It is with much regret that I give my dear readers some bad news, unfortunately at one of the most exciting times of the year -- the trade dealine, where the Penguins have already bolstered their forward ranks by reaquiring AK-27 (or 72), RW Alexei Kovalev for a draft pick, and finally pulled the trigger on the fantastic and long-rumored potential deal discussed here for the first time more than a year ago to acquire Dallas' LW James Neal (and blueliner Matt Niskanen) for defenseman Alex Goligoski.
I have to go on hiatus for a while.
I'm not sure if my leave of absence will be temporary or permanent at this point, but I can tell you that it's absolutely necessary. For as meaningful as this blog has been to me, and for as much as I've always prided myself on being a regular writer for everyone who visits this site, I've gained a different, more informed perspective recently that certain things are more important in life. Sometimes, priorities get shifted around. This is one of those times in my world.
With luck, I'll be able to pick this back up someday, but if not, I won't have any regrets. It's been a great, almost 3 year ride here, my friends. The Boys of Winter have certainly given me a lot to talk about -- and all of us a great deal of excitement -- during that time. Penguin fans are among the luckiest in the game, because their franchise is one of the crown jewels in the league. The best part is that there's no sign of that ending anytime soon.
Simply, it's been an privilege to write about and cover the Penguins, and to share my thoughts and feelings with all of you. Hopefully you've enjoyed following me, and I thank all of you for doing so.
With that, I'll wrap up with the mantra I often closed with here, and encourage everyone to always scream it proudly:
L E T ' S G O P E N S ! ! !
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Fleury Stones Islanders; Pens Win 1-0
While Pittsburgh Penguins' netminder Marc-Andre Fleury has had a great deal of success in his young career so far and has been able to put together stretches of really good goaltending, the thing he's still growing into is long-term consistency.
I'm talking Martin Brodeur-type stuff here.
The last year or two in the tail of his career aside, one of the best things Brodeur always brought to the table year after year after year was strong play night-in and night-out. Couple that with the many nights he was spectacular and it's no wonder why he's going to go down as one of the, if not the, greatest goaltender to ever play this game when he retires.
Fleury may just be starting to settle into that part of his career now, as he continued his remarkable 3 month run into the All-Star break by shuting out the New York Islanders last night, 1-0, at the CONSOL Energy Center.
Fleury stopped 29 Islander shots in the win, with several of them being good scoring chances. And the Flower needed to come through that way last night, too, because Craig Adams scored the only Penguin goal against rookie New York goalie Kevin Poulin about 8 minutes into the third period -- and on a play that was the direct result of rookie Dustin Jeffrey cleanly winning an offensive-zone faceoff, to boot.
"He's been our backbone," head coach Dan Bylsma said of #29's play this year.
Of course, Fleury won't complain about the help he got from his posts on a few Islander shots last night, but the fact of the matter is that he has now put together a stretch where he's allowed no more than 2 goals in 22 of his last 30 games, and not more than 3 goals in a single game since October.
That's dependability, folks. That's the type of goaltending that helps a franchise compete for Stanley Cups year in and year out.
Kudos to Fleury's teammates, too, who have done a great job without their Captain, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin the last few weeks.
Without Sid, Pittsburgh has captured points in 6 of 9 games, and has won 5 of their last 6. That's helped keep them competitve at the top of the Atlantic and league overall standings, which the Philadelphia Flyers continue to lead with 71 points and a 33-12-5 record.
Pittsburgh is 5 points back at 31-15-4. The Tampa Bay Lightning have 67 points, while the Vancouver Canucks have 69.
Catching the Flyers isn't going to be easy. They're playing great hockey, winning 10 of their last 12, and going 18-6 in their last 24 overall. But expect Pittsburgh to be right in the mix down the stretch.
Now that we're at the All-Star break, it's a great time to pause and look ahead ---- to the trade deadline, which is Monday, February 28.
I'll have a more detailed look-see at how the Penguins might approach this year's deadline later this week.
Thanks for reading.
I'm talking Martin Brodeur-type stuff here.
The last year or two in the tail of his career aside, one of the best things Brodeur always brought to the table year after year after year was strong play night-in and night-out. Couple that with the many nights he was spectacular and it's no wonder why he's going to go down as one of the, if not the, greatest goaltender to ever play this game when he retires.
Fleury may just be starting to settle into that part of his career now, as he continued his remarkable 3 month run into the All-Star break by shuting out the New York Islanders last night, 1-0, at the CONSOL Energy Center.
Fleury stopped 29 Islander shots in the win, with several of them being good scoring chances. And the Flower needed to come through that way last night, too, because Craig Adams scored the only Penguin goal against rookie New York goalie Kevin Poulin about 8 minutes into the third period -- and on a play that was the direct result of rookie Dustin Jeffrey cleanly winning an offensive-zone faceoff, to boot.
"He's been our backbone," head coach Dan Bylsma said of #29's play this year.
Of course, Fleury won't complain about the help he got from his posts on a few Islander shots last night, but the fact of the matter is that he has now put together a stretch where he's allowed no more than 2 goals in 22 of his last 30 games, and not more than 3 goals in a single game since October.
That's dependability, folks. That's the type of goaltending that helps a franchise compete for Stanley Cups year in and year out.
Kudos to Fleury's teammates, too, who have done a great job without their Captain, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin the last few weeks.
Without Sid, Pittsburgh has captured points in 6 of 9 games, and has won 5 of their last 6. That's helped keep them competitve at the top of the Atlantic and league overall standings, which the Philadelphia Flyers continue to lead with 71 points and a 33-12-5 record.
Pittsburgh is 5 points back at 31-15-4. The Tampa Bay Lightning have 67 points, while the Vancouver Canucks have 69.
Catching the Flyers isn't going to be easy. They're playing great hockey, winning 10 of their last 12, and going 18-6 in their last 24 overall. But expect Pittsburgh to be right in the mix down the stretch.
Now that we're at the All-Star break, it's a great time to pause and look ahead ---- to the trade deadline, which is Monday, February 28.
I'll have a more detailed look-see at how the Penguins might approach this year's deadline later this week.
Thanks for reading.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Crosby To Miss 9th Straight Game As Penguins Ready For Islanders
As the Pittsburgh Penguins prepare to face-off against the New York Islanders tonight at the CONSOL Energy Center (7:00 PM, EST) in their final game before this weekend's All-Star festivities, Captain Sidney Crosby spoke with the media yesterday as he continues to recover from his concussion.
Crosby is still not symptom free, even 3 weeks after the hits which are believed to have caused his current predicament -- one from Washington Capitals' center David Steckel in the Winter Classic and another from Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman on January 5.
Primarily, he's still dealing with headaches, and the admittedly frustrating part for Crosby is that there doesn't appear to be a consistent cause for them.
"It's brutal," Crosby said. "You sit around and can't do anything. Early on, I could barely watch TV, but I've been able to do that more. It's the things you take for granted and do every day, like driving."
Crosby's headaches have lessened the last few days, so he seems to be on the mend, but there remains no timetable for him to even resume dry land training, let alone to get on the ice and play again. Because of that, his absence is likely to continue to be measured in terms of weeks, not days.
"It's really difficult. It doesn't get any easier with each day that goes by. It gets tougher and tougher to work your way back into it," Crosby said.
Not surprisingly, Penguins' GM Ray Shero announced yesterday that Crosby -- the league's leading vote-getter by a wide margin -- will not play in the upcoming All-Star game, nor attend any of the weekend's festivities.
"Sidney is making progress in his recovery, but still is not completely symptom-free," said Shero.
Crosby's concussion has gotten a lot of attention in the national media the last few weeks, and it's likely to get even more attention when league executives convene together during the All-Star game this weekend and probably re-kindle debate on whether Rule 48 -- which the league passed last year in response to some wickedly violent blows to the head, including one laid on Boston Bruins' center Marc Savard by Crosby's teammate, Matt Cooke -- goes far enough, especially since most observers feel that when Steckel hit Crosby, it was mostly incidental contact.
Rule 48 banned all blindside, backside or lateral checks to the head of another player and, without a doubt, instituting that rule has been a step in the right direction for the league.
But Crosby's concussion has generated good diagloue about whether all blows to the head -- no matter in which direction, and no matter whether intentional or not -- should be subject to penalty, fine and/or suspension.
Make no mistake, Crosby's concussion has proven to be serious, and more scary for his future than I and many others first anticipated.
He has to be immensely careful getting back and, when he does, Penguin fans should do a little praying and hope that Crosby doesn't sustain another blow to the head in the next few seasons, because it's pretty well established at this point -- both as a matter of medicine and as a matter of documented record on the ice with other NHL players -- that once you have a concussion, you're more susceptible to another.
And if you start accumulating them rapidly, one star-studded career can be brought to an end quickly.
Look no further than the case of Savard, one of the league's better talents who missed about 3 months after Cooke laid him out last year, only to return for a handful of playoff games before the Bruins were eliminated from the post-season, then be diagnosed with recurring symptoms this summer when he resumed training.
That kept Savard on the shelf for the first few months of this year. Since he's returned, he's already had 2 incidents on the ice taking checks where his head was subject to some contact with the glass or boards -- including an 'everyday' hit from Pens' blueliner Deryk Engelland in a game a few weeks ago. Those collisions left him wobbly and now he's back on the sidelines once more after being diagnosed with a moderate concussion.
It's also worth pointing out that Savard, a consistent point-per-game player, appeared a shadow of his former self on the ice in the 25 games he did play this season, scoring only 2 goals and about 10 points.
Concussions are serious, folks. I'm all out for holding Crosby on the sidelines for as long as it takes. I'd rather see 15 more consistently excellent years out of him in a Pittsburgh uniform than 5 years plagued by recurring concussion symptoms. It's just not worth it.
While Evgeni Malkin doesn't have a concussion like Crosby does, he does have a sinus infection and has continued to deal with a recurring knee problem, both of which will conspire to keep him not only out of the lineup tonight against the Isles but -- like Crosby -- probably out of this weekend's All-Star game and festivities, as well.
The Penguins haven't made a final decision on the latter point, but there's really little incentive for their organization to give Geno the go-ahead to play there. The infection will probably go away by then, but the knee issue has given him trouble for 6-8 weeks now, and he needs more rest.
Pittsburgh should take the built-in break the schedule gives them at this time of year and let Malkin maximize that for his own health.
With hope that Staal and the Pens' blueliners lead the way tonight, I'll have a game recap tomorrow.
Let's Go Pens!
Crosby is still not symptom free, even 3 weeks after the hits which are believed to have caused his current predicament -- one from Washington Capitals' center David Steckel in the Winter Classic and another from Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman on January 5.
Primarily, he's still dealing with headaches, and the admittedly frustrating part for Crosby is that there doesn't appear to be a consistent cause for them.
"It's brutal," Crosby said. "You sit around and can't do anything. Early on, I could barely watch TV, but I've been able to do that more. It's the things you take for granted and do every day, like driving."
Crosby's headaches have lessened the last few days, so he seems to be on the mend, but there remains no timetable for him to even resume dry land training, let alone to get on the ice and play again. Because of that, his absence is likely to continue to be measured in terms of weeks, not days.
"It's really difficult. It doesn't get any easier with each day that goes by. It gets tougher and tougher to work your way back into it," Crosby said.
Not surprisingly, Penguins' GM Ray Shero announced yesterday that Crosby -- the league's leading vote-getter by a wide margin -- will not play in the upcoming All-Star game, nor attend any of the weekend's festivities.
"Sidney is making progress in his recovery, but still is not completely symptom-free," said Shero.
Crosby's concussion has gotten a lot of attention in the national media the last few weeks, and it's likely to get even more attention when league executives convene together during the All-Star game this weekend and probably re-kindle debate on whether Rule 48 -- which the league passed last year in response to some wickedly violent blows to the head, including one laid on Boston Bruins' center Marc Savard by Crosby's teammate, Matt Cooke -- goes far enough, especially since most observers feel that when Steckel hit Crosby, it was mostly incidental contact.
Rule 48 banned all blindside, backside or lateral checks to the head of another player and, without a doubt, instituting that rule has been a step in the right direction for the league.
But Crosby's concussion has generated good diagloue about whether all blows to the head -- no matter in which direction, and no matter whether intentional or not -- should be subject to penalty, fine and/or suspension.
Make no mistake, Crosby's concussion has proven to be serious, and more scary for his future than I and many others first anticipated.
He has to be immensely careful getting back and, when he does, Penguin fans should do a little praying and hope that Crosby doesn't sustain another blow to the head in the next few seasons, because it's pretty well established at this point -- both as a matter of medicine and as a matter of documented record on the ice with other NHL players -- that once you have a concussion, you're more susceptible to another.
And if you start accumulating them rapidly, one star-studded career can be brought to an end quickly.
Look no further than the case of Savard, one of the league's better talents who missed about 3 months after Cooke laid him out last year, only to return for a handful of playoff games before the Bruins were eliminated from the post-season, then be diagnosed with recurring symptoms this summer when he resumed training.
That kept Savard on the shelf for the first few months of this year. Since he's returned, he's already had 2 incidents on the ice taking checks where his head was subject to some contact with the glass or boards -- including an 'everyday' hit from Pens' blueliner Deryk Engelland in a game a few weeks ago. Those collisions left him wobbly and now he's back on the sidelines once more after being diagnosed with a moderate concussion.
It's also worth pointing out that Savard, a consistent point-per-game player, appeared a shadow of his former self on the ice in the 25 games he did play this season, scoring only 2 goals and about 10 points.
Concussions are serious, folks. I'm all out for holding Crosby on the sidelines for as long as it takes. I'd rather see 15 more consistently excellent years out of him in a Pittsburgh uniform than 5 years plagued by recurring concussion symptoms. It's just not worth it.
While Evgeni Malkin doesn't have a concussion like Crosby does, he does have a sinus infection and has continued to deal with a recurring knee problem, both of which will conspire to keep him not only out of the lineup tonight against the Isles but -- like Crosby -- probably out of this weekend's All-Star game and festivities, as well.
The Penguins haven't made a final decision on the latter point, but there's really little incentive for their organization to give Geno the go-ahead to play there. The infection will probably go away by then, but the knee issue has given him trouble for 6-8 weeks now, and he needs more rest.
Pittsburgh should take the built-in break the schedule gives them at this time of year and let Malkin maximize that for his own health.
With hope that Staal and the Pens' blueliners lead the way tonight, I'll have a game recap tomorrow.
Let's Go Pens!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Penguins Hold On To Beat Carolina, 3-2
Without star centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for the second straight game, the Pittsburgh Penguins had to dig deep Saturday night at The Bird House against a Carolina Hurricanes' club that had been winning games at a near .700% clip the last month or so, and who always gives them trouble.
After breaking a 0-0 logjam with 3 goals in a span of 10 minutes of hockey starting from the end of the second period to about 7 minutes into the third, the Pens survived 2 goals from Carolina in the last four minutes and held on for a big, 3-2 victory.
Dustin Jeffrey -- called back up in Malkin's absence -- scored his second of the season on a slapshot, while Mark Letestu and Pascal Dupuis (shorthanded) also tallied for the Boys of Winter to give them the necessary margin of victory.
Dupuis' goal, which ended up being the game-winner, was a particularly nice effort, as he took a pass from Jordan Staal, broke in on a semi-breakaway and beat Hurricanes' netminder Cam Ward with a backhand high to the glove side.
It was clearly a play the former Conn Smythe Trophy winner should have stopped, but one Dupuis is not likely to make any apologies for -- especially given the late Carolina goals by Sergei Samsonov and Gronk's brother Eric with Ward on the bench for an extra attacker made things interesting.
The Pens outshot Carolina 31-26 on the night. Marc-Andre Fleury had 24 saves in getting the win for Pittsburgh.
It was the Pens' third win over the Hurricanes this year, which marked the first time in more than 12 seasons that the Pens' actually could say they won a season series between the clubs.
It's a shame Pittsburgh's 4-game Conference Final sweep of Carolina a few seasons ago doesn't count in that picture.
The local hockey club now has one more game before the upcoming weekend's All-Star break, and that's tomorrow at home against the New York Islanders (7:00 PM EST).
I'll have more on that game tomorrow, and more on where things are with Crosby, since there's some more recent news on that front.
Thanks for reading ...
After breaking a 0-0 logjam with 3 goals in a span of 10 minutes of hockey starting from the end of the second period to about 7 minutes into the third, the Pens survived 2 goals from Carolina in the last four minutes and held on for a big, 3-2 victory.
Dustin Jeffrey -- called back up in Malkin's absence -- scored his second of the season on a slapshot, while Mark Letestu and Pascal Dupuis (shorthanded) also tallied for the Boys of Winter to give them the necessary margin of victory.
Dupuis' goal, which ended up being the game-winner, was a particularly nice effort, as he took a pass from Jordan Staal, broke in on a semi-breakaway and beat Hurricanes' netminder Cam Ward with a backhand high to the glove side.
It was clearly a play the former Conn Smythe Trophy winner should have stopped, but one Dupuis is not likely to make any apologies for -- especially given the late Carolina goals by Sergei Samsonov and Gronk's brother Eric with Ward on the bench for an extra attacker made things interesting.
The Pens outshot Carolina 31-26 on the night. Marc-Andre Fleury had 24 saves in getting the win for Pittsburgh.
It was the Pens' third win over the Hurricanes this year, which marked the first time in more than 12 seasons that the Pens' actually could say they won a season series between the clubs.
It's a shame Pittsburgh's 4-game Conference Final sweep of Carolina a few seasons ago doesn't count in that picture.
The local hockey club now has one more game before the upcoming weekend's All-Star break, and that's tomorrow at home against the New York Islanders (7:00 PM EST).
I'll have more on that game tomorrow, and more on where things are with Crosby, since there's some more recent news on that front.
Thanks for reading ...
Friday, January 21, 2011
Pens Double A Unit Comes Up Empty In Shutout Loss To New Jersey
Going into last night's game with the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center somewhere in the swampland, the Pittsburgh Penguins had 62 points in the standings.
That was about a country mile ahead of New Jersey, who had only TWENTY NINE.
But without three of their best players, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Marc-Andre Fleury -- the first two of which sat out with injury, and the latter of which got the night off -- the Penguins mustered little in a 2-0 shutout defeat the Devils earned on the strength of first period goals by Brian Rolston and Nick Palmieri.
That was about as interesting as this game got.
The Penguins were pretty physical in this one, but put up only 23 shots against Devils' netminder Martin Brodeur, and few of them represented good scoring chances.
Even hot forwards Jordan Staal and Chris Kunitz weren't able to get on the board in this one.
Brent Johnson, making his first start since a 2-1 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens on January 6, stopped 18 of the 20 pucks New Jersey through at him.
While it was no surprise that Crosby missed the game, and understandable to give Fleury a rest, missing Malkin was somewhat of a surprise for Pittsburgh.
Malkin has battled a knee injury at various points this season, and he tweaked it again when he went down awkwardly in lats Saturday's 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins in Beantown.
While Geno suited up and played in Tuesday's 4-1 home win over the Detroit Red Wings, he didn't have nearly the ice time he's accustomed to, logging only about 15 minutes in that game, as opposed to the 20 he usually gets.
At this point, it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect Malkin to be shut down until after the All-Star game next weekend. He may even have to miss that contest. Either way, he probably requires some dedicated rest time to be healthy. His play has continued to suffer and, while that can't solely be accountable to his injury, it certainly hasn't helped, either.
The Boys of Winter return home to face off against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.
More soon.
That was about a country mile ahead of New Jersey, who had only TWENTY NINE.
But without three of their best players, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Marc-Andre Fleury -- the first two of which sat out with injury, and the latter of which got the night off -- the Penguins mustered little in a 2-0 shutout defeat the Devils earned on the strength of first period goals by Brian Rolston and Nick Palmieri.
That was about as interesting as this game got.
The Penguins were pretty physical in this one, but put up only 23 shots against Devils' netminder Martin Brodeur, and few of them represented good scoring chances.
Even hot forwards Jordan Staal and Chris Kunitz weren't able to get on the board in this one.
Brent Johnson, making his first start since a 2-1 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens on January 6, stopped 18 of the 20 pucks New Jersey through at him.
While it was no surprise that Crosby missed the game, and understandable to give Fleury a rest, missing Malkin was somewhat of a surprise for Pittsburgh.
Malkin has battled a knee injury at various points this season, and he tweaked it again when he went down awkwardly in lats Saturday's 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins in Beantown.
While Geno suited up and played in Tuesday's 4-1 home win over the Detroit Red Wings, he didn't have nearly the ice time he's accustomed to, logging only about 15 minutes in that game, as opposed to the 20 he usually gets.
At this point, it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect Malkin to be shut down until after the All-Star game next weekend. He may even have to miss that contest. Either way, he probably requires some dedicated rest time to be healthy. His play has continued to suffer and, while that can't solely be accountable to his injury, it certainly hasn't helped, either.
The Boys of Winter return home to face off against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.
More soon.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Staal, Fleury Lead Penguins To Wins Over Boston, Hated Red Wings
First of all, sorry for my mini-hiatus the last few days. That's what a severely sprained ankle will do to you.
The good news is that positive things have been happening in Penguin-land during my absence.
While the Pens' Captain, Sidney Crosby, continues to miss time with post-concussion syndrome and just yesterday was dragged into a controversy about how -- according to the Toronto Globe and Mail, anyway -- he intended to skip the NHL's All-Star game on purpose to express his displeasure with the league's failure to discipline the players who concussed him (more on that later), his teammates have picked up their bootstraps in his absence and, following wins over the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon and the Detroit Red Wings last night at The Bird House, have now won 3 straight.
Center Jordan Staal and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury have been going a lot of the heavy lifting recently, and the last two victories were no different.
After tallying 3 points and his first goal of the season last week in Montreal during a victory over the Canadiens, Gronk kept it going on Saturday with the game-winning goal in the third period (and an assist), and the opening tally to get the Pens' going last night against Detroit.
#11 now has 6 points in his last three games and, after being reunited with Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy, is dominating in all three zones right now.
As I've said in this space before, it's going to be extremely interesting to see whether Head Coach Dan Bylsma keeps that trio together when Crosby returns. While the plan has always been to play Staal and Malkin together at that point, #11, #24 and #48 are playing so well right now that it may be hard to separate them.
In the end, the Penguins may just stick to the 3-center model that has been their staple the last several seasons. That may be best for the team even if it comes at the expense of getting Evgeni Malkin going and instead leaving him with little to pick from for linemates because the team is winning, and if they are, why change it? Geno has been struggling some all season anyway -- as he did last year -- so breaking up the Gronk unit just to stick to a "plan" or try to get Malkin in a groove again may be more detrimental to the team than good.
For his part, Fleury has been even better the last few games than he has been over the last few months, and that's saying something.
He stopped 20 third period shots to make Staal's game winner stand up against the Bruins, and in the process, helped the Penguins avoid blowing their third 2-goal lead against Boston in the same number of games this season. Sure, after early goals by Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis, the Bruins did their damage to tie the game in a 12-second span in the second period, but obviously the Flower had enough after that, slamming the door in the final 20 minutes.
And he picked up from where he left off in that one last night against the Red Wings, stopping 36 of 37 shots and looking sharp from start to finish.
Last night's game had an interesting feel, with the Penguins minus Crosby and Detroit missing a litany of top players, including Pavel Datsyuk, Dan Cleary, Tomas Holmstrom, and #1 goaltender Jimmy Howard.
That said, take nothing away from Pittsburgh last night. They took advantage of their chances and made the Red Wings pay, and that was evident just a few minutes into the game when Tyler Kennedy stole the puck from Detroit 3rd string goaltender Joey McDonald behind the net and fed it out in front for Staal to have an easy, open-net tap-in.
Pittsburgh continued rolling after that. Just a few minutes later, Chris Conner was stopped on a near breakaway when he was checked by a Detroit player at the last minute and rendered unable to get off a shot before crashing into McDonald.
There was a fair question as to whether a penalty (if not a penalty shot) should have been awarded on the play, but there was no such question when Conner had a similar chance just past the halfway mark of the first period and was hooked from behind just as he was in the clear and about to shoot.
Conner got the penalty shot call that time mand ade no mistake on the opportunity, burying the puck between McDonald's legs on a backhand deke for the first penalty shot goal scored by a Penguin player in the last 12 tries dating back to January, 2007, when former Pen Jarkko Ruutu did the trick.
While both of those goals were big, Chris Kunitz' tally late in the 2nd frame may have been the biggest.
Johan Franzen had just scored for Detroit to make the game 2-1, and the Red Wings were getting momentum, but when #14 scored on a rebound to restore Pittsburgh's 2 goal lead, the Pens had their equilibrium back. Fleury did the rest in the third period until Matt Cooke scored an empty net goal to seal it.
With that win and the two before it, the Penguins still sit second in the Atlantic Division with 62 points, 3 behind the Atlantic and NHL-leading Philadelphia Flyers, who have 65.
The Vancouver Canucks also have 65 points in the West, but Pittsburgh and Detroit now fall right in behind them and the Flyers.
As far as Crosby goes, While Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos has now passed #87 in the goal-scoring department and has moved to within just a few points of him in the overall scoring race, the Pens' Captain spoke publicly yesterday to deny the story published in the Toronto Globe and Mail that he would purposely skip the All-Star game.
"If I can be there, I'll be there," said Crosby, adding -- unfortunately -- that the chances seemed just "slight" that he'd be ready to return by then.
Crosby seems to be getting better, indicating that he has some good days, but still isn't symptom free, and that has kept him from doing any exercising whatsoever.
At this point, it's not likely that Crosby will suit up anytime in the Penguins' next 3 games before the All-Star break, and his continuing absence has again ramped up the debate about whether the NHL is doing enough to protect its players from head-shots. Now, both agents and -- as the piece eariler indicates -- even members of the hated Red Wings' organization are speaking out a little on his behalf.
Certainly, having the league's best player on the shelf for an extended period of time beacuse of a concussion brings the issue more to the forefront.
One thing I will say, however, is that Crosby has been inappropriately labeled a hypocrite by many who see his cries for more protection now as contrary to his supposed silence after Cooke laid a severe concussion on Bruins' center Marc Savard last year.
I couldn't agree more with the opinion of Pens' Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Beat Writer Dave Molinari, who a few days ago appropriately pointed out how uninformed those critics really are, because Crosby did indicate at the time Cooke laid out Savard that the league needs to fix "pretty quickly" for the benefit of the players the confusion between what hits are legal and what aren't
Pittsburgh goes to the swampland next to face the Devils on Thursday.
More soon.
NOTES:
The Penguins' announced after the game last night that rookie center Mark Letestu has signed a two-year, one-way contract extension which will pay him 1.25 million total, or approximately $625K per year.
The good news is that positive things have been happening in Penguin-land during my absence.
While the Pens' Captain, Sidney Crosby, continues to miss time with post-concussion syndrome and just yesterday was dragged into a controversy about how -- according to the Toronto Globe and Mail, anyway -- he intended to skip the NHL's All-Star game on purpose to express his displeasure with the league's failure to discipline the players who concussed him (more on that later), his teammates have picked up their bootstraps in his absence and, following wins over the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon and the Detroit Red Wings last night at The Bird House, have now won 3 straight.
Center Jordan Staal and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury have been going a lot of the heavy lifting recently, and the last two victories were no different.
After tallying 3 points and his first goal of the season last week in Montreal during a victory over the Canadiens, Gronk kept it going on Saturday with the game-winning goal in the third period (and an assist), and the opening tally to get the Pens' going last night against Detroit.
#11 now has 6 points in his last three games and, after being reunited with Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy, is dominating in all three zones right now.
As I've said in this space before, it's going to be extremely interesting to see whether Head Coach Dan Bylsma keeps that trio together when Crosby returns. While the plan has always been to play Staal and Malkin together at that point, #11, #24 and #48 are playing so well right now that it may be hard to separate them.
In the end, the Penguins may just stick to the 3-center model that has been their staple the last several seasons. That may be best for the team even if it comes at the expense of getting Evgeni Malkin going and instead leaving him with little to pick from for linemates because the team is winning, and if they are, why change it? Geno has been struggling some all season anyway -- as he did last year -- so breaking up the Gronk unit just to stick to a "plan" or try to get Malkin in a groove again may be more detrimental to the team than good.
For his part, Fleury has been even better the last few games than he has been over the last few months, and that's saying something.
He stopped 20 third period shots to make Staal's game winner stand up against the Bruins, and in the process, helped the Penguins avoid blowing their third 2-goal lead against Boston in the same number of games this season. Sure, after early goals by Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis, the Bruins did their damage to tie the game in a 12-second span in the second period, but obviously the Flower had enough after that, slamming the door in the final 20 minutes.
And he picked up from where he left off in that one last night against the Red Wings, stopping 36 of 37 shots and looking sharp from start to finish.
Last night's game had an interesting feel, with the Penguins minus Crosby and Detroit missing a litany of top players, including Pavel Datsyuk, Dan Cleary, Tomas Holmstrom, and #1 goaltender Jimmy Howard.
That said, take nothing away from Pittsburgh last night. They took advantage of their chances and made the Red Wings pay, and that was evident just a few minutes into the game when Tyler Kennedy stole the puck from Detroit 3rd string goaltender Joey McDonald behind the net and fed it out in front for Staal to have an easy, open-net tap-in.
Pittsburgh continued rolling after that. Just a few minutes later, Chris Conner was stopped on a near breakaway when he was checked by a Detroit player at the last minute and rendered unable to get off a shot before crashing into McDonald.
There was a fair question as to whether a penalty (if not a penalty shot) should have been awarded on the play, but there was no such question when Conner had a similar chance just past the halfway mark of the first period and was hooked from behind just as he was in the clear and about to shoot.
Conner got the penalty shot call that time mand ade no mistake on the opportunity, burying the puck between McDonald's legs on a backhand deke for the first penalty shot goal scored by a Penguin player in the last 12 tries dating back to January, 2007, when former Pen Jarkko Ruutu did the trick.
While both of those goals were big, Chris Kunitz' tally late in the 2nd frame may have been the biggest.
Johan Franzen had just scored for Detroit to make the game 2-1, and the Red Wings were getting momentum, but when #14 scored on a rebound to restore Pittsburgh's 2 goal lead, the Pens had their equilibrium back. Fleury did the rest in the third period until Matt Cooke scored an empty net goal to seal it.
With that win and the two before it, the Penguins still sit second in the Atlantic Division with 62 points, 3 behind the Atlantic and NHL-leading Philadelphia Flyers, who have 65.
The Vancouver Canucks also have 65 points in the West, but Pittsburgh and Detroit now fall right in behind them and the Flyers.
As far as Crosby goes, While Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steven Stamkos has now passed #87 in the goal-scoring department and has moved to within just a few points of him in the overall scoring race, the Pens' Captain spoke publicly yesterday to deny the story published in the Toronto Globe and Mail that he would purposely skip the All-Star game.
"If I can be there, I'll be there," said Crosby, adding -- unfortunately -- that the chances seemed just "slight" that he'd be ready to return by then.
Crosby seems to be getting better, indicating that he has some good days, but still isn't symptom free, and that has kept him from doing any exercising whatsoever.
At this point, it's not likely that Crosby will suit up anytime in the Penguins' next 3 games before the All-Star break, and his continuing absence has again ramped up the debate about whether the NHL is doing enough to protect its players from head-shots. Now, both agents and -- as the piece eariler indicates -- even members of the hated Red Wings' organization are speaking out a little on his behalf.
Certainly, having the league's best player on the shelf for an extended period of time beacuse of a concussion brings the issue more to the forefront.
One thing I will say, however, is that Crosby has been inappropriately labeled a hypocrite by many who see his cries for more protection now as contrary to his supposed silence after Cooke laid a severe concussion on Bruins' center Marc Savard last year.
I couldn't agree more with the opinion of Pens' Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Beat Writer Dave Molinari, who a few days ago appropriately pointed out how uninformed those critics really are, because Crosby did indicate at the time Cooke laid out Savard that the league needs to fix "pretty quickly" for the benefit of the players the confusion between what hits are legal and what aren't
Pittsburgh goes to the swampland next to face the Devils on Thursday.
More soon.
NOTES:
The Penguins' announced after the game last night that rookie center Mark Letestu has signed a two-year, one-way contract extension which will pay him 1.25 million total, or approximately $625K per year.
Friday, January 14, 2011
It's A Wrap: 24/7 Penguins Capitals Closes In Remarkable Fashion
The fourth and final installment of HBO's 24/7 Penguins Capitals Road to the Winter Classic series wasted no time zeroing in on what the three previous episodes had been building up to.
1-1-11.
To do that, the cameras first shined on the Washington Capitals and superstar winger Alexander Ovechkin.
Not in a flattering way, mind you.
As the Caps' practiced outdoors at a makeshift rink in Arlington, VA to try and get ready for the elements and the game, we were able to see several of the Washington players experimenting with things that they wouldn't otherwise ordinarily use -- and in ways they wouldn't ordinarily use them.
Or at least we can hope.
Especially since one of those things was eye black that Ovechkin put around his mouth.
Uh .... yeah.
Meanwhile, back in the world of the normal hockey club, center Jordan Staal was meeting with Pens' GM Ray Shero and Head Coach Dan Bylsma to discuss whether or not he would be cleared to play in the New Year's Day game.
After hearing Shero and Blysma say they were a little concerned about him coming back to soon, I was amused by Staal's pleas to have them be more specific about exactly what it is they were worried about -- just like most skeptical 22-year olds would be with their parents.
In the end, good on the Penguins for giving Gronk the go-ahead to suit up and enjoy the experience in what has otherwise been a miserable first part of the season for him in the press box the entire time.
In an amusing moment, after Staal left the room, Shero playfully asks Bylsma about the team's 2-1 shootout loss to the New York Islanders the prior evening:
"What the fuck happened last night, Dan?"
Meanwhile, the next day at the Pens' Winter Classic practice @ Heinz Field, we got to see the team stage a shootout competition --- not for determining January's mustache boy, but instead to have the loser have to go all the way to the top of the stadium and touch the section 527 sign.
True to form, Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was taunting EVERYONE in the shootout, saying things to his teammates like "F- off you bitches". Then, with the ultimate insult, he taunted Staal as he was the last player to approach him and in need of a goal to keep things tied ---- "you're going up," Fleury said.
Sure enough, the guy who may have still been the most out of shape was stopped by The Flower and had to do the Heinz Field steps. There was great camera footage of that along the way, too.
Meanwhile, later that day, viewers got a great treat in witnessing a bunch of NHL officials, including NHL Vice-President Bill Daly and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell, among others, participate in a conference call to debate a key decision -- whether to postpone the scheduled 1 PM game and push it back becuase of inclement weather conditions.
Of course, in the end, that's what they decided to do, wisely moving the game to 8 PM to avoid a well-known bad forecast and providing sufficient notice to everyone involved in advance.
So, with the stage set for the first evening Winter Classic under the lights in primetime, the players and coaches are getting revved up.
First, we see the Caps' fat assclown coach, Bruce Boudreau telling his team about what's at stake, and then proclaiming that, while it's only 2 points, "it's two fucking points we're going to take from these pricks."
Then, in a further motivational move, he posts an article from Pittsburgh radio personality Mark Madden, who wrote a piece for the Beaver County Times newspaper that the Capitals don't have what it takes to beat the Penguins in a 7-game series.
Next we see Ovechkin trying to ramp himself up in the locker room before the game, saying "fuck this shitsburgh team"
Perhaps my favorite part of the episode came next when HBO showed my man, Pens' backup goaltender Brent Johnson -- one of the locker room leaders when it comes to music -- cuing up his Ipod before the game for he and his teammates to get ready.
The song of choice?
Burning Heart, by Survivor --- from the Original Motion Picture Soundrack to one of the greatest movies of all time, Rocky IV.
Yeah, I'm italian.
Anyway, HBO did a fantastic job with that, showing only picture footage of the teams getting ready without any audio, and pricelessly set it all to that song.
Just outstanding stuff.
Nearly as outstanding was the look Pens' LW Matt Cooke was giving Ovechkin in their team's line, which formed right next to Pittsburgh's line as the teams walked out into the stadium. It was like Cooke was ready to spear Ovechkin in the throat right there.
Once all the pomp and circumstance was through and we moved to game action, HBO's footage went up a notch, if that were even possible.
One of the most notable moments was when Pens' Captain Sidney Crosby was complaining about not getting a penalty shot to referee Paul Devorski after being hauled down by Caps' blueliner Mike Green.
Devorski did call a holding penalty, but I couldn't believe he had the nerve to say to Crosby, "I give you a power play and you give me attitude about it" when it was clearly a penalty -- at least.
What was Crosby supposed to do? Thank him for making the obvious call he should have?
Crosby had a fair beef that it should have been a penalty shot since he was in front of Green with a clear path to the net when Green held him from behind, and in expressing that to Devorski after Devorski said what he did, Crosby said that, in fact, it was a penalty shot "because I've watched 80 fucking games this year and it's a penalty shot every time."
While there was a lot of other great stuff during what ended up as a disappointing 3-1 Penguins' loss, almost as good as Crosby's comment was Cooke telling Caps' center Niklas Backstrom that if he slashes him again, he's going to take his teeth out.
After the game was over, you heard Boudreau standing there with his team waiting to see if there was going to be a handshake, saying "make them come to us".
Then, when the Penguins didn't come over (nice), he said "fuck 'em all"
In the locker room, we got to see a Washington team that hasn't won the Stanley Cup once (let alone 3 times, like the local hockey club), be led in celebratory fashion by Boudreau, saying "It's not the Cup but it feels pretty f'in good!"
Please.
For his part, the thing I found most notable about Bylsma talking with the Penguin players in the locker room after the defeat was not what he said, but how he said it.
You could just see the player in him coming out -- wishing he was out there with his team. He's still has that competitive fire in him, and I think that helps him as a coach. It was really neat to see that up close and personal in the locker room in a way that hadn't been shown in the previous 3 episodes.
I will say that I thought the end of the episode -- and the series -- was a little cheesy, showing a washing machine up close washing jerseys, as if to signify that it's back to the grind of even more games in the long, regular season cycle that makes up an NHL year.
Overall, I think the last episode was on par with the first for the best one of the series, and can't say enough about the series as a whole. It was fantastic, and it gave the NHL great publicity.
In fact, there's no doubt in my mind that HBO will return to do another 24/7 series next year. They'll probably lead up to the Winter Classic again and focus on whichever teams are chosen for that next season, but where it's really going to get interesting is whether or not they'll try to go for the real prize in coming years, which would be to follow a team or two through the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Logistics exist in doing that (for example, if the team gets eliminated early, then what do you do?), but there's already some sentiment for trying it, and HBO might be willing to do that.
Even if they don't, though, the production they did this year has been deemed such a success in the entire sporting world that HBO is probably going to try to take the concept to the other sports. And then the NHL will get a lot of credit and good publicity for helping pioneer what it's like to capture a professional sports team during actual game play, rather than, for example, in training camp, as HBO's Hard Knocks series has already done.
Let's face it -- the National Hockey League as a whole is on a really good run the last few years. TV ratings are up, interest in the game is rising, and there are a bevy of young stars and rivalries -- including the Penguins and Capitals -- that have put the league in the spotlight, and done it in a good way. Commissioner Gary Bettman deserves some credit for that, and the hope here is that the NHL is able to parlay its recent success into a new TV deal (which the league is due for this summer) that actually pays them money they can share with their member clubs.
Of course, that's something that just doesn't exist right now, as the NHL receives no rights fee to permit NBC and Versus to televise their constests.
Either way, both the league and the Pittsburgh Penguins have done a great job being in the spotlight, and that's an exciting thing.
Next up for the flightless birds is a game tomorrow afternoon in Boston against the Bruins. Sidney Crosby won't be in the lineup for that, and probably won't return to the lineup early next week after all, as had been initially hoped after he sustained his concussion. I guess we won't know for sure because Bylsma has said he will no longer provide daily updates on #87's condition, so we'll just have to wait and see.
I'll try to have a recap Sunday.
Let's Go Pens!
1-1-11.
To do that, the cameras first shined on the Washington Capitals and superstar winger Alexander Ovechkin.
Not in a flattering way, mind you.
As the Caps' practiced outdoors at a makeshift rink in Arlington, VA to try and get ready for the elements and the game, we were able to see several of the Washington players experimenting with things that they wouldn't otherwise ordinarily use -- and in ways they wouldn't ordinarily use them.
Or at least we can hope.
Especially since one of those things was eye black that Ovechkin put around his mouth.
Uh .... yeah.
Meanwhile, back in the world of the normal hockey club, center Jordan Staal was meeting with Pens' GM Ray Shero and Head Coach Dan Bylsma to discuss whether or not he would be cleared to play in the New Year's Day game.
After hearing Shero and Blysma say they were a little concerned about him coming back to soon, I was amused by Staal's pleas to have them be more specific about exactly what it is they were worried about -- just like most skeptical 22-year olds would be with their parents.
In the end, good on the Penguins for giving Gronk the go-ahead to suit up and enjoy the experience in what has otherwise been a miserable first part of the season for him in the press box the entire time.
In an amusing moment, after Staal left the room, Shero playfully asks Bylsma about the team's 2-1 shootout loss to the New York Islanders the prior evening:
"What the fuck happened last night, Dan?"
Meanwhile, the next day at the Pens' Winter Classic practice @ Heinz Field, we got to see the team stage a shootout competition --- not for determining January's mustache boy, but instead to have the loser have to go all the way to the top of the stadium and touch the section 527 sign.
True to form, Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was taunting EVERYONE in the shootout, saying things to his teammates like "F- off you bitches". Then, with the ultimate insult, he taunted Staal as he was the last player to approach him and in need of a goal to keep things tied ---- "you're going up," Fleury said.
Sure enough, the guy who may have still been the most out of shape was stopped by The Flower and had to do the Heinz Field steps. There was great camera footage of that along the way, too.
Meanwhile, later that day, viewers got a great treat in witnessing a bunch of NHL officials, including NHL Vice-President Bill Daly and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell, among others, participate in a conference call to debate a key decision -- whether to postpone the scheduled 1 PM game and push it back becuase of inclement weather conditions.
Of course, in the end, that's what they decided to do, wisely moving the game to 8 PM to avoid a well-known bad forecast and providing sufficient notice to everyone involved in advance.
So, with the stage set for the first evening Winter Classic under the lights in primetime, the players and coaches are getting revved up.
First, we see the Caps' fat assclown coach, Bruce Boudreau telling his team about what's at stake, and then proclaiming that, while it's only 2 points, "it's two fucking points we're going to take from these pricks."
Then, in a further motivational move, he posts an article from Pittsburgh radio personality Mark Madden, who wrote a piece for the Beaver County Times newspaper that the Capitals don't have what it takes to beat the Penguins in a 7-game series.
Next we see Ovechkin trying to ramp himself up in the locker room before the game, saying "fuck this shitsburgh team"
Perhaps my favorite part of the episode came next when HBO showed my man, Pens' backup goaltender Brent Johnson -- one of the locker room leaders when it comes to music -- cuing up his Ipod before the game for he and his teammates to get ready.
The song of choice?
Burning Heart, by Survivor --- from the Original Motion Picture Soundrack to one of the greatest movies of all time, Rocky IV.
Yeah, I'm italian.
Anyway, HBO did a fantastic job with that, showing only picture footage of the teams getting ready without any audio, and pricelessly set it all to that song.
Just outstanding stuff.
Nearly as outstanding was the look Pens' LW Matt Cooke was giving Ovechkin in their team's line, which formed right next to Pittsburgh's line as the teams walked out into the stadium. It was like Cooke was ready to spear Ovechkin in the throat right there.
Once all the pomp and circumstance was through and we moved to game action, HBO's footage went up a notch, if that were even possible.
One of the most notable moments was when Pens' Captain Sidney Crosby was complaining about not getting a penalty shot to referee Paul Devorski after being hauled down by Caps' blueliner Mike Green.
Devorski did call a holding penalty, but I couldn't believe he had the nerve to say to Crosby, "I give you a power play and you give me attitude about it" when it was clearly a penalty -- at least.
What was Crosby supposed to do? Thank him for making the obvious call he should have?
Crosby had a fair beef that it should have been a penalty shot since he was in front of Green with a clear path to the net when Green held him from behind, and in expressing that to Devorski after Devorski said what he did, Crosby said that, in fact, it was a penalty shot "because I've watched 80 fucking games this year and it's a penalty shot every time."
While there was a lot of other great stuff during what ended up as a disappointing 3-1 Penguins' loss, almost as good as Crosby's comment was Cooke telling Caps' center Niklas Backstrom that if he slashes him again, he's going to take his teeth out.
After the game was over, you heard Boudreau standing there with his team waiting to see if there was going to be a handshake, saying "make them come to us".
Then, when the Penguins didn't come over (nice), he said "fuck 'em all"
In the locker room, we got to see a Washington team that hasn't won the Stanley Cup once (let alone 3 times, like the local hockey club), be led in celebratory fashion by Boudreau, saying "It's not the Cup but it feels pretty f'in good!"
Please.
For his part, the thing I found most notable about Bylsma talking with the Penguin players in the locker room after the defeat was not what he said, but how he said it.
You could just see the player in him coming out -- wishing he was out there with his team. He's still has that competitive fire in him, and I think that helps him as a coach. It was really neat to see that up close and personal in the locker room in a way that hadn't been shown in the previous 3 episodes.
I will say that I thought the end of the episode -- and the series -- was a little cheesy, showing a washing machine up close washing jerseys, as if to signify that it's back to the grind of even more games in the long, regular season cycle that makes up an NHL year.
Overall, I think the last episode was on par with the first for the best one of the series, and can't say enough about the series as a whole. It was fantastic, and it gave the NHL great publicity.
In fact, there's no doubt in my mind that HBO will return to do another 24/7 series next year. They'll probably lead up to the Winter Classic again and focus on whichever teams are chosen for that next season, but where it's really going to get interesting is whether or not they'll try to go for the real prize in coming years, which would be to follow a team or two through the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Logistics exist in doing that (for example, if the team gets eliminated early, then what do you do?), but there's already some sentiment for trying it, and HBO might be willing to do that.
Even if they don't, though, the production they did this year has been deemed such a success in the entire sporting world that HBO is probably going to try to take the concept to the other sports. And then the NHL will get a lot of credit and good publicity for helping pioneer what it's like to capture a professional sports team during actual game play, rather than, for example, in training camp, as HBO's Hard Knocks series has already done.
Let's face it -- the National Hockey League as a whole is on a really good run the last few years. TV ratings are up, interest in the game is rising, and there are a bevy of young stars and rivalries -- including the Penguins and Capitals -- that have put the league in the spotlight, and done it in a good way. Commissioner Gary Bettman deserves some credit for that, and the hope here is that the NHL is able to parlay its recent success into a new TV deal (which the league is due for this summer) that actually pays them money they can share with their member clubs.
Of course, that's something that just doesn't exist right now, as the NHL receives no rights fee to permit NBC and Versus to televise their constests.
Either way, both the league and the Pittsburgh Penguins have done a great job being in the spotlight, and that's an exciting thing.
Next up for the flightless birds is a game tomorrow afternoon in Boston against the Bruins. Sidney Crosby won't be in the lineup for that, and probably won't return to the lineup early next week after all, as had been initially hoped after he sustained his concussion. I guess we won't know for sure because Bylsma has said he will no longer provide daily updates on #87's condition, so we'll just have to wait and see.
I'll try to have a recap Sunday.
Let's Go Pens!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Ain't Nuthin' But a G-Thing: GoGo, Gronk Power Penguins Past Canadiens, 5-2
About two months ago, after the Pittsburgh Penguins led the Boston Bruins 4-2 before imploding in the third period at home and giving up 5 unanswered goals on the way to a come-from-ahead 7-4 defeat, they went on a pretty nice run afterwards.
In fact, a single team didn't beat them in regulation for the next 15 games over a span of six weeks -- a streak that included 12 straight wins.
After another 3rd period collapse in another home loss to Boston earlier this week, perhaps the Penguins are ready to go on another long winning streak?
If last night's 5-2 road victory against the Montreal Canadiens is any indication, that may very well be the case.
The Penguins dominated Montreal for most of last night's game, outshooting them 36-22 and looking like the Edmonton Oilers circa-1984.
Pittsburgh skated like the wind through the neutral zone all evening long and obviously made a better effort -- probably at the behest of their coach -- to get to the offensive zone quickly and often.
It all started with the Pens capitalizing on a 4-on-2 rush about 13 minutes into the first period, when Alex Goligoski zinged one top-corner, glove side past Habs' netminder Carey Price after taking a pass from LW Chris Kunitz.
After a blip on the screen in the form of goals from Canadiens' forwards Tomas Plekanec later in the first period and David Desharnais 2 minutes into the second period, Pittsburgh responded by throwing up FOUR unanswered power-play goals the rest of the way, starting with Tyler Kennedy's 7th of the year at the 4 minute mark.
TK's goal was made possible by a big offensive zone faceoff win by Jordan Staal, who cleanly go the puck back to defenseman Kris Letang at the point, and then watched as Tanger slid it to Kennedy in the right circle, whose shot beat Price under the arm short side.
Staal decided to get into the act himself about 10 seconds before the second period ended, taking a loose puck from almost the same spot where Kennedy did and beating Price in just about the same way TK did -- short side, past the arm.
It was Staal's first goal this season, and first in about 8 months.
GoGo scored his second of the game -- this time on the man-advantage -- two minutes into the third period by chipping a loose puck past Price from the crease, but all that did was give the Penguins the dreaded two-goal lead they coughed up Monday night against the Bruins.
This time, however, Pittsburgh finished the job when Kunitz deflected a Letang shot past Price at the 11 and 1/2 minute mark, which is where the game finished at 5-2, cuing Pens' netminder Marc-Andre Fleury to have a little fun by crossing his arms like the Bell Center was his house before being mobbed by his teammates.
For those who didn't notice, that's exactly what Price did after the Canadiens' shootout victory over the Penguins last week.
Clearly, Pittsburgh didn't get Price's best game last night, and Montreal also was missing Mike Camalleri in the contest (who sat out with the flu), but they'll get no sympathy from me since the Pens didn't have that Crosby guy in their lineup.
However, they did have Staal (1 goal, 2 assists), Goligoski (2 goals, 1 assist) and Letang (3 assists), and those were the three guys who drove Pittsburgh's offense.
While he's still been inconsistent at times, GoGo showed he has a wealth of offensive ability out there. He moves and shoots the puck extremely smoothly, and in a track meet like last night, those skills come to the forefront.
Tanger, meanwhile, has been leading the charge offensively from the blueline most of the season. His three points gave him 40 on the year and raised him up to within one of Detroit Red Wings' defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom and Atlanta Thrashers' rearguard Dustin Byfuglien for the lead among blueliner scoring league-wide. He's also an impressive +20 on the season.
Finally, for Staal's part, well .... I think everyone would agree that it was nice to see him contribute. He hadn't scored a single point since his return as he's been shaking the rust of his game, but he showed what kind of impact he can have last night when he gets things going.
With Crosby out of the lineup, Pittsburgh is going to need guys like him and Malkin to step up and lead the team offensively.
While I'm talking about Geno, I have to say that he had a solid overall game last night, too. Still, no matter how many shots or scoring chances Malkin generates, he's still struggling to put up points, and that's something he HAS to find a way to do if Pittsburgh is going to have any long-term success.
Pittsburgh gets its second chance for revenge Saturday afternoon when it visits Beantown for a rematch against the Bruins at 1:00 PM.
Way to go boys ...
More soon.
In fact, a single team didn't beat them in regulation for the next 15 games over a span of six weeks -- a streak that included 12 straight wins.
After another 3rd period collapse in another home loss to Boston earlier this week, perhaps the Penguins are ready to go on another long winning streak?
If last night's 5-2 road victory against the Montreal Canadiens is any indication, that may very well be the case.
The Penguins dominated Montreal for most of last night's game, outshooting them 36-22 and looking like the Edmonton Oilers circa-1984.
Pittsburgh skated like the wind through the neutral zone all evening long and obviously made a better effort -- probably at the behest of their coach -- to get to the offensive zone quickly and often.
It all started with the Pens capitalizing on a 4-on-2 rush about 13 minutes into the first period, when Alex Goligoski zinged one top-corner, glove side past Habs' netminder Carey Price after taking a pass from LW Chris Kunitz.
After a blip on the screen in the form of goals from Canadiens' forwards Tomas Plekanec later in the first period and David Desharnais 2 minutes into the second period, Pittsburgh responded by throwing up FOUR unanswered power-play goals the rest of the way, starting with Tyler Kennedy's 7th of the year at the 4 minute mark.
TK's goal was made possible by a big offensive zone faceoff win by Jordan Staal, who cleanly go the puck back to defenseman Kris Letang at the point, and then watched as Tanger slid it to Kennedy in the right circle, whose shot beat Price under the arm short side.
Staal decided to get into the act himself about 10 seconds before the second period ended, taking a loose puck from almost the same spot where Kennedy did and beating Price in just about the same way TK did -- short side, past the arm.
It was Staal's first goal this season, and first in about 8 months.
GoGo scored his second of the game -- this time on the man-advantage -- two minutes into the third period by chipping a loose puck past Price from the crease, but all that did was give the Penguins the dreaded two-goal lead they coughed up Monday night against the Bruins.
This time, however, Pittsburgh finished the job when Kunitz deflected a Letang shot past Price at the 11 and 1/2 minute mark, which is where the game finished at 5-2, cuing Pens' netminder Marc-Andre Fleury to have a little fun by crossing his arms like the Bell Center was his house before being mobbed by his teammates.
For those who didn't notice, that's exactly what Price did after the Canadiens' shootout victory over the Penguins last week.
Clearly, Pittsburgh didn't get Price's best game last night, and Montreal also was missing Mike Camalleri in the contest (who sat out with the flu), but they'll get no sympathy from me since the Pens didn't have that Crosby guy in their lineup.
However, they did have Staal (1 goal, 2 assists), Goligoski (2 goals, 1 assist) and Letang (3 assists), and those were the three guys who drove Pittsburgh's offense.
While he's still been inconsistent at times, GoGo showed he has a wealth of offensive ability out there. He moves and shoots the puck extremely smoothly, and in a track meet like last night, those skills come to the forefront.
Tanger, meanwhile, has been leading the charge offensively from the blueline most of the season. His three points gave him 40 on the year and raised him up to within one of Detroit Red Wings' defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom and Atlanta Thrashers' rearguard Dustin Byfuglien for the lead among blueliner scoring league-wide. He's also an impressive +20 on the season.
Finally, for Staal's part, well .... I think everyone would agree that it was nice to see him contribute. He hadn't scored a single point since his return as he's been shaking the rust of his game, but he showed what kind of impact he can have last night when he gets things going.
With Crosby out of the lineup, Pittsburgh is going to need guys like him and Malkin to step up and lead the team offensively.
While I'm talking about Geno, I have to say that he had a solid overall game last night, too. Still, no matter how many shots or scoring chances Malkin generates, he's still struggling to put up points, and that's something he HAS to find a way to do if Pittsburgh is going to have any long-term success.
Pittsburgh gets its second chance for revenge Saturday afternoon when it visits Beantown for a rematch against the Bruins at 1:00 PM.
Way to go boys ...
More soon.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
24/7 Penguins/Capitals Episode III Sets Stage for Fantastic Finale
For anyone who missed the third episode of 24/7 Penguins Capitals: Road to the Winter Classic, shame on you for 6 weeks.
I know there's been a bit of delay in talking about my take on that episode -- and the finale, for that matter -- but, frankly, HBO's initial foray into reality hockey is already timeless, and there's never a bad time to enjoy it again.
Episode III started off in an interesting way.
By showing how tough hockey players are.
It began with Caps' forward Mike Knuble in the dentist's chair getting metal brackets removed from his mouth after healing from a broken jaw, then continued with the focus on the dent in the face of Pens' defenseman Ben Lovejoy after taking a puck there.
Of course, Evgeni Malkin couldn't resist being the comedian when he approached Lovejoy on the table in the Penguins' locker room after the game and told him that Lovejoy's battle scar was 'awesome', only to top that by suggesting that Lovejoy shouldn't worry about it becuase "girls love".
Later on, of course, Lovejoy's dent swelled up to look like a softball.
Did I mention Washington forward Matt Bradley undergoing finger surgery in this one, too?
Once HBO moved on from the injuries, they spent most of the rest of the episode covering the Pens' and Caps' matchup on 12-23, which ended up as a dramatic 3-2 shootout victory for the local hockey club.
The lead in to that contest was fantastic, with a little extra behind-the-scenes footage of how the teams game plan for each other, including Washington's intent to match up center Nicklas Backstrom against Sidney Crosby, and their focus on trying to get Evegni Malkin off his game by being physical on him in the hope he would take stupid penalties.
Of course, their belief about Geno bore out to be truthful later on -- at least for that game -- but not everyone in the Caps' organization is as prophetic, including star winger Alexander Ovechkin, who said before the contest that "It's gonna' be like a war. We have to win."
How did that work out? Uh, yeah.
For his part, Pens' Head Coach Dan Bylsma was critical of Washington's netminder, Michael Neuvirth, telling his mates that "this goalie is not that good" and trying to get them going by encouraging them in his Bylsma-esque way to "get 'em bitches."
Perhaps the oddest thing of the game-coverage from HBO on this one was their footage of Mary, Washington's poor 'timeout coordinator', who took a puck in the head when it went out of play.
That's right, the Capitals actually have a f'ucking timeout coordinator.
As far as exclusives during the game go, HBO managed to capture Pens' Captain and NHL ambassador Sidney Crosby ripping the official a new one for calling him on what he (and I, for another) felt was a phantom penalty, saying in great colorful language -- among other things -- "that's a fucking joke."
Then, viewers got a treat when they had a chance to see the NHL's war room in Toronto, Canada review the play in overtime when Caps' defenseman Mike Green tried to slide a puck past Penguins' goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, only to have the Flower snatch it with his glove just before or as it was crossing the goal line.
Because Fleury's glove basically obstructed the view of the puck, video footage on the play did not show the puck completely crossing the line -- as it has to in order for a goal to be scored -- so the call on the ice (no-goal) was upheld. Still, it was great to hear those guys in the league office communicate with the on-ice officials. Having a glimpse into one of those conversations was fascinating.
After the victory and celebration on the ice by your Boys of Winter following Pascal Dupuis' 7th round shootout goal, HBO quickly shifted the scene to show some Christmas footage from, among others, the homes of Pens' forward Mike Rupp and Head Coach Dan Bylsma.
What Christmas theme did we get to see from Washington's side?
Well, of course, Boudreau shopping at a local mall and making vintage remarks like, "I smell food."
That hardly held a candle to his best line, though:
"It's never too early for ice cream."
And if that doesn't take the cake for the best one-liner of the episode, then that honor has to go to Pens' forward Matt Cooke, who teased teammate Paul Martin -- the Penguins' mustache boy in December for losing the team's monthly shootout competition at practice to see who has to grow a mustache for the month -- becuase of his light-colored growth, saying that they were going to "Just-For-Men" it for the upcoming Winter Classic.
Priceless.
Episode III ends with league officials building the rink @ Heinz Field for the teams' epic 1-1-11 clash.
In my opinion, the third episode of the series was better than the second, but not quite up to par with the opener. Still, just amazing work by the HBO crews.
Visit again for my summary of the finale of the series, which was magnificent.
In the meantime, pull for the black and gold tonight as they are back in action on the road in Montreal against the Canadiens for the second time in less than a week -- and are in need of a victory much more than they were the last time.
Crosby is not expected to play in tonight's game, as he's still suffering post-concussion symptoms.
Winger Aaron Asham is expected to play, however.
Recap tomorrow.
Let's Go Pens!
I know there's been a bit of delay in talking about my take on that episode -- and the finale, for that matter -- but, frankly, HBO's initial foray into reality hockey is already timeless, and there's never a bad time to enjoy it again.
Episode III started off in an interesting way.
By showing how tough hockey players are.
It began with Caps' forward Mike Knuble in the dentist's chair getting metal brackets removed from his mouth after healing from a broken jaw, then continued with the focus on the dent in the face of Pens' defenseman Ben Lovejoy after taking a puck there.
Of course, Evgeni Malkin couldn't resist being the comedian when he approached Lovejoy on the table in the Penguins' locker room after the game and told him that Lovejoy's battle scar was 'awesome', only to top that by suggesting that Lovejoy shouldn't worry about it becuase "girls love".
Later on, of course, Lovejoy's dent swelled up to look like a softball.
Did I mention Washington forward Matt Bradley undergoing finger surgery in this one, too?
Once HBO moved on from the injuries, they spent most of the rest of the episode covering the Pens' and Caps' matchup on 12-23, which ended up as a dramatic 3-2 shootout victory for the local hockey club.
The lead in to that contest was fantastic, with a little extra behind-the-scenes footage of how the teams game plan for each other, including Washington's intent to match up center Nicklas Backstrom against Sidney Crosby, and their focus on trying to get Evegni Malkin off his game by being physical on him in the hope he would take stupid penalties.
Of course, their belief about Geno bore out to be truthful later on -- at least for that game -- but not everyone in the Caps' organization is as prophetic, including star winger Alexander Ovechkin, who said before the contest that "It's gonna' be like a war. We have to win."
How did that work out? Uh, yeah.
For his part, Pens' Head Coach Dan Bylsma was critical of Washington's netminder, Michael Neuvirth, telling his mates that "this goalie is not that good" and trying to get them going by encouraging them in his Bylsma-esque way to "get 'em bitches."
Perhaps the oddest thing of the game-coverage from HBO on this one was their footage of Mary, Washington's poor 'timeout coordinator', who took a puck in the head when it went out of play.
That's right, the Capitals actually have a f'ucking timeout coordinator.
As far as exclusives during the game go, HBO managed to capture Pens' Captain and NHL ambassador Sidney Crosby ripping the official a new one for calling him on what he (and I, for another) felt was a phantom penalty, saying in great colorful language -- among other things -- "that's a fucking joke."
Then, viewers got a treat when they had a chance to see the NHL's war room in Toronto, Canada review the play in overtime when Caps' defenseman Mike Green tried to slide a puck past Penguins' goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, only to have the Flower snatch it with his glove just before or as it was crossing the goal line.
Because Fleury's glove basically obstructed the view of the puck, video footage on the play did not show the puck completely crossing the line -- as it has to in order for a goal to be scored -- so the call on the ice (no-goal) was upheld. Still, it was great to hear those guys in the league office communicate with the on-ice officials. Having a glimpse into one of those conversations was fascinating.
After the victory and celebration on the ice by your Boys of Winter following Pascal Dupuis' 7th round shootout goal, HBO quickly shifted the scene to show some Christmas footage from, among others, the homes of Pens' forward Mike Rupp and Head Coach Dan Bylsma.
What Christmas theme did we get to see from Washington's side?
Well, of course, Boudreau shopping at a local mall and making vintage remarks like, "I smell food."
That hardly held a candle to his best line, though:
"It's never too early for ice cream."
And if that doesn't take the cake for the best one-liner of the episode, then that honor has to go to Pens' forward Matt Cooke, who teased teammate Paul Martin -- the Penguins' mustache boy in December for losing the team's monthly shootout competition at practice to see who has to grow a mustache for the month -- becuase of his light-colored growth, saying that they were going to "Just-For-Men" it for the upcoming Winter Classic.
Priceless.
Episode III ends with league officials building the rink @ Heinz Field for the teams' epic 1-1-11 clash.
In my opinion, the third episode of the series was better than the second, but not quite up to par with the opener. Still, just amazing work by the HBO crews.
Visit again for my summary of the finale of the series, which was magnificent.
In the meantime, pull for the black and gold tonight as they are back in action on the road in Montreal against the Canadiens for the second time in less than a week -- and are in need of a victory much more than they were the last time.
Crosby is not expected to play in tonight's game, as he's still suffering post-concussion symptoms.
Winger Aaron Asham is expected to play, however.
Recap tomorrow.
Let's Go Pens!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Trouble Bruin'? Pens' Home Collapse In Third Allows Boston Comeback Victory (AGAIN)
We've all been in the situation.
At the bar. Drinks are flowin'. Conversation is rollin'. A little nightlife ... a little dancing. Then, at her house afterwards takin' care of business thinking you scored the conquest of the year.
Suddenly, the next morning, you wake up and -- in the blink of an eye -- realize things aren't quite as they seemed.
She looks like the bottom of your shoe in the light, has six toes and is spewing venom at you for the condition you left her bathroom in after the dump you took the night before.
Yep, it's a very thin line in the business, folks, and so it was for the Pittsburgh Penguins last night at the CONSOL Energy Center as they watched a late 2-0 third period lead evaporate into a nightmare 4-2 defeat in the final 200 seconds of the game.
Flashbacks to two months ago, anyone?
That's right. That's the game where the Penguins had another two goal lead on the Bruins, at home, in the third period, and promptly went out and watched goaltender Brent Johnson fish 5 pucks out of his net in the final frame of a 7-4 loss.
The Penguins looked to have things under control last night. They played relatively good hockey for 55 minutes on national television, and had built their two goal advantage on the strength of an beautiful, top-shelf even-strength goal by Mike Rupp and a power-play tally by Kris Letang, both in the second period against Bruins' backup goaltender -- with only 3 wins all season coming into the game -- Tukka Rask.
The Bruins were pressing the play in the third, but Pittsburgh's netminder on this evening, #1 man Marc-Andre Fleury, was consistenly slamming the door.
Then, the zebras took over, calling a ridiculous boarding minor on defenseman Brooks Orpik for not being able to stop from shoving a Bruins' player into the wall after he turned and showed his back to the Pens' assistant captain at the last second.
As I digress for a minute, did I mention how ridiculous that call was?
Those calls are garbage. That's exactly what NFL players have complained about this season under the bevy of significant fines their league office has dolled out to players hitting 'defenseless' receivers on passing plays.
Ask Steelers' linebacker James Harrison what he's supposed to do when a receiver changes his position at the last minute after he's already initiated his tackle, and see what he says.
It's the same thing in hockey, but it's been going on for years. A player lines up to check another player shoulder to shoulder, only to have the player along the wall turn and face the glass, showing his back to the checking player at the last minute. In that situation, the checking player will almost ALWAYS get the penalty, even though he can't do anything about the fact he was already in the act of making his check and the player about to get hit changed his position at the last second and did the stupid thing of making himself more vulnerable.
ANYway, the result of the call on Orpik last night was a knuckler from Bruins' defenseman Zdeno Chara that somehow got past Fleury from the point on the power play, and that only served to give Boston enough momentum to score again 12 seconds later when Brad Marchant capitalized on Chris Kunitz' laziness by beating him to the front of the net --- EASILY -- and depositing a pass behind Fleury for a tie score with about 3 minutes to go.
As if the Orpik call wasn't bad enough, the blind mice decided to call Jordan Staal for holding when he checked Bruins' blueliner Denis Seidenberg along the wall, and finished his check by pinning him there long enough for him to reach the puck -- that had squirted past him down the boards -- first.
Apparently, too long for the guys in black and white.
Normally, I could appreciate the possibility of holding up a player too long on the wall.
But in this case, Seidenberg was finished. He was basically on the ice. It's not like he was keeping his legs moving while still trying to get to the puck.
That penalty gave Boston the power play for just about the rest of the game and Mark Recchi made them pay when he knocked a rebound of a shot out of the air and past Fleury for what would be the game winner (Bruins' forward Gregory Campbell's subsequent empty-net goal notwithstanding).
On Recchi's goal, Fleury made a spectacular save on Boston winger Blake Wheeler, doing an excelling job holding his position on a shot cutting back against the grain, but when Pascal Dupuis took his turn at being lazy on the PK, Recchi had just enough time to capitalize from in front uncontested.
And so, for their part, after being outshot 13-2 in the final frame, the Penguins had their second blown third period lead to Boston in their own barn in two months.
For my part, I just about punched a hole in my flatscreen.
The Penguins have to be frustrated over this one -- their 5th loss in their last 6 games, including the last 3 straight without their Captain, Sidney Crosby. I know I am, and I'm not a part of the locker room.
"I don't know what happened," Rupp said afterwards. "We were up two goals. That should be a gimme."
What will be most interesting about the defeat, however, is how the Penguins respond to it in an effort to get out of their funk.
They played 55 good minutes of hockey. Can they forget about the last 5 and move on like a championship contender would? After all, some in local media circles (okay, Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) are questioning that championship pedigree.
While I'm sometimes bothered by the quick-to-pessimism approach that Rossi frequently takes -- including this time -- I appreciate a part of his sentiment: other than the Penguins' 12-game run, they've played mostly .500 hockey before and after that.
Interestingly, it was much the same last season.
After Pittsburgh started the year so strongly, they played mostly .500 hockey from December on, without getting on a real run when things mattered most --- down the stretch of the season.
And you saw what happened to them in the playoffs. They managed to hold off Ottawa, but weren't clicking on enough cylinders to get it done against Montreal.
Unlike Rossi, I'm not ready to do anything like question the Pens' pedigree right now. As is usually the case with these Penguins, what they do now doesn't matter nearly like what they do in the spring does. Even Rossi would acknowledge that. Pittsburgh has time to get things together until then.
That would, of course, start with getting #87 back in the lineup.
Dan Blysma said yesterday that Crosby is "progressing" and "getting better", but would not offer any more crystal of a timetable for his return.
In the meantime, Disco Dan reunited the "nightmare" line of Staal, Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy last night, and let Evgeni Malkin center Kunitz and Dupuis.
Overall, I think that played to good results, and I'd expect to continue to see those top 2 lines -- at least for the foreseeable short-term until Sid returns to the lineup. It remains to be seen, however, whether Blysma will go back to the Staal and Malkin experiment for an extended period of time at that point.
Pittsburgh goes to Montreal (again) to play the Habs' tomorrow night, before getting a rematch with the Bruins in Boston on Saturday afternoon in it's continuing tournament against the Northeast Division.
More soon.
NOTES:
The Penguins' called up forward Dustin Jeffrey from Wilkes-Barre Scranton of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis yesterday, since winger Aaron Asham came down with the flu and was unable to suit up. Malkin, Orpik and Chris Conner also have been dealing with the bug, and both Orpik and Conner missed practice the day before, but played last night. Jeffrey had about 6 total minutes of ice-time.
At the bar. Drinks are flowin'. Conversation is rollin'. A little nightlife ... a little dancing. Then, at her house afterwards takin' care of business thinking you scored the conquest of the year.
Suddenly, the next morning, you wake up and -- in the blink of an eye -- realize things aren't quite as they seemed.
She looks like the bottom of your shoe in the light, has six toes and is spewing venom at you for the condition you left her bathroom in after the dump you took the night before.
Yep, it's a very thin line in the business, folks, and so it was for the Pittsburgh Penguins last night at the CONSOL Energy Center as they watched a late 2-0 third period lead evaporate into a nightmare 4-2 defeat in the final 200 seconds of the game.
Flashbacks to two months ago, anyone?
That's right. That's the game where the Penguins had another two goal lead on the Bruins, at home, in the third period, and promptly went out and watched goaltender Brent Johnson fish 5 pucks out of his net in the final frame of a 7-4 loss.
The Penguins looked to have things under control last night. They played relatively good hockey for 55 minutes on national television, and had built their two goal advantage on the strength of an beautiful, top-shelf even-strength goal by Mike Rupp and a power-play tally by Kris Letang, both in the second period against Bruins' backup goaltender -- with only 3 wins all season coming into the game -- Tukka Rask.
The Bruins were pressing the play in the third, but Pittsburgh's netminder on this evening, #1 man Marc-Andre Fleury, was consistenly slamming the door.
Then, the zebras took over, calling a ridiculous boarding minor on defenseman Brooks Orpik for not being able to stop from shoving a Bruins' player into the wall after he turned and showed his back to the Pens' assistant captain at the last second.
As I digress for a minute, did I mention how ridiculous that call was?
Those calls are garbage. That's exactly what NFL players have complained about this season under the bevy of significant fines their league office has dolled out to players hitting 'defenseless' receivers on passing plays.
Ask Steelers' linebacker James Harrison what he's supposed to do when a receiver changes his position at the last minute after he's already initiated his tackle, and see what he says.
It's the same thing in hockey, but it's been going on for years. A player lines up to check another player shoulder to shoulder, only to have the player along the wall turn and face the glass, showing his back to the checking player at the last minute. In that situation, the checking player will almost ALWAYS get the penalty, even though he can't do anything about the fact he was already in the act of making his check and the player about to get hit changed his position at the last second and did the stupid thing of making himself more vulnerable.
ANYway, the result of the call on Orpik last night was a knuckler from Bruins' defenseman Zdeno Chara that somehow got past Fleury from the point on the power play, and that only served to give Boston enough momentum to score again 12 seconds later when Brad Marchant capitalized on Chris Kunitz' laziness by beating him to the front of the net --- EASILY -- and depositing a pass behind Fleury for a tie score with about 3 minutes to go.
As if the Orpik call wasn't bad enough, the blind mice decided to call Jordan Staal for holding when he checked Bruins' blueliner Denis Seidenberg along the wall, and finished his check by pinning him there long enough for him to reach the puck -- that had squirted past him down the boards -- first.
Apparently, too long for the guys in black and white.
Normally, I could appreciate the possibility of holding up a player too long on the wall.
But in this case, Seidenberg was finished. He was basically on the ice. It's not like he was keeping his legs moving while still trying to get to the puck.
That penalty gave Boston the power play for just about the rest of the game and Mark Recchi made them pay when he knocked a rebound of a shot out of the air and past Fleury for what would be the game winner (Bruins' forward Gregory Campbell's subsequent empty-net goal notwithstanding).
On Recchi's goal, Fleury made a spectacular save on Boston winger Blake Wheeler, doing an excelling job holding his position on a shot cutting back against the grain, but when Pascal Dupuis took his turn at being lazy on the PK, Recchi had just enough time to capitalize from in front uncontested.
And so, for their part, after being outshot 13-2 in the final frame, the Penguins had their second blown third period lead to Boston in their own barn in two months.
For my part, I just about punched a hole in my flatscreen.
The Penguins have to be frustrated over this one -- their 5th loss in their last 6 games, including the last 3 straight without their Captain, Sidney Crosby. I know I am, and I'm not a part of the locker room.
"I don't know what happened," Rupp said afterwards. "We were up two goals. That should be a gimme."
What will be most interesting about the defeat, however, is how the Penguins respond to it in an effort to get out of their funk.
They played 55 good minutes of hockey. Can they forget about the last 5 and move on like a championship contender would? After all, some in local media circles (okay, Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) are questioning that championship pedigree.
While I'm sometimes bothered by the quick-to-pessimism approach that Rossi frequently takes -- including this time -- I appreciate a part of his sentiment: other than the Penguins' 12-game run, they've played mostly .500 hockey before and after that.
Interestingly, it was much the same last season.
After Pittsburgh started the year so strongly, they played mostly .500 hockey from December on, without getting on a real run when things mattered most --- down the stretch of the season.
And you saw what happened to them in the playoffs. They managed to hold off Ottawa, but weren't clicking on enough cylinders to get it done against Montreal.
Unlike Rossi, I'm not ready to do anything like question the Pens' pedigree right now. As is usually the case with these Penguins, what they do now doesn't matter nearly like what they do in the spring does. Even Rossi would acknowledge that. Pittsburgh has time to get things together until then.
That would, of course, start with getting #87 back in the lineup.
Dan Blysma said yesterday that Crosby is "progressing" and "getting better", but would not offer any more crystal of a timetable for his return.
In the meantime, Disco Dan reunited the "nightmare" line of Staal, Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy last night, and let Evgeni Malkin center Kunitz and Dupuis.
Overall, I think that played to good results, and I'd expect to continue to see those top 2 lines -- at least for the foreseeable short-term until Sid returns to the lineup. It remains to be seen, however, whether Blysma will go back to the Staal and Malkin experiment for an extended period of time at that point.
Pittsburgh goes to Montreal (again) to play the Habs' tomorrow night, before getting a rematch with the Bruins in Boston on Saturday afternoon in it's continuing tournament against the Northeast Division.
More soon.
NOTES:
The Penguins' called up forward Dustin Jeffrey from Wilkes-Barre Scranton of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis yesterday, since winger Aaron Asham came down with the flu and was unable to suit up. Malkin, Orpik and Chris Conner also have been dealing with the bug, and both Orpik and Conner missed practice the day before, but played last night. Jeffrey had about 6 total minutes of ice-time.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Midseason Grades: Penguins At The Halfway Point
After Wednesday's 8-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Pittsburgh Penguins reached the halfway point of their season.
For them, 41 games in the books added up to an impressive 26-12-3 record that was good for 55 points, first in the Atlantic Division and first overall in the Eastern Conference.
While it's hard to consider the Penguins as anything other than one of the elite clubs in the National Hockey League right now, their team performance has been a bit streaky during the season's first half.
After about 15 games, they were playing .500 hockey. They followed that up by going on a 12-game winning streak. Since then, they've eased off the pedal and again are at a .500 clip in the last 12 or so contests.
Still, through the season's first half, they are one of the 3 best defensive clubs in the game, and also score per contest in the top 7. That's a strong combination.
So now that we know how the team grades out, what about individual player grades?
Similar to what I've been doing for the last several years at the mid-point of the season, you'll find below my individual player grades for this year's group of Pittsbugh Penguins.
The list will not include a grade for players who have only been with the club for a handful of contests -- like Dustin Jeffrey, for example -- or guys who have been on the shelf most of the season (Jordan Staal, that means you).
It will, however, give a grade for those who have been around most of the year so far, and will do so based on actual performance when compared to expected performance going into the season.
The list will be in order from those who are at the top of the class, to those that have a lot of work to do.
So, without further adieu, let's lead off with our Valedectorian, shall we?
SIDNEY CROSBY - A+ : I can't say anything about Sid that hasn't already been said. He's played the best hockey of his career this year in what former linemate Bill Guerin has called "an assault on the league". Even owner Mario Lemieux couldn't stop gushing over him in advance of the Winter Classic: "For him to go out there and do the things he does every night, every shift, its incredible. What's he's doing now is much more impressive than what I did years ago." Those are compliments that a 25-game scoring streak -- the longest in the NHL in 18 seasons -- and an average of two points per game during the stretch will get you.
KRIS LETANG - A : Like Crosby, Letang is having a career year. Fresh from the constraints of having Sergei Gonchar be the top dog on the blueline, Letang has blossomed and fully realized his potential this season. With 36 points in 41 games and a +21 rating, Tanger has been one of the best blueliners in the game in the season's first half. His selection to the All-Star team as a WRITE-IN candidate and talk about him being a Norris Trophy contender says everything about how well he's played.
MARC-ANDRE FLEURY - A : I must admit, there was a point earlier this season when I was really starting to be concerned about Fleury, but to be honest, I and everyone else had fair reason to be. To be sure, however, after a 1-6 record and personal numbers that would embarass even a backup goaltender, Fleury has bounced back to post some of the best statistics of his career. At the halfway point, he was 18-9-1 with a GAA hovering around 2.25 and a save %-age around .920. He also had a stretch where he didn't allow more than 2 goals for 10 straight games. The Penguins will need him to be at that level down the stretch this season -- and, more importantly -- in the post-season.
BRENT JOHNSON - A- : While we're talking about goaltending, it's time Johnson got his props. He saved the Penguins' bacon and kept them competitive early in the season while Fleury was trying to get his act together and, even after coming back down to earth the last 3 or 4 outings, still posts strong numbers with an 8-3-2 record, a 2.04 GAA, and a .927 save %-age. The key for Johnson is keeping things simple and using his big frame to take up the net. When he's in the zone, he's doing that.
CHRIS KUNITZ - B+ : Kunitz is probably playing his best hockey as a Pittsburgh Penguin this season. He's stayed relatively healthy and is on pace for just under 30 goals. Meanwhile, he's continuing to do what he always does, which is bang bodies on the forecheck, go to the front of the net, and create space for that #87 guy on his line. If Kunitz continues to do all of that in the 2nd half of the year and playoffs, he will finally start justifying his 3.75 million annual salary.
BROOKS ORPIK - B+ : I'm not sure I've ever given Orpik a grade below a "B", and that's a testament to how good he is at what he does. He's one of the best hitters in the game on the blueline, and offers a needed edge to the Penguins' that most other members of that rearguard corps don't offer. On top of that, he skates better than most defenseman in the game, and is fast developing into one of the league's better leaders. The Penguins have gotten all of that -- and more -- from #44 this season so far.
ALEX GOLIGOSKI - B+ : GoGo flies under the radar locally and nationally because he plays on the Pens' third blueline pairing and has a boatload of talented and pricey two-way defensemen in front of him, but his performance this season shouldn't go overlooked. His plus/minus is on par with Letang's as one of the top figures in the game, and he has 7 goals and 23 points at the mid-point. More importantly, he's added a good deal of consistency to his play this year, which has been missing in the past. He'll need to keep that up because the organ-I-zation has a boatload of top prospects on the blueline trying to push him out the door.
MATT COOKE - B+ : Cooke was one of the few veterans who Pens' GM Ray Shero was willing to give a 3-year contract to, and Cooke has repaid him kindly by showing that his excellent performance last year can be duplicated. Cooke is on pace for near 20 goals and 40 points again, all the while displaying the typical grittiness night in and night out that personifies his game. He's well-respected in the locker-room, too.
CHRIS CONNER - B : When Conner got called up to the Penguins in November, the team went on a tear. While it's going too far to suggest he was a big reason why, it also would be folly to overlook his contribution to the third line during that period. For an undersized guy, he's acquitted himself well, scoring about 10 points in just over 25 games. He's got fair hands, great speed, and works well on the forecheck, and those are the reasons why he's had so much success this year thusfar. It will be interesting to see what role he maintains with the club in the season's second half.
DERYK ENGELLAND - B: Engelland rise through the Penguins' system over the years has been relatively nondescript. This year, however, he took a big leap -- both figuratively and literally over teammate Ben Lovejoy -- to get most of the games as the team's 6th defenseman on the blueline. In doing so, he's shown himself to be one of the league's toughest fighters, scoring KO's over respected heavyweights Colton Orr and Jody Shelly. More importantly, he's demonstrated that he can play a steady, defensive game and not be overwhelmed in his own zone.
PASCAL DUPUIS - B- : Duper has played pretty much the way everyone expected him to this season, which is to say, chip in 15-20 goals (which is the pace he's on), use his speed, and be solid defensively. In my opinion, though, Pascal has been even better than he typically is in his own zone and on the backcheck, which is why I've given him a bit of a higher grade. He's an important piece to Pittsburgh's puzzle.
PAUL MARTIN - B- : Martin started off the season like gangbusters, with 7 points in his first 7 games, before tailing off and adding only 11 more in the next 34 contests. Still, he's a steady, reliable, two-way defender on Pittsburgh's second pair. While the first half of his first term in a 5-year deal with the Penguins should be considered a success so far, he can give the Pens more in the 2nd half.
TYLER KENNEDY - B- : Going into training camp this year, Kennedy -- despite his history with the team -- was on the bubble and being pushed for a roster spot by guys like Dustin Jeffrey and Eric Tangradi after a subpar 2009/2010 season. Well, TK has bounced back as a reliable contributor who has chipped in enough offensively to be on a pace for near 40 points. There are still parts of his game to work on, but he seems to solidified himself as a regular again after an above-average first half of the season.
MARK LETESTU - B- : After building on a strong pre-season, center Mark Letestu was another guy that started off the year like gangbusters, and in doing so, made the Penguins look like they had unearthed a potential offensive impact player out of nowhere. After a hot start, however, Letestu has settled into giving the team more of what the Penguins reasonably expected from him after being in their system for several years -- strong and smart 2-way play with occasional offensive upside. I'm still very intrigued by what Letestu could do with a permanent gig in the top 6, but Pittsburgh is probably better off relying on him to make them a deeper team on the third line.
ZYBNEK MICHALEK - C+ : The big "Z" had a rough start to his first year as a Penguin after being forced to sit out almost 10 games with a shoulder injury. Since that time, he's combined with Paul Martin to stabilize Pittsburgh's 2nd pairing and, with his ability to suck up shots like a Hoover vacuum cleaner, is a huge reason why the team's penalty killing outfit is one of the best in the game. Still, Michalek can improve his play at even strength in the 2nd half, and needs to if he wants to end the year without the current 'minus' rating he has. I'm anxious to see -- and value -- him after the post-season.
EVGENI MALKIN - C+ : After winning the Conn Smythe Trophy and Art Ross Trophy as playoff MVP and regular season scoring leader, respectively, following the 2008/2009 seaosn, Malkin had a down year last season. I and many others thought that was an aberration, but surprisingly, Malkin's struggles have continued this year. Geno has battled a little bit of a knee injury in the season's first half, but still has performed below expectations as a guy not even putting up a point per game this. Malkin has incredible talent -- some of the best in the game -- and the Penguins need him on all cylinders if they are going to do any damage in the post-season this year. If he continues to struggle the rest of the year, there's going to be more and more talk about trading him because of his $8.7 million dollar salary.
CRAIG ADAMS - C+ : For a 4th liner, it's hard to get Adams out of the lineup. That's probably because he's physical, smart and kills penalties so well. Adams just needs to keep doing what he's doing. Not only will that keep the coaching staff happy, it will keep me happy. And we know how important that is.
MAX TALBOT - C : It's going to be an interesting remainder of the season for the Penguins' biggest character and most important locker room presence, Max Talbot. After injuries cut short his season last year just months removed from scoring both Pittsburgh goals in game 7 of the 2008/2009 Stanley Cup Final, Talbot has bounced back to retain a regular place in the lineup this year and be mostly injury-free. Still, with only 11 points in the season's first half, Talbot is capable of more. The playoffs will probably tell this season's tale for him.
BEN LOVEJOY - C : Lovejoy went into the year expected to lock down the team's 6th spot on the blueline, then went out and lost the job to teammate Deryk Engelland. When he did get in the lineup during the team's first 30 games, he was average. Lately, he's played better, though, and is getting into the lineup more. The key for Lovejoy is to play within his limitations and not do too much.
MIKE RUPP - C- : Rupper adds so much to the team in the physical department that it's hard to grade him here. He's continued to be strong in the corners, on the wall and on the forecheck, so I have no problems with him in those areas. But where Rupp is capable of more is on the scoresheet. He has better hands than most people think, as his double-digit goal totals last year prove. While even I admit that Rupp probably overachieved in that department last season, I think he's underachieving in that area through the first half.
ERIC GODARD - C- : Godard still does what he does when he is in the lineup, which is stir up the opposition and drop the mits. The emergence of Deryk Engelland, however, has led to Godard getting only 13 games this year so far. This is the final year of Godard's contract, so if he isn't moved at the trade deadline, I would expect that he'll have to find a new place of employment next season.
HILARY DUFF'S HUSBAND (A.K.A. MIKE COMRIE) - D : Comrie may have had the best training camp of anyone on the team. He was slick offensively and looked like he'd become the best free-agent bargain in the NHL this season. Then games started to count and Comrie looked below average. He tallied only 5 points (and no goals) in 16 games and when he went out of the lineup, Pittsburgh went on its long winning streak. As that streak ended, it was revealed that Comrie was going to have surgery for a hip problem that had plagued him since the 2nd game of the season. After going under the knife, he's out until April, and at this point, it's hard to imagine him having an important role in the post-season when he returns. But hey, I'm sure he's getting taken care of at home in the meantime.
That's all boys and girls. I'll have a recap tomorrow of the nationally-televised showdown between the Penguins and Boston Bruins tonight (7:30 PM EST, VERSUS) at the Bird House. If the Penguins have had trouble scoring goals lately without their Captain, it's not going to get any easier tonight against one of the best netminders in the league, Bruins' goalie Tim Thomas.
Let's Go Pens!
For them, 41 games in the books added up to an impressive 26-12-3 record that was good for 55 points, first in the Atlantic Division and first overall in the Eastern Conference.
While it's hard to consider the Penguins as anything other than one of the elite clubs in the National Hockey League right now, their team performance has been a bit streaky during the season's first half.
After about 15 games, they were playing .500 hockey. They followed that up by going on a 12-game winning streak. Since then, they've eased off the pedal and again are at a .500 clip in the last 12 or so contests.
Still, through the season's first half, they are one of the 3 best defensive clubs in the game, and also score per contest in the top 7. That's a strong combination.
So now that we know how the team grades out, what about individual player grades?
Similar to what I've been doing for the last several years at the mid-point of the season, you'll find below my individual player grades for this year's group of Pittsbugh Penguins.
The list will not include a grade for players who have only been with the club for a handful of contests -- like Dustin Jeffrey, for example -- or guys who have been on the shelf most of the season (Jordan Staal, that means you).
It will, however, give a grade for those who have been around most of the year so far, and will do so based on actual performance when compared to expected performance going into the season.
The list will be in order from those who are at the top of the class, to those that have a lot of work to do.
So, without further adieu, let's lead off with our Valedectorian, shall we?
SIDNEY CROSBY - A+ : I can't say anything about Sid that hasn't already been said. He's played the best hockey of his career this year in what former linemate Bill Guerin has called "an assault on the league". Even owner Mario Lemieux couldn't stop gushing over him in advance of the Winter Classic: "For him to go out there and do the things he does every night, every shift, its incredible. What's he's doing now is much more impressive than what I did years ago." Those are compliments that a 25-game scoring streak -- the longest in the NHL in 18 seasons -- and an average of two points per game during the stretch will get you.
KRIS LETANG - A : Like Crosby, Letang is having a career year. Fresh from the constraints of having Sergei Gonchar be the top dog on the blueline, Letang has blossomed and fully realized his potential this season. With 36 points in 41 games and a +21 rating, Tanger has been one of the best blueliners in the game in the season's first half. His selection to the All-Star team as a WRITE-IN candidate and talk about him being a Norris Trophy contender says everything about how well he's played.
MARC-ANDRE FLEURY - A : I must admit, there was a point earlier this season when I was really starting to be concerned about Fleury, but to be honest, I and everyone else had fair reason to be. To be sure, however, after a 1-6 record and personal numbers that would embarass even a backup goaltender, Fleury has bounced back to post some of the best statistics of his career. At the halfway point, he was 18-9-1 with a GAA hovering around 2.25 and a save %-age around .920. He also had a stretch where he didn't allow more than 2 goals for 10 straight games. The Penguins will need him to be at that level down the stretch this season -- and, more importantly -- in the post-season.
BRENT JOHNSON - A- : While we're talking about goaltending, it's time Johnson got his props. He saved the Penguins' bacon and kept them competitive early in the season while Fleury was trying to get his act together and, even after coming back down to earth the last 3 or 4 outings, still posts strong numbers with an 8-3-2 record, a 2.04 GAA, and a .927 save %-age. The key for Johnson is keeping things simple and using his big frame to take up the net. When he's in the zone, he's doing that.
CHRIS KUNITZ - B+ : Kunitz is probably playing his best hockey as a Pittsburgh Penguin this season. He's stayed relatively healthy and is on pace for just under 30 goals. Meanwhile, he's continuing to do what he always does, which is bang bodies on the forecheck, go to the front of the net, and create space for that #87 guy on his line. If Kunitz continues to do all of that in the 2nd half of the year and playoffs, he will finally start justifying his 3.75 million annual salary.
BROOKS ORPIK - B+ : I'm not sure I've ever given Orpik a grade below a "B", and that's a testament to how good he is at what he does. He's one of the best hitters in the game on the blueline, and offers a needed edge to the Penguins' that most other members of that rearguard corps don't offer. On top of that, he skates better than most defenseman in the game, and is fast developing into one of the league's better leaders. The Penguins have gotten all of that -- and more -- from #44 this season so far.
ALEX GOLIGOSKI - B+ : GoGo flies under the radar locally and nationally because he plays on the Pens' third blueline pairing and has a boatload of talented and pricey two-way defensemen in front of him, but his performance this season shouldn't go overlooked. His plus/minus is on par with Letang's as one of the top figures in the game, and he has 7 goals and 23 points at the mid-point. More importantly, he's added a good deal of consistency to his play this year, which has been missing in the past. He'll need to keep that up because the organ-I-zation has a boatload of top prospects on the blueline trying to push him out the door.
MATT COOKE - B+ : Cooke was one of the few veterans who Pens' GM Ray Shero was willing to give a 3-year contract to, and Cooke has repaid him kindly by showing that his excellent performance last year can be duplicated. Cooke is on pace for near 20 goals and 40 points again, all the while displaying the typical grittiness night in and night out that personifies his game. He's well-respected in the locker-room, too.
CHRIS CONNER - B : When Conner got called up to the Penguins in November, the team went on a tear. While it's going too far to suggest he was a big reason why, it also would be folly to overlook his contribution to the third line during that period. For an undersized guy, he's acquitted himself well, scoring about 10 points in just over 25 games. He's got fair hands, great speed, and works well on the forecheck, and those are the reasons why he's had so much success this year thusfar. It will be interesting to see what role he maintains with the club in the season's second half.
DERYK ENGELLAND - B: Engelland rise through the Penguins' system over the years has been relatively nondescript. This year, however, he took a big leap -- both figuratively and literally over teammate Ben Lovejoy -- to get most of the games as the team's 6th defenseman on the blueline. In doing so, he's shown himself to be one of the league's toughest fighters, scoring KO's over respected heavyweights Colton Orr and Jody Shelly. More importantly, he's demonstrated that he can play a steady, defensive game and not be overwhelmed in his own zone.
PASCAL DUPUIS - B- : Duper has played pretty much the way everyone expected him to this season, which is to say, chip in 15-20 goals (which is the pace he's on), use his speed, and be solid defensively. In my opinion, though, Pascal has been even better than he typically is in his own zone and on the backcheck, which is why I've given him a bit of a higher grade. He's an important piece to Pittsburgh's puzzle.
PAUL MARTIN - B- : Martin started off the season like gangbusters, with 7 points in his first 7 games, before tailing off and adding only 11 more in the next 34 contests. Still, he's a steady, reliable, two-way defender on Pittsburgh's second pair. While the first half of his first term in a 5-year deal with the Penguins should be considered a success so far, he can give the Pens more in the 2nd half.
TYLER KENNEDY - B- : Going into training camp this year, Kennedy -- despite his history with the team -- was on the bubble and being pushed for a roster spot by guys like Dustin Jeffrey and Eric Tangradi after a subpar 2009/2010 season. Well, TK has bounced back as a reliable contributor who has chipped in enough offensively to be on a pace for near 40 points. There are still parts of his game to work on, but he seems to solidified himself as a regular again after an above-average first half of the season.
MARK LETESTU - B- : After building on a strong pre-season, center Mark Letestu was another guy that started off the year like gangbusters, and in doing so, made the Penguins look like they had unearthed a potential offensive impact player out of nowhere. After a hot start, however, Letestu has settled into giving the team more of what the Penguins reasonably expected from him after being in their system for several years -- strong and smart 2-way play with occasional offensive upside. I'm still very intrigued by what Letestu could do with a permanent gig in the top 6, but Pittsburgh is probably better off relying on him to make them a deeper team on the third line.
ZYBNEK MICHALEK - C+ : The big "Z" had a rough start to his first year as a Penguin after being forced to sit out almost 10 games with a shoulder injury. Since that time, he's combined with Paul Martin to stabilize Pittsburgh's 2nd pairing and, with his ability to suck up shots like a Hoover vacuum cleaner, is a huge reason why the team's penalty killing outfit is one of the best in the game. Still, Michalek can improve his play at even strength in the 2nd half, and needs to if he wants to end the year without the current 'minus' rating he has. I'm anxious to see -- and value -- him after the post-season.
EVGENI MALKIN - C+ : After winning the Conn Smythe Trophy and Art Ross Trophy as playoff MVP and regular season scoring leader, respectively, following the 2008/2009 seaosn, Malkin had a down year last season. I and many others thought that was an aberration, but surprisingly, Malkin's struggles have continued this year. Geno has battled a little bit of a knee injury in the season's first half, but still has performed below expectations as a guy not even putting up a point per game this. Malkin has incredible talent -- some of the best in the game -- and the Penguins need him on all cylinders if they are going to do any damage in the post-season this year. If he continues to struggle the rest of the year, there's going to be more and more talk about trading him because of his $8.7 million dollar salary.
CRAIG ADAMS - C+ : For a 4th liner, it's hard to get Adams out of the lineup. That's probably because he's physical, smart and kills penalties so well. Adams just needs to keep doing what he's doing. Not only will that keep the coaching staff happy, it will keep me happy. And we know how important that is.
MAX TALBOT - C : It's going to be an interesting remainder of the season for the Penguins' biggest character and most important locker room presence, Max Talbot. After injuries cut short his season last year just months removed from scoring both Pittsburgh goals in game 7 of the 2008/2009 Stanley Cup Final, Talbot has bounced back to retain a regular place in the lineup this year and be mostly injury-free. Still, with only 11 points in the season's first half, Talbot is capable of more. The playoffs will probably tell this season's tale for him.
BEN LOVEJOY - C : Lovejoy went into the year expected to lock down the team's 6th spot on the blueline, then went out and lost the job to teammate Deryk Engelland. When he did get in the lineup during the team's first 30 games, he was average. Lately, he's played better, though, and is getting into the lineup more. The key for Lovejoy is to play within his limitations and not do too much.
MIKE RUPP - C- : Rupper adds so much to the team in the physical department that it's hard to grade him here. He's continued to be strong in the corners, on the wall and on the forecheck, so I have no problems with him in those areas. But where Rupp is capable of more is on the scoresheet. He has better hands than most people think, as his double-digit goal totals last year prove. While even I admit that Rupp probably overachieved in that department last season, I think he's underachieving in that area through the first half.
ERIC GODARD - C- : Godard still does what he does when he is in the lineup, which is stir up the opposition and drop the mits. The emergence of Deryk Engelland, however, has led to Godard getting only 13 games this year so far. This is the final year of Godard's contract, so if he isn't moved at the trade deadline, I would expect that he'll have to find a new place of employment next season.
HILARY DUFF'S HUSBAND (A.K.A. MIKE COMRIE) - D : Comrie may have had the best training camp of anyone on the team. He was slick offensively and looked like he'd become the best free-agent bargain in the NHL this season. Then games started to count and Comrie looked below average. He tallied only 5 points (and no goals) in 16 games and when he went out of the lineup, Pittsburgh went on its long winning streak. As that streak ended, it was revealed that Comrie was going to have surgery for a hip problem that had plagued him since the 2nd game of the season. After going under the knife, he's out until April, and at this point, it's hard to imagine him having an important role in the post-season when he returns. But hey, I'm sure he's getting taken care of at home in the meantime.
That's all boys and girls. I'll have a recap tomorrow of the nationally-televised showdown between the Penguins and Boston Bruins tonight (7:30 PM EST, VERSUS) at the Bird House. If the Penguins have had trouble scoring goals lately without their Captain, it's not going to get any easier tonight against one of the best netminders in the league, Bruins' goalie Tim Thomas.
Let's Go Pens!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Pens' Lose To Wild: I Hope It's Not A Trend ...
Wednesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Pittsburgh Penguins scored 8 goals in a win over the Tampa Bay Lightning with their Captain contributing only one assist on the scoresheet.
However, in the two games since -- with Sidney Crosby sitting out both because of post-concussion symptoms -- the Pens have scored one goal in two games, both of which were losses not coincidentally, including last night's miserable 4-0 whitewashing by the Minnesota Wild at the CONSOL Energy Center.
I certainly hope this isn't a trend, because I don't see the Penguins' Captain returning for at least several more games.
The Penguins looked like a lost and frustrated group last night -- again unable to generate offense because of an inability to get pucks deep or get speed going.
There just wasn't a lot to write home about in this one folks.
Chuck Kobasew and Martin Havlat scored in the first period for Minnesota, and Cal Clutterbuck and Kyle Brodziak added 3rd period tallies for the Wild, the last of which into an empty net, in sending the Penguins to their second straight defeat.
Pittsburgh was outshot 37-26 on the night, and failed on 4 power play chances.
Marc-Andre Fleury took the loss, continuing the Pens' miserable record against the Wild in the last half a dozen or so seasons, when I believe they have only beat Minnesota one time --- and have lost 4 or 5 in row to them in Pittsburgh
Much more interesting than the on-ice action last night, though, was the comments made earlier in the day by Crosby, who spoke publicly for the first time since being diagnosed with a concussion.
And, in a bit of a surprise stance, the league's best player and ambassador was somewhat critical of the league in the way it handled the two hits he sustained which have combined to give him the neck stiffness and headaches he's been dealing with the last few days.
"You talk about head shots and dealing with them, and that's been something that's been a pretty big point of interest with everybody" Crosby said. "When looking at those hits .... there's no puck there -- and a direct hit to the head on both of them. If you want to go through the criteria, I think they fit all those."
I know Crosby is frustrated, and I can't stand seeing him out of the Penguins' lineup, but as I said here a few days ago, I'm still not seeing it.
For those who haven't seen the hits, the hit Washington Capitals' forward David Stecklel laid on Crosby at the end of the second period of Saturday night's Winter Classic can be found here, while the even simpler hit that Lightning defenseman Victor Headman put on Sid wednesday evening can be found here.
In my mind, Crosby is out of the lineup more because of the Steckel hit because it was a lot harder -- or perhaps the cumulative effect of both -- but as I said, I don't think either were penalties or anything close to fine or suspension-worthy.
In associating the word "blindside" with those hits, it tends to bring to mind the two most vicious blindside hits the NHL has seen in recent years -- and the impetus to bring about the league's rule changes trying to target those hits. Of course, those were the hits that Fhiladelphia Flyers' forwrad Mike Richards laid on Florida Panthers' forward David Booth and the hit that his own teammate, Matt Cooke, put on Bruins' forward Marc Savard.
In my opinion, both hits Crosby sustained weren't really anything like those checks. The Hedman one was pretty much a simple push when Crosby was already up against the boards, and I still continue to see the Steckel hit (which I have viewed over and over and over again for anything I may have missed) as incidental contact --- contact that, unfortunately, occurred between #87 and a player much bigger than him.
It doesn't sound as if Crosby is going to continue to make an issue out of what happened, but it certainly was interesting to see the face of the league seemingly speak out -- albeit carefully -- against the NHL for not taking action to punish or discipline the hits (and players) that have left him concussed.
For their part, head coach Dan Bylsma reiterated yesterday that Crosby was evaluated by doctors after the Steckel hit and before Pittsburgh's next game against the Lightning. According to him, Crosby's neck was a little sore, but that wasn't viewed as a concussion related symptom.
I presume the other symptoms must have come later, because while neck stiffness isn't the most obvious concussion symptom like headaches and dizzyness are, neck soreness can be a symptom of a concussion.
Let's hope the Penguins and their team doctors at least considered the possibility that Sid might be having concussion-related symtpoms after Crosby's direct hit to the head by Steckel -- even if they only came in the form of neck pain.
Regardless, the Penguins need to find a way to start generating some offense, and they'll have a chance to do so again starting tomorrow night against the Boston Bruins.
I know I still owe some 24/7 reviews, and a post of team-grades at the halfway point of the season. I'll try to get something up on at least one of those subjects tomorrow. It's been a crazy weekend.
Thanks for reading ....
However, in the two games since -- with Sidney Crosby sitting out both because of post-concussion symptoms -- the Pens have scored one goal in two games, both of which were losses not coincidentally, including last night's miserable 4-0 whitewashing by the Minnesota Wild at the CONSOL Energy Center.
I certainly hope this isn't a trend, because I don't see the Penguins' Captain returning for at least several more games.
The Penguins looked like a lost and frustrated group last night -- again unable to generate offense because of an inability to get pucks deep or get speed going.
There just wasn't a lot to write home about in this one folks.
Chuck Kobasew and Martin Havlat scored in the first period for Minnesota, and Cal Clutterbuck and Kyle Brodziak added 3rd period tallies for the Wild, the last of which into an empty net, in sending the Penguins to their second straight defeat.
Pittsburgh was outshot 37-26 on the night, and failed on 4 power play chances.
Marc-Andre Fleury took the loss, continuing the Pens' miserable record against the Wild in the last half a dozen or so seasons, when I believe they have only beat Minnesota one time --- and have lost 4 or 5 in row to them in Pittsburgh
Much more interesting than the on-ice action last night, though, was the comments made earlier in the day by Crosby, who spoke publicly for the first time since being diagnosed with a concussion.
And, in a bit of a surprise stance, the league's best player and ambassador was somewhat critical of the league in the way it handled the two hits he sustained which have combined to give him the neck stiffness and headaches he's been dealing with the last few days.
"You talk about head shots and dealing with them, and that's been something that's been a pretty big point of interest with everybody" Crosby said. "When looking at those hits .... there's no puck there -- and a direct hit to the head on both of them. If you want to go through the criteria, I think they fit all those."
I know Crosby is frustrated, and I can't stand seeing him out of the Penguins' lineup, but as I said here a few days ago, I'm still not seeing it.
For those who haven't seen the hits, the hit Washington Capitals' forward David Stecklel laid on Crosby at the end of the second period of Saturday night's Winter Classic can be found here, while the even simpler hit that Lightning defenseman Victor Headman put on Sid wednesday evening can be found here.
In my mind, Crosby is out of the lineup more because of the Steckel hit because it was a lot harder -- or perhaps the cumulative effect of both -- but as I said, I don't think either were penalties or anything close to fine or suspension-worthy.
In associating the word "blindside" with those hits, it tends to bring to mind the two most vicious blindside hits the NHL has seen in recent years -- and the impetus to bring about the league's rule changes trying to target those hits. Of course, those were the hits that Fhiladelphia Flyers' forwrad Mike Richards laid on Florida Panthers' forward David Booth and the hit that his own teammate, Matt Cooke, put on Bruins' forward Marc Savard.
In my opinion, both hits Crosby sustained weren't really anything like those checks. The Hedman one was pretty much a simple push when Crosby was already up against the boards, and I still continue to see the Steckel hit (which I have viewed over and over and over again for anything I may have missed) as incidental contact --- contact that, unfortunately, occurred between #87 and a player much bigger than him.
It doesn't sound as if Crosby is going to continue to make an issue out of what happened, but it certainly was interesting to see the face of the league seemingly speak out -- albeit carefully -- against the NHL for not taking action to punish or discipline the hits (and players) that have left him concussed.
For their part, head coach Dan Bylsma reiterated yesterday that Crosby was evaluated by doctors after the Steckel hit and before Pittsburgh's next game against the Lightning. According to him, Crosby's neck was a little sore, but that wasn't viewed as a concussion related symptom.
I presume the other symptoms must have come later, because while neck stiffness isn't the most obvious concussion symptom like headaches and dizzyness are, neck soreness can be a symptom of a concussion.
Let's hope the Penguins and their team doctors at least considered the possibility that Sid might be having concussion-related symtpoms after Crosby's direct hit to the head by Steckel -- even if they only came in the form of neck pain.
Regardless, the Penguins need to find a way to start generating some offense, and they'll have a chance to do so again starting tomorrow night against the Boston Bruins.
I know I still owe some 24/7 reviews, and a post of team-grades at the halfway point of the season. I'll try to get something up on at least one of those subjects tomorrow. It's been a crazy weekend.
Thanks for reading ....
Friday, January 7, 2011
Crosby Has Mild Concussion; Sits Out 2-1 Shootout Loss in Montreal
It's no wonder he was mostly held off the scoresheet while his teammates put an 8 on the board.
Penguins' Captain and NHL scoring leader Sidney Crosby had a concussion.
After tallying only a single assist among the 20+ points his team rang up on Wednesday night at home in an 8-1 beating of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and after flying with the team postgame to Montreal where the Penguins would play the Canadiens last night, Crosby took a separate charter back to Pittsburgh yesterday before the game -- ultimately a 2-1 shootout loss -- where team doctors there diagnosed him with a 'mild concussion'.
Prior to yesterday's contest when Head Coach Dan Bylsma announced that Crosby wouldn't be in the lineup, he said simply that Crosby had an 'upper body injury'.
After the game, though, Bylsma got word from the experts back home and -- together with announcing the diagnosis -- spread the word that Crosby would be out about a week.
Concussions are always a concern because with each one, a player is said to be more susceptible to another, but the good news is that this one seems to be of the more basic variety.
What's quite curious about the situation, however, is the decision to play Crosby against the Lightning when -- as I and many others speculate -- the concussion was sustained in the Winter Classic when Washington Capitals' forward David Steckel caught Crosby in the head with a pretty solid blow when he was skating up the ice late in the second period.
Bylsma wouldn't confirm that's when the concussion occurred. In fact, prior to last night's game, he said the opposite -- that the injury was sustained in Wednesday's game.
Crosby did have his head and face shoved up against the glass by Lightning blueliner Victor Hedman in the game -- a hit that left Crosby with a stunned grimace -- but he continued to play after that hit, just like he did in the third period of the Winter Classic after the Steckel hit.
Disco Dan added last night that Crosby was seen by doctors at Heinz Field, and again Wednesday night after the win against the Lightning, but when he woke up in the morning in Montreal, he didn't feel good.
That's when they decided to send #87 back home.
Things without Crosby were no picnic last night against the Canadiens, either.
In a complete contrast with the night before, the Penguins weren't able to generate much offense. They got an early goal from Aaron Asham -- who actually had been a healthy scratch against the Lightning but returned last night -- but that was the extent of their production.
In fact, they were outscored by some french guy with more vowels in his name than I have fingers.
Okay -- maybe not that many -- but Benoit Pouliot scored Montreal's only goal in regulation in the 2nd period, then scored their only goal in 5 chances in the shootout against Pens' netminder Brent Johnson.
That might have been good enough for Pittsburgh to pull out the extra point on most nights, but with defenseman Kris Letang and forwards Pascal Dupuis, Evgeni Malkin, Mark Letestu and Chris Kunitz all failing to beat Habs' goalie Carey Price on their turns in the shootout, the bruised and battered Penguins suffered a 2-1 defeat.
While Pittsburgh ultimately outshot Montreal 32-23 on the night, I don't think the ice was titled quite that much.
The Pens had the better of the play in the opening frame, but Montreal did a better job generating good chances most of the rest of the way and -- save for a few real good chances that Jordan Staal had but could not convert -- let a tall and confident Carey Price easily toss aside most of what the Penguins threw at him from the outside .
In fact, the Boys of Winter could very well consider themselves fortunate to get the point, since they had to kill off about 3 and 1/2 consecutive shorthanded minutes with the third period winding down -- including two straight minutes of 5-on-3 time -- thanks to several consecutive penalties, two of which involved shooting the puck over the glass from their own zone.
That's a penalty that's happened to Pittsburgh a bit too much lately, and something they definitely have to be more careful of.
The Penguins also had to deal with adjusted lines last night with Crosby out of action.
Letestu stepped up to center the #1 line with Kunitz and Dupuis, so Bylsma could leave the 2nd line with Staal, Malkin and Tyler Kennedy intact. Max Talbot centered the third line in Letestu's place, and Asham stepped in on the left side there because LW Matt Cooke also missed last night's game. He had to fly back to Pittsburgh with Crosby for what has only been disclosed as "personal reasons".
Finally, on top of those changes, the Penguins had to dress 7 defenseman just to field a full roster, and that led to Deryk Engelland getting about 5 minutes of action on the wing in the game.
So, the Penguins will lick their wounds and return home, where they will next face the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night at the CONSOL Energy Center.
While Crosby won't play, there's no word yet on Cooke's status, and there may even be a bit of a question about the playing status of Malkin, who had an awkward fall late in the third period last night after Montreal forward Scott Gomez pitchforked Malkin's skate blade out from underneath him and forced him to twist his left knee -- the same one that was injured for him earlier this season -- and do a bit of a split, to boot.
While Malkin thankfully returned to play, he was said to be favoring the leg a little bit after the game.
Personally, I thought he might have pulled a groin.
Anyway, in light of all this, there's a chance that someone from Wilkes-Barre is going to join the club in time for tomorrow's contest. We'll see.
More this weekend ...
Penguins' Captain and NHL scoring leader Sidney Crosby had a concussion.
After tallying only a single assist among the 20+ points his team rang up on Wednesday night at home in an 8-1 beating of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and after flying with the team postgame to Montreal where the Penguins would play the Canadiens last night, Crosby took a separate charter back to Pittsburgh yesterday before the game -- ultimately a 2-1 shootout loss -- where team doctors there diagnosed him with a 'mild concussion'.
Prior to yesterday's contest when Head Coach Dan Bylsma announced that Crosby wouldn't be in the lineup, he said simply that Crosby had an 'upper body injury'.
After the game, though, Bylsma got word from the experts back home and -- together with announcing the diagnosis -- spread the word that Crosby would be out about a week.
Concussions are always a concern because with each one, a player is said to be more susceptible to another, but the good news is that this one seems to be of the more basic variety.
What's quite curious about the situation, however, is the decision to play Crosby against the Lightning when -- as I and many others speculate -- the concussion was sustained in the Winter Classic when Washington Capitals' forward David Steckel caught Crosby in the head with a pretty solid blow when he was skating up the ice late in the second period.
Bylsma wouldn't confirm that's when the concussion occurred. In fact, prior to last night's game, he said the opposite -- that the injury was sustained in Wednesday's game.
Crosby did have his head and face shoved up against the glass by Lightning blueliner Victor Hedman in the game -- a hit that left Crosby with a stunned grimace -- but he continued to play after that hit, just like he did in the third period of the Winter Classic after the Steckel hit.
Disco Dan added last night that Crosby was seen by doctors at Heinz Field, and again Wednesday night after the win against the Lightning, but when he woke up in the morning in Montreal, he didn't feel good.
That's when they decided to send #87 back home.
Things without Crosby were no picnic last night against the Canadiens, either.
In a complete contrast with the night before, the Penguins weren't able to generate much offense. They got an early goal from Aaron Asham -- who actually had been a healthy scratch against the Lightning but returned last night -- but that was the extent of their production.
In fact, they were outscored by some french guy with more vowels in his name than I have fingers.
Okay -- maybe not that many -- but Benoit Pouliot scored Montreal's only goal in regulation in the 2nd period, then scored their only goal in 5 chances in the shootout against Pens' netminder Brent Johnson.
That might have been good enough for Pittsburgh to pull out the extra point on most nights, but with defenseman Kris Letang and forwards Pascal Dupuis, Evgeni Malkin, Mark Letestu and Chris Kunitz all failing to beat Habs' goalie Carey Price on their turns in the shootout, the bruised and battered Penguins suffered a 2-1 defeat.
While Pittsburgh ultimately outshot Montreal 32-23 on the night, I don't think the ice was titled quite that much.
The Pens had the better of the play in the opening frame, but Montreal did a better job generating good chances most of the rest of the way and -- save for a few real good chances that Jordan Staal had but could not convert -- let a tall and confident Carey Price easily toss aside most of what the Penguins threw at him from the outside .
In fact, the Boys of Winter could very well consider themselves fortunate to get the point, since they had to kill off about 3 and 1/2 consecutive shorthanded minutes with the third period winding down -- including two straight minutes of 5-on-3 time -- thanks to several consecutive penalties, two of which involved shooting the puck over the glass from their own zone.
That's a penalty that's happened to Pittsburgh a bit too much lately, and something they definitely have to be more careful of.
The Penguins also had to deal with adjusted lines last night with Crosby out of action.
Letestu stepped up to center the #1 line with Kunitz and Dupuis, so Bylsma could leave the 2nd line with Staal, Malkin and Tyler Kennedy intact. Max Talbot centered the third line in Letestu's place, and Asham stepped in on the left side there because LW Matt Cooke also missed last night's game. He had to fly back to Pittsburgh with Crosby for what has only been disclosed as "personal reasons".
Finally, on top of those changes, the Penguins had to dress 7 defenseman just to field a full roster, and that led to Deryk Engelland getting about 5 minutes of action on the wing in the game.
So, the Penguins will lick their wounds and return home, where they will next face the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night at the CONSOL Energy Center.
While Crosby won't play, there's no word yet on Cooke's status, and there may even be a bit of a question about the playing status of Malkin, who had an awkward fall late in the third period last night after Montreal forward Scott Gomez pitchforked Malkin's skate blade out from underneath him and forced him to twist his left knee -- the same one that was injured for him earlier this season -- and do a bit of a split, to boot.
While Malkin thankfully returned to play, he was said to be favoring the leg a little bit after the game.
Personally, I thought he might have pulled a groin.
Anyway, in light of all this, there's a chance that someone from Wilkes-Barre is going to join the club in time for tomorrow's contest. We'll see.
More this weekend ...
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Pens Jolt Lightning And Win By A Touchdown, 8-1
Okay, so their timing was off by one game.
If there was a game to win by a touchdown, it was the Pittsburgh Penguins' LAST game.
You know, the one at the football stadium against the Washington Capitals?
Yeah, that Heinz Field Winter Classic thing.
Well, since that didn't work out, I suppose the Penguins will have to be content with beating the Tampa Bay Lightning by a touchdown instead, which they did last night at the CONSOL Energy Center by running up a 5-0 first period lead and ultimately browbeating the Lightning, 8-1.
Pittsburgh certainly wasted no time getting back into their regular routine last night without the HBO cameras around and without all the buildup that accompanied them kicking off the New Year in primetime, as Evgeni Malkin intercepted a pass right off the opening faceoff won by the Lightning, danced into the offensive zone, then flipped a puck past new Tampa Bay goaltender Dwayne Roloson -- the hero from the night before in the Lightning's 1-0 overtime win over the Caps.
Before most people were even in their seats, the onslaught continued 2 minutes later when an Alex Goligoski point shot went off forward Chris Conner's skate and behind Roloson, and then Tyler Kennedy chased Roloson to the bench at the 7 minute mark when he broke across the slot and showed a lot of patience before firing a shot that went through Roloson's legs and off the skate of Lightning blueliner Pavel Kubina and in for a 3-0 lead.
LW Chris Kunitz wasted no time welcoming new Tampa Bay netminder Dan Ellis to the party by beating him top corner glove side 30 seconds later, and Kunitz added another goal before the period ended when he deflected a Goligoski point shot past Ellis on the power play.
Leading 5-0 at that point, the Penguins had to wonder whether they were going to hit double digits before the end of the second frame. They hadn't scored 5 goals in the opening period of a game in the last 18 or so years.
You knew Tampa should have just packed up and returned to Florida a few minutes into the second period when Steven Stamkos was awarded a penalty shot, but lost both the puck and his skate edge when he just fell down 45-feet out as he approached Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.
That was just desserts for a lame call awarding the shot in the first place, if you ask me.
Meanwhile, Roloson returned to the game in the 2nd period in time for Pens' forward Mark Letestu to flash some incredible individual skill when he scored to make it 6-0 past the 12 minute mark. Test tube took a nice, short dish pass from Tyler Kennedy before going inside out on Roloson, leaving him on the parkway headed to the airport (as Pens' hall-of-fame radio play-by-play man Mike Lange would say), and roofing a backhander into the otherwise vacated cage.
Credit has to go to TK on the play. He made just an oustanding pass to Letestu. I spoke yesterday in this space how he needs to do more besides skate fast and shoot pucks. He definitely did the job on that sequence.
Kunitz kept things going when he notched a hat trick before the period expired, deflecting another GoGo point shot past Roloson on the power play for a 7-0 advantage.
While former Penguin Adam Hall managed to bang one past Fleury early in the third period, Goligoski quickly reminded Tampa of their place when he finished a 4-on-1 rush a minute later by scoring on a wrister from the slot top corner, glove side over Ellis -- who had been re-inserted into the game for more abuse.
At 8-1, that pretty much put the Lightning out of their misery.
Pittsburgh outshot the Lighting 41-32 on the night.
You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned Sidney Crosby's name a single time in this post so-far. That's because -- surprisingly -- he was mostly a non-factor last night. His only point in the 8-goal Penguin outburst was an assist on Kunitz's first goal.
Center Jordan Staal also went pointless on the night while making his 'home' debut.
And, considering that Malkin's only point of the game was on his opening goal, most of the damage done against Tampa Bay occurred at the hands of Pittsburgh's support players, together with blueliners Goligoski -- who finished with 4 points on the night -- and Kris Letang, who had 3 assists.
Sure, the Penguins were given a little bit of a break by the schedule maker on this one, what with the Lightning playing in a key division battle the night before against one of their biggest rivals.
But aside from the fact that the Pens will repay that favor since they have to play in Montreal tonight against the Canadiens, Tampa Bay still came into the game as one of the better clubs in the Eastern Conference, tied with Pittsburgh and the Philadelphia Flyers for the top spot with 53 points. And remember, they achieved that total with some of the worst goaltending in the league this season --- which is why they went out and acquired Roloson a few days ago -- and that says something about their club.
However, last night's game may have showed that, for all their supreme offensive skill up front, they may not quite be ready to compete with the big boys in the East yet -- especially on the blueline.
That's all for now boys and girls. I'll have a recap of tonight's Pens'/Canadiens tilt tomorrow. I know I didn't get something up yesterday on the third 24/7 episode, so what I'll just do at this point is post a piece reviewing that episode and last night's outstanding 24/7 finale. Hopefully that will come this weekend.
I also hope to have mid-season grades sometime this weekend, so keep your eyes peeled for that.
Let's Go Pens!
If there was a game to win by a touchdown, it was the Pittsburgh Penguins' LAST game.
You know, the one at the football stadium against the Washington Capitals?
Yeah, that Heinz Field Winter Classic thing.
Well, since that didn't work out, I suppose the Penguins will have to be content with beating the Tampa Bay Lightning by a touchdown instead, which they did last night at the CONSOL Energy Center by running up a 5-0 first period lead and ultimately browbeating the Lightning, 8-1.
Pittsburgh certainly wasted no time getting back into their regular routine last night without the HBO cameras around and without all the buildup that accompanied them kicking off the New Year in primetime, as Evgeni Malkin intercepted a pass right off the opening faceoff won by the Lightning, danced into the offensive zone, then flipped a puck past new Tampa Bay goaltender Dwayne Roloson -- the hero from the night before in the Lightning's 1-0 overtime win over the Caps.
Before most people were even in their seats, the onslaught continued 2 minutes later when an Alex Goligoski point shot went off forward Chris Conner's skate and behind Roloson, and then Tyler Kennedy chased Roloson to the bench at the 7 minute mark when he broke across the slot and showed a lot of patience before firing a shot that went through Roloson's legs and off the skate of Lightning blueliner Pavel Kubina and in for a 3-0 lead.
LW Chris Kunitz wasted no time welcoming new Tampa Bay netminder Dan Ellis to the party by beating him top corner glove side 30 seconds later, and Kunitz added another goal before the period ended when he deflected a Goligoski point shot past Ellis on the power play.
Leading 5-0 at that point, the Penguins had to wonder whether they were going to hit double digits before the end of the second frame. They hadn't scored 5 goals in the opening period of a game in the last 18 or so years.
You knew Tampa should have just packed up and returned to Florida a few minutes into the second period when Steven Stamkos was awarded a penalty shot, but lost both the puck and his skate edge when he just fell down 45-feet out as he approached Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.
That was just desserts for a lame call awarding the shot in the first place, if you ask me.
Meanwhile, Roloson returned to the game in the 2nd period in time for Pens' forward Mark Letestu to flash some incredible individual skill when he scored to make it 6-0 past the 12 minute mark. Test tube took a nice, short dish pass from Tyler Kennedy before going inside out on Roloson, leaving him on the parkway headed to the airport (as Pens' hall-of-fame radio play-by-play man Mike Lange would say), and roofing a backhander into the otherwise vacated cage.
Credit has to go to TK on the play. He made just an oustanding pass to Letestu. I spoke yesterday in this space how he needs to do more besides skate fast and shoot pucks. He definitely did the job on that sequence.
Kunitz kept things going when he notched a hat trick before the period expired, deflecting another GoGo point shot past Roloson on the power play for a 7-0 advantage.
While former Penguin Adam Hall managed to bang one past Fleury early in the third period, Goligoski quickly reminded Tampa of their place when he finished a 4-on-1 rush a minute later by scoring on a wrister from the slot top corner, glove side over Ellis -- who had been re-inserted into the game for more abuse.
At 8-1, that pretty much put the Lightning out of their misery.
Pittsburgh outshot the Lighting 41-32 on the night.
You may have noticed that I haven't mentioned Sidney Crosby's name a single time in this post so-far. That's because -- surprisingly -- he was mostly a non-factor last night. His only point in the 8-goal Penguin outburst was an assist on Kunitz's first goal.
Center Jordan Staal also went pointless on the night while making his 'home' debut.
And, considering that Malkin's only point of the game was on his opening goal, most of the damage done against Tampa Bay occurred at the hands of Pittsburgh's support players, together with blueliners Goligoski -- who finished with 4 points on the night -- and Kris Letang, who had 3 assists.
Sure, the Penguins were given a little bit of a break by the schedule maker on this one, what with the Lightning playing in a key division battle the night before against one of their biggest rivals.
But aside from the fact that the Pens will repay that favor since they have to play in Montreal tonight against the Canadiens, Tampa Bay still came into the game as one of the better clubs in the Eastern Conference, tied with Pittsburgh and the Philadelphia Flyers for the top spot with 53 points. And remember, they achieved that total with some of the worst goaltending in the league this season --- which is why they went out and acquired Roloson a few days ago -- and that says something about their club.
However, last night's game may have showed that, for all their supreme offensive skill up front, they may not quite be ready to compete with the big boys in the East yet -- especially on the blueline.
That's all for now boys and girls. I'll have a recap of tonight's Pens'/Canadiens tilt tomorrow. I know I didn't get something up yesterday on the third 24/7 episode, so what I'll just do at this point is post a piece reviewing that episode and last night's outstanding 24/7 finale. Hopefully that will come this weekend.
I also hope to have mid-season grades sometime this weekend, so keep your eyes peeled for that.
Let's Go Pens!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Penguins In The Spotlight As Lightning Come To Town
As the Pittsburgh Penguins prepare to hop back on the proverbial horse tonight and resume their NHL schedule against Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning at the CONSOL Energy Center (7:00 PM EST), the glare of the hockey world continues to focus on Pittsburgh.
Yesterday, Sidney Crosby was named the NHL's #1 star for the month of December. Thanks to his 24 points in 13 December games -- including 8 multiple point efforts -- he was given the award over red-hot Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo and ageless Detroit Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom.
This was the second straight month the Pens' Captain earned the league's #1 star, after taking home that prize in November, too.
On top of that, we learned that the Penguins are going to take the NHL All-Star game -- this year in Raleigh, NC, home of the Carolina Hurricanes on January 30 -- by storm.
Not one, not two, not three, but FOUR Penguin players were voted by the fans to play in the game -- centers Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, defenseman Kris Letang, and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.
"It's pretty cool that we all get to go there together," Fleury said.
Given that only the top six players in the voting were chosen, the final tally speaks volumes as to the popularity of the Penguins nationwide.
While Crosby -- the top vote getter -- was an obvious choice, the Penguins should get a lot of satisfaction from having the other 3 players selected.
That's not to say they aren't deserving; it's just that there are interesting stories behind each of the their selections.
For openers, Malkin is not really having a good year. He battled a knee problem in the first half of the season that limited his production and, just when it looked like he was coming out of his shell, he's taken a bit of a step back the last 3 or 4 games.
Right now, he's on pace for a career low in goals and points, and his form is a far cry from that which made him an Art Ross and Conn Smythe Trophy winner just two years ago.
Obviously, Penguin fans nationwide still support him.
Fleury, meanwhile, looked completely and totally lost to start the season. At one point in early November, he had a 1-6 record and statistics that would embarrass a backup goaltender.
Since that time, however, he's 16-3-2 and on pace to have career best numbers in wins, goals-against-average and save percentage. There's a reason the Penguins went through a stretch where they didn't allow more than 2 goals in 10 straight games. He's looked as good between the pipes in the last two months than he ever has.
"Probably the one all-star pick that pleases me the most is his," said head coach Dan Bylsma of Fleury's selection.
Letang may just be the most incredible story of the 4, though. Other than Crosby, Letang is probably the most deserving all-star in the group. He's 4th in the league in points among blueliners and has the third best plus-minus among all players leaguewide.
But what makes Letang's voting numbers so amazing is that he wasn't even on the original NHL ballot.
That's right ... every single one of his 400,000+ votes came by way of the write-in variety, and that's something that I can't ever recall happening in 28 years of following this great game.
Of course, voting these days can take place by text message and over the internet, but the point is that you have to type his name in to choose him.
"It feels unbelievable" (to be selected), said Letang.
Now, while Crosby, Malkin, Fleury and Letang were all selected by the fans to start the game, I'm not certain whether they're actually going to start the game. That's typically how it works, but this year, after the league chooses the remaining all-stars, the league is going to select captains who get to pick their players among them -- sort of like a pick-up game. While the format will be new and interesting, and probably a bit more fun, I have no clue how they will determine who starts. Perhaps the Captains will decide that, too. If not them, it will probably be the coaches.
Either way, kudos to those four players for being selected to represent Pittsburgh in the league's All-Star game.
It's the first time the Penguins have had 4 players in the showcase for almost two decades.
Speaking of All-Stars, at least two players who will surely be joining Crosby, Malkin, Letang and Fleury on the ice in Raleigh will be wearing visiting uniforms tonight, with Stamkos and Martin St. Louis leading Tampa Bay into town.
The Lightning are coming off a 1-0 overtime win last night against the Washignton Capitals in DC behind the strength of 34 saves from their new goaltender, Dwayne Roloson -- acquired about 3 days ago from the New York Islanders.
While there's no word on whether the Penguins will see him between the pipes tonight, they certainly will have to deal with two of the most dangerous forwards in the league.
Stamkos has 31 goals -- one behind Crosby's 32 for the league-lead -- and is second in points behind Sid in the overall scoring race (65-56).
Meanwhile, St. Louis has quietly risen to third place in the points race, and scored the game-winner last night to raise his team's point total to 53.
And, in case you still look down on the Lightning as a less-than-accomplished team, you should know that their point total is the same as that held by the local hockey club, and one point ahead of Washington for the Southeast Division lead.
For their part, the Penguins look to get back on track tonight after coming out on the wrong end in 3 of their last 4 games.
To do that, it appears as if their second line may have a little bit of a different look this evening.
Sure, Jordan Staal remains slated to center Malkin on that line, but if practice yesterday was any indication, they are going to be joined on by RW Tyler Kennedy, who would play his off-wing on the left side.
"He adds a disruption factor and a speed factor to a line that other guys on our team don't match," Bylsma said. "He has speed on the forecheck, chasing pucks down, tenacity wise pursuing the puck."
While it's hard to argue with Blysma's assessment of Kennedy's game, the problem with Kennedy is that he hasn't proven the ability to consistently finish.
One goal in his last 19 games pretty much says everything you need to know in that department.
Now, admittedly, the Penguins don't have an overwhelming amount of clearly better options than Kennedy (Talbot? Cooke?). And, I won't deny that no matter who's on the other side, you count on Gronk and Geno to do most of the scoring on that line. But TK has to do more than just skate and be tenacious. Let's hope he can handle the puck with those guys, too.
It's going to be interesting to see how that plays out, and see if Chris Conner continues to be a healthy scratch, as he was in the Winter Classic.
I'll have a recap tomorrow. Before that, though, look for a piece from me later about the 3rd installment of HBO's 24/7 series which aired last week. I know I haven't gotten anything up on that (been a bit hectic with the New Year and that Winter Classic thing), but I should have something posted before the finale of that quartet of episodes, which premiers this evening (10:00 PM EST). After all, that's the episode that chronicled the Penguins' 3-2 shootout win over Washington on the road 2 days before Christmas, so I can't miss the opportunity to speak on that.
Thanks for reading .....
Yesterday, Sidney Crosby was named the NHL's #1 star for the month of December. Thanks to his 24 points in 13 December games -- including 8 multiple point efforts -- he was given the award over red-hot Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo and ageless Detroit Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom.
This was the second straight month the Pens' Captain earned the league's #1 star, after taking home that prize in November, too.
On top of that, we learned that the Penguins are going to take the NHL All-Star game -- this year in Raleigh, NC, home of the Carolina Hurricanes on January 30 -- by storm.
Not one, not two, not three, but FOUR Penguin players were voted by the fans to play in the game -- centers Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, defenseman Kris Letang, and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.
"It's pretty cool that we all get to go there together," Fleury said.
Given that only the top six players in the voting were chosen, the final tally speaks volumes as to the popularity of the Penguins nationwide.
While Crosby -- the top vote getter -- was an obvious choice, the Penguins should get a lot of satisfaction from having the other 3 players selected.
That's not to say they aren't deserving; it's just that there are interesting stories behind each of the their selections.
For openers, Malkin is not really having a good year. He battled a knee problem in the first half of the season that limited his production and, just when it looked like he was coming out of his shell, he's taken a bit of a step back the last 3 or 4 games.
Right now, he's on pace for a career low in goals and points, and his form is a far cry from that which made him an Art Ross and Conn Smythe Trophy winner just two years ago.
Obviously, Penguin fans nationwide still support him.
Fleury, meanwhile, looked completely and totally lost to start the season. At one point in early November, he had a 1-6 record and statistics that would embarrass a backup goaltender.
Since that time, however, he's 16-3-2 and on pace to have career best numbers in wins, goals-against-average and save percentage. There's a reason the Penguins went through a stretch where they didn't allow more than 2 goals in 10 straight games. He's looked as good between the pipes in the last two months than he ever has.
"Probably the one all-star pick that pleases me the most is his," said head coach Dan Bylsma of Fleury's selection.
Letang may just be the most incredible story of the 4, though. Other than Crosby, Letang is probably the most deserving all-star in the group. He's 4th in the league in points among blueliners and has the third best plus-minus among all players leaguewide.
But what makes Letang's voting numbers so amazing is that he wasn't even on the original NHL ballot.
That's right ... every single one of his 400,000+ votes came by way of the write-in variety, and that's something that I can't ever recall happening in 28 years of following this great game.
Of course, voting these days can take place by text message and over the internet, but the point is that you have to type his name in to choose him.
"It feels unbelievable" (to be selected), said Letang.
Now, while Crosby, Malkin, Fleury and Letang were all selected by the fans to start the game, I'm not certain whether they're actually going to start the game. That's typically how it works, but this year, after the league chooses the remaining all-stars, the league is going to select captains who get to pick their players among them -- sort of like a pick-up game. While the format will be new and interesting, and probably a bit more fun, I have no clue how they will determine who starts. Perhaps the Captains will decide that, too. If not them, it will probably be the coaches.
Either way, kudos to those four players for being selected to represent Pittsburgh in the league's All-Star game.
It's the first time the Penguins have had 4 players in the showcase for almost two decades.
Speaking of All-Stars, at least two players who will surely be joining Crosby, Malkin, Letang and Fleury on the ice in Raleigh will be wearing visiting uniforms tonight, with Stamkos and Martin St. Louis leading Tampa Bay into town.
The Lightning are coming off a 1-0 overtime win last night against the Washignton Capitals in DC behind the strength of 34 saves from their new goaltender, Dwayne Roloson -- acquired about 3 days ago from the New York Islanders.
While there's no word on whether the Penguins will see him between the pipes tonight, they certainly will have to deal with two of the most dangerous forwards in the league.
Stamkos has 31 goals -- one behind Crosby's 32 for the league-lead -- and is second in points behind Sid in the overall scoring race (65-56).
Meanwhile, St. Louis has quietly risen to third place in the points race, and scored the game-winner last night to raise his team's point total to 53.
And, in case you still look down on the Lightning as a less-than-accomplished team, you should know that their point total is the same as that held by the local hockey club, and one point ahead of Washington for the Southeast Division lead.
For their part, the Penguins look to get back on track tonight after coming out on the wrong end in 3 of their last 4 games.
To do that, it appears as if their second line may have a little bit of a different look this evening.
Sure, Jordan Staal remains slated to center Malkin on that line, but if practice yesterday was any indication, they are going to be joined on by RW Tyler Kennedy, who would play his off-wing on the left side.
"He adds a disruption factor and a speed factor to a line that other guys on our team don't match," Bylsma said. "He has speed on the forecheck, chasing pucks down, tenacity wise pursuing the puck."
While it's hard to argue with Blysma's assessment of Kennedy's game, the problem with Kennedy is that he hasn't proven the ability to consistently finish.
One goal in his last 19 games pretty much says everything you need to know in that department.
Now, admittedly, the Penguins don't have an overwhelming amount of clearly better options than Kennedy (Talbot? Cooke?). And, I won't deny that no matter who's on the other side, you count on Gronk and Geno to do most of the scoring on that line. But TK has to do more than just skate and be tenacious. Let's hope he can handle the puck with those guys, too.
It's going to be interesting to see how that plays out, and see if Chris Conner continues to be a healthy scratch, as he was in the Winter Classic.
I'll have a recap tomorrow. Before that, though, look for a piece from me later about the 3rd installment of HBO's 24/7 series which aired last week. I know I haven't gotten anything up on that (been a bit hectic with the New Year and that Winter Classic thing), but I should have something posted before the finale of that quartet of episodes, which premiers this evening (10:00 PM EST). After all, that's the episode that chronicled the Penguins' 3-2 shootout win over Washington on the road 2 days before Christmas, so I can't miss the opportunity to speak on that.
Thanks for reading .....
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