Pittsburgh stronger than ever?

Alexei Ponikarovsky made his debut with the Penguins Saturday and looked solid while doing it. He scored the sixth and final goal in Pittsburgh’s 6-3 win over Dallas and assisted on Evgeni Malkin’s goal Sunday against Boston. The former Leaf appeared to cut his arm while blocking a shot from a Boston defenceman but despite what Evanka Osmak thinks, he did return to that game. Pony has been able to make space for Malkin with his big body and has created scoring chances when parking his caboose in front of the net. Although he has played well, he needs to show he can do it consistently, which he could not prove in Toronto. Having a one-two punch in the Crosby and Malkin lines will make Pittsburgh a tough team to beat. Also, having Jordan Staal as a third-line center is not too shabby either. As for their special teams, Pittsburgh has always been a good penalty-killing team and Ponikarovsky can be a big body in front of the net which could help their ailing power play. Real...