The Bruins are a point away from being the top team in the Eastern Conference and have played the fewest games in the league.

To preview the game, the Fan Morning Show spoke with Bruins radio color analyst, and former Boston Bruin, Bob Beers.

Bob tells us that the Bruins will not be able to shut down the Sidney Crosby line. But, they will match Zdeno Chara against him, hoping to contain the NHL scoring leader.

The Bruins played a game that went all the way to a shootout Monday night, so Bob tells us what kind of effect that could have on them as they traveled to Pittsburgh late at night.

For a complete preview, click below:

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The Penguins, Bruins and Montreal Canadiens have been locked in a battle for the top spot in the Eastern Conference through much of the first half of the season.

Two points separate the three teams entering tonight’s game, where a win would move the Penguins into a tie with Montreal.

Boston has played the fewest number of games in the league so far, but they are coming off a 3-2 shootout win over the Ottawa Senators Monday night.

Goals could be hard to come by for the Penguins tonight as the Bruins have allowed the fewest (50) in the league.

Patrice Bergeron currently leads the team with 21 points, but David Krejci and Brad Marchand each have 20.

Marchand also leads the team with 12 goals this season.

While the Bruins are playing sound team defense, Tuukka Rask has been a major factor in the team’s success thus far.

Rask is 13-2-3 with a 1.96 GAA and a .927 save percentage so far since assuming the starting role after Tim Thomas elected to not play this season. Thomas has since been traded to the New York Islanders, but still has not suited up this season.

Rask is 1-2 with a 2.69 GAA and a .913 save percentage against the Penguins.

It remains to be seen if Rask will start on back-to-back nights, but if he doesn’t, the Bruins have a young capable backup as well.

Anton Khudobin is 4-1 with a 2.42 GAA and a .910 save percentage in five starts this season. Khudobin has not played against the Penguins in his brief NHL career.

For Pittsburgh, they will be without the services of Evgeni Malkin again tonight. Malkin continues to recover from an upper-body injury he suffered against the Maple Leafs on Saturday.

The duo of Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz more than rose to the occasion in Malkin’s absence on Sunday against the Islanders.

Crosby had five assists, while Kunitz recorded his second hat trick of the season in addition to setting up two other goals in a 6-1 win.

Crosby has now opened up an eight-point lead on Steven Stamkos in the NHL scoring race. Meanwhile, Kunitz has quietly crept up the leaderboard and sits just one point behind Stamkos entering play tonight.

Marc-Andre Fleury (12-5-0, 2.71 GAA, .902 save percentage) has allowed at least three goals in each of his last four starts. Granted, he hasn’t been on the hook for all of them, but the last time he had allowed more than three was a 4-1 loss to the Islanders on Jan. 29.

Against the Bruins, Fleury is 9-5-2 with a 2.20 GAA and a .930 save percentage with two shutouts.

According to the Penguins’ official website, Pittsburgh has won their previous three meetings against the Bruins.

The puck is set to drop at 7:30 p.m. and you can watch the game on Root Sports or NBC Sports Network.

The New York Islanders controlled the play for about three minutes to start the game, but it was all downhill from there as the Penguins cruised to a 6-1 win.

This may have been the most complete performance the Penguins have put together this season. While the offense was certainly fun to watch, the Penguins were rock solid defensively.

They held the Islanders to 24 shots and the lone goal against was the direct result of some bad luck for Simon Despres.

If ever there was an example of “Penguins Hockey” that Dan Bylsma and Co. constantly refer to, last night was it. The Penguins were tying up sticks in the lanes, blocking shots, making quick outlet passes and anything else you could possibly ask of them.

It was rather refreshing to see some solid team defense after allowing at least three goals in each of the previous seven games.

However, we need to keep this in some perspective because it came against the Islanders. I’m not trying to take a shot at the team here. The Islanders are still very young and while they are improving in some regard, consistency is something they continue to struggle with.

The true test for the Penguins will come this week with games against the Bruins (2), Maple Leafs and Rangers.

You could essentially look at this week as a measuring stick. The Bruins are one of the stingiest teams in the league, so goals will be at a premium. Entering Monday’s NHL action, the Bruins have only allowed 48 goals in 22 games. Because of that, it might be a good idea to continue to be responsible in the defensive zone when they come to town on Tuesday.

Anyway, I think we can all agree that Chris Kunitz is having a season to remember right now. The only guy hotter than him is his linemate Sidney Crosby.

With five-point performances by both players last night, Kunitz (17 goals, 19 assists, 36 points) is now only one point behind Steven Stamkos for second overall in the NHL scoring race. Kunitz is also just two goals behind Stamkos for the league lead as well.

Let that sink in for a minute.

To put this in perspective, Kunitz had a total of 61 points (26 goals, 35 assists) in 82 games a year ago.

Last night, Kunitz recorded his second hat trick of the season. Keeping with the theme of a ridiculous start to the season, the hat trick came on sock monkey giveaway night. As a result, fans immediately gave the sock monkeys back by littering the ice with them when he completed the trick in the second period.

Meanwhile, Crosby is close to making a mockery of the scoring race with 45 points (12 goals, 33 assists) in 26 games. He has already opened up an eight-point lead on Stamkos and is showing no signs of stopping.

Earlier this season, I mentioned how it didn’t look like Crosby was himself. Passes weren’t crisp, he looked a little tentative to go to dirty areas, etc.

That has changed entirely.

Crosby is absolutely flying right now. Over the past couple of weeks you get the feeling that something special is coming every time he touches the puck. He doesn’t even have to put the puck in the back of the net to make you shake your head in disbelief.

He had a rush up ice in overtime against the Leafs on Saturday, where he shed a defender at the blue line, made a drop pass, made a bee line to the post and nearly scored on a one-timer from a near-impossible angle.

Then, was there any doubt in anyone’s mind that he wasn’t going to score in the shootout? With the game on his stick, Crosby closed in and fired a quick shot to the shelf before James Reimer knew what even happened.

It’s been incredible to watch and there’s no reason to think that Crosby won’t continue to get better as the season goes on – if that’s even possible.

Now, let’s update the adjusted GAA standings. Due to being out of state for a couple of days, there won’t be write-ups for the games against the Flyers or Maple Leafs, but I have analyzed the goals and assigned points as usual. Those totals are reflected in the updated standings below.

Goal No. 1 – Boyes’ Snipe

Simon Despres tripped over the blue line, which gave the Isles a 2-on-1. Boyes closed in on Vokoun and ripped a wrist shot to the shelf.

Obviously, Despres takes some of the blame here, but Vokoun has to come out and challenge the shooter in this situation.

You’re taught as a kid that in a 2-on-1, the defenseman’s job is to block the pass to the back door and the goalie is supposed to take the shooter. Vokoun didn’t cut the angle enough and Boyes made a great shot to pick the far corner.

Points Assigned:

0.5 Despres

0.5 Vokoun

There’s a new leader in the overall standings, which you can see here.

(Standings reflect the last 7 games)

Chris Kunitz had a five-point night with three goals on Sunday against the Islanders. When asked about a reason for Kunitz’s elevated play, Bob offered “Sidney Crosby” as the main reason.

Crosby’s health has had a major impact on the team because he has become more comfortable on the ice and his chemistry with Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis.

Tomas Vokoun did not face many shots last night, but was solid enough to give the Penguins a chance to win.

“There weren’t many second chances,” Errey said of Vokoun’s rebound control.

The Penguins are gearing up for a tough game against Boston on Tuesday night. Bob is looking forward to a tough test for the Penguins. Of the Pens and Bruins, Errey tells the guys “they are the two best teams in the East.”

For a portion of the interview, click below:

Evgeni Malkin will also not be playing in this game. Malkin was injured in the third period against the Maple Leafs after taking a hit from James van Riemsdyk last night.

The Penguins said in a tweet Saturday afternoon: “MALKIN UPDATE: Will not play tonight vs. NY Islanders, per coach Bylsma.”

Via Twitter, the team also said that Malkin has an upper body injury and that Coach Dan Bylsma isn’t concerned it’s a concussion.

Last night, the Penguins earned a 5-4 shootout win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. The pace of the game picked up in the second period and didn’t quit until the end of overtime.

The Penguins saw a couple of two-goal leads evaporate as Toronto continued to battle back from a 3-1 deficit after one period of play.

Sidney Crosby scored a goal in regulation and netted the game-winner in the shootout to extend the Penguins’ lead in the Atlantic Division to seven points over the New Jersey Devils.

The Islanders (11-11-3-25 points) enter tonight’s game in fourth place in the Atlantic Division, but are just two points behind the Devils and one point behind the Rangers.

The Islanders also played on Saturday and earned a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals. John Tavares scored two goals in 30 seconds to break a 2-2 tie in the third period to lead his team to victory.

New York also outshot the Capitals 45-24.

The Islanders are 3-0-2 in their last five games overall and won 4-1 against the Penguins at CONSOL Energy Center back on Jan. 29. This will be the third meeting between the two teams and the road team has won both.

Tavares’ two goals yesterday give him 16 for the season, which leads the club. He also leads the team with 29 points. Matt Moulson isn’t far behind with 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists).

Evgeni Nabokov (11-7-3, 2.87 GAA, .905 save percentage) played against the Capitals on Saturday and it remains to be seen if he’ll start back-to-back games.

Against the Penguins, Nabokov is 10-3 with a 1.80 GAA and .938 save percentage.

If he doesn’t play, Kevin Poulin (0-1, 3.03 GAA, .889 save percentage) would get the nod. Against the Penguins, he is 0-1 with a 1.01 GAA and .969 save percentage.

For Pittsburgh, Crosby is racking up points at an alarming rate. With 40 points (12 goals, 28 assists), he is starting to pull away from the rest of the league in the scoring race. He had been locked in a tight battle with Steven Stamkos, but has since opened up a three-point lead on him.

In 38 games against the Islanders, Crosby has 20 goals and 48 assists, with five goals and 23 assists coming on the power play.

It would seem likely that Tomas Vokoun (5-3-0, 3.32 GAA, .890 save percentage) will get the start tonight after Fleury played against Toronto on Saturday.

Against the Islanders, Vokoun is 14-7-1 with a 2.08 GAA and .933 save percentage. He also has four shutouts against New York.

The puck is set to drop at 7 p.m. and you can watch it on Root Sports.

Neal opened the shootout with a goal against James Reimer before Crosby sealed the win on Pittsburgh’s second attempt after Marc-Andre Fleury stopped Toronto’s Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri.

Phil Kessel forced overtime for the Maple Leafs with his seventh of the season at 15:40 of the third.

GAME DETAILS:

• Box Score
• Play-By-Play
• More NHL News

Neal, Crosby, Beau Bennett and Pascal Dupuis scored in regulation for Pittsburgh (17-8-0), which outshot Toronto 41-26. Crosby scored in his first game in Toronto in over three years to extend his point streak to a season-high seven games (five goals, 10 assists).

James van Riemsdyk, Cody Franson and Clarke MacArthur had the other goals for Toronto (15-10-1). Defenseman Dion Phaneuf added three assists.

Crosby, who leads the NHL with 40 points (12 goals, 28 assists), played in Toronto for the first time since Jan. 9, 2010.

In 11 career visits, Crosby has nine goals and six assists. He has an eight-game point streak against the Maple Leafs.

Overall, Crosby has 19 goals and 19 assists in 24 career meetings with the Maple Leafs.

Pittsburgh outshot Toronto 13-5 in the first period and grabbed a quick lead when Neal scored his 16th of the season just 36 seconds in. Matt Niskanen’s point shot was partially blocked, but the puck dribbled into the slot to Neal, who fired a shot past Reimer.

Van Riemsdyk tied it at 7:14 during a power play, scoring his 14th goal, but Crosby and Bennett combined to give Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead.

Crosby netted his 12th goal at 14:31 after Reimer couldn’t control Kris Letang’s shot, allowing Letang to get the rebound back to Crosby. Bennett’s shot got past Reimer at 15:21, giving Bennett his second of the season.

Franson’s second of the year pulled Toronto within a goal on the power play at 10:12 of the second, while Crosby was off for tripping. Dupuis put Pittsburgh ahead 4-2 at 13:01 with his ninth, but MacArthur made it 4-3 a minute later with his seventh.

Reimer finished with 37 saves.

RELATED LINKS:
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Errey joined Starkey, Miller and Mueller on The FAN as the team headed to Toronto for their next matchup and told us how important the play of Sidney Crosby was in last night’s game.

“He’s playing like he did when he was rolling 25 straight games with a point,” Errey said. “You just don’t understand sometimes the work rate and the effort that goes into the job you have to, and guys can’t do it.”

Errey also talked about the performance by Beau Bennett and if we’ll really see him take off now that he’ll consistently be on the same line with Evgeni Malkin and James Neal.

“This was a real tough one,” Coates said. “Especially having that lead….all of a sudden they just stopped.”

Coates said the Flyers did not have the same intensity as they did a couple of weeks ago when they won here in Pittsburgh. He said the Penguins –despite falling behind 4-1 early — came out strong in the second period and the Flyers had no answer for it.

He is not concerned that this loss will hurt the Flyers and their playoff hopes, but it sure doesn’t help.

“When you have a lead like that, you just can’t blow it,” Coates said. “He said what really hurts is that could have been two points for you but rather you fall two more behind. It was a four-point swing and it’s a tough one to lose.”

Coates says he is not sure which direction the Flyers will take at the trading deadline and whether they will be buyers or sellers because so many teams in the East still think they have a shot to win. He said he thinks the Flyers are in that same spot.

He hopes that they don’t do anything big at the deadline and waste some of the young talent for the future in a deal for a rental player.

Coates said he just felt that the Flyers failed to do what they need to do to beat the Penguins.

Listen to the interview here:

Chris Kunitz scored his second goal just 18 seconds into the third period to cap a four-goal rally that lifted Pittsburgh to a 5-4 victory over the Flyers on Thursday night.

Pascal Dupuis, James Neal and Tyler Kennedy also scored for the Atlantic Division leaders, who won their third straight game.

GAME DETAILS:

• Box Score
• Play-By-Play
• More NHL News

The teams have combined for 20 goals in their last two games after a memorable, high-scoring playoff round in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals last spring.

Jakub Voracek had two power-play goals, and Zac Rinaldo and Kimmo Timonen also scored for the Flyers, who blew a 4-1 lead after the first period.

Both starting goalies — Philadelphia’s Ilya Bryzgalov and Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury — were pulled after allowing four goals.

Scott Hartnell had his tying goal disallowed near the midpoint of the third period because his stick was above the crossbar when he deflected Timonen’s shot into the net.

The Flyers fell to 11-13-1 and remain on the outside of the playoff race with 23 games remaining.

The visitor has won all three games this season in this intrastate rivalry between two teams that struggle to play much defense against each other.

Voracek had a hat trick in a wild 6-5 win at Pittsburgh on Feb. 20. The Flyers and Penguins totaled 45 goals through the first four games of last year’s first-round playoff series that Philadelphia won in six games.

A turnover by Timonen near Pittsburgh’s blue line led to a 3-on-1 break for the Penguins. Crosby fed Kunitz, who ripped one past a diving Brian Boucher to give the Penguins their first lead in the opening minute of the third period.

An unusual number of Penguins fans at the Wells Fargo Center roared in approval while the orange-clad Flyers fans fell silent.

Dupuis got Pittsburgh’s comeback started, scoring off a crisp, behind-the-net pass from Crosby to cut it to 4-2.

Just 2:43 later, Neal scored his team-high 15th goal. Neal tried to center a pass from the side of the net to Evgeni Malkin in front, but the puck hit Bryzgalov’s blocker and went under him.

Then, Kennedy ripped a slap shot just inside the left post to tie it at 4 with 4:13 left in the second. That ended Bryzgalov’s night. Boucher entered to the usual “Boosh” chants.

The Flyers scored three times in the last 5 minutes of the first period to take a 4-1 lead.

First, Rinaldo put Philadelphia up 2-1 with his third goal of the season. Fleury kicked aside Nicklas Grossmann’s slap shot, but the rebound went to Rinaldo in front and he snapped a wrister into the net.

Fleury then gave Philadelphia a gift goal when Timonen’s floater from outside the left circle bounced off his chest and went in.

Seconds into a power play, Voracek got his 12th goal on a wrister from the point that hit defenseman Paul Martin’s skate and trickled between Fleury’s legs with only 8 seconds left in the period.

Fleury angrily flicked the puck out of the net and was replaced by Tomas Vokoun at the start of the second.

Voracek scored his team-high 11th goal to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead near the midpoint of the first period. Claude Giroux set it up with a crossing pass from the left circle to the right, where Voracek slipped a soft one-timer between Fleury’s legs.

As the Flyers celebrated, Hartnell got into it with Neal, who was coming out of the penalty box. The Penguins ended up with a power play and Kunitz scored his 13th goal less than a minute later to tie it.

RELATED LINKS:
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When asked if he thinks the Penguins’ defense is playing well enough to win a Stanley Cup, Errey replies, “not yet. Right now, they’re not there.”

Errey notes that the team has the personnel to improve its defense, but must improve its execution.

“When you’re down in the bottom third of goals against, you’re not good enough right now to win a Stanley Cup. You have to get up into the top third of that category,” he said. “That’s where the Boston Bruins are, and that’s why I think they’re going to be tough in the Eastern Conference. The [Pens' defense] isn’t good enough today.”

Overall, Errey looks forward to another meeting with the Flyers, and he’s encouraged by how the Penguins put together a complete game against Tampa Bay. Still, he is scratching his head over some of the Penguins’ other inconsistencies.

Errey also singles out Chris Kunitz as a player who has stepped up the most for the Penguins.

He praised the recent play of point guards James Robinson and Tray Woodall, pointing out the ways each of them is an asset to the squad.

“James is very steady,” Knight said. “I think he gives us a presence, a kind of stable-ness in the back court  … when it gets to the end of the game, he just kind of has level-headedness about him.”

“I think Tray just makes plays for everybody, as evidenced in his leading us in assists,” he also said. “When we need a big shot to be made, or a big play to be made,  that’s the kind of player he’s been for us all year.”

When asked about the effect that Pitt supposedly scratching its sets against South Florida had on the Panthers, he said that the most noticeable change was in Pitt’s transition game.

“We’ve got to get out in transition- that’s what we really did late in the South Florida game,” Knight said. “We got out in transition, we pushed the ball and we got some better looks in transition.”

He doesn’t buy the notion that some post-season games are more worthy of a team’s focus than others are.

“You want to play well in all of these games,” Knight said. “You carry that momentum. I know sometimes people say that you can’t focus too much on the conference tournament. I can’t understand how that makes sense.”

The interview can be heard here:

Macnow said he agrees with Ilya Bryzgalov’s recent comments about the Flyers not being good, explaining that they’re a .500 team that may struggle to make the playoffs. He did acknowledge, though, that the Penguins’ up-tempo style makes them vulnerable to the kind of game the Flyers play.

He expects tonight’s match-up to be a high-scoring affair like the last game between the two teams.

When asked to explain Flyers’ fans disdain for Sidney Crosby, Glen explained that Crosby’s appearance is a major contributing factor.

“He does have that expression that looks like he’s always going to cry,” Macnow said. “It’s a Tony Romo, Eli Manning kind of whiny-crybaby-hate-the-face kind of guy, and as much as you guys admire Sidney Crosby and those cups and all that, I believe even you would admit — the man is known to take a dive.”

He added that Flyers fans still harbor resentment toward the Pens’ Joe Vitale for allegedly taking a run at the Flyers’ Daniel Briere last year.

He also mentioned that Max Talbot has become a fan favorite in Philadelphia, even though Talbot’s second season in Philadelphia isn’t proving to be as productive as his first was.

The interview can be heard here:

Evgeni Malkin returned from a concussion and you could just tell he was going to score at some point in the game.

Both he and Crosby were incredible and would not be denied. Tampa Bay did a good job of containing them and the rest of the Penguins through two periods, but the inevitable happened in the third.

While trailing 2-1, Malkin picked off a pass in the neutral zone and hit the blue line in full flight. With two defenders back, Malkin dished the puck to open space, made a lateral move most NFL running backs would be jealous of and burned Anders Lindback. It was a thing of beauty to watch.

About two minutes later, Crosby finally cashed in and broke the tie on a one-timer from Kris Letang.

James Neal added an empty netter, which ended up being the game-winning goal after a late fluke goal by Steven Stamkos.

Overall, the Penguins did a much better job in their own end than they had in the previous three games. Rebounds were being cleared out of danger and Lightning sticks were being tied up around the net.

There’s still a lot of room for improvement, but it’s not going to happen overnight. The good news is that there was progress and they still got the win, which is the most important part.

My only real criticism from the game was the power play, which failed to convert on three chances.

Letang is obviously a great player and while he’s struggled recently in his own end, he’s struggled for most of the season on the power play.

Quite simply, he should not be the guy carrying the puck up the ice unless he’s going to dump it in appropriately. Several times against Tampa Bay, he glided through the neutral zone forcing his forwards to stop their momentum, at which point he chips the puck deep to the waiting opposing defenseman. It’s an easy out every time.

If he’s going to lead the rush and dump it in, he’s got to dump the puck when the forwards are hitting the blue line with speed to have a shot at getting the puck.

It’s a minor adjustment, but until it happens, he’s going to get denied at the blue line every time or give the opposition an easy clear.

When the Penguins did get set up on the power play against the Lighting it was usually off of an offensive zone faceoff win. Once set up, the Pens had several good chances, but just couldn’t cash in.

Now, the Penguins will head to Philadelphia Thursday with a five-point lead in the division over the New Jersey Devils.

Over the weekend, I introduced a new statistic that I’m keeping track of to hopefully shine some more light on how goals against are not solely the goalie’s fault in most cases.

For some, the goalie is the easy scapegoat because “it’s his job to stop the puck.” While that’s certainly what he gets paid to do, there are five other guys on the ice who are supposed to help him out too.

With that said, let’s break down the goals Tampa Bay scored Monday night.

Goal No. 1 – Stamkos Back Door Tap In

Tampa Bay enters the Penguins’ zone on a 3-on3 with Pascal Dupuis backchecking hard. Orpik stays with the puck carrier (St. Louis) as he pulls up at the top of the faceoff circle.

St. Louis feeds Victor Hedman with a cross-ice pass as Stamkos drives the net. Dupuis picked up Hedman, but Deryk Engelland slid over toward Dupuis’ area as well, which left Stamkos all alone on the back door.

All Hedman had to do was put the puck on Stamkos’ tape for the easy goal. Joe Vitale and Orpik were late getting back to the front of the net as well, but most of the blame in this case is on Engelland for not recognizing where Dupuis was and allowing Stamkos to get to the net easily.

In this case, Fleury is squared up to Hedman because he has to respect the possibility of a shot coming, while trusting his teammates to pick up the back door.

Points assigned:

• Engelland 0.5
• Vitale 0.25
• Orpik 0.25

Goal No. 2 – Pyatt Uses His Face To Score

It wasn’t a good second period for Engelland, who once again is the goat on this play.

Ondrej Palat burned Engelland in the corner and was able to skate behind the net and feed Nate Thompson in the faceoff circle. Thompson’s turnaround wrist shot deflected off of Brandon Sutter’s stick, into Taylor Pyatt’s face. The puck then fluttered over Fleury and into the net.

Engelland getting beat in the corner was the main reason the goal was scored. However, Simon Despres had a chance to block the pass from Palat to Thompson and was unable to do so.

Sutter did the correct thing and got a stick on the shot and had Pyatt’s face not been in the way, the puck would have sailed over the net.

It’s a fluke goal, but Despres and Engelland share the blame on this one as Fleury could not see anything through the screen in front and was down in the butterfly in an attempt to take up as much room as possible in the event a shot got through the masses in front.

Points assigned:

• Engelland 0.5
• Despres 0.5

Goal No. 3 – Stamkos Shows Off His Baseball Skills

Down 4-2 in the dying seconds of the game, the Lighting were buzzing in the Penguins’ end. Vincent Lecavalier’s initial shot was stopped by Fleury, but the puck popped off his stick straight up in the air.

Unable to locate it in time, Stamkos reached in and knocked it out of the air and into the net for his second goal of the night.

While Fleury will get charged with some of the blame on the goal, Tanner Glass is on the hook too.

Glass slid over to Lecavalier and attempted to block the shot, but missed. The puck went right under him and onto Fleury’s stick.

Granted, this is the second weird goal of the game for the Lightning, but it doesn’t matter how it goes in right?

Fleury’s stick was just slightly angled, which allowed the puck to pop up in the air as well.

Points assigned:

• Fleury 0.5
• Glass 0.5

Engelland climbs up the list and is now fourth in the adjusted GAA standings. See how the rest of the list looks by clicking the following link: View the updated standings here

(Standings reflect the last 4 games)

Check back after Thursday’s game against Philadelphia for more updates to the list.

With Thursday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers marking the midway point of the season, Cooke offers his critique of where the Penguins are at the midterm.

“I think we’re a work in progress,” he says. “If we get a win [against the Flyers], I think we would be pretty pleased that it would be 16 wins out of the first 24. We’re not where we want to be heading into the playoffs, but it’s a climb. It’s a building process, and we’ll work into that.”

Cooke looks back on his two-goal game against Montreal, and is still amazed by Evgeni Malkin’s highlight-reel goal against Tampa Bay. He is also eager to see if the Pens can keep their cool against the Flyers on Thursday night.

Cooke also hopes the best for New York Rangers defenseman Marc Staal, who was hit in the eye by a puck.

When asked his thoughts on how NHL players feel about visors, Cooke said, “If you really wanted to wear one, you’ll wear one. If you don’t want to wear one, you’ll find any excuse not to wear one. But I do think it should be an individual choice. You know the risks are there, but I don’t think it should be mandatory.”

Matt Cooke joins Vinnie & Cook every week on Sportsradio 93-7 The Fan. His next appearance is scheduled for Wednesday, March 13.

Most of the time.

Actually, almost all the time.

But not in this instance, not when it comes to what Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said last Thursday just after his team was embarrassed, 4-1, by the Carolina Hurricanes.

After the game — the second of two consecutive losses — Crosby said to Root Sports, among other things: “Every team we play against knows what to expect from us, and they’re willing to compete. We’ve basically been outworked the last two games, and there’s no excuse for that.”

Remember, this loss came on the heels of an effort in Florida in which the Penguins were, by all accounts, also outworked in a 6-4 loss to the Panthers. Certainly goaltender Tomas Vokoun could have played better against the Panthers, but many others also showed an effort below the acceptable bar. The defense in front of Vokoun did him no favors in that loss.

So, just as Crosby left the ice in Carolina, with a trip to Montreal still looming on the three-game road trip with bad losses unable to be shaken from his mind, Crosby knew it was time to speak up.

And he did.

He put his teammates on blast.

Not full-bore, all-out blast, not an all-out detonation.

No, he did it with sharpness and a firm nature, yet with a subtlety where he didn’t name names, didn’t embarrass any one teammate more than the others.

Make no mistake, however, when an athlete uses the word “outwork” — or any variance of the term — their teammates know exactly the message that’s being sent.

In short, the 25-year-old captain saw an opportunity to carry out a duty prescribed by that capital ‘C’ sewn into his sweater and carried it out perfectly. What Crosby said to the assembled media was not just perfect in its delivery, but has been perfect in execution since.

After he spoke those words, the Penguins have gone on to win two games — one in Montreal, another at home against Tampa — heading into Thursday’s game in Philadelphia.

Another layer to this is that Crosby isn’t some Ryan Clark-type or Joey Porter-type character, not the kind of locker room voice who speaks again and again and again … and then some more.

He picks his spots, thus, making the instances when he does speak up resonate all that louder.

Some will draw a direct line, connect some dots that these Penguins have rebounded — or at least won the Tampa game — since superstar Evgeni Malkin returned from a concussion, as he scored a goal showered in glory against the Lightning.

That much is true. Malkin’s return definitely has had something of an impact to the Penguins.

But my thought is that the words Crosby spoke in a gloomy Carolina postgame also have had a gigantic influence.

Here’s something that might just be the biggest component in all of this: It’s one thing to talk, one thing to call people out and make hollow claims. Indeed it’s quite another to do that in concert with picking up your own level of play. In that Carolina game, Crosby was a minus-2; in the Florida loss just prior, the captain had two assists but failed to generate the type of offense we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from that first line.

Since he spoke up? Since he called his team out?

In the win at Montreal, Crosby pretty much put the Penguins on his back at times in a 7-6, overtime victory, scoring once and notching two assists on five shots. Then against Tampa, he had another multi-point night, with a goal and an assist.

Both nights, he has whipped around the ice with a noticeable pep that wasn’t as noticeable in Carolina.

Simply put, it’s one thing to point fingers at everyone but forget about pointing at yourself — Crosby, in this instance, called out the entire changing room.

Talk is cheap many, many times.

Not here.

The proof is in the last two Penguins games.

Former Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Sports Writer Colin Dunlap is the featured columnist at CBSPittsburgh.com. He can also be heard weeknights from 10p-2a on Sports Radio 93-7 “The Fan.” You can e-mail him at colin.dunlap@cbsradio.com.

Following the interview, The Fan Morning Show’s Gregg Giannotti made an inquiry as to the proper pronunciation of Despres’ name, and the answer blew everyone away.

According to a Penguins official, the correct pronunciation is actually “SIGH-man duh-PRAY.”

Dreger says he has faith that Ray Shero can make strong moves at the deadline. He expects that the Pens will probably look at a rental player, as Shero is mindful of the challenge of re-signing Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin that looms large.

As for Letang, Dreger thinks he is quite under-appreciated, and sees him as being “borderline impossible to replace,” on the level of Erik Karlsson and better than Drew Doughty.

Dreger thinks the Penguins acquiring Jerome Iginla is a real possibility, but doesn’t think such a decision would be make until the last minute.

He also doesn’t think there’s any truth to the rumor that Simon Despres would be available in a deal for Jack Johnson.

The interview can be heard here:

When it comes to the rumors of the Penguins being interested in Columbus Blue Jackets’ defenseman Jack Johnson, Allen says he’d be surprised if Columbus lets him go because they’re building around him, but acknowledges that for the right price, they’ll make a move.

Calgary Flames’ forward Jarome Iginla is another guy mentioned as a player the Penguins are interested in, and Allen tells us what the cost would be for renting Iginla, who is in the final year of his contract.

While talking about all of these moves, Allen mentions the Pens could stand pat and still be considered a favorite to win the Stanley Cup.

“To be honest, I don’t think they need to do anything.  I think they’ve got as good of a chance as anyone to win the Cup,” said Allen. ”Saying all that, if you could add a premium defenseman, if you can add a guy who can score and add grit, why wouldn’t you do that?”

However, Pirates pitcher Jeff Karstens beat him to it.

“I don’t know,” Karstens said, “It was just one of those things last year where my hair was taking a course of its own; someone decided to pause one of the games we were playing (on TV) and it came out kind of weird looking and they made a giant head out of it.”

The Karstens head made its first appearance at the Pitt-Syracuse game and was back for Villanova.

“I’m 2-and-0,” Karstens said, but he got a kick out of the Vinnie head, as well when someone sent him a photo of it.

Karstens agrees that both oversized melons should go with Pitt to the Big East Tournament and the NCAAs.

“Oh without a doubt,” says Karstens who will be busy with Spring Training. “If I can’t be there myself, may as well be there in spirit.”

Listen to the interview here:

The team announced Malkin’s return at a press conference this morning.

Malkin has been practicing since last week, but just yesterday said he needed more time.

Coach Dan Bylsma said the team followed protocol for Malkin’s injury, and has taken every precaution.

Bylsma says Malkin has felt good for 7 days since the injury.

Malkin had been out for four games after crashing into the boards during a game against the Panthers Feb. 22. He was tangled up with Florida defenseman, Erik Gudbranson before sliding back-first into the end boards.

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On Saturday, defense was optional for both clubs in a game where the last shot truly did win the game. Brandon Sutter buried a chance from the slot in overtime to give the Penguins a 7-6 win over the Montreal Canadiens.

After allowing 16 goals on the three-game trip, the Penguins will look to be more responsible in their own end when they play host to the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight.

Tampa Bay is currently in third place in the Southeast Division, just two points behind the Winnipeg Jets and six points behind the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Lightning are 3-6-1 in their last 10 and are on a four-game losing streak, which began against the Penguins on Feb. 24.

Steven Stamkos continues to lead the way and his 32 points (15 goals, 17 assists) are just two behind Sidney Crosby for the NHL lead.

Martin St. Louis isn’t far behind with 26 points and leads the team with 21 assists.

In goal, Anders Lindback (7-4-1, 3.27 GAA, .890 save percentage) hasn’t seen the ice since he was pulled after allowing three goals on 10 shots against the Penguins.

Mathieu Garon (2-7-0, 2.86 GAA, .911 save percentage) has taken the loss in each of Tampa Bay’s games during this four-game losing streak.

In six games against the Penguins, Garon is 1-4 with a 4.28 GAA and .878 save percentage.

For Pittsburgh, it appeared that they would once again be without Evgeni Malkin due to a concussion suffered on Feb. 22. However, he did practice with the team on Sunday and participated in the team’s morning skate today and will play tonight against Tampa Bay.

However, Pittsburgh will be without defenseman Paul Martin for the second straight game. Martin is dealing with a lower-body injury.

Chris Kunitz has quietly crept up the leader board in the NHL’s scoring race and is currently tied for third with 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists).

Marc-Andre Fleury (10-5-0, 2.40 GAA, .912 save percentage) figures to be back in goal tonight after being given the night off on Sunday.

Against the Lightning, Fleury is 12-10-3 with a 2.40 GAA and .912 save percentage.

The puck is set to drop at 7:30 p.m. and you can watch it on Root Sports.

Bob tells the guys that it was an exciting game on Saturday night, and he is not concerned with the Penguins right now because of how the offense is clicking. Sure, he would like them to be a little bit more defensively structured, but getting Evgeni Malkin back will only help.

Malkin’s game is to play in the offensive zone. When he is on the ice, the other team is forced to play defense against him.

The Pens do have depth on the blue line. But, Bob would like to see a good mix of offensive and defensive defensemen paired together. But, the difficulty is having to mix up a pair of defensemen who shoot with the same handedness. It is tough for two left-handed, or right-handed players to play together on defense.

For a portion of the interview, click below: