Langenbrunner...Pens lose

At this point in the season, scoring three goals against a tight defensive team like the New Jersey Devils should be enough. Having a 3-1 lead with 11 minutes left in the game should definitely be enough. Even being up 3-2 when the other team pulls their goalie in the dying seconds is usually a recipe for 2 points.

But not tonight, courtesy of Jamie Langenbrunner, who got a fortunate bounce of Ryan Whitney's skates with 31 seconds left in regulation to earn the Devils a point. Then collecting a fancy pass by Travis Zajac and depositing the one-timer by Marc-Andre Fleury to steal the second point. Winners of now eight straight, the Devils are hot. They worked for their bounces and got them.

• Total shots on the game were 43-16 in favor of New Jersey. Even worse, if you count shots that missed the net plus shots that were blocked, the Devils outfired the Pens 65-22. Pretty indictive of the difference in puck possession and where the game was played for the most part. Marc-Andre Fleury was solid, but when the other team throws 65 shots at you, it's not unreasonable to think that at least four will end up in the net for some reason or another.
• Further on that point: the Penguins dressed 18 skaters, the standard in the NHL. 14 of them registered either 0 or 1 shot on goal. The only exceptions were Pascal Dupuis (4 shots), Evgeni Malkin (4 shots, 1 goal), Max Talbot (2 shots, one which was a deflection goal) and Chris Minard (2 shots). That's just not going to cut it.
• Malkin and Sidney Crosby each registered a goal and an assist and were dangerous with their scoring chances. But both suffered painful moments that could have been injuries--Crosby blocked a shot that appeared to hit his hand/arm and Geno impaled his torso with his own stick (which any hockey player will tell you how much that sucks). Both got over it, but still some scary moments.
• Petr Sykora, rightly lauded as a leader and a rare forward not named Crosby or Malkin that will contribute on the score board really hurt his team tonight. He took a hooking call in the neutral zone with 8:05 left. Bad enough, but then Sykie--a veteran who should know better--mouthed off to the official who felt it was egregious enough to tack on 2 more minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct. Sure Brendan Shanahan scored four seconds after the penalties were called, but the Pens still had to kill two more minutes while the momentum had clearly shifted to the Devils. Not a good play by Sykora...Bite your tongue and skate to the box.
• Almost all of the Penguins defensemen had a bad moment, none worse than usually reliable Rob Scuderi....When Bill Thomas won a huge faceoff cleanly in the defensive zone in the final minute; Scuds flubbed the puck, the Devils applied pressure and Whitney had to scramble to the front of the net. The puck bounces off of him and in for the tying goal.
• The USS Hal Gill and rookie Alex Goligoski were healthy scratches but Mark Eaton and Phillipe Boucher played. Just pointing that out.
• Overall just not enough puck possession. The Devils outworked the Penguins all night, and especially after Sid and Geno gave the Pens a two goal lead it looked like the boys just sat back on it too much and relied a little too much on their ability to block shots and Fleury's ability to bail them out.

And, well that's that. It's not a night to be proud of, but the Penguins did play the current #2 team in the conference (and a division opponent at that) on the road and took a point away from the game. Since the AS break they have 3 out of a possible 4 points and both games were against teams ahead of them in the standings. If you look at it that way, doesn't seem so bad, now does it?

But it sure would be a lot better if the boys can go to Toronto and make it 5 out of 6 points tomorrow. If they put this behind them and go at it, should be alright. It'll be a Hockey Night in Canada, Matt Cooke's suspension is over and Mathieu Garon (who won 24 games last year for a weak Edmonton team) ought to be in the net for the first time. There's a lot of angles for the Pens to have a shot in the arm. Let's see if they get it.

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.

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.

Feeling down on your luck? Play the Isles

Losing streak, what losing streak...Playing the Islanders was exactly what the doctor ordered.

• Credit Petr Sykora--or perhaps blame Joey MacDonald--for letting this one get out of hand. After Mark Streit ripped a rocket to pull it to a 2-1 Penguins, Sykora scored just 11 seconds later...Not to be outdone, Sidney Crosby found Phillipe Boucher thirty seconds later. Yep, from making it 2-1 to being down 4-1 in less than a minute.
• It was nice to see Sykora get his first NHL hat-trick. Crazy to think a sniping winger with 282 career NHL goals has never gotten one. Safe to say you'll probably never see a guy so happy to make a game 7-1.
• From the Department of Redundancy Department the Islanders could really use a goaltender. As bad of a night as MacDonald had, Yan Danis (or whoever the hell that was) looked like he had never played the position before.
• Call Mike Sillinger wins the "Tiger Woods Award" tonight...In his first 4:09 played, old ass Sillinger got to -3.
• A look at who got the lionshare of the Pens' shots during the first half of the game shows a lot of powerplay domination: Kris Letang (5), Crosby (4), Sykora (4), Miroslav Satan (4), Evgeni Malkin (3).
• Up 7-1 did you agree with HCMT trotting out the regular top powerplay unit? On one hand, they're all professionals out there and this aint T-Ball--but on the other hand it seemed a little unsportsmanlike. But hey, the coaches preach things like "never take your foot off the gas" and "play a full 60" so what message does it send if the coach pulls back the reigns?
• The Penguins played last night, they played tonight and they play again Saturday afternoon--thanks schedule makers. At least by putting the Isles to bed early tonight they could roll lines and ease back on the horses. Even though the boys will have no trouble getting up early to play their blood rivals, but still a little nicer to coast in and conserve some energy.
• After 2 periods it's 8-1 and we're pulling a mercy rule (sometimes like a beat writer we start writing before the game's over)...No more recap. Crosby hit a post and missed a wide open net; Sykora hit a post had a clear goal blown off because the ref was out of position...It's scary to think what the score of this game could easily be.
• To this point, 16 Pens have a +, 12 have points, 8 have multiple point nights...They might not be calling off the dogs, but we are.

Gamenight 17: Blue jersey night

Anyone remember the last time the Penguins used blue jerseys against Buffalo?

Better know an opponent: The Buffalo Sabress
Record: 9-4-3 (21 points, second in the Northeast Division, 5th in the Eastern Conference)
Season series: first meeting

Notable wins: Washington, at NY Rangers
Notable losses: at Boston, Ottawa
Key injuries: Tim Connolly (regret over braking Gary Roberts leg)
Last game: 6-1 loss home to Columbus last night (yikes!!)
Statistical star: Thomas Vanek [12 goals and 3 assists in 15 games]
Disappointment so far: Drew Stafford [2 goals, 1 assist, -2 in 13 games]


Notable Notes: So far this season four Sabres players (Vanek, Clarke MacArthur, Jason Pominville and Ales Kotalik) have combined for 29 goals, everyone else on the team only has contributed 17...The Sabres have given up 16 goals in their last four games (1-2-1 record)...Have only one regular center (Adam Mair-- 54.4%) with above 50% in road face-off wins...Have only two defensemen (Henrik Tallinder, Toni Lydman) that have a positive +/- rating.
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Hockey night in Pittsburgh as the Sabres are in town from the uber-tough Northeast Division. For the Penguins to continue rolling on their current five game winning streak, it's time to buckle down on defense and have a solid night back there for expected starter Marc-Andre Fleury. As we pointed out the Sabres are going to give up space and a lot of chances for the offense, but how the Pens an get back on D and settle the counter-attacks will go a long way to determining the outcome.

Otherwise, pretty much business as usual. Time for the big guns to get out there and gun, the lower lines to forecheck and cycle like demons and the defense to keep holding both bluelines solidly.

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TST Opposing Player to Watch: Maxim Afinogenov

--"Hey Jaws, did you know Maxim Afinogenov has been with the Buffalo Sabres since the 1999-2000 season? If you're a Buffalo fan are you not THRILLED with the way this Russian kid has turned out? I mean, so quiet off the ice but such a fancy dangler on it, Jaws could you have imagined IN A MILLION YEARS that he would still be with this team eight seasons later?

For a guy as talented as him though, he only has 11 goals in the last 72 games can you NOT believe it Jaws? But if he can score a goal or two here tonight and the Sabres go on to win the Stanley Cup, how could that not be the moment Buffalo looks back to and says 'THIS is where we turned things around'? Wow, how could the Buffalo fans not be THRILLED if Afinogenov rallies and wins them a Stanley Cup? Garble garble Brett Farve, Larry Brown, garble. "

/Kornheiser'd

TST Homeboy of the Game: Petr Sykora

--We got a good feeling about Sykora tonight...He's been fairly quiet this season (3 goals in 13 games) but is always lingering, always about to break through with a sweet goal or two. Plus seven of his nine points this season have come on home ice. Playing against a team like Buffalo could be what the doctor ordered for Sykora.
--

A win is a win, right?

In Casa De Hooks there is a new problem: the DVR is currently not recording shows...But up 5-0 with about five minutes left in the second, surely we could pull away from the hockey game to watch "The Office" and "30 Rock", right? We think the Penguins wanted to be somewhere else too that last frame as well.

--For the first 35 minutes the Pens played one of their best games; they were getting a lot of Edmonton's turnovers, cycling the puck well and putting a lot of shots on the goal. The skill wingers showed skill; Miroslav Satan scored the first goal between his legs and deflected another, Petr Sykora was quick enough to one-time a sudden puck won by Evgeni Malkin, then he deflected a Malkin shot (which was saved) and put the rebound by the battered goalie Mathieu Garon.
--The second 25 minutes the Pens showed they could just about give away everything they'd established. As mentioned, we were off in comedy-land for a while and thankfully were spared the high blood pressure of witnessing the meltdown. But a lot of the breakdowns (deflections here, giving up a shorthanded breakaway to a defensemen there) didn't look like too much fault could be placed on Marc-Andre Fleury. Maybe the 18 guys in front of him wanted to watch NBC comedies as well.
--Rough night for the 4th line (Matt Cooke-Mike Zigomanis-Eric Godard), they were each on the ice for two of the goals. 4th lines have to play "nothing against" because they're not generating much in the way of offense anyways. Being on the ice for two goals against, no matter the circumstances, is inexcusable for this trio.
--But we will give Godard his due, he rocked a young buck named Joey MacIntyre in a fight. Then when MacIntyre (who plays at 250+) totally flattened Kris Letang with a huge open ice hit--which looked clean except for the fact Letang passed the puck a full 2-3 seconds before getting trucked--Godard was there to remind Mac you can't do that. Thankfully Letang appears to be OK, but he was bleeding a little from the nose either from his visor or a stick.
--What a complete effort from Max Talbot; his first game of the year playing 20+ minutes, a short-handed goal to go along with 5 shots on net and a lot of hustle plays that the stat sheet can't record. With Talbot playing up there we think this is the best the first line has looked at even strength all season...And yes that includes the stint where Malkin played with Sidney Crosby.
--Malkin was a tour de force tonight, 3 assists, two of them were Ovechkin-esque (as in they were initially shots) but the play he made stepping around an Edmonton center immediately after the draw and firing a quick pass over to Sykora was a thing of beauty.

In the end winning 5-4 has just as much significance in the standings as winning 5-0. Hopefully the Penguins learn the bigger lesson on display for the night; that if you don't put in a 60 minute effort and try to coast in down the home stretch, you will pay. They've lost a couple games already when they were winning late into the game (Washington, at the Rangers) so you think that lesson would be learned. Whatever the case, a win is a win, now off to the Long Island for a matchup with the unimposing Islanders (4-8-1) in what could be a "trap game" before going to see our old friends in Detroit.

Sykora training with Straka, is delusional

Cool translation of an interview at Steel City Sports Fan with Petr Sykora...

Q: Thanks to Satan signing you don’t have to be that disappointed about the loss of the productive Slovak Marian Hossa. Is that so?

A: I take it a little differently. For me, it’s better that Hossa left, because now I should get back on the first power-play unit again. That’s the best place how my productivity can help the team.

Crosby and Malkin should be locks playing up front on the #1 PP (we've had enough of Geno playing the point, a position he doesn't like and isn't as good at). While Sykora could be the third foward there, it could also be Satan, arguably the same player or a big body in front of the net like Jordan Staal or even Rusty Fedotenko.

It's just summer so we'll see what happens but it sounds like Mister Sykora may have his hopes raised if he thinks he's got a spot on the top PP unit.

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.....

A win is a win is a win

Barry Melrose likes to say a series doesn't really begin until the home team loses a game....But what happens if the home team holds serve 6 times and it goes to a game 7, the series hasn't begun?

Regardless the Pens did what it took to hold their home ice and skate away with a 2 games to none advantage.

• The Penguins picked Ottawa apart early, but give those bastards credit; they kept fighting back and tied the score at 3-3.
• 54 shots on goal is a new playoff record for the Penguins.
• Sidney Crosby had 4 assists and didn't even make one of the 3 stars of the game....That speaks to how awesome other players played. Like Petr Sykora and Ryan Malone.
• This is the first time in months that Marc-Andre Fleury allowed multiple even strength goals.
• Last spring Evgeni Malkin had 0 goals and 4 assists in the 5 game series against Ottawa. This year he has a lot more in the tank; as not only his 1 goal and 5 assists (in 2 games) would indicate but the way he's galloping around the ice and making opponents look silly. Who's the best Russian player in the NHL? Ask again in a few weeks and you might have a different answer than the obvious regular season MVP choice....

Our favorite moment though, had to be Bryan Murray's notable post-game quote. After the first game he made a comment to the tune of it didn't feel like a 4-0 game and he liked the intensity and energy his team brought to the table. Tonight he said: "I think our guys had a lot of character, played hard and battled from a 3-0 deficit. I have to believe they will play well at home."

We think you would have to believe this if, you know, you fired the head coach and took all the responsibility on yourself. At this point Murray knows the Pens are going to wipe the floor with his team, no matter how much "character" they have or how hard they play. It's all about saving face for this point for Cryin Bryan. Of course he has to believe, else he's likely out of a job....And it couldn't happen to a nicer guy ;)

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

The Magic Number: 3

This game recap, brought to you by the number 3:

• The number of points (a career high) that Jarkko Ruutu scored
• The "magic number" to clinch the Atlantic Division for the Penguins, since they won and New Jersey lost in regulation...So any combination of three points earned by the Pens or three points lost by the Devils means the Pens lock down, at worst, the #2 seed in the East. (Ed. revision: It seems the correct magic number is really 5. We're bad at math, we apologize)

Ruutu now has six point (4 goals, 2 assists) in his last six games, if you're keeping track. Ruutu is just playing awesome right now, he's the player the opponents love to hate but he's also doing more than just chipping, he's killing penalties, bringng energy, forechecking and, yes, producing points.

After Georges Laraque scored his goal the big guy did an Alex Ovechkin-esque jump into the boards/glass. We know we're not the only ones worried that the facility wouldn't be able to keep his 260 pounds in the rink, but somehow it did.

It remains to be seen how hurt Marian Hossa may be after what at first appeared to be pretty vicious on the part of Sean Bergenheim (though replays showed it looked like he kind of "tried" to get out of the way). Now that Sidney Crosby is back, is it fitting that Hossa should go back on the shelf? No, no it shouldn't be.

Crosby had several great chances but they all went wide. One gets the feeling that once he gets back up to speed by getting back in "game rhythm" he'll be turning those chances into points.

Ryan Whitney actually didn't look half bad as a winger, but this experiment shouldn't go on for long. Should it?

If we would have offered you $100 bucks to choose a fight, who would have picked up on the Petr Sykora/Miroslav Satan matchup? Didn't think so either.

A sign of how much Marc-Andre Fleury is coming along; he makes saves on 28 of 29 shots and the one that gets by him he's visably upset. Good sign, Fleury's so in the zone that he doesn't want to give up anything. And after that somewhat weak/fluky play ended up in the net he buckled down, played the angles right, looked confident and did what it took....But Fleury still went out in the 3rd period and played a puck that would have been icing and it almost ended up in the net. As far as he's come, there's still room to grow. Which there's nothing wrong for a 23 year old goaltender.

Here's a sight that Islanders saw a lot:
Brooks Orpik had a game high seven hits (plus 2 blocked shots, and a +2 in 19:23 of work). Not to mention chasing around Islanders in an effort to stand up for his teammate when Hossa was injured. We probably highlight Orpik so much because there won't be a chance to for too much longer.

All in all, this was a game that a team aspiring to be a division (and conference) champion has to win; playing a non-playoff team that's banged up at home and with a much more talented team. The Penguins did what they had to do. Now we move on to a matinee NBC (Nothing But Crosby) matchup against those pesky New York Rangers on Sunday.

No jump, Pens lose

Disappointing loss tonight. Sure it was a division rival and a road game, but looking at the schedule, you'd have to think the Penguins would have to take two points like these to be in the hunt for the Atlantic division crown and possibly first place in the East. Especially on a night when the top rival Montreal held on for a 7-5 win.

Inital game notes:

• Noted Pens killer Richard Park scored the game's first goal early and short-handed. That's pretty much all one needed to know.
• Can't get over just how strong Marian Hossa is. On one occasion Hossa was stationary in the offensive zone, corralling the puck. An Islander took two or three strides and put a pretty good hit on him. Hossa remained standing without even bracing himself and the opponent basically bounced off of him.
• Petr Sykora is a force. We all know his shot is out of this world but he's not afraid to go into the corners and throw a shoulder to dislodge a puck. The Pensblog had a great feature the other day about how Sykora's out-performing many of the top free agent forwards from this summer. And while a lot of credit has to go to linemates, power-play time and opportunities, Sykora's pretty consistent offense has gone a little under the radar around the league this season. He's been a great addition.
• It seemed like the Penguins defense (Sergei Gonchar and Kris Letang particularly) were activating and shooting into the offensive zone. Several times this resulted in sloppy 3-on-1s or even one 4-on-1. It's on the coaching staff to put an end to the careless play.
• Speaking of the coaching, Michel Therrien was just stewing on the bench in the 3rd period. It would have been great to be a fly in the wall in the locker-room after the game. NHL seasons are treated with a pretty balanced equilibrium, after all this is just 1 out of 82. But Therrien's never shy to let a team know what he thinks, especially when the effort isn't there...It didn't seem like it was there.
• Evgeni Malkin played pretty well (despite being a -3) but just seemed out of sync. Therrien made what we thought was a nice adjustment, trying to put Hossa with Malkin and Ryan Malone to see if anything would spark. But on this night, nothing really did.
• Also out of sync seemed to be the 11 forward/7 defensemen lineup; which was necessitated since Pascal Dupuis went to be with his wife (who's in labor with their child). Regardless, Therrien seems to be a fan of playing seven defensemen but tonight was a good reason why not to utilize this.
• So which defenseman should get the scratch now that 'Steady' Rob Scuderi is back? Going strictly on performance over the past 10 games we would say either Ryan Whitney or Darryl Sydor. But both of those two are guys you'd generally think should be in the lineup on a nightly basis. It will be very interesting to see how the coaching staff handles and juggles the lineup; both to field the best possible lineup and not to cast aside a player who could play a big role in the post-season.
• Ty Conklin wasn't that bad and can't really be blamed for any one of the Isles goals. But his aura of the 'Conkblock' magic seems to be gone. There should be no doubt now that the Penguins will go as far as Marc-Andre Fleury will carry them.
• Sidney Crosby ruled himself out for tomorrow night's uber-important Devils game in an interview during this game. Jockeying for playoff positioning is important, but having a 100% healthy and conditioned Crosby for those playoffs is much more important. It's somewhat disappointing, but it's clear that no one is more frustrated to take the prudent route than Crosby. He'll be back (and soon) and the team will be better for it.
• Trival note, but shame on the offical scorers who credited NYI left winger Steve Regier with 3 hits (in an un-noticable 8:33 of icetime) and also said Brooks Orpik only had 1 hit with 19:23 time on the ice....Where they watching the same game?

For a team that's dealt with more than it's share of adversity this season (mainly in the form of injuries) it will be interesting to see how they respond. This last head-to-head game against Jersey is going to be very crucial, if the Pens don't come out with more energy and purpose it could well tip the balance of the playoff seeding.

14 goals in the past two games

When things are right, they are right.

The Penguins are clicking on all cylinders right now. Evgeni Malkin and Petr Sykora both had 2 goals and 2 assists, Ryan Malone was his usual physical force and the Pens easily bowled over a playoff team 7-1. Marc-Andre Fleury was good when he had to be, but he didn't really have to be good that often.

Production came from more than just the top line; from Tyler Kennedy (1oth goal of the season) to Pascal Dupuis (3 assists) to the U.S.S Hal Gill (1 goal 1 assist). Marian Hossa had a goal and an assist and looked very comfortable in his first complete game as a Penguin.

To think that this team still stands to gain the league's reigning MVP and leading scorer, as well as a noted playoff warrior plus two important role players (Adam Hall and Rob Scuderi) before the playoffs is indeed a scary thought for the rest of the NHL.

What team in the East could take Pittsburgh in a 7 game series? With the way they're playing now it's not so bold to say: no one.

Any day where every Flyer ends up a negative in the plus/minus is a good day indeed. Onward, boys, onward.

Marty Straka's Law..

Marty Straka's law states: anyone who could get hurt--as strange or as unfortunate as possible--will get hurt.

Chalk Maxime Talbot (re-agging an age old high ankle sprain) and Petr Sykora (tweaked back) as the latest examples to this rule. That Marian Hossa (injured knee in his first game as a Penguin) has also been ruled out for Wednesday's game is no consolation.

For a team that lost well over 50 man games to injury for two former #1 overall picks (Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury of course) , well it's just insult to, dare we say, injury. The only plus side--well other than the emergence of Evgeni Malkin and Ty Conklin, is that the Pens minor depth, guys like Jeff Taffe, Tyler Kennedy and many more have stepped up in limited, yet important, appearances.

The opponent, the fading Buffalo Sabres have injuries of too; with two of their best and most experienced defensemen (Dmitri Kalinin and Jaroslav Spacek) on the shelf for the next little while.

The Penguins are going to have to dig down and get some production out some unusual suspects to take this game. Something tells us Michel Therrien is going to have no choice but stack the top line with Crosby, Malkin and Ryan Malone. If they don't come through at even strength, someone else who gets the chance to must capitalize to stay on pace with the New Jersey's, Montreal's and Ottawa's of the Eastern conference.

Luckily, after Wednesday the Pens are off until Sunday's NBC matinee against Philly....But then they start a trying stretch of 7 games in 12 days, which probably will determine the jockeying for positioning in the Eastern Conference playoff chance. It seems likely skilled forwards like Sykora and Hossa will be back to leave their impact on that; but taking it one day at a time, Buffalo clearly is focus #1....For one day at least.

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.

Without Crosby the usual suspects keep coming through

"Geno like girls" (and goals)

We all know even without one of the best players in the world in Sidney Crosby, the Pens have Evgeni Malkin to be a #1 center, as he would be on practically any other organized team on this planet.

But one star (Crosby or Malkin) does not a team make. As we've pointed out here on TST the supporting cast of skilled players (Petr Sykora, Ryan Malone, Jordan Staal, and Erik Christensen) are going to have to produce to keep the victories coming.

For the most part they have all seemed energized in shouldering the burden left in Crosby's void, and they've all produced when it counts. The above five (plus Maxime Talbot) have proved to have the consistency to use their skill to keep the Penguins competitive. Combine that with the inspired play of the NHL's top goalie over the past 6 weeks (Ty Conklin: 12-3-1 with a GAA around 2.00 and a save percentage near 94%) and the NHL's top powerplay point scorer (defenseman Sergei Gonchar 30) with it's easy to see why the Pens have been rolling, even without last years Art Ross, Hart and Pearson Trophy winner.

It took 40 minutes, but the team came out of their shell with Crusher's goal less than a minute into the third stanza. Add to that what proved to be the reviewed game winner from the Penguin called the inconsistent skilled player (Malone) and you're getting to the recipe of success.

Unforutanetly for the Pens both New Jersey and Philadelphia both won tonight, so no ground was made up. Next week there are only two games, both are critically important since they are both division games--against the Devils and the always scrappy Islanders. Two more chances to prove that even without Crosby the team can still keep pace with the other top teams in the conference and not lose ground in the ultra-competitive Atlantic Division.

Other thoughts:

• Even though it was with a two goal lead in the 3rd period and on a powerplay, Sykora batting a puck out of mid air into the net shows what incredible talent he has.


• Kudos to Therrien for moving Brooks Orpik back to defense. Even though Colby Armstrong was healthy and ready to come back, I really expected Orpik (and not Therrien favorite Alain Nasreddine) to be scratched. Orpik rewarded his coach on Geno's back-breaking goal by bringing the puck up ice and dishing it just before getting decked.


• Speaking of the Geno goal, him taking the pass as center ice, skating hard to split two d-men and then put the puck inside the post was very much shades of Crosby or an Alex Ovechkin play. That's the kind of burden that Malkin has to (and has been) carrying every night that Crosby is out.


• Rod "The Bod" Brind'Amour feasted, as you'd expect, in the faceoff circle winning 67% of his draws. That's impressive. That he took 24 faceoffs too is even more.


• The Pens defense quietly did a good job; they blocked 15 Carolina shots (lead by Darryl Sydor's 4). Rob Scuderi eat up 21:45 minutes, impressive since it all came at even strength or on the penalty kill against the Hurricane's top forwards and he remained +1. That, in itself, is a terrific sign. Gonchar, as usual, continued to be the leading ice-time getter for both clubs with 26:31.


• The unsuspended Jarkko Ruutu had 15:25 of icetime and didn't take a penalty--which has to be some kind of personal best. Ruutu also threw 4 shots on net (though two missed). Good to see him not be affected by the controversy of last game and have a positive impact.

As you could see from the notes, we highlighted a lot of players, because it was a team effort. Most everyone played their roles to perfection. The skilled players ended up producing (even if it took two periods) and everyone--save Ryan Whitney, recored a positive or even plus/minus rating.

That's the way it's going to have to be in a tight race, especially while playing a non-division opponent and while the top competition (NJD and Philly) ended up both won by 3 goal margins as well. This ought to lead for good momentum and confidence for the good guys as they go into Jersey Monday night; especially since they just scored 4 goals on the legandary Martin Brodeur and generally outworked the Devs less than a week ago.

The ConkBlock Continues

Ty Conklin’s magic run continues. I don’t want to know how, I don’t care to know how much longer it will last, but for the past 2-3 weeks Conklin’s play has been remarkable. At first it was just results, as Conk had a sub .900 save percentage and his GAA was an unimpressive 3.50 through his first three decisions.

Since then all he’s done is give up 4 goals in the past 5 games, stopping a remarkable 157 of 161 shots (97.5%) in the process and recording 2 shutouts along the way.

Conklin, who the Post-Gazette credited for setting the stage for another quick strike outburst of 3 goals in 4 minutes by stopping a shorthanded breakaway by Greg Campbell. Sidney Crosby, as usual, left his mark on the game, slipping a pass out to Petr Sykora (why don’t these two play together more?) for the game’s first goal. Then Sid absolutely blew past Florida defensemen Jay Bouwmeester and Bryan Allen and beat Tomas Vokoun with a shot low to score the eventual game winner.

Another game another two points, but try as the Penguins may they can’t seem to surpass New Jersey for first place in the division since the Devils also won last night. Very reminiscent of last season.



Update on the Peloton:

For those that don’t remember, we came up with a nickname for the logjam of teams in the Eastern Conference playoff chase, a term used for cycling. The main body of riders that is also bunched together and dictates the pace and tempo of the race is called the peloton and that is reminiscent of how things have been this year. Most of the year Ottawa has been the breakaway team at the front of the pack and from 2nd to about 13th has been the peloton, shuffling teams up, down and around seemingly with every passing day and game.

Since we’ve loosely defined this concept as about 6 points difference in the bunch, we have—at least for now, some more breakaways. New Jersey (2nd with 51 points), division leader Carolina (3rd with 48), and 4th and 5th Pittsburgh and Montreal (both 50 points) have pulled away from the pack ever so slightly.

The peloton, by our standards, now stretches from 6th place Philadelphia (46 points) to 13th place Toronto (40). And don’t look now but Washington (with just as good a record in the past 10 games as anyone in the pack) is just one point back of the pack and has almost dug themselves out of the early season hole they started in.

It’s all subject to change, a period of inactivity or failing to convert points against conference rivals will almost surely pull the recent breakaways back to the pack, especially as teams with games in hand (like Philly) get a shot to play those games.

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.

Sad But True Fact

Any forward not named Crosby, Malkin or Sykora hasn't scored a goal since back on Saturday October 20th against the Capitals (Jordan Staal). This streak is going on 5 games.

Unbelievable: Michel Therrien switches the lines

As earlier quipped on this blog, Penguins head coach Michel Therrien will change line combinations as frequently (and maddeningly) as an aggressive driver changes lanes on the interstate....So perhaps it should be no surprise to see he used the following forward units at practice today:

Malkin- Crosby -Recchi
Malone- Staal - Hall
Roberts - Talbot -Sykora
Ruutu - Christensen - Armstrong

With the way the message boards, or Darwin's Waiting Room (as one occasionally amusing Caps blogger refers to them), you would have thought Coach was talking about making Crosby and Malkin healthy scratches.


"Why tinker with success when the Pens have won three straight!" they yell and, "Therrien has lost it, Hall on the 2nd line?" others whine.


Random protestor guy, your thoughts?

Therrien is no fool, he knows what he's doing. Fact is, practice IS the time to mix things up and let players get some time to play with new combos, to see if there's chemistry (like Staal-Hall) or to give your best two players (Crosby-Malkin) more icetime together. Maybe throwing in a sniper like Sykora with two grinders like Talbot and Roberts would be money. No risk trying it in a practice situation.

Clearly long-term Hall is not going to be a top 6 forward, and Sykora is not going to play a checking role. But in practice, to get a feel for the team, why not work some of the newer additions (Hall and Sykora) with some fresh faces. An in-game injury or penalty situation might mean they have to play with different players anyways. Now they atleast have something to build upon.

It will be interesting, when the Pens come out at home against another stumbling opponent-the Toronto Make Beliefs, if Therrien trots out line combos like this. Unless practice revealed something out of the ordinary, I highly doubt it.

Uhh, this is gonna end well...

Sometimes I wonder about people in positions higher than me; what coaches think putting out certain line combos (like giving Mark Recchi 20 minutes of ice time Wednesday night and giving Evgeni Malkin 14)...Or what GMs are thinking when they make trades or signings.

Add the Washington Capitals promotional department to the list.

Given that:
A)You have one of your closest geographical rivals in town
B)Fans don't really come to your own rink that much (the announced attendance last night was just above 11,000)
C)Your opponent often draws many loud fans

Why would you take the following steps:
1)Announce a "white-out" night, where fans wear white. This is a cool idea when it comes off well (see Penn State, Calgary's 'Sea of Red', etc).
2)Stick your team in white jerseys, which is what the road team wears in the NHL
3)Give out Terrible Towel knock off white towels to fans that come in

Uhh, I hate to break it to you guys, but this is possibly the worst idea since someone thought to fill a blimp with hydrogen.

What could go wrong?

BUT!

The Capitals have aggressively marketed special discount tickets to fill the seats against their biggest regional rivals (Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York, Toronto) with their own fans. A great idea. I bought this. I'm not going to be a dick and sell my tickets to the non-Pens games on eBay, I live close enough to attend. Plus, it's usually worth the price of admission to see guys like Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin and Nicklas Backstrom.

So maybe, unlike last year, there won't be as big of a Penguin partisan crowd. Maybe the Caps who've been losers of their last three games, and without the services of Semin will come out the gates fired up.....If the Penguins get a quick lead though and jump on the Caps early (Olie Kolzig gave up 5 goals last night, some pretty soft) it's going to get ugly. Caps fans will be quiet and the Pens fans will be more fired up.

The ultimate kicker:

If a Penguin scores a hat trick (I'm looking at you Petr Sykora), heaven help us all. Those Terrible Towel knockoffs are going to rain down on the ice so much it might just bring a tear to the old Pacman's eye.

I am very excited for this hockey game. I will be there. It's going to be very interesting to see the atmosphere and if there's more Caps fans than last time around. I went to the Caps home opener and they seemed to be very well represented. Judging from the locals, everyone has had this game circled on the calender for some time now. Should be electric.

Also, since the lockout, some head to head numbers:
Penguins: 7-1
Capitals: 1-6-1 (a shootout loss)

Sidney Crosby: 5 goals, 9 assists, 14 points
Alex Ovechkin: 4 goals, 4 assists, 8 points

So that's right, if you're keeping track at home, Croz is "Gretzky-ing" Ovechkin so far. That of course meaning he's got more assists than you do points.