The Penguins have played the last three games without both Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin and collected 4 of the possible 6 points, to go into the All Star break in the top 5 for the entire league. The games have been short on style points, but it is tough to argue with the outcome. Marc Andre Fleury has been simply outstanding since his early season troubles. When I watch this team, it is evident that they are a bit short in top shelf offensive talent, but it is not short on guts. Despite some moments of frustration, when you consider that they have only played 2 games this season with the three star centers(the foundation upon which the team was built), yet they remain in sight of the top of the NHL standings, and in range of the red hot Flyers, you have to be impressed. A lot of times, teams that withstand significant adversity during the season hit the playoffs with a sense of purpose that is tough to defeat, so maybe that is the silver lining in the cloud. Tonight the grinders on this team(Rupp,Talbot, Asham, Adams, Dupuis, Cooke) played classic Bylsma hockey cycling down low, and controlling the play in the opponents zone. Asham stood out to me tonight, and more closely resembled the player I thought we were getting when we signed him from Philadelphia. Let's hope that the All-Star break gets Crosby and Malkin healthy, and we can gear up for the stretch run in the division with all hands on deck.
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