Pens Acquire Douglas Murray

Douglas Murray

Ray Shero doesn’t sleep.

This afternoon, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced they have acquired defenceman Douglas Murray from the San Jose Sharks.

What did we lose? Two second round picks.

Murray isn’t expected to play tomorrow against the Montreal Canadiens, but he is on his way to Pittsburgh.

Brenden Morrow, yesterday’s acquisition, has landed in Pittsburgh and will most likely play tomorrow. He will wear number 10, which Tanner Glass has given up for him. Tanner will take his old number 15, which was worn by Dustin Jeffrey. Dustin will now be number 17.  Got that? Good.

Let’s see what else Ray has planned in the days leading up to the Trade Deadline.

Two-Morrows

The Newest Pittsburgh Penguin, Brenden Morrow

The Pittsburgh Penguins are getting stuff done before the trade deadline.

This afternoon, the team announced they have acquired forward Brenden Morrow from the Dallas Stars for- wait for it- AHL defenseman Joe Morrow (not related, although that would be a fun story) and a fifth round pick. We also received a third round pick in that transaction.

Yeah, somehow, Ray Shero managed to get the captain of the Dallas Stars and a third round pick for an AHL defenseman and a fifth round pick. Amazing.

Morrow, Brenden that is, has some history with the Pens. He was teammates with James Neal and Matt Niskanen in Dallas until those two got traded to Pittsburgh in 2011, and he was on Team Canada at the Winter Olympics in 2010 with Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury, where he won a gold medal.

He also got into a fight with Kris Letang during a game in 2010 (the same game Crosby and Niskanen fought in). So if you play on the Dallas Stars and fought with one of the Pens, you’ll be traded to that team in a couple of years.

No word on when Morrow, Brenden that is, will make his debut with the Penguins, but I’m sure a lot of us can’t wait to see what he does!

Luck Of The Irish Misses Kris Letang

Green looks good on Sidney!

So this was supposed to be a great weekend for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Didn’t really turn out that way.

On Saturday the Pens played the Rangers, who lost their last two against Winnipeg and Buffalo. This wasn’t the best game for the Rangers either. They were shutout 3-0 by the Pens. Marc-Andre Fleury recorded his 23rd career shutout, a franchise record. Congrats to him!

Sunday, the Pens welcomed the Bruins back to Pittsburgh. The last game against them, on Tuesday, was a crazy one, with the Pens scoring 3 goals in the last 5 minutes of the third period to comeback and win 3-2. This time around, it seemed like everything happened in the first period.

Sidney Crosby, who was held off the score sheet against the Rangers, opened the scoring with a goal, his 13th of the season. Crosby currently leads the NHL in points with 48. Tyler Seguin tied it up with a goal of his own, but Joe Vitale scored one in the last few seconds of the 1st to put the Pens up 2-1. It stayed like that for the next two periods, and the Pens won their 9th straight game.

Now the bad stuff.

Kris Letang left the game after the first period and didn’t return for the next two periods. Afterwards, we were told Letang sustained a lower body injury and would be re-evaluated. Let’s hope it isn’t anything too bad.

Pens play next on Tuesday against the Washington Capitals.

Call It A Comeback!

Brandon Sutter, Game Hero

The Pittsburgh Penguins decided to show up to the game 55 minutes late with a Starbucks.

OK, maybe there was no Starbucks involved, but after it looked like the Pens would lose 2-0, the goals started coming.

With 6:18 left in the third period, and the Bruins up 2-0 on first period goals by Zdeno Chara and Tyler Seguin, Chris Kunitz scored, cutting the Bruins lead to one. Then, with 5:27 left, Brandon Sutter tied the game up.

It got better.

3 minutes later, Sutter scored again to give the Pens a 3-2 lead. They held on and won the game, after being down 2-0 for the majority of it.

Goes to show you that we should never give up on this team.

Fun fact: in 27 games played, the Penguins have yet to be a shutout. Let’s hope this keeps up!

Hello Again, Old Friend

We’ll always have the good memories (source: flickr/wstera2)

The Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Carolina Hurricanes tonight in a very special game for a couple of players on both teams.

Tonight’s game is the first time the Penguins face former Penguin Jordan Staal since his trade to the Hurricanes back in June. Not surprising, a lot has been written by the Pittsburgh media about this game, and if they were looking for some dirt from Staal, they didn’t get it. All Jordan has been saying is that despite what people said, he never held any negative feelings towards Crosby and Malkin (who even said that?), and that he’s happy in Carolina playing alongside older brother Eric.

It’s also the first time Brandon Sutter, who the Pens received in exchange for Staal, plays in his old arena against his former team. No doubt it will be an emotional one. While Brandon didn’t go into a lot of detail about his feelings, he did say that he was looking forward to this game.

Both teams played on Tuesday (the Pens against the Florida Panthers, the Canes against the Washington Capitals) and lost, so it will definitely be an intense game played tonight. No matter the result, I will cry.

Puck drops at 7:00PM. Let’s Go Pens!

Oh For Pete’s Sake- Malkin’s Hurt

Get well soon, G!

The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Florida Panthers 3-1, but the win was bitter sweet.

Evgeni Malkin fell into the boards awkwardly during the third period after a hit by Erik Gudbranson. The back of Malkin’s head hit the boards as his neck snapped back.

If you want to, here’s the video. Warning: it is a little scary to see him down like that, so watch if you want

The Panther’s opened up the scoring, but the Pens responded quickly with a Chris Kunitz power play goal. Matt Niskanen scored the second goal, and Dustin Jeffrey added in a third for good measure.

While a win is great, we’re all really concerned about Geno. Coach Bylsma said that he will be evaluated and we’ll know more tomorrow. Sigh. Let’s hope for something good.

Pens @ Jets: What To Know Beforehand

How about you score another 2 goals tonight, Sid? (source: Flickr/ztil301)

The last time these two teams met, on January 25th, the Pens lost 4-2. They will definitely want to switch it up this time around.

Eric Tangradi, who was traded to Winnipeg on Wednesday, is expected to be in the line up for the Jets, making it the first time he will play against his former team.

Beau Bennett, the Penguins first round pick in 2010, was called up and will make his NHL debut tonight. He is expected to get the start on the third line, along Brandon Sutter and Tyler Kennedy. Matt Cooke, who usually occupies that spot, will be on the second line along side Evgeni Malkin and James Neal.

Brooks Orpik will be appearing in his 600th game with the Penguins. He’s only the 7th player in Penguins history to do this. Congrats to him!

Sidney Crosby, who last time walked to the practice arena in Winnipeg to experience the Canadian cold, said that he wouldn’t do that this time around because they lost the last time he did that. Love that everything is turned into a superstition with this guy!

Puck drops at 7:00PM. Catch the game on CBC in Canada and ROOT Sports in Pittsburgh. Let’s Go Pens!

Tangradi Traded To The Jets

Bye, Tangradi!

The Pittsburgh Penguins have just announced that forward Eric Tangradi has been traded to the Winnipeg Jets for a a 7th pick at the 2013 NHL Draft.

Originally drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in 2007, Tangradi was traded to the Pens, along with Chris Kunitz, in 2009 for Ryan Whitney.

In 40 NHL games played, Tangradi had scored 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists).

It’s no secret that Tangradi struggled a bit with the Penguins, so maybe a change of scenery in Winnipeg will help him.

Good luck, Eric! See you on Friday, when the Pens take on the Jets!

The Stache Returns

Oh yeah, it’s returned

Sidney Crosby is on a bit of a streak. No, not that kind of streak. A point streak.

Sid has had a point in the last 6 games. Being the superstitious little bugger that he is, he has refused to shave off  a mustache that had started growing in that span. Let’s see how this one will pan out!

The Pens hosted the Caps, and won. 5 different Penguins scored in the second period, after the Capitals Mike Ribeiro scored a flukey goal in the 1st period.

Evgeni Malkin tied it up in the beginning of the second. Pascal Dupuis put the Pens in the lead 6 minutes later, and there was no looking back after that. James Neal scored the 3rd goal. 11 seconds later, Matt Cooke scored off a faceoff to make it 4-1. Sidney Crosby scored late in the 2nd to make it 5-1.

Ovechkin added one goal, but it didn’t help. The Caps fell to the Pens 5-2.

A lot of the Pens success has to be because of the Pens power play. What was once an embarrassing thing to watch has gotten amazing recently. 3 of the Penguins goals came on power plays.

Niskanen is still out with a lower body injury. Kris Letang, who left practice early today, was not in practice and being listed as having a lower body injury

The Pens play against the Devils on Saturday. Let’s Go Pens!

Lovejoy Goes To Anaheim

We’ll miss that smile!

The Pittsburgh Penguins have traded defenseman Ben Lovejoy to the Anaheim Ducks for a 5th round pick in the 2014 draft.

In 98 games played with the Pens, Lovejoy scored 4 goals and 21 assists. He only played 3 games this season, and was often a healthy scratch. This trade will most likely allow Lovejoy to play more minutes in Anaheim. It all works out well! Good luck, Benny. We’ll always have your fat face from 24/7.

In related news, the Pens have recalled defenseman Dylan Reese from Wilkes- Barre/Scranton. Reese currently leads all the WBS defensemen in points, with 3 goals and 12 assists. It’s not too insane to think that Reese will play against the Caps on Thursday.