Sunday’s Pens Buzz: Malkin, Martin Updates; Some Takeaway’s from win in MTL; Kunitz perfect winger for Crosby

SUNDAY’S PENS BUZZ MALKIN & MARTIN UPDATE Evgeni Malkin practiced fully today and did take some contact. He said he would like to have a few more practices under his belt before returning to the lineup but didn’t rule himself out for tomorrow night, saying “we’ll see” about playing  vs the Tampa Bay Lightning. Bylsma said that while Malkin has been cleared for contact, he still needs to pass an impact test. Malkin said the only issues he had following the injury was memory loss and that the injury looked worse than it really was. Meanwhile, Paul Martin skated today going through individual workouts prior to practice but head coach Dan Bylsma has ruled Martin out for tomorrow night’s game.

Game Day Buzz: On Vokoun starting over Fleury, Martin’s timetable, Therrien’s impact on skilled players & lineup buzz

GAME DAY BUZZ PENGUINS (13-8-0, 26 pts) @ CANADIENS (13-4-3, 29 pts) In a surprising development, Tomas Vokoun is getting the start in goal tonight vs the Eastern Conference leading Montreal Canadiens. Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma told reporters today that starting Vokoun tonight had been pre-planned for at least a few weeks now. “This has been a game that Tomas has been scheduled to play for a couple weeks now,” Bylsma said. If this was planned weeks ago, how about telling your No. 1 goaltender ahead of time that he’s not going to be playing tonight in his hometown. According to the Tribune-Review, Fleury expressed disappointment in learning that he’s not playing. “I’m not going to lie,” Fleury said on

Post-Game Buzz: Penguins get a rare two goal game from Adams and excellent goaltending from Fleury in win

PENGUINS 3 – JETS 1 The Pittsburgh Pengins (10-5-0, 20 pts) got a rare two goal game from veteran checking line winger Craig Adams and Marc Andre Fleury was excellent in goal making 25 saves, leading the Penguins to a 3-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets (5-7-1, 11 pts) on Friday night, improving to 10-5-0, 20 pts, on the season. Adams scored at 3:19 of the first period to put the Penguins up 1-0 and added an empty net goal with 28 seconds left in the third as the Penguins earned their seventh road victory of the season. James Neal (11) also scored in the win. POST-GAME THOUGHTS When you can get a two goal game from Craig Adams you will

On one area of Tomas Vokoun’s game that could improve team defense, help transition game over Fleury

WILL THERE BE A GOALTENDER CONTROVERSY IN PITTSBURGH? How soon will we have a goaltender controversy in Pittsburgh? 5, 10, 15 games in? Not at all? Tomas Vokoun has arrived in town and the Penguins goaltending situation will be the most closely watched position this season. “We’re here to push each other and that’s the bottom line,” Vokoun said today during a media scrum. Marc Andre Fleury enters this season with a lot of pressure and major expectations and the first time he endures a mini-slump that is followed by some strong games from Vokoun, the media will be all over the goalie controversy storyline. “”Acquiring Vokoun solidified the position, gives Fleury whatever help he needs,” Pens GM Ray Shero said while

Morning Pens Buzz: Blueprint on attacking Pens offensively has emerged; Likely Playoff lines established; Post-Game Chatter

MORNING PENS BUZZ The Penguins dropping three of their last four games, continue to express frustrations over their struggles defensively. With the goaltending starting to take a step back in the past few games, issues defensively that have been there for the past six to seven games are starting to catch up. “We didn’t do a lot of good things and paid for it again,” captain Sidney Crosby said on the Penguins 5-3 to the Islanders Thursday night. “We made some mistakes and they capitalized on it.” A blueprint on how to attack the Penguins offensively is out there. Establishing a strong cycle in the offensive zone and spacing the Penguins out has been a prominent way to exploit the

3 Thoughts Pens – Av’s Fallout: How Fleury stacks up against top Vezina Candidates

Pens – Av’s Fallout PUTTING AWAY INFERIOR TEAMS 1. Pittsburgh rolled to a 5-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche last night as Evgeni Malkin, Arron Asham, Richard Park and Deryk Engelland all scored to help the Penguins stretch their winning streak to a season-high five games. What we have seen from the Penguins in three of the last four games is putting away inferior teams like they did against Tampa Bay, Columbus last weekend, and Colorado last night. PENS SURGING DOWN THE STRETCH 2. With their fifth straight win, Pittsburgh improved to (38-21-5, (81 pts) on the season and hold a four point lead for the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference entering today’s action. “It’s huge,” defenseman Brooks

Penguins by the Numbers at the 10 Game Mark & Player Report Cards

Penguins By the Numbers The Penguins are 6-2-2 at the ten game mark and have emerged as one of the Eastern Conferences elite teams, despite starting the season without Sidney Crosby, Brooks Orpik missing the first eight games of the season and Evgeni Malkin only appearing in three games this season. Some Numbers Through Ten Games: *6-2-2 record has Penguins tied for the most points in the NHL with 14. *Rank 7th in the NHL, averaging 2.90 goals per game. Pittsburgh has scored 16 even strength goals, ranking 5th in NHL. *The Penguins rank 8th in the NHL, giving up 2.10 goals against. *Pittsburgh ranks 29th in the NHL, giving up 18 even strength goals. The second worst mark in

Fleury leads Penguins to NHL record 4th straight shootout victory

Pittsburgh 2 – Florida 1 (SO) The Pittsburgh Penguins played in their fourth straight shootout and were victorious for the fourth straight game. Marc Andre Fleury made 37 saves and Ben Lovejoy scored in regulation, while Alex Kovalev, James Neal scored in the shootout, leading Pittsburgh to a 2-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Sunday afternoon at the Consol Energy Center. Fleury was 2-for-2 in the shootout, stopping Mike Santorelli and Niclas Bergfors and Alex Kovalev, the Penguins 2nd shooter, scored the decisive goal, a beautiful one, as Pittsburgh improved to 9-2-2 in their last 13 games. Fleury earned his 34th victory of the season and is 6-2-0 in his last 8 starts. Fleury set a franchise record today

Scouting Pens-Ducks: Fleury to start; Godard in?

Penguins Game Day When: November 5, 2010 | Where: Honda Center PITTSBURGH PENGUINS VS ANAHEIM DUCKS Inconsistency has marred the Penguins this season and left them treading the .500 waters 13 games into their schedule. Anaheim has suffered an exodus of blueliners in recent years and the once defensively-stout team is allowing 3.3 goals per game, fifth-worst in the NHL. Pittsburgh faces Anaheim tonight in their second of a three game Western Conference swing. The game will be broadcast at 10:00 PM in Pittsburgh. Mornin Skate Update: Malkin to center Cooke & Kennedy Evgeni Malkin’s return to the center position did not work out well in Wednesday’s 5-2 loss. Malkin was pointless and a team-worst minus-3 rating. Malkin though will

Team Canada: Crosby centering Rick Nash and Patrice Bergeron

Team Canada news and Notes Is there more pressure on any athlete in the Olympics than Sidney Crosby? The pressure for Team Canada to capture the Gold medal is enormous and Canada opens up the tournament against Norway Tuesday afternoon. Sidney Crosby who went through his first practice this evening, skated on a line with Rick Nash of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins. Nash who played with Crosby during the entire Team Canada orientation camp is not a surprise and neither is Patrice Bergeron due to Crosby and Bergeron having excellent chemistry during the world championships but that the nearly four years ago. It remains to be seen if Bergeron is the best fit