Penguins Bust Out Against Panthers 4-1

Hockey players are famously superstitious. Many suffer from triskaidekaphobia—a fear of the number 13. Fortunately, the Penguins aren’t among them. On the contrary, 13 players have captained the black and gold on a full-time basis. Penguins superstars captured the Art Trophy 13 times. So perhaps it was fitting that the Pens snapped their worst losing streak in recent memory with a 4-1 win over Florida … on Friday the 13th.

The victory capped off an emotional day for the boys from the ‘Burgh. Amid rumors of internal strife over the status of injured captain Sidney Crosby, each player took to the ice for the morning skate with a ‘C’ stitched on his jersey. General manager Ray Shero addressed the team’s recent woes by declaring, “We will make the playoffs.”

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Pittsburgh Penguins First Half of the 2011/2012 Season Report

It’s the halfway point of the Penguins season and right now the Penguins are in the midst of one of their biggest downturns in recent history.  They say you can learn from the past so we’ve put together a group of long time Penguins fans, one of whom who wrote a couple books on the Pens, to review how the Penguins season has shaped up so far and what you have to look forward to. 

We are going to kick it off with STH35 who’s been a Penguins season ticket holder for 38 years.

STH35: The first half of the 2011-2012 season has been a nightmare for the Pens.  Amazingly enough, the worst day was 11-21-11 – the day Sid came back.  The team was holding their own in anticipation of his return.  Then eight short games later, he was gone again.  This time, the air went out of the balloon and has not returned.

The loss of Letang was devastating.  He is irreplaceable.  25 minutes a game.  Powerplay.  Penalty kill.  Puck mover.  Physical.  Intense desire to win. There is no one else like him on the roster – maybe not in the League.

Now Staal is gone for a month or so and it seems that the Pens’ drive to win has disappeared.  Even with the adversity there should ...

What’s Ailing the Penguins?

Following a typically strong start to the 2011-12 campaign, the Penguins have stumbled along at an unsightly 13-13 clip since the end of October. As the season reaches the halfway mark, the Pens suddenly find themselves in a dogfight to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot.

So what’s wrong? The most obvious answer to what’s ailing the Pens is … well … ailments. The black and gold have been slammed by enough injuries over the first half of the season (210 man-games lost and counting) to keep a hospital staff fully employed. No team can absorb the prolonged absences of core players such as Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang (add top scorers James Neal and Jordan Staal to the list) and expect to stay on top.

Still, injuries don’t tell the whole story. Here are five factors contributing to the Penguins’ recent woes.

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Penguins Update: Don’t Forget the Kids

In the wake of the Penguins’ recent loss to the Flyers, I was struck by the pronounced difference in the makeup of the teams. While the Pens’ lineup was generously stocked with 30-somethings (nine to be exact), Philly featured a bevy of talented young forwards who are in their early twenties, including NHL scoring leader Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier, Matt Read, James van Riemsdyk, Wayne Simmonds, and Jakub Voracek. I’m not even counting fresh-faced role players like Zac Rinaldo and Harry Zolnierczyk.

I hate to covet anything Philadelphia, but I couldn’t help but be envious. Thanks to some astute drafting and personnel decisions by general manager Paul Holmgren, the Flyers’ future looks bright. Philly is positioned at roughly the same spot on the development curve that the Penguins were back in 2006-07.

Of course, the Pens aren’t totally bereft of young talent, either. Any team would die to have a core comprised of Sidney Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury, Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, and Jordan Staal.

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Penguins-Flyers Rivalry Part 6: Sid versus Richy (2005-present)

For the third time during the course of the Pens-Flyers rivalry, the momentum shifted with the arrival of a superstar. Sidney Crosby would lead the Penguins to a third Stanley Cup—and become a lightning rod for Philadelphia fans’ hatred and jealousy.

As if scripted, “Sid the Kid” received a rude welcome from the Flyers. On November 16, 2005, he absorbed a vicious high stick from Derian Hatcher, leaving the rookie with a bloody mouth and chipped front teeth. Displaying his considerable character, Crosby scored a big goal to spark a comeback win.

With new general manager Ray Shero (the son of Cup-winning Philly coach Fred Shero) at the helm the black and gold swept eight games with the rebuilding Flyers in 2006-07, drawing the ire of former Philadelphia GM Bobby Clarke.

“We didn’t do what Pittsburgh did; lose seven years in a row so they could get good,” Clarke sniped. “They did it twice, in fact. Now they’re good and the teams that try to win all the time get penalized.”

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Matt Cooke, Todd Bertuzzi & the Mistake that is the NHL.

I wrote this piece just after the Matt Cooke suspension was assessed.  Unfortunately, my day jobs sometimes get in the way, I didn’t finish in a pertinent time frame.  Well, Todd Bertuzzi has opened the door for me to submit my thoughts again.

The punishment that Matt Cooke got for his flagrant violation is appropriate.  What Matt Cooke did was completely unacceptable.  You can try and justify it anyway you want.  You can say he tried to pull up at the last second,but you’re wrong.  This action is a complete lack of respect for other players, the NHL and the Penguins.  I like Matt Cooke as a player when he plays his game within the confines of acceptable play.  Certainly, he plays right on the edge of that fine line on a daily basis.  That is what he needs to do to be successful.  Blatantly elbowing a helpless player to the head is way over that fine line.  Add to it, that this is something that Cooke has done repeatedly and this becomes flat out disrespect.

In his actions, he disregarded the leagues attempts to eliminate hits to the head and he showed a lack of regard for his own team.  By his actions, he opened the door for the Rangers to come back and win the game.  Cooke is a valuable player.  When he does these things, he takes himself out of the line-up which lessens the teams overall effectiveness.  His actions do, also, make Lemeiux and his stance on cleaning up the league look hypocritical.  If Lemieux is serious about changing things in the NHL, he needs to start with his own team. ...

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Brad Richards, the Perfect Match

With Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin out, you may think the Penguins GM Ray Shero should waive the white flag and live to fight another day. I’m willing  to bet there is a locker room full of Penguins that would not agree with this sentiment. I also believe Shero still has a few cards left up his sleeve.

For the right price, just about any player in the league could be had before Trade Deadline. Ray Shero has never been a GM to throw caution to the wind and this year because of the uncertainties with the Penguins lineup leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline, Shero will most likely be even more cautious. 

That all being said, there is one player out there that could be had by the Penguins without mortgaging the future.  This player would make the Penguins once again the frontrunner to win the Cup. The Dallas Stars center Brad Richards.  Richards is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season would not only be the perfect fit for the Penguins, it would also be the perfect fit for Brad Richards. That is if he is healthy (more on that later).

Everyone knows Brad Richards will be an unrestricted free agent next season and will be looking for a big contract. Right now he’s making about $7.8 million a year, and Dallas who is quickly falling out of reach of a playoff spot may be willing to dump Brad Richards for a prospect or two and maybe some draft picks.

The problem for Dallas and what is good for the Penguins is that Brad Richards has ...