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 37-39

Games: vs. OTT (L 3-1),  vs. ATL (W 6-3), @ NYI (L 2-1 SO)

Notable Highlights:

-Congrats to Sid on a great streak. It sure was fun to watch and very exciting. Maybe he can start a new one.

-3 out of 6 points is not a failure by any means. To qualify for the playoffs you need to be around the 90 point mark, which is a little more than a point a game. When you struggle in a strectch and still even a point a game, you take it.

-PK had a good game against Atlanta, killing 7 of 8 chances and some more 3-on-5s.

-Tyler Kennedy, Mark Letestu, and Chris Conner form the "Buzz Line" as the Penguins 3rd line. They are playing really well. Conner had a goal in the Isles game, and Letestu had a very nice effort to put one in against the Thrashers. These guys are proof that if you play your game within a defined role consistently, success will follow.

-I want to take a second to too my own horn while sending a thank you over to The Pensblog. We are on the map, and I'm certain it is in large part thanks to their mention of us. I'll share some stats with you

-As of this very moment, 1,507 page views all time since we started a few months ago. That's about 1,500 more than I expected so maybe we aren't a wildly unpopular blog anymore. I'll just concede that while I'm personally wildly unpopular, my blog has vastly exceeded my expectations for it. For that I thank anyone that ever read this page. I'm no expert, and often I'm wrong or knee-jerk, but it's all because I dearly love this sport and have so since I was introduced to it. That's why I'm a damn good fan and a so-so blogger.

-The vast majory of views come from the United States, and there are some Canadians lurking out there as the 2nd leading nation of readers. The rest of these nations, in order, provide a handful of clicks: Brazil (!!?), Russia (Go Malkin!), Taiwan (!!?), Denmark, Slovenia (go Kopitar!), Germany (love ya Deutschland!, go Hecht!), The UK (welcome), and South Korea (Jim Paek scored the last goal for the Penguins first Cup Clinching game!!)

-For any of the international readers, I'd love to find out more about you via the "contact us" email at the top of the page. I have a special interest in non-expatriate Americans, any Russian with access to KHL news and the ability to communicate in English somewhat (I only speak English and I can barely do it so don't worry), and anyone that has information about local leagues or teams in your country. Hockey is an international game, tell us your story so I can share it with everyone!

Ghastly Lowlights:

-Poor, poor effort is about the only way you can describe the Ottawa game. I've heard people blame it on the Christmas break, but Ottawa was off too and they were fired up for this game.

-Felt like the 1st period of the Atlanta game was extremely entertaining. As fun as that was, the Islanders game was just brutal to watch. Not taking the win away, but the trap is so boring and the polar opposite of entertainment.

-The team continues to show questionable discipline by taking too many penalties. Ottawa converted 2 of 4 power play chances. If you're going to play sloppy and take scores of pentalites, you need the PK to bail you out.

Forward Recaps:

-Matt Cooke continues to take penalty after penalty. Bob Grove of the Penguins Postgame show (105.9 The X) said that he has (trying to remember because I was driving, so if slightly inaccurate I apologize) 14 minor penalties in his past 11 games. Are some of these because of his reputation? You bet it is. But he has to watch himself. In a perfect world, you'd sit a guy down for taking so many penalties just to get his attention. The problem is Cooke is an integral part of penalty kill, and has done a good job at the offesnsive end of the ice too. Guess we just have to hope that Matt does everything he can to reduce penalties, but not change his effectiveness.

-Evgeni Malkin is a -1 and is the only player on the current roster that is a minus. Plus/minus is not a stat that many, including myself, relying heavily on because it can be misleading at times. But in this case, it reflects the struggles of the center...err...winger....err center. I will disclose that am a giant Malkin fan before I say this, because I'm not making excuses for him. Part of me does wonder if he is having trouble adjusting to playing and more importantly practicing primarily in English. In the past he had Ottawa's D Sergei Gonchar and New York Rangers F Ruslan Fedotenko to speak to in Russian. Perhaps this is more difficult for him than anyone is talking about. That being said, it doesn't matter at the end of the day. He is the highest paid player along with Crosby. As I've said before, because of that he has to produce more often than not. Sadly, right now it does't seem that that is happening again.

Defenseman Recaps:

-Alex Goligoski got absolutely torched by Thrashers D Dustin Byfuglien for a shot on goal. Bufugien had one hand on the stick and used the other hand to just toss the Dman aside. No shame in that for Gogo though, all part of the learning process. Even Hall of Fame defensemen have been made to look silly. Former Bruin Ray Bourque had Mario Lemieux hide the puck at his own feet one time in the Wales Conference Finals. It happens.

-Brooks Orpik looked a little off against the Thrashers as well. This could be because of their forwards group. I think this is only the second time I mentioned Brooksie in this segment this season, and both have been negative. I'm sorry about that, I promise I will find some positive about this extremely valuable Penguin the next time I mention him.

-Kris Letang injured Ottawa F Jason Spezza with a hit from behind. I don't believe there was malice on Tang's part, but the fact is Spezza was hurt by a run from behind. I wish the league would focus on these hits as much as they do the blows to the head. If anyone remembers collegiate player Travis Roy, who was paralyzed in such a hit, you are like me....astonished this has never happened to the pros. I don't want to to see it ever happen to anyone at any level of play. Hitting from behind along the wall and te players that quickly turn to force such hits should be more of a focus for both penalties and discipline.

Goalie Recaps:

-Mark-Andre Fleury had a so-so stretch. I don't blame him for either of the losses. I thought he wasn't particularly sharp against Atlanta, but the offense had his back that night.

-Brent Johnson returned to practice and the bench for the Islanders game.

-John Curry did not see any action during his call-up, despite what seemed like a perfect chance on Long Island for the Islanders game. This is very telling in regards to how the front office views him. It seems that any chance of Curry being viewed seriously as a potential backup had its final nail entered (the first million was the contract extention Brent Johnson signed).


Opponents:


-Ottawa

-F Jason Spezza had 2 assists before he was injured.

-D Erik Karlsson had 2 goals for the Sens. Looks like this former 1st round pick has quite the upside.

-I don't get to watch many Sens games, but I have to imagine this was one of their more spirited efforts of the season. They looked sharp and fiesty.

-Atlanta

-They have some very talented players in F Evander Kane and D Dustin Byfuglien. Byfuglien is leading the league in scoring for a defenseman.

-I've been critical of the lack of support for the team in Atlanta. I will concede that a good playoff run for this group could plant the seeds needed to have there be actual support from the fans. This isn't something I would bet on, but I wish them the best. Years back I faced the horror of the possibility of my team moving, so for any true fans there my heart goes out.

-New York Islanders

-A lot was made of G Rick DiPietro leaping in to teammates arms after the shootout victory. Many felt it was unnecessary or silly considering the Isles record. That's exactly why I don't have a problem with it. This team is struggling in attendance, in record, in the attempt for a new arena...give them something. DiPi even had to feel good on a personal level. In 2006, he signed a giant $67.5 million contract that spanned over 15 years. He has been chronically injured, and any momentum for him and his team is a starting point.

-I am not in favor of the Islanders moving, but if their situation isn't clarified it is a real possiblitiy. A faction of fan from Quebec (about 22 busloads) attended a game a few weeks back to show their support for the franchise as that city attempts to bring the Nordiques back. I hope hockey finds itself in both Quebec City and Long Island. Both cities have great traditions and a place in the history of hockey.

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: Ottawa Senators

2010-11 Prediction 8th Eastern Conference

Ottawa had both a frustrating season and a fruitful season in the 2009-10 edition. Moments of frustration involve the goalie situation (Brian Elliott and Pascal Leclaire), lack of production among the forwards (RW's Alexei Kovalev and Milan Michalek) and the same general malaise that seems to have plagued the Sens for the better part of a decade. The season was a positive one overall though, due to the playoff appearance and a chippier demeanor for most of those games in the playoffs. RW Daniel Alfredsson is another year older, and it has become stunning evident that he cannot do everything. C Jason Spezza had a very frustrating year that started off with stick issues, a prolonged goal drought, injury, and then a point per game pace to close the season. The defense core got dramatically less intimidating with the loss of Anton Volchenkov to the Devils via free agency. Many local fans will know that D Sergei Gonchar left on the first day of free agency to join former teammate F Jarko Ruutu in Canada's capital. Other D-men include Chris Phillips, Matt Carkner, Erik Karlsson, and Filip Kuba. The Sens should make a run at the playoffs, but it will take every man pulling their weight. Don't be surpised if they come up short and a team like Rangers take their place.

Player to Watch: C Jason Spezza