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Top 5 Reasons the Penguins Will Excel in 2008-09

Over the past month, there has been a lot of chatter that the Pittsburgh Penguins lost their best chance at the Stanley Cup by losing to the Detroit Red Wings this past season.  Assertions have been made that the Penguins gave up too much in the off-season to be competitive for the cup again in the coming season.  Many have highlighted the acquisition and subsequent loss of Marian Hossa and the departure of Ryan Malone as the main points in their argument.  In fact, the Penguins are poised for another phenomenal season and have a better chance of being a cup contender this season than they did at this point last season.  The following are the top 5 reasons that the Penguins will excel again this coming season:

1. The Core is Intact:  Despite the loss of Hossa, Malone, Roberts, Conklin, Ruutu, Laraque and Hall, the Penguins have kept their core young stars intact.  This team was built around a young, talented core that includes Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury, Jordan Staal and Ryan Whitney.  All of these key players remain in the lineup, and all have been signed to long-term deals with the exception of Jordan Staal who could be signed to a long-term deal in the coming months.  Crosby, Malkin and Fleury have already proven themselves as elite players in this league.  Jordan Staal is on the cusp of a breakout season after posting less than expected numbers last season, but playing a masterful defensive game.  This group of players is the core of the team around which the supporting cast has been built. 
2. Youth, Experience, and Confidence:  The core talent of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury are just 20 (soon to be 21), 22, and 23, respectively.  Jordan Staal is just 19, Kris Letang is 21, and Ryan Whitney is 25.  These players are still approaching their prime and will only get better in the seasons to come.  Normally with youth comes inexperience and lack of confidence, as was the case over the past two seasons for most of these players.  However, this team gained a tremendous amount of experience and confidence last season as they battled through key injuries to the lineup to come out near the top of the league during the regular season.  Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Kris Letang and Ryan Whitney were all put in clutch roles while the team played with an injury-riddled lineup, and they all matured and delivered in the process.  In the playoffs, the Penguins went 12-2 through the first 3-rounds of the playoffs before losing in the Stanley Cup Finals.  These young players have learned what it takes to get to the playoffs, and what it takes to go the distance.  They have lived it first-hand.  They will be a better team next season because of it.


3. Offensive Talent:  The Pittsburgh Penguins finished 7th in the league last season in goals for.  This was accomplished despite Sidney Crosby, one of league’s top offensive threats, out of the lineup for the last half of the season and Jordan Staal under-achieving in his offensive play.  Evgeni Malkin took the opportunity to come into his own and had a career season as a result, powering to the top of the league in points.  This coming season, the Penguins will look to have a full season’s service from the double-threat of Crosby and Malkin.  If Crosby and Malkin can both remain healthy, they will likely finish at or near the top of the league in scoring.  The swing factor next season will be Jordan Staal.  I am anticipating that he will break out of his sophomore scoring slump and put up a 25-30 goal season, partially closing the gap left by Ryan Malone.  Petr Sykora will continue to be a sniper on wing with his stellar shot.  Add to the mix newly acquired Miroslav Satan and Rusty Fedetenko, and I expect that the Penguins will best their offensive production from last season, despite the loss of Ryan Malone.  Note that Marian Hossa was not a key contributor in the Penguins’ regular season success, scoring just 3-goals for the Penguins in 12-games.
4. Goaltending:  Marc-Andre Fleury had a slow start last season.  Just after he was starting to return to form and gain some momentum in early December with 4-straight wins, he suffered the high-ankle injury that sidelined him for much of the latter part of the season.  When he returned in late February, few people expected him to be able to bounce back from the injury and lengthy time-off.  He quickly silenced any critics, however, by coming back and playing 13-games to end the season going 10-2-1 and giving up just 18-goals for a 1.38 GAA and impressive 0.945 save percentage.  He then went on into the playoffs and posted a 14-6 record while giving up just 41 goals in 20-games for a 2.05 GAA and 0.934 save percentage.  There is no question that Marc-Andre Fleury is an elite goaltender in this league and that he can perform under the pressure of playoff hockey.  The goaltending of Marc-Andre Fleury is sure to be a key factor that this team will rise to the top of the league again next season. 

5. Defensive System:  Had I said this last season, I would have been laughed at.  Last year I even called out the Penguins’ defense as their biggest shortcoming prior to the start of the season.  Some people still may not believe in the Penguins’ defense, however, over the course of this past season I have become a believer in the defensive system put in place by Coach Therrien that the team plays so well.  The key to the Penguins defensive system is not just the defensive corps itself nor the strategy employed, but the fact that the entire team embraces and plays it.  As a result, it has been effective for the Penguins and flexible enough to allow the offense to kick in when turnovers and scoring opportunities present themselves. 

There is plenty to be excited about if you are a fan of hockey, and even more so if you are a fan of Pittsburgh Penguins’ hockey.  Look for the Pittsburgh Penguins to return to the ice this fall hungrier than ever before to win.  For the reasons noted above, as well as many other reasons, they are poised to excel again this coming season and for the next several seasons to come.

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Penguins Beat the Leafs 6-4

The Pittsburgh Penguins came into Toronto tonight with one thing on their minds…..play desperate.  It was a rallying cry put in motion by Coach Therrien’s criticism of the team after Wednesday’s loss to Montreal in which he complained of a lack of desperation.  And although the team had a shaky defensive performance through 2 periods tonight, there was certainly no lack of desperation in the Pens play, as they outshot Toronto 52-27 and beat the Leafs by a score of 6-4. 

The Penguins got on the board early in the first period on a 43-foot even strength wrister by Erik Christensen at 5:09.  Adam Hall picked up the lone assist.  The advantage was quickly erased, however, as the Leafs Darcy Tucker struck back a minute and a half later on a 12-foot snapshot that went past Penguins netminder Dany Sabourin.  The Penguins defense and goaltending situation looked helpless again at 8:39, when the Leafs struck with a 9-foot snapshot by Nikolai Antropov, from Blake and Steen that beat Sabourin.  At 15:07, Dany Sabourin was bowled over by a Leafs player and left the game with an unspecified injury.  He was replaced in net by Marc-Andre Fleury.  At the end of the first period, the Penguins trailed 2-1, despite outshooting the Leafs 19-6.  Each team had two unsuccessful chances on the powerplay.

In the second period, it looked like things were only going to get worse as the Leafs’ Mats Sundin scored at 00:55 on an even strength snapper from 18-feet out that stymied Fleury.  And then it happened.  Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby, who had been struggling to find the back of the net, finally got lucky goal number one on a pass to Petr Sykora during a hard drive to the net that deflected in off the skate of a Leafs player.  The goal, coming at 6:31 and assisted by Petr Sykora and Sergei Gonchar, was the inspiration that the young Penguins needed.  Just 19 second later, Maxime Talbot pushed one by the Leafs tender to tie it up at 3.  Gary Roberts and Adam Hall assisteed on the goal, Hall’s second assist of the night.  At 16:00 of the second, the Penguins took the lead on an even-strength goal by Ryan Malone, from Jordan Staal and Evgeni Malkin.  But the lead was short-lived as Toronto’s Jason Blake  fired one past Fleury just 27 seconds later to send it into the thirs period tied at 4.  The Penguins outshot the Leafs 17-15 in the second.  Sidney Crosby traded roughing penalties with Nikolai Antropov late in the second in a heated face-washing session that almost became a fighting major.  Both teams were scoreless on the powerplay, with the Penguins getting 2 chances and the Leafs getting 1 opportunity.

Going into the third tied at four apiece and the Defense largely ineffective for both teams, it was truly anyone’s game.  But the defensive corps for the Penguins finally tightened up and allowed only 6 shots on goal, while the Penguins managed to fire off another 16.  The next goal came off the stick of Sidney Crosby (#2 on the night) at 14:38, a power play marker that he punched into the goal from behind the netminder after a hard shot by Darryl Sydor.   The assists were credited to Darryl Sydor and Mark Recchi.  But the one goal advantage looked tenuous as the Penguins Colby Armstrong took an ill-timed tripping call at the Pens blueline at 18:28, giving the Leafs the opportunity to pull their goalie for a two-man advantage.  Fortunately, Maxime Talbot was able to take advantage of the empty net chance, and threw the puck the length of the ice for the short-handed insurance marker at 19:10.  The game ended with a final score of 6-4, Penguins over the Leafs.

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The Penguins should feel good about their impressive offensive performance, putting 52 shots on goals and 6 pucks in the net.  Sidney Crosby put two in the net, including the game winner, and was selected the game’s #1 star.  Maxime Talbot picked up two goals, including a short-handed, empty net insurance goal.  Adam Hall picked up two assists and Jordan Staal got his first point of the season on an assist and nearly scored multiple times making his presence well known.  Evgeni Malkin, the game’s #3 star, added an assist and played like a man obsessed with the puck.  The Penguins also did well on the face-off tonight, winning a season high 57%. 

The Penguins should also feel good about Marc-Andre Fleury who played arguably his strongest game of the young season, despite coming in as the backup tonight.  The two goals he let in were not softies, and he had some particularly good saves at key moments of the game to enable the win.  The backup tender situation remains an area to watch, as Dany Sabourin had a bad start in net tonight and the extent of his injury that took him from the game is unknown, although I doubt it is anything of lasting significance.  Sabourin gave up 2 goals on the first 6-shots before being taken out of net.  Hopefully it was just an off night. 

The Penguins Defense still needs improvement, and was nearly non-existent through the first two frames.  Were it not for an equal absence of defense on the Leafs end of the ice, the results of this game would have been much different.  The Defensive corps also lost Brooks Orpik tonight after he took a fist to the face as he put a big hit on a Leaf player on the sideboards.  Orpik was down on the ice for a few minutes and although they rolled the stretcher for him, he was eventually assisted to his feet and helped off the ice in an obvious haze.  It would not surprise me if he suffered a concussion from the blow, but no further word on his condition was immediately available.   For the Penguins to excel this season, they need to address the depth and play of their defensemen. 

With the win, the Penguins climb to 0.500 (2-2-0), and will have a few days off to work on the areas of their game that still needs attention.  The Penguins host the next game against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday, Oct 17th.  Join us here at NHLPens.com for live in-game chat, scoreboard and optional audio feeds when the puck drops at 7:30PM.  Until then, Go Pens Go!