This week starts out on a good note as star center Sidney Crosby has been named Team Canada’s captain for the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Winger James Neal was back in the lineup Monday after missing the game against Washington last Wednesday. Defenseman Paul Martin also played his first game since Nov. 25 when he fractured his tibia against the Bruins.
Even better news was goalie Tomas Vokoun skated for the first time on Wednesday since his blood clot surgery on Sept. 21. He skated laps and stretched before working a little bit with goaltender coach Mike Bales and was on the ice for about 45 minutes. He was not able to face shots as he needs to wait for his blood levels to get back to normal after being taken off blood thinners.
In addition to Vokoun, forwards Beau Bennett and Brian Gibbons also skated with strength and conditioning coach Mike Kadar on Wednesday.
However, getting Neal and Martin back was not enough to beat the Florida Panthers who outplayed the Pens and won 5-1.
The Pens beat Montreal 5-1 on Wednesday, and then they travelled to Long Island and defeated the Islanders 6-4 on Thursday. They head to Dallas to play the Stars at 8 PM Saturday.
Next Monday, they take on the Sabres at home at 7:30 PM, and next Thursday they travel to Los Angeles to play the Kings at 10:30 PM, which takes them through the end of January.
Currently, the Pens are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and are atop the standings in the Eastern Conference with 70 points, 5 ahead of 2nd place Boston.
With the Pirates and Steelers not playing games anytime soon, tune in to Root Sports and cheer your Penguins on to a victory.