Pens beat Hawks 4-1

After a pedestrian two periods, the Pens explode in the third to capture a 4-1 win against a mostly AHL Blackhawks team. Staal led the way with 2 goals on 4 shots, while Tyler Kennedy added a goal and two assists, and Matt Cooke also scored a goal. The old "third line" players scored all of the Penguins goals tonight, and all three looked very very good. Another player who made an impression tonight was Nick Johnson. He had two assists and played solid hockey after a strong camp. Deryk Engelland to me stood out on the Penguins blue line. He played a very physical game, an element that the Penguins blue line does not have in abundance, and he made very smart plays moving the puck all night long. Lovejoy also played a solid game, and to me he and Engo look like the third pairing, with Niskanen and Picard fighting for that 7th spot. A player that I keep hoping makes a big move to claim a roster spot is Eric Tangradi. He shows some flashes of skill that make you realize what he COULD be, such as the play behind the net where he won the puck battle and very QUICKLY turned and almost stuffed the puck behind Ray Emery. He just does not seem to make enough of those plays to earn that roster spot. You can see all of the tools that could make him a productive net front prescence for the Pens, but he has to make MORE plays, and get some finish! 2011 second round pick Scott Harrington did not look at all out of place tonight either. He showed his ability to skate, and move the puck on several occasions tonight. He is a few years away I think, but you can tell he has the skills. The Penguins blue line is DEEEEPPP. On another note, Brandon Saad looks like a player, and it was great to see another western Pennsylvania kid on an NHL rink. In a surprise move the Penguins sent top prospect Simon Despres to Wilkes Barre today without a look in a preseason game. The move seemed surprising, as Despres almost shocked everyone by making the club out of camp last season, and this year, he did not even get a look. After hearing Disco speak post game, teh move makes more sense. They have seen Simon play at this level, and he might have a shot at making the sixth or seventh defenseman position for the Penguins, but certainly not higher than that. Sending him to WBS as early as possible to get him ready for his first pro season will help him more in the long run. Despres is slated to get top pairing minutes in WBS and that will do more for his career in the long run than getting 8-12 minutes per game in Pittsburgh. Given those facts, it makes sense to get him as ready as possible for his first pro season Wilkes Barre. With the likes of Despres, Bortuzzo, Sneep, Morrow, Hutchinson, Samuelsson, and Strait in the system, the Pens should have a wealth of blue line options for years to come.