The Penguins start a four game road trip tonight in Edmonton. Thanks to the brilliance of Gary Bettman, and his unbalanced schedule, this trip to Western Canada will be the first of Sidney Crosby’s career.   December is a big month for the Penguins. Pittsburgh is in last place in the Atlantic, however, they are only 6 points behind the Rangers for first in the division, and trail Ottawa by 9 points for first place in the Eastern Conference. Conversely, the Penguins are only 6 points out of last place in the east. This road trip, which ends in Philly, will be pivotal in Pittsburgh’s drive to solidify playoff position, as they make up the games in hand they have on the Flyers, and Maple Leafs. The Penguin’s  play has improved lately thanks in large part to an increase in secondary scoring from the 3^rd and 4^th lines. Monday’s game against Phoenix is a prime example of what’s going right for the team, Penguins goals came from 4^th line center Max Talbot, 3^rd line winger Tyler Kennedy, and a power play goal from Kris Letang to seal the 3-1 victory.   Jordan Staal is playing better, but is still missing on a lot of the opportunities he was converting last year in his phenomenal 29 goal rookie season.  Monday’s 3-1 win came on the heels of a lackluster 4-2 loss in Toronto, in which Dany Sanourin started, and the team came out flat.  Pittsburgh has won 4 of 5 while recording points in 6 of their last 8 games. Fleury appears to have broken out his early season funk, allowing 2 goals in his last 3 starts, all of which were Penguin victories.

The best part of the west coast trip, is that I will be able to watch all the games after work thanks to the time difference.

Crosby will put on a show for the good people of western Canada.