Afternoon Buzz

The Steelers have not confirmed a report from Profootball talk that Marvel Smith will undergo another surgery on his back which will end his season. Smith is exploring all his options right now. Smith’s back injury has been much worse than the Steelers coaching staff has made it out to me. The San Diego Chargers will throw early and often against the Steelers. The Chargers will look to attack Steelers cornerback William Gay who will make his first NFL start. Fernando Bryant is vying to be the Steelers #3 cornerback this week. LaMarr Woodley remains a bit limited with his calf injury but did practice today. Woodley should play in Sunday’s game. Ben Roethlisberger, Willie Parker, and Hines Ward all

Scuderi to be a Game Time Decision

Lineup News: Rob Scuderi skated in the morning skate and will test his injured foot during the pregame skate before making a final decision as to whether he will play tonight. Scuderi wants to see how is foot reacts this afternoon. Scuderi did say following the morning skate that it is a definite that he will play Saturday night against the Sabres. If Scuderi unable to go tonight, Mark Eaton will return to the lineup. Max Talbot who started Tuesday night’s game on a line with Pascal Dupuis and Eric Godard will be back on Sidney Crosby’s line tonight. Pittsburgh Penguins (9-4-2) vs Philadelphia Flyers (5-6-3) Talbot-Crosby-Satan Fedotenko-Malkin-Sykora Cooke-Staal-Kennedy Dupuis-Zigomanis-Godard D-pairs Orpik-Letang *GTD*Scuderi-Gill Sydor-Goligoski Marc Andre Fleury will start in

Staal breaks out of offensive slump

Final thoughts from Detroit I’ve been to a lot of games in my lifetime but last night’s Penguins 7-6 win over the Red Wings is near the top. Great up and down action that saw the Penguins come back from 5-2 and 6-4 deficits. Jordan Staal broke out of his offensive slump scoring three goals and 1 assist. Last night was the best hockey I’ve seen Staal play since his rookie year. He was skating with confidence and was a force in the offensive zone especially in front of the net. Staal set up Ruslan Fedotenko for the game winner in overtime. Michel Therrien had a lot of line combinations throughout the game Talbot-Crosby-Satan Fedotenko-Malkin-Sykora Cooke-Staal-Kennedy Dupuis-Zigomanis-Godard Those are the

The Hossa Factor

The Pittsburgh Penguins (8-4-2) face off against the Detroit Red Wings (9-2-2) on Tuesday night for the first time since the Red Wings defeated the Penguins in the Stanley Cup finals. The Penguins are 6-3-1 in their past ten games and have quietly been climbing the standings in the Atlantic Division. Pittsburgh is 5 points behind the division leading Rangers who have played three more games than the Penguins. The biggest story line of the game will be Marian Hossa who spurned the Penguins 7yr – 50 million offer to sign with the Red Wings.

Crosby likely to play

Sources tell Inside Pittsburgh Sports, Sidney Crosby is skating at the teams morning skate and all indications are he will play tonight. Crosby is currently skating with Max Talbot and Miroslav Satan. Pittsburgh Penguins (7-4-2) at New York Islanders (4-8-1) Projected Lineup Talbot – Crosby – Satan Dupuis – Malkin – Sykora Cooke – Staal – Kennedy Fedotenko – Zigomanis – Godard D-Pairings Orpik – Letang Gill – Scuderi Sydor – Goligoski Starting Goaltender: Dany Sabourin

Steelers release Najeh Davenport

The Pittsburgh Steelers have announced they have released running back Najeh Davenport to make room for linebacker Donovan Woods on the 53 man roster. Davenport played in four games this season and averaged 21.7 yards on 10 kickoff returns.

Observations from last night’s 5-4 win

There were a lot of things to like last night and a lot of things not to like from the Penguins during their 5-4 win against the Edmonton Oilers Thursday night at Mellon Arena. The Penguins built a 5-0 lead but had to hold off a late Oilers surge who scored four unanswered goals. It has been a common theme for the Penguins not being able to close out games.

Edmonton Oilers at Pittsburgh Penguins 7:00 p.m.

Pittsburgh Penguins (6-4-2) Talbot – Crosby – Satan Dupuis – Malkin – Sykora Cooke – Staal – Kennedy Bissonnette – Zigomanis – Godard D-Pairings Orpik – Letang Gill – Scuderi Sydor – Goligoski Starting Goaltender: Marc Andre Fleury (5-3-2) (2.34 G.A.A.) Lineup News: *Ruslan Fedotenko skated yesterday and is currently on the ice for the morning skate and will be a Game Time Decision. If Fedotenko is able to go, he is expected to play with Staal and Kennedy and Cooke will move to the fourth line. Michel Therrien has been very mum on whether Mark Eaton will return to the lineup. By the looks of the morning skate it does appear Daryl Sydor is going to play but in