Pittsburgh Penguins vs Montreal Canadiens Gameday

Lets all forget about the opener..It's time for redemption. well, sort of. The players will tell you its just another game, but having played sports, there will definitely be a little more emphasis tonight. Both teams are coming off opener losses. Montreal lost to Toronto 3-2.

As far I as I know, all the lines will be the same tonight. On to the pros and cons....


PROS:

• The Pens will be hungry. They were disappointed in the opener and hopefully will be out to prove something in front of the home crowd
• In the regular season last year against Montreal, Fleury was 3-1 with a 2.12 GAA. I said it in my reasons to be optimistic post, I think fleury is going to have a great season this year.
• Defense..Last postseason, the Pens never had an answer for Cammelleri. I think the revamped D will keep him in check and wont allow him the wide open looks he had all through the semifinals last year

CONS:

• Speaking of Cammelleri, he makes his 10-11 debut tonight because of serving a 1 game suspension. He will be riding some confidence and energy. I fully believe the Pens defense will contain him, but he will always be a threat
• The Canadiens penalty kill continued its success for the first game, holding Toronto scoreless on 5 attempts. Can the Pens PP break through?

video of Penguins opening Consol Energy Center

One of the things I hate about games being televised on national networks is the lack of personal feel. I would have loved to have watched the opening ceremonies last night in hd. Instead we are taken to Toronto to listen to a band that I could care less about.

Well I have found some videos of the ceremonies. They are taken by fans in their seats so they are not the greatest quality, but here goes

Pens Flyers thoughts and aftermath

Well, the opening day stage was all set. New arena, the hated Flyers in town. All was good except for the final score. Here are my random thoughts from the game....

• The Penguins did come out pretty strong in the opening period. They had several good scoring chances. However, I didnt see quite the intenseness I thought I would.
• This wasnt your typical Pens-Flyers game..They actually played hockey. No fights, barely any big hits, and all the "agitators"(Cooke & Hartnell mainly) were quiet
• Based on the fial score, the 22 year old rookie Bobrovsky outplayed Fleury. Fleury however did not play bad. He was hung out to dry a couple times and made some very nice saves
• Crosby didnt seem himself. Maybe his hip was bothering him because he didnt seem to have the explosiveness and the quick first couple strides. He did have many chances but couldnt seem to get the puck on net
• I thought Goligoski played a solid game. He looked good out there. He looked comfortable with his role on the power play as well
• Speaking of the power play, it was very interesting. Much different from what we have been seein(except for the series of events leading to the Flyers 3rd goal). Alot of movement. Alot of different looks.
• Tyler Kennedy impressed me. I had him down and out but he played with energy and created some offense. He also chipped in with a goal

The Pens will be fine. They got the first game at the new arena out of the way. It may not have ended the way we wanted to, but they had a decent showing. The guys will regroup, put this behind them and move on.

Next up, the team that knocked the Pens out of the playoffs last year, The Canadiens, tomorrow night

Penguins Flyers opening game updates

Several updates for tonights game..

First off, Kris Letang missed practice today due to an undisclosed illness. He is a game time desicion.

Word is, the Flyers are going with rookie goaltender Sergei Bobvrosky instead of Boucher. Talk about throwing a kid into the fire!

Dan Bylsma explained the reasoning of Tangradi going to Wheeling was that they were keeping a roster spot open in case Asham can play. Instead, Asham went on IR today. I'm not real enthused about this. Does this mean Tangradi will be the odd man out once Asham returns?? I hope not

Penguins Flyers Pros and Cons

A little feature I'm going to try to keep up on gamedays is a little pros vs cons list. I will make 2 or 3 points for each for every game.

For opening night, Penguins vs Flyers, here are my pros vs con


PROS:

• The Pens are opening their new arena. There is going to be a buzz and lots of energy. I look for the Pens to come out strong and really take it to the Flyers
• Pens won 5 of 6 against the Flyers last year and 20-8 the last 4 years. They are also 2-0-2 in games against the Flyers to open the season
• Flyers G Leighton is out with a back injury as well as Lapiererre. The Flyers weak spot is considered to be goaltending and Fleury should be able to outdo Boucher or Bobvrosky

CONS:

• The Flyers are pretty solid at the rest of the positions although Pronger is out tonight.They have a nice collection of skill and grit at  forward with  Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, Claude Giroux, James van Riemsdyk, Ville Leino, Scott Hartnell, and Nikolai Zherdev
• The Flyers are riding a wave of confidence coming off their surprise Stanley Cup run last season
• The Pens have to be careful not to get too eager with the opening of their new building. I'm sure the guys want to get off to a fast start and give the fans something to cheer about. At the same time, they need to stick to their game and play 60 minutes

PENS VS FLYERS OPENING NIGHT NOTES

It's finally here! Opening night for the Penguins and the Consol Energy Center! And what could be better than opening against the hated Philidelphia Flyers.

A few quick notes...Asham is not practicing today so it looks pretty certain he will not be in the lineup against his formaer team. This is kinda disappointing but we do play the Flyers a few times early in the season so he will get his chance. UPDATE: Asham has been placed on IR and will definitely not playing tonight

According to 93.7 thefan, the top power play unit at practice this morning was Crosby, Malkin, Kunitz, Comrie, and Goligoski. Very interesting going with 4 forwards and having Goligoski move into the quarterback role. The Pens are putting an awful lot of faith in Goligoski. It's time for him to turn it up a notch.

Also according to 93.7, Godard is not on a regular line. This is a little surprising considering the opponent. With Asham apparently out, their are a few players that will have to step up their physical game. Still a possibility Adams will sit and Godard will play

Unofficially, it looks like the lines will be the following:
Crosby-Dupuis-Kunitz
Malkin-Comrie-Tangradi
Cooke-Letestu-Kennedy
Rupp-Talbot-Adams

Tangradi update

As expected, Tangradi has been recalled from Wheeling. Still no word from the Pens on why this happened. Like I said yesterday, there has to be some underlying technical reason for the move. I dont believe its salary cap related. I guess all that matters is he is back, practicing today, and will play on a line with Malkin and Comrie tonight

Tangradi situation

In my earlier post, I said Eric Tangradi has made the team. Well, it is now being reported that he was sent to the Wheeling Nailers and Nailers goalie, Patrick Killeen, has been recalled to the Pens.
To be honest, I have no idea whats going on here. I'm not sure what the benefit would be, but I can only imagine this is temporary and that the moves will be reversed tomorrow.

Tangradi is required to show up in Wheeling. However, Wheeling is only an hour from Pittsburgh and he can easily make the trip back. There are a couple questions surrounding this. For one, if they were going to send him down, why Wheeling? Why not Wilkes Barre. Second, if they needed a goalie, why Killeen?

Once again, I'm not sure what benefits this has. I'm sure somehow there is a reason.

Guess we'll find out tomorrow

Tangradi in, Despres out

Eric Tangradi has made the opening day roster, while top defense prospect Simon Despres was sent back to juinors. Joining Tangradi in the big leagues are Letestu, Lovejoy, and Engelland.

Aaron Asham will be a game time decision. Staal will go to IR. By all accounts, Crosby and Orpik will be on the ice for the opener.