Pensburgh is now Http://pensburgh.com

PENSBURGH HAS MOVED!!!!

2007-12-28T16:49:00.000-05:00

Pensburgh.blogspot.com has joined forces with SBNation and can now be read at
PENSBURGH.COM

Please update your links, and if you aren't on my blogroll yet ask and ye shall receive.

Pens drop Caps 4-3 in OT

2007-12-28T00:59:00.000-05:00

It's safe to say at this point that every time the Caps and Pens faceoff, you can expect a fight from Georges Laraque and Donald Brashear. Those guys genuinely hate one another.

What you can't predict is a come from behind victory. Frankly, I hate games like this. They leave me cursing and yelling and screaming one minute, and then cheering and praising and hailing the next. If my neighbors were actually capable of hearing, they'd think I had a combination of a bi-polar disorder and turrets.

Regardless, Pens took down the Caps in overtime tonight by the score of 4-3 in front of the home crowd. Crosby had two assists on the night, with some goal-age coming from the otherwise silent Sydor and new-comer Jeff Taffe. The game-winner in OT came courtesy of Sergei Gonchar who hit a wide open net on a slapper from the point via a Crosby dish. Get used to seeing Sydor on the lines again, as key defenseman Mark Eaton is out with a torn ACL. Therrien has so far experimented with who he plans to pair with Gonch, with Scuderi looking like the go-to-guy at the moment. If his juggling of forwards is any evidence to his ADD tendencies when it comes to line formations, then I'd expect to see every D-man on the team get a fair shot in pairing with Gonch.

The Pens played a very disciplined game tonight. However, much to the power play unit's chagrin so did the Caps. Each team only had two power play attempts and a total of three penalties on the game (including the Brashear/Laraque first period dance.) Pens went one for two with the man advantage, converting in a dire situation in the closing minutes of the third to send the game to OT. The Pens' PK unit killed penalties at an OJ Simpson-like 100 percent. Although not on the PK line, Gary Roberts explained how he'd do it if he was.

Pens are off now till the outdoor extravaganza that is the NHL Winter Classic. Or, as many are calling it, The Ice Bowl. Should Ty Conklin get the start in net for the Pens, this will be his second appearance in an outdoor game. Conk was in goal for Edmonton in the 4-3 loss to Montreal back in 2003.

Penguins vs Caps preview - Crosby vs Ovechkin II

2007-12-27T02:07:00.000-05:00

Tonight the Penguins come back from the holiday break hoping to make it two in a row against the Caps at home in Pittsburgh. As is the case in any Sidvechkin game, the NHL hype couldn't be greater. Never mind the fact that if the playoffs started tomorrow both the Caps and Penguins would be watching the games from home.

I don't want to turn this into a who's better match either. I really hate the constant Sid vs Ovechkin battle. Personally, I feel Ovechkin is lost on the Caps. He's an amazing player trapped on a crappy team. Similar to Sid's predicament in his rookie season, the team is struggling to get out of last place in the conference. However, unlike the Pens' 2005 season, the Caps failed to rebound the following year. Or even the year after that. Comparatively speaking, the Caps are the Pittsburgh Pirates of hockey. Ovechkin is to the Caps and Freddy Sanchez is to the Pirates. Rookie of the Year and Slugger of the Year can't do it all.

Ty Conklin has really been holding his own in net, much to my surprise, but I'd expect Sabu in net tonight. Conklin goaltended that almost unspeakable display in the 5-4 Bruins shootout match that nearly led to a loss, but we'll just remember that as a win and move on from there.

Then there was the other 4-2 win later in the week against - you guessed it, Boston. Seems Therrien wants to make Conklin the go-to-guy for Boston matchups. Don't blame him when the kid goes 2-0 in two games against them...

Sid is both hot and cold so far this month. Clearly not his best play of the season, but after all, he's only human. Perhaps the thrill of competition against Ovechkin will really help Sid take off again.

Scary Gary nets two in the last game against the Bruins. Laraque gets another. Now all we need is the first two lines to score. I don't know about you, but I'm missing Max Talbot right about now. Some quality scoring depth would work wonders for this team. That and some solid goaltending...

Lastly, when talking about the aspect of a pattern and potentially falling into a somewhat superstitious state, let's not consider the last six games. (I'll just throw it out there anyways.) If you needed further explanation, then here you go.

L-W-L-W-L-W-(?)

Here's to a W...

Why does Don Cherry even talk?

2007-12-24T10:54:00.000-05:00

If you've ever seen a Hockey Night in Canada broadcast then you've no doubt seen the likes of one Don Cherry. And, if you've seen this said 'broadcaster' (and I use the term loosely), then you'd see how the so-called eccentric and outlandish host loves to take the focus off of hockey and place it on himself and his drag queen-like wardrobe.

Seated next to Don Cherry is Ron MacLean. Watch MacLean for five minutes and you just know the guy is a walking encyclopedia of hockey knowledge. Not to mention, from stories and books I've read, he's also the more approachable one of the two. Coincidentally, he's also the lesser paid.

Don Cherry is notorious for going off topic, ranting and raving about anything but hockey. He is, on a similar note, known for doing just the same about a specific athlete or team. In Sid's rookie season Cherry was never short to say with utmost sincerity that he felt Crosby was taking dives. He even went on to say how much of a baby Crosby was. Although in some instances it's hard to say Sid wasn't going for an Oscar, there were also many times when high-sticking calls went uncalled. All arguments aside, Cherry just loves to be right.

And so this brings me to a recent edition of Hockey Night in Canada. In last night's airing, Don Cherry explained how he felt Chris Simon's stomp on Jarkko Ruutu was justified because he "asked for it" and "got it."

In fact, Cherry had a meltdown on television. Even MacLean got to a point where he threw his arms in the air, rolled his eyes and said without saying, "Please get me off the air with this guy." Whenever MacLean would make a sensible hockey argument I.E. Explaining how Cherry had no knowledge to suspect the Islanders' Ted Nolan of trying to undermine his former Buffalo Sabres club. With that, Cherry wanted to end the segment two minutes sooner than planned.

Cherry was quoted as saying, "You ruined the whole thing." Too bad he feels MacLean can't impose his own views. If the show operated in a non-biased reporting sense, then Cherry wouldn't get a word out.

About a week about, Hockey Night in Canada ran a special on Boston's Andrew Ference. (You may remember him from Sid's first fight.) Regardless, the special was not on Ferrence's play on fighting abilities, but instead on his humanitarian work with children in developing countries during the off-season. Rather than condone Ference for his actions that continue to give hockey a good reputation, Cherry said, "“That was sickening last week by the way."

MacLean, clearly caught in the middle of a Cherry's bi-polar world replied with a confused “What? What is going on with you here?”

“What is this stuff?” Cherry asked. “It's Hockey Night in Canada. And we're talking about saving the world and all that stuff. Let's talk about hockey.”

Funny...take a look at this picture and ask me if the guy can talk non-biased, fact driven hockey.

Didn't think so.

Read the entire article about Don Cherry's BS antics here

And if you ever doubted how Cherry loves to turn the conversation towards him and hog all of the attention, here is a good example. In addition to how he loves to stand by his nonsensical words, this clip followed insults he made on Russian National hockey.

Pens drop Bruins 4-2

2007-12-24T00:24:00.000-05:00

No, Sid didn't fight again. He didn't score either. He did, however, tally an assist on the night in the Pens' 4-2 victory over the Bruins.

Tonight's scoring was led by what some may deem an unlikely roster. How often do you see Gary Roberts score not only once, but twice in a game? Not to be out-done, Georges Laraque said he wanted a piece of the pie too with a goal in the second. Malkin - well, he scores frequently. In this game he did so just to secure the win.

Notch another win for Ty Conklin as well. Conk is 2-0 on the year, despite his poor efforts to relieve Sabourin in the Flyers beat down two weeks ago. Tonight's win against the Bahstonians was by far an easier game to handle than the 5-4 shootout win four days ago that nearly turned into an upset.

The Pens head into the holiday break with another win, putting their record at 7-5 on the month with only two more games remaining in December.

The Winter Classic is building a lot of hype, and I really look forward to what the overall take on it is on a day otherwise known for its college bowl games. Rumor has it the Pens will play outside again next year, only against their cross-state rivals on neutral territory on state college grounds. Check out the article here. (Thanks to The Sidney Crosby Show for finding it.)

Perhaps this will lead to more outdoor games along similar lines. Although I'm sure a Panthers vs Lightning outdoor game is completely out of the question, I don't see why a battle of Ontario wouldn't be considered.

The Pens return to action on Thursday against the Capitals. Game time 7:30 p.m.

My Return - Pens go 2-2

2007-12-23T10:55:00.000-05:00

I'm back from my Northern ventures. In the past week I've tried to pack as much excitement and activity into seven days that I was hardly able to keep up on the news. In my visits to Toronto, Ottawa, Niagara and Buffalo, I was fortunate enough to at least have comprehensive hockey coverage to at least keep me in the loop of things.

Not at all shocked by Chris Simon's stomp on Ruutu. There had to have been something mentally wrong with a player to begin with if he's going to take a baseball swing at another's face. Last season I partially thought to myself, "Well, the trainers did say he acted out of character in part to a concussion sustained on the previous hit. Even still, that seemed like a stretch to me. But now I think it's safe to say that Chris Simon is certifiably insane.

Pens were victims to their first scoreless game of the season thanks in part to Lunqvidst and the Rangers. As upset as I was to see such a blemish come from the hands of the Rangers, I was just as equally happy to see Gaborik pop five goals past "King" Henrik a few nights later. The King looked more like a peasant.

Oh yes, holy crap, Crosby throws down! At first when I was checking a score online I was totally surprised to see Crosby in the box for a five minute fighting major. Before midnight hit I was able to find a TV and watch the action myself. You know what? The kid held his own. At first I thought he was a little late to drop his gloves, especially the right gauntlet he seemed to launch towards Ference's face. All in all though, the kid held his own. I don't care what anyone says; if you send the other guy away to the dressing room with blood trickling down, you made your point.

And finally Friday's game against the Islanders proved to be a disappointment. Why can't the Pens win games in their division? This is really going to kill them come the end of the season and the playoff race. Four wins...FOUR WINS out of the team's 17 are in the division. On a similar note, ten losses for a Atlantic Division record of 4-10-1. Not exactly what you'd call impressive.

But we have tonight against the Bruins to worry about. In their last meeting earlier this week Ty Conklin tallied his first win with the Pens, barely hanging on for the shootout victory. The Bruins managed to squeak a point out of that one, whereby at one time they were losing 4-0. Thanks to a collapsing Pens D and stupid penalties, the Bruins rallied back with two PP goals, one shorty and an even strength to send it to overtime and ultimately a shootout. Kudos to Conklin.

Happy to be home after a crazy week of traveling. I'll have some pics up soon, as well as some news as to where you can read Pensburgh in 2008. Till then, everyone enjoy the weekend, the holidays and the time spent with family. And remember - Ice Bowl at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo on January 1st, 1p.m. on NBC.

HOF

2007-12-15T00:19:00.000-05:00

As I venture off to the Hockey Hall of Fame this week I don't necessarily expect to miss games, but I do fear updating here may be a bit difficult. So rather than promise and not come through, I'll return to action the weekend of the 22nd. I'll continue from thereon in - but with a new year comes some new changes. Keep an eye out for a newly formatted blog, as Pensburgh makes the jump to one of the biggest sports blog communities on the net.

Sens beat Pens 4-1

2007-12-13T21:49:00.000-05:00

Coming off the recent loss to Philly, Pittsburgh was hoping to turn things around with a solid win in front of the home crowd tonight. That unfortunately, was not the case.

The first period was phenomenal on both ends, especially for the Pens. Knowing the offensive powess of the Senators, the Pens did a great job of controlling the neutral zone and keeping the puck out of their own zone. Unfortunately, they were unable to convert on any of their chances - and they sure as hell had enough of them.

The second period turned things around a bit, with Tyler "John F." Kennedy threading a backhand shot into the thread coming off a Malkin to Gerber rebound. The Senators didn't wait long to retaliate, striking back under two minutes later with a Dany Heatley laser.

At the end of the second the score was notched at one a piece. This would unfortunately mark the end of the Pens' scoring.

Third period scoring in a nutshell - Spezza, Heatley, Spezza (empty net).

Final score; 4-1.

The Pens bombed on countless chances, especially from Jordan Staal and Captain Crosby. Crosby easily had a chance to score at least two goals, but Gerber had his number on the night. Despite his two assist effort in the Flyers game, Crosby has only registered a point or more in one of the last four games.

Jordan Staal was completely destroyed throughout the night. I've never seen the kid rocked that hard before. Considering the team can't use another injury, it was good to see him get up after every trip to the boards. Of course, some might argue promoting a minor leaguers in Staal's position might not be a bad idea.

Danny Sabourin was solid in net, despite the final outcome of this game. The defense collapsed on the penalty kill, allowing two goals on three chances. It's not to say the Senators power play is subpar, but I expected a better performance from the PK units.

Quick Hits
Staal got rocked tonight, but he's ok
Martin Gerber is incredible. I'd rather see Emery in net next time.
Sid couldn't get it going tonight.
Trip to Long Island on Saturday, Should be the true test as to what fans can expect within the next two weeks.

Recchi is bitter - why? Therrien is angry - justified?

2007-12-12T15:16:00.000-05:00

Mark Recchi has been quoted in Atlanta papers as being bitter about the ties between him and the Pens. He was recently quoted in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review as saying, "They'll see," Recchi told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I didn't get 68 points for no reason last year."

As the paper said, and I and many fans around the Pens' world will agree, that reason was Sidney Crosby.

Recchi was a highly respected player in the Penguins community. His charity work with fans and his respectable nature on and off the ice for the team as a whole was something that allowed Pittsburgh fans to wish him all the best after his time in town. I personally even said I was happy to see him get with a big club in his last season, rather than go out with a minor league affiliate.

But now, I can honestly say, my opinion has changed.

It's a shame Rex. I enjoyed your time in Pittsburgh. When I look back on some of the fonder memories of the team, your 500th goal comes to mind. I was happy to see you achieve that milestone with the same team that brought you into the league, the same team you played with on three separate occasions. But now - now I look forward to the Pens paying you a visit on January 12. I hope your buddy Gary rocks you out.

There's also a lot more controversy surrounding the recent beating from the Flyers. Coach Therrien felt it was inappropriate for the Flyers' Coach Stevens to send out his number one power play when the score was 7-2. Perhaps to make matters even worse, the goon Ben Eager proceeded to tell Coach Therrien, "You're a joke" when he passed him in the hallway after the game. Therrien's reply was precisely, "Fack you."

Therrien was also quoted as saying:

"Are we talking about the same team that got five guys suspended this year?" Therrien said. "It is a lack of respect what (Stevens) did tonight. At 7-2 you don't send your best power play on the ice. Even Daniel Briere didn't want to go on the ice. It is a lack of respect.

I would've also liked for him to say something like, "Are we talking about the same team that lost all eight games to us last year?" That would've been nice.

More bad news

2007-12-12T14:05:00.000-05:00

Here is a post from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Penguins' goalie Fleury out up to two months, Talbot hurt too
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
By Dave Molinari, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury will be out six-to-eight weeks because of a high ankle sprain, and center Maxime Talbot will be sidelined two-to-four weeks with a similiar injury.

Coach Michel Therrien said the Penguins will stick with goalies Dany Sabourin and Ty Conklin, and have no plans to make a goalie-related personnel move.

Sabourin is expected to be in goal when Ottawa visits Mellon Arena Thursday at 7:38 p.m.

This certainly changes things a bit. Previous rumors have stated that the Penguins were shopping around for a veteran goaltender. Perhaps now would be a good time to move on it. Curtis Joseph was mentioned at one point, along with Andrew Raycroft. Personally, if I had to pick, I'd choose Joseph.

Thoughts...?

Preview vs Ottawa soon to come.

Flyers annihilate Penguins 8-2

2007-12-11T22:42:00.000-05:00

In all fairness I have to report on this one. Although, I'd be more accurate doing a fight recap than a game recap.

The Flyers destroyed the Penguins tonight by the score of 8-2. Both Joffrey Lupul and R.J Umberger were in competition with one another to see who could get the most points. Each got a hat trick on the night for the first time since 1985 that the Flyers have had two hat tricks in one game. Lupul also had six points on the night (3-3), while Umberger had only a pathetic five (3-2).

Things were looking alright after the first. Both teams went into the second period tied at two thanks to a power play goal from Whitney and a quick notch from Sykora. but then it all went to hell with six unanswered goals from the Flyers. Sabourin was pulled after the second period, having given up five goals on twenty-five shots. Thus marked the first NHL appearance from Ty Conklin, recently promoted from the Wilkes-Barre squad.

Aside from a sprawling save to prevent the ninth goal of the game, Conklin didn't exactly save the day or make it look any prettier. Conklin allowed three goals on fifteen shots before the much anticipated final horn.

At least the game remained entertaining though. A nice solid rivaly was fueled by 156 penalty minutes distributed between the two, 98 of which belonged to the Pens.

As predicted, Jason Smith didn't go more than a minute into the game before dropping his gloves with Ryan Malone. In the last meeting between the two teams back in November, Malone was ejected when fighting with Smith in the final minute of the third after a missed slashing call on Crosby. Tonight Malone seemed to have the upper hand in the fight, delivering some solid rights to Smiths face. The fight came to its end when Smith more or less dove on top of Malone to end the suffering.

Even Sidney Crosby almost got into a fight with Flyers goaltender Marty Biron when Crosby, accidental or not, tripped up Biron on a play behind the net. Neither player was penalized, but Biron was edging on Crosby to come back to the crease.

Ben Eager and Gary Roberts also tied up after Eager delivered an elbow to Georges Laraque's head that went unnoticed by the refs. Laraque, of course, was penalized for retaliation. Roberts dominated Eager with left after left to the face. Both were sent to the box, where Laraque and Eager continued to exchange some choice words. Neither would throw the gloves later in the game.

Ryan Whitney fought tonight, just as he did in the Pens' last visit to Philly. Tonight his foe of choice was Jeff Carter. Carter would later be seen in the penalty box with blood dripping from a cut above his nose before being sent off to the dressing room.

Colby Armstrong and Scott Hartnell went at it, although it was more of a scuff than a fight. Armstrong suffered self-inflicted facial lacerations earlier in the night when he missed a hit and went flying into the boards face first. To his defense, falling during the fight prevented further injury. Both players were ejected from the game.

Georges Laraque received a game misconduct for running into Marty Biron on what looked like an obvious attempt to take the goalie out. Shortly after, Evgeni Malkin would also get a game misconduct for fighting with the Flyers' Tolpeko.

The final game misconduct came to Jarkko Ruutu with one minute remaining in the game, as the Penguins more or less had only a dozen players or so on the bench. Therrien opted to sit Crosby in prevention of any head hunting that would ensue should he step back on the ice.

All in all, 10 combined goals on the game, 34 called penalties, 98 penalty minutes for the Penguins, 58 penalty minutes for the Flyers, five fights and eight ejections.

If one good thing can come from this game it's the Penguins ability to focus on using this game as a team building exercise. After all, after the first fight, all of the other ones came from retaliation and standing up for one another.

In the end the Penguins bullied the bullies, winning practically every fight on the game. Winning the game itself; well, not exactly.

Round III in the Battle of PA

2007-12-11T13:22:00.001-05:00

Tonight the Penguins look to make it five in a row with a win over the cross-state rival Philadelphia Flyers. In the previous two meetings this season, the Flyers were victorious in both.

I'm not going to confirm it, but I wouldn't be surprised if Laraque or another heavyweight on the team threw down the gloves early with Jason Smith in retaliation to a slash on Sidney Crosby back on November 10. If you don't recall, allow me to recap for you.

In the dying seconds of the third period, in what was more than likely a Penguins loss, Jason smith slashed across the mitts of Sid as he tried to maneuver in front of the Flyers' goal. Although it may have appeared to be a dive (I personally think Crosby just sold it wrong), the slash was still evident. The incident resulted in a Flyers and Pens scuffle against the boards, ending with a Ryan Malone 10-minute game misconduct. Earlier in the match, Malone engaged in a fight that left him cut and bloody right between the eyes.

To make matters worse, Smith went back to the bench after the obvious slashing call and couldn't contain his happiness. Cameras in the arena and on television caught Smith gleaming from ear to ear with a dirty grin that simply read, "Yeah, I did it. But you didn't catch me."

Bringing back memories of Crosby's rookie season in 2005, Flyers fan began chanting "Craaaawwsbeeee" and "Dive, dive..." You may recall the controversy surrounding Sid in 2005, whereby Flyers Head Coach Ken Hitchcock accused Sid of diving to draw penalties. The Philly media jumped on the accusations as well, only adding more fuel to the already potent fire that is the Battle of PA.

So far this month the Flyers are 1-2, their most recent being a 2-1 loss to the Avalanche. The Pens are 4-1 in November, with their most recent a 2-1 shootout win over Vancouver.

Finally a look at the Pens' injuries. Both Marc-Andre Fleury and Max Talbot are expected to miss tonight's game with ankle sprains. Fleury sustained the injury in a bad fall against Calgary last week. Talbot, who missed four games due to a high ankle sprain, was seen limping off the ice after the Canucks match. Both are listed day-to-day.

Round three of the Battle of PA starts tonight at 7p.m.

The Letang bandwagon

2007-12-10T15:51:00.001-05:00

I was checking out some other Pens blogs today and found pretty much everyone jumping on the Letang wagon. I find this funny on many different levels. First off, and I don't want to link the article so as to spare bad relations, but back in September a certain blogger on a rather dominate hockey site claimed Kris Letang wasn't ready and wouldn't be ready for at least another season.

When the Pens dropped four in a row in early November, I felt if Therrien was going to call up a player at any point, that would be a good time. Coming off the poor play of Sydor and Recchi, I kinda felt a D-man and forward would get the call to compensate. Look at the roster now, and you see Tyler Kennedy and Kris Letang have found a comfortable, new home.

One week before Letang was called up, I asked this specific blogger if he thought now would be a good time for Letang to make the jump. "Not yet" I remember him saying, "he still needs work."

Today when I read his blog, he was praising Letang. How he's the 'savior' of the Pens and the future of the blueline. He even tries to take credit for saying he "knew it all along."

Now, I'm not trying to play the I'm better than you card. But seriously man, I called it two days before it happened.

Letang was also my pick as a prospect.

And here.

I'm happy that Letang could make a believer out of the disbelievers. And although he's had his share of some whiffs on shots and even a few plays in the Pens' own end that could have proven costly, he's no doubt a great addition to the roster.

In the end, if he has to score three straight game-winning goals to prove his worth, then so be it. That's an exchange I'll take any day.

Penguins sweep Northwest in 2-1 shootout win

2007-12-09T00:54:00.000-05:00

The Pittsburgh Penguins swept their Northwest visit in the last leg of their three game tour with a shootout win over the Vancouver Canucks tonight in Vancouver. For the second time in two straight games the Pens were involved in a shootout, and for the second straight time Kris Letang stepped up for the club with another shootout winning goal. Letang's shootout record is now a perfect 2-2. On top of his game winning goal verse the Oilers, the once looked-past prospect coincidentally became the Pens' savior.

Not a lot of scoring in this one. In fact, the goaltending was beyond exceptional on both ends. Roberto Luongo easily saved what would've been two goals, while across ice his former backup Dany Sabourin was doing just the same.

For the second straight game and for the fourth time this season, Sidney Crosby was held pointless in his efforts. His best opportunity came on an overtime penalty shot, whereby Lungo was clearly beat and practically out of position. However Crosby was unable to fire the puck fast enough and the sprawling Luongo kept the Canucks in it.

In the shootout, Erik Christensen continued to prove his value with a shootout goal on the Pens' first opportunity. Coming down to the top of the third round, Marcus Naslund was called upon to save it for the Canucks, to which he willingly obliged. Three rounds later, Kris Letang sent it home to complete the Pens' Western road trip and send them back to PA. Pittsburgh, however, is not the next destination on the itinerary. One little stop before that - Philadelphia.

Round three in the never-ending saga that is the Battle of PA continues Tuesday night in Philly, the city of brotherly schmucks.

Pittsburgh improved their November record to 4-1 in addition to winning four straight, their longest streak of the season.

Fleury's status - Recchi gone - Vancouver preview

2007-12-08T14:11:00.000-05:00

Fleury's OK

Penguins fans everywhere can breathe a little sigh of a relief - Fleury's injury isn't that bad. On an awkward fall during a shot barrage in Thursday night's game against Calgary, Fleury left the game and would not return in what looked like a knee injury. As the game progressed, reports hinted that Fleury was on crutches in the dressing room and it was not his knee injured in the play, but in fact his ankle. The final prognosis Friday afternoon suggested that it was merely a sprain. Although listed day-to-day, he will no suit up in tonight's game against Vancouver.

Through some goaltending shifts in the system, the Wheeling Nailers opened their doors to John Curry, fresh off the Calgary Flames' minor-league affiliate in Las Vegas. David Brown was promoted from Wheeling to Wilkes-Barre in order to fill the skates of Ty Conklin. Conklin, although not expected to play, will be suited up and on the bench in tonight's game in the unfortunate event anything should happen to the reliable Dany Sabourin.

Sabourin is 5-4-1 this season, with a .914 save percentage and 2.34 GAA. "Sabu" made a supreme effort in Thursday's game, coming in cold off the bench to fill in for Fleury. Sabourin gave up only two goals in the 3-2 victory, and held his ground in the shootout.

The Fate of Mark Recchi

In other roster news, 39-year-old Mark Recchi, after initially being demoted to the minor league Baby Pens, has been claimed off re-entry waivers by the Atlanta Thrashers. Both the Pens and Thrash are responsible for half of Recchi's salary, roughly $875,000 each. In 19 games with the Penguins this season, Recchi recorded two goals for eight points. This move is the eighth of his career, on his fifth different team. Recchi spent three different periods with the Penguins from 1988-1992, 60 games in 2004-2005, and again from 2006 to his recent departure. In 2004, Recchi left the struggling Penguins squad to win a cup with the Carolina Hurricanes.

In what the media claimed to be tension surrounding the alternate captain position between Crosby and Recchi, he'd soon return to play for the youngest captain in NHL history. On January 26, 2007, Recchi reached the 500 goal milestone with the Pens, the same team he started his career with.

This move to Atlanta may in fact be the last for the NHL veteran, but his time spent in Pittsburgh was well spent and greatly appreciated by fans. It's a shame to see him go, but an overall consensus is many would rather see him end his career on an NHL team rather than a minor league affiliate.

12-8-07 Preview vs Canucks
Now that we got all of that news out of the way, it's onto tonight's game. The Penguins are hoping to wrap up their Western Canada trip with a three-game sweep and four-game win streak. They'll have to get past Robert Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks first.

Last season Dany Sabourin spent time as the backup for Robert Luongo, at one point even bailing him out during the playoffs when Luongo was sent to the dressing room for an undisclosed injury. Luongo would soon return, but the diarrhea would remain.* Sabu was perfect in net during the overtime play to keep the Canucks in contention.

Leading the way for the Canucks offensively is none other than the Sedin brothers. Unlike the Lindros brothers, these guys navigate and draw out plays all over the ice. Similar to the Crosby-Malkin combination (with the exception being they came from seperate wombs) if one brother has the puck, chances are he's looking for his brudda from the same mudda.

Henrik Sedin (28 points - 5-23) is just one point above his brother Daniel (27 points 11-16). The numbers prove more than just who is the stat leader, but also which one is the set-up guy and which is looking to put the puck home.

Although I have no evidence proving the two swap wives for laughs, or even talk in sync with one another, I do know they are exceptionally talented hockey players. They should be the main concern of the Penguins' D tonight, along with the likes of Marcus Naslund (26 points - 11-15).

Luongo has had a few tough games this season, particularly the one against Philadelphia where he gave up four goals on 13 shots before getting yanked off the ice. However, Luongo has also had some spectacular, jaw-dropping games as well. He's won four of his last five starts and recorded three straight shutouts against Chicago, Anaheim and Columbus. For the Penguins' sake, I hope he's off his game tonight. When he's on, he's unstoppable. Rather, unbeatable.

East Coast fans, tonight's puck drops at 10p.m. Eastern. It's a Saturday night - you can hack it.

*Not a fact, just an assumption

Pens douse Flames in 3-2 shootout victory

2007-12-07T00:41:00.000-05:00

The Penguins won their third consecutive game tonight in shootout fashion. In what was known as "The Battle of the Captains", Jarome Iginla and Sidney Crosby each did their part to lead their team to victory. On the stat sheet, Iginla would have the upper hand. But by the end of the night, Crosby's Pens would get the win, two points and move within two points of the division leading Rangers and Flyers.

An early first period injury to starting goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury really set the mood for an otherwise disappointing night. In a shuffle across and in front of the net, Fleury lost his balance and literally appeared to have trapped his leg under his body. After facing only two shots, he'd skate off under his own power but would not return. The remainder of the night was left in the pads of Dany Sabourin.

Sabourin, coming off the bench and not expecting to play, was challenged early but stood his ground. His side-to-side play across the crease prevented at least one goal in the first, but didn't stop the only one that came on the power play from Jaroma Iginla with 28 seconds remaining in the period.

Heading into the second and down 1-0, the Pens were hoping to rally behind Crosby. However, Sid was kept on lock-down from Calgary Flames defender Dion Phaneuf. By the end of the night Sid would record only two shots on the night and walk away pointless for only the second time this season.

With roughly six minutes remaining in the second, Evgeni Malkin charged in on the Flames' net, going top shelf on Kipprusoff to tie the game at one.

It wouldn't take long for the Flames to rally back, as Iginla notched his second on the night and 16th on the year on the power play brought on by a Jordan Staal high-sticking call.

Down 2-1 in the third the Penguins found themselves in a hole as Dion Phaneuf's pestering of Gary Roberts throughout the entire game drew a high-sticking call with ten minutes remaining. Had the Flames capitalized on the power play, it would've made it nearly impossible for the Penguins to come back down two.

Ryan Malone didn't let that happen.

Pressuring his man on the penalty-kill, Malone was able to kick the puck out of the Pens zone and hurry down ice for a shorty with 8:30 remaining on the clock.

The Flames applied heavy pressure from thereon in, with Iginla nearly finding the hat trick on a shot just wide of the net.

In overtime the Penguins' best chance came on a Sergei Gonchar centering pass through the crease in the dying seconds of the third that couldn't find a connection in front of the net. The Flames applied pressure as well, almost capitalizing on a two-on-one with Mark Eaton as the only defender. Eaton was able to make a great play to break up the centering pass, giving his teammates enough time to hurry down ice and even up the sides. Time eventually ran out on both teams, as they headed into overtime with each guaranteed at least one point.

The shootout was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth round, when Kris Letang stepped up to center ice. In the game against the Oilers the previous night, Letang scored the game winner and was looking to do the same in the shootout. As he drove in on Kipper, the goalie tried to tempt him to the glove side but Letang had his mind made up already. In a slick shot past Kiprusoff, Letang was the hero for the second night in a row and the Pens went on to their third straight win.

The Pens hope to wrap up and sweep the Northwest visit Saturday night against the Canucks. No word has been released on the severity of Fleury's injury or if he'll be eligible to play come Saturday night.

Despite Crosby's point-less effort on the night, he logged nearly 23-minutes of ice time and provided enough of a distraction to Phaneuf to open the ice up to the rest of the team. Although he's no doubt one of the best snipers in the league, his role as a distraction led the team victory just the same behind scoring from Malkin and Malone.

The Pens head into Vancouver Saturday night as they hope to make it four-straight, their longest streak of the season. Puck drops at 10p.m. Eastern.

Penguins vs Flames preview - Recchi down to WBS

2007-12-06T14:39:00.000-05:00

The Pens continue their West Canadian trip tonight with a visit to Calgary, Alberta to take on the Flames at the Saddle Dome. Similar to their most recent match against the Oilers, this is the first and only time this season the Birds are scheduled to play the Flames.

Calgary is last in the Northwest Division with 26 points and currently ranked thirteenth in the Conference. The play of Miikka Kiprusoff has been anything but impressive, as he rolls into tonight's game with an 11-11-4 record.

Between the pipes for the Pens, Fleury has been the opposite of Kippy. The young goalie is 9-8-1 on the season and has recorded four-straight wins. Unlike the beginning of the season, Fleury has found his place in net and has managed to stand more grounded on his skates. At the beginning of the season it almost appeared as if Fleury was suffering from a bout of A.D.D, leaving the net wide open in dangerous situations while fetching the puck.

If I had to guess though, I'd say Dany Sabourin will get the start tonight. Coach Therrien has been known to rotate goalies in back-to-back games, as is the case tonight.

Offensively, the Flames pack a mighty punch. Not only is Jarome Iginla a formidable scorer and setup guy, but Alex Tanguay and Daymond Langkow can put up the numbers too. In Penguin terms, consider it along the lines of a Crosby, Malkin and Sykora line.

Speaking of - Petr Sykora missed some great open net opportunities last night against the Oilers. I'd really love to see him capitalize on similar opportunities tonight.

Crosby hit the 40 point mark last night (14-26) in his three assist effort, edging him within two of the league's point leader Vinny Lecavalier. Malkin is second on the team with 33 points (10-23).

The Mark Recchi situation has taken another turn as of earlier today. The Pittsburgh Penguins announced that Recchi, who just cleared waivers yesterday afternoon, would be appointed to the AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. The main question right now is - will he go? Similar to veterans of the past along the likes of Alexander Mogilny and Theoren Fleury, a demotion often signals the end of a career.

As more news on Recchi unfolds, I'll keep you posted.

Flames vs Penguins tonight at 9:00p.m. Eastern.

Penguins beat Oilers 4-2

2007-12-06T01:09:00.000-05:00

The Pittsburgh Penguins added a comeback victory to their season's repportoire tonight with a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. The Penguins were scoreless in the first two periods of play, heading into the third period down 2-0.

In the first two periods, Ryan Malone, Ryan Whitney and Sidney Crosby combined for zero points, with just as many combined shots on goal. However, once the third period got under, the first line really woke up.

Maxime Talbot, in his second game fresh off a high ankle sprain, notched the first goal in a little over six minutes into the third with a diving backhander that just slipped past Oilers netminder Dwayne Roloson. The scoring continued 21 seconds later on a Letang shot to tie the score at two.

In typical Penguins fashion, the team continued to rally on the offensive. Nearly four minutes later, Colby Armstrong sent the Penguins on 3-2 lead with a shot from a Mark Eaton shot-pass.

Throughout the entire third period the Penguins controlled the puck in the Oilers zone, cutting down the puck at center ice and really putting their best skate forward. Within the span of seven minutes, the Pens scored four goals, with the last coming from Ryan Whitney on the power play to seal the deal late in the third.

Amidst the media hype of his visit to Edmonton, Sidney Crosby put on a show for the fans. Rumor has it, tickets on the street were selling upwards of $600 a piece to see the NHL superstar in action. Crosby did not disappoint as he put on a display on athleticism in his three point, three assist game.

Marc-Andre Fleury, despite giving up an early goal in the first, looked phenomenal in net. He also came within only inches of scoring a goal in the dying seconds of the third period when the Oilers pulled Roloson for an extra attacker.

Additionally, Maxime Talbot is just coming from out of nowhere this season. In the past, especially in 2005, he was a regular back and forth player splitting time in Wilkes-Barre and Pittsburgh. However, he is now just starting to earn his ice time on the lines with Georges Laraque despite the difference of nearly four inches and 50 pounds between the two. One can almost say it's the on-ice version of the classic story "Of Mice and Men."

The Pittsburgh Penguins continue their Western Canada tour tomorrow in Calgary against the Flames. Puck drops at 9p.m. Eastern.

Pens vs Oilers preview

2007-12-05T16:15:00.001-05:00

The Penguins head out to Western Canada tonight in the first and only game of the season against the Edmonton Oilers.

In their most recent game against the LA Kings, the Oilers skated to victory in a come from behind shootout victory. Oilers star Ales Hemsky is expected to return to the lineup tonight after being benched for a knee bruise.

Injuries are abound for the Oilers team. Six players rest on the proverbial stretcher, including defenceman Sheldon Souray. On the other side of the puck, Pittsburgh is hoping their star blueliner Sergei Gonchar is fit to play after missing two games from a groin injury.

Expected in net for the Penguins is on-and-off goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who for all intensive purposes has been nothing but hot on the ice. Fleury is riding a three game win streak that involves not only a shutout against the Thrashers, but also only two goals in the sixty-nine shots faced.

Mathieu Garon got the start in Edmonton's last game, so Dwayne Roloson may be making an appearance in net tonight for the Oilers. Roloson has been off to a shaky start with a record of 6-10-1. Garon, who single-handidly could be credited for keeping the Oilers alive in the game against the Kings, has looked sharp in net and may just get a consecutive start tonight.

The Pens start their West Coast trip tonight against the Oilers, with the next game coming tomorrow night against the Flames. Puck drops at 9:30p.m. Eastern Time.

Out with the old - Pens put Recchi on waivers

2007-12-04T17:25:00.000-05:00

The Pittsburgh Penguins officially placed 39-year-old Mark Recchi on waivers this afternoon, officially marking what is likely the end of his career with Pittsburgh.

Ironically enough, at last night's home game against Phoenix, the Penguins commemorated Recchi's 500 goal milestone in the form of a bobble head souvenir. Recchi was a healthy scratch for last night's game, as has been the case for the past two weeks or so.

Recchi, also appointed alternate captain prior to the season's start, managed only eight points (2-6) in his 19 games with the Pens.

With the recent and younger talent working its way up through the Pens' system, it is almost evident at this point that Tyler Kennedy has found a full-time job. Initially considered as part of a demotion that sent Alain Nasreddine down to WBS, Coach Therrien was quick to recall Kennedy, a decision he has not since regretted.

In 13 games played, Kennedy has six points (4-2) and has exhibited versatility on lines shared with Gary Roberts and Jordan Staal.

Pens beat Desert Dogs 3-1

2007-12-03T21:53:00.000-05:00

Nice win tonight for the flightless birds, edging out a late surge in the third period to win by the final of 3-1. Prior to the game I expected to see a lot of penalties coming from he Coyotes' Carcillo. Oddly enough, Carcillo didn't spend a second in the box, but the same can't be said for his team.

The Coyotes logged 25-minutes of penalties through the course of this game. Nine of those 25 went to Keith Ballard, who had a tough night as the object of Colby Armstrong's retribution for an early first period hit that sent them both to the box for fighting.

Crosby and Malkin both had a relatively quiet night, but thankfully the team could still muster up an attack.

Mad Max Talbot was back from a high ankle sprain that rendered him unable to play for the last five games. He was quick to make his presence known with the first goal of the game, his sixth of the season. The combination of Georges Laraque and Talbot is amazing to watch. It is the ideal example of the scoring depth necessary for the birds.

Second notch of the game went to Kris Letang, his first on the season from Crosby and Malkin. Earlier in the game Letang fanned on a fair number of shots, before finally connecting on the third period goal.

Fleury's only faulter on the night came during a 4:00 Coyotes powerplay in which Captain Shane Doan found the back of the net following the Penguins' inability to clear the puck.

The victory was sealed on a Tyler Kennedy goal, his fourth on the season and fourth point in four games. So much for Coach Therrien looking to send him down to WBS with Nasreddine.

Great game tonight by the Pens, and phenomenal goaltending on both ends. Despite giving up three goals and dropping four straight, Ilya Bryzgalov is the goalie of the future for the Coyotes. I've said it before, I'll say it again and I'll keep saying it: Bryzgalov is to the Coyotes as what Biron was to the Flyers last season.

Pens head out to the west coast Wednesday night in Edmonton for a three game road trip. Preview to come.

Pens vs Coyotes preview

2007-12-03T02:48:00.000-05:00

I'll be honest, I thought the Penguins would jump on the signing of Ilya Bryzgalov when he was released from the Ducks. It would've been nice too. The guy was barely team-less by the end of a 24-hour span, and when he did start for the Coyotes he did so by winning four straight. Impressive.

Too bad he's lost three in a row.

The Penguins play host to the dessert dogs tonight at 7:30p.m., hoping to rebound from the win-streak breaking loss against the Maple Leafs Saturday night.

Never mind this being the only time during the season when these two teams faceoff. This is a win-everything situation for the Pens, who have not only been sitting uncomfortably at the bottom of the Atlantic, but are also thirteenth in the conference.

Besides, next season's new scheduling will have the Pens playing every team in the league anyways. Might as well scout them out now.

Couple of key players on the Dogs to look out for.

1. Shane Doan - Had an extremely slow start to the season, but has since come around to put himself at the top of the team with 18 points (5-13). Regardless, Doan has only been held to one point in the last five.

2. Ilya Bryzgalov - If you haven't seen this guy in net yet, watch and be amazed. As long as his defense doesn't collapse around him, he's more than likely to give up only two goals a game. I'm putting him in the same light as Marty Biron last season with the Flyers. I expect to hear about an off-season extension for this guy.

3. Daniel Carcillo - At 22 years-old this guy is a real scrapper. Two games ago against Chicago, Carcillo logged 23 minutes in penalties, including a 10-minute game misconduct. He's a hard hitter who's not afraid to shoot either. Carcillo is tied for fifth on the team with 11 points (4-7). Not bad for a former Wilkes-Barre star...

In order to contend and not hand this game entirely over to the Coyotes, the Penguins need to play a clean game and keep their mouths shut when a penalty is issued. See also - Gary Roberts, Sidney Crosby. Two minutes in the box is bad enough, but two more because you can't stop whining doesn't make it any easier.

I'd like to say this game is highly winnable, but I've only seen the Coyotes play a few times this season. When you factor in the on and off again threat of the Penguins' offense, it really is anyone's game.

Puck drops at 7:38p.m.

Pensburgh on Blogtalk

2007-12-02T01:28:00.000-05:00

Pensburgh will make an appearance on blogtalkradio.com tonight around 8:45pm to talk about happenings around the Atlantic Division.

Click this to listen live

Pens fall to Leafs 4-2

2007-12-01T22:34:00.000-05:00

The Penguins just couldn't get it going tonight. Horrible turnovers in their own zone and just no motivation to move it up ice. In the event they even got it into the Leafs' zone, a lack of forechecking resulted in easy clears for Toronto.

Not gonna lie on this one; it hurts to see them team out there without Gonch and Talbot. Gonchar's absence is the obvious one, as the blueline tonight lacked that one-two combo from Whitney to Gonchar. Although Letang is a formidable defenseman, I feel he has a better place on the second line. However, in instances like this, it's good just to have him up there.

Or is it? Letang made a few mistakes in the Pens' zone. I can't tell if the Leafs were just putting on a lot of pressure, or if he did in fact seem like he was running scared in the zone. Either way, his inability to move forward with the puck gave the Toronto the advantage on the offensive.

Dany Sabourin was solid in net tonight. One glance at the number of shots he faced and you'd expect a higher scoring game. Stopping 37 of 40 is a good game in my book.

But where were the Penguins with their shots? The team mustered only nine shots in the first period, mostly attributed to the eight minutes of penalties they had to kill. Thanks Gary Roberts - you can't just take the two and keep your mouth shut. Instead, you call the ref, if my lip-reading is accurate "A F****** C****" and get yourself two more for misconduct. Lucky for you the PK was working hard out there. Otherwise I'd say it was your fault the team lost.

I reserve that statement to Malkin. Yes, I'm blaming the all-holy, sacred-star Evgeni Malkin. The same Malkin who thought it to be a good idea to wistfully dish a no-look pass to the point while the Leafs were in what appeared to be the heat of a line change. Not only did you miss your pass by a mile, but you also handed the puck right to Wellwood. From there, Wellwood and Blake charged down on Sabourin, who at this point was already weighed down by the amount of crap he dropped in his own drawers when he saw the incompetence of his team in the offensive zone. Pass, shoot, score. Even if Sabourin were to block the first shot, there were more Leafs on him than Pens to pick up the rebound.

Not happy with tonight's game. Too many mistakes. When the team finally tried to make up for it, it was too little too late.

I suggest Kennedy stays up when Talbot gets back. I don't know who'd be better off sent down, but I would really like to see a Talbot-Kennedy-Laraque line. Talbot's already shown his scoring ability this year, and Kennedy is really starting to pick up the slack around him. I just hope he hasn't gotten too comfortable with Roberts and Staal to a point where he can't play well with others.

Pens take on the Coyotes on Monday. Preview to come soon.

Pens dim Stars 4-1

2007-12-01T18:34:00.001-05:00

The Penguins marched on to a three-game win-streak Friday night with a win over the Dallas Stars. Fleury was sensational in net and the offense was unmatched despite a few key injuries to Sergei Gonchar and Maxime Talbot.

Amazingly all of the Penguins' goals were scored at even strength. The Stars played a well disciplined game, entitling the Pens to only one power play chance in the closing minutes of the third period.

Crosby kicked off the scoring for the Pens, and wind up finishing with two on the night. The youngster Tyler Kennedy netted one as well, showing his potential in the way of scoring. Despite his small frame that often results in being on the receiving end of hits along the boards, Kennedy brings speed and a sharp stick to the third and fourth lines.

Evgeni Malkin also lit up the ice with a late third period goal to further secure the lead for the Pens.

Marc-Andre Fleury's only slip on the night came on a slapshot from Mike Ribeiro via a screen from former Stars defenseman Daryl Sydor.

The three wins at the end of the month put the Penguins at 5-8-1 for November. Earlier in the month the Pens seemed to be struggling. However, the offense was able to turn it around, as was the netminding of the team to secure some W's before the month's end.

Tomorrow we'll take a look at the month of November in review, in addition to a recap of the Pens vs Maple Leafs game.

All-Time Penguins Roster

2007-11-29T20:34:00.000-05:00

This roster was the joint effort of contributors from both this site and ArmchairGM. Through some minor dispute and research into the mental libraries of hockey knowledge, this was the roster voted upon.

FYI - Scratches still make the team.

Centers
Mario Lemieux
Ron Francis
Sidney Crosby
Pierre Larouche

Wingers
Jaromir Jagr
Jean Pronovost
Rick Kehoe
Robbie Brown
Lowell MacDonald
Kevin Stevens
Joe Mullen
Evgeni Malkin

Defensemen
Ulf Samuelsson
Larry Murphy
Paul Coffey
Dave Burrows
Mario Faubert
Darius Kasparaitus
Randy Carlyle
Zarley Zalapski

Goalies
Tom Barrasso
Les Binkley
Ken Wregget

Coaches
Scotty Bowman
Bob Johnson
Eddie Johnston

Scratches
Syl Apps Jr.
Duane Rupp

Penguins vs Stars preview

2007-11-29T13:48:00.000-05:00

Pittsburgh Penguins (10-11-2) vs Dallas Stars (13-8-4)

Mike Modano and the Dallas Stars head into Pittsburgh tomorrow night to take on Sidney Crosby and the rest of the Penguins squad. The Penguins, winner of two straight, haven't seen action since Saturday against the Thrashers and should be well rested for tomorrow's game. Defenseman Sergei Gonchar (groin) is questionable, but will more likely be a scratch on the night.

Prior to their recent loss against the Devils Wednesday night, the Dallas Stars posted a six game win-streak that has since put them as leaders in the Pacific Division and second in the Western Conference behind the Detroit Red Wings. Behind the duel goaltending efforts of both Marty Turco and Mike Smith, the Stars held their opposition to only seven total goals in those six games, one of which was a shutout.

Offensively the Stars can put up points. Brendan Morrow leads the team with 23 points, while defenseman Sergei Zubov and center Mike Ribeiro are tied at 22 a piece. Zubov is also second on the list of defenseman, behind none other than the Penguins' Gonchar.

The Penguins have seen some fluidity coming from two-way forward Ryan Malone. Malone's mustered up four points in two games, including three goals, and has really started to be the extension of Crosby's stick. In addition, Jordan Staal has snapped back into play by netting one and helping another in the past two games. The added depth is evidence to any team in the league that one line can not win a game.

Penguins vs Stars Friday night in Pittsburgh. Puck drops at 7:38pm.

Gonchar - Sydor - Recchi

2007-11-27T12:59:00.001-05:00

High-scoring defenseman Sergei Gonchar is currently nursing a sore groin that left him in the dressing room for the third period of the Thrashers game. Luckily for him, and the team, a five day break followed. Chances are he'll return to action Monday against the Coyotes. I'm sure the team won't risk further injury to their top scoring blueliner this Friday against the Stars.

In the mean time, Kris Letang and Ryan Whitney have been working on the power play together. The left/right combination on the blue adds to an even sided attack with the man advantage. Expect a lot of one-timers.

Recent news, and evidence of the players' performance, have left the futures of Daryl Sydor and Mark Recchi a bit hazy. Some suggest being scratched from the line-up is Coach Therrien's way of intimidating players to step up or ship out. Others suggest he's had his run with them and that's that. Perhaps it's too early to say. Rumor has it the Columbus Bluejackets are looking into acquiring the Penguins' regularly scratched Recchi and Sydor. Not many notables on the Bluejackets that would benefit the Pens in the trade, unless they can somehow manage a way to get Nash or Leclaire.

See also: Impossible.

To top it off, if Mark Recchi does in fact go to the BJs (couldn't resist), then he and Sergei Federov will combine for 78 years of "experience."

Recchi + Federov = retirement home.

All-Penguins team?

2007-11-26T15:11:00.000-05:00

Every team has their all-time best lineup. This batch is often comprised of players throughout a certain decade or in the history of the franchise. Seeing as how the Penguins don't have a game until Friday night against the Stars, now might be a good time to consider and discuss an all-time best roster.

Here are the rules:
Any player who has ever worn a Penguins uniform is eligible.
Wingers are interchangeable.

8 Wingers
4 Centers
8 D-Men
3 Goalies
3 Coaches
2 "Scratches" (Any position)

Perhaps we'll open it to suggestions as well. Allow me to get the obvious out of the way. Unfortunately this won't leave much else open in the center category, but the Pens can't help that now can they?

Centers(4)
Mario Lemieux
Ron Francis
Sidney Crosby
Evgeni Malkin - added by Randy

Wingers(8)
Jaromir Jagr
Kevin Stevens - added by Randy
Rick Tocchet - added by Randy
Rick Kehoe - added by Randy

Defensemen(8)
Ulf Samuelson
Larry Murphy
Paul Coffey

Goalies (3)
Tom Barrasso
Patrick Lalime - added by Randy
Coaches (3)
Scotty Bowman
Ron "Badger" Johnson - added by Randy

Pens bomb Thrashers 5-0

2007-11-25T00:09:00.000-05:00

The on going see-saw that is the "Faith in Fleury Campaign" has just been given a much needed insurance boost.

After facing the hook from Coach Therrien against the Ottawa Senators, Marc-Andre Fleury started and finished a 5-0 shutout performance against the Atlanta Thrashers. This goes down as his second blank of the year, the first coming against the Rangers in October.

The game started with what appeared to be the look and feel of a Saturday night blowout when the Penguins walked out of the first period up 3-0. As noted in the past games against the Avalanche, Rangers and Islanders, a two or three goal lead is hardly a cushion. However, it would be more than enough tonight, as the team would later pad the lead even more with two more goals.

Sergei Gonchar had a three point game, dishing three helpers that left the Thrashers seeing red.

Jordan Staal managed to break his season long drought with the first goal of the game, only his second on the year. After going 13 pointless games, Staal has a goal and an assist in the past two.

Ryan Malone scored his third goal in two games on a Gonchar pass halfway through the first. The scoring depth on the team is certainly apparant, as is the hitting from the fourth line consisting of Laraque, Ruutu and Hall.

The power play unit was playing at an extreme level tonight. Given only three chances in what was a relatively penalty free game, the Penguins converted twice on the night with a Malone goal in the first and Crosby tally in the second. The offense is finally back to producing, hitting the mark 11 times in the last two games. The Pens are starting to show signs of a full range hockey team as they're playing both sides of the puck much better and the goaltending debacle begins to settle itself down.

The Pens' biggest obstacle this week may in fact be themselves. Although too early to necessarily constitute as a 'streak', the Penguins have won their last two in a row. Now five days separate them between their next and last game of the month against the Dallas Stars. Hopefully the time away from the ice won't shut them down.

Penguins Goals

1st Period
Staal from Roberts-Kennedy
Malone from Gonchar-Letang
Armstrong from Crosby-Gonchar

2nd Period
Crosby from Gonchar-Christensen

3rd Period
Whitney from Roberts-Kennedy

Fleury - 28-28
Pavelec - 29-34

Coming soon: November in review, Dallas Stars preview and a look at the All Penguins team featuring the All-time best roster consisting of players to ever wear the black and gold.

Penguins vs Thrashers preview

2007-11-24T12:44:00.000-05:00

Tonight the Pens take on the Thrashers at home in Pittsburgh for the first of four faceoffs this season.

The Thrashers started the season off 0-6, on what can only be described subtly as "The wrong foot." After firing Head Coach Bob Hartley, the team made a dramatic turn around that has since brought them to a .500 win percentage with a record of 11-11. On the wake of their first playoff berth in franchise history, the Thrash are looking for a repeater under the leadership of Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa.

Kovalchuk, went two consecutive games with a hat trick against both Tampa Bay and Ottawa, while Hossa has been nothing short of prolific averaging nearly a point a game. In there most recent game Friday night, The Thrashers were shutout by Martin Brodeur and the Devils squad, delivering Kovi and the gang their first loss in four games.

The Pens are hoping to wrap up the month of November on a positive note. In the 11 previous games this month, the Penguins hold the record of 3-7-1. As far as the Atlantic Division race is concerned, this was no doubt a harsh month for the Penguins to slump. Out of 18 potential points within their division, the Pens barely walked away with five. They suffered two losses from the Flyers, the Devils and one regulation loss and overtime loss from the Rangers.

However, things have started to look like they're turning around. In their last four games the Pens are 2-1-1. Most recently Pittsburgh dropped Ottawa in a 6-5 shootout victory that proved a variety of morale boosts to the struggling squad. The team tied their highest single game performance of the year (5-0 against the Devils), beat one of the best teams in the league and additionally sent a message out to teams everywhere that they're ready to play.

Tonight, the Penguins are hoping to finish the remainder of this month with two more wins. They'll have to fight past the Thrashers and goalie Johan Hedberg before the last battle of November against the Stars.

The puck drops tonight at 7:30.

Penguins edge 6-5 shootout victory over Senators

2007-11-22T22:25:00.001-05:00

How does that old saying go - old rivalries die hard? Penguins beat the best team in the league?

I forget. Whatever the answer may be, the Penguins showed last year's playoff rival and this year's league leading Ottawa Senators squad a thing or two about rivalry.

The game jumped to a quick lead, as two of the four Ottawa shots hit the mark past Fleury. Therrien didn't waste any time giving MAF the hook, and Sabourin was home in net for the second half of the first and the remainder of the game.

Evgeni Malkin proved that fore-checking is a necessity in any All-Star's repertoire, when he single handedly busted through the Senators' defense to notch one past Gerber from about 11 feet out for his 15th consecutive game with a point. Eighteen seconds later, Ryan Malone decides to play a game of "Anything you can do I can do better" and ties the game at two.

Heading into the second, both teams were tied at two.

Eight minutes into the second period, new-comer/sent-back-down/welcome-back-to-the-team Tyler Kennedy unleashed a heat seeking turn-around wrister that found the cage and flicked the red light. Jordan Staal received an assist on the play, breaking what has no doubt been a very disappointing pointless streak.

The Senators wouldn't wait long to retaliate. Within eight minutes later, the Sens put two past Sabu to take a 4-3 lead heading into the third.

The third period didn't exactly start off as Pittsburgh had intended. A Schubert tip-in put the Pens down by two, with an entire period still left to play.

In what can only be deemed rally fashion, Ryan Malone connected on a pass from Gonchar to cut the Sens' lead to one. A little over a minute later, Gonchar decided he'd do it himself this time. Similar to how the Rangers have begun including their defensemen as offensive threats, so to did the Penguins when Gonchar drove towards the net and snapped the tying goal past Gerber.

At this point, the Pens fans began to pray for a goal, wait for the chance and hope the Senators wouldn't be the first to do it. Dany Sabourin's play reached epic proportions, as flailing saves and a trusty catching mitt brought the game to overtime.

The five minutes of "oos" and "ahhs" from close chances on both ends of the ice proved to be nothing more than a delay to the inevitable shootout.

Ottawa's only shootout goal came from a Jason Spezza shot right through Sabourin's unguarded five hole. And for the record, there is absolutely no way of writing that line without eliciting some sort of immature giggle from a reader.

The next shot, the Penguins' first, was solely that of Erik Christensen. Known for his excellence in the shootout, but otherwise poor play as of late, Christensen attempted to beat Martin Gerber on the left side of the net. What looked like a save in fact came back as a goal, when Gerber slipped the puck into the net with his blocker hand.

From there, with the shootout tied at one a piece, the next shots went like this.

OTT Vermette-Miss
PIT Sykora -Save
OTT Heatley -Save
PIT Crosby -Save
OTT Fisher -Save
PIT Malkin -Save
OTT McAmmond-Save

At last, the unlikely hero Jarkko Ruutu took the ice for the Pens' fifth shot. through a faked shot, leg lift-drag, Ruutu backhanded the game winner home for a two point win and team retribution for the 2007 Eastern Conference playoffs.

Tonight's win gives the Pens seven points on the month, with two games still remaining. Additionally, it is the team's first shootout win of the season and a huge morale boost for a struggling club.

It was a game of adversity and persistence for the Pens. Down 2-0, the Pens came back to tie it. Soon enough when down 5-3, the Pens came back to tie it. Finally when tied 5-5, the Pens went on to win it.

The Pens power play unit converted only once out of eight chances, one of which included a five-on-three chance that, similar to last night's loss to the Devils, failed to turn. Know this - beware of the Ottawa Senators. There power play unit was on fire, at one point scoring two of two chances, for an overall two-for-four performance for the night.

Therrien further expressed his confidence in the younger players tonight when he allowed Tyler Kennedy to take the ice in what was more than well deserved.

Penguins Goals

1st Period
Malkin from Sykora
Malone from Crosby-Armstrong

2nd Period
Kennedy from Staal

3rd Period
Malone from Gonchar-Letang
Gonchar from Armstrong-Malone

OT
None

Shootout
Christensen and Ruutu for a 2-1 shootout win

Penguins Fall to Devils 2-1; Crosby's Streak Ends

2007-11-22T01:11:00.000-05:00

The Penguins dropped another division game tonight against the rival New Jersey Devils in what can only be deemed a disappointment. Not only does this mark the end of a potential 17 point month (in which the Pens only mustered up 5), but it also marks the end of Crosby's 19 game point streak and a new home at the bottom of the Atlantic.

I suppose the most exciting thing to happen all game (from a Penguins fan perspective) came within the first two seconds of the first when Ryan Malone and David Clarkson dropped mitts. It wasn't exactly a heavy weight champion caliber fight, but it was at the least entertaining.

I'd like to say the best part was Malkin's goal, but my cable opted to go out for roughly 30 seconds, just enough time to take away the live aspect of a Malkin goal. When the cable came to again, the score was 2-1 Devils.

That'd be it though. I think I'm man enough to say that Brodeur had one hell of a game. Glad the Penguins could contribute to win number 501. Only 50 more for him till he beats Roy. At this rate, if he plays the Penguins sixty more times this season, he'll at the least tie the record. Thankfully that's not the case.

Ok, I promised I wouldn't turn into the bitter, cynical, downtrodden early season fan. Good times lie ahead. Zen complete us all. Find my center...

It hurts that both Devils goals came on the power play. It hurts even more that both came from Zach Parise. And, it hurts three times as much that I saw the play unfolding before my eyes and yet the defense couldn't cover. They gave the Devils so many attempts at running the same power play attack, and yet remained defenseless.

Despite the loss, I am gaining more and more faith in Fleury. This wasn't his game to lose. It was Brodeur's to win, no doubt, but the loss falls on the defense. Hell, I'll blame the offense too.

On a personal note, I'm pretty convinced the FSN signal I was watching was pirated. Right around the time of the Malkin goal, my cable went out and was just showing the rainbow lines on the screen. It also said "Verizon Cable." The thing is, I don't have Verizon. Then, the signal went in and out, and I faintly heard, as if off-mic, "I swear to God, if I work Saturday and he's off I'm going to F'ing kill him."

That wasn't it though. As the game wore on one of the announcers, after reacting to Adam Hall's hit at center ice, said "Wow, are the Penguins hitting now." To this, a voice jumped on the air and said "Yeah, they really can hit." After a slight fuzz, the audio of the announcers came back on.

I don't necessarily know if it was a genuine pirated broadcast, as the announcing team did apologize for "Technical difficulties." But, I'm going to stand by my belief that it happened. Did anyone else hear it?

On a final note, the Pens head in to Ottawa tomorrow night to take on the Senators. Much to my surprise (and I'm sure fans around the league) the Sens lost to Buffalo tonight 4-2.

Never mind the fact Emery the start over the infallible Gerber...

Penguins vs Devils preview

2007-11-21T10:24:00.000-05:00

The puck drops tonight in Pittsburgh at 7:30 for game four of the eight game season series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils. In the last meeting between these two, the Devils walked away victorious despite a late run at a comeback from the Pens. In what was initially presumed to be Martin Brodeur's 500th win night, the Devils opted to instead start back-up goaltender Kevin Weekes. Weekes stopped 23 of the 25 shots faced putting him at 2-0-1 on the season.

In the heat of recording his first NHL shutout against the Devils back on November 5th, Coach Therrien chose to start Dany Sabourin in favor of Marc-Andre Fleury. By the end of the game the Devils showed they finally had his number, as Sabourin stopped 18 of 21 for his third loss of the season (3-3-1).

Both teams were somewhat evenly matched on the power play. While the Penguins only had three attempts, they managed to convert once on a third period goal from Malkin. The Devils, given twice as many attempts, also scored once on a Zach Parise shot half-way through the first.

Tonight, Sidney Crosby looks to stretch his consecutive-game point streak to 20 straight in front of the home crowd. This game marks the last division game of the month for the Penguins, who out of 14 potential division points this month have only walked away with five. They can make that number 7 out of 16 with a win tonight.

Taking a look ahead

2007-11-19T15:31:00.001-05:00

Since the Penguins have both tonight and tomorrow night off from action, I figured this would be a good time to take a brief look at the remaining games for this month. As usual, I'll put up a preview before the game - so I suppose just take this as a slight preview to the preview. Small blurbs with some quick stat hits. I know it's a bit "empty" considering the Pens haven't played three of the four teams yet this season, but I think the format is something I'll consider carrying over to next month.

11.21
Home against the Devils (8-10-2)
Season Record: 1-2
Goals for: 11
Goal against: 8

Best single game performance came on November 5th when the Penguins shutout the Devils 5-0 in New Jersey. In their last meeting the Devils beat the Penguins 3-2. Martin Brodeur officially reached 500 career wins since then, coming against the Flyers on November 17th. This game will be the fourth meeting of eight this season.

11.22
Away against the Senators (15-3-0)
Season Record: 0-0
Goals for: N/A
Goals against: N/A

Perhaps a chance for the Penguins to settle some bad blood between themselves and the Senators following last season's playoff elimination. This is the first of four meeting against the Senators, who have not only jumped to the lead in the Eastern Conference, but also lead the league in 30 points. Goaltender Martin Gerber has kept the team in excellent shape while starter Ray Emery has been nursing an injured wrist back to health.

11.24
Home against the Thrashers (9-10-0)
Season Record: 0-0
Goals for: N/A
Goals against: N/A

The first of four between these two teams. The Thrashers started off to a less than admirable start, losing six straight right out of the gate. Following the firing of their coach Bob Hartle and a groin injury to starting netminder Jari Lehtonen, the team has been 9-4 in their last 13. The Thrashers possess a firing squad for forwards who aren't afraid to take chances and crash the net. Ilya Kovalchuk registered two consecutive games with a hat trick this season (against Ottawa and Tampa Bay) while Marian Hossa has registered two or more points in five of the last six games.

11.30
Home against the Stars (8-7-4)
Season Record: 0-0
Goals for: N/A
Goals against: N/A

Not exactly off to as good a start as anticipated, the Dallas Stars hope to clinch another playoff spot this season behind the human wall that is Marty Turco. By the time the Pens face the Stars, both are on track to be evenly matched in both records and goals for. Despite both teams have offensive threats, it may very well come down to a defensive stand-off.

Penguins fall to Rangers 4-3 in OT

2007-11-18T02:14:00.000-05:00

Well, it's not exactly the way you start a win streak, but at least the Penguins squeaked a point out of the 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Rangers. Although, they should have had the win.

It all looked good and great in the first period. Crosby has a goal and an assist, Talbot steps up with a goal - just the kind of start the Pens needed against a team like the Rangers. 2-0 at the end of the first? Damn right I'll take that.

But then it all fell apart, and started to look like the Pens' previous games against the Avalanche and Islanders whereby they scored two, then gave up three straight for the loss. The Pens managed to notch a shorthanded goal in the first, but the Rangers answered back with the same in the second. In addition to two others. I will admit though- having Crosby on the penalty kill was a quality move on Therrien's part. I'd like to see some more of that.

Heading in to the third with the Rangers up 3-2, the Penguins started to take some chances. The defense was getting involved on the attack, the front lines were crashing and a Sykora "garbage goal", as they call it in the game, was the end result. It become evident that unless the Penguins gave a full collapse or the Rangers just went crazy on offense, the Pens would at least get a point on the night.

Some quality chances in overtime failed to turn in the Pens' favor. Almost two minutes into the overtime period, the Rangers broke out on a breakaway, allowing defenseman Jason Strudwick to put the nail in the Pens' coffin. Final score 4-3.

Overall, Fleury did not play a bad game. Personally, I think he made some great saves. But, I also think the D hung him out to dry a few times. He did manage to get out of position a few times, especially on Avery's handling of the puck in front of the net during the second period. Fleury was better off just skating off the ice at this point, but thankfully a Ranger was unable to gobble up Avery's centering pass.

Jordan Staal is more than deserving of a scratch. I don't exactly know who'd be better in his spot, but he needs to sit and open it up for someone else. On a similar note, if a hockey player were a car with flat tires, it'd probably look a bit like Mark Recchi.

The last win against the Islanders posed as living proof that the more they stay out of the box, the better chance they have of walking away with a win. Tonight, they couldn't stay out. And what happened? The Rangers played a more disciplined game and got the victory.

The Penguins are now off until Wednesday when they play the Devils at home.

I'm just baffled at how the Pens managed to jump to such a lead, then give up. I'd like to almost categorize it as being just another Penguins' come from behind loss.

Penguins Goals

1st Period
Talbot from Crosby
Crosby from Sykora-Gonchar

2nd Period
NONE

3rd Period
Sykora from Malkin-Christensen

Fleury - 19-23
Lundqvist - 23-26

Penguins vs Rangers preview

2007-11-17T12:32:00.000-05:00

After turning around what could have been a dismal five game losing streak, the Penguins pulled out a desperate win Thursday night against the Islanders. Now a bigger challenge presents itself tonight, as the Penguins look to break an otherwise solid Rangers team.

Winners in eight of their last nine, the Rangers have quickly risen to the top of the Atlantic Division thanks to an offense that has finally decided to play and a goaltender who has never faltered. It must come as some relief to Lundqvist knowing that he can now give up one goal and not have to worry about taking the loss too.

From where the Penguins stand, they're hoping he'll give up more than one. In the previous two meetings, each team has walked away with a win. The more recent came from the Rangers with a 4-2 win a little over a week ago in New York. Prior to that, Marc-Andre Fleury registered his first shutout of the season in a 1-0 win at home. He's expected to start tonight, in favor of second-string and/or first-string rotator Dany Sabourin.

The battle of the goaltenders has continued for the Penguins, although it would almost seem to be settling in on MAF. In the Pens' most recent victory over the Islanders, Fleury pulled out his first win for the month of November. Although it would seem he's a bit more confident in net, Fleury's inability to offer up rebounds in front of the net can easily make the difference in a 3-2 win, or a 4-3 loss. Should that be the case tonight, it'll be up to the defense to clear the puck from the hands of the Rangers' forwards, particularly crashers Shanahan, Prucha and Dubinsky.

In case one were to be reading or watching the news this week in regards to Sean Avery's cancer related comments towards Toronto's Jason Blake, Blake stepped up earlier this week to deny the allegations. The real question now is, who started it? (cough Darcy Tucker cough)

That's all up for speculation though.

For the Pens to seal another victory tonight, they're going to have to prevent any early first period goals (or any at all for that matter) and be the first one to strike. Another disciplined game is necessary, as Avery's ability to get under Roberts' skin last game opened it up for the Rangers' powerplay unit to strike. Stay out of the box, in the Rangers' zone and keep hitting Lundqvist with shots.

Puck drops 7:30ish.

Penguins end four game skid with win over Islanders

2007-11-16T00:54:00.000-05:00

Tonight, for only the second time this month, the Penguins walked away with a win - this time over the rival New York Islanders by the score of 4-2. Crosby continues his point streak (18 games), Fleury gets a win and the Penguins make the most of what has been an otherwise dismal November.

How did it happen? The answer to that is rather simple.

It looks like a small bottle of champagne, but it tastes like heaven. When I drink one before a game, it emits powers that manage to not only promote the play of Evgeni Malkin, but apparently any other Russian National on the Penguins as evident by Gonchar's play tonight. As long as I keep drinking and edge closer to alcoholism, the Penguins will continue winning and edge closer to the cup. It's a risk I'm willing to take...

At least, that's my theory.

Overall a very solid game tonight. I wouldn't say Fleury looked superb, but he definitely managed to make some otherwise superior saves. His one Achilles heal, however, is his inability to redirect the shots to the corner. Rebounds just sit at the mouth of the crease, and if it weren't for the heads up play of his defenders it could've been an entirely different game.

Speaking of: Kris Letang's first game of the season tonight. He didn't break any records or achieve much, but he did stick to his man all game, at some points boxing out the crease. The one Islanders goal that managed to tie the score at two may have been his fault. He bit early on the faceoff and opened up the bottom of the net. Brooks Orpik had to come across the crease to stick it to Vasicek but was unable to get there in time. Over commitment has been a problem with Letang in the past, and was the one thing many coaches said he had to work on before his re-entry into the NHL.

Tyler Kennedy, initially sent back down to Wilkes Barre-Scranton, made an appearance on the roster tonight in place of the scratched Mark Recchi. He also remained silent on the night, despite having a golden opportunity to seal an empty netter towards the end of the game. Rather than take an otherwise sure-shot, Kennedy passed it into traffic and caused my heart rate to beat further out of rhythm until the final seconds of the game.

My ""Hero of The Night Award" goes to Georges Laraque. The man makes his presence known and no one is going to get in his way lest they choose to be run over. Scoring isn't exactly his forte, but seeing a guy like him step up tonight is exactly what the rest of the offense needs to use as an example. The deeper the scoring goes in the lines, the more games the team will win.

The Penguins also played a very disciplined game, keeping the Islanders scoreless on only two powerplay attempts. Orpik has to know when to keep his mouth shut and his hands down, as he single handedly killed a powerplay before a second could tick off the clock by mouthing off and following an Islander to the box. I suppose this is something to expect when you run a team of youngsters.

At last the Pens have broken their four game skid, in turn also sending the Islanders on course for two straight losses. An even bigger game awaits the team Saturday when the Rangers come to town.

Penguins Goals

1st Period
Gonchar from Malkin-Fleury

2nd Period
Sykora from Malkin-Gonchar
Laraque from Crosby

3rd Period
None

Fleury - 26-28
DiPietro - 24-27

Penguins vs Islanders preview

2007-11-15T10:27:00.000-05:00

For the past four games Penguins fans have been saying, "this is a must win game." Well, allow me to reiterate. This is a must win game.

A team can drop four in a row in their division this early in the season and still make it back before the playoffs, but it doesn't make life much easier. Plus, when the Penguins have a team like the Rangers winning seven of their last eight, the gap only widens with each and every failed division victory.

Tonight the Penguins are hoping to change that as they take on the Islanders in front of the home crowd. If anything, this small run at the end of the month is the perfect opportunity for the Pens to rebound and hopefully reach .500 before December. Out of the next seven games, six of them are at home. The Pens are 3-6 in front of the home crowd this season and 1-6 overall this month.

A few rosters changes may just be the thing to help the Penguins redirect their play. With Kris Letang's call-up and Nasreddine and Kennedy heading back down, expect to see a lot of new line combinations from Therrien as he tries to find the right fit for Letang. It's been mentioned and it's sheer fact: no other line is scoring except the top one. What Therrien risks in taking Malkin off the Crosby line is far greater than what he will most likely gain. Now he is asking himself, "Do I potentially lose those one or two goals a game by switching him, or can I maybe jump start the second line?" It's a coach's call.

Up until their loss this past Monday night against the Flyers, the Islanders were on a four-game winning streak. DiPietro grabbed his first shutout of the season against the Lightning, but aside from that the wins were all by one goal. The scary thing about the Islanders is that they can score, but it seems to be they do it only when they want to. Their first win of the season still stands as their highes scoring game (6-4). But from there they went on to lose three games in the first month by only notching one goal.

They've had time though, and the lines are really clicking now. Comrie, Satan, Fedotenko and Guerin are all threats. Guerin was scratched last game against the Flyers, but I have no word as to why or if he'll play tonight.

Penguins and Islanders, tonight at 7:30. The Pens can still pick up six division points this month. Let's hope a win tonight can be the start of something good.

Therrien to Letang - "We need you."

2007-11-14T02:51:00.000-05:00

The Penguins have promoted one of the future stars of the game, Kris Letang, from the WBS club in efforts to jump start the offense and improve on the defense. Letang has been a prospect hopeful for quite some time, often even seen as having a lock on the club in the preseason. However, he failed to ignite the coaches' interest and in turn spent the first few weeks on the farm.

Letang is a formidable threat on both sides of the puck, bringing not only a patient mind to the Penguins' defense, but also a hard and desperately needed right-handed shot to the Pens blueline. Last season, Letang played seven games with the Big Boys, netting two powerplay goals for two points in seven games.

With Letang's call, Nasreddine and Kennedy will find themselves back in the suits of the baby Pens. Nasreddine was a healthy scratch for most of the first 18 games, playing only while defenseman Ryan Whitney was listed day-to-day with an injured groin and tallying no points in the process. Tyler Kennedy wasn't much better, playing in six NHL games and scoring only one goal. He was often out-muscled by the opposition and had been a scratch in the past three games. If Kennedy takes this demotion as a sign of improvement, then I don't suspect it'll be long till we see him again. He's a fast skater who's quick on his feet to chase down the dump-ins, but tends to get rocked between heaven and hell by the bigger, tougher and older guys.

Letang's promotion is big news for the Penguins, who have struggled to a 1-6 record for the month of November and found themselves resting uncomfortably at the bottom of the Atlantic Division.

On a personal note, I'd like to say a thank you to Coach Therrien for taking my advice on promoting Letang earlier this week. Now it's up to Kris to make me look good.

The Pens may have even made a move to potentially work out some goaltending kinks. Maybe.

The Pittsburgh Penguins re-assigned goaltender John Curry to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Curry went 1-0-1 for the US National Team at the Deutschland Cup in Germany, posting a 1.92 GAA and .946 save percentage. Time to see what he can do with the Baby Pens.

Is this it for the Pens for now, or are there more moves in the future? This next game against the Islanders Thursday night will tell more than just a win or loss, but what can be expected of the Pens for the next month or so.

Preview soon to come.

Devils 3 Penguins 2 - Pens drop four in a row

2007-11-12T23:51:00.000-05:00

What would a first period goal against the Penguins be like if it didn't come in the first five minutes? Put it this way: the Penguins' last give games have been against the Flyers-Rangers-Flyers and Devils. All but the Rangers managed to get a goal in within the first five minutes, wit the Rangers doing it inside seven. First period goals are killing the Penguins, and it seems like they don't even care. Never mind the fact the Pens have gone in to the second period in the last three games down by at least two goals (three for the Rangers).

The play on ice reflects the same attitude for the division. Give up early, fight back later. Sometimes, you make it - more often, you fall short. That was the case tonight when the Pens rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game at two, only to lose on a third period goal with the final being 3-2.

I'm sure if you ask Crosby, streaks mean nothing unless it's a win streak. Sure, he's gone on to score in the past 17 games, but the team has also lost four in a row and dropped to 1-6 on the month. Considering all of these division games, it hurts twice as much.

Not until later in the season, much, much later in the season, will the Pens have another opportunity at picking up points in the Atlantic standings. Perhaps by then it will be too late, but even then it's too soon to say. Here are the last 11 games for the Pens, 10 of which land in the division.

MARCH
March 16 - Pens vs Flyers
March 18 - Pens @ Rangers
March 20 - Pens vs Lightning
March 22 - Pens vs Devils
March 24 - Pens @ Islanders
March 25 - Pens @ Devils
March 27 - Pens vs Islanders
March 30 - Pens vs Rangers
March 31 - Pens @ Rangers

APRIL
April 2 - Pens vs Flyers
April 6 - Pens @ Flyers

Is it just me, or does the schedule seem a bit bizarre? We play each division team eight times a year, yet in the last month we play the Flyers and Rangers three times each and the Devils and Islanders twice.

On the bright side, at least Brodeur didn't get the win tonight. We can at least pretend something good came from this. Earlier in the season the Devils had hinted Weekes would be seeing a substantial amount of ice time, but who'd have thought they'd bench Brodeur in the heat of his hunt for 500? Perhaps Penguins fans can take this as an insult. "Oh, the Pens aren't good enough, so we can start our backup and still walk away with a win." Although I highly doubt that was the train of thought, I wouldn't be surprised if someone at least mentioned it.

And in front of the home crowd too...they're really putting their fans through the ringer.

User Steel Town from ArmchairGM recently stated in a comment, "I don't even know where the problems start anymore."

Valid point, but I'd love to hear your solutions.

Here is mine.

Kick Fleury back down or trade him up for a strong defenseman, preferably a right-handed shot on the blueline. Give the starting job to Sabourin and call up Ty Conklin from WBS. Send down Eaton and call up Letang for an additional balance on the blueline of both a powerplay threat and neutral zone trapper. Letang's only two NHL goals came on the powerplay in his seven game stint with the club last season. He'd be a great threat on the second PP line. Get Laraque, Roberts and Armstrong on that 4th line to send some energy and intimidation towards the other team. Scratch Kennedy, Nasreddine or Ruutu before you consider scratching Armstrong. He plays a more disciplined game then Ruutu, has a better shot than Nas (even if it IS only one goal on the season) and has more muscle than Kennedy.

Above all - HIT THEM. If you needed a further reason why, look at the penalty kill's performance Saturday night against the Flyers. Three powerplay goals...

Kudos to the Devils, seriously. They played a very disciplined game, giving the Pens only three attempts on the powerplay. Considering the Penguins' performance Saturday against the Flyers, I'm surprised they converted once on so few chances.

Pray tell loyal readers and/or Penguins fans, how do you solve this stifling problem?

Penguins Goals

1st Period
NONE

2nd Period
Crosby from Malone-Whitney

3rd Period
Malkin from Gonchar-Crosby

Sabourin - 18-21

Weekes - 23-25

Penguins vs Devils Game 3 Preview

2007-11-12T11:31:00.000-05:00

Division rivals Devils and Penguins head in to Pittsburgh tonight with the guarantee of one team leaving with a division win. For both teams, this is a must-win situation for what has quickly become the division's two worst teams.

With an even matchup of 1-1 on the season, this game will pose as game three of an eight game season series for these two clubs. In the first meeting, New Jersey was victorious 5-4 in front of the Pittsburgh crowd, while the Penguins routed for their first victory at the Devils' new Prudential Center by the shutout score of 5-0. Dany Sabourin received his first NHL shutout that night, but has yet to really spark any such play since.

In fact, the only win this month for the Penguins has come against the Devils.

It would also seem these teams are both playing a bit out of character. The Devils, a team known for their intimidating defense and two way play have let in their share of goals. On a similar note, the Penguins, known for their offensive production and shootout approach, have been unable to tally more than two goals in their five losses this month.

Oh yes, and it's another record setting night. So far this season, that has not bode well for the Penguins. Carey Price won his first career start, Al Arbour won his 1500th start and tonight Martin Brodeur will try and win his 500th game. I almost want to say this game is over before it even starts...

But I'll remain positive not because I feel Brodeur won't win, but because I'm a self-righteous human being who never once believed in superstition anyways. It goes without saying that Brodeur will definitely get his 500th win and surpass Patrick Roy easily before the season's end, but I'm hoping it's not tonight.

On second thought - bring it. You know why? Throw all this crap at the Penguins now because they'll use it as a sense of accomplishment at the end of the season. This will all be for none when they pull themselves together and decide to play. And hopefully, a cup win this year will wipe clean any such instances of being on the receiving end of such records.

Puck drops 7ish...here's to a desperate Pens victory.

Flyers 5 Penguins 2

2007-11-11T01:51:00.001-05:00

Just as a warning, this article will not only be fused with commentary as I normally include as spectator of a televised game, but also with additional commentary as a spectator rooting for his team in the city of not-so-brotherly love.

It's not every day a game at the Wachovia Center sells out, so I guess I didn't give it much thought beforehand. I did consider people would come to watch Sid play, as I was, but more for the jeering than the cheering of his play.

My friend and I walked up to the ticket window to buy tickets, but were met with the not-so-expected "Sold Out" jargon. Eager to get into the game, we wandered off into the vast crowds of Flyers' faithful in hopes of finding tickets. It's funny, when you have tickets in hand walking up to an arena; any arena or stadium for that matter, you tend to fend off scalpers like diseased, parasitic creatures. Yet when you are ticketless and begging to get in to the game before the puck drops, you tend to keep an eye open for the sketchy guy in a leather jacket, or the guy who just happens to casually stand with his hands in his pockets pacing to and fro by the main entrance.

I found one scalper offeringlow level for $120 each, to which I openly shot down. Another said $60 for lower level, but he only had one. Finally as Jason and I tried to make our way to the front of the arena, where we'd been heckled by other scalpers along the way to the ticket window, a security guard stopped us in our steps.

"What are you guys doin, lookin for tickets?" he asked, in more of a 'what do you think you're doing' tone than anything else. "Yeah" said Jason, "you have any?"

I guess I thought it was a bit ridiculous to think a security guard would have tickets for sale, but I think Jason was just matter of factly joking with the guy.

"Yeah" he said, to our surprise. "I took two off those guys trying to sell before. They're upper deck. I'll do two for $40."

SOLD

The puck had already dropped as we entered the building, about a minute and a half in. Having been starved for a good three hours, we figured to grab food then so as to prevent the intermission rush. I looked up at the screen while waiting in line, and saw Brierre sneak behind the net. "Look, Brierre's behind the net" I said, "here comes a goal."

I've never hated being more right any time before.

We got to our seats with about 16:00 remaining in the first. I'll transcribe a few insults shot towards me while finding my seat. Jason, a Flyers fan, pretended he didn't know me the whole time.

There was the ever so generic, "Penguins suck!", followed by the territorial "get out of our section!", but not to be topped by the equally laughable "f*ck you" and my personal favorite - the subtle "die".

Before I could choke down some fine Aramark dining, the score was 2-0.

Assuming the Penguins would make another late period run, I remained optimistic that it wasn't over yet. Regardless, the first period ended 2-0 Flyers.

At the end of intermission I did the typical routine move - I hit the bathrooms. Another lovely barrage of comments flew throughout the room, all of which really had me genuinely laughing. "I didn't know Penguins fans peed standing up". "Ladies room is next door Penguins". "Hey Armstrong [a guy wearing a Colby Armstrong jersey] why don't you hold it for your buddy Malkin [his friend wearing a Evgeni Malkin jersey]."

Barely into the second period, the Penguins were losing 3-0. Their passing was atrocious, there were too many forced plays and just not enough shots. Not to mention, but I'll say it anyways, the penalty kill completely and utterly sucked.

The Penguins managed to answer back with a powerplay goal on a Malkin one-timer from Whitney and Crosby, thus extending the captain's point streak to 15 games. By the grace of the black and gold, on what seemed like the dying seconds of the second period, Gonchar let one loose from the blueline to close it within one with only two-tenths of a second remaining on the game clock. Heading into the third period 3-2, I had high hopes for a comeback.

Alas, that would be the end of the Penguins scoring, as the Flyers would go on to add another two, one of which was the empty netter. Speaking of, pulling Fleury in favor of an extra attacker while barely in the Flyers' zone was a pretty poor call. I suppose it didn't matter much when down by two, but at least play with your heads up. The last few minutes of the period were marred by overall fighting matches around the rink, both verbal and physical. Chants of "Crooooosby" emanated from within. I looked at the clock, counting down the seconds for my escape.

I suppose, that is when the Wachovia Center decided it'd be a good time to put my solemn, blank staring, desperately seeking the end face on the big screen monitor. Hell, my team was down two goals, the least I could do was point to the logo on my hat and get a few more boos just for the fun of it. Seconds later, the chant of "Go home Penguins" started from my section.

On my way back to the parking lot I received a few more screams and jeers, my favorite from a little kid calling from the security of his Dad's SUV "Penguins suck".

Thus marked the end of my trip to Philly, complete with ticket scalping, Penguin bashing goodness.

I am no doubt disappointed in another loss, thus making it three straight for the club. Prior to the game I was hoping Fleury would have a better game in net, but the answer to my hopeful mind came within the first ten minutes of the first.

Baby steps I suppose. I'm happy to see Ryan Whitney back on the line, as he managed to contribute to both Penguins' goals. I was also happy to see some fists thrown around, although Ryan Malone was more on the receiving end of a barrage of punches that left his face looking like he was a donor to the Philly blood bank than anything else. Sydor also dropped mitts and held his own, possibly even having won the fight in my eyes.

All in all I'm grateful to the lovely city of Philadelphia - the home of the nation's first capital. The birthplace of freedom. The city of brotherly love. It may not be a city open to fans from other teams, but the love amongst Flyers' fans is apparant. In a world of civil marriages, they definitely bring new definition to the term brotherly love.

Penguins Goals

1st Period
NONE

2nd Period
Malkin from Whitney-Crosby
Gonchar from Malkin-Whitney

3rd Period
NONE

Fleury - 25-29
Biron - 29-31

Penguins vs Flyers preview

2007-11-10T12:14:00.000-05:00

These two teams face off again for the second time in less than a week. The Flyers, who walked away victorious in a 3-1 win in Pittsburgh Wednesday night will now have the home-ice advantage in another installment of Pennsylvanian ice hockey supremacy.

I'll take my bets and assume Marc-Andre Fleury will be in net for the Penguins, as the Flyers routed Dany Sabourin blocker-side for three goals as if he were blind in one eye. Of course, this all will come down to Therrien's coin-flip prior to the game. It seems to be his method of doing things.

Crosby is looking to continue his 15 game point streak, as it appears he's the only member of the Penguins squad who knows how to play the puck. Veteran Mark Recchi has been getting the nod in favor of Colby Armstrong as of late, although both appeared in the lineup the other night against the Rangers. Ryan Whitney, however, was again a no-show, taking the night off for the fourth consecutive game in hopes of nursing his injured groin back to health.

Instead, Therrien has opted to put Alain Nasreddine on the blueline with the man advantage and it has yet to really work to the team's advantage. With Whitney out of the lineup, the Pens saw their 14 consecutive games with a powerplay goal come to its untimely end. Having Nas's chip shots in favor of Whitney's lasers doesn't help much either.

In the last matchup between these two, neither team was able to score a powerplay goal in a combined ten attempts. Perhaps tonight will be a different story when the puck drops in Philly at 7pm.

Rangers beat Pens 4-2

2007-11-08T21:51:00.001-05:00

Out-shot, out-played, and ultimately out-scored. That's the best way to really sum up this game.

Had the Penguins played the entire game like they did in the third period, this game would have been entirely different. Sigh. Could've, would've, should've but didn't. The Penguins mantra?

I don't know who the better goalie has been in the past two games...and I mean that in the sense of opposition. Biron or Lundqvist? Both did an excellent job of shutting down the Penguins, although I will add on as an extension to Lundqvist his defense's ability to just completely and utterly shutdown Evgeni Malkin.

This win marks five straight for the Rangers on home-ice and two straight losses for the Pens. I think Therrien will resort to a coin toss for the decision of next game's starting goalie.

Gary Roberts commited the cardinal sin when playing the Rangers - he allowed Sean Avery to get under his skin. The four minute double-minor ultimately cost the Pens a powerplay goal, but Roberts decided 4 minutes wasn't enough. He'd have three minors by the end of the night.

Let me say this now. The Pens NEED Ryan Whitney back on the blueline. Nasreddeine's shots look like chips from the point, and he in no way drives in towards the net in the way Whitney does. Plus, I'm starting to think the Crosby-Malkin combo is becomming a bit too choreographed. It's getting to the point where when Sid has it, the D knows it's going to Malkin, and when Malkin has it it's going to Crosby. It's a nice attack having both Malkin and Sid on the same line, but perhaps it was a good idea keeping them seperate. Not only does it leave depth to the lines, but it also opens up the ice to any other attacker when Sid is in control.

I'll hand it to the Rangers. I've always considered myself to be a person who is able to give credit when credit is due. Lundqvist is a machine. He's beyond human. The only way to beat the Rangers is the way in which the Pens won last time. Shutdown their offense and try and maintain a small lead. Now it's going to be an entirely different story, as Gomez is really starting to open things up for the tema with five consecutive point-or-more games.

Congrats to the geriatric Recchi for scoring his second goal of the season. I never really tought he'd be a first liner this year, but a fourth line appearance was entirely out of my parameter of thought. Of course, he's also one of the most shuffled Penguins, and tonight I think he played on the third line. Either way, nice effort Recchi. Perhaps he was ignited by Lindros' retirement.

I said it in my last recap and I'll say it again - the Pens REALLY need a right-handed shot on the blueline. Every time you see the puck leave the zone, check the position of the defenseman. More often than not it's a left-handed defenseman on his backhand. Tonight that was the case at least twice, hurting even more when on the powerplay.

The Pens head in to Philly again Saturday night in hopes of evening the season series with the Flyers. This is a horrible time for the Pens to go cold. Considering all of the division games this month, it certainly won't bode well should they come up winless in over half of their next six.

Penguins Goals

1st Period

Gonchar from Crosby-Malkin

2nd Period

NONE

3rd Period

Recchi from Roberts-Gonchar

Fleury - 35-39

Lundqvist - 26-28

Penguins vs Rangers preview

2007-11-08T12:48:00.001-05:00

Let's just say the last meeting between these two wasn't exactly a display of red lights, streamers and raining hats. In a 1-0 win over the Rangers, the Penguins' Marc-Andre Fleury was considered as a goalie in the process of heating up. He'd soon follow this game with a five goal forfeit against the Leafs. Needless to say, a lot has changed since the last Rangers/Penguins contest that went down roughly two weeks ago.

Fleury has been benched, or so it seems, in favor of Dany Sabourin. The Penguins managed to muster up another shutout with him in net, but haven't exactly improved in the way a goalie change would hope to help a team.

Lundqvist on the other hand has seen three shutouts since then, two of which have come in the past week. Although the Rangers' scoring hasn't exactly increase ten-fold, their defense has yet to really let them down. It's kinda hard to be the team with both the best goaltending and worst offense. Certainly a tough combination to work with on a nightly basis.

In the last six games the Penguins have gone 2-6, with both wins coming on the road. Perhaps tonight in NYC, the Pens can improve by one more win and hopefully take another one down on the road.

In a league now dominated by speed, agility and intense puck movement, one would almost think a player like Jagr to be out of his element. There's no denying this former Penguin played phenomenally when paired with Lemieux and Francis/Stevens, but since his departure from Steeltown the effort has been anything but average. Maybe it was his moved to one of the most overly critical cities in the world that did it. Or, maybe he really is past his prime. Trade material? Possibly. But who'd really benefit from having him? It's upsetting sometimes to see former 'amazing' players fizzle out in otherwise disappointing ways. Gretzky, Hull and Federov come to mind.

Eklund, the anonymous online hockey blogger (why he insists on being anonymous still annoys me) had this to say about the Penguins:

The Penguins will be ok. They are really are the essence of a team, meaning they are a single unit. last year that single unit was in its rookie season, caught everone by surprise, and started to hint toward an eventuality. This year that unit is in a sophomore slump, though their record is respectable. They sometimes forget the extra level that is needed at times to win games. When all is said and done they will be downright scary.

Let's see how this game turns out tonight for both teams. It's going to say a lot for the rest of the month.

Puck drop 7ish.

Penguins falls to Flyers 3-1

2007-11-08T03:50:00.000-05:00

Ask any coach and he'll tell ya, "The best way to win a game, unless you're the Penguins, is to give up two goals in the first five minutes". Somehow, this strategy worked well for the Avalanche and Islanders, but not the Penguins.

Talk about deflating. Coming off a Devil beat down on Monday night, the Penguins found themselves in the hole tonight by the score of 2-0 before Therrien could even switch up the lines half a dozen times. He'd eventually go on to do it anyways, even working Laraque on to the powerplay unit in hopes of opening up the front -but alas, to no avail.

Despite practicing and saying he'd have a go on the night, Ryan Whitney opted to sit out one more in favor of playing tomorrow against the Rangers. I'd like to have seen him play both games, but if I had to choose I'd say take the one with the Rangers.

Could Alain Nasreddeine be any more worthless? I'd almost rather see Ruutu take a stab at being on defense rather than having Nas running around and fumbling the puck like a peewee. Speaking of, the Pens REALLY need a right-handed shot somewhere in that lineup, most preferably on the blueline. Eaton's diving attempt to swat a puck in on the backhand might have had a better chance had he possessed a right-hand shot. Sykora's one-timer might have gone in had Malkin's pass been to a righty shooter. And as far as Gonchar goes, that guy plays more kicks to the point on the backhand than I've ever seen a defenseman do. I'm not saying the Penguins lack quality puck movement (minus this game), but a right-handed shot would be stellar.

Perhaps it's time for: "Hi, Mr. Letang? It's Coach Therrien".

Come on Therrien, what are you waiting for?

I don't blame Sabourin for this one. Frankly the score had a chance of being close to 5-1, especially coming on that Brierre blank right on the goal line. If you had to blame anything this game, it'd be the inability to clear their own zone, poor puck handling both in AND out of the zone and a insanely good Flyers penalty kill.

Thus ends the 14 consecutive games with a powerplay goal. Thus ends another 8-0 season against the Flyers.

So much for starting a divisional winning streak.

But hey, at least Crosby kept his scoring streak on a roll with his assist to Malone in the closing seconds of the first.

Perhaps this year the Flyers will be the Penguins of last year, as it almost seems certain they're on their way to a HUGE turn around. Well played, Flyers - well played indeed.

See you again on Saturday 'round your parts.

Penguins Goals

1st Period
Malone from Crosby-Malkin

2nd Period
NONE

3rd Period
NONE

Penguins vs Flyers preview

2007-11-07T12:20:00.001-05:00

The Battle of PA starts a new season as the Flyers pay a visit to Pittsburgh tonight at 7pm. By division and conference standings, both teams are evenly matched. Philly, with 16 points, stands fifth in the conference while Pittsburgh has a four way tie with the Bruins, Rangers and Leafs with 15.

What was deemed a 'rebuilding year' for the Flyers has certainly come to be more than that. The addition of Daniel Brierre has done wonders for the offense, in addition to the outstanding play from Mike Richards, Joffrey Lupul and Simon Gagne. Marty Biron, the guy known as Ryan Miller's backup for most of last season, has no doubt made a name for himself. With seven wins and two shutouts, Marty is far from being a backup and may very well be one of the best financial moves the Flyers made towards the end of last season.

Pittsburgh's Ryan Whitney, who suffered a groin injury heading into the third period against Colorado last week, is expected back in the lineup tonight after Therrien scratched him for both the Islanders and Devils games. The Pens' powerplay has nonetheless managed to convert in Whitney's absence, but his presence back on the ice can only strength it even further.

Is Therrien waiting for another game time decision on his netminder, or is it safe to say Dany Sabourin will start? Sabourin, coming off his first shutout of the season, is my guess against the Flyers who just happened to get shutout themselves on Monday night. Coincidence? No - I find it to be hard to make any such comparison or justification between the two, so I'm just going to step away from this one...

One shutout against the Flyers doesn't exactly scream "These guys can't score". All you have to do is look at the team's statistics to see for yourself. I'd expect the Flyers to challenge much more and put a lot more pressure on (insert goalie's name here) and the defense than the Devils did. I don't expect back-to-back Penguins shutouts, but I do expect a win tonight.

In the realm of rumors, there are a few circulating about the Pens. Now I'll admit - I'm not really one who likes to engage in rumors or even so much as fuel them even further. Yes, there has been talks of a veteran netminder like Curtis Joseph coming to the Pens, but I think we can hush that one up a bit now with Sabourin's level of play. I will say this though; this past weekend I read a rumor claiming both Ryan Malone and Eric Christensen will be out of the black and gold before the season's end. What say you on this matter?

I for one think Christensen is too unstable for a full-time role, but when he wants to play he sure as hell does. And as far as my money goes, there's no better guy to have in your lineup during a shootout.

Ryan Malone, on the other hand, is a different story. Malone is one of those guys who has been known to just 'click' with Crosby. He's also a native of Pittsburgh, which in my mind makes him somewhat of a hometown hero. Dishing out Malone is like taking Jersey native Jim Dowd away from the Devils. On second thought, they did that already. Hmmmm

This is, I'd also like to add, one of the weirder months of the season. Up until tonight, the Pens haven't played the Flyers. Yet after tonight, the next match-up comes next Saturday in Philly. Similarly, we play the Devils again Monday after having already played them this past Monday. Seven of the remaining ten games this month are all division games. If the Pens are going to heat up at any point, now would be a good time.

Penguins shutout Devils 5-0

2007-11-05T21:23:00.000-05:00

What better way to end a four game road trip then with a shutout? Dany Sabourin - the key to Pittsburgh victories? I suppose it's too soon to say.

Now listen up guys. I've found the key to a Penguins victory. First, you must drive to your local liquor store and purchase three beers that go by the name of Red East; the 'classic' beer of Russia. You must thereby go about drinking one before the game, and during each intermission. Then and only then will you invoke the spirit of Malkin to lead the Penguins to a victory.

I suppose that's all a farce. Afterall, he only had a single assist on the night, but what an assist it was. From his knees on what would have been a tripping call, Malkin dished it off to Sykora who popped it into the net past his former teammate Brodeur for a 3-0 lead.

Sid was no doubt the star of the night, with two goals (eight and nine on the season) in his 13th consecutive game with a point. This was also his second two-goal performance on the season, the first coming against Colorado last week.

To be honest with you, I think the best goal of the night came on Adam Hall's re-direct in front of the net late in the first. On a shot that would have wound up in the corner of the rink, Hall re-directed an Orpik shot to net the second goal of the game.

I'd also like to know how an Ashom punch to the back of Laraque's head results in a Laraque penalty. I suppose it was balanced out in that Mottau high-sticking call.

Tonight's game also marks the second shutout of the season for the Penguins but the first of the year for Sabourin, whose play may very well have earned him a starting role.

I suppose it's safe to say the battle is on for the Pens' netminders. Sabourin vs Fleury in a fight to the death. Alot of talk has circulated with regards to the man between the pipes for the Pens. If you want my honest opinion, I say give the nod to Sabourin, pick up a veteran backup and ditch Fleury come contract negotiation time in January. With whatever money is left, try and secure a defensive-defenseman for the playoffs. Now please keep in mind, I'm saying this as an impartial fan. I will not forget Fleury's 40 wins from last season, but if wheeling and dealing in the way I just mentioned brings home the cup, then I'm all for it.

The powerplay clicked AGAIN tonight, for the 14th time in 14 games. Incredible.

And what's really better than a 5-0 shutout against the Devils? (Well almost better). Watching Brodeur get pulled in favor of Kevin Weekes. Sigh. Truly brings a tear of joy to my eye.

Better luck next time Devils. See you next Monday.

Penguins Goals

1st Period
Crosby from Sykora-Gonchar
Hall from Orpik-Talbot

2nd Period
Sykora from Malkin
Christensen from Talbot-Laraque

3rd Period
Crosby from Orpik

Sabourin 20-20
Brodeur 19-24
Weekes 6-6

Penguins vs Devils preview

2007-11-05T15:07:00.000-05:00

Tonight in new Jersey the Penguins hope to close out their 4 game road trip with a hopeful record of 2-2. The last time these two met it was in front of the Pittsburgh crowd, where the Devils proceeded to walk away victorious by the score of 5-4. Luckily Brodeur wasn't on top of his game (and hasn't really so far this year) but unfortunately for the Penguins Fleury wasn't doing too well either.

In two consecutive games the Penguins have lost by the score of 3-2. Even more coincidental is the sheer fact that in two consecutive games the Penguins have also had the lead at one point by the score of 2-0. If THAT wasn't enough, then bare with me. In two consecutive games the Penguins have also given up three unanswered goals to lose by the already mentioned score of 3-2.

Can it happen three games in a row? NO.

At least I'm hoping it can't.

Praying...

Captain Crosby has no doubt heated up since the last meeting with the Devs, whereby he had two assists on the night. In the most recent loss to the Islanders, he had one assist following a two goal game against Colorado.

The real thing that killed the Penguins the last time they faced off against the Devils was their insatiable ability to find a way into the penalty box. After coming off a penalty free first period, the Penguins accumulated eight - yes, EIGHT second period penalties. Coincidentally the Devils scored two powerplay goals in the second, converting 2 out of 7 in the game.

Perhaps, though, the Penguins' powerplay was a bit better. Although the Devils limited their penalties, the Penguins still managed to convert with the man advantage on 3 out of the 5 tries. With Crosby playing better (especially scoring more) I'd hope tonight's turnout to be a Penguins win.

In the most recent issue of The Hockey News, their is a story titled Sid vs the World. In it, fans basically conduct the interview with their questions. But one particular question that stood out actually pertains to this game. When asked who he hates playing against the most, Sid said none other than "New Jersey". As for reasons why, Sid cites their defensive game and ability to take away the ice as factors contributing towards his sub-par production against the Devils. If you're a die hard Penguins fan pick this issue up; it's worth the read.

Finally, I don't normally predict scores but I'm going to take a stab at it tonight. I'm not using any fancy machines, stats or good luck charms. I'm going based on what I've seen the Penguins do in the past four games and what I've seen (but more likely heard) the Devils do in their past four. So I'm going to say final score Penguins 4 Devils 3.

Feel free to challenge it.

Penguins lose to Islanders 3-2

2007-11-04T11:37:00.000-05:00

For the second consecutive game the Penguins were the first to strike and the last to cheer. In two straight games the Penguins have jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead to only watch the hopes of victory slip from the confines of a hockey glove by giving up three consecutive unanswered goals. I for one could not be more disappointed.

I mean - who do you blame? Is it the coaching? Is it the players...defensive or offensive? Is it REALLY Fleury's fault, but no matter how hard a fan looks they won't point a finger? I'm just gonna go out there and say it's a collective effort by everyone, because when you really break it down that's what it is.

You can't blame just one aspect of a team. You hear that cliche term (and boy do I hate cliches) "The team that sticks together wins together". Yeah well someone forgot to tell the Pens that the team that fails together loses together as well.

I will say this though: Congratulations to Tyler Kennedy on his first NHL goal. The 21 year old, just called up four games ago, notched his first career red light goal roughly two minutes in to the second. So hey, all things considered; congrats.

But I'll also say this: WHY oh WHY do our best players spend the most time in the box? Malkin and Crosby each tallied up minutes in the box like it was a contest. Granted, there wasn't much that Crosby could do to avoid his (an inadvertent high-sticking call that cut DiPietro's right eye), but we need those guys ON the ice, not IN the box. Malkin acts like there's nothing wrong with a little tripping every once in a while. There is - our second best scorer spends two minutes in the bin. DiPietro by the way is listed day-to-day.

I am beside myself in sheer frustration. It's one thing to watch your team lose a game, even if they once held only a ONE goal lead. But, to watch your team take charge so early in a contest and ultimately fall apart with three consecutive gifts, there's just not much more to say then, "Hey, better luck next time".

Next time is tomorrow night, as the Penguins wrap up their four game road trip in New Jersey and the new Prudential Center.

Oh yeah, and as if Carey Price getting his first career win against the Penguins this year wasn't enough, Al Arbour also gets his 1500th career NHL coaching start and 740th career coaching win in the same night. Huzzah.

Penguins Goals

1st Period
Malone from Malkin-Crosby

2nd Period
Kennedy from Roberts-Talbot

3rd Period
NONE

Fleury 36 - 39
Dipietro 16 - 18
Dubielewicz 7 - 7

Penguins vs Islanders preview

2007-11-02T17:47:00.000-04:00

Division rivals faceoff tomorrow night in Long Island as the Pens take on the Islanders in what will be their third consecutive road game and quite possibly the hardest.

The Islanders, led by goaltender Rick DiPietro and offensive threats Bill Guerin, Ruslan Fedotenko and Mike Comrie have certainly dismissed the cynics this season with an early burst from the gate. Skepticism surrounded the team last season for a number of reasons, most ranging from the acquisition of veteran Bill Guerin, to the poor front office negotiations that cost them Ryan Smyth and a first round draft pick.

And if the Islanders were looking to let the Penguins know they mean business then they certainly did so Thursday night as they took down the Lightning in a 4-0 Dipietro shutout.

The Lightning, similar to the Penguins, certainly have their share of offensive threats as well. If the Islanders can limit the play of superstars along the likes of Lecavalier, Prospal and St. Louis, then can they do the same for Malkin, Crosby and Sykora? Let's find out.

The Islanders were thought to have lost a key part of their defense in sending Jason Blake to the Toronto Maple Leafs but the void wasn't closed for long. Campoli, Gervais, Berard and Bergeron stepped up their play and are now asking, "Blake who?"

Consider this: the top three point leaders on the Islanders were NOT with the club last season. Comrie leads with 13 points, followed by Guerin (11) and Fedotenko (9).

Last season the Penguins saw these guys in action with their former teams (except Guerin), but now Fedotenko from the Lightning and Comrie from the Senators will be attacking as one with the Islanders. As far as my money goes, it's an under estimated and under appreciated attack.

I think the play of DiPietro is at this point highly respected and feared, but I'm going to say it anyways. It's highly respected and feared. When the guy's hot, he's hot and you can't get much hotter than coming off a 4-0 shutout.

So where does this leave the Pens? How do they match up?

Well, for starters the team has equally comprable offensive threats in Malkin, Crosby and Sykora, each of whom have had at least one-two goal games each this season. The first line has finally clicked and gone through it's shifts and changes to a point where I can comfortable say it's working. Even more threatening is the first powerplay unit which has clicked at least once every game this season. However a key part of that unit is listed day-to-day. Defenseman Ryan Whitney didn't play the third period against the Avalanche the other night, leaving with a sore groin. Although listed DTD, it's expected he'll play. Yet in the event he does not, the Penguins will have to promote an offensive defeseman to the line to match with the likes of Sergei Gonchar. If I had to pick I'd say Sydor. Although he only has an assist on the season, he certainly packs a punch that has yet to be unraveled since his acquisition from the Stars in the offseason. Sydor has yet to have a season with more than 50 points, but I feel that can change this year with the Penguins.

I think the biggest controversy surrounded the Pens this year is their goaltending. Fleury or Sabourin, hot or cold? It seems to be an on-going trend between the two. Fleury saw two straight outstanding performances against the Rangers and Capitals before slipping and sliding against the Leafs in a 5-2 loss at home. Since then it's been the Sabu show, who shouldn't have given up a game-winning wraparound last night considering his coverage of the net and the strength of the shot. But what's done is done, and personally I have no idea who they are going to start tomorrow night.

Outside of the starting roster, there have been some talks of bringing in veteran goaltender Curtis Joseph as a potential second string threat. I for one felt Thibault filled this position just fine, even recording a shutout last season against the Devils, but I'm not the front office, financial manager of Jocelyn Thibault for that matter.

Whatever the case may be, I feel the Penguins' offense needs to step up their play, and by offense I don't just mean Crosby. The forechecking in the first period against Colorado was phenomenal, as was the penalty kill. Then it just all went to hell. To win this game the Penguins need a solid performance on both sides of the puck. You can not get in to a shooting match with the Islanders, especially with DP between the pipes.

The puck drops at 7pm.

Pens fall to Avalanche 3-2

2007-11-01T23:08:00.000-04:00

Despite previous assumptions Dany Sabourin got his second consecutive start tonight as MA Fleury found his seat on the bench. Oddly enough, Colorado's Boudaj also got the bench for the night in favor of Jose Theodore. With that said, let's get in to the game recap.

The Penguins fired out to a quick lead in the first thanks to two goals from Crosby. The defense was looking good, Sabourin was looking comfortable and frankly the Pens were getting some lucky bounces on D to keep the Avalanche puck out of the net. The defense even killed an early first period 5 on 3 with what looked like just another day at the job. The first period ended Pens 2, Colorado 0.

The second period rolled around and remained a comfortable 2-0 by the 10 minute mark. Of course this changed with a Penguins too many men on the ice penalty to ultimately lead to a Colorado goal, trimming the lead to one.

Shortly after a delayed penalty was on the way for the Pens, more specificlly Sidney Crosby. Unable to touchup on the puck, Colorado took it deep in to the Pens' zone and sent a shot home to tie the score at two, cancelling out the Crosby penalty in the process. That wound up being a double sided blade, as the goal not only tied the game for the Avalanche, but Sid's complaining and arguing with the referees after the play resulted in an unsportsmanlike call for another Colorado powerplay.

Luckily the Pens managed to kill that one off. Crosby came firing out of the box and let go of a rebound on a Malone shot that screamed hat trick; but Theodore somehow managed to keep it out. Nearly two minutes later the Avalanche would take the lead on a wrap around play that somehow slipped in past a surprised Dany Sabourin.

All of this came in the second period. Heading into the third, Colorado had taken the lead 3-2.

In the third the Penguins were unable to convert on the first two powerplay chances coming from a Sakic delay of game and Ryan Smyth interference call. That would be it for any chances, thus sealing the deal for the Avalanche and leaving Penguins fan hat trickless for the second consecutive game.

Overall the entire team fell apart in the second period. A 2-0 lead was not enough to hold off Colorado. In my preview post I asked whether we'd see some sleepers this game or not. Well, Crosby is far from a sleeper on the Pens but Colorado had a quiet night from Stastny and Sakic, in turn opening it up for some other guys. Unfortunately for the Pens, shutting down the big names on the Avalanche was not enough as they take a loss on the road and head back to the east coast for a game against the Islanders on Saturday.

I for one can't even pinpoint what went wrong and where. All I know is the Pens took a loss that should have been an easy win if they played the rest of the game like they did in the first.

In the end the Pens converted again on the powerplay, putting them at at least one powerplay goal in every game so far this season. Another one would have been nice tonight, considering the opportunities handed to them. But hey, I'm just a wishful thinker. And to make matters even worse, Talbot received stitches after taking a stick to the face and Whitney didn't play in the third thanks to a groin injury. More on that tomorrow.

Penguins Goals

1st Period
Crosby from Gonchar-Eaton
Crosby from Malkin-Gonchar

2nd Period
None

3rd Period
None

Sabourin 30-33
Theodore 26-28

Paul Coffey to the team's hall...Tocchet up against the wall

2007-11-01T18:15:00.000-04:00

The Penguins announced today that former Stanley Cup defenseman Paul Coffey will be inducted in to the team's Hall of Fame. Coffey spent five seasons with the Pens from 1987-1992 contributing 108 goals and 332 assists. Coffey joins Mario Lemieux, Rick Kehoe, Jean Pronovost, Syl Apps, Dave Burrows, Joe Mullen, Les Binkley and Ulf Samuelsson. and members of the team's HOF.

Here is an exerpt of the official press release from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

PENGUINS TO INDUCT PAUL COFFEY
INTO TEAM’S HALL OF FAME

Defenseman Paul Coffey, whose blazing speed, breathtaking skill and winning attitude helped transform the Penguins of the early 1990s into Stanley Cup champions, will be inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame on Thursday, November 15 at Mellon Arena, before a game against the New York Islanders.

Coffey, who played here from 1987-92, is the only defenseman in Penguins history to rank in the club’s all-time top 10 in points and assists. He averaged well over a point a game during his Penguins career, racking up 108 goals and 332 assists for 440 points in 331 games. He also added 26 points in 22 playoff games.

Coffey is also the only defenseman in Penguins history to score more than 100 points in a season – and, in fact, he did it twice. He had 30 goals and 113 points in 1988-89 and 29 goals and 103 points in 1989-90. He followed up with 24 goals and 93 points in 1990-91, when the Penguins went on to win the first of two Stanley Cups.

Coffey currently owns and is active in a Toyota /Nissan car dealership. He lives in the Toronto area with his wife, Stephanie and their children, Savannah, Blake and Christian.

In other news, former Penguin and gambling ring mogul Rick Tocchet will be reinstated in February of 2008. Tocchet had been suspended in February 2006 for his participation and guilty pleas relating to illegal sports gambling, conspiracy of gambling and promoting illegal gambling. League commissioner Gary Bettman has said Tocchet is eligible for reinstatement as long as he adheres to a personal list of no-nos (my words, not Bettman's). This list includes Tocchet's inability to gamble (legally or illegally), admittance in to a substance abuse program to see if Tocchet has a gambling addiction and, in Bettman's words, "May not engage in any conduct which may reflect adversely on NHL hockey, the League or any club, or on any League or club personnel".

On that note, here is Rick Tocchet showing us how to make pasta.

Penguins vs Avalanche Preview

2007-10-31T14:18:00.000-04:00

The Pittsburgh Penguins head in to Colorado tomorrow night to take on Paul Stastny, Joe Sakic and an otherwise formidable Avalanche team. This will be the only regular season appearance between the two teams and hopefully another road game that falls in the Pens' favor.

Heading in to tomorrow night's game, the Penguins and Avalanche are pretty evenly. The Avs sit in the Western Conference with a mediocre 14 points in fifth place while the Pens hold the same position with 13 points in the East. Of course, it's still far too early in the season to start making conference comparisons, but it's safe to say the two are evenly matched.

Yet there are certain areas in which the two are entirely different. Look no further than the powerplay units. The Penguins are ranked third in the league, converting nearly 1 out of every 4 (24.56%) powerplay attempts. Colorado on the other hand is 21st in the league at roughly a 15% conversion. On the kill, Colorado has a slight edge over the Pens, striking down powerplays 85% of the time compared to the Pens' 83%. Again, there isn't as much a difference in the PK as there is the man advantage. In the end I think it balances out. If the Pens convert 1 out of every 4 and the Avs are killing nearly 3 1/2 out of every 4, it's going to come down to a game of even strength goals and man on man contention.

You probably won't find a better game to watch tomorrow night.

The Pens are going to need to lock down Stastny and Sakic, that's a no brainer. On a similar note, the Avs are going to try and do the same with Malkin and Crosby. Recently the two have found themselves on the same line and I think it's definitely had it's advantages. You can't double team two players - that leaves one guy to cover the other three. Malkin and Crosby are terrifying to any team - not necessarily for their ability to score (even though they do that too) but because they have the amazing ability to find the open man in the heat of being pinned down.

Stastny + Sakic = 28 combined points. Malkin + Crosby = 33 combined points.

Will we see some so called "sleepers" wake up tomorrow night? Perhaps. But I really think it's going to be a Stastny/Sakic Crosby/Malkin showdown.

Let's look between the pipes. Peter Budaj vs ________? I'm thinking with whole hearted certainty that the Pens will give Fleury the nod for this matchup. It's not to say Sabu's play was bad, but you can't have your starting goaltender (in salary terms at least) sitting on the bench for more than one game unless injured or otherwise unable to play. He's shaky, he's a bit rough around the edges right now, but he's the better choice no doubt. However, that contract negotation in January isn't looking so good right now...

On a side-note, take a look at Fleury with his helmet off. He reminds me for some reason of Tweek from South Park.

Pens stomp Wild 4-2

2007-10-30T23:55:00.000-04:00

Dany Sabourin was given the start over MA Fleury in the only regular season matchup between the Penguins and Minnesota Wild. Sabu got the win, but I think it's safe to say the night belonged to Sid. Captain Crosby tallied 1 goal and 3 assists en route to the Penguins 4-2 victory over the Wild. Malkin also had a three point night with two goals and an assists.

By the end of the 0-0 first period it was almost posing as evidence to another low scoring affair. But hey, as long as Sabu was keeping the puck out, I was ok with a scoreless tie heading into the second.

But then, all hell broke loose. Malkin from Crosby and Malone gave the Pens a quick 1-0 lead within the first four minutes of the second. The Wild retaliated three minutes later to tie it at one. If there's one thing I love about the Penguins more this season than any other, it's that sense of anger and rage when they give up a goal. The favor hardly stands in the other team's court for long, often sending the Pens on an eating binge of goals. I say this because tonight was no different. 15 seconds after the Wild tied the score at 1, Malkin took a pass from Crosby-Malone (again) to net another Pens goal.

2-1 heading into the third.

After a Wild goal to tie the score at two, the powerplay stuck gold on a Sykora goal 10 minutes in to take the lead for good. Crosby would later score his fifth goal on the season, coming from a breakaway pass from Gonchar-Malkin.

Crosby makes it look easy

The offense was looking hot tonight, and frankly the defense was too. The forechecking in the first period alone was enough evidence to me that this was going to be a victory, regardless of the 0-0 first intermission. Sabourin looked solid in net and I'm hoping that Minnesota is the team that will later take the blame for awakening the sleeping demon that is Sidney Crosby.

Crosby's four points on the night sends him up the league's point leader board with 17. Malkin is only one behind him with 16. Combined, the two of them have the same amount of points as the top five on the Rangers' roster. (Jagr-Shanahan-Drury-Rosival-Dawes). I know it's not exactly saying much comparing to the Rangers, but I just couldn't resist.

26 minutes for high-sticking...

Big road win tonight and hopefully three more to come. Pens head in to Colorado Thursday night to take on the Avalanche. Preview will be up soon.

Pens vs Wild preview

2007-10-29T15:19:00.000-04:00

The Pens head off to Minnesota to take on the Wild tomorrow night in the first of a four game road trip. Perhaps one can say it was divine intervention coming to the aid of the Penguins, as Nick Backstrom is out with a groin injury. The Wild called up AAA netminder Nolan Schaefer, but he's just on the bench for backup purposes behind the regular second string John Harding. In Harding's most recent appearance against the Avalanche Sunday, he gave up three goals in a 3-1 Wild loss. Harding is 2-1-1 on the season.

Is Sabourin going to start in net for the Pens tomorrow? Definitely a question running through the Penguins' circuit, as Sabu played flawlessly in his relief effort for Fleury against the Habs the other night. Aside from the game winning goal in the 8th round of the shootout, Sabourin didn't let anything past the line all night. His stellar performance is the exact thing the Penguins needed, in addition to Crosby's "I'm not taking your crap" retaliation on Kovalev to ignite the team's comeback. Regardless, in the long run it was a hard earned but well deserved point on the night. Two would've been nice, but one is better than the zero that was easily predicted early in the second.

Tyler Kennedy. The kid is making his showing a lot of speed, and from a personal standpoint I think he's going to fit in just right with the squad. Whether someone has to go in turn is a possibility, but it's a good sign of new life on what would appear to be a morale tattered squad.

Which leads me to my next point - a 5-4-1 record isn't bad, but man does the media love to have a field day with it. All BS about how the team isn't living up to its expectations and not playing like contenders. I can say a million things in retaliation to that, but I feel it's a moot point. I will leave it at this. It's still early.

Oh, and thank God the Rangers aren't living up to their potential either. It certainly takes a lot of stress off the Pens.

Heading in to tomorrow's game the Pens have converted at least once every game on the powerplay, making it 10 straight for the team. The Pens are also last in the league in penalty minutes, which is all good because they're an OK 13th in the league in penalty kills.

One of the bigger threats on Minnesota, winger Marian Gaborik, is listed day-to-day with a groin injury he suffered during practice on Saturday. Last season Gaborik missed 34 games with a similar injury, but has already said it is not related. He was mysteriously silent when asked if his injury was related to Backstrom's.

As luck would have it, it may almost seem like the Pens have the advantage heading in to the only regular season meeting with the Wild. Roberts is expected to play following a cold (which I'm still sore about by the way), and Talbot has had some time to heal up from the neck soreness sustained against Toronto. All in all I'd say the Pens have the advantage, and a win tomorrow night in Pitt will hopefully bode good fortune on the remaining three games in the road trip.

Finally, on an unrelated note to the Pens or Wild but certainly pertinent to the goings-on around the league, the Flyers' Randy Jones has been suspended for two games following his hit on the Bruins' Patrice Bergeron. Bergeron was knocked unconscious on the ice, to eventually get wheeled off on a stretcher. It was later said Patrice suffered a concussion and broken nose. See the hit for yourself. I think it was unavoidable on Jones' part, as Bergeron turned on him. This suspension/fine thing isn't foreign to the Flyers club, who have seen two prior incidents of suspension this season. Are the Broad Street Bullies back? Or are they just a collective group of dirt bags?

Awww Gawwy Wobberts Has A Cooold

2007-10-28T20:51:00.000-04:00

It wasn't a moment of grievance, a seperated shoulder or evening of internal combustion that scratched Gary Roberts Saturday night against the Canadiens. It wasn't a severed limb, post-concussion syndrome or broken back that rendered Roberts unable to play.

It was a cold.

Coldemus heademus - the unofficial Latin term for a head cold, or in Gary Roberts' case, a free pass from game night.

I'm sure Gary Roberts has never gone on the record for saying he's after Doug Jarvis' record of most consecutive starts (964), but in the world of hockey a head cold is comparable to an ingrown toe nail. Just ask Max Talbot, who despite being rocked in to the boards against Toronto Thursday night still managed to lace up the skates and make his presence known against the Habs. To top it off, Mad Max took another crushing hit last night that again sent him flying to the ice. Sore neck? Just another day in the life of Max Talbot. Just another day in the life of a hockey player.

Hell, we can even go back to the last Penguins vs Toronto matchup. Brooks Orpik took a glove to the face from Simon Gamache, sending him down to the ice and knocking him unconcious. After taking a few minutes to find his head, Orpik was assisted up off the ice and walked to the dressing room under his own strength. He'd miss a practice, but not a game, as he was back in the lineup against the Devils later that week.

A head cold? Come on Gary. You hold yourself in high regard, committed to playing at the level of an NHL enforcer. You bash people's faces in night in and night out, send yourself wielding in to the boards and aren't afraid to rally the troops with a few bone-crushing hits. And yet, a head cold puts you on the sidelines?

I know it's not playoff hockey we're talking about here, and I think Tyler Kennedy played a great game in Roberts' place, but even still it's not coming off to me as a method of leadership when you sit out for symptoms of a head cold while your teammates Max and Brooks are told to skate on 'the rink you see in the middle' because of shots to the head and neck.

Tsk tsk Scary Gary.

Readers, please send Coldeez, tissues and Dayquil to:

Mellon Arena
C/O Gary Roberts
66 Mario Lemieux Place
Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Sniffle...

Carey Price - Penguin Killer

2007-10-28T00:10:00.001-04:00

I should've known that Price would be in net tonight. His only other win on the season came against the Pens, so why would the Canadiens' coaching staff think otherwise? Besides, Huet got a good workout last night, I should've known he'd be off.

But why of why did Price have to get the win? Through three periods, one overtime and eight rounds of a shootout, the Pens climbed back to only lose in the end.

Talbot surprised me with a start tonight, as it was initially rumored he'd sit out with neck soreness. Tyler Kennedy got his first start, and although he didn't tally a point I feel he really made his presence known on the ice almost acting as the hitman replacement for the scratched Gary Roberts. Laraque was also a scratch on the night, as I'd imagine he's still dealing through his groin problems.

And you know what? I really admire Crosby's leadership when he retailiated on Kovalev following the hit in the back to Malkin. Granted, he could have stayed out of the box and been on the powerplay, but I think Crosby knew what the team needed - a jolt of energy to rally some sort of comeback.

Before the end of the second is was Crosby and Sykora each netting a goal, before the tying and highly anticipated one finally came in the third from a Whitney shot on the powerplay. (Mark that 10 straight game the Pens have had a PP goal).

Now on to the goaltending situation. As far as I'm concerned, every goalie has their ups and downs. If you needed any further evidence (aside from Fleury) then look no further than Carolina's Cam Ward who gave up seven goals to Montreal last night. Fleury? I think the guy could use a game or two off. He's so hot and cold it's scary, but he's still more than capable. However, I don't see him playing like the 40 game winner I saw last year.

Prior to this game, and even last night's Montreal game, I never perceived the Canadiens as being much of an offensive threat. I'll be honest, most of the Montreal games I've seen have all been close ones, especially the overtime shootout loss to Florida on a goal scored in the closing seconds of what looked to be a Huet shutout.

The Penguins' powerplay unit went 2-6 on the night, which I perceive as being above average. The Habs went 1-7 after going an AMAZING 5-9 last night. Good thing they really clicked against Carolina and not the Pens. Another painful big-margin loss would have been unbearable.

I'd also like to just go on the record as saying that Ryder wrister in the second period was lightning. I didn't even see that thing leave his stick, and to be completely honest with you I didn't even see it in the net. You can imagine how taken back I was to find out it was a goal.

Tonight's loss makes it two straight for the Pens, who now embark on a four game road trip starting with Minnesota on Tuesday. I've just gotten word that Minnesota's rising backstop Backstrom suffered a groin injury. The team has recalled a netminder from the AHL, as Backstrom will sit tomorrow's game. With any luck, the Pens can faceoff Tuesday night against a Backstrom-less Wild. At this point, they'll take what they can get.

The Pens have now fallen to 5-4-1 on the season.

Penguins Goals

1st Period
NONE

2nd Period
Sykora from Malkin-Hall
Crosby from Malkin-Whitney

3rd Period
Whitney from Malkin-Sykora PPG

Penguins vs Canadiens preview

2007-10-27T10:57:00.000-04:00

Judging by Montreal's 7-4 performance last night against the Hurricanes, it's more than obvious that Christobal Huet can give up a few goals. More importantly though, is that number seven, the number of goals an otherwise low-scoring team managed to put up against Cam Ward, one of the beat netminders in the league, to secure Huet's win for the night. Clearly, the Habs can pack a punch too.

The last time the Pens and Canadiens faced off, Huet was on the bench in favor of Carey Price's first NHL start. If you're a Penguins fan, then you know how that went. If I have to hear about how Dryden, Roy and Price all won their first career starts against Pittsburgh one more time I'm going to flip a sh*t.

With that being said, at least Price's first start is out of the way. Die hard Montreal fans have been hailing him the "Savior of Montreal".

I could care less who starts in net. Huet and Price are both beatlable, and if it weren't for Price having his toe in the right place at the right time last game Sid would've notched his first goal of the season and the score would've been tied at 3. Of course, that's just me being positive in my hindsight. Crosby was still 'warming up' at this point, so I think tonight's game is going to be entirely different.

Speaking of, this is the last chance for the Pens to snag a home victory before they embark on a nice little four game road trip, a trip that includes visits to Minnesota and Colorado before returning back to the east coast against the Islanders and Devils.

Both teams played a very disciplined game as far as penalties run in their last match. Not many powerplay opportunities were given to either team. After only giving the Habs two chances on the powerplay, the Penguins' penalty kill still managed to let one in, putting the Canadiens' PP unit at 1-2 on the night. The Pens' powerplay on the other hand managed only one goal on five chances. A powerplay goal tonight would make it the eleventh consecutive game in which the Penguins have notched a goal with the man advantage.

Some concern happens to also be on the Penguins and their scoring. The 5-4 win against the Ducks in the home opener and the 6-4 win over Toronto two games later were direct examples of the Penguins' offensive assault. Outside of those games, the Pens have been on a bit of a decline. Not to mention, the Pens also have this insatiable ability to only win games by one goal. Five of their nine games have been won by one goal, while two have been lost by the one. Needless to say, it's a bit stressful being a Pens fan and watching the clock tick down in the closing seconds of the third while holding a one goal lead.

Max Talbot practiced with the Pens the other day but is not expected to start tonight as he still has some soreness in his neck from the crash into the boards Thursday night. With that in mind, the Pens have called up Tyler Kennedy from the Wilkes-Barre Scranton club. Kennedy was a prospect hopeful during the preseason and now has his chance in the parent club. In six games with WBS, Kennedy is second on the team in scoring with three goals and two assists. Last season, Kennedy practically scored a point a game, tallying 37 in 40.

I really hope tonight's game is not another close one. I'd like to see the Pens hand the Canadiens a loss similar to the one the Leafs gave them the other night. If the offense wanted to hit the gas some time soon, then now wouldn't be a bad time. Winning at home before hitting the road is a nice boost to any team. Hopefully that is the boost the Pens can get after tonight's win.

Preview to the Preview

2007-10-26T17:38:00.000-04:00

Normally around this time I'd post something along the lines of a preview between the Pens and the Canadiens. Only reason I'm putting this off until tomorrow is because the Canadiens have a game tonight against the Hurricanes and I want to see how they play.

Some things I can tell you that are going through my mind:

Is Price going to start tomorrow night?
Will we ever hear the end of how Price got his first career win at Pittsburgh?
How many times is Therrien going to keep messing with the lines, allowing only one game to be the test of its competence?

And...

How important is this win to the Pens before they embark on the road?

I'll get to those questions and more tomorrow morning, as I knock out another Pens preview. I'm also keeping my eye on Max Talbot, who is said to have injured his neck - not his head, as initially predicted. No further word as to whether he's expected in the lineup or not, but I'll stay on top of it and follow up again tomorrow. In the mean time, feel free to answer those questions yourself. I'd love to see what other Pens fans have to say.

Game of the night: Hurricane vs Canadiens

Insert whitty - I mean, cliche Price caption here.

Penguns fall to Leafs 5-2

2007-10-25T21:39:00.001-04:00

Similar to the last game between these two teams, tonight's was a high-scoring affair as well. Instead of a combined effort though, it was entirely on the Leafs' part.

Had you watched the first two periods of this game, you would have had difficulty predicting 5-2 as the final score. Both teams came in to the third period tied at one, but the Leafs came out of intermission firing to a quick 3-1 lead. Before the 9 minute mark, it was 5-1.

I feel this is one of those games where you just ask yourself, "Where did they go wrong?" The defense was doing a great job, Fleury was looking pretty sharp and the offense was doing what they needed to stay in the game. Of course, you'd love to see the offense pull away with it early, but in a 1-1 tie you also don't want to get too over zealous.

Suddenly, out of nowhere I might add, the team started to turn over the puck in their own zone, fan on shots, lack all motivation on the powerplay and just looked like they were asleep on the ice. Not to mention, Gonchar almost cost the team a shorthanded goal earlier in the game when he mishandled and lost his balance on the blueline. Luckily, Fleury made a tremendous save to keep the puck out.

Toskala was strong in net for the Leafs, especially on the powerplay as he dodged the re-directs and cleaned out the garbage in front. With 5:09 left in the game, that would change. A Gonchar blast hit the mark on a 5 on 3 powerplay, to put the score at 5-2. The Pens tried to muster up another PP attack in the remaining five on four powerplay but failed to put enough shots on to do any damage. Regardless, the powerplay conversion puts the Penguins at 10 consecutive games with a goal on the man advantage.

A scary moment for the Penguins in the first period when Maxime Talbot went face first in to the boards as he hussled down for the icing call. After lying on the ice holding his head in obvious pain, like a true hockey player he walked to the dressing room under his own power. Talbot would later sit out the rest of the game.

Can't complain about this one; the Leafs won the game fair and square. Fleury didn't look bad in net, and I'll still give him my support for the next start against the Canadiens. On the other hand, the offense is going to have to pick up the pace. Again, the Penguins are not an overly defensive team. They rely heavily on offensive production to win their games. When the offense doesn't show up to the game, neither does the defense. On a normal night the Penguins' best defense IS their offense, which unfortunately cost them the game tonight. Of course that was not the case in the recent shutout against the Rangers, but that was also not a normal night.

I will say that the Penguins played a more disciplined game as far as penalties go. The Pens only took three penalties on the night, but the PK unit allowed the Leafs to convert once in the third period. On the other side, the Penguins were 1-6 on PP attempts. The Leafs continued to show why they are amongst the league's leader in penalty minutes.

With tonight's loss the Penguins drop to 5-4 on the season. Their next game is Saturday against Montreal where they hope to take one more at home before a four game field trip.

Penguins Goals

1st Period
Crosby from Malkin-Recchi

2nd Period
None

3rd Period
Gonchar from Crosby-Malkin PPG

Fleury - 22-27
Toskala- 23-25

Unfortunately, there was alot of this tonight...

Penguins vs Leafs preview

2007-10-24T14:22:00.000-04:00

The Pens take on the Leafs for the second time this season tomorrow night in Pittsburgh. If the last time these two met up was any indication for the rest of the season's meetings, then I'd say we're in for another scoring frenzy.

Ten goals were scored between the two last game, as the Penguins rallied to win by the final of 6-4 after an empty netter from Maxime Talbot sealed the deal. Yet there is a lot both teams can take from the last meeting and hopefully improve and apply to tomorrow's game.

Penalties
The Pens took far too many penalties last game, giving the Leafs six chances to capitalize on the powerplay. Thankfully it was either a stellar performance by the Pens' PK or a weak performance by the PP unit from the Leafs that put Toronto at 0-6 on the night. Again, what would a Penguins' game be like without a too many men on the ice penalty?

The Leafs on the other hand took even more penalties than the Penguins and yet Pittsburgh converted only once on eight attempts. It wasn't so much even the number of penalty minutes that really hurt the Leafs, but instead the guys who served time. Nikolai Antropov, who'd made his size and presence known throughout the game accrued for 14 minutes on his own, 10 of which came in the last 50 seconds on a game misconduct. Either way, if you're pulling your goalie and using that extra attacker, you want a guy like Antropov up front instead of in the box to clear some space and go for the junk up front.

Powerplay-Penalty Kill
Both teams have quality powerplay units, and yet in their last meeting we only saw one powerplay goal out of the total 14 attempts. I guess it really says a lot when only 1 of the 10 goals scored was on the powerplay, with the rest coming on even strength and all, but the special teams are there for a reason and neither team used them effectively. In the Penguins' last game against the Rangers, it was the sole reason they came out 1-0 in the shutout. The Leafs' Antropov on the other hand, added a powerplay goal to help bring Toronto to a 4-4 shootout against the Thrashers, one they ultimately lost. The Leafs however did not allow a PP goal last game on Atlanta's five attempts. Clearly, both the Pens and Leafs bring a fantastic penalty kill unit to the ice, which justifies the lack of powerplay goals in their last meeting.

Goalies
Despite walking away with the win, Marc-Andre Fleury was outplayed by Vesa Toskala. If you needed any further proof, look at the shots counter on the night. The Leafs put 27 shots on net, hitting the mark four times. On the other end the Penguins left Toskala working his pads off, tallying 52 shots on the night and scoring five times (plus the empty netter). Toskala was basically at a 2 to 1 shot ratio compared to Fleury. Fleury did only let in 2 goals after filling in for Sabourin, but had the 52 shots been the other way around I'm sure I'm sure the Leafs would have walked away victorious somewhere along the lines of 10-4. Especially since Dany Sabourin was knocked out earlier in the game and noone would have been able to step in and relieve Fleury of his embarassment. I'd also like to think it's be the same sort of outcome had Raycroft been in net instead of Tosk, but here's to hoping that's the case tomorrow night. I'm also keeping my eyes on Brooks Orpik and Simon Gamache to see if the gloves drop following that hit that sent Orpik to the dressing room last game.

Overall, I'd say it's safe to say Fleury has warmed up a bit, coming off a shutout performance against the Rangers and a one goal night against the Caps three days before. In the two games combined, Fleury's stopped 66 of the 67 shots faced. Let's see how he holds up against the Leafs tomorrow night - he may just make me a believer afterall.

The Pens are off tonight, so I'm picking the Minnesota vs Calgary match as my game of the night. The Wild are off to an amazing start and it's great hockey to watch.

On fire? Or going through a phase?

Penguins shutout Rangers 1-0

2007-10-23T21:25:00.000-04:00

If you'd told me last week that Fleury had a shutout in his eminent future I'd have said, "Yeah, ok." And then if you'd have said, "No seriously, a shutout against the Rangers next Tuesday", I would've explained how the Penguins are not a defensive minded team, and the closest they'd come to a shutout is letting in only one goal. But man, was I surprised tonight.

I'm going to be honest here, it's not to say the Rangers didn't play some good hockey. 36 shots on the night, including a bunch of heart-wrenching post shots which would have otherwise made the game a Rangers victory. Either way, Fleury was on top of his game and couldn't have looked better.

The defense on the other hand, could have done a little more. Now before you jump on me for being overly critical, no goalie should have to make 36 saves to secure a 1-0 shutout. Obviously goalies DO, but they let the Rangers test him far too much and thankfully he was up for the challenge. But this is the Penguins' defense we're talking about, and if it weren't for the Malkin powerplay goal in the second it'd be most likely a 0-0 shootout.

Speaking of, tough time to be a Rangers fan. Two straight shutouts, 130+ minutes of scoreless hockey, a powerplay line that can't convert, a goalie who only lets in one goal and still loses the game and a injury list building up with star forwards. Yeah, tough time indeed.

Brooks Orpik was all over tonight, crushing and flipping and slamming into the boards. Jordan Staal was a bit disappointing on that penalty shot following the Malkin goal. It looked like he just wanted to get it over with and head back to the faceoff. Recchi keeps getting one game closer to his geriatric walker and Christensen showed why he sits on the bench after choking on a breakway attempt that failed to even warrant a shot.

Penalty kill though? On. Fire. The PK units shutdown 10 powerplay attempts, not to say there wasn't some hope from the crossbar on two occasions, but we'll pretend that didn't happen.

On a personal note, I'd love to see a game go by where the Penguins actually show they know how to count. Can we get another too many men on the ice call please? I really love hearing that one. It's practically a game ritual at this point.

But, I suppose I'll take it. Afterall, three straight wins surely tops anything. Well, aside from four straight wins, which is what the team is hoping to do Thursday against the Leafs.

Penguins Goals

1st Period
None

2nd Period
Malkin from Crosby-Whitney

3rd Period
None

McD's ignoring Crosby?

2007-10-23T13:06:00.000-04:00

There's allegedly some talk as to the new series of NHL cards co-sponsored by McDonald's and Upper Deck and how they ignored including Sid for the second year in a row.

Personally, I don't think he's being kicked to the wayside, but instead looked past because of his affiliation with Tim Horton's. Even in the most recent edition of McKeen's, there are page ads for Sid and Horton's. Perhaps it's just a conflict of interest on the part of McDonald's, or maybe it just makes complete and utter sense to not have Crosby as the voice of two different chains. It'd be like OJ Simpson as the spokesman of Hertz and Enterprise, only without the murder.

Besides; come on now. Gatorade, Pepsi, Horton's, Reebok...I think he's doing enough. And on top of that, each of those requires time and commitment to photo and commercial shoots, so I'd say on top of an 82 game season Sid has enough on his plate.

On to tonight's game; tune in early at 6:30 to watch Sidney Crosby revealed. It should be an interesting documentary. Hopefully the NHL will take this approach with other rising stars around the league. My next pick would be the obvious Ovechkin, but I'd also like to see something on Patrick Kane from Chicago or the Wilds' Backstrom.

And as a tribute to the greats of the past (and present if your a Pens fan), check out this article on NHL.com that talks about Mario and his fight against cancer. On a similar note, the Penguins will be using tonight as their night to work with the Hockey Fights Cancer campaign.

I think the most badass thing about hockey players is they have no problem rocking the pink attire for a good cause. Where's football and basketball on this one?

Ignore this

2007-10-22T14:24:00.000-04:00

Technorati Profile

Just spreadin my wings a bit...

Penguins vs Rangers preview

2007-10-22T01:50:00.001-04:00

Prior to the first puck dropping during the first game for the first time this season, all eyes in the Eastern Conference were on these two teams. The Rangers and their offseason shopping spree had the media buzzing to the sounds of playoff contention. The Penguins with their turnaround season the previous year, were also ranked with the Rangers as not only division rivals, but also conference winning contenders. Ah yes, it seemed the season was already played out in people's heads, and there was no changing that.

So now, heading in to their eigth game of the season, it would certainly come as a surprise to Rangers fans (and I suppose hockey fans in general) everywhere to see their team second to last, only three points ahead of none other than the Atlanta Thrashers in the east, ironically enough the same team they knocked out of the first round of the playoffs in 06/07. Perhaps being shutout once against Ottawa, again against Boston this past weekend, and held to only one goal in two other games really makes it seem like the team hasn't gelled yet. Regardless as to whether Gomez or Drury is wearing the same number as last season, one thing is obvious: at this rate, neither is really on pace to put 19; or even 23 goals this season.

Chris Drury, second on the team with 1 goal and six points, has yet to really hit the gas. Gomez, with 2 goals and three points, has also failed on great opportunities with open net shots that would have otherwise had him as the team's leading goal scorer. Factor in these stats to the remainder of the season, and you'll see Drury with 12 goals and 58 assists, while Gomez is on track for 23 goals and 12 helpers. Combined, they'll barely hit over 100 points.

Considering Brierre and Drury paired up for 164 total points last season, it goes without saying that Gomez and Drury have to really pick up the pace. Hopefully, that won't be tomorrow against the Pens.

I'll be honest, there's no better team to test your scoring abilities on then the Penguins. Giving up 24 goals in 7 games is not something any defense will brag about. But it's their offense that gets them wins, while it's the Rangers' defense that secures theirs.

Lundqvist isn't looking half bad. There's no doubt he's one of the better goalies in the league, but there's little faith in his teams offensive production. In turn, the two games in which he held the opposition to only two goals is still marked as a loss, and his shutout performance against the Bruins was all for none as he ended the night with a shootout loss.

So really, what should the Penguins focus on come Tuesday night? Well, just because Drury and Gomez aren't lighting up the net, doesn't mean they should go ignored. Not to mention, Jagr is still rolling his wheels as the team's leading scorer with one goal and seven assists.

It's all about watching the rebounds and tip-ins. Jagr will be the one trying to cash in, but Drury will be right there for the loose change. We're gonna need some muscle down low to bully Drury out of the crease, and some pressue on the boards to keep Jagr at bay.

As far as Rangers' blueliners go, they don't pack much of a shot. Roszival leads the Rangers' defenders with 2 goals, but only had a career high 10 last season. The Pens waved goodbye to him in 2003, and I'm sure there's no regret on that move.

Luckily Sean Avery is still out of the line-up, because when he's back from his shoulder injury is when I feel the Rangers will start rollin again. Sure, say what you want about defensive forwards, but if there's one thing a team with poor offense needs, it's some fore-checking from a guy like Avery to keep the puck in the zone.

Ah yes, and the young, magnificent Marc Staal will be playing his younger brother Jordan. From a personal standpoint I find Marc to be a fantastic defender, but if you ask the game announcers they'll say it's true love. Every time he touches the puck, it's an over zealous compliment. I would've at least waited till he had a point on the season.

Shanahan is playing for the salary he's making. Ask a Ranger fan and they'll tell ya he took the cut for the better of the team. Interrogate Shanny enough, and he'll be sure to tell ya he thought doing so would allow him to ride the season out to the cup under the wings of Gomez and Drury.

As a final consideration, the Rangers will not miss the playoffs. It's impossible for them to do so. They really just have to wait and click, which for the sake of Penguins fans will not happen tomorrow. Lundqvist is beatable, as proven by the worst team in the NHL the other night. But he's also relatively unstoppable, as evidenced in his regulation and overtime play against the Bruins Saturday night. You have to hit him with shots, capitalize on powerplays and avoid a goalie duel with Fleury, because a guy like him only needs a single goal from his team to win.

Denied...

Pens Beat Caps 2-1

2007-10-20T21:34:00.000-04:00

Consider it to be a little bit out of character for a Pittsburgh Penguins squad that has on average scored three goals a game this year to win by the score of 2-1. But hey, they'll take it.

The Penguins improved to 4-3 on the season with a road victory in DC. The defense did their best to contain Ovechkin, but he still managed to get off 9 shots. That is why full credit goes to Fleury on the night, for shutting down Ovechkin and stopping 30 shots after having last night off.

On the other side of the rink, Brent Johnson got the start over Oli Kolzig in what some deem to be a gametime decision. Johnson went 20 of the 22 shots faced, but it wasn't enough as his offense failed to put anything other than a Pothier goal on the board halfway through the first.

Crosby picked up another point on the night, with a powerplay assist to Whitney for his second on the season.

Laraque and Brashear, no strangers to dropping the gloves, threw down early in to the third. Laraque landed some solid shots, until a late rally from Brashear sent them both crashing to the ice in what some may hail an even match.

Even the youngin' Jordan Staal got in to a scuffle, taking the brunt of Pettinger's punches straight to the head. The fight was short-lived, but Staal certainly earned his wings.

The Penguins powerplay was 1-5 on the night, while the Capitals went scoreless on three attempts. The Caps have now lost four straight, after shooting out of the gate at the beginning of the season with three consecutive victories.

The Pens also did a much better job tonight of avoiding the box, which is hopefully something they consider for the remainder of the season.

Penguins Goals

First Period
None

Second Period
Staal from Recchi - Orpik
Whitney from Crosby - Malone PPG

Third Period
None

Fleury : 30-31
Johnson: 20-22

Pens beat Canes 4-3 in shootout win Pens vs Caps Preview

2007-10-20T12:41:00.001-04:00

First off, sorry for the late update. I'd imagine if you're a Pens fan you already have the scoring info by now. But alas, I had a wedding last night and just finished watching the DVR'd game so I'll pretend it all just happened.

Good to see Sabourin get his 2nd (but according to me first) official start of the season. I'm willing to put that last one completely behind me for two reasons. One, he just wasn't in the zone and two; we pulled away with a win anyways so I can't hold it against him.

Was Sykora hot or what? It's hard to gauge how this guy plays night in and night out. On one hand, he played amazingly with the stints in his nose against Anaheim in the home opener. Now, he's putting up the same numbers with them out. The guys intensity is off the charts.

Crosby really seems to be finding his form, after starting off to a bit of a shaky start. Two more assists, including the one on Sykora's PPG in the second, put him at 6 on the year for 8 points in 6 games. Hall also came up big with his first of the year, after racking up an assist in the loss against NJ.

But let's get to the best part. I bet we could go on for ages on discussing the shootout and whether it is the true way to measure a team's ability to win. A lot of people believe if the better team couldn't pull it out on the ice during regulation and OT, then no one should have the benefit of a win. This is, however, the new NHL and this is what, according to the league, makes things exciting. I'm going to be biased when I say, it's cool - as long as the Pens win.

To say the Pens blew threw the shootout is an understatement. They make Ward look like a fool, especially when Crosby deked him out of his pads. Even still, Ward's record on the season is 4-0-2, as he's still yet to lose a regulation game.

Overall the team looked good, if not better than the Devils game. I have to admit that the scoreless third, especially winding down in to the closing minutes, really had me biting my nails. Thankfully, I didn't spoil the ending for myself by checking a score last night. I'm learning how to become disciplined.

The Pens took less penalties this game, but six still isn't easy to deal with. However, the PK unit was able to hold the Canes to only one goal on five attempts. Likewise, the Hurricanes kept the Penguins' PP in check, allowing only one in seven.

Happy to pull away with the win in this one. The last thing I wanted to see was a 2-3-1 record. With this win, the Pens are back up to .500 on the season at 3-3.

Now, on to tonight, where hopefully we can see a 4-3 record in about 9 hours.

The Penguins take to the road tonight, heading out to DC to faceoff against the Capitals. And you know what comes to mind when you hear that team name - Ovechkin.

Yet, perhaps Ovechkin isn't the biggest concern for the struggling Pens D. I mean, sure, he's no doubt a threat, but this is a game where they can really get their self-esteem. Shutting down Ovi isn't the biggest concern, because as you've seen in the past, double-teaming Crosby only opens up the lanes for other guys. The Caps HAVE those other guys.

Take a look at these names, you'll be seeing them tonight.

Nicklas Backstrom - he has four assists in six games. I wouldn't be surprised if he started shooting more, but I'd prefer it not be tonight.

Chris Clark - Hey, the guy's scoreless in six games, but that doesn't mean he's not a threat. Last season he put up 30 goals and 24 assists in 74 games. He'll click soon.

Donald Brashear - You won't really hear this guy scoring many goals or dishing out assists, but from where the Pens stand this might be their proverbial diamond in the rough. The guy can't stay out of the penalty box. Last year alone he tallied 156 minutes in 77 games. As long as he doesn't draw the penalties himself, he's bound to work to the Penguins' advantage.

And of course, Michael Nylander - the former Ranger who warranted boos from the Garden crowd when the Caps came to town. He was a solid player last year with the Rangers, and is proving to do the same with the Caps so far this year.

So, the keys to success? Time and time again I'll say, stay out of the box. I think I'll just get to a point, I at least hope, where this is simply understood. But maybe I'll digress when the team actually starts heeding that advice.

I think the real key to a win on the night is to eye Ovechkin and Nylander. I know with the constant line pairings and changes Therrien has been throwing out there, it's probably going to be a different defender on Ovi through the course of the night. But if I had to choose one guy to do it, I'd go with Orpik. He's a royal pain to attackers and may even manage to draw a penalty from the highly irritable Ovechkin. I know staying out of the box is a big deal for the Pens, but eliminating their scorers with penalty minutes works just as good.

As for Nylander, he's going to crash the center. He has a really accurate shot and won't have a problem finding the open net on Fleury if left untouched. With that in mind, the D is going to have to jam the center and either eliminate lanes from him, all the while eyeing the puck and avoiding quick drops to a speedy Ovechkin flying down the wing.

It's not going to be an easy game, but it's by far one of the better teams the Penguins will face this year (next to the Senators and perhaps even the Rangers - if they can prove anything other than they have big names). The Pens overcome this one, and that'll give them the push they need heading back to Pittsburgh to meet with the Rangers Tuesday night.

I wonder if Semin gave Ovechkin the pie facial...

Pens vs Canes preview

2007-10-18T13:35:00.000-04:00

The Staal brothers will be at it again tomorrow night in Pittsburgh, as the Canes visit the Pens for what will be the second meeting of the season. Hopefully this time around, little brother Jordan can outplay, or at least shutdown his older brother Eric. In the season opener, Eric netted two goals in a 4-1 victory in front of the Carolina crowd. Perhaps it'll be a different story at Mellon.

It better be. For all intensive purposes, this is a pretty rough little stretch for the Penguins - three games in four days. Starting it all off with a loss to the Devils the other night doesn't help much either.

If you take a look at the Hurricanes, they're no doubt a force to be reckoned with. You still have the 16 year vet Brindamour to factor in to the already powerful equation of Eric Staal + Eric Cole = trouble. Having Cam Ward secure the pipes isn't exactly a bad touch either.

The Penguins are most definitely going to need to take far less penalties than the last game, especially from guys like Sykora and Crosby who are much more beneficial on the ice than in the box.

I say the approach the offense takes is similar to the approach you'd take with Brodeur - lots of shots and even more tip-ins and re-directs in front of the net. It really is the only way to beat great goalies, unless of course Gonchar doesn't mind teeing up another one from the blueline to beat the goalie glove-side. Those are always pretty too.

Some other names on the Canes you're gonna hear a lot on Friday. Cory Stillman, who has been on fire hitting from all over the place in the past 3 games. Matt Cullen, the former Ranger who apparantly did what former Rangers do best; play better on another team. And finally Justin Williams, who in six games has 1 goal and 7 assists. His only goal, ironically enough, came in his two point performance on opening night against the Penguins.

The main objective: shutdown Eric Staal, watch out for Stillman in front of the net, and lay on a flurry of shots towards Ward. I know it may seem like basic hockey fundamentals, but thus far the only game that has really worked in their favor like this has been the Toronto win, and even that was close till the emptynetter.

I really feel like this is a tough game to win, but not impossible. Ward is playing like a Stanley Cup netminder, and his offense is doing a heck of a lot to take some pressure off him. I can't say whether I think this game is going to be another scoring frenzy or not, because I don't think Ward is going to let many by. But if it does turn out to be one, then Fleury better be on his best play because it's going to be another close 10+ goal game.

And although I hate to touch on the topic for the sheer fact it is just so over-talked NHL.com did a little piece on the heated debated of Crosby vs Ovechkin. You can read it here if you'd like, and feel free to comment on this site.

Sometimes I wonder if his face is more intimidating to a goalie than his shot...

Pens falls to Devils 5-4

2007-10-17T22:11:00.001-04:00

20 minutes. That's how much time the Penguins spent inside the penalty box. Ten penalties; 20 minutes. If you really break it down, we practically gave the Devils an extra period to work with.

Both teams combined for 5 powerplay goals, in this penalty-ridden game. The Penguins converted 3 times on 5 attempts, while the Devils were 2 for 7. All in all, a great performance by the Penguins' powerplay unit.

Once again the issue tonight was poor management in our own zone. Lanes were left wide open for Zach Parise, who set up three on the night, and the inability to clear in such situations led to detrimental turnovers and ultimately conversions from the Devils.

The score was well on its way to being tied on a Malkin goal from Staal on the breakaway, but the Penguins were penalized for too many men on the ice. The goal was called off, but at this point the arena was absolutely insane. Cups, programs, paper; whatever people could think of throwing wound up on the ice. Such is the frustration when your team takes six straight penalties.

All in all, the third period proved to be better played and less penalty ridden then the previous ones, but if you ask me, at this point the damage was already done. Brodeur shutout the Pens on their only 5 shot attempts in the third to ultimately seal the deal for the Devils.

If I had to highlight the Penguins for anything on the night, I'd say the powerplay did a phenomenal job compared to previous attempts in other games. Gonchar was firing from the blueline, netting one and assisting on another coming from the tip-in on his howitzer shot. Crosby assisted two of the three PP goals, while Malkin had a goal of his own.

Despite letting in 5 goals, Fleury looked a lot better in net tonight. I still stand by my statement when I say that there was an interference call on (Gionta?), but the goal stood because the penalty was not called and is ultimately not reviewable with the replay.

What the Penguins really have to do is work better in their own end. Again, this game is evidence to the fact that you can't win games by relying strictly on goals, especially when the other team has Brodeur between the pipes. Granter Brodeur hasn't started this season to the best of his abilities, but he somehow magically manages to play incredibly well against the Penguins.

Final thought: It's a tough loss, but I'll take it. The game was bound to be a neck and neck competition, but this time around the Devils came out on top. There's still seven more meetings on the season, and I'm really looking forward to what the next game has in store for these two teams.

Penguins Goals

Italicized = PP
1st Period
Talbot from Whitney - Roberts
Roberts from Gonchar - Sykora

2nd Period
Gonchar from Crosby - Malkin
Malkin from Crosby - Gonchar

3rd Period
None

Fleury : 30-35
Brodeur : 26-30

Game Notes

2007-10-17T01:21:00.000-04:00

Despite getting his brain rattled Saturday night, Brooks Orpik is expected to play, as is fellow defenseman Daryl Sydor. Sydor is coming off a groin injury, bringing him to partake in light skate sessions during practice.

Although Sabourin has been cleared from the stitches to the head, Coach Therrien has hinted Fleury will get the start in net tonight. Georges Laraque remains day to day with a sore groin, only skating 20 minutes in the most recent practice. Should Orpik or Sydor not be able to play, Alain Nasreddine will get his first start of the season. Nasreddine is coming off a conditioning assignment with the WBS club, where he tallied a point and a handful of penalty minutes.

That's it for now. Should anything change before faceoff I'll be on it.

Pens vs Devs preview

2007-10-16T11:58:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow night the Penguins take on the Devils in front of the home crowd in Pittsburgh. We'll most likely be seeing Orpik (concussion) and Laraque (groin) on the bench, with Nasreddine and Ruutu in place for them respectively. Sydor (groin) is also listed as day to day, but is expected to play.

For years Martin Brodeur has been the name one automatically associates with the Devils. So far this year, he hasn't exactly been what some call 'sharp'. In fact, in an odd change of events, the Devils recently found themselves needing to score goals in a neck and neck competition, in addition to a prior shutout against the Panthers. In other words, it's been hard to rely heavily on the netminding and defensive core. Their most recent victory came over the Thrashers Saturday night, pulling out a 6-5 victory after at one point being down 4-2. Three of New Jersey's goals came on the powerplay, putting them at 3 for 7 on the night. From a Penguins perspective, this could be disasterous.

I think it goes without saying that with most games, the less time you spend in the box the better chance you have of winning. The Leafs took a lot of penalties the ther night against the Penguins, and frankly even the Penguins took more than a few against the Leafs. The big difference came in the Penguins keeping the Leafs scoreless on 6 powerplay attempts, while the Penguins' PP unit converted only once on seven attempts.

With that in mind, factor in the Penguins' most recent penalty kill with the Devils' most recent powerplay squad and it's hard to predict the outcome. Can the Penguins hold off on the penalty kill? Will the Devils be just as hot with the man advantage heading in to tomorrow's game? Unfortunately numbers can't decide that, and it's going to come down to Eaton blocking shots, deflections in front and most importantly, Fleury's performance in net.

A lot of people like to look at special teams as the main emphasis in a game, especially one as high scoring as the last Devils game. But consider this: the Devils only allowed one powerplay goal form the Thrashers. That means four of them came on even strength, which to me is even more impressive than scoring with the advantage. Even still, the special teams for the Devils is what won the game for them, with an Elias goal in the third with 28 seconds remaining in the 5-5 tie. So again, I may sound like I'm covering all ground here but it's still hard to say what will be the deciding factor in tomorrow's game.

What do I predict? Well, considering both of the Penguins' wins have come with 5 or more goals, I'm going to say it'll be high scoring. I don't expect another 52 shot attack on Brodeur because I think the Devils defense is much better than that of the Leafs. I feel that the Devils will get at least one on us with the man advantage, and I'm hoping that will be it.

Last year the Penguins did manage to shut the Devils out in New Jersey 3-0, but New Jersey would later turn that around and shut the Penguins out 1-0 in Pittsburgh. I don't expect a shutout from either team tomorrow, and will go with a final score of 5-3 Pittsburgh, with the fifth goal coming on the empty net.

Here's to another Pens victory, and hopefully a pain-free one for the already hobbling squad.

Orpik cleared to play...injuries abound

2007-10-16T02:01:00.000-04:00

Well it's a little after 2am, but I just got word that Brooks Orpik did suffer a concussion Saturday night via a Simon Gamache fist to the face, but has been cleared to play tomorrow against the Devils. I can honestly say it wasn't an intentional hit, but I suppose some people would beg to differ. From where I see it, Gamache saw Orpik barreling in toward him, and put his hands up in defense. The hand just happened to clock Orpik right in the face, knocking him out cold and not warranting a penalty. Either way, he is cleared but I still believe Nasreddine will play in his first start of the season. It couldn't hurt.

But speaking of hurt, Georges Laraque has been dealing with some groin pain, as he's listed day to day. Daryl Sydor has also been fighting through the same prognosis, but is expected to play tomorrow night.

Danny Sabourin got four stitches to his head following the collision with Darcy Tucker Saturday night. Needless to say, he won't be playing, as Fleury gets the nod despite working through a sore finger. All things considered, MA-F can fight through it. His injury is pretty lax compared to other guys on the team.

Going to get around to the Devils preview later today - just wanted to get this word out ASAP.

No word on Orpik...break before Devils

2007-10-15T08:36:00.000-04:00

There's hansn't be any word what so ever on Brooks Orpik since he blacked out on the ice Saturday night. By the looks of things it's a concussion, but I've heard nothing as of yet if Therrien plans to put him in the line-up or not for Wednesday night against the Devils.

Speaking of, the Penguins have a nice period of time here to relax and shape up from that win against the Leafs. Personally, I'd rather they didn't have 4 days between games, especially after coming off a road win. I'd almost like to see them roll right in to the next town and keep going with it. Yet, when one of your hardest hitting defenseman is out with a 'brain tweak', I don't mind the time off.

Mark Recchi is looking to get his hand in on an ownership deal, only it's not going to be with the Penguins. Recchi and Daryl Sydor, along with other NHL stars Shane Doan of the Coyotes, Jarome Iginla of the Flames and a Vancouver-based businessman by the name of Tom Gaglardi are looking to all share ownership of the Western Hockey League's Kamloops Blazers. The connection comes from Sydor and Recchi both having played for Kamloops and wanting to preserve the team's heritage and keep it based in the hometown. Businessman Tom Gaglardi is also trying to purchase the Vancouver Canucks.

Finally, on more of a side note, Mike Lang's broadcasts just get on my nerves sometimes. Then again, I've always had an issue with people who do their own color commentary. Don't get me wrong, if I'm listening and hear a goal I give a fist pump or something of that nature, but the last thing to cross my mind is a line like "Slap me silly Sidney" or "Let's go hunt Moose on a Harley." It just doesn't strike me as powerful commentary. I often just wind up shaking my head and saying "What?" Borderline buzz kill.

Come tomorrow we'll take a look at the Devils of 07, and see what the Penguins have to look forward to on Wednesday night. Till then, let's hope Orpik is in good shape for the game, and I'll keep my eyes and ears open on any word going around.

Pens beat Leafs 6-4

2007-10-13T21:46:00.001-04:00

Man, was the offense hot tonight. 52 shots at Toskala compared to the 27 unleashed by Toronto, and they were only 1 for 7 on the powerplay! Excuse me, let me preface that as being a PITIFUL 1 for 7. And Malkin - what did I tell you about shooting? Always trying to make it look pretty when all we need are some goals.

Lots of firsts tonight, like Crosby's first goal of the season. It came on a shot deflected off a Leafs' leg, but hey, we'll take it. He'd later net another one on a rebound in front of the net. Crosby also got in to his first 'tiff' of the season, with the towering Antropov. Although it would almost appear like a fight was about to break-up, the NHL's refs did a good job to make sure our pretty boy wouldn't get hurt. Thank you front office.

Sabourin got his first start of the season as well. Gotta say, as much as I was hoping and waiting for this day, I began to think twice when I saw how his performance ranked in just a few short minutes. After letting in two goals, Fleury looked like the better option. Unfortunately that opportunity came sooner than later after Sabourin collided with Tucker during a Brooks Orpik check. Perhaps this game made me a Fleury believer afterall. Orpik would later leave dazed and confused from the ice, with his eyes practically rolled in to the back of his skull.

And finally, the Penguins' first road win.

I'm stoked that the offense mounted as many shots as they did, but again it was all about survival. When you give up 4 goals, you have to come back stronger and they did just that. Talbot, who scored his first goal in the last game against Montreal, also popped in two tonight, including one of which was shorthanded on to an open net.

The Pens did everything right tonight, including the penalty kill. The Leafs, despite having six attempts with the man advantage, were unable to convert on the night. But that just goes to show you how much of a team they are to capitalize on even strength attempts. Antropov...that dude is a giant when he comes crashing down on net.

Uncertain as to Orpik's situation, but it may have been a good time to at least have Nasreddine train with WBS. It might just wind up being the perfect thing to put him in to the line-up. Of course, I've been a Letang supporter since camp, and I wouldn't be the least bit upset to see him called up for a game or two. Yet, let's hope all is fine with Orpik and we don't have to keep our heavy hitter on the bench for long.

Penguins Goals

1st period
Christensen from Hall

2nd period
Crosby from Sykora - Gonchar
Talbot from Roberts - Hall
Malone from Staal - Malkin

3rd period
Crosby from Sydor - Malkin
Talbot - no assist

Sabourin - 4-6
Fleury - 19-21

Pens vs Leafs preview

2007-10-12T10:36:00.001-04:00

Perhaps the biggest thing working in the Leafs' favor heading in to this Saturday's game is the motivation that comes from a 8-1 win. Just last night, Mats Sundin also surpassed club records for most goals and most points, 390 and 917 respectively. Tell me how you can slow a guy down after a feat like that on top of a monstrous win. I'd like to know.

Let's hope, for the sake of Pens fans, that Toskala gets the start in net. He's 1-2 on the season, giving up nearly 4 goals a game. Last night's win saw Raycroft in net, so perhaps they'll switch duties come Saturday.

With that being said, let's talk about how the Pens have to stop the offense.

Oddly enough, I feel the biggest threat comes from the blueline. McCabe and Kaberle both possess huge shots. As long as they put it on net, it may be in Fleury's best interest to either freeze the puck or at the least kick it to the corner so as not to unleash the animal within Sundin, Stajan or Steen on the rebound.

I predict this game to also be relatively high scoring, similar to the home opener against the Ducks. Neither team really has a solid netminder, despite Raycroft setting aside 30 of 31 shots against the Islanders. So far this season, Fleury has let in a minimum of 3 goals a game. If he does get the start this Saturday night against the Leafs, then he's going to have to do better than that. I think the fans, especially Coach Therrien, wants to see this guy step up and stop the puck. Sabourin has my vote for tomorrow's game, but should he not start then it's a definite must-win situation for MA Fleury.

Another concern of mine comes, again, in the defense. The Pens have allowed far too many shots, and even though Eaton has taken more than a few to the chest and shins in attempts to block, they're going to have to do a better job if they want to keep the puck out. Let's hope the Leafs don't unleash another barage of shots similar to last night, whereby they sent 42 shots on nets with 8 finding the mark.

Now the Leafs' powerplay is also pretty hot, converting at 33% last night. Not to mention, they also netted a shorthanded goal. With three goals coming from their special teams, it's no doubt something to keep the Pens on their toes, but more importantly out of the box.

Which leads me to my final point. Less penalties means less goals, and by that I mean, coming from the opposition. Keep out of the box and keep the puck out. This also means they should draw that penalty from Tucker, and refrain from retribution on his cheap shots. He's an instigator and a dirty player, the Pens can't allow themselves to fall in to that trap. At least in the worst case scenario, Roberts gives him a lesson in fighting and they each get five.

Pens are on their way to Toronto, so my game of the night: Capitals vs Rangers. 7pm EST.

At least we have somethin on Leafs fans - like, a sense of style and interest in women...

Alain Nasreddine...

2007-10-11T20:04:00.000-04:00

Alain Nasreddine was sent down today in order to partake in a conditioning assignment with the WBS team. Nasreddine, who hasn't played so far this year, played in 44 games last season with the Pens. With the recent struggles on defense, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if this was Coach Therrien's idea of a threat. In other words, you guys better step it up, because we all know there's another batch of players in the AAA club waiting for action.

Speaking of, some word around various message boards right now think Nasreddine's move down is an opportunity for the highly praise Kris Letang to take a step up. I don't doubt now would be a good time to take the chance. Letang stepped up for seven games last season, netting 2 goals, both on the powerplay. How ironic...the powerplay needs some work. Gonchar's shot hasn't really been on so far this year, and I think if you move Gonch to the second PP line with Staal, Christensen and Malkin it'd be a more formidable outlet for Letang to dominate on the first line.

Keep in mind, first line powerplay is nothing short of intimidation. They've just yet to really click so far this season. If you ask me, having Crosby, Recchi, Malkin, Whitney and a Letang shot moving in on you with a man down is any goalie's worst nightmare. Of course, Therrien has really been mixing things up with the lines, so all of this could be for none.

Eaton has, in my opinion, been the strongest defender we have. You wanna talk about sacrificing your body? This guy has thrown himself down in front of so many shots you'd think he has some bullet holes to prove it. Fact is, I wouldn't be surprise if the guy goes this season with a permanent puck shaped bruise in the center of his chest. Against Anaheim the guy was unreal, especially on his 4 blocked shots in a single barrage right in front of Fleury. He walked away relatively unscathed, save a scratch to the chin. Even last night he took his share of shots off the shins and chest. I say Eaton has my vote to be on the first PK unit.

Tomorrow we'll take a look at the Leafs of 07, and see what the Pens have cut out for them on Saturday. Tah.

Pens fall to Habs...the Price is wrong b*tch

2007-10-10T22:00:00.000-04:00

There are a million things to talk about when you look at a loss like this. First off, Malkin has GOT to shoot the puck more. Now, I'm not knocking his assist to Talbot, but I am saying that with 20 seconds left in the game, down by one with an extra attacker, you don't drop a pass to the crowded center of the ice, you shoot it.

All in all, better presence by the PK unit this game, although it did give up a goal. On a similar note, nice work by Whitney on the PP in the first to tap in an otherwise clearable puck.

I think it's also safe to say that the refs kept the whistles to a minimum this game. And when I say minimum, I mean, they left this in the locker room after the second period. There were easily two missed calls on Malkin take-downs, and the more than obvious holding call on Malone.

Fleury makes me nervous. The second the puck leaves on a shot, I hold my breath. He's so shaky in the net, and he's very easy to set off. He seemed stable in the first, but gradually disippated as the game wore on. It's almost like he's thinking "Well, I just gave up a goal, game over." You don't play for the shutout, you play for the win man!

Speaking of, Carey Price records his first NHL win with this 3-2 victory. He apparantly possesses the very thing that sticks a dagger in the heart of the Pens - the ability to stop the puck. Crosby dinged two off the post this game, and had a grand opening to the net on a mishandled puck by Price but was unable to capitalize on the attempt.

I wrote earlier that the key to winning this game was containing Kovalev. Well, it happened for all but one goal of the game. For most of the night Brooks Orpik was the man sticking Kovi, but Ryan Whitney over-committed on a play in the Canadiens' zone, leading Kovalev to a breakaway goal. Again, it's almost like I could forsee the goal happening before it even left the stick with Fleury in net.

I'm all for a Sabourin start against the Leafs on Saturday. It's more than obvious that Fleury is off to a nervous start. So, sit the guy for a game or two and let Sabourin get the time. If anything, at least it will scare Fleury in to working for job security.

Highlight of the night? Roberts slamming Plekanac's face (not 100% sure on who it was from the Habs)right in to the boards. You could actually see him reaching in to check for teeth. Scary Gary at it again.

Penguins' Goals
2nd Period
PPG Whitney from Recchi and Crosby

3rd Period
Talbot from Malkin and Recchi

Fleury 32-35

Pre-game 411 - Pens vs Canadiens

2007-10-10T18:22:00.000-04:00

Crosby will start tonight, after sitting out practice on Monday with a sore ankle brought on by a shot Saturday night against the Ducks. It's also looking like Ruutu will be scratched again tonight in favor of Adam Hall, whereas there is no official as of yet if Nasreddine will play for Scuderi.

For the Habs, Carey Price makes his NHL debut in goal. Price has performed phenomenely in all levels of play, as evident by his Calder Cup win with the Hamilton Bulldogs this past season. We'll see how he fairs tonight against the Pens, as we can expect to see a more potent offense and HOPEFULLY a stronger penalty kill. If the Pens want to win this game they have to turn off Koivu and Kovalev and capitalize on some powerplay advantages.

Jeffrey Signs

2007-10-09T12:18:00.000-04:00

The Pens continued to build for the future today, as they signed Dustin Jeffrey to a three year entry level contract. Jeffrey was selected in the 6th round by the Penguins, and showed a lot of heart and promise during the preseason and team scrimmages.

Jeffrey joins the core of youngins on the team, at the ripe age of 19. In the prospect tourney in Kitchener, Jeffrey led the team in scoring with 5 points. He's spent the last three season in the OHL, scoring 155 points in 190 games. In five games this season, Jeffrey led the team with four goals and eight assists. In his most recent game on Sunday, Jeffrey scored 6 points (1 goal and 5 assists).

Where will he fit in the line-up? We'll have to see. My guess is he'll be spend this season in Wilkes-Barre. Perhaps, though, this signing to WBS means someone from there will be coming up soon. Will keep you posted. If I had to pick though, and I've always been a supporter of him so I'm somewhat biased, but I'd say Letang. We need the help on defense, that is apparant already. Even if he's not going to put on a barrage of shots or rack up a ton of goals, we can hope his defensive nature can keep a puck or two out of the net.

Speaking of the defense, there's been talk of Scuderi possibly getting scratched and replaced by Nasreddine. Ruutu had this done to him last game, as he was replaced by Hall, no doubt for his collection penalty minutes in the season opener. I think whatever Therrion needs to do to wake up that defense is a good move in my book, or blog for that matter.

Pens vs Habs preview

2007-10-08T11:36:00.000-04:00

The Pens take on the Canadiens this Wednesday night for the first time this season. At least, when it counts. In the two preseason games against the Habs, each team took a win, with a former Penguins generously handing us that overtime loss.

Alexei Kovalev (or as he is known now, simply Alex) [why?] scored in game one of the preseason on a pass from Mark Streit with under 30 seconds remaining before a shootout decision. In that same game, Kovalev also assisted the two other goals for a Canadiens 3-2 win. To say the struggling Pens defense will have to contain Kovalev is certainly an understatement.

Speaking of, the defense has spent far too much time idling around the net. Although I don't expect (nor do I want) them to over-commit to the puck, they hardly even play the man. There is no pressure on to the boards to push the puck out, and the other team is spending far too much time putting shots on net towards Marc "Still Waiting To Find My Groove"-Andre Fleury. If the Pens want to play this way Wednesday night, then they best be putting up 7 goals if they hope to even stay in it.

Continuing with the Habs, we'll look at threat number two - Saku Koivu. In game one against the Hurricanes he netted two powerplay goals, one of which proved to be the overtime game winner. If Koivu and Kovalev hit the Pens on the powerplay, then the PK unit is going to have their work cut out for them. Ideally I'd like to see Talbot and Staal working the corners in the Habs' zone, eating up time and controlling the play. In the last game against Anaheim, Talbot showed some good work on the PK unit. I'd like to see a repeater.

The Canadiens' defense, led primarily by goaltender Cristobal Huet, is nothing short of average. In the Habs' 3-2 preseason victory over the Pens, Huet faced 12 shots, giving up zero goals before Yann Danis got his shot. Danis let in 2 goals on 9 shots while Huet let in none. In game two, Huet was scratched from the line-up. Coincidentally, the Pens and Canadiens have each struggled a bit in the defensive area. Both Fleury and Huet are easily flustered when faced with a barrage of shots, and I'd expect to see nothing less in this contest.

On to the Penguins.

There's no better time than now for Crosby to step up and show us how he brought home the hardware last season. Everyone predicts and expects and suspects and whatever you wanna say that he's going to have a 120+ season. But if he keeps playing at the rate of hardly one point every two games, he's on track for a 41 - 60 point season. I want to see, at the least, a goal and an assist Wednesday night.

Now for the Fleury situation. There's been a lot of talk about how much longer Therrion is going to keep him in net. The way I see it; it's only game three. Give him two more, and I genuinely mean that. Give him two more games to find his groove, and if he doesn't improve yank 'em and put in Sabourin. If there is one player on the Penguins roster who I've inherently doubted, it's Fleury. I personally have never perceived him to be a franchise goalie, and I see him in the same light as Ken Wregget and Patrick Lalime. On a similar note, he'd have to find a home on a high-scoring team if he hopes to play elsewhere and collect some wins. In other words, he better pull himself together and stick it out with the Pens if he ever hopes to touch the cup.

I predict a highly offensive contest Wednesday night, and I'm going to go on a whim and say Pens win 4-3. Not only will Sykora have the stints out of his newly remodeled nose, and Crosby hopefully playing at 100% by then, but the home crowd will hopefully carry them to another victory.

Crosby OK, but not 100%

2007-10-07T18:03:00.000-04:00

After taking a shot off the ankle last night, the sold-out crowd inside Mellon Arena gasped in unison as Crosby skated off to the bench. With his face wretching in pain and an obvious favor of the left leg, it almost seemed like the 2007 season was about to take a tumultuous turn.

Luckily, it's just a bruise. According to Coach Therrion, Crosby is not seriously hurt, but he's also not 100%. Of course, the next game isn't till Wednesday at home against the Canadiens, so he has plenty of time to rest.

Also somewhat winded on the night was the three point scoring Petr Sykora. Sykora, who broke his nose early in the preseason after colliding with Brooks Orpik, played last night's game with two stints up his nostrils. If in case you ever wondered what it was like, try sticking a q-tip up each nostril and playing hockey for 60 minutes. You tend to get winded pretty quickly. But hey, apparantly it didn't show in his place, and frankly if he's going to play that way under those conditions, I say we jam a stint up his nose every game and consider passing it on to other players in the locker room.

In the pre-season the Penguins won their only game against the Canadiens, but also lost the first to them as well. Tomorrow we'll take a look at the Canadiens of 07 and see how they match up against the Pens.

Battle of the birds - Penguins prevail

2007-10-07T00:15:00.001-04:00

Sorry for the title, I couldn't resist. The Penguins' came out on top over the Ducks after a somewhat sloppy game that still managed to get five goals in the net by the final score of 5-3. Two goals from Penguins new-comer Petr Sykora, a goal from Malkin, Malone and Armstrong. The Armstrong goal in the second period was later dubbbed by 105.9 WXDX's Phil Bourque as "Crosby-esque". Speaking of Crosby, he finally got a point on the year with a diving assist to Malone, which later proved to be the game winning goal.

Main hightlight on the night - The Pens scored two goals in the second period within 20 seconds, and repeated again with back-to-back goals coming in the third within 19 seconds.

Ruutu was scratched on the night, so recent acquisition Adam Hall made his black and gold debut. Although scoreless on the night, Hall certainly hustled hard deep in the zone, kicking the puck back out and even winning some key faceoffs later in the game.
Another big man who was relatively quiet last season; Georges Laraque. Not tonight. Laraque used his huge frame to his advantage, opening up some room in front of the net that allowed Sykora to slip in for a third period goal on Laraque's assist.

For a second consecutive night the Penguins defense was anything but stellar in their own zone. Some poor puck movement and key mid-ice turnovers should have made the game an Anaheim victory. Luckily the Ducks fired wide on net a few times and mishandled the puck on the rare but still detrimental occasion. They still went out there looking like a Stanley Cup team willing to compete. I'm gonna go on the record of saying - if Giguirre was in net, it would have been a Ducks victory.

Hopefully this isn't the method in which Pittsburgh hopes to win games. Last season it was all about out-scoring. Obviously that is the point in any situation where there is a winner and a loser, but what I'm trying to say is the Pens can't get themselves in to too many 9 goal games and expect to come out the winner. With the extra attacker the Ducks brought the game to within a goal, but were unable to do it again in the last 22. Yet had there been 25 seconds left on the clock, it may have gone to overtime. The last minute pressure and the crash on the net ran the chance of the puck finding its way in. Lucky for the Pens and the sold out crowd of 17,000+, time ran out.

The Pens can't hope to play this sort of game all season. For the time being, they gratefully walked away the victor. I also don't expect there to be many 1-0 and 2-1 games in the Pens' future, they're just not that sort of team. As a final thought (how Jerry Springer of me) the Pens need to work on a tighter defense, more fluent puck movement and the right mind to not take stupid penalties. They stick to that, and they're a division winner.

Goals
Sykora
Armstrong
Malkin
Sykora
Malone

Assists
Roberts
Christensen
Roberts
Sykora
Laraque
Malkin
Crosby
Scuderi

Season Opener

2007-10-06T00:26:00.000-04:00

All things considered, tonight was not exactly the ideal start to a season. The Hurricane defense did a tremendous job of shutting down Crosby (keeping him scoreless and ultimately pointless on the night), Eric Staal showed up his little brother and the defense couldn't have looked weaker around the net. Even deeper on the roster, the second line wasn't able to pick up the slack of the poor play from the first line despite keeping Cam Ward from his first season shutout with under four minutes left in the game.

I genuinely felt this game was feasible, but it seems the team will have to really put on the pressure tomorrow night at home. What can they do better? Hard to say. They defintiely put on plenty of shots, even outshooting the Canes 34-33 on the night. Perhaps the real solution to tonight's loss is the presence of the defense. The penalty kill shutdown 4 of 5 attempts, while the powerplay capitalized only once on six attempts with a tap-in goal from Recchi from Malkin and Gonchar.

So maybe I was a little over-zealous when I predicted the Penguins' victory tonight. But I'm just going to play the ignorant card and say this - The Pens open at home 17 hours from now and nothing could possibly make up for the loss tonight than winning the first home game of the year in front of a cup hungry town.

Pre-game Short

2007-10-05T12:56:00.000-04:00

If by any chance you hear someone saying how the Penguins have lost their last two games in Carolina, ignore it. It's a fact, but it won't be tomorrow.

The Pens are set to take on the Canes tonight at 7pm in Carolina. Expected in net for the Penguins, Marc Andre Fleury. Cam Ward gets the nod for the Hurricanes, coming off an overtime loss against the Canadiens Wednesday night. Kudos to Koivu for freezing up Ward for his first two goals of the season.

Got to take a look at the Rangers' home opener last night and wasn't overly impressed. Sure, they scored 37 seconds in to the game, but up until the last period when Florida fell apart, I was beginning to think New York was better off burning the money they spent on star players. That was of course, up until the point when Chris Drury realized he better earn his contract. Even still, I don't feel threatened by a team rallying 4 goals in the third period. They did it against the Panthers...not the Penguins. I choose to disregard it as a fluke, but take it for what you will.

Alternate Captains...Class A Work (get it?)

2007-10-04T15:55:00.000-04:00

The Penguins announced three alternate captains today before the season opener tomorrow night in Carolina. Veterans Mark Recchi and Gary Roberts will each sport the "A", while defenseman Sergei Gonchar will be holding it down for the defense. Roberts and Gonchar will also be sharing the alternate duties, with Gonchar wearing it for home games and Roberts wearing it on the road. If you look at the roster, these selections shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.

With the team's home opener only two days away, Captain Sidney Crosby and Co-captain Mark Recchi each purchased suites at Mellon Arena for the Make-a-wish and Big Brothers/Sister organizations. Yet again another class act from the Penguins' staff and its players.

And finally, if you ever needed another reason to visit this site over any other, then let this be evidence. Personally, I considered this to be a waste of a webpage, but then again I'm not Yahoo! and I also give a crap about hockey. The staff at Yahoo! asked Ryan Whitney a few questions. Read it here.

If they were going to ask him about a favorite CD, perhaps they would have just been better off asking what his favorite cassette was. CDs are just as obsolete. I doubt any single player is going to carry a stack of CDs with them, when an mp3 player is clearly the easiest way for any traveling person to go. Stop in to your local retailer and buy one today!

*This post was not in anyway sponsored by Apple, Sandisk or any other mp3 player.*

Anticipation In The Air

2007-10-04T00:04:00.000-04:00

Teams around the league kicked off their seasons today, and all I can say is anticipation is growing. Here we are, only one day before the Pens' victory over the Canes. I couldn't be more psyched. I'm really looking forward to what lines the Pens work with tomorrow.

Speaking of, rumors from camp have mention some of the following pairs. Notice the utilization of the Vets with the youngins.

Staal-Crosby-Sykora
Staal, otherwise deadly on the penalty kill, deserves more a shot than any to be on this first line juggernaut. I don't doubt he'll relinquish his duties on the PK, but I do think he'll be shuffled in and out for the likes of Mark Recchi.
Average age: 23

Malone-Malkin-Recchi
Again, I wouldn't be surprised to see Recchi make the occasional jump to the first line. Regardless, as far as second lines go, this certainly is above average. Having the veteran Recchi on this line will hopefully help Malkin who we all pray will choose to shoot the puck a bit more this year rather than find the open shooter. If there's one thing you'll notice even more this season (especially with the new line pairings) is that the team is all about depth. And as Crosby recently noted, Stanley Cup teams are all about it.
Average age: 29

Roberts-Christensen-Armstrong
Again, nice placement of a vet with the younger guys. Similar to Staal on the first line, Christensen may be moving in and out from center to winger on the second. His play in the preseason and in practices so far this season has been focused on him adapting as a winger.
Average age: 29

Ruutu-Talbot-Laraque
Powerhouse. This line is the one that brings the pain. You won't see much of the red light with this line, but perhaps you'll see some red when the other team is picking up their teeth. The one benefit of being a power line is also the benefit of having Ruutu who, despite his placement on the fourth line, has been known to net a few shots.
Average age: 28

Although Coach Therrion has made no official note of defensive pairings, I'm going to draw my own. If you tend to disagree or feel otherwise, definitely share.

Gonchar-Whitney
Now the two of them put up a lot of points, there's no doubt about it. But I don't know if Therrion is going to want to break it up a bit. Perhaps rotate them with...

Sydor-Eaton
As long as Eaton can stay healthy, he'll definitely be a producer on the second line with Malkin, Recchi and Malone.

Scuderi - ?
I don't know who they would pair together on this line. Remember, the roster is still short one man. Is a defenseman in the works for Pitt? I wouldn't doubt by the start of next week the team calls up Letang. That's just high hopes though.

Orpik-Nasreddine
The heavy hitters. Similar to their forward counterparts, don't expect to see a lot of goals, but expect to see plenty of hits and penalty minutes racking up like the ticket counter at the main gate.

Also worth noting, only two days after clearing waivers, the Vancouver Canucks have claimed defenseman Mike Weaver. So much for potentially calling him up. Weaver had been appointed to WBS, but before he could even load up his locker it was time for him to catch a plane west. Best of luck to Weaver, I'll be rooting for him, similar to how I rooted for Sabourin last year when he backed up Luongo. Unless of course it comes down to a cup game between the Pens and Canucks, in which case not so much.

Here's a fun picture worth a chuckle. Prior to the picture, photographers had to pull Lohan away from the cup, reminding her it is merely a trophy and not a massive cocktail.

Coming and Going on The Penguins

2007-10-02T19:48:00.000-04:00

It’s that heart-wrenching time of the year. That time of the year when some of the players you may have developed a keen preseason liking to are the victims of a team decision. When, despite media hype and the praise of critics, some players just don’t live up to it. It’s that time of the year when a team’s management sits down and asks, “Do they stay or do they go?” It’s time for the regular season, but more importantly, time for roster cuts.

Baring a sub-par 1-3-2 performance during the preseason, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ management sat down earlier this week to decide the fate of half a dozen players.

Heading back down to Wilkes-Barre Scranton isn’t exactly a demotion. After all, you still remain part of the club, even if on the AAA level. Besides, throughout the season the Pens have often called up players from the farm for short stints. However, for fan and media favorites Kris Letang and Jonathan Filewich, it can be a bit demoralizing. Letang possesses a highly praised right-handed slapshot that had fans buzzing and critics hailing him as a much needed standout on the Pens’ blueline. However, despite such claims, he will begin the upcoming season with the WBS club. Fans around town already suspect it won’t be the last time they see the 20 year old defenseman.

Filewich, in a similar position, is the ideal power forward. He possesses great size, speed and a knack for finding openings down-low. Yet he too will begin the 2006/07 season with Wilkes-Barre. Both Letang and Filewich were huge favorites around the club for making the team. It’s not to say one day they won’t, or potentially even play at some point during the season, but neither has officially made the roster for the regular season. Last season Letang was called up to play in seven games, scoring two goals in his short stay.

Aside from those two favorites, the Penguins also appointed forward Ryan Stone and defenseman Mike Weaver to the baby Pens. Forward Jeff Taffe, initially sent down over a week ago, found himself unpacking bags before he could catch a ride out of town. The team called him back up for the 4-3 loss against the Sabres in which he logged two shots in a little over 12 minutes of ice time. Following the game, Taffe was also sent back down to WBS.

Only one signing thus far for the Penguins following an otherwise poor performance this preseason - forward Adam Hall signed on to a one-year, two-way contract for an undisclosed amount. Last season Hall split between the Rangers and the Wild, tallying 6 goals and 17 points in 72 games. In preseason for the Pens, Hall played in all six games, spending four minutes in the bin and registering a handful of shots, none of which hit the net.

Despite much speculation of his whereabouts on the team’s roster, defenseman Alain Nasreddine finds himself lacing up blades for the season opener Friday night in Carolina. Last season with the Pens, Nasreddine played in 44 games, netting one shot and assisting four others for a five point season. Out of those 44 games, 18 minutes were spent reconciling sins in the box.

Last but not least, the Penguins have begun experimenting with Erik Christensen. Christensen, a natural center, has found a new home on the right wing. Paired with Gary Roberts and Evgeni Malkin, Christensen has said many times over he is willing to take on whatever position would better suit the team. Having a multi-purpose forward never hurt any team.

The roster for the Pens seems to be more or less set. Thus far in practice, the team’s been mixing up lines and experimenting with different units. It wouldn’t come as a surprise to see a different batch of attacks coming both Friday in Carolina and Saturday at home against the Ducks as the team continues to work with the line changes. Till then, with the preseason behind them, the Pens start the season 0-0-0 with a new roster in place and the cup in mind.

The Pens welcome Adam Hall to the roster

Preseason Stats

2007-09-30T12:04:00.000-04:00

The preseason is an opportunity to obviously try out some of your prospects without any real repercussion. Unless of course you are concerned about teams and critics around the league basing your upcoming regular season performance off your preseason one. I wouldn't be too concerned though. Below are just some stats from the Pens top starters. You'll see that there isn't much to worry about with our top guys.

2007
Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Armstrong	4	1	3	4	0
Christensen	4	1	2	3	2
Crosby	3	3	4	7	8
Gonchar	4	1	1	2	0
Laraque	3	0	0	0	5
Malkin	4	2	3	5	6
Malone	4	2	1	3	4
Recchi	3	0	2	2	2
Ruutu	4	0	0	0	8
Staal	5	1	1	2	0
Sykora	2	1	0	1	2
Talbot	4	1	2	3	6
Whitney	4	0	4	4	0

Worth noting:

Sidney Crosby - Only played in three games yet tallied the preseason team high 7 points. He did however also tie with Ruutu for second highest penalty minutes with 8, something no scorer should be doing. The team's high went to prospect Tyler Kennedy who collected 21 minutes in the sin bin, 19 of which came in the second game against the Canadiens.

Georges Laraque - Scoreless in three games, with 5 penalty minutes for fighting. It's nice to have another enforcer on the team, but I've been skeptical of Laraque since the Pens acquired him last season as he's yet to impress me.

Jordan Staal - Led with 5 games played, steering clear of the penalty box and showing his worth on the PK line.

Petr Sykora - Only played in two games as a result of a broken nose. He has since received surgery on it and should be good for Friday's game against Carolina.

Ryan Whitney - Four games, four points, nice work. Really showing his presence on the blueine.

Preseason Ends With Another Loss

2007-09-29T23:16:00.000-04:00

In yet another preseason loss, and the fourth consecutive out of six games, the Pens fell to the Sabres by the score of 4-3.

Buffalo jumped out to a 1-0 lead late in the first on a powerplay goal from Derek Roy. Just the night before Roy tallied four points on the night with two goals and two assists. He'd have another point before the night's end.

Early in the second Buffalo tagged on another goal this time coming from defenseman Dmitri Kalinin. Eight minutes later the Pens would come within one on a shorthand goal from Maxim Talbot on a pass from Colby Armstrong. Colby would later star the third period off with a goal, tying it at 2 goals a piece.

On powerplay almost halfway through the third, the Penguins took the lead on a Gonchar laser in to the back of the net. From there the Pens would give up two more un-answered goals, with one coming from Jason Pominville on the powerplay.

Sitting on the bench for the Pens tonight were notable starters Sidney Crosby, Mark Recchi, Gary Roberts, Petr Sykora and Kris Letang.

Worth noting; aside from the shorthanded goal in the second period, the Pens penalty kill unit was nowhere near as consistent from the night before. On six powerplay attempts, the Sabres converted twice. Similarly on six attempts, the Penguins only converted once.

Fleury was in net, stopping 18 of 24. Miller was the backstopper for the Sabres tonight, kicking out 14 of 17 shots faced.

Thus ends the preseason, and the timing couldn't have been better. In an otherwise pitiful display, the Penguins finished 1-5, with the only win coming against Montreal two games in to the preseason.

Sure, you'll have your optimists and pessimists, but I think I fall in between here. When I'm sitting in the seat watching Anaheim at Pitt next week, I better see an iron-walled penalty kill and at the least a 30% conversion on the powerplay. To be blunt, I'm neither an optimist or pessimist; I'm just demanding.

With that said, rests up boys. The regular season officially kicks off in seven days at Carolina. Let's put the preseason behind us and focus on the games that matter.

Battle of The Backups

2007-09-29T09:22:00.001-04:00

Battle of the backups...preseason Ice Bowl; call it what you will. I'll just call it another pre-season loss for the Pens.

In a close but not close enough score of 6-5, the Pens fell to the Buffalo Sabres in front of the home crowd in Pittsburgh. Each team benched their starting netminders and gave the nod to the regular season second stringers. As irony would have it, last season's Penguins' second stringer Jocelyn Thibault was in net for the Sabres. He stopped only 16 of the 21 shots faced. The other five landed in the net, with two coming from Crosby and one each from Malone, Christensen and Staal. Crosby also tallied an assist on the night. Evgeni Malkin dished off two that found their way between the pipes.

Danny Sabourin got the start for the Pens, facing 23 shots and stopping 17. The game was even at 5 and heading towards what looked like the third preseason overtime, until Derek Roy of the Sabres netted the game winner with 28 seconds remaining.

Despite prior faults of the powerplay unit in earlier games this pre-season, the Pens were a stellar 3-6 with the man advantage. On the other side of the advantage, the Pens PK unit held the Sabres to six scoreless powerplay attempts.

Coach Therrion wasn't kidding when he said the team would be working on their powerplay work in camp this week. It's more than obvious that they have honed in even more, converting at 50% in just this game alone.

Regardless, despite a loss the Pens were a much better team this game around. Hopefully we will witness them deliver a loss to the Sabres in front of their fans tonight in Buffalo.

In other relative news around the league, the NHL has taken action on the recent controversial hit between Steve Downie of the Flyers and Dean McAmmond of the Senators. Downie, a favorable prospect in the Flyers circuit but a notoriously dirty player, was given a 20 game suspension by the powers that be for the skate fleeting hit that rendered McAmmond unconcious. McAmmond, upon recovery, mentioned Downie will get what's coming to him. In the immortal words of Shakespere, "Blood will follow blood." If McAmmond knows what's best for him, he must consider the unspoken words presented in actions by the NHL - "Suspensions will follow dirty hits."

I'm happy to see the NHL gave this manner the proper attention it deserved. It's sad to see someone get severely injured, but from it came a fair warning to all players this season. If you leave your skates or head-hunt you'll be reclining your feet at home as you watch the next 3 weeks under suspension.

With that said, the season kicks off for the Pens Friday night in Carolina. Listen here. The official NHL season starts tomorrow, with the Ducks and Kings starting things off in jolly ol England. Catch the action on versus. The puck drops at 12pm eastern time.

Former Penguin Dies In Game

2007-09-28T00:23:00.000-04:00

Former 1999 Penguins draft pick Darcy Robinson, 26, collapsed on the ice during a game with the Italian Asiago team. Robinson was un-hit at the time of collapse in the first period, and was later rushed to a hospital where he passed. The cause of death has yet to be determined.

Robinson spent time with the Penguins' minor league affiliates from his draft day on. From 2001 to 2005, Robinson rotated between playing for Wilkes-Barre Scranton and the AA affiliate Wheeling Nailers, before finally heading overseas to play for the Italian hockey league for the 2005-2006 season. In his three seasons with Nailers, the blue-liner played in 16 games, scoring 2 goals, 4 assists and tallied 47 penalty minutes. In 158 games over 4 seasons with the WBS club, Robinson tallied 3 goals, 18 assists and 237 minutes in the sin bin.

It's more than apparant that Robinson struggled in the Penguins system, but it's also obvious he never faltered in his attempts. With routine trips up and down between the Nailers and the WBS Pens, Robinson continued to give his best effort to one day advance to the NHL club.

Pens vs Sabres - LIVE

2007-09-27T16:07:00.001-04:00

The Penguins Homepage will be broadcasting the preseason game Friday night between the Pens and Sabres. This is a great opportunity for you to check out the team if you haven't done so already. I'd imagine the bandwith will exceed and potentially even slow down or stall the video feed - but hey, you never know unless you try.

Of course, you have to sign up for the free trial to Center Ice (if you don't already have an account). Aside from that, everything is gravy.

The Pens wrapped up their West Point trip today. Maxime Talbot took part in the training last year as well. "It’s really fun for the guys and great for team chemistry, team building and leadership" he said. "It was a great experience again.”

Aside from rigorous training and exercises, the players also took part in various team activities as well - like, paintball.

Apparantly Malkin, Ruutu and Armstrong all have some big welts on their bodies. West Point paintball, unlike regulated paintball areas around the country, don't keep regulations on the distance between players.

"Yeah, I got smoked in the neck – really hard. That was the first time I got shot in that round, but it eliminated me really quickly,” said Colby Armstrong.

Speaking of Armstrong, in the midst of all this talk with headhunting and high hits, his name has made more than a few appearances. Some videos to consider are at the end of this blog.

Only five days after being sent down to WBS, forward Jeff Taffe will make an appearance on the Pens roster again. In exchange, center Tim Brent was sent down. Perhaps this move was do in part to the sheer fact the Pens already have 400 centers in their line-up. Unless you can pose as a two-way forward, you're in a tough spot. Of course, if you're like Brent and have expectations of making the team, you also have to score more than one goal in 15 games. That was the case last year with Anaheim.

Pens take on Buffalo tomorrow night at 7:30. Watch it here.

Headshots and Powerplays

2007-09-26T10:26:00.000-04:00

There is a lot of talk around the league right now about rulings against headshots. If you ever needed any hard evidence to the fact, look no further than players like Eric Lindros, his brother Brett, Keith Primeu (sp?), Deadmarsh...the list really does go on. Nothing would satisfy players more than a call to action now before the regular season starts. I was doing some reading, and through a post on hockeybuzz saw this article. You should definitely check it out.

The Hits Just Keep On Coming

From a Penguins' fan perspective, you kinda have to shutter at this article. And I'm not talking about shuttering in neglect, but instead at the fact Colby Armstrong is mentioned twice in the first 100 words for knocking people out. I remember both of those hits, and I do remember thinking to myself "Jesus, how IS that legal?" But it is...because there is no rule in the NHL that says hits like that warrant a fine or even a penalty for that matter.

I supppose it's also all perspective. If you're a Pens fan and see your player knock someone out, you'll get a lil rowdy, but you know lodged deep in the back of your mind one day it can happen to your guys. Of course, when that day comes, you see it as an illegal hit. In other words, do what's best for the sport and not your team. I really think a decision should be made right away on this matter. The longer time goes by, the more careers are cut short by hits we all know to be dirty, - but the league fails to recognize as such.

Here is the hit under recent speculation. Steve Downie of the Flyers absolutely annihilating Dean McAmmond of the Sens.

Was his head down? Doesn't really matter, the hit is illegal.

In the mean time, the Penguins need to really focus on their powerplay. They were a disappointing...no, patheric 0-8 against the shutout loss to the Red Wings last week. On 30 chances thus far in the pre-season, the Pens have only converted three times. Two came in one game.

Coach Therrien has mentioned the PP is being worked on, but there should be no concerns for last season's 5th ranking powerplay unit.

And finally, if you're looking to get tix to a Penguins home game then don't bring a friend. The Pens have announced only single tickets available to the following games. You can bring a friend of course...but you may want to talk to one another via cell phone or walkie talkie...

Oct. 19 Carolina
Oct. 25 Toronto
Oct. 27 Montreal
Nov. 17 NY Rangers
Nov. 24 Atlanta
Nov. 30 Dallas
Dec. 03 Phoenix
Dec. 13 Ottawa
Dec. 27 Washington
Jan. 03 Toronto
Jan. 05 Florida
Feb. 02 Carolina
Feb. 07 NY Islanders
Feb. 09 Los Angeles
Feb. 19 Florida
Feb. 23 Ottawa
April 02 Philadelphia

The Penguins continue with their training today and tomorrow, till flying back to Pitt for a home game against Buffalo on Friday night. Puck drops at 7:30.

Dinged Up Starters

2007-09-25T00:21:00.000-04:00

Between Sykora's broken nose and now Crosby's sore groin, it may be best for pre-season to just come to its much anticipated end so everyone could have time off to recoup. Although Crosby has said the pain isn't as severe as the one that cost him (and the Pens) a seat on the bench last season, Captain Crosby did the right thing and skated off to avoid any further injury. As stubborn as some players may be, at least Crosby did what was best for the team in this situation by taking off practice early.

Afterall, the Penguins were 0-3 last season when Crosby wasn't in the line-up. To say his presence is necessary goes without saying.

Regardless of pain, both players plan to take part in the West Point activities slated for the remainder of this week before returning to Pitt on Thursday. In typical hockey fashion, both players chose to "tape it up" - and get back out there for the team.

The Pens Army

2007-09-24T16:14:00.000-04:00

Hard work and dedication; no doubt essential elements of any hockey player. Above all, however, is commitment to the team’s success, camaraderie with teammates and perhaps even open-mindedness to alternative methods of training.

That’s the approach the Penguins are collectively taking this week, as they go from the rivers of Western Pennsylvania, to the swamps and fields of West Point, New York.

Under the watchful eye of First Sergeant J.B. Spisso, the Pens will spend three days running through swamps, pushing cars up hills and endure countless hours of military training all in the name of teamwork. The former Army Ranger and current New York National Guardsman would have it no other way.

Last year the Penguins took the same approach to training, as Spisso grilled the team for three days under the same rigorous conditions. His impression lasted throughout the season, as his work was inspiration for the team, and the team was inspiration for his work.

“He showed a lot of care in what we did and followed us through the year” said Penguins’ Captain Sidney Crosby. “He’s the ultimate leader.”

Don’t think the players will be taking a break from ice time either. If anything their normal workout schedule just got more grueling with the addition of military field exercises. As cliché as it may seem, it certainly separates the men from the boys but brings them all together under the unity of teamwork. Of course, that term loses most, if not all meaning, for a team of relatively young guys, but the teamwork aspect still remains.

“There will be a couple things to make sure we’re keeping together and different exercises to make sure we don’t quit on each other. It’s all good for us as a team and for us as people to see what it takes to be successful in a big group” said defenseman Ryan Whitney.

This training is perhaps the end of the line for some prospects not expected to make the cut. Just this past weekend the Pens sent Esposito back down to the Remparts and assigned Nathan Smith to the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. The assignments bring the Pens roster to 27 total players.

The team only has two remaining pre-season games; both against Buffalo this Friday and Saturday. The military training and two games may be the last straw for defensive hopefuls Mike Weaver and Kris Letang to prove themselves. The fact they’ve made it this far is already evidence of their abilities, but nothing is certain till you have your name matted in the locker room.

For the love of Christ, please don't break a leg...

Pens Fall To Wings - Espo Sent Down

2007-09-23T22:47:00.001-04:00

vs

5-2

Last night the Penguins fell to the Detroit Red Wings by the score of 5-2 in front of the home crowd at Mellon Arena. Sometimes in situations in the pre-season, you can shrug off otherwise defamating losses. However last night was not one of those instances for me, and I'll tell you why.

First off, our number one starting goal tender was in net. That means the 5-2 loss was against the same goalie who will be in net for a majority of the 82 game regular season. Now you can attribute a few of those goals to the fact that many of the season's starting defensemen were not there, but I feel that would just be a cop out. Besides, most of the defensemen will be starting the upcoming season. IE Orpik, Gonchar, Eaton, Sydor, Whitney.

Luckily the Wings were only 1-5 on the powerplay, while the Pens stepped it up from the previous night's 0-8 performance on the man advantage to 33% turn around on Saturday night's 2-6.

Pittsburgh was first to strike halfway through the first with a man advantage from Orpik to Crosby to Eaton. From their the Wings took over with three straight goals, till Malkin put one in the back on the net on the powerplay with under 2 minutes remaining in the game. The one goal gap almost seemed feasible, until 46 seconds later on the ensuing shift, the Pens gave up an open-netter to Zetterberg. The goal was his second on the night.

It seemed like an impressive three point night for Zetterberg, who also assisted an earlier goal, til he decided on making it a four point one less than a minute later with a dish to Samuelsson.

Goaltending duties for the Wings were the sole responsibility of Hasek, til the third period when Howard came off the bench. Each netminder gave up a red light.

On 33 shots Fleury stopped 28, but it was his poor play towards the end that truly cost the Pens the game. The loss makes the Penguins 1-3 in the pre-season, as they look to take on the Sabres Friday night in Pittsburgh. Game time is 7:30.

Also worth noting, following the game the Penguins announced they have sent first round draft pick Angelo Esposito back to the QMJHL Remparts. Should his play improve, and perhaps even have a repeater of the 05/06 season, he'll be in the black and gold full time soon enough. Till then, he has a lot to prove and in the process, even more people to disprove.

Penguins Preseason - Defensive Standoff

2007-09-21T22:49:00.000-04:00

vs

0-1

Otherwise known for their offensive assault, the Penguins shifted gears tonight and showed they can also be just as good on defense. For a solid 60 minutes Ty Conklin displayed his skills between the pipes, before finally giving up the only goal of the game to the Red Wings' vet Chris Chelios 1:18 seconds in to overtime.

For all preseason is worth, this game showed a defensive minded Penguins core. Even the leading shooters on the night for the Penguins live on the blueline. Defenseman Mark Eaton tallied the team high three shots on the night, with both Scuderi and Letang behind him with two each. Jordan Staal and Ryan Malone led forwards in shots, contributing two each to the teams total of 19.

The real highlights of this game? Not much. If anything it is on all the Red Wings' side, as they blocked a total of 16 shots on the night. Kind of hard to score when you can't get a shot in on the goalie. And who was in goal for the Wings? None other than the reliable Chris Osgood, adding another win to his preseason record and gaining the Detroit Free Press' first star on the night.

On eight attempts with a man advantage the Penguins failed to convert. Compared to the Red Wings' four powerplays on the night, the Penguins should have taken advantage of this gift. Unfortunately for them, that was not the case.

The Penguins return home tomorrow night to take on the Red Wings in the preseason opener at Mellon Arena. Game time is 7:30.

NHL.com Feature

2007-09-21T16:24:00.000-04:00

Just a quick update before the game tonight: NHL.com has been featuring some great articles and input for teams around the league. It's an in depth look at the roster, specifying positions, weaknesses and exceptional areas. Take a look here.

Pens are off to Detroit tonight. A game recap will follow.