Pens win another big Atlantic Division game 6-3

I am going to do this post backwards from my usual style.  I want to make general comments and observations from this big weekend for the Penguins.  They go on the road and defeat in back to back contests their two biggest divisional rivals by a combined score of 9-4.  Both of those teams lost their other games so the Pens take a 4 point lead over these two bitter rivals.  There are plenty of things to be optimistic about thus far including a power play that outside of some goofiness in the third period, looked dangerous going 4 for 8 on the weekend and getting the goals from Neal, Kennedy, Kunitz, and Dupuis, pretty good distribution and on point in my preview article that the lack of quality wingers is a little overstated by the "Winger for Sid" crowd.  The TEAM is solid in all four lines, with good role definition.  They did give up a power play goal tonight, albeit a 5 on 3, but the penalty kill has looked very good in my estimation.  The ability to play 2 top goalies in back to back games showed its value as well.  Also, after a year where I thought he looked a little long in the tooth, my favorite defenseman is passing out the Free Candy again with regularity and looking fresh and healthy.  It is only two games, but Paul Martin is indeed having a very good start and looking a lot like the player they thought he was when they signed him.  Martin has 3 assists in 2 games, and has played intelligently and with poise in both games.  Simon Despres had a bad turnover tonight, but added an assist and as the game wore on, looked more and more comfortable.  If he can progress a little every game, he will be a valuable asset to this team with his size and skating.  I also liked the addition of Joe Vitale to the fourth line.  His speed and grit are to me the kind of play you want from your fourth line.  If you want to give Jeffrey his ice time, give him Tangradi's role for a couple of games on the Malkin and Neal line.  He has some finish to his game, but I am not a fan of him in the role of a 4th liner.  I am a big Arron Asham guy and was not sold initially on letting him leave and replacing him with Glass.  Then you read up on glass and note his shot blocking ability, his PK ability, his speed, and tonight he handled himself quite well in a battle with the aforementioned Asham. Sutter has fit in quite well, and the third line is contributing every night with Kennedy scoring goals in back to back tilts. James Neal has not missed a beat and has 3 goals in two nights! Kris Letang has been dominant in all facets of the game.  The Penguins scored nine goals against two of the best teams in the East, yet Malkin and Crosby do not have a goal, though Geno leads the team in scoring with 4 points.  When the two of them start finding the net, the Penguins will be a very scary team to deal with.  It is early, and the grind will take its toll, but it is a good start for your Penguins folks. Now to the game.  As noted, the game was only two seconds old and Glass asked Asham to dance, and he was obliged.  The two had a long spirited bout, with both parties tossing some nasty bombs, but I would give the edge to Glass in this one.  They will meet again I have no doubt!  I gave you a little taste of their last bout from 2011 when Asham was a Penguin, just for good measure.

 

  The Penguins opened the scoring at 1:48 when James Neal potted his second of the season, a power play goal from Malkin (2) and Letang (1).  At 9:55 Ryan Callahan tied the game on a 5 on 3 power play.  At 15:05, Kennedy got his second of the season from Vitale (1), and Simon Despres to restore a one goal lead at 2-1.  Moments later at 18:50 Niskanen got his first goal from Crosby (1) to take a 3-1 lead into the second period.  At the 9:11 mark the Penguins got their second power play goal of the game when Pascal Dupuis tapped in a shot from Malkin (3) to give the Pens a 4-1 lead.  Kunitz got the other assist.  At 5:06 of the third, a red hot James Neal got his third goal of the year, while Malkin picked up his fourth assist and third point of the night, while Martin got his third assist of the year.  Some sloppy play led to two goals from the Rangers, one from Taylor Pyatt, and a short handed goal from Rick Nash to close the score to 5-3, and make it a little interesting.  Then Kris Letang closed it out getting his first goal and second point of the night into an empty net to make the final score 6-3 Pens.  Home opener on Wednesday against Toronto!

Pens win opener 3-1 over Flyers

After the disappointment of last year's playoff meltdown in Philadelphia, and the 100+ day lockout, the Penguins and Flyers had their much anticipated rematch to open the 2012-13 season which is now just the 2013 season.  I kept telling myself that you cannot take too much away from the results of this game either way, and I still believe that, but it sure was fun to watch.  The Penguins opened the scoring at 4:40 of the first period when Kennedy scored his first off of clean face off win by Sutter that went out to Niskanen on the point and over to Martin whose shot was deflected by Kennedy into the net to make it 1-0 Penguins.  A power play goal.  At 7:20 James Neal took another clean faceoff win, this time by Malkin and buried it to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead.  Ghosts of the 2012 playoffs haunted me, as this 2-3 goal early lead led to losses for Pittsburgh in Games 1 and 2 of those playoffs.  Sure enough, Giroux scored 23 seconds into the second, after Kunitz let Giroux loose, and our favorite ginger put a perfect pass on his stick, that Giroux slid behind the Flower cutting the lead to 2-1.  It felt a lot like April 2012 to many at that point.  Unlike last season, this Penguins team wound up holding onto this lead through solid special teams, and a quality 26 save effort by Fleury.  Kunitz added the final goal, an empty net power play goal, assisted by Paul Martin at 19:48 to close out the scoring at 3-1. It was a nice win for many reasons including the fact that every game is a four point swing this season.  Moreover, the special teams were dominant with the power play going 2 for 3 tonight and the PK going 5 for 5!  As important was the utter faceoff dominance by the four centers with Jeffrey going 5/8 and 63%, Sutter 8/14 and 57%, Malkim 7/12 and 58%, and Crosby going a sizzling 13/20 and 65%!  Two goals came off of clean face off wins.  Paul Martin played possibly his best game as a Penguin, solid in all three zones and adding two points to boot.  Sutter showcased his grit, his PK prowess, his shot blocking and overall intelligent play, and the other newcomer, Tanner Glass played a very solid and physical game as well.  One game only, but a solid start and big road win.  Rangers in New York tomorrow!

Penguins thoughts on Hockey Eve

  I am being asked by many friends, “How do you think the Penguins will do this year?”  A fair question, and one I spent a lot of time this summer contemplating, even to the point of being glued to my Twitter account on the beach in Kill Devil Hills at the beginning of free agency.  I was contemplating what the loss of Staal, MIchalek, Asham and Sullivan would do to the team, along with the additions of Sutter and Glass, while closely watching what the Flyers and Rangers were doing.  In all honesty, I probably have not thought a bit about that since October until just this morning (Sunday January 7^th)  when the news of the lockout ending hit the internet.   There are some questions that remain unanswered that could alter my opinion of this, but with my faith in Ray Shero along with  the 9 million plus in cap space available I will say that my opinion of the Penguins would likely only improve based on that fact.  There are however, some things to consider when analyzing your feelings on where the Penguins figure to land in the Atlantic Division, and Eastern Conference this season.  The first one that comes to mind is which Penguins team will show up mentally?  The one that was one of the better defensive teams in the NHL for most of the season and vying for the top penalty kill unit or the team that late in the season and the playoffs seemed to forget how to play a solid defensive system and melted down with regularity on the Penalty Kill?  The Penguins finished with 108 points behind only Vancouver, New York, and St. Louis last season, so they earned the right to be considered a favorite to win the Stanley Cup, but the meltdown in the defensive zone and in the net against Philadelphia was disturbing to watch.  The second question that is hard to answer is how will the Penguins respond to what will be a more hectic, fast paced all conference schedule where every game will have a four point swing on the potential  playoff positioning.  How will their rivals respond to that same issue?  What impact will the loss of Steve Sullivan on the power play unit have?  Can the coaching staff figure out a way to use Malkin and Crosby on the power play in a way to maximize the effectiveness of each of them?  Will we see a healthy Crosby perform at the pre Winter Classic level in which he cut through the league like a hot knife through butter?  How will division rivals respond to their own lineup changes?  Can Paul Martin respond to a subpar year with a bounce back season?  Can Simon Despres step up and contribute to the Penguins at the NHL level?  Only time will give us the answers to these questions, but all in all, I like the Penguins’ chances to be a major threat to come out of this truncated season as one of the elite teams fighting to take home the Stanley Cup for the following reasons:

1.        Strength down the middle-By all accounts Crosby seems healthy and ready to make up for the loss of essentially two seasons out of his prime due to injury and lockout.  If that is true, there is no team in the NHL who can match up down the middle with a healthy Sidney Crosby looking to regain MVP form, and a healthy Malkin coming off an MVP season, where he scored 50 goals and 109 points.  Yes, they lost Staal, a great player by all accounts, but they picked up a classic third line center in Brandon Sutter, who may not be as good as Staal is offensively, but make no mistake, he scored 21 goals in his rookie campaign, and 17 last year so he is not a kid without offensive ability.  Where he may actually be a plus is in the fact that he will relish his role and responsibilities as a 3^rd line center as opposed to chafing at the loss of offensive output that role sometimes creates. In Carolina, he got his points despite the fact that his main job was to shadow and shut down the likes of Ovechkin, Stamkos, St. Louis, Malkin, and other top threats in the Eastern Conference.  He flourished in that role, with Carolina giving up far fewer goals and shots when Sutter was on the ice than when the team’s other centers were out there.   In short he may make the TEAM stronger due to role definition and balance.  The exception could be if one of the big two gets injured, Staal’s offensive upside could be missed, but I am not sure Sutter does not have the ability to do more in that area than he has shown thus far.  Craig Adams will provide his usual stellar work and veteran leadership on the fourth line and the penalty kill unit.

2.       Goaltending-The Penguins have arguably the best goaltending tandem in the NHL with the addition of Tomas Vokoun to complement Marc Andre Fleury.  Fleury has not been stellar in the post season since the magical 2009 run to the Cup, but he has had very good regular seasons, short of a brutal start to the 2010 season.  Many inside the Penguins organization felt this was a direct result of wearing Fleury down during the regular season, especially last year when Brent Johnson regressed to the point where he could not be counted on much.  Adding Vokoun,  who actually has better lifetime statistics than Fleury might be an even more astute pickup in a season where the teams are likely to play more games per week in a hectic run for playoff positioning.  The Penguins can play either one on any given night and feel like they have a game changer between the pipes, a decided advantage over almost any other NHL team.

3.       Scoring Depth-Much is made of the Penguins supposed lack of balance in the top six.  Though I cannot say that I wouldn’t like to see a big net crashing winger with some scoring touch added to the top six, I hardly think the Penguins lack punch from the wings.  James Neal had a breakout season and seemed particularly comfortable playing with Evgeni Malkin to the tune of 40 goals and 81 points last year.  Chris Kunitz is a tough winger who goes to the corners to get the puck for his line-mates and  he also chipped in 26 goals and 61 points last year.  Finally, despite the fact that he may not be considered a prototypical first liner, Dupuis Pascal Dupuis added 25 goals and 59 points last season, and was part of the Crosby line when Sid was destroying the league in 2010 prior to injury.  All of this was done minus the power play time usually seen by a top six forward.  The Penguins have the cap space to add a solid scoring winger to that mix, and the assets with which to do it, should they have trouble rounding out that top six from within.

4.       Defense-There are surely some question marks here, but I actually feel pretty good about this unit assuming the top four of Orpik, Letang, Niskanen, and Martin stay healthy.  I know.  Martin is public enemy number one here in Pittsburgh, and many would like to see him bought out of his contract from what I read.  I actually look for Martin to have a rebound season this year. The guy was not one of the most coveted free agents on the blue line in the summer of 2010 because he is a bad player.   As a proud person, I am sure Martin is looking to atone for a subpar season.   I think Martin will rebound and give the Pens a very solid top four along  with Orpik, Letang, and Niskanen.  I look for Despres to step up and be able to give the Penguins solid minutes along with Engelland, and believe that Bortuzzo and Strait, when he gets healthy, along with Dylan Reese give the Pens enviable NHL ready depth on the blue line. And again, there is significant cap space and a wealth of young assets to plug in any gaps as they become apparent.

5.       Management and Coaching-The Penguins have been disappointing in the post season for three years now.  One of those years, 2011 they were so injury riddled it would be unfair to judge them on, but last year in particular was alarming.  However, the Penguins have a great ownership group, GM and coaching staff.  I think that one of the major holes was addressed with the addition of Vokoun to the goaltending tandem.  Getting Sutter, Dumoulin and Pouliot in return for a Staal who was not coming back after this year, I think solidified the balance at center ice and created cap space and depth at a coveted position that will allow Shero to add a couple of pieces to the puzzle that will make the Penguins even stronger.  In fact with Despres, Morrow, Harrington, Dumoulin, Poulitiot, Maatta, Strait, Bortuzzo, Sneep, Samuelsson, and Resse, Mr.  Shero has amassed a wealth of young assets at the blueline,  a position that generally for him has netted huge returns a a la Whitney for Kunitz and Tangradi, and Goligoski for Neal and Niskanen.  I look for one of these assets to net the top six winger or solid veteran NHL  stay at home defenseman to complete the puzzle for Pittsburgh.

There are many factors you cannot know going into any season such as health, an off year for a key player or an emerging player giving you more than you expected, but based on the above, I think our Penguins will again be an elite team during the regular season, with their biggest Divisional threats coming from New York, due to goaltending and cap space, as well as Philadelphia due to their top nine, but I think the Penguins will make some noise in the post season for the first time since 2009.  I think they have a very good chance of coming out of the Eastern Conference and representing them in the Stanley Cup Finals.  Time will tell, and I hope you all enjoy the journey, and that we reach the destination we have in our minds.

Would the addition of Gonchar be a good move for the Penguins?

There are rumors afloat that the Penguins are interested in Sergei Gonchar making a return to the Penguins.  They are only rumors, but the mere mention of it has people taking very firm positions on one side or the other of the argument.  The two biggest arguments I hear that are against that thought are that in his last playoff appearance for Pittsburgh he was SO SOFT it would make dog shit on hot summer day seem like case hardened steel.   And frankly, that would be true.  The other argument I hear a lot is that the Penguins are loaded with young defensemen and it is time to give them a shot.  That is also true to the extent that the Penguins have Simon Despres, Robert Bortuzzo, Brian Strait, Joe Morrow, Ben Lovejoy, Brian Dumoulin, Ollie Maatta, Scott Harrington, Puoliot, Carl Sneep andDylan  Reese as young defensemen who are either NHL ready or have potential as top 4 NHL defensemen in the league.   Reese, Lovejoy, Bortuzzo, Strait, and Sneep all have some NHL experience or are considered NHL ready steady type players.  Despres played in several games last season and acquitted himself quite nicely.  At first glance if you add in the 5.5M price tag, and the fact that the Penguins to me need another NHL veteran with a more stay at home/physical prescence I agreed that the Penguins would be better off not looking in Sarge's direction Upon further review, I may have changed my mind for the following reasons.  First, Gonchar is the final year of that 5.5M contract so if the addition of The Sarge does not work out, the Pens are not saddled with a long term albatross.  Second, despite the fact that many of above mentioned young blue liners will be long term fixtures on the blue line, it seems as if the ones who can make a significant impact are one to two years away from being NHL ready to the extent you would want them taking a regular shift during a playoff run where your team is a favorite to win it all.  Third, special teams is always key in the playoffs and the Penguins power play was an asset all of last year partially due to a large contribution made by another calm veteran who can make plays, Steve Sullivan.  Sully is gone, and adding Gonchar to the power play gives the Penguins two effective point men for the power play in Gonchar and Letang.  Fourth, Gonchar is one of those guys would seemingly be calm in the process of getting skinned alive.  That kind of veteran poise seemed to be lacking in the post season melt down last year and adding it back to the lineup is not a bad thing.  Fifth, in a short season with confernce only games there will be little room for slumping.  Gonchar has been playing and playing very well in the KHL on the same Magnitogorsk team as Evgeni Malkin often teaming up to create offensive mayhem.  They have and always seemed to have a chemistry that will be elevated in the short term over many others due to their game shape, and timing TOGETHER.   In a 48 game conference only schedule, getting a jump out of the gate could be a critical factor to playoff positioning.  Finally, the Penguins have a unique opportunity if all goes well and the core of this team is healthy in that they have the best goaltending tandem they have ever had, which again with so many back to back games may factor in since the Pens could put either on the ice at any time and expect stellar play.  They also have a healthy Malkin and totally healthy Crosby together to start a campaign for the first time in a couple of years, making them a pretty dangerous team.   They are pretty well balanced as a unit, and have sigificant depth up and down the lineup everywhere but on the blue line if you are talking about NHL proven high end talent.  Adding Gonchar gives them a top 6 of Letang, Orpik, Martin, Niskanen, Gonchar and Engelland.  Gonchar is not physical but sound postionally in his own zone, a great puck mover, and point producer.   They would have a 7th defenseman in Lovejoy, Reese, Bortuzzo, Strait or Despres.  Not a bad situation to have.  They would also  h ave 3.5M left in cap space PLUS the salary or salaries of the assets they would move to acquire Gonchar.  This would leave plenty of space and assets to address the need for another top six winger should the opportunity arise.  That championship window is not open forever, so I think a move like this is worthy of exploration, assuming Ottawa would consider the move. 

Fartsmell misses Makoman?

Just in time for the Pittsburgh=Philadelphia on ice hate fest, my friend Matt Walker alerted me to the fact that his son Ryan saw a piece on TSN in which Scott Hartnell remembered our lovefest back in the days of the Mellon Arena when my seats were right at the tunnel of the opposing team.  I gave old Scottie a couple years of pretty significant bashing and he gave it back a bit more then he lets on here.  In the end, he made my weekend by signing the jersey with a humorous greeting and giving us the stick he used that night.  Tough for me to hate the guy and in a sense his kindness and class RUINED a perfectly good hate.  So yes, even in kindness he is really a bastard!  Best of luck Fartsmell from a rare Pens fan who appreciates your game!  But we are looking for payback sir.....good day.

Greed, Arrogance and Stupidity aka NHL

I don't pretend to know every issue related to the rift  between the NHL and NHLPA, but I do know this.  The league posted record revenues of 3.3 billion dollars last season, and also signed a ten year, 2 billion dollar TV contract with NBC which should help to keep the interest in the NHL growing outside of the non-traditional markets in Canada and the US, and they have cost certainty in the form of the salary cap which was the core issue of the last lockout.  In addition, HBOs 24/7 is coming off its second successful campaign, another innovative way for the league to expand its footprint, as well as the Winter Classic, a large scale event on New Year's day that also should continue to help the NHL become a more valuable entity in the years to come.  Finally, they closed the largest sponsorship deal in league history with Miller, Coors and Molson, and played to 96% percent capacity during the regular season, and according to Bettman 102% capacity during this year's playoffs.    It would seem to me that you don't need to fix what ain't broke, no?  Did the league not get healthier by leaps and bounds since you returned to play in 2005 under the current CBA?   Yes, you want to limit the term in a contract to 5 or 6 years instead of allowing teams to offer 14 year deals that basically circumvent the spirit of a cap, but two points here.....First, you were the ones who made those OFFERS, so if you cannot treat the LEAGUE as your business versus thirty individual fiefdoms that is your issue, not the players issue, and second, offering deals like the ones offered to Parise, Suter, and Weber this offseason while crying that you are paying players too much was not a stroke of genius in the court of public opinion.  I get that as owners you feel like you get to dictate how much of the pie you want, and in theory you are totally correct.  I owned, built and sold a pretty good sized business over an eight year period, and I also felt that taking the risk, having the idea, and the client contact entitled me to a lot of the pie.  I also KNEW that if I did not give enough of the pie to the people who made the business what it was on a daily basis that my benefits, though greater short term, would suffer long term.  In that vein, nobody is coming to the arena to see your mostly fat, entitled, arrogant asses.  They are coming to see the magic and the moments created by the best and most accessible professional athletes on the planet.  Without them, you don't have ANYTHING. Their skills on the ice, and their grace and dignity off of the ice is your product.  Why not TWEAK the current deal that is working right now to make the NHL relevant outside of the core markets v acting like the greedy, arrogant bastards you are proving to be?  Your statement that your NHL fans are the best and that we will be there either way, though true in some senses, was also another indicator that you are either stupid, arrogant or both.  A guy like me who has his team tattooed on his arm in a full sleeve, an addition filled with memorabilia, and 4 season tickets for work and 4 more for personal use is not likely to disappear over a lockout.  But. guess what?  I will not spend the kind of money I have been spending, my passion has slipped a bit, and my worth financially to the league will not be at the same level after the second lockout in 8 years.  I used to love baseball and have never gone to more than 2 games  in a season since their last labor stoppage. It won't hit me for hockey that hard, but it will have a negative impact on my zeal for the game.   More casual or newer fans may just decide that they will stick with the NBA, NFL, NASCAR, or college sports versus getting into this sport that cannot stay in business for long periods without work stoppages.  For years you were not as relevant in the US as NASCAR, and you want to derail the progress made over the past several years now?     So, while you try to gouge the assets that make your business, a business, you are screwing the players, the fanatical fans who helped get you to where you are today, and the workers who actually depend on these games for income for their family, while you are also  losing some of the newer fans you fought so hard to get over the past eight years.  And don't forget, this time a lot of your top talent will play in the KHL instead of sitting around waiting on you.   What if a handful of well known middle to upper tier Europeans stay?  What if 4 or 5 star players suffer significant injuries while over there?  Seems like a lot to risk when your business has never been healthier.  Social media will make the sour taste left in the mouths of fans spread MUCH faster than the last time around. kind of like a virus.   Again, I dont get why the current CBA with some tweaks to contract term, and some form of discussion relative to revenue sharing and maybe limiting entry level contracts is not a viable option.   I don't pretend to know all of the issues but it would seem to me that asking for a rollback AGAIN, while your business is growing at a record pace, while acting like the fans who create your revenues don't matter that much to you is a bad business move that will come with some significant cost.  Gary Bettman's salary of 8 milllion dollars per year being spread all over is not going to be a plus in the court of public opinion either.  Bettman and owners continue to show that the planet's best game is run by a  GARAGE LEAGUE.  Get your shit together and figure out a way to get on the ice in October.

 

Since writing this post originally, I found an NHL press release with the following statistics relative to revenues created through concessions and apparel sales in North America.  Consumer Products were up 15%, Jersey sales were up 25%, Lifestyle Apparel sales up 35%, Children's Apparel sales up 14%, Headwear sales were up 41%, NHL store sales were up 27%, NHL.com sales were up 20%,  and Team Concessions were up 13% across the board.  Again, it is really tough to have much sympathy for the position being taken by the owners in this scenario.

A Woman's Take On All Things Hockey:: The Concussion That Saved My Life

A Woman's Take On All Things Hockey:: The Concussion That Saved My Life:      If you follow me on Twitter (@princesss_sass) then I'm sure you've seen me tweet about my brain surgery. Yes, brain surgery. I had the ...