Three good hockey games in three days.

The first three days of the past week saw three good games unfold. There were two excellent wins and a disappointing but entertaining loss to a hated rival. It's games like these that reaffirm my love for hockey and why it is one of the most exciting sports on earth.

The week started off with Monday night's game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Dallas Stars. This was one of the best games I have seen in a while, not only because Detroit lost, but because Dallas came from behind all night to beat Detroit in overtime. I never had any ill-will toward Detroit and actually some of my favorite players, like Steve Yzerman and Paul Coffey, played for Detroit. My hatred for them began when they beat the Pens in last year's Stanley Cup Final. Now, I love to watch them lose.

Dallas was down by two goals mid way through the first period when Nicklas Grossman scored to cut Detroit's lead in half. Dallas' one goal deficit lasted all of 1:42. Marian Hossa beat Marty Turco on the power play to bring Detroit's lead back to two goals. 52 seconds into the second period Dallas again cut the lead in half with a goal by Stephane Robidas and tied it 15 minutes later thanks to Mark Parrish. Detroit got the lead back early in the third and both teams had numerous chances to score but Turco and Chris Osgood made save after dramatic save. Dallas was on the power play thanks to a Brett Lebda hold and promptly scored to again tie it with Detroit. In the ensuing overtime, Osgood was a mile and a half out of position and Dallas d-man Trevor Daley had a wide open 4x6 yawning at him. Needless to say, Daley poked the puck in and Dallas won.

Tuesday, the Penguins went to the most unholy place on Earth: the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. Philadelphia, home to the liberty bell, Rocky and organist-led "Crosby sucks" chants. Due to the Pens being in a seemingly unshakable funk and the Flyers surging, this game had only two possible outcomes. The Pens could tighten up their boot straps and take it to the Flyers or Philly would chase the Pens out of town with a lopsided score. Thankfully, the Pens pulled themselves together for at least one night and soundly beat the Flyers.

The Flyers scored first on a fluke goal that Fleury misplayed and was easily popped in the net by Mike Knuble. The rest of the game belonged to Pittsburgh. The Pens scored four straight goals, one in the first period by Tyler Kennedy and three in the second from Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Matt Cooke. The pens effectively played the trap, the same one that, surprise, took them to the finals, clogging the neutral zone and making life difficult for the Flyers. Pittsburgh also got two big momentum pushes courtesy of Eric Godard and Paul Bissonnette. Godard took on Flyers punching bag Riley Cote, who looks like a zombie, and Bissonnette danced with Arron Asham. The Flyers scored midway through the third with Joffery Lupul beating Fleury.

This was a good win for the Pens. They needed to come out strong against their main rivals and show they can still play hockey. Hopefully they could carry this momentum into their next game...

On Wednesday, the Pens hosted the resurgent Washington Capitals. The Caps were in the midst of a three game losing streak and were looking to snap that streak. The Pens, mired in a slump of their own, were looking to string a set of wins together for the first time since November.

The Pens came out strong, utilizing the system that worked so well against the Flyers on Tuesday. The Pens were able to get a power play which developed into a 5-on-3 advantage. With the first penalty expired, Evgeni Malkin was able to beat Caps goalie Jose Theodore and give the Pens the lead. The Pens and the Caps traded goals for second period. It all came crashing down for the Penguins when Alex Ovechkin scored in the third. The Caps just dominated in every area. Ryan Whitney managed to tie it for Pittsburgh but Washington rebounded and scored three unanswered goals in the third. To add insult to, um, injury, the Pens lost Max Talbot to an undisclosed injury, Rob Scuderi took a puck to the forehead and Sidney Crosby left with a painful injury to his lower body.

While this was a disappointing loss, it was a very entertaining game to watch. It was any teams game until the third when the Caps exploded. It was an acceptable loss in my mind because Pittsburgh worked hard by were felled by some awful breaks. Losing one of the leagues leading scorers and one of your best d-men hurts. I would take this loss over any one of the mailed in losses from last month.