PensBurgh

Let's take a look at the San Jose Sharks

2009-11-07T12:15:12Z

More photos » by Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

If we learned anything from his days in Ottawa, it's that Dany Heatley likes scoring against Pittsburgh.

[SBNation Sharks Blog - Fear the Fin]

[SBN Cali blog - Battle of California]

I'll admit - I was prepared to concede at least one game on this west coast road trip. Prior to playing the Kings, I was ready to make it this one against the Sharks. Now? Not so much.

I wouldn't necessarily call that outlook pessimistic either. The Kings and Sharks are good, much like Pittsburgh, but are currently not affected by injuries to the same degree in which the Penguins are. That easily gives each team a one up over the Pens, so really coming out of this west coast trip 2-1 is, as far as I'm concerned, a success.

3-1 after the trip to Boston on Tuesday would be even better, but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.

On Thursday night the Sharks watched their six-game win streak come to an end in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Red Wings. However, they still haven't lost a game in regulation since the Lightning smacked them around 5-2 back on October 22, so San Jose's point streak is still alive and well. It's no surprise then that San Jose sits atop the Pacific with 24 pts (11-4-2) and are serious contenders with Colorado for the #1 spot in the West.

Unfortunately for Pittsburgh this isn't the first round of the playoffs. In other words, San Jose is still a viable threat. Look no further than the top three for San Jose: Patrick Marleau (11g, 11a), Joe Thornton (4g, 17a) and offseason drama queen Dany Heatley (10g, 8a). And just for the record, Devon Setoguchi and his seven goals should not be taken lightly either. Evgeni Nabokov is once again a force between the pipes, holding down a 10-3-2 record that ties him with Marc-Andre Fleury and LA's Jonathan Quick for second most wins by a goaltender (Colorado's Craig Anderson is first with 11).

Again, this game does not end the road trip, although it will send the Pens back east to wrap up the fourth of four on the road against the Bruins Tuesday night. I'd imagine a stopover in Pittsburgh is on the agenda, but I'm no team secretary so I can hardly confirm that.

Puck and thread drop at 10:35. Come by and hang out for the night.

Checking up on the kiddos: Part 2 (Defensemen and Goalies)

2009-11-06T18:13:56Z

Yesterday we took a look at the forward prospects of the Pittsburgh Penguins and how they're fairing in far flung placs and leagues from colleges to junior teams to lower level professional leagues. Today it's time to turn our attention to the goalie and defensemen and how the early part of their season is going in their quest to make it to the NHL.

Goaltenders

John Curry [undrafted] - Curry is now in his third season with the Baby Pens and so far he's putting up personal highs in save percentage and goals against. While it must have been disappointing to see Pittsburgh go out and sign a veteran in Brent Johnson, Curry's been nothing but solid and reliable whenever he's been called on. Johnson only has a contract for this season, so perhaps this season will be Curry's last at the AHL level.

John Curry	Lge	GP	MIN	W	L	OTL	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton	AHL	8	490	5	2	1	18	2.20	242	224	.926	1

Patrick Killeen [6th round pick, 2008] - Killeen has been the workhorse for Brampton (playing in 15 of the 16 games so far). The team is in last place in their division, but that's probably because they are last in the entire OHL in goals scored. Killeen's not getting much support, but it seems he's doing a decent job keeping them in games.

Patrick Killeen	Lge	GP	MIN	W	L	T/OTL	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
Brampton Battalion	OHL	15	913	6	7	2	44	2.89	431	387	.898	0

The rest of the prospects after the jump..

Alexander Pechurski [5th round pick, 2008] - All the stat lines I've seen have suprisingly shown Pechurski appearing in 0 games for the KHL leading team, Magnitogorsk Metallurg (Evgeni Malkin's old team). However he is just 19 playing in a top league like the KHL (where Sergei Fedorov is among his teammates) so he has to at least be practicing with the team, right?

Alexander Pechurski	Lge	GP	MIN	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
Magnitogorsk Metallurg	KHL	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-

Brad Thiessen [undrafted] - Thiessen has been brought along slowly as he transitions to the professional game. He's appeared in just two games this season with Wilkes-Barre, in part due to how well Curry's played.

Brad Thiessen	Lge	GP	MIN	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton	AHL	2	121	0	2	0	5	2.48	56	51	.911	0

Defensemen

Robert Bortuzzo [3rd round pick, 2007] - One of the surprising stories from training camp was the strong play of Bortuzzo. By all accounts he's continued to play well in his rookie season, highlighted by getting sucker-punched by AHL tough guy Trevor Gillies. Welcome to the pros, kid.

Robert Botuzzo	Lge	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	PCT
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton	AHL	9	0	1	1	-1	19	0	0	0	11	0.0

Simon Despres [1st round pick, 2009] - St. John is currently the top team in "the Q", riding a current nine game winning streak. Despres' been a big part of that. Despres told Pensburgh at the draft he wanted to shoot more and become more of an offensive force and he's got 5 goals this young season already. Compare that to the three goals he scored in his first 130 games in the Q and the strides are noticable.

Simon Despres	Lge	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	PCT
Saint John Sea Dogs	QMJHL	17	5	6	11	4	30	4	1	2	46	10.86

Alex Grant [4th round pick, 2007] - Grant, along with Joey Haddad was a recent healthy scratch in order to get his mind right for the professional game. The Penguins organization is fairly deep defensively so Grant is going to need to get it together, and quickly, if he wants to be a part of it for the future.

Alex Grant	Lge	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	PCT
Wheeling	ECHL	8	2	1	3	+1	6	-	-	-	-	-

Ben Lovejoy [undrafted] - Lovejoy had a rough training camp, possibly because he had a shoulder injury that knocked him out of about the first month of the season. Now he's back and back in the AHL, probably waiting for an injury before he gets a chance back in the NHL.

Ben Lovejoy	Lge	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	PCT
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton	AHL	5	1	1	2	1	4	0	0	0	19	5.6

Philip Samuelsson [2nd round pick, 2009] - Samuelsson is of course the son of former Penguin bad boy (and fan favorite) Ulf Samuelsson. Young Philip is playing at Boston College and has jumped right onto their blueline.

Philip Samuelsson	Lge	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	PCT
Boston College	HE	4	0	1	1	+1	2	-	-	-	1	0.00

Carl Sneep [2nd round pick, 2006] - Sneep is now a senior at BC, a teammate to Samuelsson and a leader of that team. Though he's got a lot of college experience, Sneep is only now about to turn 22, which means he will join the professional ranks as a seasoned but still somewhat young player.

Carl Sneep	Lge	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	PCT
Boston College	HE	4	1	2	3	+2	2	-	-	-	9	11.11

Brian Strait [3rd round pick, 2006] - Strait was set to be the captain of the defending national champion BU Terriers before he jumped to the pros by signing with Pittsburgh. Strait's role is the steady partner, and by all accounts he's had a geat start to his rookie year, leading WB/S defensemen in plus/minus.

Brian Strait	Lge	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	PCT
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton	AHL	10	0	2	2	4	6	-	-	-	5	0.00

Alex Velischek [5th round pick, 2009] - Velischek has hit the ground running for the Friars, he's second on the team in assists and plus/minus.

Alex Velischek	Lge	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	PCT
Providence College	HE	7	0	4	4	+5	14	-	-	-	7	0.00

Detective work: Is Sidney Crosby hurt too?

2009-11-06T13:15:39Z

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

9 days ago: Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby (87) gets his third goal of the game when the puck slides under the pad of Montreal Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak of Slovakia, in the second period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. The Penguins won 6-1. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Browse more photos »

Short answer: at one time yes, no and maybe.

Jonathan Bombulie, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton beat writer, posted something interesting in his blog that has flown under the radar. Remember last week when the Penguins called up Mark Letestu when they called up Chris Conner, right after it was released that Evgeni Malkin and Tyler Kennedy were hurt? Letestu spent a short time with the NHL but then he was promptly (and unceremoniously) sent back to the AHL about one day after being officially recalled.

Here's how Bombulie answered the question of "why" to the whole series of events [emphasis mine]:

First, [Letestu] was scheduled to fly with Chris Conner out of Winnipeg on Thursday but there was only one seat left on the plane, so Letestu had to fly out Friday morning. Second, the reason for Letestu's call-up was an injury involving Sidney Crosby, whose availability Friday in Columbus was in question right up to pre-game warm-ups. Crosby was fine, so Letestu was scratched and eventually headed to Toronto to meet his WBS teammates on Sunday.

Playing less than 100% is nothing new to Crosby -- he went the stretch run of the 2006-07 season (including the playoffs) while playing on a broken foot that wasn't disclosed until the Ottawa Senators eliminated the Penguins. In 2007-08 Crosby wasn't at full strength after a high ankle sprain in January bugged him throughout the course of that season. Then last year in 2008-09, he battled through various minor groin and knee injuries early in the season.

After the Letestu call-up, Crosby got two assists in the game against Columbus. However, if the Pens felt they needed Letestu due to Crosby's status on Thursday Oct 29th, he obviously didn't feel right before that point.

On Wednesday the 28th, Sid recorded a hat trick against the Montreal Canadiens, taking no unusual or memorable incidents that may have caused an injury. The Columbus game, where he was in question, he got two assists. However, in the three games since that time, Sid has zero points. Additionally, he has nine total shots on goal in the past four games, whereas he recorded a personal season high of nine shots in the Montreal game.

Much like Malkin didn't seem himself before the team pulled the plug on him, Crosby hasn't really "seemed himself" either these past few games. While he still seems to have good speed and acceleration, aspects of his game -- such as just seven assists in 15 games this season -- is low. Throw out that Montreal hat-trick and he only has two goals in the past ten games, also not usual production.

At the same time, the coaches and trainers advised Malkin to take a couple weeks off to get to 100%. If Crosby were actually injured, it's hard not to imagine that they would do the exact same for the other face of the franchise in #87. The timing would be terrible, there's no doubt Pittsburgh would struggle even more without Crosby and Malkin, but it's only October and now November. Stanley Cups and long playoff runs aren't made this time of year. Keeping your best players fresh and looking out for their long term best interests are more important.

If you were wondering, Crosby felt fine enough (or was so uptight about being taken into the boards awkardly) that he fought Minnesota's Marek Zidlicky on Saturday Oct 31, a couple days after his status was in question.

So is Sidney Crosby injured? Maybe, but obviously not badly enough to miss time. Crosby is a fierce competitor, and like Malkin he probably wouldn't voluntarily sit out for a minor nagging injury. But there's no reason to play him this time of year, if he's uncapable. One thing is for sure, Pittsburgh brass felt enough uncertainty to leave an option open with Mark Letestu. Enough uncertainty to pull Letestu on a cross-continent flight away from a team that could have used him, too.

Where there's smoke, there's not always fire; but this is worth watching, especially given Crosby's recent drought from the scoresheet. Perhaps this was an isolated incident that has long passed. But at this point, you never know. The only thing for sure is that Crosby is still in the lineup. Also, Pittsburgh demoted Letestu and with Kennedy's problems, they only currently have 12 forwards (including Crosby), which would seem to indicate there's no question on Crosby's availability.

There's hasn't been much reported on this, and a guy like Sidney Crosby doesn't often avoid the media microscope, which leads one to believe any possible injury probably isn't as serious as this detective work.

King Anze and Los Angeles take down Pittsburgh 5-2

2009-11-06T06:47:01Z

More photos » by Gus Ruelas - AP

1 day ago: Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar (11), of Slovenia, and Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick (32) keep Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Bill Guerin (13) from scoring during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Gus Ruelas)

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Penguins vs Kings coverage - Penguins vs Kings boxscore

Coming into the game, the Los Angeles Kings were a buzzsaw. 5-0-2 in their last seven; and after tonight they've scored 5+ goals in five of the last seven games. They showed why, with superior zone time, cycling, shots on goal. Usually all the aspects the Penguins outmatch others, that's what LA did to them tonight, and they pulled away late in the third period to get a deserving result, a 5-2 victory.

Right off the bat in the first period, the Kings collected a puck in their zone and rushed it up the ice, Justin Williams crissed, Anze Kopitar crossed and Kris Letang was somewhere in the middle. That's not a good equation. Kopitar showed the skill that's why he's currently the league's leading scorer when he stepped up, smoothly went to the backhand and beat Marc-Andre Fleury cleanly for a goal.

The next shift the Penguins put Jordan Staal out with Chris Conner and Matt Cooke. On a breakout Jay McKee (of all people) ended up driving towards the net. Conner dropped the puck to Staal who slapped it to the net. It found paydirt 1-1.

The very fact a defensive defenseman like McKee finds himself in the position to be a little ahead of the play and ends up driving to the net just shows how much the entire team has bought into the system that Dan Bylsma wants them to play. When Jay McKee is your lead force center driving the net and a guy like Jordan Staal knows to pull up, everyone's clicking, everyone's on the same page. In a nutshell that's why Pittsburgh's had so much success since Bylsma took over.

In the second period Brooks Orpik took a shot that Chris Kunitz and Sidney Crosby waived their sticks at. Kunitz got a piece and it was enough to beat Jonathan Quick. IT was 2-1 Pens after two, despite being out-shot and generally out-played they took a lead into the second intermission. It wouldn't last though.

In the third Kopitar would tie it. He beat Crosby on a faceoff and found Williams for a shot. The shot found Kopitar behind the net (as the puck always seems to find the good ones) and he popped out for the easy stuff in to tie the game at 2.

Following a real sloppy power-play by the Pens (what else is new recently), Dustin Brown made a great pass to Jarret Stoll and he buried it. 3-2 Kings. The very next shift the Kings kept the pressure up, Craig Adams was no match for Alexander Frolov and he fired a pass out that bounced around and Michal Handzus got the goal, with Wayne Simmonds right there to get it too. 4-2 Kings just like that.

And in the "piling it on" folder, the Kings got zone time, they cycled well and drew a penalty. With the extra man they got some great passes, caught the Pens running around and Stoll made a great pass to Dustin Brown for an easy slam dunker. 5-2 Kings.

The goalies really settled down after two goalies in the first 1:10 of gameplay, for a while at least. Fleury stopped the next 24 shots, and the only way the Pens beat Quick was a deflection out front. MAF got victimized in a flurry in the 3rd, but let's absolve him because the Kings applied a lot of pressure and outworked a lot of Pittsburgh players to get their goals.
It's not even that Kopitar scored his two goals: the way he did it was almost effortless and very skillful. If he played in the eastern time zone he'd be one of the most hyped players in the game. He's definitely one of those guys like a Rick Nash or Ilya Kovalchuk that is worth watching any chance you get. A supremely talented player and Kopitar put on one of the best performances tonight that I've seen all season.
It should be noted that Kris Letang played 24:49, and though Kopitar made him look foolish twice, he escaped with an even plus/minus rating. Fellow youngster Alex Goligoski logged 21:32 of ice-time and was a +1.
Not to say the usually solid four more defensive defenseman (Jay McKee, Brooks Orpik, Martin Skoula and Mark Eaton) deserve all the blame; but that foursome combined to have a plus/minus rating of -7 (all were negatives except McKee). Pittsburgh's not going to win many games under those circumstances, especially with the power-play not clicking.
Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin combined for 10 of the Pens total of 23 shots on goal. Guerin got a couple wonderful feeds but couldn't convert (including one that hit Quick's pad and then the post). Can't knock those two for a lack of effort, but the results generally just haven't paid dividends.
Matt Cooke, Pascal Dupuis and Ruslan Fedotenko -- three veteran wingers all relied on for contributions didn't fare as well. That trio combined for almost 47 minutes of ice-time but only got one shot on goal (Fedotenko's) and weren't dangerous. They were flat out overmatched by their counter-parts in guys like Stoll, Brown and Frolov.
Tough night for Craig Adams too. While he registered a game high 8 hits (including one on Matt Greene that dislodged the glass), Adams was a -3 and lost 9 of 12 faceoffs.
As far as diminutive forwards with the first name of Chris go: Conner > Bourque. Maybe it's because Conner's two years older, maybe it's because he's got 54 more NHL games, but whatever the reason, Conner seems more poised, a better skater and makes better decisions with the puck.

Overall, no excuses, the Kings worked very hard, played a superior game, got some solid goaltending and deserved the win. They displayed all the usual tenets of Pittsburgh Penguins hockey, but did so with better skill and execution from top to bottom. One can't help but wonder what the outcome would have been if Pittsburgh was fortunate enough to have their four key injured players (Malkin, Gonchar, Kennedy, Talbot) but let that take nothing away from the display LA put on. Sure would be nice to see a seven game series between these two teams, but that is a long ways away.

Pittsburgh's franchise best of seven straight road wins to open a season is now history, but they still have a big chance to have a winning west coast road trip if they get the result in San Jose on Saturday. The Sharks are no easy task, so time to put this one behind us and move north in California to see what can happen.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Los Angeles Kings [Open Thread]

2009-11-06T03:11:00Z

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS vs. LOS ANGELES KINGS

IN ANAHEIM @ 10:30pm ET

RADIO FEED ON WXDX.com

PSEUDO-KINGS BLOG: BATTLE OF CALIFORNIA, FROZEN ROYALTY

Checking up on the kiddos: Penguins Prospect update

2009-11-05T19:17:25Z

A couple weeks into the season, now's as good a time as any to check up on how the Penguins of tomorrow are doing. This is a feature I like to do from time to time, so let's see how the young bucks are doing. Today we'll look at the forwards, and tomorrow will be time for the defensemen and the goalies.

Andy Bathgate [5th round pick, 2009] - the famous namesake of his grandfather is in his second full year in the OHL, playing on a bottom dwelling Belleville team. So far it's been rough.

Andy Bathgate	Lge	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	PCT
Belleville Bulls	OHL	19	1	6	7	-12	4	-	-	-	-	-

Luca Caputi [4th round pick, 2007]- Caputi, a big time prospect for almost three seasons now, continues to grow in Wilkes-Barre. He's second on the team in goals, and third in penalty minutes. That's what you want out of a power forward, isn't it?

Luca Caputi	Lge	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	PCT
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton	AHL	10	4	2	6	-2	23	2	-	-	31	12.9

The rest of the young forwards after the jump..

Joey Haddad [Undrafted] - Haddad, though putting up decent stats, got an attitude adjustment from the Wheeling coach by making him a healthy scratch. This is his first year as a professional and often times players have to adapt to giving their top effort every single night. Hopefully Haddad gets the message so he can stay on the prospect watch.

Joey Haddad	Lge	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	PCT
Wheeling	ECHL	8	3	4	7	-3	14	-	-	-	10	0.0

Dustin Jeffrey [6th round pick 2007] - Jeffrey's now the leading scorer for the Baby Pens. At the AHL level he's proving to be a solid playmaker. Last year he got 14 games in the NHL, and he seems to be a good candidate for another call-up if needed. Until then he's continuing to grow and develop in the A.

Dustin Jeffrey	Lge	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	PCT
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton	AHL	10	1	7	8	+2	4	-	1	-	24	4.16

Nick Johnson [3rd round pick, 2004] - Johnson impressed in training camp and was among the final cuts to be made, drawing comparisons to another big forward who went the college route, Ryan Malone. But it's been a tough start to the season for Johnson, who hasn't gotten much point production. Johnson had a nagging ankle problem, which may have limited what he can do.

Nick Johnson	Lge	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	PCT
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton	AHL	10	1	0	1	even	21	1	-	-	13	7.69

Ben Hanowski [3rd round pick, 2009] - Hanowski's a natural goal scorer, setting marks all-time in Minnesota. So far it seems he is off to a decent start as a true freshman at St. Cloud State. College hockey is often played by guys 21-24 years old, a few years older than traditional college students, so nice to see the only 1990 born skater on his team starting off well.

Ben Hanowski	Lge	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	PCT
St. Cloud State	WCHA	8	2	1	3	-	5	-	-	-	-	-

Mark Letestu [undrafted] - A previously unmentioned minor injury to Sidney Crosby was the reason Letestu spent a day as a Pittsburgh Penguin (though he didn't play). Letestu missed the beginning of the season recovering from a shoulder surgery but is back as one of the most dynamic players at the AHL level. He's 24 years old, no spring chicken, so it'll be interesting to see if Letestu can get a chance at the NHL at some point this season, and whether or not he can capitialize on that shot.

Mark Letestu	Lge	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	PCT
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton	AHL	5	2	3	5	+4	0	-	-	-	15	13.33

Nathan Moon [4th round pick, 2008] - As an over-ager, Moon should be having a solid year in the OHL. It started out rough with just 5 points in 11 games, production that is not going to turn many heads for a guy still looking for score a professional contract with the Penguins. Moon's rebounded lately though and may have turned it around, given where his statline is at now.

Nathan Moon	Lge	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	PCT
Kingston Frontenacs	OHL	19	9	11	20	+1	24	-	-	-	-	-

Nick Petersen [4th round pick, 2009] - Petersen is off to a great start in the high flying Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He's missed eight games but is still second on his team in goals and first in plus/minus. The Sea Dogs are one of the finest teams in Juniors, and Petersen is amongst the oldest players, and based off the start, they both ought to have a great seasons.

Nick Petersen	Lge	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	PCT
Saint John Sea Dogs	QMJHL	14	9	8	17	+17	24	-	-	-	-	-

Casey Pierro-Zabotel [3rd round pick, 2007] - A victim of a deep Wilkes-Barre team, CPZ has started the year out in Wheeling. Pierro-Zabotel leads the club in assists early in his first professional season. As injuries and call-ups thin out the AHL ranks, he probably will find himself given a chance at the AHL if he keeps up the good work.

Casey Pierro-Zabotel	Lge	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	PCT
Wheeling	ECHL	9	0	7	7	+1	2	-	-	-	-	-

Eric Tangradi [2rd round pick, 2007 (ANA)] - Tangradi is arguably the #1 prospect of the Penguins, but a shoulder injury derailed his rookie season just a few games in. The good news is that he is close to returning to the lineup to continue to get the necessary introduction to professional hockey so that hopefully he'll be better for it in the long run.

Eric Tangradi	Lge	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	PCT
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton	AHL	3	0	1	1	even	0	-	-	-	3	0.00

Keven Veilleux [3rd round pick, 2004] - Veilleux, like Tangradi, has only gotten into a handful of games due to an injury (hip for him). The sizable Veilleux has impressed with his pure skill but, also as advertised, has been almost invisible at times on the ice.

Keven Veilleux	Lge	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	PCT
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton	AHL	4	1	0	1	-1	2	-	-	-	6	16.67

Joe Vitale [7th round pick, 2005] - Vitale's one of those players that's like fingernails on a chalkboard to his opponents, and he's gotten under the skin of the opposition a time or two in his first ten games.

Joe Vitale	Lge	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	PCT
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton	AHL	10	0	2	2	even	28	-	-	-	17	0.00

SBN Power Rankings - Penguins 1st in East, 1st overall

2009-11-05T17:35:26Z

SBN Power Rankings - Penguins 1st in East, 1st overall

Like I said on the rankings page, atop the rankings while fighting through games without Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar and Tyler Kennedy is a scary thought.

Let's take a look at the Los Angeles Kings

2009-11-05T12:15:12Z

More photos » by Danny Moloshok - AP

Apparently this is how the Kings enter the ice. I get it.

Browse more photos »

SBN Cali blog - Battle of California

Frozen Royalty

Game two of Pittsburgh's west coast road trip brings them to the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Kahleefawnya for yet another late game (for most of us at least).

The 9-4-2 Kings are off to a surprisingly good start - good enough to pin them at fourth in the West and just three points behind San Jose in the Pacific.

And hey, just one game after Sidney Crosby did his best Rob Scuderi impression the Pens now go up against the man, myth and legend himself. Of course, Scuds did find himself in an interesting situation a little over a week ago when he landed a textbook hipcheck on Columbus's Jason Chimera. If you look at the hit for yourself (video link), you'll see that it's not so much a dirty hit as it is just a perfect display of what has always been a hit style surrounded by controversy. Was it low? Did he take out the knees? It doesn't really matter at this point. We all know Scuderi from his years in Pittsburgh and no one would say the guy is a goon. Nonetheless, Chimera would be fine and Scuderi would be fined. No suspension.

Jonathan Quick is the guy you'll see in net for the Kings. He's been in net for all Kings games, except one loss, (quick math: making him 9-3-2) and is 3-0-2 in his last five. This might be worth keeping on file: In LA's two shootouts (SJ on 10/28, Van on 10/29) Quick has yet to come up with a W. Compare that to Fleury and Johnson, each 2-0 in the shootout this season.

Other names you want to keep an eye on: NHL point-leader Anze Kopitar (11g, 13a), Ryan Smith (8g, 9a), Dustin Brown (4g, 9a) and Drew Doughty (3g, 10a).

Last season the Pens beat the Kings 4-1 in the only regular season matchup between the two.

Puck and thread drop at 10:30. Be there.

Powerless play

2009-11-04T17:32:41Z

More photos » by Gus Ruelas - AP

Despite winning four out of the past six games without the power-play quarterback Sergei Gonchar, the Penguins haven't been doing much celebrating on the man advantage.

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Last season the Pittsburgh Penguins struggled without Sergei Gonchar. The power-play didn't click and the Pens floated down to the pack of the Eastern Conference standings. So far this season, in six games the Penguins have done a decent job pulling out wins (4-2 sans Sarge) but the power-play has struggled.

Let's take a look at just how brutal it's been. If you have a weak stomach you might want to skip this out, especially at the part when Evgeni Malkin went down. It's not for the feint of heart. Consider yourself warned.

Game	PP	Notes
vs. Florida (Oct 23)	1 for 6	Sidney Crosby scored the goal (assists to Alex Goligoski and Malkin). Crosby would also score a short-handed goal in this contest.

vs. NJ Devils (Oct 24)	0 for 3	Five shots on goal, but Martin Brodeur was up to the task and shut the power-play down.

vs. Montreal (Oct 28)	2 for 5	PP started out 0 for 3, but then scored two 3rd period goals (one by Evgeni Malkin, one from Chris Kunitz on that breakaway) once the Pens already had a 4-1 lead in the game. So even though they did score two goals, they weren't very important goals.

at Columbus (Oct 30)	0 for 5	Four shots on goal. Believe it or not the Penguins registered five shots on goal while killing penalties. Kunitz also scored a SHG.

vs Minnesota (Oct 31)	0 for 3	Just three shots on goal in this game. Goalie Nicklas Backstrom was tremendous in this contest and Pittsburgh wasn't able to beat him.

at Anaheim (Nov 3)	0 for 6	Only registered five shots on goal, despite having four complete power-plays in the first period, the Pens couldn't strike pay dirt.

Alert readers will note that the PIttsburgh power-play has narrowly outscored Pittsburgh's penalty-killing unit by a mark of 3 to 2. Also, though it hasn't been pretty, at least the Pens haven't given up any goals while they have the man advantage. Sure, it may be a little much to say "at least the opponents aren't scoring when we have the power-play" but given how disjointed and frustrating the PP has been, perhaps it's important to remember that it could be worse.

Kudos to The Pensblog who pointed out that Evgeni Malkin has missed the past three games and then Pens have laid an 0 for 14 egg without Geno. Malkin and Gonchar combine to lead roughly 90% of Pittsburgh's rushes in the crucial early stages of getting the puck in the zone and getting personnel setup. Lose one and you can cover with the other, but when both are gone obviously it's going to be tough.

Dan Bylsma has so far been loyal to keeping Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin on the first power-play unit with Crosby and defensemen Alex Goligoski and Kris Letang. That five-man unit probably has more turnovers and mis-plays than shots on goal and certainly scoring chances.

Worth switching up? Tyler Kennedy's shown his customary jump in his return to injury, and he's never afraid to shoot the puck. Jordan Staal could use his size and frame down low to work the puck more effectively. Heck, even a guy like Mike Rupp has shown his noted goal scoring ability and could stand in front of the net to help the defense's shots.

With Malkin on the shelf for at least 1-2 more weeks and Gonchar's return further out than that, Pittsburgh is going to have to find a way to convert on the power-play if they want to keep leading the league in points.

Sidney Crosby's Rob Scuderi-like save

2009-11-04T16:18:02Z

All credit and thanks to Damian over at PensUniverse for sending this our way

By now Rob Scuderi's goaltending abilities are a part of Pittsburgh Penguins lore that will forever be hailed as the stuff legends are made of. Who can forget his incredible work that came at such an important time in Pittsburgh's Stanley Cup run?

That is why whenever a player in the black and gold drops down to block a shot near the crease you will forever hear whispers of "Rob Scuderi," whether watching or listening to the game.

Last night the Pens pulled out a sloppy win. It wasn't picture perfect but it all looks the same on the scoresheet. Slap another one in the 'W' column, and a timely one at that as the Pens try to keep their unbeaten record on the road intact.

At times last night Marc-Andre Fleury was caught out of position. Not his fault entirely, although it's pretty common around Pensburgh threads for readers to beg him to "stay in the net!" In one instance where MAF went to play the puck but was caught out of position on a redirect, Jordan Staal came up big on a defensive play that literally robbed Anaheim of what appeared to be a definite goal. Pic of that one is available up on Pens Universe as well (second one down).

And then, later in the game, Crosby steps up and makes that ridiculous pad-stacking save to keep the Pens in it long enough to simply hold off the Anaheim attack.

This is the sort of team the Pens have this year. An all or nothing, do or die attitude that has no doubt carried over from last year's run, on through the offseason and right up until this point. I don't see it stopping anytime soon, as it would appear this team is fully prepared and knows how to get it done even with big names like Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar on the shelf.

To other teams trying to get past the Pens - good luck beating three or more goaltenders.

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Puck Report interview with former Penguin Markus Naslund

2009-11-04T15:54:08Z

Puck Report interview with former Penguin Markus Naslund

Former Pen and longtime Canuck discusses everything from growing up into hockey, playing in the NHL and his plans for retirement. Good read.

Quack Quack: Pens outlast Conway, Banks, Goldberg and Ducks 4-3

2009-11-04T06:09:02Z

More photos » by Gus Ruelas - AP

3 days ago: Anaheim Ducks right wing Corey Perry, center, is stripped of the puck by Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Jay McKee, right, right wing Bill Guerin (13) during the second period of a NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Gus Ruelas)

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Penguins vs Ducks coverage - SB Nation blog Anaheim Calling

It was a matchup of two of the past three Stanley Cup champions, and it didn't disappoint. Highlighted by a total of three total goals in 1:13 of game-play towards the middle of the third period, two of them scored by Pittsburgh, which proved to be enough to take a win away from Anaheim.

Kris Letang with a rough series leading up to the game's opening goal....First a bad clearing attempt from behind his net around the wall (where he had no friendly jerseys in sight) led to a turnover. Then as the puck got to the front of the net; Letang froze hand-cuffed, unable to make a split second decision on whether to help a teammate try to neutralize Corey Perry.

Look at these absurd totals for the Penguins top power-play unit for total ice-time in the first period: 9:22 Crosby, 7:55 Guerin, 7:54 Kunitz, 9:13 Goligoski, 9:17 Letang. But when you spend 40% of the period on the PP that happens....On the other hand, 2:39 Selanne, 3:58 Getzlaf -- those guys don't kill penalties so they barely got to get in the rythym of the game with those first period minutes.

Mike Rupp got the Pens even when he ripped a nice shot by Jonas Hiller. Credit Tyler Kennedy for rushing the puck up and the nice dish for the goal.

Letang would make up for his gaffe in the second period. He took a stick to the choppers but stayed in the game. Later, on a delayed penalty against Anaheim, Letang cut to the middle of the rink and put a hard shot on goal that "had eyes" to avoid the bodies in front and hit the back of the net.

It was nice to see Letang show some authority. Perhaps he too was tired of seeing Goligoski and Crosby pass the puck to one another?

Corey Perry would strike again pounding home a rebound to make it 2-2 by the end of the 2nd period.

Then the flurry of three goals in 1:13 of gameplay:

First a total team effort by Pittsburgh; Dan Bylsma re-united "the third line" of Matt Cooke - Jordan Staal - Kennedy and they cycled well on this shift. Credit Jay McKee with a nice hold in before Staal found a diving TK who poked the puck back to Goligoski. With Cooke right in Hiller's field of vision Goose made no mistakes driving the puck to the back of the net.
Anaheim bounced back on the next shift with some zone time of their own. In my recollection, this was truly the first "soft" goal of the season allowed by Marc-Andre Fleury, he wasn't tight enough to the post and Saku Koivu popped out from behind the net and squeezed a shot by him. Tie game 3-3.
Undeterred, Pittsburgh left the same exact five man unit on the ice (Pascal Dupuis - Craig Adams - Mike Rupp with Letang and Brooks Orpik) while Anaheim elected to change. The Pens got in the zone and moved the puck all around the blueline. Eventually the defense found Dupuis who ripped a hard slapper for the game winner.

That would be the last goal, but certainly not the last of the action. Both teams continued to press but nothing went in. Sidney Crosby, who didn't factor into the offense, made a terrific defensive play by DIVING into an abandoned net (Fleury was out of the crease, lunging for the puck). The shot came but Crosby went all Rob Scuderi on the Ducks, saving the goal.

Hate to say it but overall it was a tough night for the runaway winner for Pensburgh player of the month Alex Goligoski. Goose, who's been sensational this season, had his first "off" night. In addition to not converting much on the PP early, he had a wide open net in the 2nd (just prior to Rupp's goal) and misfired. Goligoski also couldn't tie up or stop Perry from scoring Anaheim's second goal. Everyone's entitled to a bad day now and then, hopefully Gogo brushes it off and moves forward.
Still, Goligoski did score an important goal and no defenseman in the league has more, so perhaps that's a little rough on his performance. More experience for him to draw on and be a better player in the long-run, that's for sure.
On a night where neither Jordan Staal nor Sidney Crosby were forces offensively, both saved sure goals at point blank range. When your best offensive players are your best defensive players that's a good sign. Those two also won 54.8 of their combined faceoffs.
Thumbs down to the official Anaheim scorer who only awarded Brooks Orpik one hit (in the last minute of the game). No way #44 didn't record a hit when he plastered Koivu and Joffrey Lupul in plays that stand out in my mind. Overall hits were officially 26-21 in favor of Anaheim, which may have been about right, but come on man.
Power-play was power-less tonight going a dreadful 0 for 7. The last PP was only 1 second at the end of the game, so it was really a true 0 for 6. But still it was bad. Guys like Guerin and Kunitz racked up PP minutes and didn't do much to justify it. Will there be a change in philosophy to get guys like Kennedy and Staal more time? The question deserves to be asked.
Guerin, in particular, didn't have a game to remember in number 1200 of his NHL career. He was -2, nicked with 4 giveaways and didn't have any real scoring chances, despite piling up the time on the man advantage early.
Tyler Kennedy, on the other hand, was my player of the game. In his first game back from injury he only got 13:18 of playing time but still had a tied for team high three shots (and a team high seven attempted shots), he got 2 assists, was a game high +3 and had 3 blocked shots. He's a whirling blur of activity and was excellent tonight, providing a badly needed spark for his team.
In case you were wondering, our old friend Ryan Whitney played a game high 28:37, though it wasn't very eventful. Whitney's among the league leaders in ice-time this season, so it's nice to see he has seemingly recovered from his feet problems enough to play a lot.

At day's end, a tremendous team effort lead Kennedy and Letang. As they've done for quite some while, the Pens found a way to get offense with unlikely players in Rupp and Dupuis coming through with goals. Fleury didn't have his best night, but he flashed his glove late to make a game saving effort. When you're on the road, it's about finding a way to win. Pittsburgh did tonight, and now are among the best in the history of the league (also with the New Jersey Devils) by extending their mark to 7-0-0 on the road.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Anaheim Ducks [Open Thread]

2009-11-04T03:00:31Z

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS vs. ANAHEIM DUCKS

IN ANAHEIM @ 10:05pm ET

RADIO FEED ON WXDX.com

DUCKS BLOG: ANAHEIM CALLING

This is the first of three on the west coast swing, and well give us a look at Chris Kunitz versus Ryan Whitney. This is their first match up against their ex-teams since last year's trade, and is a fun match up I'm looking at late tonight.

Hide your Adam Banks shirts for now, and let's go Pens!

Road to recovery: How the Pens injury situation is looking

2009-11-03T16:48:10Z

Four regular Penguins are on the shelf: the #1 defenseman, last year's leading scorer, the Game 7 Stanley Cup champion hero and the leading goal scorer in 2009-10 when he was hurt. With such significant contributors down, the thirst for knowledge in their path back to the lineup. Here's an update on the injured players, since there's been some developments lately.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Tyler Kennedy	11	5	1	6	5	4	0	0	3	0	38	13.2

(Undisclosed injury, has missed last three games)
--Kennedy is the closest of anyone on the injury path to returning, possibly as soon as tonight. The team has been pretty good about disclosing specific injuries but has used the vague "day-to-day" and "undisclosed" terms for TK. But he's skated the past couple of days in practice, including a good skate yesterday, and head coach Dan Bylsma said the chances were "pretty good" that Kennedy will be back as soon as tonight against Anaheim.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Evgeni Malkin	12	4	10	14	1	18	3	0	1	0	45	8.9

(Shoulder strain, has missed last two games, said to be out another 2 weeks, give or take)
--Malkin, who's absence from the lineup was the team's choice and stressed as protective, is on the California road-trip with the team. He's taken to the ice without skates, and seems to be in good spirits. Malkin was announced as out for 2-3 weeks almost one week ago, so you do the math. He ought to be back soon, but it's not in the immediate future.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Sergei Gonchar	9	2	6	8	-2	4	1	0	1	0	21	9.5

(broken bone in wrist on October 20th, has missed last five games)
--Gonchar has been able to keep skating to maintain his cardiovascular shape, and his wrist is improving as his involvement in practice has now advanced to "holding his stick with both hands and taking a few light shots". The original prognosis was 4-6 weeks, and you can't rush a bone healing, so Gonchar's return is still a few weeks out.

Maxime Talbot

#25 / Center / Pittsburgh Penguins

Height: 5-11

Weight: 190

Born: Feb 11, 1984

(off-season shoulder surgery, has missed entire season)
--Talbot took steps to return from his shoulder surgery before suffering an "unrelated" foot injury last week and has not resumed skating. However, Talbot is travelling with the team and may begin skating again soon on the trip. He's still probably the furthest away from any of the injured players. The window for Talbot's return has always been late-November or early December and that still seems to be the case.

Let's take a look at the Anaheim Ducks

2009-11-03T13:15:24Z

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

Ducks goaltender Jonas HIller

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[SBN Anaheim Ducks blog - Anaheim Calling]

[SBN Battle of California]

Tonight begins Pittsburgh's three-game west coast road trip which includes stops in Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose. Might I suggest taking a nap during your lunch break so as to not be tired by the time the puck drops at 10:00.

Currently Anaheim sit at the bottom of the Western Conference with a 4-6-2 record that ties them with Minnesota for last place. But the season's still young as I'm sure you've heard countless times by now. Not to mention the Pens just lost a game to that Minnesota Wild team so hey, rule nothing out.

The Ducks recently cut former Penguin/Marian Hossa trade-bait-offer Erik Christensen from the lineup. From a personal standpoint I always felt Christensen had a lot of untapped potential that he just wasn't backing with substantial amounts of self-confidence. In any case, he now must clear waivers before getting assigned to the minors.

Unlike Christensen, former Pen Ryan Whitney is still a Duck and will be in the lineup tonight. You may remember the deal for Chris Kunitz and Eric Tangradi that sent Whitney packing for Anaheim right before last year's trade deadline. This season, Whit scored a goal in the first game against San Jose but has since been held scoreless in 11 straight, adding only six assists to his seven point total.

Jonas Hiller has been getting a majority of the work between the pipes for Anaheim, starting nine of the team's 12 games this season and posting a 4-4-1 record along the way. J.S. Giguere is on his way back from a groin injury, but it's doubtful he'll see any action tonight.

The Ducks will also be without defenseman James Wisniewski as he serves a two-game suspension for his forearm hit on Phoenix's Shane Doan Saturday night. Video of the hit up on Anaheim Calling.

Other Ducks to keep an eye on: Team point-leader Corey Perry (8g, 7a), Ryan Getzlaf (1g, 10a) and Scott Niedermayer (1g, 7a). Former Duck-turned-Flyer-turned-Duck-again Joffrey Lupul is also off to a decent start with 5g and 3a.

Puck and thread drop at 10pm. Join us!

Hey hey, we're getting a face lift tomorrow

2009-11-02T23:19:14Z

Hey hey, we're getting a face lift tomorrow

Just wanted to give you guys and gals a heads up to a new feature/look hitting Pensburgh and all of the other SBN blogs tomorrow morning/afternoon. Don't have much to share on the details of it just yet, but from what I've heard the changes will be noticeable. So, if things seem a bit slow or weird around here for the next 24 hrs, rest assured it will all be cleared up when the new look rolls out.

The NHL's laundry list of injuries

2009-11-02T17:54:18Z

More photos » by Pablo Martinez Monsivais - ASSOCIATED PRESS

Alex Ovechkin left last night's game against Columbus with an undisclosed upper-body injury and is currently listed as day-to-day.

Browse more photos »

Injuries are just part of the game, and no one would know that better than Penguins fans. Last season, before the first regular season game of the year, the Pens were without the likes of Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney. If you recall, all the talk early on was focused on how the Pens would manage without them, what fans could expect from this "new guy" Alex Goligoski and whether or not the team could hold it together long enough to even squeak into the playoffs.

Without going into extreme details, we don't need a reminder on how the season ended.

However, as noted by a few writers around the Pittsburgh media world, this season is off to a similar start. Injuries to Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar and Tyler Kennedy leave the Pens in a position where the coaches are juggling lines yet again.

But Pittsburgh isn't the only team dealing with this problem right now. Atlanta, Boston, Vancouver and recently Washington are just a few other teams hit by the injury bug. Plenty of big names across the league are going down with injuries, some serious, others day-to-day. Before you go naming Mike Rupp as the Maurice Richard Trophy winner of the year, take the jump and see what team's around the league are dealing with. Keep in mind it's a long season and most of these guys are going to be healthy before December.

I'm just going to throw out a few notable injuries across the league, alphabetical for your viewing pleasure. Obviously this isn't a list of everything from a hang nail to a broken bone (or hey, even the flu), but feel free to add on the ones you feel are worth mentioning as well. The list may also include a few guys otherwise listed in the minors (ie, Ben Lovejoy)

Anaheim Ducks Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jean-Sebastien Giguere	groin	10/25/2009

Atlanta Thrashers Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Ron Hainsey	undisclosed	11/01/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Ilya Kovalchuk	foot	10/25/2009
Boris Valabik	ankle	10/07/2009

Boston Bruins Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Milan Lucic	fingers	10/17/2009
Marc Savard	foot	10/21/2009

Buffalo Sabres Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Patrick Kaleta	other-excused	11/01/2009
Toni Lydman	groin	11/01/2009
Paul Gaustad	other-excused	11/01/2009

Calgary Flames Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
John Armstrong	shoulder	09/17/2009

Carolina Hurricanes Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Tim Gleason	other-excused	11/02/2009
Eric Staal	other-excused	11/02/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Michael Ryan	concussion	09/22/2009

Chicago Blackhawks Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jonathan Toews	concussion	10/31/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Marian Hossa	shoulder	09/14/2009
Adam Burish	knee	09/22/2009
Ben Eager	concussion	10/08/2009

Colorado Avalanche Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Peter Budaj	flu	11/02/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Darcy Tucker	concussion	10/23/2009
Ruslan Salei	back	10/09/2009
Matt Hendricks	groin	10/27/2009
Cody McLeod	eye	10/21/2009
Brandon Yip	undisclosed	10/01/2009

Columbus Blue Jackets Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Nikita Filatov	back	11/02/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jan Hejda	knee	10/14/2009
Andrew Murray	shoulder	10/20/2009
Fredrik Modin	knee	09/29/2009

Dallas Stars Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Marty Turco	other-excused	11/01/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jere Lehtinen	other-excused	10/14/2009
Mike Modano	ribs	10/03/2009
Luke Gazdic	shoulder	10/02/2009

Detroit Red Wings Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jonathan Ericsson Brad May	other-excused eye	11/01/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Johan Franzen Valtteri Filppula	knee broken wrist	10/09/2009 10/31/09
Andreas Lilja	concussion	09/14/2009
Cory Emmerton	other-excused	09/28/2009

Player

Injury Type

Injury Date

Johan Franzen

Valtteri Filppula

knee

broken wrist

10/09/2009

10/31/09

Andreas Lilja

concussion

09/14/2009

Cory Emmerton

other-excused

09/28/2009

Edmonton Oilers Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Mike Comrie	other-excused	11/02/2009
Shawn Horcoff	other-excused	11/02/2009
Lubomir Visnovsky	other-excused	11/02/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Steve Staios	concussion	10/11/2009
Sheldon Souray	concussion	10/09/2009
Marc Pouliot	other-excused	09/30/2009
Ryan Stone	knee	10/22/2009

Florida Panthers Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Nick Tarnasky	other-excused	09/26/2009
David Booth	concussion	10/25/2009
Radek Dvorak	knee	10/25/2009

Los Angeles Kings Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Justin Williams	other-excused	11/02/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Alec Martinez	ankle	10/05/2009

Minnesota Wild Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Josh Harding	other-excused	11/01/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Kim Johnsson	other-excused	10/24/2009
Pierre-Marc Bouchard	concussion	10/04/2009

Montreal Canadiens Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Ryan O`Byrne	knee	10/04/2009
Andrei Markov	ankle	10/02/2009

Nashville Predators Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Martin Erat	other-excused	11/01/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jason Arnott	arm	10/18/2009
Jordin Tootoo	hip	10/03/2009

New Jersey Devils Injuries

Questionable

Player

Injury Type

Injury Date

Johnny Oduya

Patirck Elias

other-excused

groin

11/01/2009

10/01/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Paul Martin	arm	10/26/2009
Jay Pandolfo	shoulder	10/26/2009

New York Islanders Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Trent Hunter	pectoral	10/10/2009
Rick DiPietro	knee	eternity
Mark Flood	other-excused	09/30/2009
Jeremy Reich	wrist	09/30/2009

New York Rangers Injuries

No Injuries.

Ottawa Senators Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jason Spezza	back	11/01/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Anton Volchenkov	elbow	10/29/2009

Philadelphia Flyers Injuries

Questionable

Player

Injury Type

Injury Date

Danny Briere

Ryan Parent

groin

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Mike Rathje	other-excused	10/01/2009
Simon Gagne	groin	10/27/2009

Phoenix Coyotes Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Kurt Sauer	other-excused	10/07/2009

Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

Questionable

Player

Injury Type

Injury Date

Tyler Kennedy

Evgeni Malkin

undisclosed

shoulder

11/01/2009

1028/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player

Injury Type

Injury Date

Sergei Gonchar

Max Talbot

wrist

shoulder surgery

10/21/2009

summer 2009

Ben Lovejoy

shoulder

09/29/2009

San Jose Sharks Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Devin Setoguchi	leg	11/02/2009
Ryan Vesce	leg	11/02/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Joe Pavelski	foot	10/05/2009
Torrey Mitchell	knee	09/30/2009

St. Louis Blues Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Carlo Colaiacovo	other-excused	11/01/2009
Andy McDonald	other-excused	11/02/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Alexander Steen	wrist	10/16/2009
T.J. Oshie	appendix	10/24/2009
D.J. King	hand	10/25/2009
Barret Jackman	ankle	10/09/2009

Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries

No Injuries.

Toronto Maple Leafs Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Mike Van Ryn	knee	09/30/2009

Vancouver Canucks Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Roberto Luongo Ryan Johnson	ribs concussion	10/29/09 10/28/2009
Daniel Sedin	foot	10/11/2009
Jannik Hansen	hand	09/30/2009
Kyle Wellwood	toe	10/25/2009
Alexandre Bolduc	shoulder	10/30/2009

Washington Capitals Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Alex Ovechkin	other-excused	11/02/2009
Eric Fehr	ribs	11/02/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
John Erskine	hand	10/15/2009
Boyd Gordon	back	10/13/2009

If you see Jordan

2009-11-02T11:45:13Z

More photos » by Keith Srakocic - AP

6 days ago: Pittsburgh Penguins' Jordan Staal, left, and Minnesota Wild's Shane Hnidy battle along the boards in the third period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009. The Wild won 2-1. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Browse more photos »

When the Penguins announced last week that scoring champion Evgeni Malkin would be out of the lineup for 2-3 weeks with a shoulder strain, it was seen in part as an opportunity for Jordan Staal to step into a larger role. And that's been true: Staal's averaged 23 and a half minutes in the two games that Malkin's been out. So far though zero points and a combined five shots on goal. The Penguins are going to need Staal to take the most of this opportunity to produce points.

Production hasn't always been a priority for the 21 year old. Behind Malkin and Sidney Crosby on the depth chart, the Penguins haven't always asked Staal for that big of a scoring role, as you can tell from some of his linemates. A shift in philosophy may have begun: last year Staal was playing 3:38 short-handed time (and was the only regular forward that played more than 2:40 per game in SH time). This young season Staal is averaging 3:05 SH ice-time on a regular unit, but other forwards have more than him (Matt Cooke - 3:17, Craig Adams - 3:11). It seems like the Pens are trying to shift Staal's minutes away from more of a shutdown to give him a chance to create more offense.

That coach Dan Bylsma was shifting Staal on occasion up to Malkin's line showed the Pens were willing to be flexible and catch some opponents in tough spots by shading Staal up and down the lines at any given time.

Slow starts, it should be pointed out, have been nothing new for Staal: in 2008-09 he had zero goals and three assists in October. The year prior Staal registered just one goal and one assist in October. Perhaps the road-swing will do Staal some good too, for whatever reason he's scored 43 of his career 66 goals (65%) away from Pittsburgh.

His role has gradually been changing, and now is the time the Penguins are leaning on Staal. It'll be interesting to see how he can respond to this opportunity to fill in some of the gaps with Malkin out of the lineup.

Tales of the Tape: Minnesota Wild 10/31/09, Sidney Crosby vs. Marek Zidlicky

2009-11-01T17:37:02Z

Halloween is an odd time of the year. People dress up in all kinds of strange outfits, kids are encouraged to take candy from strangers, and Sidney Crosby gets himself into a fight. Good for him.

After Crosby was knocked into the boards by Marek Zidlicky, he may have been feeling slightly irked. Then when the puck came back around and Zidlicky was back up in Sid's grill, Sid decided to give Zidlicky a slash, and got one back for his efforts. Finally, the tensions came to a head and the two went at it.

Well, more like Crosby went at it. With helmets shaken off, Crosby started pounding on Zidlicky and pulled his jersey over his head, Kenny Wu style. The linesmen were very, very quick to get into this melee and split the two up, and each man got 7 minutes - 5 minutes for fighting and 2 minutes for slashing.

And this brings up an issue I've never really thought about. When someone like Eric Godard or Colton Orr drop the gloves, the linesmen let the two go at it until one either goes down or exhaustion forces them to stop. However, when Crosby jumped in swinging, the linesmen were in almost immediately. I honestly haven't gone looking to see if this is common for the 'star players' around the league, or this was an isolated thing, but there was definitely a different reaction here.

Up next for the Pens is the Anaheim Ducks, who had three fights against Phoenix last night. Two of which came from James Wisniewski, who received an instigator and misconduct for his first fight, and still came back for a second. In 82 fights last season, the Ducks only had one against the Pens - a win for Paul Bissonnette.

Poll

Who won the fight?

Grading October, and the Player of the Month

2009-11-01T12:00:26Z

The Pens close the book on October 2009 with an Eastern Conference high 22 points in the standings and boasting an impressive 11-3-0 record. They're a perfect 6-0-0 away from Mellon Arena. If you want a bittersweet moment think of this: there'll never be October hockey in Mellon again. Kind of staggering to think of it like that, isn't it?

We turn the calendar to November, the players keep trudging on, no real big deal for them. But it makes a nice, clean break to grade them. All grades are given based off of player expectations relatively to their role. So, hypothetically, if a guy like Mike Rupp gets a better grade than a Sidney Crosby it doesn't mean Rupp is necessarily better, just better based off of what he's supposed to do.

Goalies	Grade	Comments
Marc-Andre Fleury	A-	9-2-0 record, strong .918 save percentage and a sterling 2.07 goals against average. Even better, Fleury deserves praise for the improvement he's shown playing the puck.
Brent Johnson	A-	Johnson has an identical save percentage (.918) to Fleury. Ideally the backup isn't a dropoff from the starter, so far so good for the veteran.

Defensemen
Mark Eaton	B-	Eaton hasn't stood out much, but given his style of play, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Alex Goligoski	A+	Highest praise for the guy currently leading the league in plus/minus. 12 points in 14 games for Goligoski, who played as well as any defenseman in the entire league.
Sergei Gonchar	A-	8 points in 9 games and his customary spot as team leader in ice-time before breaking a bone in his wrist. Get well soon, Sarge.
Kris Letang	C+	Zero goals, five assists this month. Letang hasn't been bad, but the Pens need him to be productive, especially in Gonchar's absence.
Jay McKee	A	Brought in as a shot-blocking defenseman, McKee leads the NHL with 44 blocked shots. That earns an A this marking period.
Brooks Orpik	B+	Tied for first amongst NHL defensemen in hits (43), and a fair amount of blocked shots (26). Has taken seven minor penalties, could do a little better of not taking stick penalties.
Martin Skoula	C+	Skoula had to jump into the lineup on a new team, always tough, and he's done reasonably well. Hasn't made any major gaffes in his five games, but hasn't made many plays either.

Forwards
Craig Adams	B-	He does a little bit of everything and generally does it well. Could stand to bump up that faceoff percentage though (45.9%)
Chris Bourque	C-	Has gotten into six games, hasn't created very much, despite seeing some minutes with the reigning scoring champion.
Chris Conner	C	Only played these last two games in limited minutes. He's shown nice speed but has been contained by bigger defensemen.
Matt Cooke	B+	Decent numbers with 2 goals and 3 assists and the usual good PK work. Cooke draws an extra bonus for being 5th in the league amongst forwards in hits. He's not taking shifts off, he's forechecking and finishing checks every time.
Sidney Crosby	A-	At the top of the league in faceoffs, 4 for 4 in shootouts, team leader in goals (9) and points (16). Just another month for the fabled captain.
Pascal Dupuis	C+	Two goals this month for Dupuis, who's mainly seeing bottom six even strength minutes. His penalty kill work has been good.
Ruslan Fedotenko	B-	Quietly a decent month for Rusty with six points. His 29 shots is a slightly higher per game average over his past two seasons, hopefully he keeps shooting.
Eric Godard	D	Godard's point-less in 11 games -- and maybe pointless too, he only has two staged fights and a measely 4:34 per game in ice-time. When he's been out there though he's made a good effort at actually playing hockey though.
BIll Guerin	B	The graybeard had 9 points in the month, but only three goals (none of which Crosby assisted on). We know enough to know Guerin will be there when it counts, hopefully he's pacing himself to have enough in the tank for the long season.
Tyler Kennedy	A	Kennedy's been on a scoring upswing, with 5 goals in 11 games, three of which ended up as game-winners. Nice to see his hard work was being quantified with points, hopefully that doesn't change when he returns from his undisclosed injury.
Chris Kunitz	B+	More assists than Sidney Crosby so far. Kunitz has broken out of his goal slump, with 2 in the last three games of the month. He's distributed the puck well, and needs to keep driving the net (and hopefully lighting the lamp).
Evgeni Malkin	B+	Soldiering through a shoulder issue for part of the month, Geno still put up 14 points in 12 games. When he returns, at full strength, the team will be better for it.
Mike Rupp	B+	Rupp's been impressive: despite only playing 8:40 a night, he's already matched his 2008-09 season total in goals (3) in one month. His play has been a pleasant surprise.
Jordan Staal	C+	Staal's played very well at times, but in the last eight games he's got zero goals (and only has one assist). Now, more than ever with Malkin's injury, Pittsburgh needs Staal to produce points.

The Honor roll (finalists for player of the month) is pretty big, given the great month the team had. Make your choice for Pensburgh player of the month and feel free to lobby for a different grade if you see something that doesn't quite look right.

Poll