New Year&#8217;s Retrospective

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Tags: Alex Goligoski, Brent Johson, Brooks Orpik, Chris Kunitz, Dan Bylsma, Evgeni Malkin, Jay McKee, Jordan Staal, Kris Letang, Marc-Andre Fleury, Max Talbot, Michel Therrien, Ryan Whitney, Sergei Gonchar, Sidney Crosby, Tyler Kennedy

Turn the Page

December 27, 2009 by Paul
Filed under Analysis, Features, Opinion

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.

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Tags: Alex Goligoski, Brent Johnson, Brooks Orpik, Chris Kunitz, Dan Bylsma, Evgeni Malkin, Jay McKee, Kris Letang, Marc-Andre Fleury, Max Talbot, Pittsburgh Penguins, Sergei Gonchar, Sidney Crosby, Tyler Kennedy

Fleury of Wins Continue Against Lightning

October 18, 2009 by Paul
Filed under Features, Highlights

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The Pittsburgh Penguins improved their record to 7-1-0 on Saturday night as they beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 at Mellon Arena. The early season success of the Penguins has been bolstered by the excellent play of Marc-Andre Fleury, who remains unbeaten at 7-0 in what is his career best start to date. Fleury’s league leading 7 wins, 0.922 save percentage and 2.09 Goals Against Average have been vital to the Penguins’ early flurry of wins. They are tied in points (14) for the League and Eastern Conference lead with the red hot New York Rangers. It isn’t just Fleury, however, as the Penguins’ defense has looked magnificent and the offense is getting contributions from across the roster. Everything seems to be clicking right now for the Penguins who are showing no signs of a Stanley Cup hangover.

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.

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Tags: Alex Goligoski, Bill Guerin, Brooks Orpik, Evgeni Malkin, Jay McKee, Marc-Andre Fleury, Mike Rupp, Pascal Dupuis, Sergei Gonchar, Sidney Crosby

Opening Salvos

October 16, 2009 by Chaiwoman
Filed under Analysis, Features, Highlights, News, Opinion

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The Pittsburgh Penguins opened their 2009-10 season with their first back-to-back set of games, and their double-dose of New York opponents were chomping at the bit to get at the Kings of the Hill.

A home-opener of cosmic proportions ensued with the raising of the Stanley Cup banner for the last time in the Igloo. It was electrifying. It was nostalgic. And there were many “snapshots” one could call memorable:

the roar of the crowd when Max Talbot came on the ice, the Game 7 hero;
the look of sheer pride on Mario’s face;
the ovations for Crosby, Malkin, Staal, and Fleury;
the table holding up under the weight of the many coveted trophies earned through blood, sweat, perhaps some tears, and a whole lot of heart, bruises, and teamwork, or
maybe it was watching that banner make its slow ascent to the rafters.

It was all good. Then the games began…

Quick Recap…
It was time for the teams to start lining up, a la the 2009-10 schedule, to see who could be the first to hand a loss to the Penguins. In their 3-2 win over the New York Rangers, despite some early jitters, the team settled down and got to work, and it promised to be a physical game with the Pens recording 41 hits, 10 more than the Rangers, but the most memorable “hits” came from a beauty of a fight between heavy-weights Donald Brashear and Eric Godard. The standard had been set.

In the second game, closing the first of 16 scheduled back-to-back games in the Pens’ schedule, the New York Islanders came out like they meant business, and it was a slug-fest to the bitter shoot-out end with the Pens prevailing. Everything was rocking and rolling.

Maybe it was the distraction of the Phoenix Coyotes’ administrative problems. Maybe it was the Coyotes’ well-executed neutral zone trap that took away the boards off of which the Pens love to race. Maybe, it was just a hiccup. The bright spot in the Pens’ first unceremonious 3-0 home loss was Jordan Staal’s face-off prowess, winning an impressive 12 of 13 draws (92%). That was about all that Coach Dan Bylsma had to smile about, except he wasn’t smiling. On the bench, as Evgeni Malkin slammed his stick and Jordan Staal looked to the heavens for answers from the hockey gods, Bylsma stood behind the duo surveying the ice with a look of ultimate disapproval.

Whatever was said in the space of time between the end of that game and the start of the next, the team regrouped to take on the hated Philadelphia Flyers. The game did not disappoint…ok…well…maybe it disappointed the Flyers’ fans as the Pens emerged victorious, but the Pens were back on track,…except for this nasty new habit of committing a ton of penalties.

The game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, who looked like a stronger team in the pre-season, displayed some of the Penguins’ abilities including a red-hot power play that notched 3 goals in their 5-2 win.

The Ottawa Senators were up next, and they exhibited signs of being a serious contender as Milan Michalek and Bill Guerin exchanged goals at the end of the 1st period within less than a minute of each other. That is until, Tyler Kennedy blazed 2 more goals past netminder Pascal Leclaire, and linemate Jordan Staal stuck the dagger in for his 3rd goal in 3 games, giving Pittsburgh a 4-1 win.

The latest game against the Carolina Hurricanes promised to be a dogfight as these teams met for the first time since the playoffs when the Pens swept the ‘Canes. The stats looked about as even as they could be in just about every category through 2 periods of play. But Eric Staal did not seem himself on the ice. The ‘Canes tried the Coyotes’ trick of putting on the neutral zone trap and stacking bodies across their defensive blueline, but the Pens, better prepared than before, stuck to the plan and chipped away to force a shoot-out win. Ray Whitney was a force to be reckoned with, and Cam Ward put on just as much of goalie clinic at his end as Marc-Andre Fleury did at the other, denying Bill Guerin’s sure goal from what looked like inches.

What Needs to Change…
The biggest, most glaring anomaly emanating from the Penguins team that fans have come to know and love is the profusion of penalties. In the first 4 games alone, the Penguins committed 36 penalties for 92 minutes, which translates into over 4 periods of riding the sinner’s pine. Forty minutes consisted of 7 fighting majors (5 minutes) from Eric Godard, Craig Adams, Mike Rupp, and Jay McKee as well as 2 misconduct penalties of 10 minutes each for Jay McKee and Chris Kunitz. Those guys aside, Evgeni Malkin surprisingly led the way with the most penalties (6), followed by Sidney Crosby and Brooks Orpik, each with 4 apiece. This hardly showed the disciplined play for which the team had become known.

The Good News…
There’s a lot more on the positive side even at this early stage in the season. Continuing with the penalty situation, in the last 3 games, the Pens have whittled down their wreckless infractions by more than half with 17 penalties for a total of 43 minutes. Only 3 fighting majors (5 minutes each) committed by Godard, Adams, and Rupp. Malkin managed only one trip to the sin bin as did Crosby, and Orpik avoided it altogether.

Face-offs–Clearly, the art of the draw has been discussed and worked on to the extent it can be in a non-real-game situation. Some set plays on the face-off have been incorporated, and with the vast improvement of the centers on the dot, puck wins have led to puck-possession and either some very good chances in the offensive zone or the ability to clear or transition out of the defensive zone. Of particular note among those taking the most draws:

Sidney Crosby has won 88 out of 142 attempts (62.0%). He leads the league in the number of face-offs taken. His highest percentage so far came in the game against the Flyers where he won 21 of 24 (88%).
Jordan Staal has won 53 out of 106 attempts (50.0%). His highest percentage came in the loss to Phoenix where he won 12 of 13 (92%).
Craig Adams has won 37 of 70 for 52.8%.

Power Play–Really, the team is off to a decent start, picking up from where they left off in the playoffs. The Pens’ home power play conversion is 14.3% (2 home games), and their away conversion rate is 19.0% (5 games). Noticeably, they are moving the puck more swiftly, taking good shots, multiple shots, and getting one and sometimes two men in front of the net. Bill Guerin and Jordan Staal have both shared duties as the guy to set up on the netminder’s doorstep. Having Sergei Gonchar in the line-up from the get-go doesn’t hurt either, and he and Kris Letang continue to mesh from the blue line.

Penalty Kill–The Penguins have gotten off to a decent start with a respectable 84.6% kill percentage at home and 82.6% on someone else’s ice. As they reduce their time in the box, these stats should improve and break 90%. Bylsma continues to encourage the aggressive short-handed style with the likes of Staal and Cooke, Adams, Depuis, and even Crosby getting in on the fun.

Board Domination–In just seven games, the Penguins have notched 190 hits on opponents with a game high total so far of 41 hits at the expense of the New York Rangers. In the wrecking crew department, the team is averaging 27 hits a game from an average of 12 players per game. Chris Kunitz, Brooks Orpik, and Matt Cooke lead the way on a regular basis. And while hits are exciting to watch, the Pens are making a point of taking the body to separate man from puck and ultimately gain back possession. They are improving on that technique.

Protecting the Netminder–In blocked shots, the Pens are no less impressive. Through 7 games, they have blocked 127 shots, led by Jay McKee with 21 blocks and Brooks Orpik with 14. The team is averaging 18 blocked shots per game from an average of 9 players an outing. Speaking of netminding, Fleury looks like he only took a week off from the play-off form he was in this past spring. Already, he has made some spectacular point-blank robberies from opposing snipers. Most notably, he has improved on his puck movement. In the ‘Canes game, he looked extremely comfortable coming out of the safety of the crease to redirect play up ice, shortening the distance for his teammates, which saves legs. Particularly in this game, his play was reminiscent of Tom Barrasso during the Mario years, and that’s a very good thing.

Final Musings–The new acquisitions of McKee and Rupp have been good ones as they have clearly meshed quickly and easily into the Penguins’ system. They’ve chipped in with contributions in most areas of the game, making this team very deep and versatile through four lines of offense and three lines of defense. The scary thing about the Penguins is that they continue to get goal production from a wide range of players, not just from Malkin and Crosby. When this happens, it makes it very difficult for teams to strategize against them because literally every player on this team has to be considered a potential goal-scorer. So far, it’s been very exciting, especially with the team’s new record of 5 consecutive road wins. That kind of momentum is a confidence-booster, especially given the fact that they have a West Coast road trip coming up.

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Tags: Bill Guerin, Brooks Orpik, Cam Ward, Carolina Hurricanes, Chris Kunitz, Craig Adams, Dan Bylsma, Donald Brashear, Eric Godard, Eric Staal, Evgeni Malkin, Jay McKee, Jordan Staal, Kris Letang, Marc-Andre Fleury, Mario Lemieux, Matt Cooke, Mike Rupp, Milan Michalek, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Pascal Depuis, Pascal Leclaire, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ray Whitney, Sergei Gonchar, Sidney Crosby, Tom Barrasso, Toronto Maple Leafs, Tyler Kennedy

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.

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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.

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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.

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Tags: Bill Guerin, Chris Kunitz, Craig Adams, Jay McKee, Jordan Staal, Mark Eaton, Matt Cooke, Mike Rupp, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tyler Kennedy

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.

Pittsburgh Penguins v Toronto Maple Leafs

At the beginning of the 3rd, the Leafs converted on a quick goal by Niklas Hagman at 1:01 to cut the defecit to 2-goals. The Penguins responded quickly, however, and snuffed out any spark that the Leafs may have generated when Jordan Staal ripped a shot into the top of the net at 2:08 to finish the scoring. Evgeni Malkin picked up the lone assist on the play, his 3rd of the night. The Penguins went on to outshoot the Leafs 11-8 in the period, and despite another fight between Mike Rupp and Jay Rosehill following the Staal goal, the Leafs were never able to generate any further momentum in the game.

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Evgeni Malkin led the scoring with 3-points (3A) in his second consecutive multi-point game, while Sidney Crosby (2G) and Sergei Gonchar (1G, 1A) each picked up 2-points. Jordan Staal (1G), Matt Cooke (1G), Tyler Kennedy (1A), Bill Guerin (1A), Chris Kunitz (1A), and Ruslan Fedotenko (1A) all had a point each. Jay McKee was a monster on defense, blocking 7-shots. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 18 of 20 shots for a 0.90 save percentage. The Penguins were 34 for 63 in faceoffs for 54%. After a miserable showing against Phoenix, Sidney Crosby mastered the faceoff circle winning 17 of 25 attempts (68%). Dan Bylsma continued to work the line combinations with Malkin and Staal playing together while Adams replced Staal on the 3rd line. This combination is likely to benefit both Staal and Malkin who seem to have monstrous chemistry playing together. Crosby and Malkin also saw some time together at even strength, as did Crosby with the 4th line wingers.

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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.

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Tags: Bill Guerin, Chris Kunitz, Dan Bylsma, Evgeni Malkin, Jay McKee, Jordan Staal, Marc-Andre Fleury, Matt Cooke, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ruslan Fedotenko, Sergei Gonchar, Sidney Crosby, Toronto Maple Leafs, Tyler Kennedy

Tangradi to Debut on Crosby’s Wing in Tonight’s Pre-Season Opener

September 15, 2009 by Paul
Filed under Announcements, Features, News

Just a little over 3 months after winning the Stanley Cup in Detroit, the Pittsburgh Penguins return to the ice tonight for the pre-season opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Mellon Arena. The game comes after just a couple days of training camp practice, being accelerated to accomodate the upcoming G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh. This morning the Pittsburgh Penguins released the lineup for tonight’s game. Despite expectations that the Penguins would rest its stars, the lineup will include players such as Sidney Crosby, Jordan Staal, Marc-Andre Fleury, Sergei Gonchar, and others. Most notable, the Penguins will put their top prospect, 6′4″ 20-year old winger Eric Tangradi, out on the top line with Sidney Crosby. While only a pre-season game, it will give the youngster a huge opportunity to show his skills and fight for a permanent spot on the Penguins’ roster.

The Penguins have reported the following lineup and line combinations for tonight’s game:

Forwards:

Chris Kunitz, Sidney Crosby, Eric Tangradi
Pascal Dupuis, Jordan Staal, Ruslan Fedotenko
Chris Connor, Dustin Jeffrey, Ryan Bayda
Zack Sill, Joe Vitale, Eric Godard

Defensemen:

Simon Despres, Sergei Gonchar
Mark Eaton, Deryk Engelland
Jay McKee, Robert Bortuzzo

Goaltenders:

Marc-Andre Fleury
Brad Thiessen

Game time is 7:30PM. The game is not expected to be broadcast.

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Tags: Brad Thiessen, Chris Connor, Chris Kunitz, Deryk Engelland, Dustin Jeffrey, Eric Godard, Eric Tangradi, Jay McKee, Joe Vitale, Jordan Staal, Line Combinations, Marc-Andre Fleury, Mark Eaton, Pascal Dupuis, Pittsburgh Penguins, Pre-Season, Robert Bortuzzo, Ruslan Fedotenko, Ryan Bayda, Sergei Gonchar, Sidney Crosby, Simon Despres, Zack Sill

TK on Malkin’s Wing for Day 1 of Practice

September 13, 2009 by Paul
Filed under Features, Highlights, News

On-ice practice began this morning at Mellon Arena for the Pittsburgh Penguins 2009/10 Training Camp. The most notable news from today is that Tyler Kennedy was the first player to be paired up with Evgeni Malkin and Ruslan Fedotenko. I am sure that this is just one of many pairings that will be evaluated on that line over the next few weeks after the departure of Petr Sykora/Miroslav Satan and the absence of Max Talbot while he is recovering from off-season surgery. Coach Dan Bylsma noted that he is looking for a tenacious player that can add a “forechecking and puck-pursuit presence” to the Malkin line. Based on what we saw from Tyler Kennedy last season, he would seem to be a natural fit. He certainly brought those skills to the Staal line last season, where his development was quite noteworthy. Pascal Dupuis back-filled Kennedy’s normal spot on the Staal line.

New acquisition Mike Rupp played on a potential fourth line with Craig Adams and Eric Godard. Eric Tangradi played on a line with Wyatt Smith and Chris Connor, while Luca Caputi was on a line with Mark Letestu and Nick Johnson. Free Agent Left Wing Ryan Bayda (formerly of the Carolina Hurricanes) was invited to camp/practice as a tryout. Also at camp on a tryout is former UND goaltender Jordan Parise, Zach Parise’s older brother.

As far as top defensive pairings, it was Mark Eaton – Kris Letang, Brooks Orpik – Sergei Gonchar, and Jay McKee – Alex Goligoski. Ben Lovejoy was paired with Brian Strait.

Here are the full training camp team lineups as reported by Sam Kasan on the 2009 Training Camp Blog (click name for player profile):

TEAM A
Forwards:
Ruslan Fedotenko – Evgeni Malkin – Tyler Kennedy
Mike Rupp – Craig Adams – Eric Godard
Joey Haddad – Casey Pierro-Zabotel – Nick Petersen
Ryan Bayda – Zach Sill

Defensemen:
Mark Eaton – Kris Letang
Chris Lee - Deryk Engelland
Jonathan D’Aversa

Goaltenders:
Brent Johnson
Jordan Parise

TEAM B
Forwards:
Matt Cooke – Jordan Staal – Pascal Dupuis
Eric Tangradi – Wyatt Smith – Chris Connor
Wade Brookbank – Joe Vitale – Keven Veilleux
Nathan Moon

Defensemen:
Brooks Orpik – Sergei Gonchar
Brian Strait – Ben Lovejoy
Simon Despres – Robert Bortuzzo

Goaltenders:
Marc-Andre Fleury
Brad Thiessen

TEAM C
Forwards:
Chris Kunitz – Sidney Crosby – Bill Guerin
Luca Caputi – Mark Letestu – Nick Johnson
Paul Bissonnette – Dustin Jeffrey – Tim Wallace
Aaron Boogard

Defensemen:
Jay McKee – Alex Goligoski
Lane Caffaro – Nathan Guenin
Jamie Hunt – Alex Grant

Goaltenders:
John Curry

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Tags: Aaron Boogard, Alex Goligoski, Alex Grant, Ben Lovejoy, Bill Guerin, Brad Thiessen, Brent Johnson, Brian Strait, Brooks Orpik, Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Chris Connor, Chris Kunitz, Chris Lee, Craig Adams, Deryk Engelland, Dustin Jeffrey, Eric Godard, Eric Tangradi, Evgeni Malkin, Jamie Hunt, Jay McKee, Joe Vitale, Joey Haddad, John Curry, Jonathan D'Aversa, Jordan Parise, Jordan Staal, Keven Veilleux, Kris Letang, Lane Caffaro, Luca Caputi, Marc-Andre Fleury, Mark Eaton, Mark Letestu, Matt Cooke, Mike Rupp, Nathan Guenin, Nathan Moon, Nick Johnson, Nick Petersen, Pascal Dupuis, Paul Bissonnette, Pittsburgh Penguins, Robert Bortuzzo, Ruslan Fedotenko, Ryan Bayda, Sergei Gonchar, Sidney Crosby, Simon Despres, Tim Wallace, Training Camp, Tyler Kennedy, Wade Brookbank, Wyatt Smith, Zach Sill

Sharpen Your Skates, It’s Hockey Time!

September 9, 2009 by Paul
Filed under Features, News

It’s hard to believe, but hockey season is just a little over 3 weeks away! Everything is about to shift back into high gear for the Penguins’ organization as 47 players and prospects report to training camp this Saturday, September 12th, when they will undergo physicals and fitness testing. Practice starts on Sunday at Mellon Arena and is open to the public, free of charge. Pre-season play kicks-off shortly thereafter with the Penguins hosting the Columbus Bluejackets on September 15th. On September 17th, the Penguins travel to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for a “Black and Gold” intra-squad game. Then, they return back to Mellon Arena to host the Toronto Maple Leafs on September 18th before heading out on a 4-game road trip to Montreal (Sept 21) , Toronto (Sept 22), Columbus (Sept 24), and Detroit (Sept 27). The Penguins’ open the regular season on October 2nd by raising the 2009 Stanley Cup Championship banner to the rafters of historic Mellon Arena before dropping the puck against the New York Rangers. It will be the last NHL home opener to be played in the long history of Mellon Arena.

With training camp, pre-season, and regular season play nearly upon us, it is time to start looking at the challenges that face the Penguins in the coming season. First and foremost in my mind, is the question of fatigue. The Penguins have played a total of 208-games (164 regular season and 44 playoff games) in just the last 2 seasons. That averages out to about one game every 3.5 days over the last 2 years. The price to pay for a successful post-season is a short summer for mental and physical recuperation. Fortunately for the Penguins, they are a young team and they finished the post season relatively healthy. The mental recuperation, however, could be more challenging for both the players and the coaching staff as they need to quickly shift gears from the euphoria of being the league champions to being the team that everyone will raise their game against to beat. Often referred to as the Stanley Cup hangover, the Penguins will have to quickly come to grip with the fact that, while they have climbed to the top of the tallest mountain, they are now back at base camp with everyone else. It will take a lot of character (and a bit of luck) to battle their way back to the finals for a third straight year.

The next big challenge will be figuring out how to best fill the defensive roles vacated by Hal Gill and Rob Scuderi. This will take time and evaluation by the coaching staff as training camp and pre-season play unfolds, and will probably continue to play out into the regular season. Surely the Penguins will look to off-season acquisition Jay McKee, a veteran stay-at-home defenseman with ample shot-blocking prowess. They will also likely depend on the services of Alex Goligoski on the blueline after the successful call-up role he played during Sergei Gonchar’s time on the injured reserve last season. But a McKee/Goligoski pairing may not be the right combination, so look for some mixing and matching in the defensive pairings in the early going until the right mix of “shutdown” and “offensive” styles are found. This challenge will primarily be one for the coaching staff to solve, but will require the defensemen to adapt to new roles and potentially new linemates.

The third challenge will be figuring out how best address the loss of Petr Sykora and (to a lesser extent) how to bridge the anticipated 2-month gap until Max Talbot returns from off-season surgery. The most pressing issue to sort out in training camp and pre-season is who to put on wing with Evgeni Malkin in place of Petr Sykora. While Tyler Kennedy certainly could be an interesting mix with Malkin, I don’t expect the coaching staff to disrupt the exceptional 3rd line chemistry of Kennedy-Staal-Cooke. Odds are that Pascal Dupuis will be called upon to step into Sykora’s spot, but don’t be surprised to see some different looks coming from the coaching staff through training camp and the pre-season. I wouldn’t even be surprised to see rookie prospect Eric Tangradi getting a practice or pre-season look with Malkin, but I really don’t expect it to pan out….at least not yet. A likely candidate to fill out the lower lines would be Luca Caputi, the 6′2″ winger that made the Penguins’ roster for 5-games last season. The good news is that the Penguins have significant depth to draw upon to fill in the few vacancies at forward, and training camp will be where those fill-ins get sorted out.

So, as hockey season bears down on us once again, it is time to get out your jersey and get ready for another great season from one of the NHL’s best and brightest young teams. Be sure to check back with us as the season approaches and gets underway as we will continue blogging about the team we love to watch and cheer for, the Pittsburgh Penguins!

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Tags: Alex Goligoski, Eric Tangradi, Evgeni Malkin, Hal Gill, Jay McKee, Jordan Staal, Luca Caputi, Matt Cooke, Max Talbot, Mellon Arena, Pascal Dupuis, Petr Sykora, Pittsburgh Penguins, Pre-Season, Prospects, Rob Scuderi, Stanley Cup, Training Camp, Tyler Kennedy

Penguins’ Mid-Summer Update

July 19, 2009 by Paul
Filed under Announcements, Features, News

It is another short off-season for the Pittsburgh Penguins, although this summer is much better than last for the players and their fans. A year ago, the team was licking the wounds of a Stanley Cup championship lost and the loss of a not so insignificant portion of their roster to other teams at season’s end. This summer, the players are enjoying the fruits of their labor as the Stanley Cup Champions and celebrating their day with Lord Stanley’s Cup, reflecting upon their accomplishments with their families, friends and home town fans. What a difference a year makes! It will only be a brief pause for celebration, however, as the next season will soon be upon us and the Penguins will have to return to the business of competing for the prize once again.

It has been an eventful summer so far, as Ray Shero has masterfully navigated the challenges of the NHL salary cap with a handful of players who have sacrified pay for the chance to stay with a championship team. First, Shero retained the services of veteran stalwart Bill Guerin for another year at less than half of his 2008/09 $4.5M salary. Guerin agreed to a $2M contract in lieu of testing the free agency market or considering retirement. It turns out that playing on a line with Sidney Crosby, voted the NHL’s best player for the 3rd year in a row by ESPN fans, is worth the cut in pay. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say that was one of the big reasons I wanted to stay,” Guerin said of No. 87. “It’s so much fun to play with him.” At the same time, Shero pulled the trigger on a 2-year deal with Craig Adams, signing him at $550K per year (slightly below his $600K salary last season). Shortly after signing Guerin and Adams, Shero again pulled off the seemingly improbable by signing Ruslan Fedotenko to a 1-year contract worth $1.8M, a $400K pay cut over last season. “I think it says a lot about Bill Guerin, Craig Adams, and Ruslan Fedotenko to want to come back here and be part of this group,” general manager Ray Shero said. And as a fan of the game, I have to agree. It says something very special about this team, and even more so about the championship spirit of these players. These are the kinds of players you want on your team.

In the loss column, the Penguins will play next season without the services of Rob Scuderi, Hal Gill and Mathieu Garon. Scuderi signed a three-year deal worth $13.6 million with the Los Angeles Kings, a price tag that the Penguins couldn’t match under the realities of the current salary cap. Hal Gill signed a 2-year contract worth $4.5M with the Montreal Canadiens. Finally, Mathieu Garon signed a two-year contract to back up Columbus goalie Steve Mason for more money. The Penguins responded to the losses on the blueline by signing free agent Jay McKee to a 1-year, $800K contract. The Penguins snatched McKee up at a significant bargain after he was bought out of the final year of his $4.5M annual contract with the St Louis Blues. Earning $2.67M next season from his buyout, McKee could justify the modest salary from the Penguins for a chance to regain his prestige and worth on a championship team. It was a win-win signing for the Penguins, who see a lot of upside potential in McKee, especially at such a bargain price. Known for his shot-blocking ability, McKee fell out of favor with the Blues who were in need of a quicker puck-moving defensemen. A first round pick by the Buffalo Sabres in 1995, McKee anchored the team’s defense in their 1999 run to the Stanley Cup finals. The Penguins will likely rely on the services of Alex Goligoski and John Curry to pick up the slack left by the Gill and Garon deprtures.

The Penguins have also picked up rugged forward Mike Rupp from the New Jersey Devils for a 2-year stint. At 6′ 5″ and 230 pounds, Rupp adds some more grit to a team that already included the services of Eric Godard. While we don’t expect Godard to be moved, Rupp could unseat him as the team’s most feared enforcer. Rupp will earn $800K this coming season and $850K in the following year. The Penguins also signed Dallas Stars right winger Chris Connor to a 1-year deal to add depth to the organization.

The Penguins will open the 2009/10 season on Friday, October 2, against the New York Rangers. It will be the final NHL season opener for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Mellon Arena’s 48-year history as they will play the following season in their new arena. The third Stanley Cup champions banner will be raised to ceiling of the Mellon Arena rafters during the season opener, in what is likely to be a night of mixed emotions in the old igloo.

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