No word on what it could be, but he just went down a few minutes ago and it didn't look good.  The odd thing is it looked entirely routine - dropped to ice for a save, went to shift and just didn't get up.  He stayed hunched over on the ice for a while before getting help to the dressing room.  It looked like he was favoring his left leg, so it's likely he did something to his right knee/groin, as suggested by the FSN Pitt announcers.

I'm not diagnosing anything.  Trust me, I'm not going to start an E4 prosthetic leg rumor.  Just wanted to throw it out there.

FrankD
Pensburgh.com

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (12-4-3) vs VANCOUVER CANUCKS (12-6-2)

IN PITTSBURGH @ 2:00 PM

RADIO FEED ON WXDX.COM, for video try channelsurfing.net

CANUCKS BLOGS: CANUCK NATION

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Since we have ourselves a matinee game today I figured I would combine the preview with the open thread.   Also note: the new nifty feature for player stats.  Sweet.

There's no doubt about it; Roberto Luongo has been on fire for the Canucks this season.  Not only his Luongo up there in terms of wins, but he also did so in impressive fashion.  Earliest this month he notched an impressive unbeaten streak of seven in a row.  He also went nearly 220 minutes of hockey without giving up a goal.  That breaks down to three-straight shutouts.

As much as you probably don't want to admit it, the Canucks stand as good a chance as any to hand the Penguins their first loss in regulation for the month of November.  It won't be a game of shot quantity but instead shot quality.  That also doesn't mean the Pens can get away with only four shots a period either. 

Perhaps most importantly, the Pens' power play has to click and take advantage of every opportunity given to them.  If the Canucks play a disciplined game then this will be a hard one to win.

Top scorers: Henrik Sedin (3G, 15A, 18pts), Daniel Sedin (8G, 8A, 16 pts)

“I won’t be practicing the full (session).  I don’t think I’m ready for the physical stuff – the one-on-ones and things like that – but just getting back into the timing of passing the puck at this speed and those types of things. It’s to start passing to guys, shooting the puck and getting flow. You have to get your timing back down. When you’re out there by yourself there’s no timing.”

Ryan Whitney
PittsburghPenguins.com

Good to know the Penguins don't plan to rush Whitney back to the ice. 

That article on the Penguins site does bring up a good point that maybe we, as couch GMs and fans, dismiss: shots off the skate hurt.  That puck?  It hurts.  And while we can easily wince from home, or perhaps even recall from personal history a moment when we took a disc off the foot, it doesn't have the same kind of impact for us as it would for someone who does it their entire career.

While Whitney can put weight on his foot, skate around with the team and make progress towards rehab, those are the little intricacies that the Penguins will look to avoid as he makes his way back to the roster full time. 

You may recall last season when the team sat through Gary Roberts' rehabilitation from a broken leg.  Every week the team released, "day-to-day" and every week that was quickly replaced by "doubtful."  Obviously it's a different kind of recovery for a guy like Whitney, who at 25 runs a better chance of recouping quicker than the broke-down body of a 40+ veteran.  Not an insult there, just basic principle.

Take this as good news, regardless as to how much longer we have to wait.  It's not like he is taking longer than the team had planned.  It's just that when the team makes the first mention of one of your big power-play guys taking to the ice, no matter the significance, you can't help but hope his return is a swift one.

Finally, some good news about injured players.

Ryan Whitney will likely skate with the Penguins today, his first time hitting the ice since opting for foot surgery back in August.  If Whit doesn't practice today then he'll definitely be on the ice for Monday's session.

You know what's especially great about this?  The Penguins are winning games without him.  I mean that in a positive spin, not to disrespect.  Whitney can take his time coming back and not worry about rushing the rehab along in hopes of assisting an ailing team.  Sure, I suspect he'll be a huge help to the power play when he's 100% healthy again, but it's not like the Pens have gone 0-8 this month. 

How's this for disgusting?  8-for-56.  That's the rated success of the Penguins' power play over the last 13 games.  The Pens are also the worst team on the road when it comes to converting with the mad advantage. 

As long as the Pens keep winning the PP shouldn't be all that detrimental, although it would definitely help. 

Ryan, here's to a hasty recovery...

Nice win.  Ugly game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins looked pretty stale on defense tonight, allowing the Thrashers to amass a 12 shot third period that came within inches of changing the tides of the game.  If not for the crossbar behind Dany Sabourin, it's likely Jason Williams would've given the Thrashers a 3-2 third period lead and perhaps even the win.

Sidney Crosby dished an assist on the first goal by Miroslav Satan in the first period, later adding another helper on a shot that was redirected for the game winner by Petr Sykora.  But it was the second period goal that Pensburgh users Dayna and Angela MC labeled "flashy" that will no doubt make an appearance on every hockey highlights package for months to come.  Sliding down, nearly on his back, Crosby sent a Tyler Kennedy goal home for his seventh of the year.

Dany Sabourin played a phenomenal game in net.  He stopped Ilya Kovalchuk point blank on a breakaway, followed it up later with two or three more similar saves on two other Thrashers that saved the Penguins power play from looking like a flashback fto the Flyers game earlier this month.

And who knows?  Maybe there's some bad blood developing between these two teams.  If Kovalchuk and Crosby don't already have some, there's a good chance some tension is brewing between Colby Armstrong and Eric Godard.  If not for a mandatory line change it's likely the two would've dropped mitts.  There's more a chance that Atlanta's Todd White and Kris Letang will have something rearing to go on December 18 when the teams meet again, but White will have to get his head screwed on right before that can happen.

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PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (11-4-3) vs ATLANTA THRASHERS (7-8-2)

IN ATLANTA @ 7:00

RADIO FEED ON WXDX.COM, for video try channelsurfing.net

ATLANTA THRASHERS BLOG: DO THE THRASHERS HAVE LARGE TALONS?

NOTES

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Dany Sabourin in net tonight, John Curry backing up.

Pascal Dupuis looks to stick it to his old team. 

Can't let the Thrashers reach .500 on account of the Pens.

Lock...down...Kovalchuk.

Fight prediction: Eric Godard vs Eric Boulton

Record: 7-8-2

Leading scorers: Bryan Little (9G, 8A, 17pts), Vyacheslav Kozlov (10G, 6A, 16pts), Ilya Kovalchuk (6G, 10A, 16pts)

Blogs: DO THE THRASHERS HAVE LARGE TALONS?

For some reason the Thrashers still think Will Farrell's movie Anchorman is a good way to present keys to the game.  Various players dress up and pretend to host a pre-game show.  It's kinda dated.

But onto the scouting report...

Ilya Kovalchuk is just diesel when it comes to playing the Pens.  There's no other way of saying it.  Over 23 career appearances against Pittsburgh, Kovi 17 goal and 13 assists.  That's 30 points over 23 games.  Impressive.  Heading into this game he's amassed 10 points over six games, so don't think he'll require any less attention than he deserves.

Kari Lehtonen hasn't done much for the Thrashers this season.  Much like last year, Lehtonen is working his way through injuries early in the year.  His back stiffed up on him earlier in the season, followed by a bout with what many said was the flu.  He's yet to return and it's more than likely Johan Hedberg (3-3) will start between the pipes.

Finally, tonight is also a chance to catch a glimpse of the former Penguins Erik Christensen and Colby Armstrong.  Colby earned the alternate captain title for this season and has since posted a mild seven point start (2G, 5A).  Christensen is also off to a (typical) slow start with eight points (1G, 7A).