Last night’s 1 – 0 defeat by the Washing Capitals was the Penguins’ sixth in a row, a feat they hadn’t accomplished since the 2005/06 season. For those of you who hadn’t jumped on the band wagon yet or aren’t old enough to remember, the 2005/06 season was the last time the Penguins did not make the playoffs and finished with the second lowest point total in the league by one point.
When asked what the problem with the team these days is, the number one answer anyone will give you is INJURIES. Unfortunately, I don’t think that is the answer. Yes, the team is currently missing Sidney Crosby, one of if not the best player in the game today, their number one defenseman, Kris Letang and for the last three and a half games, Jordan Staal, but is this really what is causing the team to play so poorly. Let’s look at the facts: ...
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Toronto has shipped out former Penguin prospect Luca Caputi to the Anaheim Ducks for prospect, Nick Deschamps. Looks like Shero knew what he was doing when that was all he gave up for Alexei Ponikarovsky. In 26 games with Toronto, Caputi had 1 Goal and 5 assists.
Against this very same New Jersey Devils team in a game that also started at 3:00, Mario Lemieux scored 5 goals 5 different ways(Even Strength, Power Play, Short Handed, Penalty Shot and Empty Net) in a feat that has never been duplicated. I was lucky enough to have been at that game. Where were you when it happened?
In this day and age of negativity, it is not often you get to witness the nicer side of sports. Thanks to Dick’s Sporting Goods and Jennifer Mercer and Matt Ciesluk of Catalyst Public Relations, I was able to witness the pure unadulterated joy that professional athletes can bring to children through the Pittsburgh Penguins’ participation in Project Bundle Up.
When the Penguins finished up their 3-2 shootout win over the LA Kings last Saturday night, they were looking at their longest layoff between games of the 2011/12 campaign so far with their next game not being for another full six days. After completing 15 games in the season’s first 31 days, the team was looking at a nice, extended rest, some time to time to spend with families, wives, and girlfriends, time for injuries to heal and possibly get back some injured players. Not these Pittsburgh Penguins though. After returning from their two game trip to the West Coast, their third trip across at least two time zones so far this year, the Penguins and their families headed down to Nemacolin Woodlands for some team building exercises similar to the trips they made in the pre-season to West Point in years past. Down there, they participated in many different team building exercises and just spent some time getting to know some of the newer players a little better and away from the rink.
Once this was over, you would naturally assume that it would be back home to Pittsburgh where after each day’s practice, players would head back home to relax with their families or get outside and enjoy some of this unseasonal weather we have been experiencing here with maybe a round or two of golf. Again, not these Pittsburgh Penguins. ...
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With their methodical 3 – 0 victory over the New York Islanders last night at the Nassau County Colosseum, the Penguins now find themselves with a 7-2-2 record after 11 games, a pace, if kept up, that would see them record 119 points and surely the top overall seed going into the playoffs. Now none of us expects them to continue at this lofty level for an entire season, but when compared to where they were after 11 games last year (5-5-1), it sure is a lot more fun. What’s interesting when you compare the two seasons is to see what players the Penguins had available last season versus who has been available this year.
Through the first 11 games last season, the Penguins had Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for all 11, and Brooks Orpik for five of the first 11 although they did not have Jordan Staal for any of them. Through the first 11 games of the current season, the Penguins did not have Sidney Crosby for any of them, Evgeni Malkin only played in four, Brooks Orpik also in four, and they did have Jordan Staal for all eleven although Kris Letang missed two due to a questionable suspension.
During the first 11 games of the previous season, the Penguins scored 32 goals or just under three per game. Surprisingly, they have also scored 32 goals during the first eleven games of the current campaign. Here’s where the difference seems to be: ...
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It’s getting close to crunch time now as the first exhibition games are in the books,and opening day draws ever nearer. Any Penguin fan worth his salt has to be uber excited about the depth that Ray Shero has amassed for the upcoming season. Since we have all seen how devastating injuries can be to a hockey team over the long haul, nothing beats having talented and experienced bodies a phone call away in Wilkes-Barre.
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The free agent frenzy began at 12:01 with Jamaal Meyers signing with the Blackhawks for one year, and it hasn’t slowed down yet. Before noon, the Penguins announced that they had broken off negotiating with Jaromir Jagr, and instantly turned their attention to resigning Tyler Kennedy. Kennedy’s new deal was announced shortly after noon and is for 2 years at $2 million per.
Not too long after the Penguins announced they were out with Jagr, the Red Wings did the same thing which sure made it seem like Jagr and his agent, former NHLer, Peter Svoboda were just playing teams against each other to drive up Jagr’s price. Well, it must have worked as shortly after 1:00, it was announced that Jagr had signed a one year $3.3 million deal which was way more than either Pittsburgh or Detroit had offered. It just goes to show you that whenever someone says, “It’s not about the money”, it most certainly always is about the money.
In the long run, I believe the Pens got the better deal here. Kennedy will pay many more dividends over two years than Jagr would have over 3/4 of a season which about all the Flyers will get out of his 40 year old frame. He hasn’t played the equivalent of a full NHL season in over 3 years, and he was never known for keeping himself in the best shape. I, for one, believe he got fat playing in the less talented KHL where his skills were still superior to most of the talent in that league, but in the NHL, he’s just going to be a slow, old guy living off his past reputation. Kennedy, on the other hand, is just starting to ...
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