Penguins beat Florida 4-2

Do not underestimate the value of the points the Penguins collected tonight. Yeah, Florida is not to be confused with an NHL powerhouse by any means, but they are a better team than last year by far. Also, don't forget the Pens were returning from a long western Canada road trip, to play a mediocre Florida team. All the makings of a trap game if you ask me. Well the Penguins avoided the trap, and won the game in a workmanlike fashion. Also, the Penguins again were playing minus their best defensive defensemen and two of the best offensive weapons in the world. By the way, the Penguins are now 20-11-5 over the past two seasons without those two players in the lineup. That is pretty impressive to do minus your two best weapons. Now to tonight's tilt. First, let me get some of the negatives out of the way. The pairing of Paul Martin and Zybnek Michalek, featuring the two highest paid Penguins defensemen is not really delivering to the level necessary to justify their expense. They are a combined -6, and have a total of 1 assist between them. They have caught out of position too often, and Martin has committed some ugly turnovers. I expect this unit to improve, but frankly, they really need to. Second, the power play was blanked tonight, to follow up on a 1 for 8 effort Sunday night. It looked pretty good early tonight, but got uglier as the game wore on. But, there is PLENTY more to look at on the positive side of the ledger. First off, how about the balance of the lineup tonight. It seemed as if every Penguin forward made contributions up and down the ice, and the grinders put 4 behind Theodore, including a short handed goal by Richard Park. The play of the Dupuis, Cooke and Vitale line was lights out, combining for two goals and 5 assists tonight. Vitale looks really good, and frankly much better than Mark Letestu has thus far. Matt Cooke is in a 3 way tie at the top of the league for first place in goal scoring with 3 goals in 4 games! Kris Letang leads the NHL in scoring with 6 points and in assists with 5! Letang is also a +4, and has been a force in all three zones. He also leads the Penguins in blocked shots, shots on goal, and ice time. Chris Kunitz wound up with only one point tonight, but he deserved more. Kunitz created havoc in front of Theodore all night, without reward until his assist on James Neal's goal that put the game away for the Penguins. Speaking of which, it is good to see Neal with 2 goals in 4 games for the Penguins this year. All in all, the theme has been balance thus far this year. I think that the sky is the limit for this team if the Hockey Gods ever let them get reasonably healthy. A big test awaits Thursday evening when the Capitals come to town. Let's go Pens!