Line Changes Set The Stage for Penguins/Maple Leafs

After scoring only one 5-on-5 goal in the last five games, Penguins coach Michel Therrein has reconfigured all 4 of his forward lines for tonight's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Mellon Arena.

I'd set forth all the new lines but if I did that every time Therrein made a change, I'd never be able to talk about anything else. So, that said, I'll just focus on the important changes.

The first, and by far most important, move Therrein made is to move Malkin up to Crosby's right wing. Aside from trying to generate more even-strength offense, Therrein also is sending a message to the rest of the team that they need to start generating more on the scoreboard.

As he said, "they're not paying the price to score goals".

The other noteworthy changes involved Jordan Staal moving back to center the 2nd line with Petr Sykora and Ruslan Fedotenko, and to slide right wing Miroslav Satan all the way down to the 3rd line with Mad Max Talbot.

Speaking of Satan, I think he's taking some unjustified criticism right now. The season is 5 games old. I took a good dozen for Crosby and Marion Hossa to start clicking last year. After 5 games thus far, Satan has 2 goals. He's on a 32 goal pace. I bet the Penguins would take that from him.

I know I would.

Give Satan a chance. He'll come around. Be critical if we're sitting at the 20 game mark and he's only got 5.

Post-game report tomorrow ...

Capital Targets: Penguins Stand By While 3-0 Lead Evaporates, Ovechkin Targets Malkin All Night

"Unacceptable"

Those were Penguin coach Michel Therrein's words following last night's meltdown at the Mellon Arena, where the Penguins blew a 3-0 lead and lost to the Washington Capitals, 4-3.

Although the words were certainly applicable to the Penguins play in the final period, when they were outworked, outhustled, outshot 21-6, and gave up 3 unanswered goals, they also were applicable to the way the Penguins team reacted to the way center Evgeni Malkin was being treated by Capitals star and defending league MVP/scoring champion Alexander Ovechkin.

All game long, Ovechkin went out of his way to take runs at Malkin. Some were legitimate hits. Some, however, were late, borderline and the type of hits that cause long term injury -- particularly one where A.O. took a dangerous shot on Malkin in front of the Capitals bench. Clearly, Ovechkin was headhunting Malkin out there. In fact, he was focused on Malkin so much, he didn't have a piont the entire game.

What did the Penguins do in response?

Nothing.

Their reaction reminded me of a game 2 years ago on Long Island when current Toronto Maple Leafs and then Islander Jason Blake speared Sidney Crosby near the end of the game. The Penguins did nothing in response, and there wasn't nearly enough outcry about it.

It's the same thing here. They did nothing, and I think the Penguins let it go in this case for 2 reasons, both of which are meritless:

1) Because they were, eventually at least, in a close game; and
2) Because Ovechkin was the one doing the hitting.

I don't care whether it's Donald Brashear or Alexander Ovechkin running around, that conduct must be addressed, close game or otherwise. You don't allow your superstar player to get run and potentially be subject to severe injury like that. Besides, if you allow that kind of conduct to go on, you set a precdent for other teams in the league. Whether it's Eric Godard or Sidney Crosby, someone should have gotten in Ovechkin's face and made it clear to him -- physically -- that they won't permit that to go on. And I'm not talking about someone maiming Ovechkin or doing anything like that. I'm just saying that he should have been sent a message.

It's untolerable.

Period.

To Malkin's credit, Ovechkin's antics didn't seem to rattle him a great deal. He had 3 points and a career high 9 shots. But you still can't let that go on.

Did I mention that the guy who was making these cheap shots is supposed to be an ambassador for the game?

Things started last season between A.O. and Geno, and it was plain they had a healthy distaste for each other. Last night, Ovechkin took things to a whole new level.

It has to be dealt with. Starting the next time the teams play: January 14, 2009 at the Mellon Arena.

Mark it down.

It probably will be forgotten about by then, but it shouldn't be. The first time Ovechkin is on the ice, business should be taken care of.

As far as the game goes, the Penguins lost because they didn't show up in the 3rd period. Some might wonder about Fleury's performance, but he was mostly blameless on every Captials goal. The first Washington goal (in the second period), was the result of a lucky bounce. The 2nd one was the result of a clean faceoff loss by Malkin and a laser shot by Semin over the right shoulder of Fleury into the top corner.

On their 3rd goal, the Capitals made a nice play to create -- and capitalize on -- a short odd-man break situation that defenseman Kris Letang handled poorly. He didn't have a good game at all. Then, the 4th goal -- which was not ruled a goal until video review after a play stoppage confirmed it was in -- was another top corner shot by Boyd Gordon.

Boyd Gordon?

Please.

If referree Rob Shick had called the high-sticking penalty he should have called on that rush -- Gill was clipped in the face (something not easy to do for a guy that tall, which makes it even more obvious) -- the Capitals would not have gotten that goal.

Still, after their goals from Goligoski, Satan and Malkin, the Penguins just didn't come to play in the 3rd period. They coasted beacuse they thought they had the game in the bag -- a mistake against a Capitals team that, Ovechkin notwithstanding, deserves a lot of credit for coming back they way they did.

The Penguins have a lot of work to do. Aside from the fact that they blew a lead at home in the 3rd period for the 2nd time in the last 3 games, they haven't scored a 5-on-5 goal in FOUR GAMES.

That's right.

4 games.

All of their goals since then have been special teams or 4-4 goals. I believe Malkin, Sykora and a few other star players last night were -4 for heaven's sake.

The only bright spot for the Penguins in the game was the TKO by Paul Bissonette over Capitals winger Matt Bradley in the 2nd period. After Bissonette dominated the first few seconds of the fight by landing an initial flurry of punches, the players fell to the ice. Right after the linesman allowed them to get up, Bissonette just one-punched Bradley and he went down. Bissonette immediately let him go and went straight to the box with a clear win. Bradley, bloodied, went straight somewhere, too. To the locker room.

I've seen a lot of fights in my 26 years of following hockey and I'd say less than 1% end in one-punch knockdowns. Just outstanding stuff by Bissonette. See for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqTITLna11I

Hopefully the Penguins can regroup on Saturday against the Maple Leafs. They better or they're going to get left behind in the division early this year. They need to rally around each other. Like coach Murray Chadwick said in one of my favorite all time movies, Youngblood:

"You're in this together ... a team ... a family. You want to win? Start acting like one."

Dupuis Sends Flyers Crashing in OT: Penguins Win 3-2

Jean Beliveau he isn't, that's for sure.

But Pascal Dupuis showed a similar flair for the dramatic, scoring on a laser slap shot from the left wing circle into the top corner over Flyers goaltender Antero Niittymaki with 11 seconds left in overtime to give the Penguins a 3-2 win and send the Flyers out of Mellon Arena still winless this year.

With the win, the Penguins raised their record to 2-1-1 on the season and helped bring some optimism to a team that hasn't been feeling all that good about itself since Saturday's lifeless loss to the New Jersey Devils.

In all frankness, Dupuis owed the rest of the boys on the bench. His center last night, Sidney Crosby -- you might have heard of him? -- set him up for 3 glorious scoring chances on one shift earlier in the game. Each time he hit Niittymaki in the Flyers logo.

Where's Marion Gaborik when you need him?

(F-Hossa).

I promise a post talking more about Gaborik sometime soon.

Anyway, the Penguins played a much better contest last night. They probably had the better play for more of the game. The second period in particular was one of their best. That's when they got their 2 goals.

Not from Crosby.

Not from Evgeni Malkin.

Not even from Petr Sykora, who was making his first appearance in a game this season.

Nope.

Instead, Mike Zigomanis scored his first goal in a Penguin uniform. And if that couldn't be topped, Brooks Orpik also scored. It was Orpik's 5th career goal.

With him and Scuderi scoring already this year, who needs Gonchar and Whitney?

Okay. I'm kidding.

That said, Orpik's goal came on a nice power-play slap shot that went far side passed a screened Niittymaki, while Zigomanis wasted no time whipping a snap shot to the far post passed the Flyers goaltender after nicely slipping into scoring position in front of the net and one-timing a good pass from winger Matt Cooke.

Zigomanis sure looked like he knew what he was doing there.

The Penguins had a brief lapse late in the second period when the Flyers scored both of their goals to tie the game -- one resulting from a bad bounce that Jeff Carter made the Penguins pay for, and another on a tip from a point shot. Hard to fault Fleury on either one. He again played strong and made 28 saves.

Other notes from the game:

The power play went 1-6. It continues to be a work in progress, but the Penguins had better scoring chances on the man-advantage in this one. They continue to use Goligoski as the only defenseman on the first unit and, in truth, he still looks good out there. He did a good job distributing the puck last night and kept it in the zone several times when the Flyers tried to clear. He also has shown a patience under pressure that all good point-men must have.

Eric Goddard and the Flyers Riley Cote had a spirited bout in the first period last night. Goddard got the decision 65/35. See for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbjdd_wHsXw



The Penguins need to try and build some momentum from this game. They won without meaningful contributions from Crosby or Malkin, and that's a good sign. But they have to get those 2 guys and some other members of the offense going. There's no better time with Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals coming to town for the next game Thursday night. A.O. usually brings out the best in Crosby and Malkin, so we'll see.

I'll be at the game, so should have even more insight than usual when I post my game recap.

Let's Go Pens.

Game Day: Pens' v. Flyers

Just a short post today.

Despite it being early in the sesason, the Penguins have a big game tonight on home-ice against Philadelphia. The flightless birds are already 7 points behind the division-leading New York Rangers, who have started the season 5-0. The Flyers are coming into the Igloo tonight after having fallen to the Montreal Canadiens last night. It's a good chance to catch a team on the back end of back-to-back games, although New Jersey was in the same situation on Saturday and still dominated most of the game. Pittsburgh definitely needs to rebound in a good way.

The Flyers will be missing defenseman Randy Jones and Ryan Parent tonight due to injury, so that won't help their cause. They also are missing Derian Hatcher, too, but if you ask me, that's an advantage for them. Unlike in last year's Eastern Conference Final, the Penguins will have to deal with Kimmo Timonen, and they'll also have to contend with right winger Simon Gagne, who has returned after missing most of last year with concussion-like symptoms. Maybe Brooks Orpik can dish out some FREE CANDY and send him back to IR,

The Penguins need to focus on getting their offense going tonight. To do that, they'll have to do it the old fashion way. Work down low, get pucks to the net, and make it miserable for whoever tends goal for Philadelphia. I'm not sure if Martin Biron will start because he played last night and hasn't looked all that great to start the season so far.

I'll post a game recap tomorrow.

Penguins Lose to Devils: Weekend Recap

My apologies for failing to post more promptly over the weekend. I was buried in paint and other things.

I did, however, watch the misery that was the Penguins performance on Saturday night in their wretched home-opening 2-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils. The Penguins' play on the ice made me seethe. The Baby Penguins would have put forth more effort in the last 2 periods. As it was, the Penguins were fortunate to get a point thanks to Marc-Andre Fleury's outstanding work between the pipes.

Let's see ... the Penguins were outshot by about .... what? 83-6?

Okay, it was only 49-15.

Close enough.

The sad part about it is that Pittsburgh almost stole TWO points out of the game. Fleury had the shutout going until just about 3 minutes left when a Patrick Elias centering pass went off defenseman Hal Gill's skate and behind Fleury. The Penguins didn't do much in overtime other than let the Devils continue to ring up more shots and just about had the opportunity to take their chances in the shootout with Crosby, Letang and company, only to have the Devils win it with about 30 seconds left in the OT when a "Larry-Murphy" dump by a Devils' defenseman allowed Travis Zajac to break down the wing and ring a top-shelf wrister off the post/crossbar for the winner.

With that, reality was (mostly) served, becasue the Penguins didn't deserve to win. They looked like they didn't belong on the ice against New Jersey.

I don't buy what some people are saying ... oh, it was their first game back after their overseas trip. That's garbage. The team was off all week. They were able to practice and re-acclimate themselves. They played at home. Those are all excuses. The Penguins just left their hard hats in Sweden and didn't come to play.

Other notes from the home opener -- and the weekend.

Miroslav Satan scored his first goal as a Penguin -- on a first period power play, no less -- picking up a lose puck next to Devils' goaltender Martin Brodeur after a nice point shot. It was good to see him get on the board. I'd like to see him involved off the rush more with Crosby, though.

Speaking of the Penguins' power play, it went 1-4. That's an improvement over the opening 2 games against the Senators, but the Penguins had several opportunities to go up 2-0 on the power play in the first 20-25 minutes of the game, but failed to capitalize. As it turns out, that would have made the difference.

Penguins coach Michel Therrein dressed veteran defenseman Daryl Sydor and played him on the wing. This concept is not foreign to Penguin fans with Brooks Orpik and Ryan Whitney both seeing a few games there last year. However, this was the first time he put Sydor up there.

I actually didn't mind the move. I figured from the beginning he was doing it so he could have Sydor on the power play, and that's mainly why he did what he did. It couldn't help to have his experience out there on the man advantage, even if Therrein wouldn't use him a whole lot on the backline at even strength. I'm not sure how long the Coach will stick with that arrangement, if at all, but I wouldn't expect it to go on for long. Eventually, I think the Penguins have to sink or swim with Letang and GoGo on the man-advantage. I believe things will be fine in the end. It's just taking a little time to get going.

New acquisition Mike Zigomanis got his first action as a Penguin, centering the 4th line. I learned very quickly in the aftermath of the trade why we probably brought him into the mix -- his near 60% rate on faceoffs last season. I knew he was a defensive player with size, but didn't know he was that good on the draw. Nice move by GM Ray Shero. The Penguins definitely needed a player like him.

One last thing -- the Penguins new marketing plan for the season. Great work here:


http://penguins.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=-6&id=22298


Now only if we can recapture some of that play. Soon. Like starting Tuesday when the arch-nemises Flyers come to town.

Penguins Acquire Mike Zigomanis from Phoenix

In an out-of-the-blue trade today, the Penguins acquired forward Mike Zigomanis from the Phoenix Coyotes for future considerations.

The 6' 1" Zigomanis split time between the Coyotes and the AHL last season, putting up 3 whole points during 33 games in Phoenix. He has 33 points in 167 career NHL contests.

I'm not sure what the Penguins have planned for Zigomanis, although I can't help but speculate that they envision him in a 4th line role with the big club since they sent Jeff Taffe to Wilkes Barre 2 days ago. Taffe did clear waivers, so he'll continue to occupy a fill-in role for the big club as needed this season. Zigomanis has size, but in his upper 20's, not a lot of offensive upside.

I'm anxious to hear from Ray Shero or Cliff Fletcher about what they're hoping to get out of this signing.

Penguins Make Roster Moves

A few days ago, I promised I'd talk more about the rumors of the Penguins trying to trade for Marion Gaborik. I'll get to that in a few days, but first, there are a few roster moves the Penguins made today.


First, they waived Jeff Taffe. Okay. No big deal. Hopefully, he'll clear and then will report to Wilkes-Barre. Even though Taffe isn't an impact player, he's a depth player, and we all know that every team needs those guys at some point during the year. That's especially more true in our organization now because most of the guys who were said to be the closest to making the big club in recent seasons -- Stone, Filewich, James, Beech, etc. have fallen out of favor with upper management. Of that list, only James has any kind of remaining favor with the team. Of course, the Penguins have added some new blood recently -- Dustin Jeffrey, Kevin Vellieux, Luca Caputi -- and, in fact, all may really be considered higher end prospects than guys like Filewich and James -- but I think that group is generally green still and not ready for meaningful NHL action as a fill-in due to injury. Taffe was good in that role.



Speaking of Beech, he cleared waivers last week without being claimed. Now, the Penguins have placed him on unconditional waivers, which means that, if he's not claimed this time, the team has the right to terminate his contract altogether in 2 weeks. Apparently, Beech is trying to land himself a gig overseas.

Split in Stockholm: Pens Lose Game 2, 3-1

This won't be a long post, because yesterday's 3-1 Penguins loss in game 2 of their 2-game Stockholm set against the Ottawa Senators can be summed up by pointing primarily to one area that cost the Penguins the game:

The power play.

With 7 more chances yesterday, the Penguins -- for all intents and purposes -- came up empty again. Defenseman Alex Goligoski broke the shutout bid of the Senators and goalie Alex Auld by scoring a power play goal on a laser from the slot with 1 second left in the game, but when it mattered most earlier in the game, the Penguins couldn't convert with the man-advantage for the 2nd game in a row.

They definitely aren't getting enough shots on goal, and that has to change.

On the Senators side, they got a much better performance in the net from Auld when compared to the guy who tried to impersonate an NHL goaltender the night before. He was there for Ottawa when they needed him to be. Behind his play and the 2 power play goals they got from Dany Heatley, they were in control most of the game.

See what a power play that produces can do for you?

The Penguins have some time to work on the PP in practice before their next game, and they'll need it. I'm sure it's something they'll be chewing on during the long flight home from Sweden today before they next suit up on Saturday for the home opener against the New Jersey Devils.

It also would be nice to get Satan going a little bit. He has been quiet. Even Crosby was a little quiet during the first few games. I'm sure he and Satan are feeling each other out still, but hopefully, that won't take too long. Coach Michel Therrein spent a lot of time mixing and matching the lines yesterday in an effort to jump-start the offense, so that didn't help the cause. But we'll see what combinations he goes back to in practice this week.

All in all, the Penguins return from Sweden with the record I expected: 1-1. It isn't easy to sweep teams in a back to back set these days (although the Rangers did it to the Lightning in Prague this past weekend in their opening set there, winning both games 2-1). Let's hope the Penguins can make some headway during their next 4 games, which will be at home.

More later this week. I keep hearing more linking the Penguins to a possible trade for Minnesota star winger Marion Gaborik .......

A Familiar Foe ... A Familiar Result: Pens' Win OT Opener in Stockholm, 4-3

The Penguins 4-3 season-opening victory over the Ottawa Senators in overtime in Stockholm, Sweden yesterday was all about the old and the new.

The Penguins continued their recent dominance over the Senators, dating back to their 4-game sweep of the club in last year's playoffs. That was the "old".

The "new" came from new contributors stepping up yesterday -- namely defenseman Rob Scuderi and winger Tyler Kennedy.

Scuderi scored his first goal in over 90 games early in the 3rd period on a fabulous cross-ice pass from Sidney Crosby, tying the score at 3-3 and building on the Penguins' momentum after killing a 5-3 for over 90 seconds.

Meanwhile, Kennedy -- who hadn't scored in 29 games to end last season, including every playoff game -- potted two goals. He opened up the scoring less than a minute into the game, then ended it in grand fashion 25 or so seconds before the end of the overtime.

MR. KENNEDY certainly knew how to finish what he started.

In all fairness, his goals were well deserved. Filling in on right wing on Evgeni Malkin's line for an injured Petr Sykora (who sat out with a groin problem), Kennedy looked great all over the ice. He skated with speed, won loose pucks with his tenacity, and brought rubber to the net.

Speaking of the old and the new, yesterday's game could be an example of what the Penguins' special teams will see a lot of this year.

Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

The bad news is that the Penguins' went 0-7 on the power play in their first regular season action without defensemen Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney. I'm not overly concerned -- yet -- mainly because I didn't sense difficulty in getting the puck up the ice or into the zone, or in being respected at the point. Those are the things you think the Penguins may miss the most without those guys. Like Crosby said after the game, the boys do need to get more pucks to the net, though.

The good news is that Evegni Malkin scored a shorthanded goal -- on a breakaway no less. With both Malkin and Crosby seeing more time on the penalty killing units this year, you may see more of those. We'll need them, too, because Malkin can get a little adventurous when playing the point on the power play. He got caught carelessly pinching yesterday, and that allowed the Senators to steam up the ice on an odd-man rush that led to a goal against in the second period.

I'll say this ... I'm glad Senators goaltender Martin Gerber doesn't tend goal for the Penguins. Without taking anything away from the Penguins, he was awful yesterday. 3 of the Penguins 4 goals were questionable, in my estimation. All rolled up on him or went off of him into the goal. If you're a goaltender and you get a piece of the puck, you want to stop it altogether. Only the Malkin breakaway goal was one you couldn't fault him on.

Meanwhile, Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 32 of 35 shots for the Penguins, and he was blameless on at least 2 of the Senators' 3 goals, with Dany Heatly and Jason Spezza, respectively, beating him with excellent, clean shots. He wasn't spectacular, but he didn't need to be. He got the job done.

Other tidbits ... Paul Bissonette got the extra forward spot in the lineup, while Bill Thomas was scratched. Eric Godard took a noteworthy -- and worthless -- hooking penalty against Senators forward Chris Neil in the 2nd period after the two were going at it and Neil refused to drop the gloves against him. Unfortunately, the Penguins' paid the price for that goal, as Heatley scored on the power play. Godard just can't take those penalties.

The Penguins' go for the sweep today.

Pesonen Sent to Wilkes-Barre

So much for the hype.

Today, Janne Pesonen was sent to the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, representing Pittsburgh's final cut. He will stay with the team while in Sweden and report to the Baby Penguins upon the team's return to native soil.

I was pretty excited about the Pesonen signing when it was first announed. I thought there was a chance he could stick and make an impact. He may make an impact, but it's not likely to be with the big club.

In truth, if Michel Therein and Ray Shero don't feel Pesonen is going to play on the top 2 lines, he's probably better off in Wilkes-Barre where he can play top minutes. Still, people are kidding themselves if they think Pens' brass brought Pesonen over to add depth to their team. They were hoping to find an unsigned gem they could bring in at a reasonable salary. Kudos to them for trying. It just didn't work out this time.

Let's face it. If Pesonen isn't ready for top line duty in the NHL now, I find it hard to believe he will be able to work that into his game in the AHL all of a sudden.

Sending Pesonen down means that both Paul Bissonette and Fox Chapel kid Bill Thomas are going to stick with the team personnally. Since it looks as if Petr Sykora is going to sit out the season opener because of this lingering groin problem he's dealing with, expect one or both to be in the lineup. Thomas may even get a shot playing on the second line with Geno and Jordan.

Either way, I'm excited to see the two of them in uniform ... and disappointed that the Pesonen experiment doesn't seem like it's going to work out.