Updated Information: Hockey Kicks Cancer

The Pittsburgh sports blogging community will be holding a charity kickball tournament on October 6th to celebrate Hockey Fights Cancer Month. Proceeds will be donated to our local chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which Hockey Fights Cancer benefits. We are working directly with a coordinator for LLS and they will be present at the event to help us distribute information on the work that they do and how the community can help.

Please join Crosby FTW, High Heels & Hockey, The Pensblog, PensNation, Faceoff Factor, and Slewfooters for a day of kickball, raffles, prizes, and more!

The tournament will be divided into teams of 10. When signing up, be sure to talk to your friends and family so that you are able to get onto the same teams. We will update the form when teams fill up.

If you want to represent a blog team, but it is indicated that the team is full, please let us know and we will create a B team for our blogs. Also, you are more than welcome to form your own team of 10 for the event. Please contact Stevie (heelsandhockey@gmail.com) and we will add your team to the registration form.

If you do not wish to play but would like to come out and support the teams, you may sign up to attend as a spectator. Per request, we are now accepting donations in order to receive a t-shirt via mail for those whom are unable to attend.  The option is now on the sign up form.

Location: South Hills Dek Hockey
1551 Worthington Avenue
Jefferson Hills, PA 15025

Date: Saturday, October 6, 2012
Time: 1:00pm – 8:00pm
A schedule of games will be posted prior to the event.

Admission: $20/person
Cost includes a Hockey Kicks Cancer t-shirt and a plate of food (We will have hamburgers, hot dogs, hot sausage, kilbasa, potato salad, fruit salad, corn on the cob, chips and drinks. Catered by the Interchange Lounge)

Other:
50/50 raffles
Prize Baskets from local businesses
Other activities and booths TBA

If you wish to donate to the event and do NOT want to receive a t-shirt, please click the link below to send your donation via PayPal.  Furthermore, if your blog or business would like to help sponsor teams or a booth, please contact Stevie Watson at heelsandhockey@gmail.com for information on how you can be a part of making this day a great success!

Please click here to sign up if you want to pick a team and play, or at least receive a shirt.
If you only wish to donate to the cause, then click here instead.

The last day to sign up is September 16! 

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter (@HKicksCancer) and please spread the word about this event!!  Thank you all for your help, donations, and participation!!

————————
PayPal Instructions

If you do not have a PayPal account, please choose the option “Don’t Have a PayPal Account” in order to pay via debit or credit card. Applications cannot be completed without payment. Thank you for your generosity and we can’t wait to see you at the event!

Less is More, Pens Win Behind 2 SH goals!

Main Storylines:

- It’s Pens-Flyers, do you need storylines?

- The Pens are 2 points behind the Flyers for 4^th place in the conference and 2^nd in the division.  A win here does not give the Pens that spot, because the Flyers own the tie breaker, but will at least get them close to passing the Flyers.

- Neal did not record a shot in the last game, a first for him this season, and the Pens had a lot of trouble generating offense against Anaheim, getting only 26 shots.  Look for the team to get back to their usual 35+ shots in this one.

- The PK hasn’t allowed a goal against in 7 games, a major reason for the team’s success in close games.

- The only lineup change will be Arron Asham returns after missing a few weeks with a concussion.  Cal O’Reilly sits for him.

Result:

Pens  6  Flyers  4

Goals:  Cooke (10), unassisted

            Staal (18) (SH) from Adams

            Cooke (11) (SH), unassisted

            Jeffrey (4) from Cooke

            Dupuis (13) from Staal, Sullivan

            Neal (30) from Malkin, Kunitz

               

The Good:

- Start with the basics, this was a big win over a division rival that the Pens are trying to catch up to.  It’s the first win for the Pens against the Flyers this season, and there are still 3 more games to go in this rivalry.  Expect fireworks.

- James Neal score his 30^th goal of the season, a continuing career high.  I didn’t think he would be putting up 30, and he’s on pace to go over 40.  Start clearing out room for his contract Shero!

- Marc-Andre Fleury wins his 30^th game of the season.  Despite allowing 4 goals, Fleury’s play was actually above average as he made some great saves at times, especially on the PK, to keep the Pens in it when the game was very close through the first 2 periods.

Don't care about the stats, I'll take a goalie who wins. 

- Engelland’s hit on Giroux was perfect, and may have had a big effect on Giroux’s game.  He was certainly quiet the rest of the night.  It was also hilarious seeing Hartnell bark at Engelland, but refuse to do anything that required physical contact.

- Short-handed goals.  Two of them.  One during a 5 on 3 penalty kill.  That’s called taking an opportunity and capitalizing on it right there.

Matt Cooke – Last recap, I talked about how Cooke was doing everything right aside from getting on the scoreboard.  Touche Cooke.  He blocked a shot and took the puck down on a 2 on 1 with Asham to score the opening goal.  He then somehow found himself going in on a semi-breakaway when the Pens were killing a 5 on 3 powerplay to score his 2^nd of the game.  He also added the primary assist on the Jeffrey goal that gave the Pens the lead early in the 3^rd.  His penalty killing was fantastic, his offense was fantastic, just a great all-around game from Cooke.

Poor Cooke had no one to celebrate with during the 5 on 3.

Jordan Staal – He scored his 18^th of the season, short-handed, and set up Dupuis’ goal for a 2 point night and a +2.  Just as important, however, is that he was matched up against the Giroux line.  Did you hear Giroux’s name aside from getting crushed by Engelland?  Giroux only had 1 assist on the powerplay and was a -3.  Staal continues to give the Pens a two-fold benefit of shutting down top players and adding goals on his own.

Brooks Orpik – In a game where 10 goals were scored, how much did you notice Brooks Orpik?  Not at all?  That’s the perfect answer for the stay at home defenseman.  Orpik was a +4 tonight and led the team with 6 hits.  He is probably playing the best hockey of his year right now.

Well, the Flyers surely noticed him.

 The Bad:

- The Pens allowed a powerplay goal for the first time in 8 games.  It was amidst all the bad reffing and during a 4 on 3, but it’s sad to see those streaks end.

- Paul Martin finally decides to display some sort of emotion, and proceeds to slash a Flyer while he’s laying on the ground in front of the ref.  Are you serious Martin??

- Malkin was a little off with his shooting tonight, only hitting the net twice, though he did hit the post twice as well.  He ended up with 4 missed shots.

Kris Letang – Letang was awfully quiet, and at some times awful, in this game.  He was caught completely flat-footed at the blue line for the first Jagr goal, where Neal attempted to cover for the fact Letang was well behind the play.  He was trying to jump into the play a little too much in this one, and got caught up a few times, especially on the powerplay.  Just a bump in the road for him I would imagine.

Joe Vitale – Vitale didn’t look all that sharp today, taking a bad penalty and not doing much throughout the game.  As the team gets healthy, he’s seeing a little less time, especially in penalty kill situations.  The kicker ended up being that he went 4 for 13 on faceoffs, so between that and the penalty, not his best effort.

The Ugly:

- Watching Jagr score 2 goals in 18 seconds on the exact same shot on Fleury was painful and shocking at the time.  Luckily, the Pens won out in the end.

- Watching Niskanen turn the puck over at the blue line, Engelland recover for him to save it from being a breakaway, and then Engelland just falls on his own accord with the puck in front of Fleury, leading to the Flyers 3^rd goal.  Talk about a comedy of errors.

- The reffing was flat out horribly inconsistent.  First nothing was called, then everything was called, then calls were being made when nothing happened.  Every part of spectrum from calling a game tightly to not calling anything at all was touched.  Both teams got completely screwed at times, esp when the Flyers’ Simmonds got called for goalie interference that never occurred.  Stephane Auger shouldn’t be allowed to ref in the NHL ever.

When a ref is a focal point of a picture, nothing good is being called.

- From the Flyers side – goaltending.  A good goalie probably allows 2 of the Pens goals, maybe 3.  The Bryzgalov – Bobrovsky combination better make you appreciate the luxury of having Fleury and Johnson in net.  That’s a big hole the Pens haven’t had to worry about in a relatively long time.

Thoughts:

- You wanted secondary scoring?  Well the first line only added one goal and the rest of the team put up 5.  Maybe we should worry a little less about the secondary scoring and the constant search for a scoring winger.  The defense certainly still needs to tighten up a bit.

- There is an above average chance that the Pens-Flyers find their way into a first round matchup.  I don’t think the Devils are strong enough to stay with them, and the Rangers are so far ahead that 4-5 seems inevitable.  If that holds true…yikes.

Even ice girls weren't safe in this game.

- With the team playing a slumping Buffalo (can I say slumping if they have sucked all season?), I would expect Johnson to get the start tomorrow.  Fleury could use a rest after the emotional insanity that occurred today.

- Has anyone missed TK?  Did anyone miss O’Reilly today?  Asham had a very solid, though quiet game.  He forechecked well, and was a key part of Cooke’s first goal.  The Pens, when healthy, have a solid amount of depth amongst their role players.  That depth may give Shero some extra trade pieces to work with, health withstanding.

- Look for Shanahan to analyze Staal’s hit on Coburn.  Staal got a 2 minute minor for boarding, but it was definitely an ugly hit.  Not sure how Shanahan will view it.  Staal has a few things on his side, he’s never been disciplined, Coburn did nothing to help his own cause, and Staal did show some compassion (which I think makes a difference even if no one says so).
UPDATE:  Staal was fined $2,500, the max under the CBA for his boarding penalty.  http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=617649

Pens Record: 33-20-5, 71 pts, 3^rd in the Atlantic, 5^th in the East

Next Game:  2/19 @ Buf, 12:30pm

Ducks Fly. Penguins Can't. Pens lose.

Main Storylines:

- The Pens, one of the hotter teams in the NHL, face perhaps the hottest team in the NHL in Anaheim, who has lost only 2 of their previous 18 games in regulation

- Bruce Boudreau returns to Pittsburgh for the first time with his new team.  He is 12-1-3 all-time in the regular season against the Pens.

- The Pens have overcome 2 goal deficits in each of their last 2 games and will be looking to get off to a much stronger start in this game, especially with the Ducks playing last night.

- Today is the 3 year anniversary of Bylsma getting hired by the Penguins.  On top of it, he coaches against his most memorable team as a player, the Ducks.  I’m sure he’s looking for a big win here.

Happy 3 year anniversary Disco!

Result:

Ducks 2  Penguins 1

Goals:  Staal (17) from Dupuis

               

The Good:

- The Pens honestly played a good game overall.  They had a lot of pressure in the Ducks zone, but just couldn’t find a way to turn that into scoring chances and goals.  This is just one of those nights where you’ll be relatively happy with how the team played though the result did not go your way.

- Letang came up with another save on the goal line, something he seems to be doing a lot since he came back from his concussion.

Matt Cooke – He may not be lighting up the scoreboard or ending anyone’s career, but Cooke had a very big contribution in the game tonight in a defensive effort.  He had 2 takeaways and 2 blocked shots during regular 5 on 5 play, and then contributed his usual stellar work on the PK.  Cooke was a big part of the effort that kept a potentially high scoring Ducks team rather quiet.

Jordan Staal – Staal continues to show that he has found his goal scoring touch from his rookie season.  He picked the corner perfectly on Hiller to score the only goal of the game for the Pens.  He also put in a solid effort defensively along with Cooke, both on the PK and during 5 on 5 play.  Staal’s line was assigned the Perry-Getzlaf line, and Staal and Cooke kept them off of the board when the matchup was in play.

Brooks Orpik – Orpik led the team in ice time with 24:39, had 2 blocked shots, was a +1, and led the team with astounding NINE hits.  He was very sound positionally and didn’t commit a single mistake as far as I could tell all game.  This may have been his best game of the season, though unfortunately it did not help enough on the scoreboard.

The Bad:

- For all of the pressure the Pens got tonight, they only managed 26 shots and the failure to get the puck on net even led to the 2^nd goal for the Ducks.  There was a little too much work done at the blue line in the offensive zone, leading to the turnover that sent the Ducks in on a 2 on 1 and a beautiful game winner for Selanne.  To make my point even more clear, 13 of the Pens shot (half for those of you counting at home) were by defensemen tonight.  Additionally, Neal was shotless, which is rare for the leading shooter in the NHL.

Michalek going in for a wrap-around isn't exactly a good sign offensively.

- The Pens simply don’t know how to beat Bruce Boudreau in the regular season.  The Ducks clearly knew what they were doing against the Pens and how they wanted to handle their matchups.  Gotta give Boudreau credits, it doesn’t matter who he’s coaching, he knows how to play the Pens, moving to 13-1-3 in his career against them.

If anyone outside of the organization knows the Penguins, it's definitely Boudreau.

The Ugly:

- The Martin/Michalek pairing.  They weren’t even paired together tonight, but ended up on the ice for the last minute of the 2^nd period.  The last minute saw Martin lose coverage on Bobby Ryan skating around a corner.  Ryan then passed it off to Perry.  Michalek, who seems to go brain-dead when paired with Martin, dropped to the ice and Perry shoved the puck under him and then through Fleury.  One shift together, one goal against.

- The powerplay.  We’ve all seen at this point that refs are now giving out only 1-3 powerplays per game.  With their one powerplay, the Pens managed to give up a breakaway, a semi-breakaway, and more chances to the Ducks than they had for themselves.  Efficiency is key with the reffing now, and the Pens were awful on their one chance.

Thoughts:

- Being a hockey dork, I found the line matchups to be fascinating tonight.  With the Pens having last change, the Staal line was matched up against Perry/Getzlaf and the Malkin line was matched up against Selanne/Ryan.  How did it work out?  The Staal line held Perry’s line scoreless, and even came up with a goal of their own.  The Malkin line was out for Perry’s goal and for Selanne’s goal.    It is becoming increasingly clear that one of the ways to slow down Malkin’s line is to put your top offensive guys against them so they have to play defense instead of putting out a normal defensive checking line.

- The Kunitz “slash” with 3 minutes to go was a BS call in THIS game.  I’m okay with that being a slash, it was a slash.  However, refs stopped calling that about 3 months ago.  If these refs would have called every slash like that through the game, each team would have had 5-6 powerplays and I would have been okay with the call.  The lack of consistency is infuriating though.  Make those calls all game, or don’t, but it’s gotta be one or the other.  Even Teemu Selanne called it a weak call in his post game interviews.

Shero, get Selanne at the trade deadline, PLEASE.

- Watching the Park-Vitale-Adams line tonight made me realize how much help Arron Asham might actually be for that line.  I imagine Park will be the one who sits as he gets the least ice time per night and the PK has a lot of depth right now.  Asham will add a lot of size and grit to that line in their forechecking.  Adams and Vitale can certainly skate and hit, but they don’t necessarily have the size to turn it into something.  Asham could make even more waves with that line.

Pens Record: 32-20-5, 69 pts, 3^rd in the Atlantic, 5^th in the East

Next Game:  2/18 @ Phi, 1pm

Jets Get Burned, Pens win 8-5!

Main Storylines:

- While the team say goodbye to Tyler Kennedy for 4-6 weeks (high ankle sprain), they welcome Jordan Staal back to the lineup.  Staal is expected to center the 2^nd line with Cooke and Dupuis.  This also bumps Dustin Jeffrey over to wing.

Staal may be back, but life for Cooke is no different.

 - The Pens have lost 3 out of 4 so far in February and need to get back to winning before they lose ground on NJ and Philly in the standings.  They enter the game 1 point behind NJ for 5^th place and 4 points behind Philly for home ice.

- Evgeni Malkin is playing in his 400^th career game and has 480 points in his 399 so far.

Result:

Pens  8  Jets 5

Goals:  Jeffrey (3) from Staal, Letang

            Neal (29) from Malkin

            Kunitz (13) (PP) from Malkin, Fleury

            Letang (3) from Malkin, Kunitz

            Malkin (30) from Kunitz, Neal

            Park (5) from Orpik, Adams

            Staal (16) from Dupuis, Cooke

            Letang (4) (PP) from Malkin, Kunitz

                                             

The Good:

- OFFENSE: Holy crap, an 8 goal burst from the offense, led heavily by the first line (3 goals) and the powerplay (2 goals).  The Pens took advantage of the Jets’ propensity for using defensemen to push the play, going in on at least 10 odd man rushes and scoring on a few of them. 

- Richard Park got his 100^th career goal.  Talk about a long trip to 100 goals!

- Jordan Staal looked very strong on his skates coming off of his knee injury.  His goal and assist certainly helped his cause, but most importantly – he doesn’t look hampered at all in his skating.

Evgeni Malkin – Malkin is just a beast right now.  Another 5 point night (3^rd of the season) gave him a 5 point lead in the race for the Art Ross.  He is definitely putting himself into the MVP race, though the team as a whole will have to move up in the standings for him to get it.  Every single assist he had was a primary one, including a perfect faceoff win on Neal’s goal and a beautiful pass to set up a breakaway for Kunitz.

Pavelec never had a chance.

Chris Kunitz – Speaking of, Kunitz also put together a dazzling night, getting 4 points.  His work in front of the net continues to be superb as he does the dirty work for Neal and Malkin.  He was the perfect mix of grinder and play maker in this one.

The Bad:

- GOALTENDING:  Fleury was not at his best by any means.  He had issues staying in position, though he may have been overcompensating for a lackluster defensive effort.  His inability to stay square to the puck led to some odd goals, but it won’t be talked about when the offense puts up 8 for him.

Gotta get that pad down, MAF

The Ugly:

- DEFENSE:  The defense was just flat out awful all game.  Out of position, chasing pucks too far, it was like they were trying to play Winnipeg’s style.  Lucky for the pens, their offense is far more potent than Winnipeg’s. 

Brooks Orpik – Orpik looked lost through most of the afternoon, over-pursuing players and maybe getting caught up in the free flowing gameplay a little bit.  As he’s not an offensive guy, his positioning needs to be perfect to contribute, and it wasn’t there for this game.

Deryk Engelland – Engelland pretty much had the same problems Orpik did, except he was clearly getting out of position looking for hits.  He had 3 or 4 very nice hits early in the 1^st period, but most of them took him out of the play and he followed his men way too far trying to make an impact.  He was a -2 on the night because of that effort.

Cal O’Reilly – O’Reilly  essentially scored the 2^nd goal for the Thrashers, as a long shot from inside the blue line glanced off of his shins and past Fleury.  I fault him big time on this because he didn’t square up the puck to block it, but was in perfect position to only have a bad effect for Fleury.  He’s gotta be smarter as a center covering the front of the net.  It didn’t help him that Engelland was vastly out of position, putting him in that spot.

Thoughts:

- Whoever decided the Pens should wear blue against the Jets is an idiot.  I personally like the blue jerseys, but don’t wear them against a team whose primary color is blue and whose primary jersey looks quite similar.

- It was kinda surprising that neither goalie was pulled in a game that combined for 13 goals.  I really hope Brent Johnson starts the next game, a) to give Fleury a break and b) to show at least a little bit of confidence in having Johnson as a backup.

One of the 8 faces of disappointment from Pavelec. 

- While I enjoy seeing the team put up 8 goals, allowing 5 to the Jets is rather inexcusable.  The Pens got caught up in a run and gun game and let go of their system for most of the afternoon.  Hopefully it’s just a fad and not a trend, as the better teams in the East will absolutely feast on the Pens for playing like that.

- I hate to say it, but Tyler Kennedy was simply not missed at all in that game.  Makes me wonder if he might be within healthy scratch range when he’s healthy and if Crosby comes back around the same time.  His lack of impact on the powerplay and lack of PK skills don’t really add much to the lineup at this point.

Pens Record: 31-19-5, 67 pts, 3^rd in the Atlantic, 5^th in the East

Next Game:  2/12 vs Tb, 7pm

Price outlasts Fleury, Pens lose.

Main Storylines:

- The Pens are coming off of an ugly 5-2 loss to New Jersey, in which Fleury got pulled after allowing 3 goals on 12 shots.  They are now only 1 pt ahead of NJ and 2 pts behind Philly in the crazy Atlantic race behind NYR.

- Tyler Kennedy is not with the team as he gets his leg checked out in Pittsburgh and Colin McDonald will take his place in the lineup.  Jason Williams was also called up today and Arron Asham was placed on the IR.  Williams will take Park’s place in the lineup.  I do not know why, nor do I like it.

- The first line has been flat out awful defensively, led by Chris Kunitz sporting a -7 since the all-star break.  They all skipped the optional practice yesterday, so hopefully that keeps their legs fresh for tonight.  According to the Pens Radio Network, the line is a combined -21 since the all-star break.

Result:

Habs 3  Pens 2 (SO)

Goals:  Dupuis (12) (SH) from Vitale

            Neal (28) from Malkin, Martin  

The Good:

- James Neal scored his 28^th goal of the season, a new career high for him.  He is still on pace for over 40 goals, which I’m pretty sure beats every pre-season prediction that came out.

- The first line did a much better job of back checking tonight, finally getting through a game without a minus for the first time in over a week. 

- The Pens crushed it in faceoffs, which is a rarity for road games usually.  Malkin went 11 for 14 to lead the way and the Pens went 31 for 45 overall.

- Malkin's shootout goal was just flat out disgusting.  A beautiful spin-o-rama move.  Youtube it.

Pascal Dupuis – Dupuis played his best game in months, looking like he was fired out of a canon on his very first shift.  He had a great forecheck going, and was a one man wrecking crew in the offensive zone at times.  He was rewarded with a shorthanded goal off of his skate from Vitale, his first in months.  Dupuis really elevated his game tonight.

Marc-Andre Fleury – Gotta take away from this a little because of the awful 2^nd goal he let up on a long shot off the post, off his back, and in.  However, Fleury did keep the team in it throughout the game when the defense didn’t feel like helping him.  He stopped quite a few odd man rushes, including a few ridiculous saves along the way (like on Erik Cole).  The goal was ugly, but the Pens wouldn’t have been anywhere in this game without Fleury.

So much defensive help in the picture.

 Matt Cooke – Cooke led the team with 6 shots, and also led with 4 hits.  He did a fantastic job for the team on the penalty kill, and also spent over 2 minutes on the powerplay as he saw an abnormally high 17+ minutes on the ice.  He had a very strong game all-around.

The Bad:

- The powerplay was bad tonight.  They had a few chances, but went 0 for 3 and gave up way more short-handed chances than they had with the extra man.  Montreal even had a 3 on 1 at one point, but Fleury bailed the team out. 

- James Neal needs to stop taking stupid penalties.  It’s almost like someone on that line is required to do so every game.  Both of his penalties were unnecessary and at very bad times (after the Habs went up 1-0, and then with 4 mins left in the game).

Paul Martin – Martin’s defensive coverage was lacking, and he made up for it by turning the puck over numerous times in overtime.  I don’t have much to say here.  He just simply needs to be better.

Zbynek Michalek – Michalek was pretty much incapable of handling the puck in the defensive zone tonight.  He had 3 big giveaways, all right in front of Fleury, yet somehow Fleury made one on one stops on all 3.  Michalek gets paid to be defensively sound, nothing else.  If he’s not doing that, there’s a major issue for the team.

Michalek...not going for the block, just laying around after a turnover.

The Ugly:

- The 2^nd goal that Fleury allowed was flat out hideous.  The Pens had just tied the game, had momentum, and Fleury expected a dump in from the red line.  He cheated to move out, Eller shot the puck from the red line, it went off the post, off of Fleury’s back, and in.  Vintage bad goal Fleury.

Thoughts:

- Playoff Race:  The Devils passed the Pens for 5^th in the Atlantic.  The Pens now sit in 6^th, tied with the Devils, 2 points behind the Flyers, and 3 points ahead of Toronto.  All 3 of those teams have one less game played than the Pens though.

- While I hate PK Subban just like everyone else, I was totally okay with him and Malkin going at it at the end of overtime.  I did, however, take issue with the fact that Darche decided to play 3^rd man in and nailed Malkin while he was engaged with Subban.  That was BS as far as I see it.

- A big part of me hates shootouts deciding a game since it feels very forced.  However, watching 8 rounds like tonight is absurd and quite a rush.  Still a weird way to end a game though.

- I’ll have a trade deadline post up later this week since it’s a light week.  I shall save the rest of my thoughts until then.  Based on Twitter, the Pens should trade Paul Martin for Jarome Iginla.  Good luck with that.

Spend some of your $5 mil on longer sticks if you aren't gonna be in position.

Pens Record: 30-19-5, 65 pts, 4^th in the Atlantic, 6^th in the East

Next Game:  2/11 vs Win, 2pm