SB Nation - Tim Wallace

BREAKING: Pens make 13 cuts, Eric Tangradi, Luca Caputi to Wilkes-Barre

Hooks Orpik — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:26:53 -0000

Eric Tangradi, who posted on twitter last night that he was jokingly embarassed about Pensburgh ribbing him about his interview skills, has just written on Twitter that he is "off to Wilkes-Barre".

The Penguins were expected to make cuts today, a day after back-to-back games in the past two nights gave them a chance to see nearly everyone still left in camp.

And from penguins.com:

Thirteen players have been assigned to the club’s top minor-league affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL). They are forwards Wade Brookbank, Luca Caputi, Dustin Jeffrey, Nick Johnson, Konstantin Pushkarev, Wyatt Smith, Eric Tangradi, Joe Vitale and Tim Wallace, defensemen Robert Bortuzzo, Jonathan D’Aversa and Chris Lee and goaltender Brad Thiessen.

The Penguins have re-assigned 2009 first-round pick Simon Despres to Saint John of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).

After the jump we take a look at who's left....

The moves leave the Penguins with 16 forwards, nine defensemen and three goaltenders remaining in training camp. The updated roster is attached.

FORWARDS

Locks:

Chris Kunitz-Sidney Crosby-Bill Guerin
Ruslan Fedotenko-Evgeni Malkin-Tyler Kennedy
Matt Cooke-Jordan Staal-Pascal Dupuis
Mike Rupp, Eric Godard, Craig Adams

Forwards on the bubble (fighting for 1 or 2 spots): Ryan Bayda, Paul Bissonnette, Chris Conner

DEFENSE

Locks:

Brooks Orpik/Segei Gonchar
Mark Eaton/Kris Letang
Jay McKee/Alex Goligoski

Defensemen on the bubble (fighting for 1 or 2 spots): Nate Guenin, Ben Lovejoy, Deryk Engalland

Thoughts:

--Konsantin Pushkarev came to Pens camp on a tryout, will/has he agreed to go to Wilkes-Barre? Pushkarev could add some skill at some point, and given the lack of purely skilled wingers it'd be great for the organization if he doesn't bolt to Europe.
--The forwards still in the hunt (Bayda, Conner and Smith) all have a lot more NHL experience than the youngsters sent packing today (Caputi, Jeffrey, Johnson, Tangradi). It's clear the Pens want a vet for NHL depth and give the young guys a chance to develop by playing every night in the A rather than sitting in the press box in the NHL.
--Bissonnette was an unlikely player to make the NHL roster out of camp this year, and with Eric Godard AND Mike Rupp locked up he's even more unlikely to stick this season....But Biz Nasty's staying and a lot of his peers are again heading to the eastern part of the Commonwealth, he's surviving yet again.
--The Penguins don't list Deryk Engalland on their team page, but they didn't mention him getting cut and say there are 9 defensemen left, so I'm assuming he's still in play for an NHL job.

Truculent in Toronto....Pens fall 3-2 to Maple Leafs

Hooks Orpik — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:13:23 -0000

More photos » by Frank Gunn - AP

2 months ago: Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jordan Staal, right, shoots past Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Luke Schenn (2) during the first period of a preseason NHL hockey game in Toronto on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Frank Gunn)

Browse more photos »

Again welcome to the preseason recap, designed with a little commentary and a little re-telling of what happened, in case you couldn't get to see the action..

1st period

--With the three normal leaders that wear letters not in the lineup, Mark Eaton, Ruslan Fedotenko and Jordan Staal are all serving as alternate captains tonight, if you care about such things.

--Early on a good shift by Mike Rupp, Nick Johnson and Ryan Bayda and some real good work by Jay McKee and Alex Goligoski to keep the puck inside the blueline. The puck eventually finds Bayda out front and with Rupp attracting a lot of attention Bayda lifts one over Vesa Toskala for the game's first goal.

--Robert Bortuzzo with a little bobble on the PP in his own end kills sometime and then a forward (I believe Dustin Jeffrey or Nick Johnson) ices the puck...On the powerplay. Ouch.

--Physical game as to be expected; Jordan Staal and Fedotenko get rocked in the open ice with clean hits, Matt Cooke draws some revenge with a nice hit of his own.

--Bayda heads to the bench on Pittsburgh's first penalty on a trip. Apparently Bayda is very strong with his stick, as just by putting it behind the Leaf's skate caused him to jump in the air about a foot and a half. It was a trip, but a very well sold one

--The speedy and diminutive Chris Conner gets sprung by Mike Rupp of all people for a breakaway shortly after the penalty gets killed. Conner outraces the Leafs defense, flashes to the backhand and slips it 5 hole on Toskala. 2-0 Pens.

--As a wise man predicted, a fight breaks out between Paul Bissonnette and Jay Rosehill. Ok, so the two are no strangers to each other. Again, Biz Nasty gives him the business, connecting with a bunch of rights and a flurry of rag doll lefts (while keeping Rosehill's own jersey over his face). Blindly Rosehill throws a few and tackles Bisonnette.

--Of current: shots are 9-1 Pens, the scoreboard is 2-0 Pens and the fightcard is 1-0 Pittsburgh. Sidney who? And that Evgeni guy? Pssh.

--Shots end up 9-5 by the end of the period, not much eventful but Brent Johnson was there when he had to be.

After the jump, the next two periods..

2nd period

--Yesterday The Pensblog mentioned how Pierre McGuire always referred to the Pens forward as "Billy Guerin". Well I noticed another, the head coach is named "Danny Bylsma". If he starts calling him "Jordy" Staal, or "Marcy" Fleury, we've gone too far. As if it hasn't gotten there already.

--Tim Wallace knocked the crap out of Jamal Mayers, injuring the Toronto player. It was a big hit but it wasn't late nor did Wallace leave his feat before connecting, but Mayers didn't see it coming. The way Mayers fell back dazed after impact looked scary but after a while he was able to skate to the bench under his own power.

--Toronto's first goal on a lazy play by the Pens; Bortuzzo chipped the puck from back around to Matt Cooke who lunged and the puck but couldn't get it by TML defenseman Mike Komisarek. The Leafs work it around and some guy named Bozo (actually Tyler Bozak) passes it to someone who might be Jordan's Swedish cousin (Viktor Stahlberg) for a goal. 2-1 Pens.

--Brent Johnson was real slow to get up, as Bozak did run into him and knock him back as he was trying to move to his left. Johnson was limited by a hip injury in the recent past, even though he said he is healthy one has to wonder if he aggravated something. "Johnny" would stay in the game after a prolonged stoppage.

--A lot of people told me I'd be impressed with Mike Rupp after I struck a very sour initial tone from news of his signing. I might be starting to turn their way. The big guy took a great shift, he's a good skater for his size (better than I gave him credit for) and he wasn't playing the toughest competition but was working the puck all over the offensive zone.

--Chris Conner used his speed to make Ian White hold him. Conner's done a lot of little things right.

--On that powerplay, your opening players: Alex Goligoski and Ruslan Fedotenko on the point, Jordan Staal, Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy up front. Even for pre-season that's tough.

--Mike Komisarek checks Cooke from behind and Staal got in Komisarek's face. Bad idea. Komisarek knocks Staal down, then physically picks him up and punches him a few more times for good measure before Staal can tackle him. Good to see Staal try to standup for a teammate but ouch.

--And somehow in that Cooke gets 2 minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct in addition to the two fighting majors. Chalk that up to Cooke's reputation. Komisarek did legit drill him from behind and Staal/Cooke were kind of in a pile when Komisarek was beating Staal up. Not sure what that was all about.

--Nick Johnson does do a good job to get in the way of shooting/passing lanes and makes a difference there doing things that a lot of forwards don't/can't do.

3rd Period

--John Curry (who played all game last night) is in net for the beginning of the period. Johnson was moving slow after he gave up the goal, one has to believe he isn't feeling 100%, the only question now is: how bad is it?

--Chris Conner can absolutely burn it up. I remember seeing him play some with Dallas in NHL action but I do not remember just how fast he is.

--Francois Beauchemin levels Tim Wallace on a pass from Jay McKee that hung Wallace out to dry. Biz Nasty is on the case at once and Beauchemin accepts the fight. It's uneventful, as the strong Beauchemin did well to clamp down on Bissonnette's arms and not give him much to be able and do.

--Mike Rupp got in Stahlberg's face, challenged him to go but no deal. Guess big Mike figured if Jordan got beaten up by a Toronto tough guy his near-namesake ought to suffer the same fate.

--Mark Eaton two uncharacteristic penalties in the third, Tomas Kaberle with a big shot, Curry was up for that and he also made a stop on Bozo, err Bozak on the rebound attempt. Curry looking sharp.

--Leafs 2009 first rounder Nazem Kadri one-timed a great shot but it rang squarely off the post.

--In the dying seconds Wyatt Smith did well to win two faceoffs against Kadri. But the Pens kept icing the puck and Smith lost a third one to Mikhail Grabovski and Kadri ends up burying one with 1:05 left in the game.

OVERTIME

--Leafs put shots off the left post and the right post in succession. When asked for comment John Curry said "hey, they pay may to cover the net, and not a single inch more" (not really).

--With about 6 seconds left the Pens got a draw in the offensive zone and Bylsma drew up a play, which worked almost to perfection. Staal wins the draw back to Kennedy who quickly feeds Nick Johnson. Johnson one-times it into the net. Just one problem: Johnson's stick breaks and the puck doesn't make it.

SHOOTOUT

Round 1
--Kadri stickhandles quickly about 50 times and goes forehand for the goal. Kid's got some sick moves.
--Staal tries to make a move and go backhand, but Toskala gets his let out.

Round 2
--Bozo comes down, tries to do something but Curry's not having it.
--Chris Conner comes down accelerating late but the shot is no good.

Round 3
--Lee Stempniak trickles a shot five hole through Curry on the walk-off shot. Leafs win 2-0.

THE GOOD
--Alex Goligoski was awesome tonight. Last night I gushed over Kris Letang, tonight I was nearly as impressed by the way Goligoski was playing. In a word, Goligoski looked comfortable, leading all players with 30:15 of ice-time.
--The competition for the 13th forward: Chris Conner had a great night with the goal and was showcasing his speed. Tim Wallace had big hits all over the place. Paul Bissonnette challenged everyone but the guy selling cotton candy to fight. Nick Johnson played a good positional play and was good at both ends of the ice.
--The TSN broadcast never said anything but Ben Lovejoy only had one shift for 31 seconds, he must have gotten injured somehow. Through injury comes opportunity and the other five defensemen; notably Nate Guenin got to play 27:04 and Robert Bortuzzo got 21:02. Neither stood out for wrong reasons.
--Guenin played 6:18 of short-handed time, far more than any of his teammates, if the coaches wanted to see what he had perhaps there could be nothing better for him than the fact Toronto didn't score a goal with the man advantage.

THE BAD
--A preseason game with two injuries is not good. Even if the injuries were to the backup goalie and a guy fighting for a roster spot in Lovejoy, you never like to see guys not be able to finish. Also Jamal Mayers of the Leafs didn't return after Tim Wallace leveled him, hopefully he'll be OK.
--Mark Eaton was on the ice for both goals against and took two penalties. Not a great tuneup for one of the Penguins' most reliable players, but I doubt it'll matter much in the big scheme of things.
--To these eyes (which don't belong to a pro scout) Wyatt Smith and Dustin Jeffrey were two players that didn't do much to distinguish themselves. I highlighted some forwards in that good that I thought played really well, but Smith and Jeffrey had low-key games, to me anyways. Low key isn't always bad, but when you're trying to win an NHL roster spot, it can't be good.
--Ryan Bayda certainly wasn't low-key with a goal and a penalty taken, but I can't remember noticing him that much in the latter half of the game. He only got 12:31 of ice-time, he might not have played much but he didn't stand out after taking the penalty, which can't be good for his hopes either.

THE INTERESTING
--Even though Ryan Bayda's played in 179 NHL games ever since the 2002-03 season, NHL.com still doesn't know who he is. Now we have to cut them some slack with so many players bouncing all over the place and just the sheer number of different players to appear in an NHL pre-season game, but even though Bayda is relatively experienced, he didn't make the NHL.com statsheet for Pittsburgh tonight

For the second night in a row the Penguins blow a third period lead in Canada. But, considering the circumstances, it's certainly nothing to fret over. Some pieces are looking good, now it's time to make some cuts and join the two rosters together as we trek towards opening night.

Penguins re-sign Ben Lovejoy and Tim Wallace

Hooks Orpik — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:23:36 -0000

Per the team:

The Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins have signed defenseman Ben Lovejoy to a one-year contract and forward Tim Wallace to a two-year deal, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Ray Shero.

Lovejoy figures to be the #7 defenseman in Pittsburgh this year and possibly make the jump to being a full-time NHL player. Lovejoy made his NHL debut in 2008-09, appearing in two games for the Penguins. He posted an AHL best +/- of +42 last season in 76 games with Wilkes-Barre.

Wallace was impressive in his stints in the NHL where in 16 games played, he showed a willingness to skate hard, throw hits and take on bigger guys in fights.

Terms of the deal not immediately released, check the comments when it breaks.

2009 NHL Free Agency / Teams by Cap Space / Unsigned UFA's and RFA's

Robert L — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:19:41 -0000

This is a listing of NHL teams by order of remaining cap space as of July 4. The Islanders top the list with approximately $23M left to spend. The Sharks have just under $2M remaining. The list is helpful in determining which team are closest to filling out their 2009-10 lineup. As one can see, there is much work to be done at both ends of the spectrum. The numbers figures are based on totals given by NHL Numbers.com.

1 - New York Islanders: $23.265 (18)

UFA: Andy Hilbert C 28, Dean McAmmond C 36, Mike Sillinger C 38, Thomas Pock D 27, Yann Danis G 28, Joey MacDonald G 29.

RFA: Nate Thompson C 24, Jeremy Colliton C 24, Jamie Fraser D 23, Jack Hillen D 23.

2 - Phoenix Coyotes: $21.972 (18)

UFA: Brian McGrattan R 27, Dmitri Kalinin D 29, Ken Klee D 38.

RFA: Nigel Dawes L 24, Joakim Lindstrom C 25, Enver Lisin R 23, Scottie Upshall R 25, Daniel Winnik C 24, Keith Yandle D 22.

3 - Atlanta Thrashers: $19.599 (15)

RFA: Eric Perrin C 33.

UFA: Kari Lehtonen G 25, Colby Armstrong R 26, Jim Slater C 26, Boris Valabik D 23.

4 - Nashville Predators: $17.913 (16)

UFA: Radek Bonk C 33, Scott Nichol C 34, Greg de Vries D 36.

RFA: Ryan Jones R 25, Antti Pihlstrom L 24,.

5 - New York Rangers: $16.436 (13)

UFA: Blair Betts C 29, Mark Bell L 28, Patrick Rissmiller C 30, Paul Mara D 29, Derek Morris D 30.

RFA: Christopher Higgins R 26, Ryan Callahan R 24, Brandon Dubinsky C 23, Lauri Korpikoski L 22, Nikolai Zherdev L 24, Corey Potter D 25.

6 - Anaheim Ducks: $14.295 (17)

UFA: Rob Niedermayer F 34, Todd Marchant C 33, Francois Beauchemin D 29, Bret Hedican D 38.

RFA: James Wisniewski D 25.

7 - Tampa Bay Lightning: $14.295 (17)

UFA: Matt Pettinger L 28, Wade Brookbank L 31, Jason Ward R 30, Marek Malik D 34, Josef Melichar D 30, Cory Murphy D 31, Noah Welch D 26.

RFA: Martins Karsums R 23, Radek Smolenak L 22, Matt Lashoff D 22, Matt Smaby D 24, Mike Lundin D 24, Karri Ramo G 22, Mike McKenna G 26.

8 - Columbus Blue Jackets: $13.313 (20)

UFA: Chris Gratton C 33, Manny Malhotra C 29, Michael Peca C 35, Jason Williams C 28, Christian Backman D 29.

RFA: Jiri Novotny C 25, Marc Methot D 24, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen D 25.

9 - Dallas Stars: $13.193 (19)

UFA: Sergei Zubov D 38, Brendan Morrison C 33, Joel Lundqvist C 27, Mark Parrish R 32, Landon Wilson R 34, Tobias Stephan G 25, Darryl Sydor D 37.

RFA: Mark Fistric D 23.

10 - St. Louis Blues: $12.295 (22)

UFA: Trent Whitfield C 32, Dan Hinote R 32, Jay McKee D 31, Manny Legace G 36.

RFA: Brandon Crombeen R 23, Chris Porter C 25, Steve Regier L 24, Roman Polak D 23, Jeff Woywitka D 25, Marek Schwarz G 23.

11 - New Jersey Devils: $12.129

UFA: Brendan Shanahan L 40, Kevin Weekes G 34, Niclas Havelid D NJ.

RFA: Travis Zajac C 24.

12 - Toronto Maple Leafs: $12.022 (20)

UFA: Brad May L 37, Bates Battaglia L 33, Andre Deveaux C 25, Boyd Devereaux C 31, Jeff Hamilton C 31, Kris Newbury C 27, Ben Ondrus R 27, Jay Harrison D 26, Jamie Heward D 38, Martin Gerber G 34, Olaf Kolzig G 39, Curtis Joseph G 42.

RFA: Jeremy Williams R 25, Justin Pogge G 23, Jaime Sifers D 26, Ryan Hollweg C 26.

13 - Chicago Blackhawks: $11.797

UFA: Aaron Johnson D 26.

RFA: Cam Barker D 23, Troy Brouwer R 23, Ben Eager L 25, Colin Fraser C 24, Kris Versteeg R 23.

14 - Colorado Avalanche: $11.654 (15)

UFA: Joe Sakic F 39, Ben Guite R 30, Brian Willsie R 31, Andrew Raycroft G 29.

RFA: Kyle Cumiskey D 22, David Jones R 24, Cody McCormick C 26.

15 - Montreal Canadiens: $10.454 (16)

UFA: Alexei Kovalev F 36, Saku Koivu C 34, Alex Tanguay L 29, Robert Lang C 38, Mathieu Schneider D 40, Tom Kostopoulos R 30, Mathieu Dandenault D 33, Patrice Brisebois D 38, Francis Bouillon D 33, Marc Denis G 31.

RFA: Tomas Plekanec C 26, Matt D'Agostini R 22, Guillaume Latendresse R 22, Kyle Chipchura C 23, Gregory Stewart L 23.

16 - Los Angeles Kings: $10.285 (21)

UFA: Derek Armstrong F 36, Denis Gauthier D 32, Kyle Calder L 30.

RFA: Jack Johnson D 22, Teddy Purcell R 23.

17 - Washington Capitals: $9.720 (15)

UFA: Viktor Kozlov C 34, Alexandre Giroux C 28, Bryan Helmer D 26, Brent Johnson G 32.

RFA: Jeff Schultz D 23, Shaone Morrisonn D 26, Milan Jurcina D 26, Eric Fehr R 23, Boyd Gordon R 25.

18 - Buffalo Sabres: $8.976 (16)

UFA: Matt Ellis L 24, Dominic Moore C 28, Andrew Peters L 29, Teppo Numminen D 40, Maxim Afinogeno F 29,

RFA: Andrej Sekera D 23, Drew Stafford R 23, Clarke MacArthur L 24, Patrick Kaleta R 23.

19 - Florida Panthers: $8.405 (18)

UFA: Ville Peltonen L 36, Richard Zednik L 33, Jassen Cullimore D 36, Nick Boynton D 30.

RFA: Anthony Stewart C 24, Steve Eminger D 25, Tanner Glass L 25.

20 - Carolina Hurricanes: $8.083 (18)

UFA: Ryan Bayda L 28, Dennis Seidenberg D 27.

RFA: Tuomo Ruutu C 26, Anton Babchuk D 25.

21 - Vancouver Canucks: $7.282 (18)

UFA: Mats Sundin C 38, Jason Krog C 33, Rob Davison D 29, Ossi Vaananen D 28, Curtis Sanford G 29, Michel Ouellet R 27.

RFA: Shane O' Brien D 25. Kyle Wellwood C 26, Jannik Hansen R 23.

22 - Minnesota Wild: $6.296 (20)

UFA: Stephane Veilleux L 27, Krys Kolanos C 27, Marc-Andre Bergeron D 28, Kurtis Foster D 27, Martin Skoula D 29.

RFA: Dan Fritsche C 23, Benoit Pouliot L 22, Kyle Brodziak C 25, Josh Harding G 25.

23 - Edmonton Oilers: $6.404 (20)

UFA: Ales Kotalik R 30, Dany Sabourin G 28.

RFA: Liam Reddox L 23, Gilbert Brule C 22, Ryan Potulny C 24, Rob Schremp C 22, Denis Grebeshkov D 25, Ladislav Smid D 23.

24 - Detroit Red Wings: $5.554 (16)

UFA: Darren McCarty R 37, Aaron Downey R 34, Chris Chelios D 47.

RFA: Jiri Hudler C 25, Ville Leino L 25.

25 - Boston Bruins: $5.340 (18)

UFA: Stephane Yelle F 35, P.J. Axelsson L 34, Manny Fernandez G 34.

RFA: Phil Kessel F 21, Matt Hunwick D 24.

26 - Ottawa Senators: $4.649 (22)

UFA: Mike Comrie C 28.

RFA: Brendan Bell D 26, Brian Elliott G 24.

27 - Pittsburgh Penguins: $3.137 (19)

UFA: Mike Zigomanis C 28, James Connor L 26, Miroslav Satan L 34, Petr Sykora R 32, Janne Pesonen L 27, Philippe Boucher D 36.

RFA: Paul Bissonnette R 24, Tim Wallace R 24, Ben Lovejoy D 25, John Curry G 25.

28 - Calgary Flames: $3.053 (19)

UFA: Todd Bertuzzi R 34, Andre Roy R 34, Rhett Warrener D 33.

RFA: Dustin Boyd C 22.

29 - Philadelphia Flyers: $2.125 (20)

UFA: Josh Gratton L 26, Boyd Kane L 31, Andrew Alberts D 28, Lasse Kukkonen D 27, Martin Biron G 31, Antero Niittymaki G 29.

RFA: Jared Ross C 26, Danny Syvret D 24.

30 - San Jose Sharks: $1.774 (16)

UFA: Claude Lemieux R 43, Jeremy Roenick C 39, Tom Cavanagh R 27, Alexei Semenov D 28, Mike Grier R 34, Marcel Goc C 25, Tomas Plihal L 26, Lukas Kaspar L 23.

RFA: Torrey Mitchell C 24, Thomas Greiss G 23, Brad Staubitz R 24.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pens wrapup and injury list

Hooks Orpik — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:16:18 -0000

As we know, it wasn't all sunshine and smiles for the Penguins organization lately, as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lost in Game 7 to the very formidable Hershey Bears. Of course, small potatoes compared to the Stanley Cup playoffs, but the Baby Pens season is over.

Always interesting is when a team is eliminated from the playoffs and their list of injuries is disseminated. Courtesy of Johnathan Bombulie of the Citizen Voice newspaper, here's what the Baby Pens players were dealing with....Seeing this list might make you think they got in a bus accident or something..

Adam Berkhoel -- had to have his knee drained six times during the Hershey series; scheduled for surgery tomorrow
John Curry -- injured knee in Game 5 vs. Bridgeport; tried to take painkillers to get through Hershey series but couldn't go
Tim Wallace -- broken collarbone
Janne Pesonen -- broken bone in his hand
Andy Wozniewski -- broken foot
Joey Mormina -- high-ankle sprain; didn't miss a game
Aaron Boogaard -- probably needs shoulder surgery
Dustin Jeffrey, Connor James, Bill Thomas -- knee injuries
Joey Haddad -- had knee surgery
Paul Bissonnette -- had wrist surgery
Eric Tangradi -- had hand surgery

Yikes. Seeing that list it's no wonder Wilkes-Barre ran out of gas and got shutout in their last two games. And it makes moments like Janne Pesonen's 4 point game or Joey Mormina continuing to play first pairing defense and you just have to shake your head at the toughness and resiliency that they show.

Bombulie also said he expected about three players to be called up to Pittsburgh as a taxi squad of practice players. Bombulie named forward Jeff Taffe as one likey candidate. That one is a slam dunk, as Taffe lead WB/S in playoff points and has 153 career NHL games. I would suspect that if Bill Thomas' knee injury isn't that severe he might get the call to Pittsburgh too, as he seemed to excel at faceoffs and was a decent 4th liner. Chris Minard played 20 games in Pittsburgh, so he seemingly would be a candidate to join the Pens for the remainder of the season too, I would think.

With Alex Goligoski already in Pittsburgh, the Pens eight healthy defensemen (if Sergei Gonchar is good to go). So maybe they'll get Ben Lovejoy up to Pittsburgh, just in case.

So even though the Pens are eliminated for the third time in four years by Hershey, it's been another successful season down on the farm. For the seventh consecutive year Wilkes-Barre won at least one playoff series. Over the past four regular seasons the Baby Pens have won 198 games (average of 49.5 a year). It's a successful, well run organization no matter which coaches, management or players revolve, the constant is winning and developing players.

This year no one fully graduated, but with Pittsburgh spate of injuries Wilkes-Barre was tested. Goligoski, Minard, Jeffrey, Lovejoy, Curry, Wallace, Bissonnette, Pesonen and Caputi were all called up to play various roles for the NHL. As soon as next year some of them (Goligoski, Lovejoy Curry, Caputi) might be challenging for NHL jobs full-time. Good work and good job boys.

Tales of the Tape: Boston Bruins 12-30-08, Tim Wallace vs. Milan Lucic

JDunman — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:00:06 -0000

Tim Wallace isn't a name I'm familiar with, I'll admit it. When I saw his name on the penalty list for fighting, I wasn't expecting much. I especially wasn't expecting a hell of a fight against Boston's Milan Lucic. Just watch the brawl.

There's not a lot to add to this one with commentary other than 'they punched a lot'. Wallace took quite a few shots from Lucic and stayed on his skates, still swinging away, and for that you have to give the kid credit (I am automatically forced to call anyone younger than me 'kid' - Wallace is 24). The shots were fierce, and Wallace stayed with Lucic for a good brawl.

Poll

Who won the fight?

Tim Wallace

5 votes

Milan Lucic

20 votes

Draw

5 votes

30 votes | Poll has closed