NHL FanHouse

Fight of the Week: Princeton's Favorite Son Drops Them Again

Bruce Ciskie — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Blue Jackets, Canucks, Ducks, Penguins, Predators, Rangers, Sharks, Wild, NHL Fans, NHL Fights, NHL Videos

Every Friday, FanHouse sifts through the rubble and picks the best NHL fight, with the help of HockeyFights.com.

A light week on the card, but there was a relatively surprising bout and some pretty good ones to choose from. Highlighting it is our favorite former Princeton player, a gentleman who has made a name for himself by being a really good fighter. Of course, the big news of the week involved a team captain dropping the gloves with a random defenseman.

Huh? Fight of the Week: Marek Zidlicky vs. Sidney Crosby

Sometimes, guys are obviously planning to fight before they drop the gloves. Others are clearly spontaneous. This one falls under the latter. Crosby and Zidlicky had enough of using their sticks, and decided to use fists instead. Watch it here.

Beatdown of the Week: Kent Huskins vs. Jared Boll

Boll is one of the league's real up-and-coming heavyweights, and he dominated this scrap. It started with a hard hit on Huskins by Boll, and quickly became a fight. Just as fast as it started, Boll emphatically ended it. He then proceeded to stand over his conquest like a predator stands over lunch. Watch the fight here.

Runner-Up: Dane Byers vs. Tanner Glass

This was a little quick for most fans' tastes, but some really good punches were thrown. Byers got off to a quick start, but Glass got the last laugh, or "shot," if you prefer. Check it out here.

Fight of the Week: Wade Belak vs. George Parros

Parros is a top fighter, and he got all he could handle in this one from Thursday night. The Predators might not have done much to stay in the game, but Belak more than held his own against one of the best.

There is some solid back-and-forth between the two, and the ending is kind of a surprise. Too bad for the Ducks' TV people that the fight was over by the time they got the "Tale of the Tape" graphic ready.

Fight of the Week: Princeton's Favorite Son Drops Them Again originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Penguins Power Play Hasn't Overcome Loss of Gonchar, Malkin

Adam Gretz — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Penguins

The power play unit for the Pittsburgh Penguins hasn't exactly been a model of consistency since the start of the 2008-09 season, finishing 20th in the league a year ago, and currently residing in the 22nd spot through their first 13 games of this season.

Take the unit's quarterback, Sergei Gonchar, and arguably the team's best player, Evgeni Malkin, out of the lineup, and it goes from maddening inconsistency to complete disaster.

Since Gonchar went down with a broken wrist against the St. Louis Blues two weeks ago, the Penguins have scored just three goals with the man advantage, clicking at an eight percent success rate, down from the 20 percent mark they had with him.

What's the problem? First, a quick look at some numbers:

Where Have You Gone, Sergei Gonchar?
Penguins Power Play	Goals	Shots On Goal	PP Minutes	Shots/Min
With Gonchar	8	63	56:00	1.125
Without Gonchar	3	40	55:00	0.727

Even though the Penguins have played more games with Gonchar (nine) than they have without him (seven), they've played almost the same number minutes on the power play (perhaps a result of them not scoring as often without him?). Obviously, not only have they scored fewer goals, but they've also generated fewer shots by a significant margin.

Take Malkin out of the lineup, along with Gonchar, and that shots-per-minute number drops from .727 to .610 over the past four games.

That shouldn't be much of a surprise.

So let's take a look at where the shots are being generated from. The blue pluses represent shots when Gonchar is out of the lineup. The red X's outlined in yellow represent shots when Gonchar is in the lineup:

1) The thing that stands out to me is that without Gonchar they aren't generating anywhere near as many shots from the point. Perhaps the most telling stat is the fact that he hasn't played in seven games and he's still tied for the second most power play points on the team -- five.

2) Alex Goligoski has been better than anybody could have expected so far this season, scoring six goals to go with seven assists. But he still needs somebody to work with at the point, and Kris Letang has struggled mightily at times, especially on the power play where he has just two assists despite averaging over four minutes of ice-time per game.

3) The Penguins' power play is 0-for-17 since Malkin went down with a shoulder strain.

While this is a concern, this shouldn't be anything to panic about (yet) because both guys will be back in the lineup eventually. They just need to figure out a way to generate something until that actually happens.

Penguins Power Play Hasn't Overcome Loss of Gonchar, Malkin originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sidney Crosby Fights Marek Zidlicky

Bruce Ciskie — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:45:00 EST

Filed under: Penguins, Wild, NHL Fights, NHL Videos

While fighting isn't at all legal in hockey, there is an understanding with players. Some employ enforcer-type guys whose job is to mix it up with those who try to mess with a team's skill players.

You'll see captains and other team leaders sometimes willing to mix it up, too, even if that's not their reputation. Last year, Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby made waves by starting a fight off a faceoff in a game. On Saturday, Crosby was back dropping the gloves, this time with an even more unlikely opponent.

As the Penguins were struggling to score against Minnesota, Crosby got involved with defenseman Marek Zidlicky. Eventually, the two dropped the gloves and began to "throw down."

Well, Crosby threw a couple punches. Outside of that, nothing to see here.

Just what you would expect out of a fight between two guys who hardly ever fight.

Minnesota was outshot for the game 35-15 but won 2-1. Crosby picked up nine minutes in penalties on the night and was visibly frustrated with the officials, arguing with them on the ice a few times during the game.

Sidney Crosby Fights Marek Zidlicky originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Malkin to Miss 'Couple of Weeks'

Adam Gretz — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:05:00 EST

Filed under: Penguins, NHL Injuries

After losing No. 1 defenseman Sergei Gonchar to a broken a wrist over a week ago, the Pittsburgh Penguins will be without another top player as the reigning NHL scoring champion, Evgeni Malkin, will be out of the lineup for two-to-three weeks with a shoulder strain.

According to head coach Dan Bylsma the injury happened roughly 10 days ago, and sitting him out is a precautionary move at this point.

From the Penguins website:

"Geno is going to be out of the lineup for a couple of weeks," Bylsma said. "He strained his shoulder about 10 days or so ago. I don't know the exact day. It is precautionary for the player. We are worried about the safety of the shoulder. A couple weeks of rest and rehab will get that thing healthy so he can get back onto the ice."

Malkin is currently tied with Sidney Crosby for the team lead with 14 points in 12 games, and recorded an assist in Wednesday's 6-1 win against Montreal. His absence gives Jordan Staal an opportunity to take over as the team's No. 2 center.

Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review also reports that forward Tyler Kennedy will sit out Friday's game in Columbus after missing Wednesday's game against Montreal. His spot was taken by Chris Bourque.

It's a costly series of injuries for the Penguins, because not only are they without one of their top offensive players in Malkin, the promotion of Staal to the second line, combined with the absence of Kennedy, breaks up the third line of Staal, Kennedy and Matt Cooke, which has been one of their most consistent lines all season.

Malkin to Miss 'Couple of Weeks' originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sidney Crosby Nets Hat Trick In Rout

Adam Gretz — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:00:00 EST

Filed under: Canadiens, Penguins, NHL Press Box

Since Gretz was at Wednesday's Penguins vs. Canadiens game for FanHouse, consider this your abbreviated version of Newsmakers in the NHL, our weekday recap of the previous night's action across the league.

PITTSBURGH -- I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I'm probably the only hockey fan in the world that had never seen a player record a hat trick in person, whether it be as a fan in the stands, or sitting in the press box. Thanks to Sidney Crosby's three goal effort on Wednesday, I can now cross that off the list.

Crosby was a one-man wrecking crew in the Penguins' 6-1 win over Montreal, scoring three goals -- giving him nine on the season -- and narrowly missing on at least one more.

Brian Gionta on the loss:
"When you give them that many turnovers they have a lot of skilled guys that can make things happen. They don't need that many opportunities to hurt you. That's kind of what happened. A little too soft on the puck at times, turnovers at the blue line kind of killed us, and they transitioned with their good players."

"I felt like I was getting chances," said Crosby. "But I try to not to think about hat tricks too much. You don't want to jinx it or think about it. I just wanted to make sure I kept generating chances."

"When Billy [Guerin] and Kuny [Chris Kunitz] are forechecking like they were, and creating loose pucks and stealing pucks, I just try to get ready for those opportunities.''

His first goal came on a one-timer from the faceoff circle to the right of Montreal goaltender Jaroslav Halak after Kunitz managed to keep the puck in the offensive zone on two separate occasions. Following his second tally of the game at the 5:08 mark of the second period, Crosby completed the trick with this nifty move -- and lucky bounce off his skate -- at the 15:33 mark:

More From Wednesday's Game

-- Halak made his fifth consecutive start in net for the Canadiens (the previous four starts were all wins) and was lifted following the second period after giving up four goals on 23 shots. Carey Price played the final 20 minutes and surrendered two goals. We'll have much more on the goaltending situation in Montreal on Thursday or Friday.

-- Entering play on Wednesday, Kunitz had not scored a goal in 41 straight games (including last year's playoffs) which is an impressive, perhaps even mind-blowing, number when you consider he plays almost entirely with one of the games best playmaking centers in Crosby. His drought ended late in the third period when he picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and beat Price on a breakaway to give the Penguins a 6-1 lead. He's always been a streaky player, so perhaps this could be the start he needs.

-- You can't stop Mike Rupp, you can only hope to contain him. The fourth-liner scored his third goal in six games on a delayed penalty situation midway through the second period. To put his early season goal-scoring numbers into perspective, consider that he scored three goals in 72 games a season ago.

-- Canadiens center Scott Gomez was in the starting lineup despite being questionable with flu-like symptoms. Penguins winger Tyler Kennedy was out of the lineup with an undisclosed injury and was replaced by forward Chris Bourque. On a semi-related note, Bourque's father, Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque, was in attendance.

Wednesday's Other Key Games From Around The League

Colorado wins again and stays atop the NHL standings with a 10-1-2 mark

Dallas picks up an overtime win against Toronto

The Islanders upset the Rangers thanks to goals from John Tavares, Kyle Okposo and Matt Moulson

Sidney Crosby Nets Hat Trick In Rout originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Penguins, Bruins Lose Sergei Gonchar and Marc Savard to Injury

Adam Gretz — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:10:00 EST

Filed under: Bruins, Penguins, NHL Injuries

Some pretty big injury news around the NHL today, as the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins learned they will be without some key players for at least the next month.

In Boston, the Bruins will be without their top playmaker, center Marc Savard, for the next four-to-six weeks because of broken left foot, which comes just two days after power forward Milan Lucic had surgery on a broken finger, which will also sideline him for more than a month.

Savard has seven points (four goals, three assists) in Boston's first seven games, and led the team in scoring a season ago with 88 points. One of the best playmaking centers in the league, this is obviously a huge blow to a Boston team that has been off to a slow start, losing four of its first seven games.

Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, the Penguins lost defenseman Sergei Gonchar in Tuesday's 5-1 thrashing of St. Louis to an undisclosed injury. Early reports seem to indicate that it's a broken bone near his hand, and Rob Rossi of the Tribune-Review reported Wednesday morning that the players have been informed he'll be out at least a month.

Gonchar missed 57 games a season ago and it proved to be a costly loss as the team struggled at times in his absence, particularly on the power play. The emergence of youngsters Alex Goligoski and Kris Letang should help to soften the blow this time around, while the team also has veteran Martin Skoula waiting for his first opportunity this year.

Penguins, Bruins Lose Sergei Gonchar and Marc Savard to Injury originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blues Get Blown Out in Pittsburgh With 'Unacceptable' Performance

Adam Gretz — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:45:00 EST

Filed under: Blues, Penguins, NHL Press Box

Newsmakers in the NHL: During the regular season it's our weekday look at the previous night's action and some of the story lines taking place around the league. Have a tip or something you want linked? Send it in to nhlfanhouse@gmail.com.

PITTSBURGH -- St. Louis Blues head coach Andy Murray lifted his starting goaltender, Chris Mason, following the second period of his team's 5-1 loss in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night. And it wasn't due to poor performance by the veteran netminder.

Sure, he gave up four goals through two periods, but the Penguins were coming at him in waves over the opening 40 minutes. Had it not been for the play of Mason, the Penguins could have -- and would have -- blown the doors off this game much earlier than they did.

Also: Reactions from St. Louis locker room, video of the day, and more

"When they scored their fourth goal ... I don't believe you pull the goalie right away unless it's the goalie's fault," said Murray. "And obviously that wasn't the case tonight.

"When a goalie has to skate off the ice it's a lonely feeling, and he didn't deserve that tonight. He wanted to play in the third. It had nothing to do with him and that's why we waited until the period was over so we could do it quietly and he didn't have to skate off the ice."

The Penguins finished the game with a season-high 43 shots on goal, including 20 after the first period, rarely giving Mason an opportunity to catch his breath. There were only six Penguins players in uniform (one of which was goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury) who didn't record a point in what was a total team-effort.

"There was a few times I was pretty tired," said Mason. "They had it in our zone, you know, one of the best teams in the league and they're moving the puck around and it was pretty tiring, but, that's the way it goes sometimes."

He continued: "For us not to be ready to play the defending Stanley Cup champions is unacceptable. We came off a good second and third period in Anaheim, against a very good team, and I don't know if we're getting ahead of ourselves and getting a little cocky and thinking that it should be easier than it really is, but to come out like we did against these guys, this is what's going to happen."

Murray was also at a loss for words after his team closed out its three-game road trip with its worst performance of the season. Giving Pittsburgh the first four power plays of the game, resulting in a pair of power play goals, put the Blues in a hole they couldn't climb out of.

"When you don't have the energy or the legs," said Murray. "It means you're reaching with your sticks and you're doing things you shouldn't be doing. Obviously with the shots it was total domination by Pittsburgh. It was pretty clear to see such a drop-off. It's difficult to understand why we didn't have legs and why we didn't have energy."

With the win, the Penguins now have the best record in the league at 8-1. The only negative on the night for Pittsburgh is the injury to No. 1 defenseman Sergei Gonchar, who left midway through the second period with an undisclosed injury and did not return.

Tuesday's Other Games

Montreal ends its five-game losing streak with a 2-1 shootout win against Atlanta. [Box Score, Recap]

Calgary picks up a 6-3 win at home against Columbus. [Box Score, Recap]

Loose Pucks

-- From the waiver wire a year ago to a millionaire today. Rich Peverley signs a two-year contract extension with the Atlanta Thrashers worth $2.6 million. [TSN]

-- The Dallas Stars need more production from their centers. [Defending Big D]

-- Mathieu Dandenault signs a tryout deal with the Hartford Wolfpack of the AHL. [Steve Zipay, via Blueshirt Banter]

-- The Buffalo Sabres traded forward Dan Paille to the Boston Bruins for a couple of draft picks, including a third-round selection and a conditional pick. He's yet to play a game for the Sabres this season. [WGR]

Video Of The Day

The St. Louis Blues were dominated on Tuesday night, but like I said before -- and multiple times in my live blog -- it wasn't because of the play of Chris Mason. He kept this game from being 7-1 or 8-1, and it was because of saves like this:

Wednesday's Key Games

Hurricanes vs. Islanders: The New York Islanders are still looking for their first win, and they get another crack at it when they host the Carolina Hurricanes. The 'Canes have lost three in a row entering play on Wednesday night.

Avalanche vs. Wild: Colorado has lost one game in regulation. Minnesota has one win. The Wild will be playing its first game with the recently acquired Chuck Kobasew.

Canucks vs. Blackhawks: In a rematch of last year's Western Conference Semifinal, Roberto Luongo and the Canucks look to get back on track in Chicago.

Blues Get Blown Out in Pittsburgh With 'Unacceptable' Performance originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Live Blog: Pittsburgh Penguins vs. St. Louis Blues

Adam Gretz — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Blues, Penguins, NHL Live Blogging

PITTSBURGH -- I'm live at Mellon Arena for tonight's Pittsburgh Penguins vs. St. Louis Blues game and will be live-blogging all of the action on the ice starting at 7 PM ET. Keep checking back for live updates as they happen.

That will do it from Pittsburgh. Final Score: PENGUINS 5, BLUES 1.

Thanks for reading, folks. Going to try and catch up with the Blues here......

Third Period

1:00: About ready to wrap this bad boy up...

3:00: Lot of people have made their way to the exits.

5:23: Remember the great Mellon Arena music I was referring to? Yeah, they get knocked down a few points for playing Cotton Eye Joe. We need more Slayer.

5:40: As soon as I finished typing that about Craig Adams, he goes down to block a shot in a 5-1 game with under six minutes to play. You have to like that if you're a hockey fan.

7:02: Craig Adams is a minus tonight. Not sure how that happens in a 5-1 game.

8:50: Still no word on Sergei Gonchar's injury, but his last shift ended with 7:30 to play in the second period.

9:06: Pascal Dupuis is one of the few Penguins without a point, and he just had a breakaway chance. He didn't score, but recorded the Penguins 40th shot of the night.

10:16: And Alex Goligoski puts the icing on this one, it's 5-1. And I have to apologize to Ty Conklin, because he's the guy that made that last amazing save. He started the third period (but it wasn't announced). My bad, Ty.

13:50: And they almost got it, but Marc-Andre Fleury makes a sprawling save to rob David Perron on the doorstep. And now Chris Mason returns the favor -- again! -- at the opposite end of the rink, stealing one from Malkin.

15:43: And the Blues are about to go on their second power play of the night. Crosby is going off for holding. If the Blues have any thoughts about coming back in this game a goal here is a must. Probably.

20:00: SERGEI GONCHAR WILL NOT RETURN. Not sure what happened or when he left, but he is out for the remainder of the game, according to the Penguins. Pittsburgh fans saw how important he is to this team a year ago when he was out of the lineup.

------

Going to try and catch up with the Blues locker room after the game and I'm hoping for David Perron, T.J. Oshie and Erik Johnson. Honestly, I'd be happy to speak with one of them. If this game keeps up like this I'm not sure how many people will be willing to talk.

Completely random: They're playing the new Foo Fighters song, Wheels, during the intermission and my first thought upon hearing it: When did they hire Tom Petty? Mellon Arena has a tremendous selection of music, though. I'm not sure how many arena's have Slayer on their regular play-list.

Second Period

After two, the Penguins hold a commanding 4-1 lead. Even with Kariya's goal, this game is still woefully one-sided (the shots are 35-11 in favor of the Penguins). Just because it's worth mentioning one more time: Chris Mason is the only reason the Blues aren't down by four or five goals at this point.

3:00: The Penguins kill the penalty, and as Malkin comes out of the box he sends himself and Ruslan Fedotenko on a 2-on-1 rush. Malkin dishes a perfect pass to Fedotenko only to have Mason make another great save to keep this game somewhat close. I don't care how many goals he gives up from here on out, I wouldn't be upset if he was named one of the three stars tonight.

5:10: Here's St. Louis' chance to get back in this. It's the Blues first power play of the night as Evgeni Malkin is serving a bench minor for too many men on the ice.

7:06: And the Blues are on the board! Paul Kariya deflects an Erik Johnson shot from the point behind Marc-Andre Fleury, cutting the deficit to 4-1.

10:40: It's Letang's goal. It's funny, because after Fedotenko's goal the PA announcer initially credited it to Letang. He was just 30 seconds too fast. And St. Louis is headed to the penalty box AGAIN. Perron goes off for cross-checking.

11:55: It's turning into a rout. Kris Letang fires one from the point and it's 4-0. May have been deflected by Matt Cooke.

12:31: And Ruslan Fedotenko snaps one over Mason's glove hand from the left circle, giving the Penguins a 3-0 lead.

13:46: St. Louis with its best shift of the night in terms of puck possession, but it doesn't result in a goal. After the Penguins finally get the puck out of the zone they draw another penalty at the opposite end of the rink. Keith Tkachuk is in the box.

17:48: Looked like the Penguins got away with a trip and it was quickly followed by a great opportunity by Malkin in front. Mason, once again, comes up big with the stop. He's keeping St. Louis in this game by himself.

20:00: And the second period is underway with some four-on-four hockey thanks to the scrum at the end of the first. St. Louis gets its best chance of the night thanks to a pair of shots by T.J. Oshie.

------

More stats: The Penguins attempted 31 shots that period: 20 were on goal, four missed the net, and seven were blocked by the Blues. St. Louis attempted seven shots.

Pittsburgh is also winning the faceoff battle 12-8, including a 4-for-5 performance by Craig Adams.

First Period

And at the end of the first period, Pittsburgh has a 2-0 lead and absolutely dominated play. The shots are 20-3.

:15: David Backes tries to stir something up with Crosby and all 10 players on the ice converge on one another in the corner. Crosby and Backes are both headed to the sin bin for two minutes.

2:15: Another big save from Mason, this time on former Blue Jay McKee who took a backdoor feed from Crosby. The Penguins are all over the puck in front of the net. Matt Cooke just bulldozed a defender, but I couldn't see who it was.

5:08: The Penguins are coming at the Blues in waves right now. Chris Mason is the only reason this game isn't 3-0 or 4-0 right now. The shot clock currently reads 15-1 in favor of the Pens. The Blues were briefly credited with a second shot, but it has since been taken away. They can't buy a shot right now.

7:47: And Andy McDonald is in the penalty box. And Evgeni Malkin quickly makes him pay by burying a loose puck behind Mason. It's 2-0 Penguins. The Penguins have two goals, the Blues have one shot. Now would probably be a good time to call a timeout, and that's exactly what Blues head coach Andy Murray does.

8:41: Tyler Kennedy just blasted a slap shot behind Mason to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. Pittsburgh's third line of Kennedy, Jordan Staal and Matt Cooke can be dominant in the offensive zone at times, and that shift was a pretty good example of it.

9:21: St. Louis finally registers its first shot, a routine wrister from outside the blue line that Fleury casually cradles and covers up to stop play. The Penguins fired 10 shots at Mason before the Blues put one on net. The scoreboard has a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. They just showed the Blue Oyster Cult Saturday Night Live clip ... or part of it, anyway.

10:08: Chris Mason looks strong in net for the Blues. He's already stopped a two-on-one and stood tall on some close calls from in front. The Penguins are dominating the shots department with a 9-0 lead midway through the period.

11:40: We have our first power play, and it goes to Pittsburgh. David Perron is off for delay of game.

13:14: Jordan Staal can't catch up to a loose puck at the blue line and can only weakly poke it at Chris Mason who covers it to stop play. After the whistle, the jumbotron shows Steelers safety Troy Polamalu and the crowd cheers wildly.

17:10: After an awkward save by Chris Mason, the Blues counter attack and Brad Winchester rings one off the pipe to the left of Marc-Andre Fleury.

18:29: And the Crosby-Malkin pairing lasts one shift. The Penguins come out with their traditional top line of Kunitz-Crosby-Guerin

20:00: The Penguins are starting tonight with Crosby and Malkin together. Usually that's reserved for desperate times, but Chris Kunitz hasn't scored a goal in 36 games, so perhaps it is desperate.

Random pre-game notes

-- Tonight's starting lineups:

St. Louis -- Goalie: Chris Mason, Defense: Roman Polak and Mike Weaver, Left Wing: Jay McClement, Center: Andy McDonald, Right Wing: Brandon Crombeen

Pittsburgh -- Goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury, Defense: Jay McKee and Alex Goligoski, Left Wing: Ruslan Fedotenko, Center: Sidney Crosby, Right Wing: Evgeni Malkin

-- Scratches:

St. Louis -- Dwayne King, Alexander Steen, Alex Pietrangelo.\

Pittsburgh --Chris Bourque, Martin Skoula

-- Last meeting: November 1, 2008, a 6-3 Penguins win in St. Louis.

-- The Blues lead the all-time series with a 65-48-18 mark, but are only 21-32-12 in Pittsburgh, losing seven of their past 10 trips to Mellon Arena.

-- Tonight's referees: Frerick L'Ecuyer and Paul Devorski; Linesmen: Brian Mach and Jay Sharrers.

-- Like every team in professional sports, the Penguins allow fans to send text messages to the scoreboard before the game and during breaks. One of the first ones that shows up tonight says: "Thank you St. Louis for Jay McKee, signed: Pens fans." The Penguins, of course, signed McKee this offseason -- for next to nothing, as far as free agency is concerned -- after he was bought out by the Blues. Through the first eight games in Pittsburgh, he's been a shot-blocking machine.

Live Blog: Pittsburgh Penguins vs. St. Louis Blues originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Cam Ward Robs Bill Guerin

Adam Gretz — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:50:00 EST

Filed under: Hurricanes, Penguins, NHL Videos

The Carolina Hurricanes rewarded Cam Ward with a six-year contract extension this past summer, and based on Wednesday's game against Pittsburgh, it was money well spent.

The Hurricanes overcame a 2-0 third period deficit to force overtime, and while Ray Whitney scored both goals in the rally, it was Ward that made it possible with his sprawling glove-save on Bill Guerin after some tic-tac-toe passing from Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz midway through the third period.

Video after the jump.

It doesn't get much better than that.

Carolina ultimately lost in a shootout, 3-2, but it still managed to pick up a point in the standings it otherwise wouldn't have received had it not been for Ward's stellar play in net. He also made another highlight reel glove save in overtime, robbing Evgeni Malkin on a wrist shot from the slot, and dueled Marc-Andre Fleury in a six-round shootout.

Kunitz, who still hasn't scored a goal in regulation in over 35 games, recorded the game-winner for the Penguins as they completed a perfect 4-0 road trip and improve to 6-1 on the season.

(glove tap to the HF boards for the video)

Video: Cam Ward Robs Bill Guerin originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NHL Discipline: No Punishment for Hartnell, Pat Quinn Fined $10,000

Adam Gretz — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:20:00 EST

Filed under: Flames, Flyers, Oilers, Penguins

We already talked about the ending to Thursday's Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia game and the Penguins claim that Flyers forward Scott Hartnell took a bite out of Kris Letang's finger. After a conference call with league disciplinary czar Colin Campbell on Friday, it was determined that Hartnell will not face any additional discipline due to a lack of evidence.

Video of the incident, including a new nickname for Hartnell, after the jump.

Neither player would say for sure what happened. Letang insisted that the media ask Hartnell, and when asked, Hartnell said "a lot of stuff happens on the bottom of the pile. He had his hands in my face doing the facewash and we're rolling around. I can't say what happened."

And there's the problem. You can't see what's happening at the bottom of the scrum. All we know is both players went down to the ice and Letang came up with a cut on his hand. Just another chapter in a bitter rivalry that's sure to be a must-watch the rest of the season.

Both players received two-minute minors for roughing.

Meanwhile, Edmonton Oilers head coach Pat Quinn was quite heated following his team's shootout loss to the Calgary Flames when discussing an incident involving Sheldon Souray and Jarome Iginla.

Following the game, Quinn advocated some Marty McSorley-style vigilante justice.

"I don't understand the players of today," Quinn said on Thursday. "If that had happened in the old days he would have got hit over the head with a stick right after. It was a pretty dirty play in my opinion. He poked his feet out and then piled on top of him. Somehow they never deal with that crap and they won't let the vigilante stuff happen to deal with it. It's disappointing."

Emphasis mine, as I'm assuming that's the specific comment that the league took notice of. The NHL, not amused by such comments, slapped him with a $10,000 fine on Friday.

NHL Discipline: No Punishment for Hartnell, Pat Quinn Fined $10,000 originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Penguins vs. Flyers Has the Ending You Would Expect: Chaos

Adam Gretz — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 22:45:00 EST

Filed under: Flyers, Penguins

The first battle for Keystone State supremacy this season did not disappoint, as the Penguins pulled out a back-and-forth 5-4 win in Philadelphia, thanks in large part to an own-goal by the Flyers after a wayward Braydon Coburn pass deflected off of Ray Emery's skate to give the Pens a 4-2 lead late in the second period.

As is typically the case when these two teams get together, there was no love lost, and the ending turned into a three-ring circus during the Flyers' desperate attempt to tie the score. After Jeff Carter cut a 5-3 deficit to just one goal with 40 seconds to play, Philadelphia had one last push that resulted in all hell breaking loose in front of -- and behind -- Marc-Andre Fleury.

With less than 10 seconds to play in regulation, Flyers captain Mike Richards drove to the net and collided with Fleury, drawing a goaltender interference penalty in the process.

What followed was a scrum behind the goal involving Kris Letang and Scott Hartnell, resulting in the two falling to the ice and Letang getting his hand cut by something. The immediate reaction from the Penguins bench seemed to indicate that Hartnell took a bite out of Letang's hand.

In his post-game interview, Letang wouldn't say what happened, though, it's not hard to figure out what he's hinting at.

"You can go ask Hartnell," Letang told reporters when asked about the incident.

When asked if he's ever had anything like that done to him before he responded, "No, it's a first for me but I want you to be certain you go ask him and make sure you get the right answer for that."

Watching the game and the replay, it's impossible to see what exactly happened. All we have to go by is the fact both players went to the ice, Letang came up with a cut on his finger, and the Penguins were quite angry following the whole exchange, screaming for the officials to come to the bench and look at Letang's bleeding finger.

If we assume that Hartnell did, in fact, take a bite out of Letang's hand, you just have to go back to last season when Ottawa's Jarkko Ruutu chomped down on Andrew Peters of the Buffalo Sabres (in plain view of the camera's).

Ruutu received a two-game suspension.

Because it's impossible to see exactly what happened in this particular incident -- as of now, no better angle has surfaced -- I'd guess that Hartnell doesn't get anything more than the two-minute for roughing (Letang received the same penalty) he received on the ice.

Regardless of what happened, the ending to this game should be a surprise to no one. Actually, it was probably one of the more mellow Penguins vs. Flyers games in recent years.

The two teams don't meet again until they play in back-to-back games December 15 and 17. Circle those dates.

UPDATE: Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the following:

Hartnell told reporters he did not bite Letang, but added that "a lot of stuff happens on the bottom of the pile. He had his hands in my face doing the face wash and we're rolling around. I can't say what happened."

Penguins vs. Flyers Has the Ending You Would Expect: Chaos originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 22:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dave Tippett, Coyotes Talk About Shutting Out the Champs

Adam Gretz — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Coyotes, Penguins, NHL Press Box

PITTSBURGH -- The Phoenix Coyotes opened their season on Saturday with an impressive 6-3 win over a Los Angeles Kings team that many are predicting as a playoff team in the Western Conference this season.

On Wednesday, the Coyotes were perhaps even better in what was a rather surprising 3-0 win over the defending Stanley Cup Champion Penguins, in Pittsburgh -- a fact that was mentioned multiple times in an excited Coyotes locker room following the game.

"I think it's a very important two points for us," said Coyotes goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, who stopped all 24 shots he faced for his ninth career shutout. "Especially since we're facing the defending Stanley Cup champion it was a big challenge for us. I think we played very well."

The Coyotes did play well, and they spent much of the night on the power play, converting on two of their nine chances throughout the game. They had three power play opportunities in the first period alone, including a four-minute advantage after Evgeni Malkin was sent off for high-sticking Keith Yandle in the offensive zone. Ed Jovanovski scored what proved to be the game-winner on the ensuing power play.

"I'm sure the people in Pittsburgh didn't like to be on the penalty kill for seven-and-a-half minutes in the first period," said Phoenix coach Dave Tippett. "But I thought our speed and our competitiveness drew some of those penalties. That's a credit to the players. They came out and they really fed off the energy of playing against the Stanley Cup champions and they did a lot of good things."

Pittsburgh looked off its game for much of the night, struggling to connect on passes, not generating much of a forecheck, and taking multiple penalties, including an interference call on Matt Cooke in front of the net that negated what would have been Alex Goligoski's first goal of the season.

"We competed hard," said Tippett. "We did a lot of the little things well. I didn't think we gave them a ton of chances. The penalty kill was much better tonight and Bryzgalov was excellent. We had a couple of power play goals that gave us the lead and then we just competed with hard, simple strong hockey to get the win."

Phoenix continues its season-opening three-game road trip on Thursday with a game in Buffalo.

"Another team that has ogood quickness and we'll have to go in there and play a similar kind of game," said Tippet. "A very disciplined game. "Make sure we're doing little things well, find a way to get a couple of goals and see if we can make this a great road trip.

Quotable

Dave Tippett on the possibility of Phoenix "sneaking up on teams" this season: "There's no sneaking up on anybody in this league. We have a very competitive group right now and we'll go into every game and compete as hard as we can and try to get the results that we want."

Dave Tippett on building confidence: "We talk about how confidence is earned all the time, when you come in here and beat the defending champions it continues to push our group going the right way."

Loose Pucks

Czech Connection. The line of Martin Hanzal, Petr Prucha and Radim Vrbata has been off to a fast start for the Coyotes, as the three countrymen have combined for four goals and three assists through the first two games of the season.

"It's great, it's just great," said Prucha following Wednesday's game. "We know each other and we're obviously playing with some great chemistry and scoring some goals. Vrby is the best so far and he can make some plays. Marty is great at backchecking and helping defensively in our zone and I can do whatever we need. So far it's been good."

Both players scored on Wednesday, including Prucha's highlight reel goal that was scored while sitting on the ice to give Phoenix a 2-0 lead.

"I was just waiting for a rebound in front of the net and I fell down," laughed Prucha. "Vrby tried to score from the goal line and the rebound just came to me when I was sitting on the ice."

Welcome home. Wednesday's game turned out to be reunion of former Penguins. Coyotes head coach Dave Tippet played for the Penguins during their Presidents Trophy winning season in 1992-93, while assistant coach Ulf Samuelsson won two Stanley Cups with the team during the 1991 and 1992 seasons. Also in attendance -- as a guest -- was former Penguins forward Gary Roberts. While he only played 57 games in Pittsburgh over two years, he still received a lengthy standing ovation from the sellout crowd when he made an appearance on the video board early in the first period.

Penguins sign first-round pick. The Penguins announced prior to the start of Wednesday's game that the team had signed first-round pick (No. 30 overall), defenseman Simon Depres, to a three-year entry level deal. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

In the faceoff circle. Penguins center Jordan Staal started the night winning his first 10 faceoffs, until he lost a shorthanded draw to Matthew Lombardi midway through the third period. He finished the night 12 of 13 on draws. Sidney Crosby, who entered the game was one of the top faceoff men in the league this season, won just five of 17 on the night.

Dave Tippett, Coyotes Talk About Shutting Out the Champs originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tavares Scores, Sid Shows How to Win

Christopher Botta — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 23:50:00 EST

Filed under: Islanders, Penguins

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The kid didn't even try to act cool.

Immediately after backhanding the puck past Marc-Andre Fleury at 7:01 of the second period for his first NHL goal, John Tavares joyfully pointed toward the hysterical home crowd and jumped into the arms of linemate Matt Moulson. The 2009 first overall pick didn't have to act like he'd been there before. He hadn't.

What a scene.

More Coverage: Islanders Owner Says He'll Listen to Other Cities

This is the way Tavares and the Islanders would have drawn it up if they had the chance. Send a message that the Islanders belong on Long Island. Place the puck near the goalmouth and on the stick of the 19-year old with the golden hands and cherish the delirium that ensues as it sails into the net. Defeat the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in front of an overflow crowd ...

(CUE: RECORD SCRATCH SOUND EFFECT)

Okay, so it didn't all wrap up neatly into one big happy ending, like an episode of "Entourage." The Penguins, proving that champions don't take a night off even after raising their banner, came back twice, scored a heartbreaking goal with under four minutes left in regulation and defeated the Islanders 4-3 in a shootout.

Still, in a league where even losing teams can pick up a point in the standings, John Tavares had made his.

"Awesome" was how the 19-year old described the reaction of his teammates and the home fans to his goal. The moment was extra special for Tavares because the first assist came from Moulson, a lifelong family friend from Ontario, and because his mother, father and sister were in the stands. "They sacrificed so much for me to get here," he said.

Tavares carried the right balance of pride in his one-goal, one-assist performance Saturday night and his disappointment at the final result. You get the feeling the last time Tavares will be just happy to be here was his first NHL game. The opening ceremonies and milestones behind him, the 19-year old has plenty of other goals in mind. "I think this franchise is going to continue to build and get better and even this year we might surprise some people," he said. "There is a lot of talent here."

Tavares and the Islanders would be wise to look back on this game as a lesson taught by their masterful opponents. The Penguins raised their Stanley Cup banner during an emotional celebration Friday night in Pittsburgh, then defeated the New York Rangers 3-2 in an often grueling battle. No one would have batted an eye if Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma, after his team landed on Long Island and crawled into their hotel beds early Saturday morning, told his players to simply show up two hours before the faceoff against the Islanders.

Instead, Bylsma and the Penguins were at the Coliseum for the traditional hockey morning skate. Picture the NFL's Adrian Peterson taking a pounding in a big Vikings win over a division rival on Sunday night, then putting the pads on Monday morning for a workout and playing another game that night. This is essentially what Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the rest of the Penguins did in a 24-hour span.

"They are our young leaders," said Pittsburgh veteran Bill Guerin, captain of the Islanders last season. "They work so hard. What you saw tonight is what great players and leaders do. Our effort was there, but for two periods our execution wasn't. With Sid and Geno leading, we didn't stop working until the final horn."

Crosby had a goal, an assist and the second of two Penguins goals in the shootout, which they won 2-0 to take home the second point. Bylsma's decision to treat the Islanders' game as a serious business trip - "We didn't want a hangover," he said - paid off. The team that should have been drained out-shot the rested-since-April Islanders in the third period, 18-5.

"It wasn't so much the flash and the tic-tac-toe plays," said Bylsma. "It was getting off our knees, fighting for possession, winning pucks. That's what sets the tempo and tonight our leaders set it."

Islanders head coach Scott Gordon was not in much of a mood to herald his opponents as role models in work ethic. He chose to focus on his own team in his post-game briefing, calling the Islanders' need to learn how to win "a process" and saying last year's 30th-place finish "was as low as we can possibly go."

For his part, John Tavares - NHL veteran of one game, recent former fan - tipped his hat to the Penguins for their gritty comeback. "That's why they're the Stanley Cup champions," he said. "We're going to be in a lot of close games like tonight. We can learn from this."

Just watch Crosby and company in the the third period. It's all on the tape.

Tavares Scores, Sid Shows How to Win originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Sat, 03 Oct 2009 23:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Welcome to the NHL, John Tavares. Here's Sidney Crosby.

Christopher Botta — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Islanders, Penguins, NHL Press Box

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- When the NHL schedule was released in July, John Tavares could not help but notice the opponent for his National Hockey League debut. Not looking to break in the 2009 first overall pick easily, the hockey gods matched up his Islanders with the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

"Sure, I noticed it," Tavares said with a smile Saturday after the Islanders' morning skate at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. "It doesn't make it any easier, that's for sure. This is going to be quite a challenge, but I'm excited for it."

On the other side of the faceoff dot Saturday night will be Sidney Crosby, former Canadian junior sensation turned international hockey icon at the ripe age of 22. While the expectations for Tavares are not quite in the stratosphere as the ones Crosby faced -- and has already matched -- the Islanders' center is facing a role model tonight.

"You watch the way he has handled things, the way he plays," Tavares said of Crosby, "and you learn from it. His influence is big on me."

Crosby remembers his NHL debut four years ago, a loss in New Jersey. "My first shift, I had a really good scoring chance and missed," he recalled today after the Penguins' workout. "I skated back to the bench and thought, 'It could be worse.' We lost the game, but I'll remember the experience forever." His advice for Tavares? "Enjoy it. Your NHL career is not going to be judged on this one game."

The curtain opens on Tavares' career tonight as the Islanders attempt to keep those expectations at a reasonable level. "You have to understand he's 19," said coach Scott Gordon. "We have to let John grow into a superstar. We don't want to give him the burden of saving the franchise."

The young center will play tonight on a line with potential star right wing Kyle Okposo and former Kings farmhand Matt Moulson to his left. But you could not blame Tavares for looking straight ahead a few times. In Crosby, Tavares can see what it's like to have the weight of the league and a town on your shoulders, and carry it with excellence and grace.

Penguins' Projected Lineup
Forwards
Matt Cooke - Jordan Staal - Tyler Kennedy
Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Bill Guerin
Ruslan Fedotenko - Evgeni Malkin - Pascal Dupuis
Mike Rupp - Craig Adams - Eric Godard
Defensemen
Brooks Orpik - Sergei Gonchar
Mark Eaton - Kris Letang
Jay McKee - Alex Goligoski
Goalies
Marc-Andre Fleury
(Brent Johnson)

Islanders' Projected Lineup
Forwards
Matt Moulson - John Tavares - Kyle Okposo
Jon Sim - Josh Bailey - Trent Hunter
Jeff Tambellini - Richard Park - Sean Bergenheim
Joel Rechlicz - Nate Thompson - Tim Jackman
Defensemen
Mark Streit - Bruno Gervais
Brendan Witt - Radek Martinek
Freddy Meyer - Andy Sutton
Goalies
Dwayne Roloson
(Martin Biron)

Game Notes: Pittsburgh's scratches will likely be W Chris Bourque and D Martin Skoula ... Max Talbot (offseason shoulder surgery) is not expected to return to the lineup for two months. Alex Goligoski, an offensive defenseman prospect on the verge of a breakout, was arguably the Penguins' best defenseman throughout training camp and had two points in the team's 3-2 win in their home opener against the Rangers on Friday night.

Islanders scratches are forwards Doug Weight, Rob Schremp, Blake Comeau and defenseman Jack Hillen. Weight, named captain on Thursday, is coming back from a groin injury and Gordon does not want to push the veteran back too soon. The Islanders' second game of the season is not until Thursday in Ottawa. Dwayne Roloson gets the start in goal.

Welcome to the NHL, John Tavares. Here's Sidney Crosby. originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Sat, 03 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA Sports NHL 10 Simulation: Pens Repeat as Cup Champs

Adam Gretz — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Blackhawks, Penguins, NHL Fans

With the NHL season officially getting underway on Thursday night, it seems like a good time to take a look at EA Sports NHL 10 simulation for the 2009-10 campaign. According to the simulation, Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins will repeat as Cup Champions, defeating cover boy Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks in six games. Poor Marian Hossa ... coming up just short, even in virtual reality.

While the idea of a Pittsburgh vs. Chicago Stanley Cup Final matchup is certainly reasonable, some of the other results from the simulation are surprising.

Head-Scratching Results

-- The Carolina Hurricanes were the best team in the regular season, taking home the Presidents Trophy with 113 points.

-- The Detroit Red Wings, back-to-back Western Conference Champions, barely qualified for the postseason finishing as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference before being eliminated in the opening round by Chicago.

-- Columbus ended the regular season as the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference with 103 points.

-- Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin did not lead the league in goals scored.

The Playoff Teams

Eastern Conference

1. Carolina Hurricanes
2. Boston Bruins
3. Pittsburgh Penguins
4. New Jersey Devils
5. Washington Capitals
6. New York Rangers
7. Philadelphia Flyers
8. Florida Panthers

Western Conference

1. Chicago Blackhawks
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Calgary Flames
4. Columbus Blue Jackets
5. Los Angeles Kings
6. Vancouver Canucks
7. Anaheim Ducks
8. Detroit Red Wings

The Award Winners

Hart Trophy: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Art Ross Trophy: Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks
Norris Trophy: Dion Phaneuf, Calgary Flames
Vezina Trophy: Cam Ward, Carolina Hurricanes
Calder Trophy: Semyon Varlamov, Washington Capitals
Rocket Richard Award: Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta Thrashers
Lester B. Pearson Award: Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes
Selke Trophy: Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Lady Byng Trophy: Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
Conn Smythe Trophy: Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins

EA Sports NHL 10 Simulation: Pens Repeat as Cup Champs originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ray Shero Talks About Building the Penguins, Defending the Cup

Adam Gretz — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Penguins, NHL Draft, NHL Free Agency, NHL Economics, FanHouse Exclusive

Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ray Shero was kind enough to spend nearly an hour on the phone with FanHouse's Adam Gretz discussing a variety of topics. This is the third of a three-part series. Wednesday's entry: Ray Shero discusses how the 2009-10 Penguins were built through free agency, trades, the draft, and what he expects from the defending Stanley Cup champions.

NHL FanHouse Season Preview:
Season Predictions | Other Predictions
Hot Seat Coaches | Coaches in Waiting
Ray Shero Discusses Life After the Stanley Cup
The John Tavares Handbook

With their Game 7 win over the Detroit Red Wings on June 12, 2008, the Pittsburgh Penguins ended a 17-year Stanley Cup drought, bringing home the franchise's third championship and starting a weekend-long celebration that took over the Pittsburgh streets and night clubs (actually, as recently as a week ago, it was still taking place in some unusual places).

Such a celebration begs the obvious question: how difficult was it to put the success of the 2008-09 season in the past, and start focusing on a 2009-10 season which would be starting in just a little under four months, with the NHL draft and the start of free agency were already knocking on the door?

"It wasn't too difficult at all," said general manager Ray Shero. "We won on a Friday, we enjoyed the weekend maybe until Monday or Tuesday, but, really, it was right back at it trying to sign our own free agents before July 1, then of course you're also getting ready for the draft. I know from talking to some of the Steelers when they won their Super Bowls, the next day they were back in their office getting ready for the draft. So, it's pretty quick when you have to turn back to business, but it's also a nice problem to have."

The Penguins entered the offseason with a number of potential free agents, including forwards Ruslan Fedotenko, Bill Guerin, and Craig Adams, as well as defensemen Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill. The team not only managed to keep all three forwards, but did so on one-year, cap-friendly deals.

FanHouse Chats With Ray Shero:
Part 1: On His Father, an Icon
Part 2: On the Anatomy of a Trade
Part 3: On Building the Pens, Defending the Cup

The two defensemen, on the other hand, were a different story.

Scuderi, one of the heroes of the Penguins postseason run and an exceptional shot-blocker and penalty-killer, signed a lucrative contract with the up-and-coming Los Angeles Kings, while Gill, a hulking 6-foot-7 stay-at-home-defenseman, inked a two-year deal with the Montreal Canadiens as part of their somewhat drastic offseason overhaul.

Replacing them on the Pittsburgh blueline will be 24-year-old Alex Goligoski, a talented offensive-minded defenseman that is currently one of the organization's top prospects, as well as veteran Jay McKee, who had been bought out by the St. Louis Blues earlier in the offseason. Goligoski played 45 games with the Penguins during the '08-'09 campaign, registering six goals and 14 assists. McKee, entering his 14th season in the NHL, remains a viable top-six defenseman, though one that has been dogged by injuries in recent seasons.

Is it a concern changing a third of the defense with players that have seemingly different skillsets than their predecessors?

"We'll see how it goes," Shero said. "It's difficult, and impossible, to keep everybody with the cap system. Hal (Gill) got a two-year deal in Montreal and Rob (Scuderi) got a four-year deal in Los Angeles, both for a lot of money, and I'm very happy for both of those guys, but that's the system."

"More importantly," he added. "For us, the big thing was we knew internally that Alex Goligoski is ready to play a more prominent role for us. Along with signing Jay McKee as more of a penalty killer and a defensive guy, we like the idea of Alex in our lineup, and (Kris) Letang, and guys like that."

Shero singled out Letang, a former third-round pick from 2005, as a player he expects to have a breakout season after scoring 10 goals to go with 23 assists in 74 games a year ago.

"It's difficult, and impossible, to keep everybody with the cap system. Hal (Gill) got a two-year deal in Montreal and Rob (Scuderi) got a four-year deal in Los Angeles, both for a lot of money, and I'm very happy for both of those guys, but that's the system." "While they are different than Scuderi and Gill, a guy like Goligoski is a really good skater and can move the puck better," Shero said. "He might not be as good defensively as Gill or Scuderi at this point in his career, but he certainly has the upside to get better. So we have two young guys in Goligoski and Letang that have upside to their game, and it's time to give these guys more of a role and an opportunity to move forward."

******

Something the Penguins are hoping to avoid this season are the early season and midseason slumps the team encountered in each of the past two years. In 2007, they started slow out of the gate with an 8-11-2 mark before getting hot in December, while a fast start in 2008 was nearly derailed by a 12-19-2 run between December and February that ultimately cost Michel Therrien his job. The promotion of former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach Dan Bylsma, as well as the in-season additions of Guerin, Chris Kunitz and Adams (and the return of injured defenseman Sergei Gonchar) helped get the season back in the right direction.

Shero believes a full training camp with Bylsma, as well as having Guerin, Kunitz and Gonchar from the start will help the team to avoid those types of slumps.

"We hope so," he said. "A full camp with Dan and some of these veteran players back in and I do believe, at this point, we have a better team on paper than we did last year at this same time, for sure. The majority of these guys have won together."

******

While discussing the makeup of this year's roster, one thing I wanted to focus on was, from my observation, a focus on North American players as opposed to European players. Go back a decade and the Penguins were, essentially, a European All-Star team every season, boasting names like Jaromir Jagr, Alexei Kovalev, Martin Straka, and Robert Lang. The 1999-00 team, for example, didn't have a North American skater among its top-eight point producers. It also wasn't uncommon to hear pundits and critics cite them as being "too European." Whatever that means.

Fast forward to this year, and the only European players on the roster are forwards Evgeni Malkin (Russia) and Ruslan Fedotenko (Ukraine) and defensemen Sergei Gonchar (Russia) and the recently-signed Martin Skoula (Czech Republic).

A look at the Penguins' farm system and their recent draft picks seem to indicate that won't be changing anytime soon. The club's top prospects list at Hockey's Future is nearly devoid of European talent, and in four draft classes under Shero the Penguins have used only three of a possible 24 picks on European players: Viktor Ekbom (seventh round, 2009), Alexander Pechursky (fifth round, 2008), and Timo Seppanen (seventh round, 2006).

Is it an organizational philosophy and preference? Or is it all simply a coincidence?

"I think it's more of a coincidence," Shero said. "For one thing, teams aren't taking as many Russian players now with the lack of a transfer agreement in place, so a lot of teams are shying away from the Russians. From our standpoint, there's been some players we've wanted to take, but they may have been taken right before us so we elected to take a North American and that's just the way it fell for us. There's not an aversion to European players or any specific country. A couple of years ago we took a Russian goaltender in the fifth round, we took a Swedish player this year, so we're not adverse to taking European players at all, that's just the way it fell for us."

This year's draft was dominated early by Swedish prospects, while there's been a noticeable drop in talent from countries that used to be hockey super powers, such the Czech Republic, which was documented in great detail by James Mirtle earlier this summer.

"I think it sometimes just goes in cycles," said Shero. "A number of years ago it was the Swedes that weren't producing the players, or so it seemed. Then they revamped their national program and then in the last eight to 10 years or so, they've produced some pretty decent players. Of course they had (Victor) Hedman drafted second overall this year, and there's some good young players coming into the league, a guy like Oscar Moller comes to mind."

He continued: "Some countries, like Germany for example, are producing decent players for us, but at the same time the German league is so heavily populated with Canadian import players that there hasn't been a lot of room for some of these younger players to play on those teams and develop. So maybe it goes to the national team and their philosophies and so forth. Europe has always been a good pipeline of talent for the NHL and there's going to be some top players coming out again. Like 29 other teams we're going to have our eyes on those players, and from our standpoint, if it's a Swede, or a Russian, or a Czech, or whoever it is that can help the Penguins, we'll certainly pick him."

Ray Shero Talks About Building the Penguins, Defending the Cup originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Meet the Folks Behind the G-20 Stanley Cup 'Protest'

Adam Gretz — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 09:10:00 EST

Filed under: Penguins, NHL Fans, NHL Videos, FanHouse Exclusive

While protesters and anarchists were attempting to get their message across during the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh this past week, others were using the time in the spotlight to continue celebrating the success of the local sports teams (or, in some cases, the hilarious incompetence of that other team nobody likes). The display that got the most attention was the random replica of a Stanley Cup that made an unexpected appearance Thursday afternoon.

The man pictured to the right, Todd Keebler, claims to be the person responsible for designing and building the oversized replica of Lord Stanley's Cup. As far as Cup replicas go, it's the Dark Helmet of Stanley Cups (that's a compliment) with that novelty-sized chalice on top.

Keebler says that he was not an active participant in the "protest," but passed along his process for constructing the replica, along with the materials used.

"I used plastic pots from Lowes, some nuts and bolts, and spray paint," said Keebler via e-mail. "I assembled the cup first, starting from the top and going down. I then sprayed it with a plastic primer, followed by metallic silver, then a few layers of clear coat to protect it from chipping. It held up pretty good, and when I got it back around 1 AM Thursday night, after having it carried all around the city and drank from by many, it had some battle scars. But all and all it held up pretty well."

Amazing. But what about the guy parading around town in the middle of the chaos, actually hoisting the Cup?

That would be Pittsburgh native Marco Gruelle, who was one of six people taking part in the hilarious counter-protest. Gruelle said it was his friend, Daniel Mross, who was responsible for coming up with the idea to turn the G-20 into a re-make of the Stanley Cup celebration from this past June.

"We were very afraid it (the G-20) was going to put Pittsburgh in a bad light," said Gruelle. "Everybody was walking around on eggshells for the past two weeks with all the police, and protesters, and military, and this and that, and we were afraid some schmucks were going to come in and put a bad face on Pittsburgh and, well, we weren't going to let that happen. We figured the best way to do that, and the most effective way that's going to get our point across and still make people laugh, was to, you know ... well ... Let's Go Pens."

When the Cup made its first appearance on live TV, it appeared to leave protesters confused, and, for a brief moment, somewhat disoriented. News reporters and policemen dressed as stormtroopers struggled to keep a straight face and did everything they could not to laugh.

"The reaction we got from everybody was great," said Gruelle. "When we were walking up the street every single person beeped their horn and had a great time with it."

"The protesters didn't know what to do at first. You know, sometimes when you do something like that they might get angry. There were some blocks where people were happy and just hanging out, there might have been some other blocks that had people getting angry and starting to throw stones. On those blocks we kind of actually defused the situation. Basically, we showed Pittsburgh what we are: the City of Champions."

Below are more pictures from the "protest" -- and the post-protest -- they sent along to us in all of their blurry glory.

Meet the Folks Behind the G-20 Stanley Cup 'Protest' originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Sat, 26 Sep 2009 09:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Giant Stanley Cup Invades G-20 Protest

Adam Gretz — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:50:00 EST

Filed under: Penguins, NHL Fans

The G-20 Summit is taking place in Pittsburgh this week, and chaos is starting to unfold in the city and on suburban streets as protesters do battle with police.

In the middle of it all?

The Stanley Cup, of course!

As protesters started to gather in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood, a giant 'Let's Go Pens' banner could be spotted, as well as the gentlemen pictured above in his classic 1991 throwback jersey, while chants of "Let's Go Pens" could be heard.

Protesters appeared to be confused at the time, but, unfortunately, the demonstrations no longer appear to be so lighthearted.

Giant Stanley Cup Invades G-20 Protest originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Anatomy of a Trade: Bill Guerin Goes to the Penguins

Adam Gretz — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Islanders, Penguins, FanHouse Exclusive

Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ray Shero was kind enough to spend nearly an hour on the phone with FanHouse's Adam Gretz discussing a variety of topics. This is the second of a three-part series that will run throughout the remainder of the offseason. Wednesday's entry: Ray Shero discusses the anatomy of a trade, focusing on the deadline-day acquisition of Bill Guerin from the New York Islanders.

On Saturday, February 28, one week before the NHL's trade deadline, then-New York Islanders captain Bill Guerin took part in the pregame skate prior to the team's contest with the Buffalo Sabres only to be lifted from the starting lineup. Given the month, and the fact a veteran player -- a captain, no less -- on a non-playoff team was suddenly a healthy scratch, rumors instantly begin to swirl around the league. Guerin was definitely on the move, but nobody knew where he was going, and for what return.

After a week-long saga that drove Islanders fans to the brink of insanity, Guerin was finally sent to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

******

Something I've always been curious about in professional sports is the process of two general managers getting together and consummating a trade. I have this somewhat bizarre vision of 30 general managers sitting in their offices across the NHL (or any professional league, for that matter) and treating it like an elaborate fantasy league -- only with a much larger prize than the one you and your buddies hand out every year. Does Brian Burke sit in his office and scream at the commissioner because a trade between the Senators and Rangers is too one-sided? Is there that one general manager that fills your inbox every day trying to acquire your best player for a collection of fourth-liners and a backup goalie with no value?

FanHouse Chats With Ray Shero:
Part 1: On His Father, an Icon
Part 2: On the Anatomy of a Trade
Part 3: On Building the Pens, Defending the Cup

"It's not at all like that," laughed Penguins general manager Ray Shero. "You're always analyzing your roster during the season and the strengths and weaknesses of your roster. Every team keeps a depth chart of every other team in the league, and your pro scouts are in charge of scouting those teams and games and keeping your evaluations current. Sometimes, it just really goes to a specific need as to what you're looking for."

"Some managers are different," he continued. "I try to keep in touch with most of the managers in the league once a month, or something like that, simply to touch base. There's other managers I know that unless they need something specific they'll call you in terms of what they're looking for and ask. They don't call around to keep in touch. Sometimes It's hard to keep in touch with 29 other managers, and, sometimes, you may have a better relationship with some than others in terms of past relationships. From my standpoint, I like to kind of be in the loop as to what's going on in other divisions and conferences, or, what's going on with certain teams. So you have to keep current with what's going on in the league, but most important, you have to ask yourself, 'what does your team need?'"

"I just told them we had some interest in Billy (Guerin), but not at the price you're asking." In late February and early March, it was pretty obvious to anyone observing the Penguins as to what their biggest needs were: top-line wingers to play alongside Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, and some of the toughness they lost the previous offseason when Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts and Jarkko Ruutu exited Pittsburgh as free agents.

Less than a month earlier, the Penguins had completed a trade with the Anaheim Ducks -- dealing from a position of strength to fill a position of weakness -- by sending puck-moving defenseman Ryan Whitney out west in exchange for forward Chris Kunitz and top prospect Eric Tangradi. On deadline day, Shero put the finishing touches on his roster by claiming gritty veteran Craig Adams on waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks, and trading a conditional draft pick to the New York Islanders for Bill Guerin. The condition on the pick was as follows: If the Penguins missed the playoffs, the Islanders would receive a fifth-round pick. If the Penguins qualified for the postseason and lost in the opening round, the Islanders would receive a fourth-round pick. And if the Penguins qualified for the postseason and advanced beyond the opening round (which they did), the Islanders would receive a third-round pick.

So how did it all come about? Well, let's rewind back to Feb. 28 when the first Guerin rumors started to fly. There were a number of factors at play, including the trade being completed, and the fact that Guerin's contract included a no-movement clause, meaning he would have the right to veto any trade that was not to his liking. Once the initial rumors surfaced (from FanHouse's Christopher Botta at his Islanders Point Blank blog), it became a waiting game until the team confirmed the deal.

It's still unknown as to which teams were in the bidding at that point, though it's not hard to speculate. Guerin preferred to remain in the Eastern Conference, and likely would have wanted to play for a team that had a legitimate shot at winning the Stanley Cup. At the time, that would have limited the options to Boston, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington, and perhaps the Rangers or Devils. The asking price could have been as much as a first or second-round pick.

It's a fair guess that Washington was one of the teams making the strongest push, especially since one of their first moves this offseason was the signing of veteran winger Mike Knuble -- who fills a role similar to what Guerin would have filled -- to a two-year contract. Of course, at this point it's all guesswork since every team denied being part of the trade talks.

Including the Penguins.

"It wasn't us," said Shero. "It was another team. I'm not sure who that was, but it wasn't us because I didn't have the cap room at that time. I knew what I didn't want to give up, and I didn't want to give up a first-round pick in a deal at the deadline. We had done that the year before in the (Marian) Hossa deal. Really, it was two first-round picks: the first-round pick and (Angelo) Esposito who was a first-round pick the year before, so I didn't want to do that for our franchise, so really the asking price at that point for me was too steep."

Shero continued: "With the Islanders and (general manager) Garth Snow, I just told them we had some interest in Billy but not at the price you're asking. He was waiting on something else, but we just kept in touch and it went down to a couple days before the deadline. He called back and I told him what I would offer him in a trade. I think at that point Garth was really good about it because he really wanted to treat Billy well and give him an opportunity. I don't think there was any doubt once Pittsburgh was on the table that Billy would waive his no-trade to come to here. It was a pretty quick decision for him and his family. I think in the end Garth did a good thing for the Islanders, which ended up being a third-round draft pick, and it worked out well for us."

Worked out well would probably be an understatement. Skating on the Penguins' top line with Crosby and Kunitz, Guerin registered 12 points in 17 regular season games, and was a force in the postseason with a career-best 15 points in 24 games, including an overtime game-winner in the Penguins' opening round win against the Philadelphia Flyers. He was also the first person to get the Cup from Crosby following Game 7 in Detroit. Things worked out so well for Guerin and the Penguins that the two sides came together on a one-year contract extension following the season.

"For Billy it was a case of here's where I want to be, and he wanted to be treated with respect," said Shero. "Obviously he made a big contribution to our team so at the end it wasn't a real long negotiation at all. We were both up front and honest with each other that this is where he wanted to play, this is where his family wanted to be, and he understood it was going to be one year and the number worked out for us and him."

******

Making trades in today's NHL isn't quite the same as it was six or seven years ago. The addition of the salary cap has certainly limited what teams can do, and adds another dynamic to the process of constructing your roster. Clubs no longer have a bottomless pit of money like they had in the pre-lockout NHL. (Of course, there are ways around the salary cap if you don't mind signing guys to 12-year contract extensions).

"It's much more difficult with the cap and a 23-man roster now," said Shero. "Plus, there's still some teams on a tight budget and that's the way they have to operate. Decisions you make are going to affect your salary cap and more and more now, you're also looking for future years. What's going to be the commitment? Does that guy have terms left on his contract? So even if you like a player, if you really don't want to be tied up contractually moving forward, if a player has three years left on his contract then you take him out of consideration for your team if that's not where you want to go in the future with your cap. So there's a lot of things to think about when you're looking at a potential trade."

Aside from the financial aspects, teams also have different evaluation tools when it comes to identifying players. In early August, I spoke with Chris Snow, director of hockey operations for the Minnesota Wild, who is now working for one of Shero's former right-hand man, Chuck Fletcher, and how they use statistical analysis as a tool in evaluating players -- something the Penguins aren't overly involved in when it comes to identifying potential trade targets.

"We do some statistics," said Shero, with an emphasis on the "some" aspect. "We mainly break things down with scouting and video, but we've taken a look at a lot of the statistical analysis out there but at the end of the day I'm not quite certain what they're telling us, to be honest with you. Again, we do use some of it, but I can't say we're overly involved in breaking down the statistics. I mean, we're not in the Moneyball thing here, in my opinion, so we're not really into that at this point."

Anatomy of a Trade: Bill Guerin Goes to the Penguins originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sidney Crosby Delivers Season Tickets, Stanley Cup

Adam Gretz — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Penguins, NHL Fans, NHL Videos

Three years ago, the Pittsburgh Penguins started a promotion where they would have players deliver season-tickets to fans across the Pittsburgh area. And when I say players, I don't mean fringe fourth-liners or the backup goalie. They would send out Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, and Marc-Andre Fleury. Core players. Two years ago, Crosby delivered tickets to Alice Kilgore, a woman that had been a season-ticket holder for 38 years. After she received her tickets, she offered a prediction to Crosby: the Penguins wouldn't win the Stanley Cup that season (they didn't, losing to the Red Wings in six games) but would ultimately win it the following season (they did, beating the Red Wings in seven games).

Over the weekend, the Penguins were out delivering tickets once again, and Crosby made a return visit to Alice Kilgore's house ... and he brought along the Stanley Cup. Video after the jump, including Crosby being awkwardly -- and jokingly, I hope -- asked if he likes older women.

Sidney Crosby Delivers Season Tickets, Stanley Cup originally appeared on NHL FanHouse on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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