SB Nation - Ryan Whitney

Duck Call: Sheldon Brookbank

Daniel AC — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:50:05 -0000

DANIEL:

The play of Sheldon Brookbank over the past few games has been nothing short of inspiring. Clearly he attended the same "get ready for every game no matter how badly the team that employs you wants to forget that you exist and have a more than serviceable skill set at your disposal" school of professional preparation as Erik Christensen. Brookbank's time with the Ducks, and his career, has been centered on the belief that he is more of an extra defenseman than an everyday player.

However, his recent play has earned him a consistent spot on Anaheim's third pairing along with Ryan Whitney. Normally, Duck Calls aren't supposed to about stats, but Brookbanks stat line since he returned to the line up reads as such: 0 - 2= 2, +4, 14 PIM. To be fair, 10 of those 14 penalty minutes are from two fighting majors. When Brookbank is in the line up, his willingness to protect his teammates and be the enforcer gives Carlyle the option of scratching Parros and using more of our depth at forward. Carlyle is only playing Brookbank 12-13 minutes a night, a number that will assuredly go up but probably not higher than 15 minutes, which means Brookbank can be an enforcer without limiting his ability to do his job effectively.

My favorite thing about Brookbank is that he has the makings of a solid stay at home guy. Something I've been crying for in almost every trade discussion we've had for the past month. Brookbank doesn't make bad decisions with the puck. Yes he can be pressured into turnovers, but who can't? The real point is that he doesn't take risks with the puck. As Zupke from the OC Register points out Brookbank hasn't given the puck away once in the past two games. He uses the glass, uses his body, and uses his partner to make sure the puck doesn't end up in the other team's hands in the defensive zone. He hardly ever pinches, and when he does shoot it finds the net. Again, the sign of a player who makes the right decision and shoots when he has to, when he knows the puck won't get blocked and go the other way. He frustrates the other team with his ability to move the puck out of danger quickly, essentially nullifying the forecheck. He doesn't have the size to dominate the net, but he has the toughness and nastiness to make sure you pay a price to get that goal. Brookbank is mean, makes the opposition work, and doesn't surrender the puck. Something we've been missing on the backend for a while now. I think he should see more PK time, but that's just me.

Finally, I'd like to thank Brookbank for giving Bob Murray a helping hand. While Eminger was most assuredly playing poorly when Carlyle took him out of the line up, it was a stretch of about 5 games where he had trouble with turnovers, He was playing fairly decent D before that. In his first 11 games he was only a -1. Essentially, the emergence of Brookbank means we have at least one more D we can move at the deadline. Boynton and Eminger have been susceptible at times, and Wisniewski, despite his many mental lapses and fragility, would still be appealing to a contender. Meanwhile, Brookbank is cheap, tough and does everything you ask of him. It's hard not to like a guy with those characteristics. Brookbank will let Murray sweeten a deal, either by being in it or allowing us to move someone else.

Brookbank's contributions since he returned to the line up have helped steady us on the blueline. For all that and being a stand up guy when the Ducks ran him through the ringer, Sheldon Brookank gets a Duck Call.

Game 32 Preview: Ducks in Columbus

Mike MacLean — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:59:05 -0000

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

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Sure, it sucked losing to the Preds, again. Tonight however the Ducks come to town. They are not playing to their level whatsoever, and the Jackets need to take advantage of that. That being said, so far this season the Jackets have failed for the most part in capitalizing on other team's woes. The Ducks always play the Jackets tough, so it will no doubt be a rough, physical affair.

The Jackets see the return of Freddy tonight, this will be his first game of the season. I am excited to see what he and Sammy can do together. Their chemistry on the international scene will hopefully translate to the Jackets. Murr-dog will sit tonight. There aren't any other major lineup changes from the last few games. Mase will get the start against Hiller.

Here's hoping that Nasher can keep putting the puck in the net, it was so good to see him score last game and he needs to continue to do that. If his line can produce, it will allow the other lines to get things going without having to face top checkers. I wouldn't put it past Boller to have a go with either Brown or Parros tonight, regardless of the coach's putting the leash on him.

Should be a good one!

Fearless Prediction: The Ducks aren't playing very well, the Jackets get a much-needed win. Will be a very physical game. Modin and Pahlsson show instant chemistry.

Game Time: 7:00pm ET

Opponent's Blog: Anaheim Calling

Game Page: Ducks vs Blue Jackets Coverage

TSN Preview: Ducks vs Blue Jackets Preview

TV: FSN Ohio

Radio: WBNS-AM (1460); WWCD-FM (101.1)

More after the jump...

From the Columbus Dispatch:

Hitchcock, tongue in cheek, on Anaheim C Ryan Getzlaf: "I think we've done really well against Getzlaf. We've only allowed him five points in two games. We have to keep up that pace. If we keep it up, we'll only allow him 20 points."

Jackets Links:

Columbus Blue Jackets / Columbus Blue Jackets Schedule

Columbus Blue Jackets Roster / Columbus Blue Jackets Stats

Here are the lineups for tonight's tilt:

Columbus Blue Jackets

Kristian Huselius	Antoine Vermette	Rick Nash
Jason Chimera	R.J. Umberger	Jakub Voracek
Fredrik Modin	Samuel Pahlsson	Jared Boll
Raffi Torres	Derick Brassard	Derek Dorsett

Fedor Tyutin	Anton Stralman
Mike Commodore	Jan Hejda
Kris Russell	Marc Methot

Mathieu Garon

Steve Mason

EXTRA: Michael Blunden, Mathieu Roy, Andrew Murray

INJURED: Rostislav Klesla

Anaheim Ducks

Kyle Calder	Ryan Getzlaf	Corey Perry
Bobby Ryan	Saku Koivu	Dan Sexton
Matt Beleskey	Todd Marchant	Petteri Nokelainen
Mike Brown	Kyle Chipchura	George Parros

Scott Niedermayer	Brett Festerling
Ryan Whitney	Nick Boynton
James Wisniewski	Sheldon Brookbank

Jonas Hiller

J.S. Giguere

Best (and worst) Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks from 2000-09

Hooks Orpik — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:18:01 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

7 months ago: Pittsburgh Penguins' Kris Letang celebrates his game-winning goal in overtime against the Washington Capitals in Game 3 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series, in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, May 6, 2009. The Penguins won 3-2. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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Puck Daddy, in celebration of the 2000-2009 "decade" is doing all sorts of lists and rankings, like this one on the best and worst draft picks of this period. A good idea that Japers Rink tweaked for their purposes. Why let them have all the fun (and watch another Penguins blog do it). That's right, only the finest second hand stolen ideas here for you, after the jump!

Keeping in-line, we won't include lottery picks -- so no Ryan Whitney, Marc-Andre Fleury, Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby or Jordan Staal to be found here. Let's get the unpleasant ones out of the way with the five worst Penguin draft picks from 2000-2009. It's unfair and too much of an exercise in hindsight to say the Pens SHOULD have drafted so-and-so, that's a little much. Still, judging who was on the board (especially when they got picked near the time of busts) is useful, even if somewhat painful.

#5 - Noah Welch (Defense, 2nd round, 54th overall in 2001)

Perhaps it's unfair to list Welch here, since he rose to be a fringe NHL'er, but he wasn't the surefire top six guy he was made out to be for Pittsburgh. Notable players drafted in this same neighborhood were: Jason Pominville, Jay McClement and Tomas Plekanec. Welch couldn't play his way into the NHL on a weak Pittsburgh defense that included Josef Melichar and Rob Scuderi (before he progressed into being "The Piece"). That disappointment lands him on this list.

#4 - Brian Gifford (Center, 3rd round, 85th overall in 2004)

Gifford was a swing and a miss, he never developed into an NHL prospect in a draft that featured several good players drafted around him. Gifford's a senior at Denver U now, but that he's not distinguishing himself there (and isn't on anyone's radar).

#3 - Ryan Stone (Winger, 2nd round, 32nd overall in 2003)

Stone may have hit his stride now in Edmonton, but there's no doubt he was a bust in Pittsburgh. Drafted in the talent rich 2003 draft (in the same round as Loui Eriksson, Patrice Bergeron, Matt Carle and Shea Weber), Stone was a whiff by Penguin management. He dredged through a few years in Wilkes-Barre and eight games in Pittsburgh on a 4th line before exiting quietly in the trade that brought Mathieu Garon to the 'Burgh. When you have the second pick in the second round in one of the deepest and most talented drafts ever, you'd like a little more than that.

#2 - Ondrej Nemec (Defenseman, 2nd round, 35th overall in 2002)

Drafting a European defenseman high in the second round, the Penguins thought they added a strong puck mover with good hockey sense. And perhaps they did, but we'll never know. Nemec never showed much desire in coming to North America -- though he did make a brief cameo in Wilkes-Barre at the end of the 2004 season. Then he disappeared back into the Czech wilderness, never to be heard from again. Adding to the sting, the player drafted immediately after Nemec turned into a legit NHL playmaking center (Jarret Stoll) and the next two defensemen selected after Nemec both are NHL regulars (Trevor Daley and Matt Greene).

#1 - Johannes Salmonsson (Winger, 2nd round, 31st overall in 2004)

Salmonsson was advertised as a pure "boom or bust" prospect, and unfortunately was a total bust. He landed on North American soil for 54 games in the WHL junior league in 2005-06, but injuries and a style of play more suited for Europe made that stay short. The first pick in the second round of a draft, more than an almost invisible blip should happen.

Dishonorable mention: Michael Gergen, Shane Endicott and Angelo Esposito

Notice a trend there? All but Gifford (and Esposito) were taken in the 2nd round, which hasn't been kind to Pittsburgh ever since they drafted Greg Malone way back when. Enough of the negative, let's take a look at the Penguins hits in the Top 5 picks of the draft.

#5 - Tyler Kennedy (Winger, 4th round, 99th overall in 2004)

Quick progression is a common place among good draft picks. 2 seasons after drafted, TK jumped to the AHL and less than a year after that he was in the NHL for good, carving a solid niche as an energy/checker with a knack for scoring important goals (10 of his 31 NHL goals are game winners).

#4 - Matt Moulson (Winger, 9th round, 263th overall in 2003)

Moulson was a scorer in college, but the Pens elected not to retain his rights. He spent a few years in LA's system (where he still showed goal scoring touch) before sticking now with the New York Islanders. Moulson (with 14 goals so far in 2009-10) doesn't look out of place on their first line with wonderkid John Tavares, which can only lead Pens fans to wonder how good he might have been alongside Crosby or Malkin.

#3 - Max Talbot (Center, 8th round, 234th overall in 2002)

The knack for scoring big goals applies to no one in the NHL more than Max Talbot. In the two years after his draft, Talbot won the playoff MVP in the QMJHL in both seasons. Proving he could be a regular NHL'er took a little longer, as Talbot bounced between the AHL and NHL for a season before establishing himself in PIttsburgh, which probably speaks to good development just as well as drafting. Surely no one knew Talbot was a surefire "gamer", or else he would have been drafted several rounds higher, but that Pittsburgh selected him is good enough for recognition.

#2 - Alex Goligoski (Defenseman, 2nd round, 61st overall in 2004)

30 spots after taking Salmonsson, the Pens finally broke their "curse" of second round picks. Goligoski, though small, could skate and had great offensive abilities, dug up in Minnesota by Penguin scout Chuck Grillo. Pittsburgh didn't know it at the time, but was the perfect post-lockout defenseman, chosen a few months before the lockout began. He spend time at Minnesota and the AHL getting up to speed, but is now a legit Top 4 defenseman that is good on the PP.

#1 - Kris Letang (Defenseman, 3rd round, 62nd overall in 2005)

In the serpentine 2005 draft, the Pens used one of their consecutive picks on a smooth skating, right-handed shot out of the QMHJL and Letang impressed almost immediately, nearly sticking in the NHL as a 18 year old, before serving a 10 game stint in Wilkes-Barre before jumping full time to the NHL. Not many defenseman can take that career pass and be successful. Letang did.

Honorable mentions: Luca Caputi, Robert Bortuzzo, Michel Ouellet

So there you have it -- some hits, some misses and some development along the way. There's no doubt the story of this decade for the Penguins are all the lottery picks that stocked the organization for Stanley Cup runs, but without filling in the pieces later in the draft, that run wouldn't have been possible.

Poll

Other than the lottery picks, what's the Penguins best draft pick over 2000-09?

Hurricanes 5 Canucks 3: Sloppy Seconds

Sean Zandberg — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 22:04:59 -0000

I said in the game preview: Should be an automatic win, right? Nope. That depends on how lightly the Canucks take these guys. They have to go out there and pretend those guys are wearing Devils jerseys.

Didn't happen.

A so-so first..outshooting the Canes 14-6 but not capitalizing on 2 power play chances, and bagging one past Manny Legace (Jannik Hansen).

An atrocious 2nd period..getting outshot 13-6, coughing the puck up, hanging Andrew Raycroft out to dry (which Alain Vigneault alluded to after the game), and surrendering 3 goals. Yeah, the refs should have blown the play dead on that Mitchell-Raycroft fiasco, but really, the score could have been 6-1 at that point anyways.

The 3rd period was all Canucks,

as they put the heat on Carolina, who have had a terrible time in 3rd periods this year. It almost worked. The Canucks almost erased a 4-1 deficit and pulled within a goal, but Erik Cole, who, thanks to us, has awoken from his slumber and bagged his hat trick goal into the open net to seal it.

Final shots: Canucks 36 Canes 27.

8 points combined for Erik Cole, Eric Staal and Ryan Whitney.

Can you believe that Christian Ehrhoff finished a +3?

I thought Kyle Wellwood looked alright out there today. He was rewarded with over 15:00 of ice time. His line kickstarted the Canucks in the 3rd, and I thought dominated that period.

You almost can't fault Andrew Raycroft on any of those goals. But then...as myself and others have said many times before: he goes down into the butterfly position so quickly all the time. The Canes picked corners on him. Maybe a tremendous save or 2 were in order. I think it's fair to say that. None came.

BOXSCORE (bring barf bag)

HIGHLIGHTS (stab your eyes out first)

My 3 Stars:

1. Erik Cole. (Rise from your grave)

2. Ray Whitney (1 goal and 2 assists)

3. Manny Legace (Yeah, yeah, 3 goals against but I'm going to throw him a bone for giving his team a chance to win it especially in the first)

2010 Winter Olympics Hockey: Anaheim Hopefuls

Arthur from Anaheim Calling — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:00:13 -0000

ARTHUR:

Anaheim calling to the hockey world...

Welcome to the Anaheim edition of SBN's look at the Olympic roster hopefuls across the NHL. Site Managers were provided with the following rubric, but as the resident noob, your blogger is the only one who will likely take them seriously.

"Pack Your Bags"
"Nearly A Lock"
"Fairly Safe Bet"
"In A Battle"
"Work To Do"
"Moving Up"
"Moving Down"

TEAM USA

Bobby Ryan

#9 / Right Wing

Height: 6-2

Weight: 208

Born: Mar 17, 1987

GP G A P +/- PIM PPG SHG GWG GTG SOG PCT

2009 - Bobby Ryan 21 9 6 15 1 14 4 0 0 0 69 13.0

"Nearly A Lock"

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Bobby Ryan	21	9	6	15	1	14	4	0	0	0	69	13.0

The Cherry Hill native has plenty of skill, but he's also developed a physical game, giving him the blue collar credibility that Brian Burke wants on this year's squad. Then again, the Team USA GM has made the decision to cut Ryan on more than one occasion.

Ryan Whitney

#19 / Defenseman

Height: 6-4

Weight: 219

Born: Feb 19, 1983

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Ryan Whitney	21	2	8	10	0	22	2	0	0	0	32	6.3

"Nearly A Lock"

Whitney was just one of a handful of 6'3"/6'4" defensemen at Orientation Camp, but the Boston-born defender has proven himself an ice-time gormandizer with the Ducks and should be a steady force on the red, white and blue line.

TEAM CANADA

Ryan Getzlaf

#15 / Center

Height: 6-4

Weight: 221

Born: May 10, 1985

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Ryan Getzlaf	21	3	22	25	3	29	2	0	0	0	43	7.0

"Pack Your Bags"

The Regina-bred centerman missed Orientation Camp after offseason hernia surgery, but he has looked tip-top opening the year in Anaheim. Canada will need his directly proportional size and skill up the middle.

Scott Niedermayer

# 27 / Defenseman

Height: 6-1

Weight: 195

Born: Aug 31, 1973

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Scott Niedermayer	21	2	12	14	-4	6	2	0	1	0	53	3.8

"Pack Your Bags"

Already packed.

Corey Perry

#10 / Right Wing

Height: 6-3

Weight: 209

Born: May 16, 1985

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Corey Perry	21	13	14	27	4	24	2	1	0	0	71	18.3

"Moving Up"

After a game with the Ducks, Sidney Crosby noted how impressed he was with the Peterborough product, who faked out the Penguins captain on more than one occasion. Perry's dominant performance so far this season makes him a contender for a spot at finisher, but Stevie Y may opt to go older in his final spots, even though he's generally noted a willingness to bring a young squad to Vancouver.

TEAM FINLAND

Saku Koivu

#11 / Center

Height: 5-10

Weight: 182

Born: Nov 23, 1974

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Saku Koivu	16	2	7	9	-1	14	1	0	0	0	31	6.5

"Pack Your Bags"

The stat sheet doesn't bear out Koivu's return to form, nor does a nagging lower body injury that sidelined him this month, but the Turku native has been the Ducks' most consistent player while playing almost two more minutes of ice time per game than he did in his last year in Montreal.

Petteri Nokelainen

#17 / Center

Height: 6-1

Weight: 191

Born: Jan 16, 1986

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Petteri Nokelainen	16	1	1	2	-4	8	0	0	0	0	18	5.6

"Moving Up"

Finland's camp this year was all about theory and gelling as teammates. That could be an advantage for the Imatra-bred Nokelainen, who has proven his value as a versatile role player with the Ducks .

Teemu Selänne

#8 / Right Wing

Height: 6-0

Weight: 200

Born: Jul 03, 1970

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Teemu Selänne	21	11	4	15	-8	12	5	0	2	0	61	18.0

"Pack Your Bags"

On pace for a 40 goal season, the sheen isn't fading from Helsinki's second Finnish Flash, and Selänne has no doubt been waiting for this day since he bitterly claimed the Silver in Turin.

TEAM SWITZERLAND

Jonas Hiller

#1 / Goalie

Height: 6-2

Weight: 193

Born: Feb 12, 1982

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Jonas Hiller	17	933	7	8			47	3.02	517	470	.909	1

"Pack Your Bags"

Cut in favor of Martin Gerber and David Aebischer four years ago, Hiller is dedicated to making the roster this time around. And after his playoff performance against the Sharks last year, the Felben Wellhausen product is the favorite to man the plumbing for the Swiss.

TEAM RUSSIA

Евгений Артюхин
(Evgeny Artyukhin)

#24 / Right Wing

Height: 6-5

Weight: 270

Born: Apr 04, 1983

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Evgeny Artyukhin	18	2	0	2	-3	27	0	0	0	0	13	15.4

"In A Battle"

His raw tools (size, speed and snarl) got him an invite to the team's Olympic camp, and a slightly slow hockey sense may be the only thing that could keep the Moscow-born mammoth from the final roster.

Rotten To The Corps?

Arthur from Anaheim Calling — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:22:06 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

I know this is Southern California, but would someone PLEASE clear the traffic!!! (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

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DANIEL:

The losses are piling up for the Ducks. Anaheim has given up 48 goals in 13 games, and the team's GAA (3.46) ranks 26th in the league.

Arthur, you and I both know that Carlyle values defensive responsibility above all things, but the Ducks have not been a solid defensive team. Part of that can be attributed to the forwards, and part of it can be attributed to missed playing time by James Wisniewski, but the overall ability of the defense to dominate a game has severely dwindled. Is it time for the front office to start thinking of a drastic change to the blue line, or can the team stick it out and expect improved play from the current defensive corps?

ARTHUR:

I don't think the Ducks should make any changes on the blue line, and I don't think they CAN.

As far as shipping off a rearguard, Whitney hasn't played well enough to attract a team to his graduated salary, and while Wisniewski's stats are impressive, he's arguably overpaid for having already suffered an injury this season. That leaves Niedermayer and whispers of a Niedermayer trade. If Murray moves the captain in November, he'll definitely wake up this team, but he either trades for expensive veterans or affordable second-contract guys. The former won't fill the void left by Nieds, and the latter would shift this team into a rebuilding process before the Olympic break, a serious slap in the face to Selanne and Koivu, who returned to play for a contender.

I suppose he could ship off a forward, like Koivu or Perry, who are both affordable and playing well. But I don't know if we could get an impact defenseman for Koivu, and we'd be sacrificing a lot of future to get an impact defenseman for Perry.

I think there's something to be said here for dancing with the girl you brought. The lack of defense was no secret during the offseason, but this team was supposed to win high scoring contests not sit 20th in the league in GF through 13 games. It's technically the forwards that have let us down.

But I want to say one more thing. We talked about firing Carlyle. Why don't we fire Murray? Everyone has praised the quick turnaround he wheeled and dealed, but let's not forget how he lost his last GM job. The way I see it, he's miscalculated a lot of this rebuilding process. He was so SURE Sbisa would be an NHL contributor this year. Then he sends the kid back to the WHL, and suddenly, we didn't get an 09-10 defenseman in the Pronger deal. He didn't even make an offer to Beauchemin, but he sinks 2.75M into Wisniewski. He signs two guys that weren't considered good since the last time he was a GM (Boynton and McCarthy). If this team can't play defense, and can't approach the stability provided by Pronger and Beauchemin, is it because Carlyle can't get the most out of his new role players, or is it because there's nothing there to get? I call on Bob Murray, who admitted Wendel Clark was a mistake, what mistakes have you made this past offseason?

DANIEL:

I agree that this is all Bob Murray's fault, but I don't agree that the Ducks should simply live with the results.

Yes, Murray made a huge mistake in the Chris Pronger deal, but the mistake was not addressing the loss of Pronger. He must have thought that Wisniewski and Whitney would pick up Pronger's physical slack. BIG MISTAKE.

ARTHUR:

Yeah, I think that's the problem with Murray. He checks things off the grocery list without knowing what he's buying. He picks up guys with hundreds of NHL games played, and he thinks he has responsible veterans. He sinks more money into Wisniewski, and he thinks that will keep the kid healthy and make him the physical guy he was for Chicago AND the offensive guy he was in the AHL. And he gets a large defenseman with a decent shot from the point, and he thinks he's replaced Pronger, even though he has no idea how well the kid will fare in front of the net. He's shopping without reading the labels.

DANIEL:

I think Whitney is a product of the East, and he's still adapting to the physical play of the West, but he's proven he can't dominate in front of the net like we need him to right now. And Wisniewski is a roadblock made of glass. He might deter some people for a while, but eventually he's going to break.

Murray's mistake was not getting any blueline muscle this summer, or as you said, assuming he already had it. He's asked Carlyle to defend the net with a smooth skater and passer (Eminger), a below average stay at home guy (Boynton) and a cheap, yet feisty, winger/d-man (Brookbank). Mix in Wisniewski's frequent absences and Whitney's inability to play to his size, and all of the sudden you only have Niedermayer, who can play well in front of the net but can't be a snow plow. Essentially, Murray has forced Carlyle to bring a knife to a gun fight.

The Ducks have to do something. Sbisa will be a great d-man in the future, but we need muscle now. I think we should consider shopping Philadelphia's pick for a solid stay-at-home guy who can clear the front of the net. Obviously, a First Rounder might be too much, but since we have the extra pick, maybe we can shake a good defenseman out of the New Jersey Devils' tree, like a Salvador or an Oduya. Not the best, I know, but potentially solid enough to handle PK and even strength duties, which could take some of the stress off of Whitney and Nieds.

I know there aren't a lot of available guys who fit the mold, but Murray has to find some muscle soon. Our forwards have enough talent; waiting for them to gel won't be a problem. But the defensive corps is different. If Murray waits too long, he might wait us out of playoff contention. With a little more security on the blueline, the Ducks might find themselves on the right side of those 4-3 and 5-4 decisions, rather than wondering how Hiller and Jiggy are going to stop pucks they can't see.

Quack Quack: Pens outlast Conway, Banks, Goldberg and Ducks 4-3

Hooks Orpik — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:09:02 -0000

More photos » by Gus Ruelas - AP

about 1 month ago: Anaheim Ducks right wing Corey Perry, center, is stripped of the puck by Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Jay McKee, right, right wing Bill Guerin (13) during the second period of a NHL hockey game, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Gus Ruelas)

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Penguins vs Ducks coverage - SB Nation blog Anaheim Calling

It was a matchup of two of the past three Stanley Cup champions, and it didn't disappoint. Highlighted by a total of three total goals in 1:13 of game-play towards the middle of the third period, two of them scored by Pittsburgh, which proved to be enough to take a win away from Anaheim.

Kris Letang with a rough series leading up to the game's opening goal....First a bad clearing attempt from behind his net around the wall (where he had no friendly jerseys in sight) led to a turnover. Then as the puck got to the front of the net; Letang froze hand-cuffed, unable to make a split second decision on whether to help a teammate try to neutralize Corey Perry.

Look at these absurd totals for the Penguins top power-play unit for total ice-time in the first period: 9:22 Crosby, 7:55 Guerin, 7:54 Kunitz, 9:13 Goligoski, 9:17 Letang. But when you spend 40% of the period on the PP that happens....On the other hand, 2:39 Selanne, 3:58 Getzlaf -- those guys don't kill penalties so they barely got to get in the rythym of the game with those first period minutes.

Mike Rupp got the Pens even when he ripped a nice shot by Jonas Hiller. Credit Tyler Kennedy for rushing the puck up and the nice dish for the goal.

Letang would make up for his gaffe in the second period. He took a stick to the choppers but stayed in the game. Later, on a delayed penalty against Anaheim, Letang cut to the middle of the rink and put a hard shot on goal that "had eyes" to avoid the bodies in front and hit the back of the net.

It was nice to see Letang show some authority. Perhaps he too was tired of seeing Goligoski and Crosby pass the puck to one another?

Corey Perry would strike again pounding home a rebound to make it 2-2 by the end of the 2nd period.

Then the flurry of three goals in 1:13 of gameplay:

First a total team effort by Pittsburgh; Dan Bylsma re-united "the third line" of Matt Cooke - Jordan Staal - Kennedy and they cycled well on this shift. Credit Jay McKee with a nice hold in before Staal found a diving TK who poked the puck back to Goligoski. With Cooke right in Hiller's field of vision Goose made no mistakes driving the puck to the back of the net.
Anaheim bounced back on the next shift with some zone time of their own. In my recollection, this was truly the first "soft" goal of the season allowed by Marc-Andre Fleury, he wasn't tight enough to the post and Saku Koivu popped out from behind the net and squeezed a shot by him. Tie game 3-3.
Undeterred, Pittsburgh left the same exact five man unit on the ice (Pascal Dupuis - Craig Adams - Mike Rupp with Letang and Brooks Orpik) while Anaheim elected to change. The Pens got in the zone and moved the puck all around the blueline. Eventually the defense found Dupuis who ripped a hard slapper for the game winner.

That would be the last goal, but certainly not the last of the action. Both teams continued to press but nothing went in. Sidney Crosby, who didn't factor into the offense, made a terrific defensive play by DIVING into an abandoned net (Fleury was out of the crease, lunging for the puck). The shot came but Crosby went all Rob Scuderi on the Ducks, saving the goal.

Hate to say it but overall it was a tough night for the runaway winner for Pensburgh player of the month Alex Goligoski. Goose, who's been sensational this season, had his first "off" night. In addition to not converting much on the PP early, he had a wide open net in the 2nd (just prior to Rupp's goal) and misfired. Goligoski also couldn't tie up or stop Perry from scoring Anaheim's second goal. Everyone's entitled to a bad day now and then, hopefully Gogo brushes it off and moves forward.
Still, Goligoski did score an important goal and no defenseman in the league has more, so perhaps that's a little rough on his performance. More experience for him to draw on and be a better player in the long-run, that's for sure.
On a night where neither Jordan Staal nor Sidney Crosby were forces offensively, both saved sure goals at point blank range. When your best offensive players are your best defensive players that's a good sign. Those two also won 54.8 of their combined faceoffs.
Thumbs down to the official Anaheim scorer who only awarded Brooks Orpik one hit (in the last minute of the game). No way #44 didn't record a hit when he plastered Koivu and Joffrey Lupul in plays that stand out in my mind. Overall hits were officially 26-21 in favor of Anaheim, which may have been about right, but come on man.
Power-play was power-less tonight going a dreadful 0 for 7. The last PP was only 1 second at the end of the game, so it was really a true 0 for 6. But still it was bad. Guys like Guerin and Kunitz racked up PP minutes and didn't do much to justify it. Will there be a change in philosophy to get guys like Kennedy and Staal more time? The question deserves to be asked.
Guerin, in particular, didn't have a game to remember in number 1200 of his NHL career. He was -2, nicked with 4 giveaways and didn't have any real scoring chances, despite piling up the time on the man advantage early.
Tyler Kennedy, on the other hand, was my player of the game. In his first game back from injury he only got 13:18 of playing time but still had a tied for team high three shots (and a team high seven attempted shots), he got 2 assists, was a game high +3 and had 3 blocked shots. He's a whirling blur of activity and was excellent tonight, providing a badly needed spark for his team.
In case you were wondering, our old friend Ryan Whitney played a game high 28:37, though it wasn't very eventful. Whitney's among the league leaders in ice-time this season, so it's nice to see he has seemingly recovered from his feet problems enough to play a lot.

At day's end, a tremendous team effort lead Kennedy and Letang. As they've done for quite some while, the Pens found a way to get offense with unlikely players in Rupp and Dupuis coming through with goals. Fleury didn't have his best night, but he flashed his glove late to make a game saving effort. When you're on the road, it's about finding a way to win. Pittsburgh did tonight, and now are among the best in the history of the league (also with the New Jersey Devils) by extending their mark to 7-0-0 on the road.

Olympics Watch: Americans off to hot starts

James Mirtle — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:57:07 -0000

More photos » by Don Heupel - AP

Browse more photos »

Following up on a look at the hottest Canadian players in the NHL so far this season, here's a look at which American players may be impressing the Team USA brass so far:

Goal

	Player	Team	GP	GS	W	L	OT	GAA	Sv%
1	Ryan Miller	BUF	10	10	8	1	1	1.86	0.936
2	C. Anderson	COL	15	15	10	3	2	2.11	0.936
3	Ty Conklin	STL	5	4	2	2	0	2.34	0.921
4	Tim Thomas	BOS	9	9	4	5	0	2.66	0.910
5	Jon Quick	LAK	13	13	8	3	2	2.59	0.905
6	J. Howard	DET	5	3	1	2	1	3.42	0.879

Thomas may be the reigning Vezina winner, but it's hard to argue with Miller and Anderson making the team based on their starts. The Americans have the NHL's two hottest netminders so far.

Defence

	Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-
1	Alex Goligoski	PIT	14	5	7	12	12
2	Matt Carle	PHI	11	2	10	12	9
3	James Wisniewski	ANA	9	0	9	9	6
4	Ryan Whitney	ANA	12	1	6	7	3
5	Erik Johnson	STL	12	0	7	7	3
6	Ryan Suter	NSH	13	2	5	7	2
7	Jordan Leopold	FLA	12	1	5	6	2
8	Brian Rafalski	DET	12	1	5	6	-1
9	Zach Bogosian	ATL	10	5	1	6	-2
10	Keith Yandle	PHX	13	1	4	5	-2
11	Matt Niskanen	DAL	12	0	5	5	-3
12	John-Michael Liles	COL	8	2	3	5	-4

There will definitely be some interesting decisions to make on the Americans back end, with some of the less-heralded names playing th best to this point. Whitney, Suter, Rafalski and Johnson were the only ones invited to the team's summer camp.

Forward

	Player	Team	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PPG	+/-
1	Zach Parise	NJD	L	12	6	8	14	1.17	7
2	J. van Riemsdyk	PHI	L	9	2	8	10	1.11	4
3	Ryan Malone	TBL	L	11	8	3	11	1.00	2
4	Dustin Brown	LAK	L	14	4	9	13	0.93	0
5	Patrick Kane	CHI	R	13	4	8	12	0.92	4
6	Tim Connolly	BUF	C	11	4	6	10	0.91	-1
7	Ryan Kesler	VAN	C	15	5	8	13	0.87	0
8	Jason Pominville	BUF	R	11	3	6	9	0.82	2
9	Kyle Okposo	NYI	R	13	3	7	10	0.77	0
10	Keith Tkachuk	STL	C	12	3	6	9	0.75	1
11	R.J. Umberger	CBJ	C	13	4	5	9	0.69	-3
12	J. Langenbrunner	NJD	R	12	2	6	8	0.67	6
13	Mike Knuble	WSH	R	14	3	6	9	0.64	7
14	Bill Guerin	PIT	R	14	3	6	9	0.64	5
15	Scott Gomez	MTL	C	14	2	7	9	0.64	0
16	Brandon Dubinsky	NYR	C	15	3	6	9	0.60	6

More tough calls here, probably, especially with players young and old like Van Riemsdyk and Tkachuk. Connolly and Pominville were not at the orientation camp but could play their way onto the roster in the next month or so.

The Pittsburgh Penguins All-Decade team

Hooks Orpik — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:52:45 -0000

As 2009 winds down it's time to look back on the decade that was. Japers Rink had a great list of the Washington Capitals all-decade team, and Puck Daddy hoped that all the SB Nation teams would follow suit. So here's the Pittsburgh entry for the decade that was.

The Decade of the '00s saw the Pittsburgh Penguins experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. They had four 40+ loss seasons and four 40+ win seasons. They either had very bad years or very good years.

In the beginning of the decade Mario Lemieux thrillingly returned in December 2000, a brief peak before the economic climate of the "old NHL" forced Pittsburgh into the gutter. The Pens dealt away talents the likes of Jaromir Jagr, Alexei Kovalev, Martin Straka, Darius Kasparaitis and Robert Lang for pennies on the dollar of their hockey-worth and suffered with four straight non-playoff seasons. During that time, they reloaded through the draft with several high picks that would be the core of the ultimate redemption: the 2009 Stanley Cup. With a new CBA, a new arena almost open, and the two best offensive centers (and arguably players) in the game at age 23 and 22, the Penguins are poised to be competitive for the forseeable future.

It was a wild ride though, with six different head coaches (assuming Dan Bylsma is safe); starting out with the late, great Herb Brooks during the 2000 season. With 30 games to go in the calendar year, the decade record stands at 311 wins, 306 losses, 52 OT losses and 36 ties (remember them?)

After the jump, we highlight all the individual players now named to the Pittsburgh Penguins All-Decade team, which includes: 4 scoring titles in the 9 seasons played, 2 Lester B. Pearson winners, 1 Hart Trophy, 4 first-team NHL All-Stars.

Left Wing	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG
Mario Lemieux (2000-06)	170	77	152	229	-28	97	19	0	4	579

Returning to the sport at age 35, Lemieux was the league's leading points/game getter in 2000-01. Various injuries to hips and the ever-present bad back robbed Mario of many of his latter playing days and a revealed heart condition in 2006 put the spike in his career's coffin. Off the ice, owner Lemieux steered the Penguins through bankruptcy, danced with Pennsylvania politicians for a badly needed new arena and saved the franchise. That's worth a spot on this team any day of the decade. Hey, he owns it.

Center	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG
Sidney Crosby (2005-09)	301	138	270	408	+36	301	45	1	16	980

100 point scorer as an 18 year old, MVP and scoring champion at age 19. Youngest permanent captain at age 20, Stanley Cup winner at age 21. There's about literally nothing Crosby hasn't yet done in the early years of his career, which can only make one wonder what the future holds. Crosby already an industry with books, videos, museum exhibits and countless items of merchandise dedicated to him.

Right Wing	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG
Alexei Kovalev (2000-03)	246	115	152	267	+1	284	32	5	16	924

With spectacular skill and a couple years in his prime, Alexei Kovalev cracks the All-Decade team. He finished fourth in the league in scoring during the 2000-01 season and had a couple good years playing with Lemieux on the top line in the leaner years that followed. Unfortunately though the Pens would have to trade Kovalev (and salary dumps of Mike Wilson, Dan LaCouture and Janne Laukkanen) back to the Rangers for a not-so great return of Rico Fata, Michael Samuelsson, Joel Bouchard and the all important cash consideration.

Defense	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG
Sergei Gonchar (2005-09)	269	45	161	206	-1	168	32	1	8	648

Early in his Penguin career, Gonchar was seen as a UFA bust, but he transitioned his game from "offensive-defenseman" into "well-rounded-#1-defenseman" and is a linchpin of the Stanley Cup champion. A wizard on the power-play, Gonchar's among the league leading scorers from the blueline over the decade of the 2000's, and his contributions for the Pens were a large part of the reason they turned last season around and won the Stanley Cup.

Defense	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG
Brooks Orpik (2003-09)	387	6	50	56	-22	475	1	0	0	247

Perhaps as a mark of longevity, given Orpik was drafted into the organization in 2000, he's stuck around the longest (no one has pulled the sweater on more this decade). A guy like Michal Rozsival or Dick Tarnstrom certainly would have made this list if they stuck around longer, but they didn't. Orpik's improved every season, positionally he's solid and dishes out hits now wisely, not recklessly.

Goaltender	GP	MIN	W	L	T/OTL	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
Marc-Andre Fleury (2003-09)	244	13,915	119	86	26	660	2.85	7114	6454	.907	15

Amazingly, the still precocious 24 year old goalie is already staking his claim to the franchise's goalie records: Fleury's first in team history in GAA and save percentage, 2nd in wins, shutouts and total saves (all behind Tom Barrasso) and already 3rd in total games played for a goalie. MAF was the championship piece in winning the Stanley Cup and, with six more years on his contract, figures to continue and pile up the stats in the decade to come.

And to fill-out the team, here's the rest of the lineup:

Forwards:

Lemieux - Crosby - Kovalev

If all were healthy, this line would absolutely own the puck. Kovalev's skating and shooting ability, Crosby driving the net and controlling the puck down low, and Mario doing what Mario does, making plays. An absolutely sublime and unfair grouping of talent.

Martin Straka - Evgeni Malkin - Jaromir Jagr

Not many team's "2nd line" on a decade team would feature two scoring championships, but it speaks to the level of depth of skill the Penguins have treated their fans to over the years. Though Jagr was mercurial and a handful at times away from the ice, there's no doubt about his talent or dedication he showed to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Ryan Malone - Jordan Staal - Aleksey Morozov

A mix of grit and skil here, with the hometown boy Malone, the hulking power-forward in Jordan Staal and Aleksey Morozov, who's pre-lockout transformation into a solid NHL scorer has become over-looked by his return to Russia.

Jan Hrdina - Robert Lang - Mark Recchi

The smooth passing Honza Hrdina played wing-man to Jagr enough to earn a spot on this team, recording over 200 points in the 2000's for the Penguins. Robert Lang was an instrumental setup man for Kovalev and Straka in his Penguin and Mark Recchi chugged along beside Sid Crosby for a few years.

Honorable mentions: Maxime Talbot, Colby Armstrong, Petr Sykora

Defense:

Gonchar - Orpik

The #1 pairing of the Stanley Cup title winning team. It's got Gonchar's all-around ability paired with Orpik's positional play.

Dick Tarnstrom - Rob Scuderi

Tarnstrom will be the great answer to the trivia question: "who was the last Penguin not named Malkin or Crosby to lead the Penguins in scoring". Scuderi showed continual improvement year after year and became a defensive stalwart, the true picture of development and preserverance.

Ryan Whitney - Darius Kasparaitis

While much derided by some fans, Whitney put up 150 points in 253 games with the Penguins. He might not have been physical as fans like, so how about pairing him with the rambunctious Kasparaitis, at one time the most feared and devastating hitter in the game (apologies to Scott Stevens).

Honorable mention: Andrew Ference

Goaltenders:

Fleury

Endured some growing pains along with the team early in the decade, but blossomed into a Stanley Cup caliber one as we close it.

(Backup) Johan Hedberg

The "Moose" burst onto the scene and captured fans hearts back in 2001, leading the Pens to the EC Finals as a 27 year old NHL rookie. He'd stick around and get shelled for two more seasons before moving on, but his place in Pittsburgh folklore is established.

So there you have it, a roster of enormous skill. Between Jagr, Lemieux, Malkin and Crosby we capture the wonderful mix past and present super stars that any franchise would love to have one of, yet alone four in the course of this decade. To be that good and get the high picks we suffered -- who could forget the 0-17-1 stretch in 2003-04? But with the current economics of the sport, those days have past. The turbulence of the 2000's; with questions of relocation and shady suitors like "Boots" Del Biaggo and Jim Balsillie are gone, replaced by a sterling new venue and the promise of more trophies to come.

As wild as the 2000's were, all the focus can be on winning championships and keeping to core built this decade in tact for the next.

Sunday evening thoughts: Ex-Pens, Canadian goalies, TK and Goose

Hooks Orpik — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:21:16 -0000

--NHL.com has a cool "100 facts to know feature" up. Among some of the more interesting and lesser known Penguin highlights:

Six of Tyler Kennedy's last nine goals have counted as game winners (something we mused about last week)
TK currently leads the whole league with 3 game winning goals in 2009-10.
Alex Goligoski leads the Pens so far in plus/minus (+8).

We're a couple weeks and 8 games into the season, so here are some "who would have thought" statistical oddities...

Who would have thought:

that Eric Godard would play 6 of 8 games and only rank 7th on the team with 10 penalty minutes.
Mike Rupp and Tyler Kennedy would combine for one less goal than Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin (6 for the grinders to 7 for the big boys).
that Sergei Gonchar and Brooks Orpik, the #1 defensive pairing, would be the only two players with a negative plus/minus rating on the team.
that Goligoski and Kris Letang would be second and fourth respectively on the Pens in time played.
the Penguins would rank 3rd in 5-on-5 goals ratio with 1.9. (As in, Pittsburgh has scored 1.9 goals at even strength for every 1 goal they give up).
And who would have thought that the only teams Pittsburgh would be behind in the above category would be Buffalo and Phoenix.

--The grass isn't always greener in the Wild. Former Pittsburgh assistant GM Chuck Fletcher's Minnesota Wild is off to a terrible 1-6-0 start. What I find funny is that Todd Richards would have been next in line to have been PIttsburgh's head coach, since he was a "rising star" coaching Wilkes-Barre before ditching for an assistant coach's job in the NHL. Now in his first crack at being the head man in the NHL it's been rough. And his little known assistant Dan Bylsma is the #1 coach in hockey, based off his results in the past 8 months.

--Team Canada, like other national bodies, are keeping a close eye on how players fare in this season to help decide in large part who's going to Vancouver for the Olympics...Here's the five Canadian goalies from the summer camp's early season stats:

Martin Brodeur: 4-3-0, 2.68 GAA, .908 save %
Roberto Luongo: 3-4-1, 3.41 GAA, .870 save %
Steve Mason: 4-1-0, 2.35 GAA, .925 save %
Cam Ward: 2-4-1, 2.42 GAA, .926 save %
Marc-Andre Fleury: 7-0-0, 2.09 GAA, .922 save %

It'd take a lot of balls not to give Brodeur and Luongo ice-time, given how highly regarded and experienced they are, but the three other guys all have great save percentages and have been making cases for themselves. Could a guy like Mason or Fleury play themselves into Olympic action if they keep making saves and getting wins?

--We all love former Penguins (mostly) so here's how some notable old buddies of ours are doing around the league with their new teams:

Colby Armstrong (ATL): 4 games played, 0 goals, 1 assist
Georges Laraque (MTL): 7gp, 0g, 1a, 5 PIMs
Ryan Malone (TBL): 7 gp, 6g, 0a
Petr Sykora: (MIN): 4gp, 1g, 0a
Hal Gill (MTL): 7gp, 0g, 0a, -4, 10 blocked shots
Rob Scuderi (LAK): 8gp, 0g, 1a, -3, 15 blocked shots
Ryan Whitney (ANA): 7gp, 1g, 3a, 10 PIMs
Ty Conklin (STL): 2-0-0, 1.50 GAA, .950 save percentage

Good starts for Malone and Conklin but a lot of tough times for the other guys. At least they're getting good paychecks though; the combined cap hit of those eight players is $22.05 million.

--Random: If you like to watch "60 Minutes" you must really hate football. Pigskin ALWAYS runs way over and bumps back the old people's show.

--Down on the farm (more tommorow) the Baby Pens went an impressive 2-0-0 this week, on the heels of getting one of their most talented forwards (Mark Letestu) back from an injury.

SB Nation - Ryan Whitney

Duck Call: Sheldon Brookbank

Game 32 Preview: Ducks in Columbus

Best (and worst) Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks from 2000-09

Other than the lottery picks, what's the Penguins best draft pick over 2000-09?

Hurricanes 5 Canucks 3: Sloppy Seconds

2010 Winter Olympics Hockey: Anaheim Hopefuls

TEAM USA

#9 / Right Wing

GP G A P +/- PIM PPG SHG GWG GTG SOG PCT 2009 - Bobby Ryan 21 9 6 15 1 14 4 0 0 0 69 13.0 "Nearly A Lock"

#19 / Defenseman

"Nearly A Lock"

TEAM CANADA

#15 / Center

"Pack Your Bags"

# 27 / Defenseman

"Pack Your Bags"

#10 / Right Wing

"Moving Up"

TEAM FINLAND

#11 / Center

"Pack Your Bags"

#17 / Center

"Moving Up"

#8 / Right Wing

TEAM SWITZERLAND

#1 / Goalie

TEAM RUSSIA

Евгений Артюхин(Evgeny Artyukhin)

#24 / Right Wing

"In A Battle"

Rotten To The Corps?

Quack Quack: Pens outlast Conway, Banks, Goldberg and Ducks 4-3

Olympics Watch: Americans off to hot starts

The Pittsburgh Penguins All-Decade team

Sunday evening thoughts: Ex-Pens, Canadian goalies, TK and Goose

GP G A P +/- PIM PPG SHG GWG GTG SOG PCT

2009 - Bobby Ryan 21 9 6 15 1 14 4 0 0 0 69 13.0

"Nearly A Lock"

Евгений Артюхин
(Evgeny Artyukhin)