New Year’s Retrospective
With the Olympics-altered 2009/10 season already half over, I thought it would be interesting to take a look back and see where the Penguins stand on this New Year’s Day as compared to last. Just like the stock market, past performance is no gaurantee of future returns…but it still helps provide some context on how the team has performed so far when benchmarked against where they were at this point last season.
Last season, you will recall that the Penguins started out under a different coach and began the season with their top two defensemen out of the lineup (Sergei Gonchar for shoulder surgery and Ryan Whitney for foot surgery). In their stead, the Penguins had to depend on some very young, NHL-inexperienced defensemen in Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski to step up and help hold the blueline. They also started the season in Stockholm Sweden, and had to deal with the challenges of international travel during the outset of the regular season. This made for a tumultuous month of October in which they went 5-4-2. They recovered quite nicely in November, posting an impressive 9-2-1 record, before slipping to 5-8-1 in December. By New Year’s Eve last season, the Penguins had compiled the following stats:
New Year’s Eve 2008:
-
Games Played: 37
-
Record: 19-4-4
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Points: 42 (57% points efficiency)
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Goals For: 118 (3.2 per game)
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Goals Against: 110 (2.98 per game)
This season, the Penguins started the season with a healthy roster, and seemed to pick up right where they left off in June. The Penguins jumped out to a blistering pace in October, going 11-3-0 for the month and outscoring their opponents 48-31. Then came November, and the Penguins started to drop like flies to injury, with the Penguins’ defense taking the biggest hit. In November, the Penguins lost 65 man-games due to injury, including 5 of their 6 regular defensive starters and one player from each forward line. November man-games lost to injuries included Alex Goligoski (missed 7-games), Sergei Gonchar (missed 7-games), Tyler Kennedy (missed 11-games), Chris Kunitz (missed 9-games), Kris Letang (missed 9-games), Evgeni Malkin (missed 5-games), Jay McKee (missed 6-games), Brooks Orpik (missed 4-games), and Max Talbot (missed 7-games). Despite this incredible challenge, the Penguins still managed an 8-6-0 record in November, but were outscored 46-44 as their defensive lines at one point consisted of over 80% call-ups from their AHL affiliate. To their credit, the call-ups performed admirably under the ciircumstances, and 4 of the 6 games lost were early in the month at the outset of the injury maelstrom. Once the Penguins started to get healthy again, they went on to post an 7-5-1 record in December, outscoring their opponents again 38-29. Sidney Crosby has been having a very good season so far, and is on pace to score 46-goals, while Jordan Staal is right on pace for another 22-goal season. As of New Year’s Eve this season, the Penguins have posted the following stats:
New Year’s Eve 2009:
-
Games Played: 41
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Record: 26-14-1
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Points: 53 (63.1% points efficiency)
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Goals For: 130 (3.17 per game)
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Goals Against: 106 (2.59 per game)
Observations: The Penguins have arguably posted better results at this point over last season, even with the short off-season, condensed game schedules, and rash of injuries dealt to them in November. The Penguins have accumulated more wins and points over last season, and while their offensive production has been on-par with last season (even with Evgeni Malkin missing a couple of weeks), their defensive game has noticeably improved. This is notable given that while the Penguins played last season without their top-2 defensemen, this season they played most of the month of November with just one of their starting defensemen in the lineup. The Penguins have also benefitted from a sharper Marc-Andre Fleury and a very solid backup netminder in Brent Johnson. In season’s past, Marc-Andre Fleury has had slower starts and strong finishes. This season, while he has had a few disappointing outings, he started the season much stronger in net and is second in the league in wins behind Martin Brodeur.
The Way Forward: Last season the Penguins slumped over the holidays losing all 5 games from December 27th through Jan 5th. This season, the Penguins have so far lost 3 games since December 27th with two games coming up this weekend. Last season the Penguins would go on to win just 5 games in January, losing 9-games that month (1 in OT), with troubles continuing into mid-February before Coach Therrien was released in favor of Bylsma. Over the past couple of seasons, the Penguins’ big points drive has come down the stretch as they have headed towards the playoffs. Last season, for example, they went on an 18-3-4 tear under Coach Bylsma after mid-February. The season prior, they went 15-6-3 in that same timeframe under Coach Therrien.
While it is impossible to know what this season holds in store, fans can hope that the Penguins will follow suit from the past 2 seasons and have another strong finish. However, there are a couple of things that could make this season’s stretch drive quite challenging for the Penguins. First, coming off from back-to-back extended seasons, there is a real question as to whether the fatigue and/or injury factor will set in for the Penguins. Perhaps they got over that hump in November, but there still remains a genuinely increasing risk that this could become a factor as the season wears on. Second, what effect will the Olympic break have on the Penguins (and their opponents, for that matter). For the stars who have been selected to repesent their countries, the Olympics present a distraction and another risk for fatigue and injury that could impact their performance on return to the NHL. For those not participating, the break could provide a welcome rest, but at the risk of accumulating a little rust in their games. The Olympic break also runs the risk of affecting team momentum and chemistry. The Olympians will have to adjust to playing with new linemates, and all players will see their team’s cohesiveness disrupted at a critical point in the schedule as they run down the stretch towards the playoffs.
It will certainly be an interesting second half to follow, with the Penguins looking for that ever-elusive 3-peat visit to the Eastern Conference Finals and the Stanley Cup Finals. While the odds are certainly against them, we have to ask whether there is any team better suited to face this mighty challenge? We think not.
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NHLPens.com Now Enabled for Mobile!
December 31, 2009 by Paul
Filed under Announcements
NHLPens.com is now enabled for Mobile devices. Simply point your mobile browser at http://nhlpens.com and the site will automatically detect a mobile browser and serve up the site in a mobile friendly fashion. It has been tested to perfection on an iPod browser, but could potentially have some issues with different mobile browsing platforms. Please let us know if you experience any difficulties with this new capability by sending an e-mail to Paul@NHLPens.com. Thanks and have a Happy New Year! Let’s Go Pens!
Turn the Page
Nearly halfway into the season, the Pittsburgh Penguins have managed to do what has historically been difficult for a team coming off from a Stanley Cup win…turn the page. With the summer parade and hometown Cup celebrations with friends, families, and mentors behind them, the Penguins have quickly regrouped to start the new season focused on one thing…winning again. So far, it has paid off. With 38 games behind them, the Penguins find themselves just 1 point out of the league lead despite experiencing a challenging rash of early season injuries to much of their offensive and most of their defensive lines.
Credit the young coach/hockey veteran, Dan Bylsma, and his staff for getting the young minds back on the right page from day one and managing through the early adversity of this season’s injuries. Credit the seemingly veteran Captain, Sidney Crosby, for his burning and infectious desire to “do it again”, and not be content with accomplishments of the past. Credit the Penguins’ young players and veterans alike for sharing their Captain’s desire, for not forgetting what it takes to win, and for not letting the glory of last season’s Cup win spill over into an attitude of entitlement this season. And lastly, credit the depth of the organization and the AHL players for their energy, skills, and ability to step up into the big league and fit seamlessly into the Penguins’ system. The Penguins have indeed assembled a winning organization from top to bottom, and despite the commercial cheesiness of the “Defy Ordinary” marketing campaign, the tagline has very aptly and succinctly defined the identity that the Penguins players themselves seem to have embraced. This is no ordinary hockey organization.
Quickly dispelling the thoughts of a Cup hangover in Pittsburgh, the Penguins jumped out to an impressive 11-3-0 record in October, outscoring their opponents 48-31-0. That included 4 overtime shootout wins, putting an exclamation point on their ability to find ways to win games and showcasing Marc-Andre Fleury’s and Brent Johnson’s ability to close the door. November brought a cascade of injuries that slowed the Penguins down, as they fought through a 4-game losing streak and finished the month 8-6-0, being outscored 46-44. During the month, the Penguins saw no less than 65 man-games lost due to injury, including 5 of their 6 regular defensive starters. The maelstrom of injuries included Alex Goligoski (missed 7-games), Sergei Gonchar (missed 7-games), Tyler Kennedy (missed 11-games), Chris Kunitz (missed 9-games), Kris Letang (missed 9-games), Evgeni Malkin (missed 5-games), Jay McKee (missed 6-games), Brooks Orpik (missed 4-games), and Max Talbot (missed 7-games). So far during the month of December, the Penguins have managed to return to health and have recorded a 7-2-1 record by outscoring their opponents 32-19 as they head into tonight’s game against the Maple Leafs.
Despite their winning record and success at overcoming injuries in the first half of the season, the Penguins are noticeably lacking in one area of their game, proving that not quite everything has “defied ordinary”. In fact the Penguins’ powerplay, the least effective in the league at just 15%, has downright defied belief. There are few explanations to account for this utter lack of performance coming from a team that possesses the firepower of the Penguins. However, one might recall that the Penguins struggled on the powerplay in the first half of last season as well, and recovered quite nicely down the stretch. At least during the first half of last season they had a viable excuse with Sergei Gonchar, the team’s most effective powerplay Quarterback, out of the lineup. There has been no such easy excuse this season. Recent changes by the coaching staff on the Penguins’ powerplay seem to offer a glimpse of hope as they move forward, however. Most noticeable is the move of Crosby and Malkin to opposite sides of the ice. This combination has opened up the ice, provided more options and less predictability, and seems to be yielding some results. Now if they can just get some consistent traffic in front of the net, they might just become the powerplay juggernaut that they have the potential to be.
It appears that the Penguins’ biggest foes in the Eastern Conference as we near the halfway point are the uber defensively minded New Jersey Devils and the offensively laden Washington Capitals. The defensively stingey Buffalo Sabres also bear watching, as do the Boston Bruins (if the Bruins can ever find a way to regain their offensive punch). What remains to be seen is how all of these teams (including the Penguins) will perform in the second half of the season, especially given the upcoming Olympic break. Will the Olympics prove to be too big of a distraction to maintain the momentum of the league’s current leaders? What about injuries, and how will that affect the road ahead? Can the Penguins maintain the pace they have been on given their two consecutive back-to-back short off-seasons? How will the trade deadline change the landscape of the current challengers?
The only thing certain at this point is that the Penguins have effectively turned the page from last season’s triumph and have successfully avoided the pitfalls of a Stanley Cup hangover. The rest lies in the hands of the Hockey Gods.
Penguins Host Blackhawks Tonight
They are a team that the Penguins rarely get to play, but tonight’s matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks should be an entertaining and spirited game between two of the league’s top-5 teams. The Penguins have not played the Blackhawks since Pittsburgh beat them 5-4 in overtime on February 27th of this year. While Jonathan Toews scored his first career hat trick in that game, the Penguins got an overtime powerplay goal from Evgeni Malkin to ice the win. Similar to last season’s matchup, the Penguins will play tonight’s game without the services of Sidney Crosby who will be out of the lineup with a sore groin. Mark Letestu has been called up from Wilkes-Barre to backfill the roster. Tonight’s game is the only regular season pairing against the Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks come into Mellon Arena having won just once in their last 4 outings, but prior to that had managed an 8-game winning streak. They currently hold 2nd place in the Western Conference, and 5th in the league. Their defense has given up the fewest shots per game of any team in the league, and they have allowed the 2nd fewest goals against. Their special teams are balanced and in the top-10 of the league, and their offense puts up 32 shots per game on average. Their offensive lines are graced by the likes of Marian Hossa, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Patrick Sharp, as well as the offensively gifted defenseman Duncan Keith. Since picking Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane in 2006 and 2007, the Blackhawks have been on a meteoric rise culminating in last season’s loss in the Western Conference finals. They picked up Marian Hossa during the off-season after he missed out on his chance at winning the Stanley Cup in Detroit at the hands of his former teammates.
The Penguins should have their hands full with a talented and motivated Blackhawks team looking to reverse their fortunes of late. Marc-Andre Fleury will need to be on his game tonight, as will Evgeni Malkin and the Staal line. The defense cannot afford to give the Blackhawks any room, as they have the talent necessary to capitalize on those mistakes.
Fleury of Wins Continue Against Lightning
October 18, 2009 by Paul
Filed under Features, Highlights
On Saturday night, the Penguins got goals from Sergei Gonchar, Mike Rupp, Pascal Dupuis, and Bill Guerin. Sidney Crosby had 2 assists, and Malkin contributed with an assist. Newcomer Jay McKee continued his role on the Penguins’ defense with a game-leading 7 blocked shots, while Brooks Orpik dished out the most candy with 4-hits. Alex Goligoski kept up his torrid pace with another assist, his 5th assist and 6th point in 8-games; he leads the team with a +8 rating. The one area the Penguins didn’t fare so well on Saturday night was the faceoff circle where they only managed to win 41% of their faceoffs. The Penguins powerplay continued to be somewhat anemic as they went 1 for 7 on the powerplay.
The Penguins get a few nights off before returning to the ice on Wednesday night against the St Louis Blues, the 2nd of their 5-game homestand at Mellon Arena. The game will be televised on Versus, so unless a miracle happens between now and Wednesday night, DirecTV fans will once again be left out in the cold. If you are affected by the DirecTV/Versus issue, plase feel free to sign the petition to DirecTV.
Penguins Lines
October 13, 2009 by Paul
Filed under Announcements
We recently added a new page to the site to show the Penguins lines. We did this after seeing that a significant quantity of searches were looking for the penguins lineup. We suspect that this is mostly from fans of our opponents. While we don’t always know what the coach is going to do on any given night, we have posted the generic lineup at http://nhlpens.com/team/penguins-lines/. You can also navigate to it from the blog by clicking the “Team” navigation button and then “Lines”. Hopefully this will satisfy the needs of those looking for that information. I plan to add am additional table that shows depth at each position (to include AHL talent). More to come!
Pens’ Depth Nets 4-1 Win in Ottawa
October 13, 2009 by Paul
Filed under Features, Highlights
While the Pittsburgh Penguins have excelled under the leadership and talent of Sidney Crosby, the offensive punch of Evgeni Malkin, and the stellar netminding of Marc-Andre Fleury, it is their depth that makes them a great hockey team. That depth was on display and key to Monday night’s 4-1 win over Ottawa, preserving and extending the Penguins’ undefeated road record to 4-0. While Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby were held without a point, the Penguins scoresheet contained 9 other players from the Penguins’ lineup to include Tyler Kennedy (2G), Jordan Staal (1G), Bill Guerin (1G), Craig Adams (2A), Chris Kunitz (1A), Mark Eaton (1A), Jay McKee (1A), Matt Cooke (1A) and Mike Rupp (1A). For McKee and Rupp, it was their first point while donning the Penguins’ jersey. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 30 of 31 shots for an impressive 0.968 save percentage on the night.
The Penguins fell behind 1-0 at 15:59 of the first period after Milan Michalek took a pass from Jason Spezza and beat an acrobatic Marc-Andre Fleury with a very savvy play. The Penguins, who have made an early habit of answering goals, came back quickly with a goal of their own just 39 seconds later. Making an up ice drive with Sidney Crosby streaking towards the net, Bill Guerin fired a shot that rebounded off the boards, bounced off the twine and trickled back out in front of the net. Guerin quickly dove around the defenseman and while his skates were airborne chipped the puck up over the shoulder of Pascal Leclaire Gordy Howe style. It was a beauty of a goal for the 38-year old Guerin (soon to be 39). Chris Kunitz and Mrk Eaton were credited with the assists on the play. Shots were even at 9 in the first, and the Penguins were 0 for 1 on the powerplay and 1 for 1 on the kill.
In the 2nd period, it was the Tyler Kennedy show as he netted 2-goals to put the Penguins up 3-1. Kennedy’s first goal came from in close as he snuck the puck past Leclaire at 6:16. Jay McKee and Craig Adams picked up the assists. His second goal came at 18:02 on a blistering rocket from the point. This time the assists were awarded to Matt Cooke and Craig Adams. The Penguins outshot the Senators 10-8 in the period and both teams were 0 for 1 on the powerplay.
In the 3rd period, it was Jordan Staal getting his 3rd goal in 3-games as he took a turnover pass from Mike Rupp and buried it in the net behind Leclaire to make it 4-1. The Penguins had a rash of penalties in the 3rd period, but managed to keep the Senators at bay with Marc-Andre Fleury turning aside all 14-shots on net in the period. The Penguins managed 9-shots of their own in the period.
Tyler Kennedy led the team with 6-shots and his 2-goals were his just rewards for his gritty effort. Aside from netting his 3rd goal in as many games, Jordan Staal continued his mastery of the faceoff circle winning 9 of 15 (60%). Sporting one of the team’s 3 black eyes, Craig Adams led the team with 4-hits, had 2 assists, 3 blocked shots and was a +3 on the night. In my opinion, he was the team’s unsung hero of the night.
Indeed, it is the Penguins’ depth that makes them a formidable force on the ice. With three highly potent scoring lines, three offensively gifted defensemen, one of the league’s best shot blockers, and and outstanding goaltending duo, the Penguins are a triple threat of talent, depth, and grit. They will finish up their road trip on Wednesday night in Carolina, where they will meet the Hurricanes for the first time since sweeping them in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Penguins Roll Through Toronto 5-2
October 11, 2009 by Paul
Filed under Features, Highlights
The Pittsburgh Penguins added another impressive win on Saturday night as they rolled through Toronto and beat the Maple Leafs 5-2 to remain unbeaten on the road so far this season. Without even a hint that they were playing their 3rd game in 4 nights, the Penguins came out flying and quickly established complete dominance over the Leafs. It appeared early on that the Leafs were intimidated by last season’s Stanley Cup Champions, and the Penguins took full advantage of that by feasting on the Leafs’ lack of confidence, tentative play and shaky goaltending.
The Penguins jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, after posting an offensive onslaught in which they outshot the Leafs 14-2. The first goal came from Matt Cooke at 3:20 when he wristed the puck through a screen and over the shoulder of Leafs’ netminder Vesa Toskala. The lone assist went to Tyler Kennedy who had stripped the puck from Jason Blake before masterfully moving it to Cooke in the slot. The goal was Cooke’s 100th of his NHL career. Then at 10:23, with the Penguins working on their first powerplay, Sergei Gonchar unleashed his signature blast from the point and beat Toskala five-hole. Chris Kunitz and Ruslan Fedotenko picked the assists on the power play goal. Despite initiating two fights in the first period (Orr/Godard and Mayers/Adams), the Maple Leafs were unable to establish anything on the ice. In fact, the two fights were the only sign that the Maple Leafs even had a pulse in the first period.
In the 2nd period, it looked briefly like the Leafs might stumble their way back into the game as Jay Rosehill pushed in his first NHL goal from the side of the net to make it 2-1. But immediately following the goal, Matt Stajan took a holding penalty and exposed the Leafs’ impotent penalty killing unit once again. It only took 15-seconds for the dynamic duo of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to cash in on the opportunity, as Crosby collected a rebound off Malkin’s shot and netted it behind Toskala to make it 3-1. Bill Guerin picked up the other assist on the Penguins’ 2nd power play goal of the night. At 14:10, Jay Rosehill was called for a boarding Sergei Gonchar and the Pens’ lethal powerplay went to work yet again. This time it took 21-seconds for the Penguins to convert as the two-headed monster again made short work of the Leaf’s penalty kill attempt. Crosby used his backhand to deflect Malkin’s shot past the defeated Toskala to send the score up 4-1. Sergei Gonchar picked up the additional assist on the Pens’ 3rd consecutive power play goal, now 3-for-3 on the night. The Leafs actually outshot the Penguins 10-8 in the 2nd period, but their play was largely ineffective.
Although it is still very early in the season, the Penguins currently lead the Eastern Conference and are tied for 1st in the league with the Calgary Flames. The Penguins have a day off on Sunday before traveling to Ottawa for Monday night’s game against the Senators.
NHLPens.com Prize Drawing Announced!
October 10, 2009 by Paul
Filed under Announcements, Features
NHLPens.com will hold a random drawing from among all registered subscribers on 1 Nov 2009. The winner will recieve the Pittsburgh Penguins 2009 Stanley Cup Champions DVD, absolutely free of charge (a $30+ value after shipping/handling)! To be eligible for the drawing, simply enter your e-mail address in the “Subscribe” section of the website on the upper right hand side of the home page at http://NHLPens.com. We will randomly select a subscriber on 1 Nov 09 to recieve the DVD and will post the name of the winner on the site no later than 7 Nov 09. If you are selected as the winner, you will be notified by e-mail and your name and mailing address will be collected at that time.
As a subscriber, you will get an e-mail notice anytime we publish a new post (2-3 times a week on average). We will not sell or give your e-mail address to anyone! If you are already an NHLPens.com subscriber and recieve post notifications via e-mail, you are already entered to win
Good luck, and Let’s Go Pens!
Penguins Lackluster in Loss to Coyotes
October 8, 2009 by Paul
Filed under Analysis, Features, Highlights
The Pittsburgh Penguins looked like a team that failed to prepare for what the Phoenix Coyotes threw at them on Wednesday night. The Coyotes put on a clinic and bogged down the Penguins in the offensive and neutral zones, preventing Pittsburgh from gaining any momentum. In fact, the only momentum that the Penguins could generate was tilting the ice towards backup netminder Brent Johnson who, despite giving up 2 goals (the 3rd tally was an empty netter), performed exceptionally with a couple of highlight reel saves. In the end, the Penguins were dealt a 3-0 shutout and their first loss of the season at the hands of the Coyotes. It was a lackluster performance, the likes of which haven’t been seen since the waning days under Michel Therrien.
In watching the game, I couldn’t help but think that the Penguins underestimated just how well the Coyotes would play. Perhaps they were too focused on tonight’s game against the division rival Philadelphia Flyers, and were looking beyond the Coyotes. Whatever the case, their play suffered from a lack of focus and inability to establish any presence in the offensive zone and was further hampered by a rash of penalties, nine of them to be exact. To their credit, the Coyotes capitalized on 2 of the 9 power-play attempts, including a beauty of a goal from Petr Prucha while he was on his back in the crease. Evgeni Malkin took a double minor in the first period for an inadvertent high stick that drew blood. The ensuing Coyote power play also drew blood, as veteran Ed Jovanoski found the back of the net to put them up 1-0. In the 2nd period, the Penguins’ frustration and penalty troubles mounted as Sidney Crosby took 2 separate penalties for slashing, Matt Cooke took two seperate penalties for interference and roughing, and Brooks Orpik took a hooking call. Cooke’s interference call negated the only goal that the Penguins might have gotten as the call was made before the puck went into the net. Orpik’s penalty resulted in the Prucha powerplay goal. The Penguins went on to take 2 more penalties in the 3rd period, and despite getting a total of 5 powerplay opportunities themselves in the game they were unable to convert. Despite only being outshot 25-24, the Penguins were clearly out-hustled and out-played through most of the game.
Sidney Crosby had a night that he would probably just as soon forget. In addition to taking 2 frustration-fueled slashing penalties in the 2nd, he was a dismal 5 for 17 (29%) in the faceoff circle. He also had 4 giveaways. When your star center and team Captain plays like that, you can’t expect much else to go your way. Let’s hope whatever was affecting his play last night is out of his system, and that he returns to form against the Flyers this evening.
If there were a few bright spots to take away from the game, it would have to be the play of Brent Johnson and Jordan Staal. Brent Johnson turned aside 22 of 24 shots, including a spectacular glove save on Shane Doan. One of the two goals he gave up came through a screen and he never had a chance to see it. The other goal came at the end of a scramble in the crease where the defense failed to clear the puck and Johnson lost track of it. Jordan Staal had a monstrous night in the faceoff circle winning 12 of 13 for a 92% faceoff percentage. Whatever he has done to improve his faceoff performance, he now needs to apply to his shooting accuracy. Jordan Staal has already proven his immense defensive prowess and now needs to tap into his enormous offensive potential.
It will be interesting to see how Coach Bylsma responds to just his 2nd regulation loss in the regular season since taking over as head coach in Feb 2009. There will be little time for him to make a teachable moment out of last night’s performance. He needs to quickly get his team re-focused for tonight’s battle against the Philadelphia Flyers, who have been shot out of a cannon this season. The Flyers are 3-0 so far this season with a qhopping 13 goals for and just 7 goals against. The Penguins will need to mount a big turnaround from last night’s game if they want to come out of Philadelphia with a win.
