Recap: Games 65-67

Games: @ TOR (L 3-2 OT),  @ NJ (L 2-1 OT), @ BOS (W 3-2 OT)

Notable Highlights:

-4 of 6 possible points. Somehow, the Penguins find themselves only 2 points behind the Flyers for the Division and Conference lead. Currently, the Penguins have 84 points. Historically, you need between 88-92 points to be around the 8th spot. Even with a slump, the Penguins still have a better mathmatical show at finishing in the top 4 than in the bottom 4 or even outside of the playoff picture. Again, give Coach Bylsma credit for keeping the direction of the team moving forward, despite a definite lack in firepower.

-I'll give D Paul Martin a shout out in the highlights for logging a TOI of  35:26 against New Jersey. Somebody has to take the minutes when a defensemen is kicked out early on, but that doesn't make it any less important. He also made a nice stick check on Toronto D Dion Phaneuf to thwart a great scoring chance in a tight game.

-RW Craig Adams again gets a mention in the highlights. Just before Devils RW Ilya Kovalchuk scored in OT, he cranked up for shot that Adams got in front of. It's a tribute to the heart of Adams, that even in a game in early March, he will step in front of one of the hardest shots in the game and not give it a second thought.

-LW Tyler Kennedy scored his 15th goal of the season in the Devils game and added an assist on C Jordan Staal's goal against Boston. TK just keep making the most of his chances. Frankly, I couldn't find something negative to say about that if I tried.

Ghastly Lowlights:

-D Kris Letang had  a very selfish/stupid ejection in the Devils game. After knocking Devils C Travis Zajac down, he stood over top of him for a few seconds instead of joining the team on the rush. This naturally lead to a fight between the two. After grappling for a bit, Zajac pulled on Letang's jersey, revealing that it wasn't tied down. That is an automatic ejection. At a point this early in the game, it just unacceptable for a defenseman to be tossed over something he can control.

-C Jordan Staal and LW James Neal both went to the shooter on the GWG by C Mikhail Grabovski in OT against Toronto. With both forwards out this high, the puck was sent to Grabovski in front of the net where there was little G Marc-Andre Fleury could do. Both guys were being aggressive, but you have to be aware of where all players are at on the ice. It is even more important when an accomplished goal scorer is the one that is wide open. They will make you pay more times than not.

-There is a vocal group of dolts/Steeler fans that are unable to comprehend a fast moving sport like hockey/Sidney Crosby haters that will tell anyone that has an earhole or two that Sid is a sissy and should "tough it out" when it comes to playing with his concussion. The long term affects of concussions are terrible. They have even been said to change those who have been afflicted's judgment. Why else would Hines Ward agree to do "Dancing With the Stars"??

photo courtesy of mrboots.com

Everyone is entitled to their opinions, of course. I do wonder if these people would say the same thing about/to the face of Arron Asham. He has now missed his 13th game due to a concussion and isn't exactly the kind of guy that has ever shied away from physical play.

I wouldn't consider myself the biggest Crosby fan out there, but I do believe in at least trying to be reasonably consistent in an argument on any issue. Much of this season, I've found myself harping on the head shot and concussion issue as it relates to hockey, and sports in general. To suggest that Crosby isn't tough for doing the medically prudent thing is ridiculous. Almost as ridiculous as it would be to accuse Asham of the same.

About 20 games ago, I discussed the growing concern over concussions in the sport, and introduced myself to the medical condition CTE.  This past week, it was revealed that NHL legend Bob Probert (1965-2010) had died with CTE. To his credit, he seemed to know that he would not live to see old age and agreed to allow his brain to be studied.

Probert accumulated 3,300 PIMs in his NHL career, many of which were from trading blows to the head in one form or another. Anyone that grew up learning hockey in the 1980s has a special place in their heart for Mr. Probert. He was one of the toughest guys to ever play the game. That just isn't a question. If you say otherwise, chances are you never watched him play. The trouble is, all that toughness couldn't save him from a hell of a shortened life (due to heart failure) and CTE.

I guess that if pressed on the subject, I would concede that Sidney Crosby and just about anyone else isn't tough when compared to Bob Probert. If he couldn't survive it, what chance do they have??

photo courtesy of fightstrap.com

Forward Recaps:

-James Neal has yet to score a goal in his time with the Pens. While this surely can be considered a negative, because of Neal's contract situation we can give him some time to adjust. He likely will benefit greatly from playing on line's next season with players like Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. Neal is a power forward. His game isn't based on handling the puck and skating with it. With the injury situation, that is often what he is needed for currently. With players such as Sid and Geno, he will be able to find space because players have to go them instead. Once open, they will find him the puck. If you watched any highlights of Neal's goals (I know I have), you see a hard shot. The kind of shot that can go right through a goalie, even from the high slot. Don't write him off just yet.

-RW Chris Conner chipped in his 7th goal of the season against the Maple Leafs.

-C Dustin Jeffery had both an up and a down in this stretch. His up was the 2 goals (6th and 7th) against the Bruins, including the game winner. A closer look also reveals the negative. In the Toronto game, his turnover near the defensive zone face off dot directly lead the C Phil Kessel's goal.

Defenseman Recaps:

-Matt Niskanen took the blame for blowing the assignment on the winning goal in Toronto, but as discussed above I'm not buying it. Strong move on the part of a new teammate thought. Was pleasantly surprised at his seeing eye goal and the assist that sent Conner on a breakaway (for a goal) in in this game as well.

-Ben Lovejoy had an assist against Toronto and has looked pretty comfortable in the lineup recently. Playing time has allowed him to work some of the kinks out of his game.

Goalie Recaps:

-Marc-Andre Fleury had 17 saves against Toronto and had 29 saves against Boston. You could argue that he dramtically helped our cause against Boston and was just a participant in the Toronot game. I'm still anxious to see if he will be performing at the level he did for most of the month of February. MAF playing at that level will be the team's only realistic shot at advancing past the 1st round of the playoffs.

-Brent Johnson stopped 28 of the 30 shots tossed at him by the Devils. The first goal against was fairly weak, but you have to expect that a goalie will let in a soft one from time to time. Perfection isn't a realistic expectation every time a goalie is in the cage, let alone for one that had not played much in February.

Opponents:

-Toronto

-LW Nikolai Kulemin scored his 23rd goal of the season on some nice work with F's Clarke MacArthur and Mikhail Grabovski.

-C Phil Kessel had an assist and a nice tip in goal near the cage for his 27th of the season.

-New Jersey

-The Devils have played at an astonishing pace. At the start of February, they had 35 points. By the start of March, they had 58 points. While it is still very unlikely the will qualify for the playoffs, they proved that they still have a strong enough roster to contend next season.

-In addition to a fight, Travis Zajac scored his 10th goal of the season.

-Ilya Kovalchuk's GWG was his 23rd goal of the season.

-Boston

-D and Captain Zdeno Chara scored his 11th goal of the season.

-Mt. Lebo's D Matt Bartkowski has played 3 career NHL games. Each have been against the Pens.

-G Tim Thomas let in 3 goals against the Penguins, which is a "terrible" game for him this season. His GAA is 1.97 and if I had a vote for the Hart Trophy (MVP), he would have it.

Recap: Games 44-46

photo courtesy of bleedingallblue.blogspot

Games: vs. BOS (L 3-2),  @ MON (W 5-2 ), @ BOS (W 3-2)

Notable Highlights:

-4 of 6 possible points keeps a nice playoff pace and keeps the team in stride with the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Doing it without Sid is a huge bonus. The victory in Montreal, for my money, was the emotional highlight of the season. I know everyone was doing cartwheels in the street after the Tampa game, but it's much better to put together a solid effort on the road without your Captain and leading scorer.

-It was nice to see the team win in Montreal for many reasons: Montreal had stymied the team within the past week, it's always tough to win in Montreal (the epicenter of hockey in my opinion...sorry Toronto), and it's always fun to beat the team that ousted you from the playoffs.

-Power Play went 4 of 6 in the Montreal game. If anyone had told you that they could do this without Sid, and without a large contribution from Evgeni Malkin, you'd probably have laughed in the their face. It's funny how sometimes the most unexpected things happen in sports.

-The pace of the Bruins win was what hockey is all about...back and forth action. There wasn't much grabbing despite a Bruins system that includes trapping, and only a handful of penalties were called.

Ghastly Lowlights:

-Both Boston games provided some reasons to fret. In the loss, the Pens gave up 4 goals with under 4 minutes to go. This was the second time the team blew a third period lead against the Bruins this season. Then, in the win against the B's, they allowed 2 goals in 13 seconds. There is something about the counterattack of the trap against our system, I am convinced of that.

-Add two more 5-on-3s. Still taking too many penalties overall. Much of the 3rd period against Montreal was spent shorthanded. If this trend continues in to mid-to-late February, I will be very concerned.

-F Mark Letestu had an uncharacteristically bad turnover deep in his own zone in the Montreal game. The outcome of the game was still undecided at this point. While players will make mistakes, you do not want them to be within 10 feet of your own goal.

Forward Recaps:

-Just when many in the fan base started to express concern (not sure why) over Jordan Staal's lack of goals, he contributed one in the Montreal game, and the GWG in the Boston win. he also had 3 assists during this stretch. While I had no concern that Jordo would regain his scoring touch with time, it's good to see him get it going.

-Mike Rupp chipped in a goal against the Bruins in the loss. It was a sneaky shot that probably should have been stopped. That's why you get pucks at the net. You never know what can happen. The goal was his 4th of the season.

-Tyler Kennedy chipped in his first goal in quite some time on the PP against Montreal. While it was on the PP, it was still set up by Staal so I consider it him playing within his role. He just got the puck to the net, nothing complicated. That's when TK is at his best.

-After further review, Chris Kunitz knocked in his 15th goal of the season. Again, I've never been overly impressed with Kunitz in terms of finishing, but he is putting that behind him in his contract year.

Defenseman Recaps:

-Last time we talked about Alex Goligoski's up and down year. In the Montreal game, he had an "up" game, scoring 2 goals. While there are still times where Gogo turns the puck over at every part of the rink, when a Dman consistently shows the offensive ability that he does, coaches will find reasons to keep him getting top minutes.

-Deryk Engelland had a hard hit on Bruins F Marc Savard in the win. It was a clean hit, but there was contact to the head. I wouldn't imagine there would be any discipline for it, but if the NHL starts to go the NFL route (read: the inconsistent route), hits like this could face extra scrutiny.

Goalie Recaps:

-Marc-Andre Fleury is always going to be a lightning rod for comments and criticism. I'm pretty sure no matter what he does, be it good or bad, there will be a contingent to blame him for any loss. Take the B's loss for example. When you give up 4 goals in any four minute stretch, yes the goalie can play better. Arguably, a $4+ million goalie has to play better. That doesn't take the rest of the team of the hook though. With goals coming that frequent and that late, there's a lack of focus and desire that temporarily escaped the guys for some reason. As usual though, Fleury and the team bounced back a few nights later. Lucky for him too, there would no doubt be calls for him to be benched again if he had the audacity to lose 3 games in a row....regardless of how bad the team plays with him during any given funk.

Opponents:


-Boston

-F Mark Recchi scored the game winning goal in the first match-up. The former Pen will turn 43 on February 1st.

-Congratulations to D Matt Bartkowski for playing in his 1st and 2nd NHL games against the Penguins. He is Pittsburgh native, having attended Mt. Lebanon High School, and was a 7th Round pick of the Bruins in 2008.

-Montreal

-Benoit Pouliot went from hero to goat by taking 3 minor penalties in this matchup.

-Congrats to David Desharnais for scoring his 1st NHL goal.

-I have not been able to find G Carey Price's reaction (if any) to Fleury's mock pose aimed at the goalie's celebration after the shootout win the prior week. I didn't discuss the first Run DMC-esque pose (Price's) because I had already discussed a celebration by Islanders' Rick DiPietro and that was probably once too many times. When a team wins or a player does something good, they have the right to celebrate in my eyes. I didn't have a problem with Price doing it per se, but I understand why it would be something that the Pens would mock after a win. That's just part of the game. Competitors will always be rubbed wrong by losing. That's a good thing for any sports fan.

photo courtesy of bleedingallblue.blogspot

Milestone: Retirement

On December 6, 2010 F Bill Guerin announced his retirement as a player. In his 1,200+ regular season and 133 playoff NHL games, Bill skated for the New Jersey Devils, Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blus, San Jose Sharks, New York Islanders, and Pittsburgh Penguins. He was a four-time All-Star, including MVP of the 2001 contest, and is a member of the 400 goal club. He played in three Olympics for the United States of America (1998, 2002, 2006) and raised the Stanley Cup twice, once with the New Jersey Devils after the 1994-95 lockout season and once with the Pittsburgh Penguins after the 2008-09 season. Congratulations to Bill on a great career in hockey.

2010-11 Preview: Boston Bruins

2010-11 Prediction 6th Eastern Conference


When you talk (or type) about the B's, defense and goaltending come to mind. Zdeno Chara monitors the blue line in front of G Tukka Rask, and can send the puck the other way at over 100 mph. Nathan Horton also will help the Bruins after being traded from Florida. Surprisingly, where the Bruins figure to have trouble is putting pucks in to the net. The problem isn't a lack of talent, but a startling inconsistency. Patrice Bergeron and Marc Savard are world class talents. Milan Lucic and Shawn Thornton add the grit. Tyler Seguin, the #2 overall pick, has generated quite a buzz and all signs point to him making the team and (from a Boston perspective) hopefully helping to relieve the pressure on the offense. Watch for Bruins to be featured during the NHL Premiere festivities in Prague, Czech Replic October 9th and 10th.
 
Player to Watch: G Tukka Rask