Pens Player Power Rankings - Week 5

The Penguins went 3-0 this past week as they waved goodbye to Eric Tangradi, welcomed in Beau Bennett, cheered on heroes Craig Adams and Paul Martin, and questioned slumping Evgeni Malkin.

Rank	Player (Last Rank)	Last Week's Performance
1	Marc-Andre Fleury (2)	The numbers say it all - even with 2 bad goals vs Ottawa, Fleury has been outstanding lately (3-0, 2.01 GAA, .932 Save %)
2	Sidney Crosby (4)	He's only one point behind Vanek for the NHL scoring lead and is the only one producing consistently (2g, 5a, 41/72 faceoffs)
3	Brooks Orpik (10)	Has looked stronger and more efficient since the blue line returned to health (2a, 6 hits, 6 blocks)
4	Paul Martin (1)	Put an exclamation point on his season of redemption so far with the game winner against Buffalo (1g, 2a, 3 blocks)
5	Pascal Dupuis (3)	Still undervalued somehow, but producing on the scoresheet and contributing in all 3 zones (3g, 1a, 6 hits, 3 blocks)
6	James Neal (8)	Still getting it done mostly on the powerplay, but goals are goals (3g, 1a)
7	Craig Adams (14)	Well-rewarded for his hardwork this season with 2 goals against the Jets. Contributing as expected elsewhere (2g, 5 hits)
8	Matt Niskanen (Inj)	Appears to be improving each game since his return and will likely challenge 7 and 44 for top Dman this week (4 hits, 7 blocks)
9	Kris Letang (Inj)	Needed a game to adjust his timing but has gotten his skating back. Decrease in PP usage is an interesting twist (2a, 7 blocks)
10	Chris Kunitz (7)	Continues to play physical and clear room for Crosby to do his work all over the ice (0g, 3a, 7 hits)
11	Joe Vitale (18)	Outstanding in the faceoff circle and finally helped a strong 4th line get on the scoresheet (1a, 18/26 faceoffs, 4 blocks)
12	Evgeni Malkin (5)	Doing the little things right but struggling to put up points. Appears to be missing the net more lately (0g, 1a, 11/31 faceoffs)
13	Matt Cooke (16)	Playing better on the 2nd line but only talked about for the Karlsson accident - It was an accident (1a, 3 hits, 4 blocks)
14	Tanner Glass (17)	Forechecking and penalty kill specialist keeps doing his job with the added purpose of defending teammates (9 hits)
15	Brandon Sutter (11)	Playing strong defensively as usual but the 3rd line may get passed up by the 4th for offensive production soon (19/37 faceoffs, 5 blocks)
16	Deryk Engelland (9)	Quietly doing his job as a dependable 3rd pairing defender (1a, 4 hits)
17	Tyler Kennedy (19)	Demonstrating improvement as of late but still needs to get on the scoresheet asap (8 hits)
18	Simon Despres (12)	Played well but was scratched for Bortuzzo vs Buf. May return to the lineup on Wed. (2 hits, 2 blocks)
19	Beau Bennett (NA)	Looked jittery, yet NHL capable in first 2 games. Will surely move up quickly with more ice time. (2 shots, 1 hit, 2 blocks)
20	Zach Boychuk (20)	Has become the new healthy scratch and may not stay in the organization with Bennett's call up (1 hit)
21	Robert Bortuzzo (6)	Only played in the Buffalo game and made a mistake that led to a goal. Probably will be the odd man out again (-1)
22	Tomas Vokoun (15)	Having a solid season but it's Fleury's team and MAF earned all of the starts last week (Did Not Play)
23	Dustin Jeffrey (21)	#FreeDustinJeffrey (Did Not Play)

Pens Player Power Rankings - Week 4

The Penguins went 2-2 over the past week and honestly, no one had a great week to run away with the rankings.  The season averages and previous rankings are posted here.  Without further ado, argue away and yell at me for how much these rankings suck.

Rank	Player (Last Rank)	Last Week's Performance
1	Paul Martin (4)	Continues to lead the team in minutes and has added to the PP in Letang's absence (2a, 4 blocks)
2	Marc-Andre Fleury (12)	"Took back" the #1 role with 3 solid starts (2-1, 2.36 GAA, .920 Save %)
3	Pascal Dupuis (9)	Playing great in the defensive zone and doing all the little things right all over the ice (2g, 13 shots, 4 hits, 2 blocks)
4	Sidney Crosby (2)	Working hard and creating chances but suffering through shifts of invisibility at the same time (1g, 3a, 55/91 faceoffs)
5	Evgeni Malkin (6)	Improving defensively, but lacking in discipline and 5 on 5 play (1g, 3a, all PP points, 16 shots, 26/45 faceoffs, 4 blocks)
6	Robert Bortuzzo (10)	Playing very well positionally and adding plenty of grit to the defense (11 PIM, 5 hits, 3 blocks)
7	Chris Kunitz (3)	Playing well on the PP but has been quiet at even strength a bit (0g, 4a, 6 hits)
8	James Neal (7)	Dominating on the PP but hasn't scored an even strength point in 9 games (3g, 1a, all PP points, 8 PIM, 4 hits, 2 blocks)
9	Deryk Engelland (11)	Getting a little too aggressive at times but generally providing strong defense (8 hits, 7 blocks)
10	Brooks Orpik (5)	Seems to be having trouble with assignments and closing gaps as of late (5 hits, 10 blocks)
11	Brandon Sutter (16)	Finding his scoring touch, but only when playing with Malkin or Crosby (2g, 1a, 28/58 faceoffs, 5 hits)
12	Simon Despres (13)	Clearly growing into an NHL defenseman despite inconsistent play. (1g, 1a, 4 PIM, 2 hits, 7 blocks)
13	Dylan Reese (NA)	Has been quiet, safe, and dependable on defense (4 blocks)
14	Craig Adams (17)	Not producing, but not hurting the team 5 on 5.  Logging a plethora of PK time lately (3 hits)
15	Tomas Vokoun (1)	Only one start and was overmatched. (0-1, 3.08 GAA, .870 Save %)
16	Matt Cooke (19)	Starting to play better, chipping in offensively, and helping with the PK (1g, 1a, 7 hits, 3 blocks)
17	Tanner Glass (15)	Continues to be a forechecking machine but it hasn't led to any production yet (9 hits)
18	Joe Vitale (14)	Strong forecheck and defensive zone faceoffs, but dropped to a healthy scratch on Sunday (4 PIM, 14/22 faceoffs)
19	Tyler Kennedy (20)	Has looked lost since the opening weekend of the season, but is improving with turnovers (1a, 7 shots, 5 hits)
20	Zach Boychuk (18)	Gaining chemistry with Malkin but has nothing to show for it yet (2 shots, 2 hits)
21	Dustin Jeffrey (21)	Scratched for 3 out of 4 games and looked average on 4th line against New Jersey (1 shot)
22	Eric Tangradi (23)	Did Not Play
INJ	Kris Letang (8)	IR - lower body injury (groin?) (1a, 2 hits, 3 blocks)
INJ	Matt Niskanen (Inj)	IR - ankle injury, Did Not Play