Gearing Up....

Big stretch of games coming up here....After just 7 games in the 20 days since the start of the North American season, the Penguins gear up for 13 games over the next 26 days. You don't have to be a math major to realize that's a game every other night for almost a month. A crucial stretch that could set the plate for the rest of the year.

First things first, 3 home games this week, first against division rival New York Rangers and then Montreal and Toronto. You would hope the Pens could get atleast 4 of the available 6 points in this stretch.

After those three games, the Pens will be at 10. Basically 1/8 of the season. As someone in the Pens organization said (it might have been Herb Brooks or Badger Bob), if you can just chip in 3 goals every 10 games, you're a 30 goal scorer. By that standard, a guy you'd count on like Ryan Malone is almost getting there. We'll have a more comprehensive review of the team and individual stats by then, when there's a little more of a sample size.

So we'll see how it goes, there's a feeling of momentum with wins Friday and Saturday night and generally the team seems like they're just ready to start playing a little more regularly.