Hey Eyelandurz, WE got ya presents… one for each eye!

The Pens are coming off Christmas break with a ‘home-and-home’ against the Islanders this weekend.  The first of these will be on the Island and finishing up at the Paint can.  The Pens now sit in 4th place in the metro at 16 – 15 – 5 with an opportunity to move up the standings this weekend against the 8th place at 13 – 15 – 7. 

So far this season after a rough start the Pens have equaled out to what I expected them to be at this point. Sitting just inside or outside the playoff picture depending on the day.  The next month will tell us if we will be buyers or sellers at the deadline.  I hope we are buyers and at least win a first-round playoff series. 

As we go into the new year, let’s look at the core of this team.

1. Goaltending – LOL The goaltending sucks but it is sucking a bit less.  We need to stop leaving 3 to 4 goals as a regular occurrence. It’s partly on our D, but it’s the Pens, you should know that D is not our strong suit.  Jarry is not playing up to his contract. Ned is a typical backup.
2. Crosby – He is still Crosby but…. taking the team nightly on his back just doesn’t work anymore. He still puts up his points, he will get his goals and win enough games on his own. But you can start to see a bit of cracks in his game from age. Some nights he looks like Sid, some nights he looks like a step behind. 
3. Malkin – He is into the 2nd of a 3-year deal that we all expect him to retire at the end.  He is still at the level of a 2nd line center. He is still putting up points with less-than-ideal wingers.  He is stealing pucks well, but still does bad passes and turnovers. The less he does this the better the Pens play.  He is my favorite player, but I think after next year, he will be cooked.  Just enjoy the ride, man.
4. Letang – He is still a great defenseman, but his offense isn’t what it used to be, so his lack of D really stands out. When he decides to play D, he is still excellent. It’s getting him to play D and not pinch all the damn time. 
5. Rust – Rust is just the heartbeat of the team.  Quality player that is at that rung on the ladder of being just under Elite player status.  If the Pens are going into a rebuild, expect him to be traded. I would keep him. He is the type of player that is a good transition from one generation to the next.
6. Sully – There is a reason he is still here.  The management knows how badly Hextall f****ed this team.  We all look at it as if he should be fired. Maybe he took a shit team and got them to at least have a shot at the playoffs. He might be coaching his ass off. I think they know how bad this team is and what they have to deal with in Hextall’s wake. So, if you have one of the best coaches in the league, why go on the coaching carousel for somebody worse.

Now onto the ‘gameday.’ If you expect next level stats… well, this might not be for you. You are into the eye test. Here we go.  The Islanders are getting back their first line center in Barzal.  He has been back since around December 15th so he could be finding his groove.  The Isles, while being in 8th place, are only 4 points behind the Pens. The Pens can put some distance between them and the bottom of the Metro.  They can make up some of the ground they lost when they started the season sucking like Mega Maid in SpaceBalls.

I am hoping for 3 out of 4 points, seems like that is what the pens have been good at lately. But to me, this means they are in the mix. They are playing good teams and winning or at least pushing to overtime recently.  It feels like pens hockey again.  Fresh Blue line turnovers after turnover going the other way just as God intended. What is maddening is one period they look like they can beat anybody. The next, the ghosts of the Cleveland Lumberjacks could beat them. The eye test has shown better overall play. Letang covering the point for once and not pinching, I am not kidding.  I had to check my BAC, it was 0.00 (seriously), so I knew I wasn’t drunk. Maybe he was.

What will happen in these next 2 games? Pens lose on the Isle 5 – 3 and win at home 6 – 4.  We get 2 points and it’s a wash in the standings.  It is what this season is. When they could grab something by the balls, they do just enough to not completely mess it up. But not enough to take a lead.

Enjoy the ride these next few games, it’s the holiday season. Make a drink, kick back and enjoy some hockey. Even bad hockey is better than the In-laws.