Game 3 Preview

The Pens basically got shalacked at home in Game 2.  Honestly though, they showed many sparks of the better team.  Whenever they let their guard down, Tampa Bay took advantage.  Don't get me wrong, Tampa deserves all the credit for winning that game.  They palyed their hearts out.  They looked like the veteran team.  They were able to get inside the minds of the Penguins which was clearly visible whenever the Penguins took a stupid penalty, which they took about 4. 
This game tonight is going to be tough.  The Penguins though have some good statistics on their side.  They are 9-1 in their last 10 Game 3's.  That's a good number.  They have also been practicing a new forecheck to deploy against the dreaded 1-3-1.  They will be trying the 2-1-2 which should allow the Penguins to breakthrough.  The two guys up front will apply heavy pressure on the puck and the 1 guy high will be able to play sort of a rover role.  He will move from side to side to keep the puck downlow or get open and create scoring chances.
Bottom line: I like the Pens in Game 3.  I don't buy into all this home ice advantage.  Yeah, buildings get loud in the playoffs but good teams see past that.  The Penguins know how it feels to get beat and turn it around the next game.  They will show that tonight. Prediction: Pens win a thriller 3-1

Pens Atlantic Division Champions?

I could definately see the Pens winning the Division this year.  They are one point off of the Flyers who have been playing poorly as of late.  Both teams have 2 games remaining and Pittsburgh has a fairly easier schedule.  The Flyers hold the tiebreaker though which hopefully won't come back and bite the Pens.  If they do win the division, it would be amazing since they have been without their top 2 players for the majority of the season.  Dan Bylsma for the Jack Adams Award!

Also, Evgeni Malkin has been healing at an extremely accelerated rate.  He has even skated a few times since his injury which is amazing.  Is there any chance that he could play if the Penguins made the Stanley Cup Final?  Probably not, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did bring him out to be just on the powerplay.  Johan Franzen of the Red Wings suffered the same injury as Malkin a few years back right about the same time that Malkin did in the season.  He played limited minutes in the Stanley Cup Final that year.  Get well soon Geno!