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.

Crosby, of course, voted All-Star

Not really that big of news since he's been running away with the votes from the beginning, but it's official: Sidney Crosby has been voted into the starting lineup. Crosby will be only the 2nd player from last year's starting lineup to be in this year's (Devils goalie Martin Brodeur the other).

Tampa's Vinny Lecavalier and Ottawa's captain Daniel Alfredsson will be the other starting forwards, Boston's Giant Gonzalez (err, Zdeno Chara) and somehow Montreal's Andrei Markov round out the East.

The west's starting skaters all are from Detroit (Hank Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Lidstrom) or Calgary (Jarome Iginla and "The Object of Pierre McGuire's Affection" Dion Phaneuf).

Hard to argue against any of those west selections, but kinda weird only two teams will be represented.

I'm also a little surprised Alex Ovechkin couldn't crack the starting lineup. He's obviously a very popular player for opposing fans with his style of play and personality. Lecavalier, the lead's leading scorer, deserves to be there and don't get me wrong Alfredsson is the captain of the East's best team and is tied for 5th in scoring (25g, 30a in 40 games) and is having a heck of a season too.

But we do wish AO could have made the starting lineup. Hopefully the coaches will allow him to play on Crosby's line for much of the game. The two didn't produce anything in their first AS game, but with such sublime talents playing together sooner or later they'd make magic happen.

Not much fun in the sun

The Penguins are just 2-8 playing in Miami and the Tampa Bay Lightning have seemed to have their number too, so it’s not necessarily going to be easy victories this trip south, despite the records of the opponents.

The lineup is expected to remain the same, Max Talbot practiced with the team but did not make the trip and is still thought to be about a week or so away from his return. Neither recent call-up, Ryan Stone or Ryan Lannon is expected to be in their tonight, but it wouldn’t surprise me totally to see Therrien give one or both a shot if the team comes out complacent or a guy like Brooks Orpik or Jeff Taffe makes a mistake or plays flat.

Around here we're not known for predictions, but watch out for Sidney Crosby. He hasn't scored many goals lately, but he always seems to feast on weaker defenses and he could break out for a couple points tonight.

You know who is back at it....

Here we go again...

Hossa to Pitt (e2) Yeh, indeed. The pending UFA would pretty much be the ideal fit in Pitt. What I am hearing is that IF the Pens could get Hossa to agree to some sort of extension, Jordan Staal + could be the pricetag. Big IF. However,Hossa could become Crosby's Kurri pretty damn quick.

Is he hearing this from the voices in his head? The Penguins have to tow the line as much as possible before the new arena, even with all the sell-outs Forbes estimated they still don't rake in that much revenue relative to the rest of the league.

``Evgeni Malkin will need a long-term contract and probably be looking at the $7-$8.7 million range a year long-term, a bump of $3+ million.
``Marc-Andre Fleury will be a restricted free agent
``Important players will be unrestricted: Ryan Malone, Mark Eaton, Brooks Orpik....Whether the Pens want them back (or how much interest they might command on an open market) is a whole 'nother issue). The point is though, if they're gone the team is going to have to find somewhat veteran or good players to fill their roles.


Still, in the most foolish thing I've done on this blog since sourcing wikipedia, let's acknowledge this "rumor" as a legitimate one.

No doubting Hossa and Crosby (or Malkin and Hossa) would make for a dynamic offensive duo that would be very frightening. But this isn't your Xbox360 and it's not so simple just to pluck elite wingers.

Also, why would Atlanta want to trade him? Sure there's a risk of losing him as a UFA, but that's a risk coach/GM Don Waddell has taken---and got burned on many times watching players leave his club as UFAs. Also, after a terrible start that cost Bob Hartley his job the Tbombs are up to .500 hockey (43 points in 43 games). That may not be a total playoff pace, but they’ve been one of the conference’s better statistical team for the past 30-35 games and may not want to deal away one of their best players.

What exactly would they want in addition to Staal? If it was a non-roster more long-term project like Alex Goligoski, Jonathan Filewich I could see the Penguins maybe making that deal. If they were holding out for a guy like Kris Letang or Colby Armstrong then I don’t think that would ever work. Plus Shero has said he’s not interested in trading draft choices and has stressed how he wishes to continue to build the organization from within with those picks, so I doubt he’s going to move a first round pick or Angelo Esposito.

And then there’s the issue of compensation for Hossa. On the open market he could get a deal like Danny Briere or Scott Gomez got, a huge frontloaded deal that might see him stand to earn $10 million next season. As hinted to already, the Penguins are in no condition to pay open market value for Hossa or any other player than Crosby or Malkin.

As most sane folks realize, there are a lot of factors that would have to break exactly the right way. And that’s assuming that Shero is willing to pull the trigger on a deal to send Jordan Staal out of the organization. Sure he’s having a sophomore slump this season, but he’s 19 and is going on 200 NHL games (preseason, regular season and postseason) by the time he’s not a teenager. Look at some statistical performances guys like Joe Thornton or Vincent Lecavalier had in their first two seasons at 18 or 19 years of age.

In conclusion, Eklund is an idiot.

Stone, Lannon Recalled

The Penguins were sitting at having the minimum number of healthy skaters, 18, on their NHL roster. So, while getting ready to embark on a 3 game southern swing for a week, they figured they might need the flexibility just in case an injury strikes.

Enter 2 Ryans: (Stone and Lannon).

I wouldn't mind seeing Stone get a crack in the lineup for one game, he plays a role that could fit in well on a lower line.

Lannon, barring injury, will likely not sniff the lineup. No worries there.

More interesting to me, is that regular callup Alain Nasreddine was left in Wilkes-Barre.

On one hand, the Penguins regular 6 defenseman are all filling their roles well and there's no place in the lineup for Nasreddine. His services can be better spent in the AHL where he's a big part of a team that's made a turnaround in the standings right about when he got there. Plus to keep him in game shape there's no need to sit him every single night.

But, then again consider that it is unusual to carry six defensemen. Lannon is an emergency option and it doesn't seem like he is an NHL caliber player and perhaps never will be.

So why no Naz? Could he be falling victim to a provision in the CBA over re-entry waivers?

For those who may not know, Nasreddine would be exposed to re-entry waivers if he was recalled. He is a decent option as a 6/7 veteran guy.

But, better than that, his salary would be a steal....Nasreddine's cap hit would be half of his $535,000 contract. But, since the season is half over, the Penguins have paid him half of that (or the equilivant for being in the minors).

Re-entry waivers would force the Pens to pick up half his remaining salary, leaving the new team to pay just 1/4 (or $133,750) for Nasreddine's services for the rest of the year.

That would be quite the bargain for a team with defensive injuries, and especially if they're nearing the salary cap.

Those financial considerations are likely the reason it's Lannon, and not Nasreddine, that got the call this morning.

Ty, Ty, Ty, Ty

Ty Conklin wins another game, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin get a goal and assist a piece and the Pens win their 6th in a row...Just like we drew it up...

As Borat would say, "Very nice!"

Now, the big decision comes (as we'll elaborate on soon)....When Marc-Andre Fleury comes back do you demote (and risk waivers) on Dany Sabourin to the minors or can you somehow justify sending a goalie who's 7-0-0 with a 95.6 save percentage and 2 shutouts....

Let us remind you, a "good problem to have" is still a problem.

Bill Clement Says: Laraque is #1

In an effort to keep showing how 'Big' Georges Laraque is clearly the top heavyweight in the game, here's Bill Clement "Clement, Hands of Cement"'s top 5 fighters:

1. BGL
2. Raitis Ivanans (Phoenix Coyotes)
3. 'The' Donald Brashear
4. George Parros (Pittsburgh native, Anaheim Ducks)
5. Derek 'The Boogeyman" Boogaard (Minnesota Wild)

A veteran who has played since the late 1990s, Laraque sits in the king’s thrown among the NHL’s tough guys. It’s like opposing enforcers bow at his feet before they drop the gloves with him. He fights less nowadays as is to be expected since he has developed so great a reputation that often his mere presence on the ice is enough of an impact.

This passage on Laraque is right on. Several of the self-proclaimed 'tough guys' (Colton Orr, Ben Eaves, Brian McGratton) have backed away when Laraque's been in their face....Orr and McGratton have answered the bell at times, and they've both paid the price.


Further, ask any close observer of the Penguins to compare the post-whistle abuse guys like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have had to endure since Laraque's joined the organ-eye-zation. The difference is very, very noticable.


Personally we here would probably rate Boogaard a little higher on the list but the list isn't that far from the truth.


Ivanans may be an unknown on the East Coast, but fight fans know that he's a monster. As a beer-league level hockey player (and former collegiate athlete) Ivanans pure guns may be the best in the league.

The previous sentence written may be the gay-est thing on Sweater Ted, but look at this picture for Christ's sake

Personally, watching a lot of Brashear's recent fights (scroll halfway down to see a drubbing of McGratton), I'd say The Don has learned from Laraque (the hard way) about adjusting his style to use his size, force and intimidation to just rely on jackhammer lefts to over-power the opponent.