PENS UNIVERSE - Real hockey

Can the Pens stay with the current 3 center model?

noreply@blogger.com (Damian Romano) — Wed, 23 May 2012 00:28:00 +0000

After yet another unceremonious exit in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to our arch-nemesis Philadelphia Flyers, the Pittsburgh Penguins will now look ahead to the offseason.

Remember, while not every season has been a winning one, the people at sportsbook review make rooting for your favorite team that much more fun.

With an expiring Collective Bargaining Agreement looming, there is uncertainty in terms of how the Penguins will be able to retain Crosby, Malkin and Staal along with guys like James Neal, Marc-Andre Fleury, Brooks Orpik and Kris Letang currently locked up for a time.

Keeping the three centers will prove to be a difficult task, even inside of the current CBA. If the players' association wins the negotiations, that will make it an even more arduous task to keep the most dangerous team down the middle in tact.

Penguins GM Ray Shero did express some concerns after the playoff loss in terms of being able to keep Crosby, Malkin, and Staal. Via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Common sense, I’d love to keep all three of them. They’re great players. They’re not even in their prime yet. But we’ll have to wait to see. We’ve had these players for a number of years now. We had success for a couple of years now. Went to the finals, won the (Stanley) Cup. But at the same time, there’s a salary cap in place now. And when these guys get into the second and third contracts, you might run into problems trying to keep all three. I’m certainly on record, I’d love to keep all three but in a practical world with a salary cap, that remains to be seen.

So what does Shero and the Penguins do? Would it be smart to move one of the three before their contracts expire? Staal and Crosby become unrestricted free agents next summer and Malkin hits the market in 2013-14.

There has been speculation on places like twitter with respect to trading Jordan Staal for a No. 1 draft pick. Considering the fact that Malkin and Crosby are superior to Staal in terms of talent and because they both have unmovable clauses, trading Staal could prove to be the ideal transaction for the Penguins.

Staal is currently making $4 million per season and will most definitely ask for an increase in salary when his contract expires. He has become one of the best two-way centers in the league and is an extremely valuable player on the special teams. In short, Staal does it all.

So who do you think the Penguins should do? Move Staal? What about Malkin? Certainly we wouldn't dare trade Crosby, would we? Or is it best to do everything in your power to keep all three?

Pens U's Top Moments of the Season.

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Tracey) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:55:00 +0000

Unfortunately, the Pens season was ended early at the mercy of the Philadelphia Flyers. Through all the injuries and adversity, several Pens broke out with career years. Now we have a chance to look back on the 11-12 season and remember those stunner plays. So without further adieu, here are the staff picks.

New Look Cooke.

Damian (PayCzech)

Top Moment Pick: Matt Cooke's 82 game restraint.

A lot can be said about Matt Cooke's 11-12 season. His "new look" game rewarded him with 38 points, 19 goals, 19 assist and a plus-5 this season, allowing Cooke to become even more of a role player on the team. Cooke was recently quoted on his changed game saying, "It’s a work in progress. It doesn’t just end now. It’s something that I’ll have to continue on for next year. I was able to make a change in my game and I’m happy for that. It’s an ongoing process and it’s something I’ll continue to have to work on."

The Big 5-0.

Corey (knucklepucker)

Top Moment Pick: Malkin's 50th goal of the season.

MVP.

Malkin became the ninth player in Pittsburgh history to reach 50 goals and the sixth Russian-born player in NHL history to hit the 50 goal mark this season.

HC Dan Bylsma had this to say about Malkin notching number 50, "It's a huge accomplishment to be able to cap that off and get the 50th for him, it's great. I think everybody was cheering that puck in the goal for most of the game."

A Flying Paille.

Doug (DougS39)

Top Moment Pick: Orpik's hit on Paille.

"Lots of symbolism there. Great example of what they were doing right in February and what was missing in the last month."

Brooks Orpik is undoubtedly a leader one and off the ice. This hit on Daniel Paille shows Orpik's "blue collar" style that represent the city of Pittsburgh so much.

The Captain's Return.

Billy (bluelinebandit) and Marian (PensPalooza)

Top Moment Pick: Crosby's comeback.

"The reaction of the crowd and Sid after he scored was something special. The moment we waited for so long finally happened. I know he went down again and came back with less fanfare, but that first comeback I will remember for a long time."

the words of Billy Myers can speak for many Pens fan regarding the return of Sidney Crosby. It was a long awaited event that had some fans on the edge of madness. But in the end it was surely worth the wait.

Sweet Deke Fleury.

Joe (DeniedByFleury)

Top Moment Pick(s): Malkin, Neal, Sullivan; Fleury's Game 5 performance.

Just watch that Malkin goal about 500 times. Never gets old.

A taste of what Marc-Andre Fleury did for the Pens during Game 5 and really all season long. Flower has taken his fair share of criticism but there's no doubting he's becoming elite.

Staal Gets Tricky.

Sam (buySAMadrink)

Top Moment Pick: Jordan Staal's Game 4 hat trick.

It's safe to say that Jordan Staal was one of the best players on the ice for the Pens this post-season. His hat trcik being a prime example of what Staal is capable of doing. With the uncertainly of the CBA and Staal and Crosby both needing contract extensions before becoming FAs next season, Ray Shero is going to have his hands full. It will be interesting to see what Shero will be able to do to possibly keep a sure key component to the team.

Super Duper Going Streaking.
Nicole (PensU_Nicole)
Top Moment Pick: Pascal Dupuis' 17-game point streak.

Pascal Dupuis has proven to be a Shero "steal". This season Dupuis made Hossa look the joke of a past deal. Key role player and nothing less. People always talk about secondary scoring, well here is your man.

Now we prepare ourselves for the off season, free agency and then before you know it, training camp. Shero has already said he has a challenge ahead of him but what GM doesn't? Rest will do this team good and we've just got to hope and pray that the Hockey Gods are a little more forgiving come next season, injury wise. Because with a core of gentlemen the Pens have and all the returning role players, this team will be just as good.

They'll have a chip on their shoulder and unfinished business to take care of.

Lets Go Pens.

What was your favorite moment from this past season?

PensUniverse Podcast 4.25/.12

noreply@blogger.com (Doug Smith) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 02:41:00 +0000

In the final podcast (*tear) of the year we talk about what went wrong but try not to rehash too many of the same opinions of the last few days. We take a brief look at the off season with some hopeful moves and some more realistic in nature. We talk about what remains of the NHL and include the usual chit chat about us.

We would like to thank those of you that read our blog and listen to the podcast. We cannot show how much we appreciate it and love our digital connection over Penguins hockey. We would like to keep the podcast going and are open to your ideas. Would you like a live show? Should we include a reader question every week? Let us know. Once again. Thank you.

Happy World Penguin Day

noreply@blogger.com (Corey Allan) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:46:00 +0000

Happy World Penguin Day. What does this mean? Nothing.

To celebrate, I guess, here's the history of the Pittsburgh Penguins logo.

1967-1968

1968-1972

1972-1992

1992-2001

2001-Present

Is it next season yet?

Who will be back next year?

noreply@blogger.com (Corey Allan) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:45:00 +0000

Ray Shero has his work cut out for him this off season.

In yet another first round Stanley Cup Playoff exit, it's obvious the Pittsburgh Penguins needs a roster shakeup. Names like Jordan Staal, Paul Martin, Brooks Orpik and Kris Letang have been tossed around as potential targets.

Here's a list of players who are UFA for 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. What does the Penguins' front office need to do to make it out of the first round, let alone another run at a Stanley Cup?

2012 UFA

Steve Sullivan - F - $1.5m cap hit

Aaron Asham - F - $775K cap hit

Brent Johnson - G - $600K cap hit

Jason Williams - F - $600K cap hit

Steve MacIntyre - F - $600K cap hit

Richard Park - F - $550K cap hit

Scott Munroe - G - $525K cap hit

Colin McDonald - F - $525K cap hit

Ryan Craig - F - $525K cap hit

2013 UFA

Sidney Crosby - F - $8.7M cap hit

Jordan Staal - F - $4M cap hit

Matt Cooke - F - $1.8M cap hit

Pascal Dupuis - F - $1.5M cap hit

Craig Adams - F - $675K cap hit

Ben Lovejoy - D - $525K cap hit

2014 UFA

Evgeni Malkin - F - $8.7M cap hit

Brooks Orpik - D - $3.75M cap hit

Chris Kunitz - F - $3.725M cap hit

Kris Letant - D - $3.5M cap hit

Deryk Engelland - D - $566K cap hit

Joe Vitale - F - $550K cap hit

2015 UFA

Marc-Andre Fleury - G - $5M cap hit

Paul Martin - D - $5M cap hit

Zbynek Michalek - D - $4M cap hit

Send this thing back to Philthy

noreply@blogger.com (Corey Allan) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 18:25:00 +0000

Get loud tonight folks. Win or it's over. Another series loss on home ice. I'm sick of it. You're sick of it too.

Get loud.

What EVERYONE is saying about the Pens, all in one place.

noreply@blogger.com (Damian Romano) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 02:24:00 +0000

Okay, not everyone, just 10 links. Don't worry, I didn't link anything from the Bleacher Report.

Why the Canucks and Penguins are on the verge of elimination.
Pens looking to halt the slide.
Penguins are looking for answers.
Making sense of the Penguins, Canucks struggles.
Report of Penguins' Collapse are Greatly Exaggerated.
Crosby says Penguins don't regret Game 3 fireworks.
Agitator Matt Cooke is proof that supplemental discipline can work.
Penguins coach Bylsma will buck tradition with goaltender Fleury.
Penguins suffer catastrophic system failure.
Crosby's chippy play not helping Penguins' cause.

UPDATED:

James Neal suspension video (1 game)

Brazilian Pens fans: An open letter...

noreply@blogger.com (Damian Romano) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:43:00 +0000

It’s probably a surprise and hard to consider a letter from Brazilian fans. We don’t even have ice to play. What would we know about anything? But we are truly die hard fans, that despite of all adversity that comes with being a Brazilian Penguins fan, we love it and are proud of it. Don’t mind the different time zone, which we often find ourselves going to bed way past the time we should, or the language barrier, that we have to overcome every game broadcast or simply every time we want to look up our team’s latest news; or even the fact that we have to watch every game in the internet. None of that is an excuse to miss a game. It’s all worth after a win, or just a well played game, where everyone left everything on the rink.

The Penguins have never abandoned us, they took the ice every single night scheduled, we’re not abandoning them right now.

We’re not here to say the obvious about our sloppy defensive play, or that we will riot if we don’t win game 4. We are here to say we believe in you. Every single one of you, From Marc-Andre Fleury to Craig Adams. We know you can put last three games on the past, and play what you guys are capable of. We’ve been to tough situations before, losing two to Washington and Detroit, coming back from a 3-0 deficit against those same flyers in game 6, all of those in 09. This one might be a little harder, but if there’s a team in the NHL that can do it, it’s you guys.

We believe you can win 4 in a row against the Flyers, in fact, we believe you can win 10 in a row against those suckers. As long as you guys play with your hearts. Know that we’ll be cheering with our hearts until the last second, whether is game 4 or game 7.

WE BELIEVE! DO IT!!

From your Brazilian fans! Let’s Go Pens!!

http://www.facebook.com/groups/pghpenguinsbrazil/

The Only Thing Left To Do...

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Tracey) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:57:00 +0000

Be-lieve

1. To have faith, confidence, or trust.

To think the Pens season may very well be over on Wednesday, hurts the heart. This season's rollercoaster ride has been rough, to say the least, and the way this series is going seems a tad bit unjust. The playoffs are suppose to bring out the best in a team, that just hasn't been the case for the black and vegas gold.

Fans are high on emotions and it's hard to not get caught up in defending or receiving crap for things being said. How can one be blamed? We commit to this team's highs and lows on day one of training camp and seeing they way things have panned out so far in playoffs is frustrating. Why? Because we know what this team is capable of. We've watched them bond together and dominate while their captain battled with injuries, we've watched a "dirty player" turn his game around and score 19 goals goals, we've watched Pascal Dupuis make Marian Hossa look like the joke of a past deal, we've watched Marc-Andre Fleury stand on his head time after time to keep the Pens in a game. Hey Hockey Gods, what gives? It's to the point where you just have to shake your head and ask, "What the hell?"

It's hard to find the right words to say when frustration is at the root of it all. And if anyone knows me by now, they know I'm good for a motivational quote or poem in every other post.

This come from the "Momentum" Video posted in What's The Buzz..

"Whether or not you win this thing, you've got to decided how you;re going to walk out of here after it's all said and done."

"Cause the game is going to go on. There is only one rule you;re going to need to know about, there are no second chances."

"There is only this moment and the next. Every one of those moments is a test."

"It's You vs. Them,

You vs. No,

You vs. Can't,

You vs. next year, last tear, statistics, excuses,

You vs. History,

You vs. the Odds,

It's you vs. 2nd place..."

"The clock is ticking, lets see what you've got"

Pens in 7.

Believe.

What's The Buzz? Tell Me What's Happenin!

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Tracey) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 23:01:00 +0000

. . . . anyone?

0-2.

It's hard to talk about the past two games and not get upset and/or frustrated. 5 goals should be enough to win but when the defense has more holes than a piece of swiss cheese, any lead isn't safe. As much as this pains Pens fan to do, we honestly have to give the Flyers credit where it is due. Their ability to exploit the Pens' D is frightening. That's where the Pens need to lock it down. Keep it simple and play their game.

There is a great poem called "Don't Quit" and this excerpt from it fits the the Pens current situation to a t.

"...Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit."

Two huge games in Philly. Let's turn the tide, shall we gentlemen?

Believe.

Lets Go Pens.

Redemption: Game 2 preview

noreply@blogger.com (Corey Allan) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 14:16:00 +0000

Flyers have the series lead, but let this soak in your noggin. Dating back to the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, road teams hold a 59-47 record. Pens need to take this series back to Philadelphia tied and do work there.

Expect to see some new look PP units. The team had some different rotations on the man advantage during practice yesterday, including Crosby, Letang, Sullivan and Martin running the point. Could bring life to their struggling special teams play.

Also on the offensive side, the Penguins need to do a better job of entering the zone by not running the dump and chase. Look for a lot of forechecking by the Pens, and keeping the puck from going behind them in their zone.

Malkin and Neal need to show up tonight. Period.

Fleury has always bounced back strong after a loss during the season, and especially well in the playoffs. Expect him to do his little shimmy with the glove a few times tonight. It makes the women in Shadyside go crazy.

Finally, this.

Tie this series up boys. Go Pens.

Pens blow 3 goal lead, vomit

noreply@blogger.com (Corey Allan) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:06:00 +0000

Well that was a swift kick to the gonads.

Penguins completely dominated the first 20:00 minutes of this hockey game, and somehow decided to hang it up. Four unanswered goals by the Flyers, the last coming in overtime where it looked as though the Penguins didn't realize the overtime period had started, has sent home ice advantage right out the window.

Don't use the missed offsides calls as the excuse. It was still 3-1 Pens at that point. I put the blame on the coaches behind the bench. Clearly the intensity faded from the Penguins, and Disco Dan didn't reignite his team.

The Pens are clearly still fighting demons from the regular season. Does this make game 2 a "must win" for the Pens?

It's the playoffs. Pick it up, and don't let up.

Pens Universe 1st Round Picks

noreply@blogger.com (Corey Allan) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 17:48:00 +0000

Clearly the whole point of making picks for the NCAA men's basketball tournament is to prepare for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. So here are the first round series picks from Pens Universe:

The Hart of an MVP

noreply@blogger.com (Damian Romano) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 22:35:00 +0000

by Cole Wight

MVP. That is just one of the many words that can be used to describe Evgeni Maklin’s play this year. The 25 year old Russian Superstar has put the Penguins on his shoulders and carried them this season; mostly without the services of fellow superstar and face-of-the-franchise Sidney Crosby. There have even been some periods of time without Jordan Staal.

Last season Evgeni Malkin’s season came to a short and disappointing end. We all remember that fateful day during the Penguins 43rd game of the season when Malkin suffered a torn ACL and torn MCL in his right knee after this hit from Buffalo’s Tyler Myers. The injury caused Malkin to miss the rest of the 2010-2011 season including the Playoffs. Malkin inevitably underwent knee surgery and after a long offseason of intense off-ice and on-ice workouts Malkin was determined to get back to being arguably the best player in the game.

The 2012 preseason came around and Malkin looked like never missed a beat as the he helped the Penguins start off the season 5-1. Malkin scored 3 goals and tailed 4 assists in the 4 games he played in; he did experience some knee soreness early on.

Malkin did in fact play the first games of the regular season against, which were on the west coast versus Vancouver and Calagry. In the game against Vancouver he notched an assist on James Neal’s first goal of the season and scored in the shootuout in a 4-3 Penguins victory. In the Penguins 5-3 victory over the Flames Malkin tailed no points and actually ended up getting in a fight. He was subsequently kicked out of the game for not having his jersey tied down.

Malkin then missed the Penguins third game on their opening road trip for precautionary reasons (related to the aforementioned knee injury). He missed seven of eight games in October, but picked up his play and has without question been the most dominant player in the NHL since November. On most night he ends up the most noticeable player on the ice, and that includes games both before and after Sidney Crosby returned to the Pens lineup.

Geno is the hockey equivalent of baseball version of a five-tool player with a unique brand of speed, power, skill, and both a powerful and accurate shot. His one-timer is a goalie's (and a shot blocker's) worst nightmare. He became the first player since the 1995-96 season to post at least four 5-point games in one season. Thus far he's had 29 multiple-point games entering the final week of the season.

Furthermore, after scoring only 7 points in October, Malkin had at least 16 points per month in each of the next five months. That includes a 20 point effort in February, and 23 in the month of March. Seventy-one has torched the Penguins' biggest rivals with 5 goals against the Rangers, and 4 each against the Devils, Flyers and Capitals. He still had one game left against both the Rangers and Flyers entering this week.

The city of Winnipeg will never forget Malkin either. That's because he's had 8 goals and 3 assists in four meetings with them this season. He's also had 11 points against the Lightning and 8 against the Sabres.

Were in the last week of the NHL and Malkin currently leads the league in points with 104. The next two closet people to him are Stamkos (92) and Claude Giroux (89). We're probably not going to see a repeat his 113 point Art-Ross season back in 2008-2009. Incidentally he played in all 82 games that year. Evgeni is however likely to add both the Art Ross, and the Hart this year. But if you asked him what's most important he'd probably tell you its helping his team win their 4th Stanley Cup.

Here's some of Geno's best thus far...

Puck Daddy right on with Milbury

noreply@blogger.com (Corey Allan) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:27:00 +0000

What a clown, right?

Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy gets it right on the whole Mike Milbury comment on Sidney Crosby. Solid read. Do yourself a favor and read it here.

Also, can we start #sackmikemilbury on Twitter?

The enemy has won the battles, but can they win the war?

noreply@blogger.com (Damian Romano) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 11:59:00 +0000

By Cole Wight

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Just last week the Pittsburgh Penguins were on the verge of catching the New York Rangers for the first seed in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins were two points behind the Rangers going into a game against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday March 24th. Unfortunately the game didn't turn out as we'd all hoped. The defense left rookie Goalie Thiessen out to dry as the Penguins fell to the Senators 8-4. That same night the Rangers prevailed 4-3 over the Toronto Maple Leafs in a shootout to help increase there lead for the first seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Penguins went on to rebound from the 8-4 loss with a 5-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils, however dropped both games in a home and home series with the New York Islanders. The then Rangers went on a 3 game winning streak with victory's over the Wild, Jets and the lowly Canadians to increase there lead on the Penguins for the first seed. The Penguins did end up beat the Sabres 5-3, but sadly fell to the Philadelphia Flyers 6-4 yesterday in a brutal and bloody match. With only 3 games left in the regular season (Bruins, Rangers, and yes, the Flyers), it's gearing up for another Pens/Flyers playoff match-up.

History time.

We all remember that in the the 2008 playoffs the Penguins defeated the Flyers in 5 games in the Conference Semi-finals. The very next year the Penguins defeated the Flyers in Conference Quarter-finals in 6 games. However the Flyers have seemed to have the Penguins number this year. In the five games this year that the the two rivals have faced off the Flyers lead the Series 4-1. In the two aforementioned seasons the Flyers won the regular season battle in 2008, winning 5 out of 8 meetings; the Penguins won the season series battle notching 4 out of 6 meetings in the 2009.

The stage is set. Both teams are healthy and have a chip on their shoulder. You and I can't seem to get our blood pressure down.

Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Fleury -- Giroux, Hartnell, Jagr, Talbot. Modern day Royal Rumble.

Buckle up.

Brent Johnson or Brad Thiessen?

noreply@blogger.com (Damian Romano) — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 13:05:00 +0000

By Cole Wight

Unlike the past few years, goaltending isn't a big issue for the Penguins at the moment. They have All-Star goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury who ranks 2nd in the NHL in wins (41), one game behind the Predators Pekka Rinne. Fleury's play this year has been nothing short of spectacular. The Penguins wouldn't have 102 points without his services. However the quandary between the pipes at the moment has nothing to do with Fleury, the problem is the backup goaltender.

Brent Johnson has been the Penguins backup goaltender for the last few seasons. Last year he appeared in 23 games, posting a 13-5-3 record with a 2.17 GAA and a 9.22 save %. This year has been a much different story though as Brent Johnson has appeared in 13 games for the Penguins posting a 3-7-2 record with a 3.17 GAA and a 8.82 save %. Brent Johnson sustained a injury . To take the place of Brent Johnson the Penguins recalled Brad Thiessen from the Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins.

Last Year Brad Thiessen had a career year for WBS, winning the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s top goaltender and teaming with partner John Curry to capture the Harry “Hap” Holmes Memorial Award as the goaltending duo to allow the fewest goals in the AHL.

Thiessen led the AHL and set franchise records last season with his 35 wins and seven shutouts. Thiessen posted a 35-8-1 record, 1.94 GAA and a .922 save % in 46 games. This year he has appeared in 5 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins this year posting 3-1-0 record with a 3.72 GAA with a 8.58 save %. Although those numbers are anything but amazing, Thiessen's past has shown he is a solid goaltender and is still young with lots of time to gain more NHL experience. However the question is, can you want to rely on him as a steady backup with so little NHL experience?

Brent Johnson is [finally] healthy and made his first start for the Penguins last evening, notching a 5-3 victory over the Sabres. Interestingly enough his last game was a 6-2 loss on February 19...to the Buffalo Sabres. While he's surely aggravated us this year with his rabid inconsistencies, he's made a career of being a go-to backup. But he is aging...

This leads us to the ultimate question, one in which our fearless GM Ray Shero will need to consider heavily: Johnson or Theissen (or someone else?)

Do you think with the way Brent Johnson has played this year he should remain the Penguins backup for another season, or should the Penguins invest in Thiessen as the Flower's backup? We all know that having a backup goalie isn't the biggest concern heading into the playoffs. But what if Fleury goes down for a game? We could find out answer in one of those games...

Beat your rival, or win the Cup?

noreply@blogger.com (Corey Allan) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:53:00 +0000

It's an interesting question. One I suppose worth asking, but to me it's a waste of breath.

This morning as I was driving into work I was listening to ESPN's Mike and Mike on the radio, and they were talking about the rivalry between Louisville and Kentucky. Then the conversation turned into this:

It sounds like a deal with the devil. You beat your rival to get to the championship, but you don't get to hoist the trophy. You're joking, right? In a world where banners mean everything (championship banners, not "Regular Season Eastern Conference Champions 2010-2011" banners...Thanks Ted Leonsis for that gem), I would take winning the Stanley Cup over beating the Flyers in seven games to get the Finals and lose.

Who remembers the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs? The Penguins met the Flyers in the Eastern Conference Finals. It only took five games, but the Penguins knocked off their biggest rival to reach the Stanley Cup Finals and meet Detroit. We all know what happened next.

At the end of game 6 watching the Red Wings skate the Cup around Mellon Arena did you say to yourself, "Well, at least we beat the Flyers to get here." Hell no. If someone would have said that to me I would have knocked them out in a fit of unconscious rage.

Here are the teams the Penguins had to go through to win their three Stanley Cups:

1991: New Jersey, Washington, Boston, Minnesota
1992: Washington, NY Rangers, Boston, Chicago
2009: Philadelphia, Washington, Carolina, Detroit

Did it really matter who the Penguins played to get to the Finals and win? Hell no. All that matters is this.

Shut up Mike Greenberg.

What do you think? Leave me your comments below or get at me on Twitter (@knucklepucker)

What's The Buzz? Tell Me What's Happenin!

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Tracey) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 14:02:00 +0000

It's a special game day version of What's The Buzz and boy, have Pens fans been talking. Crosby, Hartnell, Malkin, Neal. Here we go..

Captain Crosby.

Sidney Crosby returned to the game March 15th against a first place New York Rangers team. Although it wasn't as picture-perfect as his first return to the game this season, Crosby racked up 4 assists to help lead the Pens to a 5-2 win. Since returning, Crosby has 9 points (all apples).

MVP.

To say Evgeni Malkin hasn't been near spectacular this season is nuts. Geno leads the NHL with 95 points (45G, 40A) and has an 11 point lead over Steven Stamkos and a 10 lead over Claude Giroux. Malkin is now only 5 goals away from Steve Stamkos for lead league in goals scored.

Real Deal.

Along side Evgeni Malkin and Chris Kunitz, James Neal has been doing his fair share of contributing. Neal scored his first hattrick since joining the Pens against the Winnipeg Jets this past Tuesday. He recently recorded a career-high 4 assists in the Pens 5-1 win over the Nashville Predators.

Hartnell down...with the Pens streak.

Scott Hartnell downed the Pens 11 game winning streak this past Sunday scoring the game winner in OT. With that we still say.....1975.

Stats, Stats, Stats, Stats, Stats, Stats....EVERYBODY

With the Pens scoring 30 goals in their last 6 games, there has been quite a few news stats. Marc-Andre Fleury picked up win number 40, Pascal Dupuis extended his point streak to 8 games with his 22nd goal of the season, Matt Cooke scored his new career-high 17th goal of the season, Brad Thiessen has a 3-0-0 record, and Malkin picked up goal number 200 against the Jet.

Have a subject you thought needed some recognition? Put your buzz in the comment section below!

Tonight it's the Pens and the Sens!

LETS GO PENS!

Playoff-bound Pens looking for more...

noreply@blogger.com (Damian Romano) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 22:48:00 +0000

by Alycia King

The Penguins have gained a playoff berth each season since 2006-2007, and Thursday against the Nashville Predators, they clinched their spot for this year.

The game may have been called a Stanley Cup preview, but the Penguins drew all attention off of Nashville as they scored five goals on Pekka Rinne. The only headline coming out of the game that did not focus on Pittsburgh was about Alexander Radulov, who played his first game in the NHL in four years and scored the only goal against Marc-Andre Fleury.

Coming into the match up both Rinne and Fleury were chasing the 40-win mark. Fleury was one shot away from the shutout and earning that 40th win, which may have given him some of the attention he deserves around the league. Not many would deny that without Fleury, the Penguins would not be where they are this season. Even coach Dan Byslma gave credit to Fleury in his post-game press conference.

"This year, much like last year, his play in net is a reason why we have 46 wins right now and he has 40 wins," Bylsma said. "He's been outstanding."

The Penguins are still sitting in the fourth place in the playoff picture right now, but are only one point away from making the leap to top in the conference. What seemed like a huge gap of points to cover only weeks ago, now is only one game away. Not to mention that Pittsburgh will face the Rangers one more time April 5 at Consol Energy Center. The last nine games of the season will be the most important, even though the Penguins have clinched the playoff spot.

The Penguins also have a shot at winning the President's Trophy, so the possible 18 points could mean not only a better position for the playoffs, but also another piece of hardware for the high-scoring Pittsburgh team.

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Alycia is a Senior Journalism major at IUP working toward a career in sports Public Relations.You can read more of her writings at Journey Hockey Career.

Snapped winning streak not all a bad thing

noreply@blogger.com (Corey Allan) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 13:17:00 +0000

There goes the 11 game winning streak. There goes a chance to tie the Rangers for first place in the Eastern Conference. There goes a should have been victory over the hated Flyers. Is it really all that bad? Not really.

I'm not questioning how much this loss with 0.9 seconds left in overtime sucks, because it does. But many are making this loss out to be the end of the world. Slow your roll and step off the ledge. Allow me to realign your perspective.

The last five games for the Penguins have been against the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th seeds in the Eastern Conference all in a row. Out of a ten possible points in the standings, the Pens collected nine.

That's impressive folks.

This loss to the Flyers should be a wake up call that the recent winning streak wasn't just a walk through the park and there is plenty of work left to do. Here's where the standings sit this morning:

Finishing first in the Eastern Conference is still in reach with 11 games left. The turkey is on the table with seven of those final games to be played on home ice. IT AIN'T OVER!

Follow me on Twitter: @knucklepucker

Blueline Beat: 3/1/12 - 3/14/12

noreply@blogger.com (Marian Myers) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 13:11:00 +0000

The Pens are riding the wave of a nine game winning streak, hoping to make it ten tonight. With Letang being out of the lineup, the defense has needed to step up their game, and for the most part they have. Now with Crosby and Letang set to make their return tonight, a healthy roster is finally in their sights.

Pens vs. Avalanche 3/3 W 5-1
-With Letang out, Lovejoy got a spot back in the lineup.
-Orpik earned his 11th assist on the goal from Asham
-Engelland scored his fourth goal of the season.
-Martin earned his 19th assist on the goal from Malkin.
-Michalek earned his seventh assist on the goal from Park.
-Martin earned his 20th assist and Orpik his 12th on the empty netter from Sullivan.
-Fleury played a great game and stopped 35 out of 36 shots.
-The defense knew they had to step up their game without Letang, and they did.
-Lovejoy led the defense with three shots on goal.
-Martin led the team with four blocked shots.
-Orpik led in ice time with 23:03.

Pens vs. Coyotes 3/5 w 2-1
-With Engelland out with a lower body injury, Brian Strait got the call up.
-Michalek scored his second goal of the season against his old team. He always seems to play a solid game against his former club.
-Martin earned his 21st assist on the goal from Kunitz.
-Fleury was the difference in this game. The Coyotes came out strong and Fleury held his own, stopping 36 out of 37 shots.
-Michalek led the defense with two shots on goal.
-Strait led the team with four blocked shots.
-Michalek led in ice time with 25:09.

Pens vs. Leafs 3/7 W 3-2
-Niskanen earned his 16th assist on the first goal from Dupuis.
-Orpik earned his 13th assist on the goal from Staal.
-Lovejoy earned his 3rd assist on the second goal from Dupuis.
-This was not necessarily the best game for the defense, allowing the Leafs too many chances, but they were still able to come up with the win.
-Thiessen got his second NHL start. After being down 2-0, he kept his composure and ended up stopping 22 out of 24 shots.
-Niskanen led the defense with three shots on goal.
-Michalek and Orpik led the team with three blocked shots each.
-Orpik led the defense in ice time with 23:39. Malkin led the team with 23:56.

Pens vs. Panthers 3/ 9 W 2-1 SO
-With Martin being ill Despres got the call up.
-Once again Fleury was sharp and stopped 28 out of 29 shots and got the win in the shootout.
-Michalek led the defense with three shots on goal.
-Orpik led the team with five blocked shots.
-Michalek led in ice time with 28:04.

Pens vs. Bruins 3/11 w 5-2
-Engelland made his return to the lineup.
-Lovejoy earned his 4th assist on the goal from Asham.
-Niskanen scored his fourth goal of the season.
-Engelland earned his 12 assist of the season on the goal from Dupuis.
-Fleury stopped 34 out of 36 shots.
-Niskanen led the defense with four shots on goal, which is an improvement after missing the net a lot.
-Michalek and Orpik led the defense with three shots on goal.
-Niskanen led in ice time with 23:06.

Best of the Blueline

In the absence of Kris Letang, and a few games without Deryk Engelland and Paul Martin, the rest of the defense has needed to step it up. In the past handful of games, with the exception perhaps of the game against the Bruins, I feel that Zbynek Michalek has deserved credit. This season he has found some troubles between injuries and some less than stellar performances. However, he seems to be making a turn around lately. He played a very impressive game against his former team, the Phoenix Coyotes, and against the Panthers. Michalek has always had the ability to block shots well, and is a key part of the Pens highly successful penalty kill. He does not score many points, but he has had one goal and one assist in the last five games. Michalek also has the ability to rack up the ice time, especially in the absence of some of the other defensemen; in the overtime game against the Panthers he played for 28 minutes. It took some time for him to find his stride this season, but when he is on his game, Michalek is one solid defensive defenseman.

Thanks for reading, and Let's Go Pens!

What's The Buzz? Tell Me What's Happenin'!

noreply@blogger.com (Nicole Tracey) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:09:00 +0000

Short and sweet. Let's get to it, shall we?

Sidney Crosby.

is back.

Jordan Staal.

Staal has 15 points in 12 games since his return from a knee injury and his currently on a 9 game point streak. The Sullivan-Staal-Dupuis line has put up a total of 29 points in the last 8 games.

Marc-Andre Fleury

Fleury's won 6 straight, stopping 162-of-168 shots (.964%). He's 17-2-1 in last 20 starts. He's 10-1 in last 11 home games.

Smacker.

Steve MacIntyre just completely lost his cool during Wilkes-Barre's game against the Springfield Falcons. He has since received a 4 game suspension.

Have a subject you thought needed some recognition? Put your buzz in the comment section below!

Oh...one last thing...

doo bee doo bee doooo

"History will be made" is history

noreply@blogger.com (Corey Allan) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:49:00 +0000

The NHL is making a change to their marketing campaign for the Stanley Cup playoffs. "History will be made" is just that ... history.

According to an article from Street and Smith's Sports Group, the NHL is changing the slogan to "Because it's the cup" to target a new audience for the playoffs. This is the worst marketing idea since "Solid as a rock" by GOB Bluth.

As we say farewell to the old marketing brand, we take time to see some of the commercials that featured the Pens.

Mario

Fleury

Neal

Drawing the Red Line

noreply@blogger.com (Doug Smith) — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 02:53:00 +0000

As the season winds down and teams fight for playoff positioning, the General Managers are set to meet. There is said to be few pressing issues which means the discussion will revolve around player safety. With the number of injuries and especially concussions, this should be the main topic. There have been some options brought up but not one has major support. Here is a look at some of those.
Perhaps the most discussion is on reinstating the red line for the two line offside pass. This former rule was eliminated during the lockout and required a stoppage in play if a pass originated from the defensive zone and accepted on the offensive side of the center red line, unless the puck crossed the line before the player. Some GMs believe this will slow the play some and reduce the number of dangerous hits. However, it could also slow the game down in a league where scoring is decreasing already.

Some general managers are now saying they want proof that bringing the center line back is going to lower concussions. By quick analysis of the hits that have caused concussions, it is evident they would not be out of the game. That is the essence of any rule change for player safety at this point, however. It is the type of hits that are being allowed and not disciplined at a higher level.

A perfect illustration of this occurred last week when Niklas Kronwall hit Jakub Voracek, who was clearly fuzzy trying to get off the ice. Kronwall turned his back to Voracek trying to keep the puck in the offensive zone, which had nothing to do with the center line. The Flyers' forward had hit head down and was not aware of the impending hit. Voracek's hit was clearly hit by the check, but it was judged to be a full body check and no discipline was sent down by the league. There should be no gray area with impact but this hit was allowed. It was on the head and Kronwall backing in is quite an odd way to approach a collision, which he has done before. You be the judge.

There was also a discussion of the "rinkette" or Bowman line across the faceoff circles in the defensive zone. Players would have to get above this line to make the two line pass. There is not much backing for the Bowman line. With games like Toronto versus Philadelphia going scoreless into overtime making Phil Kessel yawn and the lack of evidence that this line would help with the concussion epidemics, I doubt this gets approval. It is more about the type of hit being allowed.

Icing could be looked at as well as waiving off icing has become more and more popular. A stick can be waived near a puck or just have a tip somewhere that barely slows down a clearance effort. The gray area has grown around the rule and there have been a couple instances in the last week where an unclear icing call led to a late period goal.

As mentioned scoring is down this year. Penalty calls are inconsistent. The Pens and Panthers were not happy with the officiating in Friday's game. Grabbing and clutching is allowed at a higher level. The interference on a dumb in is more and more evident. Obstruction on faceoffs and dump ins are more obvious by the game. Perhaps the GMs can look at these and how they change the competition level. Anything you would like to have them discuss?