The Penguins kicked off a 3 game road stretch with a disappointing 4-3 loss in overtime to the New Jersey Devils. Jamie Langenbrunner scored with less than 40 seconds left in regulation to tie 3-3 then once more in OT to win 4-3.
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin both had a goal and an assist each (Malkin's 100th career goal).
Max Talbot added a goal for the Pens.
This game should have been 3-2. The referees in the 3rd period right after the 10minute mark made possibly the worst call of the new year. They called Petr Sykora for hooking (then a 2 minute add-on for arguing), which he should have done more considering the result of the ensuing PowerPlay. Sykora was defending a Devil streaking up the middle and you could see clearly holding one hand on his stick reaching for the puck. The Devil actually grabbed the tip of Sykora's blade for a second, knocking him off balance, yet not off his skates, and continued on. There was no evident intent to hinder his progress, nor did he even lay both hands on his stick. Well, not 3 seconds after the next face-off, Brendan Shanahan rips a slap-shot past Fleury's glove hand.
Long story short, Langenbrunner scores on a wrap-around with 29 seconds left, the Devils absolutely dominate the overtime period and with exactly 1:00 left, Langenbrunner strikes again on a one-time pass from Travis Zajac, completely hopeless for Fleury to stop.
Again, irritating loss. Got out-played, but did well on our opportunities and really fell to an unfortunate circumstance where the game was forced out of their hands by the officials.
The NHL should apologize for ripping the Penguins off a point and handing the Devils 2 on a golden platter. Facists.
Bring on Toronto.
NHL.com Recap
NHL.com Boxscore
Friday, January 30, 2009
Penguins score 6 on the King in 6-2 win
As soon as the puck dropped at Mellon Arena, Colton Orr and Eric Godard engaged at center ice and threw wildly at eachother. After a few hits and misses, Godard delivered the knockout blow, catching Orr on the chin and dropping him to the ice. Sidney Crosby delivered the perverbial knockout blow to Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers Wednesday night when he roofed a backhand shot from the right slot. Crosby intercepted a pass and quickly spun to his left and caught everyone, possibly even himself, by surprise. The result was a jaw dropping goal and a huge boost for the confidence of not only the Penguins, but for the fans as well.
Kris Letang broke out of his scoring slump and scored twice, once from a feed by Crosby, and his second was a great individual effort. Letang maneuvered the puck to center ice and just put on the after-burners. He flew by a Rangers' defensemen and was able to slap the puck through the five-hole of Lundqvist. Petr Sykora also had two goals.
Ryan Whitney and Jordan both picked up two points, two helpers for Ryan, and a goal and an assist for Jordan. Evgeni Malkin increased his point total to 71 but now only holds a 7 point lead over team-mate Sidney Crosby for the scoring title after Crosby's four-point performance.
It was a great game for the team overall. Fleury held strong in net, especially early, and the team exploded for 5 goals in the third. Well, it's Friday and it's 7:00pm which means the Penguins are about to take on the Devils. Let's go Pens!
NHL.com Recap
NHL.com Boxscore
Kris Letang broke out of his scoring slump and scored twice, once from a feed by Crosby, and his second was a great individual effort. Letang maneuvered the puck to center ice and just put on the after-burners. He flew by a Rangers' defensemen and was able to slap the puck through the five-hole of Lundqvist. Petr Sykora also had two goals.
Ryan Whitney and Jordan both picked up two points, two helpers for Ryan, and a goal and an assist for Jordan. Evgeni Malkin increased his point total to 71 but now only holds a 7 point lead over team-mate Sidney Crosby for the scoring title after Crosby's four-point performance.
It was a great game for the team overall. Fleury held strong in net, especially early, and the team exploded for 5 goals in the third. Well, it's Friday and it's 7:00pm which means the Penguins are about to take on the Devils. Let's go Pens!
NHL.com Recap
NHL.com Boxscore
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
On The Forecheck: Penguins eye up Trading Blocks
Once again, we have a few struggling teams with struggling, or rejuvenated stars who now find themselves being tossed around all over trade websites. I mean, let's just put the Bleu, Blanc, et Rouge on Vinny Lecavalier and call him the Habs' new #1 Center already. Or at least, that's what the trade rumors cease to rotate around.
There's no doubt that a Penguins club with high expectations, struggling to win and score goals at home could use a little help. Some familiar names are being thrown around. Ilya Kovalchuk's name has come up more than once.
The Penguins need a solid top-line winger. After the questionable departure of Hossa to Detroit and the loss of Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts, Mark Recchi to Free Agency (aka the Tampa Bay Lightning list of potential busts), Ray Shero scrambled to find some players with soft hands and an eye for the net. One of the two big names he was able to land may still have soft hands, but they'll be mending for the remainder of the regular season after Ruslan Fedotenko was in an altercation with former Penguin, Colby Armostrong. Miroslav Satan has been hit or miss all season. He's been warm, he's been cold, he's been warm, he's been cold, he's been ice cold, and on and on. I love the guy, he did great things in Buffalo, but he has been showing his signs of aging. However, to his credit, not as clearly as Gary Roberts or John Leclaire had.
So the question to be asked is, who's the next man to dawn the black and gold and play with some of the league's greatest?
Atlanta GM Waddell still says Kovalchuk will not be traded. Scott Burnside of ESPN.com says Kovalchuk is out of Atlanta as surely as Friday follows Thursday. Could he land in Pittsburgh? That would be wonderful, of course. However, Kovalchuk demands a lot of money. $7.5 million, in fact. To clear the space for that, someone making $2M plus would have to move. Mark Eaton makes $2M, Phillipe Boucher makes $3.5M, and Miro Satan makes $3.5M. Penguins would have to move either one of them and someone (or something) of future (as in immediate-future) value. This leaves Tyler Kennedy as an option, as well as Janne Pesonen, or even Jeff Taffe. This still leaves little cap space for Shero to work with after Malkin's contract will jump from around $1M this season to $9M next year. To make room Satan, Sykora, and Fedotenko/Gill (if not already out of town), would have to find a new place to work in the 2009/10 season.
So really, I don't think this is realistic, though I do hope some sort of trade could be proposed without too much loss.
For a quick solution there is Steve Sullivan. The Nasvhille Predators winger is lightning quick and is a definite threat to score. He would be a great compliment to Crosby and Malkin's smooth passes, and at a realistic fee of $3.2M ( around $1M cap hit), he could light up the lamp all post-season. The only thing here is Sullivan would probably be strictly temporary. He is an Unrestricted Free Agent and would probably sign back with the Predators if he was offered a long-term deal.
This could be the best option for Shero if he is looking short-term. It would help Pittsburgh be a contender in the Atlantic, that's for sure.
The long-term solution comes with the name of Nathan Horton of Florida. Many Penguin fans have been buzzing around this sniper. Horton is not afraid to stick up for himself either. He's a great competitor with a wicked shot and a strong jaw. Horton has a contract until the 2012/13 season, making $5M during the latter parts of his contract. He is set to make $3.5M next season and $4M the next.
Horton could be a good fill in the Penguins line-up, but to be honest, I'm still not sure he could be the #1 winger the Penguins need. He would be great on the 2nd line with Sykora/Satan and Staal, but I don't know if he's seasoned enough to be prepared for playoff hockey on a 1st line.
For now, I would say our best bet would be Steve Sullivan, for a short-term, quick solution.
Let's go Pens!
There's no doubt that a Penguins club with high expectations, struggling to win and score goals at home could use a little help. Some familiar names are being thrown around. Ilya Kovalchuk's name has come up more than once.
The Penguins need a solid top-line winger. After the questionable departure of Hossa to Detroit and the loss of Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts, Mark Recchi to Free Agency (aka the Tampa Bay Lightning list of potential busts), Ray Shero scrambled to find some players with soft hands and an eye for the net. One of the two big names he was able to land may still have soft hands, but they'll be mending for the remainder of the regular season after Ruslan Fedotenko was in an altercation with former Penguin, Colby Armostrong. Miroslav Satan has been hit or miss all season. He's been warm, he's been cold, he's been warm, he's been cold, he's been ice cold, and on and on. I love the guy, he did great things in Buffalo, but he has been showing his signs of aging. However, to his credit, not as clearly as Gary Roberts or John Leclaire had.
So the question to be asked is, who's the next man to dawn the black and gold and play with some of the league's greatest?
Atlanta GM Waddell still says Kovalchuk will not be traded. Scott Burnside of ESPN.com says Kovalchuk is out of Atlanta as surely as Friday follows Thursday. Could he land in Pittsburgh? That would be wonderful, of course. However, Kovalchuk demands a lot of money. $7.5 million, in fact. To clear the space for that, someone making $2M plus would have to move. Mark Eaton makes $2M, Phillipe Boucher makes $3.5M, and Miro Satan makes $3.5M. Penguins would have to move either one of them and someone (or something) of future (as in immediate-future) value. This leaves Tyler Kennedy as an option, as well as Janne Pesonen, or even Jeff Taffe. This still leaves little cap space for Shero to work with after Malkin's contract will jump from around $1M this season to $9M next year. To make room Satan, Sykora, and Fedotenko/Gill (if not already out of town), would have to find a new place to work in the 2009/10 season.
So really, I don't think this is realistic, though I do hope some sort of trade could be proposed without too much loss.
For a quick solution there is Steve Sullivan. The Nasvhille Predators winger is lightning quick and is a definite threat to score. He would be a great compliment to Crosby and Malkin's smooth passes, and at a realistic fee of $3.2M ( around $1M cap hit), he could light up the lamp all post-season. The only thing here is Sullivan would probably be strictly temporary. He is an Unrestricted Free Agent and would probably sign back with the Predators if he was offered a long-term deal.
This could be the best option for Shero if he is looking short-term. It would help Pittsburgh be a contender in the Atlantic, that's for sure.
The long-term solution comes with the name of Nathan Horton of Florida. Many Penguin fans have been buzzing around this sniper. Horton is not afraid to stick up for himself either. He's a great competitor with a wicked shot and a strong jaw. Horton has a contract until the 2012/13 season, making $5M during the latter parts of his contract. He is set to make $3.5M next season and $4M the next.
Horton could be a good fill in the Penguins line-up, but to be honest, I'm still not sure he could be the #1 winger the Penguins need. He would be great on the 2nd line with Sykora/Satan and Staal, but I don't know if he's seasoned enough to be prepared for playoff hockey on a 1st line.
For now, I would say our best bet would be Steve Sullivan, for a short-term, quick solution.
Let's go Pens!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Talbot-Dupuis, skating
Both players have said that they feel healthier and should be ready for Wednesday's game against the New York Rangers. This is clearly good news for our 3rd line, but I'm still stumped as to who is going to fill out our 4th. Therrien needs to get the troops in order fast, the Penguins need to jump out of the gun and get a good start to the second half. If they don't climb into the 4-5th spot in the Conference they may have a hard time (pending injuries) hovering around the 8th and final spot. A lot of teams are starting to warm up and get into mid-season form, right as it seems the Penguins are losing rhythm.
Jaromir Jagr mulling over return to the Steel City
Former Penguins star Jaromir Jagr has been talking to the media lately about a possible come-back to the NHL. He's said he'd be interested in joining either the Rangers or the Penguins for a late season run.
"I would just go there and play for them for the minimum salary," Jagr told the Tribune-Review of playing again for the Penguins. "I owe Mario (Lemieux) so much because he taught me how to play hockey. If he would want me to, I would come back for the minimum and try to help him. But he doesn't need me. He has good players there."
We'll take him! Seriously? League minimum? You'd have to be a moron to not give one of your most beloved players in team history a chance to help a struggling, inexperienced, young squad. This should be brought to Shero's attention, what is his intern doing?
"I would just go there and play for them for the minimum salary," Jagr told the Tribune-Review of playing again for the Penguins. "I owe Mario (Lemieux) so much because he taught me how to play hockey. If he would want me to, I would come back for the minimum and try to help him. But he doesn't need me. He has good players there."
We'll take him! Seriously? League minimum? You'd have to be a moron to not give one of your most beloved players in team history a chance to help a struggling, inexperienced, young squad. This should be brought to Shero's attention, what is his intern doing?
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Thomas, Minard, Bissonnette, & Jeffrey Re-Assigned
4 Penguins call-ups have all been re-assigned back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL.
So what does this tell us? Well, that means Talbot should be back from injury and Dupuis could possibly be back as well.
Well, at this time you're probably thinking, "Ok, so 4 guys go down.. 2 come in.. what about the other 2 spots?". Great question. I personally thought Minard was going to play well enough to stay in the line-up, but with just the lone goal, Shero wasn't buying in just yet. So this leaves us with some possibilities. The Penguins are off until next Wednesday when they host the Rangers, in that time-span a possible trade could be pulled off, Shero may try his luck with a couple new call-ups (Pesonen didn't play poorly his last call-up), who knows. Regardless, I'll be keeping my eyes and ears open to see how Ray Shero decides to plug these holes.
Here's the stories with player stats:
Minard, Bissonnette, Thomas
Jeffrey
So what does this tell us? Well, that means Talbot should be back from injury and Dupuis could possibly be back as well.
Well, at this time you're probably thinking, "Ok, so 4 guys go down.. 2 come in.. what about the other 2 spots?". Great question. I personally thought Minard was going to play well enough to stay in the line-up, but with just the lone goal, Shero wasn't buying in just yet. So this leaves us with some possibilities. The Penguins are off until next Wednesday when they host the Rangers, in that time-span a possible trade could be pulled off, Shero may try his luck with a couple new call-ups (Pesonen didn't play poorly his last call-up), who knows. Regardless, I'll be keeping my eyes and ears open to see how Ray Shero decides to plug these holes.
Here's the stories with player stats:
Minard, Bissonnette, Thomas
Jeffrey
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Hurricanes 2 - 1 Penguins
Cam Ward had a solid game, although he got to take a good 10 minutes off during the Hurricanes' barrage of counter-attacks following Penguins turn-overs. The attack resulted in a goal for Eric Staal and the eventual game winner thanks to strong play in net by Ward.
Marc-Andre Fleury was fantastic as well in the first period and managed to only allow two goals on 40 shots throughout the 60 minutes (-1 minute after being yanked in favor of a 6-4 PP and then a brief, but unclimatic 6-5).
Anyway, a quick goal by Malkin on the PowerPlay, a deflection off the Phillipe Boucher slapshot and a bounce to the far post which he then stashed away with one-hand on the second effort, all of which was set-up by a pass from behind the net by Crosby to Boucher for the one-timer. Ray Whitney tied it in the 2nd period on the PowerPlay with a wicked slap shot from the left circle just buzzed past a Penguin defender and over Fleury's glove shoulder. Eric Staal later added a goal, getting his stick on a puck thrown to the front of the net about 3 feet outside the crease, deflecting the puck through a surprised Fleury's legs. Justin Williams had got to a loose puck and threw it to Staal. Third period was fun but inefficient as either team was able to score, and the Penguins, despite their best efforts, were shut-down by Cam Ward and the Hurricanes' penalty kill after a 4 minute double-minor was assessed for high-sticking after Malkin took a cross-check to the mouth, drawing blood.
My 3 Stars:
3. Eric Staal » 1 G, 0 A - GWG
2. Marc-Andre Fleury » 2 GA, 38 Saves, .950%sv
1. Cam Ward » 1 GA, 32 Saves, .970%sv - Win
NHL.com Recap
NHL.com Boxscore
Marc-Andre Fleury was fantastic as well in the first period and managed to only allow two goals on 40 shots throughout the 60 minutes (-1 minute after being yanked in favor of a 6-4 PP and then a brief, but unclimatic 6-5).
Anyway, a quick goal by Malkin on the PowerPlay, a deflection off the Phillipe Boucher slapshot and a bounce to the far post which he then stashed away with one-hand on the second effort, all of which was set-up by a pass from behind the net by Crosby to Boucher for the one-timer. Ray Whitney tied it in the 2nd period on the PowerPlay with a wicked slap shot from the left circle just buzzed past a Penguin defender and over Fleury's glove shoulder. Eric Staal later added a goal, getting his stick on a puck thrown to the front of the net about 3 feet outside the crease, deflecting the puck through a surprised Fleury's legs. Justin Williams had got to a loose puck and threw it to Staal. Third period was fun but inefficient as either team was able to score, and the Penguins, despite their best efforts, were shut-down by Cam Ward and the Hurricanes' penalty kill after a 4 minute double-minor was assessed for high-sticking after Malkin took a cross-check to the mouth, drawing blood.
My 3 Stars:
3. Eric Staal » 1 G, 0 A - GWG
2. Marc-Andre Fleury » 2 GA, 38 Saves, .950%sv
1. Cam Ward » 1 GA, 32 Saves, .970%sv - Win
NHL.com Recap
NHL.com Boxscore
Sunday, January 18, 2009
NY Rangers 0 - 3 Penguins
The terrible towels were out and Marc-Andre Fleury picks up his 2nd shutout of the season. A one-timer by Chris Minard, his 1st of the season, kicked off the scoring and held up as the game-winning goal. A much needed home win, and the first time since early November we put together a 2 game winning streak, which is mind-boggling.
NHL.com Recap
NHL.com Box Score
(GO STEELERS!)
Update on Zigomanis: Out for the Season
Ouch.
NHL.com Recap
NHL.com Box Score
(GO STEELERS!)
Update on Zigomanis: Out for the Season
Ouch.
Mike Zigomanis has surgery
To quote NHL.com:
"Pittsburgh Penguins forward Mike Zigomanis underwent successful surgery on his right shoulder Wednesday, Jan. 14th and will be sidelined for four to six months.
Dr. James Andrews of the Alabama Medicine and Orthopedic Center performed the surgery to repair the rotator cuff in his right shoulder. Zigomanis suffered the injury during the first period on Dec. 3rd against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
Zigomanis had six points (two goals, four assists) in 22 games this season. He led the Penguins with a 62.9 winning faceoff percentage at the time of his injury. "
The key stat there is that he led the Penguins in FO% which has been crucial to the Penguins this season. He was a key player in the defensive zone, played the puck well, and won face-offs. To me, this is devastating news, he could be gone for the season.
"Pittsburgh Penguins forward Mike Zigomanis underwent successful surgery on his right shoulder Wednesday, Jan. 14th and will be sidelined for four to six months.
Dr. James Andrews of the Alabama Medicine and Orthopedic Center performed the surgery to repair the rotator cuff in his right shoulder. Zigomanis suffered the injury during the first period on Dec. 3rd against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
Zigomanis had six points (two goals, four assists) in 22 games this season. He led the Penguins with a 62.9 winning faceoff percentage at the time of his injury. "
The key stat there is that he led the Penguins in FO% which has been crucial to the Penguins this season. He was a key player in the defensive zone, played the puck well, and won face-offs. To me, this is devastating news, he could be gone for the season.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Penguins acquire Mathieu Garon
In exchange for goaltender Mathieu Garon, the Penguins traded goalie Dany Sabourin, forward Ryan Stone, and a 4th round draft pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, NHL.com reports.
Mathieu Garon has been brought in for Sabourin to be Marc-Andre Fleury's back-up. What Garon brings to the table is experience as a back-up, and at a few points in his career, starting as well. Garon is now Fleury's official insurance policy, should the injury-prone Penguins squad lose their star goalie once again. Garon has struggled just a bit this season in Edmonton, but hasn't gotten the support he's needed to excel as Roloson's #2. This will shake things up for both rosters as a pretty even swap, back-up goalie for back-up goalie. Garon's best season was in 2007-2008 when he backstopped 47 games for the Oilers going 26-18-1 with a 2.66 gaa, .913 save%, and 4 shutouts. I imagine the Penguins will try and get Garon in and playing right away. Possibly as early as Sunday afternoon, depending on how Marc-Andre feels, or in the following game Tuesday night in Pittsburgh against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Ryan Stone was able to see limited playing time on the Penguins' senior squad this season due to injuries. He was unable to register a point in his two appearances, however he did have 5 shots on goal and a +/- rating of +1. He was a second round draft pick in 2003 where he then went on to put up 33 goals and 66 assists in 70 games for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL. Once in Wilkes-Barre, Stone showed initial signs of success earning 36 points in 75 contests. As new forwards have been getting called up and given oppurtunities (Bisonette, Pesonen, Jeffrey, Minard), Stone's value in the Penguins' organization has been slowly diminishing, despite his ability to produce in the AHL.
Dany Sabourin will now become Dwayne Roloson's back-up in Edmonton. The Quebec native will return to Canada once again after a short stint with the Penguins. Sabourin had been unbeatable early in the season, but when Marc-Andre went down with injury, Dany did not perform as well as expected and the team began to struggle. This was a red-flag I'm sure for Ray Shero as the Penguins have been decimated with injuries and the back-ups will really need to perform now more than ever, thus the switch.
Mathieu Garon has been brought in for Sabourin to be Marc-Andre Fleury's back-up. What Garon brings to the table is experience as a back-up, and at a few points in his career, starting as well. Garon is now Fleury's official insurance policy, should the injury-prone Penguins squad lose their star goalie once again. Garon has struggled just a bit this season in Edmonton, but hasn't gotten the support he's needed to excel as Roloson's #2. This will shake things up for both rosters as a pretty even swap, back-up goalie for back-up goalie. Garon's best season was in 2007-2008 when he backstopped 47 games for the Oilers going 26-18-1 with a 2.66 gaa, .913 save%, and 4 shutouts. I imagine the Penguins will try and get Garon in and playing right away. Possibly as early as Sunday afternoon, depending on how Marc-Andre feels, or in the following game Tuesday night in Pittsburgh against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Ryan Stone was able to see limited playing time on the Penguins' senior squad this season due to injuries. He was unable to register a point in his two appearances, however he did have 5 shots on goal and a +/- rating of +1. He was a second round draft pick in 2003 where he then went on to put up 33 goals and 66 assists in 70 games for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL. Once in Wilkes-Barre, Stone showed initial signs of success earning 36 points in 75 contests. As new forwards have been getting called up and given oppurtunities (Bisonette, Pesonen, Jeffrey, Minard), Stone's value in the Penguins' organization has been slowly diminishing, despite his ability to produce in the AHL.
Dany Sabourin will now become Dwayne Roloson's back-up in Edmonton. The Quebec native will return to Canada once again after a short stint with the Penguins. Sabourin had been unbeatable early in the season, but when Marc-Andre went down with injury, Dany did not perform as well as expected and the team began to struggle. This was a red-flag I'm sure for Ray Shero as the Penguins have been decimated with injuries and the back-ups will really need to perform now more than ever, thus the switch.
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