One of the most anticipated hockey games in years will be held today in Vancouver as the U.S.A and Canada will square off for the 2010 Olympic gold medal in a rematch of not only this year's preliminary round game, won by the USA in an upset, 5-3, but also the gold medal game held in Salt Lake City, Utah during the 2002 Winter Games, when a Mario Lemieux-captained Canadian squad beat their brethren from the states for gold.
Today's matchup materialized when the USA rolled out to a 6-0 first period lead over Finland in their seminfinal on Friday, before prevailing 6-1, and when Canada took a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes over Slovakia on Friday, before withstanding a 3rd period rally and holding on to win 3-2.
One of the biggest things worth watching in today's game will be the performance of Penguins' center Sidney Crosby.
Crosby has been a non-factor in Canada's last two contests, and could be ready for a breakout game today on a world stage with everything on the line.
Interestingly, the defense pairing that USA Head Coach Ron Wilson is probably most likely to match up against Crosby's unit consists of Pittsburgh Penguins' teammate Brooks Orpik and one of Crosby's best friends, Los Angeles Kings' defenseman Jack Johnson.
Both Johnson and Orpik have been a very effective pair for the US, and has been a big factor in the degree to which they have steamrolled the competition in the tournament up to this point.
The USA has yet to trail in a game, and has outscored it's opponents 22-6 so far.
On the other side of the ledger, the team expected to be as dominating, Canada, hasn't quite lived up to that billing.
Sure, they came out of the gate like "gorillas" (to quote Russian goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov) against their rivals from the Soviet Union in the quarterfinals, but left a little to be desired against the Slovaks in the semifinals Friday night.
Still, chances are that, with the gold on the line today, Canada is likely to come out on all cylinders in front of their 'home' fans in Vancouver. They'll probably look to create more traffic in front of USA goaltender Ryan Miller.
Miller hasn't had a bad game in the Olympics yet. Can he keep that up for one more round, or is he due to stumble?
Whatever happens, it's surely going to be some hockey for the ages.
And regardless, at least one Pittsburgh Penguin -- and perhaps two, if Canada wins -- will be returning to Pittsburgh tonight with a gold medal.
I'll have a recap of the gold medal match tomorrow, and also will have a separate post up tomorrow on the Penguins and the upcoming trade deadline.
Check back often until the deadline Wednesday at 3 PM for all of my coverage.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Canada Owns Russia; One Step Closer To Gold Medal Rematch Against U.S.
I said before the 2010 Winter Olympic hockey tournament began that goaltending would be the biggest factor in the games.
Once in the single-elimination round, a goaltender could single-handledly make the difference for his team.
Well, that sure was the case in the eagerly-anticipated Canada/Russia quarterfinal last night.
Goaltender Evegni Nabokov completely blew it for his Russian squad, getting torched for 6 goals in only 24 minutes of work as Canada romped over the Team Russia, 7-3, to advance to the semifinals.
It's funny, I had a conversation with a friend yesterday about this game. He's definitely a Penguin fan, but a little green when it comes to other teams in the NHL, particularly those in the Western Conference.
Anyway, we were talking about the Canada/Russia contest, he asked me who would start in goal for Russia. I told him Nabokov. He said he never heard of him and asked me if he was good. I told him that I thought he was probably top 10 in the league. To back up my point -- yet keep it simple -- I told him that Nabokov is the #1 goaltender for the San Jose Sharks and then asked him rhetorically:
"Are the Sharks good?"
He answered yes, obviously, but pointed out that just because the Sharks were good didn't mean their goaltender was good.
Insightful man, that friend.
Interestingly, it wasn't just Nabokov who was bad last night. Almost everything about the contest failed to live up to the competitive hype. It was a blowout from the drop of the puck and, while Nabokov played one of the worst games of his career, he was hardly alone on a Russian team that lacked anything even resembling intensity.
Canada, on the other hand, came out firing on all cylinders. When asked about how Canada seemed to want the game while his team did not, Russia backup goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov -- who stopped 18 of 19 shots in relief of Nabokov -- had this to say post-game:
"They came like gorillas out of a cage"
And they certainly didn't need a virtuoso performance from Sidney Crosby to win, as evidenced by the fact that he was pointless in a game where his club hit the back of the net 7 times.
Maybe they should check to make sure one of his shots didn't go THROUGH the meshing, like a shot from teammate Shea Weber did the night before in Canada's rout of Germany?
Interestingly, Crosby going pointless put him in the same category of Russia star Alexander Ovechkin, who also didn't put one up on the board and was a total non-factor in the game for his club.
Crosby's teammate back with the home team, Evegni Malkin, also was almost invisible out there, although he did assist on Sergei Gonchar's goal to make the score 7-3, but by then, the game was well out of reach.
So, Canada now moves on to face Slovakia -- who upset defending Olympic champion Sweden last night, 4-3 -- in the seminfinals on Friday. And that puts them one game closer to a rematch in the gold medal game with the U.S.A., who beat Switzerland, 2-0, to also advance yesterday.
The U.S. has to get by Finland -- a 2-0 winner over the Czech Republic last night -- if they want to make that game happen.
More on the Olympics over the weekend.
Meanwhile, as the non-Olympic Pens' players returned to the ice yesterday, look for my analysis of the team at the three-quarter pole tomorrow.
Once in the single-elimination round, a goaltender could single-handledly make the difference for his team.
Well, that sure was the case in the eagerly-anticipated Canada/Russia quarterfinal last night.
Goaltender Evegni Nabokov completely blew it for his Russian squad, getting torched for 6 goals in only 24 minutes of work as Canada romped over the Team Russia, 7-3, to advance to the semifinals.
It's funny, I had a conversation with a friend yesterday about this game. He's definitely a Penguin fan, but a little green when it comes to other teams in the NHL, particularly those in the Western Conference.
Anyway, we were talking about the Canada/Russia contest, he asked me who would start in goal for Russia. I told him Nabokov. He said he never heard of him and asked me if he was good. I told him that I thought he was probably top 10 in the league. To back up my point -- yet keep it simple -- I told him that Nabokov is the #1 goaltender for the San Jose Sharks and then asked him rhetorically:
"Are the Sharks good?"
He answered yes, obviously, but pointed out that just because the Sharks were good didn't mean their goaltender was good.
Insightful man, that friend.
Interestingly, it wasn't just Nabokov who was bad last night. Almost everything about the contest failed to live up to the competitive hype. It was a blowout from the drop of the puck and, while Nabokov played one of the worst games of his career, he was hardly alone on a Russian team that lacked anything even resembling intensity.
Canada, on the other hand, came out firing on all cylinders. When asked about how Canada seemed to want the game while his team did not, Russia backup goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov -- who stopped 18 of 19 shots in relief of Nabokov -- had this to say post-game:
"They came like gorillas out of a cage"
And they certainly didn't need a virtuoso performance from Sidney Crosby to win, as evidenced by the fact that he was pointless in a game where his club hit the back of the net 7 times.
Maybe they should check to make sure one of his shots didn't go THROUGH the meshing, like a shot from teammate Shea Weber did the night before in Canada's rout of Germany?
Interestingly, Crosby going pointless put him in the same category of Russia star Alexander Ovechkin, who also didn't put one up on the board and was a total non-factor in the game for his club.
Crosby's teammate back with the home team, Evegni Malkin, also was almost invisible out there, although he did assist on Sergei Gonchar's goal to make the score 7-3, but by then, the game was well out of reach.
So, Canada now moves on to face Slovakia -- who upset defending Olympic champion Sweden last night, 4-3 -- in the seminfinals on Friday. And that puts them one game closer to a rematch in the gold medal game with the U.S.A., who beat Switzerland, 2-0, to also advance yesterday.
The U.S. has to get by Finland -- a 2-0 winner over the Czech Republic last night -- if they want to make that game happen.
More on the Olympics over the weekend.
Meanwhile, as the non-Olympic Pens' players returned to the ice yesterday, look for my analysis of the team at the three-quarter pole tomorrow.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
The Greatest Hockey Rivalry Of All Time?? Get Ready for Canada v. Russia As Sid And Ovie Go International
When people talk about the greatest games in the history of the hockey, the 1972 Summit Series and the 1987 Canada Cup often come up.
On this author's list, those contests definitely rank up there among the best ever played.
The common thread?
It's obvious.
Canada v. Russia.
In what may be the game's most significant and most contested rivalry, those two clubs will again play tonight in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Men's Olympic Hockey tournament, after Canada easily dispatched Norway, 8-2, in their qualification game last night.
Entering the Olympics, most observers felt that Canada and Russia was the dream matchup in the tournament.
It still is; it just isn't happening in the gold medal game and instead comes earlier than most expected.
Still, eye candy will be prevalent all over the ice tonight, and taking center stage will be none other than the National Hockey League's greatest individual tug-of-war.
Sidney Crosby v. Alexander Ovechkin.
We all know how these two raise their games against one another when the stakes are highest.
With the chance to play for an Olympic medal at stake, believe me when I say that the world will be tuned in.
Here's a great piece on the game tonight:
http://today.sportingnews.com/sportingnewstoday/20100224?sub_id=BVlRkOtZavi7L&folio=CGI#pg27
Aside from what those two bring to the table, there are numerous other subplots to this well-anticipated contest.
Crosby's teammate in Pittsburgh, Evgeni Malkin, also suits up for the Russians, and this will be the first time those two have shared the ice on opposite sides of the fence -- not counting Penguin training camp-related scrimmages, of course -- since the World Junior Championships in 2004.
Meanwhile, the decision of Canada Head Coach Mike Babock to bench all-world goaltender Martin Brodeur and go with hometown Vancouver netminder Roberto Luongo could very well end up being the biggest story being talked about tomorrow, depending on the result of tonight's game.
For his part, Crosby will probably continue to have Eric Staal as a linemate tonight, as those two paired with Jarome Iginla to have a strong game last night against Germany. Crosby scored once, Iginla added two, and Gronk's brother added three helpers on the night.
Will that line get matched up against Russia's number one unit with Malkin, Ovechkin and "baby" (see: Orpik, Brooks) Alexander Semin?
We'll see, but one thing is for sure. Malkin -- not Ovechkin -- has been the Russians' best player in the tournament so far, leading the team with 3 goals and 5 points.
In other quarterfinal games today, the US will have a rematch against Switzerland, after the Swiss beat Belarus in a shootout yesterday. The other hockey superpowers advanced in their qualifying games last night, too -- but barely -- with the Czech Republic beating Latvia by a goal, and Slovakia beating Norway by one.
The Czechs will face-off against Finland tonight, while Slovakia sees Sweden.
I'll have a recap tomorrow of what is surely to be an outstanding night of Olympic hockey. While it will be sad to see such a great hockey nation like Canada or Russia go home without a medal after tonight's action, the good news for the Penguins is that they'll either be seeing Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury, or Geno and Sergei Gonchar returning to the team early. That will allow them either a few extra days rest, or a practice or two with the club -- or both -- before it returns to action next Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres.
As I said, more tomorrow.
On this author's list, those contests definitely rank up there among the best ever played.
The common thread?
It's obvious.
Canada v. Russia.
In what may be the game's most significant and most contested rivalry, those two clubs will again play tonight in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Men's Olympic Hockey tournament, after Canada easily dispatched Norway, 8-2, in their qualification game last night.
Entering the Olympics, most observers felt that Canada and Russia was the dream matchup in the tournament.
It still is; it just isn't happening in the gold medal game and instead comes earlier than most expected.
Still, eye candy will be prevalent all over the ice tonight, and taking center stage will be none other than the National Hockey League's greatest individual tug-of-war.
Sidney Crosby v. Alexander Ovechkin.
We all know how these two raise their games against one another when the stakes are highest.
With the chance to play for an Olympic medal at stake, believe me when I say that the world will be tuned in.
Here's a great piece on the game tonight:
http://today.sportingnews.com/sportingnewstoday/20100224?sub_id=BVlRkOtZavi7L&folio=CGI#pg27
Aside from what those two bring to the table, there are numerous other subplots to this well-anticipated contest.
Crosby's teammate in Pittsburgh, Evgeni Malkin, also suits up for the Russians, and this will be the first time those two have shared the ice on opposite sides of the fence -- not counting Penguin training camp-related scrimmages, of course -- since the World Junior Championships in 2004.
Meanwhile, the decision of Canada Head Coach Mike Babock to bench all-world goaltender Martin Brodeur and go with hometown Vancouver netminder Roberto Luongo could very well end up being the biggest story being talked about tomorrow, depending on the result of tonight's game.
For his part, Crosby will probably continue to have Eric Staal as a linemate tonight, as those two paired with Jarome Iginla to have a strong game last night against Germany. Crosby scored once, Iginla added two, and Gronk's brother added three helpers on the night.
Will that line get matched up against Russia's number one unit with Malkin, Ovechkin and "baby" (see: Orpik, Brooks) Alexander Semin?
We'll see, but one thing is for sure. Malkin -- not Ovechkin -- has been the Russians' best player in the tournament so far, leading the team with 3 goals and 5 points.
In other quarterfinal games today, the US will have a rematch against Switzerland, after the Swiss beat Belarus in a shootout yesterday. The other hockey superpowers advanced in their qualifying games last night, too -- but barely -- with the Czech Republic beating Latvia by a goal, and Slovakia beating Norway by one.
The Czechs will face-off against Finland tonight, while Slovakia sees Sweden.
I'll have a recap tomorrow of what is surely to be an outstanding night of Olympic hockey. While it will be sad to see such a great hockey nation like Canada or Russia go home without a medal after tonight's action, the good news for the Penguins is that they'll either be seeing Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury, or Geno and Sergei Gonchar returning to the team early. That will allow them either a few extra days rest, or a practice or two with the club -- or both -- before it returns to action next Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres.
As I said, more tomorrow.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
ANALYSIS: Penguins At The Three-Quarter Pole
As the Pittsburgh Penguin players NOT playing in the Olympics get ready to return to the team tomorrow from their league-mandated 9-day hiatus, they're likely to face a short 'mini-camp' of sorts put together by Head Coach Dan Byslma. That will be good to get the non-olympians back in the swing of things as the Boys of Winter have set themselves up for a very intriguing final quarter of the season beginning next week after the Olympic break.
Unlike last year at this time, the Penguins aren't on the outside looking in. Rather, they are fairly well-entrentched in playoff position with a 36-22-4 record, good for 2nd place in the Atlantic Division and one point behind the New Jersey Devils. By extension, the Penguins sit in 4th place in the conference, but are only one point ahead of the current 5th place team, the Buffalo Sabres, who sit a single point behind the Northeast Division leading Ottawa Senators.
While Pittsburgh went 12-7-1 in the first quarter of the season, and 14-7 in the second quarter, they took a little step back in the third quarter of the year, going 10-7-3. The Penguins have been an immensly strong club in each of the last three springs, though, so it will be very interesting to see how they perform down the stretch this season. I'm sure Bylsma will be looking for a strong start coming out of the break, and then hope to build momentum to a similar finish from there.
Not surprisingly, offense continues to be the name of the game in steeltown. Pittsburgh is the 4th highest scoring team in the league and, while the Washington Capitals are running away from the rest of the league offensively on a pace to score the most goals by a team in one season in more than a decade, the Pens are easily the 2nd highest scoring team in the East. And this despite a power play that still ranks 26th overall league-wide.
If the Penguins ever get that going ....
Actually, the Penguins' power play has shown signs of improvement lately. Overall, they are getting more quality scoring chances. If they are able to up their percentage on the man-advantage just a couple points, that would thrust them squarely to the middle of the league.
Not where a power play with talent like Pittsburgh's should be, but certainly a lot more reasonable than where they've been most of this season.
On the other side of the equation -- and much to Blymsa's chagrin, I'm sure -- Pittsburgh has taken a step or four back defensively in the third quarter of the season. They sit 19th overall in goals against in the league, after sitting 8th at the mid-point of the season. In fact, of the top 8 teams in the East, the Penguins have allowed the most goals.
Certainly, the Pens' defensive ranking can't thank the penalty killing, which sits a very respectable 10th overall in the league. Instead, they owe their place near the bottom third of the NHL defensively to their 5-on-5 play, which was about three times as sloppy in the 3rd quarter of the season than it needs to be.
Let's examine some of the individual performances on the club at this point. Like I did at the quarter and midpoints of the year, I'll discuss three players who have been overachieving up to this point of the season, and three players who have been underachieving:
THREE PLAYERS EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
1) RW - Bill Guerin
At 39 years old, the Penguins are still getting strong production from Guerin. He has 17 goals and 38 points in 61 games, good for 4th on the team. Only Crosby and Malkin have scored more goals. While that certainly says something about the state of the Penguins' wingers, it also says something about the critical role Guerin continues to play on this club. While there was talk that Guerin might have been selected for the US Olympic team, I was thrilled that he wasn't chosen because, at his age, the Olympic break is huge for him. He should be well rested and ready to continue giving Pittsburgh what it needs from him down the stretch and into the post-season.
2) C - Jordan Staal
Staal's game continues to improve in year 4. He is the Pens' ironman and has 39 points in 62 contests this year thusfar. In some games, he is the Penguins' best player. In just about every game, he is their best defensive forward. In the last few weeks, he's gotten some shifts on the second line with Evgeni Malkin but, for as tantalizing of a combination that is and for as much as the Penguins need extra scoring punch on the wings, I don't expect that to be a long-term move. Staal's greatest impact for the club remains as a two-way force on a third line that most other clubs simply can't answer.
3) LW - Matt Cooke
People who regularly follow the Penguins know how valuable the Cookie Monster is to the club. But, by most accounts, even Cooke is exceeding expectations at this point of the year. With 12 goals, 12 assists, 24 points and a +12 rating, Cooke is filling his third line role to perfection. He's done such a good job in his two seasons with the club that he has been identified as a priority for the Penguins to resign this offseason before Cooke reaches unrestricted free agency.
THREE PLAYERS FAILING TO MEET EXPECTATIONS
1) D - Alex Goligoski
While GoGo currently sits 6th on the team in scoring with 26 points in 50 games, he has generally been playing subpar hockey for the last several months now. As many Penguin observers recall, Goligoski started the season strong out of the gate, and caused a lot of folks to think he was ready to be a consistent 50-point producer from the backline. Well, not only has Goligoski's production offensively dropped off -- he hasn't scored a goal in over 30 games -- he's struggled in his own end, too. While it's reasonable to say that GoGo is still relatively new to the big leagues, it's also just as reasonable to say that he's capable of much more than he's giving the Penguins right now.
2) C - Craig Adams
Like some of his teammates, Adams has struggled in the defensive zone recently. While that wouldn't appear to distinguish him negatively, it does when you're a 4th line forward who's counted on to be consistent in at least that one area. I will say this about Adams -- he's a good team guy and is more physical than people give him credit for. But he needs to be smarter in his own zone down the stretch for the team.
3) LW - Ruslan Fedotenko
This is the 2nd straight quarterly appearance for Fedotenko on this list, so I'm not even going to waste my time breaking down his awful game again. What I said the last time is just as applicable now. We'll see if he's even still on the team in a few days.
For that dissertation, go here:
http://theboysofwinter.blogspot.com/2010/01/analysis-penguins-at-season-mid-point.html
Well, that's a look at the team after about 3/4 of its schedule. Again, we'll soon see if the Penguins kick it in high gear down the stretch, as they have the past three seasons.
We'll also soon see -- with the trade deadline less than one week away -- whether or not they try to do that with some new players. I'll have a ton on the trade deadline in the coming days, so come back often.
Unlike last year at this time, the Penguins aren't on the outside looking in. Rather, they are fairly well-entrentched in playoff position with a 36-22-4 record, good for 2nd place in the Atlantic Division and one point behind the New Jersey Devils. By extension, the Penguins sit in 4th place in the conference, but are only one point ahead of the current 5th place team, the Buffalo Sabres, who sit a single point behind the Northeast Division leading Ottawa Senators.
While Pittsburgh went 12-7-1 in the first quarter of the season, and 14-7 in the second quarter, they took a little step back in the third quarter of the year, going 10-7-3. The Penguins have been an immensly strong club in each of the last three springs, though, so it will be very interesting to see how they perform down the stretch this season. I'm sure Bylsma will be looking for a strong start coming out of the break, and then hope to build momentum to a similar finish from there.
Not surprisingly, offense continues to be the name of the game in steeltown. Pittsburgh is the 4th highest scoring team in the league and, while the Washington Capitals are running away from the rest of the league offensively on a pace to score the most goals by a team in one season in more than a decade, the Pens are easily the 2nd highest scoring team in the East. And this despite a power play that still ranks 26th overall league-wide.
If the Penguins ever get that going ....
Actually, the Penguins' power play has shown signs of improvement lately. Overall, they are getting more quality scoring chances. If they are able to up their percentage on the man-advantage just a couple points, that would thrust them squarely to the middle of the league.
Not where a power play with talent like Pittsburgh's should be, but certainly a lot more reasonable than where they've been most of this season.
On the other side of the equation -- and much to Blymsa's chagrin, I'm sure -- Pittsburgh has taken a step or four back defensively in the third quarter of the season. They sit 19th overall in goals against in the league, after sitting 8th at the mid-point of the season. In fact, of the top 8 teams in the East, the Penguins have allowed the most goals.
Certainly, the Pens' defensive ranking can't thank the penalty killing, which sits a very respectable 10th overall in the league. Instead, they owe their place near the bottom third of the NHL defensively to their 5-on-5 play, which was about three times as sloppy in the 3rd quarter of the season than it needs to be.
Let's examine some of the individual performances on the club at this point. Like I did at the quarter and midpoints of the year, I'll discuss three players who have been overachieving up to this point of the season, and three players who have been underachieving:
THREE PLAYERS EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
1) RW - Bill Guerin
At 39 years old, the Penguins are still getting strong production from Guerin. He has 17 goals and 38 points in 61 games, good for 4th on the team. Only Crosby and Malkin have scored more goals. While that certainly says something about the state of the Penguins' wingers, it also says something about the critical role Guerin continues to play on this club. While there was talk that Guerin might have been selected for the US Olympic team, I was thrilled that he wasn't chosen because, at his age, the Olympic break is huge for him. He should be well rested and ready to continue giving Pittsburgh what it needs from him down the stretch and into the post-season.
2) C - Jordan Staal
Staal's game continues to improve in year 4. He is the Pens' ironman and has 39 points in 62 contests this year thusfar. In some games, he is the Penguins' best player. In just about every game, he is their best defensive forward. In the last few weeks, he's gotten some shifts on the second line with Evgeni Malkin but, for as tantalizing of a combination that is and for as much as the Penguins need extra scoring punch on the wings, I don't expect that to be a long-term move. Staal's greatest impact for the club remains as a two-way force on a third line that most other clubs simply can't answer.
3) LW - Matt Cooke
People who regularly follow the Penguins know how valuable the Cookie Monster is to the club. But, by most accounts, even Cooke is exceeding expectations at this point of the year. With 12 goals, 12 assists, 24 points and a +12 rating, Cooke is filling his third line role to perfection. He's done such a good job in his two seasons with the club that he has been identified as a priority for the Penguins to resign this offseason before Cooke reaches unrestricted free agency.
THREE PLAYERS FAILING TO MEET EXPECTATIONS
1) D - Alex Goligoski
While GoGo currently sits 6th on the team in scoring with 26 points in 50 games, he has generally been playing subpar hockey for the last several months now. As many Penguin observers recall, Goligoski started the season strong out of the gate, and caused a lot of folks to think he was ready to be a consistent 50-point producer from the backline. Well, not only has Goligoski's production offensively dropped off -- he hasn't scored a goal in over 30 games -- he's struggled in his own end, too. While it's reasonable to say that GoGo is still relatively new to the big leagues, it's also just as reasonable to say that he's capable of much more than he's giving the Penguins right now.
2) C - Craig Adams
Like some of his teammates, Adams has struggled in the defensive zone recently. While that wouldn't appear to distinguish him negatively, it does when you're a 4th line forward who's counted on to be consistent in at least that one area. I will say this about Adams -- he's a good team guy and is more physical than people give him credit for. But he needs to be smarter in his own zone down the stretch for the team.
3) LW - Ruslan Fedotenko
This is the 2nd straight quarterly appearance for Fedotenko on this list, so I'm not even going to waste my time breaking down his awful game again. What I said the last time is just as applicable now. We'll see if he's even still on the team in a few days.
For that dissertation, go here:
http://theboysofwinter.blogspot.com/2010/01/analysis-penguins-at-season-mid-point.html
Well, that's a look at the team after about 3/4 of its schedule. Again, we'll soon see if the Penguins kick it in high gear down the stretch, as they have the past three seasons.
We'll also soon see -- with the trade deadline less than one week away -- whether or not they try to do that with some new players. I'll have a ton on the trade deadline in the coming days, so come back often.
Monday, February 22, 2010
U.S. Stuns Canada; Malkin Leads Russia Over Czech Republic
With the preliminary round of the 2010 Men's Olympic Ice Hockey tournament now in the books, the landscape of the games has completely changed from the way everyone expected it to be at the outset.
In fact, last night's thrilling 5-3 upset over Canada by the United States tossed the tournament near upside-down.
Just one day shy of the 30-year anniversary of the biggest victory in the history of American Hockey when the US beat the Soviet Union during the semifinals of the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY, the United States did a pretty fair encore in beating the favored Canadians last night in some of the best hockey I have ever seen played in 28 years.
Seriously, folks. It was like an All-Star game where the players actually cared. There was intensity from the drop of the puck, swift skating from end to end, and just off-the-chain displays of talent all over the ice.
If you missed last night's game, shame on you for 6 weeks. It was everything great about the game of hockey.
While the US team competing in these games is filled with plenty of excellent NHL players -- unlike the mostly college-occupied squad that beat Russia in the Miracle on Ice -- last night's victory can't fall too far behind that epic 1980 victory in the annuals of United States hockey.
Despite being outshot 45-23, the Americans were able to win by capitalizing on several Canadian mistakes and a subpar game from Canada's goaltender, Martin Brodeur.
As Penguin fans know well, one of Brodeur's strengths is playing the puck, but Brodeur had several puck-handling gaffes last night, and a number of them led directly to United States goals, including both markers by US Defenseman Brian Rafalski, who scored the first two US goals last night to go with the last two US goals in their prior victory over Norway.
While Brodeur was clearly off his game, United States netminder Ryan Miller was nothing but on his, coming up with key save after key save, especially down the stretch in the third period.
After Canada cut the US lead to 4-3 with a power play goal by Penguin Captain Sidney Crosby with 3 minutes to go, they peppered Miller and the US team with a near-ridiculous press to tie the score.
That lasted until less than a minute left when American forward Ryan Kessler made an incredible individual effort to chase down Canadian forward Corey Perry going back into his own end after a loose puck -- and in front of an empty net.
When he got close enough, Kessler just reached around Perry and whacked the puck into the goal. Perry, I think, pulled up a little on the play thinking he had body position and not expecting Kessler to do that.
Great play by Kessler; a bit of a lazy play by Perry.
But really, that typified the Canadians last night. They let up in various aspects of the game just enough for the Americans to take advantage.
Even Crosby didn't have his best game. While he scored -- as I mentioned before -- he was minus 3 on the night, and even had the opening goal of the game deflect from Rafalski off him and past Brodeur.
Just not a good effort by Canada overall. And they'll pay for that subpar effort in spades, for sure.
As an initial matter, the 'home' team in these games is now facing somewhat of a goaltending controversy.
After Brodeur's subpar performance yesterday, there's already talk about whether Canadian coach Mike Babcock will now go to Roberto Luongo.
For the first time in this tournament, Babcock refused to say who would start the next game in his post-game press conference. He admitted that he'd have to sit down and review the game tape before deciding who plays next.
While Penguin fans will be disappointed to know that goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury just isn't in the calculus at this point, what Babcock does in this regard could be his biggest coaching decision in the tournament, and if it doesn't go well for him, he's likely to pay dearly in the court of public opinion.
Meanwhile, Canada now has to play an extra game to get to the quarterfinals -- on Tuesday against Germany -- and while that game isn't lkely to pose a huge hurdle for them, they will now also have a tougher road to go the distance if they want to compete for a medal.
Assuming they beat Germany, waiting for them in the quarterfinals on Wednesday on a back-to-back night will be the Russians, who finished the preliminary round seeded 3rd and given a bye to the quarters.
If Team Canada manages to beat Russia, they'll likely have to then get past the defending champion, Sweden, in the semifinals.
The road to the medal games for the US, on the other hand, is much easier, as they will rest until Wednesday when they will play either Belarus or Switzerland for an opportunity to be in the final four. There, they'll only have to beat either Finland or the Czech Republic for a chance to play for gold.
Not an easy game to be sure. But much easiser than the road Canada faces.
Speaking of the Czech Republic, they lost to Russia yesterday in a game where Penguins' center Evgeni Malkin was the star.
Malkin had 2 goals and an assist in leading his squad to victory, including a goal which followed an incredible sequence where teammate and -- in yesterday's game, a linemate for the first time -- Alexander Ovechkin laid out former Penguin and Czech star Jaromir Jagr with a huge, legal bodycheck at center ice early in the third period.
That hit and the goal by Geno which followed was the turning point in the contest, giving Russia enough momentum to ride the remainder of the game to a 4-2 final victory.
As expected, the games have been great so far.
The best part is: it's only going to get better.
If that's even possible after last night.
I'll have more later this week on the Olympics, but prior to that, I expect to get up my analysis of the Penguins at the 3/4 pole this season.
I want to get that up because, toward the end of this week and weekend, it will be time to focus strictly on the trade deadline -- which is next Wednesday, 3-3 at 3 PM and coming up fast.
More soon.
In fact, last night's thrilling 5-3 upset over Canada by the United States tossed the tournament near upside-down.
Just one day shy of the 30-year anniversary of the biggest victory in the history of American Hockey when the US beat the Soviet Union during the semifinals of the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY, the United States did a pretty fair encore in beating the favored Canadians last night in some of the best hockey I have ever seen played in 28 years.
Seriously, folks. It was like an All-Star game where the players actually cared. There was intensity from the drop of the puck, swift skating from end to end, and just off-the-chain displays of talent all over the ice.
If you missed last night's game, shame on you for 6 weeks. It was everything great about the game of hockey.
While the US team competing in these games is filled with plenty of excellent NHL players -- unlike the mostly college-occupied squad that beat Russia in the Miracle on Ice -- last night's victory can't fall too far behind that epic 1980 victory in the annuals of United States hockey.
Despite being outshot 45-23, the Americans were able to win by capitalizing on several Canadian mistakes and a subpar game from Canada's goaltender, Martin Brodeur.
As Penguin fans know well, one of Brodeur's strengths is playing the puck, but Brodeur had several puck-handling gaffes last night, and a number of them led directly to United States goals, including both markers by US Defenseman Brian Rafalski, who scored the first two US goals last night to go with the last two US goals in their prior victory over Norway.
While Brodeur was clearly off his game, United States netminder Ryan Miller was nothing but on his, coming up with key save after key save, especially down the stretch in the third period.
After Canada cut the US lead to 4-3 with a power play goal by Penguin Captain Sidney Crosby with 3 minutes to go, they peppered Miller and the US team with a near-ridiculous press to tie the score.
That lasted until less than a minute left when American forward Ryan Kessler made an incredible individual effort to chase down Canadian forward Corey Perry going back into his own end after a loose puck -- and in front of an empty net.
When he got close enough, Kessler just reached around Perry and whacked the puck into the goal. Perry, I think, pulled up a little on the play thinking he had body position and not expecting Kessler to do that.
Great play by Kessler; a bit of a lazy play by Perry.
But really, that typified the Canadians last night. They let up in various aspects of the game just enough for the Americans to take advantage.
Even Crosby didn't have his best game. While he scored -- as I mentioned before -- he was minus 3 on the night, and even had the opening goal of the game deflect from Rafalski off him and past Brodeur.
Just not a good effort by Canada overall. And they'll pay for that subpar effort in spades, for sure.
As an initial matter, the 'home' team in these games is now facing somewhat of a goaltending controversy.
After Brodeur's subpar performance yesterday, there's already talk about whether Canadian coach Mike Babcock will now go to Roberto Luongo.
For the first time in this tournament, Babcock refused to say who would start the next game in his post-game press conference. He admitted that he'd have to sit down and review the game tape before deciding who plays next.
While Penguin fans will be disappointed to know that goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury just isn't in the calculus at this point, what Babcock does in this regard could be his biggest coaching decision in the tournament, and if it doesn't go well for him, he's likely to pay dearly in the court of public opinion.
Meanwhile, Canada now has to play an extra game to get to the quarterfinals -- on Tuesday against Germany -- and while that game isn't lkely to pose a huge hurdle for them, they will now also have a tougher road to go the distance if they want to compete for a medal.
Assuming they beat Germany, waiting for them in the quarterfinals on Wednesday on a back-to-back night will be the Russians, who finished the preliminary round seeded 3rd and given a bye to the quarters.
If Team Canada manages to beat Russia, they'll likely have to then get past the defending champion, Sweden, in the semifinals.
The road to the medal games for the US, on the other hand, is much easier, as they will rest until Wednesday when they will play either Belarus or Switzerland for an opportunity to be in the final four. There, they'll only have to beat either Finland or the Czech Republic for a chance to play for gold.
Not an easy game to be sure. But much easiser than the road Canada faces.
Speaking of the Czech Republic, they lost to Russia yesterday in a game where Penguins' center Evgeni Malkin was the star.
Malkin had 2 goals and an assist in leading his squad to victory, including a goal which followed an incredible sequence where teammate and -- in yesterday's game, a linemate for the first time -- Alexander Ovechkin laid out former Penguin and Czech star Jaromir Jagr with a huge, legal bodycheck at center ice early in the third period.
That hit and the goal by Geno which followed was the turning point in the contest, giving Russia enough momentum to ride the remainder of the game to a 4-2 final victory.
As expected, the games have been great so far.
The best part is: it's only going to get better.
If that's even possible after last night.
I'll have more later this week on the Olympics, but prior to that, I expect to get up my analysis of the Penguins at the 3/4 pole this season.
I want to get that up because, toward the end of this week and weekend, it will be time to focus strictly on the trade deadline -- which is next Wednesday, 3-3 at 3 PM and coming up fast.
More soon.
Friday, February 19, 2010
"You wanna go again?" Uh, Yeah. Crosby Beats Swiss in Shootout For Canadian Victory
Okay, you're on notice.
I'm warning you now.
Here it comes.
Are you ready?
The token Ghostbuster's reference.
"Who you gonna call?"
Sidney Crosby.
When a whole nation needed him to do what he did best, #87 came through for Team Canada last night, scoring on Canada's 4th shootout attempt against Switerland netminder Jonas Hiller to give his squad a 3-2 SO victory.
The irony to it all is that it was Crosby's second shootout attempt. In the Olympics, after the first three shooters, coaches can call on anyone from shot to shot.
So, after Crosby, Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Towes and Anaheim Ducks Ryan Getzlaf -- against his teammate in Anaheim no less -- all came up empty for Canada, and after Martin Brodeur stoned all 3 swiss shooters, Team Canada coach Mike Babcock says to Crosby:
"You wanna go again?"
"Yeah, sure", Sid says.
With steely resolve in his eyes, Crosby walks in on Hiller and wastes no time just blowing it by him on the far side.
Broduer makes it hold on the other end and Canada goes home with there being no doubt who the hero is.
Canada currenty sits second in its pool behind the United States who, on the strength of 2 goals from Brian Rafalski and a goal and an assist from former Penguin Ryan Malone, beat Norway easily yesterday to lead the group. Going to a shootout cost the Canadians a point in the standings, but it doesn't really matter, because Sunday's anticipated preliminary round game between the clubs will pretty much decide who wins their group of four.
And that game is big, because it puts the group leader straight into the quarterfinals without the possibility of having to play an extra qualifying elimination game to get into the final 8.
Meanwhile, Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar's squad, Russia, didn't fare quite as well last night, being upset in a shootout of their own by Slovakia.
Penguin fans will be happy to know that Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin took three attempts in the shootout in that one and missed them all.
Montreal Canadiens netminder Jaroslav Halak held up just enough for former Boston Bruin Josef Stumpel to score 2 shootout goals in 7 attempts against Phoenix Coyotes netminder Ilya Bryzgalov to win it for the Slovaks.
As the US and Canada are looking to avoid the tougher path to a medal depending on the results of their game Sunday night, the Russians will now almost surely have to go that route. They certainly can; it just won't be as easy for them now.
Another thing of note to Penguin fans about the Russian team.
Former flightless bird and current Kontinental Hockey League star Alexei Morozov actually was chosen to Captain their squad in the games this year.
Morozov has really blossomed as a player in the KHL since leaving the NHL 4 seasons ago. He's blossomed so much, in fact, that rumors occasionally persist about him returning to the big league in North America.
Not so, said Morozov a few days ago.
Back on the home front, I mentioned Sergei Gonchar. Well, Penguins' GM Ray Shero and Gonchar's agent, J.P. Barry were scheduled to meet sometime yesterday in Vancouver to continue contract discussions.
While I'd be surprised at this point if a deal to keep Sarge in the Penguins' fold was consummated during the Olympic break, it seems as the Pens' are about to extend an offer to Gonchar's camp, which is something they haven't done thusfar.
I'll keep everyone posted on that as news comes in.
More later.
I'm warning you now.
Here it comes.
Are you ready?
The token Ghostbuster's reference.
"Who you gonna call?"
Sidney Crosby.
When a whole nation needed him to do what he did best, #87 came through for Team Canada last night, scoring on Canada's 4th shootout attempt against Switerland netminder Jonas Hiller to give his squad a 3-2 SO victory.
The irony to it all is that it was Crosby's second shootout attempt. In the Olympics, after the first three shooters, coaches can call on anyone from shot to shot.
So, after Crosby, Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Towes and Anaheim Ducks Ryan Getzlaf -- against his teammate in Anaheim no less -- all came up empty for Canada, and after Martin Brodeur stoned all 3 swiss shooters, Team Canada coach Mike Babcock says to Crosby:
"You wanna go again?"
"Yeah, sure", Sid says.
With steely resolve in his eyes, Crosby walks in on Hiller and wastes no time just blowing it by him on the far side.
Broduer makes it hold on the other end and Canada goes home with there being no doubt who the hero is.
Canada currenty sits second in its pool behind the United States who, on the strength of 2 goals from Brian Rafalski and a goal and an assist from former Penguin Ryan Malone, beat Norway easily yesterday to lead the group. Going to a shootout cost the Canadians a point in the standings, but it doesn't really matter, because Sunday's anticipated preliminary round game between the clubs will pretty much decide who wins their group of four.
And that game is big, because it puts the group leader straight into the quarterfinals without the possibility of having to play an extra qualifying elimination game to get into the final 8.
Meanwhile, Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar's squad, Russia, didn't fare quite as well last night, being upset in a shootout of their own by Slovakia.
Penguin fans will be happy to know that Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin took three attempts in the shootout in that one and missed them all.
Montreal Canadiens netminder Jaroslav Halak held up just enough for former Boston Bruin Josef Stumpel to score 2 shootout goals in 7 attempts against Phoenix Coyotes netminder Ilya Bryzgalov to win it for the Slovaks.
As the US and Canada are looking to avoid the tougher path to a medal depending on the results of their game Sunday night, the Russians will now almost surely have to go that route. They certainly can; it just won't be as easy for them now.
Another thing of note to Penguin fans about the Russian team.
Former flightless bird and current Kontinental Hockey League star Alexei Morozov actually was chosen to Captain their squad in the games this year.
Morozov has really blossomed as a player in the KHL since leaving the NHL 4 seasons ago. He's blossomed so much, in fact, that rumors occasionally persist about him returning to the big league in North America.
Not so, said Morozov a few days ago.
Back on the home front, I mentioned Sergei Gonchar. Well, Penguins' GM Ray Shero and Gonchar's agent, J.P. Barry were scheduled to meet sometime yesterday in Vancouver to continue contract discussions.
While I'd be surprised at this point if a deal to keep Sarge in the Penguins' fold was consummated during the Olympic break, it seems as the Pens' are about to extend an offer to Gonchar's camp, which is something they haven't done thusfar.
I'll keep everyone posted on that as news comes in.
More later.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Spotlight Shines On Sidney Crosby As 2010 Olympic Hockey Tournament Gets Underway In Canada Today
Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar, Marc-Andre Fleury and Brooks Orpik suit up for their Russian, Canadian and United States clubs, respectively, at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada starting today, and it's quite a contingent of stars for the Pittsburgh Penguins to send west for battle against one another for worldwide hockey supremacy.
Wait a minute. What's that?
I'm missing someone?
Who?
Oh yeah.
Right.
Sidney Crosby.
Only the guy who has probably more of the spotlight on him than any other athlete in the entire games, what with the home country's national sport being played on home soil and all.
The attention on Crosby at the games has already been immense.
And the pressure for him to lead Canada to victory is even greater.
While Crosby isn't the Captain of Team Canada -- veteran defenseman Scott Niedermayer is -- #87 might as well have the "C" on his chest because all the focus has been on him since he arrived in Vancouver late Sunday night.
Just for example, here's a reprinted piece from the AP. Just reading the piece says everything about the eyes on Sid in this tournament:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_667328.html
AND, for those who don't know, that's a piece written in the UNITED STATES!
Meanwhile, Fleury's Canadian teammate, Marc-Andre Fleury, is probably not going to see any action in the tournament, if today's decision by Canadian coach Mike Babcock to start Roberto Luongo against Norway is any indication.
There had been some thought that Fleury might have a shot at the #2 position behind assumed starter Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils.
Babcock putting Luongo in net today, before coming back to Brodeur Wednesday, pretty much puts to rest any questions about whether Fleury is the #3 man in these games.
And while it's hard to question Brodeur's status as the #1 man (even though I could make an argument against it), he's probably the guy most people would call upon to win one game. Because of that, and given his history of success, it's hard to legitimately question the decision to make him the top dog in net for Canada.
Luongo, on the other hand -- while generally recognized as one of the world's finer goaltenders --has a weak track record of success in his career during NHL playoff action.
Couple that with Fleury's strong performance in the last two post-seasons (not to mention his Stanley Cup -- something Luongo doesn't have) and you wouldn't be off the mark to say that Fleury deserved some time between the pipes during the Olympics while wearing the Maple Leaf on his crest.
While I'm talking about goaltending at the tournament, I make no bones about my opinion that netminding is the biggest and most important variable to taking home gold in Vancouver.
In a one-game, single-elimination tournament (which is where everyone will be next week when the medal round starts), anything can happen. If an obscure netminder is able to stand on his head, big upsets can happen.
So what do you think might happen when the likes of Henrik Lundqvist, Evgeni Nabokov and Ryan Miller are factored into the picture?
A more wide open race than most observers will admit.
Thus, while Canada can only be considered the favorite in the games, it can't be considered a shock if the Swedes, the Russians or even the boys from the good 'ol U.S.A end up with gold.
While Russia with Alexander Ovechkin, Malkin, Ilya Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk has top end firepower that no team -- even Canada -- can match, they have some depth issues, particularly on defense.
Sweden has similar concerns. Up front, they will be trotting out the likes of the Sedin twins, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, and Daniel Afredsson, and that group can match up with the top 5 on maybe any other club except the Russians. On defense, though, while they are led by Nicklas Lidstrom, the depth falls off a little bit after him, Nicklas Kronwall and Mattias Ohlund.
On the home front, the US is off to a decent start, after it's 3-1 defeat of Switzerland today. Former Penguin Ryan Malone scored in that victory, but only time will tell how they jell during the rest of the preliminary round -- a round which finishes with a game against Canada, by the way.
Of course, while the games in the preliminary round aren't likely to get anyone going, next week's medal round could very well provide everyone some of the finest hockey in a generation.
And if Crosby's Team Canada ends up facing Ovechkin's Team Russia with a medal at stake ....
You think sparks fly when the Penguins and Capitals play?
Can you imagine what those two will do on the international stage against one another?
I can't wait to find out.
More later this week.
Wait a minute. What's that?
I'm missing someone?
Who?
Oh yeah.
Right.
Sidney Crosby.
Only the guy who has probably more of the spotlight on him than any other athlete in the entire games, what with the home country's national sport being played on home soil and all.
The attention on Crosby at the games has already been immense.
And the pressure for him to lead Canada to victory is even greater.
While Crosby isn't the Captain of Team Canada -- veteran defenseman Scott Niedermayer is -- #87 might as well have the "C" on his chest because all the focus has been on him since he arrived in Vancouver late Sunday night.
Just for example, here's a reprinted piece from the AP. Just reading the piece says everything about the eyes on Sid in this tournament:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_667328.html
AND, for those who don't know, that's a piece written in the UNITED STATES!
Meanwhile, Fleury's Canadian teammate, Marc-Andre Fleury, is probably not going to see any action in the tournament, if today's decision by Canadian coach Mike Babcock to start Roberto Luongo against Norway is any indication.
There had been some thought that Fleury might have a shot at the #2 position behind assumed starter Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils.
Babcock putting Luongo in net today, before coming back to Brodeur Wednesday, pretty much puts to rest any questions about whether Fleury is the #3 man in these games.
And while it's hard to question Brodeur's status as the #1 man (even though I could make an argument against it), he's probably the guy most people would call upon to win one game. Because of that, and given his history of success, it's hard to legitimately question the decision to make him the top dog in net for Canada.
Luongo, on the other hand -- while generally recognized as one of the world's finer goaltenders --has a weak track record of success in his career during NHL playoff action.
Couple that with Fleury's strong performance in the last two post-seasons (not to mention his Stanley Cup -- something Luongo doesn't have) and you wouldn't be off the mark to say that Fleury deserved some time between the pipes during the Olympics while wearing the Maple Leaf on his crest.
While I'm talking about goaltending at the tournament, I make no bones about my opinion that netminding is the biggest and most important variable to taking home gold in Vancouver.
In a one-game, single-elimination tournament (which is where everyone will be next week when the medal round starts), anything can happen. If an obscure netminder is able to stand on his head, big upsets can happen.
So what do you think might happen when the likes of Henrik Lundqvist, Evgeni Nabokov and Ryan Miller are factored into the picture?
A more wide open race than most observers will admit.
Thus, while Canada can only be considered the favorite in the games, it can't be considered a shock if the Swedes, the Russians or even the boys from the good 'ol U.S.A end up with gold.
While Russia with Alexander Ovechkin, Malkin, Ilya Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk has top end firepower that no team -- even Canada -- can match, they have some depth issues, particularly on defense.
Sweden has similar concerns. Up front, they will be trotting out the likes of the Sedin twins, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, and Daniel Afredsson, and that group can match up with the top 5 on maybe any other club except the Russians. On defense, though, while they are led by Nicklas Lidstrom, the depth falls off a little bit after him, Nicklas Kronwall and Mattias Ohlund.
On the home front, the US is off to a decent start, after it's 3-1 defeat of Switzerland today. Former Penguin Ryan Malone scored in that victory, but only time will tell how they jell during the rest of the preliminary round -- a round which finishes with a game against Canada, by the way.
Of course, while the games in the preliminary round aren't likely to get anyone going, next week's medal round could very well provide everyone some of the finest hockey in a generation.
And if Crosby's Team Canada ends up facing Ovechkin's Team Russia with a medal at stake ....
You think sparks fly when the Penguins and Capitals play?
Can you imagine what those two will do on the international stage against one another?
I can't wait to find out.
More later this week.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Penguins Stumble Into Olympic Break With 4 Losses In 5 Games After 4-3 Shootout Defeat To Nashville
Scripts have flipped in the world of the Eastern Conference recently.
Good is bad, and bad is good.
SEE: Captials, Washington --- after winning 14 straight, they've lost their last 3.
SEE: Devils, New Jersey --- a model of consistency most of the season, they've lost 12 of their last 17.
SEE: Hurricanes, Carolina --- one of the worst teams in the league all season is 9-0-2 in their last 11.
SEE: Penguins, Pittsburgh --- as they looked to be getting their game on track in late January (relatively spekaing, anyway), they're now losers of 4 of 5 heading into the Olympic break after suffering their first shootout defeat of the season yesterday, at home, to the Nashville Predators, 4-3.
The Jeckyll-and-Hyde Penguins can't seem to settle into any consistently lately --- unless you count that they are consistently being inconsistent.
Yesterday, they couldn't get out of the way of their own mistakes most of the game.
After Sidney Crosby scored his 42nd goal of the season on a power play in the first period -- tying Capitals' forward Alexander Ovechkin for the league lead in that category -- they gave it back to Nashville early in the second period on a near carbon copy power play goal by Predators' forward Martin Erat after Evegni Malkin took a stupid penalty against Preds' d-man Dan Hamhuis as the first period ended.
A few minutes later, Pittsburgh recaptured momentum on a Matt Cooke crease-crashing goal, but Pens' netminder Marc-Andre Fleury permitted a bad angle tally by Nashville forward Jordan Tootoo to tie the score just 12 seconds later.
The Penguins had to think things were going to break in their favor after defenseman Brooks Orpik scored his first goal in 114 games by ripping a point shot that hit Predators' goaltender Dan Ellis before caroming behind him for a 3-2 Pens' lead about 5 minutes into the third period.
But that was before Nashville defenseman Shea Weber lasered a shot past Fleury from the center point with less than 4 minutes to go to tie the game, 3-3.
In a sense, the Penguins were fortunate the score remained tied after regulation, because Malkin took another dumb penalty with just about 2 minutes left in the 3rd, giving Nashville a power play to end the game.
True to form, though, the Pens' strong PK unit stepped up again, and didn't allow the Predators a shot on that man-advantage.
They killed off 6 of 7 Nashville power plays on the night.
Then, in OT, Pittsburgh had a chance to win it on a 4-on-3 power play of their own, and despite owning the Predators during that stretch, they weren't able to dent Ellis for the game-winner.
And so, going into the shootout, the Pens had to fell confident.
They were undefeated in the shootout this season at that point, going 7-0 in the process, thanks largely to Fleury having stopped 14 of 15 shootout attempts against him, along with 6 shootout markers by teammate Sidney Crosby.
But after the Penguins' inability to put the Predators away in the first 65 minutes, you can guess what happened.
Defenseman Kris Letang and Crosby were stopped by Ellis, while Nashville forwards Cal O'Reilly and Martin Erat both beat Fleury easily to give the Preds' a 4-3 victory.
The point Pittsburgh earned kept them in 4th place in the Eastern Conference at the break, but also still kept them 1 point behind the Devils --- and that's a hump they just can't seem to get over right now.
More importantly, as Pens' stars Fleury, Orpik, Malkin, Crosby and Sergei Gonchar head off to the Olympics to play for their respective nations over the last two weeks, their teammates and HC Dan Blymsa's coaching staff will try to rest a little and come up with an elixir during the layoff for their overall inconsistency this season.
The Pens' have been an almost unstoppable force in each of the last 3 springs. Will they find a way to finally get into their groove this season in the final 20 games of the season? They better, or it's going to inspire a lot of question marks heading into the post-season. I mean, while it's certainly understandable that a team who has played so many important, high-stakes games over the last few seasons might find it hard to get up for every contest in January and February, let's hope Pittsburgh is not a team that believes they can turn it on and off when they need to. They're good, but that is extremely difficult to do against the caliber of competition they're going to have to go through in the East if they want to secure a third straight berth in the Stanley Cup Final this season.
So, with the first Olympic hiatus to deal with during this blog's history, there are several things I'll be reporting on during the break.
At some point, I'm going to do a team analysis at the three-quarter pole, just as I have at or around the 20 and 40-game marks earlier this season. I'll take a look at where the Penguins have been and, more importantly, what they need to do down the stretch.
This review will be quite timely, given that the trade deadline comes up in mere days after the Olympic break is over. Will Pens' GM Ray Shero make a move or not? Will guys like Ruslan Fedotenko, Jay McKee and/or various prospects be on the way out the door in favor of a scoring winger and/or defensive defenseman?? I'll take a deeper look at some of what I'm hearing in that regard surrounding the team.
Finally, I'll be tracking the progress of the Penguin players and their respective teams at the Olympics. Sidney Crosby's Team Canada kicks things off this Tuesday agianst Norway, while the U.S. team opens up against Switzerland the same day.
This year's games should be an outstanding tourament overall, so if you're a hockey fan, I encourage you to tune in -- especially once the preliminary round is over at the end of this week. The hockey is going to be fantastic.
More soon.
Good is bad, and bad is good.
SEE: Captials, Washington --- after winning 14 straight, they've lost their last 3.
SEE: Devils, New Jersey --- a model of consistency most of the season, they've lost 12 of their last 17.
SEE: Hurricanes, Carolina --- one of the worst teams in the league all season is 9-0-2 in their last 11.
SEE: Penguins, Pittsburgh --- as they looked to be getting their game on track in late January (relatively spekaing, anyway), they're now losers of 4 of 5 heading into the Olympic break after suffering their first shootout defeat of the season yesterday, at home, to the Nashville Predators, 4-3.
The Jeckyll-and-Hyde Penguins can't seem to settle into any consistently lately --- unless you count that they are consistently being inconsistent.
Yesterday, they couldn't get out of the way of their own mistakes most of the game.
After Sidney Crosby scored his 42nd goal of the season on a power play in the first period -- tying Capitals' forward Alexander Ovechkin for the league lead in that category -- they gave it back to Nashville early in the second period on a near carbon copy power play goal by Predators' forward Martin Erat after Evegni Malkin took a stupid penalty against Preds' d-man Dan Hamhuis as the first period ended.
A few minutes later, Pittsburgh recaptured momentum on a Matt Cooke crease-crashing goal, but Pens' netminder Marc-Andre Fleury permitted a bad angle tally by Nashville forward Jordan Tootoo to tie the score just 12 seconds later.
The Penguins had to think things were going to break in their favor after defenseman Brooks Orpik scored his first goal in 114 games by ripping a point shot that hit Predators' goaltender Dan Ellis before caroming behind him for a 3-2 Pens' lead about 5 minutes into the third period.
But that was before Nashville defenseman Shea Weber lasered a shot past Fleury from the center point with less than 4 minutes to go to tie the game, 3-3.
In a sense, the Penguins were fortunate the score remained tied after regulation, because Malkin took another dumb penalty with just about 2 minutes left in the 3rd, giving Nashville a power play to end the game.
True to form, though, the Pens' strong PK unit stepped up again, and didn't allow the Predators a shot on that man-advantage.
They killed off 6 of 7 Nashville power plays on the night.
Then, in OT, Pittsburgh had a chance to win it on a 4-on-3 power play of their own, and despite owning the Predators during that stretch, they weren't able to dent Ellis for the game-winner.
And so, going into the shootout, the Pens had to fell confident.
They were undefeated in the shootout this season at that point, going 7-0 in the process, thanks largely to Fleury having stopped 14 of 15 shootout attempts against him, along with 6 shootout markers by teammate Sidney Crosby.
But after the Penguins' inability to put the Predators away in the first 65 minutes, you can guess what happened.
Defenseman Kris Letang and Crosby were stopped by Ellis, while Nashville forwards Cal O'Reilly and Martin Erat both beat Fleury easily to give the Preds' a 4-3 victory.
The point Pittsburgh earned kept them in 4th place in the Eastern Conference at the break, but also still kept them 1 point behind the Devils --- and that's a hump they just can't seem to get over right now.
More importantly, as Pens' stars Fleury, Orpik, Malkin, Crosby and Sergei Gonchar head off to the Olympics to play for their respective nations over the last two weeks, their teammates and HC Dan Blymsa's coaching staff will try to rest a little and come up with an elixir during the layoff for their overall inconsistency this season.
The Pens' have been an almost unstoppable force in each of the last 3 springs. Will they find a way to finally get into their groove this season in the final 20 games of the season? They better, or it's going to inspire a lot of question marks heading into the post-season. I mean, while it's certainly understandable that a team who has played so many important, high-stakes games over the last few seasons might find it hard to get up for every contest in January and February, let's hope Pittsburgh is not a team that believes they can turn it on and off when they need to. They're good, but that is extremely difficult to do against the caliber of competition they're going to have to go through in the East if they want to secure a third straight berth in the Stanley Cup Final this season.
So, with the first Olympic hiatus to deal with during this blog's history, there are several things I'll be reporting on during the break.
At some point, I'm going to do a team analysis at the three-quarter pole, just as I have at or around the 20 and 40-game marks earlier this season. I'll take a look at where the Penguins have been and, more importantly, what they need to do down the stretch.
This review will be quite timely, given that the trade deadline comes up in mere days after the Olympic break is over. Will Pens' GM Ray Shero make a move or not? Will guys like Ruslan Fedotenko, Jay McKee and/or various prospects be on the way out the door in favor of a scoring winger and/or defensive defenseman?? I'll take a deeper look at some of what I'm hearing in that regard surrounding the team.
Finally, I'll be tracking the progress of the Penguin players and their respective teams at the Olympics. Sidney Crosby's Team Canada kicks things off this Tuesday agianst Norway, while the U.S. team opens up against Switzerland the same day.
This year's games should be an outstanding tourament overall, so if you're a hockey fan, I encourage you to tune in -- especially once the preliminary round is over at the end of this week. The hockey is going to be fantastic.
More soon.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Just The Beginning of Player Movement As Pens' Get Ready To Face Rangers?
As the Pittsburgh Penguins get ready to face the New York Rangers, there are questions about the team both on and off the ice.
On the ice, the question for tonight is whether the Pens will have to contend with NY star winger Marion Gaborik, who suffered a cut on his knee in a collision with goaltender Henrik Lundqvist in practice earlier this week and missed the Rangers' game on Wednesday.
Gaborik is questionable for tonight and, make no mistake, without him in the lineup, a team that struggles to score goals will have a bigger uphill battle to move out of their 11th place seed in the Eastern Conference against a Pittsburgh club they have not defeated in 4 tries this season.
Pens' center and Captain, Sidney Crosby, by the way, is looking for his 40th goal of the year tonight. That would be a career high for him.
Crosby and fellow all-world pivot Evgeni Malkin have been driving the Penguins' offense for the better part of three weeks, with at least one of them figuring in on something like 29 of the last 32 Pens' goals.
Off the ice, the question is whether GM Ray Shero will make a deal before today's 3 PM Olympic trade freeze goes into effect.
Shero has been involved in multiple discussions the last week or so, but I'm not sure he'll be able to pull a deal off before the deadline, and may instead be left to scramble a bit in the 2 and 1/2 days that are left after the Olypmic freeze is lifted, before the year's final 3 PM trade deadline on Wednesday, March 3.
He did make a swap of minor leaguers yesterday, sending Wilkes-Barre defenseman and Pittsburgh native Nate Guenin to the St. Louis Blues for 25-year old defenseman Steve Wagner.
Like Guenin, Wagner hasn't been able to crack an NHL lineup regularly. Wagner has 4 goals and 12 points in 46 games at the pro-level scattered over the last 3 seasons. He has not played a game for the Blues this year, and is generally known as a more offensive defenseman.
Wagner has a 2-way contract, and will report directly to Wilkes-Barre.
In Pittsburgh, Shero is still looking to clear out a little salary cap space, so he can add a player or two at the big league level.
And adding a player or two may also require moving some more guys from the AHL. Forward Dustin Jeffrey, for example has been a guy that has been rumored to be on the move.
Defenseman Carl Sneep is another Pens' prospect other teams are inquiring about.
Again, time will tell whether either of those guys or their teammates -- or anyone on the big club -- move on before this afternoon.
I'll be on the road today, but will try to post something if I get word.
Otherwise, I'll have a report tomorrow from tonight's game against NY.
Let's Go Pens!
On the ice, the question for tonight is whether the Pens will have to contend with NY star winger Marion Gaborik, who suffered a cut on his knee in a collision with goaltender Henrik Lundqvist in practice earlier this week and missed the Rangers' game on Wednesday.
Gaborik is questionable for tonight and, make no mistake, without him in the lineup, a team that struggles to score goals will have a bigger uphill battle to move out of their 11th place seed in the Eastern Conference against a Pittsburgh club they have not defeated in 4 tries this season.
Pens' center and Captain, Sidney Crosby, by the way, is looking for his 40th goal of the year tonight. That would be a career high for him.
Crosby and fellow all-world pivot Evgeni Malkin have been driving the Penguins' offense for the better part of three weeks, with at least one of them figuring in on something like 29 of the last 32 Pens' goals.
Off the ice, the question is whether GM Ray Shero will make a deal before today's 3 PM Olympic trade freeze goes into effect.
Shero has been involved in multiple discussions the last week or so, but I'm not sure he'll be able to pull a deal off before the deadline, and may instead be left to scramble a bit in the 2 and 1/2 days that are left after the Olypmic freeze is lifted, before the year's final 3 PM trade deadline on Wednesday, March 3.
He did make a swap of minor leaguers yesterday, sending Wilkes-Barre defenseman and Pittsburgh native Nate Guenin to the St. Louis Blues for 25-year old defenseman Steve Wagner.
Like Guenin, Wagner hasn't been able to crack an NHL lineup regularly. Wagner has 4 goals and 12 points in 46 games at the pro-level scattered over the last 3 seasons. He has not played a game for the Blues this year, and is generally known as a more offensive defenseman.
Wagner has a 2-way contract, and will report directly to Wilkes-Barre.
In Pittsburgh, Shero is still looking to clear out a little salary cap space, so he can add a player or two at the big league level.
And adding a player or two may also require moving some more guys from the AHL. Forward Dustin Jeffrey, for example has been a guy that has been rumored to be on the move.
Defenseman Carl Sneep is another Pens' prospect other teams are inquiring about.
Again, time will tell whether either of those guys or their teammates -- or anyone on the big club -- move on before this afternoon.
I'll be on the road today, but will try to post something if I get word.
Otherwise, I'll have a report tomorrow from tonight's game against NY.
Let's Go Pens!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Penguins Rebound With 3-1 Victory Over Islanders
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been talking for days about how important their last 3 games before the Olympic break are for them.
They have stated that they want to "finish strong" and get momentum going into the 17 day break.
Last night's 3-1 victory over the New York Islanders at Mellon Arena was a good start.
Chris Kunitz scored twice, Evgeni Malkin scored the other goal and added a helper, and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made 37 stops in a contest the Penguins were in control of most of the night.
After a scoreless first period when Fleury made several strong saves, Pittsburgh broke through about halfway through the 2nd frame when Malkin led a 3-on-2 rush down the near boards before passing to the high man, Chris Kunitz, who beat Isles' netminder Dwayne Roloson short side to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.
Geno made it 2-0 at the 17-minute mark when he cleanly won a faceoff in the Islanders' zone back to Mark Eaton. Eaton moved the puck cross-ice to his partner Sergei Gonchar at the opposite point before Sarge blasted one that Malkin easily tipped behind Roloson as he was going to the net.
In the third period, Casper made an appearance.
New York forward Frans Neilsen took, and won, a draw in the Pittsburgh zone against Penguins' forward Tyler Kennedy and went right to the net. He must have made himself invisible because nobody -- and I mean NOBODY -- went with him.
Sure enough, seconds later, he got the puck right in front of Fleury before spinning around and depositing a backhander past the sprawling netminder to make it 2-1.
The Penguins were clearly confused on that play, and it may have largely had to do with the fact that Kennedy took the draw after his linemate and center Jordan Staal got kicked out of the circle. Instead of staying with his man, as TK should have, he went out to the point.
Perhaps he was still getting back in the swing after his spirited fight with Islanders' forward Matt Martin late in the first period?
Anyway, the situation worsened when Staal did the same thing as Kennedy -- went to the point. While he should have gone there lined up on the wing off the draw, what I can't figure out is where defenseman Kris Letang and Brooks Orpik were on the play??
It's one thing if the forwards get confused on who's going to the point and who's staying with the center -- whether that center goes to the net or not -- but one of the defenseman needs to be with anyone going to the net on a face-off at all times.
I'm not sure I've ever seen all 5 Penguin players seemingly go blank like that at the same time.
In any event, while the game was close the next 5 minutes, Kunitz struck again at near the 15-minute mark when linemate Bill Guerin was able to get to a loose puck along the near boards and create somewhat of a 2-on-1.
It wasn't a 'rush' though because Guerin simply worked to get to the puck first in a race with an Islanders' defenseman and then just chipped it over him into open ice near the blueline for a racing Kunitz.
#14 took the puck in on a breakaway, dipped his head momentarily and got Roloson to move first, then beat him low to finish the scoring at 3-1 with his 8th of the season.
With the win, the Penguins moved to within 1 point of the New Jersey Devils in the Atlantic Division. New Jersey lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime last night -- their 11th loss in the last 15 games.
The Penguins played a pretty strong game last night. They gave up a lot of chances and were outshot 38-28, but Fleury was strong and, overall, the Penguins were relatively solid defensively.
They got a nice game from Letang on the blueline, who sprawled to make a diving save in the first period on a play where Fleury was out of position, and also got an inspired performance from winger Mike Rupp last night.
Rupp was a physical force from the drop of the puck, getting in Roloson's face at one point and even challenging Islanders' defenseman Andy Sutton in the first period as a way of responding to the hit he put on teammate Pascal Dupuis at the end of the game the last time these two clubs faced off.
Sutton declined Rupp's invitation, perhaps listening to recent trade rumors connecting him to the Pens and thinking it may not be a good idea to get into a tussle with a potential new teammate.
I also thought Mark Letestu had a strong game. I like what I've seen from him overall during his recent call-up (or call-ups, as the case may be). He struggled on Sunday in the Pens' loss to the Washington Capitals, but last night, he was tenacious on the puck, showed good hockey sense, and helped create a few scoring chances.
The Penguins host the Islanders' brethren from New York -- the Rangers -- in their next contest on Friday at The Igloo.
With the Olympic roster freeze set to take effect tomorrow at midnight, it will be interesting to see what moves are made, if any, in the next 36 or so hours. The Penguins have been as involved in talking with other teams as any club, so we'll see.
More soon.
NOTES:
Thank goodness for small favors. With the Capitals threatening the Penguins' NHL record single season 17-game winning streak, the Caps' were finally defeated last night, in Montreal by the Canadiens. Attempting to defy conventional wisdom once again, the Caps' overcame a 3-goal, 5-2 deficit in the third period by scoring with 20 seconds left in the contest to send it into overtime. Fortunately, the Habs didn't wilt, and won it with 8 seconds left in the 5-minute period on a goal by Tomas Plekanec, stopping Washington's streak at 14 games and preserving the Pens' league mark for another day.
They have stated that they want to "finish strong" and get momentum going into the 17 day break.
Last night's 3-1 victory over the New York Islanders at Mellon Arena was a good start.
Chris Kunitz scored twice, Evgeni Malkin scored the other goal and added a helper, and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made 37 stops in a contest the Penguins were in control of most of the night.
After a scoreless first period when Fleury made several strong saves, Pittsburgh broke through about halfway through the 2nd frame when Malkin led a 3-on-2 rush down the near boards before passing to the high man, Chris Kunitz, who beat Isles' netminder Dwayne Roloson short side to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.
Geno made it 2-0 at the 17-minute mark when he cleanly won a faceoff in the Islanders' zone back to Mark Eaton. Eaton moved the puck cross-ice to his partner Sergei Gonchar at the opposite point before Sarge blasted one that Malkin easily tipped behind Roloson as he was going to the net.
In the third period, Casper made an appearance.
New York forward Frans Neilsen took, and won, a draw in the Pittsburgh zone against Penguins' forward Tyler Kennedy and went right to the net. He must have made himself invisible because nobody -- and I mean NOBODY -- went with him.
Sure enough, seconds later, he got the puck right in front of Fleury before spinning around and depositing a backhander past the sprawling netminder to make it 2-1.
The Penguins were clearly confused on that play, and it may have largely had to do with the fact that Kennedy took the draw after his linemate and center Jordan Staal got kicked out of the circle. Instead of staying with his man, as TK should have, he went out to the point.
Perhaps he was still getting back in the swing after his spirited fight with Islanders' forward Matt Martin late in the first period?
Anyway, the situation worsened when Staal did the same thing as Kennedy -- went to the point. While he should have gone there lined up on the wing off the draw, what I can't figure out is where defenseman Kris Letang and Brooks Orpik were on the play??
It's one thing if the forwards get confused on who's going to the point and who's staying with the center -- whether that center goes to the net or not -- but one of the defenseman needs to be with anyone going to the net on a face-off at all times.
I'm not sure I've ever seen all 5 Penguin players seemingly go blank like that at the same time.
In any event, while the game was close the next 5 minutes, Kunitz struck again at near the 15-minute mark when linemate Bill Guerin was able to get to a loose puck along the near boards and create somewhat of a 2-on-1.
It wasn't a 'rush' though because Guerin simply worked to get to the puck first in a race with an Islanders' defenseman and then just chipped it over him into open ice near the blueline for a racing Kunitz.
#14 took the puck in on a breakaway, dipped his head momentarily and got Roloson to move first, then beat him low to finish the scoring at 3-1 with his 8th of the season.
With the win, the Penguins moved to within 1 point of the New Jersey Devils in the Atlantic Division. New Jersey lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime last night -- their 11th loss in the last 15 games.
The Penguins played a pretty strong game last night. They gave up a lot of chances and were outshot 38-28, but Fleury was strong and, overall, the Penguins were relatively solid defensively.
They got a nice game from Letang on the blueline, who sprawled to make a diving save in the first period on a play where Fleury was out of position, and also got an inspired performance from winger Mike Rupp last night.
Rupp was a physical force from the drop of the puck, getting in Roloson's face at one point and even challenging Islanders' defenseman Andy Sutton in the first period as a way of responding to the hit he put on teammate Pascal Dupuis at the end of the game the last time these two clubs faced off.
Sutton declined Rupp's invitation, perhaps listening to recent trade rumors connecting him to the Pens and thinking it may not be a good idea to get into a tussle with a potential new teammate.
I also thought Mark Letestu had a strong game. I like what I've seen from him overall during his recent call-up (or call-ups, as the case may be). He struggled on Sunday in the Pens' loss to the Washington Capitals, but last night, he was tenacious on the puck, showed good hockey sense, and helped create a few scoring chances.
The Penguins host the Islanders' brethren from New York -- the Rangers -- in their next contest on Friday at The Igloo.
With the Olympic roster freeze set to take effect tomorrow at midnight, it will be interesting to see what moves are made, if any, in the next 36 or so hours. The Penguins have been as involved in talking with other teams as any club, so we'll see.
More soon.
NOTES:
Thank goodness for small favors. With the Capitals threatening the Penguins' NHL record single season 17-game winning streak, the Caps' were finally defeated last night, in Montreal by the Canadiens. Attempting to defy conventional wisdom once again, the Caps' overcame a 3-goal, 5-2 deficit in the third period by scoring with 20 seconds left in the contest to send it into overtime. Fortunately, the Habs didn't wilt, and won it with 8 seconds left in the 5-minute period on a goal by Tomas Plekanec, stopping Washington's streak at 14 games and preserving the Pens' league mark for another day.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Penguins Bid To Host 2011 NHL All-Star Game
As the Pittsburgh Penguins prepare for their home game tonight against a New York Islander team that ended a 7-game losing streak last night by beating the Nashville Predators in a shootout on Long Island, word came yesterday that the local hockey club has submitted a proposal to host the 2011 NHL All-Star game at the Consol Energy Center.
The National Hockey League has long been looking to award that game to Phoenix and have it played at the JOBING.COM Arena there, but with Pittsburgh hopping into the mix now and offering up a city that hosts one of the best young teams in the game getting ready to enter a sparkling new building, the picture may have changed.
The last time Pittsburgh hosted the NHL All-Star game was 20 years ago, in 1990. Of course, who doesn't remember Mario Lemieux torturing then-Flames goaltender Mike Vernon and scoring 4 goals on his way to the MVP trophy??
An announcement on the 2011 game isn't expected for a few months, but suffice it to say, Phoenix has strong competition on its hands. And if the Penguins don't get it that year, I expect that they will be awarded the game soon thereafter.
Getting the All-Star game would be one of many coups for the Penguins' franchise as they attempt to book their new building with as many high-profile events as possible. They have already have committments from the NCAA to play 2 opening rounds of march madness basketball there in 2012, for one.
The Penguins are also attempting to secure an agreement from the NCAA to allow the team to host the Frozen Four hockey tournament there.
There's no doubt that the club is using the potential of its new building to the fullest.
Back on the ice, let's hope the Penguins can come up with 2 points tonight. They have creeped to within that many of a New Jersey Devils squad that has lost 10 of its last 14 and also is in action against the Philadlephia Flyers this evening in the second half of a home-and-home with the Pens' cross-state rivals.
Recap tomorrow.
Let's Go Pens!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Off-Day News And Notes; More On "The Rivalry"
As the region faces the prospect of another measurable snowstorm, just 3/4 days after the last one impaled this area, the Pittsburgh Penguins were given an off-day yesterday, but will return to the ice today to practice in anticipation of their home game against the New York Islanders tomorrow night.
Before the Isles walk into town as another in a long line of Penguins' opponents to match up against the flightless birds after playing the day before (they host the Nashville Predators at home tonight), there are a number of miscellaneous matters surrounding the team worth hitting on.
First, the Penguins have returned forward Mark Letetsu back to Wilkes-Barre Scranton of the American Hockey League. Letetsu was re-assigned after Sunday's loss to the Washington Capitals, joining Tim Wallace, who had been called up with Letetsu on Friday, but was sent down before the game Sunday when it was determined that LW Chris Kunitz would return to the lineup that day.
Speaking of Kunitz, I was generally pleased with his performance in his first game coming off abdominal surgery. He was a force in the first period, but tailed off and was less of a factor in periods 2 and 3. Really, though, that couldn't have been surprising under the circumstances. While he had been practicing most of the week and felt good at the start of his sessions back on the ice, Kunitz admitted that things got tougher for him as the week went on. He's still working out the recovery aches and pains, obviously, and it's going to take him some time to get back in the swing. Make no mistake, though -- the Penguins will need him to be an impact player down the stretch this season.
Meanwhile, there continues to be talk that the Penguins are actively trying to make a trade before this Friday's Olympic roster freeze sets in. Largely, Pens' GM Ray Shero is working to free up some cap space, perhaps by making a roster move with defenseman Martin Skoula, and perhaps by moving one or more players. He's probably examining doing both, with LW Ruslan Fedotenko perhaps the most likely guy to be moved in a trade.
Fedotenko has certainly struggled this season, but his history as a strong playoff performer has several teams interested in him -- including contenders like the Phoenix Coyotes, and non-contenders like Edmonton Oilers, among others.
Finally, people are still talking about Sunday's latest epic between the Caps and Penguins:
http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/31399-Campbells-Cuts-Can-Caps-offensive-style-win-the-Cup.html
This well-written piece by Ken Campbell raises an interesting question --- and one that is unlikely to be resolved until the post-season: Can the Capitals go the distance with their offense, or will their defense and goaltending trump that and fail them when needed the most?
I talked yesterday about how Washington has averaged nearly 5 goals per game during their absurd 14-game winning streak, but there's no question that those figures are a by-product of regular season play. Only time will tell if they can buckle down enough to overcome the much tighter checking in the post-season.
Regardless, the Capitals will be dangerous. But if Pittsburgh sees them in the playoffs again, I'll take my chances. As Washington's own coach, loudmouth Bruce Boudreau, admitted before the last time the clubs met several weeks ago, the Penguins have the best group of centers in the game and it's not even close. See this excellent piece for a discussion about that, and how both the Pens' and Caps' have built strongly through the draft the last 4 to 5 seasons:
http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/30969-THNcom-Blog-Pens-Caps-serve-as-lesson-for-draft-dodgers.html
It's interesting. Prior to the Sunday's game, I read an interesting piece that someone sent to me about how the matchups between these two clubs might not really come down to Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin, but instead may come down to Nicklas Backstrom and Jordan Staal.
Here's the piece:
http://today.sportingnews.com/sportingnewstoday/20100123/?pg=24&pm=1&u1=friend#pg24
I thought Craig Custenance offered some interesting perspective when I read that, but after Sunday's game, it's not unreasonable to think that every game, every matchup, every potential playoff series between these two teams will always come down to #87 and #8, no matter how good their respective supporting casts are.
Crosby and Ovechkin are the engines that drive their teams. If Backstrom or Staal, for example, aren't playing up to par, the Captains are still good enough to make the difference, and we all can look no further than Sunday's game for proof.
Crosby and Staal totaled 4 goals for Pittsburgh. Washington won the game because Ovechkin single-handedly topped them both.
No wonder why there's so much talk about the National Hockey League scheduling next year's Winter Classic between The Pens and Caps. That talk surfaced first a few months ago, and continues with each legendary game these two clubs play:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/31/AR2009123102716.html
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4894170&name=lebrun_pierre
Count me in.
That's all for now boys and girls.
More soon.
Before the Isles walk into town as another in a long line of Penguins' opponents to match up against the flightless birds after playing the day before (they host the Nashville Predators at home tonight), there are a number of miscellaneous matters surrounding the team worth hitting on.
First, the Penguins have returned forward Mark Letetsu back to Wilkes-Barre Scranton of the American Hockey League. Letetsu was re-assigned after Sunday's loss to the Washington Capitals, joining Tim Wallace, who had been called up with Letetsu on Friday, but was sent down before the game Sunday when it was determined that LW Chris Kunitz would return to the lineup that day.
Speaking of Kunitz, I was generally pleased with his performance in his first game coming off abdominal surgery. He was a force in the first period, but tailed off and was less of a factor in periods 2 and 3. Really, though, that couldn't have been surprising under the circumstances. While he had been practicing most of the week and felt good at the start of his sessions back on the ice, Kunitz admitted that things got tougher for him as the week went on. He's still working out the recovery aches and pains, obviously, and it's going to take him some time to get back in the swing. Make no mistake, though -- the Penguins will need him to be an impact player down the stretch this season.
Meanwhile, there continues to be talk that the Penguins are actively trying to make a trade before this Friday's Olympic roster freeze sets in. Largely, Pens' GM Ray Shero is working to free up some cap space, perhaps by making a roster move with defenseman Martin Skoula, and perhaps by moving one or more players. He's probably examining doing both, with LW Ruslan Fedotenko perhaps the most likely guy to be moved in a trade.
Fedotenko has certainly struggled this season, but his history as a strong playoff performer has several teams interested in him -- including contenders like the Phoenix Coyotes, and non-contenders like Edmonton Oilers, among others.
Finally, people are still talking about Sunday's latest epic between the Caps and Penguins:
http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/31399-Campbells-Cuts-Can-Caps-offensive-style-win-the-Cup.html
This well-written piece by Ken Campbell raises an interesting question --- and one that is unlikely to be resolved until the post-season: Can the Capitals go the distance with their offense, or will their defense and goaltending trump that and fail them when needed the most?
I talked yesterday about how Washington has averaged nearly 5 goals per game during their absurd 14-game winning streak, but there's no question that those figures are a by-product of regular season play. Only time will tell if they can buckle down enough to overcome the much tighter checking in the post-season.
Regardless, the Capitals will be dangerous. But if Pittsburgh sees them in the playoffs again, I'll take my chances. As Washington's own coach, loudmouth Bruce Boudreau, admitted before the last time the clubs met several weeks ago, the Penguins have the best group of centers in the game and it's not even close. See this excellent piece for a discussion about that, and how both the Pens' and Caps' have built strongly through the draft the last 4 to 5 seasons:
http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/30969-THNcom-Blog-Pens-Caps-serve-as-lesson-for-draft-dodgers.html
It's interesting. Prior to the Sunday's game, I read an interesting piece that someone sent to me about how the matchups between these two clubs might not really come down to Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin, but instead may come down to Nicklas Backstrom and Jordan Staal.
Here's the piece:
http://today.sportingnews.com/sportingnewstoday/20100123/?pg=24&pm=1&u1=friend#pg24
I thought Craig Custenance offered some interesting perspective when I read that, but after Sunday's game, it's not unreasonable to think that every game, every matchup, every potential playoff series between these two teams will always come down to #87 and #8, no matter how good their respective supporting casts are.
Crosby and Ovechkin are the engines that drive their teams. If Backstrom or Staal, for example, aren't playing up to par, the Captains are still good enough to make the difference, and we all can look no further than Sunday's game for proof.
Crosby and Staal totaled 4 goals for Pittsburgh. Washington won the game because Ovechkin single-handedly topped them both.
No wonder why there's so much talk about the National Hockey League scheduling next year's Winter Classic between The Pens and Caps. That talk surfaced first a few months ago, and continues with each legendary game these two clubs play:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/31/AR2009123102716.html
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4894170&name=lebrun_pierre
Count me in.
That's all for now boys and girls.
More soon.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Pens' Fall To Canadiens, Capitals In Weekend Sweep
For the third straight week, the Pittsburgh Penguins were scheduled for back-to-back games.
2 weeks ago, the Pens' prevailed in two nationally televised contests against the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers on Sunday, 1-23 and Monday, 1-24.
Last week, they went 2-0 again, beating the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres in back-to-back games on Sunday, 1-31 and Monday, 2-1.
This past weekend wasn't as nearly as kind to the them.
And not just because of the snow that they and everyone else in the mid-Atlantic region had to deal with.
Instead, problems with their defense have cropped up again, and those troubles played a big part in back-to-back road losses to the Montreal Canadiens, 5-3, and Washington Capitals, 5-4 on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Both defeats were disturbing in their own way and, to be honest, I'm not sure which was worse.
After probably their longest break between games all season -- 4 days -- the Penguins came out flat and were both outhustled and outplayed at The Bell Center in Montreal by the Canadiens Saturday afternoon.
Pittsburgh got a tough break early in that one when a Canadiens' player basically bodychecked Pens' netminder Marc-Andre Fleury behind the net when he went to play the puck around the boards, leaving him out of position and unable to get back in the crease when his clearing attempt was intercepted and put into an empty cage by Montreal forward Tomas Plekanec 30 seconds into the game.
So much for a penalty call there. Inexcusable.
Jordan Staal helped the Pens' bounce back quickly though, getting a break of his own when a Canadiens' defender blew a tire while defending a 2-on-2 rush with Pascal Dupuis, allowing Staal to barge to the net, force Montreal goalie Jaroslav Halak to make a great save, but leave the rebound for Dupuis to have go off him and into the net for a 1-1 tie.
Unfortunately, Pittsburgh was weak around its net on 2 plays in the 2nd period when Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez scored to give Montreal a 3-1 lead.
While Bill Guerin managed to get one in off Halak's glove later in that frame to keep the Pens' in the game, the Pens' wheels came off in the third period.
First, Montreal forward Mathieu Darche scored only his 2nd goal of the season about 7 minutes in on a slapshot that deflected in off a Pens' defender -- Sergei Gonchar, if memory serves.
That goal prompted Head Coach Dan Bylsma to replace Fleury with backup Brent Johnson -- probably not so much because Fleury was playing poorly, as much to try and shake his team up and give Fleury a chance to rest up in advance of the team's showdown with the Washington Capitals the next day.
Johnson didn't fare much better than Fleury, though, as the Gionta scored his second of the night just minutes later, again capitalizing on some weak defense in front of the Pens' goal.
Evgeni Malkin made things interesting with approximately 3 and 1/2 minutes to go when he came out of the penalty box and took a clearing attempt in on a breakaway before beating Halak high glove side to make it 5-3.
Less than a minute later, however, Geno killed whatever small chance the Penguins had of mounting a comeback when he took an undisciplined roughing penalty, and permitted Montreal to basically kill off the rest of the game on the man-advantage.
Telling in the loss was the Canadiens outshooting the Pens' 32-21.
And it was indicative of the play, too.
Perhaps the Penguins were more focused on their game against the Caps' --- and how they were going to get there given the snow -- but regardless, their lack of energy against Montreal was hard to explain. Especially having plenty of time to rest leading up to that game.
That was the first time Montreal took a game from the Pens in this year's season series (3-1).
In any case, while Pittsburgh was prepared to depart Montreal for Washington immediately after their game there, the snowstorm that President Barack Obama called "Snowmaggedon" prevented them from flying into DC. Instead, they had to completely re-arrange their travel plans and fly into Newark, New Jersey, before taking a 4-hour bus ride to the Nation's Capital.
While that wasn't entirely unexpected -- there had been, in fact, some talk that the game between the Pens and Caps might be pushed back, or even postponed -- it did result in the Penguins arriving in Washington very late, at 2:30 AM Sunday morning.
Make no mistake -- that's a tough hand of cards for anyone to deal with facing a nationally televised 12 noon start that very day against a team that had won 13 straight games.
Capitals' coach Bruce Boudreau actually had the gall to suggest that the bad weather affected his team more.
But when the puck dropped and all the hype had again risen to unspeakable levels at the prospect of Crosby/Ovechkin II this sesason, the Penguins as a team set out looking to prove that their late arrival, lack of sleep, and travel adventures would be no impediment to getting back on the winning track.
Sidney Crosby scored twice in the opening period, first finishing off an unassisted play by taking the puck to the net on a 3-on-2 before beating Caps' netminder Jose Theodore, then completing a nice passing sequence on a man-advantage by finding himself alone in front and bearing down to abuse Theodore with an in-tight forehand.
Those goals were Crosby's 38th and 39th of the season, tying a career high for him and -- at the time, anyway -- putting him into a tie with Caps' forward Alexander Ovechkin for the league lead.
That didn't last long, though, because Ovehckin managed to score in the 2nd period to cut the Pens' lead to 2-1 after sneaking behind Pens' defenseman Mark Eaton and scoring on a breakaway.
But the Penguins quickly reasserted their dominance down the middle, getting two goals from Jordan Staal in that same period, first on a tap-in from in front of Theodore, then after finishing a 2-on-1 with Malkin by depositing Geno's pass top-shelf above Theodore's blocker.
Things looked pretty good for Pittsburgh at that point. After coming out of the gate strong on little rest in the first period, they kept it going in the 2nd frame. Even a late 2nd period tally by Washington forward Eric Fehr didn't do a lot to dent the Penguins' strong game up to that point.
But you can't sleep on the Capitals, and Ovehckin made that clear by scoring twice in the third period. His first goal was the by-product of him being a split second quicker in reaction to a loose puck that fell at his feet right in front of Pens' defenseman Brooks Orpik after a blocked shot.
His third goal game off a face-off play when he pinched into the circle, got a loose biscuit and buried it past Fleury far side.
His hat trick forced overtime at 4-4.
In the extra frame, the Penguins were probably just looking to push the game to a shootout, where they are 7-0 this season.
But then Orpik took a needless penalty when he got the stick up on Caps' forward Alexander Semin.
Orpik called Semin "a baby" after the game because of the play, and further piled on by saying he has "zero respect for that kid" because he acts like that all game, but the fact of the matter is that while Semin commonly flopps all over the ice more than my 3-year old on skates, it was a penalty. And, Orpik simply can't do that. He can't put Washington in a 4-on-3 power play situation at that point of the game.
Why?
Because their power play is lethal, and it made the Penguins pay 45 seconds or so into it when an Ovehckin shot went off the post and came back through and underneath Fleury's legs before Washington RW Mike Knuble poked it in for the game winner.
So, with that, the Penguins blew a 4-1 lead to the Caps' -- something we've seen way too much of against that team in the regular season the last 18 months or so -- AND lost a chance to end the Capitals' league best wininng streak.
After their defeat of the Penguins, that streak stands at 14 games.
And there's no doubt, the Pens' league record single year 17-game regular season winning streak -- set by the lethal Pens' 1992/93 squad -- is in real jeopardy.
There's also no doubt that my personal hatred for the Washington Capitals has now officially risen above the degree to which I despise the Philadelphia Flyers.
And that's saying something.
I can't stand the Capitals.
BUT, I have to say that, from a hockey purist standpoint, yesterday's game between Pittsburgh and Washington was fantastic. It was as intense as a playoff game, and was a worthy chapter in the rivalry book between these two clubs -- a rivalry that is quickly rising to the top one league-wide.
And while there's no doubt that a lot goes into that rivalry, it remains unquestionably driven by the team's 2 superstar captains -- Crosby and Ovechkin.
Their individual will in the games these two teams play against one another is an amazing spectacle.
Ovechkin always raises his game against us, it seems, and for all the goals Crosby has scored around the net in his career, I'm not sure I have ever seen him literally bear down to score in the way he did to tally his first two goals yesterday.
Especially Crosby's second goal. Sid's deke near the net was so fast and so clean that Theodore is still trying to react almost 24 hours later.
I can't wait to see their two clubs face off in the Olympics. I mean, the game yesterday was better than any Super Bowl -- I'll tell you that. Incredible.
Unfortunately, though (with my fan hat on again), the loss cost the Penguins another chance to move up in the Atlantic Division and get closer to a continually struggling Devils club.
It also, as mentioned above, continued to provide worries about the state of the team's defense.
The Penguins have given up 19 goals against in the last 5 games, and that's not a good sign.
While Washington scores a ton -- they've averaged nearly 5 goals a game during their 14 game winning streak -- the amount of goals the Penguins have allowed recently has to be a concerning trend for the Penguins as they get ready to head down the stretch drive.
With 3 more games until the Olympic break -- and 2 more until the NHL's pre-Olympic trade freeze on Friday -- the Penguins will now get ready for a team that always plays them tough.
The New York Islanders.
They visit Mellon Arena Wednesday.
Snow permitting, of course.
More soon.
2 weeks ago, the Pens' prevailed in two nationally televised contests against the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers on Sunday, 1-23 and Monday, 1-24.
Last week, they went 2-0 again, beating the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres in back-to-back games on Sunday, 1-31 and Monday, 2-1.
This past weekend wasn't as nearly as kind to the them.
And not just because of the snow that they and everyone else in the mid-Atlantic region had to deal with.
Instead, problems with their defense have cropped up again, and those troubles played a big part in back-to-back road losses to the Montreal Canadiens, 5-3, and Washington Capitals, 5-4 on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Both defeats were disturbing in their own way and, to be honest, I'm not sure which was worse.
After probably their longest break between games all season -- 4 days -- the Penguins came out flat and were both outhustled and outplayed at The Bell Center in Montreal by the Canadiens Saturday afternoon.
Pittsburgh got a tough break early in that one when a Canadiens' player basically bodychecked Pens' netminder Marc-Andre Fleury behind the net when he went to play the puck around the boards, leaving him out of position and unable to get back in the crease when his clearing attempt was intercepted and put into an empty cage by Montreal forward Tomas Plekanec 30 seconds into the game.
So much for a penalty call there. Inexcusable.
Jordan Staal helped the Pens' bounce back quickly though, getting a break of his own when a Canadiens' defender blew a tire while defending a 2-on-2 rush with Pascal Dupuis, allowing Staal to barge to the net, force Montreal goalie Jaroslav Halak to make a great save, but leave the rebound for Dupuis to have go off him and into the net for a 1-1 tie.
Unfortunately, Pittsburgh was weak around its net on 2 plays in the 2nd period when Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez scored to give Montreal a 3-1 lead.
While Bill Guerin managed to get one in off Halak's glove later in that frame to keep the Pens' in the game, the Pens' wheels came off in the third period.
First, Montreal forward Mathieu Darche scored only his 2nd goal of the season about 7 minutes in on a slapshot that deflected in off a Pens' defender -- Sergei Gonchar, if memory serves.
That goal prompted Head Coach Dan Bylsma to replace Fleury with backup Brent Johnson -- probably not so much because Fleury was playing poorly, as much to try and shake his team up and give Fleury a chance to rest up in advance of the team's showdown with the Washington Capitals the next day.
Johnson didn't fare much better than Fleury, though, as the Gionta scored his second of the night just minutes later, again capitalizing on some weak defense in front of the Pens' goal.
Evgeni Malkin made things interesting with approximately 3 and 1/2 minutes to go when he came out of the penalty box and took a clearing attempt in on a breakaway before beating Halak high glove side to make it 5-3.
Less than a minute later, however, Geno killed whatever small chance the Penguins had of mounting a comeback when he took an undisciplined roughing penalty, and permitted Montreal to basically kill off the rest of the game on the man-advantage.
Telling in the loss was the Canadiens outshooting the Pens' 32-21.
And it was indicative of the play, too.
Perhaps the Penguins were more focused on their game against the Caps' --- and how they were going to get there given the snow -- but regardless, their lack of energy against Montreal was hard to explain. Especially having plenty of time to rest leading up to that game.
That was the first time Montreal took a game from the Pens in this year's season series (3-1).
In any case, while Pittsburgh was prepared to depart Montreal for Washington immediately after their game there, the snowstorm that President Barack Obama called "Snowmaggedon" prevented them from flying into DC. Instead, they had to completely re-arrange their travel plans and fly into Newark, New Jersey, before taking a 4-hour bus ride to the Nation's Capital.
While that wasn't entirely unexpected -- there had been, in fact, some talk that the game between the Pens and Caps might be pushed back, or even postponed -- it did result in the Penguins arriving in Washington very late, at 2:30 AM Sunday morning.
Make no mistake -- that's a tough hand of cards for anyone to deal with facing a nationally televised 12 noon start that very day against a team that had won 13 straight games.
Capitals' coach Bruce Boudreau actually had the gall to suggest that the bad weather affected his team more.
But when the puck dropped and all the hype had again risen to unspeakable levels at the prospect of Crosby/Ovechkin II this sesason, the Penguins as a team set out looking to prove that their late arrival, lack of sleep, and travel adventures would be no impediment to getting back on the winning track.
Sidney Crosby scored twice in the opening period, first finishing off an unassisted play by taking the puck to the net on a 3-on-2 before beating Caps' netminder Jose Theodore, then completing a nice passing sequence on a man-advantage by finding himself alone in front and bearing down to abuse Theodore with an in-tight forehand.
Those goals were Crosby's 38th and 39th of the season, tying a career high for him and -- at the time, anyway -- putting him into a tie with Caps' forward Alexander Ovechkin for the league lead.
That didn't last long, though, because Ovehckin managed to score in the 2nd period to cut the Pens' lead to 2-1 after sneaking behind Pens' defenseman Mark Eaton and scoring on a breakaway.
But the Penguins quickly reasserted their dominance down the middle, getting two goals from Jordan Staal in that same period, first on a tap-in from in front of Theodore, then after finishing a 2-on-1 with Malkin by depositing Geno's pass top-shelf above Theodore's blocker.
Things looked pretty good for Pittsburgh at that point. After coming out of the gate strong on little rest in the first period, they kept it going in the 2nd frame. Even a late 2nd period tally by Washington forward Eric Fehr didn't do a lot to dent the Penguins' strong game up to that point.
But you can't sleep on the Capitals, and Ovehckin made that clear by scoring twice in the third period. His first goal was the by-product of him being a split second quicker in reaction to a loose puck that fell at his feet right in front of Pens' defenseman Brooks Orpik after a blocked shot.
His third goal game off a face-off play when he pinched into the circle, got a loose biscuit and buried it past Fleury far side.
His hat trick forced overtime at 4-4.
In the extra frame, the Penguins were probably just looking to push the game to a shootout, where they are 7-0 this season.
But then Orpik took a needless penalty when he got the stick up on Caps' forward Alexander Semin.
Orpik called Semin "a baby" after the game because of the play, and further piled on by saying he has "zero respect for that kid" because he acts like that all game, but the fact of the matter is that while Semin commonly flopps all over the ice more than my 3-year old on skates, it was a penalty. And, Orpik simply can't do that. He can't put Washington in a 4-on-3 power play situation at that point of the game.
Why?
Because their power play is lethal, and it made the Penguins pay 45 seconds or so into it when an Ovehckin shot went off the post and came back through and underneath Fleury's legs before Washington RW Mike Knuble poked it in for the game winner.
So, with that, the Penguins blew a 4-1 lead to the Caps' -- something we've seen way too much of against that team in the regular season the last 18 months or so -- AND lost a chance to end the Capitals' league best wininng streak.
After their defeat of the Penguins, that streak stands at 14 games.
And there's no doubt, the Pens' league record single year 17-game regular season winning streak -- set by the lethal Pens' 1992/93 squad -- is in real jeopardy.
There's also no doubt that my personal hatred for the Washington Capitals has now officially risen above the degree to which I despise the Philadelphia Flyers.
And that's saying something.
I can't stand the Capitals.
BUT, I have to say that, from a hockey purist standpoint, yesterday's game between Pittsburgh and Washington was fantastic. It was as intense as a playoff game, and was a worthy chapter in the rivalry book between these two clubs -- a rivalry that is quickly rising to the top one league-wide.
And while there's no doubt that a lot goes into that rivalry, it remains unquestionably driven by the team's 2 superstar captains -- Crosby and Ovechkin.
Their individual will in the games these two teams play against one another is an amazing spectacle.
Ovechkin always raises his game against us, it seems, and for all the goals Crosby has scored around the net in his career, I'm not sure I have ever seen him literally bear down to score in the way he did to tally his first two goals yesterday.
Especially Crosby's second goal. Sid's deke near the net was so fast and so clean that Theodore is still trying to react almost 24 hours later.
I can't wait to see their two clubs face off in the Olympics. I mean, the game yesterday was better than any Super Bowl -- I'll tell you that. Incredible.
Unfortunately, though (with my fan hat on again), the loss cost the Penguins another chance to move up in the Atlantic Division and get closer to a continually struggling Devils club.
It also, as mentioned above, continued to provide worries about the state of the team's defense.
The Penguins have given up 19 goals against in the last 5 games, and that's not a good sign.
While Washington scores a ton -- they've averaged nearly 5 goals a game during their 14 game winning streak -- the amount of goals the Penguins have allowed recently has to be a concerning trend for the Penguins as they get ready to head down the stretch drive.
With 3 more games until the Olympic break -- and 2 more until the NHL's pre-Olympic trade freeze on Friday -- the Penguins will now get ready for a team that always plays them tough.
The New York Islanders.
They visit Mellon Arena Wednesday.
Snow permitting, of course.
More soon.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Penguins Ready To Make A Deal??
Sorry for the hiatus since Tuesday, boys and girls. I blame the Pittsburgh Penguins' 4-day break for my absence. On the bright side, my wife appreciates it. I told her that I instructed the Penguins to schedule that many days off in a row so I could step back from this for a bit. Not surprisingly, though, you're away for a few days and there's a ton to talk about.
Like trade talk.
I planned on addressing this largely during the league's Olympic hiatus, but things are already in overdrive on the NHL trade front, and rumors have been flying fast and furious the last 4 to 5 days.
One of them that I was going to briefly mention was that the Penguins had been surprisingly connected to Atlanta Thrashers' star forward Ilya Kovalchuk.
Word was that the Penguins were offering center Jordan Staal and defenseman Mark Eaton for him.
Obviously, that's not something Pens' fans have to worry about now, since word came last night that the Thrashers dealt Kovalchuk to the New Jersey Devils for rookie forward Nicklas Bergfors, defenseman Johnny Oduya, prospect Patrick Cormier, a 1st round draft pick, and a swap of 2nd round picks.
While it's certainly good news that Pittsburgh doesn't have to be concerned with losing Staal, the bad news is that they now have their hands more full in contending with the Devils this season.
Kovalchuk -- a guy who's scored 40 goals 5 straight seasons -- will certainly fill a need in New Jersey's lineup, and he'll surely aid their chase of the Atlantic Division crown and Stanley Cup in the Eastern Conference this year, too.
Make no mistake -- if the Penguins have to face NJ in the playoffs, beating them just got tougher.
On the bright side, only time will tell how well Kovalchuk fits into Devils' coach Jacques Lemaire's defensive system. Beyond that, it's hard to see Kovalchuk being a player the Penguins have to deal with in New Jersey for anything more than this year. With his seeming salary cap demands (at least of the Thrashers) -- 20% of the cap, or about 11 million per season -- on a long term contract, I can't see him sticking in New Jersey for the long run.
Which explains why the return for Kovalchuk, in this writer's estimation, was not great.
Oduya is a two-way, reliable, underrated defenseman, but he's a #4 guy on the backline, no more. Bergfors is having a decent rookie season (which Penguin fans know all too well), but is nothing more than a complementary player at this point. And after sending an opposing player into convulsions on the ice after an elbow to the head in a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League game about a month ago, Cormier isn't going to play another game this year. He has potential, but is a troubled prospect, at best.
If the Penguins were putting together a comparable package, think Eaton, Pascal Dupuis, Luca Caputi and a first round pick.
Would Pens' GM Ray Shero toss that to Atlanta for Kovalchuk -- even as a rental?
It's certainly something to think about.
I'm just glad I'm not a Thrashers fan, becuase their GM, Don Waddell, has been running that team into the ground for the last 6 seasons. Trading star players like Dany Heatley, then Marion Hossa, then Kovalchuk says something about the state of your team, don't you think?
But back to reality in Penguin land, the trade talk that has heated up in recent days has seemed to center largely around the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Pens have been scouting them heavily of late, including sending their director of player personnel, Dan McKinnon -- a guy who doesn't typically do direct scouting -- to Columbus last night.
It's no secret the Penguins are looking hard at Blue Jackets RW Raffi Torres as a potential fit for their second line.
Torres has 16 goals this season and is a guy that will go to the net for you.
There's also been a lot of talk that Pittsburgh is looking at Plum native R.J Umberger, but I'm not sure there's a great deal of truth to that.
Columbus values Umberger greatly and I'm not sure the Penguins would be able to pony up the return that Blue Jackets' GM Scott Howson would likely seek in any deal for Umberger.
So, while his 19 goals and 40 points in 59 games would be a nice complement to the Penguins' top 6 forward group, I don't expect to see a hometown reunion between the Penguins and Umberger anytime soon.
Another guy the Penguins have long been connected to is a guy who somehow survived the recent player purge in Toronto -- Alexei Ponikarovsky.
"Pony", as he's affectionately known by in Toronto, is a big winger (6' 4") with size and the willingness to do the dirty work in the corners and around the goal to score. He's the Leafs' leading scorer this year, with stats just like Umberger's.
Even though he's an unrestricted free agent this summer, I would rather see him in Pittsburgh than Torres. But, while the fit is certainly right, I don't have as much intelligence that he's at the immediate top of the Penguins' radar right now. Some are speculating about it. See this piece:
http://www.torontosun.com/sports/columnists/bill_lankhof/2010/02/03/12717506-sun.html
Unfortuantely, though, I don't hear as much about him in a Pens' uniform as I'd like.
Another guy who has been talked about a great deal of late -- and who may have the most logical connection to Pittsburgh -- is Carolina forward Ray Whitney
Whitney has a no-trade clause, but is a veteran with experience who can score and help the power play. While I think the Penguins can improve their man advantage without him, he certainly would bring some scoring depth to the club for their postseason run.
Curiously, Whitney -- also an unrestricted free agent after this season -- was supposedly close to being dealt to the LA Kings about 4 or 5 days ago. It seemed that Carolina and LA had the parameters of a deal worked out, but when LA was given permission to talk with Whitney about signing a contract extension, Whitney apparently wanted a 3-year deal and the Kings balked. That seems to have scuttled those talks, at least for now.
Meanwhile, word seems to be that Whitney may have used his leverage in asking for that contract because he isn't really as interested in going to the Kings, and instead is holding out hope to be dealt to his #1 preferred destination.
That's said to be Pittsburgh, as per respected hockey journalist Bob McKenzie, from TSN Canada. Read his piece from a few days ago here:
http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/bob_mckenzie/?id=308689
The problem with Whitney is that he's in great demand around the league right now. After Kovalchuk, he may be one of the more sought after players. Given his reputation as a reliable scorer, that's understandable, but is it enough to push him out of the Penguins' price range?
The asking price for Whitney has been said to be a 1st round draft pick and another young player on the rise. I doubt Pens' GM Ray Shero will pony up that much and, I'm not sure I would either.
Meanwhile, I've started to hear some talk that the Penguins may be involved in some form of trade dialogue with the Dallas Stars.
I expect the Stars and first year GM Joe Nieuwendyk to be active leading up to and right before the trade deadline this season, and if Pittsburgh is talking with Dallas, they are likely looking hard first and foremost at one of their young wingers -- maybe rookie Jamie Benn, or even James Neal.
The Stars would almost certainly want one of the Penguins young defenseman, Kris Letang or Alex Goligoski, in return and, to be frank, I can't say I'd be shocked if Shero made a move involving one of those two players.
The Pens' brass has been great at stockpiling good, young defensemen the last few seasons. Letang and GoGo are on the rise at their position, and guys like Carl Sneep, Robert Bortozzo and Simon Despres -- the Pens' first round pick this last year -- are proving themselves to be strong prospects as well.
Of course, the Penguins are known to be looking to bolster their defense corps as well, and are picking around the league looking for a physical, defensive defenseman.
I thought they might look at Brendan Witt, who was waived by the New York Islanders two days ago, but it doesn't appear they made a claim, since Witt cleared waivers and was sent to the American Hockey League.
You want toughness? Witt was hit by an SUV in the street in Philadelphia a few months ago and played that night. After the collision, in true Chuck Norris form, he stood up and said, "I'm okay .. I'm a hockey player."
Maybe the quote of the year.
Anyway, we'll see if the Isles' attempt to put him through re-entry waivers. Maybe something will happen there.
Time will tell whether any of this -- or something else -- comes to fruition soon, but needless to say, chatter has certainly heated up lately as the Penguins get ready for big back-to-back contests on the road against the Montreal Canadiens tomorrow afternoon and the Washington Capitals in their 3rd straight nationally televised NBC game on Super Bowl Sunday at noon.
More this weekend.
Like trade talk.
I planned on addressing this largely during the league's Olympic hiatus, but things are already in overdrive on the NHL trade front, and rumors have been flying fast and furious the last 4 to 5 days.
One of them that I was going to briefly mention was that the Penguins had been surprisingly connected to Atlanta Thrashers' star forward Ilya Kovalchuk.
Word was that the Penguins were offering center Jordan Staal and defenseman Mark Eaton for him.
Obviously, that's not something Pens' fans have to worry about now, since word came last night that the Thrashers dealt Kovalchuk to the New Jersey Devils for rookie forward Nicklas Bergfors, defenseman Johnny Oduya, prospect Patrick Cormier, a 1st round draft pick, and a swap of 2nd round picks.
While it's certainly good news that Pittsburgh doesn't have to be concerned with losing Staal, the bad news is that they now have their hands more full in contending with the Devils this season.
Kovalchuk -- a guy who's scored 40 goals 5 straight seasons -- will certainly fill a need in New Jersey's lineup, and he'll surely aid their chase of the Atlantic Division crown and Stanley Cup in the Eastern Conference this year, too.
Make no mistake -- if the Penguins have to face NJ in the playoffs, beating them just got tougher.
On the bright side, only time will tell how well Kovalchuk fits into Devils' coach Jacques Lemaire's defensive system. Beyond that, it's hard to see Kovalchuk being a player the Penguins have to deal with in New Jersey for anything more than this year. With his seeming salary cap demands (at least of the Thrashers) -- 20% of the cap, or about 11 million per season -- on a long term contract, I can't see him sticking in New Jersey for the long run.
Which explains why the return for Kovalchuk, in this writer's estimation, was not great.
Oduya is a two-way, reliable, underrated defenseman, but he's a #4 guy on the backline, no more. Bergfors is having a decent rookie season (which Penguin fans know all too well), but is nothing more than a complementary player at this point. And after sending an opposing player into convulsions on the ice after an elbow to the head in a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League game about a month ago, Cormier isn't going to play another game this year. He has potential, but is a troubled prospect, at best.
If the Penguins were putting together a comparable package, think Eaton, Pascal Dupuis, Luca Caputi and a first round pick.
Would Pens' GM Ray Shero toss that to Atlanta for Kovalchuk -- even as a rental?
It's certainly something to think about.
I'm just glad I'm not a Thrashers fan, becuase their GM, Don Waddell, has been running that team into the ground for the last 6 seasons. Trading star players like Dany Heatley, then Marion Hossa, then Kovalchuk says something about the state of your team, don't you think?
But back to reality in Penguin land, the trade talk that has heated up in recent days has seemed to center largely around the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Pens have been scouting them heavily of late, including sending their director of player personnel, Dan McKinnon -- a guy who doesn't typically do direct scouting -- to Columbus last night.
It's no secret the Penguins are looking hard at Blue Jackets RW Raffi Torres as a potential fit for their second line.
Torres has 16 goals this season and is a guy that will go to the net for you.
There's also been a lot of talk that Pittsburgh is looking at Plum native R.J Umberger, but I'm not sure there's a great deal of truth to that.
Columbus values Umberger greatly and I'm not sure the Penguins would be able to pony up the return that Blue Jackets' GM Scott Howson would likely seek in any deal for Umberger.
So, while his 19 goals and 40 points in 59 games would be a nice complement to the Penguins' top 6 forward group, I don't expect to see a hometown reunion between the Penguins and Umberger anytime soon.
Another guy the Penguins have long been connected to is a guy who somehow survived the recent player purge in Toronto -- Alexei Ponikarovsky.
"Pony", as he's affectionately known by in Toronto, is a big winger (6' 4") with size and the willingness to do the dirty work in the corners and around the goal to score. He's the Leafs' leading scorer this year, with stats just like Umberger's.
Even though he's an unrestricted free agent this summer, I would rather see him in Pittsburgh than Torres. But, while the fit is certainly right, I don't have as much intelligence that he's at the immediate top of the Penguins' radar right now. Some are speculating about it. See this piece:
http://www.torontosun.com/sports/columnists/bill_lankhof/2010/02/03/12717506-sun.html
Unfortuantely, though, I don't hear as much about him in a Pens' uniform as I'd like.
Another guy who has been talked about a great deal of late -- and who may have the most logical connection to Pittsburgh -- is Carolina forward Ray Whitney
Whitney has a no-trade clause, but is a veteran with experience who can score and help the power play. While I think the Penguins can improve their man advantage without him, he certainly would bring some scoring depth to the club for their postseason run.
Curiously, Whitney -- also an unrestricted free agent after this season -- was supposedly close to being dealt to the LA Kings about 4 or 5 days ago. It seemed that Carolina and LA had the parameters of a deal worked out, but when LA was given permission to talk with Whitney about signing a contract extension, Whitney apparently wanted a 3-year deal and the Kings balked. That seems to have scuttled those talks, at least for now.
Meanwhile, word seems to be that Whitney may have used his leverage in asking for that contract because he isn't really as interested in going to the Kings, and instead is holding out hope to be dealt to his #1 preferred destination.
That's said to be Pittsburgh, as per respected hockey journalist Bob McKenzie, from TSN Canada. Read his piece from a few days ago here:
http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/bob_mckenzie/?id=308689
The problem with Whitney is that he's in great demand around the league right now. After Kovalchuk, he may be one of the more sought after players. Given his reputation as a reliable scorer, that's understandable, but is it enough to push him out of the Penguins' price range?
The asking price for Whitney has been said to be a 1st round draft pick and another young player on the rise. I doubt Pens' GM Ray Shero will pony up that much and, I'm not sure I would either.
Meanwhile, I've started to hear some talk that the Penguins may be involved in some form of trade dialogue with the Dallas Stars.
I expect the Stars and first year GM Joe Nieuwendyk to be active leading up to and right before the trade deadline this season, and if Pittsburgh is talking with Dallas, they are likely looking hard first and foremost at one of their young wingers -- maybe rookie Jamie Benn, or even James Neal.
The Stars would almost certainly want one of the Penguins young defenseman, Kris Letang or Alex Goligoski, in return and, to be frank, I can't say I'd be shocked if Shero made a move involving one of those two players.
The Pens' brass has been great at stockpiling good, young defensemen the last few seasons. Letang and GoGo are on the rise at their position, and guys like Carl Sneep, Robert Bortozzo and Simon Despres -- the Pens' first round pick this last year -- are proving themselves to be strong prospects as well.
Of course, the Penguins are known to be looking to bolster their defense corps as well, and are picking around the league looking for a physical, defensive defenseman.
I thought they might look at Brendan Witt, who was waived by the New York Islanders two days ago, but it doesn't appear they made a claim, since Witt cleared waivers and was sent to the American Hockey League.
You want toughness? Witt was hit by an SUV in the street in Philadelphia a few months ago and played that night. After the collision, in true Chuck Norris form, he stood up and said, "I'm okay .. I'm a hockey player."
Maybe the quote of the year.
Anyway, we'll see if the Isles' attempt to put him through re-entry waivers. Maybe something will happen there.
Time will tell whether any of this -- or something else -- comes to fruition soon, but needless to say, chatter has certainly heated up lately as the Penguins get ready for big back-to-back contests on the road against the Montreal Canadiens tomorrow afternoon and the Washington Capitals in their 3rd straight nationally televised NBC game on Super Bowl Sunday at noon.
More this weekend.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Crosby's 8-Minute Hat Trick Sinks Sabres, 5-4
So much for getting back to playoff-style hockey.
After dispatching the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in their rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Finals on Sunday afternoon at Mellon Arena, run-and-gun was the name of the game last night at the ol' Igloo as the Pittsburgh Penguins reached into their bag of offensive tricks and stormed goaltender Ryan Miller and the Sabres for 4 goals in 8 minutes in the second period -- including a Sidney Crosby hat trick -- on their way to overcoming a 3-1 deficit and beating Buffalo, 5-4.
It was Pittsburgh's 7th win in their last 10 games, and lifted them to within 1 point of the New Jersey Devils for first place in the Atlantic Division.
The win also put them 5 points back up on the Ottawa Senators, although the Sens, Devils and even the Sabres all have the chance to gain ground on the Pens this week, since the Boys of Winter don't hit the ice again until Saturday afternoon when they visit the Montreal Canadiens.
Last night, the shootout at the OK Corral started less than a minute in when Mark Letetsu scored his first National Hockey League goal, beautifully finishing off a 3-on-1 by taking a cross-ice pass from Tyler Kennedy near the foot of the crease and lifting the puck over Miller's sprawling left leg to give the Pens a 1-0 lead.
Buffalo began turning the tables about 5 minutes later when Pens' defenseman Brooks' Orpik failed to clear the puck from in front of the net and netminder Marc-Andre Fleury lost sight of it in a group of players. Unforunately, Sabres' forward Derek Roy didn't, and he easily slid it by Fleury into the open cage for his first goal in 9 games.
Thomas Vanek followed that up less than a minute later finishing off a 2-on-1 by lifting the puck over Fleury's shoulder on the short side from about 10 feet -- a shot Fleury played somewhat weakly and probably would like to have back.
Things really didn't look good when Buffalo's version of TK -- forward Tim Kennedy -- finished off an exceptionally executed 3-on-2 by redirecting a pass from Sabres' forward Mike Grier into the upper corner of the net past Fleury from low in the slot.
At that point, Buffalo led 3-1 and, with star goaltender Ryan Miller holding down the fort, it wasn't shaping up as an easy chore for the Penguins to score 3 more against him to win in the final 30 minutes.
So, they just scored 4 on him in the next 8 minutes instead.
Sidney Crosby got things going on the power play near the 10-minute mark when he swept a fake shot-pass from defenseman Alex Goligoski past Miller from just above the goal line to Miller's left.
3 minutes later, Jordan Staal -- again centering the second line with Evgeni Malkin on his wing --- ripped one on net from 25 feet after taking a pass from Geno on a simple 2-on-2, and somehow the shot got through between Miller's right arm and body. That tied the game at 3.
3 minutes after that, Crosby capitalized on a miscommunication between Miller and a Sabres defenseman by intercepting a Miller pass from behind the net that was intended for one of his blueliners and immediately tossing it on goal from 15 feet. Miller --- scrambling to get back in the goal -- got a piece of it, but not enough, as it skidded off him and in to give the Penguins a 4-3 lead.
90 seconds later, Crosby finished off the hat trick -- his 3rd this season and 5th of his career -- by streaking down the right wing on a 2-on-1 with Pascal Dupuis and, after more stickhandling wizardry than Miller would see in a week from his entire team, beat the mesmerized Sabres' goaltender with a shot to the far post to make it 5-3 Pittsburgh.
Cue the hats.
Again.
That goal was Crosby's 37th of the season, tying him for the league lead with Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks.
Things calmed down considerably in the third period, and the Pens' appeared to have things comfortably under control most of the frame -- until the last 3 to 4 minutes, that is, when the Penguins were whistled for 2 penalties and the Sabres regularly stormed Fleury and the Pens' goal.
The first penalty was on Sergei Gonchar -- a tripping call right in front of the net -- and I was extremely unhappy at Sarge when I saw the play. It was a lazy, needless penalty because the puck wasn't even near the area. I also wasn't happy with the fact that the Sabres player who felt the contact embellished the play by going down and got the referree to make the call, but I was more upset with Gonchar because what he did in that situation was completely unnecessary.
He put his team in a bad place and, sure enough, Sabres' forward Jason Pominville made the Pens' pay when he capitalized on the ensuing power play to make the score 5-4.
Worse than that, though, was the next penalty call the Penguins got whistled for about a minute later -- a holding call on defenseman Brooks Orpik for allegedly grabbing a Sabres player in the corner.
Now, this one wasn't Orpik's fault because he didn't hold the guy. Clearly. He did have one hand off his stick, but was using that in a clear checking (pushing) motion on the guy's body while trying to poke at the puck with his stick hand.
When the guy fell down from one of the pushes, the official from behind that play --- yes, the one who couldn't really see what was going on -- made the phantom call. And when Orpik tried to state his defense, the official was adamant about it, too.
I could have strangled him.
The Penguins were fortunate enough to kill that, but believe me, it wasn't easy. The Sabres, of course, pulled Miller and went 6-on-4 for the entire time. They challenged Fleury but #29 and the Pens' penalty killers shut the door.
And with that, the Penguins will get a well deserved rest until Saturday.
Thanks to Crosby and company.
I'll have more between now and then. Trade talks appear to be heating up.
NOTES:
Max Talbot missed the game against Buffalo last night, while continuing to work through the effects of his groin problem. That wasn't a surprise, but what was a surprise was defenseman Jay McKee being a late scratch, after taking the warmup. No announcement was made before or after the game that McKee had any injury of any kind.
Head Coach Dan Bylsma announced after the morning skate that he would go with the exact same lineup as the one against the Red Wings the day before. Obviously something changed and, with McKee being pulled out of the lineup at the last minute, there is some speculation that the Penguins might be very close to moving McKee.
What might corroborate that thinking is that, McKee's replacement in the lineup, Martin Skoula -- someone who has fallen into some disfavor with the coaching staff the last month or so -- played only 4 or so minutes after again looking out-of-place during several shifts on the ice.
Basically, then, the Penguins went with 5 defensemen most of the night. What doesn't make sense is that, if they aren't convinced Skoula can be reliable for them anymore, why pull McKee out of the lineup if he's not injured unless something was immenent on the trade front?
The Penguins might be close to elevating Ben Lovejoy to full-time status with the big club. We'll see.
After dispatching the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in their rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Finals on Sunday afternoon at Mellon Arena, run-and-gun was the name of the game last night at the ol' Igloo as the Pittsburgh Penguins reached into their bag of offensive tricks and stormed goaltender Ryan Miller and the Sabres for 4 goals in 8 minutes in the second period -- including a Sidney Crosby hat trick -- on their way to overcoming a 3-1 deficit and beating Buffalo, 5-4.
It was Pittsburgh's 7th win in their last 10 games, and lifted them to within 1 point of the New Jersey Devils for first place in the Atlantic Division.
The win also put them 5 points back up on the Ottawa Senators, although the Sens, Devils and even the Sabres all have the chance to gain ground on the Pens this week, since the Boys of Winter don't hit the ice again until Saturday afternoon when they visit the Montreal Canadiens.
Last night, the shootout at the OK Corral started less than a minute in when Mark Letetsu scored his first National Hockey League goal, beautifully finishing off a 3-on-1 by taking a cross-ice pass from Tyler Kennedy near the foot of the crease and lifting the puck over Miller's sprawling left leg to give the Pens a 1-0 lead.
Buffalo began turning the tables about 5 minutes later when Pens' defenseman Brooks' Orpik failed to clear the puck from in front of the net and netminder Marc-Andre Fleury lost sight of it in a group of players. Unforunately, Sabres' forward Derek Roy didn't, and he easily slid it by Fleury into the open cage for his first goal in 9 games.
Thomas Vanek followed that up less than a minute later finishing off a 2-on-1 by lifting the puck over Fleury's shoulder on the short side from about 10 feet -- a shot Fleury played somewhat weakly and probably would like to have back.
Things really didn't look good when Buffalo's version of TK -- forward Tim Kennedy -- finished off an exceptionally executed 3-on-2 by redirecting a pass from Sabres' forward Mike Grier into the upper corner of the net past Fleury from low in the slot.
At that point, Buffalo led 3-1 and, with star goaltender Ryan Miller holding down the fort, it wasn't shaping up as an easy chore for the Penguins to score 3 more against him to win in the final 30 minutes.
So, they just scored 4 on him in the next 8 minutes instead.
Sidney Crosby got things going on the power play near the 10-minute mark when he swept a fake shot-pass from defenseman Alex Goligoski past Miller from just above the goal line to Miller's left.
3 minutes later, Jordan Staal -- again centering the second line with Evgeni Malkin on his wing --- ripped one on net from 25 feet after taking a pass from Geno on a simple 2-on-2, and somehow the shot got through between Miller's right arm and body. That tied the game at 3.
3 minutes after that, Crosby capitalized on a miscommunication between Miller and a Sabres defenseman by intercepting a Miller pass from behind the net that was intended for one of his blueliners and immediately tossing it on goal from 15 feet. Miller --- scrambling to get back in the goal -- got a piece of it, but not enough, as it skidded off him and in to give the Penguins a 4-3 lead.
90 seconds later, Crosby finished off the hat trick -- his 3rd this season and 5th of his career -- by streaking down the right wing on a 2-on-1 with Pascal Dupuis and, after more stickhandling wizardry than Miller would see in a week from his entire team, beat the mesmerized Sabres' goaltender with a shot to the far post to make it 5-3 Pittsburgh.
Cue the hats.
Again.
That goal was Crosby's 37th of the season, tying him for the league lead with Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks.
Things calmed down considerably in the third period, and the Pens' appeared to have things comfortably under control most of the frame -- until the last 3 to 4 minutes, that is, when the Penguins were whistled for 2 penalties and the Sabres regularly stormed Fleury and the Pens' goal.
The first penalty was on Sergei Gonchar -- a tripping call right in front of the net -- and I was extremely unhappy at Sarge when I saw the play. It was a lazy, needless penalty because the puck wasn't even near the area. I also wasn't happy with the fact that the Sabres player who felt the contact embellished the play by going down and got the referree to make the call, but I was more upset with Gonchar because what he did in that situation was completely unnecessary.
He put his team in a bad place and, sure enough, Sabres' forward Jason Pominville made the Pens' pay when he capitalized on the ensuing power play to make the score 5-4.
Worse than that, though, was the next penalty call the Penguins got whistled for about a minute later -- a holding call on defenseman Brooks Orpik for allegedly grabbing a Sabres player in the corner.
Now, this one wasn't Orpik's fault because he didn't hold the guy. Clearly. He did have one hand off his stick, but was using that in a clear checking (pushing) motion on the guy's body while trying to poke at the puck with his stick hand.
When the guy fell down from one of the pushes, the official from behind that play --- yes, the one who couldn't really see what was going on -- made the phantom call. And when Orpik tried to state his defense, the official was adamant about it, too.
I could have strangled him.
The Penguins were fortunate enough to kill that, but believe me, it wasn't easy. The Sabres, of course, pulled Miller and went 6-on-4 for the entire time. They challenged Fleury but #29 and the Pens' penalty killers shut the door.
And with that, the Penguins will get a well deserved rest until Saturday.
Thanks to Crosby and company.
I'll have more between now and then. Trade talks appear to be heating up.
NOTES:
Max Talbot missed the game against Buffalo last night, while continuing to work through the effects of his groin problem. That wasn't a surprise, but what was a surprise was defenseman Jay McKee being a late scratch, after taking the warmup. No announcement was made before or after the game that McKee had any injury of any kind.
Head Coach Dan Bylsma announced after the morning skate that he would go with the exact same lineup as the one against the Red Wings the day before. Obviously something changed and, with McKee being pulled out of the lineup at the last minute, there is some speculation that the Penguins might be very close to moving McKee.
What might corroborate that thinking is that, McKee's replacement in the lineup, Martin Skoula -- someone who has fallen into some disfavor with the coaching staff the last month or so -- played only 4 or so minutes after again looking out-of-place during several shifts on the ice.
Basically, then, the Penguins went with 5 defensemen most of the night. What doesn't make sense is that, if they aren't convinced Skoula can be reliable for them anymore, why pull McKee out of the lineup if he's not injured unless something was immenent on the trade front?
The Penguins might be close to elevating Ben Lovejoy to full-time status with the big club. We'll see.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Opening The Floodgates: Wheeling And Dealing Around The League To Impact Penguins?
The NHL's annual trade deadline this year is on March 3 at 3:00 PM EST, and everyone knows how hectic things can get on the trade front in the 24 hours leading up to that time.
Penguins' GM Ray Shero has made deals at the deadline in each of the last 3 seasons --- every one with him at the helm of the Pittsburgh ship.
This year, though, there's almost a second trade dealine of sorts, and that comes during the league's Olympic hiatus from midnight on February 12 to midnight on February 28, when there's a trade freeze and no deals can be made.
That deadline had spawned speculation that, rather than wait until the final hours before March 3, we might see deals before 2-12, and while many dismissed that as unlikely because teams that made deals before the Olympic trade freeze would be forced to spend salary cap money to pay players during 2+ weeks when they aren't suiting up for their teams, that angle obviously proved to be incorrect after two major trades that happened yesterday.
The Toronto Maple Leafs -- suffering through a miserable season -- were involved in both deals.
The Leafs' first sent 4 players to the slumping Calgary Flames, including 20-goal man Niklas Hagman and up-and-coming defenseman Ian White, in a package that netted them 3 guys in return, including underachieving name-defenseman Dion Phaneuf.
Toronto then turned around and somehow sent Penguin killer Jason Blake and his albatross contract along with inconsistent goaltender Vesa Toskala to the Anaheim Ducks for 6-million per season netminder and former Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe winner J.S. Gigeure.
On top of that, while one player who has always done well against the Penguins has left the Eastern Conference, apparently a different one may be on the way in, as the Flames are also reportedly on the verge of dealing Olli Jokinen and another player to the New York Rangers for Chris Higgins and Ales Kotalik.
Kotalik has already been sent home by the team and told he'd be traded, while Higgins was pulled from the Rangers lineup before face-off last night.
What could these landmark deals mean to Pittsburgh? Nothing on the surface --- unless they get other teams antsy about trading. If that happens, we might see a deal involving the Penguins sooner than later.
Curiously, of all the players said to be on the block from the Maple Leafs, the one guy the Penguins have been linked to -- Alexei Ponikarovsky -- was not dealt.
Ponikarovsky, with 19 goals this season, is said to still be on the block, however, so don't expect that chatter to die down.
What else is interesting is that I've heard from one source that the Penguins may be looking at adding a name-defenseman, rather than a forward, before the deadline this year.
Since there aren't many of those on the block, yesterday's Phaneuf trade -- together with the news that another one of those guys, Sheldon Souray, is likely out for a while after fracturing a bone in his wrist during a fight with Calgary Captain Jarome Iginla Saturday night -- could start the dominos falling there, and I'll be interested to see how that affects Pittsburgh, if at all.
I'm obviously planning on a lot more talk about the upcoming trade deadline during the Olympic break, but I'll certainly keep everyone posted on anything I hear in the meantime.
More tomorrow.
Penguins' GM Ray Shero has made deals at the deadline in each of the last 3 seasons --- every one with him at the helm of the Pittsburgh ship.
This year, though, there's almost a second trade dealine of sorts, and that comes during the league's Olympic hiatus from midnight on February 12 to midnight on February 28, when there's a trade freeze and no deals can be made.
That deadline had spawned speculation that, rather than wait until the final hours before March 3, we might see deals before 2-12, and while many dismissed that as unlikely because teams that made deals before the Olympic trade freeze would be forced to spend salary cap money to pay players during 2+ weeks when they aren't suiting up for their teams, that angle obviously proved to be incorrect after two major trades that happened yesterday.
The Toronto Maple Leafs -- suffering through a miserable season -- were involved in both deals.
The Leafs' first sent 4 players to the slumping Calgary Flames, including 20-goal man Niklas Hagman and up-and-coming defenseman Ian White, in a package that netted them 3 guys in return, including underachieving name-defenseman Dion Phaneuf.
Toronto then turned around and somehow sent Penguin killer Jason Blake and his albatross contract along with inconsistent goaltender Vesa Toskala to the Anaheim Ducks for 6-million per season netminder and former Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe winner J.S. Gigeure.
On top of that, while one player who has always done well against the Penguins has left the Eastern Conference, apparently a different one may be on the way in, as the Flames are also reportedly on the verge of dealing Olli Jokinen and another player to the New York Rangers for Chris Higgins and Ales Kotalik.
Kotalik has already been sent home by the team and told he'd be traded, while Higgins was pulled from the Rangers lineup before face-off last night.
What could these landmark deals mean to Pittsburgh? Nothing on the surface --- unless they get other teams antsy about trading. If that happens, we might see a deal involving the Penguins sooner than later.
Curiously, of all the players said to be on the block from the Maple Leafs, the one guy the Penguins have been linked to -- Alexei Ponikarovsky -- was not dealt.
Ponikarovsky, with 19 goals this season, is said to still be on the block, however, so don't expect that chatter to die down.
What else is interesting is that I've heard from one source that the Penguins may be looking at adding a name-defenseman, rather than a forward, before the deadline this year.
Since there aren't many of those on the block, yesterday's Phaneuf trade -- together with the news that another one of those guys, Sheldon Souray, is likely out for a while after fracturing a bone in his wrist during a fight with Calgary Captain Jarome Iginla Saturday night -- could start the dominos falling there, and I'll be interested to see how that affects Pittsburgh, if at all.
I'm obviously planning on a lot more talk about the upcoming trade deadline during the Olympic break, but I'll certainly keep everyone posted on anything I hear in the meantime.
More tomorrow.
Pens' Owners Lemieux, Burkle Offer To Buy Pittsburgh Pirates?
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported over the weekend that Pens' owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle made a "very serious" offer to purchase the Pittsburgh Pirates from majority owner Bob Nutting about 4 months ago in a meeting held at the Penguins' offices in Chatham Center.
Nutting and Pirates President Frank Coonelly have denied that the offer was "formal" or "substantial", and Nutting has re-affirmed his prior public statements that the team is not for sale.
That's too bad, because Lemieux and Burkle would probably do a good job getting the Pirates -- who have suffered a sports record 17-consecutive losing seasons -- back on the winning track again.
Word of this offer was not just a big story in Pittsburgh sports circles over the weekend, but also a surprise, and it led many to wonder why Lemieux and Burkle would be interested in a franchise that has such a poor recent history.
It's believed that the Pens' owners were --- and make no mistake, still remain -- interested in collaborating on all marketing, television and other related revenues that they might be able to bring together by owning two professional sports franchises in the same city.
What happens from here remains to be seen. Lemieux and Burkle, as Penguins' fans know well, have a history of getting what they want.
While I don't expect anything immediate or imminent, if there are more developments on this story, I'll certainly get something up here.
Nutting and Pirates President Frank Coonelly have denied that the offer was "formal" or "substantial", and Nutting has re-affirmed his prior public statements that the team is not for sale.
That's too bad, because Lemieux and Burkle would probably do a good job getting the Pirates -- who have suffered a sports record 17-consecutive losing seasons -- back on the winning track again.
Word of this offer was not just a big story in Pittsburgh sports circles over the weekend, but also a surprise, and it led many to wonder why Lemieux and Burkle would be interested in a franchise that has such a poor recent history.
It's believed that the Pens' owners were --- and make no mistake, still remain -- interested in collaborating on all marketing, television and other related revenues that they might be able to bring together by owning two professional sports franchises in the same city.
What happens from here remains to be seen. Lemieux and Burkle, as Penguins' fans know well, have a history of getting what they want.
While I don't expect anything immediate or imminent, if there are more developments on this story, I'll certainly get something up here.
A Familiar Refrain: Pens - 2 ; Red Wings - 1
Nobody in Penguin Nation needs reminded that the last two times the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings faced off, the Penguins prevailed by the score of 2-1.
Sure, those games decided the winner of the 2009 Stanley Cup, and yesterday's nationally televised Pens' shootout victory over Detroit by the same 2-1 score didn't quite have the same stakes.
But Pittsburgh will take it, especially since it was the result of one of their best games in weeks.
The Penguins controlled play much of the afternoon, outshooting the Red Wings by a whopping 47-24 count. They kept Detroit bottled up in their own end and in the neutral zone most of the game, and when the 'Wings got into Pittsburgh's end, the Pens' did a great job generally keeping them to the outside and limiting quality scoring chances.
Still, there was intensity and a playoff feel to the contest -- not unexpected given the recent history between these two clubs -- and it resulted in an unsettled 1-1 score after 65 minutes.
Sidney Crosby got the Penguins' only regulation goal, scoring in the 2nd period after taking a cross-ice pass from defenseman Alex Goligoski on a 3-on-2 rush and deking Red Wings' netminder Jimmy Howard out of position before depositing it off the far post and in for a 1-0 lead.
That shift occurred right after the Pens' killed a penalty, and Head Coach Dan Byslma deserves some credit for getting Crosby out there on the ice on that shift without having to deal with the hounding of either Pavel Datsyuk or Henrik Zetterberg, or the defense pair of Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski.
Anyway, that advantage held up until around the mid-point of the third period when a shot by Detroit defenseman Brad Stuart clanged in off the post behind Pens' goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.
Pittsburgh survived a 4-on-3 Detroit power play for near the last 90 seconds of overtime after defenseman Sergei Gonchar allowed Red Wings forward Valtteri Flippula to just sneak behind him and force a hooking penalty.
The Pens' PK was a strong 5-for-5 on the night.
In the shootout, Fleury stopped Pavel Datsyuk and Jason Williams, while Howard -- after stopping Kris Letang -- was then victimized by both Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on sweet backhand moves.
The Penguins are now 7-0 in the shootout this season.
A guy who had a fantastic game for Pittsburgh was Jordan Staal.
Staal played LW on a line with Evgeni Malkin most of the game and was dominant almost every time over the boards. He had a ton of good scoring chances and hit the crossbar twice on the same shift in the third period.
Bylsma was able to play Staal with Malkin becasue of the strong game he got from Wilkes-Barre call-up Mark Letetsu, who he played at center ice on the third line with wings Tyler Kennedy and Matt Cooke.
Letetsu played just about 10 minutes and fit in with the other 2/3 of the Pens' third line quite well, and I'll be interested to see if that trio stays together -- and Staal stays with Malkin -- in the Pens' next contest.
By the way, that's tonight, in another nationally televised matchup, this time against the Buffalo Sabres (7 PM EST, Versus).
The Penguins will have to work very hard to avoid a letdown tonight. It won't be easy facing a challenging Sabres squad after yesterday's strong, emotional win against the Red Wings, but they don't have a choice really. The Sabres are 2 points up on them in the conference standings, and the Pens' still trail New Jersey in the Atlantic Division, albeit by only 3 points after the Devils late collapse and loss against the Los Angeles Kings yesterday.
Recap tomorrow.
Let's Go Pens!
Sure, those games decided the winner of the 2009 Stanley Cup, and yesterday's nationally televised Pens' shootout victory over Detroit by the same 2-1 score didn't quite have the same stakes.
But Pittsburgh will take it, especially since it was the result of one of their best games in weeks.
The Penguins controlled play much of the afternoon, outshooting the Red Wings by a whopping 47-24 count. They kept Detroit bottled up in their own end and in the neutral zone most of the game, and when the 'Wings got into Pittsburgh's end, the Pens' did a great job generally keeping them to the outside and limiting quality scoring chances.
Still, there was intensity and a playoff feel to the contest -- not unexpected given the recent history between these two clubs -- and it resulted in an unsettled 1-1 score after 65 minutes.
Sidney Crosby got the Penguins' only regulation goal, scoring in the 2nd period after taking a cross-ice pass from defenseman Alex Goligoski on a 3-on-2 rush and deking Red Wings' netminder Jimmy Howard out of position before depositing it off the far post and in for a 1-0 lead.
That shift occurred right after the Pens' killed a penalty, and Head Coach Dan Byslma deserves some credit for getting Crosby out there on the ice on that shift without having to deal with the hounding of either Pavel Datsyuk or Henrik Zetterberg, or the defense pair of Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski.
Anyway, that advantage held up until around the mid-point of the third period when a shot by Detroit defenseman Brad Stuart clanged in off the post behind Pens' goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.
Pittsburgh survived a 4-on-3 Detroit power play for near the last 90 seconds of overtime after defenseman Sergei Gonchar allowed Red Wings forward Valtteri Flippula to just sneak behind him and force a hooking penalty.
The Pens' PK was a strong 5-for-5 on the night.
In the shootout, Fleury stopped Pavel Datsyuk and Jason Williams, while Howard -- after stopping Kris Letang -- was then victimized by both Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on sweet backhand moves.
The Penguins are now 7-0 in the shootout this season.
A guy who had a fantastic game for Pittsburgh was Jordan Staal.
Staal played LW on a line with Evgeni Malkin most of the game and was dominant almost every time over the boards. He had a ton of good scoring chances and hit the crossbar twice on the same shift in the third period.
Bylsma was able to play Staal with Malkin becasue of the strong game he got from Wilkes-Barre call-up Mark Letetsu, who he played at center ice on the third line with wings Tyler Kennedy and Matt Cooke.
Letetsu played just about 10 minutes and fit in with the other 2/3 of the Pens' third line quite well, and I'll be interested to see if that trio stays together -- and Staal stays with Malkin -- in the Pens' next contest.
By the way, that's tonight, in another nationally televised matchup, this time against the Buffalo Sabres (7 PM EST, Versus).
The Penguins will have to work very hard to avoid a letdown tonight. It won't be easy facing a challenging Sabres squad after yesterday's strong, emotional win against the Red Wings, but they don't have a choice really. The Sabres are 2 points up on them in the conference standings, and the Pens' still trail New Jersey in the Atlantic Division, albeit by only 3 points after the Devils late collapse and loss against the Los Angeles Kings yesterday.
Recap tomorrow.
Let's Go Pens!
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