Technical issues recap in the morning

PHT- End of 1st in L.A, Pens lead 1-0

Pretty great patience showed by the Pens at the end of the period right there on the power plays. Didn't see much of any lanes on the 5-3, but they didn't try to force shots that would be blocked or that would cause giveaways. They stayed the course. Fake slapper by Letang, down to the net mouth to Sullivan for his first of the season. Boom. Pens lead 1-0 after one.

PHT- Gameday #15 @ Los Angeles

After a disappointing shootout loss to the Sharks on Thursday night, the Pens travel to the Staples Center to take on Kobe Bryant and the Lakers......wait. I mean Anze Kopitar and on the Kings. The Pens come into this game after blowing two different 2 goal leads against the Sharks on Thursday.

Pittsburgh did get one point out of the game, but they left the Shark Tank with a sour taste in their mouth. The Kings come into this game on a 3 game losing streak going down to the Coyotes in OT, Avalanche in regulation, and most recently being shutout by the surging Oilers at home. Jonathon Quick, goaltender for the Kings, has only allowed 9 goals through his last 3 games, but hasn't gotten much goal support from his offense. This is a Kings team that will be looking to rebound and get a win in their hands before they travel to San Jose on Tuesday night. At the same time, the Penguins will be looking to rebound after a tough loss. The Pens would like to put a win up before they head home, when many people speculate Sidney Crosby will return on Friday night to take on the Stars.

Penguins Projected Lines

Sullivan-Malkin-Neal

Kunitz-Staal-Dupuis

Cooke-Park-Asham

Adams-Letestu-Vitale

Pens 7 Dmen rotated in the morning skate

Fleury in net

Kings Projected Lines

Gagne-Kopitar-Williams

Parse-Richards-Brown

Penner-Stoll-Richardson

Clifford-Lewis-Moreau

Mitchell-Doughty

Scuderi-Johnson

Martinez-Greene

Quick in the net

• Quick Hits
• Hope to see Jordan Staal back in the lineup tonight. Staal and Martin game time decisions.
• First look at Mike Richards in a Kings uniform tonight
• Last Penguins victory in L.A came in 1999

Would love to see Pittsburgh pick up 2 points tonight before all the Crosby speculation begins for Friday night at CEC. That will be all you hear about from after this game over, until the puck drops Friday against Dallas.

Game ends at 1 tonight, and its only actually midnight. Woooooo

LGP

PHT- Recap, Shark Bitten, Pens go down in SO

First Period

The Pens came out in this game on fire. Engelland scoring some huge goal, and Malkin flying everywhere around the ice. The Sullivan-Malkin-Neal line was purely dominating the early stages of this game. But thats why you play 60 minutes. Winchester was in Engo's face the entire first period challenging him to a fight, and as much as we would of loved to seen Deryk take him down, Niskanen had just sustained some injury. So smart hockey on Engellands part to not drop the gloves and send the Pens down to 5dmen. Winchester finally found someone to oblige late in the first, and that was Craig Adams. The fight was a snoozer, no real winner or loser, Pens take a 2-1 lead into the break.

Second Period

Puck drops and Engelland knows Niskanen is back and healthy on the bench, so he decides to drop them with Ryan Clowe. He puts up more of a battle then I thought he would. I thought the fight was pretty even, both guys got in some solid right hooks. Marleau puts some soft goal by Flower that he knows he shouldn't of let in. Pens waste no time responding, as Malkin buries his second of the night from Letang and Neal. Questionable right there whether or not that puck touches Neal on the way in, but either way Geno gets credit.

Third Period

Pens carry a two goal lead into the third period and cant hang on. How many times have we heard this before? Seems like too many, and it was exactly the case last night. Lets be honest, if it wasn't for the play of Flower in net in the third period, San Jose could have scored 6 goals in the third last night and won this one in a blowout. Fleury was tremendous in the third, really the only reason at all that the Penguins got this game into OT.

Overtime

Pens looked odd in the overtime. Never really even trying to move the puck up ice. If they controlled the puck for two minutes in overtime, a minute and a half of that was in their own zone. Bizarre.

Shootout

Sharks select to shoot first and Fleury stones Couture. Next up for the Pens was Kris Letang. Tried a pretty sneaky move once he got to the hashmarks to put it over the glove hand of Griess, but just couldn't elevate the puck. Weird seeing a Dman in the shootout on both teams, and neither one scores, Boyle misses for sharks. Next up was Evgeni Malkin, and unfortunately, this shootout attempt looked like a replay from 2007. Geno never looked comfortable taking this attempt, and never looked like he had any move planned out. Soppy attempt for someone who has looked fantastic in the shootout lately. Ryan Clowe beats Fleury over the glove, 1-0 Sharks. The Penguins must score to move it on to sudden death, so the game is on the stick of James Neal....right? Pascal Dupuis misses. Game over. See you Saturday night in L.A.

PHT- Final, Pens lose 4-3 in SO

Well Evgeni Malkin was the hero through two, and Flower stoned the Sharks throughout the third and in OT. Without Flower on his game, it never goes into OT or shootout and Sharks have unlimited goals in third period. Duper couldn't get it done in the shootout, and the Pens lose. Recap to follow in the morning.

PHT- End of 2nd in San Jose, Pens Lead 3-1

Patty Marleau scored some soft goal on Flower. Pens answer quick with Geno's second goal of the night. Stevie Sullivan has 2 assists on the night. Fleury coming up big. Best PK man is your goalie. Sullivan looks so smooth skating out there, and Geno, well looks like Geno of old who cant be stopped.

Third coming up next.

LGP

PHT- End of 1st in San Jose, Pens lead 2-0

Rough period for San Jose. Penguins get 2 early goals from Engelland and Malkin. Malkin flying out there. Some joke fight that Adams had to take at the end of the first.

Keep it going.

LGP

PHT- Live Chat

PHT- Shannaban

Patrick Kaleta of the Buffalo Sabres suspended 4 games for headbutting some Flyer. And he didn't expect to be suspended, after he used a WWE move on the rink...Riiiiiiight.

PHT- Gameday #14 @ San Jose

This is the first post for the new an refined Penguins Hockey Talk blog, so without wasting any time, lets jump right into the gameday. The Penguins come into this game with an 8-3-2 record, 18 points, which currently is good enough for the lead in the Atlantic Division. San Jose comes into tonights game with a 6-4-0 record, which puts them in a tie for last place with Anaheim in the Pacific Division. Pittsburgh is 4-2-1 away from CEC this season, while San Jose is struggling in the shark tank, posting a 1-2-0 record at home this season. The Sharks seem to be struggling to find there spark this year, while Pittsburgh continues to roll on with a depleted lineup. The Penguins have played this entire season without Crosby, and a big chunk of it without Malkin. However, they continue to find ways to win games, largely in part to James Neal and his 9 goals to start the season. It is early, but Neal is looking like he has found his home in a Penguin sweater.

Penguins Projected Lines/Defense/Goalie

Kunitz-Staal-Dupuis

Sullivan-Malkin-Neal

Vitale-Letestu-Adams

Cooke-Park-Asham

*Macintyre-Crosby-Jeffrey*

Defense is anyones guess. Good Luck.

Flower in net

San Jose Projected Lines/Defense/Goalie

Marleau-Thornton-Pavelski

Clowe-Couture-Mitchell

A Murray-Handzus-Wingels

Winchester-Desjardins-McGinn

Murray-Boyle

Vlasic-Burns

White-Demers

Niemi should be in net

We all know the story by this point. Pens haven't won a game in San Jose since 1997, blah blah blah. Anyone who says that stat and thinks it means anything to tonights game is a total moron and shouldn't even be speaking. Time to get shit done tonight.

LGP

Popularity on the Rise

Sheldon Souray has not seen NHL action in over a year. He has not played a full 82-game season in over three years. However, that is not enough to shy away a few NHL from franchises from claiming him off waivers, and bolstering their blue line. Sourays' cap hit for the remainder of the season is only 2.7 million dollars which would fit under most team's salary cap at this point of the season. Initial reports suggested Souray was likely heading to New Jersey, a team more than likely out of the playoffs with not much left to play for at this point. New reports today say the the Columbus Blue Jackets along with the San Jose Sharks have scheduled meetings with Souray to get his take on where he would go and want to play. He has been known to be demoted or sent down to a team and not play simply because he doesn't want to go there. The Devils, Blue Jackets, and Sharks dont want to take that risk and have a 2.7 million dollar cap hit on a player who isn't interested in playing for the team. The first team on the waiver wire that would have the chance to make the claim on Souray is New Jersey, followed by Columbus, and finally San Jose. Will be an interesting day to see where Souray ends up. My guess is the Sharks.

Flyers/Rangers Update

Boucher just went down in pain. Bobrosky coming in relief. If Boucher is seriously hurt, this could throw a huge curveball into trades that take place. Philly would have two choices. Either trying to deal for Vokoun from Florida, or calling Leighton back up, (Leighton would have to clear waivers to rejoin the team, and with all the teams in need of a goalie right now, it is highly unlikely Leighton would clear waivers.)

-Boucher allows a goal, ironically to Stephan, just a minute after he takes shot to the head from Stephan. He clearly is injured. Will see how long Philly decides to keep him in.

Deadline Update

-Am hearing the New Jersey may be putting a claim in on Souray sometime today.

-Hemsky asking price seems huge right now. Edmonton asking for a 1st round pick, NHL roster player, and a top prospect in the farm system.

-Schenn from LA to Toronto seems like it may be happening soon. Graboski alone with a pick may be the asking price for the Kings if they move Schenn.

Hockey Day In America (Update)

Best game on TV right now is the Rangers/Flyers game. Physical, fast paced hockey game with scoring chances going both ways. Really looking forward to the Pens/Hawks game at 330. Two teams struggling to find their way right now and the Hawks on the outside looking in for the playoff picture....

If the Caps pull the trigger and get Vokoun do they really become any more of a threat in the East? They have a weak back end on defense and Ovechkin is struggling to find his game right now. Vokoun will help them sure up the penalty kill, but they will not advance out of the east past Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and now Boston without going out and acquiring a strong D-Man. Deadline sits 9 days away. Should be an interesting week.

-Without picking up Vokoun and a strong D-Man on the market, say Lilies from Colorado, this is how the season will end up for Capitals fans....again.

Hockey Day in America

Lots of good games today for Hockey Day Across America 2011. Washington travels to Buffalo, Division clash between the Flyers and Rangers, Western Conference battle between the Red Wings and Wild, and finally the last two games of the night, Pittsburgh visits Chicago, and the Heritage Classic wraps things up at 630.

-Will teams be active today in making moves? 9 days until the trade deadline.

-Will Washington make a move to get Vokoun?

-Pittsburgh and Chicago have played each other once each of the past two years. The winner of that regular season game has gone on to be the eventual Stanley Cup Champion.

Compare and Contrast.

On the eve of the Heritage Classic, I started to be curious. What will althe hockey media be talking about on Monday morning? Will they be comparing ratings of the game, or will they be talking about which ice surface was better? Or will the discussion be about a more competitive game, or better outdoor hockey weather?

The truth is, as much as the analyst might be comparing the two early Monday morning, there is no similarities between the two besides the fact they are both outdoor hockey games.

The ratings will more than likely be better for the Heritage classic than they were for the Winter Classic. If your reading this, you probably think I am crazy, and don't know what I'm talking about. How could ratings for a game in the middle of Northwestern Canada get better rankings than a game in Pittsburgh between hockeys two brightest stars? The answer is that the Heritage Classic will be broadcast throughout Canada on TSN. Canada is much more serious about their hockey than we are in America, and almost all of the country will be tuned in tomorrow night, as this is there moment to shine. Especially when you consider the fact a Canadian team has not reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 6 years, and has not lifted the Cup in 19 years.

A guaranteed fact is that you will hear about how the ice surface was much better for the Heritage Classic than it was for the Winter Classic, even though the same people created the ice surfaces. The fore casted weather for faceoff tomorrow night in Calgary is 28 degrees with an 80% chance of snow. The fore casted weather for faceoff in Pittsburgh was 40 degrees, with a 70% chance of rain. Having a "Classic Game" in a city that has a better chance of colder temperatures and snowy conditions makes the focus shift more from the ice, and more towards the game. This is a risk that the NHL took having the game in Pittsburgh, and even though the rain held off for most of the game, the ice still got bad at some points. The NHL will learn from this, and be better equipped to handle it in the future.

On a closing thought, even though the star power in tomorrow nights game lacked what the Winter Classic had, Canada will gladly appreciate seeing Cammalari against Iginla. Of course it isn't Crosby against Ovechkin, but it is their pride and joy, and they will make sure it is done right in hopes of getting another game in Canada next year. It will be exciting to watch, and a competitive game.

Back and Better Than Ever...Well, at least one of us.

I have been away from blogging for awhile now, but now I am back. One person who isn't back is Penguins Captain, Sidney Crosby. Crosby has been dealing with concussion like symptoms for over a month now after getting a concussion on January 1st when Capitals forward David Steckel blindsided Crosby and intentionally dipped his shoulder to hit his head. Crosby returned to the game, but never looked like himself for the remainder of the contest. Just 4 days later, Crosby was in the lineup as the Penguins played Tampa Bay at the Consol Energy Center. He got yet another concussion as Lightning forward Victor Headman drove Crosby into the boards from behind, with his head taking most of the impact. Since then, we as the hockey public have not seen Crosby play a game.

This situation draws 2 questions.

1- As fans of the NHL, what rule do we need to implement into the the league to try and rid of the head shots.

2- As fans of the Pittsburgh Penguins, what do we want Ray Shero to do? Will we be upset if he does not pull the trigger on a trade and packs in the season while lacking the firepower of Crosby and Malkin? Or will we be more upset if he dishes assets to teams to acquire players when there is a good chance we may be bounced in the first round of the playoffs?

The answers to these questions are simple. The NHL must come down on the players who take head shots hard. We can not act like this is the 1970's, (yes Colin Campbell, that is completely directed towards you) and suspend them for 5 or 6 games. For example, David Steckel should be suspended for the total amount of games Crosby is out, doubled, without pay. This will send a clear message throughout the league that the head shots are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The punishment seems harsh, but someone has to be the "whipping boy" is this situation.

Then, we move on the Penguins situation. Ray Shero is in a lose-lose situation here. If he does not make a trade and bring in a big time player, there is the crowd that will think packing in the season is never the right thing to do in professional sports, and the crowd that likes the move and thinks it may help us in the playoffs.

On the other hand, if he does make a trade, there is the crowd that will badger him about giving away assets when the team really has no shot of advancing far into the playoffs this year, and the crowd that thinks the trade may help us, and may push us into the playoffs and give us a real shot of contending.

The bottom line is, Shero is the only one who knows what to do in this situation. He does not have the job of General Manager of one of the most prestigious franchises in professional hockey because he is indecisive about making moves. If he believes this team can go deep into the playoffs with Crosby back on the team and not making a move, he will act accordingly. If he believes Crosby may not return, and the best thing is to use the extra 17.4 million dollars of cap space to bring in two players that can score on a nightly basis, he will go out and make the move. The Penguins have been rumored or linked to Edmenton forwards Dustin Penner and Ales Hemsky most heavily so far. The trade deadline is in 10 days. My honest feel for the situation is that if Shero believes Crosby is shut down for the season, he will not risk losing young core players, and will take his chances in the playoffs with what he has. We will find out soon what Ray Shero is thinking as the deadline looms.

I Am Back

Now that i am on summer vacation and have the time to handle this, I will be back blogging daily. It has been a tough couple weeks, digesting the Penguin loss to Montreal. I have broken it down and it is clear why we lost and who will return for the next season. Check back later today for a full update on Penguins Hockey and everything else.

Long-Term Fixture

Two trades were made at the deadline last season to bring a gritty, scoring winger onto Sidney Crosbys line. As you saw the finished product, Guerin and Kunitz turned out pretty good. Yet, one of those wingers, will more then likely be here for only one more year. Guerin is 39 with a one year contract, as he hopes to go out on top and leave the game. So the question pops up once again, who will wing for Sid? When Shero made the trade to aquire Kunitz, he insisted that Aneheim throw in prospect Eric Tangradi. When Aneheim agreed to this, the cops should of been called. This was robbery at its finest. Tangradi is a big body, similar to Ryan Malone, yet there is a huge difference between these 2. Tangradi has an incredible skill set and a great set of hands. He is able to bury the puck on slick passes, which is Crosby's specialty. Tangradi finished 2nd in the OHL in scoring with 88 points, only behind the #1 overall pick, John Tavares. There could be one downfall to what sounds like something that is too good to be true. Tangradi has a slight temper problem that has cost him in his past. At the 2008 World Junior Championships, Tangradi hit an opposing player skating by with his skate blade. He was not disciplined, but it caused and uproar about his image. Just 2 months later in a regular season OHL game, he threw 5 water bottles on the ice because he thought a penalty should be called on the opposing game. This cost him 5 games, and possibly money in the future. I believe his maturity will come with age, as he is still a 20 year old player, and fiesty, wanting to make a NHL roster. Look for Tangredi in the next 2 years to be playing on the Left Wing, along with Crosby, to open the Consol Energy Center.

Finally Back

Wow have I been slacking, time to get back to get business. Lets cover headlines real quick here. Home Run Derby Champion was Prince Fielder. I thought it would either be him, Ryan Howard, or Albert Pujols, since they were the 3 best power hitters in the competition. The NL lost another 1 run All-Start Game, go figure. They should of played for a tie again, it looks like there best bet in the last 12 years to even get close to winning. Would be interesting to see who got home field advantage if it ended in a tie again. The two pirate representatives, Freddy Sanchez and Zach Duke did not get into the game at all. Part of my is surprised, part of me is dissapointed. I think everyone should get into the game at some point. This might determine home field advantage, but it is still a game for fun in realtiy. The Phillies signed Pitcher Pedro Martinez to a 1 year, 5 million dollar contract and put him on the 15 day DL immediately. Im sure he is not hurt, it is probably just for conditioning to get him in game shape. The Penguins signed two minor league players to contracts today. Forward Tim Wallace got a a 2 year deal, while defensemen Ben Lovejoy got a 1 year contract. Look for Lovejoy to get a long extension very soon as he will be a starter, and a key part of the Pens defense in the next 3 to 4 years. Lastly, if you have visited the pens website recently, they have new pictures of the Consol Energy Center, which is the Penguins new home starting in the 2010-2011 season for 30 years. This arena will be the newest in all 4 major sports, (NBA, NHL, NFL, NBA) and will be completlely state-of-the art. I for one, am looking forward to seeing the finished product, and seeing banner after banner be raised to the rafters of the new building. Check back for updates....