Jekyll & Hyde: Penguins Bruised, Battered by Capitals in 6-3 Loss

The Penguins had a chance in last night's game against Washington to win 2 games in a row for the first time since November.

To continue getting their confidence and game back against a big and emotional rival.

To show the Capitals demonstrative forwards Alexander Ovechkin and Alexander Semin that they should think before they speak and act.

All the Penguins did was prove their mediocrity -- and get hurt doing it.

The Penguins played with Washington for 2 periods, but watched their defensive play, and the game, evaporate in the final frame of a 6-3 loss, to leave them at 2-8 in their last 10 games.

Pittsburgh must have left their new 1-2-2 system -- which they played so well the night before -- in Philadelphia, because the Penguins struggled defensively all over the ice to the tune of 42 shots against. They either were hardly able to set up in the neutral zone, or just lost their bearings and didn't play that system at all.

You just can't give up that many chances to a good offensive team and expect to win.

Alexander Ovechkin played nothing like he did the last time these 2 teams met. In that game, he ran at Penguins' center Evgeni Malkin all over the ice and didn't produce a point. Last night, he ignored Malkin -- and in fact, was hit by #71 a few times -- and scored 3 points, including 2 goals (although one was power play garbage and the other a lucky bounce of Penguins' defenseman Ryan Whitney's skate). What he also did, however, was taunt the Penguins' players and bench like an immature baby after scoring.

Clearly, Ovechkin is a demonstrative goal-scorer. I see nothing wrong with his excitement on the ice, but you'll quickly lose respect around the league if you start taunting the opposition. Even though there was a lot at stake last night in the Penguins/Capitals rivalry, respect the game.

As I mentioned above, this loss hurt the Penguins in more ways than just in the standings, as they suffered several injuries of the game, some of which may end up quite meaningful, starting with the left knee injury suffered by Captain Sidney Crosby in the third period when he got caught up along the boards with Capitals' forward David Steckel. He didn't return to the game and afterwards, said he didn't think it was "too bad", even if it hurt a lot when it happened.

Crosby also went to the locker room briefly earlier in the game after seemingly injuring his right ankle. He missed a shift or two then returned and didn't seem to show any ill effects from that incident.

Center Max Talbot also left the game in the third period with an apparent shoulder injury dragging his arm down to his side after an innocuous looking play when he dove for the puck to try and get it out of the Penguins' zone, but didn't appear to make contact with anyone. Talbot's injury could end up being the most significant.

Defenseman Rob Scuderi, the Penguins' best penalty-killer, also left the game in the 2nd period after taking a puck to the head. Scuderi was bleeding on the ice and needed stitches after the game. He did not return.

The status of all 3 players will not be known until today. If they can't play in the Penguins next game Friday against the Anaheim Ducks, they'll join an ever-growing injured list which also still includes Pascual Dupuis, Mike Zigomanis, Ruslan Fedotenko and Sergei Gonchar.

There is some good news on Gonchar, however. He has been cleared to practice this afternoon with the team. His return is likely still weeks away, but it appears as if he'll return to the ice sometime in early February, which would be approximately 5 months after the Penguins' first preseason game when he was injured.

Although one can't quantify what type of boost having Sarge back would give to the team down the stretch, the Penguins might not have a playoff run to make if they keep playing like they did last night.

Updates later today or tomorrow from the infirmary.

Was That The Same Hockey Team? Penguins Dominate Flyers, Win 4-2; Ready for Capitals Rematch

The Penguins have been the victim of a lot of criticism in the last 2 months, and deservedly so.

They are worthy of just as much praise after last night's 4-2 win against the Atlantic-Division leading Philadelphia Flyers.

The Penguins played a complete game, were smart defensively, competed for -- and won -- many loose puck battles, got solid goaltending, and had their top guns and secondary players produce offensively.

I wasn't sure it was the same hockey team I have been watching for most of the last 8 weeks.

They were really good in every phase. They were particularly good with their defensive play -- no doubt a by-product of Penguins coach Michel Therrein having the team change their system somewhat.

The Penguins played a 1-2-2 last night. It's technically a delayed forecheck, although calling it a forecheck is misleading. Rather than send the first guy into the defensive zone, he meets the opposition around their blueline as they are trying to come out of their end with the puck. Right behind him are the other two forwards. Basically, it's a neutral zone trap, complete with elements where the defenseman will pinch up on occasion, all designed to force the opponent to either turn the puck over in the neutral zone or dump the puck in.

The Flyers were clearly caught off guard by the change in the Penguins system. Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and company had a hard time getting through that and generating any kind of consistent offense. The Penguins won't get style points for playing that way, but hey -- they need wins any way they can get them, and if playing a more defensive trap is what helps them, I'm all for it.

The Flyers opened up the scoring on a fluke goal after a dump in bounced off Penguins' netminder Marc-Andre Fleury's stick out in front of the goal for a cheap freebie for Flyer forward Mike Knuble.

On most nights during the last 20 games or so, that would have sunk the Penguins. Their confidence would have immediately gone in the tank and they would likely have limped out of the building on the hard end of a 5-1 loss.

Not this night, however.

Pittsburgh tied the score later in the period when Tyler Kennedy buried a rebound by Flyers' goalie Martin Biron. Evgeni Malkin scored in the 2nd period on a nice shot from the high slot that rang off the pipe and in behind Biron, and center Jordan Staal made it 3-1 not long after with a nice individual effort, deking Biron down and tossing a backhand under the crossbar.

In the last minute of the period, the Penguins upped their lead to 4-1 when Sidney Crosby took a Brooks Orpik rebound behind the net with an attempted wraparound and left the garbage for LW Matt Cooke to clean up.

Cooke, by the way, was promoted to the Crosby line last night. They were joined by Malkin and all 3 had a solid evening. Crosby had 2 helpers and Cooke looked really solid out there creating space for the big guys. He even set up Crosby for an empty net that Crosby fanned on because he didn't seem to be expecting it.

Phillipe Boucher and Mark Eaton were healthy scratches for the Penguins. Hal Gill and Alex Goligoski were back in the lineup, and I wouldn't expect that to be any different tonight when the Penguins return home for their 2nd grudge match in 2 days against the Washington Capitals. Paul Bissonette was also in the lineup for the Penguins last night.

More on that game in a minute.

Without overstaing it -- and without being able to look into the future -- the fact of the matter is that the Penguins win last night could end up being the turning point in their season. Of course, a lot of that depends on how they do tonight, but they were so solid against a team that hadn't lost in 2 months at home. Moreover, they were in several positions to blow the game like they have so often the last quarter of the season --- after the first fluke goal, and even after having a 4-1 lead going into the third period. But they didn't. The fact is they handed the Flyers their lunch and I don't think it's any accident it came in a game against a fierce division rival. The same could happen tonight. If the Penguins are able to prevail over Washington, it really would give them a lot of confidence, and could put them on a nice run.

I'm sure everyone remembers the first game the Penguins played against Washington earlier this year. I wouldn't have forgotten it even if I wasn't there but, unfortunately, I witnessed it. The Penguins raced out to a 3-0 lead, only to blow it and lose 4-3 in a game where Capitals star forward Alexander Ovechkin took runs at Malkin all night long. In the month that followed that game, Capitals center (I won't call him a star) Alexander Semin said there was "nothing special" about Crosby.

I expect tonight's game to be an emotional, physical affair and -- like last night's game -- that could be exactly what the Penguins need. I trust they will do a better job of protecting Malkin this evening. They better. Cooke's presence on his line will help, as will having Bissonette and Godard in the lineup.

It's been hard to get excited for Penguin games lately, but it's hard not to be locked-and-loaded for this one.

Recap tomorrow.

Charitable Penguins Again Go Down 5-3 To Avalanche

With a 6-13-1 record in their last 20 games, I'm beginning to sound like a broken record here.

After another 5-3 road loss, this time to the Colorado Avalanche, on Saturday, there was little that happened in the game which the Penguins haven't been guilty of repeatedly lately.

Poor goaltending.

Lack of confidence.

Bad defensive play.

No willingness to work hard and win battles.

The Penguins stuck with Colorado during a lot of the game. The problem was that they were consistenly playing from behind. The Avalanche took a 2-0 lead, then center Evgeni Malkin took advantage of a Colorado too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty to score on the power play and make the game 2-1.

It was Malkin's first goal in ten games and his first power play goal in TWENTY FIVE contests.

Sheesh.

The Avalanche got another goal to go up by 2 again, then center Sidney Crosby tied it for the flightless birds. The pattern repeated with Colorado going up again, only to have center Jordan Staal score his first shorthanded goal of the season to once more bring the Penguins within 1 goal at 4-3.

In less than a minute, however, the Avalanche got on the board again, and that's the way the game ended -- with the Penguins allowing another team who had struggled to score goals have their way in the Penguins zone, around the net, and with their goaltenders.

The Penguins show absolutely no sign of getting out of their funk anytime soon, and things don't get easier with 4 games this week against the Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals, Anaheim Ducks and New York Rangers.

The fact that the Penguins currently give off no indication that they can start winning is exactly why there is so much speculation surrounding the team lately, and that doesn't figure to change unless and until they start putting wins together. But they may not begin winning again with this group this season unless and until some drastic move is made to try and shake the team out of its funk.

Time will tell.

More later this week.

Therrein's Swan Song? Penguins Blow 3-0 Lead to Predators, Lose 5-3

Just when you think it can't get any worse ...

The Penguins rushed out to a 3-0 lead in the 2nd period on the road last night against a Nashville Predators team that struggles to score goals.

Things were looking good for the local hockey club to capture its second win in a row for the first time in a long time, and begin to re-establish their momentum in the 2nd half of the season.

Then, the Penguins crashed back to reality.

The Predators scored the final 5 goals, sending the reeling Penguins to another defeat.

If that isn't a way to get a coach fired, I don't know what is.

Last night's loss, I believe could be a defining moment in the Penguins season. So much was on the line for the team to begin to get its confidence back. I would rather them have lost 4-1 than roll out to that lead and completely blow it. They've blown leads before this year, but under these circumstances, this one was the worst.

Nashville came into the game 29th overall in goals scored. They haven't scored more than 3 in a game since November. They haven't won a game after being down 3 goals all season, and had lost 5 in a row coming in.

Perhaps the most disturbing part of the loss were the comments of some of the players about the play of the team in the 3rd period. Defenseman Rob Scuderi spoke positively of how the team "regrouped and had a great 3rd period". Captain Sidney Crosby said that they "looked like a pretty good hockey team in the third".

That's all crap. The fact that the Penguins carried play in the final frame, outshooting Nashville, 15-5, means nothing when they were outscored 2-0 in that period (albeit one was an empty net goal). The Penguins aren't in a position to just settle for moral victories. They need to win games. And the fact of the matter is that they didn't play well for a lot of the game last night. 2 of their goals -- by Jordan Staal and Max Talbot (Talbot's first goal in TWENTY FIVE games) -- were on fortunate bounces and the other one, by Petr Sykora, came on a Nashville turnover.

The Penguins were outshot 30-10 in the first two periods.

They also went 0-for-3 on the power play, and gave up a key shorthanded goal in the second period, by Predators forward David Legwand off a 2-on-1, that got Nashville back in the game.

The Penguins need to get their act together quickly, because major change could be on the horizon. Even though Penguins' GM Ray Shero hasn't made a trade yet, and says he has confidence in this group, their chance of getting to the playoffs diminishes with each loss.

I also heard an interview yesterday from one of the most respected hockey reporters I know, TSN Canada's Bob McKenzie, who said that Penguins coach Michel Therrein has lost the dressing room and that the players have "had it" with him. There also have been reports about Therrein having disagreements with Crosby. Both of those things, if true, don't bode well for his immediate future here. I continue to believe that Therrein isn't the biggest problem, but if his relationships with the players are what they are reported to be, Shero will have to make a change -- especially with the way the team is playing.

Nobody forsaw a slump like this for the Penguins this season. All teams go through bad stretches, but it's the way the Penguins are going through it -- snipping, not working hard enough, etc. -- that is most startling.

The Penguins next game is Saturday afternoon on the road against Colorado.

If the presence of their dads in Nashville on the Penguins' 3rd annual dad's trip wasn't enough to inspire them last night, don't expect it to be much different on Saturday.

Recap then ........ or more sooner if there's news.

Penguins Re-Sign Jordan Staal: 4 years -- 16 million

The Penguins have signed Jordan Staal to a new 4-year, 16-million dollar deal.

The contract kicks in next season and runs through the 2012-13 season, after which (if Staal hasn't been re-signed by then) he will be the youngest unrestricted free agent in the history of th National Hockey League at 24.

There surely will be a lot of debate about the merits and value of this deal. Staal has the potential to be a good player in this league. There's no question about that. But what there still ARE questions about is how much of that potential will Staal realize in Pittsburgh playing behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin?

Let's face it --- that's a fair inquiry. At this point in his career, and admittedly, he's only 20, Staal has shown he should be counted on for 20 goals and 40 points per season. I understand you pay for potential somewhat, but 40 points a season just isn't worth 4 million. Staal will have to produce more to justify the contract, in my opinion. Only time will tell if he can do that.

I think a more reasonable deal for Staal would have been a 3-year, 10-million dollar pact. I don't think the Penguins were against that type of offer, but Staal's agent apparently kept using the prospect of Staal getting an offer sheet this summer as a restricted free agent against the Penguins, forcing them to stick with 4 years and up the money somewhat.

Beginning next year, the Penguins have about 60% of the salary cap tied up in 6 players (Malkin, Crosby, Staal, Whitney, Orpik and Fleury). None of them play wing.

I think this contract will put at least a temporary end to a lot of the trade rumors surrounding Staal. I don't think it necessarily means he'll be a Penguin for the life of the deal, but it's hard for me to imagine Penguins GM Ray Shero trading Staal so quickly after sending a signal that you want him to be a part of the team for the next 4-years.

It's hard to say Staal's signing is a bad move. With his potential, it could end up being a good deal. And it will give the Penguins cost certainty to some extent, as the deals with the other players mentioned above have. But for now at least, it's hard not to think that the contract is a little high.

Here's hoping #11 gives the Penguins great value the next 4 years.

ANALYSIS: Penguins at the Season Midpoint

With the Penguins closing out the first half of the season with their win over the Thrashers on Thursday and a 20-17-4 record, there's no better time to step back and analyze what our Boys of Winter have accomplished (or not accomplished) this year so far, as well as take a look at what they may do in the 2nd half of the season.

I'll examine how, in my not-so-humble opinion, the team has performed in each area, and talk about 3 players who must step up for the Penguins in the 2nd half. In addition, with the Penguins currently sitting 9th in the Eastern Conference and out of the playoff field, I'll give 3 reasons why the Penguins may vault back into the postseason picture -- and 3 reasons why they may not.

First, the team breakdown:

OFFENSE

The Penguins offense, like the team as a whole, has slumped lately. Before Thursday's game, the popgun Penguins had gone 7 straight games without scoring more than 2 goals. It's no wonder they lost 6 of those. Overall, the Penguins offense still sits 9th overall in the NHL, though, which goes to show the clip they are capable of scoring at. To get back to putting the puck in the net the way they are used to, however, the Penguins need to get their guns scoring. RW Petr Sykora has been cashing in with some relative consistency, but more players than not are capable of increase prodution -- starting with centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Both can produce more, especially on the power play, and it's essential they do because the Penguins don't have excellent offensive depth.

Miroslav Satan is another guy who has fallen off the map in the last 6-8 weeks, with 4 goals in his last 26 or so games. He isn't consistent enough to inspire great confidence, and it wil be interesting to see if he's still a Penguin at the end of this season (let alone next season). Tyler Kennedy is another guy that has to produce more. He missed a few really good chances in the Atlanta game on Tuesday because he didn't pull the trigger fast enough. Kennedy has 8 goals and, considering he missed a month with a knee sprain, that's not bad production, but half of his total has come in 2 games. In the other 25 games he's played, he only has 4 markers. If those 2 can get going, and the Penguins can continue to get some contribution from their other depth scorers -- guys like LW Ruslan Fedotenko, LW Pascal Dupuis, and C Jordan Staal -- they'll only improve their position in the standings.

Grade: B-

DEFENSE

Defensively, the Penguins have slipped to 25th overall in the league -- which is not where Pittsburgh teams of the past few seasons are used to being. Penguins coach Michel Therein takes pride in sending a good defensive club out on the ice, but there have been too many nights this season when the Penguins have been outworked, and/or when their goaltending has been too leaky. Again, a lot of this has occurred lately, and must improve if the Penguins are going to stay in the playoff mix.

Brooks Orpik and Rob Scuderi have probably been the Penguins' best defensemen, and even they have not been perfect. Most of the rest of the group has been average, although one has to say that defenseman Alex Goligoski has had a relatively decent rookie season. He leads all NHL freshman defenseman in points, and is plus 7. Phillipe Boucher, who game over in an early season trade for veteran Darryl Sydor, has been average, at best. Boucher hasn't shown the NHL all-star form he displayed 2 years ago, or anything close to it. I believe that he and Mark Eaton are the guys who should be sitting right now, not Hal Gill, and certainly not Goligoski.

You can't talk about the defense without talking about Ryan Whitney and Sergei Gonchar. Whitney recently returned from missing the first 33 games with a foot injury and looks pretty good for taking so much time off. The more comfortable he gets out there, the better Pittsburgh will be. And what more can be said about Gonchar's absence? The Penguins certainly miss him offensively, but they also miss him defensively more than people realize. Gonchar has developed into one of the top 5 two-way defenseman in this game the last several seasons. He's intelligent and efficient in his own zone and the drop-off in Pittsburgh's defensive play overall so far this year can be at least partially traced to his injury in the preseason opener. Let's hope we see him again in about 6 weeks.

Grade: C

GOALTENDING

Like many other facets of the team's game this year so far, the Penguins goaltenders -- Marc-Andre Fleury and Dany Sabourin -- started off well. In fact, they were probably the biggest reason why the team had its 3rd best start to a season in franchise history. As the defense and the offense have gone lately, however, so have the goaltenders -- perhaps even more so. Both Fleury and Sabourin are now near the bottom in GAA and save percentage figures. Of course, Fleury missed about 5 weeks with a groin injury, and that didn't help because he's been inconsistent since his return. Sabourin was good for stretches in Fleury's absence, but when the team started to play poorly around him, his play suffered, too. The penguins need more from both if they are going to be any kind of factor in the second half of the season.

Grade: C-

SPECIAL TEAMS

Going into Thursday's games, the Penguins' power play was 19th overall at 18% and the Penguins' penalty killing was 21st overall at 80.3%. Both of those rankings have plummeted since earlier in the season when both of the Penguins' units were in the top 10. Neither unit is going to scare anyone with the way they're playing currently. The power play, in particular has been especially bad.

The Penguins simply aren't working hard enough on both units. On the power play, they are playing too much around the perimeter and haven't been willing to get their noses dirty in front of the net. Even impact players like Crosby and Malkin can only do so much damage from 40 feet and out. On the penalty kill, the Penguins haven't been as strong positionally or on the wall in their own zone, and it's costing them. Their goaltenders -- which sometimes need to be your best penalty killer -- haven't helped the PK units much lately either.

The Penguins have shown the ability to be among the better teams in the game on special teams, and will need to do that again if they want to start winning more.

Grade: C

COACHING

With losses and losing streaks come criticism, and the entire Penguins' coaching staff hasn't been immune to that truism lately -- and that includes Therrein and assistants Mike Yeo (who runs the offense and power play) and Andre Savard (who runs the defense and penalty killing).

Recently, the concern around the media has been whether Therein's message has gone stale. I'm not buying it. I might if the team was working hard and winning individual battles out there while still losing, but they are losing without doing either of those things, and they aren't playing the solid defensive system as well as they did last year. The coaching staff and everyone else knows the players can do it, and the players know they can have success with it -- as evidenced by the Penguins' run to the Stanley Cup Final last season. They just aren't getting it done.

None of this is to say the coaches are completely undeserving of some heat -- just that I don't believe they're mainly to blame. Although it seems there has been some hangover in Pittsburgh following last season's successful playoff run, Therrein has earned some slack, in my book.

Grade: B-


3 players who must step up for the Penguins in the 2nd half:

1) Marc-Andre Fleury

Goaltending is so important in the NHL. Fleury showed last season what he can do for the Penguins when he's on his game. He has time to get it together, and needs to if the Penguins have any hope on making a run to, and hopefully through, the playoffs. He has shown that he continues to have to work on his consistency.

2) Maxime Talbot

Talbot has battled a variety of injuries this year, but is certainly capable of more than the 4 goals and 3 assists he has put up in the 38 games he has played. Worse is his minus 15 rating, the lowest on the team by a wide margin. Talbot signed a contract extension about one month ago, and has to live up to that by improving his game notably in the 2nd half, both offensively and defensively, while continuing to give the Penguins' energy, character and grit.

3) Sidney Crosby

The Penguins won't go very far without Crosby leading them in the 2nd half. He has 16 goals and 35 assists for 51 points in all 41 games -- good for 3rd in the league in scoring, right behind Washington Capitals RW Alexander Ovechkin, and 12 points behind teammate and league leader Evgeni Malkin. Despite those totals, I think Crosby has been inconsistent this season. He went through a stretch where he scored 7 goals in 5 games, but take that away and you're left with 9 goals in 34 contests. Crosby is not a sniper, but is the Penguins' captain and even though Malkin is outscoring him, his teammates count on him to set the tone for the club offensively. He needs to generate more pressure on opposing defenses off the rush, which he is typically good at, but which we haven't seen very much of this year. When Crosby can do that more, he'll back off defenders and open up space that his not-always fully capable linemates need.


3 reasons why the Penguins may not vault back into the playoff picture:

1) Lack of scoring depth

The Penguins continue to be lacking in this area, and Crosby continues to be missing the big gun he deserves on his wing. Are you listening GM Ray Shero?

2) Lack of grit/physicality

Pittsburgh is unquestionably missing some abrasiveness and physiciality, both among their forwards and among their defenseman. They just aren't difficult to play against.

3) Goaltending

As set forth above, if Marc-Andre Fleury doesn't step up his play and win games for the Penguins, they'll continue a near decade long trend of NHL Stanley Cup Finalists not even making the playoffs the next season.


3 reasons why the Penguins may indeed get back into the playoff mix:

1) Talent

The Penguins still have top end skill and are capable of getting on a roll at any time. Even if they manage to just squeak into the playoffs, teams will not want to play them.

2) History

Pittsburgh has come on strong in the 2nd half of each of the last 2 seasons. If they go on another run like that this year, they can be just as dangerous as last season.

3) Chemistry

This has been missing for much of the year so far, both with off-season player losses and injury, but the Penguins still have time to right their ship and come together as a unit. Once their players get healthy -- and perhaps with another trade deadline deal by the GM -- you can't rule out the possibility, if not the likelihood, of them galvanizing together once again and quickly recapturing the togetherness that helped take them within 2 wins of the Holy Grail last year.


The Penguins have to start out the second half of their season right, which begins tonight on the road against the Nashville Predators (8 PM EST). The Penguins win against Atlanta Tuesday was a nice victory to stem the tide, but tonight's matchup is 8 times more important for them. They need to put a streak together, and even if it's not quite the beginning of an 8, 10 or 12 game run, it's critical that they get away from the inconsistent, half-hearted play we saw from them recently. To do that, they need at least a few wins in a row, or something like 3 of 4, to gain their footing.

For as poorly as the Penguins have played lately, if they win tonight and get just a bit of help with losses by Philadelphia and New Jersey, they can still be within 5 points of the division-leading Flyers. They are far from out of it.

Recap tomorrow.

GO PENS!

Thank Heavens For Atlanta: Pens' Beat Thrashers Again, 3-1

There's no truth to the rumor that the Penguins have petitioned the National Hockey League to be moved to the Southeast Division where they would play the Atlanta Thrashers 6 times per year, rather than 4.

It's too bad, because Atlanta are one of the few teams that the Penguins seem to be able to beat lately.

Last night, the Penguins beat the Thrashers again, 3-1, to end a five game losing streak overall, and a five game slide at home. They have prevailed over Atlanta in each of their 3 contests this season so far.

Not only that, the Penguins scored not one, but TWO power play goals, ending a seven-game slump with the man advantage.

RW Petr Sykora scored one of those goals, including the first of the game on a set deflection from Ryan Whitney. Sykora also scored the second goal, an even-strength marker, after center Evgeni Malkin -- who finished with 3 assists on the night -- won a faceoff cleanly, stepped around his man, took the puck to the goal and slid it across the crease to Sykora. He took the puck wide on his backhand and tossed it by Thrashers' netminder Kari Lehtonen.

Center Sidney Crosby scored the Penguins other goal, their 2nd PPG of the contest, and his first power play goal in about 25 games, on a deflection from a Malkin point shot.

I still can't believe he has gone that long without scoring one. Malkin has to get one next because it's been about 21 games (and counting) for him.

Ilya Kovalchuk scored for Atlanta with about 5 minutes to go, but the game was a foregone conclusion at that point. Marc-Andre Fleury closed it out with 27 saves, and looked much better doing it than he has in the last few games.

Although Atlanta had been struggling and was without one of their better players, leading goal-scorer David Little, going into the game last night, the Penguins deserved the win. They worked harder, showed more desperation, and just played better. Their skill players stepped up, and their goaltender stepped up.

They also showed some leadership, with veteran Petr Sykora doing his part to give the Penguins a win and help break their slump on the power play. Even Ruslan Fedotenko -- not known for his fists -- showed some leadership when he dropped the gloves with former Penguin Colby Armstrong a little over than one minute into the game. Although Fedotenko, in only his second career fight, got the better of Armstrong in a very short bout, it could have been costly, as he may have broken a bone in his right hand while connecting with a punch to Army's nose.

Fedotenko may have been one of the only guys on the Penguins' team Armstrong actually would have dropped the gloves against.

Speaking of injuries, Pascal Dupuis also left the game with an unspecified injury.

The Penguins can ill afford to have more guys go out of the lineup. Both Fedotenko and Dupuis are important to the Penguins because they provide at least some scoring depth to a team that has had a hard time getting on the board lately. Fedotenko, in particular, has been about the Penguins only bright spot the last 2-3 weeks. If he's out for an extended period, it will hurt.

The Penguins next game is Thursday, on the road against the Nashville Predators -- a place the Penguins have not fared well recently. It's important they come out strong in that game. Winning against Atlanta won't boost their confidence any more than temporarily unless they can string several wins together. They've been relatively good on the road this season, all things considered, so we'll see how they come out for that one.

I'll post my mid-season analysis of the team tomorrow.

Rangers Shut Out Penguins, 4-0, As The Trading Begins

If the fragile Penguins, losers of 10 of their last 14 overall, and winners of only 1 of their last 14 in Madison Square Garden where they played the Rangers last night, were to blueprint how their game absolutely should NOT start, it probably would include these components:

1) Don't give up a goal early; and

2) Don't fail to cash in on an extended 2-man advantage

True to their slump, the Penguins did both on their way to a 4-0 whitewashing by the Rangers last night, giving up a goal 1 minute into the game after defenseman Mark Eaton failed to clear the puck out of the Penguin zone, and continuing their struggles on the man-advantage by blowing a long 5-on-3 power play in the first period when they had a chance to get back into things.

The Penguins, in fact, finished with another 0-for on the power play, failing to score in EIGHT chances.

Although the first New York goal by Nigel Daws was all they needed, defenseman Paul Mara and forwards Chris Drury and Scott Gomez (EN) also scored for the Rangers.

New York netminder Henrik Lundqvist -- looking good against Pittsburgh as always -- stopped every shot he faced.

Marc-Andre Fleury took another loss for the Penguins.

I hate to say it, but the Penguins have another opportunity to continue their slump tonight against the Atlanta Thrashers at Mellon Arena, where they've been particularly awful of late.

Meanwhile, as things continue to spiral into the toilet for Pittsburgh, the Penguins have made a trade. Although it's nothing more than a minor deal, it could be the sign of what's to come. They dealt minor-league defenseman T.J. Kemp to Montreal for a conditional draft pick.

Meanwhile, there are increasing rumors of change throughout the team. Here is some of what I have been hearing.

Michel Therrein will soon be replaced -- for either former Toronto Maple Leafs coach Pat Quinn or former Carolina Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette.

The Penguins are close to making a deal with the Nashville Predators for forward and leading scorer J.P. Dumont and/or up-and-coming defenseman Ville Koistenen.

Other names I have heard been linked to the Penguins in trade rumors include Columbus Blue Jackets star winger Rick Nash, Toronto Maple Leafs center Nik Antropov (although I suspect he's much more likely to soon be traded to Columbus, who have been chasing him very aggressively), and Chicago Blackhawks winger Martin Havlat.

Ray Shero yesterday indicated that he's not looking to make a deal, and that he believes in the current group. Of course, that's what you'd expect him to say. Shero does have a history of being patient and looking to build for the long term, but he's also never had as talented a group as he has in Pittsburgh -- and has never been as close to winning the Stanley Cup as he was last season. His trade for Marion Hossa at last year's trade deadline shows that, even though he appreciates the development of a yearly contender, he has some affection for the prospect of winning now. I'm anxious to see what he does.

Personally, I don't think Therrein is going to be removed anytime soon. If the Penguins continue to falter for the next 4-6 weeks, I might feel differently.

I also doubt that we'll see Nash in a Penguin uniform anytime soon. For as much as I'd like to see him, it would take a ransom and then some to take him from the Blue Jackets -- even if he's going to be an UFA after next season. Look for Columbus to lock him up long term this offseason.

Havlat would be a desperation addition to try and get a scorer for Sidney Crosby. There's no question that's something the Penguins need, but I don't see Havlat being that guy. He's been decent for the Blackhawks this season, but gets paid 6+ million for it and that's probably more than the Penguins can take on at this point.

The most realistic thing I have heard the last few days is the Penguins chasing down J.P. Dumont. I thought the Penguins might take a look at him as a reasonably priced free-agent last offseason. I felt at the time that Dumont was someone that could outperform the 2.5/3 million dollar salary range he would likely demand. As it turns out, he is Nashville's leading scorer this year with 31 points in 38 games, although he only has 7 goals. He's certainly not the top-tier winger which Pittsburgh so desperately needs, but the Penguins are struggling on offense and Dumont would be a good scoring option to add to the club. Everyone knows about Ray Shero's connection with the Predators organization, and that always gives Pittsburgh to Nashville rumors some teeth.

I'll be posting a Penguins/Thrashers recap tomorrow, and within another day or two, will post an analysis of the first half of the Penguins season.

Beware. It might not be pretty.

Penguins Hit Rock Bottom in 6-1 Home Loss to Panthers?

This is what it has come to for the Penguins:

They are tonic for the Florida Panthers.

With today's 6-1 home loss to a Panthers team that hadn't won in 4 games, and the Buffalo Sabres' road win over the Boston Bruins (yes ... those same Bruins that looked like the best team in the league in smacking the Penguins around the last 2 games), the Penguins have fallen out of the playoff field and into 9th place in the Eastern Conference.

The Penguins were awful today.

They can't score goals (6 goals in their last 8 games).

They can't stop them (Fleury started today, was pulled for Sabourin to start the 2nd period after giving up 2 in the opening frame, then Sabourin was pulled to start the 3rd after giving up 3 goals himself in the 2nd period).

Their special teams are terrible (no power play goals in the last 6 games/24 attempts, and 2 more power play goals against today).

Their goaltending is poor (see "they can't stop them", above).

Did I miss anything?

The Penguins frustrations boiled over in the 2nd period when they started 2 fights off consecutive faceoffs in the 2nd period looking for a spark. Max Talbot went toe-to-toe with Panther forward Gregory Campbell in the first one. Sidney Crosby, the Penguins' captain, started the 2nd one, and really worked over Brett McLean, dragging him around and bloodying his nose. He sat for 19 minutes because of it, but showed some leadership in trying to jump start his club.

Frankly, I'm surprised it took the Penguins this long to lose it in a game. With things being as bad as they have been, it's a wonder they didn't blow their tops sooner. In fact, they should have done even more of that kind of thing. With the game out of hand already, they had little to lose. Sure, you don't want your best player doing it, but at least you could see the passion in him. Unfortunately, you can't say the same for so many of the other Penguins, who appear lost and despondent on the ice a lot of the time. They are extremely fragile as a group and can't get over the hump, especially at home.

I've said it before --- the Penguins and their fans (me included) aren't used to this. It's been years since the team has gone through such an ugly stretch. To the contrary, it's been nothing but success for this group the last few years. This is the first true test of character these Penguins have had. Right now, they're failing that exam miserably. Worse, there's no sign they're going to come out of things anytime soon. Even one win won't do a great deal. It will stem the tide, but unless the Penguins can put a string together, their collective confidence isn't going to be a strength for them anytime soon.

It's getting to the point now where you start to look to the GM to stir the pot. At least I do. I don't believe in pushing the panic button, but I don't think making a move at this point is panicing. The current group of players haven't shown they can do the job. There are things the team is notably missing -- even if the Penguins weren't playing so poorly. They aren't physical enough and are missing passionate players. The mix is just wrong. If the Penguins want to have any chance to make the playoffs and do well, they need some changes.

Aside from that, a trade would send a message that the performance of the current group is unacceptable. That should be obvious, but the players don't seem to be getting it.

We'll see if they do before their next game .... Monday against the Rangers in Madison Square Garden (7 PM, Versus).

Good news. They get to show off what it's like to hit rock bottom to a national tv audience.

Penguins Slump Continues After Being Swept by Bruins, 4-2

The Penguins didn't do their win-loss record any favors last night at the TD Banknorth Center in Boston, where the Bruins continued their now 10-game winning streak by beating Pittsburgh, 4-2.

They also proved that "players-only" meetings don't always result in victories the next time out on the ice.

But despite the loss, the Penguins may have set the groundwork for how they can get out of their funk and reappear as a factor in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

The Penguins outshot the Bruins, 32-25 and can't be accused of leaving their hard hats in Pittsbrugh. In fact, they probably carried the better of the play for a slight majority of the game, especially in the 3rd period, when they got within 1 on a goal by Ruslan Fedotenko with about 14 minutes to go and then pressed for the equalizer every second of the rest of the way before the Bruins sealed the game with an empty net goal.

In the end, the Bruins were just too difficult to overcome. They got contributions from the usual suspects -- Marc Savard, David Krejci, Milan Lucic, and veteran P.J. Axelsson -- and continued to show why they are one of the measuring sticks by which the Penguins need to stack up against this season.

Dustin Jeffrey scored the other marker for the Penguins -- his first in the National Hockey League -- and Dany Sabourin, who started for Marc-Andre Fleury, played relatively well in stopping 22 shots. He gave the Penguins a chance.

What really hurt Pittsburgh, however, was their failure to score on the power play. They went 0-for-5 on the man advantage and, now for the fifth game in a row, failed to cash in with their special teams. When a team plays on even terms with their opponent much of the game, the power play can be the difference-maker. The Penguins just aren't getting that from their power play right now. They're really missing a physical presence out there to cause havoc in front of the opposing team's goaltender. All the Penguins are doing is moving the puck around the perimeter. They aren't working the puck around the net enough. Until they change that, they are going to struggle on the power play. And that's one of the reasons why they are in the funk that they're in.

The Penguins play again Saturday afternoon against the Florida Panthers. If they bring the same work ethic as they did against Boston, they'll at least have a chance to win. That's all they can hope for right now.