Pens interested in bringing Colby back?

TSN's Darren Dreger speculates...

With a clear disclaimer there are no guarantees any of these men will get moved, we present ten prominent players believed by NHL sources to be in the mix.

Atlanta's Colby Armstrong has attracted interest this season, including from Pittsburgh who would like to see him reunited with Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.

Armstrong has been one of few bright spots in Atlanta, scoring 13 goals (and 21 points) in 49 games so far this season...Last year in his time in Pittsburgh Colby scored just 9 goals (but had 24 total points) in 54 games before the trade. Army is also in Atlanta's alternate captain rotation and has been highlighted as an important piece of the Thrashers puzzle. Army's set to be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

It would be interesting to see what ATL would want in return. Could Ray Shero sell them Mark Eaton as a valuable defensemen (and have the T-bombs take Eaton's $2 million cap hit through next season)? That would be pretty big for the Penguins. Does Atlanta want a draft pick? Prospect(s)? That's the key, as well as any other contenders that might have more value for Atlanta.

It would be great to see Armstrong reunited; but then again he's been gone for 10 months and the world did not end. He's a popular teammate and among the fans but let's all remember he wasn't quite the answer as Sidney Crosby's winger last time, what would make this time any different?

Then Dreger noted:

Pittsburgh defenseman Ryan Whitney's name is making the rounds. Pens GM Ray Shero may use Whitney to lure a top line forward for a late-season charge.

Which wouldn't be surprising, either. Shero's got to make a move to snag a winger. With Whitney, Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski the Penguins have a glut of puck moving defensemen, even before the anticipated return of Sergei Gonchar. Obviously the writing is on the wall that one of the aforementioned three young defenders is going to be moved. We don't think it's Letang; he's the youngest of the bunch and is a prized right handed shot. Whitney has the most value, but would also be the best player for Pittsburgh to retain. Goose has been stuck in healthy scratch hell, largely through no fault of his own.

As always, stay tuned...

Slugger Ruslan Fedotenko out, Minard up

(image from the Pensblog)

The look on the Penguins faces on the bench is priceless. Miroslav Satan doesn’t seem too impressed though. But then again Satan hasn’t really been that much of anything inside a rink in quite a while.

Ruslan Fedotenko out 4-6 weeks on a broken hand from Colby Armstrong’s beak? Ouch. Rusty should leave the fighting to the big dogs. The shame too is Fedotenko was playing good hockey on the “European line” with Evgeni Malkin and Petr Sykora.

To replace Fedotenko, Chris Minard has been re-called. Minard’s scoring at an Ovechkin-esque rate: 26 goals in 30 games. Unfortunately when he’s been in the bigs Head Coach Michel Therrien—in all his wisdom, has given Minard 8 minutes a night, primarily playing with guys like Eric Godard. This time it should be different, Minard has been a pure goal scorer at every level. During the NHL lockout he scored 49 goals (in 69 games) playing with a playmaking center in Scott Gomez. Sure it was the ECHL, but still, if you can play with talented players it shows, despite the level of competition. With such few Penguins winger actually acting like they know how to play hockey, why not give Minard (now seasoned with 22 career NHL games) a legit shot at a chance on a scoring line.

If Therrien is smart, he'll make it happen. If he's lucky, Minard will somehow pinball around and end up on a top line with all the combination of switches. It's bound to happen, right?

Put the Pens in the Southeast..

Is it too late to petition realignment to the Southeastern Division? Pittsburgh, geographically, is more "eastern" than Atlanta and Tampa is, and techincally is closer to the Mason-Dixon line then it is to the Atlantic Ocean. You think Bettman would buy it? Yeah probably not, but the Pens feasted on Atlanta anyways (they're 3-0 against the T-bombs this year) to snap out of so many nasty streaks. Ok, that aside

--One of the more interesting developments is how short the Penguins fuses have become. Sidney Crosby famously jumped a guy over the weekend, but Colby Armstrong takes down Ruslan Fedotenko on a relatively normal play and Rusty challenges him to fisticuffs? Fedotenko's had three fights in his career with two of them coming in the past three weeks....And maybe he should think of not fighting again, as he appeared to hurt his hand after one-punching the prominent proboscis on Army's face.

--When you're in a slump (to say nothing of a slump of epic proportions), everyone preaches just getting the puck to the net to score an ugly one. And while the Penguins did look to get traffic to the net and get some point shots through, it's still amusing that the slump buster—a hard cross-ice pass in the zone from Ryan Whitney to Petr Sykora who redirected it-- was about the furthest thing from being ugly goal as you could get.

--A lot of people wondered if Sidney Crosby fired up his teammates, we’ll leave it to you to answer that, but we think he’s certainly gotten himself fired up. El Sid averaged 3.08 shots on goal over the first 39 games of the season. In the two games following Fight-Night 2009 he’s got 6.50 shots a night. It’s admittedly a small sample size but it is reflective of how he has cranked his intensity up a notch. And the work he’s doing in his own zone (winning faceoffs, taking pucks away, intercepting passes, starting breakouts) is just as good as the crisp passes and shots he’s getting at the offensive end.

--It obviously helps to play with guys like Crosby, Whitney and Evgeni Malkin, but where would the Penguins be without Sykora? Not just tonight but generally he’s been a monster, leading the team with 10 powerplay goals and 6 game winners on top of that.

--Marc-Andre Fleury deserves a lot of credit too. We've all been a little frustrated with him when he's been giving up early goals or somewhat weak goals, but he closed the door 27 out of 28 times, especially in the 3rd period when the Penguins were sitting on the lead and allowed too many good chances, as the 14-7 shot advantage for the T-bombs would suggest.

--We bet the only person who looks forward to playing against the Penguins more than Ilya Kovalchuk is Dany Heatley. The other "Kovy" has 18 goals and 15 assists in 26 career games against the Pens...Also at age 24 (25 in a couple months), doesn't it seem like Kovalchuk is already old? He's been in the NHL since our senior year of high school. And with young Russians like Malkin, Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin in the league, as hard as it is to imagine but Kovalchuk is fading off of conciousness, it seems. Of course, if he played somewhere like Montreal or Detroit this probably wouldn't be the case.

--As nice as it was to get the win, the second game scratch in a row of Hal Gill and Alex Goligoski didn't make our house happy. However perhaps it should be noted one of the TST whipping boys, Phillipe Boucher, was on the ice for both power play goals. Then again, you could probably put Paris Hilton on skates and tell her not to hump anyone and the likes of Crosby, Malkin, Whitney and Sykora could work the puck around and score a goal or two.

--Hit machine Brooks Orpik was credited with 10 more deserving crunches last night. And the stick he caught in the face Monday night makes his face look even more creepy/intense.

--From the "Everything Can't Go Right Department" two "top-six" wingers didn't finish the game due to injury as Pascal Dupuis joined Fedotenko in the sick bay. Could this be a chance for the Penguins to give Chris Minard (26 goals in 30 AHL games) a chance to play on a top line in the NHL? True Minard only has 1 goal in 22 career NHL games, but when you're playing 7-8 minutes a night with the likes of Eric Godard, well that's what you get.

Now is as good a time as any to hit the road on what will be (according to the mileage) the second most taxing roadie left on the schedule this year. Nashville on Thursday, a matinee with Colorado Saturday and then back east to take on those dastardly Flyers on Tuesday.

Sure it's early..

Yeah so if this NHL season was a person it barely be out of diapers, but let's give the devil his due (gahhh) compared to other notable line-mates of Sidney Crosby....

• Miroslav Satan: 7 games, 4 goals, 2 assists
• Marian Hossa: 5 games, 1 goal, 4 assists
• Ryan Malone: 6 games, 1 goal, 0 assists
• Gary Roberts: 6 games, 0 goals, 0 assists
• Mark Recchi: 6 games, 2 goals, 0 assists
• Erik Christensen: 6 games, 0 goals, 1 assist
• Colby Armstrong: 6 games, 2 goals, 0 assists

Just sayin'.....

Why does Colby look unhappy

A) Because of the hideous jersey (We could have sworn it said "Trashers" at first view...and numbers on the front, really?)

B) Because it's going to be a long season in Atlanta

Stone looking to move on

Unsurprisingly, Ryan Stone isn't pleased with the Pens decision to relegate him (yet again) to the minor leagues. Any team will have a chance to claim him, but to be honest we can't see another team liking this unproven 23 year old any more than they like their own lower-line grinders currently on the roster.

Stone told the Wilkes-Barre media that he would like to move on, and there's nothing wrong with that. He feels like he's earned his chance to play at the NHL and if another team agrees, he'll be gone. These comments have made a little bit of waves on the internet, but we don't think Stone said anything egregious, Stone's not requesting a trade or airing any dirty laundry, he just understandably wants to play in the NHL and is disappointed the Pens don't want him there right now. If Stone makes it to WB/S, he says he'll be a good soldier and keep working on getting the team where it needs to be until his time may come.

As the article very astutely points out, Colby Armstrong was in the same situation getting sent down (and exposed to waivers) at the beginning of his 4th professional season and many thought his NHL chances were pretty much over forever.

By season's end that year (2005-06) Armstrong was playing on a line with Sidney Crosby.

Fortunes can indeed rise and fall very that quickly in professional hockey. Stone can look no further than a perfect example in Paul Bissonnette, who as we chronicled was very deep in management's doghouse last year and now this year is one of their darlings and a "strong candidate" to play for Pittsburgh at some point this season. A couple injuries and Stone--provided his attitude is up and his performance is there--could get a real shot in the show.

Until then, time to keep working.

Key quote by Shero...

From the Pensblog who linked the Shero presser...

"Come training camp we're going to be than we were [at that time] last year."

--Last year's top 6 entering training camp:

Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Mark Recchi, Colby Armstrong, Petr Sykora and Ryan Malone.

This year:

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin [a year stronger, smarter and better], Petr Sykora, and three unknowns.

How Shero fills those unknowns will decide the outcome of the year. But it's very like he can fill those holes better than a 38 year old Mark Recchi, a glorified checker in Colby Armstrong and Ryan Malone.

A lot of Pens' fans are acting like Chicken Little, but the sky is not falling. Marian Hossa is gone and that does suck, but it's not the end of the world. The Penguins still have the absolute best caliber of players from about the age of 19-24 in the league. No other team has the base of Crosby, Malkin, Jordan Staal, Marc-Andre Fleury and Ryan Whitney. Relax. Free agents come and they go, it's a business. The main thing is retaining the core and surrounding it with talent. See how Shero fills things out before slipping it out.

Draft update: No update

The NHL completed the first round of the 2008 draft tonight....And the following happened:

• Evgeni Malkin was not traded
• The rights to Marian Hossa were not traded
• The rights to Ryan Malone were not traded

Furthermore, Atlanta took someone named Daultan Leveille with the Pens first round pick to complete the Marian Hossa deal.

So, in exchange for a first-line forward in Hossa (plus a mad-man beard grower Pascal Dupuis) the Pens gave up a plateau'd 3rd line forward (Colby Armstrong), a shootout specialist who couldn't hack it on the skill lines (Erik Christensen), a prospect with no upper body strength and supposedly questionable heart (Angelo Esposito) plus a dude TSN had ranked at 35th overall that respected journalist Bob McKenzie said was "[a] tall and skinny [dude and he] played at a low level".

And Hoss scored 26 points in 20 games. We'll take that trade every day of the week, and twice on Sundays when you're talking about going to the Stanley Cup Finals.

in regards to tomorrow, what you know about pick 120? Hoo-hoo!!!!

It's setting in

Shockwaves of the deal will be felt for a long time, but we went back tonight, before calling it a night and found a picture that does speak 1000 words. Wanted to share it. In all the jubilation and, well, shock that Ray Shero had the fortitude to make such a ballsy deal, the focus was more on what the Penguins were getting and how it all may or may not fit into the big picture for next year's salary cap situation.

But the reality that the Penguins altered their lineup and chemistry so drastically is finally starting to sink in. It'll be interesting to see how the team gels and comes together in the last 18 games before the playoffs. Judging by tonight's 4-2 win over the Fishsticks (yes apparantely there was actual games today), round 1 was a success.

Still, it's going to be difficult to replace a guy who brings things like this to the table...

Farewell, Army

Best of luck to Colby Armstrong and Erik Christensen. On a personal note, as this blog editor grew up, learned the internet and started following and tracking prospects Brooks Orpik's 2000 draft class was the first, but Army and EC were two guys we've followed for almost 7 and 6 years now respectively.

We were in attendence for Armstrong's first ever game with the Penguins. It was September of 2002, a preseason game in Washington DC. Armstrong scored 2 goals that night, it was wonderful. We won't stop following either player--or stop being fans, but it's going to be strange not having them in the organization.

In that strange way we'll all get the chance have some closure this Sunday when Atlanta comes to town...It sure will be surreal to see Colby and Crusher wearing Atlanta Thrasher jerseys. But it's the world we live in now.

Responding to Empty Netters

We like the blog on the post-gazette's website, Empty Netters (even if they never link or make mention of us!.

His inital reaction to the big trade is not favorable. Let's offer the other side of the coin:

OUR TAKE: We don't like this deal at all on many levels.
1.) Hossa is a noted playoff underachiever. He's produced only 35 points in 55 postseason games. After racking up 100 points during the regular season last year, he disappeared in Atlanta's four-game sweep at the hands of the Rangers producing only one assist.

Before last season Daniel Alfredsson (and pretty much every other Senator) was considered a note playoff under-achiever too.

True, Hossa didn't put Atlanta on his back, but neither did Ilya Kovalchuk, Keith Tkachuk, etc etc. Atlanta a relatively inexperienced team that was straight up over-matched all the way across the board by a more veteran New York Ranger team.

Hossa's play in the playoffs will determine, ultimately, whether this was a good deal or a terrible one. Our thoughts are: elite skill players will perform with other skill. It's worked with Jagr/Lemieux, it's worked with Crosby/Malkin, it's worked Hossa/Kovalchuk and it will work Crosby/Hossa.

Especially when dude man is playing for a payday.

2.) This flies directly in the face of the philosophy the Penguins supposedly have as far not giving up too much of the future for the present.

That is true, Shero always said he wanted to build through the draft and younger guys. But he swung this deal without sacrificing guys like Kris Letang, Jordan Staal, Alex Goligoski or any of the young core.

The Penguins gave up a guy who has reached his ceiling (Colby Armstrong), and a player who wouldn't get quality minutes at his natural position of center (Erik Christensen). Shero did trade a "boom or bust" guy in Angelo Esposito (who doesn't seem comfortable on the wing) and also likely a late first round pick.

There's no doubt it's a heavy price to pay. But it's made the Penguins into a real contender. Pittsburgh, for the first time in our estimation since 1996 now has the team to beat in the East. If Hossa goes to Ottawa, this is not the case. So if you can pony up the brass of a riverboat gambler why not make it?

3.) What does this do to the team's chemistry? Armstrong was one of the team's most popular players.

This is a valid point. Aside from being Crosby's best bud on the team, Armstrong was a teammate of many of these guys coming up through Wilkes-Barre.

But they are professionals and this is ultimately a business. Life goes on. At the end of the day the organ-eye-zation did what it thought was best to put the team in a position to hoist the Stanley Cup THIS year.

4.) Can they guarantee Hossa returns following the season? He's a free agent when the season ends and he's been asking for big money.

No, there is no guarantee, which is why the risk. And even if the Penguins COULD resign Hossa, does that mean they should? That would likely mean about $30 million would be invested in three forwards. No one knows what the future holds and this might end up being a very expensive rental.

The Penguins sacrificed two roster players that seem largely replacable and are not going to have top-line draft picks trickling through the organization in the coming years. But the Pens have the depth of guys like Ryan Stone and Jonathan Filewich that can play a large role in the NHL next season. The cubbard isn't totally bare.

Don't get us wrong, Marian Hossa is an absurdly talented player. But he comes with a lot of baggage.

Don't call it a comeback

When Sidney Crosby went down with a high ankle sprain, most thought the same thoughts when Marc-Andre Fleury suffered the same injury. Hopefully the Penguins could keep their head just above water until their #1 center and #1 goalie could return, went the hypothesis. Luckily Evgeni Malkin (27 points in 14 games of flying solo) and Ty Conklin (16-4-3!) did not harbor such thoughts. They have risen to the top in league categories--Malkin in points, Conklin in save percentage and have not just held the Pens heads above water, why they're powering the team towards the playoffs injuries be damned!

• Ryan Malone has been playing some inspired hockey as well. Maybe it's the recent birth of his first son, maybe it's realizing he could be cashing in on a pretty good payday this summer, whatever it is we don't care. Malone's been a force and has finally shown that he will be consistent in driving to the net, playing physical, getting pucks on goal and generally living up to his hype.
• How 'bout this stat line for the Sarge: 27:00 TOI, 1 assist, +2, 5 shots, 3 blocked shots and 2 hits. We'll take that kind of effort anyday.
• Colby Armstrong (who scored the ice-breaking first goal) threw 4 shots on net and really seemed to be making an effort to get off more shots. His empty net goal (the first in 16 games for him) seemed to have made a big difference in his confidence with the puck and tonight he really played well. Weird how something as simple as flippng a puck into an unmanned crease from behind the blueline can so postively effect a player, but it worked for Army.
• What else can you say about Ty Conklin. He's been terrific. Better than that. Early in the game, somehow, the Penguins gave up 3 clean breakaways. He Conkblocked the first 2 of them and probably let the third one in just to teach his team a lesson.
• For the opposition: David Booth has 18 goals this year, which is about 13 more than we here at TST would have guessed before this game began. Good for him for quietly having a good year. Also, Kamil Kreps also was good too when he had the puck, a lot of burst out of him. One gets the feeling that the Panthers have the makings of a good team, they just need a couple more pieces and some more experience and maybe they don't blow leads like their last game and this one.

The Rangers were up 5-0 on the Canadiens tonight, so them losing in a shootout must be something of a best case scenario for the rest of the Atlantic Division. Speaking of shootout losses, the Flyers decided to get in on that party too. New Jersey and the Islanders were idle, so a good night for the Pens who claw back up into a tie of first with the Devils (NJ holds the tiebrake based on better head to head record).

Pens win, Pens win

In what's been a common occurrence...

• The Penguins win
• The Penguins get heavily outshot
• The Penguins lose more faceoffs than they win
• Sergei Gonchar gets a powerplay point
• Evgeni Malkin has a multipoint game
• Jarkko Ruutu scores a goal

Ok, so only the last bullet point hasn't been that common of a happening, but it was important for Pittsburgh to win tonight, lest this become their third loss in a row in what starts a 7 game stretch in 12 games.

Also some notes:

• We'll give Coach Therrien credit for shuffling lines a little. The unit of Malone-Malkin-Sykora hadn't generated an even strength goal in 2 games and the whole team struggled. Therrien was smart enough to keep his two most skilled guys together and add Maxime Talbot to the mix. Talbot brought his usual energy and determination and I thought he did well to generate chances (including Malkin's back-breaker of a goal).
• Speaking of Geno, he's now just one point behind Alex Ovechkin, with a game in hand. Perhaps the trophy engravers should wait a minute or two; a lot of the awards that most conceded to Ovechkin a couple weeks ago are very much up for grabs.....Just imagine what Malkin's going to do on the powerplay in a couple of weeks when Sidney Crosby does get back.
• Due to EC and Kris Beech's injuries some new faces got in the lineup and particularly Connor James made a better impression than his last stint.
• What a tribute to the Pens organizational depth to be missing so many regulars for so long and have players young and old to step up from the AHL and contribute. This year's regular season success is starting to match last season's remarkable turnaround but there's no doubt that this has to be more satisying; there's been tons more adversity to deal with and the core has kept getting favorable results despite the key injuries.
• Ty Conklin is now 15-4-3. 15-4-3. Sorry, just had to type that again.
• Ryan Malone handled his demotion well, generating two assists, the first one a perfect two-line breakout pass to Ruutu who had just exited the penalty box.
• Nice to see Ruutu and Colby Armstrong get goals. Obviously these guys aren't going to--or are supposed to--contribute at top tier rates, but as we know depth and secondary supporting is necessary and has to come from somewhere. Can't be Malkin and Sykora shouldering all the burden every single night.

Reinforcements trickling in!

--Colby Armstrong practiced yesterday and virtually declared himself good to go.

--Adam Hall practiced hard and while he didn’t give his unconditional return tomorrow night, it does seem like he’ll be back sooner than later; which is good news for the Pens faceoff rates and penalty kills.

Sadly America can’t deny crappy hockey players for long, as Kris Beech is in-country. But don’t expect him in the lineup tomorrow night. Michel Therrien is not a fan of Beech at all; the last time the two were together was a playoff run in Wilkes-Barre in 2005. Despite a great AHL roster (featuring among others Armstrong, Ryan Whitney, Erik Christensen, Michel Ouellet, Max Talbot, Rob Scuderi, Tomas Surovy, Shane Endicott and Marc-Andre Fleury) the Baby Pens were bounced in the 2nd round. Therrien was less than pleased, especially with Beech not really carrying the banner as far as he should. Beech would get traded that summer. To Nashville (where Ray Shero was assistant GM).

Speaking of Fleury; according to the PG he went through a rigorous on ice pre-practice workout and is going to give it a go in an actual practice today. It’s been 9 weeks now since he suffered an ankle sprain, which thanks to the solid play of Ty Conklin doesn’t actually seem that long. One gets the feeling that the NHL at large is learning more and more about the high ankle and how to treat it.

Earlier--even this season, you saw guys try to rush back before 100% (Talbot and Washington’s Alex Semin) only to have a setback. Because of the low bloodflow to the area plus the importance of pushing off your ankle (especially for a butterfly goalie) you just can’t rush it. The ankle will get better when it gets better and all you can do is just wait it out. Surely that’s going to be the strategy for Sidney Crosby. He’s too important and it’s too late in the season to suffer a protracted setback.

Now that some familiar faces are set to start trickling back in the lineup, let’s look at a line scenario (assuming Armstrong and Hall are ready and Jarkko Ruutu is not suspended).

Malone-Malkin-Sykora
Christensen-Staal-Talbot
Ruutu-Hall-Armstrong
Filewich-Smith-Laraque

Why, that’s almost starting to look like an NHL lineup again!

Jonathan Filewich has given a lot of energy and is playing balls out. He hasn’t had “Tyler Kennedy” level impact, but he’s been better, to us, than any of the Tim Brent’s and Ryan Stone’s that have gotten the same chance.

Nathan Smith continues to impress as a reliable lower line center. If he can keep winning faceoffs (he’s at 66.7% but only has only taken 15 draws in his two games up) then he might be able to carve out a niche as a 4th line center for a while. It will be a numbers game though, even after those close to returning come back the Pens still have three more forwards that will be back sooner or later (Crosby, Kennedy and Gary Roberts) that will probably knock Smith back to Wilkes-Barre. But Smith has proved to be good depth so far.

Jokes and jokes and jokes

This article on Jarrko Ruutu yesterday got me thinking about all the pranks the Penguins have pulled in the past 12 months….Many have made it to the media so we can only wonder what hasn’t been reported and isn’t common knowledge. My guess: a lot of good stuff.

But here’s what we know:

--Someone (believed to be Ruutu) put baby powder all over Sidney Crosby’s towel so when he used it he was covered in it.
--Someone (again thought to be Ruutu) sewed the pants legs of rookie Kris Letang’s suit together.
--Max Talbot wore Crosby’s jersey and helmet out to a game-day skate duping thousands in Toronto.
--Marc-Andre Fleury stuffed himself inside of Colby Armstrong’s hockey bag while the team was in practice, waited patiently and then jumped out of it when Army was about to put his gear in.
--Armstrong and Georges Laraque staged a locker room confrontation last season just weeks after Laraque was acquired. The rouse was that Laraque found a racist drawing in/near his locker and accused Armstrong of it. Army denied but then admitted to it at which point he was “attacked” by BGL, much to the horror of the team.

As mentioned, we’re sure guys like Armstrong and Talbot have pulled a lot more pranks that have never (and probably never will) reach the light of day.

Why so much goofing around and light-hearted fun? Well, for one it's very a young team, the average age in the lineup last night was 26.15. When Talbot and Fleury return, that age will be lower still. And if you take into account some of the more veteran players (namely Laraque and Ruutu) that do not act their age; well that ought to bring the average down further. Sure there are some pretty vanilla guys like Rob Scuderi and Adam Hall that come to the rink every day to do their job and not much else, but the out-going nature of a whole host of individuals on the team keeps everyone on their toes, on the lookout for no shortage of mischievous activity.
Plus, when you have a winning atmosphere, things are naturally a little looser and a little more jovial than if you're not.

We also like that whether you're the face of the NHL's marketing push or a fresh-faced rookie, you have the same chance of getting a prank pulled on you. It's hard to imagine someone pulling this even on Mario Lemieux back in the mid-80s. Just goes to show, when it comes to the locker room Sid really is "just another one of the boys".

Split up Malkin and Crosby or no?

What to do with the new-age Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic (or even Steve Yzerman and Sergei Fedorov, I suppose)? Just as in their day, many wondered how to best utilize supremely talented natural centers when two wind up on the same team. Should they be used together often at even strength? Or just when the team needed a goal or shot in the arm? Or hardly ever at all, regardless of the situation? I believe the Avs and Red Wings tried a mixture of all these schools of thoughts over parts of several different seasons.

Arguments for using a regular Malkin/Crosby even strength line:
+ Supremely skilled players play at a higher level when they’re with like minded players. Things were easier (not to mention happier) when a guy named Jaromir Jagr got to play with Ron Francis and Mario Lemieux and not carry a line of scrubs like Kip Miller and Josef Beranek.
+ Lack of consistent skill wingers. Colby Armstrong has been great the last handful of games, but he’s proven to be a pretty inconsistent point producer. Same can be said of Ryan Malone. Petr Sykora and Jordan Staal certainly have the skill, but both have had disappointing seasons in statistical categories for long stretches. Erik Christensen and Georges Laraque have had limited chances with Malkin, and for good reason, both have stunk in top 6 roles and shouldn’t even be in the argument.
+ It will open more up (in theory) for others. Surely opponents will have to use their #1 checking forward line and their #1 defenseman to do everything possible to limit Crosby and Malkin. This should, in theory, let guys like Malone, Staal and Sykora play against weaker defensive forwards and defenseman which should translate into more chances and goals for them.
+ Keeps them on the same page. Fimiliarity, obviously, is a good thing. Every practice, every shift, these two become a little more in sync with each other’s tendencies, strengths and weaknesses and that should benefit all aspects of their game. You have to play these guys together more often than just the powerplay and having them on the same line should create more cohesion. Let’s not forget these guys are 20 and 21 year olds and have been in the same lineup for probably about 115 games. They hardly have the rapport of a duo that’s been together for years, for obvious reasons, it has to come from experience playing together.
+ To maximize both players ice time. At even strength Therrien is pretty good about rolling four lines and there’s been criticism that he doesn’t play Crosby and Malkin enough. Obviously it’d be easier to play them more if they’re playing together.

Arguments for splitting up Crosby and Malkin at even strength:
- It makes the Penguins a 1 line team. As mentioned, you know the opponents shutdown units are going to be 100% focused on the top line. And if they do keep the big guns off the scoreboard it’s going to mean the team as a whole is struggling. Secondary scoring hasn’t been as good as expected anyways.
- Malkin is a natural center anyways. Malkin’s size, vision and playmaking ability means he’s a natural at center. He should not be used in a position where he might not be able to utilize 100% of his skills and ability.
- To make others better. Crosby has had gotten good stretches of play out of guys like Armstrong and Malone. The same can be said for Malkin with Staal (last season) and Sykora. The secondary players aren’t producing now, but perhaps their best bet is to still be played with these talented centers and not left to fend for themselves.



As you can see, there’s good arguments pro and con. Personally we here believe that the current course of action is right: leave them together now because the team needs the offensive boost without Fleury and the two are playing darn well right now. In the future, while I don’t think they should be permanent linemates, I think there’s good reason to keep experimenting with it for more situations than just at the end of the game if the team needs a goal.

And, as a bonus, here’s two potential line combinations (done by me) for both scenarios. Feel free to pipe up in the comments and say what you like better or suggest your own. Everyone loves to play coach when you can’t take the blame of a loss!

Malkin-Crosby-Armstrong
Malone-Staal-Sykora
Kennedy-Christensen-Laraque
Ruutu-Taffe-Hall

Malone-Crosby-Armstrong
Staal-Malkin-Sykora
TK-EC-BGL
Ruutu-Taffe-Hall

Since there’s only 12 forwards, all with pretty defined roles, there’s not much room for switching around.

Welcome to 2008

Let's light the fires and kick the tires!

A Gordie Howe Hat Trick and a WIN!

In his effort to be like his landlord (who once fought a man named Brad Ference), Sidney Crosby dropped the gloves with a man named Andy Ference in his first career fight. Sid acquited himself well, but it was the result of choosing an equal partner. We think if it was the monsterous Zdeno Chara harassing him, Mr. Bing probably doesn't drop the gloves.

Speaking of Chara, he fought Georges Laraque twice. You could tell both men were not used to fighting an opponent so big and so strong, because it looked more awkward than my 7th grade dance. Perhaps the caution could be expected, you could tell both men respected the other's power.

By the way, in post lockout seasons the Penguins have had 35 and 33 fights....They have 22 fights already through just 34 games so far, well on pace to smash the previous marks. Just a little fact I found interesting.

Notes:
``Horrible blowing a 4 goal lead, it looked like the Pens mailed it in after jumping up to such a big lead so early in the contest. But no lead is safe when Ty freakin Conklin is in net. But at the end of the day it's not how you do it, it's if you do it. The Pens took two points on the road.
``By virtue of surrendering 4 goals, the Penguins became the 2nd non-South Leastern Eastern conference team to break 100 goals allowed so far. The other is Toronto. Not good company to be in.
``With two points in the standings the Pens are in 7th place in the conference (tied with Florida but with a game in hand). But don't be fooled: every team behind them (except Washington) is within 4 points. So the win was one badly needed to get to the head of the pack.
``Sidney Crosby has 12 even strength goals. His production without the man advantage has been fueling the team. Vinny Lecavalier is having a great season--he's got 53 points compared to Sid's 46, and deserves the praise he's getting, but Crosby is playing excellently too.
``Speaking of the top line, will the Therrien haters give him credit for stacking the topline of Malkin-Crosby-Armstrong? Obviously they won't, but it was a good choice. This trio combined for 3 goals and 4 assists (all at even strength) is the first 12 minutes of the game!
``Colby Armstrong had his finest game of the year, 3 assists, played 20 minutes and was a +4. Hard to believe he was in the doghouse and a healthy scratch just a few weeks ago. The rise and fall of a long hockey season is something else, isn't it?
``As crappy of a season as you'd think he's had judging from the fans, Ryan Whitney is now 22nd in the entire league in defensemen scoring (and tied for first in PP goals).
``Is there a better team in shootouts than the Penguins? I don't have the resources (or time or mindpower) to analyze records across the league, but it really seems like the Penguins pretty much win almost every time they shootout. And Kris Letang is getting the confidence (a perfect 3 for 3), he's a weapon on it. It's not Malkin (0 for 4) and Crosby (1 for 5) that pull the Pens to victory, it's guys like Letang and of course the shootout maestro Erik Christensen (who's now 4 for 5).
``Another thought: we often hear how the NHL nowadays focuses a lot more on scouting, and pre-game prep time like coaches watching video. If not the head coach, couldn't at least goalie coaches start notifying them that Christensen really only has two variations (on the same deke) that he pulls every. single. time. And just as sure as the Penguins win, he scores them. Every time. Just sayin'.
``I guess that's why the Penguins always win; with EC going first and being pretty much automatic that's a huge relief right there. Plus now with Letang scoring every attempt all the goalie has to do is prevent one goal from going in and the shootout is practically over.

Better to win

Pens strike Oil and the Anatomy of a Good Coaching move

Road win tonight, unlikey since the Pens were 1-9-2 this season when entering the 3rd period. But here's what I found most interesting:

--The first two periods were the quietest of Sidney Crosby's season so far. For whatever reason, he didn't have his usual spark, his game wasn't there. So to the dismay of messgae board posters, Michel Therrien puts Crosby on the bench for about 6-7 minutes; obviously something unusual for your #1 center and star player on a night when you're only dressing 11 forwards anyways.

How does Crosby respond? With one of his most forceful periods in the 3rd, where he had 3 assists.

Credit Crosby for really responding. Whether sitting the bench refined his focus, gave him perspective, gave him a minute to catch his breath from all the interviews and pressure for going to Western Canada, whatever. Whatever it was, it worked.

A lot of fans are quick to scream bloody murder when a coach does something they disagree with and don't give much credit for when a decision/strategy/plan pays off. Credit Therrien for doing what he thought was right. It wasn't as if he benched Crosby for a period, but he did sit him long enough to send a message. And by the way Sir Sid responded, clearly the intended effects worked 100%.

Other notes:
``You could tell Edmonton backed off once they had a 2 goal lead. A lot of dumping and chasing and clogging the neutral zone. Bad mistake. You can't back off on a team with so much firepower. 4 goals in 7:25 minutes later, the Oilers probably learned this lesson.
``Sergei Gonchar's return to the lineup and no defensemen were scratched, 7 played. Adam Hall joined Jarrko Ruutu as healthy scratches. Old Man Recchi was technically a healthy scratch, but since he didn't even make the road trip, obviously he's not really a part of the team.
``Maxime Talbot's diving effort on the first goal really lit a fire under the team too. His effort and enthusiam is contagious. It shows. He's such a valuable player.
``Marc-Andre Fleury was THIS close to scoring an empty net goal. Defenseman Tom Gilbert was the last line of defense and he barely got his glove on a clearing effort that appeared to be otherwise on target. The Oil quickly took the puck the other way and Fleury remained sharp making a good save on super rookie Sam Gagner. Another good, if not spectacular game, for Fleury. He did what he had too and he really looks confident out there right now. That's a good sign.
``Quiet night for guys like Evgeni Malkin and Petr Sykora. But Mark Eaton and Colby Armstrong each had 2 point nights. So figure. Armstrong scored what would be the game winner on a deflection of a Eaton shot. Colby very well have just stolen the only goal Eaton would get all year, but given the team won, I doubt Eaton would mind.

A win is a win is a win. The Penguins dominated about the first 7-8 minutes in the game and then fell into a big rut until about the last 15. But at the end of the season these two points will look just the same as a complete 60 minute effort.

The Penguins don't have too long to celebrate as there's a game tomorrow night in Calgary. Calgary's been surprisingly loose in giving up goals by their standards from past years, so hopefully momentum will carry over a little bit.

Irony: Pens WIN on a bench minor penalty

Yes, after very publically being hit up for six (and counting) bench minors this season, the Penguins--courtesy of Kris Letang (on a great no-look feed from who else but Sidney Crosby), ended up scoring the game-winning powerplay goal on a penalty taken by the Coyotes on a too many men penalty of their own.

Bottom line, when the opposing coach's quote says: "We didn't deserve to win this hockey game" as Wayne Gretzky did you know as the opponent, you did deserve it. To that point the Pens outshot the 'Yotes 33-18, and the only goal scored by the visitors was with an extra man.

And, quietly, 17 saves on 18 shots on net for Marc-Andre Fleury earning another win to draw the Pens regulation record to 12-12. Also, it's worth pointing out Ryan Whitney night, picking up the still injured Sergei Gonchar's slack: playing a game high 28:14 (including an incredible 13:00 in powerplay minutes)....Geno Malkin threw 10 shots at net (5 on goal that were all saved, 3 that were blocked by defenders and 2 that missed the net outright). But Makin skated hard and, as usual, looked dangerous every time he touched the puck...Defensively, Brooks Orpik played more even strength + short-handed minutes than any other Penguin defenseman and was a +1 while leading all rear guards with 3 blocked shots and 3 hits.

Credit all the hard work from the boys. This is game is surely one a team with playoff aspirations needs to win and the Penguins did so, in convincing fashion.

Bring on Western Canada; hopefully the young bucks Colby Armstrong and Erik Christensen will play with extra intensity for their first NHL games back close to their boyhood homes.

But, before 3 games in 4 nights in a different country on a different coast, let's enjoy this one.....As the Capitals bloggers love to say, it has been a TWO POINT NIGHT!!!!

Give Thanks: Pens Somehow Pull One Out

The Ottawa Senators have clearly been the class of the Eastern Conference over the first seven weeks of the season. Given how the Pens have played, if you told me:

• the Penguins would be on the road AND
• in a two-goal hole not once but twice (including in the 3rd period) AND
• that the Sens would tally 5 goals and Sidney Crosby and Geno Malkin would combine for 1 goal and 1 assist

I'd tell you another Penguins loss.

But it wasn't to be, thanks to Jarrko Ruutu's game deciding shootout goal in a 6-5 decision. To get the win is huge, but the manner and fashion to which the Penguins EARNED this outcome is even more important.

Consider:

• Colby Armstrong and Ryan Malone were great (combining for 2g, 3a and a +4). They got the chance to play with Crosby at even strength and made the most of it. When both players play aggressively and with and edge, they're at their best.
• Quiet night on the scoreboard for Jordan Staal (who at least recorded an assist, only his 2nd of the year) and Erik Christensen. But both were instrumental in the win by doing the little things; most notably EC's shootout goal.
• After giving up 2 goals on 4 shots, Fleury got the quick hook. The team wasn't playing horrible to that point, but obviously Therrien's gamble paid off. If it didn't, one has to wonder, would he be joining Glen Hanlon in the unemployment line?
• Your Sergei Gonchar line for the night: 1 goal, 1 assist, +2, 30:35 TOI, 3 blocked shots, 1 hit, 1 glorious game-saving takeaway. Another magnificent night for the Sarge.

This game could surely be analyzed much more. Like the Pens poor powerplay ratio or getting badly outshot, etc, etc.

At the end of the day, 2 points in the ledger is 2 points in the ledger. This was surely one of the most intense games of the season and the definition of a satisfying win. Play this same game 5 times and the Sens might very well win 4 of them again, like they did in the 2007 playoffs. But right now the Pens came away with the W and perhaps remember what it's like to play uptempo, exciting hockey. And a little more confidence from a win.

Next up, a day off and then a visit from the red hot Atlanta Thrashers (11-4 since coaching change). But for now, let's soak up this victory. A happy Thanksgiving to you all. One made happier still by the Pens outcome tonight!