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.
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