Recap: Games 68-71

photo courtesy of penguins.nhl.com

Games: vs. BUF (W 3-1),  vs. MON (L 3-0) Edmonton (W 5-1), @ BOS (W 3-2 OT)

Notable Highlights:

-6 of 8 possible points. The playoff spot is nearly secured. I'm not going to roll around in a pile of $$ over these wins though. Edmonton and Ottawa are very bad. As The Pensblog points out, we are entering a stretch where 6 of the next 7 games are against playoff teams. Even though it will likely be a time to coast and get guys back in to the lineup, there is a definate chance to find out if there is reason for optimism in the playoffs.

-It seems pretty clear that the Pens go out of their way to hit and mess with Montreal D P.K. Subban. F Mike Rupp took a swipe at him in a scrum and F Max Talbot got him with a pretty good slash. This seems directly related to the opinion that Subban's injuring of F Jordan Staal in last season's playoffs was not accidental.

-The home game against Montreal was the 200th consectutive sellout for the franchise (regular season and playoffs). I've been a half-season ticket holder for 7 years and attended many games prior to that. Even though I've become jaded by the game day experience (not including playoffs), it is nice to see things going so well after being in the building for so many lean years in the early 2000s.

-Wins against Edmonton and Ottawa give the team some confidence after the poor showing against Montreal. Even though they are bad, they are on the schedule and it would be very alarming had the team looked bad again in either of these contests.

-There's been some positive news on the injury front with Mike Comrie, Arron Asham, Eric Tangradi, and Sidney Crosby all returning to the ice in one form or another. Crosby had been symptom free for enough days in a row that he was able to skate for 15-20 mins. He remained symptom free the day after that, so he skated again. Speculation that he will return is extremely premature, but after all the ridiculous rumors swirling around Sid, it is good to see that he is not, in fact, retiring as the most ridiculous rumor speculated.

Ghastly Lowlights:

-Penguins power play was 0 for 7 against the Sabres. Could have changed a close game in to a comfortable win. Nothing new, but this stood out to me.

-Terrible effort against the Canadiens. I am way too lazy to look up the day game stats of the past 3 or 4 years, but for some reason I feel they start sluggish each and every time. In this case, there was an early goal scored by Plecanic. Turnovers galore. Ugly. Lucky for them, Edmonton and Ottawa were up next on the schedule to get their confidence back.

-D Kris Letang has been playing really poorly of late. He is not showing up on the scoresheet like he did at the beginning of the year and it's like injured Evgeni Malkin has been giving him pointers on how to constantly turn the puck over. His turnovers lead to goals in both the Montreal and Ottawa games. Hopefully he will settle down and get out of this funk. I do have to point out that I don't hear many of yinz calling for the trade of Tang...guess he's lucky his name isn't Goligoski.

-The NHL has a new hot topic of discussion: the "turnbuckle" hit. The "turnbuckle" is an area that juts in near the end of the player benches or in the buffer zone between the benches. It has become a topic of discussion because of this hit by Boston's Zdeno Chara on Montreal's Max Pacioretty. He suffered a severe concussion and a cracked vertebra.

I suppose this is the point in my blogdom where people can call me a hypocrite, but I did not find the hit on Pacioretty dirty. How is that possible? Two simple answers. First, it is an unavoidable area of openness from the playing surface. Players will from time to time be hit there an knocked in to the "turnbuckle". Did Chara know what he was doing? Yes. Was it interference? Yes, but not because Chara targeted the head. He looks to rub a player out in to this area to make him pay a price for the territory he is trying to gain. I see no indication that he was trying to do any more than shove his body hard in to the "turnbuckle". Secondly, this area really isn't much different that the boards or the goal. Sure the goal has give to it, but it's still possible for injury if a guy is hit in to it. Same with the boards. It's the way a hit is carried out that makes it dirty or not. Pens D Ben Lovjoy hit a Buffalo Sabre in to the turnbuckle and the Sabres went after him hard. F Max Talbot was the near victim of a hit like this against Ottawa, but wisely skated out of trouble by slowing up.

The "turnbuckle issue" will certainly come up again, but for now the NHL has the "headshot issue" on its hands. At the GM Meetings in Boca Raton, FL the discussions were dominated by how to best protect the players from the league-wide rise in concussions. A ban on hits to the head was rejected, with support being thrown behind proposals to expand Rule 48 and have increased enforcement of existing rules for charging and boarding. It was also reported that Penguins Owner and Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux sent a letter to the league outlining a proposal for a fine scale to be used against teams based on the amount of games suspended. In it, the Penguins were used an example. Under the proposed structure, they would have been hit with $600,000 in fines based on the suspensions to players (mainly Matt Cooke) this season. These are great ideas, but it remains to be seen if the NHL brass and officiating have what it takes to be consistent and sustained in their enforcement both in-game and after the fact. As a lifelong fan of the NHL, I have my doubts but will hope for the best.

Forward Recaps:

-Guess who gets another mention?? Tyler Kennedy (...Kennedy). He scored his 16th goal of the season against the Sens.

-LW Chris Kunitz scored his 19th and 20th goals against the Oilers.

-C Jordan Staal scored his 8th and 9th goals of the season during this stretch.

Defenseman Recaps:

-Zbynek Michalek went without a goal until the Buffalo game. In a strange quirk of fate, he now has 3 goals in his past 4 games with goals against Edmonton and Ottawa. He has been a very steady piece of the defensive end, so it's good to see him get some breaks in the o zone.

-Ben Lovejoy had a goal against Ottawa and continues to play well with his expanded role.

-Corey Potter and Steve Wagner were called up from Wilkes-Barre Scranton prior to the game. Potter played in his first game for the Penguins. He has played in the NHL before.

Goalie Recaps:

-Marc-Andre Fleury played well against Buffalo and Edmonton. An early goal against Montreal did not help the cause with the team playing incredibly flat. He was pulled in that game about 7 minutes in to the 2nd period. With a 2 goal lead in the last few minutes of the Sabres game, he was attempting to get off a shot at the vacated Buffalo net. No real chance was launched. This is mainly because the puck was to his right. Fleury's best chance at a goal came a few years ago against Edmonton. The puck was settled to his left and he had time to set himself. Expect him to continue to try for a goal in any situation where the Pens have a 2 goal lead.

-Brent Johnson had a good game in relief of MAF against the Habs and then stopped 21 shots in the win against Ottawa. Good to know he's around for the playoffs as our #2. He has proven his worth time and time again this season. If there is such a thing as an "unsung hero" award for the team, he should be the unanimous winner.

Opponents:

-Buffalo

-C Rob Niedermayer scored his 2nd goal of the season.

-Buffalo fans are rejoicing at the rapidly completed sale of the team to natural gas billionaire Terry Pegula. Having a billionaire fund your team is always a good thing, just like Pens co-owner Ron Burkle. Even better for Sabres fans is the fact that Pegula is a passionate hockey fan. He donated $88 million to Penn St to help develop an arena for an eventual Division 1 hockey program and his dog is named after Sidney Crosby. I'd wish him luck, but it doesn't seem like he's short on reasons to feel good about himself. This is still welcome news for their fans, and there is a real sense of optimism surrounding their fan base. They are great fans (not obnoxious) and travel well. I'm happy for their organization.

-Montreal

-The Canadiens are involved in their own controversial hit, with the injury to Max Pacioretty (discussed above). Montreal Police had to ask fans to stop calling to report a crime took place the outrage was so bad. I'd like to wish him the best in his recovery.

-C Tomas Plecanic scored his 21st goal of the season.

-G Carey Price recorded his 12th career shutout. This was his 61st game played of the season!

-Edmonton

-LW Ryan Jones scored his 16th goal of the season for the Oilers only goal.

-Star Rookie Taylor Hall will miss the rest of the season due to ankle injury. He has been one of the few bright spots for the team this season.

-Ottawa

-D Erik Karlsson has a very promising future leading the Senators in points, but after the game his +/- dropped to -36. FSN Pittsburgh's Bob Errey has a funny line about him being in contention for the green jacket (golf reference).

-RW Ryan Shannon's 7th goal of the season served as the only tally for Ottawa.

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

Recap: Games 41-43

Games: vs. TB (W 8-1),  @ MON (L 2-1 SO), vs. MIN (L 4-0)

Notable Highlights:

-I"ll stick to what I've said previously, that if you get a point a game at least, even in times of turmoil, you are still on pace. 3 of 6 possible points, but the positives are few and far between right now. I personally reminded many Pens fans to not get ahead of themselves after the Tampa game, and this is exactly what I meant. There are a ton of games left. There will will be plenty of good and bad. Let's keep our eyes on what matters most, the playoffs.

-PK killed 12 of 12 chances including two 5-on-3s in this stretch.

Ghastly Lowlights:

-Sidney Crosby has a concussion. It is unknown when he got it. Some have suggested it was the David Steckel hit in the Winter Classic, then when Tampa Bay's D Victor Hedman boarded him, it just exasperated damage that was already done. There's a lot to say about this, so let's get right to it.

-If you yawned in apathy when Boston's Marc Savard was injured by a blatant headshot from Matt Cooke, you should probably just bow out of the Crosby head shot(s) debate. Neither Steckel, nor Hedman's hits were as egregious as that hit was. Both of these hits should be reviewed, but I will not go so far as to say either intended injury to Crosby. I will come back to a recurring point I've been making, guys have to be in control of their non-puck actions. Hedman hit Sid from behind (though not especially violently), and slightly left his skates. Steckel just skated through Sid. If you're going to flail your arms about these hits, be consistent. Even scarier for me, is the thought that Sid could make his return 1/15 in Boston. So, our star player is going to return from nursing a head injury against a team that has plenty of reason to exract revenge...how could that go wrong?

-It's also been discussed that there could possibly have been some error on the part of the Penguins Medical Staff. Why did Sid fly? How did they miss it? Were they trying to sneak an injury by and keep him playing? I am not about to take that leap. If he wasn't showing full blown symptoms or failing tests, I don't see what could have been done. The Pensblog has screenshots of a testy exchange between one of their guys and TSN's Darren Dregger. Dregger indicates his sources tell him that Sid was indeed injured on the Steckel hit. I trust Dregger and his assement of any situation. I probably trust him more than any hockey analyst to be truthful. There is a reason his Twitter feed is linked on this website...I respect what he does. This medical issue debate isn't likely to go away, but I'm going to respectfully bow out. I can pretend to know what I'm talking about in terms of hockey all day long, but the field of medicine is another story altogether.

-Lastly, what, if any punishment will be there be for both of these players. What punishment is deserved? The Cooke hit changed the rules, so I won't say "he wasn't suspended for what he did". But, one thing to consider, many will say, is the degree of intent. Matt Cooke knew what he was doing. I'm not going to make apologies for that. I love Cookie, but he's a vet and when he went at Savard, there was intent to harm. Not to ruin his life, but at the speed of the game, there is a fine line between intent and result. As I said, Steckel appears to have skated through Crosby. Hedman's main sins are that it was from behind and he left his feet to make contact with the head, which in turn causes contact of the head to the glass. Intent on both was minimal at worst, but as I've said time and time again, when you are dealing with situations that can literally end a players career, there has to be responsibility regardless of intent. I hope the NHL suspends any player that deals blows to another player's head, even if the offending player wears a skating Penguin on his sweater.

-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.

-The Penguins continue to struggle against teams with a trap. In the Wild's case, they seemed to play a hybrid 1-2-2/1-4, meaning that one forechecker goes towards the attack, with two forwards protecting the area around the red line. The hybrid aspect comes in to play with these forwards drifting back towards their blue line at times, which in essence lines them up across the blue line with their Dmen to create a 1-4. Lately, the Penguins have been trying to use long slapshot passes to stretch the ice. This doesn't work against the trap. In the past it caused problems agains the Red Wings, recently it has popped up with the Islanders, and we will likely see a hearty does of it with two games in the upcoming week against Boston. I don't believe the team makes adjustments against the trap as much as they should. There is a tendency to continue to play their game. Personally, I hate the trap and would rather it be abolished. While it's here, the Pens will need to keep it as simple as possible in order to beat it.

Forward Recaps:

-Arron Asham had a goal in the Montreal game. He has kept himself out of bad penalty situations for the most part. At the time of the signing, I wasn't sure what he added to the team. While I still have my concerns about the roster makeup, I admit being wrong about Asham.

-Evgeni Malkin is under a microscope with the absence of Sid. He keeps showing signs of returning to the player we want him to be. The goal 7 seconds in against Tampa is a great example of him being determined, and executing well. But then there are games like he had against the Wild. -3 rating, no offense to speak of. In the past there has been talk of trading him. Even though a potential return would no doubt diminish by the day, I'm afraid that his inconsistent play will keep his name in the rumors as the trade deadline approaches. While I don't think he'd be dealt in season, I'd rather him just play his name right back off the list as players that can be considered expendable.

-Tyler Kennedy has been getting a lot of criticism from the fan base for not scoring many goals, and going in to extended slumps. While I would agree that those are a concern, the severity of the importance of such things depends largely on his role. In a top 6 role with Jordan Staal and Evgeni Malkin, it is a huge concern. But to be frank, I don't think Kennedy is a top 6 guy much in the same way that I don't believe Mark Letestu is one. If Kennedy is in a role with guys like Letestu and Chris Conner (each scored again the 'Ning), then scoring goals takes on a supplementary importance. You want puck control, tempo, and physicality out of guys like that. Think of Kennedy as a slightly more polished Craig Adams. Maybe he will only score once in a blue moon, but the things he does night in and night out within his role may cause you to be able to live with that.

Defenseman Recaps:

-Alex Goligoski continues an up and down stretch. He scored his 7th goal of the season against the 'Ning, but looked like he had a hole in his stick against the Wild. Gogo's name has been mentioned in trade rumors of late, most prominently with Columbus. While these are likely just rumors, if you check the archives here you'll see that I felt Letang or Goligoski were the most likely to be dealt as we head in to this season. Letang is an untouchable at this point because of his play (though he looked poor against the Wild too). Gogo hasn't quite blossomed that way, so look for the potential of him being dealt for a scoring forward near the end of February. I don't want to see him go, but if he does, figure Ben Lovejoy is capable, and eventually Simon Despres will be in the lineup as well. It isn't as if we don't have a glut of good puck-movers on the blue line.

Goalie Recaps:

-Mark-Andre Fleury had about the same number of saves in both games he played, 31 vs Tampa, 33 against Minnesota. The results were different though, with the saves in the 8-1 rout largely unnecessary, and the saves against the Wild just not enough. The Wild game was not strong for Fleury, but the team also often was caught in the counter-attack of the Wild's trap. Need a stronger effort though in those grind 'em out games. It won't always be 8-1 laughers.

-Brent Johnson had 22 saves and looked sharp in the 2-1 shootout loss to the Canadiens.

Opponents:


-Tampa Bay

-F Steven Stamkos had a problem with his skate blade when he fell during the penalty shot according to the Lightning front office. Even if he didn't, he still bears a striking resemblance to Spucoli from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High".

-Only goal of the night was scored by former-Pen Adam Hall.

-Rough night for the goalies. We saw both Dwayne Roloson (acquired from the Islanders recently) and Dan Ellis.

-Montreal

-Benoit Pouliot borrowed a page from Peter Forsberg's guide to shootouts for the wining goal.

-G Carey Price has heard some criticism of late, but overall he is doing well for the Habs. They have 3 more points than the Blues (where Jaro Halak was traded) and as a team have allowed 9 less goals. The only thing their fans care about is the playoffs, and trying to be the first Canadian team to lift the Cup since they did it following the 1992-93 season.

-Minnesota

-F Cal Clutterbuck scored his 13th goal of the season. Good output for one of the league's fiestiest hitters.

-G Jose Theodore had a shutout, the 1st at Consol Energy Center.

Milestone: 1,000 Points

Congratulations to Ottawa F Alexei Kovalev! He became the 76th player, and 3rd Russian in NHL history to hit 1,000 career points. In his 1,200+ NHL games, Alexei skated for the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Montreal Canadiens, and Ottawa Senators, has been a 3-time All-Star, and raised the Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers after the 1993-94 season.



2010-11 Preview: Montreal Candiens

2010-11 Prediction 10th Eastern Conference

The only way to properly explain to someone that is new to hockey what the Montreal Canadiens mystique is about is to compare them to the New York Yankees. Everything they do, both on and off the ice, is subject to intense scrutiny in both then English and French speaking media. One would think that all would be well coming off a season in which they upset both the Penguins and the Capitals in series that they "couldn't win". This is far from the case as the man largely responsible for these upsets, G Jaroslav Halak, was traded to St. Louis for depth. Time will answer the question of whether this was a bad move or a shred move to unload a one-hit wonder at the peak of his worth. Present day Montreal has to find themselves wondering if G Carey Price is washed up before ever having lived up to his hype at the old age of 23 (told you they were tough up there). Past the goalie, the Canadiens return most of the small lineup. While this didn't cause problems for them in the first two rounds against high skill teams, a more gritty Philly squad was able to trip them up. Mike Cammalerri, Brian Gionta, and Scott Gomez are tiny forwards, while guys like Maxim Lapierre and Mathieu Darche add size. The blue line has some talent as well with guys like Andrei Markov, Hal Gill, and PK Subban hoping to help Price stabilize his performance. All in all, the Canadiens will most likely come up short due to Price's inconsistencies.

Player to Watch: G Carey Price