Is there a hockey game tonight?

Okay. I set a goal for myself to cover or recap every Wings game this season. Even if it was a little blurb I wanted to dedicate at least the quickest of thoughts to every game, for consistency's sake.

Well it's November 11th and I've already failed. But this game deserves the pre+postgame treatment. Not for the revenge-ness that the media will like to talk about. There will be none of this "revenge" they speak of. It's a regular season game in mid-November. Even if the Pens win 10-zip it won't make up for the anguish that any of them felt last June.

That said it's still a big game for hockey fans. Regardless of the fun made at the expense of Malkin/Crosby and the gang, it's a thrill to watch all of this head-to-head talent. So to get prepared, here's some mandatory reading material that you've probably already seen and don't need me to point out:

• RWC: No Dan Cleary tonight, who's out with an eye infection. Jiri gets promoted to 3rd line duty with Drapes and Sammy. Mule returns to the lineup alongside Fil and Hank.

• Also from the Corner: Pens practice lines

Talbot (ugh, the name still makes me cringe)-Crosby-Satan
Sykora-Malkin-Fedotenko
Cooke-Staal-Kennedy
Dupuis-Zigomanis-Godard

Fleury in goal.

• Good read from Christy at Winging it in Motown. Hossa stuff.

Another aspect of Hossa that has impressed fans, teammates, and the media alike is his infectious and down-to-earth personality that seems ncharacteristic with a star of this magnitude.

"I knew he was a really good player when he got here, but I didn't realize that he was this good," Niklas Kronwall said. "I mean, he's so strong on the puck, even just going against him in practice, it's amazing how strong he is.

"And then not only is he just an unbelievable player, but the type of person he is, I mean, he is just the nicest guy to everyone. He's not cocky. He's not one of those divas that some great players are."

• And then of course a whole bunch of shit from George James Malik that makes your blog look unimaginably irrelevant by comparison.

• Unless you've been living under a rock you know where to go for all things Penguin. Nuf said.

• Malkin is tied for the NHL lead in points with 22 (4 goals 18 assists) ... the Wings' insanely lethal power play (30.9 %) goes head-to-head against the league's 5th best PK unit (88.5 %) ... Some dude named Hossa is leading the Wings in scoring with 17 (8G-9A) points through 13 games.

• That's enough from me. Be back late tonight/early morning with the word on the game. Go Wings.