ARE THE PENS IN TROUBLE???

Photo Credit: Nick Wass/ Associated Press

By Chris Carrano

There are only two teams that the Pittsburgh Penguins haven’t beaten yet this season and that grim fact may have an effect on them come payoff time. In nine games against the New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals, the Penguins have compiled an 0-7-2 record, having lost all six regular season meetings to the Devils.

The Penguins, however, have one more meeting against the Capitals in Pittsburgh and according to Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com, the Pens need to win this game if they want to restore some measure of confidence in themselves. Even though they are the defending Stanley Cup champions, heading into the postseason having lost all ten games to Washington and New Jersey will bear some significant weight on their minds.

The game proved to be another classic battle between the two teams and the NHL’s two superstars. The Penguins had a 2-1 lead after the second period, but Alexander Semin tied the game with what the Associated Press described as “one of the best individual short-handed efforts of the year”. He picked off a pass from Crosby deep in the Capitals' end, skated the length of the ice weaving around and through the Penguins' power-play unit and then unleashed a wrister from the slot that found the upper right-hand corner of the net.

That wasn’t the only lead the Penguins would blow. After Pittsburgh’s Jordan Staal tied the game late in the third period, the two teams battled to an overtime stalemate. The Penguins then went up 2-0 in the shootout on goals by Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby. The Caps answered right back with three straight goals from Alexander Ovechkin, Semin and the eventual game winner from Mike Knuble.

Not everyone in Steeltown is worried though. Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that the 4-3 loss last night at the Verizon Center just might turn out to be one of the pivotal moments in their season: in a positive way. Molinari writes that the Penguins did a lot of good things on the ice in competing for a full 65-minutes against the NHL’s top point producing team. Despite playing without Sergei Gonchar and Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins competed on even or better terms.

At the very least, the point they earned when Jordan Staal tied the score with 3:06 left in regulation boosted them back into first place in the Atlantic Division, one point ahead of New Jersey. The Devils, though, have played two fewer games.

But the impact of this kind of performance, accomplished without two guys who contribute a lot of quality minutes, could be felt long after the current standings have been forgotten.

"For a lot of reasons, that's the type of game we expect from our team, and the way we can play," coach Dan Bylsma said. "The way we played, that's the way we need to play to play our game. Getting to our game, we did that for long stretches. And we responded when things didn't go well, stuck with our game."

So mark April 6th on your calendars hockey fans. It’s the last tune-up between these two teams before the playoffs get here. Let’s all hope they meet again in May.

OTHER SCORES

NY RANGERS 5, NY Islanders 0
BUFFALO 3, Montreal 2
DETROIT 4, St. Louis 2
COLORADO 4, Los Angeles 3
VANCOUVER 4, Anaheim 3

TONIGHT’S GAMES

Intriguing matchups abound tonight as the playoffs draw near. The Rangers, Thrashers and Bruins all play tonight as each team battles for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. Out West, Phoenix, Chicago and San Jose all take to the ice tonight as they jockey for position in the race for the Western Conference’s number one seed.

Tampa Bay at Boston 7:00 PM
Washington at Carolina 7:00 PM
NY Rangers at New Jersey 7:00 PM
Calgary at NY Islanders 7:00 PM
Minnesota at Philadelphia 7:00 PM
Toronto at Atlanta 7:00 PM
Chicago at Columbus 7:00 PM
Florida at Montreal 7:30 PM
Los Angeles at St. Louis 8:00 PM
Phoenix at Nashville 8:00 PM
Dallas at San Jose 10:30 PM

STICK A FORM IN 'EM...

(Photo credit: New York Post/ Reuters)

By Chris Carrano

...RANGERS ARE DONE

They may not be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention yet, but with the way they’ve played all season long, that five point lead the Bruins hold on them for the final playoff spot looks more like 15. The Rangers squandered a huge opportunity to gain ground in the playoff race as they fell 2-1 to the Boston Bruins yesterday afternoon on national television. Now, they may have to make their playoff push without the help of Ryan Callahan, one of their better players for the season. Callahan left the game after he collided with Boston’s hulking defenseman Zdeno Chara in the second period.

As has happened so many times this season, the Ranger’s dismal power play reared its ugly head again. With Chara off the ice for a double minor, the Blueshirts couldn’t manage to get a shot on goal. I’ll rephrase that another way: In four minutes of having a one-man advantage, the Rangers couldn’t make Bruin’s goalie Tuuka Rask work for his money. Instead, they wasted ours. Even Ronnie from the Jersey Shore would’ve been able to get “one shot, bro” against the Bruins. The Rangers also had a 5-on-3 advantage for 11 seconds and didn’t manage a shot on net as well. It was only 11 seconds, but still. The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, once said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” When will the Rangers realize that by putting pucks on the net, one of them is bound to go in?

It wasn’t only the power play that struggled, there were many communication lapses all over the ice that it was hard to tell if the Bruins were playing against the New York Rangers or the New York Mets. The first of Boston’s two goals came at 16:36 of the second period when Miro Satan, who the Ranger’s left wide-open, took a left-circle feed from Andrew Ference and slammed it home. Satan was left alone, wrote Larry Brooks of the New York Post, after Marc Staal drifted to the opposite side of the net. Chris Drury was late picking up Satan, but the captain perhaps was covering for Ryan Callahan.

Boston’s second goal, and the eventual game winner, came when Dennis Wideman back-handed a shot from the left circle past a screened Henrik Lundqvist. Who provided the screen? None other that Lundqvist’s own teammate, Olli Jokinen. That's a hard one," said John Tortorella. "I'm upset about the second goal, too - we have our coverage and some player gets glued in on the puck who shouldn't be."

So much for the “Game 7” mentality the Rangers talked about before the game. Henrik Lundqvist, who can’t be blamed for how this season has gone so far, did his best yesterday in making 29 saves, including a penalty shot save on Danny Paille. When asked whether it would be an effort to stay positive from here on out, Lundqvist replied, "It's been an effort the last few weeks to stay positive and see good things."

Yes ladies and gentleman, this is the team that Glen Sather put together. I never thought I would say this, but I hope the Rangers miss the playoffs this season. If they somehow make it, they’re not going to get past the first round. All it would do is put more money in James Dolan’s pocket and justify him keeping Sather around for another year. In order for the upper management (or mis-management) in the Rangers organization to wake up, they need to be hit where it would hurt the most: in their wallets. It’s absurd that they would ask some season subscribers for $3,600 for tickets for all four rounds of the playoffs. Since they have done so, the Blueshirts have only won one game. It’s going to be okay though. In a few short weeks, Opening Day will be upon us!

OTHER SCORES

MINNESOTA 4, Calgary 3
Buffalo 5, CAROLINA 3
FLORIDA 5, Tampa Bay 2
Nashville 3, ST. LOUIS 2
Atlanta 3, PHILADELPHIA 1
Phoenix 3, DALLAS 2
EDMONTON 5, San Jose 1
ANAHEIM 5, Colorado 2 (Teemu Selannne scored his 600th career NHL goal)

TONIGHT'S GAMES

Pittsburgh at Detroit 7pm VERSUS
Ottawa at Montreal 7:30 pm
Colorado at Los Angeles 10:30 pm

HAPPY ST. PATRIK'S DAY!!!!!

Photo credit: Kostroun/ AP

By Chris Carrano

Patrik Elias led the New Jersey Devils to a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins last night at the Prudential Center, sweeping the six game series from their divisional rivals for the first time in franchise history.

Elias scored on a breakaway goal and set up another for the Devils as they took over first place in the Atlantic Division. The defending Stanley Cup Champions have been outscored 22-5 against New Jersey this season.

"It's kind of a measuring stick a little bit because you're playing the Stanley Cup champs," said Danius Zubrus. "Guys get up and play well." Zubrus tied the game at 1-1 when Elias intercepted Kris Letang’s pass at the Penguins blue line. With his back to the offensive zone, Elias sent a pass backward to Zubrus, who skated toward him with a full head of steam. Zubrus charged in, deked Fleury onto his back and put the Devils on the scoreboard.

Paul Martin, who returned to the Devils lineup after missing 59 games with a broken forearm, scored an unassisted goal in the first to put New Jersey up 2-1. Elias then scored on a shorthanded breakaway just 3:09 into the second period when he intercepted Jordan Leopold’s pass at the blue line and raced down the ice for his breakaway chance.

The Penguins, who looked nothing like defending Stanley Cup Champions last night, have only themselves to blame. Their sloppy play and multiple turnovers gave the Devils numerous breakaway chances and even led to two unassisted goals. Remarkably, the Penguins out shot the Devils 26-19, but none of that matters when you commit turnovers at the rate that they did. "They had 12 shots on net and five were clear breakaways," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. "That's leaving your goalie out to dry."

BLACKHAWKS LOSE GAME, SEABROOK

With a chance to tie the San Jose Sharks for the lead in the Western Conference, the Chicago Blackhawks fell 4-2 to the Anaheim Ducks last night, losing their third straight game. Anaheim can thank the refs for getting dust in their eye at the exact moment Corey Perry’s cross-check on Brent Sopel set up the game winning goal.

Lubomir Vishnovsky rifled a shot from just inside the blue line that was deflected high in the air. As Sopel was waiting for it to come down, he was cross-checked to the ice by Perry who then got the puck to Saku Koivu, whose 20-foot wrister beat Corey Crawford with 5:36 remaining.

"I thought it was definitely going to be a penalty. It was pretty evident," Sopel said. "I was jumping for the puck and he pushed me down. You can't do that. You've got to blow it down. You can't let it go in the slot like that and let them score a goal."

The game took an ugly turn when former Blackhawk James Wisniewski drove Brent Seabrook into the boards with a vicious hit to the jaw. Seabrook hit the boards with such force that he was left momentarily dazed before he crumpled down on to the ice. Seabrook left the game with an upper body injury while Wisniewski was given a two minute charging penalty and a five minute misconduct for fighting Duncan Keith, who came to his fallen teammates aid.

"I don't understand how the referees can see something like that and don't identify the fact that he's trying to hurt one of our players. He wasn't skating in from the blue line for any other reason than to run Seebs over and take the liberty on him," said Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews.

The hit will most certainly be reviewed by the NHL especially in the aftermath of Alexander Ovechkin's hit on Brian Campbell over the weekend and Matt Cooke’s hit on Marc Savard that led to a concussion.

"It is being looked into," NHL spokesperson Julie Young said Thursday. "If there is a suspension, it has to be done before the next game, unless the player is suspended until further notice."

Said Wisniewski after the game, “It probably will get looked at, but the result wasn't because of a shot to the head. I'm 5-foot-11 and he's 6-3. What happened was that my face hit his face. The visor came down and cut up my nose. I was shocked when I saw the result of it on the replay.

"I didn't do anything wrong," Wisniewski added. "The result of what happened isn't good, but there wasn't anything wrong that I did."

THE OTHER GAME…

Rene Bourque scored twice, once on a power play and once short handed to lead the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche last night. "We got off with a good start, getting a lucky break on the short-handed goal,” said Bourque. “ I got a nice bounce and it turned into a nice night."

Milan Hejduk scored at 19:27 of the third period to get Colorado within one goal of the desperate Flames, but it was all for naught.

"We were buzzing at the end," Hejduk said. "We came out flat right out of the gate. They outplayed us the first period and then you play catch-up hockey."

TONIGHT'S GAMES

(All times EST)

Pittsburgh at Boston 7 p.m.
Washington at Carolina 7 p.m.
St. Louis at NY Rangers 7 p.m.
Ottawa at Atlanta 7 p.m.
Buffalo at Tampa Bay 7:30 p.m.
New Jersey at Toronto 7:30 p.m.
Phoenix at Florida 7:30 p.m.

Minnesota at Nashville 8 p.m.
Philadelphia at Dallas 8:30 p.m.
San Jose at Vancouver 10 p.m.
Chicago at Los Angeles 10:30 p.m.

Has the East Been Won?

photo credit: The Canadian Press

Things could change at the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff bracket between now and April 11^th. But they won’t – minus some reshuffling, the eight teams you see this morning at the top of the standings are the ones that will be in the second season.

Just go back and watch the Rangers lose to the Canadiens, 3-1, last night at Madison Square Garden. Relive the Bruins running over the Hurricanes in Carolina, 5-2. And don’t read too much into Atlanta chasing Ryan Miller from the Buffalo net in a 4-3 victory. Once you do that, you’ll know what I mean.

Montreal’s winning streak is now six games. The run has propelled them into 6^th in the East, one point ahead of Philadelphia and seven clear of the 9^th-place Rangers.

“We’ve still got a lot of games left,” cautioned Scott Gomez. “The last thing that we’re worried about is these other teams.”

The Canadiens, though, no longer need to waste time on the Rangers. Forty-eight hours after an impressive defeat of the Flyers, the Blueshirts mustered little on offense and would’ve been beaten more badly if not for another sterling effort from Henrik Lundqvist (32 saves).

“Again, it is consistency. It is so obvious how we have to play and see how successful we can be with it,” said head coach John Tortorella. “We are just not consistent with it. What we did well against Philly, we were on the opposite end of the spectrum tonight.”

The Rangers sit three points behind the Bruins for the 8^th-and-final playoff spot. New York may win Sunday in Beantown, but could lose the following three contests. They are just not good enough to sustain a run into the postseason.

Boston got the big win last night, meanwhile, closing out a seven-game road trip with five different goal scorers supporting Tuukka Rask (30 saves). The Bruins also received good news postgame with head coach Claude Julien saying Patrice Bergeron suffered only a bruise after being hit by a shot in the leg.

TUESDAY’S SCOREBOARD (home team in CAPS)

Islanders 5 – CANUCKS 2 … John Tavares 2G, 3A after just 9 pts in his prev. 37 gms

STARS 8 – Sharks 2 … Mike Ribeiro, Brendan Morrow 2 goals apiece

PREDATORS 4 – Flyers 3 SO

Avalanche 5 – STARS 3

WILD 4 – Oilers 2

Capitals 7 – PANTHERS 3 … in game one of Alex Ovechkin’s 2-game suspension

Coyotes 2 – LIGHTNING 1

Maple Leafs 4 – SENATORS 1

THRASHERS 4 – Sabres 3

IN OTHER NEWS

- A report in this morning’s Toronto Globe and Mail says the NHL is working to implement new headshot rules immediately. A DVD of case studies is being finalized and will then be sent out to all 30 teams. This is an unprecedented move from league headquarters, and would need support from the owners AND players to be enacted before the postseason.

- The puck Sidney Crosby slipped through Ryan Miller to win the gold medal in Vancouver is headed to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. A linesman from the game actually brought the puck back to his native Finland, then it was sent to the IIHF Hall of Fame. After settling into Toronto, the puck will periodically tour Canada.

- The Blackhawks put a timetable on Brian Campbell’s return from the injuries suffered Sunday at the hands of Alex Ovechkin. The defenseman will need 7-8 weeks to recover from a broken collarbone and rib. Ovechkin, meanwhile, issued this statement in response to Monday’s two-game suspension:

“I am very sorry that Brian was injured and I hope he is able to return to his team soon. NHL hockey is a physical game. We all play hard every time we are on the ice and have battles each shift in every game we play so we can do our jobs and win. As players we must accept responsibility for our actions and I am no different but I did not intend to injure Brian and that is why I was disappointed with the NHL’s decision yesterday. Every time I have the honor to play for my team, I will continue to do what I have done since I was taught to play. I will play hard, play with passion and play with respect for my teammates, opponents and fans. I look forward to returning to my team and doing everything I can to be the best player I can be.”

Also from the injury report, Tampa Bay winger Ryan Malone will miss up to two weeks after a “minor arthroscopic procedure” on his left knee. Malone is also dealing with an upper body injury, which caused him to miss three of the previous four games. And Columbus defenseman Jan Hejda is out 3-4 weeks with a Grade-2 sprain of the MCL in his right knee.

- In Montreal, the Canadiens and center Tomas Plekanec are pausing their extension negotiations. The team and pending UFA made the mutual decision to avoid distractions as the Habs push towards the postseason. Agent Rick Curran told RDS talks remain cordial.

- Tyler Seguin is the #1 prospect, according to the International Scouting Services mid-season rankings for March. The 18-year-old Plymouth Whalers (OHL) forward replaces F Taylor Hall of the Windsor Spitfires. Seguin led the OHL in scoring this season with 48 goals and 106 points.

WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE (all times are Eastern)

Penguins @ Devils 7:00

Flames @ Avalanche 9:00

Blackhawks @ Ducks 10:00 (NHL Network)

- Andrew Bogusch, boguschhockey@gmail.com