Angelo Esposito, our first round draft pick from the Quebec Remparts is currently off the ice with a groin injury. In turn, he will miss the Canada-Russia series he was scheduled to play in. I think this would have been a great opportunity to see him play with renewed vigor from the Pens signing him, but alas, all is for nothing.
Now a little something to mull over and hate me for: Is Esposito the Lindros to be?
Sure, it's a bit early, but come on...he hasn't even stepped on the ice yet and he's already getting busted up. Although, I will give him credit for still having a semi-operable brain in his head. That's already saying more than Lindros.
Now, let's take an over-anazlyzed look at the Pens schedule for the upcoming season.
Below, I proceeded to not do work for 40 minutes at my office and instead broke down how many times we play certain teams this season. Here is how it really works - each team in the division plays one another eight times. Each team outside the division but in the conference play one another four times. And, outside the conference we play two divisions in the west, each team only once. This year, the Pens go up against the Western Conference Northwest and Pacific Division. So, really you could figure that all out yourself, but just for visual purposes on your part and hopefully to cut down on mental work, the list is as follows:
Atlantic
Devils - 8
Rangers - 8
Flyers - 8
Islanders - 8
Conference
Thrashers - 4
Bruins - 4
Sabres - 4
Panthers - 4
Lightning - 4
Senators - 4
Hurricanes- 4
Canadiens - 4
MapleLeafs- 4
Capitals - 4
Western Northwest
Canucks - 1
Wild - 1
Flames - 1
Avalanche - 1
Oilers - 1
Western Pacific
Stars - 1
Coyotes - 1
Kings - 1
Sharks - 1
Ducks - 1
Total 82
