Afternoon Delight

We knew from watching that the Penguins haven't been faring well in daytime games, but the PG hit us with the stats and they are not pretty:

The Penguins are 0-5 in day games this season and have been outscored, 23-10, in those games

That is going to have to change for a team that will be featured several times in the coming weekends on NBC. Well at least there aren't any more bad omens, right? Back to the PG:

The team will wear its throwback blue third jerseys today

Other than that we know that Brooks Orpik (unspecified) is out for today's game. No call to the minors was needed as it appears that Rob Scuderi (sporting a wicked looking right eye after taking a shot to the face) will be back. It also seems like Kris Letang (leg) could be back, but since the Penguins played so well on Friday it may be better to let #58 get another game of rest.

Mathieu Garon will be in attendence for his first game as a Penguin, but Marc-Andre Fleury is tabbed to start. Hopefully Garon's presence will be the push Fleury needs to get his game in gear.

Sidney Crosby will take pre-game warmups--since there is no morning skate due to such an early start time. If he thinks he can go, he will. If not, he'll cede the ice. We think he should probably just sit it out, no sense in risking a longer layoff. But it wouldn't be surprising to see the uber-competitive Crosby try to play, especially with the game being on NBC. You know, face of the league business.

On a personal note, we've got a Penguins afternoon game, the Steelers in the AFC championship and then the Flight of the Conchords season premiere. What a day to be alive.