Penguins Blog

The Penguins' 4-3 win over the Ducks showcased on very important aspect that has been largely absent this season.

The traffic in front of Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller was comparable to the rush hour traffic in the Squirrel Hill Tunnel.

Three of the four goals the Pens scored last night were the direct result of Hiller not being able to see his hand in front of his face.

Kris Letang's first goal of the year came on a delayed penalty call, Alex Goligoski put the Pens up 3-2 with a bomb and Pascal Dupuis uncorked a rocket of his own for the eventual game-winning goal. All three shots had eyes through the crowd out front.

• Watch The Highlights Here
• Pens Rank 3rd In TSN.ca's Power Rankings
• Pens Rank 1st In ESPNcom Power Rankings
• KDKA.com Game Recap
• Pittsburgh Post Gazette Recap
• Pittsburgh Tribune Review's Recap

Mike Rupp's second period goal was the result of the Pens crashing the net for rebounds and getting great puck movement.

As a team, they paid a price by getting bodies to the net and scored "blue-collar goals."

 At the NHL level, if a goalie sees the puck, he should stop it. If you take his eyes away, your chances of scoring obviously go up.

This is something that absolutely needs to be kept up in the absence of Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar and when they return. It's no secret that Max Talbot will instantly step in and park his frame in front of opposing goalies as well.

The Penguins have some high-level talent that can score at will, but to compliment that style with a gritty in your face style can only benefit them. By crashing the net you almost guarantee getting production from the players not named Sidney Crosby, Malkin, Gonchar etc.

If this type of play keeps up, guys like Tyler Kennedy, Mike Rupp, Craig Adams and Dupuis will get on the scoresheet and take some of the pressure off of the top line guys.

Speaking of Tyler Kennedy, welcome back TK!

Kennedy made his presence known early and often and chipped in with two assists in the game.

To update a previous post, Alex Ovechkin's injury may be more serious than initially thought. He was downgraded from day-to-day to week-to-week. The Caps think they'll be just fine without him. Of course the team is going to say that. When was the last time a team came out and said "our season is done, throw in the towel" when they lost a star player?

I'm sure the conversations behind closed doors are very different.

This is quickly turning into the season of the falling stars in the NHL.

The opening month of the season just ended and the league has already seen Marc Savard, Milan Lucic, Ilya Kovalchuk, Sergei Gonchar, Evgeni Malkin, and Jonathan Toews go down with various injuries.

That star-studded list is only a few of the names -- for a complete list of injuries around the league check out http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/injuries

Be sure to note the growing list in Detroit too. I don't wish ill on teams, but I'm not complaining about seeing them get off to a slow start and having some of their stars not able to play.

As of last night, you can add another name to the injury list. That man might very well be public enemy number one in Pittsburgh.

Alex Ovechkin.

Ovechkin got wrapped up with Raffi Torres and fell to the ice in the second period of last night's 5-4 loss. Ovechkin got up and gingerly skated off the ice and did not return.

He is listed as day-to-day with an "upper-body injury."

Other stories about the injury:

• TSN.ca's Recap
• Tribune Review Story
• NHL.com Story

Ovechkin is the heart and soul of that Washington team. They will go as far as he takes them. The supporting cast of Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom among others is very solid.

However, can they continue to be successful if Ovie has to miss some time? That I'm not so sure about, especially with a young goaltender in Semyon Varlamov.

I'm sure some people out there are probably giddy over the injury and will say that he deserved it. I don't think that someone ever deserves an injury, but I have questioned some of his hits in the past.  He has a slight tendency to leave his feet when he hits people and we all remember the knee on knee hit he dropped on Gonchar in the playoffs.

Could he have gotten out of the way? I think so. Was it intentional? I'd have a hard time thinking that he would intentionally try to hurt anyone. Not to mention a fellow countryman. Time will tell the severity and nature of the injury, but if it turns out to be something serious the Caps will officially be in panic mode.

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The Penguins did just about everything right against Minnesota, except for one big thing.

Score.

They flat out dominated the Wild, outshooting them 35-15 and having numerous glorious scoring chances in the third period. Minnesota goaltender Niklas Backstrom was the story last night. His 34 saves simply stole the show and I’m not convinced that if the Pens’ full roster was playing that it would have made much difference. Backstrom wasn’t making flashy saves or anything. He was just rarely out of position and making himself look big in net. I don’t think Marc-Andre Fleury even broke a sweat because of the 15 shots he faced, only a handful were good scoring chances.

For more information about the game check the links below:

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Recap
Pittsburgh Tribune Review Recap
Watch Highlights From The Game
Pens Rank No. 2 On TSN.ca's Power Rankings
Pens Rank No. 1 On ESPN.com's Power Rankings

The Wild capitalized on their chances and the Pens just couldn’t solve Backstrom. Bill Guerin hit the post in the third period off a rebound, Jordan Staal somehow missed a wide open net on a rebound in the second period and every shot the Pens took on goal after pulling Fleury seemed to hit a body and deflect away.

Nights like these happen, it’s a long campaign and you’re going to have nights where you just can’t buy a goal. How do you think Ottawa feels right about now? They should have smoked the Thrashers last night, but Ondrej Pavelec made 50 saves to grab two points in the standings.Ottawa outshot the Thrashers 25-3 in the third period and scored their only goal with just over four minutes to play in the game.

However, Pascal Dupuis’ goal was a thing of beauty. Right off the draw he slides over into a soft spot in the defense and absolutely unloads a rocket on a one-timer to the twine. Backstrom barely had a chance to take a breath after the referee let the puck fall out of his hand, before he was digging the puck out of his net.

One thing that struck me as a little peculiar was a sort of feud between Petr Sykora and Kris Letang. On a couple of occasions Sykora went over to him after the whistle and gave him a little jab or whack with the stick. It seemed playful at first, but then in the third period Sykora did it again and ended up smacking Letang in the face with the stick. Both men went to the box, but it got me thinking about why Sykora would have an issue with his former teammates after winning the Stanley Cup.

The obvious reason is that he didn’t have much of a role in the team’s playoff run due to both injury and his utter lack of production. In seven playoff games, he managed to register one assist. He did play a vital role in Game 6 against the Red Wings with several key blocks, one of which injured him and forced him to miss Game 7. I don’t know if he has a sense of entitlement due to his career numbers, that he felt he deserved to be on the ice when he wasn’t productive and was becoming a detriment to the team’s success as a result. He seemed to get along with the guys on the team, but there was some speculation that he didn’t like Dan Bylsma from their time as teammates in Anaheim. Both have said that isn’t the case, but it’s worth noting especially after last night.

The other question I had about it was why Letang? It’s not like Letang plays dirty. He genuinely seems like a good guy and a strong competitor who wears rockets for skates. If I was going to be upset with anyone on the team the likely candidates would probably be Matt Cooke, Eric Godard, Mike Rupp or Brooks Orpik who hit anything that moves. By no means am I saying they play dirty, but when you get knocked around enough you start to get frustrated.

I’m at a loss, but what do you Pens fans think? Was this just an isolated incident from Sykora being jacked up to play against his former team? Or, do you think there’s something else brewing there?

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The Pens keep facing more and more adversity early on this season and are still finding ways to win. Last night’s 4-3 shootout win was one of the most exciting regular season games I’ve seen in a long time.

While I was complaining about the amount of penalties the Pens were taking, they stepped up their game in the final moments to somehow tie the game. Down 3-1 with under three minutes to play, Ruslan Fedotenko slammed home a rebound and then just 39 seconds later, Alex Goligoski ripped one to the shelf over Steve Mason to tie it up. The patience Goligoski showed before taking the shot speaks volumes for how he’s progressing in his young career.

After Sidney Crosby feathered an aerial pass out to the point, Goligoski could have just stepped into it for a one-timer. Instead, he held it and waited for a Columbus player to slide by and for Mason to go down a little early before ripping a wrist shot to the twine. Most young players would have taken the one-timer and buried it into the diving player, but Goligoski must be paying attention to someone like Sergei Gonchar who would have done exactly what Goligoski did.

The thing that impressed me the most, aside from the win, was the crowd. After Fedotenko scored, there were plenty of Pens fans jumping up and down in the stands. However, when Goligoski tied it, you would have thought they were playing at the Igloo. The fans in Columbus were great and showed that they understand how exciting the sport can be. No one was in their seats for at least the final three minutes of regulation and they stayed on their feet for the overtime and shootout. The atmosphere for a regular season game was fantastic.

Evgeni Malkin missed his first game of the season with a shoulder strain and Tyler Kennedy missed his second straight game. Max Talbot and Gonchar are also still rehabbing, but the key point in all of this is that the Pens found a way to win without those four guys in the lineup.

In a game that appeared as if nothing would go their way, the Penguins took control and Columbus went into a shell to try and hold the lead. I’ve lost track of how many times the Pens have pulled a late third period comeback over the last couple of seasons. When will other teams take notice and realize you can’t give this team an inch?I’m not sure if it says more about the Pens that they can turn it on at will, or if that other teams know it and start to play not to lose. 

There’s simply no quit in this team and as long as they continue to put forth the effort, they should get results. Even with the injury bug setting up shop in the locker room.

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With Evgeni Malkin out for the next couple of weeks and a couple other holes in the lineup, the Pens recalled 2 of Wlikes Barre's best players in the form of Chris Conner and Mark Letestu.

Conner has been the Baby Pens most productive forward this season with 8 points (2G, 6A) in 9 games. Letestu is averaging more than a point per game with 5 points (2g, 3a) in 4 games. This is a pretty major blow to the Baby Pens who are already without Eric Tangradi (shoulder) Nick Johnson (knee) and Kevin Veilleux (hip). It seems Luca Caputi and Dustin Jeffrey are the main guns left down on the farm, as injuries ripple through the entire organization.

As for here in Pittsburgh, Tyler Kennedy looks as if he'll remain out of the lineup so we'll definitely see at least 1 of the 2 callups tonight. We saw quite a bit of movement between the Burgh and WBS last season though they were all round trip tickets as nobody (not a single one) ever seemed to play up to an NHL level. In fact here's a list of last year's callups and their production, and you tell me if anyone deserved to stay in town:

• Chris Minard 20 Games: 1G, 2A, Even
• Tim Wallace 16 Games: 0G, 2A, +2
• Bill Thomas 16 Games: 2G, 1A, -4
• Dustin Jeffrey 14 Games: 1G, 2A, +4
• Jeff Taffe 8 Games: 0G, 2A, -4
• Janne Pesonen 7 Games: 0G, 0A, -3
• Luca Caputi 5 Games: 1G, 2A, -1
• Ryan Stone 2 Games: 0G, 0A, -1
• Conner James 1 Game: 0G, 0A Even

Added up that's about a full season for 1 player (86 games), totaling 5 goals, 11 assists for 16 points (about .2 points per game) and a minus-7 rating. Here's exhibit A why the Penguins needed to go out and trade for Bill Guerin, Chris Kunitz and Craig Adams. Now, you could argue that Ray Shero may have pulled the trigger on those moves anyway, but I can assure you he would have much rather had 1 or 2 of those players listed above able to produce at the NHL level rather than NONE of them. It's cheaper and more productive to build from within, but since Tyler Kennedy's emergence as an everyday player 2 years ago, there hasn't been one forward to emerge from within the Penguins organization to help them at the major league level.

That can all change beginning tonight with Chris Conner or Mark Letestu. Will it? I have some serious doubts. I'm still banking on Caputi or Tangradi filling that bill, but even they're still major question marks. But each game is a new chance for someone to prove themselves beginning in Columbus tonight.

 

Well it appears as if last night's win came with a price tag.

Evgeni Malkin will miss the next 2-3 weeks with a shoulder strain that has been bothering him for over a week. According to a statement on the Penguins' Website by Dan Bylsma, the move is a precautionary one so that Geno can rest it up and heal properly.

When I saw the headline of "Malkin Out 2-3 Weeks" my heart skipped a beat, but to see that it's a precautionary measure makes me feel a little better.

His absence will require Bylsma to juggle the lines a little more as well.

Here's what I would use at this point and I'm figuring in Tyler Kennedy until more information on his condition is revealed.

Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Bill Guerin
Chris Bourque - Jordan Staal - Ruslan Fedotenko
Matt Cooke  - Tyler Kennedy - Pascal Dupuis
Eric Godard - Craig Adams - Mike Rupp

Kennedy has experience as a center so shifting him over wouldn't be a major transition for him.

Bourque on the second line is a bit trickier. He's considered to have top six forward potential and he's stepped in and played well in a limited role this season. He assisted on Kunitz's first goal of the season last night as well. I'd put him there for now to give him a chance to prove himself.

As much as I don't want to see the Cooke-Staal-Kennedy line broken up, I don't see how it can't be at this point. By moving Staal up to the second line, he gets a chance to take on a more offensive role. He's shown in the past that he can find the back of the net, so now he has another chance to prove it.

As far as the powerplay goes, it's going to take a couple more games to get used to a couple new players being out there.

The unit looked pretty good against the Habs last night and registered a pair of goals.

My top powerplay unit at this point would be Staal - Crosby - Guerin with Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski on the points.

With Staal and Guerin on the top unit, they can take turns parking their big frames in front of opposing goaltenders to set up screens and clean up rebounds. The key to that strategy would be getting pucks on net, which means Letang and Goligoski can't be afraid to take on a "shoot first" mentality.

If the Pens can continue to win games without Sergei Gonchar and Evgeni Malkin, I can only see that as a good sign for the rest of the year. Every team faces adversity over the course of a season. The Pens are hopefully getting their tests out of the way early on.

Get well soon Geno.

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While Sidney Crosby stole the show against the Canadiens on Wednesday night, another guy was able to finally silence the critics...at least for the time being.

Chris Kunitz scored on a breakaway with the game well in-hand last night, beating Carey Price between the legs.

You could see the relief on his face when he saw it go in. What I liked about his reaction was how he still managed to keep his emotions in check.

You just know he wanted to throw his arms up and yell out, but he didn't. He just raised his stick as he skated on by the net.

In the grand scheme of things, even being mired in one of the longest draughts of his career, he still put the team and honor of the game first.

When your team has a big enough lead like that, there's no need for any grand celebrations unless it's a milestone goal or if you're playing the Flyers.

Nothing bugs me more in sports than to see overzealous celebrations in a blowout. The one that jumps out most in my mind is New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter jumping out of the dugout during the 2004 ALCS Game 3 in Boston.

The game ended 19-8 Yankees.

As the lead grew to an unattainable number for Boston, there's Jeter jumping out of the dugout with his fist pumping and screaming his lungs out like he just won the World Series.

Of course, Boston then goes on to win four straight and pull off the greatest comeback in baseball history. In greatest sports memories of my time, seeing the Sox pull that off while living in the New York area and go on to win the World Series for the first time in nearly a century ranks second behind the Pens winning last year.

How'd all that senseless celebrating work out for you Jeter?

Side note: I know I'll catch a lot of heat for this from Pittsburghers, but I'm pulling for the Phillies in the World Series. The great people I bowl with all looked at me like I was nuts when I told them I wanted Philly to win it. Let me just explain that growing up outside of Boston, I was born to hate the Yankees. My parents would have disowned me if I even remotely entertained the thought of rooting for pinstripes.

I understand the rivalry between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, but in a World Series that I'd prefer watching paint dry to watching the games...go Phillies!

Anyway, there was some concern about how the Pens would fare without having both Sergei Gonchar and Tyler Kennedy in the lineup. Team still looked pretty good didn't they?

I was out at my weekly bowling league, but was able to watch the entire game between throws. The best part of the night was being around actual Pens fans to watch a game. For too long I've been on an island of sorts watching the team. Being out here among Pens fans makes this new city feel even more like home.

If last night's win showed us anything, it's that the Pens have so much depth and skill that they stand to have a good chance of winning any time they step on the ice.

They are solid from top to bottom and when someone needs to fill in for an injured player, the team barely seems to skip a beat.

That speaks volumes of what General Manager Ray Shero and Dan Bylsma have been able to do with this team in their short time here.

I for one would like to thank them for their hard work and look forward to the continued success of the franchise.

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I'm really looking forward to tonight's matchup against the Montreal Canadiens.

After winning the Stanley Cup, the Canadiens blew up their roster and are trying to find success with a host of new players. Alex Tanguay, Alex Kovalev, Saku Koivu and Mike Komisarek are the notables missing from last year's roster.

The Habs took an aggressive approach to the offseason by letting those players walk and then bringing in guys like Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta, Mike Cammalleri, Jaroslav Spacek and of course, Hal Gill.

Gill has gotten off to a rather slow start, and that's not a jab at his skating skills. Through 11 games he holds a -4 plus-minus rating and has taken 19 minutes in penalties. In 62 games with the Pens last year, he was a +10 rating with only 53 penalty minutes.

He currently has only 13 hits this season as well. For those keeping track, that's just barely over one hit per game. In terms shot blocking, the big man has blocked 18 shots this season. League-leader and new Penguin Jay McKee has 36 in as many games.

There's no question he has some insight into how the Penguins like to play, so I expect a good game tonight that could very well come down to special teams.

The Penguins have made it known that they are working on the powerplay and when it starts to click, the rest of the league better take notice.

On another note, what amazes me about sports is that when any player gets into a slump, the trade rumors begin to fly.

I was poking around on Spector's Hockey this morning and saw that he had dispelled a rumor about Canadiens' goaltender Carey Price being traded to Chicago for Cristobal Huet. I'm not entirely sure what a logical thought process would be for that kind of trade, but that's why it's a rumor.

In talking to some Pittsburghers about the Pens and Max Talbot, I was alerted to some chatter about a trade possibly involving the Pens.

I'm going to preface this by saying, I have not seen any rumors on sites that I respect that would suggest anything is imminent. However, the conversations got me thinking about the roster and if a roster move could be coming more out of necessity.

Talbot still won't be back until at least the middle of December, but what happens when he does come back?

If he resumes his playoff spot on the second like with Evgeni Malkin and Ruslan Fedotenko, where does Pascal Dupuis go? If he drops down to the fourth line, what happens to any of Michael Rupp, Eric Godard and Craig Adams?

Not to mention, the Pens already have Chris Bourque playing in a limited role, so that would put at least two guys on the sidelines.

Something will have to give, baring a major injury to a roster player, for Talbot to take his spot back on the ice.

I can only imagine that if a trade is executed, it would be for some later round picks or prospects.

Like I said, I haven’t seen anything concrete, but if you read between the lines it appears as if something could happen in December. I guess we’ll see what happens.

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The Penguins will take the ice on Wednesday to cap off a five-game homestand against the Montreal Canadiens.

The team practiced over at Mellon Arena on Monday and showed no ill-effects from a 4-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.

If you haven't seen the pictures of what took place at practice, Check Them Out Here.

I find it really funny and ironic that tough guy Eric Godard donned the blue care bear head. I don't know for sure, but part of me wonders if he lost a bet with some of the guys on the team.

I'd also be interested to know how well Marc-Andre Fleury was seeing the puck through that Kermit head over his helmet. If it was working for him in practice, maybe he could implement it into games to throw off the other team.

Goalies are always trying to get an edge in net and new rule changes have even been put in place to reduce the size of equipment. Remember how big Anaheim goalie John-Sebastien Giguere looked during his Conn Smythe performance? It was all legal back then, not anymore.

I'll even admit when I played net for a couple years, due to a goaltender shortage at my high school, that the glove I had wasn't technically legal. The fact that I barely had to move my left arm to catch pucks should have been a clue, but I bought it off the shelf on a trip to Canada so that made it legal to me.

One kid in New Hampshire tested out a theory similar to the one Fleury bought into when he switched from the trademark gold pads and gloves to the white ones he's wearing now.

According to Boston.com, Trevor Leahy designed his pads and gloves to look like the net as a sort of camouflage. In theory, it's a great idea, but I'm not sure how effective it would be. Having played the game as a forward for most of my playing years, I can't remember ever being thrown off by a piece of equipment while shooting. I suppose if I was firing through traffic that the pads would look like a good place to shoot, but I don't know.

I do think that a goalie wearing a Kermit mask over his helmet, even just for fun in practice, would get my attention and render my shot useless.

It's nice to see that the Pens are still having fun on the ice and doing things to share a few laughs. That will only help the tight-knit group become closer and ultimately more effective.

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Well, you can’t win them all I suppose.

The Penguins certainly had their chances against the Devils on Saturday night, but just couldn’t get a bounce to go their way in a 4-1 loss.

The Pens even dominated the first half of the opening frame by not allowing the Devils to get a shot on net.

Then, Mark Fraser throws one at Marc-Andre Fleury that pops up in the air and tips off his glove and into the net while he was trying to catch it.

Plays like that are what sank the Pens. Fatigue may also have played a minor role being the second game in as many night, but the Devils got every bounce in the game. That’s just the way it goes sometimes.

I would just like to point out that Dan Bylsma used my line combinations for the defense last night too, at least to start the game. It’s no secret that he likes to shuffle the lines throughout the game and last night was no different.

There were times last night that I had no idea who would be coming on the ice. I’m sure part of it was trying to find something that would sustain pressure on the Devils in their zone, but the other thing I like about Bylsma is that he’s fully aware of who is on the ice for the opposing team.

He has full confidence in every player on the bench and sends out the proper players in every situation. Games can be won and lost on the bench and I can’t recall any being lost on the bench under Bylsma.

Alex Goligoski looked much more comfortable and may very well have been the best Penguin on the ice. He had several good chances in the game and scored the lone goal on a rebound. I still can't believe how fast and smooth he is when he's rushing up ice.

Anyway, the powerplay is still a weak point in the Penguins game. With the talent on the ice, it’s mind boggling.

One thing I noticed in the third period on the powerplay. With the Devils dropping back into that always exciting trap, the Pens weren’t chipping pucks to the corners and retrieving them.

The Devils were practically standing flat-footed waiting for the Pens to skate the puck into the zone and pull up along the nearside boards.

The Pens also got away from their game and allowed two Devils to overwhelm one player and take the puck away for easy clears down the ice.

I think the biggest problem with the powerplay, even with Sergei Gonchar, is that they look for the pretty play as opposed to getting the puck to the net and scoring the dirty goals.

Often times this season, it has looked like one extra pass has been the result of a failed powerplay. With guys like, Jordan Staal, Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz parking themselves near the paint, there is no excuse for not getting the puck on net. Crashing the net after an initial shot is also key. If the initial shot doesn’t go in and there’s a rebound, there is a decent chance that if they are crashing, the puck will end up in the net.

It’s a simple strategy, but sometimes simpler is better.

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