SB Nation - Marc-Andre Fleury

Snapping the trap: Pens outwork Habs and win 3-2

Hooks Orpik — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 04:07:55 -0000

More photos » by Graham Hughes - AP

about 4 hours ago: Pittsburgh Penguins' Sergei Gonchar, center, celebrates after scoring against the Montreal Canadiens with teammates Sidney Crosby, right, and Pascal Dupuis during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes)

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Penguins vs Canadiens coverage - Habs Eyes On The Prize

The Montreal Canadiens seemed content to let the Penguins fire shots off from all angles. The Pens put a barrage of 41 shots on Carey Price, whereas the Habs only got 21 pieces of rubber on Marc-Andre Fleury. Puck possession was another story. Pittsburgh cycled circles in the Montreal zone, a relentless attack that generated a lot of pressure. This can be partially illustrated in the total shots launched. The Penguins attempted 80 shots on goal (39 either got blocked or missed the target), compared to Montreal's total of just 46. When you have the puck in the zone, you work it and you try to shoot. That the Pens did this at almost a 2-1 rate shows the dominance.

Scoring was opened in the first period when, off of a cycling effort (told ya it was key), Bill Guerin flipped a beautiful cross-ice pass to Sergei Gonchar, who was pinching down as Penguin defensemen did all night long. Gonchar drilled it by a helpless Price.

Matt D'Agostini would get the equalizer in the second when he snapped a shot by Fleury. Less than three minutes later, the Habs would take an unlikely 2-1 lead when Roman Hamrlik unleashed a monster shot from afar on a screened Fleury. The goal was scored on a power-play, which is something that the Penguins apparently don't remember that you're allowed to score on those.

Before the period was over the Pens would tie it up, Matt Cooke deflected a Gonchar shot in to tie things up. Then, we see that when you go to the well enough, good things happen. Brooks Orpik threw an awesome stretch pass all the way up the ice for Pascal Dupuis. Dupuis ripped one of his patented slappers, and while Price got 38 of 41, he couldn't get that one.

Montreal would get another goal, if not for another quick whistle that negated a goal. Again, similiar to a situation last week against Colorado, an out of position referee thought Fleury had the puck and blew the whistle. This time it wasn't such a quick whistle, as the puck was tied up (though certaintly not covered) for a little bit which gave the ref reason to blow it dead.

Sergei Gonchar had himself a night: one goal, one assist, six shots hurled at net on a team high of 25:26 of ice-time. A well deserved first star of the night.
Power-play woes continue to dog the Pens. 0 for 5 tonight in another fruitless effort. Sometimes getting things set up is the problem, sometimes not. Sometimes inactivity seems to hurt, sometimes not. Often though, they're just not executing, as perplexing as it seems for a unit that boasts as much talent as they have.
Brooks Orpik had a great night too; not enough can be said about the stretch pass he made to Dupuis on the game winner. He also ended up being a +3 on the night, which is a pretty good sign in a 3-2 game.
The Habs tried to clog up the neutral zone the best they could, often times with only one half-hearted forechecker and four guys holding their real estate. It didn't seem to bother the Penguins, who had no problems dumping, chasing and doing some dirty work down low. It shows in the numbers when you see Tyler Kennedy (5 shots, 1 hit), Ruslan Fedotenko (4 shots, 1 hit), Matt Cooke (1 goal, 2 shots, 3 hits), Craig Adams (2 shots, 4 hits). The pluggers plugged away.
Carey Price was almost the story of the game. He didn't have many idle moments when the Pens weren't pressing him. But his shaky glove hand betrayed him at the end.

So that's the game and another win on the road. The Habs and their fans were smarting over the quick whistle negating a goal, but the fact of the matter is they got out-worked and out-chanced all night and didn't really deserve to win the game.

Up next may be the ultimate trap game. Consider: The Pens embark on a home-and-home against their rivals the Flyers next week, but first they'll be playing in their blue jerseys against a feisty opponent that relishes playing against them in the Florida Panthers. Hopefully they bring the same effort they showed tonight in Montreal, they'll need it.

Thursday links: Goligoski back tonight? The Noted One on Crosby's line and shutouts everywhere

Hooks Orpik — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:19:45 -0000

First, word on the street is that Alex Goligoski might be back in the lineup tonight...

Be afraid, rest of the NHL, The Noted One is playing on Sidney Crosby's line now. [Post-Gazette]

Marc-Andre Fleury talks about bouncing back from adversity and bad bounces. [National Post]

Pascal Dupuis is a man of many talents. [Penguins.nhl.com]

Nick Johnson's return to the lineup netted him 2 goals and the Baby Pens defeated Syracuse 6-0 last night. [Citizens Voice]

It's been a low-scoring and shutout filled week. [NHL.com]

Speaking of shutouts, will anyone ever touch Martin Brodeur's 104 shutouts? [From the Rink]

The weather wasn't co-operating in getting the Penguins to Montreal. [Tribune Review]

The Oilers are trying online broadcasts. Given those always searching for internet feeds around Pensburgh, I'd say hopefully the Pens look into this sooner than later. [Puck the Media]

This is a little bizarre: The Habs called up a minor league player named Ryan White, but apparently they didn't go through the correct process in time, so officials made him leave the bench. Now the league is looking into a six-figure fine for Montreal. [TSN]

Jordan Staal's stock is up for Team Canada, but there's still a host of great players playing well in front of him. [CTV]　

John Tavares or Tyler Myers to build a franchise around? [TSN]

Sidney Crosby is #1 in the league in scoring important points. [The Hockey News]

Florida's radio guy Randy Moller is the pop culture Mike Lange, and he's back with more hits. [Puck Daddy]

Team Canada Watch '09: Goaltending

Chemmy — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:52:28 -0000

Yesterday we had a lively 700 comment discussion on the finer points of Jeff Schultz's advanced plus minus statistics. Today we can all argue about shot quality in a rousing discussion of who Team Canada's goalie should be. Of course Canada will bring three of these guys just in case but we'll all agree that one guy is the starter and argue accordingly.

Follow me through the jump before voting!

STRONG CANDIDATES:

Martin Brodeur

#30 / Goalie / New Jersey Devils

Height: 6-2

Weight: 215

Born: May 06, 1972

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Martin Brodeur	26	1562	18	7			55	2.11	706	651	.922	2

This tubby womanizer left his wife for her sister but tied Terry Sawchuck's shutout record.

Roberto Luongo

#1 / Goalie / Vancouver Canucks

Height: 6-3

Weight: 205

Born: Apr 04, 1979

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Roberto Luongo	23	1304	12	10			53	2.44	623	570	.915	2

Roberto Luongo is literally the sole reason why the Vancouver Canucks didn't forfeit their next ten seasons. In addition to posting solid numbers behind a worse defensive team than Brodeur, Luongo won't have to move his equipment out of his locker at GM Place. Think of the time savings!

Marc-Andre Fleury

#29 / Goalie / Pittsburgh Penguins

Height: 6-2

Weight: 180

Born: Nov 28, 1984

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Marc-Andre Fleury	26	1517	17	8			62	2.45	653	591	.905	0

Fleury's numbers don't look outrageous but remember that every single defenseman in Pittsburgh is hurt. For a while Fleury was carrying the Wilkes-Barre d-corps on his back and looking good doing it.

NOT A DAMN CHANCE:

Cam Ward

#30 / Goalie / Carolina Hurricanes

Height: 6-1

Weight: 200

Born: Feb 29, 1984

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Cam Ward	15	829	2	9			41	2.97	406	365	.899	0

Due to his injury and Carolina's horrible season I just can't see Ward making it onto the team. If he played out of his mind he'd still be a longshot and he just hasn't so far.

Steve Mason

#1 / Goalie / Columbus Blue Jackets

Height: 6-4

Weight: 212

Born: May 29, 1988

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Steve Mason	23	1307	9	8			75	3.44	660	585	.886	0

I really like this kid so I'm hoping he's not the next Andrew Raycroft, but Columbus seems to have a ton of young goalies who dominate the league... for one year. No chance at all Steve Mason gets to the Olympics without buying a ticket this year, sorry kid.

WEREN'T INVITED TO CAMP... BUT SHOULD THEY HAVE BEEN?

Chris Mason

#50 / Goalie / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-0

Weight: 195

Born: Apr 20, 1976

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Chris Mason	21	1254	8	9			51	2.44	619	568	.918	0

Chris Mason is quietly having a great season in St. Louis. His .918 SV% is second to only Brodeur among Canadian goaltenders.

Marty Turco

#35 / Goalie / Dallas Stars

Height: 5-11

Weight: 185

Born: Aug 13, 1975

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Marty Turco	22	1330	9	6			55	2.48	651	596	.916	2

Third in Canadian goaltender save percentage, Turco has a bad rep for not winning in the playoffs despite putting up solid numbers there.

Have at it folks, who do you want in net for Team Canada?

Poll

Who's your choice for Team Canada's goaltender?

Carolina Earns First Road Win: Hurricanes 3, Penguins 2

Bob Harwood — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 04:09:05 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Pittsburgh Penguins' Pascal Dupuis (9) collides with Carolina Hurricanes' Matt Cullen (8) in the first period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh Monday, Dec. 7, 2009. Cullen was lucky on this play. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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The Carolina Hurricanes jumped out to a 3-0 lead, allowed two goals in the second period just 49 seconds apart, and then held on to beat last year's Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2 Monday night at Mellon Arena. The win was the first road victory, (1-10-3), for the Hurricanes in 14 tries this season.

Andrew Alberts scored his first goal as a Cane as he opened things up with a goal just 4:45 into the contest. The defenseman out-waited Marc-Andre Fleury and zipped a backhander by the unsuspecting goalie as he skated down low. Erik Cole had cleared the crease and was banging bodies in front of the net.

About seven minutes later, Joni Pitkanen found friend, Jussi Jokinen skating through the neutral zone with a head of steam up the middle of the ice. The tandem had combined for previous scores like this, but this time Jokinen used his strength to out-muscle the defense for the puck, then lifted a shot over Fleury to make the score 2-0.

It was the second powerplay goal for the Canes in the past two games. They finished the game 1-5 with the man advantage.

The second period started out well as Ray Whitney found an open spot and made the score 3-0, just two minutes and change into it. But the Pens would gather steam and scored two goals in just 49 seconds, the 13th time the Canes have allowed two goals inside of a minute this season.

Sidney Crosby out-muscled Brandon Sutter in front of the net for the first goal and Michael Rupp got a cheap one by Manny Legace to make the score 3-2. While Legace might want to have one or both of those goals back, the goalie played a solid overall game and finished with 30 saves out of 32 shots. The goalie earned his fourth win of the season. He is doing something right.

The third period went back and forth but each team only had an official six shots on goal as defense dominated for both sides. Credit must be given to the shot-blocking as the Canes blocked 17 shots to just 4 for Pittsburgh.

Game Notes:

Joni Pitkanen led both teams with over 30 minutes of ice time. The defenseman chipped in with two assists and had three blocked shots, tied for most on the Canes.
Stephane Yelle and Brett Carson also had three blocked shots each. Carson and Jay Harrison played solid games in their own ends. Harrison also showed good jump on offense and Carson played well on the powerplay.
The team only had a total of 21 shots on goal as Ray Whitney had four and Eric Staal had three. The Canes were out-shot 15-4 in the second period as the Pens gained a lot of momentum.
Carolina was given credit for 27 hits. Tim Gleason led the way with five.
Eric Staal picked up another two assists tonight.
Gleason dropped the gloves with Bill Guerin and might have had the best of it before Guerin took him down and was still punching away as Gleason lay on his back.
Legace is now 4-0 lifetime against the Penguins. It might be worth keeping him for the stat alone.

It was a hard fought win for the last place team in the league and they know they have a long way to go before they can move up. But the Hurricanes now have two wins in a row and they are feeling a bit better about themselves.

The team played very hard in their own zone, perhaps the hardest they played all season. Did that have anything to do with their captain sitting in the pressbox with a league worst -19?

Next up will be New Jersey with Martin Brodeur in net at "The Rock". Brodeur just tied Terry Sawchuk tonight with 103 career shutouts.

Will Cam Ward return as planned?

Blackhawks defeat Pens 2-1 in OT

Hooks Orpik — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 04:14:06 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Niemi was in the zone and saw the puck all night long.

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Blackhawks vs Penguins coverage - SB Nation blog Second City Hockey

Sans Sidney Crosby, the Penguins had to dig deep when they faced a Chicago Blackhawks team that used much of the skill and style that Pittsburgh's gameplan.

Much of the night featured a lot of skating, a lot of fast-paced hockey going in both directions and stellar goaltending play by Marc-Andre Fleury (29 saves on 31 shots) and Blackhawks' backup Antti Niemi (32 saves on 33 shots). Old "friend" Marian Hossa opened the scoring when he went hard to the net, collected the puck and put it past Fleury.

The score would remain 1-0 Chicago for most of the game, neither team could solve the defenses of their opponent. Until Dan Bylsma called a timeout with about 1:40 left and let assistant coach Mike Yeo draw a play up. They pulled the goalie and stationed Jordan Staal all the way out against the far boards on the blueline, in an ominous lurking position. Recent call-up Mark Letestu won the faceoff, Evgeni Malkin wheeled the puck around and threw it to the net. Staal swooped in and beat Niemi on the second chance.

It wasn't to be for Pittsburgh on this night. In OT, Kris Versteeg got to a loose puck in the crease before Tyler Kennedy could neutralize him and ended it.

Without their leading scorer, Pittsburgh struggled to generate points, but it wasn't for a lack of effort or shots. 33 shots on goal were fired at Niemi, led by Bill Guerin's 6 and Kennedy's 5. While taking nothing away from Niemi, who was solid, a bunch of the Penguins shots were coming from low percentage angles and distances.
Minus Crosby (one of the top faceoff men in the league), the Penguins used nine different forwards for at least one faceoff. Out of all of them, only one had a better than 50% night.
And that was Crosby's lineup replacement of Mark Letestu. Letestu had a solid night, in addition to his clutch offensive zone faceoff win, he did win 56% of his 16 draws, he had 4 shot attempts (1 getting through, 1 hit a post) and a hit in 13:52 of ice-time. Acquitted himself very well on this night.
Speaking of, it showed some stones and intuition by the coaching staff to use a guy in his 3rd career NHL game in an important faceoff against old veteran John Madden, who's made a career out of doing things like winning defensive draws. Mike Yeo is an easy (and reasonable) punching bag for Penguins fans....But the unusual and creative play he drew up for the last moment worked exactly to perfection. So you have to tip your cap to him tonight.
Chicago also earned a cap tip for their hard fought win. They're a good young team with a lot of skill up front, but some of their defensemen shined tonight: Brent Seabrook has 9 hits and 2 blocked shots, Duncan Keith frustrated Pens all night and skated a game high 31:24. Brian Campbell had the primary assists on both goals.
For teams that don't see too much of one another, unpleasantries were exchanged early and often; highlighted by Keith getting a shot on Matt Cooke that upset Cooke. The hit was to the head, away from the play, and from behind; similiar to what just got Cooke suspended for two games. If the league is truly serious about policing shots to the head, they need to review this tape.

So in a somewhat disappointing fashion that the Penguins claw back into the contest with time running out, just to have Versteeg unleash the dagger in OT. First OT/shootout lose of the year as well. Against a goalie in a little bit of a groove -- Niemi was working on 150+ minute scoreless streak -- it's a night where you have to get out taking what you can get. It's only one point against a similiar team.

Two Pickets to Tittsburgh - Hawks 2, Pens 1 (OT)

McClure — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 03:38:38 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

It is written. I have spoken. So put this in your pipe And smoke it.

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This will be brief, as again, I have professional-grade drinking to do. Tonight's matchup lived up to the hype, and it definitely had a playoff type atmosphere. There was certainly a LOT of animosity between the two teams for only playing once a year, as exhibited by the exchange of pleasantries early on between Duncan Keith and Matt Cooke. Keith was lucky to only receive two minutes for his 200-foot charge, and Marian Hossa buried one of the few rebounds Marc-Andre Fleury (in top form) allowed all night on the ensuing four on four. Patrick Kane led the rush, and fought off two defenders along the boards to feed a late Brian Campbell, whose shot Hossa put home. That Kane, I tell ya- too soft, and lazy.

In the second, it once again became the Antti Niemi show, who had an answer for everything Pitt threw at him. There were no penalties after the early going, and the teams traded chances throughout. Last night's game appeared to be catching up with the Hawks. Pittsburgh finally drew even with the extra attacker when a puck kicked free to Jordan Staal who as all alone and had 6x4 to shoot at.

Into overtime, VERSTEEG! ended it by poking his own rebound past Fleury after a Brian Campbell-led rush. Hawks go home happy, 2-1.

Observations

Niemi was once again stellar. Let the goalie controversy begin anew.
While the Penguins did have a lot of quality chances, the Hawks did a nice job of clearing pucks from the middle of the ice
The ice seemed to be in even shittier condition than it usually is at the Igloo, as many pucks rolled off sticks for both teams
On the flipside, however, the Igloo does play some kickass jams during stoppages- note "3's and 7's" from Queens of the Stone Age during the second
Matt Cooke is a turd burglar. He burgles ALL the turds.

Player of the Game

Once again, Antti Niemi played an excellent game, stopping 31 shots, many of them in spectacular fashion.

Billy and the Kid: Pens beat back the Avs 4-1

Hooks Orpik — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 04:03:25 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

7 days ago: Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (29) can't stop a first-period goal by Colorado Avalanche's TJ Galiardi during an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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Avalanche vs Penguins coverage - Mile High Hockey

The newspaper will say 4-1 tomorrow, but that really doesn't do justice to how tight a game it was. For the majority of the game, real estate was tight to come by. The television guys accurately called it "marking up" as if guys were playing defense like they were on the soccer field. There wasn't much open room for good chances. The difference was a quick whistle and the Penguins power-play finally coming through.

T.J. Galiardi opened the scoring for the Avs on the power-play when he steered Darcy Tucker's effort past Marc-Andre Fleury. Jay McKee was in front of the net with Galiardi and has to do a better job to take the man or the stick out of the play.

It appeared Colorado would take the lead into the intermission until the impromptu line of Mike Rupp - Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin struck. Malkin upped the puck up and Rupp and Crosby passed the puck twice and #87 put it in an empty cage past a beaten Peter Budaj. 1-1 at the first break.

There'd be no more scoring until the third period; which was a huge break for Pittsburgh. It appeared Galiardi had his second goal of the game, between Fleury's legs, but the referee from the side angle whistled the play dead, all the while the puck was in motion, and in the back of the net. Unfortunately it's a play that can not be review. It ought to have been a goal. But it wasn't. Just a bad break for Colorado. Things have a funny way of evening up in a long 82 game season and hopefully they'll get the good end of a call soon to make up for it.

With the game still 1-1, the Penguins got a two man advantage. They couldn't quite take advantage of it, but Crosby faked a shot and wired a perfect pass to Bill Guerin for a slam dunk goal.

That effectively ended the scoring, with Jordan Staal and Crosby tacking on empty netters to make the score look wider than it was.

Pittsburgh was no doubt lucky to catch a break on the disallowed Colorado goal, but they also earned the win by out-shooting the Avs 14-1 in the final period of a tie game. They were the better team late.
Crosby set up the goal with a new tool in his offensive arsenal: the fake shot. Teams have to respect him pulling the trigger, he's now tied for second in the league in goals.
Last year, it took until January 30th before Crosby got to 19 goals....This year he's there on December 3rd, almost two months better.
The Pens racked up 38 hits, everyone on the roster aside from Mark Eaton and the two goalies recorded at least one hit.
Ruslan Fedotenko is starting to turn things around...4 shots on goal (and 3 more misses, including a post) show he's firing away. When he shoots, he plays well and produces. He's getting there.
That T.J. Galiardi is quite impressive. In addition to his goal on he night, he had a should-have-been goal and won 71% of his 17 faceoffs.
Matt Duchene might be the future, but the future was not tonight. No points, a plus/minus of -3 (even though he was on the ice for both empty netters), two shots on goal in 18:50.
Paul Stastny, he of a Team USA future, also had a rough night in the final stat-line: No points, -3 (again on ice for both EN), just one shot on goal and only won 36% of his 28 faceoffs.
Both goalies played well, Budaj was tested more than Fleury, but both did well and did not allow any soft goals. Any time the two goalies combined for three goals against, you can be sure both made some saves.
Evgeni Malkin had a somewhat quiet night, but still rang up three assists and helped the power-play get on the board. It was a good night.

It was a good night indeed. Crosby and Malkin put three points in their pocket and the team gets 2 of their own in the standings. It was a quirky, hard-fought one that wasn't easy it looks at the end of the day. But it's still a win.

Now onward to Saturday...I hear an old friend is ready to say hello again...Perhaps you remember him..

New Marc-Andre Fleury blog: On defensive injuries, Team Canada chances and Sidney Crosby

FrankD — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:00:18 -0000

by Frank Franklin II - AP

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I can only imagine things are starting to get pretty tense around Olympic camp for all the team hopefuls. As Hooks pointed out in Wednesday's Olympics post, some guys are a lock, others still on the fringe. Marc-Andre Fleury isn't exactly a lock to make the team, but there's definitely more in his favor than against.

So it comes as no surprise that MAF finds himself on the receiving end of constant questions regarding his hopes of playing for Team Canada. In his latest Radio Canada blog post, Fleury discusses his Team Canada chances, the ridiculous streak of injuries that plagued Pittsburgh's defense and Sidney Crosby's offensive surge. As always, thanks to Pensburgh reader Becky for providing the translation. Her accuracy and speed of translation continues to amaze me.

Take the jump to catch up on MAF's latest.

The question of the day

Hello to all,

Each time I step foot in a new city, I answer the same question from journalists.

Do you believe in your chances to represent Canada in the Olympics? Yes, I believe in them, but the final answer does not belong to me.

If people are talking about me as a logical candidate for the team, it's a good sign. That means that I am still in the race.

The team's directors, starting with Steve Yzerman, will have some difficult decisions to make. Obviously, I would love to put on Canada's uniform in Vancouver, no matter what role they want me to play within the team.

I have already said, jokingly, that I would be willing to fold towels in the locker room in order to achieve that Olympic dream.

Still, I don't want to make myself crazy with this Olympic games business. You can't lose sleep over something that you can't control. The only thing I can do, from now until the final team selection, is to help the Penguins win as many games as possible.

The more games I win, the better my chances.

The Wilkes-Barre Penguins

The month of November was not a very restful one for the Penguins. At one point, five of our six starting defensemen were in the infirmary. Sergei Gonchar, Kris Letang, Alex Goligoski, Brooks Orpik, and Jay McKee, one after the other, all went down in combat.

For a few games, Mark Eaton was the single survivor on the blue line. Honestly, I have never seen a situation like that. It was getting pretty ridiculous, because we were losing a new defenseman with each match.

Martin Skoula, who has held the position of seventh defenseman since the beginning of the season, played some incredible hockey during this difficult stretch. The Penguins also called up Ben Lovejoy, Deryk Engelland, and Nate Guenin from our farm-team in Wilkes-Barre.

The guys from Wilkes-Barre did a more than respectable job for our team. We were thus able to weather that storm without too many defeats. We finished the month of November with a record of 8-6. So that's not too bad...

For the last game, Gonchar, Letang, Orpik, and McKee were back in the lineup.

Crosby on fire

If I still do not know my fate as regards the Canadian Olympic team, Sidney Crosby is already sure of his place. In his last two games, Sid has exploded with 8 points, including 5 goals.

Watching him play in the last several games, I can confirm that he will be ready for the Olympic adventure!!!

I'll speak to you again after the holidays. I wish you, in advance, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2010.

À bientôt,

Marc-André Fleury

November grades and Player of the Month

Hooks Orpik — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:00:23 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Alex Goligoski (getting mobbed here by teammates) was the overwhelming choice of Pensburgh voters to be named Pensburgh player of the month for October...Who will take the honor for November? Vote below!

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To see the report card from October, click here. You voted Alex Goligoski the player of the month, garning 50% of the vote to easily out-pace the other finalists of Sidney Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury, Tyler Kennedy and Jay McKee.

While the training staff and doctors probably deserve MVP status for all their hard work, let's look at the players performances for the month of November.

Overall the Penguins were 8-6-0 on the month, but it was a month of stretches. They lost five of seven games from Nov. 5th to the 19th. Then they won five of seven from Nov 20th to month's end.

Goalies	Grade	Comments
Marc-Andre Fleury	C+	(7-5-0, .891 save percentage on the month) A rocky month for Fleury, who got pulled twice. Considering the makeshift defense in front of him, it was about holding on and winning games; which he did reasonably well by month's end. The bar is set high, so allowing three or more goals 6 out of 12 outings is not ideal.
Brent Johnson	B-	(1-1-0, .887 save %) Again Johnson's save % almost exactly matches the starter, and Johnny has done well to stay sharp, despite not getting into many games.

Defensemen
Mark Eaton	B+	(2 goals, 1 assist, -1, 6 penalty minutes) Who would have thought Mark Eaton would be the Penguins' defensive ironman? Eaton picked up a lot of slack in terms of ice-time, being the lone defensive constant.
Alex Goligoski	I	(1g, 3a, -1, 0 PIM in seven games) Battled illness and then eventually missed seven games. Continues to play well when he's been in the lineup, but gets an I for Incomplete since he missed half the games and is back on the shelf.
Sergei Gonchar	B	(1g, 4a, -3, 4 PIMs in seven games) Points in four straight games, fair to say he's rounding back into game shape. Now it's time to get those PP numbers up. We'll give him a grade, since he's been back for a while.
Kris Letang	I	(1g, 3a, +2, 0 PIM in five games) Barely played due to a shoulder injury, but played very well when he was in. His puck moving ability was sorely missed. We'll give Letang an Incomplete, since he missed so much of the month.
Jay McKee	B	(1g, 2a, -2, 21 PIM in eight games) Before the shot blocking master somehow got a finger infection, the highlight of his month may have been getting 19 PIMs in San Jose, or maybe that awesome deke against Boston resulting in a goal.
Brooks Orpik	B+	(0g, 6a, even, 2 PIM in ten games) Since his return from injury the Penguins have won four of five games and Orpik had his most proflific scoring month ever in the NHL even missing time.
Martin Skoula	B+	(3g, 3a, -1, 0 PIM) Skoula proved himself to be a viable NHL defensemen still with his fill in duty. The two goals he chipped in against Atlanta (Nov 20th) were critical in a 3-2 win.
Deryk Engelland	B+	(0g, 2a, -2, 17 PIMs) Engelland was protected (he only played 16:08 a night) but he was good and physical when he was out there. Plus three fights helped keep some sandpaper around.
Nate Guenin	B-	(0g, 0a, -2, 0 PIM) The Pittsburgh product appeared briefly in two games (13:32 per night). He didn't make any glaring mistakes, but wasn't put in many situations in where he could.
Ben Lovejoy	A-	(0g, 3a, +5, 2 PIM in eight games) Lovejoy got the most responsibility of the callups, in terms of minutes and PK time and also faired the best. He had a great plus/minus and generally didn't look out of place in the NHL.

Forwards
Craig Adams	C	(0g, 2a, -2, 10 PIMs) Hardly generating any offensive, and his faceoff percentage is still hovering around 45%. Adams is forechecking hard (lots of hits) and playing well positionally, but that's par for the course for him.
Chris Bourque	D	(0g, 2a, -3, 6 PIMs in 13 games) Has looked like a placeholder for the injured. And the injured are on the mend, so Bourque's time may be running short. November was a great chance for him to prove himself, and it wasn't a smashing success to say the least.
Chris Conner	D	(0g, 1a, -1, 0 PIMs in four games) Made two turnovers that resulted in goals against on Nov 12th, was shipped back to the minors on Nov. 13th.
Matt Cooke	B+	(3g, 4a, +2, 34 PIMs) The good: Cooke supplying some offense, hitting and penalty killing. The bad: Cooke crossing the line with hits on Shean Donovan and Artem Anisimov, drawing a two game suspension on the latter. Gotta take the good with the bad with Cooke.
Sidney Crosby	A-	(8g, 9a, -2, 12 PIMs) Much like the team, Crosby had a tough beginning of the month (only 1 point in first five games) but closed strong, highlighted by the eight points in two games the Rangers to end the month.
Pascal Dupuis	A-	(5g, 1a, -3, 0 PIM) Dupuis' perhaps the surprise player of the month with his offensive output. The Penguins were 4-0-0 when he scored a goal in November.
Ruslan Fedotenko	C-	(1g, 3a, -4, 0 PIM) Not much production for a guy getting top-six minutes, even worse he only recorded more than one more shot on goal in just three games. He needs to get the puck on the net more, so he can get the puck in the net.
Eric Godard	C-	(0g, 1a, even, 16 PIMs) The big guy is only playing 4:56 per game on the year, but he's really trying. He had 4 shots on goal on Nov 25th, his center drive created a goal on Nov 28th. He's lugging around out there with a purpose, even if many of us aren't sure just what it is.
BIll Guerin	B-	(3g, 5a, -2, 13 PIMs) Like Crosby, only one point in the first five games and then a better production in the final two weeks of the month. The goal with 0.4 seconds he scored against Boston on Nov 14th is the stuff of legends.
Tyler Kennedy	I	(1g, 2a, +2, 0 PIM in three games) Kennedy is having a great year and really making things happen with the puck when he's been healthy, which hopefully he is now. He earns an Incomplete this month, since he only got into a few games.
Chris Kunitz	I	(1g, 0a, -6, 4 PIMs) Thought to be nursing injury, Kunitz only played five games before leaving the lineup after Nov 12. Let's give him an Incomplete as well.
Evgeni Malkin	A	(4g, 7a, +8, 4 PIMs) It's probably no coincidence Pittsburgh's won seven of nine games since Malkin returned to the lineup on Nov 14th, and Malkin's registered at least a point in seven of those games. He didn't look himself in October, but he certainly is back to his dominant ways now that he's healthy and rested.
Mike Rupp	A-	(5g, 1a, +2, 10 PIMs) Some [noted] timely goal scoring, a physical presence and no mistakes have made Rupp a cult favorite here at Pensburgh. His hat trick on November 30th gave him a career high in goals, and he's on a 23 goal pace. Can the big guy keep it up?
Jordan Staal	B	(3g, 7a, +1, 19 PIMs) Staal found the scoresheet on 9 of 14 games this month, an important step towards his consistency in generating points.
Maxime Talbot	C	(1g, 1a, +1, 2 PIMs in seven games) Understandably, it's been a little rough for Talbot to shake off the rust and catch up to everyone else in mid-season form. He does have two points in his last three games and is getting his timing back.
Mark Letestu	C+	(0g, 0a, even, 0 PIMs in two games) Didn't look out of place in his brief first taste of NHL action, but didn't stand out either.

Again I think it's a fairly wide-open debate for player of the month: Crosby had the most points and was in all the games. He was also named the NHL's #1 star of the week last week. Malkin came back strong and is looking like he did last season when he won the scoring title. Pascal Dupuis and Mike Rupp are lighting the lamp like no one expected. Defensemen Mark Eaton and Martin Skoula literally held the fort down while the rest of the defensemen were dropping like flies. Jordan Staal shouldered more of the load, and played well.

I'll cast my vote for Crosby, but it's certainly understandable that there will be a lot of different opinions on this one. Feel free to cast your vote and share 'em!

Poll

Who should be the Pensburgh Player of the Month for November

A Noted hat trick fuels the Pens 5-2 over the Rangers

Hooks Orpik — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 03:41:04 -0000

More photos » by Frank Franklin II - AP

10 days ago: Pittsburgh Penguins' Mike Rupp (17) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Rangers on Monday, Nov. 30, 2009, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

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Winning on the road in the division is never an easy task. The Penguins have had their troubles in Madison Square Garden recently, not winning their in the regular season since 2007. Well, you can throw that out the window with tonight's 5-2 victory. That means in the past 72 hours Pittsburgh has outscored the New York Rangers 15-5, with Sidney Crosby getting eight points by himself.

Only three players would score, two of them you'd expect, and one of them that maybe you should start to expect. Marian Gaborik gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead in the second period when he totally outclassed Kris Letang in front of the net and buried his second attempt by Marc-Andre Fleury. Crosby would answer 11 seconds later, rocketing through the zone and roofing a perfect backhander over Henrik Lundqvist. Noted goal scorer Mike Rupp would find Jordan Staal's trash and deposit it in the net to give the Pens a 2-1 lead. It wouldn't hold to the third period, however, because Gaborik struck again, beating Jay McKee near the front of the net to tie things at two.

The game winner in the third was scored by Rupp, who took advantage of his teammates driving the net and sniped it in top shelf. With about four minutes left Crosby extended the lead to two when he deflected a Mark Eaton point shot for a 4-2 edge. The scoring would be capped on an empty netter when who else but Crosby flipped it to Rupp for a long range goal.

Rupp has now set a career high in goals scored with 8, and in just 28 games. That is a 23 goal pace over one-fourth of the way through the season. This is his first career hat trick in the NHL. It's not like he's scoring because he's getting huge minutes, but as the cliche goes, he's making them count.
Don't look now, but seemingly out of no where Crosby's up to 3rd in the league in points (trailing league leader Gaborik and San Jose's Joe Thornton). His play and production in the past 1-2 weeks has been unbelievable.
Marc-Andre Fleury was better than just 29 saves on 31 shots sounds after the game. He was great, only getting beat on impossible shots by Gaborik. Fleury got plenty of great stops in and while the game was close he really won it for the Pens.
Bill Guerin caught a little bit of crap in the game post about his sloppy first period; a couple puck-handling miscues highlighted by taking a penalty by tackling an opponent in the crease of his own goal, while on the power-play. Guerin made amends with the sweet dish to Crosby on the opening goal.
Playing against brother Marc, brother Jordan had a solid game. 71% in the faceoff circle on 14 draws, an assist and some strong skating that generated a couple good scoring chances.
Gaborik is a monster. The knack on him has been his health, not his skill; and so far so good in New York. He's leading the league in goals and points and seems almost unstoppable at times.

At game's end it was all about Rupp and Crosby tonight. And the league's biggest star wasn't the biggest star tonight, over-shadowed by the Noted goal scorer.

The Penguins will wake up in first place in the East tomorrow morning, and they've humbled the Rangers twice in three days. And now the tide turns a little for the Penguins...They get to have until Thursday off, in fact they only have five game in the next 14 days. And eight of the next 11 will be at the friendly confines of Mellon Arena. They've weathered the storm of four games in six days and taken a 3-1 record out of it. And their noted goal scorer has as many goals on the year as Evgeni Malkin.