The Olympics were over and players returned to their respective teams as they prepared for the home stretch of the 09-10 season. With only six weeks left and the playoffs looming large the Penguins looked to come out of the break on fire and that is exactly what they did by winning four games in a row to begin the month. However, after that four game winning streak the Pens played pretty much .500 hockey from then until the end of the month. They clinched a playoff spot in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers at the end of the month. The Pens fell to the Devils twice in March which caused them to fall to 0-6 against New Jersey this season. Marc-Andre Fleury also recorded his first shut-out of the season against Boston.

March Record: 8-4-3 

March Highlights: The return of Penguins hockey after the Olympics…four game winning streak out of the break…Matt Cooke destroying Marc Savard…Marc-Andre Fleury’s first shut-out of the season…beating the Flyers…Clinching a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

March Lowlights: Losing to Carolina twice in OT…Falling twice to New Jersey to fall to 0-6 on the season…Losing to Detroit and watching Jimmy Howard be praised…Uninspired loss to Tampa Bay to end the month.

WTF Moment of the Month: A highly uninspired loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning to end the month.

March Grade: A-…In a month filled with games almost every night in an effort to make up for the Olympic break the Pens had another solid month and clinched a playoff spot for the fourth straight season. However, they did leave a lot of points on the table that would cost them down the line.

Note: I will be posting a Winter Classic piece sometime soon and some news on the Consol.