Johnston plans on using Scuderi and Despres as a pairing for the long term I see no use in breaking it up right now.
Perhaps fear will boost the Penguins mediocre even strength scoring
Mike Johnston on Pens PP: "Other teams will be intimidated to take penalties, which is a good thing for us."
— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_Trib) November 3, 2014
Marc Andre Fleury was named the NHL's third star of the past week.
Sidney Crosby was the NHL's second star of the month of October. Corey Perry earned the first star, while Tyler Seguin was the third.
This past month's traffic to the blog was 48% better than last year's October. Thank you to those that take the time to read the analysis on a daily basis.
"I always thought Wells Fargo Center was one of the more dim arenas in the league before, but it became my home and I got used to it. Now, it's totally different. I'm not a fan [of the new lights]. We also haven't had a lot of time to play there. If it were up to me, we'd practice there more often. That's how you get your home-ice advantage."
Yes Steve, it's the lights...
Apparently the league has had a lighting issue for quite some time.
Edit: Opponents have adjusted just fine to the lighting. Visiting goaltenders at the Well's Fargo Center this year have a save percentage of .933% while Steve Mason is at .888% in his home starts.
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New Hockey Hurts podcast discusses the wave of suspensions and takes a look at the things that stick out in each conference. Here is your link.
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