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| Arguably, the most impressive free agent signing of the year. |
Consol Energy Center
2011 Winter Classic Jerseys
D Paul Martin
D Zbynek Michalek
F Arron Asham
F Mike Comrie
F Brett Sterling
Training camp began with many questions after an unexpected early exit from the '09-10 playoffs. How would Fleury bounce back from a dismal playoff run? Was Jordan Staal ready to return from surgery? Could Malkin adjust to playing on Staal's wing on the 2nd line? Who else could possibly play within with Crosby and Malkin/Staal? Would the $45 million we just dropped on defense (Martin and Michalek) prove to be worth the price? Why do we have 3 fantastic centers and 15 third-liners??
Camp itself negated half of those questions as Staal faced a few setbacks to his surgically-repaired foot and was deemed to be out for at least the first month or two. Malkin would remain as the #2 center, and the new question became who would make the roster due to Staal's injury. We entered the '10-11 season with the following opening day roster:
Goalies: Marc-Andre Fleury, Brent Johnson
Defensemen: Brooks Orpik, Kris Letang, Paul Martin, Zybnek Michalek, Alex Goligoski, Ben Lovejoy, Deryk Engelland
Forwards: Sidney Crosby, Pascal Dupuis, Chris Kunitz, Evgeni Malkin, Tyler Kennedy, Matt Cooke, Craig Adams, Mike Rupp, Eric Godard, Arron Asham, Mike Comrie, Marc Letestu, and Max Talbot
*Jordan Staal started on the Injured Reserve list, and Eric Tangradi was running errands between Pittsburgh, Wilkes-Barre, and Wheeling apparently.
Opening night was far more than just a sporting event. It was a rush of memories of the old Civic Arena, and all of the drama that led to the night we had all waited for, and at many times, never thought would happen. Everything from the regret of never raising a Stanley Cup at the Igloo, to the multiple team bankruptcy issues. From the the Isle of Capri failure (free arena? no thanks), to a potential move to Kansas City. A mere 4 years ago, we didn't know if we would have a hockey team in Pittsburgh in 2010. Well, opening night was the paramount moment to celebrate that we kept our Penguins, and we would be keeping them for quite a while. The man in charge made sure it was memorable:
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| Lemieux pours a bottle of Mellon Arena melted ice at center to christen Consol. Similar bottles can be purchased for just $40! Act now! |
Hopefully in future years though, the Penguins will initiate their celebrations against teams that don't pose quite as much of a challenge as the Philadelphia Flyers do. The Flyers spoiled opening night by handing the Penguins a 3-2 loss, but the 2010-2011 season was finally underway.
The Penguins opened up October with a 6-5-1 record. Certainly a mediocre record, with a disturbing early answer to the question of how Fleury would bounce back. The answer: He wouldn't (quite yet). The defense was not ready to handle the loss of Sergei Gonchar, as Martin and Michalek took some time to get acclimated to the team. Michalek even missed a couple of weeks due to injury. This left Fleury in some tight spots and very little room for error. Unfortunately, he came up with a propensity of committing errors at the wrong times (See: giving up game tying and game winning goals to Montreal in the last minute of the 2nd game of the season).
Brent Johnson came in to save the day in the early part of the season, though the goalie controversy was more manufactured than natural. The fans clamored for Fleury's benching/trade/tar and feathering (nice loyalty, guys), and Bylsma seemed to follow suit as Johnson started the season 4-0 and Fleury started 0-3. This "controversy" continued into the early part of November, when both goalies went back to their expected play. Johnson lost a couple of ugly games early in the month to Dallas and Boston and Fleury found his game.
Though the early going was tough, there were a few positive takeaways. We met Deryk Engelland, who could kill players with a single punch. Engelland and Lovejoy proved to be ahead of where most people thought they would be defensively, adding more depth than we previously thought. Also, Letang and Goligoski came out with very strong offensive play and Letang appeared to have improved his defensive prowess greatly.
Heading through November, not only did Fleury find his game, but Sidney Crosby decided to blow away the NHL in a manner that we have not seen since before the lockout.
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| The only problem with a hot streak is that it brings the pedophiles out. |
The Penguins rolled through the last half of November and early December on a 12 game winning streak as Crosby put together a 25 game point streak, during which he amassed 50 points. During the 12 game win streak, the top performer went to either Crosby or Fleury in each game, except when Marc Letestu snagged the spotlight for a game vs. Toronto. Letestu was a fantastic surprise in the early part of the season, filling in very well for Jordan Staal, and leading rookies in points for much of the first 2 months. The streak vaulted the Penguins to the top of the NHL. The streak was not all good news though. As Jordan Staal was set to return from numerous setbacks to his injured foot, he promptly took a shot to the hand in his first practice. Staal left practice with a broken hand, another 6 weeks or so until he would return.
Towards the end of the streak, the world received the opportunity to meet the Penguins on a much more personal level. HBO's much anticipated 24/7 series began in their efforts to follow Pittsburgh and Washington for the month that would lead up to the Winter Classic. 24/7 was everything and more that Pens fans could have wanted. We received a behind the scenes look at Bylsma's calm demeanor, and his methodical treatment of games and players. We had the fortune of meeting the adorable kids of Craig Adams, Matt Cooke, Pascal Dupuis, and Mike Rupp, amongst others. Cooke's son even taught us nature vs. nurture, as he speared Max Talbot on national television. We heard Fleury taunt everyone and everything that moved anywhere near him. And we learned that Max Talbot has a thing for girls in Santa's helper outfits.
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| I would have asked for the same thing, Max. |
We also had the privilege of watching the Capitals as they went through a mid-season slide. Bruce Boudreau looked like the moron that we always thought him to be between his f*ing speeches after f*ing bad f*ing games or before f*ing practice, and his never ending quest for a Haagen-Dazs. Life as a Penguins fan was nearing perfection in mid-December, with a team that couldn't lose, Staal's return on the horizon, and the anticipation of hosting the Winter Classic.
The Penguins streak finally ended (at the hands of those stupid Flyers again, curse you schedule makers), and Penguins fans returned from Cloud 9, realizing that there was still half a season to play. Pittsburgh ended the 2nd half of December going 4-3-1. There was a big win in Washington for the teams' first meeting of the season, and a sobering loss to the Islanders in the last game of the calendar year. The loss would mark the end of Crosby's 25 game point streak, which left him with a commanding lead in the early race for every trophy seemingly ever created. Things lost in the shuffle of the first half: Malkin's mind-boggling inconsistent play, Mike Comrie's great training camp transitioning into a worthless early regular season, transitioning into an injury that would keep him out most of the season, Arron Asham's injuries and lack of ice time.
Next up, the Winter Classic and the 2nd half! Coming on Thursday!
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