All Entries Tagged With: "defence"
2011-12 Pittsburgh Penguins: Summer Review, Season Preview
Flip open the driver’s side door of the DeLorean. Hop in and set the LCD display to 2010.10.07, Opening Night of last season. Find an open lane on the Veterans Bridge and slam your foot on the gas until the speedometer hits the magical 88 miles per hour. Suddenly, with a zap and a brilliant [...]
Sky’s the limit for award-laden Nashville blue line prospect Ryan Ellis
After a distinguished four-year major junior career in which he put his name in the conversation of all-time best Ontario Hockey League defenceman while earning just about every award imaginable, 20-year old blueliner Ryan Ellis only took a brief rest this past summer before resuming his training program. This week, Ellis continues his journey to [...]
Pens first round draft choice improves blue line of to-Morrow
Reaction to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ selections at this past weekend’s 2011 NHL Entry Draft in Minnesota were mixed. With their top four defencemen at the NHL level signed through at least 2014 and seven under team control through 2013, many wondered why the Pens took a pair of blueliners with their first two draft choices [...]
Despres, juggernaut Sea Dogs on a roll as Memorial Cup opens tonight
The field is set for the 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup, the annual tournament that will crown the champions of the major junior Canadian Hockey League (CHL). This year’s host Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors will be joined by the Owen Sound Attack, both from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The two clubs concluded a thrilling seven-game [...]
Cactuses and ‘CAM’ plants and the parched 2010-11 Pittsburgh Penguins
Some cactuses and succulent plants have been blessed with the ability to survive long droughts for weeks, even months without a single drop of rainfall. Botanists have given the technical name “Crassulacean Acid Metabolism” or CAM to the inner workings of such plants. Without regular irrigation for extended periods, CAM plants preserve their scarce water supply by [...]
Analyzing the newest Penguins: James Neal, Matt Niskanen
Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero made a prudent transaction yesterday afternoon, trading 25-year old defenceman Alex Goligoski to the Dallas Stars in exchange for 23-year old left wing James Neal and 24-year old defenceman Matt Niskanen. For the Penguins, a squad starving for offence lately due to a forward corps ravaged by injuries, the move addresses both short-term [...]
Full steam ahead: Pens sail into December with 7 straight wins
A decade and a half ago when pitcher Greg Maddux was in his prime, a baseball analyst concluded that the soft-tossing but impeccably accurate right-hander succeeded due to one basic principle: he quickly determined a batter’s weak spot and then repeatedly aimed at it again and again when he was on the mound. For the [...]
Excellence in all facets gives Pens sweep of holiday matinees
There was virtually nothing to be concerned about at Consol Energy Center this holiday weekend. The Pittsburgh Penguins entered Friday’s 1 pm matinee versus Ottawa riding a four-game win streak and by the time hats were cleaned off the ice in the dying seconds of Saturday’s afternoon game against Calgary, the Pens had extended that skein to six. [...]
Thanksgiving Eve: Fleury (30 saves) shuts out Sabres in Buffalo
There will be no need to peck away glumly at tonight’s Thanksgiving dinner. Eat another piece of turkey, another slice of apple pie, scoop another ball of mashed potatoes and raise a glass to embattled goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. The Flower posted his first shutout of the season yesterday, turning aside all 30 Buffalo shots he faced to [...]
Homecoming Weekend Part 2: Michalek in Phoenix, Letestu steals the show
The side story of the night was about the homecoming of defenceman Zbynek Michalek, who played five distinguished seasons in Phoenix. Some wondered if Michalek would be slightly preoccupied, playing against former teammates and some good friends. Penguins Radio Network analyst Phil Bourque said on the pre-game show that ”the best thing to happen to him would be [...]
Bewitching hour loss for Pens raises more questions than answers
For those in the Eastern time zone who stayed up to watch or listen during the wee hours of the night, the Pittsburgh Penguins played a game last evening in Anaheim that served as a microcosm of their inconsistency thus far in 2010-11. The Ducks used a three-goal burst in a span of 6:51 of [...]
Six thoughts on the Penguins after six games (Part 2)
The Pittsburgh Penguins have played six games already in the 2010-11 NHL regular season. This article is Part 2 of “Six thoughts on the Penguins after six games”. Earlier today, the first three of six thoughts were presented in Part 1. Please read that blog post first before reading Part 2.
Six thoughts on the Penguins after six games (Part 1)
After the first six games of the regular season, the Pittsburgh Penguins are 3-3-0, good for second place in the Atlantic Division. It would be premature and foolish to make any conclusive analytical statements about the hockey club as a whole or about certain players simply due to the incredibly small sample size of games [...]
Pens’ training camp now in session: three early storylines
Like privileged schoolboys who put on a uniform and headed back to private schools after Labour Day, old and new members of the Pittsburgh Penguins put on black and gold uniforms and headed back to “school” last Friday morning. The first training camp practices, completely open to the public, took place at Consol Energy Center on [...]
Reality check: Penguins don’t need glittering wings to fly
Every year around this time, many Penguins’ fans look back at the summer and lament the passing of another seemingly underwhelming off-season without the signing or acquisition by trade of a “good scoring winger for Sid or Geno”. What these fans want is a transaction to acquire a proven 30 to 40 goal scorer who will be the finisher [...]
D-DAY! Gonchar out; Michalek, Martin in; what’s next for Pens?
General manager Ray Shero stuck to his plan on opening day of the free agency signing period and bolstered the club’s overall defensive corps despite saying farewell to one of the best defencemen in Pittsburgh Penguins’ history. Sergei Gonchar – power play QB, penalty-killer, minutes-eater, slapshooter through the eye of a needle – for the past five seasons [...]
Happy Canada Day and FreeAgentmas!
Recent research by Canadian historians has revealed that the Fathers of Confederation made one other landmark decision after signing the British North American Act in 1867, the document which gave Canada official status as a nation. Nobody knows for sure which Father came up with the idea, but on July 1, 1867 in Prince Edward Island, one wag [...]
How the Penguins can keep the dream alive tonight in Game 7
One game for all the marbles, as Penguins’ long-time radio voice Mike Lange would say. Tonight at 7 pm in Mellon Arena, the upstart Montreal Canadiens will try for a second straight unthinkable upset of an NHL powerhouse. After stunning Washington, the top team in the regular season in the opening round two weeks ago, [...]
Pens sign Letang to 4 year extension; is the Gonchar era over?
Yesterday morning, the Penguins announced the signing of 22-year old defenceman Kris Letang to a four-year contract extension that will keep him in Pittsburgh through 2013-14. TSN and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that the contract will carry an average annual value of $3.5-million per season. Letang, who could have become a restricted free agent (RFA) this summer, [...]
Reeling Pens look to get back on track against 1st place Caps
In a five to ten second span on Monday evening during the middle of the second period at Detroit, a sequence by the surging Red Wings in the Penguins’ zone stood out as a microcosm of the problems plaguing Pittsburgh over its past seven games. Henrik Zetterberg took a pass in the far circle from Nicklas Lidstrom, [...]
