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Flyers pull quick switch of Sergei Bobrovsky and Michael Leighton: Fan report (Associated Content) Source: Yahoo Sports
Not only was it announced that Brian Boucher will be starting in goal for the Flyers in their first-round playoff series against the Buffalo Sabres, but it is also appears that Michael Leighton will be his backup going forward. … Follow this link

Playoff Gameday – Round One, Game Three – Lightning Source: The Pensblog
St. Pete Times Forum – 7:30PM TV: ROOT Sports, CBC Series Tied 1-1. … See the rest here

Can Penguins handle Tampa Bay Lightning fans’ drum technique? (Yahoo! Sports) Source: Yahoo Sports
Tonight, the Tampa Bay Lightning will play in their first playoff home game since April 22, 2007, when they were eliminated by the New Jersey Devils in six games. (Tampa Bay goalie in that game? The immortal Johan Holmqvist, of … Continue reading → … Follow this link

Puck Headlines: Chara on track for Game 3; Boudreau’s complaints (Yahoo! Sports) Source: Yahoo Sports
Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media The Red Wings are in Phoenix tonight, which can mean only … Continue reading → … Read the rest here

NHL: No discipline for Torres – 04-18-11 Source: Empty Netters
The NHL has decided not to discipline Vancouver’s Raffi Torres for a hit to the head against Chicago’s Brent Seabrook during last night’s Game 3: JeZDE9H3_vU Torres was assessed two minute minor for interference. It was Torres’ first game back from a four-game suspension for a hit to the head of Edmonton’s Jordan Eberle April 5. … See the article here

Video: Game-Day: Coach Bylsma (4/18/11) Source: penguins.nhl.com
Head Coach Dan Bylsma before tonight’s Game 3 against the Lightning from the St. Pete Times Forum. … See video here

Penguins vs. Lightning: Three Keys to Victory for the Pens in Game 3 Source: Bleacher Report
The Pittsburgh Penguins were humiliated by the Tampa Bay Lightning in game two on Friday night. They took untimely penalties, made bad decisions, were sloppy with the puck, and could not generate anything with their power play. As the series shifts to Tampa Bay for the next two games, the Pens find themselves in need of at least one road win to claim this series. … View post

Crosby’s progress at a standstill for now Source: Inside Pittsburgh Sports
Sidney Crosby has not suffered a setback in his recovery from a three month long concussion but doctors have not been satisfied enough to clear Crosby for that next big step. … See the rest here

Study: NHL players had 559 concussions from 97-04 (AP) Source: Yahoo Sports
A new study finds that the amount of time NHL players missed because of concussions increased from 1997 to 2004. The report published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the largest and most detailed analysis of concussions in hockey, examined physician reports from seven regular seasons. … See the article here

Concussions tallied in study of NHL players (The Canadian Press) Source: Yahoo Sports
TORONTO – Followers of the game of hockey are known to rattle off statistics on goals scored and penalty minutes, but a new study of NHL concussions introduces a more sobering set of figures and charts to fans on the consequences when their hockey heroes take hits to the head. … More here

By the Numbers – Game 3 vs. Tampa Bay Source: penguins.nhl.com
The Penguins are looking to regain the advantage in their first-round series against Tampa Bay in tonight’s pivotal Game 3 as the series shifts to Tampa Bay. Pittsburgh has a proven track record of success in Game 3s during the playoffs and hopes … … More

Crosby, Asham and Neil not participating in morning skate Source: Inside Pittsburgh Sports
Penguins Game 3 Morning Skate Update Two regulars and Sidney Crosby are not participating in today’s morning skate. Arron Asham and James Neal are both absent and not skating this morning. Both practiced on Sunday and are expected to play … Excerpt from

2011 NHL Playoffs: Jordan Staal Needs to Show Up for Penguins in Game 3 Source: Bleacher Report
In Game One Jordan Staal played a fantastic game. He picked up an assist and was a plus-1 in a 3-0 Penguins shutout victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning . … More here

Video: Game-Day: Marc-Andre Fleury (4/18/11) Source: penguins.nhl.com
Marc-Andre Fleury before tonight’s Game 3 against the Lightning from the St. Pete Times Forum. … Video here

Video: Penguins Insider with Steve Mears (4/18/11) Source: penguins.nhl.com
Steve Mears breaks down the latest on the Penguins playoff run, as we get ready for tonight’s Game 3. … To see video click here

Video: Game-Day: Jordan Staal (4/18/11) Source: penguins.nhl.com
Jordan Staal before tonight’s Game 3 against the Lightning from the St. … Click here to view video

Crosby not at Pens practice again Source: Tribune-Review
Penguins center Sidney Crosby is not at the team’s morning skate a second straight day he has not practiced with the club. These are the first consecutive days of practice Crosby has missed since he was cleared for non-contact drills March 30. … Continued here

Penguins rule local TV ratings; Bruins, Blues see huge spike (Yahoo! Sports) Source: Yahoo Sports
Sports Business Journal (reg. req.) has the 2010-11 regular-season cable ratings for 22 of the NHL's franchises — they were unable to collect data for Carolina, Nashville or the Canadian franchises — and the Pittsburgh Penguins are, by far, the … Continue reading → … Visit link

Penguins Report: Game Day at Tampa Bay (Game 3) Source: penguins.nhl.com
11:07 AM: The Lightning have decided to hold an optional morning skate. … See more here

What We Learned: Why Nashville might do unthinkable, win series (Yahoo! Sports) Source: Yahoo Sports
Hello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend's events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about … Continue reading → … Go here to read the rest

Sidney Crosby: CBC’s Cassie Campbell Thinks Sidney Crosby Is Coming Back Source: Bleacher Report
Oh no, here we go again. Yesterday, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation personality Cassie Campbell sent out a tweet that sent all of Pittsburgh into tizzy (well, the ones that follow Cassie Campbell on Twitter, anyways). … Go here to read the rest

Empty Netter Assists – 04-18-11 Source: Empty Netters
Playoff Stuff Penguins – Lightning -” There are guys in here who have to lead the way, who have to be better .” – Brooks Oprik (above). -The Penguins worked on combating the trap yesterday … More

Video: Inside Penguins Hockey Episode 27 Source: penguins.nhl.com
Jason Botterill, Playoff talk with Mike Lange & Phil Bourque, Cleland Family Fundraiser, Coach Dan Bylsma Mic’d up in practice. … Video here

Analysis: Penguins’ best must be their best Source: Post Gazette
It is a nearly universal truth of the Stanley Cup playoffs that a team’s best players have to be its best players. Sure, there can be short-term exceptions: Frank Pietrangelo can make one of the great saves in franchise history. … Excerpt from

Cassie Campbell ignites a frenzy Source: The Pensblog
Sometime Sunday, CBC personality Cassie Campbell tweeted this. Speaking of Crosby rumors, since January, we have received countless e-mails detailing rumors people had heard about Crosby's condition/career. We're waiting till he is definitely in the lineup for a game before posting them. Some of them are pretty hilarious … See the rest here

Tampa Bay fans using some drum to make noise tonight. Source: The Pensblog
From Tampabay.com : If that weren't enough, the first 10,000 fans Monday will get a rally drum, which sounds as if it will be louder than the ThunderStix planned for Game 4. Sounds like the Pens will be walking into the lion's den tonight. … More here

Lecavalier rediscovers game-changing talent Source: Tribune-Review
Vinny Lecavalier stood at the left post and deftly slipped a puck between his legs, followed quickly by his stick before snapping off a deceptive shot on goal. … Continued here

Letang’s goal: play good defense Source: Tribune-Review
Now that Kris Letang has evolved into the Penguins’ top defenseman and an NHL All-Star, he would prefer that the emphasis be placed on his defensive play instead of his goal-scoring prowess. … Read more

Game 3 has been Penguins’ province Source: Tribune-Review
Brooks Orpik has a strong understanding of the importance of Game 3 in a best-of-seven series in the Stanley Cup playoffs. … Follow this link

Lightning’s Stamkos still stuck in slump Source: Post Gazette
BRANDON, Fla. — In the early months of the NHL season, Sidney Crosby of the Penguins and Steven Stamkos of Tampa Bay, coming off their shared Rocket Richard Trophy, staged a goal-scoring duel. The biggest questions were which would get to 50 goals first, and who would claim the Richard Trophy for most goals this time. … Continued here

Joe Vitale does the Weather Source: The Pensblog
WB/S Penguins center Joe Vitale did the weather recently on WBRE, a local TV station out of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area. Click the picture to view this masterpiece performance … Go here to read the rest

Penguins Notebook: Breaking free of trap Source: Post Gazette
The Penguins spent their Sunday skating and skating, preparing several ways to push through the Tampa Bay Lightning’s neutral-zone trap. “We’ve got a couple different looks, a couple ways to beat that trap,” center Jordan Staal said. “We’re mostly trying to get more speed through the middle. … View post

Stanley Cup Playoffs Roundup: Rangers back in it Source: Post Gazette
This bounce was three games in the making for the New York Rangers. Instead of being on the verge of elimination, the No. 8 seed suddenly has some life. … See the rest here

Quick Hits: Pens look to combat Tampa’s 1-3-1 with an aggressive 2-1-2 forecheck Source: Inside Pittsburgh Sports
Pens Sunday Night Quick Hits — The Penguins spent an extensive amount of time today in practice working on beating the Lightning’s 1-3-1 trap. The Penguins made some tweaks to their forecheck structure and project to give the Lightning a few different looks. … See more here

Inside the Numbers: Penguins 9-1 in their last 10 Game 3′s Source: Inside Pittsburgh Sports
Pens 9-1 in their last 10 Game 3′s Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma mentioned this weekend that he isn’t a fan of two day breaks. “Id rather play every other day, for sure, ” Bylsma said today. For the Penguins who are coming off an embarrassing 5-1 loss on home ice, the two-day break is … Go here to read the rest

Since the 2008 Post-Season, Fleury 11-4 following a loss Source: Inside Pittsburgh Sports
Goaltender Marc Andre Fleury struggled in Friday’s 5-1 loss, making 16 saves on 20 shots. History suggests a rebound game is likely from Fleury … Read more