We better get used to this

For the second time this season, Pittsburgh's Boys in Black each scored a goal in a game. Last night, uber-rookie Evgeni Malkin, at left, notched the winner, his ninth of the season, as the Penguins dropped the Flyers, 3-2.

Sidney Crosby, who scored his seventh goal, and rookie center Jordan Staal, who added his sixth, rounded out the scoring.

The only other time, to date, that the Boys pulled off the feat was Oct. 24, when Staal potted the pivotal goal in Pittsburgh's 4-2 victory over New Jersey.

On a side note, five of Crosby's seven goals have come against the Flyers, including his first career NHL hat trick on Oct. 28.

Given these players' tender ages (Crosby, 19; Malkin, 20; and Staal, 18), I suppose we'll being seeing this feat appearing more often on game sheets. I'm hoping, though, that it doesn't happen this Friday night, when the Penguins travel to Buffalo.

Who's next?

Now that Columbus ended Gerard Gallant's suffering as coach of the underperforming Blue Jackets, who will become the next coach to be given the pink slip?

Let's see. There's that guy out in Phoenix, uh, what's his name? Oh, yeah, Wayne Gretzky. I'm pretty certain he's safe for awhile. And though Boston is, once again, testing the loyalties of Bruins Nation, Dave Lewis hasn't had enough time, and apparently the talent, to turn things around in Beantown.

That leaves us with Ottawa's Bryan Murray, who has his Senators squad just one point out of the Northeast Division cellar. It seems the Senators, a team loaded with offensive talent (on paper, at least), have made their runs for Lord Stanley's Cup. In a no-brainer (something I'm very good at, mind you), Murray will pay the price for missing.

Say a prayer, please

Chicago's Rene Bourque suffered one of hockey's nastiest injuries Sunday when the skate of Columbus' Nikolai Zherdev cut deeply into the forward's neck during a pileup. Bourque, who underwent surgery, will miss up to six weeks.

A little trivia, too

Can you match the following professional teams to their respective leagues?

1.) Odessa Jackalopes
2.) Fayetteville Fireantz
3.) Bloomington Prairie Thunder
4.) Victoria Salmon Kings

A.) SPHL
B.) CHL
C.) ECHL
D.) UHL

The correct answers will appear next week.