Penguins are on the 10 day road trip for the next five games. First stop is in Toronto to face Maple Leafs. While Toronto has been struggling to find their game this season we can’t underestimate them. Last time they visited Pittsburgh the gamed ended with a loss for Pens 4-3. While Toronto has the league’s worst penalty kill unit, we can’t forget that Pens have the worst power play unit. Should be very interesting match up to watch.
Personally, I am very excited for our boys to hit the road and have a little change of scenery, shake off the holiday fat and get back into the game. There are some good news, Gonchar skated this morning with Brooks Orpik and indicated that he expects to play tonight. This is very good news for the Pens since they seem to struggle without Gonchar in the lineup. Ruslan Fedotenko who had some ankle problems was also skating this morning. He is hoping to be cleared to play tonight as well.
Some not so good news, Talbot has indicated recently that he feels some discomfort in his surgically repaired shoulder. He missed practice on Wed to be evaluated by doctors. Rumors had it that he might be sidelined for a week or two.
There also have been some rumors floating around that Fleury is playing though an upper body injury. Another rumor source indicated that Fleury has an upper left arm injury that has been nagging him for weeks. While all these might just be rumors MAF is 1-6 in his last 7 games with a 4.48 GAA and a .870 save percentage. If there is some truth to these rumors I would expect to see more of Brent Johnson in the net this road trip.
Mike Yeo who was recently hospitalized with undisclosed illness in Florida will remain in Pittsburgh over the weekend to be monitored by Penguins doctors.
Some more rumors have been floating around regarding Penguins assistant coach Tony Granato. Its believed that the Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Ken Hitchcock could be let go when the team returns home from their road trip. There is a speculation that Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson has an interest in Tony Granato. Granato who signed a two year contract does include an out clause if he receives head coaching offer.
Evgeni Malkin is scoring tonight!
LETS GO PENS!