Goal Assessment: Game 45 - Pens 3 Sens 1

Link to Game 45 Thoughts:  The PensNation



+/- Assessment

1st Goal For (Jeffrey): + for

• Murray – breaks up a play in the defensive end, skates the puck up through the neutral zone and passes it to Dupuis in stride
• Dupuis – passes to the left to Morrow and draws 2 defensmen towards the net as he crashes the crease
• Morrow – passes the puck to Jeffrey who is trailing in the wake of the area Dupuis opened up
• Jeffrey – one-times a shot past Anderson

2nd Goal For (Iginla): + for

• Vokoun – stopped the puck behind the net and passed it up the boards to Iginla
• Jeffrey – takes the puck into the corner and pushes it along for Morrow to retrieve
• Morrow – chases the puck behind the net and then quickly turns and passes it to Iginla at the goal line
• Iginla – passed the puck to Jeffrey who took it into the zone, then goes to the goal line to accept Morrow’s pass and beat Anderson

1st Goal Against (Wiercioch): - for

• Morrow – in the penalty box for tripping
• Murray – screens Vokoun, causing a late reaction by the goalie

3rd Goal For (Kennedy): + for

• Cooke – dumps the puck into the corner and then wins a puck battle and passes it out to Kennedy on the goal line
• Kennedy – won a puck battle off the faceoff in the defensive zone and passed it to Cooke, then made his way to the goal line to tap Cooke’s pass in past Anderson 

Season +/-:  Click here for the Season +/- Spreadsheet

Neal Scores, Neil Gets Thrown Out, Pens Win

Main Storylines:

• Dylan Reese was sent down to WBS when Kris Letang and Matt Niskanen were activated off of IR
• Eric Tangradi was traded to Winnipeg for a 7th round pick
• Vitale returns to the lineup and Jeffrey sits.  Bortuzzo is a healthy scratch with Letang and Niskanen back
• Brandon Sutter is playing in his 300th career game

Result:

Pens 4  Sens 2

Goals:  Dupuis (5) from Crosby, Kunitz

            Neal (9) (PP) from Crosby, Martin

            Neal (10) from Cooke, Engelland

            Crosby (6) from Martin, Neal

ESPN Recap: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400442662

Stats:

• Sidney Crosby recorded his 400th career assist
• Crosby and Evgeni Malkin led the team with 4 shots each; Malkin also had 3 missed shots
• Tanner Glass and Brooks Orpik led with 4 hits each
• Orpik, Sutter, and Matt Cooke each had 3 blocked shots
• Tyler Kennedy played a team low 8:39 (Boychuk at 9:24 and Sutter at 11:30)
• Letang played 27:33 in his return, Niskanen played 21:19
• Joe Vitale was 8 for 10 in faceoffs, Malkin was 2 for 9

The Good:

All business for Neal.

• James Neal:  The real deal put together a nice 3 point night and put on a clinic for how to pass the puck in the offensive zone and slide into open space.  Both of his goals were a product of just occupying areas where the Senators completely ignored.  His assist was beautiful; he was in a great position to shoot but got Anderson moving side to side with a pass.  It was a very smart game for Neal.
• Evgeni Malkin:  Malkin gets no love on the scoresheet but directly impacted every goal except for the first one.  He moved the puck well during powerplays and provided strong puck support on the boards.  My favorite thing about his game: far fewer turnovers than usual.

Noteworthy:

(new section since some players like to be amazingly bad and incredibly good all at the same time)

It certainly wasn't the cleanest game for Fleury or Martin.

• Marc-Andre Fleury:  Flower demonstrated the full spectrum of his game, giving up an odd goal off of his knee and a weak goal off of his glove, and then stopping multiple one-timers and breakaways.  If the Pens don’t score more than 2, this game is a loss and it’s all on Fleury.  But they did score more than 2, so he gets credit for the big saves he made and keeping the Pens in the game.  The biggest takeaway is that he allowed 2 weak goals quickly, was left in the game, and returned back to form.  That’s a big step in maturity for him.
• Paul Martin:  It’s odd to see the 3rd star of the game have 3 penalties, but it worked out for Martin against Ottawa.  He took two of those penalties to hinder breakaways as he had trouble keeping up with Ottawa’s speed (smart penalties to take at the time).  On the flip side though, his puck movement and overall play was fantastic and he really calms the powerplay down for everyone.  Even if it wasn’t his best defensive game, it was still a solid game.
• Sidney Crosby:  Crosby continues to shine as he closes in on 1st in the scoring race.  His passing and vision are up to speed but I have a major complaint about his blind/backwards/forced passes.  He made 4 of them last night, passing on 3 open shooting lanes in the process.  It didn’t cost the Penguins at all last night, but that’s the type of turnover that leads to a backbreaking goal.  He needs to corral that a bit.

The Bad:

• Craig Adams:  Adams played a little more than usual (over 13 minutes) and had an underwhelming game (along with the 4th line as a whole).  Though it was the whole 4th line that got trapped in the defensive zone numerous times, Adams struggled the most when it came to clears, passes, and just making the smart play.  He struggled to chip pucks along the boards and frequently passed to no one.  For a player used specifically for his defensive prowess, this was an off game for Adams.
• Kris Letang:  If Letang wasn’t returning from injury, he would have been thrown into the next section easily.  He definitely looked a half step slower than usual (expected in his return) but did not change his game to adjust to it.  He completely missed on at least 3 hits which put him out of position in the defensive zone.  I’m glad he’s back in the lineup, but I wonder if it was a game too soon.

The Ugly:

Can't even imagine what the photographer was thinking.

• Cooke “Incident”:  I’ll keep this short:  a) The whistle should have blown when the puck hit the netting before this even happened, b) Cooke did not look at Karlsson’s legs, c) Players raise their skates when posturing along the boards all the time, d) Cooke did not intentionally step on Karlsson’s ankle, e) Chris Neil punching Cooke repeatedly was absurd, f) Cooke deserved the 10 minute misconduct for trying to throw Neil’s stick into the stands, f) There is no supplemental discipline for Cooke, nor should there be, g) I wish Karlsson a speedy recovery, he really is a lot of fun to watch.

+/- Assessment:

• 1st GF (Dupuis): + for Despres (keeps puck in), Kunitz (retrieves puck), Crosby (gets puck from Kunitz, pass to Dupuis), Dupuis (goal)
• 1st GA (Da Costa): - for no one.  Only Fleury at fault for the odd goal off his knee
• 2nd GA (O’Brien): - Dupuis (neutral zone turnover), Engelland (can’t close gap on O’Brien), Fleury with another weak effort
• 2nd GF (Neal): + for Letang (gives Crosby a passing option), Malkin (settles it down), Martin (draws 2 dmen, passes to Crosby), Crosby (feeds Neal), Neal (goal)
• 3rd GF (Neal): + for Cooke (offensive zone steal, deflection, screen), Malkin (pass to Engelland), Engelland (shot), Neal (goal)
• 4th GF (Crosby): + for Malkin (puck retrieval, pass to Neal), Neal (pass to Martin), Martin (pass to Crosby), Crosby (goal)
• Season +/-:  Click here for the Season +/- Spreadsheet

Thoughts:

Cooke's solid play was overshadowed by a circus.

• 2nd Line Wing:  Bylsma made a very nice (and slightly overdue) line switch after the 1st period to put Matt Cooke on the 2nd line and Zach Boychuk on the 3rd line.  I thought the move immediately paid dividends for both lines as Boychuk’s speed opened things up for the 3rd line and Cooke’s style cleared tight areas for Malkin and Neal.  I had completely forgotten the idea of Cooke on the 2nd line after camp since he has been invisible all season, but it was clear in 2 periods that he was a better option than Tangradi, Jeffrey, or Boychuk.  Hopefully Boychuk's familiarity with Sutter will help out the 3rd line as well.  (coughcough, cya TK, coughcough)
• Tangradi Trade:  Tangradi to Winnipeg for a 7th round pick.  I wish him the best of luck. I really do think he was just bad for this system and will be a serviceable NHLer elsewhere.  Watch him score on Friday night now.  Also, thank Winnipeg for the 7th round pick because that clearly shows Tangradi was going to be put on waivers and Winnipeg was high enough on waivers that they may not have even needed to make a trade for him.
• Bortuzzo Scratched:  If you regularly read this blog or follow me on twitter, you know I didn’t like this move (I owe a 41 tweet rant for it now).  I would much rather have Bortuzzo in the lineup than Engelland.  Bortuzzo has more potential, was playing better over the past couple of weeks, and has more of a future here than Engelland.  He also brings the same (if not more effective) pesky grit that Engelland has.  Hopefully Bortuzzo gets back in the lineup soon.
• Bennett Called Up:  Now that Bennett has finally been called up, it’s time to argue about what line he should be on, etc.  Personally, I reunite Kunitz with Malkin/Neal and give Sid his future career winger in Bennett.  If that doesn’t work out, Kunitz and Bennett can always be switched, but I’m willing to jump start the 2nd line at the possible expense of the first line for a couple games when you know Kunitz can always go back to the top line comfortably.  Sid has shown the capability to make anyone a scorer, literally anyone.  Let him do it with Bennett.

Pens Record: 9-5-0, 18 pts

Next Game:  2/15 @ Wpg, 7pm

NHL Tie-Breaking Procedure for Shortened Season

File this under the "No One Cares until April" category, but I noticed something interesting in the standings today (thanks to @Iceburgh29 for questioning them on twitter).



Ottawa and Pittsburgh each have 13 games played and 16 points.  The first tie-breaker is percentage of possible points earned, so that's the same.  A while back, the NHL switched the second tie-breaker from wins to "non-shootout" wins, so they each have 7 ROW (Regulation + OT wins) as well.  The third tie-breaker is points earned in the head-to-head matchup.  Pittsburgh beat Ottawa in their only game of the season, a 2-1 shootout victory.  So why are the Senators ahead in the standings?

It never mattered before, because each conference team played their division members 6 times and their conference members 4 times.  Now that some division matchups are 5 games and all conference matchups are 3 games, there's a new twist.

The third tie-breaker is:

"The greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs. If two clubs are tied, and have not played an equal number of home games against each other, points earned in the first game played in the city that had the extra game shall not be included. If more than two clubs are tied, the higher percentage of available points earned in games among those clubs, and not including any "odd" games, shall be used to determine the standing." (Source: ESPN) 

Read:  For each divisional season series with 5 games, only the last 2 games in each city count.  For every conference season series with 3 games (all of them), only the last game in each city counts.  This is the NHL's way of adjusting for "unfair" home ice advantage in a season series.

The 4th tie-breaker is goal differential.  Since the Pens play in Ottawa twice this year, the first shootout win no longer matters in the head-to-head tie-breaker.  So, Ottawa and their +10 trump Pittsburgh and their +9.

It certainly doesn't matter much now, but we'll see if it makes a difference in April.

Happy Geno Bobblehead Day!

Orpik-Martin Carry Penguins to a Win

Main Storylines:

• Marc-Andre Fleury is in net tonight (Vokoun is 5-12 lifetime against Ottawa)
• Lineup remains the same (Lovejoy paired with Engelland, Kennedy on 2nd line, Glass on 3rd, Tangradi on 4th)
• Senators goalie Craig Anderson enters this game with only 2 goals allowed in 3 games (83 saves on 85 shots)
• Daniel Alfredsson (flu) will sit out this game

Result:

Pens 2  Senators 1 (SO)

Goals:  Neal (4) from Malkin

ESPN Recap:  http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400442540

Stats:

• Brooks Orpik had 9 blocked shots
• Joe Vitale was the only Penguin without a shot
• Evgeni Malkin recorded 4 takeaways
• Paul Martin played 30:26, Letang 29:10, and Orpik 28:28
• Sidney Crosby took 31 of 69 faceoffs in the game (Malkin only took 3 faceoffs in the 2nd and 3rd periods, going 3-0 after 1-6 in the 1st)

The Good:

Kids, this is how you play defense.

• Brooks Orpik:  Orpik played a tremendous game on defense for the Penguins, blocking 9 shots and playing 28:28.  His positioning when phenomenal and most of those blocked shots came as he forced opposing forwards to the outside, limiting their options.  It was truly a perfect textbook game of defense from Orpik.
• Paul Martin:  Martin continued his strong play this season, leading the team with 30:26 of ice time in the wake of Niskanen’s injury.  He looked very comfortable with the puck and was a good quarterback at the point for the 2nd powerplay.  Martin was only out of position once on defense in this game and had a very strong game overall.
• Marc-Andre Fleury:  Though he only stopped 1 of 3 shootout attempts, Fleury was a rock in net.  He made 31 saves on 32 shots including a point blank save on a 3 on 2 in the 2nd period and an awkward deflection off of Letang in the 3rd.  He had no scary puck control issues and positioned himself well throughout the game.

The Bad:

Malkin was taken down by the 3rd star of the game.

• Powerplay Line 1:  The top PP line looked dismal as they were unable to set themselves up comfortably or control cross-ice passes.  Ottawa was very aggressive on the PK against the top unit and Neal especially had trouble controlling the puck in such situations.  The Pens may want to dumb down the top powerplay and just focus on outside passes to get the PK to sit back a little before working towards movement and getting “lost” behind the play.
• (Malkin was almost here but redeemed himself with a very strong 3rd period)

  Oh, I hope someone's there. Ohhhh, livin' on a prayer." -- Evgeni Malkin's philosophy on passing this season.
  — Ken (@PensNation_Ken) January 27, 2013

The Ugly:

One of many bad puck decisions by Kunitz.

• Matt Niskanen Injury:  Niskanen left the game after the first period with a “lower body” injury. It looked like he went legs-first into the boards awkwardly but not to the point that any serious injury would occur.  Bylsma said he will re-evaluated on Monday in Pittsburgh.
• Chris Kunitz:  Kunitz’s slow start to the season continued as he had major puck control and turnover issues.  He was unable to properly run or assist breakouts from the defensive zone and he was knocked off the puck easily in the offensive zone.  While Crosby looked strong and creative tonight, some of it was wasted on Kunitz’s subpar play.  He’s been good away from the puck, just not good with it.

+/- Assessment:

• 1st GF (Neal): + for Tangradi (driving to the net), Malkin (pass), Neal (goal)
• 1st GA (Greening): - for Lovejoy (furthest Penguin in offensive zone), Malkin (turnover and misses puck on 2nd chance), Neal (skates at puck he can’t touch instead of backing away)
• Season +/-: http://www.crosbyftw.com/p/plusminus-spreadsheet.html

Thoughts:

Cooke's PK > even strength right now.

• New/Old Lines:  Half way through the game, TK returned to the 3rd line and Glass was promoted to the 2nd line.  Both lines improved greatly with the change and it looks like Glass may be the best fit next to Malkin for now.  Cooke has been very quiet without TK on the other wing and Sutter has looked rather uncomfortable lately after a strong first 2 games.  I think it’s best to keep Cooke-Sutter-TK intact as a 3rd line.
• Tangradi:  Tangradi had another solid game, earning a plus when he drove to the net on Neal’s goal.  Mind you, any competent forward would do the same thing and earn that plus, but he did it and that’s what matters.  Tangradi’s game seems to be improving bit by bit and I say give him the 4th line again on Tuesday.  He even played well enough to stay in over Jeffrey for Tuesday in my opinion.  Maybe he’s actually finding his place now.
• Team Defense:  Give a lot of credit to the Pens’ 5 defensemen and their work after Niskanen went out.  All of them logged more minutes than usual and played every strong throughout the game.  Engelland and Letang had some great recoveries in the defensive zone.  While the D looked good, the forwards need to help out more often.  There were a few 3 on 2s that the D handled well, but the forwards don’t always look on the same page of who should be covering who.  Less line changing would probably help them figure their defensive game out.
• Shootout:  Neal, Crosby, Malkin is just an absurd shootout lineup and all 3 scored with great goals tonight.  This makes the list because Letang was not a shooter though which is an intriguing change.  Letang has certainly slowed down since his first couple years with shootouts but I was surprised Bylsma didn’t use him.
• Root Sports Broadcast:  Does anyone know why we need 8 different camera angles during the game?  The zoom-ins were horrible, especially on players crossing the blue line as you lost any awareness of what was going on around the ice.  The cameras in the corners are cool if the puck is tied up in a corner or if there is a scrum, but not when the play is flying around the corner.  Just awful camera work.

Pens Record: 3-2-0, 6 pts

Next Game:  1/29 vs NYI, 7:30pm

Free Agency Day - Live (kinda)

I'll do my best to live blog Day 1 of free agency with my quick thoughts and analysis around the league.  Just hit refresh every so often!

9:35pm
- The Capitals have signed Joey Crabb to a 1 yr. deal.  Crabb spent the last 2 years in Toronto, and put up 26 points in 67 games for the Maple Leafs last year.  The Caps will find him quite useful on the penalty kill and as a role player in general.  He'll get $950k with the Caps this season.

and I'm going to call it a night at that.  Mostly minor league deals at this point (Devils sign Jay Leach to a 2-way deal, Avs sign Bryan Lerg to a 2-way deal)  Thanks for keeping up!!


9:20pm
- The Sabres have agreed to "germs" according to the Sabres twitter account with John Scott.  Scott played with both the Rangers and Blackhawks last year.  He provides versatility as he can play wing or defense and is a nice extra to have on the NHL roster.  He also plays the tough guy role quite well at a height of 6'8.  It's a 1 yr deal worth $600k.

- The Penguins have signed forward Trevor Smith to a 1 yr, 2-way deal.  The 24 year old center played in 16 games with the Lightning and scored 5 points.  This is another AHL depth move for the Baby Pens.


9:10pm
- Things have quieted down greatly and many teams have said they are done for the day.  I don't expect much else to happen tonight except for maybe a small deal or two.


8:35pm
- Bob McKenzie is reporting that Matt Carle will not make a decision until Ryan Suter has made his decision.  So don't expect anything until tomorrow.  Suter's agent has said that he will not make his decision tonight, "Tomorrow is a new day."  Salvador appears to be following suit and will not make a decision until Suter has signed either.


8:15pm
- The Ducks have signed Jordan Hendry to a 1 yr deal in an effort to sign every defenseman left I guess.  He played in the Swiss Elite League for most of last year though he does have 129 career NHL games from his time in Chicago a couple of years back.


7:50pm
- Jason Garrison is finally off the board as the Vancouver Canucks sign him after losing Salo and Rome today.  Garrison's deal is for 6 years with a cap hit of $4.6 million per year.  This is a long and pricey deal for a defenseman that has only proven himself for one year.  If he can boost the powerplay like he did in Florida, it may be worth it, but I am skeptical of the length here.  Garrison had 16 goals last year, 9 on the powerplay.  Can he repeat those numbers?
Note: It appears he took less money to sign with Vancouver according to Bob McKenzie.  He was being offered "Wideman-like" numbers.

- The Ducks have bolstered their blueline even more today with Sheldon Souray for 3 years, $11 million total.  With a heavy shot from the blue line, they may have filled their loss from trading Visnovsky to the Isles at the draft last week.  Souray had been offered a deal by the Stars but wanted to test the market for more money/years at the age of 36.  For a player that was almost out of the NHL not that long ago, it's certainly an intriguingly long/pricey deal though.

- In my opinion, these two deals could fall under the "regrets" for each team in a couple of years...


5:30-7:30pm
Sorry, was away for a couple hours but here's what I missed:

- Parise and Suter are both expected to wait until tomorrow to make decisions.  Parise has narrowed his list down to 6 teams and informed teams as much.

- Defenseman Bryan Allen signed with the Anaheim Ducks for 3 years at $3.5 million/yr.  This is a very reasonable price for one of the better defensive guys that was available on the market.  I had him going for more money than this, so I would say it's a solid deal for Anaheim and definitely improves their defense.  At 6'4, 220 lbs, Allen will protect the crease well.

- Detroit signed Mikael Samuelsson to a 2 year deal for $3 million/yr.  Samuelsson had success with Detroit a few years back, though he brings more age to an already aging team.  Regardless, he is low risk as he already knows Detroit well and did score 31 points in 54 games with the Panthers last year.  Detroit has so much cap space that the price is insignificant to them.

- Detroit also signed winger Jordin Tootoo away from Nashville for 3 years at $1.9 million/yr.  Tootoo was a career Predator and scored 125 points in 486 games with the franchise.  At just 5'9, he brings an abundance of scrappiness, accumulating 725 PIM during that time, and will be a solid energy guy for Detroit.

- Defenseman Aaron Rome was signed by the Dallas Stars for 3 years at $1.5 million/yr.  This is a great price for Rome as an NHL caliber defenseman who was not retained by Vancouver.  Dallas has an excessive amount of NHL ready defensemen right now, but this will give them depth at the position.

- The Penguins signed Warren Peters to a 1 yr, 2-way deal.  The deal is worth $600k at the NHL level and $105k in the AHL.  Peters can fight...yeah I'll leave it at that.  More depth and grit for WBS in the AHL essentially.


5:20pm
- Rumors are swirling that Ryan Suter has picked the Red Wings per Nick Kypreos, but Pierre LeBrun has now refuted that saying that Suter's agent has no decision yet from Ryan.

- Sami Salo has signed a 2 year deal with Tampa Bay for $3.75 mil/yr.  It's a steep price for the veteran who is best known for his play in Vancouver, but he will be a huge help for the Lightning and their awful defensive/goaltending situation.  The market for defensemen continues to be rough.

- Toronto actually does sign center Jay McClement to a 2 year deal worth $1.5 million/yr.  The price is solid and fits with the prices seen with Latendresse, Boyes, etc.  The Leafs get a solid role player that will boost all aspects of their team defensively.

- The Pens have signed Pittsburgh native Dylan Reese to a 1 yr, 2-way deal.  Reese scored 7 points in 28 games with the Islanders last season and brings some bulk to the defense even though he's only 6'1.  He'll likely spend most if not all of his time in the AHL though.


5:05pm
- Parise and Suter are holding NHL Free Agency hostage at gunpoint as far as I can tell.


4:45pm
- The Isles have signed defenseman Jon Landry to a 1 yr, 2-way contract.  Landry had 20 points in 34 games with Bridgeport in the AHL after getting promoted from the ECHL.  Yes, this has slowed down so much that I'm referencing the ECHL.


4:35pm
- Columbus replaces Methot in the free agent market and signs veteran Adrian Aucoin to a 1 yr, $2 million deal (plus bonuses).  Aucoin had 9 points in 64 games last season with Phoenix.  Phoenix appears to be hemorrhaging veterans this offseason.  Aucoin will provide a nice veteran presence for a young and somewhat lost Columbus team.

Unfortunately for Columbus, Aucoin's beard could not
reach a deal.

4:20pm
- Another goalie is off the market as Chris Mason has signed with Nashville for 1 year, $1.25 million plus bonuses.  The Flyers were originally in on him, but that may have died off after they signed Leighton.  Mason has big (literally) shoes to fill now that Lindback is no longer in Nashville to back up Rinne.

- The Blues have signed defenseman Tayor Chorney to a 2 way deal worth $525k in the NHL and $105k in the AHL.  Chorney was with St. Louis for a hot second last season before going to Edmonton and will return as an AHL defender most likely.


4:10pm
- It certainly seems like quite a few teams are hamstrung by waiting on large offers for Parise and Suter.  Things will liven up quickly once those 2 make decisions, but no one knows when that will happen.

- A popular Plan B option for the Parise sweepstakes, P.A. Parenteau has signed with Colorado for 4 years, $4 mil/yr.  Parenteau had 67 points in 80 games last season as he turned heads, especially with 49 assists.  He will be a solid powerplay addition for the Avs since he scored 19 of his 67 points with the extra man.  I have a hard time believing he will be worth that money for 4 years though.  Regardless, it is a nice move for improving the Avs and using their plethora of cap space.

It will be interesting to see if Parenteau can succeed with pressure
and not just on a losing team.

4:00pm
- Chicago has signed defenseman Sheldon Brookbank to a 2 year contract worth $1.25 mil/yr.  He had 14 points in 80 games last year for Anaheim and was a +11.  The Hawks were looking for a right handed defenseman which is the big key here.  He's another 3rd pairing, stay at home defenseman that won't cause many problems.

- Edmonton has signed Darcy Hordichuk to a 1 year deal.  Hordichuk has 1138 penalty minutes in 538 games.  That's all you need to know there.  He will make $850k.

- Winnipeg has signed Alexei Ponikarovsky to a 1 year deal worth $1.8 million.  Ponikarovsky fit in well with the Devils after the Hurricanes traded him late in the season, but teams have generally been frustrated by his inconsistencies.  He still provides a big body with a solid wrist shot though, so if he gets comfortable, there is a lot of potential still.

- The Florida Panthers have signed tough guy and mustache lover George Parros to a 2 year deal.  Parros brings a great locker room presence and the typical skills of a tough guy.  He is a big fan favorite around the league and does a lot of work in the community.  He will average $925k per year.

The stache says it all.

- The Islanders sign forward Eric Boulton to a 1 year deal.  Boulton played 51 games for the Devils last year at left wing and had 0 points, a -12 rating, and 115 PIMs.  He'll get $525k.


3:45pm
- As all seems to quiet down, the Avalanche have signed defenseman Greg Zanon.  Zanon spent last year with Minnesota and Boston and is your typical 3rd line stay at home defenseman.  I guess he will make up for the Carkner signing that never happened for Colorado.  It's a 2 year deal worth 2.25 mil/yr.


3:30pm
- Ryan Suter's agent has stated they are going through offers one by one and calling teams back so it will take some time.  Meanwhile, Carolina GM Jim Rutherford said Parise's decision will likely not come until Monday based on his talks with him, though Parise is expected to narrow it down soon.


3:25pm
- Michael Haley, former AHL/NHL tough guy of the Isles has switched New York allegiances to the Rangers.

- Speaking of the Rangers, Brandon Prust has signed a 4 year, $10 million total deal to join Montreal.  Prust is a great pest type player for Montreal, but he does not help with their small size and that's a steep price for a pest.

He's such a clean player, how could you not want him?

3:05pm
- First trade of the day is done: Ottawa has traded Nick Foligno to Columbus for defenseman Marc Methot.  Methot will be a nice defensive defenseman addition for Ottawa and will replace Filip Kuba as Erk Karlsson's defensive partner.  Foligno is currently an RFA but will bring a lot of speed to the Blue Jackets.

- Dustin Penner has re-signed with the Los Angeles Kings for 1 year, $3.25 million.  Penner and the Kings had agreed to a paycut last week, it was just a matter of time for a deal.  That price is still probably a little high for what he has done the last few regular seasons.

- Phoenix has signed goalie Chad Johnson to a 1 yr, 2-way contract.  He will likely be the starter for Phoenix's AHL affiliate and provide depth if necessary.

- Kris Newbury has re-signed with the Rangers on a 2 yr, 2-way deal.  He may get a couple sniffs of the NHL like in previous yeras, but it won't be much.

- Francis Bouillon has signed a 1 yr deal in Montreal for $1.5 million.  He is a tough defensive defenseman that is mainly a depth guy.  The price just demonstrates how tough it is to get defensemen right now.


3:00pm
- Update on Latendresse - he has passed his physical and has signed with Ottawa.  Nothing else going on but rumors and talk right now...


2:45pm
- Filip Kuba has signed a 2 year deal with Florida worth $4 million per year.  Kuba will take away the sting of losing Jason Garrison as he can play on the powerplay and he put up 32 points last year.  It's a steep price though and makes me wonder how much Garrison and others will get on the open market.

2:35pm
- The New York Rangers have signed former Penguin Arron Asham to a two year deal worth $2 million total.  Asham will officially have played for every team in the Atlantic division with this deal.  Though unconfirmed, I don't believe the Pens ever even made an offer to retain him despite his wishes to remain in Pittsburgh.

- The Penguins have signed former Jets forward Tanner Glass to a 2 year deal worth $1.1 million per year.  Glass fills the 4th line winger role that Asham held essentially.  Glass had 246 hits last season and put up 16 points in 78 games.  He is a strong forechecker with decent speed.  He's not afraid to get in front of a puck either with 51 blocks last year, expect him to help fill the Staal void on the PK.


2:25pm
- Update on Ray Whitney - Dallas was actually the only team to offer him a 2 year deal, so it was a no brainer for him.


2:10pm
- Matt Carkner has now officially signed a 3 year deal with the Islanders after the Avs claimed to sign him an hour ago.  The Avs twitter account can no longer be trusted.  Carkner will get $1.5 million/yr., twice as much as Ottawa was offering.

- Calgary has signed center Ben Street to a 2-way deal, formerly of the AHL Penguins.  He scored 57 points in 71 games for the Baby Pens last year.


2:05pm
- Columbus has signed goalie Curtis McElhinney to a 1 year, 2-way deal.  Expect him to start in the AHL and be the primary backup if Mason or Bobrovsky get hurt.  He will make $750k at the NHL level and $105k in the AHL.

- Pittsburgh has signed minor league center Riley Holzapfel to a 1 yr, 2-way deal.  He will make $525k at the NHL level and $105k in the AHL. He had 22 points in 28 games with the Syracuse Crunch last year and 15 points in 29 games with St. John's.  It appears he will just replace Ben Street, who has signed with Calgary.

- Pittsburgh has also OFFICIALLY signed Sidney Crosby to his 12 year, $104.4 million deal.

1:55pm
- San Jose signs former Stars winger Adam Burish to a 4 year deal worth approximately $1.8 million/yr.  Burish provides a solid forechecking presence and adds toughness to the team as a 3rd liner.

- Ottawa signs Andre Benoit to a 1 year, 650k deal.

- Pittsburgh re-signs forward Steve MacIntyre to a 2 yr, 2 way contract.  MacIntyre played 12 games for the Pens last season, accumulating no points and 6 PIMs.  I flat out don't understand the signing.  He will likely spend most of his time in the AHL, but he will make $625k at the NHL level.

- The Islanders have signed former Sabres center Brad Boyes to a 1 year, $1 million deal.  Boyes had a very disappointing year last season, scoring only 23 points in 65 games.  This is essentially a 1 year tryout for him to prove his NHL worth again.  The Isles may have one of the steals of free agency in a year with this signing.

Boyes was very promising in St. Louis before a
down year in Buffalo.  This is one signing to watch.

1:45pm
- Ray Whitney has agreed to terms with the Dallas Stars.  The contract will be for 2 years, and total $9 million ($4 million in salary each year and $500k in bonuses each year).  Whitney had been looking for a 2 year deal at his age (40) and found a nice pay day in that.  He put up 77 points last season and was a wizard (had to say it) on the powerplay, but his age is a big question in this deal.  He didn't top 60 points in the 2 seasons previous to that, so can he keep it up?  His locker room presence will be great for some of the young stars in Dallas though.  Expect Jamie Benn's goal total to increase with this.  Whitney's deal also includes a no-movement clause, and a modified no trade clause where he can list 10 teams to be traded to.

Age was a deterrent to most teams, but not Dallas.

- Brad Staubitz has signed a 2 year deal with Anaheim.  Staubitz leaves the Minnesota Wild after mainly playing a tough guy role for them.  He'll make $625k in the first year and $650k in the 2nd year.

- Detroit has signed forward Damien Brunner to a 1 yr, 2-way deal.


1:40pm
- Colby Armstrong has signed a 1 year deal with Montreal after being cut loose by Toronto last week. He will be reunited with former coach Michel Therrien there. The deal is for $1 million.  If he can stay healthy, this will be a solid deal for Montreal.  Armstrong will also be collecting $1 million from Toronto as well.  Per Colby's tweet: "I am so happy to have just agreed to a one year deal with Montreal. So pumped. My fav childhood team. Can't wait#dreamcometrue #habs"


1:30pm

- Minnesota has signed Torrey Mitchell as they continue to horde former Sharks.  Mitchell has taken a regular shift with San Jose for the last 4 seasons as a 3rd/4th line center.  The contract is for 3 years at $1.9 mil/yr.  He's a fast and physical guy, a solid role playing forward.

- Ottawa is on the verge of signing Guillaume Latendresse.  He is currently in Ottawa for a physical.  The deal would be for 1 year, $1.2 million plus bonuses.

- Pierre LeBrun has reported that the Red Wings are no longer going to Toronto to visit with Zach Parise.  No one knows what that means.


1:25pm
- Pittsburgh signs goalie Jeff Zatkoff to a 2 yr, 2 way deal worth $525k in the NHL and $105k in the AHL.  He will add depth to the Pens minor league team behind/with Brad Thiessen.  He formerly played for the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL (The Kings affiliate) and put up a 2.49 GAA and .920 save % last season with a 21-17-1 record.

- Zenon Konopka has agreed to a 2 year contract with the Minnesota Wild.  He is a big bruising center that can hit and fight like very few.  He is a solid faceoff man as well.


1:10pm- The New York Rangers have re-signed defenseman Stu Bickel to a 2 year deal, worth $750k per year.  Bickel played 51 games for the Rangers last year and provides toughness on the back end, accumulating 108 PIMs in that time.

- The Carolina Hurricanes have signed defenseman Joe Corvo to a 1 year deal and re-signed goalie Justin Peters to a two year deal.  Peters is an important signing as the Canes just lost backup goalie Brian Boucher for 4-6 months to a shoulder injury.  Corvo was much maligned as a turnover prone defenseman in his previous stint in Carolina, so I can't imagine fans are pleased with that.  Corvo's deal is worth only $2 million though, which is relatively cheap in this market.  Peters will make $550k in the first year of his deal and $525k in the 2nd year of his deal.  The 1st year is a 2-way deal and the 2nd year will be a one way deal.

Corvo's nickname in Carolina was "Oh No Corvo".  That's not good.

- Ottawa has signed defenseman Mike Lundin to a 1 year deal, worth $1.15 million.  Lundin is your typical depth stay at home defenseman.  He has over 200 games on his NHL resume but very little on the stats sheet.


1:00pm
- Zach Parise is expected to have an hour meeting with Detroit representatives starting at 3:30.  I would not expect a decision from him until tonight at the very earliest, though likely tomorrow or later.  The Pens have already had Sidney Crosby and Paul Martin (Minnesota connection) call him and talk to him with their offer today.  Many other teams are expected to either meet or talk with him.


12:50pm
- Per Darren Dreger, John Mitchell has signed a 2 year deal with Colorado.  Mitchell played in 63 games for the Rangers last year, accumulating 16 points and a +10 rating.  He is a solid 4th line center and role player for the Avs to pick up.  Mitchell's deal is for $1.1 million/yr.

- The Avs have also signed defenseman Matt Carkner.  Carkner will provide a lot of size and grit for the Avs as a 3rd line defenseman. (confirmed by the Avs, unconfirmed by Carkner's agents - PROVEN TO BE FALSE)


12:35pm
- Sportsnet is reporting that goalie Jonas Gustavsson has signed with the Red Wings to back up Jimmy Howard.  The deal is for 2 years at 1.5 million per year.  This is a solid signing, I would have expected him to go somewhere where he had a chance to steal more starts.  The backup goalie market is absurdly thin at this point.


12:30pm
- Things went crazy around 1:30-2pm last year...hopefully we don't have to wait that long here.

- The Florida Panthers have agreed to 1 yr, 2-way deals with center Greg Rallo and goalie Dov Grumet-Morris.  This is meaningless for the NHL.

- David Moss has signed with Phoenix for a 2 year deal.  (had re-signed with Calgary incorrectly before, blame the internet.)


12:20pm
- Derek Meech re-signs with Winnipeg.  Meech only played 2 games for the Jets last season.  Generally seen as a 7th or 8th defenseman.  The deal is a 1 year, 2 way deal worth $700k at the NHL level and $105k in the AHL.


12:15pm
- The Isles have inquired into signing Brad Boyes who had a very disappointing year in Buffalo.  Yes, I'm resorting to rumors because this is going so slow already...


12:05pm
- Brent Sutter re-signs with the Hurricanes on a 2 way deal worth 550k/105k, with 150k guaranteed.  He will likely be taxied back and forth between their AHL and NHL team as a depth forward.


12:00pm
And we're underway!!
- Tampa Bay has signed Benoit Pouliot to a 1 year deal worth $1.8 million.  He was acquired from Boston before the draft, so this signing is not a surprise.

- The Flyers have signed goalie Michael Leighton to a 1 year, $900,000 deal.  Perhaps he will be Bryzgalov's backup, but the Flyers may continue looking for one still.

- Apparently teams need more than 1 minute to negotiate and sign players today.


11:48am
- Matt Carkner has turned down a $750,000 deal with the Senators and will test the open market.

- Detroit has representatives visiting both Ryan Suter and Zach Parise.  Chris Cheloios and owner Mike Illitch are visiting Suter.  GM Ken Holland and others are at Parise's camp.


11:42am
- The Edmonton Oilers have agreed to a 1 year deal with goalie Yann Danis.  The 31 year old has 49 games of NHL experience, earning most of it with the New York Islanders in 2008-2009.  Just a depth move for the Oilers.

- Terms also coming out on Jonathan Quick's extension from earlier this week.  He will make $7 million over the first 7 years, and then a total of $9 million in the last 3 years of the deal. (Total was 10 years, $58 million).


11:25am
- Ryan Smyth has signed a 2 year extension worth 4.5 mil (total) with Edmonton.  He never wanted to leave Edmonton and the Oilers wanted to keep him, so there is no surprise this deal happened.  It is a considerable and necessary drop from his $6.25 million last year though.

- Tampa Bay has re-signed defensman Evan Oberg to a 1 yr, two way deal.  Oberg has 7 games of NHL experience, so I have little to say aside from it's a depth signing.

- Darren Dreger has tweeted out that Crosby's contract numbers are starting to come out now that he can sign it today.  It will be front-loaded and he will make $12 mil in the first 3 years ($8.7 cap hit overall though).


11:10am
- It's official, Parise is going to the open market but he is not ruling NJ out yet.  Personally, I'm predicting he goes to Minnesota.  Here's hoping I'm wrong!

- Jordan Staal has signed an extension with the Carolina Hurricanes for 10 years, $60 million.  It appears to be the same offer that the Pens gave him, demonstrating his heart was truly in Carolina with his brother Eric.  The Pens were lucky to get the return on him that they did.  Good job Ray Shero.

I imagine he screamed "WOOOO" after signing.

10:40am
- Zach Parise was supposed to say by 10am if he was going to stay with NJ.  I assume since news has not leaked, he is still testing free agency - why wouldn't he at this point.  Ottawa and LA are the newest teams into the mix, Ottawa supposedly offering huge bonuses according to Bruce Garrioch.

- Scott Clemmensen signed a 2 year, 2.4 mil (total) extension with Florida this morning.  They still seem to be the favorites for Luongo, but that one hasn't moved for some reason that I don't know.

Solid backup, not the best at drinking.

- Shane Doan will "test" free agency, but will not sign anywhere until July 9th.  He is looking to stay with Phoenix and waiting to hear about the latest deal to keep the Coyotes there (which they will find out about on the 9th).  So leave him off of your radar for today.

- Ray Whitney is looking for a 2 year deal.  He wants to stay in Phoenix but there's a strong chance they can't keep up with other offers with their financial issues.

Defense Optional, Pens Let Up 8 in a Loss.

Main Storylines:

- Brad Thiessen gets the start tonight as Fleury rests up for a big Atlantic Division matchup against the Devils tomorrow.

- With the Rangers losing to the Sabres last night, the Pens have a chance to take over 1^st place in the Conference tonight.  The Rangers do play the Leafs though, so no matter what happens the Pens will have one less game played after tonight and be in striking distance of 1^st.

- Tangradi and Lovejoy get back into the lineup as Park gets a healthy scratch and Niskanen sits out with an upper body injury.  Vitale remains hurt as well.

Result:

Sens 8  Pens 4

Goals:  Cooke (18) from Engelland

            Cooke (19) from Crosby, Martin

            Kennedy (9) from Sullivan, Staal

            Crosby (3) from Asham, Dupuis

Stats/Milestones:

- Matt Cooke added to his career high goals total, making it 19 now.  He’s had 7 goals in his last 6 games with Crosby.

How do you score over a 6'7 goalie??

- Pascal Dupuis added an assist to extend his career high scoring streak to 9 games

               

The Good:

- The game is over and the Pens get a chance to rebound immediately against the Devils at home tomorrow night.

- Honorable mention to Engelland and Lovejoy, who didn’t do anything spectacular, but I felt played very solid and responsible games on a night where no one else felt like doing that.  Also, it was very nice to see Sid get his first goal in his 2nd comeback.

One of the rare reasons for everyone to smile tonight.

Matt Cooke – Another 2 goal game for Cooke, his 3^rd since Crosby’s return, has him vying to become the 6^th Penguin to hit the 20 goal mark this season.  He pretty much has kept it simple with Sid, either going directly to the net or getting the puck to the net.  It’s a shame he got called for a complete BS penalty, but that hardly nullifies his new found scoring prowess.

The Bad:

- Forwards in their own end.  Everyone got caught up with watching the puck in the zone on three of the Ottawa goals.  There were signs of this in the Nashville game as the Preds certainly had their chances from in close.  The Pens are going to have to start watching closer for players on the backside sneaking in looking for passes.

- The powerplay.  Ottawa played a very energetic and aggressive large box setup against the Pens and it disrupted them completely.  The powerplay couldn’t complete passes, got very few chances, and allowed a shorthanded breakaway goal to Daniel Alfredsson as well.  This powerplay is simply too talented to get caught by Ottawa’s aggressiveness like they did.  We need to see more instinct and less thinking in those situations.

- Odd Man Rushes.  The Pens allowed a disgustingly high amount of odd man breaks and breakaways to the Sens.  Thiessen surely didn’t bail them out on anything, but the defensive was pretty much horrible in providing support.  There were 2 breakaway goals and 2 odd man rush goals against the Pens tonight.  That’s absolutely pathetic.  You can add another goal to that list where an Ottawa player skated in 1 on 3, got through 3 Penguins, and slid the puck over to a wide over Alfredsson.  A horrible effort on defense by the Pens.

A goal celebration covering half the zone shouldn't be this devoid of Penguins.

- Steve Sullivan left at some point in the late 2^nd or early 3^rd period (I didn’t catch when clearly).  Reports seem to be that whatever injury has is minor, but we shall see tomorrow.

This is the last play I recall seeing Sullivan, maybe overextended something?

The Ugly:

- The anthems before the game were seriously horrendous.  The singer sounded like Ms. Piggy, botched the words, and held both anthems out to a total of over 6 minutes.  She even paused at one portion to ask the crowd to get into it.  The Pens bench was laughing the whole time and it was seriously just an embarrassment to both countries.  I won’t even give you a youtube link because you deserve better than that.

- The Penalty Kill was uncharacteristically inattentive tonight.  Both powerplay goals were scored on cross-ice passes where the Pens simply weren’t watching the backside.  There was just a serious lack of focus by the Pens in the defensive end.  I am just going to call it a lapse in judgment for the night and leave it at that.

Orpik/Michalek – By far the worst pairing of the night, they put up a -4 and simply never got to their styles.  Orpik wasn’t very physical and got caught in the offensive zone a few times, including on Spezza’s breakaway from his own blue line.  Meanwhile, Michalek was wandering too far away from the crease looking for stick checks and checks instead of doing his usual good job of blocking passes and shooting lanes.  Both players simply did not stick to their strengths and Thiessen is the one who paid for it.

Uh yeah, one of you should probably cover the future Hall of Famer.

Brad Thiessen – Speaking of Thiessen, his effort wasn’t exactly sharp either.  He had issues controlling rebounds and simply looked small in the net.  I can’t blame him solely for this game as the Pens gave him no help, but he also has to come up with a couple more big stops along the way.  20 saves on 28 shots looks bad for pretty much anyone.

Thoughts:

- I didn’t want to see Bishop injured for Ottawa necessarily, but after the major dive he took when Cooke skated past him, you couldn’t help but think the Hockey Gods were getting him back for that move.  Especially since Ottawa scored on that powerplay they never should have had.

- This team can clearly score.  This team clearly has a Cup winning goalie in Fleury.  But the defensive effort over the past week has been all over the place.  Winning the Cup requires defensive consistency just as much as goaltending and probably moreso than scoring.  So while this team can light it up, the kind of effort they showed tonight is the type of effort the Caps showed in previous years with early exits in the playoffs.  This needs to be fixed immediately.

- The Pens looked more tired/sluggish than the Senators did today even though Ottawa played last night.  With the Sens slumping, I wonder if the team got caught being a little too excited about the Nashville win and looking ahead to NJ tomorrow night.

- Everyone get over Thiessen getting the start.  The argument that the Pens could get first place is not a reason to start Fleury for every game for the rest of the season.  The playoffs are more important than first place, so Fleury will need to sit sometimes.  He will likely sit March 29^th as well.  Johnson looks to be healthy again, so I’m pretty sure this was Thiessen’s last start and Johnson will get the nod on Thursday.  Regardless, if Fleury goes out in the playoffs, all is lost anyways.  So protect him, not a chance at first place.

Guess what, not many goalies are stopping one timers from the crease

Pens Record: 46-22-6, 98 pts, 2^nd in the Atlantic, 4^th in the East

Next Game:  3/25 vs NJ, 7pm