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Player Spotlight: #17 Petr Sykora

Born Nov 19, 1976 in Plzen, Czechoslovakia, Petr Sykora entered the NHL in 1995 being selected 18th overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 1995 Draft, and has accumulated 568 points (249G, 319A) to date in 766 career NHL games.  Among his 1995 draft class, only Jarome Iginla has scored more points in their NHL career.  He spent 7 seasons playing for the New Jersey Devils (1995-2002), 2.5 seasons playing for the Anaheim Ducks (2002-2006), 0.5 season with the New York Rangers (2005-2006) and one season with the Edmonton Oilers (2006-2007).  As a free agent over the summer, he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 2, 2007. 

Sykora began his NHL career on the prolific New Jersey Devils “A Line” alongside Patrik Elias and Jason Arnott, and scored 42 points (18G, 24A) in 63 games during his first year.  In the next two seasons (96-97/97-98), he split his time between the New Jersey Devils and Albany (AHL), playing 77 NHL games total where he scored 39 points (17G, 22A).  He scored 50 points (24G, 26A) in 45 AHL games for Albany in those two years.  He earned a full time spot on the New Jersey roster during the 1998-1999 season, scoring 72 points (29G, 43A) in 80 games.  He went on to win the Stanley Cup championship with the Devils in 1999-2000, and came within a game from winning a second Cup in 2001.  That year, Sykora scored a career high in goals (35), assists (46), and points (81).  He went on to play one more year with the New Jersey Devils before being traded.

In 2002, Petr Sykora was traded to the (then Mighty) Ducks of Anaheim in exchange for Jeff Friesen and Oleg Tverdovsky.  In his first year with the Ducks (2002-2003), he contributed 59 points (34G, 25A) in 82 games.  In the following year, he was instrumental in carrying the Ducks to the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to his former teammates, the New Jersey Devils. 

During the NHL lockout, Sykora maintained his skills and proficiency by playing for Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Russian Super League, where he scored 31 points (18G, 13A) in 45 games.  An interesting sidenote, one of his teammates on the Magnitogorsk was a young Evgeni Malkin who scored 32 points (12G, 20A) in 52 games that year.   

Early in the first post NHL lockout season (2005-2006), Sykora contacted New York Rangers general manager Glen Sather looking to move from the Ducks to the Rangers via trade.  The trade was eventually executed on January 9, 2006, with Sykora going to the Rangers for defenseman Maxim Kondratiev and a 4th round draft pick that the Rangers had previously traded to Anaheim.  During the 2005-2006 season, Sykora played 34 games for Anaheim (7G, 13A) and 40 games for the New York Rangers (16G, 15A), for a season total of 51 points (23G, 28A) in 74 games.  On July 7, 2006, it was announced that he would not be rejoining the Rangers for the 2006-2007 season, and on August 11, 2006, he signed a one-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers. 

Sykora played a full 82-game slate with the Oilers in 2006-2007, scoring 53 points on the year (22G, 31A), but with a career low +/- rating of -20.  He finished first on the club in goals, tied for first in scoring, and came in thirs in assists.  It was his seventh season scoring 20+ goals.  He complete dthe season and his one-year term deal with the Oilers and became an unrestricted free agent over the summer. 

On July 2, 2007, Sykora signed a 2-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins.  He comes to the team with a record of achievement and signiciant Stanley Cup playoff and finals experience that will be invaluable to the team.  Playing on the wing with the league’s most valuable player could buoy his game to a potential career high season if he can maintain his health and speed.  Scouting reports note his speed and deceptive shot that he can employ from almost anywhere on the ice.  Scouting also suggests that he can get rattled in physical contests, still needs work in his own zone and needs to find a level of consistency in his offensive game.    He is earning a reported $2.9M this season playing for the Penguins, and has contributed 3 points (2G, 1A) in 2 regular season games. 

Pens Defeat Ducks 5-4

The Pittsburgh Penguins, rebounding from a forgettable season opener in Raleigh, gave the Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks a taste of what they are capable of in the home opener tonight in Pittsburgh.  The Pens shook off the rust that seemed apparent the night before, and bested the Ducks by a score of 5-4.  Newcomer Petr Sykora gave the crowd something to cheer about with a 3-point night (2G, 1A), and helped lead the Penguins to their first season win. 

The Ducks struck first on a power play tip-in goal by Chris Kunitz at 6:34 of the first period, while Ryan Malone sat for 2-minutes on a holding the stick call.  Francois Beauchemin and Chris Pronger assisted on the tally.  The Penguins battled back late in the first, with Petr Sykora picking up his first goal as a Penguin at 16:39.  The goal came on the power play during a frantic scrum in front of Ducks goaltender, Jonas Hiller.  Gary Roberts and Erik Christensen assisted on the goal, tying the game at 1 each at the end of period one.  The Penguins outshot the Ducks 12-8 in the period, despite being shorthanded a total of 6 minutes on 3 penalty calls.  The Ducks spent 4 minutes of the first in the penalty box. 

In the second period, the Ducks jumped ahead early on an even strenth wrister by Ryan Getzlaf off from a feed by Francois Beauchemin at 1:25.  But a little over 2 minutes later, Colby Armstrong put a dipsey-doodle move on the Ducks defenseman Maxim Kondratiev, cut in front of goaltender, and chipped the puck over Hiller’s left shoulder and tied the game at 2.  Gary Roberts was credited with the feed on Armstrong’s goal, which came at 3:56 of the second and ignited the crowd and the rest of the team.  Just 20 seconds later, Evgeni Malkin lit the lamp with his first goal of the season on a tip-in from Petr Sykora, and the crowd went wild. Despite the scoring, the Ducks outshot the Pens 10-5 in the second and had two unsuccessful power plays while Recchi (tripping) and Gonchar (cross-checking) sat for minor infractions.  The Ducks killed off their lone penalty in the marker.  At the end of 2, the Penguins led by a score of 3-2. 

In the third period, things got dicey for the Penguins as Chris Kunitz scored a shorthanded goal off his backhand at 6:18 to tie it at 3.  But the Penguins came back with authority in the latter part of the third scoring two quick even strength goals, 19 seconds apart.   The first came off from the backhand of Petr Sykora at 13:32, his second goal and third point of the night, with assists by Georges Laraque and Evgeni Malkin.  The second came at 13:51 from Pittsburgh native Ryan Malone, from Sidney Crosby and Rob Scuderi.  The quick pair of goals rapidly shifted the momentum to the home team.  The Ducks pulled their goalie for the final 51 seconds of the game, which helped enable a late tally by Corey Perry, from Chris Kunitz and Ryan Getzlaf.  But they were unable to pull the trigger on a game tying goal in the final seconds of the match, as the game ended on the doorstep of netminder Marc Andre Fleury.  The Penguins managed to stay out of the box in the third, and failed to convert on two power play chances against the Ducks.   The Penguins outshot the Ducks 12-5 in the final frame, and 29-23 in the game.   

• Click Here for the Penguins Rink Rat Post Game Report with Mike Lange
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• Click Here for the NHL Official Event Summary sheet
• Click Here for NHL.com Boxscore sheet
• Click Here for the NHL.com official Play-by-Play sheet

Petr Sykora finished the game with 3 points (2G, 1A), Evgeni Malkin picked up 2 points (1G, 1A), and Sidney Crosby notched his first point of the season (1A).  “I couldn’t ask for a better start at home,” said Sykora.  “Georges made a great play, he crashed the net and really opened it up for me.”  Crosby said the Penguins were ready mentally and physically for the game, “They’re the champions, and we were all up for this game, playing Anaheim and it’s the home opener.”  Marc Andre Fleury stopped 19 of 23 shots on the night, and looked much better in goal tonight. 

Ducks’ Chris Kunitz had 3 points on the night (2G, 1A), and Francois Beauchemin added 3 as well (3A).  “It was a long, five-game road trip but we were able to learn an awful lot about ourselves and an awful lot about the way we need to play,” Chris Pronger said. “We got back to crashing and banging and grinding on teams.”  The Ducks were exhausted at the end of a five-game road trip to start the season, including two games in London, England last weekend. 

The Penguins got a scare on a hard blast by Beauchemin that struck Crosby on the side of his right foot. Crosby, whose left foot was broken late last season, was in considerable pain until play was stopped.  He was bent over for several minutes on the bench, but returned not long after that.  However, his speed and agility seemed to be affected for the remainder of the game.  Hopefully it is just a bruise and not something more serious.

The Penguins get a 3-day rest before hosting the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night at 7:30PM at Mellon Arena.  Tickets are available at Stub-Hub (follow the link on the left sidebar of this page).  Check NHLPens.com daily for all of your Pittsburgh Penguins news, game previews, recaps, and much more!

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