Thursday, October 29, 2009
Malkin To Miss 2-3 Weeks With Shoulder Strain
Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma announced after practice today that center Evgeni Malkin would be out of the lineup for the next 2 weeks or so as a consequence of an ongoing shoulder strain he has been dealing with.
Malkin played last night against the Montreal Candiens with no obvious problem -- and even had 6 shots on goal -- but apparently, Geno has been bothered by this issue for the last 10 days or so. Bylsma wants him to stay off the ice until he's 100%, rather than have to continue fighting through the injury and, potentially, make it worse.
It will be interesting to see how HCDB configures the lines in Malkin's absence, especially since the Penguins have a 4-game road trip coming up that's going to take them to the West Coast, before wrapping up in Boston on 11-12.
In all likelihood, I bet Byslma shifts Jordan Staal up to the 2nd line, and then maybe let Craig Adams continue to center the 3rd line. I would suspect a call-up will be brought in from Wilkes-Barre to fill in on the 4th unit.
Staal may also get more power play time with #71 out of the lineup. As long as Bylsma continues to keep two defensemen on the point, Crosby will have sole residency on the half wall on the man-advantage, and that opens up a spot for a guy down low. Guerin is typically the guy in front, so #11 may have to work more of the boards, but that's certainly something he can do.
One other thing not helping the Penguins right now is the fact that Tyler Kennedy is out of the lineup, too. TK may not even be well enough to play tomorrow or Saturday night, but his absence isn't expected to be a long-term thing, and when he does get back, I think Bylsma will look to put him back with Staal on the 2nd line to see if he can continue to keep a scoring threat there.
Obviously, I think it's fair to expect Chris Bourque to remain in the lineup. He may be asked to play on the new 3rd unit. That's a role that's really designed for him.
There's no doubt that missing Malkin will hurt the Penguins, but there is enough personnel in place to hold the fort in his absence. Maybe not on quite the same pace Pittsburgh has been keeping, but Bylsma will undoubtedly be sure that his team isn't feeling sorry for itself and instead is keeping their foot on the pedal.
I'll post more if there's any AHL recall of note.
Crosby, Kunitz Fuel 6-1 Franchise Record Defeat of Canadiens
Sorry for my absence the last several days boys and girls. Even though the Penguins haven't played since Saturday night, you would have heard from me, but I've been preoccupied the last few days after my daughter had surgery. No worries. She's doing well. And, with her in a better place -- and the Penguins back in action again against Montreal last night -- it's time to return to the pulpit.
The Canadiens are, in my opinion, the most storied franchise in the history of the National Hockey League.
24 Stanley Cups tends to give you that status, you know?
The Pens' have been playing Montreal for a lot of years -- and have been on the negative end of a majority of those contests -- but last night at the Mellon Arena, the Penguins faceplanted the Canadiens to a 6-1 tune never before seen in the 43 seasons Pittsburgh has been in the National Hockey League.
That's right, the Penguins have never in their franchise's history defeated the Candiens by 5 goals.
Montreal had no chance last night, thanks largely to Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz.
3 years to the day of his first National Hockey League hat trick in Philadelphia against the hated Flyers, Crosby rang up his third career regular season HT last night, chasing Montreal netminder Jaroslav Halak to the bench at the end of the 2nd period after his third tally.
Kunitz had a career-high 4 points last night as well, with an assist on every Crosby goal, AND -- finally -- a goal of his own with 3 minutes left in the game when he beat the Habs' Carey Price on a breakaway.
Marc-Andre Fleury had 23 saves on 24 shots for the victory -- his ninth this season.
Crosby's first goal was a nice short-side shot, but the play was made possible mostly by his linemates.
At about the 8-9 ,minute mark of the first frame, Kunitz broke up a clearing attempt at the Montreal blueline. As the puck popped up into the air and he was surrounded by 3 Canadien players, Kunitz won the puck battle and got the biscuit to Guerin, who immediatley found Crosby alone to Halak's left. #87's one timer didn't miss.
Crosby's second goal later that period was more artistic, as he picked up a rebound off a Kunitz shot, corralled the puck, spun around, and dug under the rubber to lift a backhander over a bewildered Halak.
After a rebound goal by Mike Rupp in the second period but Pittsburgh up by 3, Crosby struck again when Kunitz stole the puck and found him alone in front. Sid's nice backhand/forehand move was initially stopped by Halak, but the puck caromed off Crosby into the net, and the hats immediately began raining down on Igloo ice.
While Thomas Plekanec got Montreal to within 4-1 early in the 3rd period, Alex Goligoski then scored a power play goal on a wrist shot from the point to restore Pittsburgh's 4 goal lead. After that, Kunitz finished the scoring for the night with his breakaway tally.
True to form, the Penguins unleashed 37 shots on Halak and Price last night. They had no chance of keeping Montreal's 4-game winning streak in-tact.
With the victory, the Penguins tied Colorado for the most wins in the league with 10. Pittsburgh remains 2 points back of the continually-surprising Avalanche in the NHL's overall standings, however. The Avs have 22 points on a 10-1-2 record, while Pittsburgh has 20 with a 10-2 mark, and extended their franchise-best win record for October.
The Pens' have a chance to add to that in their next two games -- Friday night in Columbus against the Blue Jackets, and Saturday night back at home on Halloween against the Minnesota Wild.
The Penguins did gain ground over the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils in the Atlantic Division last night, as both clubs lost. The New York Islanders knocked down the Rangers, and the Buffalo Sabres defeated New Jersey.
NOTES:
The Penguins played without Tyler Kennedy last night, who missed the contest with an undisclosed, day-to-day injury. Craig Adams took his spot on the 3rd line, while Pascal Dupuis -- who had missed the prior 2 days of practice becasue of flu-like sympoms -- played on the 4th line. Chris Bourque got in the lineup because of Kennedy's absence and played a fairly regular shift on the 2nd line with Evgeni Malkin and Ruslan Fedotenko. He picked up a helper on Kuntiz's goal.
With 9 markers on the season, Crosby is 4th in the league in goal-scoring, behind Alexander Ovechkin, Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings, and Marion Gaborik in New York.
Surprisingly, after nearly a month of the year, Crosby only has 5 assists thusfar in the regular season. He's continued to take the role of goal-scorer on his line.
Alex Goligoski continued his outstanding season so far. He now has 11 points in 12 games, and is tied for the league in plus-minus at +11 with Ovechkin.
More this weekend.
The Canadiens are, in my opinion, the most storied franchise in the history of the National Hockey League.
24 Stanley Cups tends to give you that status, you know?
The Pens' have been playing Montreal for a lot of years -- and have been on the negative end of a majority of those contests -- but last night at the Mellon Arena, the Penguins faceplanted the Canadiens to a 6-1 tune never before seen in the 43 seasons Pittsburgh has been in the National Hockey League.
That's right, the Penguins have never in their franchise's history defeated the Candiens by 5 goals.
Montreal had no chance last night, thanks largely to Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz.
3 years to the day of his first National Hockey League hat trick in Philadelphia against the hated Flyers, Crosby rang up his third career regular season HT last night, chasing Montreal netminder Jaroslav Halak to the bench at the end of the 2nd period after his third tally.
Kunitz had a career-high 4 points last night as well, with an assist on every Crosby goal, AND -- finally -- a goal of his own with 3 minutes left in the game when he beat the Habs' Carey Price on a breakaway.
Marc-Andre Fleury had 23 saves on 24 shots for the victory -- his ninth this season.
Crosby's first goal was a nice short-side shot, but the play was made possible mostly by his linemates.
At about the 8-9 ,minute mark of the first frame, Kunitz broke up a clearing attempt at the Montreal blueline. As the puck popped up into the air and he was surrounded by 3 Canadien players, Kunitz won the puck battle and got the biscuit to Guerin, who immediatley found Crosby alone to Halak's left. #87's one timer didn't miss.
Crosby's second goal later that period was more artistic, as he picked up a rebound off a Kunitz shot, corralled the puck, spun around, and dug under the rubber to lift a backhander over a bewildered Halak.
After a rebound goal by Mike Rupp in the second period but Pittsburgh up by 3, Crosby struck again when Kunitz stole the puck and found him alone in front. Sid's nice backhand/forehand move was initially stopped by Halak, but the puck caromed off Crosby into the net, and the hats immediately began raining down on Igloo ice.
While Thomas Plekanec got Montreal to within 4-1 early in the 3rd period, Alex Goligoski then scored a power play goal on a wrist shot from the point to restore Pittsburgh's 4 goal lead. After that, Kunitz finished the scoring for the night with his breakaway tally.
True to form, the Penguins unleashed 37 shots on Halak and Price last night. They had no chance of keeping Montreal's 4-game winning streak in-tact.
With the victory, the Penguins tied Colorado for the most wins in the league with 10. Pittsburgh remains 2 points back of the continually-surprising Avalanche in the NHL's overall standings, however. The Avs have 22 points on a 10-1-2 record, while Pittsburgh has 20 with a 10-2 mark, and extended their franchise-best win record for October.
The Pens' have a chance to add to that in their next two games -- Friday night in Columbus against the Blue Jackets, and Saturday night back at home on Halloween against the Minnesota Wild.
The Penguins did gain ground over the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils in the Atlantic Division last night, as both clubs lost. The New York Islanders knocked down the Rangers, and the Buffalo Sabres defeated New Jersey.
NOTES:
The Penguins played without Tyler Kennedy last night, who missed the contest with an undisclosed, day-to-day injury. Craig Adams took his spot on the 3rd line, while Pascal Dupuis -- who had missed the prior 2 days of practice becasue of flu-like sympoms -- played on the 4th line. Chris Bourque got in the lineup because of Kennedy's absence and played a fairly regular shift on the 2nd line with Evgeni Malkin and Ruslan Fedotenko. He picked up a helper on Kuntiz's goal.
With 9 markers on the season, Crosby is 4th in the league in goal-scoring, behind Alexander Ovechkin, Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings, and Marion Gaborik in New York.
Surprisingly, after nearly a month of the year, Crosby only has 5 assists thusfar in the regular season. He's continued to take the role of goal-scorer on his line.
Alex Goligoski continued his outstanding season so far. He now has 11 points in 12 games, and is tied for the league in plus-minus at +11 with Ovechkin.
More this weekend.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Penguins, 7-Game Win Streak Bedeviled By New Jersey, 4-1
You didn't think the Penguins would roll 81-1 this year, did you?
I certainly didn't, and last night, the New Jersey Devils made sure of that by beating the Penguins rather handily, 4-1, at Mellon Arena.
The game snapped Pittsburgh's 7-game winning streak, and was vintage New Jersey from start to end.
The Devils played their trademark defenseive system to a "T" -- as in trap -- and relied on legend netminder Martin Brodeur to make the saves when needed.
Defenseman Mark Fraser scored his first NHL goal for New Jersey in the first period to open the scoring on a shot that Pens' goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury first stopped rather easily. Unfortunately, when Fleury tried to snatch the puck out of the air after it popped up off his pads, he accidentally knocked it into his own goal.
Niclas Bergfors tapped in a loose puck that had squirted behind Fleury in the 2nd period and, just when the Penguins and their fans were hoping for a reprise of last night's comeback from a 2-0 third period deficit at home against the Florida Panthers, Travis Zajac scored in the first minute of the final frame to make it 3-0, depositing a shot past an outstretched Fleury after being left alone just briefly in front of the Pens' netminder.
While defenseman Alex Goligoski broke Brodeur's bid to tie Terry Sawchuck for the NHL's all-time shutout record with 103 by scoring about half-way through the final frame, the Penguins never really threatened thereafter, and a late goal from Devils' star Zach Parise finished Pittsburgh off for good.
While the Penguins had more shots than New Jersey -- they reached the 30's as they typically do under head coach Dan Bylsma, while Fleury only faced 26 in net for Pittsburgh -- the Penguins couldn't break through Brodeur to get anything going.
They also failed on 4 power play chances, which leaves Pittsburgh's man-advantage 1-for-10 in the first two games without quarterback Sergei Gonchar. That's something they definitely need to work on going forward.
With the loss, the Penguins no longer have sole possession of first place in the overall NHL standings, and now share that distinction with the Colorado Avalanche, who are 8-1-2 on the year.
The Penguins still have more wins than any other club league-wide, with 9.
Pittsburgh finishes up their 5-game homestand next Wednesday against the Montreal Canadiens, who did the Penguins a little bit of a favor by beating the New York Rangers in overtime last night to keep them from gaining an extra point in the standings.
More this week.
I certainly didn't, and last night, the New Jersey Devils made sure of that by beating the Penguins rather handily, 4-1, at Mellon Arena.
The game snapped Pittsburgh's 7-game winning streak, and was vintage New Jersey from start to end.
The Devils played their trademark defenseive system to a "T" -- as in trap -- and relied on legend netminder Martin Brodeur to make the saves when needed.
Defenseman Mark Fraser scored his first NHL goal for New Jersey in the first period to open the scoring on a shot that Pens' goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury first stopped rather easily. Unfortunately, when Fleury tried to snatch the puck out of the air after it popped up off his pads, he accidentally knocked it into his own goal.
Niclas Bergfors tapped in a loose puck that had squirted behind Fleury in the 2nd period and, just when the Penguins and their fans were hoping for a reprise of last night's comeback from a 2-0 third period deficit at home against the Florida Panthers, Travis Zajac scored in the first minute of the final frame to make it 3-0, depositing a shot past an outstretched Fleury after being left alone just briefly in front of the Pens' netminder.
While defenseman Alex Goligoski broke Brodeur's bid to tie Terry Sawchuck for the NHL's all-time shutout record with 103 by scoring about half-way through the final frame, the Penguins never really threatened thereafter, and a late goal from Devils' star Zach Parise finished Pittsburgh off for good.
While the Penguins had more shots than New Jersey -- they reached the 30's as they typically do under head coach Dan Bylsma, while Fleury only faced 26 in net for Pittsburgh -- the Penguins couldn't break through Brodeur to get anything going.
They also failed on 4 power play chances, which leaves Pittsburgh's man-advantage 1-for-10 in the first two games without quarterback Sergei Gonchar. That's something they definitely need to work on going forward.
With the loss, the Penguins no longer have sole possession of first place in the overall NHL standings, and now share that distinction with the Colorado Avalanche, who are 8-1-2 on the year.
The Penguins still have more wins than any other club league-wide, with 9.
Pittsburgh finishes up their 5-game homestand next Wednesday against the Montreal Canadiens, who did the Penguins a little bit of a favor by beating the New York Rangers in overtime last night to keep them from gaining an extra point in the standings.
More this week.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
87 + 1 = 9
I was actually a math minor in college. Even if you wouldn't know it from the title of this blog entry.
Yes, folks, this is the new math.
Last night at Mellon Arena against the Florida Panthers, the Pittsburgh Penguins looked at first as if they were trying to replay their game from 2 and 1/2 weeks earlier against the Phoenix Coyotes, where they looked disinterested and flustered in losing their only game on the season, 3-0.
Steve Reinprecht staked Florida to an 2-0 first period lead last night, and the Panthers had Pens' backup goaltender Brent Johnson -- who last played against the Coyotes -- again under seige.
But unlike the game against the Coyotes, the Penguins displayed that new math last night. Thanks to Sidney Crosby (#87) and Johnson (#1), Pittsburgh turned things around and prevailed 3-2 in a shootout for their franchise-record ninth win in October (9).
It also was their 7th straight victory.
The Penguins started getting their legs under them in the 2nd period and ultimately, tied the contest in the third on 2 goals from Sidney Crosby.
Crosby's first goal was made possible by Evgeni Malkin, who made a great play at the point on a 5-on-3 to keep the puck in at the blueline and chip it over to defenseman Alex Goligoski. Gogo then carried the puck down near the far circle before sliding a cross-ice pass to Sid.
The puck hit something on the way but still got over to Crosby, who buried it before Panthers' netminder Tomas Vokoun was able to scramble completely across his crease and make the stop.
The Penguins had a goal by Bill Guerin disallowed a few minutes later because he whacked the puck in out of the air after Crosby batted it with his glove and tried to do the same (but missed). It was clearly the correct call.
Not to be denied, however, #87 and #71 worked some additional magic late in the frame while killing a penalty together to tie the score. Malkin swooped behind the net with the puck and found Crosby in the right circle, who one-timed Geno's pass off something and past Vokoun with about 3 minutes left.
It was welcome relief for the Penguins, who really stormed the Florida zone for the last two periods. They rang up 43 shots on Vokoun in regulation and overtime, and he had to be pretty strong once the Pens' got rolling. He's been pretty competitive against Pittsburgh in his career -- despite a sub .500 lifetime mark against Pittsburgh, and despite his miserable statistics this year so far -- and last night was no different.
After a scoreless overtime, Crosby was the only player to tally in the shootout, scoring on a nice forehand shot after a fake to the backhand. That was move I've never seen Crosby try before.
Johnson, obviously, was rock solid in the shootout, stopping all 3 Florida shooters.
He also made a ridiculous save in the 3rd period reaching back to snag a puck out of mid air on a last ditch effort. They shot wouldn't have counted for a goal even had it gone in because Johnson was the victim of goaltender inteference on the play. Still, it was just great work by the Pens' backup netminder, who was strong all night, and clearly the recipient of a lot of good feelings by his teammates at the end of the game who were happy to get him the win after playing so poorly in front of him in his last outing.
The Penguins are now 9-1, and still pace both the Atlantic Division and the entire league with 18 points.
The New Jersey Devils and goaltender Martin Brodeur, who were off last night and who the Penguins host tonight in the 2nd half of back-to-back contests at Mellon Arena, is 8 points back with 10, sitting 3rd in the Atlantic.
At the 10-game mark, Pittsburgh is where it is right now because of the fact that they're getting contributions from everyone when they need it. Crosby has been relatively quiet this season -- especially the last 3 or 4 games -- before breaking out last night. But Pittsburgh has 11 players with 5 points or more, which is the pace of having ELEVEN forty point players at the end of the season. Goligoski, in particular, is off to a great start. He's near the league lead for scoring among defensemen.
Overall, Pittsburgh is tied for second in the league in goals scored, and tied for third in goals against, and that will win you a lot of hockey games. They just are playing with a championship confidence. While they aren't perfect, and while they could still use certain contributions from some players -- like Chris Kunitz scoring goals, for example -- they find ways to win.
It's just hard not to feel good about the way they're playing, even having to face the absence of Sergei Gonchar for the next 4-6 weeks.
Recap tomorrow in what is likely to be a good contest back at the Mellon tonight.
Let's Go Pens!
Yes, folks, this is the new math.
Last night at Mellon Arena against the Florida Panthers, the Pittsburgh Penguins looked at first as if they were trying to replay their game from 2 and 1/2 weeks earlier against the Phoenix Coyotes, where they looked disinterested and flustered in losing their only game on the season, 3-0.
Steve Reinprecht staked Florida to an 2-0 first period lead last night, and the Panthers had Pens' backup goaltender Brent Johnson -- who last played against the Coyotes -- again under seige.
But unlike the game against the Coyotes, the Penguins displayed that new math last night. Thanks to Sidney Crosby (#87) and Johnson (#1), Pittsburgh turned things around and prevailed 3-2 in a shootout for their franchise-record ninth win in October (9).
It also was their 7th straight victory.
The Penguins started getting their legs under them in the 2nd period and ultimately, tied the contest in the third on 2 goals from Sidney Crosby.
Crosby's first goal was made possible by Evgeni Malkin, who made a great play at the point on a 5-on-3 to keep the puck in at the blueline and chip it over to defenseman Alex Goligoski. Gogo then carried the puck down near the far circle before sliding a cross-ice pass to Sid.
The puck hit something on the way but still got over to Crosby, who buried it before Panthers' netminder Tomas Vokoun was able to scramble completely across his crease and make the stop.
The Penguins had a goal by Bill Guerin disallowed a few minutes later because he whacked the puck in out of the air after Crosby batted it with his glove and tried to do the same (but missed). It was clearly the correct call.
Not to be denied, however, #87 and #71 worked some additional magic late in the frame while killing a penalty together to tie the score. Malkin swooped behind the net with the puck and found Crosby in the right circle, who one-timed Geno's pass off something and past Vokoun with about 3 minutes left.
It was welcome relief for the Penguins, who really stormed the Florida zone for the last two periods. They rang up 43 shots on Vokoun in regulation and overtime, and he had to be pretty strong once the Pens' got rolling. He's been pretty competitive against Pittsburgh in his career -- despite a sub .500 lifetime mark against Pittsburgh, and despite his miserable statistics this year so far -- and last night was no different.
After a scoreless overtime, Crosby was the only player to tally in the shootout, scoring on a nice forehand shot after a fake to the backhand. That was move I've never seen Crosby try before.
Johnson, obviously, was rock solid in the shootout, stopping all 3 Florida shooters.
He also made a ridiculous save in the 3rd period reaching back to snag a puck out of mid air on a last ditch effort. They shot wouldn't have counted for a goal even had it gone in because Johnson was the victim of goaltender inteference on the play. Still, it was just great work by the Pens' backup netminder, who was strong all night, and clearly the recipient of a lot of good feelings by his teammates at the end of the game who were happy to get him the win after playing so poorly in front of him in his last outing.
The Penguins are now 9-1, and still pace both the Atlantic Division and the entire league with 18 points.
The New Jersey Devils and goaltender Martin Brodeur, who were off last night and who the Penguins host tonight in the 2nd half of back-to-back contests at Mellon Arena, is 8 points back with 10, sitting 3rd in the Atlantic.
At the 10-game mark, Pittsburgh is where it is right now because of the fact that they're getting contributions from everyone when they need it. Crosby has been relatively quiet this season -- especially the last 3 or 4 games -- before breaking out last night. But Pittsburgh has 11 players with 5 points or more, which is the pace of having ELEVEN forty point players at the end of the season. Goligoski, in particular, is off to a great start. He's near the league lead for scoring among defensemen.
Overall, Pittsburgh is tied for second in the league in goals scored, and tied for third in goals against, and that will win you a lot of hockey games. They just are playing with a championship confidence. While they aren't perfect, and while they could still use certain contributions from some players -- like Chris Kunitz scoring goals, for example -- they find ways to win.
It's just hard not to feel good about the way they're playing, even having to face the absence of Sergei Gonchar for the next 4-6 weeks.
Recap tomorrow in what is likely to be a good contest back at the Mellon tonight.
Let's Go Pens!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Gonchar Out 4-6 Weeks
Pittsburgh Penguin coach Dan Bylsma confirmed at a press conference this afternoon that top defenseman and power play quarterback Sergei Gonchar sustained a broken bone in his wrist in last night's 5-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues
Bylsma announced that Gonchar will be out 4-6 weeks.
Gonchar will not need surgery, just a cast to immobilize the area and let it heal on its own during that time.
In Sarge's place in the lineup will go veteran Martin Skoula, who Pens' GM Ray Shero signed in training camp for just this role.
Skoula is no Gonchar, for sure, but he is a veteran presence who can step into Pittsburgh's top 6 in #55's absence
Expect Skoula to play with Mark Eaton, and have Kris Letang to slide up to the #1 pairing with Brooks Orpik.
Alex Goligoski will probably still play with Jay McKee in what, arguably, has been Pittsburgh's best pairing this year so far.
In truth, it hurts to lose Gonchar for any period of time. After all, he was out for the majority of last season to a pre-season shoulder injury and there's no doubt the Penguins played poorly in his absence.
On the other hand, 4-6 weeks is not an overwhelming period. The Penguins have the depth to compensate for Gonchar being out of the lineup during that time.
Missing only 4-6 weeks is a much better scenario than the injury Gonchar suffered last season, and is certainly better than a season-ending injury.
More than anything I'll be anxious to see how Pittsburgh's power play does in Gonchar's absence. It's been toiling in the middle of the NHL pack this year thus far, although it did go 2 for 4 last night.
We'll see how well Letang and Goligoski can lead the way on the man advantage.
More later this week.
Bylsma announced that Gonchar will be out 4-6 weeks.
Gonchar will not need surgery, just a cast to immobilize the area and let it heal on its own during that time.
In Sarge's place in the lineup will go veteran Martin Skoula, who Pens' GM Ray Shero signed in training camp for just this role.
Skoula is no Gonchar, for sure, but he is a veteran presence who can step into Pittsburgh's top 6 in #55's absence
Expect Skoula to play with Mark Eaton, and have Kris Letang to slide up to the #1 pairing with Brooks Orpik.
Alex Goligoski will probably still play with Jay McKee in what, arguably, has been Pittsburgh's best pairing this year so far.
In truth, it hurts to lose Gonchar for any period of time. After all, he was out for the majority of last season to a pre-season shoulder injury and there's no doubt the Penguins played poorly in his absence.
On the other hand, 4-6 weeks is not an overwhelming period. The Penguins have the depth to compensate for Gonchar being out of the lineup during that time.
Missing only 4-6 weeks is a much better scenario than the injury Gonchar suffered last season, and is certainly better than a season-ending injury.
More than anything I'll be anxious to see how Pittsburgh's power play does in Gonchar's absence. It's been toiling in the middle of the NHL pack this year thus far, although it did go 2 for 4 last night.
We'll see how well Letang and Goligoski can lead the way on the man advantage.
More later this week.
Who's Blue? Pens' Throttle St. Louis For 6th Straight Win, But Lose Gonchar To Meaningful Injury
I thought last evening's nationally televised game at Mellon Arena between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the St. Louis Blues would be a pretty competitive affair.
And it was.
If you were trying to place wagers on exactly how quickly or how badly the Penguins were going to run the Blues into the ground.
The Penguins piled on St. Louis last night to the tune of a 5-1 victory -- a game that represented their 6th straight win -- but may have suffered the loss of a key component to their success in the process.
Defenseman Sergei Gonchar had an awkward collission along the boards in the 2nd period, and did not return to the game.
The Pittsburgh Tribune Review is reporting that Gonchar has a broken bone in his hand or wrist that will sideline him for at least a month.
Here's the piece:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_649048.html
While the Penguins have the talent and ability to compensate for the absence of #55, it is undeniable that losing Gonchar for an extended period would obviously be a significant blow to their ability to dominate opponents as they have recently.
If I get an update on Gonchar later today, I'll post it.
In the meantime, the Penguins were machine-like again last night.
They rolled to an early 2-0 first period lead on goals about a minute apart by Tyler Kennedy -- his 5th to lead the team -- and Evgeni Malkin. Geno's marker was a power-play tally.
In the 2nd period, the Penguins added 2 more in quick fashion to up their lead to 4-0. This time, Ruslan Fedotenko and Matt Cooke got the tallies. Like Malkin's goal, Rusty's marker was on the power play as well.
Paul Kariya finally got the Blues on the board later in that period and the Blues pulled starting netminder Chris Mason for former Penguin Ty Conklin to start the third period.
No matter.
Defenseman Alex Goligoski closed out the scoring in the final frame to give the Penguins their 5-1 victory.
The Blues just couldn't keep up with the Penguins last night. Pittsburgh outshot them by a whopping 20-3 margin in the first period, and by a 43-23 differential on the night. And everything Pittsburgh put in, they did it like they were sharpshooters.
Top corners.
Well-placed deflections.
Mason and Conklin were mostly helpless in net for St. Louis.
With the victory, Marc-Andre Fleury raised his record to 8-0 on the season. He now has a .930 save percentage and a 1.84 GAA.
So, while the Penguins now sit alone at the top of the Atlantic Division and NHL standings with an 8-1 mark in the season's first 9 games thanks largely to contributions from everyone, Gonchar's injury will now take center stage for the team.
Can they continue to roll without him?
Pittsburgh's next game is against the Florida Panthers on Friday night.
Like I said, more on Sarge when I hear it. For now, hope for the best.
And it was.
If you were trying to place wagers on exactly how quickly or how badly the Penguins were going to run the Blues into the ground.
The Penguins piled on St. Louis last night to the tune of a 5-1 victory -- a game that represented their 6th straight win -- but may have suffered the loss of a key component to their success in the process.
Defenseman Sergei Gonchar had an awkward collission along the boards in the 2nd period, and did not return to the game.
The Pittsburgh Tribune Review is reporting that Gonchar has a broken bone in his hand or wrist that will sideline him for at least a month.
Here's the piece:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_649048.html
While the Penguins have the talent and ability to compensate for the absence of #55, it is undeniable that losing Gonchar for an extended period would obviously be a significant blow to their ability to dominate opponents as they have recently.
If I get an update on Gonchar later today, I'll post it.
In the meantime, the Penguins were machine-like again last night.
They rolled to an early 2-0 first period lead on goals about a minute apart by Tyler Kennedy -- his 5th to lead the team -- and Evgeni Malkin. Geno's marker was a power-play tally.
In the 2nd period, the Penguins added 2 more in quick fashion to up their lead to 4-0. This time, Ruslan Fedotenko and Matt Cooke got the tallies. Like Malkin's goal, Rusty's marker was on the power play as well.
Paul Kariya finally got the Blues on the board later in that period and the Blues pulled starting netminder Chris Mason for former Penguin Ty Conklin to start the third period.
No matter.
Defenseman Alex Goligoski closed out the scoring in the final frame to give the Penguins their 5-1 victory.
The Blues just couldn't keep up with the Penguins last night. Pittsburgh outshot them by a whopping 20-3 margin in the first period, and by a 43-23 differential on the night. And everything Pittsburgh put in, they did it like they were sharpshooters.
Top corners.
Well-placed deflections.
Mason and Conklin were mostly helpless in net for St. Louis.
With the victory, Marc-Andre Fleury raised his record to 8-0 on the season. He now has a .930 save percentage and a 1.84 GAA.
So, while the Penguins now sit alone at the top of the Atlantic Division and NHL standings with an 8-1 mark in the season's first 9 games thanks largely to contributions from everyone, Gonchar's injury will now take center stage for the team.
Can they continue to roll without him?
Pittsburgh's next game is against the Florida Panthers on Friday night.
Like I said, more on Sarge when I hear it. For now, hope for the best.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Previewing The Penguins/Blues And More
The Penguins put their 5-game winning streak on the line at Mellon Arena tonight in a 7 PM EST nationally televised contest (Versus) against the Western Conference upstart St. Louis Blues.
St. Louis is generally regarded in league circles as a team on the rise, and mainly that has to do with the young talent they've brought in over the last several seasons.
Defenseman Eric Johnson, and forwards Brad Boyes, T.J. Oshie and David Backes have given the Blues some solid young players to build around recently -- Boyes and Johnson in particular. Boyes scored more than 30 goals last season. Johnson already has 6 helpers in 6 contests this year.
But not to be overlooked are the veterans currently leading the way for St. Louis, including one of my favorite players and the Blues' leading scorer, LW Keith Tkachuk. He's got 7 points in 6 games.
He gets help from C Andy McDonald and LW Paul Kariya, who are 2nd and 4th in team scoring, respectively.
The Penguins will also match up against former teammates Darryl Sydor and Ty Conklin this evening.
Sydor fills a top 6 role for the Blues, and is a strong +6 on the year to-date. Conklin is 2-0 and coming off a 5-0 whitewashing of Anaheim over the weekend. There's no word whether he'll start against the men he battled with on the way to the 2008 Stanley Cup Final, but I'd say there's a good chance of that.
The New York Rangers finally lost last night (to the San Jose Sharks, 7-3), so Pittsburgh has an opportunity to take over sole possession of 1st place in the leaguewide standings and the Atlantic Division with a victory -- or even a point -- tonight.
In other Penguin news, Stanley Cup hero Max Talbot was given clearance to practice with his teammates for the first time yesterday.
Talbot still hasn't been given the okay to participate in contact drills, so he wore a the red jersey throughout yesterday's on-ice session, but having #25 out there again is certainly a positive step in his continued recovery and rehabilitation.
Talbot is still probably about a month away from seeing game action at this point.
I also wanted to share 2 good nuggets of information about Dan Bylsma, both from the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.
Many people know that, as a former player, HCDB often likes to join the shootout competitions he stages at the end of certain Penguin practices. He did that yesterday, and made the shootout stakes interesting when he said that the last person on the ice (the one who didn't score) would have to wash new defenseman Jay McKee's truck.
Guess who ended up with that duty.
Yep. The coach.
Makes you think that Fleury and Johnson let him score to feel good in the other shootout competitions, but wanted to stick it to him yesterday. Ha.
The other nugget about Bylsma is that he was recommended to coach at the highly regarded Shattuck Saint Mary's prep school in Minnesota when they had a vacancy 2 years ago.
Of course, many Penguin fans know that Crosby had a year of seasoning himself at that school, as have several other NHL stars over the years.
Ironically enough, Blues coach and Bylsma mentor Andy Murray was the one who recommended Blysma for that job.
When Murray put Bylsma's name forward, they told him that they felt he was "too inexperienced" to coach at "that level".
Two years and one Stanley Cup Championship later, here we are.
Great nuggets.
Finally, has everyone seen the video and story that his been circulating over the on-line hockey airwaves about the 9 year old player from Boston?
Here's a story and video about a recent goal he scored in a shootout competition that was held for his age group between periods of a Boston Bruins game last week. You have to see this to believe it (although frankly, I've seen it and I'm still not sure I do):
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Video-9-year-old-scores-greatest-goal-in-Boston?urn=nhl,195876
Pick your jaw up off the floor.
I mean, are you kidding me?
I bet 98% of NHL players couldn't pull that off.
I've seen several lacrosse-style highlight goals in my life, basically from the college or junior levels, including one that Crosby scored in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League several years ago.
All have been top-notch because so few people try that with the puck.
None have involved a spinorama and backhand toss like what that 9-year old did.
I felt bad for the goalie.
Just unbelievable.
Recap of the Pittsburgh/St. Louis game tomorrow.
Let's Go Pens'!
St. Louis is generally regarded in league circles as a team on the rise, and mainly that has to do with the young talent they've brought in over the last several seasons.
Defenseman Eric Johnson, and forwards Brad Boyes, T.J. Oshie and David Backes have given the Blues some solid young players to build around recently -- Boyes and Johnson in particular. Boyes scored more than 30 goals last season. Johnson already has 6 helpers in 6 contests this year.
But not to be overlooked are the veterans currently leading the way for St. Louis, including one of my favorite players and the Blues' leading scorer, LW Keith Tkachuk. He's got 7 points in 6 games.
He gets help from C Andy McDonald and LW Paul Kariya, who are 2nd and 4th in team scoring, respectively.
The Penguins will also match up against former teammates Darryl Sydor and Ty Conklin this evening.
Sydor fills a top 6 role for the Blues, and is a strong +6 on the year to-date. Conklin is 2-0 and coming off a 5-0 whitewashing of Anaheim over the weekend. There's no word whether he'll start against the men he battled with on the way to the 2008 Stanley Cup Final, but I'd say there's a good chance of that.
The New York Rangers finally lost last night (to the San Jose Sharks, 7-3), so Pittsburgh has an opportunity to take over sole possession of 1st place in the leaguewide standings and the Atlantic Division with a victory -- or even a point -- tonight.
In other Penguin news, Stanley Cup hero Max Talbot was given clearance to practice with his teammates for the first time yesterday.
Talbot still hasn't been given the okay to participate in contact drills, so he wore a the red jersey throughout yesterday's on-ice session, but having #25 out there again is certainly a positive step in his continued recovery and rehabilitation.
Talbot is still probably about a month away from seeing game action at this point.
I also wanted to share 2 good nuggets of information about Dan Bylsma, both from the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.
Many people know that, as a former player, HCDB often likes to join the shootout competitions he stages at the end of certain Penguin practices. He did that yesterday, and made the shootout stakes interesting when he said that the last person on the ice (the one who didn't score) would have to wash new defenseman Jay McKee's truck.
Guess who ended up with that duty.
Yep. The coach.
Makes you think that Fleury and Johnson let him score to feel good in the other shootout competitions, but wanted to stick it to him yesterday. Ha.
The other nugget about Bylsma is that he was recommended to coach at the highly regarded Shattuck Saint Mary's prep school in Minnesota when they had a vacancy 2 years ago.
Of course, many Penguin fans know that Crosby had a year of seasoning himself at that school, as have several other NHL stars over the years.
Ironically enough, Blues coach and Bylsma mentor Andy Murray was the one who recommended Blysma for that job.
When Murray put Bylsma's name forward, they told him that they felt he was "too inexperienced" to coach at "that level".
Two years and one Stanley Cup Championship later, here we are.
Great nuggets.
Finally, has everyone seen the video and story that his been circulating over the on-line hockey airwaves about the 9 year old player from Boston?
Here's a story and video about a recent goal he scored in a shootout competition that was held for his age group between periods of a Boston Bruins game last week. You have to see this to believe it (although frankly, I've seen it and I'm still not sure I do):
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Video-9-year-old-scores-greatest-goal-in-Boston?urn=nhl,195876
Pick your jaw up off the floor.
I mean, are you kidding me?
I bet 98% of NHL players couldn't pull that off.
I've seen several lacrosse-style highlight goals in my life, basically from the college or junior levels, including one that Crosby scored in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League several years ago.
All have been top-notch because so few people try that with the puck.
None have involved a spinorama and backhand toss like what that 9-year old did.
I felt bad for the goalie.
Just unbelievable.
Recap of the Pittsburgh/St. Louis game tomorrow.
Let's Go Pens'!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Penguins Strike Lightning, Win 5th Straight, 4-1
So much for the theory that a team coming off a long road trip to play its first game at home is vulerable to a letdown.
The Pittsburgh Penguins used the exact same formula they used during their previous 4-game road trip sweep -- play sound defense, get contributions from everyone -- to easily defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning at Mellon Arena last night, 4-1.
It was the Penguins' fifth straight victory, and pushed them to 7-1 on the young season, still at the top of the National Hockey League and the Atlantic Division, tied with the New York Rangers, who have the exact same mark.
Sergei Gonchar paced the Pens' last night with a goal and an assist.
In fact, the entire Penguins' defense put on a strong performance. Everyone seemed to be contributing, whether shooting the biscuit, skating up and down the ice, blocking shots, making cross-ice backhand passes on the tape, or just plain controlling the puck at the Lightning expense.
Jay McKee, in particular, had a real strong game last night. He blocked 7 shots, to raise his league-leading total to 29.
Bill Guerin, Pascal Dupuis and Mike Rupp got the other Penguin goals.
Sidney Crosby had 2 assists.
Tampa really had little chance last night. Guerin and Gonchar stoked the Pens' to a 2-0 first period lead. Then, the closest the Lightning got was when the game was 2-1 in the 2nd period after a goal by Steve Stamkos.
But that margin only lasted a few more minutes until the Dupuis goal and, at the end of the 2nd period, the Penguins were outshooting Tampa Bay 24-13.
Whatever chances the Lightning had in the 3rd were snuffed out by Pens' netminder Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 22 total saves in the contest in remaining undefeated on the season with a 7-0 record.
Rupp's goal in the 3rd, by the way, was another sweet marker, pinpointing a wrister from 20 feet to the far side past Tampa Bay goaltender Antero Nittymaki.
That followed up Rupp's beautiful goal against the Hurricanes on Wednesday night.
The Penguins are in the middle of a 5-game homestand, which they continue Tuesday night against the upstart St. Louis Blues in a nationally televised contest on Versus at 7 PM.
The Penguins look pretty sharp right now. Let's hope they can ride this streak for as long as they can, because the points count now as much as they do in February or March.
More this week.
The Pittsburgh Penguins used the exact same formula they used during their previous 4-game road trip sweep -- play sound defense, get contributions from everyone -- to easily defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning at Mellon Arena last night, 4-1.
It was the Penguins' fifth straight victory, and pushed them to 7-1 on the young season, still at the top of the National Hockey League and the Atlantic Division, tied with the New York Rangers, who have the exact same mark.
Sergei Gonchar paced the Pens' last night with a goal and an assist.
In fact, the entire Penguins' defense put on a strong performance. Everyone seemed to be contributing, whether shooting the biscuit, skating up and down the ice, blocking shots, making cross-ice backhand passes on the tape, or just plain controlling the puck at the Lightning expense.
Jay McKee, in particular, had a real strong game last night. He blocked 7 shots, to raise his league-leading total to 29.
Bill Guerin, Pascal Dupuis and Mike Rupp got the other Penguin goals.
Sidney Crosby had 2 assists.
Tampa really had little chance last night. Guerin and Gonchar stoked the Pens' to a 2-0 first period lead. Then, the closest the Lightning got was when the game was 2-1 in the 2nd period after a goal by Steve Stamkos.
But that margin only lasted a few more minutes until the Dupuis goal and, at the end of the 2nd period, the Penguins were outshooting Tampa Bay 24-13.
Whatever chances the Lightning had in the 3rd were snuffed out by Pens' netminder Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 22 total saves in the contest in remaining undefeated on the season with a 7-0 record.
Rupp's goal in the 3rd, by the way, was another sweet marker, pinpointing a wrister from 20 feet to the far side past Tampa Bay goaltender Antero Nittymaki.
That followed up Rupp's beautiful goal against the Hurricanes on Wednesday night.
The Penguins are in the middle of a 5-game homestand, which they continue Tuesday night against the upstart St. Louis Blues in a nationally televised contest on Versus at 7 PM.
The Penguins look pretty sharp right now. Let's hope they can ride this streak for as long as they can, because the points count now as much as they do in February or March.
More this week.
Friday, October 16, 2009
An Off-Day Look Back In Time
There's something I've been wanting to post for a month -- or maybe even two -- now, but just haven't gotten to it. I thought that, with the Penguins on an off-day today in advance of their home tilt against the Tampa Bay Lightning tomorrow night at Mellon Arena, this was as good a time as any.
One of the best things about the NHL Network is that it frequently broadcasts specials like the top 10 goal scorers of the 1990's, or revisits classic playoff series' from the last several decades.
Well, I happened to catch a recap of the Penguins'/Sabres' Eastern Conference Semi-final in 2001 not too long ago, and I have to say I enjoyed the refresher on how great of a series that truly was. I thought all of you would enjoy a look back to that, as well.
As most know, that was the playoff year of THE MOOSE in Pittsburgh. Goaltender Johan Hedberg, acquired as a throw-in part to a trade deadline deal by then-GM Craig Patrick that saw the Penguins acquire defenseman Jeff Norton from the San Jose Sharks, took the Penguins' goaltending reins down the stretch and never looked back.
Hedberg -- who had never really gotten a fair crack at NHL work in San Jose -- looked like a Vezina Trophy winner, and he got the nickname THE MOOSE because he had played most of the season for San Jose's then-farm club, the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League. Of course, Hedberg had a powder blue colored mask (wouldn't that fit in with the Pens' 3rd jerseys today?) that had a moose on it, too, so combine those 2 things and you had moose antlers all over The Igloo for playoff games.
In any case, Hedberg game into the Sabres series with a 1.33 GAA and was outstanding in the first two games against Buffalo that year, staking the Penguins to a 2-0 series' lead by winning both games in Buffalo and giving up only 1 goal combined in the process. He was square to the puck and frequently absorbed shots right in the chest. When he wasn't, he was able to come up with the big save.
Despite Hedberg's efforts, however, the Sabres rallied to take the next 3 games, including games 3 and 4 in Pittsburgh, as well as the 5th game in Buffalo, putting Pittsburgh on the brink of elimination in game 6 at home.
Who doesn't remember that game?
That was the contest where the play happened that would thereafter be known in Pittsburgh as The Immaculate Deflection.
With the Penguins' down by one in the closing minute, and with Hedberg pulled, Alexei Kovalev takes a shot from the point that is deflected high in the air and comes down right in the goal crease at the feet of then-Sabres' all-world goaltender Dominik Hasek.
It was like slow motion. I'll never forget everyone watching that puck go up and come down -- including the last player anyone on Buffalo hoped to be tracking that biscuit so well:
Mario Lemieux.
As the puck landed, Lemieux took two whacks at it.
Bam. Tie game.
For those who need a refresher, take a look see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVkM2QGztCo
Of course, what happened next was destiny at that point, some would say.
Martin Straka won the game for the Penguins in overtime, setting up a game 7 on the road in Buffalo that also went to extra time.
Who would have imagined the hero in that one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuVy1sk3Kds
That's right.
Darius f'ing Kasparaitis.
Beating one of the greatest goaltenders of all time on a simple wrister from the top of the left wing circle.
Unbelievable.
You know, I think just as unbelievable was the state of the Penguins' roster that playoff year.
Pittsburgh was loaded up front. Lemieux. Jagr. Kovalev. Straka. Lang. All were great point-producers at the time.
But what boggles my mind is the guys Pittsburgh was trotting out defensively.
I've already mentioned Kaspar. Here is the rest of the players on "D" the Penguins actually got to the Eastern Conference Finals with:
Janne Laukkanen
Marc Bergevin
Hans Jonsson
Bob Boughner
Andrew Ference
Are you kidding me? Kaspar added a key element, Boughner was tough as well, and Jonsson was fairly decent defensively, but I wouldn't be surprised in the least if Kasparaitis' OT goal in game 7 was the only one anyone in that group contributed for all 3 rounds of that post-season.
I remember that era as one where the Penguins' never had what I would consider a championship-caliber defense. That was one of Pittsburgh's biggest weaknesses for years. It carried through in the next several years after 2001 to guys like Joe Melichar, Jamie Pushor and others. Finally, after the lockout, we started to get some pieces.
Sergei Gonchar was signed. Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski were drafted. Brooks Orpik and Rob Scuderi developed through the system into fundamental parts. Finally the Penguins got themselves a strong, two-way defense with depth.
Make no mistake how big of a role the blueliners have had in getting the Penguins to the Cup Final the last 2 seasons.
I just can't get over who the Penguins trotted out there in 2001. The fact that Pittsburgh made it one step shy of the Cup Final that year is really a testament to Hedberg, and how great their offense really was that season.
Anyway, I thought everyone would enjoy reminiscing over that series. I know I did.
Recap of the Pens'/Lightning contest over the weekend.
Let's Go Pens.
One of the best things about the NHL Network is that it frequently broadcasts specials like the top 10 goal scorers of the 1990's, or revisits classic playoff series' from the last several decades.
Well, I happened to catch a recap of the Penguins'/Sabres' Eastern Conference Semi-final in 2001 not too long ago, and I have to say I enjoyed the refresher on how great of a series that truly was. I thought all of you would enjoy a look back to that, as well.
As most know, that was the playoff year of THE MOOSE in Pittsburgh. Goaltender Johan Hedberg, acquired as a throw-in part to a trade deadline deal by then-GM Craig Patrick that saw the Penguins acquire defenseman Jeff Norton from the San Jose Sharks, took the Penguins' goaltending reins down the stretch and never looked back.
Hedberg -- who had never really gotten a fair crack at NHL work in San Jose -- looked like a Vezina Trophy winner, and he got the nickname THE MOOSE because he had played most of the season for San Jose's then-farm club, the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League. Of course, Hedberg had a powder blue colored mask (wouldn't that fit in with the Pens' 3rd jerseys today?) that had a moose on it, too, so combine those 2 things and you had moose antlers all over The Igloo for playoff games.
In any case, Hedberg game into the Sabres series with a 1.33 GAA and was outstanding in the first two games against Buffalo that year, staking the Penguins to a 2-0 series' lead by winning both games in Buffalo and giving up only 1 goal combined in the process. He was square to the puck and frequently absorbed shots right in the chest. When he wasn't, he was able to come up with the big save.
Despite Hedberg's efforts, however, the Sabres rallied to take the next 3 games, including games 3 and 4 in Pittsburgh, as well as the 5th game in Buffalo, putting Pittsburgh on the brink of elimination in game 6 at home.
Who doesn't remember that game?
That was the contest where the play happened that would thereafter be known in Pittsburgh as The Immaculate Deflection.
With the Penguins' down by one in the closing minute, and with Hedberg pulled, Alexei Kovalev takes a shot from the point that is deflected high in the air and comes down right in the goal crease at the feet of then-Sabres' all-world goaltender Dominik Hasek.
It was like slow motion. I'll never forget everyone watching that puck go up and come down -- including the last player anyone on Buffalo hoped to be tracking that biscuit so well:
Mario Lemieux.
As the puck landed, Lemieux took two whacks at it.
Bam. Tie game.
For those who need a refresher, take a look see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVkM2QGztCo
Of course, what happened next was destiny at that point, some would say.
Martin Straka won the game for the Penguins in overtime, setting up a game 7 on the road in Buffalo that also went to extra time.
Who would have imagined the hero in that one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuVy1sk3Kds
That's right.
Darius f'ing Kasparaitis.
Beating one of the greatest goaltenders of all time on a simple wrister from the top of the left wing circle.
Unbelievable.
You know, I think just as unbelievable was the state of the Penguins' roster that playoff year.
Pittsburgh was loaded up front. Lemieux. Jagr. Kovalev. Straka. Lang. All were great point-producers at the time.
But what boggles my mind is the guys Pittsburgh was trotting out defensively.
I've already mentioned Kaspar. Here is the rest of the players on "D" the Penguins actually got to the Eastern Conference Finals with:
Janne Laukkanen
Marc Bergevin
Hans Jonsson
Bob Boughner
Andrew Ference
Are you kidding me? Kaspar added a key element, Boughner was tough as well, and Jonsson was fairly decent defensively, but I wouldn't be surprised in the least if Kasparaitis' OT goal in game 7 was the only one anyone in that group contributed for all 3 rounds of that post-season.
I remember that era as one where the Penguins' never had what I would consider a championship-caliber defense. That was one of Pittsburgh's biggest weaknesses for years. It carried through in the next several years after 2001 to guys like Joe Melichar, Jamie Pushor and others. Finally, after the lockout, we started to get some pieces.
Sergei Gonchar was signed. Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski were drafted. Brooks Orpik and Rob Scuderi developed through the system into fundamental parts. Finally the Penguins got themselves a strong, two-way defense with depth.
Make no mistake how big of a role the blueliners have had in getting the Penguins to the Cup Final the last 2 seasons.
I just can't get over who the Penguins trotted out there in 2001. The fact that Pittsburgh made it one step shy of the Cup Final that year is really a testament to Hedberg, and how great their offense really was that season.
Anyway, I thought everyone would enjoy reminiscing over that series. I know I did.
Recap of the Pens'/Lightning contest over the weekend.
Let's Go Pens.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Chris Kunitz Delivers Penguins' Shootout Victory Over Hurricanes, 4-0 Road Trip, and Franchise Record 5-0 Road Start
Who?
I said Chris Kunitz.
You remember him, don't you?
The LW acquired from Anaheim last season in the Ryan Whitney trade?
The guy who was supposed to provide Sidney Crosby a scoring, physical presence on the wing?
One out of two isn't bad, I suppose.
I've been poised to bring up Kunitz for about a week now, and there's no better time, given that he delivered the Penguins a shootout victory last night in Carolina when he scored on the Pens' 6th shot against Hurricanes' netminder Cam Ward.
Kunitz made a nice little drop fake and stick deke before wristing a shot through Ward's 5-hole for the winner.
It was a deserving goal for Pittsburgh, since they had a 2-0 lead in the game going into the third period, before Carolina LW Ray Whitney got the Hurricanes back in the game with back-to-back markers to tie the score.
Whitney's first goal was especially tricky, as he took a pass from the far boards toward the slot and one-timed a shot he got just enough mustard on to squeeze by Pens' goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. What was unique about that play was that Whitney was cutting towards the center of the ice from the near wall and, by the time he got the puck, he was past the half way point, which meant that his right handed shot had to cut across his body somewhat -- in the same way the pass was traveling -- to get on the goal.
Whitney's second goal also was nice -- a deflection that sailed over Fleury at the half-way mark in the final frame.
Earlier in the game, the Penguins' had staked their 2-0 lead on the strength of goals by 4th liner Mike Rupp and center Evgeni Malkin.
There couldn't be a greater difference between those two guys, but last night, Rupp sure looked like Malkin scoring his goal. He led a 2-on-1 rush down the near boards before cutting toward the goal with authority, going on the edge of his blade to change direction as he deked right in front of Ward, then roofing the puck top shelf on the backhand past the stunned Hurricanes' netminder to give the Pens' a 1-0 lead in the first period.
Malkin's goal in the 2nd period left Ward in the same position on the ice as he was after Geno's hat trick backhander in game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals last season.
That is, on his knees begging for ...
Okay. Not quite.
Not quite begging, anyway, but definitely on his knees.
Malkin took a shot from the lower circle and roofed it near side past Ward to up the Pens' lead to 2-0.
After Whitney's 3rd period heroics and a scoreless overtime, Fleury and Ward starred in the shootout.
Actually, Ward starred a bit before that when he made a sparkling, 10-bell glove save on Guerin who was alone at his doorstep trying to finish off a tic-tac-toe passing play from Crosby to Kunitz to him. Guerin got nice wood on the shot but Ward, out of position after having committed to Kunitz, just lunged back with his glove to snag Guerin's shot before it crossed the goal line.
Replays from above the net showed part of Ward's glove over the line, but it was impossible to determine where the puck was in there.
In the shootout, both Crosby and Carolina wing and shootout stud Jussi Jokinen scored in the 2nd round, and nobody else could put a puck in -- for the Penguins' that included Kris Letang, Alex Goligoski, Bill Guerin and Malkin -- before Kunitz' winner.
Which brings us full-circle back to #14.
Kuntiz still hasn't scored a regular season marker this year, and, if you include last year's playoffs and the final 10 contests of 2008/2009, Kunitz has only 1 goal in about 40 games -- a beyond-miserable rate of production for a guy who spends time playing with the best passer in the game.
I'm not sure why Kunitz can't get on the board more often. He has good hands, as he showed in the shootout last night, and is physical enough to create space and get in scoring position, but he's not getting it done for some reason.
There's no doubt that Kunitz brings other things to the table besides putting the puck in the net, and that he adds an element to Crosby's line that #87 needs and benefits from.
There's also no doubt that Sid is becoming a better scorer in his own right, and that the Penguins' success since Kunitz arrived has masked his inability to light the lamp.
And there's no doubt that the Pens don't have an automatic replacement they can easily plug right into Kunitz' place on that wing. At least not yet. Maybe Eric Tangradi -- the top prospect who came with Kunitz from Anaheim in the Whitney deal -- will push Kunitz out of that position one day, but we're not there at this point.
Regardless of all that, Kunitz can't continue putting up a zero in that position. Period. The Penguins aren't paying him 3.5 million dollars a year just to be physical and create space.
The Penguins have had 11 different goal scorers this year. He isn't one of them. He has to step up his game.
With last night's victory, Pittsburgh finished its 4-game road trip undefeated, and set a franchise record for the most road wins to start a season (5).
They also continue to hold the top spot in the Atlantic and NHL with a 6-1 record, but are tied with the Rangers, who have won 6 straight under coach John Tortarella after dropping their opener to us.
The Penguins' next game on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Mellon Arena will mark their season debut of their power blue retro jerseys.
More tomorrow or on the weekend.
I said Chris Kunitz.
You remember him, don't you?
The LW acquired from Anaheim last season in the Ryan Whitney trade?
The guy who was supposed to provide Sidney Crosby a scoring, physical presence on the wing?
One out of two isn't bad, I suppose.
I've been poised to bring up Kunitz for about a week now, and there's no better time, given that he delivered the Penguins a shootout victory last night in Carolina when he scored on the Pens' 6th shot against Hurricanes' netminder Cam Ward.
Kunitz made a nice little drop fake and stick deke before wristing a shot through Ward's 5-hole for the winner.
It was a deserving goal for Pittsburgh, since they had a 2-0 lead in the game going into the third period, before Carolina LW Ray Whitney got the Hurricanes back in the game with back-to-back markers to tie the score.
Whitney's first goal was especially tricky, as he took a pass from the far boards toward the slot and one-timed a shot he got just enough mustard on to squeeze by Pens' goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. What was unique about that play was that Whitney was cutting towards the center of the ice from the near wall and, by the time he got the puck, he was past the half way point, which meant that his right handed shot had to cut across his body somewhat -- in the same way the pass was traveling -- to get on the goal.
Whitney's second goal also was nice -- a deflection that sailed over Fleury at the half-way mark in the final frame.
Earlier in the game, the Penguins' had staked their 2-0 lead on the strength of goals by 4th liner Mike Rupp and center Evgeni Malkin.
There couldn't be a greater difference between those two guys, but last night, Rupp sure looked like Malkin scoring his goal. He led a 2-on-1 rush down the near boards before cutting toward the goal with authority, going on the edge of his blade to change direction as he deked right in front of Ward, then roofing the puck top shelf on the backhand past the stunned Hurricanes' netminder to give the Pens' a 1-0 lead in the first period.
Malkin's goal in the 2nd period left Ward in the same position on the ice as he was after Geno's hat trick backhander in game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals last season.
That is, on his knees begging for ...
Okay. Not quite.
Not quite begging, anyway, but definitely on his knees.
Malkin took a shot from the lower circle and roofed it near side past Ward to up the Pens' lead to 2-0.
After Whitney's 3rd period heroics and a scoreless overtime, Fleury and Ward starred in the shootout.
Actually, Ward starred a bit before that when he made a sparkling, 10-bell glove save on Guerin who was alone at his doorstep trying to finish off a tic-tac-toe passing play from Crosby to Kunitz to him. Guerin got nice wood on the shot but Ward, out of position after having committed to Kunitz, just lunged back with his glove to snag Guerin's shot before it crossed the goal line.
Replays from above the net showed part of Ward's glove over the line, but it was impossible to determine where the puck was in there.
In the shootout, both Crosby and Carolina wing and shootout stud Jussi Jokinen scored in the 2nd round, and nobody else could put a puck in -- for the Penguins' that included Kris Letang, Alex Goligoski, Bill Guerin and Malkin -- before Kunitz' winner.
Which brings us full-circle back to #14.
Kuntiz still hasn't scored a regular season marker this year, and, if you include last year's playoffs and the final 10 contests of 2008/2009, Kunitz has only 1 goal in about 40 games -- a beyond-miserable rate of production for a guy who spends time playing with the best passer in the game.
I'm not sure why Kunitz can't get on the board more often. He has good hands, as he showed in the shootout last night, and is physical enough to create space and get in scoring position, but he's not getting it done for some reason.
There's no doubt that Kunitz brings other things to the table besides putting the puck in the net, and that he adds an element to Crosby's line that #87 needs and benefits from.
There's also no doubt that Sid is becoming a better scorer in his own right, and that the Penguins' success since Kunitz arrived has masked his inability to light the lamp.
And there's no doubt that the Pens don't have an automatic replacement they can easily plug right into Kunitz' place on that wing. At least not yet. Maybe Eric Tangradi -- the top prospect who came with Kunitz from Anaheim in the Whitney deal -- will push Kunitz out of that position one day, but we're not there at this point.
Regardless of all that, Kunitz can't continue putting up a zero in that position. Period. The Penguins aren't paying him 3.5 million dollars a year just to be physical and create space.
The Penguins have had 11 different goal scorers this year. He isn't one of them. He has to step up his game.
With last night's victory, Pittsburgh finished its 4-game road trip undefeated, and set a franchise record for the most road wins to start a season (5).
They also continue to hold the top spot in the Atlantic and NHL with a 6-1 record, but are tied with the Rangers, who have won 6 straight under coach John Tortarella after dropping their opener to us.
The Penguins' next game on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Mellon Arena will mark their season debut of their power blue retro jerseys.
More tomorrow or on the weekend.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Pens' Stay Unbeaten On Road; Go To 3-0 On Trip With 4-1 Defeat of Senators
The Carolina Hurricanes can't be too happy.
Not because they've been sitting at home stewing over their last game, a 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Because their next game probably won't give them a good chance to bounce back and avoid back-to-back lossess.
The Pittsburgh Penguins take their road show to Carolina next and, after a 4-1 defeat of the Ottawa Senators last night at Scotiabank Place, will be looking to not only run their road record to 5-0 in that contest, but finish off their 4-game road trip with a complete sweep.
The Penguins got their share of breaks against the Senators last night to be sure. Ottawa missed the net on several opportunities, hit a few posts, had a potential 3-on-1 rush thwarted by an offside call thanks to a broken stick on the ice, and even had a goal against go in off one of their own players.
But the Stanley Cup Champions are nothing if but opportunistic, and they didn't look back in making the Senators pay for their missed chances before the night was over.
Ottawa took a 1-0 lead on a goal my forward Milan Michalek -- acquired from the San Jose Sharks in the trade for LW Dany Heatley -- late in the first period. Michalek took a pass from Jonathan Cheechoo, also acquired in that deal, and made a nice move to finish off a 2-on-1 and deposit the puck behind sprawling Pens' netminder Marc-Andre Fleury.
Little did they know that, of the 31 shots they'd have on the night, that was the only puck they would put past #29.
As the Penguins have had a habit of doing on this road trip, they responded to an opponent's goal quickly. RW Bill Guerin did it this time, picking up a rebound of his own shot off the back boards and the net and beating his man to the puck before rifling it past confused Senators' goalie Pascal Leclaire.
Tyler Kennedy -- who has done some of his best career work against Ottawa -- got the Penguins' next 2 tallies, his 3rd and 4th of the year, in the 2nd period. The first was a puck that caromed in off an Ottawa defenseman just across the goal line. The second was a sweet slapper from the top of the right circle that beat Leclaire just above the right pad to the far side.
Jordan Staal finished off the Senators with his third goal of the season -- and third in 3 games -- by capitalizing on an Ottawa giveaway and depositing a rebound of a Mike Rupp shot that Leclaire couldn't control.
The Penguins still pace the NHL with 10 points, and are tied with the New York Rangers with an identical 5-1 mark.
Will it be finer to be in Carolina tomorrow night?
Maybe not for the home team.
More later this week.
Not because they've been sitting at home stewing over their last game, a 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Because their next game probably won't give them a good chance to bounce back and avoid back-to-back lossess.
The Pittsburgh Penguins take their road show to Carolina next and, after a 4-1 defeat of the Ottawa Senators last night at Scotiabank Place, will be looking to not only run their road record to 5-0 in that contest, but finish off their 4-game road trip with a complete sweep.
The Penguins got their share of breaks against the Senators last night to be sure. Ottawa missed the net on several opportunities, hit a few posts, had a potential 3-on-1 rush thwarted by an offside call thanks to a broken stick on the ice, and even had a goal against go in off one of their own players.
But the Stanley Cup Champions are nothing if but opportunistic, and they didn't look back in making the Senators pay for their missed chances before the night was over.
Ottawa took a 1-0 lead on a goal my forward Milan Michalek -- acquired from the San Jose Sharks in the trade for LW Dany Heatley -- late in the first period. Michalek took a pass from Jonathan Cheechoo, also acquired in that deal, and made a nice move to finish off a 2-on-1 and deposit the puck behind sprawling Pens' netminder Marc-Andre Fleury.
Little did they know that, of the 31 shots they'd have on the night, that was the only puck they would put past #29.
As the Penguins have had a habit of doing on this road trip, they responded to an opponent's goal quickly. RW Bill Guerin did it this time, picking up a rebound of his own shot off the back boards and the net and beating his man to the puck before rifling it past confused Senators' goalie Pascal Leclaire.
Tyler Kennedy -- who has done some of his best career work against Ottawa -- got the Penguins' next 2 tallies, his 3rd and 4th of the year, in the 2nd period. The first was a puck that caromed in off an Ottawa defenseman just across the goal line. The second was a sweet slapper from the top of the right circle that beat Leclaire just above the right pad to the far side.
Jordan Staal finished off the Senators with his third goal of the season -- and third in 3 games -- by capitalizing on an Ottawa giveaway and depositing a rebound of a Mike Rupp shot that Leclaire couldn't control.
The Penguins still pace the NHL with 10 points, and are tied with the New York Rangers with an identical 5-1 mark.
Will it be finer to be in Carolina tomorrow night?
Maybe not for the home team.
More later this week.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Penguins Continue Road Trip in Ottawa Tonight
After defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night, the Pittsburgh Penguins continue their 4-game road trip in Ottawa tonight against the surprising 3-1 Senators.
It will be interesting to see what line combinations Dan Bylsma uses this evening because, over the last several games, he's been doing a lot of mixing and matching up and down the lineup.
Of course, the most notable move has been giving center Jordan Staal more time on the wing on the second line with Evgeni Malkin.
That has resulted in goals in two straight games for Staal -- and better play from Malkin -- so look for that trend to continue.
But Bylsma has made several other moves as well, including playing guys like RW Tyler Kennedy on the first line.
Personally, I prefer stability with the lines. After all, the Penguins' used that stability throughout most of the last 2 post-seasons on their way to 2 straight Stanley Cup Final appearances.
On the other hand, I understand that the 82-game grind is a lot different than being locked into playoff competition, so I can be somewhat more tolerant of line juggling at this point -- provided that, as we get into the stretch of the season 4 months from now, Disco Dan is trying to settle on something.
On a separate topic, I read an interesting Sports Illustrated on-line piece recently, where it set out the top 26 role players in the NHL.
Not surprisingly, Max Talbot was the first.
Surprisingly, however, Tyler Kennedy was #2.
And, in a fun way to end the list, Bylsma -- of course, a coach, but also a former role player -- was #27.
Here's the list for your enjoyment:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0909/nhl.most.valuable.role.players/content.1.html
Recap tomorrow.
Let's Go Pens.
It will be interesting to see what line combinations Dan Bylsma uses this evening because, over the last several games, he's been doing a lot of mixing and matching up and down the lineup.
Of course, the most notable move has been giving center Jordan Staal more time on the wing on the second line with Evgeni Malkin.
That has resulted in goals in two straight games for Staal -- and better play from Malkin -- so look for that trend to continue.
But Bylsma has made several other moves as well, including playing guys like RW Tyler Kennedy on the first line.
Personally, I prefer stability with the lines. After all, the Penguins' used that stability throughout most of the last 2 post-seasons on their way to 2 straight Stanley Cup Final appearances.
On the other hand, I understand that the 82-game grind is a lot different than being locked into playoff competition, so I can be somewhat more tolerant of line juggling at this point -- provided that, as we get into the stretch of the season 4 months from now, Disco Dan is trying to settle on something.
On a separate topic, I read an interesting Sports Illustrated on-line piece recently, where it set out the top 26 role players in the NHL.
Not surprisingly, Max Talbot was the first.
Surprisingly, however, Tyler Kennedy was #2.
And, in a fun way to end the list, Bylsma -- of course, a coach, but also a former role player -- was #27.
Here's the list for your enjoyment:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0909/nhl.most.valuable.role.players/content.1.html
Recap tomorrow.
Let's Go Pens.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Pens Power Past Leafs, 5-2
Coming off a big win in Philadelphia Thursday night against their biggest rivals, the Penguins continued their 4-game road trip with a Saturday evening Hockey Night in Canada affair against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Leafs' have had the Penguins number this decade, winning the season series from Pittsburgh in 7 of the last 8 seasons.
Of course, some of those years were pretty lean ones for the Penguins, but the Boys of Winter have always had trouble with Toronto for some reason.
Witness their ability to turn a 2-0 lead into a 6-2 meltdown loss in the Valentine's Day Massacre that was former coach Michel Therrein's final game behind a Penguin bench last season.
Not so last night at the Air Canada center.
The Penguins' stepped on the gas from the opening faceoff and steamrolled the Leafs' by a score of 5-2.
They went out to a 2-0 lead at the first intermission on an even strength goal by Matt Cooke and a power play marker by Sergei Gonchar.
Cooke's goal -- his 100th career tally -- was made possible after a Toronto turnover in their own zone, which MC made no mistake in burying to the top corner from 35 feet.
Pittsburgh outshot the Leafs 14-2 in the first period on Toronto's own home ice.
That's right, 14-2.
Toronto got back within one early in the second period, but taking a step forward for the Leafs these days means taking two steps back, and that's exactly what they did when Matt Stajan took an offensive zone penalty seconds later.
Sidney Crosby made the Leafs' pay while on the man-advantage to up the Pens' lead back to 2 when he put a rebound of a Malkin shot that came off the back boards into a mostly empty net.
Later in the 2nd, Crosby scored his second power play goal by tipping a Malkin shot by then-beleaguered Leafs' netminder Vesa Toskala.
Pittsburgh was 3 for 3 on the power play at that point in the game.
Nicklas Hagman got Toronto another marker early in the final frame, but sticking to the same script, the Pens' came right back about a minute later on a goal by Jordan Staal to up their lead to what would be the final score, 5-2.
Staal nailed a top corner wrister after taking a pass from Evgeni Malkin. Malkin created a turnover on the forecheck on the play, and quickly found Staal in the slot for the one-timer.
Malkin - getting more shifts with Staal on his RW in this game, just like he did on Thursday -- finished the night with 3 helpers.
The Penguins outshot Toronto 33-20.
Marc-Andre Fleury, now 4-0 on the season, finished with 18 saves.
Pittsburgh has now started the season 3-0 on the road for only the 2nd time in franchise history.
With the Flyers' shootout loss to Anaheim last night, the Penguins moved into sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division with 8 points so far. They also pace the entire NHL with that number.
They continue their road trip on Monday in Ottawa against the Senators.
NOTES:
Defenseman Kris Letang suited up for the Pens' last night and played with no apparent problem following the incident at the end of the game against the Flyers on Thursday night when Philadelphia forward Scott Hartnell bit him on the finger. Hartnell had a disciplinary hearing with the league on Friday, but was not suspended -- apparently because of the lack of video evidence to prove that the bite occurred.
I suppose the teeth marks in Letang's finger weren't enough.
The Leafs' have had the Penguins number this decade, winning the season series from Pittsburgh in 7 of the last 8 seasons.
Of course, some of those years were pretty lean ones for the Penguins, but the Boys of Winter have always had trouble with Toronto for some reason.
Witness their ability to turn a 2-0 lead into a 6-2 meltdown loss in the Valentine's Day Massacre that was former coach Michel Therrein's final game behind a Penguin bench last season.
Not so last night at the Air Canada center.
The Penguins' stepped on the gas from the opening faceoff and steamrolled the Leafs' by a score of 5-2.
They went out to a 2-0 lead at the first intermission on an even strength goal by Matt Cooke and a power play marker by Sergei Gonchar.
Cooke's goal -- his 100th career tally -- was made possible after a Toronto turnover in their own zone, which MC made no mistake in burying to the top corner from 35 feet.
Pittsburgh outshot the Leafs 14-2 in the first period on Toronto's own home ice.
That's right, 14-2.
Toronto got back within one early in the second period, but taking a step forward for the Leafs these days means taking two steps back, and that's exactly what they did when Matt Stajan took an offensive zone penalty seconds later.
Sidney Crosby made the Leafs' pay while on the man-advantage to up the Pens' lead back to 2 when he put a rebound of a Malkin shot that came off the back boards into a mostly empty net.
Later in the 2nd, Crosby scored his second power play goal by tipping a Malkin shot by then-beleaguered Leafs' netminder Vesa Toskala.
Pittsburgh was 3 for 3 on the power play at that point in the game.
Nicklas Hagman got Toronto another marker early in the final frame, but sticking to the same script, the Pens' came right back about a minute later on a goal by Jordan Staal to up their lead to what would be the final score, 5-2.
Staal nailed a top corner wrister after taking a pass from Evgeni Malkin. Malkin created a turnover on the forecheck on the play, and quickly found Staal in the slot for the one-timer.
Malkin - getting more shifts with Staal on his RW in this game, just like he did on Thursday -- finished the night with 3 helpers.
The Penguins outshot Toronto 33-20.
Marc-Andre Fleury, now 4-0 on the season, finished with 18 saves.
Pittsburgh has now started the season 3-0 on the road for only the 2nd time in franchise history.
With the Flyers' shootout loss to Anaheim last night, the Penguins moved into sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division with 8 points so far. They also pace the entire NHL with that number.
They continue their road trip on Monday in Ottawa against the Senators.
NOTES:
Defenseman Kris Letang suited up for the Pens' last night and played with no apparent problem following the incident at the end of the game against the Flyers on Thursday night when Philadelphia forward Scott Hartnell bit him on the finger. Hartnell had a disciplinary hearing with the league on Friday, but was not suspended -- apparently because of the lack of video evidence to prove that the bite occurred.
I suppose the teeth marks in Letang's finger weren't enough.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Penguins Beat Flyers; Add A New Twist To Rivalry's Novel
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers have played a lot of games over a lot of seasons in the history of their franchises dating back to when both came into the league during the 1967 expansion, and we've seen a lot of unique things go down over the years when these two clubs face-off.
Flyers' goaltender Ron Hextall chasing Penguins' forward Rob Brown in the 1989 playoffs after Brown scored on him, for one example.
Penguins' defenseman Darius Kasparaitis fright training Flyer's star Eric Lindros in the neutral zone in 1997 during a game at Mellon Arena, for another.
Never before has there been one player biting another.
Until, perhaps, last night.
As the seconds ticked off at the end of the Penguins' 5-4 victory over the Flyers last night, things happened which typically happen at the end of games against the Flyers when they're on the losing end.
Fights.
Scrums.
During last night's chapter, Pens' defenseman Kris Letang got tied up with Flyers' goof Scott Hartnell behind the Penguins' net after Mike Richards bowled right into it (and Penguin goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury) and knocked it off its moorings with 1.2 seconds to go.
Letang flipped Hartnell down on his back on the ice, and the two rolled around.
In the ruckus that ensued with other players joining the fray, Letang immediately got up and quickly went to the locker room, holding his hand or arm and looking as if he was urgently injured.
After the game, Letang said that Hartnell bit him.
When asked about the play, Hartnell wouldn't say whether he did or didn't. He just said that "a lot of things happen at the bottom of the pile".
Translation?
He did it.
Hartnell doing something like that shouldn't surprise me, because he's that kind of player, but biting?
Let's hope the league isn't seeing a trend here, because there was a biting incident last year involving former Penguin' Jarkko Ruutu -- then of the Senators -- and a Buffalo Sabres player.
With that story taking the stage in the aftermath of last night's game, lost was the fact that the Penguins bounced back from their whitewashing at the hands of the Phoenix Coyotes the night before to score 5 on Flyers' netminder Ray Emery.
Emery let up 5 goals to Washington earlier this week. With our Flightless Birds tallying 5 last night, I wonder what the critics in Philadelphia are saying about his play?
If he doesn't learn to stop the puck against sharpshooting teams like us and the Capitals, the Flyers are going to have trouble this season.
Emery even let one of his own teammates score on him last night.
Okay, holding that one to Emery isn't entirely fair. Who expects his own player to essentially shoot a puck on him?
Last night that was Flyers' defenseman Braydon Coburn, who tried to clear the puck from the boards and go behind the net with it, only to realize he needs to go to the eye doctor and improve his aim because he put the puck right on Emery, where it promptly went off him and in.
That incident aside, the Penguins looked better overall last night. Not perfect, but better.
They got first period goals from Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal to take a 2-1 lead into the intermission.
Staal's goal looked a lot like the shorthanded marker he scored in game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals last year against the Detroit Red Wings.
The Flyers pulled even in the 2nd period on a second goal by Daniel Briere before Bill Guerin beat Emery on a breakaway and Alex Goligoski got credit for the goal Coburn put by Emery since he was the last one to touch the puck.
The Penguins let the Flyers back in the game on a 5-on-3 goal against by Jeff Carter to make the score 4-3 before the 2nd period ended.
In the final frame, Tyler Kennedy finished a nice play for the Penguins to make the score 5-3. Craig Adams forced a turnover in the Flyers' end on a nice hit, and Matt Cooke promptly fed the puck to Kennedy for a one-timer. Kennedy drove right to the net after the turnover and was rewarded for it.
Carter scored to make things interesting with about 40 seconds to go, but that was it.
One thing the Penguins MUST do a better job of is avoiding penalties.
They were whistled for 7 infractions last night and it's really putting a strain on their penalty killing unit.
They have to be more disciplined or it's going to start hurting them.
Fleury stopped 30 of 34 Flyer shots, while the Penguins only managed 25 on Emery. That, too, is not Dan Bylsma hockey. They need to skate and move their feet more.
With the victory, the Penguins tied the Flyers in the Atlantic Division by upping their record to 3-1. They next play Saturday night in Toronto for a HNIC broadcast against the Maple Leafs, who have struggled out of the gate this year. The Penguins have to be ready for their best effort.
More over the weekend.
Flyers' goaltender Ron Hextall chasing Penguins' forward Rob Brown in the 1989 playoffs after Brown scored on him, for one example.
Penguins' defenseman Darius Kasparaitis fright training Flyer's star Eric Lindros in the neutral zone in 1997 during a game at Mellon Arena, for another.
Never before has there been one player biting another.
Until, perhaps, last night.
As the seconds ticked off at the end of the Penguins' 5-4 victory over the Flyers last night, things happened which typically happen at the end of games against the Flyers when they're on the losing end.
Fights.
Scrums.
During last night's chapter, Pens' defenseman Kris Letang got tied up with Flyers' goof Scott Hartnell behind the Penguins' net after Mike Richards bowled right into it (and Penguin goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury) and knocked it off its moorings with 1.2 seconds to go.
Letang flipped Hartnell down on his back on the ice, and the two rolled around.
In the ruckus that ensued with other players joining the fray, Letang immediately got up and quickly went to the locker room, holding his hand or arm and looking as if he was urgently injured.
After the game, Letang said that Hartnell bit him.
When asked about the play, Hartnell wouldn't say whether he did or didn't. He just said that "a lot of things happen at the bottom of the pile".
Translation?
He did it.
Hartnell doing something like that shouldn't surprise me, because he's that kind of player, but biting?
Let's hope the league isn't seeing a trend here, because there was a biting incident last year involving former Penguin' Jarkko Ruutu -- then of the Senators -- and a Buffalo Sabres player.
With that story taking the stage in the aftermath of last night's game, lost was the fact that the Penguins bounced back from their whitewashing at the hands of the Phoenix Coyotes the night before to score 5 on Flyers' netminder Ray Emery.
Emery let up 5 goals to Washington earlier this week. With our Flightless Birds tallying 5 last night, I wonder what the critics in Philadelphia are saying about his play?
If he doesn't learn to stop the puck against sharpshooting teams like us and the Capitals, the Flyers are going to have trouble this season.
Emery even let one of his own teammates score on him last night.
Okay, holding that one to Emery isn't entirely fair. Who expects his own player to essentially shoot a puck on him?
Last night that was Flyers' defenseman Braydon Coburn, who tried to clear the puck from the boards and go behind the net with it, only to realize he needs to go to the eye doctor and improve his aim because he put the puck right on Emery, where it promptly went off him and in.
That incident aside, the Penguins looked better overall last night. Not perfect, but better.
They got first period goals from Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal to take a 2-1 lead into the intermission.
Staal's goal looked a lot like the shorthanded marker he scored in game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals last year against the Detroit Red Wings.
The Flyers pulled even in the 2nd period on a second goal by Daniel Briere before Bill Guerin beat Emery on a breakaway and Alex Goligoski got credit for the goal Coburn put by Emery since he was the last one to touch the puck.
The Penguins let the Flyers back in the game on a 5-on-3 goal against by Jeff Carter to make the score 4-3 before the 2nd period ended.
In the final frame, Tyler Kennedy finished a nice play for the Penguins to make the score 5-3. Craig Adams forced a turnover in the Flyers' end on a nice hit, and Matt Cooke promptly fed the puck to Kennedy for a one-timer. Kennedy drove right to the net after the turnover and was rewarded for it.
Carter scored to make things interesting with about 40 seconds to go, but that was it.
One thing the Penguins MUST do a better job of is avoiding penalties.
They were whistled for 7 infractions last night and it's really putting a strain on their penalty killing unit.
They have to be more disciplined or it's going to start hurting them.
Fleury stopped 30 of 34 Flyer shots, while the Penguins only managed 25 on Emery. That, too, is not Dan Bylsma hockey. They need to skate and move their feet more.
With the victory, the Penguins tied the Flyers in the Atlantic Division by upping their record to 3-1. They next play Saturday night in Toronto for a HNIC broadcast against the Maple Leafs, who have struggled out of the gate this year. The Penguins have to be ready for their best effort.
More over the weekend.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Penguins Sign 2009 First Round Draft Pick Simon Despres To Entry Level Deal
Yesterday, the Penguins announced that they have signed 2009 first round draft pick Simon Despres to a 3-year entry level contract.
Despres, a defenseman who looked fairly good in camp for an 18-year old, will continue to play with the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. His contract won't kick in until he makes the big club, which isn't expected to be for at least 2, and perhaps 3 or 4, seasons.
COYOTE UGLY: Phoenix Whitewashes Penguins, 3-0
I thought this might happen.
Going into last night's third game of the season against the Phoenix Coyotes at Mellon Arena, the 2-0 Penguins seemed to be defeating -- at least in the eye of general public opinion -- common sentiment that they might begin this season with a Stanley Cup Hangover.
They were at the top of a lot of power ranking lists on sites like The Sporting News and others, and many people seemed to think they were already in dominant form.
Not this observer.
The Penguins were well enough to win their first two games, but didn't overwhelm either New York club -- both of which may struggle to make the playoffs this year -- last weekend. They had more work to do and last night, the Coyotes tossed cold water on any notion that the Penguins would have it easy this season.
In a game that Pittsburgh was as uninspired as they were careless, the Coyotes and goaltender Ilja Bryzgalov pitched a 3-0 shutout to leave the Penguins at 2-1 for the season and on their way to Philadelphia for a big matchup tonight in a frustrated mood.
The Penguins weren't able to get anything going against Phoenix last night. It was one of the worst efforts the team has put forth under coach Dan Bylsma. They mustered only 24 shots and took 9 penalties -- many of them slashing and hooking calls born of laziness.
I hope the Penguins weren't thinking ahead to their game against the Flyers tonight but it sure looked like it.
Ed Jovanovski and Petr Prucha scored power play goals for Phoenix, and Radim Vrbata added an empty netter to finish things, leaving the loudest Pittsburgh cheer of the night for the time when former Penguin Gary Roberts was shown on the big screen sitting in Mario Lemieux's box.
Goaltender Brent Johnson, making his first regular season start for Pittsburgh, stopped 22 of 24 shots before the empty netter. He didn't look out of place, and it's a shame the Penguin offense couldn't do more for him.
Pittsburgh did have a goal disallowed when Alex Goligoski put one by Bryzgalov in the 2nd period, but it was disallowed on a goaltender interference call -- and a weak one in this writer's estimation -- by forward Matt Cooke.
The officials were quite loose with the whistle all night last night, frankly, and that probably also contributed to the Penguins' not being able to get any rhythm.
I hope the Penguins weren't thinking ahead to their game against the Flyers tonight, but it sure looked like it. While there are going to be nights like that during an 82-game slate, the Penguins need to work hard to not let that become a trend. As new Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said after the game last night, "we really fed off the energy of playing against the defending Stanley Cup Champions."
That's how every team that laces up the skates this year is going to feel -- from Detroit all the way down to the New York Islanders -- and the challenge for the Penguins, as I mentioned prior to the season, is how they're going to handle having that target on their back. The risk of a letdown is particularly great against the lesser teams in the league, and those losses are the type that can start the beginning of an ugly in-season spiral.
I'm not saying that's what is going to happen to the Penguins with this loss -- just that it's something they are going to have to do their best to avoid all season.
I would expect Pittsburgh to be more energized tonight against their big rivals in a hostile, physical environment.
Eric Godard, who didn't dress last night -- probably in part to get Chris Bourque in the lineup, and in part because his counterpart on the Coyotes most likely to dust things up with him, former Penguin Paul Bissonnette, wasn't in the Phoenix lineup -- will surely be back on the ice tonight. With Daniel Carcillo, Ian Laperrierre, Riley Cote and Aaron Asham (the last 2 of which haven't even played for the Flyers yet this season) likely in the Philadelphia lineup, don't be in the least bit surprised if there are several scraps tonight.
Bourque, by the way, didn't make a big impact on the ice for most of the time he saw it.
Then again, neither did any of his teammates.
Recap of the first Commonwealth Cold War game this season tomorrow.
Let's Go Pens.
Going into last night's third game of the season against the Phoenix Coyotes at Mellon Arena, the 2-0 Penguins seemed to be defeating -- at least in the eye of general public opinion -- common sentiment that they might begin this season with a Stanley Cup Hangover.
They were at the top of a lot of power ranking lists on sites like The Sporting News and others, and many people seemed to think they were already in dominant form.
Not this observer.
The Penguins were well enough to win their first two games, but didn't overwhelm either New York club -- both of which may struggle to make the playoffs this year -- last weekend. They had more work to do and last night, the Coyotes tossed cold water on any notion that the Penguins would have it easy this season.
In a game that Pittsburgh was as uninspired as they were careless, the Coyotes and goaltender Ilja Bryzgalov pitched a 3-0 shutout to leave the Penguins at 2-1 for the season and on their way to Philadelphia for a big matchup tonight in a frustrated mood.
The Penguins weren't able to get anything going against Phoenix last night. It was one of the worst efforts the team has put forth under coach Dan Bylsma. They mustered only 24 shots and took 9 penalties -- many of them slashing and hooking calls born of laziness.
I hope the Penguins weren't thinking ahead to their game against the Flyers tonight but it sure looked like it.
Ed Jovanovski and Petr Prucha scored power play goals for Phoenix, and Radim Vrbata added an empty netter to finish things, leaving the loudest Pittsburgh cheer of the night for the time when former Penguin Gary Roberts was shown on the big screen sitting in Mario Lemieux's box.
Goaltender Brent Johnson, making his first regular season start for Pittsburgh, stopped 22 of 24 shots before the empty netter. He didn't look out of place, and it's a shame the Penguin offense couldn't do more for him.
Pittsburgh did have a goal disallowed when Alex Goligoski put one by Bryzgalov in the 2nd period, but it was disallowed on a goaltender interference call -- and a weak one in this writer's estimation -- by forward Matt Cooke.
The officials were quite loose with the whistle all night last night, frankly, and that probably also contributed to the Penguins' not being able to get any rhythm.
I hope the Penguins weren't thinking ahead to their game against the Flyers tonight, but it sure looked like it. While there are going to be nights like that during an 82-game slate, the Penguins need to work hard to not let that become a trend. As new Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said after the game last night, "we really fed off the energy of playing against the defending Stanley Cup Champions."
That's how every team that laces up the skates this year is going to feel -- from Detroit all the way down to the New York Islanders -- and the challenge for the Penguins, as I mentioned prior to the season, is how they're going to handle having that target on their back. The risk of a letdown is particularly great against the lesser teams in the league, and those losses are the type that can start the beginning of an ugly in-season spiral.
I'm not saying that's what is going to happen to the Penguins with this loss -- just that it's something they are going to have to do their best to avoid all season.
I would expect Pittsburgh to be more energized tonight against their big rivals in a hostile, physical environment.
Eric Godard, who didn't dress last night -- probably in part to get Chris Bourque in the lineup, and in part because his counterpart on the Coyotes most likely to dust things up with him, former Penguin Paul Bissonnette, wasn't in the Phoenix lineup -- will surely be back on the ice tonight. With Daniel Carcillo, Ian Laperrierre, Riley Cote and Aaron Asham (the last 2 of which haven't even played for the Flyers yet this season) likely in the Philadelphia lineup, don't be in the least bit surprised if there are several scraps tonight.
Bourque, by the way, didn't make a big impact on the ice for most of the time he saw it.
Then again, neither did any of his teammates.
Recap of the first Commonwealth Cold War game this season tomorrow.
Let's Go Pens.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Penguins v. Coyotes Preview
Hey boys and girls.
Sorry I've been missing the last few days. Things have been quiet in Penguin land since last Saturday's 4-3 shootout victory over the New York Islanders, but The Boys of Winter return to the ice tonight at home to face a Phoenix Coyotes club trying to deal Pittsburgh it's first loss of the season.
The Coyotes are led by captain Shane Doan up front. He gets help from summer free agent signee Radim Vrbata and former Penguin Robert Lang. They also have a few young guys to keep your eyes on in Peter Mueller and Mikael Boedker.
Ed Jovanovski leads Phoenix's blueliners and russian Ilja Bryzgalov mans the net.
Phoenix has only played 1 game this year so far -- and they won it -- so it's a little early to get a deep read on them for tonight's contest, but suffice it to say, the Penguins should prevail in this game. They need to avoid playing down to their competition, beacuse that's something they tend to do (witness Saturday night's game on Long Island), but if they come out of the gate strong tonight after 3 days rest, they should be able to up their season record to 3-0 and keep pace in the Atlantic Division with the undefeated Philadelphia Flyers, who beat Washington, 6-5, in overtime last night, and who the Penguins visit on the road tomorrow night for the first of 6 grudge matches this season.
Ruslan Fedotenko, who missed practice Monday while still recovering from the hit he took from Islanders' defenseman Brendan Witt in Saturday night's game, is expected to play tonight. Overall, I wouldn't expect any lineup changes from HCDB. That means Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to be in goal.
Fleury may also play tomorrow night in Philadelphia, while Brent Johnson may get the nod Saturday night in Toronto against the Maple Leafs.
One thing that's been ruminating around in my cranium since Saturday night's game against the Islanders is the aftermath of the Witt hit on Fedtenko, where Pens' defenseman Jay McKee came in and started a fight with Witt.
Witt's hit on Fedotenko was undeniably clean, but I remember during the game being happy to see someone step up and send a message to the other team about that.
Later on, I started to think about how I'd feel about that if I were an Islander fan -- or how I'd feel about it if Brooks' Orpik laid out someone like Richard Park like that -- and in short, it went something like this:
"What a bunch of nonsense. Can't anyone take a legal hit anymore? This is hockey. Not figure skating. Give me a break."
There has been somewhat of a league-wide trend in recent seasons for players taking umbrage to legal bodychecks, and doing so not just when the checks are leveled against star players, but other guys on the ice, too.
It's an interesting issue that goes both ways. If you're a fan of a team, you want that team to stick together and have a pack mentality. You don't want your players getting hit any more than necessary. You want to stick up for each other and send a message so the next time a player thinks of making a hit like that -- especially against one of your team's better players -- they think twice about it.
On the other hand, you want to be able to deliver hits to the other team and not have to back them up with your fists if they're clean bodychecks.
Of course, McKee paid for his actions that night by serving 17 minutes in the penalty box -- and so did the Penguins, who surrendered a power play goal to the Islanders during that time -- but there are bigger issues at hand in the scenario that played out that night, and this issue will be something worth watching over the next few years to see if it develops into something the league as a whole has to intervene on.
Enough of that. Game on tonight.
I'll recap tomorrow.
Let's Go Pens!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
New York, New York: Pens' Sweep Back-To-Back Set Over Rangers, Islanders
As first weekends to seasons go, the Pittsburgh Penguins got off to a fairly satisfying beginning to their first Stanley Cup defense in 17 seasons.
On Friday night, opening their last season at Mellon Arena, the Penguins enjoyed a fabulous 30 minute ceremony complete with the Stanley Cup on hand and a new Cup banner raised to the rafters of The Igloo, then promptly went out and defeated the New York Rangers, 3-2.
On Saturday night, the Penguins were immediately back in action, this time on the road as the opponent for the home opener of the New York Islanders -- and NHL debut of #1 overall draft pick John Tavares -- but shook off two 3rd period deficits to come back and gain 2 more points after a 4-3 shootout victory.
So far, so good.
The banner ceremony Friday night was pretty spectactular. After a 10 minute presentation narrated by comedian Dennis Miller documenting the team's rise to the Stanley Cup last season after the Valentine's Day Massacre loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, white coverings hanging from each side of the scoreboard were dropped to reveal a flashbulb moment that rivaled the kickoff to the Super Bowl:
The Stanley Cup at center ice.
Then, team ownership, the coaching staff, and players were all introduced. The loudest ovations were -- not surprisingly -- given to Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury and Maxime Talbot, the latter of which had his jersey on like the rest of his teammates even though he's out of the lineup recovering from off-season shoulder surgery.
Then, the big moment came as the players and everyone on the ice gathered at the South end of the Arena and watched the banner go up. It was a picture to remember:
On Friday night, opening their last season at Mellon Arena, the Penguins enjoyed a fabulous 30 minute ceremony complete with the Stanley Cup on hand and a new Cup banner raised to the rafters of The Igloo, then promptly went out and defeated the New York Rangers, 3-2.
On Saturday night, the Penguins were immediately back in action, this time on the road as the opponent for the home opener of the New York Islanders -- and NHL debut of #1 overall draft pick John Tavares -- but shook off two 3rd period deficits to come back and gain 2 more points after a 4-3 shootout victory.
So far, so good.
The banner ceremony Friday night was pretty spectactular. After a 10 minute presentation narrated by comedian Dennis Miller documenting the team's rise to the Stanley Cup last season after the Valentine's Day Massacre loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, white coverings hanging from each side of the scoreboard were dropped to reveal a flashbulb moment that rivaled the kickoff to the Super Bowl:
The Stanley Cup at center ice.
Then, team ownership, the coaching staff, and players were all introduced. The loudest ovations were -- not surprisingly -- given to Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury and Maxime Talbot, the latter of which had his jersey on like the rest of his teammates even though he's out of the lineup recovering from off-season shoulder surgery.
Then, the big moment came as the players and everyone on the ice gathered at the South end of the Arena and watched the banner go up. It was a picture to remember:
After the ceremony concluded, the Penguins power play did, too -- opening up the scoring under 8 minutes into the game when Malkin tipped a Sergei Gonchar slapshot past Rangers' netminder Henrik Lundqvist for a 1-0 lead.
Rangers' center Chris Drury tied the score later in the first period, but the Penguins opened up the game in the 2nd period after a 10-bell save from Fleury on New York forward Vinny Prospal.
Prospal got a pass on a 2-on-1 breaking down the near side and got a nice one-timer off, but Fleury split deftly across the crease before gloving the shot above his pad. Here's a look see at this beauty:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNSeZyi4aOI
Minutes after that save, Crosby knocked home a shot from the lip of the crease after the Penguins failed to capitalize on a 3-on-1, and Tyler Kennedy upped the Pens' lead to 2 goals after he deflected an Alex Goligoski shot past Lundqvist before the frame ended.
Rangers' newly acquired star winger Marion Gaborik got a goal in the 3rd period, but the Rangers got no closer.
Pittsburgh outshot New York 31-27, and went 1 for 2 on the power play, while killing off all 4 Ranger man advantages.
Last night, the Penguins looked a little sluggish out of the gate against the Islanders and, after Crosby got Pittsburgh on the board early, the Isles' took a 2-1 lead before the 2nd intermission.
I was pretty frustrated watching the game at that point. The Islanders are a team the Penguins should dominate, but -- with the exception of last year when Pittsburgh went 5-0-1 against them in 6 contests -- the Penguins always seem to have trouble with them. And that's hard to figure out since you look at their roster and you see guys like Matt Moulson on the first line and Jon Sim on the 2nd line.
Sure, the Islanders have some young talent in Tavares, Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo, and they have a recognizable name, Doug Weight, on the shelf with an injury right now, but let's face it -- they are overmatched on most nights, and should be especially so against the Penguins.
Fortunately, sandwiched around a goal by Islanders' winger Trent Hunter, Mark Eaton and Ruslan Fedotenko notched markers in the 3rd period for the Penguins -- Fedotenko's garbage goal after a scramble around the net came with about 3 minutes to go -- to force overtime and a shootout, which the Penguins prevailed in easily for a change when Kris Letang and Crosby beat Isles' goaltender Dwayne Rolosen, and Fleury stopped both Islander chances.
In some ways, the result was just, because the Penguins' owned New York in the final period and overtime, outshooting them 22-6 (and 42-28 overall).
So, with that, the Penguins start 2-0 and currently sit atop the Atlantic Division at this early stage of the season with Philadelphia, who has the same 2-0 record.
The Penguins' can rest for a few days, since their next game isn't until Wednesday at home against the downtrodden and almost-without-a-city-until-recently Phoenix Coyotes.
Pittsburgh can play down to their opposition sometimes (as they did for part of the game last night in New York), so let's hope that doesn't happen against Phoenix.
More later this week.
Let's Go Pens
Friday, October 2, 2009
A Night To Remember: The Season Opener, The Banner Raising, The Title Defense, And The Final Season
After the second consecutive short-offseason the Penguins have faced the last two summers, things can arrive quickly.
The beginning of fall.
Football season.
The sweet sound of blades cutting through crisp ice once again.
Three months and three weeks to the day the Penguins last played and finished the year by carrying some bowl around, Pittsburgh opens up the 2009/2010 season -- their final one at Mellon Arena -- tonight at home against the New York Rangers to a Stanley Cup Banner raising ceremony that will mark the final chapter in their celebration of what happened on June 12, 2009 in Detroit and the first chapter in their defense of that championship this season.
Whew.
It's hard to believe it's here so fast, but it is.
I'm ready.
Are the Penguins?
That's the biggest question which faces them going into this season. How are they going to handle having a target on their back every night, especially coming off 2 straight short off-seasons. Will it catch up to them?
Because I addressed that issue when I covered the team's five burning questions going into training camp, I won't revisit it again, but suffice it to say, that's what everyone will be pointing to if the Penguins struggle this year, or even struggle out of the gate.
I think it's important that they make a statement to start the year tonight.
In trying to do so, their lineup will look a little different from the way it looked throughout the pre-season --- and not just because of the players the Penguins sent to the AHL or OHL.
RW Tyler Kennedy, who opened camp skating on the second line with center Evgeni Malkin, will start the season in his familiar third line right wing spot next to center Jordan Stall and LW Matt Cooke.
Kennedy looked good with Malkin in camp and most observers (this one included) thought he would start the season there.
However, it seems as if head coach Dan Bylsma feels that there is more to lose from what TK brings to the third line than there is to gain by putting him on the second unit.
I think that's debatable, but I'm not the coach, so in Kennedy's place on Malkin's RW will be Pascal Dupuis.
Dupuis is capable of filling in on that unit for a period, but everyone knows he's not a permanent fixture there. Dupuis is a 10-12 goal scorer in this league and even playing with Malkin consistently probably won't push him above those totals.
It will be interesting to see how long he sticks there, because RW Max Talbot -- who fit in at that position so successfully in the post-season -- needs about 8 more weeks before he can expect to get back in the lineup following off-season shoulder surgery.
But if that's the most meaningful issue surrouding the team at this point, I think it's fair to say that's a pretty good statement of where the team is, don't you?
EA Sports feels pretty good about the Penguins this year, as evidenced by their 2010 season-long simulation. You can read about that here:
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Pittsburgh/2009/10/01/11235926-cp.html
Others feel pretty good about how the Penguins have positioned themselves for this season, too. Here are a few other pieces about where the Penguins have come from and how they stack up for the coming year, both in the league as a whole and against those guys from Detroit:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_645205.html
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=293159
http://www.sportingnews.com/nhl/article/2009-09-29/out-old-new
With those pieces, there's nothing more to add before the Rangers arrive in town tonight.
Drop the puck and let's be on with it.
Recap tomorrow.
Let's Go Pens!
The beginning of fall.
Football season.
The sweet sound of blades cutting through crisp ice once again.
Three months and three weeks to the day the Penguins last played and finished the year by carrying some bowl around, Pittsburgh opens up the 2009/2010 season -- their final one at Mellon Arena -- tonight at home against the New York Rangers to a Stanley Cup Banner raising ceremony that will mark the final chapter in their celebration of what happened on June 12, 2009 in Detroit and the first chapter in their defense of that championship this season.
Whew.
It's hard to believe it's here so fast, but it is.
I'm ready.
Are the Penguins?
That's the biggest question which faces them going into this season. How are they going to handle having a target on their back every night, especially coming off 2 straight short off-seasons. Will it catch up to them?
Because I addressed that issue when I covered the team's five burning questions going into training camp, I won't revisit it again, but suffice it to say, that's what everyone will be pointing to if the Penguins struggle this year, or even struggle out of the gate.
I think it's important that they make a statement to start the year tonight.
In trying to do so, their lineup will look a little different from the way it looked throughout the pre-season --- and not just because of the players the Penguins sent to the AHL or OHL.
RW Tyler Kennedy, who opened camp skating on the second line with center Evgeni Malkin, will start the season in his familiar third line right wing spot next to center Jordan Stall and LW Matt Cooke.
Kennedy looked good with Malkin in camp and most observers (this one included) thought he would start the season there.
However, it seems as if head coach Dan Bylsma feels that there is more to lose from what TK brings to the third line than there is to gain by putting him on the second unit.
I think that's debatable, but I'm not the coach, so in Kennedy's place on Malkin's RW will be Pascal Dupuis.
Dupuis is capable of filling in on that unit for a period, but everyone knows he's not a permanent fixture there. Dupuis is a 10-12 goal scorer in this league and even playing with Malkin consistently probably won't push him above those totals.
It will be interesting to see how long he sticks there, because RW Max Talbot -- who fit in at that position so successfully in the post-season -- needs about 8 more weeks before he can expect to get back in the lineup following off-season shoulder surgery.
But if that's the most meaningful issue surrouding the team at this point, I think it's fair to say that's a pretty good statement of where the team is, don't you?
EA Sports feels pretty good about the Penguins this year, as evidenced by their 2010 season-long simulation. You can read about that here:
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Pittsburgh/2009/10/01/11235926-cp.html
Others feel pretty good about how the Penguins have positioned themselves for this season, too. Here are a few other pieces about where the Penguins have come from and how they stack up for the coming year, both in the league as a whole and against those guys from Detroit:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_645205.html
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=293159
http://www.sportingnews.com/nhl/article/2009-09-29/out-old-new
With those pieces, there's nothing more to add before the Rangers arrive in town tonight.
Drop the puck and let's be on with it.
Recap tomorrow.
Let's Go Pens!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Penguins Claim Bourque; Lose Bissonnette
The Penguins lost winger Paul Bissonnette yesterday when he was claimed on waivers by the Phoenix Coyotes.
Making a claim of their own, the Penguins poached the Washington Capitals organization and added winger Chris Bourque to their club.
There had been some concern that Bissonnette -- and others -- may not make it through waivers, and unfortunately, that was the case.
Personally, I thought that Bissonnette may be a candidate to take Eric Godard's job this year. He is capable of bringing a little more to the ice than big #28 did. In fact, I believe Pens' GM Ray Shero has had discussions with several clubs about trading Godard. Obviously, he didn't find any takers in enough time to keep Bissonnette around in his place.
Bissonnette had developed himself into a fair prospect the last several years after falling out of favor with the organization and seeing his stock plummet so far that he was shipped all the way to Wheeling of the East Coast League 2 seasons ago.
But to Bissonnette's credit, he worked to make himself a better, more responsible hockey player, who came back up through the Penguins' system and really came last year and this year to be a fringe regular in the NHL. The fact that the Penguins kept him on their roster out of training camp last year said a lot about how far Bissonnette had come. In that sense, it's a shame to lose him.
If he isn't able to stick regularly in Phoenix, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Penguins claimed Bissonnette right back at some point.
Meanwhile, the player the Penguins' added, Chris Bourque -- son of one of the greatest defensemen in NHL history, former Boston Bruins blueliner and Hall of Famer Ray Bourque -- brings an entirely different package than Bissonnette (or his father, for that matter) to the table.
Bourque is a small, speedy, skilled LW who was the Capitals' 2nd round pick in the 2004 entry draft. He had a few brief call-ups during his tenure with Washington, including 1 goal in 12 games last year, but hasn't been able to stick permanently. He has, however, put up good numbers at the AHL level, including 73 points in the regular season last year, and 21 points in 22 games during Hershey's run to the Calder Cup Championship last post-season.
The Penguins' like his versatility as a forward with some offensive potential, who may be a candidate to play on the 3rd or 4th line and, perhaps even in some circumstances, get a chance to skate in a scoring role as a fill-in on one of the top 2 lines with #87 or #71. He's someone who should fit well in the Penguins' system.
Bourque will stick with the team for now as a 13th forward. And the team may just look at him as an opportunity to trade Pascal Dupuis and his 1.4 million dollar salary. Just like there have been rumors the Penguins have been shopping Godard, there has been talk Dupuis is just as much on the block --- and could even be packaged together with Godard to the right team.
More tomorrow on opening night, when I'll share some thoughts of other national writers as to how things look for the defending Stanley Cup Champions this season.
I can't wait to see that banner go up.
Let's Go Pens.
Making a claim of their own, the Penguins poached the Washington Capitals organization and added winger Chris Bourque to their club.
There had been some concern that Bissonnette -- and others -- may not make it through waivers, and unfortunately, that was the case.
Personally, I thought that Bissonnette may be a candidate to take Eric Godard's job this year. He is capable of bringing a little more to the ice than big #28 did. In fact, I believe Pens' GM Ray Shero has had discussions with several clubs about trading Godard. Obviously, he didn't find any takers in enough time to keep Bissonnette around in his place.
Bissonnette had developed himself into a fair prospect the last several years after falling out of favor with the organization and seeing his stock plummet so far that he was shipped all the way to Wheeling of the East Coast League 2 seasons ago.
But to Bissonnette's credit, he worked to make himself a better, more responsible hockey player, who came back up through the Penguins' system and really came last year and this year to be a fringe regular in the NHL. The fact that the Penguins kept him on their roster out of training camp last year said a lot about how far Bissonnette had come. In that sense, it's a shame to lose him.
If he isn't able to stick regularly in Phoenix, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Penguins claimed Bissonnette right back at some point.
Meanwhile, the player the Penguins' added, Chris Bourque -- son of one of the greatest defensemen in NHL history, former Boston Bruins blueliner and Hall of Famer Ray Bourque -- brings an entirely different package than Bissonnette (or his father, for that matter) to the table.
Bourque is a small, speedy, skilled LW who was the Capitals' 2nd round pick in the 2004 entry draft. He had a few brief call-ups during his tenure with Washington, including 1 goal in 12 games last year, but hasn't been able to stick permanently. He has, however, put up good numbers at the AHL level, including 73 points in the regular season last year, and 21 points in 22 games during Hershey's run to the Calder Cup Championship last post-season.
The Penguins' like his versatility as a forward with some offensive potential, who may be a candidate to play on the 3rd or 4th line and, perhaps even in some circumstances, get a chance to skate in a scoring role as a fill-in on one of the top 2 lines with #87 or #71. He's someone who should fit well in the Penguins' system.
Bourque will stick with the team for now as a 13th forward. And the team may just look at him as an opportunity to trade Pascal Dupuis and his 1.4 million dollar salary. Just like there have been rumors the Penguins have been shopping Godard, there has been talk Dupuis is just as much on the block --- and could even be packaged together with Godard to the right team.
More tomorrow on opening night, when I'll share some thoughts of other national writers as to how things look for the defending Stanley Cup Champions this season.
I can't wait to see that banner go up.
Let's Go Pens.
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