The Confluence

Confluence Soapbox: Pens’ powerplay won’t get better until Yeo isn’t running it

by Tony on 11/06/09 at 04:33 PM ET
Comments (18)

Stanley Cup Finals - Detroit Red Wings v Pittsburgh Penguins - Game Three

I apologize in advance: I know most Penguins fans are sick and tired of hearing about the putrid powerplay. I’m not even referring to the current Malkin/Gonchar-less PP units, the Penguins were mediocre on the PP even with them.

Sorry, I can’t help it. I must get on the soapbox and vent so, forgive me.

We fans have been giving our half-assed theories for a couple years now on ways to improve the Penguins’ powerplay. After all, it’s pretty much inarguable that the Penguins possess two of top handful of hockey players in the world.

So with all that firepower at your disposal, why the hell isn’t this unit constantly near the top of the NHL in powerplay percentage ??

One schmuck’s opinion ?? ‘Cause even after a head coaching change, there’s been one constant regarding the Penguins’ powerplay since December 2005, and that is Michael Yeo has been in charge of it.

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Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,

Stationary Penguins fall to Kings, 5-2

by Tony on 11/06/09 at 09:19 AM ET
Comments (17)

I read prior to the Penguins/Kings matchup last night on how the Kings are being compared to the ‘06-’07 Penguins. Those Pens made the playoffs for the first time in a long while were ousted in five games by Ottawa.

Now that the game is over, and the Kings soundly defeated the Penguins 5-2, I’d say those comparisons are pretty damn accurate.

The one statement I took from this game: The Kings are legit.

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Tags: Los+Angeles+Kings, NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,

Secondary scoring boosts Penguins over Ducks, 4-3

by Tony on 11/04/09 at 09:49 AM ET
Comments (4)

For one game at least, this won’t be the typical California trip for the Penguins that we’ve become accustomed to.

The Penguins got timely goals from Alex Goligoski and Pascal Dupuis (with a Saku Koivu sandwiched in between) in a 78 second span midway through the third period to vault the Pens to a 4-3 win over the Ducks at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

The Pens have now tied the NHL record for road wins to start the season with seven, and can break the record Thursday night in Los Angeles against the Kings.

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Tags: Anaheim+Ducks, NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,

Recent Penguins’ trips to California haven’t been too sunny

by Tony on 11/01/09 at 10:19 PM ET
Comments (6)

CORRECTION: The Pens beat the Kings in OT 4-3 on Nov. 1, 2006 on Evgeni Malkin’s game-winning goal. Thanks to “cs6687” and “cj” for reminding me.

The Penguins embark on a week long road trip with stops in Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose, then visiting Boston before returning home on Nov. 12th.

The California trip got me to thinking: You know, the Penguins haven’t exactly played very well on the Left Coast.

But I didn’t realize just how poor they’ve played.

Anyone care to hazard a guess when was the last time that the Penguins have won a game in the state of California ??

Answer after the jump.

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Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,

Penguins’ peppering not enough, lose to Wild 2-1

by Tony on 10/31/09 at 11:19 PM ET
Comments (6)

I think we Penguins fans better get used to these wacky games while they have a chunk of their lineup out.

Like tonight, where the Pens are awarded with 35 shots on goal, compared to only 15 for the visiting Minnesota Wild, but lose 2-1.

Kyle Brodziak and Eric Belanger scored for the Wild, while Pascal Dupuis had the only tally for the Penguins.

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Tags: Minnesota+Wild, NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,

“Penguin Nation” Invades Nationwide Arena

by Tony on 10/31/09 at 10:34 AM ET
Comments (10)

From PittsburghPenguins.com’s Jason Seidling:

Through the first 13 games of the regular season the Pittsburgh Penguins are racking up victories at a historic level. Perhaps even more impressive is how they have continued to increase fan support, as evidenced by the Pittsburgh takeover of Nationwide Arena during the Penguins’ 4-3 shootout victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets Friday night.

“Penguin Nation” invaded the Blue Jackets’ home rink with a vengeance, providing an atmosphere that was almost “college-like”, especially during the game’s exciting conclusion the last three minutes of regulation through the Penguins’ 1-0 advantage in the shootout.

“I think this might have been the most electric crowd of the season,” head coach Dan Bylsma said after. “Right from warmups our fans were screaming and yelling. “We had a lot of Pittsburgh fans here so it was entertaining and it was a great energy in the building … it was good to see.”

Continue Reading:

Filed in: Pittsburgh Penguins | The Confluence | Permalink
Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,

Penguins’ comeback again in 3rd, top Blue Jackets in SO, 4-3

by Tony on 10/30/09 at 10:58 PM ET
Comments (3)

Just like a infield dribbler counts as a single in baseball just as much as a line drive, there is not a separate category in the NHL standings for “ugly win”.

So on a night where the Penguins were quite the disorganized group because of the absence of Evgeni Malkin, they found a way to overcome a two-goal third period lead to tie the game, then defeated the Blue Jackets on a Sidney Crosby goal in the shootout, 4-3.

Chris Kunitz scored for the second game in a row, while Ruslan Fedotenko and Alex Goligoski also scored for the Pens.

The Penguins’ comeback win gives them an NHL-best 11-2 record and 22 points.

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Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,

VH1’s Jim Shearer’s “Yinz Luv Da Guins”, 2009 Episode #1

by Tony on 10/30/09 at 02:44 PM ET
Comments (0)

Filed in: Pittsburgh Penguins | The Confluence | Permalink
Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,

Morning Levity: Pensblog goes back in time

by Tony on 10/30/09 at 07:54 AM ET
Comments (0)

Fellow Penguins bloggers and personal favorites of the A2Y gang, The Pensblog, have turned back the clocks in their second commercial of 2009.

Enjoy. By the way, I think we’ll all get a good chuckle out of a little dig at everyone’s favorite anonymous hockey fraud.

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Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,

Injuries sure to test Penguins’ mettle

by Tony on 10/29/09 at 03:31 PM ET
Comments (15)

Pittsburgh Penguins v Toronto Maple Leafs

It’s those damn hockey gods. Yeah, that’s it.

First it was the Game Seven hero, the team’s #1 grinder. Then came their powerplay quarterback . Now it’s the team’s leading scorer for the last two years, not to mention the reigning Art Ross and Conn Smythe trophy winner.

News that Evgeni Malkin will be out of the lineup for 2-3 weeks nursing a strained shoulder has spread like wildfire throughout the Penguins’ blogosphere.

Now, unfortunately, we get to see how the Penguins fare for the first time without the other half of their dynamic duo.

Filed in: Pittsburgh Penguins | The Confluence | Permalink
Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,

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About The Confluence

Welcome to The Confluence, a Pittsburgh Penguins blog since 2006. Originally at Blogspot, then at MVN, The Confluence has over 1000 articles reporting Penguins news as well as jumping on my soapbox to opine constructive Penguins criticism. My posts are regularly linked by hockey websites such as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Empty Netters and Yahoo!’s Puck Daddy, and I’ve done guest blogger spots on such websites as the New York Times. I invite you to spend a little time and peruse the archives at all of the sites for some of my better work. I am a retired U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer, but don’t confuse me with my fellow Chief at A2Y.

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