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

Goal Assessment: Game 32 - Pens 4 Isles 2

Link for Game 32 Thoughts:  The PensNation

+/- Assessment

1st Goal Against (Streit): - for

• Jeffrey – clean faceoff loss
• (everyone goes where they are supposed to go, Vokoun looks off of his angle a bit)

1st Goal For (Vitale): + for

• Adams – takeaway at the offensive blue line
• Glass – makes it a 2 on 1 with Vitale and pulls Hamonic a little bit out of position away from Vitale
• Vitale – snipes the corner on Nabokov

2nd Goal Against (Bailey): - for

• Dupuis – failed clear with the puck sitting in front of him
• Crosby – failed clear, then doesn’t skate out to Hamonic at the point OR shadow Bailey (lack of attention to what Kunitz is doing)
• Kunitz – gets caught wandering in the zone, too far away from Hamonic at the point OR Bailey skating to the crease (lack of attention to what Crosby is doing)

2nd Goal For (Kunitz): + for

• Crosby – wins puck battle in the defensive zone to Dupuis, eventually sets up Kunitz
• Dupuis – takes puck from defensive zone and passes it along to Crosby, then drives to the net causing a 3 player screen on Nabokov
• Kunitz – beats Nabokov 5 hole as the screen clears away

3rd Goal For (Sutter): + for

• Orpik – retrieves puck in the defensive zone and clears it out to Neal
• Neal – passes the puck from the neutral zone up to Cooke heading into the offensive zone
• Cooke – patiently waits for Carkner to go down and end up out of position before passing the puck across the crease to Sutter
• Sutter – beats Nabokov from point blank

4th Goal For (Dupuis): + for

• (Vokoun – clears the puck to the blue line)
• Crosby – knocks the puck to the offensive blue line where Dupuis picks it up
• Dupuis – smacks the puck into an empty net

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

Goal Assessment: Game 29 - Pens 3 Rangers 0

Link for Game 29 Thoughts:  The PensNation

+/- Assessment

1st Goal For (Bennett): + for

• Kennedy – passes the puck up the right boards from the defensive blue line
• Jeffrey – chips it along to Bennett into the offensive zone
• Bennett – takes a quick shot that beats Lundqvist on the far side

2nd Goal For (Kennedy): + for

• Letang – good keep on the powerplay when the Rangers almost block the puck out, passes around with Martin and Bennett
• Martin – quarterbacks the powerplay and keeps passing from the point
• Bennett – rotates around with Martin and Letang at the points to keep the Rangers back
• Sutter – draws two defenders next to him at the crease
• Kennedy – one-times a pass from Letang past Lundqvist on the far side

3rd Goal For (Dupuis): + for

• Orpik – stands up Richards with the puck to force a turnover
• Cooke – retrieves the loose puck and passes it up to Jeffrey
• Jeffrey – passes across to Dupuis on a 2 on 1
• Dupuis – waits til Lundqvist goes down, takes the puck to his backhand, and scores

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

Pens Beat Panthers; Malkin Has Concussion-Like Symptoms

Main Storylines:

• Marc-Andre Fleury is back in net. Joe Vitale and Robert Bortuzzo are healthy scratches.  Dustin Jeffrey and Simon Despres take their places respectively.
• Florida goalie Jacob Markstrom is making his first start of the year after being called up this week
• Alexei Kovalev returns to the lineup for Florida after being a healthy scratch last game
• The starting lineup is Beau Bennett with Malkin and Neal

Pens 3  Panthers 1

Goals:  Kunitz (7) (PP) from Neal, Malkin

            Niskanen (3) from Letang

            Jeffrey (1) from Cooke, Kennedy

ESPN Recap: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400442721

Stats:

• Though I have my issues with how the stat is recorded, the Pens had 11 giveaways to the Panthers’ 1.
• Pascal Dupuis led the team in shots (5) and blocked shots (4). Malkin also had 5 shots.
• Chris Kunitz led in hits (4).
• Only 3 players didn’t reach the 10 minute mark for TOI: Jeffrey (9:23), Glass (9:01), Kennedy (8:56)
• Brandon Sutter was the only good faceoff man, going 14 for 18.  Crosby was 8 for 17, Malkin 1 for 6, Jeffrey 2 for 8.

The Good:

Keep that stache you goal scoring creeper.

• Marc-Andre Fleury:  MAF continued his good string of starts, stopping 22 of 23 shots to earn the win.  He certainly wasn’t tested frequently, only facing 3 shots in the 1st period to begin with, but he did make all the tough saves he needed to.  The only goal he allowed was through some screens; it was definitely an acceptable goal against.  Keep it up Flower.
• Matt Niskanen:  Nisky had a great night in the offensive zone, accumulating 3 great shots from the point with 1 resulting in the game winning goal.  He also played well in his own end, mixing in a variety of poke checks and stepping up for hits to separate opposing forwards from the puck.  Add in his team-leading two takeaways and it was a top-notch game for Niskanen.  Also, from my power rankings at the start of this week: "Appears to be improving each game since his return and will likely challenge 7 and 44 for top Dman this week."  It looks like he'll take it with ease right now.
• Brandon Sutter:  Sutter quietly played a strong game in winning 14 of 18 faceoffs and clogging up the neutral zone for the Panthers.  He continues to make his mark defensively (though it largely goes unseen) as he gets in passing lanes and positions himself perfectly to neutralize opposing breakouts.  He’s not very flashy in the defensive zone, but his defensive awareness is off the charts.

Noteworthy:

This goal celebration is not G rated.

• Sidney Crosby:  Crosby and the first line continue to be the most creative and most consistent line the Penguins have.  Crosby himself though is still in the mindset of forcing passes and giving the puck away, especially on the powerplay.  It’s the only complaint anyone can have about Sid’s game right now, but it’s a big momentum neutralizer that needs to stop.
• Dustin Jeffrey:  We saw two sides to Dustin Jeffrey against the Panthers.  One side was his 4th line center version, where he did nothing noticeable and was pretty much invisible on the ice.  The other side was his 3rd line center version, where he looked adept with the puck and confident going to the net.  Jeffrey is not an energy forechecker and does not look great in that role.  Give him the chance to be a skill guy, and there’s an immediate improvement in his game, which was rewarded with a goal.
• Tyler Kennedy: Kennedy barely stays out of the bottom two sections because of his last 10 minutes of play.  He was downright awful in the first period with neutral zone turnover after turnover.  His second period didn’t improve, so Bylsma benched him for the 2nd half of the period.  In the 3rd period, he took an unnecessary slashing penalty on his 1st shift.  Kennedy had 6 negative points in my little rating system in just a period and a half (no one else on the team finished with more than 2).  HOWEVER, his final 10 minutes were strong.  They were strong enough that he forechecked his way into helping out with the Penguins’ final two goals.  If getting benched doesn’t wake him up and get him to continue that last 10 minutes into the next game (if he even gets that opportunity), he needs to be a healthy scratch.

The Bad:

• Turnovers:  Pointed out by Michael Barron (@mdjbarron), the Penguins had an awful lot of turnovers in the neutral zone (beyond the “11 giveaways”).  It was hidden during the game thanks to great puck support and a relatively sluggish Florida team playing their 2nd game in as many nights.  That’s the problem that plagues the team against faster, up-tempo rosters (see: Toronto, NYI).  It’s something to watch for as the season continues on.

The Ugly:

:-(

• Malkin Injury:  Now to the worst part of the game.  I won’t post the video because I’m sure no one wants to see it again, but Malkin is currently out with “concussion-like symptoms” according to Rossi and Yohe at the Trib.  He’s already listed as out for Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay and the Penguins are being extremely cautious to check his neck and back as well (lesson learned).  The hit by Erik Gudbranson was clean; it was just unfortunate with how Malkin slammed into the boards and slammed his head into the boards.  Hope for the best.

+/- Assessment:

• 1st GA (Weaver): - for Martin (fails to clear the puck twice)
• 1st GF (Kunitz): + for Malkin (brings puck into the zone, drops to Neal, passes to Neal again later), Neal (passes to Martin, puts puck on net), Martin (passes to Letang), Letang (passes back down to Malkin), Kunitz (crashes the crease for a goal)
• 2nd GF (Niskanen): + for Bennett (pressure on the puck), Kennedy (pressure on the puck), Letang (keeps puck in, pass to Niskanen), Niskanen (goal from the point)
• 3rd GF (Jeffrey): + for Kennedy (prevents Panthers clear), Cooke (pass to Jeffrey), Jeffrey (goal)
• Season +/-:  Click here for the Season +/- Spreadsheet
• **In an effort to make this a more valuable statistic, I’m going to work in TOI in the next couple days for the season totals**

Thoughts:

Kunitz scores before being violently attacked.

• Weaver Elbow:  Pointed out by Eric Majeski (@LGP_Netwolf), Kunitz took a VICIOUS elbow after he scored for the Pens to tie it up.  Upon watching the replay, Mike Weaver takes a second to look at Kunitz, then winds up and goes full elbow with a follow through on Kunitz’s face.  It’s looked very deliberate and intentional and should have been penalized after the goal.  I doubt it would lead to any supplemental discipline, but it’s something the league should at least look at because that crap needs to get out of the game.
• Malkin Aftermath:  With Malkin missing time, Bylsma has already stated that the 2nd line will likely be Bennett-Sutter-Neal and Jeffrey will be the 3rd line center.  Vitale certainly gets back into the lineup as the 4th line center.  It will be interesting to see if Boychuk is given a chance to take Kennedy’s spot on the 3rd line wing (or potentially 2nd line wing with Sutter) for a game or not.  Sutter has been brilliant defensively but hasn’t added a ton offensively yet.  It will be interesting to see how he deals with the bump up and if he can get his offensive game going next to Neal.  At least the 2nd line at even strength has already been quiet so there won’t be a massive drop off there.  I would imagine the top powerplay becomes Kunitz-Crosby-Neal-Letang-Martin which is more than serviceable for a while.  I daresay that based on the 2nd line performance so far, the Pens will survive Malkin’s injury just fine in the short term.
• Gudbranson’s Comments:  If you happened to see what Erik Gudbranson said about the hit, it was a little interesting.  He stated, “I finished my check. You never want to see a guy go down.  He’s in a vulnerable position but you can’t pass up a hit like that.  It’s unfortunate that he got hurt on the play but it’s one that I’d take every time.” (Quote from @emptynetters).  I’ll be honest, I love the quote.  He was honest and it was a clean hit, he really did nothing wrong.  If Orpik or Kunitz were in the same situation, I would want them to finish the hit and I would love it if they were candid about it.  Same goes for the opponent.

Pens Record: 12-6-0, 24 pts

Next Game:  2/24 vs TB, 7:30pm

Pens Pregame Thoughts & Death of the Podcast

Just a few thoughts heading into the Panthers game tonight:

Lines at the Gameday Skate:

Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis 
Cooke-Malkin-Neal 
Bennett-Sutter-Kennedy 
Glass-Jeffrey-Adams 
(Boychuk, Vitale)

Orpik-Martin 
Niskanen-Letang 
Engelland-Despres 
Eaton-Bortuzzo

Ummm, what?  What did Vitale do to get bumped off the 4th line?  What did Bortuzzo do to get bumped off the 3rd pair? Is there a coaching handbook that says "Following a loss - change one 4th line forward and one 3rd pair defenseman?" I guess for this team, it would say the 4th line center.

Sorry Joe, maybe if you put in less effort.

Vitale should be a staple in the lineup by now. He brings more energy to this team than any other player and has been dominant in the faceoff circle.  Moreover, he's a great fit on the 4th line.  Inserting Jeffrey on the 4th line does no favors to the team or DJ.  I love Jeffrey's defensive prowess and puck skills, but most of that won't be on display on the 4th line.  It does give Bylsma the option of juggling lines though and we all know how awesome that is....

As for the defensive side, I firmly believe Bortuzzo and Despres should both be in over Engelland.  Both have higher upside, and both have brought more to the table this season as well.  This is turning into a game of Survivor between Despres and Bortuzzo.  There is no quicker way to slow their development and ruin any confidence each of them has.  Remember the comments Strait made about essentially being terrified of making a mistake because he would get benched?  Despres and Bortuzzo are living that world right now.  That's a great way to risk ruining one, if not both prospects.  

Admittedly, there is a small part of me starting to wonder if Bylsma and Shero's true developmental styles, techniques, and skills aren't being masked by the greatness that is Crosby and Malkin (which spills over to their linemates) right now.  Take note that I did not include Letang there because for all the natural skill he has, I'm not sure what to say about him developing into a better player than he was.  One day in the future, I'm going to sit down and take a long look at who exactly has developed well under this regime.

Please don't ruin him.

As for Beau Bennett, as I mentioned in my Flyers recap - I'm okay with him on the 3rd line.  I don't think he's being used enough or properly, but I would rather see him gain confidence on the 3rd line than watch him get thrown from 2nd line to healthy scratch because of a bad game.  All I ask with Bennett is that he is used steadily to help him grow his game.  I want to see him on the 2nd line wing, but that position has been anything but steady and this just might be safer for his development right now.

Last thought on the lineup...HOW HAS KENNEDY NOT EVEN BEEN BENCHED FOR ONE GAME YET?!?

Last Night: Panthers 5  Flyers 2

While the result appeared lopsided and the Panthers got off to a very quick start against the Flyers, don't let the score fool you.  The Panthers were by no means dominant against Philly; they pretty much capitalized on 3 huge mistakes by the Flyers in the 1st period.  This should be a win if the Penguins just play smart, focused hockey.  I don't believe that'll be an issue after that Flyers loss.

Weird Stat for the Panthers, here are their goal outputs for the last 6 games (record of 1-2-3): 0, 5, 0, 5, 0, 5.  Fleury shutout on the horizon?

Death of the Podcast

As you may have noticed, we have not done a podcast in two weeks now.  I'll throw Adam under the bus for having a life and a busy schedule.  In the wake of such factors, I am joining the crew at The PensNation and will eventually start doing posts on their site.  I have already been joining them on some of their radio shows, so make sure you check out their site.  Here is an iTunes podcast link for their shows.  Thanks for listening to the CrosbyFTW podcast while it lasted and I hope you join me and my new colleagues over at The PensNation!  I'll still post to this site for a while though, fyi.

Fleury Shines in 3-1 Win over Winnipeg

Main Storylines:

• Beau Bennett is making his NHL debut and starts on the 3rd line with Sutter and Kennedy
• Brooks Orpik is playing in his 600th career game
• The Penguins will face Eric Tangradi in his first game since being traded just two days ago
• Matt Cooke will start on Malkin’s wing
• Jeffrey, Boychuk, and Bortuzzo are the scratches

Result:

Pens 3  Jets 1

Goals:  Adams (1) from Vitale, Letang

            Neal (10 (PP) from Malkin, Crosby

            Adams (2) (EN) from Kunitz, Orpik

ESPN Recap: http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400442673

Stats:

• Craig Adams led the team with 4 shots (and 2 goals)
• Kunitz, Malkin, and Letang combined for 10 missed shots
• Letang, Orpik, and Bennett each blocked 2 shots

The Good:

Well-deserved goal for the 4th line.

• Marc-Andre Fleury:  Unquestionably the number one star of the game, Fleury stopped 25 of 26 shots and that doesn’t even begin to describe how well he played for the Pens.  He survived numerous odd-man breaks and scrambles in front of the net, only losing his shutout with less than 2 minutes left.  The Pens had major problems getting trapped in their own zone for shifts over a minute long and Fleury is the only reason none of them ended in disaster.
• Craig Adams:  The fourth line finally got some deserved production as Adams put in the hard work for a garbage goal early in the game and added an empty netter in the final minute.  Beyond the goals, he also stood up for his team in a fight with James Wright after Niskanen was boarded (penalty not called).  Adams led the team with 4 shots and added 2 hits to play a very well-rounded game.

Noteworthy:

• Kris Letang:  Letang looked much better with his timing and skating than he did on Thursday, so it appears that he is fully healed and ready to go now.  He played a team high 27:54 and played the large majority of that well.  Two red flags came into play though: 1) He is shooting into defenders way too frequently.  He had at least 3 shots blocked high in the offensive zone, so it’s time to either make better pass/shot decisions or change the shooting angles. 2) His icing call that led to the Jets only goal was flat out stupid.  He had room to get the puck to center or at least softly dump it in – that’s a horrible lapse of judgment for a “Norris candidate.” 

The Bad:

• Line Changes:  The forwards as a whole were getting very out of control with their shift lengths and line changes, especially in the second period.  The 2nd line got caught twice going for line changes after shifts that lasted almost two minutes.  Both times, the puck was going back to the defensive zone and they resulted in a 3 on 2 break and a 5 on 2 break for Winnipeg.  If that happens every so often, it’s understandable, but it is an awful trend to set.  Forwards need to be much more mindful of their shifts because the defense and Fleury won’t be able to bail them out every time like they did against the Jets.

The Ugly:

PP goal with a partial assist to the refs, admit it.

• Officiating:  Both teams felt the effects here, but the refs really put a dagger into Winnipeg towards the end of the game.  The first questionable call (non-call) was no boarding when Wright hit Niskanen.  For as many ways as boarding has been defined and called, I can’t find a single way that Wright’s hit wasn’t boarding.  The second, and arguably worse call because of how it affected the game, was when Redmond was called for interference on Adams.  Redmond had positioning, had “ownership” of the ice he was on, and he barely touched Adams.  There is no way that should be interference and it led to the eventual 2-0 lead for the Pens.  The inconsistency of calls is mind-numbing right now.

+/- Assessment:

Bye bye shutout.

• 1st GF (Adams): + for Glass (helps with faceoff win), Despres (moves puck to Letang), Letang (finds streaking Vitale), Vitale (shot on net), Adams (rebound goal)
• 2nd GF (Neal): + for Kunitz (takes puck deep into zone), Letang (rotates puck to Crosby), Crosby (rotates puck to Neal), Malkin (pass to Neal), Neal (one-timer goal)
• 1st GA (Ladd): - for Letang (unnecessary icing, loses battle in corner), Malkin (leaves D position for breakout without puck), Cooke (leaves Ladd in front of crease)
• 3rd GF (Adams): + for Orpik (clears zone to Kunitz), Kunitz (finds Adams in the middle), Adams (empty net goal)
• Season +/-:  Click here for the Season +/- Spreadsheet

Thoughts:

Bennett will hopefully be a top 6 winger
and hit puberty soon.

• 2nd Line Wing:  The lines rotated frequently last night and Cooke, Bennett, Glass, and Kunitz all spent time next to Malkin at one point or another.  I liked what I saw out of Cooke – he certainly did a strong job battling for the puck in the corners with that line.  While I would still like to see Bennett playing on a top 2 line instead of with Sutter and Kennedy (ugh), I would not mind seeing one more game with Cooke on the 2nd line to see if something more can come out of it.
• Bennett’s Debut:  Bennett was very impressive in his debut even if it wasn’t on the scoresheet.  He demonstrated strong awareness all over the ice, highlighted by his 2 shot blocks and covering for Letang pinching twice.  He played 11:37 (missing a chunk of the 2nd after a shot block) and grew more comfortable with every shift after having trouble accepting passes in the 1st period.  It was a very promising debut.
• Bortuzzo Scratched:  As usual, I will continue to complain until Bortuzzo is in the lineup for Engelland.  Engo didn’t help his cause any with a turnover that Fleury had to make a great save on either.  Bortuzzo can do everything Engelland does, but is better and has more potential.  I also like that he has a sandpaper quality to him to get under the skin of everyone.  Engelland can fight and certainly has toughness, but Bortuzzo clearly annoys the hell out of opponents and can back it up with his fists.  That’s a quality the Penguins don’t have a lot of nowadays.
• Tyler Kennedy:  I honestly thought TK would get traded before Tangradi, but here we are with TK still in the lineup and Tangradi gone.  Shero has made comments about Kennedy that insinuate he needs to take advantage of his chances soon.  He played 13:47 against the Jets, recording 3 shots and 2 hits in what was generally a decent game.  I highly question why he keeps getting chances when Dustin Jeffrey can’t touch the lineup though.  Even if it’s just for a game, it’s time to sit TK and send a real message.

Pens Record: 10-5-0, 20 pts

Next Game:  2/17 @ Buf, 12:30pm

Penguins Watch Loss From the Penalty Box

Main Storylines:

• The Penguins enter this game on a 5 game winning streak. Crosby is on a 6 game point streak
• Martin Brodeur is playing in his 1200th game
• Kris Letang did not make the trip to NJ so the lineup remains the same as last game
• Matt Niskanen has been skating separately but there is no timetable for his return
• Former Penguin Tomas Sandstrom was elected to the Swedish Hockey Hall of Fame

Result:

Devils 3  Pens 1

Goals:  Sutter (3) (PP) from Despres, Kennedy

ESPN Recap:  http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400442629

Stats:

• The Pens took 12 minor penalties in the game
• Sidney Crosby had 6 shots and Evgeni Malkin had 5
• Malkin drew 4 penalties and took 3 penalties
• Craig Adams played 1:19 at even strength and 6:09 shorthanded

The Good:

Last year, Martin elbows Clarkson in the head and passes
the puck to a Devils player.

• Pascal Dupuis:  Despite taking 1 of the 12 minors, Dupuis had an overall good game and caused havoc in the passing lanes for New Jersey.  He was credited with 2 takeaways and provided strong defensive support at even strength and on the penalty kill.  He actually contributed to pretty much every situation for the Pens, playing 2:44 on the PP, 6:11 on the PK, and 9:30 at even strength.  Sadly, the biggest reason Dupuis had a good game was because the Pens spent most of the game in the defensive zone.
• Paul Martin:  It was just another game for Martin, leading the team with 28:49 on the ice and playing mostly mistake-free hockey.  Unfortunately he finally took his first penalty of the season, but the team survived the PK without him.  I was most impressed with his offensive zone puck movement in this game even though it didn’t amount to anything. He certainly loves that spin move at the point and you can tell his confidence is extremely high with how often he goes to it right now.

The Bad:

• James Neal:  Neal seems to be going through bouts of brilliant hockey and useless hockey depending on the day.  The train to the penalty box certainly didn’t help his cause, but he took an awful slashing penalty to end a powerplay and generally had puck control problems all day.  With a couple turnovers and missed passes on Saturday, I’m guessing Neal bounces back for a strong game on Sunday since that has been his trend this season.

The Ugly:

Hard to stop everything when it's 5 on 4 for over a period.

• Discipline:  TWELVE MINOR PENALTIES.  Going back through most of them, the ones that were questionable were Vitale for boarding, Vitale for boarding, and that’s it.  Take away another (Bortuzzo for roughing) as a coincidental minor and that still leaves NINE BAD PENALTIES.  That’s simply unacceptable.  The Pens had a chance to feel everything out with a 1-0 first period lead and didn’t learn anything as the game went on.  Instead they got increasingly frustrated and took some foolish penalties.  Every player has to be smarter than that.

+/- Assessment:

• 1st GF (Sutter): + for Reese (keeps puck in zone), Kennedy (passes to Despres), Despres (one-timer), Sutter (deflection goal)
• 1st GA (Matteau): - for Cooke (goes to wrong point), Orpik (releases on Matteau)
• 2nd GA (Henrique): - for Glass (penalty)
• 3rd GA (Butler): - for Malkin (penalty)
• Season +/-: Click here for the Season +/- spreadsheet

Thoughts:

Not always pretty, but what a legendary goaltender.

• Evgeni Malkin:  Malkin drew the ire of most people today, drawing 4 penalties but also taking 3 (one of which cost a potential powerplay).  I have to imagine most of the people that are quick to turn on Malkin are also the ones quick to turn on Fleury.  Both players are high risk, high reward players.  You’ll get lots of positives AND negatives with both, but far more positives in the long run.  Everyone just has to accept that with both, it’s not going to change.  For what it’s worth, I had Geno marked down for 11 positive plays and 7 negative plays in this game.  The next player I had marked down the most was Dupuis with 8 plays total.  That’s just what you get with Geno, he’s going to be very involved and it’ll come with negatives.  More often than not, it’s worth it.
• Martin Brodeur:  Give credit to Brodeur for this game as well.  He made two outstanding saves that put an exclamation mark on this game.  The first one was on Kunitz on the very first shift of the game, and the 2nd one was on the 2nd to last shift on Malkin.  The Pens could have played 100x better and may still not have beaten Marty more than once.
• Refs/Penalties:  While most of this is covered under “The Ugly,” the team failed miserably at adjusting to how the game was called.  The refs were clearly calling the game tight early; New Jersey took their fair share of penalties for it too.  It’s up to the players and teams to see how each ref is calling each game and adjust in turn.  Refs only call what the players give them a chance to call - it’s on the players ultimately.
• 2nd Line Wing:  Boychuk hasn’t really progressed at all in his game with Malkin and Neal.  Speed is still an asset, but his puck handling can be atrocious at times.  I’ve called for this 2 games in a row now, but maybe with the loss we will see Jeffrey enter the lineup again.  Jeffrey adds a defensive aspect that Boychuk doesn’t have.  If no one is going to add offense to that line, I at least want to see a defensive addition then.
• Goaltending:  Fleury faced another rough game stat wise but played a solid game overall.  He was left all alone on the first goal and did as much as can be expected.  The second goal was just an amazing bounce for the Devils as the puck hit the post and landed on Henrique’s stick.  Fleury would probably want the 3rd goal back though since he was just beaten on a clean shot.  Regardless, I’m sure Vokoun plays Sunday and people start goalie controversy crap over nothing again.  Let’s wait until Fleury actually costs the team a game before we attack him for once perhaps.

Pens Record: 8-4-0, 16 pts

Next Game:  2/10 vs NJ, 7:30pm

Penguins Make Minor Moves, Alter Lineup

Pittsburgh started the day off with two minor trades:

Benn Ferriero to NY Rangers for Chad Kolarik

In 34 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Ferriero had 4 goals and 14 assists.  He also added 14 penalty minutes and was a -1.  During this past offseason, the Pens had signed Ferriero to 1 year, two-way contract worth $700,000 if he was in the NHL.  He never fit into the long-term plans as a depth acquisition, so it's no loss for the big team.

Kolarik is having a very productive season for the Connecticut Whale and will join WBS.  He has 16 goals and 19 assists in 41 games this season to go along with 38 PIM and a +2 rating.  The soon to be 27 year old (Jan 26th) has been a career AHLer so far, only playing 2 games with the Blue Jackets during '09-'10 and 4 games with the Rangers in '10-'11.  His AHL numbers have always been strong though, so expect that to help out some of the more NHL-worthy guys on WBS.

My take:  The Pens traded a potential NHL 4th line guy in Ferriero (who has no spot on the team) for a well-rounded scorer in the AHL who could help the development of some prospects.  Always trade what you don't need, right?

Carl Sneep to Dallas for a Conditional 7th Round Pick

The Pens also traded away NHL point-per-game defenseman Carl Sneep for a conditional pick.  Okay, so he has 1 assist in 1 NHL game, but it's still the truth.  Sneep spent most of the past two seasons with WBS before getting buried in Wheeling of the ECHL due to defensive depth.  In 29 games with Wheeling this season, he had 15 points, 22 PIM and was a +12.  He was called up to WBS and rewarded with 1 game played and the status of a healthy scratch once the lockout ended.

I have no clue what the condition is for the 7th round pick to move up, but Sneep will start off in the AHL.  As Mike Colligan pointed out on twitter, Sneep was the last remaining player in the organization from Shero's 2006 draft:

1st - Jordan Staal (Carolina)

2nd - Carl Sneep (Dallas, AHL)

3rd - Brian Strait (NYI)

5th - Chad Johnson (Phoenix, AHL)

7th - Timo Seppanen (TPS Turku, Finland)

My take:  Good for Sneep.  He wasn't going to get any playing time or move up in this organization and this is marginally better than seeing him leave for nothing.

Line Changes

New line combos per the Penguins Report:

Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis

Neal-Malkin-Kennedy

Cooke-Sutter-Glass

Tangradi-Vitale-Adams

Odd man out: Jeffrey

Few thoughts:

• Moving Tangradi to the 4th line is doing neither him nor the team any favors.  As I've mentioned before, Tangradi looks even more lost on the 4th line than he does the 2nd.  Additionally, how is Tangradi supposed to shape his game when he's bouncing from 2nd to 4th line during games and permanently after 3 games during a formative stage in his career.  If there is some sort of Tangardi experiment, don't half-ass it.
• While Cooke-Sutter-Kennedy as a line weren't exactly impressive as a group, Kennedy has looked very strong this season on the 3rd line and has always looked strong as a 3rd liner.  Shifting him up to Malkin's line might be a great way to hinder his game as he faces tougher D pairs.  Also, Neal-Malkin is clearly a 2 man group that requires a perfect complement to join their clique.  I don't think Kennedy is that guy.
• No qualms about Glass on the 3rd line, I think he's proven himself capable through 3 games of going out for any shift on any line at this point.
• If I was changing the lines, and Tangradi HAD to be in the lineup, I'd shift Kunitz to the 2nd line and Tangradi to the 1st.  We already know what Neal-Malkin-Kunitz can do as a group; there is a very nice comfort level there.  Also, though it was only a few shifts, I think Tangradi has looked much better on the ice with Sid than he has with Geno.  I get the sense he doesn't understand what he should look for with Malkin on the ice, but he keeps it far simpler with Crosby (at least from the few shifts I've seen it this season).
• It's a shame Jeffrey apparently blew his one shot at a lineup spot and will forever be benched again.  Tough luck Dustin, I don't understand it.

Read yesterday's thoughts while you're at it.

Game 1: Pens Outlast Flyers, 3-1

Main Storylines:

• The Pens and Flyers open up the season with their 8^th straight meeting against each other, including an ugly quarterfinals matchup that the Flyers won in 6 games through awful goaltending, special teams, and penalties.
• Eric Tangradi starts on the 2^nd line, Simon Despres starts on the 3^rd defensive pairing.  Scratches: Vitale, Bortuzzo, Lovejoy.

Result:

Pens 3  Flyers 1

Goals:  Kennedy (1) (PP) from Martin, Niskanen

            Neal (1) from Malkin

            Kunitz (1) (PP) from Martin

ESPN Recap:  http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=400442475

Milestones & Stats:

• Marc-Andre Fleury earned his 227^th win, moving him into first place in franchise history for wins
• James Neal had 10 attempted shots (7 on net), twice as many as anyone else
• Martin and Orpik led the team in blocked shots (3 each)
• Cooke led with 7 hits

The Good:

First goal celebration of the season...wait, what?

• Powerplay: went 2 for 3 including an empty netter.  Just as importantly, they didn’t give up any major shorthanded chances and the new look powerplay was competent though they didn’t capitalize on the new setup.  As everyone gets up to speed, the new setup looks very promising.
• Penalty Kill: Tanner Glass and Brandon Sutter had fantastic debuts on the penalty kill, both using very active sticks at the points.  Craig Adams was also solid with a few shot blocks and a save at the goal line.
• Paul Martin:  Give him credit; that was the best game he has played in a very long time and he was probably the best overall defenseman. He kept guys to the outside, had a couple solid poke checks, and added 2 assists to top it off.  If you’re going to rail on him for Giroux deking past him, please youtube how many defensemen Giroux has deked past.
• Marc-Andre Fleury: Aside from setting the franchise record in wins, Fleury made 26 saves on 27 shots in a very solid effort.  The only goal against was on a defensive lapse that couldn’t really be blamed on Fleury.  He showed strong positioning, and though his puck-handling was scary as usual, he got the job done.

The Bad:

"I'll get better, I promise"

• Simon Despres: Despres had a very slow start to the game and continued to look lost on the ice like he did in the scrimmage.  His 2^nd period improved dramatically as he got used to the pace, but his play eroded through the 3^rd period again.  I still question his quickness and anticipation at the NHL level right now.  Those deficiencies caused him to take a penalty as well.
• Pascal Dupuis: Dupuis had an uncharacteristically bad defensive game, committing multiple turnovers in the first 2 periods and getting out of position in the defensive zone.  To his credit, he had a much better 3^rd period and was a big key on the PK late in the game.
• Dustin Jeffrey: In a somewhat surprising move, Jeffrey was given the 4^th line spot over Vitale but he didn’t do much to try and keep it.  He took a penalty and flat out passed the puck to a Flyers forward in the defensive zone to draw the ire of everyone.

The Ugly:

• Eric Tangradi: Tangradi started off with a strong first shift with a legit forecheck before fading into nothing.  He tried to add some physicality to the game, but was rotated off and on the 2^nd line as he was ineffective in every role he tried.  Tangradi simply looked too slow for the 2^nd line but lost when placed on the 4^th line.

MY Plusses &Minuses:

• Plus/Minus is generally seen as a useful but also overrated stat because of how it is calculated.  Specifically, players can make the best play possible and still end up with a minus, or they could be on the ice for 1 second and get a plus for doing nothing.  I’m going to try and calculate my own +/- stat for the season and see how it compares.  For each goal, every player at fault for a goal against gets a minus and every player that helped on a goal scored gets a plus.  I will include PP and PK goals as well since this is just a fun experiment anyways. 

• 1^st goal (Kennedy): + for Sutter, Niskanen, Martin, Kennedy
• 2^nd goal (Neal): + for Malkin, Neal
• 1^st goal against (Giroux): - for Orpik, Kunitz
• 3^rd goal (Kunitz): + for Martin, Kunitz
• Overall:  Martin +2, Sutter +1, Niskanen +1, Kennedy +1, Malkin +1, Neal +1, Orpik -1

Thoughts:

Fleury has the flexibility for this, will Vokoun?

• Though the penalty kill was a successful 5 for 5, there was an issue with clearing guys from in front of the crease.  Orpik rarely engaged Simmonds into a physical battle in front and the Pens will need to do a better job of clearing the crease to keep the Rangers from scoring on Vokoun using screens in Game 2.
• One of the things that popped out across the whole team was each guy on every line is at a different pace for speed and conditioning right now.  It will probably be a couple weeks before we see each line gel completely as players catch up to each other.
• Normally, I would say give Tangradi 2 weeks before giving up on him.  With the shortened season, I say 1 week.  If he hasn’t added anything to the team by next weekend, I’d like to see Jeffrey and Vitale in over Tangradi.
• For Sunday’s game against NYR, Vokoun starts, and Vitale comes into the lineup for Jeffrey.  It’s time to actually see what Vokoun can give the team and how he can play with this defense in front of him.  I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly concerned with the Rangers coming off of a 3-1 opening night loss.

Pens Record: 1-0-0, 2 pts

Next Game:  1/20 @ NYR, 7pm