Malkin, Crosby lead Penguins to four goal third period

Game 21: Pittsburgh 5 РNew York Islanders 3 Dynamic Duo: Keep them together? Evgeni Malkin (3 goals Р1 assist Р4 pts) and Sidney Crosby (1 goal Р2 assists Р3 pts) took over in the third period and the Islanders had no answer to slow them down. Down 3-1 in the third period, head coach Michel Therrien paired Crosby and Malkin together along with Petr Sykora. Crosby/Malkin combined for three goals in a 6 minute span to put the Penguins up 4-3 with eight minutes remaining in the third period. Malkin who led the Penguins late charge, capped off the Penguins third period surge with a empty net goal to record his first hat trick of the season

Game 21: Penguins faceoff against the New York Islanders

Pittsburgh Penguins (12-5-3) at New York Islanders (9-10-2) 2008-09 SEASON SERIES Pittsburgh: 1-0-0 TEAM LEADERS Pittsburgh – Miroslav Satan, 9 goals; Evgeni Malkin, 24 assists, 31 points; New York – Bill Guerin, Trent Hunter, 8 goals; Doug Weight 17 assists, 21 points GOALTENDING Matchup Pittsburgh – Dany Sabourin (4-2-1, 1.66 GAA, .935 SV%) New York– Joey MacDonald (9-7-2, 2.78 GAA, .912 SV%) SPECIAL TEAMS Pittsburgh – Power Play: 18.3%, Penalty Kill: 84.3% New York – Power Play: 17.0%, Penalty Kill: 84.0% Pittsburgh Penguins Projected Lineup Max Talbot РSidney Crosby РMiroslav Satan Pascal Dupuis РEvgeni Malkin РPetr Sykora Matt Cooke РJordan Staal РTyler Kennedy Ruslan Fedotenko РMike Zigomanis РEric Godard D- Pairs Brooks Orpik РKris Letang Alex

Penguins edge Thrashers 3-2

The Penguins power play which has struggled away from Mellon Arena came through for the Penguins tonight as Petr Sykora and Sidney Crosby each scored power play goals to lead the Penguins to a 3-2 over the Atlanta Thrashers Thursday night. Petr Sykora started the season with just three points in his first eight games, but has nine points in his last 10 games, and scored the game winner on the power play with 2:40 remaining in the third period. Sidney Crosby played very well and scored his seventh goal of the season to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead 12:24 into the second period. Crosby also had two assists on the night to give him 25 points on the season.

Game 18: Wild snap Penguins 6 game winning streak

Minnesota Wild 2 – Pittsburgh Penguins 1 The Minnesota Wild’s trapping defense frustrated the Penguins at times and the league’s top penalty kill unit held Evgeni Malkin & Co scoreless on the power play. The Penguins were 0-for-4 on the power play and failed to capitalize in overtime after Wild forward Brent Burns drew a high-sticking penalty with 1:28 remaining in the overtime period. The Wild were able to force a shootout and goaltender Niklas Backstrom, put on a strong performance Tuesday night at Mellon Arena, stopping 24-of-25 shots, turning aside Petr Sykora, Alex Goligoski and Sidney Crosby in the shootout to the lead the Minnesota Wild to a 2-1 win. The loss snapped the Penguins 6 game winning streak.

Crosby scores twice, leads Penguins to 5-4 win

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin continued their dominance against the Flyers and Penguins rookie Alex Goligoski scored on his first career shootout attempt as the Penguins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 Thursday night at Mellon Arena. Pittsburgh got out to a early 3-0 lead getting goals from Matt Cooke, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby but a 3-0 lead is never safe for the Penguins this year. The Penguins power play went 1-7 and Simon Gagne scored twice short-handed during a four-goal second period that put the Flyers up 4-3. Penguins head coach Michel Therrien pulled starting goalie Marc Andre Fleury following the second period. Fleury has given up 10 goals in his last 5 periods of regulation play. Dany Sabourin

The Latest Penguins Buzz

The Penguins coming off of an 4-1 loss to the Phoenix Coyotes have arrived in St. Louis and cancelled their practice for this afternoon. The Penguins are having trouble finding common ground and only have 25 goals in 11 games. With today being an off day its gives the front office and the coaching staff the opportunity to explore their options. Could we expect some changes when the Penguins return from their 9 game road trip? Will they stay in-house to resolve the goal scoring issues? The Latest speculation and a update on Sidney Crosby

Penguins increase value by 26 percent

According to Forbes annual rankings the Toronto Maple Leafs have seen their value increase by 9 percent and are worth $448 million, the highest value in the entire NHL. The top 5 rounds out with the New York Rangers ($411 million), Montreal Canadiens ($334 million), followed by the Detroit Red Wings ($303 million) and the Philadelphia Flyers ($275 million).

Penguins to begin four game road trip

The Penguins have quietly won four out of their last five games. The Penguins begin a four-game road trip Saturday night in New York against the Rangers. The 6-2-1 Rangers play the Columbus Blue Jackets Friday night. I may be in the minority here, but throughout the past couple years I have not been against the Penguins playing Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby together. Coming into the season I expected Malkin and Crosby to play together quite often but not this early in the season. In the past four games Crosby and Malkin have combined for 19 points. Keeping them together is the best option right now with the current group of wingers the Penguins have. Jordan Staal and Ruslan

Thursday’s Practice Report

DePaoli’s got the inside scoop from practice. Read more for the latest from this mornings workout and the lines Michel Therrien went with.

Post Game Analysis

Pittsburgh 4 – Ottawa 3 Key Stats 7 out of the last 8 regular season games between the Penguins and Senators have been 1 goal games Tyler Kennedy scored his first goal in 29 games. The Penguins were 0-7 on the power play Kris Letang led the Penguins in ice time 24:40 Rob Scuderi scored his first goal in 123 games Inside Analysis