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 ...

Senators Rout Reeling Penguins 5-1

Entering Tuesday night’s contest with Ottawa at CONSOL Energy Center, the Pittsburgh Penguins were in desperate need of a win. After climbing to the top of the standings in the early weeks of the season, the injury-ravaged Pens suddenly found themselves clinging to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference courtesy of an unsightly four-game losing streak.

Beating the improving young Senators (5-0-1 in their last six) would be no easy feat. After all, the Pens entered the game with a lineup decimated by the recent loss of two-way stalwart  Jordan Staal (knee), not to mention the ongoing absences of Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang.

Prior to the opening faceoff the black and gold received some good news (a rarity these days) when it was revealed that leading goal-getter James Neal and gritty Craig Adams would suit up despite recent injuries. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to prevent the Pens from belly flopping to their fifth-straight defeat.

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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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Penguins-Flyers Rivalry Part 1: Roots (1925-1967)

Have you ever wondered how the bitter rivalry between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers got started? If so, you’re in luck. To prime the pump for the upcoming matchup between the Penguins and Flyers at CONSOL Energy Center on December 29, PenguinPoop is running a special six-part series on the history of the feud. Each day leading up to game day we’ll post a new part. So stay tuned!

Separated by only 300 miles of rolling Pennsylvania hills and grasslands, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are worlds apart in terms of culture. Situated along the Delaware River, Philadelphia’s origins are deeply rooted in the American Revolution. The “City of Brotherly of Love” boasts of iconic symbols of freedom like Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. At the western end of the state, Pittsburgh forged a grittier reputation from iron and steel. In earlier times it was known as “the Smoky City” and “the Arsenal of Democracy.”

Accordingly, few rivalries have sparked such unbridled hatred as the Penguins and the Flyers. For Pens supporters, it’s a clear-cut case of good versus evil: Syl Apps versus Bobby Clarke; Mario Lemieux versus Eric Lindros; Sidney Crosby versus Mike Richards.

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