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Penguins Fall to Sabres 4-3

The Pittsburgh Penguins lost their final pre-season game tonight in Buffalo by a score of 4-3.  With the loss, the Penguins finished the pre-season at 1-3-2, with the only win coming in Game #2 against Montreal.  Sidney Crosby, Petr Sykora, Mark Recchi, Gary Roberts, Alain Nasreddine, Mike Weaver, and Kris Letang were all scratches for the game (presumed healthy scratches). 

The Buffalo Sabres got on the board first at 15:53 of the first period on a power play goal by D. Roy with assists from T. Vanek and M. Afinogenov.  At the time, Mark Eaton was serving a 2-minute minor for charging.  It was the only goal of the first period with the Sabres outshooting the Penguins 8-5.

In the second period, both teams picked up a goal.  Buffalo struck first on an even strength goal from D. Kalinen with assists by T. Vanek and D. Stafford at 4:32.  The Penguins battled back to within a point on a short-handed goal by Maxime Talbot at 12:10 from Colby Armstrong, while Jarrko Ruutu was in the box on an interference call.  The Penguins outshot the Sabres in the second 7-4.

In the third period, Pittsburgh picked up the next goal on an even strength attempt by Colby Armstrong at 1:47.  Jordan Staal and Maxime Talbot each picked up an assist on the marker.  Pittsburgh then took the lead at 8:28 on a power-play goal by Sergei Gonchar, with assists by Ryan Whitney and Erik Christensen.  Unofrtunately, Buffalo took over the remainder of the game scoring the tying point on a power-play goal by J. Pominville (from D. Roy and M. Afinogenov), while Maxime Talbot was in the box on a tripping call.  The game winner came on an even strength chance by T. Connolly from D. Kalinen and J. Hecht.  The Sabres outshot the Penguins 12-5 in the final frame, and had the edge in shots overall at 24-17. 

Marc-Andre Fleury was in net for the Penguins and had some tremendous saves throughout the game.  However, the lack of quality defensive zone coverage by the Penguins allowed too many goals on net, particularly in the latter half of the third period.  Power play chances were even for both teams with 6 penalties and 12 minutes a side.  The Penguins had a much better showing on the face-off tonight, winning 55% of the draws.  Maxime Talbot had a goal and an assist tonight and picked up the game’s 2nd star.  Colby Armstrong also had a goal and an assist. 

Click HERE for the Penguins Rink Rat Post Game Report. 

And with that, the Penguins complete their pre-season, albeit less successfully than they might have hoped.  Nonetheless, the purpose of pre-season is to assess the team’s prospects, work the lines, and get back into game form.  Hopefully the Penguins can apply the right team and line adjustments to enable them to bolt out of the gate early in the regular season.  I was excited by the level of play that I witnessed in Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury, and Jordan Staal in the pre-season, particularly Malkin who really looks ready to turn it up a notch.  Hopefully he can deliver and be consistent throughout the whole season.  I am concerned by the current state of readiness of the Penguins defensive corps.  Hopefully they can pull it together before too many regular season games come and go.

Tune in next week as the Penguins drop the puck in their season opener at the Carolina Hurricanes at 7PM on Friday, Oct 5, 2007.  NHLPens.com will be hosting an audio feed, scoreboard and live chat at the “In Game” room.  It is a fun way to follow the game with other fans if you can’t be there in person.  Check back and look for “In Game” links on game day.  Also, be sure to check back daily for updated articles and forum postings on your favorite NHL Team, the Pittsburgh Penguins!

Pens Lose to Sabres 6-5

The Pittsburgh Penguins put on a good show tonight, but lost to the Buffalo Sabres 6-5 in a back and forth, offensive juggernaut of a game.  The game, shown live over the internet, was accompanied here on NHLPens.com with live chat.  Thanks to the fans who stopped by and participated in the live chat room during the game.   

In the first period, the Buffalo Sabres put up the first two points against the Penguins on even strength goals from Vanek and Campbell at 1:26 and 12:50.  The Penguins chipped one away from the Sabres lead on a power play goal by Sidney Crosby at 15:34, with assists from Evgeni Malkin and Colby Armstrong.

In the second period, it was the Penguins who struck first to even the score at 2 on an even strength goal by Jordan Staal at 5:37, with assists from Sidney Crosby and Mark Recchi.  The Pens then struck again for their first lead of the game at 17:53 on a power play goal by Sidney Crosby, his second of the night, with assists from Evgeni Malkin and Ryan Whitney.  The Sabres evened it back up at 3-apiece less than a minute later on a goal from Tallinder at 18:28. 

In the third period, Pittsburgh again struck first on a nice power play goal from Ryan Malone at 2:32, with an assist from Erik Christensen.  At 6:19, the Sabres tied it up at 4 on an even strength goal from Roy.  Pittsburgh bought the lead back at 8:59 on an even strength goal by Erik Christensen, with assists from Ryan Malone and Ryan Whitney.  But the Sabres came back to tie it yet again at 16:35 on an even strength goal from Zagrapan, and scored the game winner at 19:32 on an unassisted even strength goal by Roy.  Evgeni Malkin slapped one in at the buzzer, in what would have been the game tying goal, but the clock had just expired less than a second before the puck went across the line and the goal was disallowed. 

Sidney Crosby finished the night with two goals and an assist, and took a hard hit against the boards which sent him to the bench doubled over in pain for a shift.  Evgeni Malkin had two assists and was phenomenal in the game tonight.  He drew four of the five Sabres penalties, and was constantly making plays at both ends of the ice.  Crosby picked up the second start of the game and Malkin the third star.  The Penguins were again held to less than 50% on the faceoff (48%). 

Penguins goaltender Dany Sabourin did not have a great outing, giving up 6 goals on 23 shots (0.739).  He did have a few really good saves, and he really didn’t get any help at all from the Pens defense.  In fact, the defense was largely ineffective in the game.  Defenseman Darryl Sydor had an especially bad night, passing the puck directly to the Buffalo offense and then letting them skate into the zone and shoot right through his legs for the Sabres 5th goal.  He was on the ice for 4 of 6 Sabres goals.  Defenseman Kris Letang did not have an overly impressive game either, although he did put one heckuva shot in on goal from the point.  Adam Hall left the game with a cut to the nose from a high stick late in the second period and did not return. 

The Penguins travel to Buffalo for a rematch on Saturday night in their 6th and final game of the pre-season.  The Penguins are looking to get some momentum in aadvance of the regular season start next week.  The Pens offense made good strides, but their goaltending and defense didn’t gain any traction tonight.  I anticipate Marc Andre Fleury will get the nod tomorrow, and hopefully the defense will do a little self assessment overnight.   

Taffe Called Up, Brent Sent Down

General Manager Ray Shero announced this afternoon that the Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled 26-year old Left Wing Jeff Taffe from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and in-turn assigned 23-year old Center Tim Brent to the AHL affiliate.  Taffe, who was picked up as a free agent by the Penguins on July 13, 2007, had just recently been moved from Penguins training camp to the AHL affiliate on September 22, 2007.   

Jeff Taffe was a St Louis Blues first round draft pick in 2000, being selected 30th overall that year.  He attended the University of Minnesota where he helped lead Minnesota to the 2002 NCAA Championship, scoring the game-winning goal in the semifinal win against Michigan and the game-winning goal in the West Regional quarterfinal against Colorado College.  He finished that season ranked second in the NCAA in goals (34) and fifth overall in points (58). 

While playing for Minnesota, Taffe’s rights were traded by the Blues to the Phoenix Coyotes.  He spent his first season in the NHL playing with the Phoenix Coyotes in 2002/03, and has spent time going back and forth between the AHL and NHL ever since.  Almost all of his NHL career has been with the Coyotes.  He did have a short stint (3 months, 2 games) with the New York Rangers after a trade involving Jamie Lundmark, but was traded back to Phoenix in a deal for Martin Sonnenberg.  Taffe has played in 100 NHL games and netted 28 Points (15G, 13A).

Tim Brent was an Anaheim Ducks third round draft pick in 2004, being selected 75th overall that year.  Brent played 15-games for the Ducks last season, his first in the NHL, scoring 1 goal.  The Penguins acquired him from Anaheim in a trade for Stephen Dixon on June 23, 2007. 

The Penguins continue training camp with 27 players, 4 more than they will have once the regular season starts next week.  They currently have 16 forwards, 9 defensemen, and 2 goaltenders for a total of 27 players in training camp. 

The Pittsburgh Penguins will play their final two pre-season games this weekend against the Buffalo Sabres, starting at home on Friday night and finishing in Buffalo on Saturday. 

Back to Mellon Arena

The Pitsburgh Penguins completed their teambuilding/leadership sessions at West Point today and are returning to Pittsburgh.  Training camp resumes on Thursday with a full practice scheduled at Mellon Arena at 11AM.  Like all previous sessions, the on-ice practice will be open and free to the public.  Doors will open at 11AM.  The Pittsburgh Penguins are reporting that the East lounge will be serving concessions during practice, and PenStation will be open and selling Penguins merchandise.

The Penguins resume their pre-season play on Friday night at home against the Buffalo Sabres.  The game will be at 7:30PM and will be broadcast free over the internet on PensTV.  This is the 5th of 6 pre-season games, and is the first of a home and home series against the Sabres.  The final game will be played on Saturday night in Buffalo.  As you likely know, the Penguins and the Sabres are set to play an otdoor game on New Year’s Day.      

There is no word on the status of Sidney Crosby and his reported sore groin.  All accounts have stated that it is not a serious injury, and was less painful than last year’s injury in which he missed three regular season games. 

Sore Groin Sidelines Crosby

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette has reported that Sidney Crosby left practice at West Point early on Monday due to soreness in his groin.  While the severity of his current injury is unknown, a groin pull can be can be a very debilitating and longer term injury for a hockey player.  Sidney Crosby previously experienced a groin injury during the 2006-07 season.  The injury sidelined him for a total of three games in late November.  Crosby is reported as saying his current pain is less than that which he experienced in November 2006.  He is hopeful he can still take part in the West Point team-building exercises and maneuvers, however, an abundance of caution would suggest that he be rested until all signs of the injury are gone. 

Training Camp, Army Style

The Pittsburgh Penguins returned to the United States Military Academy at West Point today to endure three days of training, army style.  For the next few days, the Penguins will be put through a series of unique and physically demanding scenarios.  Aside from the physical fitness aspects, the overaching goal of this unique training is to develop and foster an enduring sense of team, and teamwork.  The military has perfected this type of training as a way to show soldiers how a team can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles by working together.  Of course, this type of training has very tangible benefits within team sports like hockey.

Sidney Crosby, discussing the return to West Point, told Pittsburgh Penguins.com “It’s nice to kind of get away with just us and go through some team building things and get pushed to prepare for the season.  We had good chemistry last year, but going through the exercises at

West Point was something that really brought us together.”  For the second year in a row, the team returns to this hockey boot camp under the direction of former Army Ranger and current National Guardsmen, First Sergeant J.B. Spisso.

 Click HERE for the Pittsburgh Penguins PensTV feature coverage of the West Point trip.

The Penguins anticipate that the boot camp exercises will be different than they were last year, but just as demanding and fun.  It is a crash course in relying upon one another to accomplish a shared goal.  This is the first significant opportunity of the new season for the Penguins to bond and develop as a team.  This type of training can have a profound effect on the way the players support each other both on and off the ice, and is sure to pay dividends to the players and the Penguins organization. 

In addition to the demanding team-building and leadership exercises, the Penguins will also endure daily on-ice practices.  It is crunch time for training camp as the Penguins organization has pared down the team and nearly finalized its starting roster.  With the regular season less than two weeks away, the Penguins have the West Point experience and then two final pre-season games against the Buffalo Sabres this weekend to prepare.  They need to make the most of it so that they can come out of the blocks with a strong start, ever so important to setting the stage for a successful season and playoff-run.   

 

Pens Lose 5-2; Cut 3 More Players

The Pittsburgh Penguins lost for the second night in a row on Saturday to “Mr Papa’s” Detroit Red Wings on the home end of a home-and-home pre-season series.  The Penguins were edged by a score of 5-2 in this, their fourth of 6 pre-season games.   

The Penguins had a strong first period with Marc Eaton scoring the lone goal of the frame with assists going to Sidney Crosby and Brooks Orpik.  The goal came on the power play, one of 5 power plays for the Penguins in the first period. 

Detroit answered back in the second period with even strength goals from Draper and Zetterberg at 10:22 and 19:59.  The second goal came with just 0.6 seconds left on the clock for the second period, sending the Penguins into the third period with a one goal defecit. 

In the third, the Red Wings struck first with an even strength goal by Kronvall at 17:00.  The Penguins responded quickly at 18:08 with a power play goal by Evgeni Malkin with assists by Crosby and Gonchar, closing the gap to one goal again.  With the Red Wings Hudler in the box for holding, the Penguins pulled the goaltender to try and tie the game in the last 2-minutes of play.  Henrik Zetterberg was able to take advantage of the Penguins empty net and scored a short-handed goal at 18:54, his second goal of the night.  With the Penguins now down by 2-goals and less than a minute to play, the Red Wings Mikael Samuelsson scored the last tally for the night at 19:23, to finalize the score at 5-2.    

The Pittsburgh Penguins were outshot 33-22 by the Red Wings and were man-handled on the face-offs.  Detroit won 62% of the face-offs.  On the power play, the Penguins won a dismal 18% of the face-offs.  Red Wings Henrik Zetterberg was an impressive force on the ice, finishing the night with 4-points (2G, 2A) and was named the first star of the game.  Mikael Samuelsson had a goal and three assists for the Red Wings, who have won 3 of their 4 pre-season games to date.  The two teams are not scheduled to play against each other during the regular season.

Click HERE for the Pittsburgh Penguins Post-Game Rink Rat Report with Phil Bourque and Mike Lange (2:54). 

Training Camp Update:  The Penguins hit the road for West Point today for pre-season team-building and specialized training.  General Manager Ray Shero announced 3 additional cuts to the roster in advance of the trip to West Point.  Most notable, the Penguins first round draft pick Angelo Esposito (C) was assigned to the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL.  Nathan Smith (C) and Joe Rullier (D) have been assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.  This brings the team down to 27 players (16 Forwards, 9 Defensemen, and 2 Goaltenders).  The Penguins will have to cut 4 more players prior to the start of the season.   The Penguins will be at West Point Monday through Wednesday, and then come back for the last two pre-season games on the 28th and 29th against the Buffalo Sabres.

Penguins Cut Team to 30

General Manager Ray Shero announced the cut of ten players from Training Camp today, drawing the size to 30 in advance of tonight’s game against Detroit.  It is anticipated that this number may well be cut again to 23 prior to Sunday’s team departure for West Point, however, the Penguins could opt to bring all of the remaining members to West Point.   

The Penguins organization moved center Dustin Jeffrey to Sault Ste. Marie of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).  Jeffrey was the sixth-round selection (171st overall) of the Penguins in the 2007 Entry Draft.  The other nine players were assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, . 

The following players were assigned to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins:

• Forwards:  Connor James, Tyler Kennedy, Chris Minard, Jeff Taffe, and Tim Wallace

• Defensemen:  Alex Goligoski, Ryan Lannon, and Ben Lovejoy

• Goaltender:  Ty Conklin

The Penguins reduced team of thirty consists of 18 forwards, 10 defensemen, and two goaltenders.

Pens Lose to Wings in OT

The Pittsburgh Penguins lost pre-season game #3 to the Detroit Red Wings in Detroit on Friday night.  The game remained scoreless through the end of regulation.  Chris Chelios netted the game winner at 1:18 of the Overtime Period from the bottom of the left circle on a feed from Pavel Datsyuk.  The two teams meet again on Saturday in Pittsburgh, when the Penguins conduct their 2007 home opener pre-season game. 

The Penguins were held scoreless despite having twice as many chances on the power play (total of 16-minutes), including two chances on the 5-on-3.  Despite the loss, Pittsburgh Penguin goaltender Ty Conklin had a very good game with 22 saves, and picked up the 2nd Star of the game. 

Click HERE for Phil Bourque’s post-game Rink Rat Report.

After playing Detroit Saturday night, the Penguins will be prepping for the trip to West Point for on-ice training and team building from Monday through Wednesday, September 24th  through 26th.  It is expected that the training camp roster will be cut down to the final team of 23 players on Sunday when the Penguins hit the road to West Point, freeing up the non-selectees to report to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton training camp.  There is very little room for newcomers on this team, with the possibility that only 1 or 2 defensemen and/or 1 or 2 forwards may be pulled up into the final 23. 

The excitement is continuing to build as Hockey season is creeping ever nearer.  There are less than two weeks to go until the puck officially drops on the 2007-08 NHL Regular Season.  On Monday, we should know the final team composition for the start of the season, and the final team-building process will go into full swing. 

Pens fans fasten your seatbelts and make sure your seatback and tray tables are in the full upright and locked position, as this team is about to take off! 

Penguins Town Hall Video

The Pittsburgh Penguins posted the video from last night’s Town Hall meeting for Season Ticket Holders (STH) today.  The following are the links to the various video clips and a short description of what is presented in each:

• Ken Sawyer Speaks – 8:35 Minutes – discusses new arena
• David Morehouse Speaks – 3:16 Minutes – discusses STH appreciation/involvement
• Ray Shero Speaks – 6:02 Minutes – discusses team accomplishments, forward focus, training camp
• Player Question & Answer – 28:19 Minutes – Crosby, Armstrong, Whitney, Fleury, Staal

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