Penguins beat Chicago 4-2

The Penguins ran their preseason record to 5-0 last night with a 4-2 victory over the Blackhawks in Chicago. They will try to finish undefeated in the preseason for only the second time in their history. They went 4-0-1 in 2009, then went on to win the Stanley Cup. Some observations from last nights game:

Brent Johnson had not gotten much work this preseason, so it was great to see him come in and play a very good game between the pipes;

The power play was effective again, going 2 for 3, and is now 7 for 19 or 36.8% for the preseason. Those are huge numbers, and a good sign for a component of the team that has been its weakness over the past couple of seasons;

Steve Sullivan made his presence felt with a power play goal and an assist. I have not been a huge fan of the Sullivan move, primarily due to his oft injured history, but I sure did like what he added to the team last night;

The Mark Letestu who was one of the big stories out of last year's campaign has not been evident this year, and I am not sure of his standing on this team;

After hearing so much about Tangradi being a potential top six forward on this year's team, and how much value the prescence of Park will bring, the unsung forward who continues to stand out to me is Joe Vitale. I cannot see a scenario in which this guy has not earned the 4th line center job on this team;

As far as enforcers go, MacIntyre seems to be an upgrade in terms of his ability to play without being a defensive liability, as well as his ability to protect his teammates;

The game was also a chance for two young defensemen, Joe Morrow and Brian Strait to make a case for sticking with the big club. Morrow for the first time looked his age, and may have hurt his chances to stick this year. He has had four very good outings, and one mediocre outing, so I would like to see what he does in a follow up role tomorrow night against Detroit. Brian Strait did not look strong either, but again, I would like to see the rebound game tomorrow, as Strait had been looking solid

. Either way, the Penguins have 8 NHL ready defensemen, the top four as good as any(Orpik, Letang, Michalek, Martin, Lovejoy, Engellend, Niskanen, Picard), and four young guns on the cusp(Despres, Bortuzzo, Strait, Morrow, plus Boris Valabik, so they are set there, particularly when Orpik is ready to go.

Kris Letang had 2 assists last night, and is looking much like the Tanger who was in the legitimate mix as a Norris candidate for the first 40 games. Malkin scored again, as did Matt Cooke. All in all, another solid workmanlike victory for the Penguins.