Pens split a pair of weekend matinees

I am going to combine a very short post about this weekend's games, as I watched both at a bar in Deep Creek Lake Maryland, and did not take good notes.  One of the more entertaining parts of watching Saturday's 2-1 victory over the Bruins was the fact that I spent a whole period watching it with some pretty cool Capitals fans.  Yes, I said it.  I met THREE COOL CAPS FANS while drinking with friends at the Honi Honi Bar.  We watched the Caps/Habs and Pens/Bruins in the same space, and yes spent most of the second period and the end of the third watching them TOGETHER!  Mark it down!  At any rate, despite some people giving the game a bit of a discount on the win meter due to the fact that Carolina had just beaten the Bruins 3-0, I will take the opposite approach and say that the Penguins beat a very good Bruins team, on the heels of an embarrassing loss in their own building.  I will take it!  Evgeni Malkin scored on a power play late in the first period for his 28th goal of the season, assisted by Kunitz (19), and James Neal (22).  Matt Cooke staked them to a 2-0 lead with his ninth goal of the season, assisted by Dustin Jeffrey (2) and Pascal Dupuis (18).  The Bruins scored about halfway through the period to make it 2-1. Marc Andre Fleury stood TALL in the nets to hold on the 2-1 victory making several key saves in the game including a point blank shot after an Orpik turnover in the last minute of play.  Some notes from this game for me included the fact that the top line looked very good despite netting only one goal, as Tim Thomas played like Tim Thomas, making some great stops on the Penguins.  That said, Thomas was outdueled in this one by an equally impressive Marc Andre Fleury.  Give Fleury credit for this big road win.  Also Brooks Orpik had a highlight reel hit on Paille that sent him sailing!  Sunday's game was not so fun to watch.  The Devils jumped out to a 3-0 lead through a combination of poor defensive play by the Penguins, and a not so great game in the nets from Fleury.  Matt Niskanen scored his third goal of the year from new comer Cal O'Reilly (5) and Matt Cooke (10).  There was a pulse.  The Devils answered to make it 4-1.  About halfway through the third, Evgeni Malkin scored a power play goal his 29th of the year from Steve Sullivan to cut the lead to 4-2, and give the Penguins hope.  However, the Devils closed it out with an empty netter to win 5-2 and close to within two points of 5th place Pittsburgh.   Today's game was marred by HORRIBLE GARAGE LEAGUE officiating, that did not cause the loss by any stretch, as BOTH teams were victimized by weak calls and bad non-calls.  In the end, the Penguins just did not have it today, and as a result took a spanking at the hands of the Devils.  Need to gear it up for a big tilt Tuesday night in Montreal.  Go Pens!