Last season the Pens finished 4th in the East and were eliminated by the Flyers in the 1st round. If that doesn't get your blood boiling for tomorrow then go cheer for the Flyers. Sidney Crosby is healthy and hopefully looks to get all 48 games under his belt this season. Last season when he did play he racked up the points in typical fashion. He also had 8 goals in 6 games against the Flyers in the playoffs or something like that. Oh and the Pens still have that Evgeni Malkin guy. He's pretty good at hockey. The Pens traded away Jordan Staal in the off season for Brandon Sutter. Already have a feeling Sutter is gonna be better than Staal. Sutter looked great in the Black and White game. One of the questions going into this season is "who is gonna play with Evgeni Malkin and James Neal?" It looks as if Eric "cement skates" Tangradi will get the first chance. Both him and Beau Bennett saw time with Malkin during training camp but Bennett was sent down to WBS yesterday. Another question with the Pens team, their defense. They traded away Zbynek Michalek to Phoenix in the off season and never really filled his hole. The Pens are gonna roll with 8 defensemen this season. Kris Letang, Brook Orpik, Matt Niskanen, Paul Martin, Derek Engelland, Ben Lovejoy, Simon Despres, and Robert Bortuzzo. Last season Paul Martin had the "I'm gonna vomit all over myself every game bug" and he knows and hopes he can be better. But quite frankly that Penguins defensive group is mediocre at best. Hopefully Shero makes a move to acquire a d-man. If not Marc Andre Fleury and Tomas Vokoun, who was acquired in the off season to provide competition for Fleury, will be facing about 457 shots per night. Fleury had one of his best regular season last season. But his playoff performance was easily forgettable. Bringing in Vokoun gives the Pens a legitimate back up for the first time since Ty Conklin. Having Vokoun will probably be good for Fleury because he wont have to play 45 or 48 games this season. If Fleury can keep his play consistent through the entire season and playoffs their is no telling how far this team could go. Projected finish: 4th
Projected Lines
These are the lines we think you'll see tomorrow against the Flyers
Chris Kunitz-Sidney Crosby-Pascal Dupuis
Eric "Cement Skates" Tangradi-Evgeni Malkin-James Neal
Matt Cooke-Brandon Sutter-Tyler Kennedy
Craig Adams-Joe Vitale/Dustin Jeffrey-Tanner Glass/Dustin Jeffrey
Kris Letang-Simon Despres
Brooks Orpik-Paul Martin
Derek Engelland/Ben Lovejoy/Robert Bortuzzo- Matt Niskanen
Marc Andre Fleury
3 things in that line up make us want to vomit. Eric Tangradi on the second line. Tyler Kennedy in general. And the Paul Martin-Brooks Orpik defensive pair. This is gonna be a fun season.
The Pens play in almost 24 hours. Get ready.
Go Pens
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