Pittsburgh Penguins Thread

[Zach6668 513]

Sid's third goal was an unreal deflection. Wow.

[Zach6668 513]

8 in a row!

[mrdannyg 274]

Have you guys heard of this Crosby guy? He's from Nova Scotia and apparently is getting some great reviews. I think he'll be a very good player.

[dEv~ 19]

Overrated. http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?h...mp;event=PIT235

[Zach6668 513]

15 goals, 14 assists in his 14-game point streak. That's so unreal.Unless there's a freak injury, I don't see him falling out of the scoring lead for the rest of the year. This reminds me of 06-07 when he was behind at the start, then some point in December (I think), he passed Joe Thornton and then won the Art Ross by 6 points.He's got 33% more points than Ovechkin, the third place scorer, does, already. That's crazy.T1 in goals with 21.T2 in assists with 23.1st in points with 44.

[Fenxis 99]

Steroids obv.

[digitalmonkey 929]

Steroids Favouritism obv.

[fryer98 30]

I was there last night and I've now been at 3 of Sid's 7 career hat tricks.

[dEv~ 19]

I was there last night and I've now been at 3 of Sid's 7 career hat tricks.

1/7. Unfortunately Ovechkin also had a hat trick. http://espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=290504023 Thankfully this happened 9 days later. http://espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=290513023

[dEv~ 19]

decent 1st period for the pens.1st Period Pittsburgh 6:43, Paul Martin 2 (power play) (unassisted) Pittsburgh 8:59, Michael Rupp 2 (Eric Godard, Craig Adams) Pittsburgh 12:55, Paul Martin 3 (power play) (unassisted) Pittsburgh 15:49, Sidney Crosby 22 (power play) (Mark Letestu, Kris Letang)

[dEv~ 19]

decent 1st 2nd period for the pens.1st Period Pittsburgh 6:43, Paul Martin 2 (power play) (unassisted) Pittsburgh 8:59, Michael Rupp 2 (Eric Godard, Craig Adams) Pittsburgh 12:55, Paul Martin 3 (power play) (unassisted) Pittsburgh 15:49, Sidney Crosby 22 (power play) (Mark Letestu, Kris Letang) 2nd Period Pittsburgh 3:09, Tyler Kennedy 5 (Mark Letestu, Chris Conner) Columbus 6:21, Samuel Pahlsson 2 (Rostislav Klesla, Ethan Moreau) Pittsburgh 9:55, Sidney Crosby 23 (Chris Kunitz, Kris Letang) Pittsburgh 18:19, Deryk Engelland 2 (Matt Cooke)

[serge 904]

The Penguins are pretty good..

[dEv~ 19]

Crosby with 8 goals in his last 4 games. The opposition has only scored 6 total goals in the last 4 games....not fair.

[doox 15]

Aside from Crosby being superhuman lately, I find myself absolutely enjoying the hell out of watching Chris Conner play. He's like a Kennedy with more skill and creativity.

[dEv~ 19]

**** ya!

[Zach6668 513]

I can't get over how dominant Sid has been lately, or basically this team as a whole. Everything is coming together, now. The defense started off slowly, with Martin and Michalek trying to fit in, then Michalek getting injured before he found his stride. Not to mention having at least one rookie back there, getting used to the full time rigors of the NHL (2 when Michalek was injured). Now that they've spent some time together, and healthy, they are playing unreal. 5 of the 6 defenseman can really skate, and really move the puck up to the forwards. That's the biggest difference between this defense, and the one that won the Cup.With the defense improved, Fleury is putting it together as well, as we knew he would.And on offense, we've had a lot of little surprises. Letestu, first and foremost. He may not be scoring like he did earlier, but his line with Kennedy, and fellow surprise Conner, has been awesome. They control the puck for ages in the zone with the cycle, create the odd chance, but in general, just wear out the other team. They've been unreal.That opens the door for Staal to immediately slide into the top 6 when he returns, hopefully giving Malkin a boost.Don't really have to say much about Crosby. 15 game point streak, 17 goals and 14 assists. That's just amazing. He's doing all of the little things right too. Every time I watch a Pens game on an opponent's feed, the announcers don't stop talking about his complete game, his backchecking, his defense, etc. He always does the little things that don't always show up on the scoresheet, but they do show up on the win column.It'll be interesting to see what happens with Staal comes back, just because it should give that 2nd line an instant boost, and then we could have two full scoring lines again. I just hope Conner isn't the casualty when Staal returns, but I think it's more likely that Comrie gets waived, since the team is playing so well as is.Some fun stats:T1 winsT1 pointsT2 points %T6 G/G3rd GA/G11th PP2nd PK10th S/G3rd SA/GKinda interesting. All of a sudden, the Penguins are a defensive monster. The most obvious room for improvement is the PP, which has been steadily improving, and shots and goals per game, heh. Not typical of Penguins hockey.My favorite stat, though, is that of Crosby's 46 points, 31 were at even strength, where he spends the vast majority of his time with Dupuis and Kunitz. A full 10 points more than Datsyuk, who is second in that category.Lots of optimism right now. This team could be special.

[dEv~ 19]

Great write up Zach. All I'd like to add is that while the D has certainly improved, so has the MAF. He's won 8 in a row and is 10-0-1 in his last 11 after starting out 1-6-0.Knock on wood that they all stay healthy.

[serge 904]

Couple of questions:1. Is Geno healthy and will he be playing tonight?2. Why do you think Malkin's numbers are down ?Now when I say down, its all relative...Last yeare his numbers were still good but declined as the year went on, and probably had a lot to do with his injury.He is still a very good player, but now people dont talk about Geno in the same breath as Sid, Ovy and Stamkos..Is it injuries, or is it something else?Also do you think that there will come a time where the Pens would consider trading Geno, for either cap room or add other types of players.

[Zach6668 513]

I heard Malkin didn't take the morning skate, but that doesn't mean he won't play.I don't think he's healthy in general, and I think that's why his numbers are down. He's had a nagging shoulder injury, basically all last season, and maybe carrying over into this one, plus he's got a knee tweak now.I don't know if he's been 100% since winning the Conn Smythe, to be completely honest.It doesn't help him that the majority of the year he's been with Cooke and Asham, or Cooke and Talbot, or some group of bottom 6ers.I think we'll see what happens when Staal comes back, and he has a legit top 6 player to play with.He hasn't looked awful out there, he has stretches of absolute brilliance, it's just that it's tough to do anything by yourself in this era, and when you've got wingers like he has, it's just gonna be slightly tougher to put up the points.I think he'll get back to his Art Ross form eventually, but maybe not until next year. Tough to say.

[serge 904]

I heard Malkin didn't take the morning skate, but that doesn't mean he won't play.I don't think he's healthy in general, and I think that's why his numbers are down. He's had a nagging shoulder injury, basically all last season, and maybe carrying over into this one, plus he's got a knee tweak now.I don't know if he's been 100% since winning the Conn Smythe, to be completely honest.It doesn't help him that the majority of the year he's been with Cooke and Asham, or Cooke and Talbot, or some group of bottom 6ers.I think we'll see what happens when Staal comes back, and he has a legit top 6 player to play with.He hasn't looked awful out there, he has stretches of absolute brilliance, it's just that it's tough to do anything by yourself in this era, and when you've got wingers like he has, it's just gonna be slightly tougher to put up the points.I think he'll get back to his Art Ross form eventually, but maybe not until next year. Tough to say.

I dont think its a problem for the Pens as they are winning and winning a lot right now..So they dont have to worry about him..However if he is tired of playing second fiddle to Monsieur Sid, he is welcome to demand a trade and we will accomodate here in Toronto...He can play with Kessel and they will be a solid duo together..Also one of his best friends from back home Nikolai Kulemin will be here to have more fun with.I dont know , maybe a package of Luke Schenn, Nazem Kadri we can start the negotiations with..We wouldnt pursue this until next year where it will be obvious he needs a change of scenery..Just throwing it out there

[Zach6668 513]

Seth from Emptynetters just Tweeted Malkin wasn't playing.I don't think the Leafs could offer a package that would get Malkin, and make us better or equal under the salary cap, to be honest. I don't think many teams could.

[serge 904]

Seth from Emptynetters just Tweeted Malkin wasn't playing.I don't think the Leafs could offer a package that would get Malkin, and make us better or equal under the salary cap, to be honest. I don't think many teams could.

Yes this is very true RIGHT NOW..Things change quickly in the NHL..I was just mostly joking anyways...I dont think Burke would ever trade for Malkin anyway..Not his type of player, mainly because of the contract.oh BTW..Please dont cut Comrie..I need him to play more games.

[Zach6668 513]

Yeah... I have Comrie in one of my one-year pools. Took him in the last round as a sleeper... didn't work, haha.I just don't see him cracking the lineup. They surely aren't going to change anything around for him while we're in a 9-game winning streak.It's obviously even worse for him when Staal comes back in a week or two.Kunitz - Crosby - Dupuis??? - Staal - MalkinConner - Letestu - KennedyRupp/Adams/Talbot/Cooke/Asham/Comrie/GodardI'd only play Comrie over Godard in that group. One of those bottom line guys would play with on the 2nd line, obviously. Conner's job isn't safe, but he's getting rave reviews from everyone around the team right now. On the other hand, there's a reason he hasn't held onto an NHL job in his career yet. The only thing on Comrie's side is the 500k salary, but I still don't see how he cracks the lineup.Assuming no injuries, that's 15 forwards, so even if he wasn't the one waived or demoted, I don't see how he makes the top 12.FWIW, the Penguins are saying that he's out due to injury right now (undisclosed) and not just a healthy scratch, which I sorta assumed.

[digitalmonkey 929]

Crosby is playing awesome and I think it has a lot to do with his fitness level. He just looks leaner and stronger....are commentators talking about this?Anyway, a 15-game point scoring streak is impressive. Can he challenge Gretzky's record of 51 games?- Longest consecutive point-scoring streak from start of season: 51 in 1983–84; 61 goals, 92 assists for 153 points (October 5, 1983 to January 28, 1984)153 points in 51 games LOLOLOLOL

[serge 904]

Crosby is playing awesome and I think it has a lot to do with his fitness level. He just looks leaner and stronger....are commentators talking about this?Anyway, a 15-game point scoring streak is impressive. Can he challenge Gretzky's record of 51 games?- Longest consecutive point-scoring streak from start of season: 51 in 1983–84; 61 goals, 92 assists for 153 points (October 5, 1983 to January 28, 1984)153 points in 51 games LOLOLOLOL

I would say its impossible.