Top 10 Penguins moments of 2008

Before some enterprising blog gets on it, we better run down a list of the top 10 Penguins moments of the calendar year 2008, like Peerless is doing for the Caps. The top moments of 2007 can be found here. You know, on the 2007 recap we said it would be hard to top that year, but a magical playoff run sure did the trick. If 2009 can one-up 2008 we’re in for some fun for sure.


#10 Sidney Crosby creates memories at the Winter Classic

The game itself was not too good: the idea of a Winter Classic is a made for TV gimmick, and under heavy snow and in bone trembling cold is not really the best way to showcase the skill and speed of hockey to a nation of casual New Years Day watching folks. But when you talk of gimmicks, you talk about the shootout, so what better way for the NHL than to have their poster boy with “the game on his stick”. And of course he buries it.

Also what may be the longest lasting aspect of this game: it really cemented the fact the Pens would bring back their retro blue jerseys in the years to come. And the blue jerseys have done well, in pretty much every ranking you see they take the prize for being the best alternate jersey in the league.



#9 Penguins win first Atlantic Division title in 10 years

The old marketing slogan “Experience the Evolution” could at this point be retired, because the Pens had figuratively crawled out of the slime of a 23 win season just two seasons before this point and now were the champs of arguably the most balanced and competitive division year in and year out in hockey. To win the division with all the injuries and adversity battled through was the mark of a team coming full circle, knowing their destiny and going out to grab it. Of course no one sets out only to win a division championship; it’s a nice banner but not the only one a team strives for.

#8 Ground broken on new arena

Getting the funding secured was the #1 story of 2007, but a couple guys with shovels makes #8 this season. With the economy in such turmoil as it is right now the Penguins timing was perfect in getting locked into their new home when they did. It’s hard to imagine things playing out the same way if they deferred another year.

#7 Evgeni Malkin signs identical contract to Sidney Crosby

One of the biggest questions going into the off-season was how Evgeni Malkin’s contract situation would play out. Sure, Geno would still be under contract for 2008-09, but summer 2008 was the first time the Penguins could talk extension with him. Many people wondered if Malkin would accept less money than Crosby and if the Penguins would be willing to offer Malkin more money than their captain, if the Russian so demanded. Some even dreamt up ridiculous trade rumors that had a few Pens fans nervous (not us though).

At the end of the day, Malkin decided that he would sign the exact same deal Sidney Crosby got, five years at $8.7 million a season ($43.5 million total). This was huge, it showed Malkin obviously liked Pittsburgh and wanted to be here and prevented any media fed rumors about Crosby or Malkin being unhappy/jealous with the paychecks of one another. By taking a fifth year Malkin also forfeited one year of his unrestricted free agency, and by accepting a yearly salary at a rate moderately under what he could have gotten as a RFA it allows the Penguins to spend a little more to round out the roster.


#6 Crosby gets injured, Malkin picks up banner, doesn’t look back

January 18th, 2008 could have signaled the death knell of the Penguins season when Sidney Crosby slid into the end boards and suffering a high ankle sprain that would hamper him really right until the end of the year. Crosby was the defending Art Ross, Hart and Pearson trophy winner and was leading the scoring race at the time of injury. For most teams it might have been an excuse to slump down the standings. For the Penguins and Evgeni Malkin it was just a challenge.

Malkin put up 54 points (24 goals, 30 assists) in the last 36 games after the Crosby injury, rocketing the Penguins up the charts and into the Stanley Cup playoffs with a dangerous mix of momentum and confidence.

#5 Redemption: Pens sweep Sens

Spring 2007 saw the Senators as a dangerous team and the Penguins as the new kid’s just cutting their teeth on playoff experience. Ottawa dished out a lesson to Pittsburgh that year, quickly disposing the Penguins in five games. Fast forward a year to April 2008 and the situations couldn’t have been more reversed. Even though Ottawa won the Eastern Conference in 2007 and started out the 07-08 season with a blistering 25-8-4 record, they were in full on collapse mode by the time the playoffs started, sliding in as the #7 seed.

The Penguins easily won Game 1 4-0 on the strength of Senator killer Gary Roberts’ two goals (the last goals he’d score as a Penguin, by the way). The Pens rallied back 5-3 to win Game 2 with two goals from Petr Sykora and Ryan Malone. The Sens did show some life in this game and took a lead, giving their fan base hope of being competitive when the series shifted to Ottawa for the next two games.

Going into the 3rd period of game three, the score was 1-0 Penguins. Sidney Crosby and Jordan Staal scored goals in the opening 1:30 of the period and it deflated the Sens and their crowd.

With the chance for a sweep the Penguins didn’t let their foot off the Senators’ necks, winning 3-1 on an effort capped off by a Crosby empty net goal.


#4 Pens defeat Rangers, end Jagr’s NHL career

The Penguins had an eight day layoff between the first and second round and it showed. The Rangers jumped out to a 3-0 lead just three minutes into the second period of Game 1 Mellon Arena and the fans were stunned. But the Penguins rallied back with quick strikes: Jarkko Ruutu and Pascal Dupuis scored goals :14 seconds apart to cut the score to 3-2. Then in the third period Petr Sykora and Marian Hossa scored goals :20 seconds apart to give the Pens a 4-3 lead. Scott Gomez knotted the game at 4, but an Evgeni Malkin powerplay goal with under two minutes in regulation gave the Pens the win.

In Game 2 the Rangers, not wanting to get in shootouts with the high powered Pens, tried to play a lot more conservatively. But the Penguins proved they could buckle down defensively as well as anyone in the league, winning a 2-0 game (last goal an empty net). Marc-Andre Fleury stopped all 26 shots thrown his way, while Henrik Lundqvist got 30 of 31.

Going to New York, the Penguins quickly jumped up 3-1 in the first period of Game 3 and then literally hung on for a 5-3 win. Fleury was sensational again, making 36 saves, while the Pens only had a total of 17 shots of their own. The Rangers though fought through when their backs were against the wall winning 3-0 in Game 4 on the strength of two goals by Jaromir Jagr (the second an empty netter) and 20 saves by Lundqvist.

In Game 5 the Penguins returned home and carried the play, badly outshooting the Rangers and had a 2-0 lead in the 3rd. NY would strike twice though and kick the game to over-time, as a last bit of life. 7 minutes into the overtime Marian Hossa scored the series clincher off a Crosby assists.


#3 Marian Hossa arrives, raises hell, leaves

Breaking this string of playoff recaps was a very important player for the Pens that stretch: Marian Hossa. In 2008 Hossa got a perfect situation coming to play with Sidney Crosby and scored 12 goals and 14 assists in 20 playoff games to forever banish his reputation of not being a playoff performer. Hossa’s superb skill made him a great winger and combination with Crosby, one that could have continued for many more years if the Slovak had accepted the Penguins long-term contract offer.

As you may have heard, however, it wasn’t to be. Hossa, who’s suffered through playing in Atlanta, was an unrestricted free agent and earned the right to go where he wanted to how long he wanted. He turned down the big bucks from Edmonton for a one-year deal from, of all places, Detroit. Saying he thought it gave him the best chance to win a Stanley Cup, Hossa turned his back on his new peers. It’s hard to argue his point as Detroit did just defeat Pittsburgh and wasn’t set to lose any key pieces for the 2008-09 season, but that didn’t make the wound hurt any less at the time.

The jury’s still out on if Hossa made the right decision and if his health will be in tact to still receive a long-term contract after this season, but we think as time progresses Pens fans will be able to remember and appreciate the run Hossa had in Pittsburgh. It may have lasted a total of 32 games and cost Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen and two prospects, but the trade was worth it. It gave the Penguins a shot and a mandate from management: just taking “the next step” is not enough, you guys are young but you need to believe you can go all the way any and every year.


#2 Orange Crushed: Pens destroy Philly, win Eastern Conference

As underdogs, the sixth seeded Flyers had gotten to the Eastern Conference finals by playing the Southeast Division champion Washington Capitals (beat them in 7 games) and the #1 seeded Montreal Canadiens (beat them in 5 games). Taking that road, especially a series win through a place like Montreal, really proves a battle tested team. The Pittsburgh/Philadelphia intense rivalry was on, a trip to the Stanley Cup finals loomed.

Game 1 was decided by Evgeni Malkin’s second goal of the night, a short-handed tally. The Penguins won game two by the same mark, 4-2, when Max Talbot scored the GWG in the 3rd. The series shifted to Philly but it was the Penguins who came out the gates strong, jumping up 2-0 in the opening frame and holding on to win the game 4-1.

For the third time in a row Pittsburgh was winning the series 3 games to 0, but the state sweep wasn’t to be, as the Flyers scored 3 goals in the first period of Game 4 and held off a two goal effort by Jordan Staal to win 4-2 after an empty netter. If Flyers fans thought their team making a massive comeback, they were sorely mistaken, as the Penguins completely dismantled the Flyers 6-0 in Game 5 back in Pittsburgh to win the Prince of Wales Trophy.

#1 Pens can’t equal Wings experience, lose in Cup finals


Not every story has a happy ending and this one didn’t for the Penguins. After getting through a conference about as easily as one can, they faced the very formidable and experienced Detroit Red Wings in the finals. Game 1 and 2 were a nightmare, Detroit won by a combined score of 7-0 and just sucked the life right out of a Penguins team with impressive puck control, Chris Osgood only had to make 41 saves in the first two games combined for his shutouts. At that point it seemed all but certain to be a short series, this time in the favor of the opposition.

But the Pens would battle back, Sidney Crosby was the first to puncture Osgood’s defenses, he did it twice in Game 3. Adam Hall added a third goal and then the Pens held off a furious Detroit rally to win Game 3 by the score of 3-2. In Game 4 Marian Hossa scored a goal 2:51 into the game, but Detroit’s captain Nicklas Lidstrom would answer a few minutes later. The score remained 1-1 until Jiri Hudler capped the scoring with a goal 2 minutes into the third period. Detroit now had a 3-1 series advantage and heading home they were determined to win the Cup.

The Penguins had other ideas, Hossa and Hall scored early goals, the first Pittsburgh had scored in the series on Detroit ice. Then the Red Wings roared back, scoring two goals in the second period and when Brian Rafalski scored a goal with about 10 minutes to go, catcalls for the Cup were in full volume. The clock kept ticking and it seemed the Penguins were going out with a whimper.

The Penguins pull their goalie for a final desperate push and then it happens. Boom—Maxime Talbot with 34 seconds left ties the game. The deflation of the crowd is tangible. The elation of the Pittsburgh players is off the charts. We’re headed to overtime. If the Red Wings were discouraged by Talbot’s goal, it didn’t last long; Detroit outshot the Pens 13-2 in the first over-time. Each time Marc-Andre Fleury had an answer. Shots in the 2nd OT were more even (8-7 for the Pens) but #1 defensemen Sergei Gonchar was injured and Ryan Whitney was playing about every other shift, and playing incredible. Then nine minutes into the 3rd overtime period Hudler takes a penalty. Gonchar does his Willis Reed impression and does more than just get back out there, he finds Evgeni Malkin. Malkin to Petr Sykora to the back of the net, the Penguins have just won the most thrilling and taxing game of the season.

Game 6 was back in Pittsburgh, but more of the same: Detroit outshooting the Pens and getting up to an early 2-0 lead. Malkin scored on a powerplay before the end of the second period to give the Pens hope that their hole was only one goal. The Red Wings clamped down again and eventual Conn Smythe winner Henrik Zetterberg scored to make it 3-1 with 13 minutes left in regulation. Again it went to full on desperation mode as the Pens hurled everything they had at Detroit. Gonchar scored a powerplay goal with just 1:30 left to make it 3-2. As the last seconds ticked off the Pens made what would be one final, final furious rush of trying to will a goal in but Crosby and Hossa’s last ditch effort trickled *just* wide as the horn blew.

That’s your series and the Red Wings skate the Cup on Mellon Arena ice. A tough scene to watch, to be sure, but even though the Penguins didn’t make it to the destination; the journey to get there was incredible. 2008 will be remembered for the incredible journey, the gaining momentum and the invaluable experience gained by the core of the team.

Where we welcome back Jordan Staal

If you're down 5-2 to the defending Stanley Cup champions in their barn with 15 minutes in the game you're probably not going to win. When the hole is 6-4 with less than 10 minutes to go, you might as well warm up the bus.

Except when the youngest player on the ice decides to play like the biggest. Jordan Staal's long shown flashes of brilliance and dominance but nothing like a performance tonight. The puck kept finding his stick and he kept burying it. Big time performance from a big time player.

As we mentioned in the post below, Marian Hossa earned his choice of team's to play for and still didn't pick a bad gamble in Detroit, the league's closest team to a sure thing. However, consider for a second that he turned down a multi-year offer to play on a team where the age of the regulation goal scorers were: 21 (Sidney Crosby), 24 (Max Talbot), 22 (Evgeni Malkin), 20 (Staal), 20 (Staal), 20 (Staal). We're sure Mr. Hossa sleeps just fine through the night these days, but who could blame him if it might take a second to fall asleep thinking "what could have been", not only for this season's run for a Cup but for the years to come.

Pens fans love to think of ex-players possibly returning, but don't count on it. This team has moved on, signing Brooks Orpik long-term and will have to keep using the other money on a rotating cast of supporting characters like Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko to fill the gaps around the core. By rejecting the long-term offer from Pittsburgh--in effect what was the invitation to join the core-- Hossa cast his lot in a different direction. We won't know how it will work out in November, if Detroit is dancing with Lord Stanley in seven months time he'll obviously be a smart man (and have earned it). At this moment though, it certainly is satisfying to see such a marvelous comeback from this side. The grass isn't always greener, you know.

The Pens were aided by two penalties the Red Wings took within seconds of each other. This time posed with a crucial 5-on-3, Malkin buried the puck emphatically. It was like a demon was exorcised from the playoffs and the legendary kill Hank Zetterberg and the Wings pulled. At that moment, even though the score was cut to 5-3, one got the sense these Penguins finally were breathing easily, like when Rocky drew blood on Ivan Drago. These guys aren't a machine, they're just hockey players like any other collection on a roster. They can be beaten if you keep chopping.


Speaking of Malkin: if you're keeping track at home that's now an 11 game point streak for the big guy, who's jumped back into the top spot for the league's lead if only for another night.


When Rob Scuderi went down from blocking a shot, it's interesting that it was youngsters Alex Goligoski (team high 28:12 ice-time) and Kris Letang (second highest among Pens' defensemen with 23:19) that the team primarily turned too. And it wasn't all power-play team either, no one on the ice played more team at even strength than Goligoski (23:57)--and yes that includes Nicklas Lidstrom.


...And just imagine the next time these teams meet the Penguins might be able to lean on Ryan Whitney and maybe even Sergei Gonchar instead of two inexperienced players like Goose and 'Tang...But don't get too ahead of yourself, remember these teams meet again in Pittsburgh in February before any chance of another finals.


Mike Zigomanis just wins big face-offs when they count, doesn't he? It's surprising that he never fit in on an NHL team because he's working on carving a solid niche on this team that has no shortage of quality forwards.


Matt Cooke (2 assists, 6 hits) and Tyler Kennedy (no points or credited hits) deserve a nod for their relentless effort keeping the puck down low and those three did a lot to fuel the fire of the comeback. The boys down in the trenches have to do the dirty work and the Pens team just had more desire and effort over the last half of the game.


Michel Therrien doesn't usually receive much credit from the outside but the decisions he made , from personnel (like having Zigomanis out there late) to usage of timeouts were right on the button. Even if you're a fan with gripes about his style it's hard to argue that this man doesn't have the exact right feel for this team when it counts. It has shown time and time again.


We thought even before Staal's game-tying goal with :23 that the Penguins may be able to take some sort of minor emotional or psychological victory out of there, if only to show battling back out of those huge goal deficits. Sure, it would have been hollow, but the sense of dominating the Red Wings a little was there. Now with such a huge win the confidence is going to be sky high.


Pavel Datsyuk is the reigning Frank Selke trophy winner for the league's best defensive forward....Think he saw it coming when Staal--at the end of his shift mind you--stick checked him, put him on his seat, wheeled around and set up the winner? Bee-you-tee-ful. Can't wait to see the tears at kuklaskorner tomorrow.




In the end, as you can tell from this recap, some games on the schedule do mean more than 1 in 82. The Penguins will only take two points into the standings column, the same as any other game they win. But the mood coming out of this one has to be a lot higher than your average win. This a nice one to enjoy, if only for a night.

Stanley Cup Rematch or Preview?

Oh we know this Opponent: The Detroit Red Wings
Record: 9-2-2 (20 points, first in the Central Division, 2nd in the Western Conference)

Notable wins: New Jersey, at Carolina, at Ottawa
Notable losses: at Toronto, at San Jose
Last game: 3-1 win Saturday night home versus the Devils

Statistical star: Marian Hossa [8 goals, 9 assists for 17 points, +9 in 13 games]
Disappointment so far: OK, so maybe to call them disappointments is a stretch, but the play of both goalies has seemed shaky. Chris Osgood has a 89.2% save percentange and a goals against average of 2.97, and our old buddy Ty Conklin is 89.7% and 3.20 and those respective categories. But those goalies are 6-1-2 (Osgood) and 3-1 (Conkblock) so their unimpressive individual starts hasn't hampered the team.

Notable Notes: The five other defensemen that the Red Wings have used not named Lidstrom or Rafalski have combined for 1 goal, 8 assists and a -6 +/- rating in 52 man-games...Detroit is 2nd in the league for team face-off percentage, winning draws at a 54.2% rate so far this season...

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When the NHL schedule first comes out there are always a couple dates to circle and clearly tonight's SC Final rematch is one of those. Both teams have been winning again so far this year, both have battled through some tough injuries--Johan Franzen is expected to return tonight-- and both teams are looking to get back to where they got last season. Detroit is averaging more than 36 shots on net a night and their powerplay is clicking at a ridiculous 30.9%. This does not seem to bode to well for the Penguins who are allowing 31 shots a night and have shown lapses in discipline that have led to several minor penalties.

However there are cracks in Detroit's armor: the Wings are giving up 28.9 shots on their own goal so far this season--still good enough for 10th in the league--but well over the 23.5 shots they gave up last season (which was #1 for the NHL). As we mentioned, other than Lidstrom and Rafalski the rest of their defense has not been good and the goaltending play hasn't been impressive either. This incarnation of the Red Wings has been a little more wide-open, covering for these defensive deficiencies by scoring more at the other end, not the same old method of "out skate 'em, out shoot 'em, out control 'em" hockey they've played in years past.

Throw in the "you know who" factor of Detroit's #1 player so far and this game has everything. Don't expect the Penguins to take Hossa's decision too personally, we can guarantee you that you won't see Brooks Orpik go head hunting on Hoss. In fact remember it was Orpik who said booing Hossa would be dumb. These players know how hard a guy like Hossa has worked and toiled in a hockey hell like Atlanta for so long and he earned the right to choose where he wanted to play, for the first time in his career. We still believe the fans have every right to be pissed he chose Detroit over Pittsburgh, but that was the man's choice.

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TST Opposing Player to Watch: Marian Hossa
--Still, wouldn't it be nice if Hossa got his head down and see Orpik floor him?

TST Homeboy of the Game: Sidney Crosby
--Crosby has the spotlight on him too, coming back to the city he got so close to the holy grail at, plus the whole attention from the Hossa fallout. The thing we've learned about Sid is he comes through and produces in the highest pressure games when the whole hockey world is looking at him. Let's see what happens tonight.

And, oh yeah, because we'll use any excuse to show this, here's what happened the last time the Penguins played in Detroit...


And don't forget about this either..


Enjoy the game everyone.

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'.....

Well, at least hockey makes the cover..

Along the vein of "break a leg", would it be of poor taste to say "blow a knee"? Yeah, we thought so.

Just remember Hoss, when they raise that banner tonight it is not your own.

(Hat-tip to going five hole for finding the cover....We can't wait to get home today and see it in the mailbox)

It'd be dumb to boo Hossa

Or, so says a guy who also turned down more money to go to another team...

"I think everyone was surprised by it ([Marian] Hossa's departure), but I've heard
people saying they are going to boo him and stuff like that, which is probably the dumbest thing I have ever heard," defenceman Brooks Orpik said. "It's a tough decision. ... He takes the one-year deal and says he wants to win. I think everyone was disappointed by it, but it's his decision and you've just got to respect it."

We think Orpik is half-right. As a player he can understand the will to win--which is probably a leading reason why he stayed in Pittsburgh instead of signing with bottom dwellers like Atlanta and Los Angeles that supposedly were among a handful of teams to offer Orpik $4+ million a season. Orpik re-signed six years at $3.75 million which is not a bad deal at all to chase other grown men around on skates.

Digressions aside, a player can understand and even accept the decision to join a new team. In today's day and age of free agency and with roster turnover in the NHL in general, it happens all the time and a byproduct of the "business". Fans, however, do not like to regard sports as a "business" as much as possible. We're paying the tickets, buying the concessions and merchandise and watching on TV, but we don't like to think of hockey as a "business". Businesses aren't fun. It's where we work. Sports are fun.

So for that reason, Orpik and blowholes like Bozo Bob Smizik need to realize there is nothing inherently dumb or mean spirited about the inevitable booing of Marian Hossa by Penguins fans when he returns to Pittsburgh. Hossa made a choice to turn his back on the Penguins and show more faith in Detroit to win the Cup. No one can really debate that he didn't have the right to do that, or even the intelligence of the question--the Red Wings did just win the Cup and have lost no core players, while the Pens have now lost 2; Hossa and Ryan Malone.

Ok, so maybe it will be mean spirited, but the fans have every right to let Hossa know what they think about his decision. Doesn't mean it wasn't right, just wasn't cool in the eyes of many of my fellow fans.

There's no need to argue, Smizik just doesn't understand

Much brouhaha over the latest Bob Smizik (or, as former Steeler crazy man Greg Lloyd used to call him "Bozo the clown") article. In it, the old coot takes Pittsburgh fans to task for booing former Pittsburgh athletes; namely Jaromir Jagr, baseballer Aramis Ramirez and the soon to be catcalls for Marian Hossa.

In it, Smizik's main justification for calling fans "knuckleheads" eleven times over the course of the piece boils down to this:

Penguins fans revere players who take less money to play for the Penguins. It shows these players are team oriented and put winning in front of the almighty dollar. But when Hossa does the same thing, he's lambasted.

Of course Hossa will be jeered for his choice....It's not coming from Hossa being greedy--like if he took more to play for a team like Edmonton--but from the fact he chose the team and city he felt the best chance of winning in and it wasn't Pittsburgh. Obviously, it's not a bad choice as Detroit won the Cup this past year and returns the entire core of their team. The fact is, Pittsburgh has a pretty good team too and rather than come back and finish business here, Hossa elected to jump ship and give it a go somewhere else.

Fans, the ones who buy the tickets, have every right to cheer or boo at their discretion. It's the atmosphere of sports. In Jagr's situation, he asked to be traded three times and proceeded to whine and cry his way out of town. Fans responded by booing him and he ended up not playing well and producing points against the Penguins in his first returns to Pittsburgh. Perhaps it was luck, perhaps it got to his head but his boos were as much psychological as anything and the booing stuck. We don't follow the Ramirez situation closely enough to offer explanations on it, but a guess could be the boos aren't intended for the player himself, but rather the inept management that foolishly traded such a promising young player away.

Back to hockey, Hossa deserves to hear the fans displeasure when he comes back to Pittsburgh. This has nothing to do with what he did as a Penguin, it's about what he did after. Was Hossa a major reason the Pens got to the Stanley Cup finals? Absolutely. Does he deserve credit and praise for his actions while he was a Pen? You bet. Now that the initial shock and anger has subsided most rational Penguin fans (this one included) can respect the contributions Hossa made to the team while he was a part of it but still scowl at his decision to take less $$ for a chance to win...In Detroit.

As for Smizik, he can cram it with walnuts.

Hossa fallout redux

After the initial emotions (shock, disdain, cursing) have died down, TST buddy Greg Wyshnyski posed a question on Puck Daddy to Penguin fans:

Here's the thing that I asked [to yahoo/going five hole writer Sean] Leahy last week, and he really didn't have an answer on behalf of Pittsburgh Penguins fans: If Hossa fails to win a Stanley Cup with the Red Wings, what would it take to forgive him if he showed an interest in coming back to the Penguins?

A full-on apology for his avarice? A daily foot massage for Maxime Talbot for the duration of their contracts? Or has this bridge been permanently burned? Is Marian Hossa now dead to Penguins fans?

As we're ought to do, we turn to a hair-band for the answer. In this instance was it not Motley Crue who taught "don't go away mad, just go away"?

In the long-run, Penguins fans shouldn't be mad. Of course, the human nature is to hold a grudge that Hossa believed he'd have a better shot of winning the Cup in Detroit that Pittsburgh, but a neutral observer would probably tell you that's a good bet.

Even though Hossa only pulled on the black and gold jersey 32 times, the trade was worth it:

• The cost really wasn't that bad--guys like Matt Cooke and Pascal Dupuis are just as good as Colby Armstrong; Erik Christensen wouldn't be a top 6 forward this year; and the two first round prospects (Angelo Esposito and Daultan Leveille) are still a-ways away from producing in the NHL, if they ever even make it there.


• The message the trade sent was the front office didn't expect just gradual improvement: they wanted to be bold and embolden the players to dream big.


• The Penguins got two games from winning the Stanley Cup, and Hossa played his role wonderfully.

Further, it wasn't just Hossa's choice to go to Detroit, he bent over backwards to make it happen. Consider (emphasis added):

We were dreaming thinking we could add either [Hossa or Mats Sundin] to our team because we were looking at one year deals.

"I went to bed last night thinking we were going to be by the way side."

Hossa's agent, Ritch Winter, called Holland in the morning and said his
client was on the line and willing to discuss a one-year contract.

"I asked what they were looking for," Holland told Landsberg. "It was north of 7.5 (million). I told them I was uncomfortable (having Hossa make more than Lidstrom).

"In the end, Marian Hossa told me to not bother calling Nik, one year at 7.45 - it was a done deal."

(from TSN)

and

I had to compare the two teams, and there's a little better chance to win the Cup in Detroit. I had a great time with Sid and playing on the power play with Geno, but the team in Detroit is something special. I know it's a short term, but we never talked about a one-year [deal] with Pittsburgh. We just talked about a long-term deal. I totally believe Detroit has the kind of team that can win it again."

(link Post-Gazette)

In conclusion, Hossa agreed to a contract the price and the length that Detroit wanted. If he would have went back to Pittsburgh for a one year $7.6 million contract, it would have been granted. He never let the Penguins know he'd consider a short term deal, so how were they to know it was a possibility? But, as an unrestricted free agent that's just as much his right as signing in Edmonton for $90 million, as many expected.

The Penguins, after losing the Hossa sweepstakes, turned around and locked up their core--Evgeni Malkin at $8.7 million a season and Marc-Andre Fleury at $5 million. Omitting Brooks Orpik's new contract (since the Pens almost certainly could not have afforded him if they were paying Hossa $7+ million for the next 5-7 years) the Pens have their four franchise cornerstones* locked up until at least 2012-13 for an average cap hit of $26.4 million. Add Hossa's approximate contract and that's five players for about $33.6 million. Suddenly the room to sign other players (like Orpik, Jordan Staal, Talbot and Kris Letang) is cut down significantly, especially if the salary cap levels off or doesn't keep rising at such a fast rate.

*Those cornerstones, of course, being Crosby and Malkin at $8.7 million a piece, Fleury's $5 million and Ryan Whitney's $4 million*

In the end, everyone wants that flashy super-star winger for Crosby. We believe Pens fans are mainly bitter about Hossa leaving is that he is an awesome player and if he was willing to take less for a contender, why wouldn't he chose Pittsburgh to be that place? However Hossa turning his back on the Penguins, while disappointing, isn't the end of the world. Compare the top 6 forwards at the beginning of last season to how it'll look going into training camp and the forwards ARE improved; even with the defection of Ryan Malone. The sky is not falling, the world will still move on. And the Penguins still ought to be one of the, if not THE team to beat in the East again next season.

The ultimate answer to Wyshnyski's question is that it's just time to move on. The Pens didn't get Hossa, but time will tell if they can use his money to keep support players that want to be here (like Cooke and Miroslav Satan) to come in and get the team to it's ultimate goal. tPb had a good point in today's post: every team that's ever won the Stanley Cup has found a way to do it without Hossa. He's great, but not a prerequisite

So don't go away from this Hossa situation mad, Pens fans, just go away. It's time to move on.

Hossa to Red Wings

It's not surprising at all that Marian Hossa chose to join another team, but the one he did join (a contender) the amount (less than the maximum offer) and the term (1 year) might have indicated he'd return to the Penguins.

Or maybe not. Hossa is a member of the Detroit Red Wings, thanks to signing a one year $7.4 million deal. $7.4 million is the most Detroit will pay another player, they want their captain Niklas Lidstrom to be the highest paid player.

We're shocked, no stunned, that Hossa accepted a one-year deal. The financial security he could have gotten from a 5, 6, 7 year deal from no limit of teams could have set him up so much more securly. Clearly $7.4 million dollars is nothing to scoff at, but if Hossa suffers any number of potentially career threatening/limiting injuries (like blowing out a knee or suffering a concussion) the amount of money on the table won't be great.

But then again he's going to the defending Stanley Cup Champions and is in a great position to try and win a Cup. Can't fault him for that.

Can apparantely fault him for not thinking that situation is in Pittsburgh. We have nothing to back this up, but clearly if he offered to let the Pens match Detroit's offer, they would have done it. Hell they might have even added in an extra 3% to cancel out that tax Hossa didnwas weary of.

For the Penguins it's time to switch gears and switch them quickly. Hossa has moved on and so must they. The names heard the most seem to be Markus Naslund, Jaromir Jagr, Pavol Demitra....Watch for Kristian Huselius as well.

Day One Aftermath

Culled from many sources and sorting through the rumors, here's where we're at...

``Marian Hossa won't decide on a team tonight. His closest suitors are believed to be Edmonton (who's rumored to have offered the most money), Montreal and Vancouver (who are both hoping on Mats Sundin) and Pittsburgh. It seems like Montreal and Vancouver may drag their feet since Sundin is in no hurry. No doubt Edmonton has offered more money than Pittsburgh, but they are way out there in the Western Conference and haven't exactly been a steady locale. Chicago (by signing Huet and Campbell), New Jersey (by signing Rolston, Salvador, Holik and Pandolfo) and the Rangers (by getting Redden and Rozsival) all were previous destinations that seem to be out of the running.

``Brooks Orpik supposedly has been offered more money by any number of teams (San Jose, NYR, Buffalo, Atlanta, LA). Anything can happen and it seems like the Pens are still very interested in retaining him and he obviously hasn't jumped ship to the first team that came a-calling so stay tuned.

``A lot of whispers are rolling around about Jaromir Jagr (!!!) and Markus Naslund. We see these guys as being contingency plans if Hossa signs somewhere else. But never under-estimate the ties between Mario Lemieux and Jagr.

``Someone named Jeff Finger (who's played 94 career NHL games) got $3.5 million and Michal Rozsival got $5 million. That just goes to show the craziness of the UFA market for defensemen and why Orpik's still on the market.

``Reports are Evgeni Malkin is about to sign almost the exact same contract that Sidney Crosby signed last year ($8.7 a year for five years). If so, this is a great thing for the Pens. Either/both could have demanded up to the maximum ($11.34 million this year) and both would have probably been obliged. But the both ponied up in the July as soon as possible--unlike Washington's Alex Ovechkin who waited until his last entry level season was nearly half over....As we've pointed out, that's a total savings for the Pens will be at least $5.28 million this year, which will only keep rising with the salary cap.

``The Pens didn't make any sexy signings today, but the combined $2.4 million they spent (on Mark Eaton and Pascal Dupuis) are the savvy kind of deals that provide of depth and set the stage for success later on in the year. Believe that.


See you tomorrow when the Penguins will (hopefully) fill some skill winger positions...Whether that means Naslund, Hossa, Jagr or Huselius we will see.

Announcement of the salary cap shows how much Crosby saved the Pens..

As you've probably seen by now, the NHL and the players association announced that the upper limit for 2008-09 salaries for each team is $56.7 millon dollars.

A player can be signed for a maximum of 20% of the upper limit so Sidney Crosby, who would have been a restricted free agent this summer, could have commanded no more than $11.34 million a season.

Crosby, of course, signed with the Pens last summer for five years and $43.5 million dollars ($8.7 million a season). Players extended have to finish their existing contracts, so Sid played on the final year of his entry level contract in 2007-08; this coming season will be the first where his cap hit is $8.7. If he wanted to stretch the negotiations to find out what his maximum would be, he could have demanded $11.34 million from the Pens right now. And they would have obliged without blinking. Or he could have become a RFA and received an offer-sheet of likely epic proportions from any number of teams.

But Crosby didn't take any of those paths. He locked in to the Penguins taking less than what he could have in large part to ensure the team could have a little more flexibility in filling out the roster around him. Crosby, ever the selfless, humble person and with his mature-beyond-his-years demeanor seemed to realize that if he took the most of the pie that he could take, there wouldn't be enough to even talk about retaining a guy like Hossa and still hope to keep all of Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Marc-Andre Fleury. At the same time, Crosby is a member of the union and realized that if he accepted too little money it could be used as a glass ceiling for his peers league wide and could keep the amount his brothers got down. Plus dude's trying to get paid and he's basically the face of the league, put in all the marketing campaigns. It's not like he doesn't deserve to be compensated accordingly.

As of now, if Crosby signed five years at $11.34 million it would have been the $56.7 million figure. His overall contract is $43.5, saving the Pens more than $13 million over the life of the deal ($2.64 million a season). And that's assuming that the cap--which has risen every year as league revenues continue to climb, remained at 2008-09 values.

Just something to think about as Penguin free agent properties like Marian Hossa and Brooks Orpik (who've both publicly talked about taking less money or wanting to stay) explore free agency to what would amount to probably gaining a couple million over the life of a contract from another team on the market...It's easy to talk the talk but Crosby has walked the walk by actually putting a pen to the paper to make it official.

Another franchise player that seemingly is about to do the same is Evgeni Malkin. Malkin can't sign until July 1, but if, as indicated, he gives the Penguins about the same break as Crosby the "sacrifice" (if you can call making that much money a sacrifice) will be virtually doubled. The Pens will have essentially have $22.68 million dollars (max contract times two) worth of superstar locked in for the set price of about $17.5 million dollars...That's a discount of 23% and over $5 million dollars in 2008-09 cap space. And as the salary cap seemingly will continue to rise in the future, the discounts the Pens received will only continue to grow.

Hossa to test free agency

As we said, actions speak louder than words...

“I’d rather take less and play on a good team,” Hossa said. “Hopefully, I can return here and be part of this organization but, with the salary cap, I know
how hard it is. There’s lots of players to be signed, so we’ll see what’s going to happen.”

And now from the Trib:

Marian Hossa has declined an offer to sign a long-term deal with the Penguins and will test free agency.

General manager Ray Shero said today after the NHL Entry Draft at Scotiabank Place that Hossa, a star right wing acquired Feb. 26, will offers his services to other teams as an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Shero said he is "comfortable" with the offer presented to Hossa to remain in Pittsburgh, though Shero would not provide specifics of terms.

To be fair, we don't know the specifics of what Hossa was offered. Surely it was less than the $8.5 to $9 million dollars a year he will be offered on July 1.

One doors possibly closes and another one opens....There will be other targets out there for the Pens in free agency to look at. Hell we know a guy who's a fast skater and scored 30+ goals the past three seasons in Minnesota of all places that would look pretty good playing with Sidney Crosby.

On one hand it's disappointing to see Hossa reject the Pens offer. But on the other hand, it's not completely unexpected. Plus with a Crosby-esque deal for Evgeni Malkin about to be made, it was pretty much impossible for the Pens to keep all three of them plus the rest of their core (Marc-Andre Fleury, Ryan Whitney) and still round the team out with championship caliber players for too long.

Signing Hossa wouldn't mean losing Malkin

A lot has stirred up recently regarding the Penguins contract situation, the hockey world is eyeing Pittsburgh especially as word has come out the Pens are interested in making a serious offer to retain Marian Hossa.

If, as Evgeni Malkin mentioned himself, his deal is at or below what Sidney Crosby got (5 years, $43.5 million or $8.7 million cap hit) then the Pens are in good shape. Most observers previously said Malkin was going to take $9-10 million a year to sign. If he, hypothetically, signs for about $8.5 million he and Crosby would have combined to leave about $4.0 million dollars on the table for the Penguins to spend on others.*

*Each player can sign for 20% of the salary cap, so Crosby could have gotten about $10.3 million a year if he demanded the max, and if the cap rises, as expected, to about $56 million, Malkin could demand no more than $11.2 million a year.

The additional $4 million in savings is the difference between keeping a guy like Ryan Malone and keeping a guy like Hossa.

Can the Penguins afford to have four players (Crosby, Malkin, Hossa, Whitney) hogging up about $28-29 million and still have to worry about long-term deals for Marc-Andre Fleury and Jordan Staal? Probably. Is it a wise idea? Who knows. The easiest comparision to make is Tampa Bay, who won a Cup but then fell apart with so much of their budget dedicated to a few players. But Tampa was about $11 million under the Cap last year, they were having an ownership sale and obviously were trying to keep liability and costs down to make them more attractive to potential owners.

So our buddy Greg at Puck Daddy suggests that Hossa could be the beginning of the end for Malkin's tenure in Pittsburgh. We don't buy it. James Mirtle MD does point out the reality of signing a few means not much of the pie to round out the team, but we think this is managable as well. Players on entry-level deals are the key. They usually come in around $600,000 and guys like Tyler Kennedy and Kris Letang did well for the Pens this season. In years to come, if the drafting/developing continues, this trend could continue as well.

Looking around the league, dedicating a large chunk of your cap to your important players is becoming a trend. New York Rangers have $21.8 million of their cap allocated to three players (Gomez, Drury and Lundqvist) through 2011-12, the Flyers have $28 million going to five players (Briere, Hartnell, Gagne, Richards, Timonen) through 2010-11 and Ottawa's on the hook for $19 million for their "Big 3".

Given the choice of those players, wed rather have the Pens nucleus. Things will slide into place, we'll just have to see how it turns out. Even if Pittsburgh has offered Hossa and extension and has planned to move on without Malone, none of it has been written in stone just yet.

Making a Hossa push

Rob Rossi from the Trib reports that the Pens have made Marian Hossa their #1 priority for right now and are doing everything possible to get him back.

While news, this isn't exactly surprising to us, and shouldn't be to TST readers. Almost two weeks ago we showed you a hypothetical view of how the Pens could sign Hossa for $7 million a season and still retain the likes of Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Marc-Andre Fleury.

The biggest factor now, as it was then, is what will Hossa do. Last weekend news was reported that Hossa would be willing to take a little less to stay on a good team. Well if Rossi is correct about the Pens supposed offer of seven years, $50 million, Hossa will have his chance to prove his word. There's more out there for him on July 1st, but he won't have Sidney Crosby or Malkin at a new home.

This same article reports more bad news on the Ryan Malone front. His representatives and the Pens aren't in the same neighborhood salary and it's looking increasingly like he'll hit the open market on July 1. Again, not unsurprising but still a little sad.

Some encouraging news perhaps on the Brooks Orpik front:

Orpik, praised by team officials and coaches and opponents during the Penguins' playoff run, told the Penguins he would accept less than market value for a deal of at least five seasons. Several agents speculate he will command above $4
million annually on the open market.

In our long-term forecast, we hypothetically traded Ryan Whitney for a high draft pick and then signed Orpik long-term for $3.5 million. If the Pens could do the same perhaps they could get a similiar deal. With the likes of Sergei Gonchar, Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski, the Pens have a lot of puck-moving defensemen compared to having physical defensemen (really only Hal Gill).

Things are heating up and it has nothing to do with the temperature. We can only imagine the flurry of activity inside the Penguins front office as they talk to so many different people on a lot of different areas to try to get as many of these pieces back into the fold.

Actions speak louder than words...

Yahoo! says:

Hossa expects his agent, Rich Winter, to start talking with Shero soon.

“I’d rather take less and play on a good team,” Hossa said. “Hopefully, I can return here and be part of this organization but, with the salary cap, I know how hard it is. There’s lots of players to be signed, so we’ll see what’s going to happen.”

If we're Penguins general manager Ray Shero, we go to Hossa and his representatives bright and early Monday morning and say the following....

"Hey Hoss, you were great for us, everything we wanted when we went out and traded a large chunk of the future for you. Things went great, you came in, worked hard and produced big time points. We'd love to keep you. You say you're willing to take a little less for a good team and you know you'll never find a better situation than playing with Crosby, the best playmaking center in the game. Sid took about $1.5 million less a season to help us keep everything together. We're gonna ask you to do the same, because we have to. So here's an offer for $42 million over six years. As you know, it's guaranteed money. Let's gear up and go again, we want you back and, due to the circumstances, you know this is the best we can do. Surely you could get more money from a team in July, but you won't be with Crosby and this club. Think about it."

If he signs, awesome. If not, the most important word in the Hossa quote above is the one we highlighted for emphasis.

Not so fast my friend

Hope has been a big factor of the Penguins run.....Fans of a team can only hope a team can do so much. What the Penguins showed tonight, from top to bottom was an unbridled effort of soul and refusing to say die. And they made the play to win in triple over time.

What a ride, where do we start...

• Ryan Whitney. Often a goat for most Penguins fans. But after Sergei Gonchar was injured (while hustling back to successfully break up an odd man rush) the Penguins leaned on Whitney heavily for all three overtime periods. And he did his part. Whitney lead skaters on all teams with an amazing 50:46 of ice-time (out of a total of a total of the game-clock of 94:41) and was a +2 with 3 shots, 2 hits and 2 blocked shots.
• Three other Penguin defensemen (Rob Scuderi, Brooks Orpik, Hal Gill) played over 40 minutes picking up the slack from Gonchar's absence. Will that take it's toll on Wednesday? For now, that's a Wednesday problem...
• Marc-Andre Fleury. His detractors are pretty much silenced now. Fleury made 55 saves on 58 shots and did about everything possible to keep the Penguins in it. A team doesn't make it through 5+ periods without their goalie answering the bell. Should the Penguins lose (if it were tonight, or Wednesday or Saturday) it's nothing against MAF. He stood on his head and kept the puck out of the net on several sequences when Detroit was pressing.
• "How does that Marian Hossa deal look now in Pittsburgh?" was last week's thoughts of Capitals blog onfrozenblog.com. Well Hossa has 11 goals and 13 assists in 19 playoff games. No doubt the Pens swung for the fences, but it's paid off. We'd pull the trigger on that deal in a heartbeat. And something tells us the Hoss aint done just yet either.
• You can't tell us that Evgeni Malkin and over-time hero Petr Sykora aren't hurt. Malkin got taken down innocently and stayed down after the whistle. We're buying into Dave Molinari's theory that it might have happened when Philly's Mike Richards plastered Geno into the boards, possibly causing a rib injury. But the big boy aint doggin' it, he's tryin' his heart out. There's just not much left to dig deep into. Luckily, there's only a maximum of two more games left.
• We agreed with Coach Michel Therrien's call of a timeout halfway through the third period. We said to a buddy if we were coach we would call a TO the next whistle and sure enough Therrien did. Detroit had Pens on the ropes and even though they went on to score the tying goal soon after, the coach did his part to break the momentum and give his boys a breather. Just another example how Therrien will get no credit for the victory but discreetly played a part in keeping his finger on the pulse of the team and doing all he could to keep them in it.
• Another decision that we agreed with that Therrien made (before the goal happened, btw) was putting Maxime Talbot on the ice for the final minute of the game. He could have gone with Sykora or Gary Roberts but he put out there a guy he knew had the heart and the hands to make it happen. Talbot rewarded that trust by firing in a shot from in front of the net with :35 seconds to go to keep the dream alive. Few players out there play balls to the wall like Talbot, he just makes things happen when they have to. Good things happen to good people that try hard, and Max Talbot is proof of that.
• 2 assists and a boatload of chances for Sidney Crosby. He had a lot of jump in his step and was able to create a lot of offense. Plus he got back to break up several great chances for Detroit. As the old adage goes "your best players have to be your best players" and Crosby was definitely very dangerous all night long. He refused to lose and you have to believe a lot of that attitude bled over on the other guys, which is what captains do.
• Speaking of trying hard, Pascal Dupuis busted his ass all night long. He was great at digging up loose pucks. The first goal by Hossa was primarily assisted by Crosby but Dupuis made it possible by doing the dirty work. "Dupper" was the guy who looked the most desperate of any player out there and gave a very, very respectable effort.
• Few players have more heart than Ryan Malone. After taking a slapshot to the face opening up a nasty cut we feared for the worst. You know it's bad when the referees immediately whistle the play dead while the puck is in the open. Malone was cut bad and was in trouble. Luckily it was well under his eye (which no visor would have protected) and he was able to shake it off and nary miss a shift. Heart like that is what win championships. Malone earned a lot of respect here.
• Jordan Staal played over 34 minutes and was the only regular center (other than Adam Hall) to break 50% in faceoffs. Staal had 3 takeaways to 0 giveaways and played 3:40 of short-handed icetime. Did we mention he's 19 years old? What a solid, solid player.

As you've noticed, we've mentioned nearly every player in the lineup. Because it's a team effort when you win a Stanley Cup Final game in triple overtime. The boys get a well deserved day off and we'll see if there's anything left in the tank for Game 6. Sergei Gonchar told NBC that he'd "absolutely" be in there but we wonder how banged up he might be. He took a nasty spill into the wall and if we put a speculating cap on that could very well be a separated/dislocated shoulder. And the rest of the D is no doubt tired from picking up the Sarge's slack. But it's a team and when one falls the rest step up. That's what happened tonight. That's all we need. One game at a time, boys, let's go back home and win there.

14 down, 2 more to go.....

Talking about what we don't want to talk about

We've been very immersed in the Penguins playoff run, it's been thrilling and historic. But this little break in the action means not much news which means our attention turned to what's been for a years a great site to round-up the pulse of newspaper writings in every NHL city: Spector's Hockey.

We have purposely been avoiding this site for rumors for the oncoming reality of not keeping this team 100% intact (Hossa, Malone, Dupuis, Orpik, Ruutu, Hall, Roberts and Laraque are all unrestricted while young guys like Malkin, Staal and Fleury are all in line to get extensions this summer). Some of those names will be back, but all won't.

Our quick scan to find any news and notes about these players, we figured to see Hossa and Orpik and boy did we. Writers aren't GMs but do carry the buzz of their corner of the hockey word. And, after all what team wouldn't be in the market for a forceful young defenseman like Orpik or a sensational scoring winger like Hossa?

The current buzz seems to place some interest for Orpik in Minnesota or Manhattan while Toronto is dreaming outloud about buying out Darcy Tucker and trying to squeezing in Hossa.

This is not earth-shattering revelations, but a sad look of things to come once the Stanley Cup finals end. But, you know what, we'll take the sinking feeling of losing an important or player or two in the summer for the trade off of dancing with Lord Stanley.

It's Always Sunny on Philadelphia Golf Courses

This was the 96th game of importance for the Penguins of the year. And it's enough to be the only team still playing from the Eastern Conference. The depth of this accomplishment hasn't really set in for us, but knowing that this team, only a couple of years ago a basement dweller, has now fully lived up to the promotional slogan of "Experience the Evolution" has been complete....And maybe that's good enough for right now. It'll be a long summer of reflection, and the important thing is that the off-season hasn't begun just yet.

Some thoughts we have going through our head right now:

• The play that really broke the Flyers spirits was the 3rd goal. Down 2-0 in the second with about 12 minutes to go; Philadelphia had a powerplay to begin that period and were generally still in the game. Mike Richards corralled a weak clearing effort in the Pens zone and was looking to create a scoring chance in transition. Cut to Sidney Crosby, who was already turned and skating in the neutral zone (no doubt expecting the puck to be cleared). Crosby peels back, catches Richards and pops his stick, creating the turnover. Max Talbot and Marian Hossa fly up the ice and Crosby ends up centering a pass for Hossa that beat Martin "French Toast" Biron short-side.
• Speaking of which, Biron was beaten on several occasions on the short-side, something that the Penguins seemed to zero in on. We aren't sure if Biron's positioning was out of sync or if that's just what happens to him but it was pretty noticeable.
• The Marian Hossa trade has to be considered a success for the Penguins. Sure the effects of the deal won't really be known as we see in the coming years what Atlanta can develop the likes of Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito and their 1st round pick into. But Hossa with 19 points (9 goals, 10 assists) in 14 games boosted the Penguins into the class of the East, possibly the league. Furthermore Pascal Dupuis, a throw-in, has played a 1st line role better than Colby Armstrong ever did. Sure it would hurt to see Hossa sign elsewhere and guys like Armstrong and Esposito flourish, but just think: what if Hossa got traded to Montreal. Would the Pens be in the position they are right now? We doubt it.
• Game-wise, it was a rout. Only Georges Laraque, Tyler Kennedy and Jarkko Ruutu didn't have a plus +/- rating. Every forward except Laraque, Ruutu and Talbot was credited with at least one shot on goal. The beating was complete.
• One thing to keep an eye on may be Petr Sykora, who did not play in the 3rd period. Whatever's wrong with him was over-shadowed by all the scoring and clinching. Perhaps, with a big lead, it was just precautionary or related to the illness that kept him out of practice yesterday, but maybe it is an injury. Surely more will come to light in the days to come. Luckily the Pens should be in store for another 5-6 day layoff, plenty of time to rest up.
• To listen to Philadelphia media folks, Kimmo Timonen comes from a Bobby Orr/Raymond Bourque/ Larry Robinson hockey bloodline. We give Timonen props for playing today, and know it is tough to be out a while and then jump back into the intensity and speed of playoff hockey, but Timonen wasn't the answer.
• Philly suffered with the injuries to their top defensive pair of Timonen and Braydon Coburn, but that's hockey. The Penguins lost something like 258 man-games to injury--many of those by Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury and top systematic defensemen like Mark Eaton and Rob Scuderi. Everyone has injuries to deal with, it's an unfortunate nature of the sport. Not a good excuse for Flyer fans to use, the Flyers were just out-classed all the way around. As we like to say, the better team usually doesn't lose a seven game series. Especially in five games getting out-scored 20-9.
• Fleury was sensational, rising to the challenge of every shot and making a couple of beauties. He left some rebounds, but they were managable by him or the defense. Our buddy the Caps blogger Peerless Prognositicator dug up Fleury's combined AHL/NHL career playoff stats and they weren't pretty coming into this year (3-10, a 3.78 GAA and a 86.9% save percentage). That's some pretty awful numbers. But since returning from ankle injury earlier this year, Fleury's 22-4-1 and been very solid.
• So that's it. The Penguins get through the East in just fourteen games beating a seven seed, a five seed and a six seed. Not the most taxing way, but you can't choose who you play, just lineup and beat the team in front of you. If the Penguins can do that one more time it'll be time for brandy with Lord Stanley.

12 down, 4 more to go..........

Don't Hassle the Hoss....Pens win

• The last team to win 11 of their first 12 playoff games was the 1983 Edmonton Oilers. That team had a couple of names you might have heard of...Gretzky, Messier, Anderson, Kurri, Coffey, Fuhr. Those guys went on to form the nucleus of something of a dynasty, yes?
• Back to this years Pens, it's hard not to be proud of them. Tonight's game wasn't an aesthetically pleasing one, but by design. Pittsburgh scored two goals in the first 7:41 of the game and then limited the Flyers to 8 shots after two periods of play.
• One thing we didn't like was Steve Downie charging Petr Sykora....Downie made an ill-advised play in his own zone in the 3rd period, throwing a cross-ice pass that was intercepted and quickly turned into a Penguin odd man rush. Sykora eventually got the puck and threw a great pass to Ryan Malone who back-handed a goal past Martin "French Toast" Biron. Downie, no doubt irritated at himself for the turnover, charged in with a full head of steam and plastered Sykora well after he had dished the puck and it left Sykora down. Even though Sykora did return to the game, a hit like that isn't cool. In Game 2 Tyler Kennedy didn't forget Scottie Upshall needlessly cross-checking Kris Letang in the back in the dying moments of Game 1. Surely the Pens won't forget about Downie.
• But then again, this is the second game in a row a misplay by Downie ended up in the back of his net. We wouldn't be surprised if he's a scratch for Game 4.
• Like we mentioned earlier: ironically the Penguins are proving Washington Capitals fan JP right: Marty Biron isn't that good. Sure Marian Hossa has a great wrist shot and there was traffic in the form of a Philly defenseman....But a shot from 15 or so feet is one a goalie can't be letting by this time of year.
• The beginning of the game saw a bunch of relatively ticky-tack hooking penalties, as if the referees were trying to show they were in control of the game. But when Jordan Staal made a great effort while short-handed and a defenseman was draped all over him preventing a shot, no call was to be found. Even Flyer RJ Umberger commented between periods that it was not a very consistently officiated game.
• Total shots for Daniel Briere and Vaclav Prospal combined: the big goose egg. Another testament to how well the Penguins defensive unit has played, notably Sergei Gonchar and Brooks Orpik who the Pens have been trying to match up with them as much as possible.
• Speaking of the Penguins defensemen, every one of them had at least one blocked shot and they combined for 12 as a unit, almost matching the 18 shots that Philly got on Marc-Andre Fleury. That's how you play a road playoff game right there.
• We loved the shots of the fans after every Pens goal. Total dejection. They know what we all know: the Flyers are totally outclassed in this game, and well, in the series too.

All in all, a workman like effort that got the job done. It wasn't pretty, but it was effective. If Malone or Evgeni Malkin could have tied up Umberger's stick as a Flyers' powerplay ended, it would have been a shutout. As it was, a fairly convincing performance.

And look at that, a whole recap without talking about the #1 star of the game (for the second game in a row) Sidney Crosby. He made some relatively quiet plays but when you look back at the game, still ended up with two important assist....Piling up the points almost quietly like that Gretzky guy used to do.

11 wins down, 5 more for Lord Stanley....

Breaking backs; game notes

The following notes were compiled as we watched the game tonight:

• We're starting to see about Marian Hossa in the playoffs, as he rings one off the post early on the first powerplay. It's not like he's disappeared or anything (same can't be said for Dany Heatley this year), but his luck seems to be very snake bitten. But with such a skilled player generating so many chances one has to go in soon, right?
• No problem here with the penalty on Maxime Talbot for goaltender interference (even if Martin Gerber flew back like he was totally run over). Gotta protect the goalies, especially this year when it seems like goalies are getting run or contacted a lot more than years past.
• By the time the first commerical break has hit, Ottawa has certainly shown their opening "pop"...They're out-shooting the Pens 5-3 (and have 4 more blocked or missed the net) and have generally dominated physical play and puck possession. If you didn't know which team of this series had the 2 games to 0 advantage, 7 minutes into the game you probably wouldn't guess it was Pittsburgh.
• Marc-Andre Fleury makes a 10 bell save on a sequence which showed Nick Foligno (who's skating like his hair is on fire) split the d and then a snap shot from Daniel Alfredsson, who looks nothing like a guy just coming back from injury.
• We wanted to see if the Ottawa fans would once again courtesy boo Sidney Crosby, but really it took 10 minutes into the game for him to bring the puch up the ice to find out. That is not a good sign. This game has been so far about how fast the Sens have been and how up to the task Fleury's been.
• And they're kinda lazily booing him too, doesn't have as much vile as it did last playoffs. For a change the fans seem more enthused about rooting their own team than booing the Cros. That's cool with us.
• Sure sign that it's playoff hockey: players like Rob Scuderi, Jordan Staal and Sergei Gonchar are throwing honest checks.
• Gerber is matching Fleury, making beautiful saves on Ryan Malone and Hossa. Gerber's tracking the puck so well right now.
• Evgeni Malkin appeared to be shaken up a little when Dean McAmmond stood him up at the blueline and looked like he elbowed him in the face. You'd think McAmmond, who got knocked out by Chris Pronger's elbow last year, should be a little better with his body control...
• Folino opens the scoring when he jukes by Ryan Whitney and beats Fleury with a great wrist-shot. This gives the Senators and their crowd a life, and more importantly we'll get a chance to see how the Penguins respond with losing for the first time this post-season.
• Maxime Talbot ties it up! Impressively Whitney started the rush behind his own net and every Penguin touches the puck. Excellent puck movement. Talbot (who extended his shift) had enough to slip behind Andrej Meszaros and backhand one past Gerber. What a beautiful feed he got too from Marian Hossa.
• Halfway through the period, Adam Hall-Talbot-Georges Laraque have a great shift and cycle the puck in Ottawa's end for 20-30 seconds continuously. Noteworthy because it keeps Heatley's line in his own end more than they want to be....This happens just after the Jarkko Ruutu-Jordan Staal-Tyler Kennedy 3rd line kept Alfredsson and co. on their heels for the majority of a shift....The initial burst of energy from playing at home looks like it's worn out.
• Good old fashioned scrum with 6 minutes left in the 2nd on the powerplay...Petr Sykora launches a slapper and then all the boys collapse on the goal, whacking away. Finally the Sens smuggle the puck up but as things tend to do in the playoffs, mayhem ensues.
• Crosby strikes :12 seconds in! Chip it in, fish 'er out and knock it home. At this point it's 2-1 Pens and just one minute into the 3rd. The next goal is going to be--
• JORDAN STAAL FINALLY DOES SOMETHING WITH HIS LIFE! Before we can finish about the Crosby goal, Kennedy fires a cross-ice pass to Staal who bats it home.
• Only a bonehead takes a penalty Chris Neil does, punching a player in the face when your team is clinging to it's playoff life. His team just gave up two goals in less than 2 minutes and he pulls that? Not smart, guy.
• Powerplay city and Hossa shovels a puck in the net. Credit coach Michel Therrien for taking a timely penalty to rest Malone, Malkin, Crosby and Gonchar who had just played an extended powerplay shift. Small move but it paid off.
• Pens sit on the clock and take the air out of the puck for the last 5 minutes and that's your game.