The Difference One Player Makes

Evgeni Malkin's Return Sparks the Penguins to 2 Straight Wins

The recent return of Evgeni Malkin has done exactly what the Pens fan expected it to do. Sparked the Pittsburgh Penguins and has led them to 2 straight wins. The Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday defeat the Boston Bruins 6-5 in overtime. Pascal Dupius had the GW Goal and Evgeni Malkin made an instant impact with 3 assists. With all the criticism that the Pittsburgh Penguins have been receiving, it is not surprising the Evgeni Malkin was the spark that the Pittsburgh Penguins needed. The Penguins also got a win vs. Anaheim Ducks in Pittsburgh, 5-2. It is always unfortunate when NHL Players get injured, but one thing that can be said about the last 10 games is that the players who are considered the "Future" of the Franchise seem to be gaining skill and confidence from this early call up. This was proven so, whenever Dan Bylsma put Evgeni Malkin on the point of the powerplay along with young defensemen Ben Lovejoy, Deryk Engelland and Nate Guenin. This new found confidence in the Penguins defense allowed Dan Bylsma to take more chances on the powerplay and during even strength situations. And the most important thing about this game is, the Penguins are scoring again, and after 30 consecutive scoreless powerplays, Bill Guerin scored a powerplay with an assist from Sidney Crosby.

Up Next: Pittsburgh Penguins (14-7-0) at Ottawa Senators (9-6-3)

The next challenge for the Pittsburgh Penguins will to be go on the road where they are a dominant 7-3 this season. Pascal LeClaire will most likely be the starter in net for the Sens who lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1. Tyler Kennedy scored two goals in this game, along with a goal from Jordan Staal and Bill Guerin. Milan Michalek scored Ottawa's only goal. Look for the Penguins to win this game and begin a winning streak, 4-2.

Injury Update:
Defensemen Brooks Orpik, Kris Letang, Sergei Gonchar and Alex Goligoski are all expected to miss 2 more weeks. Alex Goligoski suffered a lower body injury and is expected to have a MRI sometime this week. Unfortunately, the Pittsburgh Penguins seemed to have also lost defensemen Jay McKee for 2-4 weeks with an infected finger. C/LW Maxime Talbot, who has missed 21 games this season after having shoulder surgery in the offseason, is probable for Thursday night's game at the Ottawa Senators. Thursday night's scratches are going to include RW Chris Kunitz and LW/C Tyler Kennedy.

Eric Godard: Where are you?

Where has Pittsburgh's Enforcer been this season? During a losing streak, teams usually find different ways to stirrup their opponents and turn the momentum in their favor. One way of doing so, is by getting your enforcers to get underneath the other players' skin. Some players are signed because of their toughness and ability to fight. One of these players, is Pittsburgh Penguins' Enforcer Eric Godard. Coming into Saturday, Eric Godard has not had a fighting major since October 10th whenever the gritty Toronto Maple Leafs were trying to make an impression on their fans that they will not be run over. However that wasn't the case and they weren't winning many games without the presence of Phil Kessel, whom they acquired from Boston in the offseason. Michael Rupp has 3 fighting majors this season. This explains his 29 Penalty Minutes. Eric Godard, has 17 Penalty Minutes, and 7 of them from the San Jose 5-0 loss. Eric Godard is getting paid to do nothing basically. He was brought in for a reason and that is to make sure that teams don't mess with Sidney Crosby or any of the rest of the Penguins. Michael Rupp is not an agile fighter. He has soft hands, something you can expect from a former 1st round pick. Michael Rupp, because of Jacque Lemair's system whenever he debuted in New Jersey was never able to develop into the potential star he was. But seeing him in Pittsburgh, it opens my eyes to many things about the underrated Michael Rupp. Yes, Rupp is a very gritty character, but the skill he has shown in scoring goals against teams this year is a reason we cannot afford to have him taking Fighting Majors and sitting in the Penalty Box for 5 minutes. During this injury plague that is going around, we need all the help we can get. Michael Rupp is on pace to easily score more than double his season high in goals (6). If I was a head coach in the league, and had a team that was plagued with injuries like the Penguins are, I would make sure the roleplayers are doing their job. Eric Godard is designated as the Pittsburgh Penguins enforcer. As a big fan of Eric Godard, I find it hard to question his recent games. But if you are playing only like 3 minutes a game, you need to make them count. You need to do what we rely on you for. If not, it would not be hard to throw in a player with more scoring potential to make up for the lack of goals the Penguins have been scoring. Not a day goes by that I don't think of ways for the Penguins to get back on the right track. But at least they are not the Carolina Hurricanes.

Big Step Backwards: Carolina Hurricanes
What a surprise Carolina has been this year. Last year, the Carolina Hurricanes were expected to be one of the teams that threatened other Eastern Conference teams to go back to the Stanley Cup. Fortunately as we all know, The Pittsburgh Penguins took the series from the Hurricanes and went on to win the Stanley Cup. So heading into this year, with goalie Cam Ward expected to be a top Vezina Trophy Contender (Top Goaltender) the Carolina Hurricanes had high expectations. But so far, these expectations have not been fulfilled. The Carolina Hurricanes are in the middle of a 14-game, yes 14 game losing streak. They just lost Superstar Cam Ward for a month due to leg lacerations. Manny Legace was signed by the team, and he fit in well with the 'Canes. He allowed 4 goals (excluding the Empty Netter) in his first game. However, you cannot blame the Hurricanes early season struggles on injuries. Cam Ward is the only hard hit they have taken so far this year. So what can you blame on the Hurricanes early season disappointments. Can you blame it on Eric Staal for being overrated? Possisbly. Grinder Jussi Jokinen actually leads the Hurricanes with 10 points in 17 games. Jussi Jokinen is not exactly someone who you would want leading your team in points because it pretty much means, your team is stuck. Ray Whitney is 37 years old and just played in his 1000th game. Maybe its time to give up and let the youth take over. This year, maybe a rebuilding year for Carolina if they continue to struggle. If by the trade deadline they are not in the hunt, look for them to be trading away players in return for younger players. All I can say is, I'm Glad i live in Pittsburgh.

And the Streak....Continues. NJD 4 Pit 1

Sidney Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury and Injury depleted Penguins fall to the New Jersey Devils, 4-1

The Pittsburgh Penguins continued their losing streak on Thursday when Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils defeated the depleted Pens by a final score of 4-1. However, the Penguins did not get shut out. Going into the game on Thursday night, the Pittsburgh Penguins had not scored a goal in 160 minutes and 41 seconds. But the oddball combination of Chris Bourque, Ruslan Fedotenko and Sidney Crosby scored on Brodeur, ending any talks of him tying the NHL Career Shutout Record which still stands at 103. However, for the first time during the Dan Bylesma era, the Penguins recorded a regulation loss after scoring the first goal of the game. Marc-Andre Fleury and the Pens were not able to keep the pace of the game they had established in the first period. The Pens have not scored on the powerplay in the last 26 chances. The Injury bug that is going around the NHL has made an impact on many teams including the Penguins. The Pens, after starting the season 12-3, have lost 4 straight. Marc Andre Fleury, who started the season 8-0 with a 2.00 Goal Against average, has struggled as of late most likely because of the pressure put on him to try to be perfect in the absence of our Key players. Since the 8-0 start, Fleury is a dreadful 2-6 and a GAA of almost 3.

Up Next: Boston Bruins @ Pittsburgh Penguins
Fortunately, the Penguins have gotten through this mini slump without getting too many other players injured. The return of Evgeni Malkin should spark the Penguins lineup. However, Tim Thomas is coming off of his second straight shutout. In Boston two games ago, Tim Thomas stopped all 27 shots against him. The truth is, Tim Thomas is not Martin Brodeur. So a brightside maybe for Tim Thomas to implode against the Penguins, possibly resulting in the Return of our swagger. Ben Lovejoy showed some signs of being able to one day take the place of an aging Sergei Gonchar, but he still has alot of developing to do. These injuries give the Penguins a glimpse into the future of what they can expect from players who are in the teams long-term plans.

Predictions:
Well, every team has its day. Every team loses. Many coaches state that "In order to win, you must first learn to lose." Dan Bylesma, since coming to the Penguins has had everything fall into place for him. No injuries or rash decisions to make. But every coach eventually figures it out. This includes Dan Bylesma. Look for Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to double shift, once on their respective lines and once together to wear down Bruins Defensemen Zdeno Chara. The Pittsburgh Penguins finally get a win. And a big one. Final Score: 5-1.

Falling like Dominoes....with lack of secondary scoring....

As if right now, the Pittsburgh Penguins are without top players such as Sergei Gonchar, Brooks Orpik, Kristopher Letang, Evgeni Malkin, Maxime Talbot and Tyler Kennedy. These players combined last season for 80 goals and over 200 points. Gonchar, Letang and Malkin are all key players whenever it comes to the power play. The fall of such key parts to a Stanley Cup team leads to the replacements Ruslan Fedotenko, Alex Goligoski and Jordan Staal. However, with these three players taking over the power play in the absence of our power play quarterback (Sergei Gonchar) and setup men Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin, the Pittsburgh Penguins are stuck in an 0-23 slump over the last six games. So missing these players seems to be a bit of an underestimation. The Pittsburgh Penguins coaching staff and ownership seems to believe that the lack of scoring without marquee players such as Evgeni Malkin, Tyler Kennedy, Kris Letang and Sergei Gonchar will soon right itself, and the team will begin scoring.


But if you recall during last years Stanley Cup playoffs, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby combined for 29 goals. The next leading scorer was C/LW Maxime Talbot. After that, the top goal scorers Guerin (7), Fedotenko (7), Kennedy (5), Letang and Staal (4). Gonchar and Craig Adams had 3 goals a piece and the rest of the team had 1 or no goals at all.

With the team being decimated with injuries, the Penguins cannot ask for Sidney Crosby to carry the team on his back. The last time Sidney Crosby played without Evgeni Malkin, which was in 2005-2006, were a ridiculously terrible team. They finished 5th in the Atlantic with a 22-46-14 record. Thats only 58 points. So to ask Sidney Crosby to carry the team and keep winning is absolutely ridiculous. You know that your team has problems whenever Ruslan Fedotenko is on the point during the powerplay and that Alex Goligoski highlights your defense. My only problem with Alex is that he has yet to establish himself as the premiere Defensemen who can lead the pack. Martin Skoula took over for Sergei Gonchar. In over 730 games, Skoula has scored only 41 goals -16 of them being on the powerplay. Not the type of player I'd want to come in and take over. As a matter of fact, in only 200 more games, Sergei Gonchar has scored 142 more goals than Skoula.

So what are we supposed to do? Luckily for us, the injuries that have caused this recent skid on the powerplay and on the west coast road trip, are not significantly bad ones. Within the next month, the Penguins should have most of their power back. But it still doesn't excuse the question. Can the Penguins maintain a couple players who can score at least somewhat frequently should the Penguins reach the playoffs and lose Evgeni Malkin or Sidney Crosby.

Unfortunately with the NHL Salary Cap, the Penguins can't afford to take on much more salary. Bill Guerin, Chris Kunitz and Ruslan Fedotenko have never really established themselves as actual goal scorers. All three in fact have more gritty styles, which is more fit for a 3 or 4th line. But in order to make a deal for a goal scorer, someone has to go. Kunitz could stay with the Penguins, but Guerin, should his production not increase, could be making his way out the door. Alexander Frolov and Nathan Horton, both Wingers have upset their clubs. Alexander Frolov, who was once a 30-goal scorer, has upset his club due to lack of bounce in his step, and lack of leadership. Another factor seems to be his lack of production which has increase over the last 5 games. Nathan Horton is another face the Penguins know because he was a big force in last years Florida Win 7-1. So could either be making their way to the Penguins? Everyone agrees that when a player becomes disgruntled with a losing team, or does not fit in to a coaches scheme and strategy (Horton and Frolov respectably), the best thing for him seems to be a change of scenery. Horton and Frolov would be welcomed by Pens fans with open arms right now, because the rest of the team is just not getting it done. The Penguins need to take their time, and acquire a nice goal scorer, despite what they may have to give up. Crosby has two Mediocre at BEST wingers, and Malkin has the combinations of Fedotenko, Cooke, Kennedy and Staal. Crosby and Malkin are too good to not be surrounded by talent. I know the NHL Salary Cap makes this hard, but its possible. Goal scorers can come cheap to come to a team to play next to two of the top three players in the league. And those players are lucky enough to play on our beloved Pittsburgh Penguins.