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Pittsburgh Penguins 2008 Training Camp Preview

After a short summer break, the Pittsburgh Penguins are ready to hit the ice again as they get back to training camp this week.  Over the summer, the team saw some significant complexion changes with the exodus of some key role players.  Yet, despite the loss of Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts, Ty Conklin, Jarkko Ruutu, Georges Laraque and Adam Hall, the Penguins have kept their young core of stars intact and have back-filled the losses with some quality, proven role players.  Among the new player acquisitions are Miroslov Satan (RW), Ruslan Fedetenko (LW), Matt Cooke (LW) and Eric Godard (RW).   The Penguins also have depth in their organizational talent pool and added to it by bringing in some new prospects to include Janne Pesonen, last season’s leading scorer in the Finnish Elite League.  So as the Penguins head into training camp, what should you look for in terms of new talent on the team?

Goaltending

There is no doubt who holds the top spot for the Penguins in net, as Marc-Andre Fleury silenced the critics last season with an outstanding run after returning from his extended high ankle injury.  The question will be how soon he finds his form this season, as he has historically had slow starts.  The big surprise last season was the play of Ty Conklin, claiming the #2 spot away from Dany Sabourin after Fleury went on the injured reserve for a couple of months.  To his credit, Dany Sabourin didn’t play all that bad, but Conklin was flat out spectacular and stole the stage from Sabourin.  One could even argue that Conklin’s play was partially responsible for Fleury ratcheting up his game to re-establish his top spot upon his return.  With Ty Conklin now off the roster, Dany Sabourin has the opportunity to re-establish himself as the backup netminder.  But the Penguins will likely be evaluating their options during camp with some netminding depth in the system.  In my opinion, the only potential challenger for Sabourin would be John Curry.  Curry stepped into the void left by Ty Conklin in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and put together an impressive 24-12 run in the regular season.  He went on to backstop the baby Penguins’ 14-9 run into the Calder Cup Finals.  I expect Sabourin will prevail out of camp, but don’t be surpised if Curry finds his way into an NHL game later in the season.

Defense 

The Penguins defensive corps is the one area that remains largely unchanged from last season.  The Penguins have been handed a significant challenge, however, with Ryan Whitney leaving the lineup for a minimum of 3-months (possibly up to 5 months) as he recovers from off-season foot surgery.  Whitney’s role as an offensive defensemen will be missed, and will likely be an area that the Penguins look to address in training camp.  The Penguins will be getting Mark Eaton back into the lineup after missing most of last season with a torn ACL, but Eaton’s forte is in defense and not in offensive production.  There may also be some lingering questions about his durability after 2 back-to-back injury shortened seasons.  Perhaps Kris Letang will find this as an opportunity to increase his offensive game, but he still needs to focus on perfecting his defensive game.  Perhaps Darryl Sydor, rumored to be seeking a trade out of Pittsburgh, will be able to find the niche he was looking for by stepping up his offensive game.  However, I still expect the veteran to leave Pittsburgh at some point this season.  The most likely scenario in my mind will be for Alex Goligoski to find his way into the lineup coming out of training camp.  Goligoski had an impressive year with Wilkes-Barre last season posting 38-points (10G, 28A) in 70 games with a +15 rating.  He also netted 28-points (4G, 24A) in 23 playoff games with a +5 rating.  He also made his NHL debut last season, getting 2-assists in his 3 outings.   Other defensemen to watch at camp would be Alex Grant, TJ Kemp, Deryk Engelland, and Ben Lovejoy.

Offense

The Penguins offense remains strong despite the loss of wingers Marian Hossa and Ryan Malone.  In particular, they are rock solid down the center with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Maxime Talbot.  With Hossa and Malone out of the lineup, along with Roberts, Hall, Laraque, and Ruutu, the Penguins will use training camp to assess and shore up the wings.  They will look to off-season acqusitions Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedetenko to fill the void in the top lines.  It remains to be seen how well they will mesh with the talented Penguins’ centermen or how long it will take for the chemistry to develop, but it seems likely that they will flourish alongside Crosby and/or Malkin.  Elsewhere on wing, the Penguins have retained Petr Sykora, Jeff Taffe, Pascal Dupuis, and Tyler Kennedy, and have added newcomers Eric Godard and Matt Cooke.  The latter two were acquired to backfill the loss of Georges Laraque and Jarkko Ruutu.  Look for the Penguins management to really test out the combinations in camp, and to evaluate the talent they have within the system to find a set of wingers that work.  Perhaps the biggest and most anticipated wild card is Janne Pesonen, the Left Wing top scorer from the Finnish Elite League.  He will likely be the center of much attention and speculation as to a potential bid in the lineup.  The Penguins also have several NHL-tested prospects as a result of last season’s extensive injuries that will have a viable opportunity to break into the lineup.  This includes Connor James, Jonathan Filewich, Chris Minard, and Ryan Stone.  I would expect as many as 2-3 lower line wing positions in play going into training camp, with the burden being on the prospects to prove their case for being in the lineup. 

After last season’s challenges and ultimate success, I anxiously look forward to the start of the season.  The changes in the complexion of this team add to the excitement and uncertainty of what the new season will bring.  Training Camp will be the first, short glimpse before the season starts in just 3-quick weeks.  This coming season is sure to be exciting and will answer all of our current questions.  WIll Sidney Crosby be 100% recovered from the high ankle injury of last season?  Will Evgeni Malkin power back to the top of the points race after recharging his batteries in the off-season?  Will Jordan Staal ditch the sophomore slump and have a breakout year?  Will Marc-Andre Fleury shake off any early season jitters and will he be able to build on last year’s spectacular playoff run?  How will Miroslav Satan and Rusty Fedotenko fit in and produce?  Who will step up offensively on defense?  Will someone break into the lineup and be an enexpected force this season?  Who will be the enforcer?  Will the Penguins start slow and finish strong?  So many questions that will only be answerd in time!  Hockey is upon us!  Let’s Go Penguins!

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Penguins Unleash Offense, Finish Season Sweep of Sabres

The Pittsburgh Penguins completed a 4-game season sweep of the Buffalo Sabres for the first time in franchise history by beating them soundly 7-3.  The Penguins continue to deal with an injury riddled lineup as Sidney Crosby and Max Talbot both sat out due to aggravation of their high ankle sprains.  However, despite dressing only 3-centers for the game, the Penguins found plenty of offense as 7-different players found the back of the net, including Chris Minard who picked up his first NHL goal.  Tyler Kennedy had a career game posting 3-points (1G, 2A).  Ty Conklin completed his dominance over the Sabres by saving 29-of-32 shots.  The win puts the Penguins back on top of the Eastern Conference in a points tie with the Canadiens, but with the advantage in games won.

In the 1st period, Tyler Kennedy put the Penguins on the board early with an amazing goal at 3:30.  Pascal Dupuis made a pass up ice to Kennedy who broke in on Ryan Miller and put the puck behind his outstretched leg for the goal.  The Penguins were outshot 8-7 in the first, were 0-for-1 on the power play and killed off 2 penalties against Connor James (tripping) and Petr Sykora (holding). 

In the 2nd period, Georges Laraque took a 5-minute elbowing major and a game misconduct on an innocent looking hit on defenseman Nathan Paetsch.  Paetsch laid motionless on the ice for several minutes before finally getting up and leaving the ice under his own power.  In the ensuing 5-minute penalty kill, the Penguins went on the offensive and took control of the game, eventually drawing a penalty on Maxime Afinogenov to even it up 4-on-4.  During the 4-on-4 play, Jeff Taffe beat Ryan Miller to make it 2-0.  Darryl Sydor and Kris Letang were credited with the assists.  Then at 18:08 while on the power play, Sergei Gonchar let a shot rip from just inside the blueline that deflected past a screened Ryan Miller to make it 3-0.  Ryan Whitney and Petr Sykora picked up the assists.  The Penguins outshot the Sabres 14-10 in the 2nd, were 1-for-2 on the power play and killed off the extended penalty to Georges Laraque. 

In the 3rd, the scoresheet filled up as a total of 7-goals were scored between the 2-teams.  The first goal went to the Penguins just 56 seconds into the period when Petr Sykora beat Ryan Miller on the power play to put the Penguins up 4-0.  Ryan Malone made a beautiful play to strip a Buffalo player of the puck and then dish it to Sykora who fired it into a wide open net.  Sergei Gonchar got the other assist.  Then, the Buffalo Sabres showed their first signs of life as they scored an even strength goal at 3:02 from Jochen Hecht with assists by Mike Weber and Maxim Afinogenov.  Then, with the Penguins on the power play, the Sabres’ Daniel Paille managed to skate in and beat Ty Conklin short-handed.  Derek Roy and Henrik Tallinder picked up the assists.  But the Penguins got it back at 8:56 on a power play goal by Evgeni Malkin, his 39th goal of the season.  Darryl Sydor and Tyler Kennedy got credited with the assists.  Then, just over a minute later, Jordan Staal made a great pass to Chris Minard who fired the puck past Ryan Miller for his first NHL career goal to make the score 6-2.  Ryan Stone picked up the other assist.  The goal resulted in Ryan Miller being replaced by former Penguin Jocelyn Thibault.  Just 46-seconds later, the Sabres managed another goal as Daniel Paille made a great play on the doorstep against Ty Conklin.  Steve Bernier picked up the assist.  The Penguins closed out the scoring on a hard shot by Kris Letang that found its way past Thibault.  Tyler Kennedy and Pascal Dupuis got the assists.  The Penguins outshot the Sabres 15-13 in the 3rd, and were 2-for-3 on the power play.  The Penguins had no penalties in the 3rd.

• VIDEO:  Game Highlights
• VIDEO:  Post-Game Press Conference w/Coach Therrien
• VIDEO:  Post-Game Locker Room Interviews
• PHOTOS:  In-Game Photos
• AUDIO:  Mike Lange Highlights
• AUDIO:  Post-Game Rink Rat Report
• AUDIO:  Post-Game Hotline Show
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Game Rosters
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Game Summary
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Boxscore
• NHL OFFICIAL:  Play-by-Play

Tyler Kennedy had a 3-point night (1G, 2A) and several players picked up 2-points, including Darryl Sydor (2A), Pascal Dupuis (2A), Petr Sykora (1G, 1A), Sergei Gonchar (1G, 1A) and Kris Letang (1G, 1A).  Evgeni Malkin notched 1-point (1G) on the night to maintain 2nd place in the NHL scoring race with 93-points, 4-points behind fellow Russian Alexander Ovechkin who picked up 2-goals in his game on Wednesday.  The Penguins improved their record to 40-24-7, for 87-points.  The win tonight regained their lead of the Atlantic Division over the New Jersey Devils (86-points), and the Eastern Conference over the Montreal Canadiens (87-points, but 1 less win than the Penguins).  The Devils (12-games remaining) have a game in hand against the Penguins (11-games remaining).    

The Penguins have a few more days off before hosting the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday, a noon game that will be broadcast as NBC’s game of the week.  The Penguins will hope to get Sidney Crosby and Marian Hossa back for that game, but only time will tell if they are both healthy enough to play.