Could Jagr Play For The Pens This Season?

Now before everyone goes and gets all excited and/or hulk angry, they aren’t asking him to play for Pittsburgh next season, well not yet anyhow. The Penguins have invited Jagr, along with the rest of the 1991 Stanley Cup team for a summer golf outing and reunion.

This isn’t the first time Jagr has been asked to return to Pittsburgh. He was invited to take part in both the closing ceremonies of Mellon Arena and the Winter Classic Alumni game this past January. The Penguins never received a response for either.

Jagr is without a contract next year, after finishing out his KHL contract this past season, so it could be a possibility, and with the way he’s played in this year’s World Championships it might not be a bad idea. Especially since Ray Shero has, for some ungodly reason, decided to sign Alex Kovalev this past year. Perhaps, with Crosby still having no set timetable for return, he’s feeling nostalgic.

Kovalev hasn’t been re-signed yet (thank god) but if he is and Jagr is offered a contract I would fully expect to see 66 back on the ice come home opener. Shero is the miracle worker of GMs after all.

Uptown Hockey, a Canadian-based agency, that represents various NHL and international players decided to use their corporate twitter account to slam Sean Avery’s PSA supporting game marriage.

 

Todd Reynolds, the vice president of the company, was responsible for this complete lapse in ethic business practices and his father, the owner of Uptown Hockey went on record with reputed newspaper The National Post with this charming follow up:

“It’s sad. I mean, my personal position is that I do not support gay marriage, and I think it’s wrong, as well. It’s not politically correct to, I guess, give your opinion about a thing like that. It’s politically correct on the other side, for people to say, ‘sure, I support gay marriage.’ But the majority, I think, of Canadians would say that they don’t agree with gay marriage – that man and woman were created to be married, not man and man or man and horse, you know?”

What a charming man. No doubt he’s a 24/7 dance party of happiness. The story even made Sports Center and had huge national coverage.

Dustin Jeffrey is the only Penguin who is represented by Uptown Hockey, or I should say was represented. Dustin made the best decision for his career by dropping agencies as soon as he found out. Regardless of his stance on the issue he made the right call. It really takes a stupid person to not know that using your corporate twitter account to spew your personal ideologies reflects not only upon the company but also the people it represents as a whole.

Jeffrey deserves a cookie for being the only player so far to exhibit some sort of backbone. He will now be represented by Pat Brisson of CAA, who represents a buttload (seriously wiki that) of big NHL names including Crosby, Malkin, and Talbot.

We talked to Beau Bennett back during the college hockey playoffs about his first year and his experiences at Denver and in the tournament:

What’s it like as a freshman in college to have the spotlight on you as one of the league’s top prospect?

Beau: It’s a learning experience. There are so many great players, and I try to work as hard as possible. We are all working toward the same goals, and it is a challenge that I have enjoyed so far.

How has your first year at Denver been? The WCHA is a notoriously challenging conference, has that been more difficult or a learning experience?
B: I have loved my time at Denver so far. Love the people here, the coaching, and the city. I have had to get used to the stronger players of the WCHA. It’s a challenge every day, and I hope to improve in my college career.

Looking at the NCAA tourney this weekend, is there any certain way you prepare? As an individual or as a team?
B: We lost a little earlier than we would have hoped, but it was a great experience for our young team. We have to take the whole situation in and use it as fuel for the next time we’re in a similar situation.

Any pre-game superstitions?
B: I am not superstitious at all. I delibritely change tape jobs, sticks, and curves to make sure my routine changes. I like having fun, and don’t get to caught up in superstitions.

In the spirit of Sports illustrated we found out where Beau Bennett fits in with our own Our Way to the Cup Pop Culture Grid:

Childhood hero: Ray Ferarro
Miracle or Slapshot: Miracle
Original Mighty Ducks or D2: All of them
Who was in your final four: VCU, Butler, UConn, and Kentucky
Charlie Sheen is…. winning
Favorite playoff haircut: Patrick Kane Mullet
TV show you’d most like to guest star in: Two and a Half Men

I’m just going to file this with my “Sidney Crosby Is A Robot Theory”.

Malkin suffered a torn ACL/MCL in his right knee on February 4th against Buffalo. An injury that was slated with a 6 month recovery time. Reports are mixed when it comes to whether or not it’s normal for someone who has suffered this type of to be back on the ice 9 weeks after surgery but regardless this is definetly an amazing sign for Pens fans.

While listening to the CBC broadcast of today’s game it was said that there is a slight possibility of Geno returning to the lineup if the Pens advance and, for those of you hanging on to this info and thinking it’s possible, let me bring you back down to earth a little. Yes, it is great news that he’s back on the ice but for him to return to the lineup if the Penguins make it to the conference finals or possibly beyond is a little farfetched. I guess it all depends on how advanced the nanotechnology and computer science is in Pittsburgh.

In 43 games played this season, Malkin has 15 goals and 22 assists.

Check out the video of Malkin back on the ice and revel in the awesome! http://video.penguins.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=912&id=110698

Final Score 2-8

Series 3-2

“It’s the battle level, who’s going to control his emotions the best. So today should be a great match” — Pascal Dupuis

You’d think so huh? Instead, what fans were given was a horrible 8-2 blowout. It sucked. The Penguins started out really strong at the opening faceoff and even lead in shots but it all went downhill from there.  It wasn’t until the end of the first period before the Lightning managed to hit the back of the net, followed by a second goal not even a minute later and from then on there was a complete momentum shift.

The Penguins have managed to completely shut down Stamkos so far this series, not an easy task considering he was second this year in scoring, but tonight he demonstrated why he’s able to score so well and so often. The defence completely lost track of him at certain points during the game and it lead to his two goals and one assist performance.  If the Pens want to close the series out on Monday they need to get back to playing the same defence they were during game 1 and game 4.

The interesting thing with the current version of the Pens is that when it works, it really works, and when it doesn’t it really, really, doesn’t. The power play is so anaemic at this point that Niskanen is now on the second shift. He might be a decent defenseman but on the power play for Game 5 he was unfocused and sloppy. Does he really belong there? The only thing more glaring than Niskanen’s play was Kovalev. He looked more like the Kovalev from the Ottawa Senators than from his glory days on the Pens. Complete lack of drive and urgency.  Now obviously these two aren’t the reason for the loss but their short comings are becoming painfully obvious. Add Fleury being pulled in the second and it just goes to show how off the Pens were today.

Bright points of the game were few and far between but thankfully goals by Rupp and Conner in the third at least prevented a shutout and Talbot registered 2 assists reminded fans why he is Mr. Clutch.  Monday is a new game and a new start. The Pens need to bring the energy and get back into sync with each other in hopes of closing the series in Tampa and hope the pattern of home ice disadvantage continues.

Final Score: 3-2

Series Lead 2-1

Finally! This was a start to finish team effort from the Penguins and exciting hockey from puck drop to the final blocked shot.

With a packed house and an impressive light show introduction Tampa was in for quite a shock when Max Talbot kicked off the scoring not 6 minutes into the game, and Arron Asham, who has proven to be the Pens’ best asset during this series, followed suit not 40 seconds later. A few botched calls by the referees, missing a high hit on Lovejoy and calling goalie interference on Kovalev did not help matters, led to the first of two power play goals by Martin St Louis.

In the last minute of the first, Lecavalier gave the Pens a chance to demonstrate their “newly renovated” power play. It definitely looked better. The puck was only cleared by Tampa twice instead of 6 million times and the Pens actually managed to set up a good cycle, too bad they couldn’t deliver at all during both their power plays opportunities.

Most impressive tonight was the consistent ability to win draws, something not usually consistent with the absence of Crosby and Malkin. Talbot was over 50% tonight when it came to faceoffs and this is just the beginning of how far this team has managed to come since January. Zbynek Michalek has been a wall since he was signed over the summer but he has really come into his own these past couple months. Same goes for Martin and Kennedy. Who would have sat down last October and said that Tyler Kennedy was going to be one of the Pens’ best players? Or that Letestu would be centering the first line?

The Penguins’ passion and intensity carried through the second and third periods. Even when the Lightning were able to tie up the game they continued to tally shots until ultimately Roloson allowed Kennedy to score the game winner. This series is shaping up to be the most evenly matched when it comes to offensive skill and defence, which is surprising considering the Pens are missing their biggest players.

Leturnover No More

What can you really say about Letang’s performance tonight other than magnificent? Very deserving of the first star, Letang looked like he was on the warpath tonight and came away with two assists and a spectacular demonstration of his speed and agility. This was the Letang we saw in November, the one who was written in to the All-Star Game based on his skill. Now please, for the love of all things holy please, keep this up.

The Hit

In case you missed it, about midway through the first period, Chris Kunitz laid out a hit that definitely falls under the new NHL rules on headshots.  He was given two for elbowing and I’d expect the hit to be reviewed by the league. There appears to be definite intent to injure, I mean come on he was looking right at his head when he went to elbow. Does he deserve to be suspended? Yes. Is he a repeat offender? No. Will he be suspended? With the way the league rules on these kinds of hits I’d expect so, but then again I thought the hit on Chicago’s Brent Seabrook deserved a suspension and nothing came from that. At least Gagne isn’t severely injured, that is the important thing in this situation.

You can see the hit here: http://i56.tinypic.com/b967g7.jpg

» Continue reading “Power Surge in Tampa Bay: Game 3 Recap”

Despite Tampa Bay handily winning game 2 5-1, the Penguins are ready and comfortable as they prepare for game 3. The Pens are a team that plays well on the road and they are definitely confident entering game 3. After last night’s decisive win for Tampa Bay I just want to yell, “GET BACK THE WIN. WIN THESE TWO ON THE ROAD. BRING IT BACK TO PITT AND WIN GAME FIVE. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.” However, I will reserve my yelling to game time and I will exclusively direct my shouts to the TV. Either way, I’m excited to see how game 3 plays out in Tampa. I honestly think this game will set the tone for the rest of the series. If the Pens can’t get back on track with a win tonight, I’m not sure if they can pull the momentum away from a strong team like the Lightning. Hopefully the Pens can stay strong and make up for game two. Puck drop in just over an hour, #letsgopens!

FINAL SCORE 1-5

SERIES TIED 1-1

Game 2 does not define a playoff series. Thankfully, that is one of the few positives from friday’s game. From the opening faceoff the Penguins looked completely flat and after Brewer scored on the first shot of the game, snapping a high shot to beat Fleury short side, it only crumpled their confidence more. Tampa completely restructured their lines after the 3-0 loss on Wednesday and this allowed the Lightning to come in to Friday’s game with a fresh perspective, something they used to their advantage.

Right off the bat, too many penalties were taken by both sides and it completely removed all the energy from the first period. To Tampa’s benefit they were able to regain that energy while the Penguins could never shake it off, ultimately leading to their 5-1 loss.

Powerless Power Play

With a league-leading penalty kill it was no surprise that the Pens managed to fend off four of the six Lightning power play chances. What is surprising is that the Penguins have gone 13-0 when they are given a man advantage. The final Penguins power play of the first period is the ultimate example of just how awful their power play is. They were never able to set up a proper cycle, managed to turn over the puck in the neutral zone on several occaisions, and never tallied a shot on goal. That’s a lot of awful to fit into the last two minutes of a period. Things need to improve and they need to improve fast if the Penguins want to win the series.

Shots, shots, shots

It’s baffling when you look at the box scores post-game and see that the Penguins led in shots on goal, hits, and faceoffs but still managed to lose the game.  During the last half of the second period it looked like the Pens were finally getting into a groove, only to lose all their momentum in the third. More creativity and speed is needed in order to beat Roloson and a better net front prescence will hopefully improve the picture when the Pens hit the ice in Tampa Bay on Monday night.

Final Score 3-0

Shutout. After the first period I didn’t even think a shutout would be possible yet here we are the morning after Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs sitting 1-0 in the series. It might have taken two periods to get into the game but when the Penguins did, they did it big time.

Two goals in 18 seconds is not something that happens often or really at all since the Pens lost Crosby and Malkin but yet they managed to do it. Asham’s initiative on his first of the post-season showed just what the Pens are made of, with or without 71 and 87 and Kovalev’s goal was the epitome of flukey brilliance and speaks volumes about his play so far this season. He’ll give up on plays, let other players race for the puck, and take his sweet precious time to get up after a hit but it all manages to somehow end up with either a great scoring chance or a great goal. I guess he has a better vision of the game from flat on the ice. Throw in an empty netter from Kunitz and you really have the definition of blue collar scoring.

Fleury absolutely on point last night and the defence was practically unmovable. Michalek and Martin have been brick walls and, at times, the best backup goalies the Penguins could ask for. Big hits and bigger blocks kept Stamkos, St Louis, and Lecavalier quiet all night long. Frustrating them beyond belief and causing them to ice the puck four times in a row during the second period. The defence won that game last night and has been the reason for Pittsburgh’s success since January. Now if only Letang works on his turnovers in the neutral zone and Niskanen can try and keep the puck in the offensive zone when on the power play, life would be good for the Penguins defense.

Friday night will be another test for the Penguins and with their newest offensive coordinator, Sidney Crosby, hopefully they can stay on the same path they did last night.