Ryan Whitney To Face Former Team Tonight As Pens' Enter November On The West Coast

Coming off a franchise-record 11 wins in the month of October, the Pittsburgh Penguins have to be feeling fairly good about themselves, despite the fact that several key injuries are trying to derail their strong start to this season.

Tonight, the Penguins put their season-long undefeated road record (6-0) on the line in Anaheim against the Ducks to begin a 4-game trip, most of which will be spent in California.

The Penguins have won only one -- that's right, ONE -- game in Cali in the last 12 seasons, and that was in Los Angeles a few years ago when Evgeni Malkin won the game in overtime and continued his then-assault on the NHL record book for goals in the most consecutive games to start a career.

For as much as I enjoy catching the Penguins late night, that's a lot of night owl losses I've seen over the years.

Tonight will mark the first game for Anaheim defenseman Ryan Whitney against his former club.

Whitney, who was traded to the Ducks last February in the deal that netted Chris Kunitz and Eric Tangradi for the Pens', has 1 goal and 7 points this season, and will undoubtedly see more ice time tonight given that Anaheim's leading backline scorer, James Wisniewski, will miss tonight's contest after being suspended 2 games for delivering a blow to the head of Phoenix Coyotes winger Shane Doan in a loss to the 'Yotes on Saturday night.

The Ducks haven't played very well overall this year, but as everyone knows after seeing them dispatch last year's Presidents' Trophy-winning San Jose Sharks in round 1 of the 2008/2009 postseason and after seeing them take the Red Wings to 7 games in round 2, they remain a challenging opponent.

They are led up front by Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. Perry, in particular, has had a strong start to this season.

The Ducks have still-talented veteran complementary players, too, in Teemu Selanne and free agent signee Saku Koivu. Of course, when talking about still-talented veterans, you can't talk about Anaheim without mentioning their captain, Scott Neidermayer. He's still a force for them on the blueline and in the locker room.

And don't forget about one of the most underrated goaltenders in the game -- Jonas Hiller. Anyone who has watched him the last few years knows how good he really is. There's a reason he has pushed former Conn Smythe Trophy Winner J.S. Giguere out of the net in Anaheim.

Undoubtedly, the Penguins are in for a challenge tonight, but their chances could be aided by the return to the lineup of RW Tyler Kennedy.

Kennedy, who has missed the last few games with an undisclosed injury, began practicing recently. There's no official word that he will return to the lineup tonight, but if he does, it certainly would give Pittsburgh a boost. If he doesn't make it back on the ice this evening, I think it's likely he'd return Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings.

Recap tomorrow.

Let's Go Pens'