Game #67 - at Canadiens

Pittsburgh Penguins at Montreal Canadiens

Pittsburgh - 16-38-12 - 44 pts - Last in NHL (7 pts behind)
Montreal - 31-25-9 - 71 pts - 8th in East

Is anyone paying attention to the NHL right now? What about in Pittsburgh? I'm guessing not too many people are... with the Yinzers just getting over their Super Bowl hangovers, and Pitt in the NCAA tournament (with a real chance to make the Sweet 16, thanks to Bradley knocking off Kansas), there isn't much room to spare for the Pens right now. But that's okay - we'll persevere.

Tonight, the Pens take on the Habs, who are struggling to hold onto the final playoff spot. The Thrashers are breathing down their necks, as are the Islanders and Maple Leafs to a lesser degree. They've lost two straight games at home, including most recently to the Hurricanes, who they would face in the first round if the season were ending today.

The Canadiens are led by Alex Kovalev, who the Penguins tried to sign before the season started. See this article by Dave Molinari in the Post-Gazette. The headline is a little bit deceiving - if you read the article, it basically says that Kovalev was getting ready to sign with Montreal and the Pens asked what he was looking for. He replied, and the Pens were unable to match that, so Kovie signed with the Habs. When you look at it, it was a smarter move for the Pens. They signed Ziggy Palffy instead at $3.5M for three years, instead of the $4.5M Kovalev wanted. Had Palffy not retired, he would certainly be ahead of Kovalev in scoring, and I'd argue that Ziggy was better at minding his own zone that Kovie, who I remember as usually being quite uninterested in back-checking.

Anyway, Marc-Andre Fluery will face the opposing goalie from his first NHL start a few seasons ago, Huet. The ironic thing is in that game (versus the LA Kings), the Pens allowed 47 shots while only mustering 11 of their own. Sound familiar? Let's hope there's no repeat tonight...

Let's Go Pens!

Devils 2, Penguins 1

14 shots. What else is there to say? 14 shots!!! Ugh. That's really not good. I didn't get a chance to see much of this game, but I did catch bits and pieces. Fleury seemed to be playing well. Crosby seemed to get beat up pretty badly, with the refs doing nothing, of course. You wouldn't want to protect the future of the NHL, would you? Sometimes the lack of vision of the zebras is astounding, both on the ice and in the bigger picture. Last night I saw Crosby take a knee to the head and an elbow to the head - no call either time. Kind of disappointing. Would be interesting to see how much penalties are being called now versus earlier in the season, and see how the rate of change compares with other seasons.

Anyway, the Pens still had a chance to win (or at least tie) this game, but just couldn't get things going. They had tired players on the ice at the end of the game, and couldn't get the clock stopped to call timeout. They never really threatened once they pulled Fleury.

Next up are the Habs on Saturday, followed by Toronto on Sunday.

Game #66 - at Devils

I haven't been doing previews as much lately, mainly due to time constraints. However, when I noticed that this was game #66, how could I pass it up?

Tonight, the Penguins go for three in a row. They couldn't have picked a worse goalie to go against. Brodeur has been chased from two straight games, by the Pens and Islanders. He's going to be ticked. He's the best goalie in the world. I'd love to see the Pens beat him tonight, but I'm thinking it's more likely we'll see the Brodeur we saw in the first game of the season. To get some past him, the Pens will have to do it the ugly way - get lots of shots with traffic and put in some cheap rebounds.

The Devils as a team are slumping a bit right now. They've lost three of four games against non-playoff teams. They're not going to be much fun to play tonight. Of course, the key is always to stop Mighty Mouse!!

For the Pens, Colby Armstrong will try to continue his point streak. It's currently at 8 games (5 goals, 7 assists). Leclair and Malone will try to get back on the board after having their point streaks stopped in the win over the Flyers.

The Pens haven't won three in a row all year. They're picking a good time to play better - not only are they building momentum for next season, but they're also not really gaining ground on the Caps or the Blues for the fewest points in the league - both teams have earned some points recently, with the Blues going 6-1-3 in their past 10 games. Best of both worlds if you ask me (though nobody did...)

Let's Go Pens!

Rendell has arena plan?

According to KDKA Radio, Gov Rendell said that there is a plan he hopes to announce within a few weeks. Of course, this would involve public money in the form of tax dollars, which is something that would not be required under the Isle of Capri plan.

Looks like hearing people chant "Let's go Pens!" each time he comes to Pittsburgh is starting to help him understand the quandary of giving a slots license away to repay political favors. What will be interesing will be the fallout from any plan that is proposed. My biggest question for the Governor would be "why are you proposing to build an arena with public money when the issue of the slots license hasn't even been decided yet?"

Penguins 2, Flyers 0

The Penguins played their best game of the season tonight, in my opinion.

The team took advantage of the chances they had, got some great play from Marc-Andre Fleury, were the beneficiaries of a little bit of luck, and killed the penalties they had to kill.

Both goals by the Pens were in close to Esche. The first one, scored by Armstrong, was a rebound that he stuffed in. He was in the right place at the right time and took advantage of his chance. The second one was a result of a poke check steal by Rita. He poked the puck away from the D (Pitkanen, I think), raced down the right side and handed the puck off the Crosby. Sid waited and found Armstrong trailing the play. He passed the puck to Armstrong, who buried the shot on the far side of Esche. Great steal, great pass, great goal.

The Pens then killed off a minor + major penalty with about 10 minutes left in the third. Andre Roy was the recepient of a cheap shot by Dimitrakos and immediately retaliated the only way he knew how - by attempting to bludgeon the Flyers defensemen with his fists. Needless to say, this was not popular with the skating zebras, and Roy was given two for roughing and five for fighting ("It's not easy... to be... me" - bonus points to anyone that gets that reference). The Pens not only killed off seven straight minutes of short-handed hockey, but I think the Flyers only had a handful of shots the entire time.

Anyway, it's great to see the Pens playing well. They've won two in a row, and appear to be building some momentum in playing their system. I'm kind of conflicted about that right now, however. I'm not sure I wouldn't rather see them finish last and have the best shot at the top pick. I guess there's nothing like winning, however, so we should be happy while we have it.

Next game is Thursday against the Devils, who I'm sure will be oh-so-happy to see the Pens again. I'm not sure yet how much I'll see of this game - it is the opening night of the NCAA tourney... though Pitt doesn't play until Friday (boy - did they get rooked with a #5 seed, or what?)

Penguins 6, Devils 3

I saw a graphic during the game that said that this was the first time the Penguins have won two games at home against the Devils in the same season since 93-94. That goes to show you how bizarre statistics can be.

I didn't see much of this game - I was busy developing my ulcer watching Pitt lose to Syracuse. I did get to see some of the beginning (up until the Pens were up 3-1) and a few other assorted parts.

The new guys played tonight - Hilbert, Nordgren and Nasreddine (just called up from Wilkes-Barre). Nordgren didn't play all that much, but Hilbert stepped right in and played over 15 minutes. He contributed too, earning the second star for the night and two points.

The Pens continue to build for next season too, getting goals from Crosby (2), Malone, Ouellet and Armstrong. Even Surovy chipped in two assists. Gonchar continued his improved play with two helpers of his own. All of this bodes well for next season, in my opinion.

The only really telling statistic is that the second leading scorer on the team is still Palffy, and for the season, it will likely be Gonchar. The Pens have some big time scoring problems with their forwards, and that will need to be addressed. Hopefully Ouellet and Armstrong can turn into solid players (not sure what to think of Surovy yet), and the arrival of Malkin will get things going in the right direction. I just can't help but think that this team could really use a few veteran wingers that can score. Unfortunately, the Pens have either traded them or had them retire. The off-season will be interesting to be sure.

Tonight the Pens play the Flyers in the second half of a rare home-based back to back.

Let's go Pens!

Trades, Trades Everywhere!

Ya know, I come home and make dinner, and the next thing I know, two more trades were announced (thanks, Will for pointing that out in the comments). Here are the deals:

Ric Jackman to the Florida Panthers for center Petr Taticek.

Cory Cross to Detroit for a fourth round draft choice.

Neither of these trades are significant for what they bring back. Looking at Taticek, he is a former first round choice (9th overall) who has never done much. He's still young, but I'm going to guess that he will be in Wilkes-Barre for some time to see if he can turn into something.

The trades are significant for what they send out. The Penguins roster for defensemen currently looks like this:
Gonchar
Orpik
Melichar
Whitney
Scuderi
Cairns

They didn't trade for any D, and we haven't seen Cairns play more than eight or nine minutes all year. What does this mean? I'm going to guess that we're going to see Noah Welch here in Pittsburgh. Looking at the roster for the Baby Pens, I'm not sure who else would be coming up. You'd think they have to recall at least one D, maybe two.

Mark Recchi traded

The Penguins traded Mark Recchi to the Carolina Hurricanes today for two players and a draft pick. Before I say anything about who the Pens received in return, I do have to say that it's disappointing to see a player like Recchi be traded. He was producing and playing at a fairly high level, and apparently wanted to be here in Pittsburgh. They won't be able to replace him easily. (Thanks to Will for the heads-up in the comments!)

In exchange, the Pens received 26 year old winger Niklas Nordgren, 24 year old center Krystofer Kolanos, and a second round pick in 2007.

Nordgren just came over to America this season, starting in the AHL and making his way to the NHL. He's a little bit older for a rookie (26), but he did just come over from what I'm guessing was the Sweedish Elite League. More importantly, he has good offensive skills and is a right handed shot, something the Pens are a bit short on lately.

Kolanos is a story we've all heard before (it's quite familiar to the Pens) - former first round pick that hasn't panned out. He's been in the league for four seasons (and he's just 24) with Phoenix and Edmonton. His playing time and productivity have trended downward since his rookie season. He has good size, but simply hasn't been playing many minutes. He'll go into the mess the Penguins have at center behind Crosby and Malkin.

You have to wonder how the organization feels about Erik Christensen, given that the team has traded for a center in Kolanos and picked up a second center via waivers in Andy Hilbert from Chicago.

Capitals 6, Penguins 3

First off, I'm sitting here watching Pitt kick the stuffing out of Louisville in the first round of the Big East Tournament. Go Panthers!

Okay, now about the Pens game...

The game was entertaining, and the Pens certainly made a contest out of it. However, they were thwarted by themselves too many times. Caron made several big saves, but also allowed several softies, including maybe the softest goal I've ever seen. When Ivan Majesky took the puck on the penalty kill in his own zone and heaved it up into the Penguins zone, it rolled and bounced towards the net. Caron, instead of coming out and playing the puck, stayed back and waited for it to come to him. What could happen did happen and Caron was eaten up by the bouncing grounder (it rolled gently to his left and into the goal). It was incredible, and not in a good way.

Couple the goaltending woes with the tendency to take minor (meaning dumb) penalties, and the Caps were able to win the day. The Pens were able to stay in the game and compete pretty well (I thought) despite being outshot by 41-25.

Other positives I saw included:

• Shane Endicott winning 9 out of 10 faceoffs... but still only playing 7:35. I think he's still skating around on one leg. Next year is when his time will come.
• Jani Rita is showing signs that he can be the next speedster to play for the Pens, following in the proud tradition of Rico Fata and Koltsov. The puck seems to stick to him a little bit better.
• Speaking of Koltsov, can someone work with him on his skating and puck control this summer? He has world class speed and seemingly unlimited energy, but he can't stay on his skates or keep the puck on his stick. He was called for diving tonight, when he was really just skating normally. By the way, how can you have a trip AND a dive? If it was a trip, then it wasn't a dive, right? And vice versa, one would assume. More great intelligent work from the incredible braintrust that are the NHL referees.

Did I mention Go Panthers? Back to the second half in hoops. Next Pens game is Saturday, I believe.

Game #63 - at Capitals

Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals

Pittsburgh - 14-36-12 - 40 pts - Last in East
Washington - 21-33-6 - 48 pts - 14th in East

The Penguins have a chance tonight to sweep the season series against the Capitals. They've won each of the three previous times, kicking around Ollie the Goalie in the process.

The Caps, on the other hand, look to continue their decent play of late - they're 2-1-1 since the Olympic break.

Of course, the real reason to watch this game is to see Ovechkin vs Crosby. The matchups thus far this season have proven to be quite good (for the Pens), and any questioning I had about Crosby hitting the rookie wall is gone after last night's performance. Let's see if he can put up two in a row.

Let's go Pens!

Erik Christensen sent down

Yesterday, the Pens sent Erik Christensen back down to Wilkes-Barre.

It's probably better for him to get some more experience in the minors so he can develop consistency and confidence. I think he could be a good offensive player in the NHL, especially with the puck handling skills he's displayed and the shot he has. Hopefully he keeps building on that and returns to Pittsburgh next season ready to win a job.

Shane Endicott was in the lineup tonight in Christensen's place.

Lightning 5, Penguins 4 (SO 2-0)

This was the third straight game where the Pens were down early and had to come roaring back in the third period. Tonight they were down 4-1 and scored three to send the game to overtime, where they finally lost in a shootout. They had several nice chances throughout OT to try to put the game away, but could not do it.

Why was Jani Rita the first shooter in the shootout? Was Therrien trying to catch lightning in a bottle or something?

Did anyone see the play that Sidney Crosby made late in the third? The Lightning were threatening and Fleury was caught out of position, so Crosby came flying in behind Fleury and stacked the pads against the goal pipe behind Fleury. Turns out that the shot hit the outside of the net, but maybe it hit the outside of the net because the shooter tried to say a little wider with Crosby sliding across. No matter - it was inspiring to see. It tells me that this team (or at least Sidney Crosby) still has heart.

The Pens play again tomorrow night in Washington. There's been nothing like those Capitals to cheer the Pens out of a slump this season... will tomorrow be the same?

Hurricanes 7, Penguins 5

Five

First

Period

Goals

Allowed

Other than that, it was a great game! Of course, that's like saying that if not for those pesky atomic bombs, the Japanese came out of WWII in great shape.

Nice to see Recchi get the hat trick. Also nice to see the offense generate some consistent pressure.

A few other things that jumped out at me:

• Ryan Malone really is starting to play better. He just seems so much faster on the ice now than he did earlier in the season. His development really bodes well for the Penguins for the future.
• Cam Ward really isn't terribly good yet, is he? I know he kept the Pens off the board early in the first, but he also allowed several softies that got the Pens back into the game.
• Speaking of softies, neither Fleury or Caron was ready to go last night, but I don't think Caron should have been yanked after allowing the two power play goals in the first. Neither one was really a bad goal.
• Crosby doesn't seem like the same player right now. Maybe he's hitting the rookie wall a little bit.

This game really spoke to the lack of consistency shown on a regular basis by this team (at least they're consistent about something). Hopefully this is something that will come with time.

Up next is a game on Tuesday against the Lightning.

Game #61 - vs Hurricanes

Carolina Hurricanes at Pittsburgh Penguins

Carolina - 41-14-4 - 86 pts - First in East
Pittsburgh - 14-35-11 - 39 pts - Last in East

At first glance, this would look like a huge mismatch. The Hurricanes should stomp the Pens, right? Except that the Penguins went into Carolina and beat the Canes just before the Olympic break. Plus, the Hurricanes could be a little bit overrated. They are tremendous at home (26-5), but of their remaining 23 games, just 9 are at home. Their road record is much more human (15-9). This is a team that will need to prove it can win on the road. They'll be looking to do that beginning tonight in Pittsburgh.

You should watch the game tonight, if only for a chance to see two of the best young players in the game in Sidney Crosby (of course) and Eric Staal of the Hurricanes. Should be exciting.

Let's go Pens!

Senators 4, Penguins 3

Wow - this one was exhilirating, yet frustrating. To summarize somewhat quickly (since this is being posted late):

• The Pens spot the Senators a four goal lead going into the third, only to come roaring back, thanks to... Andre Roy and Jani Rita? I can honestly say that's a sentence I never thought I'd write.
• The Pens outshot the Sens 30-26, though how many shots do you need to take when leading by four goals?
• The Pens didn't take many penalties - they faced just four short-handed situations. They allowed goals on two of the four. Not cool.

Overall, it was an exciting third period to watch. You could feel the energy the team was playing with and sense that they had the momentum. Why can't the produce like that for an entire game? When they figure out how to put it all together, they could be scary.

As for the lateness of my post, work is nutty. Clearly, I need to rethink my priorities if work is getting in the way of posting on the blog...

Next up are the Canes on Saturday night.

New arena plan proposed

According to this article in the Post-Gazette, the Allegheny Institute has come up with a plan, supposedly, to fund an arena with private money. Check out the article, but basically it goes like this:

1. Gather private investor money either through partners or incorporating and issuing shares. Add this with naming rights and get $100-150 million.
2. The remaning $150-200 million needed "could be generated through the sale of seat licenses, luxury box rentals, concessions, in-arena advertising and event fees".

Not to sound harsh, but did someone really get paid a salary to come up with this?

The Penguins, to their credit, are basically saying "look, our plan is with Isle of Capri, and it doesn't use public taxpayer money", which is what they should be saying.

Myself, I have no such illusions of nobility, so I'll take issue with a few things:

• Where the heck were all of these plans when the Pens were telling anyone who would listen that they need help with this? All they were told was "There is no public money". There was no impetus to work on other private arrangements. Now that they're in an exclusive agreement with IOC (Isle of Capri), every Tom, Dick and Harry (replace with Dan and Ed as needed) has a "great idea".
• Naming rights, accoring to the article, won't really generate much. Last time, Mellon paid $18 million for 10 years. Assuming they can get that again (which is a big assumption since hockey isn't what it was back then), they still would need $80-130 million in private investment funds. Easier said than done.
• Even dumber (if that's possible) is the suggestion to use all of the things that would make the team financially stable and competitive to pay for an arena.

It's getting tiresome watching all of the local figures and organziations cover their butts on a regular basis, just so they can say "We tried to keep the team here, but they just wouldn't talk to us. We did everything possible."

Oh - forgot to mention - I did a bit of investigating on my own about the concerts at the Chevrolet Amphitheatre. I have a bit more to do, but I'll have a post up in the next day or so about it.

Game #60 - vs Senators

Ottawa Senators at Pittsburgh Penguins

Ottawa - 37-14-5 - 79 pts - Second in East
Pittsburgh - 14-34-11 - 39 pts - Last in East

The last time the Pens played the Sens, it was obvious just how wide the gulf was between one of the best teams in the league and one of the worst. Tonight, we get to see how much difference a month (almost) makes. I'm guessing the difference won't be much.

The Pens are at full strength for the most part, with no significant injuries, and Michel Ouellet returning after missing a few games. Erik Christensen will also be with the team.

For the Senators, the big news is the injury to Dominik Hasek. The Pens will face Ray Emery tonight in net. The Senators also had seven other players in Turin, so they may be a little tired.

The Pens start their final stretch of games - they have 23 remaining. Last year, the team went 12-5-3 in their last 20 games. Is there a similar stretch coming this year? I wouldn't be surprised, but then again, I've been guilty of unfounded optimism in the past...

Let's go Pens!

Midseason Review - Michel Ouellet

Michel Ouellet

28 Games
13 Goals
11 Assists
-6 +/-
10 PIM

Grade: A-

Michel has been playing quite well for a rookie. He was the first callup for new coach Michel Therrien, and he hasn't let his coach down. Michel has contributed on a fairly consistent basis in his short career so far. He has a great, heavy shot and has that knack for being in the right place at the right time, especially on the power play.

Eventually, Michel should turn into a good two-way player who can contribute regularly on the power play. He'll probably hit the rookie wall eventually here, but so far he's shown no signs of losing his confidence or his physical skills.

The main thing I'm looking for from Michel is more consistent play, along with more offensive pressure, at even strength. Most of his scoring has come on the power play. Would be nice to see him step up and create in a 5 on 5 situation as well. He's obviously talented enough.

Midseason Review - Ric Jackman

Ric Jackman

45 Games
5 Goals
21 Assists
-16 +/-
42 PIM

Grade: C-

It's tough for me to watch a game and judge how well each player is playing. It's kind of like evaluating the offensive line in football - if the quaterback gets sacked, you know someone screwed up. Until then, you can only assume they're doing okay. Ric Jackman, for much of the season, hasn't been doing okay. He was a seemingly frequent scratch for both Edzo and Therrien. When he's in the game, he's the Pens second leading point-getter from the blue line. Until recently, he was the leading point-getter. That means that he must have been screwing things up pretty badly in other areas. I know from what I see that he doesn't look terribly fast, and doesn't play a very physical game (though this has changed a little bit under Michel Therrien).

When he's playing well, Jackman can contribute to the offense. He needs to get his shots on net. He also is someone that I can remember a few times being guilty of shooting without any traffic in front.

Recently, Jackman has asked to be traded if the team was going to keep scratching him. I wouldn't be surprised to see him leave town, and that would be disappointing since he his young and obviously has talent.

Midseason Review - John Leclair

John Leclair

50 Games
12 Goals
20 Assists
-16 +/-
49 PIM

Grade: B-

John Leclair has given the team decent effort, especially of late. He, along with Mark Recchi, are leading by example and playing with some intensity and desire.

At times, he's been great when positioned in front of the net. Most of his goals have been of the rebound variety. When he's hustling and parking himself just in front of the crease, he's still pretty effective.

Some of the limited productivity would have to be attributed to his age and some more to the speed of the game. However, I'd also put a bunch of it on the poor power play (and offense in general) that the Penguins have deployed so far this year. When you're not getting shots on net from the defense, it's tough to get any rebounds to stuff in. The timing of the shots that are taken seems to leave something to be desired as well - it's like taking a long jumper in basketball without looking to see if you have any teammates around the hoop to get the potential rebound.

Maybe Leclair's biggest job right now would be to tutor Ryan Malone. Ryan needs to play more like Leclair does, in my opinion. He'd do well to pay attention to John while he's around.

Leclair can fill a valuable role on this team when they're good. He could also be valuable to a contender. Until then, he can do what he's doing now - lead by example with grit, hustle and determination.