The Penguins have won five games in a row, again. They absolutely torched the Blackhawks last night winning by a score of 6-2. The craziest part is, the team looked asleep in the first period. They ended the game outshooting the Hawks 44-20 despite being outshot 9-8 in the first period. The rest of the game the Penguins skated circles around a lowly Blackhawks team. The Penguins may have proved last night that their season is not a fluke, team’s with the record of the Penguins should dominate a trash can team like Chicago, they did exactly that. At times in the second and third period’s, I looked over at my dad and said “they are making the Blackhawks literally look like an AHL team.” It was the second straight game where the Penguins won a game without Crosby registering a point which is a phenomenal sign for the team. Winning games without your best player getting on the scoresheet is always a positive, having the depth to score six goals without him figuring in is the making of a special team. The Penguins needed this win as everyone else, other than the shitty Rangers, won last night.

I wrote earlier this week about Penguins offensive trade targets… The Penguins might have already acquired their deadline forward. Egor Chinakhov is incredible. He has the speed, the hands, and the shot to be a truly dynamic player. Chinny has already developed significant chemistry with fellow Russian Evgeni Malkin, that line is special right now. The two Russians connected for another beautiful goal last night. The Penguins had a treasure chest full of draft picks and people were upset they “gambled” with those picks to get Chinakhov. Those people are so stupid. Trading a 1st would have been a potential issue, but they didn’t. They traded a 2nd and 3rd which are picks that rarely turn into a legitimate talent, people truly overvalue draft picks. All of those people that were bewildered by the trade should be given a swirly, Kyle Dubas knows more than you do I promise you. What an acquisition it has turned out to be and it allows the Penguins to look more for defensive help at the deadline than worrying about bolstering their forward depth.

While not a trade acquisition, Ben Kindel is special. He scored his third goal in the last two games. It was a beauty, he followed up his goal by feeding Mantha for a breakaway goal. Will Kindel ever be a truly elite point producer like a Sidney Crosby? No, probably not. However, he could absolutely see himself as a better version of Jonathan Toews, the most overrated player in hockey history. He is that good defensively and he has the offensive game to add scoring to a lineup. Again, what a find by Kyle Dubas. You also have to mention his line mate Anthony Mantha who scored his 1 7th goal of the season. Dubas took a chance on a guy with extreme talent coming off of an injury and it’s paying off. Paying a guy who might chip in 30 goals only 2.5 million is insane work by the GM and President of hockey operations. Oh and by the way, Kindel may score more goals than Jaromir Jagr did in his age 18 season, just think about that.

Then there’s the fourth line. I have talked in depth about how good this trio is, but they might be even better than I thought. Dewar added another two goals last night and has a legit shot at reaching 20 on the season. I don’t remember a 4th liner on the Penguins scoring that many goals, at least not in the Crosby era. It is insane production and it’s the entire line constantly producing. They are like hyaenas constantly circling the dead corpse of an animal in the desert. They hound whichever defensemen has the puck, they outwork them, and they take the puck right to the net. Almost every single goal this line scores is greasy and that’s exactly what you want to see from your 4th line. Having the best 4th line in hockey is something that bodes very well for a team in the playoffs. I know Lizotte got an extension already and it can be dangerous business giving 4th liners extensions, but I have no idea how you can finish this season without giving Dewar another contract as well.

Two players entered the lineup last night, McGroarty and Ilya Solovyov. Both played extremely well in my opinion. Rutger may have been one the three best forwards on the team last night as he led the team in shots on goal and had three hits, he will become an everyday NHLer soon. Ruts was definitely the best Penguins forward to not record a point last night, and Crosby didn’t register a point. Solovyov played a great game in a third pairing role. He was physical and defended well. He also got his name on the scoresheet with a primary assist to Ryan Shea. Shea by the way has 21 points this season, he’s another guy that probably deserves a contract extension.

The Penguins are proving every single game that they are legit. They score goals in bunches. They have started to actually prevent goals. People hang on to their preseason expectations too much. I have heard this week that Pens are the best of the “mid.” No, the Penguins are legit. They can go on a run and sure that is because the East is weak, but that doesn’t discount how good this team has played. Tomorrow, the Penguins will play against their old head coach and honor the 2016 Stanley Cup winners, could the celebration be a preview for what’s to come in 2026?