The Confluence
Category: Pittsburgh Penguins
“Penguin Nation” Invades Nationwide Arena
by Tony on 10/31/09 at 10:34 AM ET
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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.”
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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
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Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
Morning Levity: Pensblog goes back in time
by Tony on 10/30/09 at 07:54 AM ET
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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
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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.
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Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
Kunitz not making excuses
by Tony on 10/28/09 at 08:02 AM ET
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From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Josh Yohe:
There are goal-scoring droughts, funks, slumps and skids.
And then there is what Chris Kunitz is enduring.
The Penguins left wing has yet to register a goal in 11 games this season and has only scored once in his past 40 outings. Kunitz might be down on himself, but the Penguins are certainly supporting him.
“There is no excuse for it,” Kunitz said. “I feel like I’m playing well, and being streaky is something I’ve been through over the years. But, like I said, there’s no excuse for it.”
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Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
Crosby to carry Olympic Torch
by Tony on 10/27/09 at 01:36 PM ET
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From the Penguins:
It was announced today that Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby will carry the Olympic Torch in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay on November 18 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
“I am honored and thrilled to have the opportunity to carry the Olympic Flame in my home province of Nova Scotia,” said Crosby. “The torch relay will pass through so many communities and hands on the way to Vancouver and I’m privileged to be part of that special group as the Olympic Flame makes its way to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Games.”
Crosby, originally from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, will be one of 12,000 torchbearers taking the Olympic Flame 45,000 kilometers across Canada. In association with Bell, a supporting sponsor of the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay, Crosby was selected because of his outstanding achievements in hockey and his unbridled passion for his home city, province and country.
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Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
Penguins by the Numbers: 1st Edition
by Tony on 10/26/09 at 01:24 PM ET
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Throughout the regular season I’ll throw out several Penguins statistics, some more pertinent than others.
The most important stat, naturally, is the team’s overall record of 9-2, good enough for 18 points, leading the Eastern Conference and tied with the Colorado Avalanche for the best record in the NHL.
Let’s take a look at some of the other stats for the Pens;
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Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
Pens need power play plan
by Tony on 10/26/09 at 08:49 AM ET
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Many ‘Burghers dislike Mark Madden. He definitely has had his controversial moments. But one thing you can’t argue; The man knows his hockey. And if I do say so myself, he repeats what I’ve been saying for years now concerning the Penguins’ powerplay;
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From the Beaver County Times’ Mark Madden;
At 9-2, the Penguins look like champions. Except when it’s easiest to exert dominance: with the man advantage.
The Penguins’ power play underachieved last year, ranking 20th in the NHL with a conversion percentage of 17.2. So far, so bad this campaign: The Penguins’ PP ranks 17th at 18.4 percent. Such sustained mediocrity is amazing given the plethora of offensive talent at the Penguins’ disposal. It probably won’t get any better with power-play quarterback Sergei Gonchar out.
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Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
Super Mario is a Super Dad and Bantam coach, too
by Tony on 10/25/09 at 09:07 AM ET
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From the Buffalo News’ Bucky Gleason:
If you didn’t know any better, the man behind the bench was a nameless, faceless youth hockey coach on a Saturday afternoon rather than one of the greatest players in NHL history. That’s how Mario Lemieux operates these days in his continuous battle to remain under the radar. Lemieux is a hockey superhero and owner of the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. He’s 6-foot-4, has GQ looks and could be the most respected sports figure in a city that includes Sidney Crosby and Ben Roethlisberger, yet he carries himself like he’s the utility infielder for the Pirates.
Super Mario is quietly coaching his son’s Bantam Minor (1996 birth year) team in the Empire West Amateur Hockey League. In the interest of full disclosure, his Junior Penguins team plays in the same league as my son’s West Seneca team. Lemieux isn’t just the sponsor or a figurehead. He’s the head coach. And he’s having a ball.
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Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
When Crosby speaks, NHLPA listens
by Tony on 10/23/09 at 08:32 AM ET
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From the Toronto Star’s Damien Cox:
When Sidney Crosby spoke up, the world changed for the embattled NHL Players’ Association.
It was the 22-year-old Crosby, arguably the highest-profile player in the sport today, who raised his voice last Sunday on a union conference call and firmly told interim executive director Ian Penny to hang up the phone because union members wanted to have a players-only discussion. Penny, who had first been rebuffed in his efforts to have baseball union leader Donald Fehr speak to the NHLPA team representatives, finally had to relent and get off the line.
It was a bad moment for Penny, whose future with the association after leading a coup that dethroned former executive director Paul Kelly in late summer now seems to be hanging by a thread. More important, it was one of several signals that the players appear intent on regaining control of their own union nearly two months after Kelly’s dismissal plunged the organization into disarray.
Filed in: Pittsburgh Penguins | The Confluence | Permalink
Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
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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Most Recent Blog Posts
Confluence Soapbox: Pens’ powerplay won’t get better until Yeo isn’t running it
Stationary Penguins fall to Kings, 5-2
Secondary scoring boosts Penguins over Ducks, 4-3
Recent Penguins’ trips to California haven’t been too sunny
Penguins’ peppering not enough, lose to Wild 2-1
“Penguin Nation” Invades Nationwide Arena
Penguins’ comeback again in 3rd, top Blue Jackets in SO, 4-3
VH1’s Jim Shearer’s “Yinz Luv Da Guins”, 2009 Episode #1
The Confluence Links
Clark & Heptner (The Suburban Rob Rossis)
Confessions of a Hockey Fanatic
Official Pittsburgh Penguins Website