Archive for the 'Penguins' Category

4/21 Links

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 21, 2008
in Blackhawks, Ducks, Links, NHL, Penguins and Playoffs
. 2 Comments

Update (3:54 PM): Tapeleg of Jerseys and Hockey Love has a post up on the use of the term “bandwagon” in sports.

Clearly, we need adopt a definition of “bandwagoning” that differentiates actual hockey fans who support a new team post-elimination from those non-fan leeches who ride the coattails of a team’s success and bail at the first sign of adversity. It’s one thing to follow a team that’s not your own in as a show of support for the League. It’s another to act like you’ve been there for years.  - Matt

Update (1:52 PM): James Mirtle points to an interesting quote on the octopus question in a New York Times article from last season. The League’s sudden turnaround on the issue becomes even more mystifying. - Matt

… With the Ducks getting eliminated last night, the LA media is pointing to the defense as the reason. A former Red Wing is getting particular heat:

… Schneider is incurably soft and untrustworthy defensively.

Soft maybe relative to the Ducks’ hardboiled goon squad, but then again, so are most actual hockey players. Schneider had a definite edge to him, as anyone who ever saw him react to being hit could tell you.

As for defensive untrustworthiness, he worked out pretty well in Detroit.

As Steve Ovadia points out, the problem in Anaheim can’t be pinned on one player. IwoCPO has some thoughts on this as well.

… Speaking of the Ducks, the League has belatedly decided to fine Scott Niedermayer for not showing up for training camp, as stipulated by the CBA. Why this is happening now and not in December is a mystery. James Mirtle suggests that someone in the front office of another team pushed for the fine.

… Mike Chen thinks that the officiating has been awful across the board so far in the playoffs. Dead on.

… Apparently, Wolf Blitzer doesn’t know who Sidney Crosby is. I can’t decide whether that’s sad for Blitzer as a professional journalist expected to be aware of the world around him or sad for the NHL as a professional sports league that has been pushing Crosby with all its might with that kind of reward. Probably both.

… It looks like a Wings/Blackhawks outdoor game is likely to happen (scroll way down) next season. Does anyone really think the League will foot the $200,000 bill necessary to get the Rangers and Bruins into Yankee Stadium? I didn’t think so.

… Larry Brooks says (so take it with a grain of salt) that the League is looking at eliminating the “Wayne Gretzky jersey tuck” in a bid for NFL-like uniformity. I guess it wouldn’t be surprising given the fact that the League spent tons of money on adopting sweaters that lack excess material. However, there are good ways to imitate the NFL and there are are bad ways. This is the latter.

4/15 Links

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 15, 2008
in Avalanche, Canucks, Fabian Brunnstrom, Links, Marty Turco, Penguins, Playoffs, Senators and Wild
. 0 Comments

Update (8:12 PM): At the Globe on Hockey blog, James Mirtle has more on Fabian Brunnstrom. I’m starting to wonder if this kid isn’t overrated. - Matt

Update (3:21 PM): The guys at Orland Kurtenblog have been looking for the greatest hit in NHL history and after five months of polling, a consensus has been reached: Scott Stevens’ hit on former Red Wing Slava Kozlov in the 1995 Finals. - Matt

Update (2:58 PM): If you’re into hockey stats, check this site out. (via Mirtle) - Matt

Update (2:41 PM): I missed posting reactions to the Nonis firing from two of the biggest Canucks bloggers because I got distracted and then forgot. Sorry.

Alanah of Canucks and Beyond, and Orland Kurtenblog. - Matt

… The Fabian Brunnstrom sweepstakes may not be over after all: the Canucks fired GM Dave Nonis last night in a surprise move.

Brunnstrom had apparently narrowed his choices down to Vancouver, but this latest development has him reconsidering, as Ken Holland told Helene St. James.

My guess is he’ll still opt not to come to Detroit for the same reason he was rumored to be headed to Vancouver: guaranteed playing time. The Wings still can’t give him that, but whoever takes over in Vancouver may be more amenable to the idea.

… Reactions to the Nonis firing: James Mirtle, Tom Benjamin, Eric McErlain,

… Elliotte Friedman discusses the speculation that Brian Burke could return to Vancover to fill the vacancy left by Nonis.

… I thought the Senators hit a low point with that mural near the visitor’s lockerroom. I was wrong (video here).

… Speaking of the Senators, Pittsburgh is on the brink of eliminating them from the playoffs after last night’s 4-1 win.

… Marty Turco’s not a fan of asking the crowd to wear black tonight in Dallas.

… The Avalanche/Wild series went to overtime for the third straight game. Minnesota came out on top for the second time to take a 2-1 series lead.

4/10 Links

Published
by
Matt Saler
on April 10, 2008
in Canadiens, Dan Cleary, Devils, Flames, Hockey Bloggers, Hockey Media, Johan Franzen, Links, Penguins, Playoffs, Predators, Rangers, Senators and Tomas Holmstrom
. 3 Comments

Update (6:42 PM): This a must-read for bloggers as well as journalists. It’s Deadspin so it’s got elements of NSFW-ness, but it has a message I think both sides of the debate over “New Media” need to hear.

This piece by Daryl Shilling, a former contributor here at OtW, is similar in philosophy.  - Matt

Update (6:01 PM): Slapshot has a great piece on the special hockey fervor in Montreal this season. - Matt

Update (5:24 PM): This is just a great piece of writing. - Matt

Update (4:29 PM): The guys at Orland Kurtenblog look at the “NHL Experts Picks” for the Wings/Predators series. - Matt

Update (4:18 PM): Heh. (via A2Y) - Matt

Update (4:16 PM): Steph has a preview of the Wings/Predators series posted. - Matt

Update (3:15 PM): This is great. For the background, read this and this. Kevin Schultz has a good response. - Matt

Update (1:25 PM): IwoCPO presents the keys to the Wings/Predators series. - Matt

… James Mirtle reacts to the first night of the playoffs.

… HockeyTownTodd comments on the Wings/Predators series as only he can.

… Rangers fans made a good showing as their team opened the playoffs across the river in New Jersey.

… The Flames beat the Sharks in Game 1. I’ll be honest. I didn’t see that one coming.

… This one, however, came as no surprise: Pittsburgh 4, Ottawa 0.

… Ansar Khan says the Wings aren’t looking past the first round. They’re also ready for the physical challenge of the post-season.

… This year’s under-the-rader player, Johan Franzen, is the subject of a Khan profile.

… Bruce MacLeod has a piece on the Wings’ big three net front players: Franzen, Dan Cleary, and Tomas Holmstrom.

… The Forechecker gives Predators fans reason to believe.

Mark Cuban on the Pens and Malkin

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 2, 2006
in Evgeni Malkin, Mark Cuban and Penguins
. 3 Comments

Update (3:53 PM): James Gunner over at 8 Feet touches on something I forgot to bring up earlier:

I wonder how much having Cuban buy a hockey team would have meant to the NHL in terms of advertising alone? He’s well known in the sports world for his antics in the NBA and is arguably their most famous owner.

It would have meant a lot in terms of publicity, which is something the league needs badly. An outspoken and high-profile guy like Mark Cuban owning a team with players as exciting as the Pens’ youngsters would have put the game on the map in a pretty big way.

Remember, he was involved as a minority partner in an ownership group looking to buy the Penguins earlier this year and has been interested in becoming financially involved in the team for years (I wonder if the columnist at that last link would take a different stance today). He primarily wanted to make sure the team stayed in Pittsburgh, where he has a lot of ties.

He dropped out of the group because he felt they were too focused on the investment aspect over fanship, according to this piece by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, which also indicates Cuban has offered to invest in the team as recently as mid-October.

If Jim Balsilie, the new Pens owener, accepts Cuban’s offer, we should see more of him playing ambassador for the game as he becomes more involved with the team as one of Balsillie’s partners. If not, hopefully he’ll continue to talk about the game as a fan, at least. - Matt

It’s not Wings-related but I thought this post was a good read: “Evgeni Malkin & the NHL - Are you kidding me ?”

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is a hockey fan and regrets not heading his own group to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins after catching the Oct 24th Pens-Devils game in which Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin hooked up for a jaw-dropper of a goal.

The next night, Cuban got Malkin’s autograph on his newly-purchased #71 jersey while the two were at a Mavs/Cavs pre-season game.

Cuban sees greatness coming in a Pens organization stacked with Malkin, Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury, and Jordan Staal, and it’s hard to disagree.

It’s great to have someone as high-profile as Mark Cuban praising the game so highly.

Wings get Cory Cross from Pittsburgh

Published
by
Matt Saler
on March 9, 2006
in Cory Cross, Penguins and Roster Moves
. 1 Comment

For a fourth rounder in 2007, according to TSN’s trade tracker. Definitely not going to be involved in the offense. Big though (6′5″, 225lbs) and making just $874,000. That’s about all I know about the guy.

Update (3:35 ET): James has more:

The Detroit Red Wings acquires Cory Cross
I’m not sure how much of an upgrade Cross is over Jamie Rivers. He obviously offers a much bigger presence and a different element, but both are, obviously, depth players on a team like the Red Wings. That said, Detroit has played so well this season and gotten such great contributions from players like Andreas Lilja and Niklas Kronwall on the backend that they don’t really need any parts for an extended playoff run. You can’t lead the Western Conference this season and not be a Stanley Cup contending team. (So much for the dire predictions made at the start of the season for the Red Wings.)

The Wings need size but they haven’t had a lot of luck with big defensemen in the past (Hatcher, Ulfie, Maxim, etc., with the exception of Jiri Fischer) so I’m not so sure about this one. At least he has some experience. Rivers was valuble for his versatility (sort of a poor man’s Dandenault) but the Wings must not see any need for a forward/defenseman at the moment.

Cross has to be praising the hockey gods (offering up incense, sacrificing his new pair of hockey skates or whatever those guys do) he’s no longer in the lower ring of hockey hell and has moved to a legitimate and serious contender for the Cup. “Aww,” you say. “He won’t be able to play with Syd the Kid any more!” No, he’ll just get to play with Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Lidstrom Mathieu Schneider, Chris Chelios….. you get the point. I think he can find a way to be happy, despite no longer being on the same roster as hockey’s Annointed One.

He was only there for six games, anyway, having only recently arrived there from Edmonton. I hope he didn’t buy a house in Pennsylvania….

Also, Kukla reports Cross’ll be a depth player (obviously) and that he’ll join the team Saturday.

(above via. A2y)

The Detroit papers are all over this one, as of 3:30 ET. Not. Don’t bother checking until tomorrow morning .

Update (3:55 ET): For those of us who are questioning this move, IwoCPO has a few words worth reading.

When I saw Witt had gone to Nashville, my first thought was that Kenny’s move to clear up roster space had backfired and that he’d traded away Rivers only to end up empty-handed. Maybe Cross was picked up in order to make up for that. I don’t know. This won’t go down as one of Holland’s best but it doesn’t negate great decisions he’s made in the past.

The team certainly had less leverage in trade negotiations than they have had in the past, due to the cap, so maybe it shouldn’t be such a surprise that they came up so empty handed.

Wings 3, Pens 1

Published
by
Matt Saler
on December 12, 2005
in 2005-2006, Game Reports and Penguins
. 0 Comments

The Wings won their third in a row tonight, beating Pittsburgh 3-1 at the Joe and pulling ahead in their all-time series with the Pens by just one win (58W-57L-16T).

Steve Yzerman sat out the game and will miss the next couple weeks or so with yet another groin injury, a tear this time, but on a different side than before. I forgot to mention it in the preview but the Freep’s notes section today said Babcock had hinted a player would be out with a groin injury but he wouldn’t say who it was. Now we know. With Yzerman out, Kris Draper wore the third “A” and Jiri Hudler got substantial increase in ice-time over the last game (9:44 over 2:58 against the Caps). Yzerman will not go on the Southeastern Division road trip with the team.

The Wings’ power play was potent as usual, going 3-for-8 with the man-advantage and getting good pressure on at least a couple opportunities on which they didn’t score. On the other side of the ice, the Wings were perfect, killing off 5 of 5 penalties and even scoring shorthanded.

Henrik Zetterberg had another dominating game, scoring two goals and coming close a number of other times. His first goal came after a point shot by Lidstrom and a flurry in front of the net involving Holmstrom. He knocked it in over Marc-Andre Fleury, who was down, and it barely crossed the line before being knocked out by a Pens player. The light went and the players began their celebration but the play was not whistled down until the linesman streaked in indicating it had in fact crossed the line. Then the goal horn sounded and the Wings got credit. Hank’s second goal was much less in doubt. While on the power play, Sergei Gonchar took a hit from Kirk Maltby and coughed up the puck at his own blueline. Zetterberg picked it up and broke in on Fleury all alone, deked the young goalie out of his pants and roofed a backhander for one of the more exciting goals of the season.

Chris Osgood was solid in his third start in a row, though he didn’t face much work. He made some excellent saves when called upon, however, including a breakaway chance or two. He was good during the Pens’ two successive 5-on-3 opportunities in the second and made a great glove save on Gonchar with under five remaining in the third. The Pens did finally score with 29 seconds left in the game but it looked to me like the puck was kicked in. Mark Recchi, the shooter, got credit.

Nicklas Lidstrom scored the Wings’ other goal and finished with a two-point night (1G, 1A). His goal came on the power play in the third and was the result of a nice cross-ice pass from Pavel Datsyuk. Lidstrom, who had crept up from the point, hesitated just a bit and then ripped the puck past Fleury to make it 3-0. No chance to stop that one.

Sidney Crosby wasn’t all that noticeable, though he did get an assist on the Recchi goal. He certainly didn’t seem as dangerous as Ovechkin did but that’s probably due to Kris Draper, who was on him like a blanket all night. Both he and Draper wore mics for the OLN crew, though they didn’t have anything too interesting to say, as far as I heard.

The OLN special before the game was worth watching. They started out with a Darren McCarty highlight reel and then showed his arrival back in Detroit. The crew went with him to his house, where he surprised his kids and re-entered domestic life for a while. They followed him to practice the next day and interviewed people in the Wings organization who said what you’d expect them to say (”Mac’s like a brother to us, it’s like we’re having a friend visit,” etc.). They finished with footage from the December 1st Wings/Flames game as well as a short bit coming from afterwards.

Now, the Wings head to Atlanta, where they will face another young star, but one who has been in the league for a couple years, Ilya Kovalchuk and his Thrashers, tomorrow night at 7:00 ET.

GameDay: vs. Pittsburgh (8-15-6, 22 Pts) 7:00 ET

Published
by
Matt Saler
on December 12, 2005
in 2005-2006, GameDay and Penguins
. 2 Comments

Tonight is the one and only game between these two teams this season. The Pens won the 2003-2004 season series 1-0 with a 4-3 win on October 18, 2003. The Wings lead 3-1 at one point but the Pens came back to give Marc-Andre Fleury his first NHL win.

The Wings are 5-3-o in their last eight, winning their last two, 5-2 over New Jersey last Tuesday and 4-3 over Washington on Friday. Detroit is the second-highest scoring team in the League, thanks to such regulars as Pavel Datsyuk (10G, 22A), Henrik Zetterberg (13G, 17A) and Brendan Shanahan (17G, 10A) as well some surprises such as Jason Williams (9G, 22A) and Mikael Samuelsson (12G, 9A). The team as a whole has put up 112 goals, allowing 78 in the meantime. A major factor in the Wings’ offensive success has been their power play, which leads the league at 25.8%. Immediately following tonight’s game, the Wings will leave for Atlanta, where they will kick off a three-game Southwest Division road trip by playing the Thrashers tomorrow night. The Wings are 10-5-1 at home so far this season.

The Pens have had a rough season, despite having the most highly touted rookie and what should be a pretty decent roster. It took them nine games to get a win (0-4-5 start) and for much of November, it was on again, off again for this once-proud franchise. They halted a six-game skid with a win Saturday at home against Colorado and will wrap up their Western Conference series against the Blues tomorrow night in St. Louis. Pittsburgh has allowed the most goals of any team in the league so far (119) and scored among the fewest (81), despite an offense that boasts Sidney Crosby, Mario Lemieux, Zigmund Palfy, Mark Recchi and John LeClair. However, Palfy, LeClair and Lemieux have missed time due to various injuries and medical conditions so maybe it’s not so surprising after all. Crosby has 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points but is minus-9 so far and is among the team leaders in penalty minutes with 38. With the Pens’ penalty kill at 79.1% (26th in the league), they could probably do with a lot less of Sidney in the box. Pittsburgh is 4-7-3 on the road this season.

Given Mike Babcock’s policy of rewarding winning goaltenders with playing time, I expect Chris Osgood to make his third consecutive start tonight. The papers report that Manny Legace will not return until he is fully healthy, unlike the last time. Apparently, he was only 15% when he came back from his first knee injury, which took place on November 1st. The papers say he’ll face some shots in practice this week but has no idea when he’ll be back. (Freep and News)

I’m looking forward to finally seeing Sidney Crosby play and while I hope the Wings shut him down, I’d like to see some reason to believe all the hype.

Be sure to catch Jiri Fischer’s press conference at 4:00 PM ET on Fox Sports Net as well as the Darren McCarty special on OLN before the game tonight. Remember the puck drops at 7:00, not 7:30, as some schedules have it.