Penguins in Stockholm

Sheesh. I've been away too long. That's what happens when you go to Las Vegas. Recovery takes awile. My apologies ...

Needless to say, there have been many happenings in the Penguins' world over the last week or so. Last week, our Boys of Winter knocked off the sad-sack Toronto Maple Leafs in 2 exhibition games by respective 3-2 and 5-4 scores. Winger Ruslan Fedotenko made a big impact on Friday's game with 3 helpers. Crosby scored in that game, as did Janne Pesonen. It was nice to see him on the board. Even Mark Eaton scored. Hey -- like I said, the Penguins were playing the Maple Leafs. Sabourin got the win on Wednesday; Fleury did on Friday.

Probably the most encouraging thing about those games -- and all of the preseason so far -- has been the play of Kris and Go-Go. Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski both have gotten a lot of ice time in the exhibition games, and both have contributed on the scoresheet. The Penguins are going to need each of those two to play significant roles this season, given the unfortunate news that was just made official on Monday.

Defenseman Sergei Gonchar -- the Penguins lynchpin on the backline -- decided to undergo surgery to correct his dislocated shoulder. He's going to have some ligament repair while under the knife, too. Indications are that he'll be gone for the bulk of the regular season, or around 4-6 months. If things go well, he could return in March. Hopefully he won't have any setbacks and will be able to shake the rust off in 2-4 weeks before the playoffs begin. We'll need him more than ever in the postseason.

One thing the Penguins have going for them -- aside from their depth on defense -- is that they won't rely on key injuries as an excuse. They didn't last year, and proved they could win without key players for long stretches. That should give them a lot of confidence as they enter the season with both of their top guns from the point (including Ryan Whitney) on the shelf.

There was one other notable happening last week. The Penguins signed winger Tyler Kennedy to a 2-year contract extension. "KENNEDY" was entering the final year of his contract, and now is signed to play into the time when the new Igloo will open. Kennedy is a useful player with speed, tenacity and some skill who has the potential to improve on his 10-goal total from last season. He'll have to work at it, though, because it looks like he'll be starting the season on the 4th line. And in a different position: center.

On Saturday, the team got on a transcontinental flight for Stockholm, Sweden, where they'll open up the season this coming weekend with a 2-game set against Jarkko Ruutu and the Ottawa Senators. Coach Michel Therein welcomed them to the ground by having them hit the ice for practice. Since then the team has tried to adopt a regular schedule, mixed in with several team building activities, including a stop at a museum. They even have a scavenger hunt set for today.

So much for West Point.

As we get closer to Saturday's opener (2:30 PM EST), the Penguins are trying out Fedotenko on Sidney Crosby's left side. He played the last half of last Friday's exhibition game against the Leafs there and Therrein obviously liked what he saw. I think they're going to take the twosome for another spin in the team's final exhibition tuneup Thursday against Finnish Elite Club Jokerit in Finland.

Fedotenko has the ability to play with Crosby. He's not the best skater, but neither was Ryan Malone, and we know Malone took his turn with Crosby at times during his tenure with the Penguins. More importantly, Fedotenko has the size and game to go up and down the wing, bang in the corners a little bit, set up in front of the net, and clear some space for Sid and Miro to do their thing. I'm anxious to see how Crosby and the Islanders play out.

There's one other thing to mention. I can't neglect to talk about who made the roster out of camp. Aside from the expected players, the Penguins took to Sweden wingers Bill Thomas and Paul Bissonette. Thomas played well in camp and most agree -- this writer included -- that the Pittsburgh product has the potential to play a useful role for the Penguins this season.

Bissonette is the most interesting case, however. This is a guy who the Penguins drafted 3 years ago as a defenseman. He played so poorly that, after camp last year, he wasn't sent down to Wilkes-Barre, but was instead dispatched all the way to the Wheeling Nailers in the East Coast League. To his credit, he worked hard and made his way back to the baby penguins later in the year, and all after changing his position to wing, too. His solid play obviously continued in camp -- so much that the Penguins decided to keep him.

I believe that one of the big reasons the Penguins kept Bissonette is because he provides an element which the team lost some of when the likes of Gary Roberts, Ryan Malone and Ruutu left to join other clubs: toughness. Bissonette can be hard to play against and he isn't afraid to mix it up out there. He's a big, physical guy who will bang well along with wall. I think that's what attracted the Penguins to him the most. He had an opportunity to fill a need and, to his credit, he took advantage of it. I'm eager to see him out there.

Okay. That's enough for now. I'll try to post again before the season opener Saturday. We'll see where the lines stand at that point.

3 more days until my world resumes.