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Get off the ledge, ride the storm out
by Tony on 11/11/09 at 06:09 PM ET
Comments (16)
Some old school REO Speedwagon for ya. {Yes, I’m aware the 1973 song/album’s name was technically Ridin’ the Storm Out. By the way, the band was never the same after Gary Richrath left, but I digress.}
After last night’s 3-0 shutout at the hands of the Bruins, coming after the 5-0 shutout in San Jose, which came after the 5-2 third period collapse against the Kings, some of the natives in Penguinsland are getting restless.
And, because this is the way things are going nowadays, the Penguins lost yet another player last night, this time defenseman Brooks Oprik. Orpik is slated to get evaluated today. It appeared that he banged his hip on the boards after a clean hit early in the game.
Besides that, it’s all good !
Just a friendly reminder: It’s November 11th folks, not March 11th. Stanley Cups are not won in November. If that were the case, the Bruins and Sharks would’ve played for the Cup last season, and we all know what happened instead.
Is the Pens’ recent downturn frustrating ?? Of course it is, a good fan should get frustrated when his/her team is not playing well.
In reference to the rash of injuries, the common phrase muttered nowadays is they “won’t use injuries as an excuse”. That’s all fine and dandy. It provides motivation to the replacements in the lineup and maybe, just maybe, forces the players who haven’t been injured (yet) to exude more intensity.
Having said all that though, you may not use injuries as an excuse, but it’s impossible not to acknowledge them. Stanley Cup champs or not, you simply do not lose players with the pedigree of Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar, not to mention Max Talbot, Tyler Kennedy, Kris Letang and now Brooks Orpik without taking a hit in the production department.
Things appear to looking brighter in the next couple of weeks. Malkin is getting close to absorbing contact in practice. Talbot has been skating as well. Looks like Kennedy came back too soon, but it doesn’t appear that his groin injury is severe at all. Letang should be back in a couple of weeks. We’ll see what the prognosis is with Orpik.
Anyway, you want something to complain about ?? {No, not the powerplay again, although it’s still valid}. How about the alarming lack of production from the top two “scoring” lines ?? Sidney Crosby’s pointless streak now lasting five games is well documented. But I think, more importantly, is the lack of scoring from any of the wingers. Bill Guerin has one assist in his last six games. In the last nine games, Jordan Staal has one goal and one assist, while Ruslan Fedotenko has one goal.
Now, it has to be stressed in all fairness that with Malkin out, the opponent’s #1 defensive pair can concentrate solely on Crosby’s line. But at the same time, Crosby’s wingers weren’t exactly lighting the lamp with any kind of frequency when Malkin was in the lineup. In addition, on the second line, Staal and Fedotenko have not shown any kind of finishing ability. Frankly, that has always been my criticism of Fedotenko. even when he was on Malkin’s line. Malkin has fed Feds several times early in the season, only to see Fedotenko unable to score.
The Penguins will bounce back in due time. Yes, there most likely be more bumps in the road before things smooth out and players start returning. It’s a long season.
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Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
Comments
To be a Pens’ punching bag ?? I’ll pass....
Posted by Tony from Virginia Beach, VA on 11/11/09 at 07:16 PM ET
To be a Pens’ punching bag ?? I’ll pass....
That hurt.
Posted by Red Winger from Sault Ste. Marie on 11/11/09 at 07:20 PM ET
The problem here is Crosby decides to have a career worst slump at the same time the Penguins have the most injuries at once in the post lock-out era.
Is he slumping because of the injuries? Maybe, I know they ain’t helping.
But I also think he’s just maxed out as far as hockey goes. (S.C. Hangover?)
With all the hockey he has played over the last 2+ seasons and his off-ice duties which bt the way are probably a lot more than any other player in the league, I believed it’s taken a toll.
Posted by Lindas1st from New England on 11/11/09 at 07:24 PM ET
his off-ice duties which bt the way are probably a lot more than any other player in the league, I believed it’s taken a toll.
Thanks Gary. Ass.
Posted by Red Winger from Sault Ste. Marie on 11/11/09 at 07:26 PM ET
Good article, Tony. On Sid, well, he’ll be OK. He will snap out of this sooner than later. There’s a reason he had never gone more than 3 games in a row without a point before this.
So alright, he’s having the worst slump of his career when the team really needs him right now because of all the injuries. It’s November! Big deal. We’ve lost 3 straight. We’re still in 1st place in the Atlantic and tied for 1st in the East with a 12-6 record. That’s 2 out of 3. If they keep winning 2 out of 3 for the rest of the season, they’ll end up with 109 points. That would be our highest total since the 1993 season I believe.
Just like it’s better to have the injuries now instead of in March or April, it’s also better for Crosby to have his worst slump this season (and career), in the first couple weeks of November. As you said, it would be really concerning if this were happening in March.
Also, other than Boston, the Pens played 2 really good teams in LA and San Jose, both on the road.. They’ve also played 2 straight games with 5 defensemen for more than 2 periods because both Orpik and Letang got hurt in the 1st period. And Fleury also happened to give up a couple bad goals in San Jose, which didn’t help. So, all these bad things seemed to happen at the same time. It sucks. But that’s hockey sometimes.
Malkin’s coming back pretty soon. I don’t know whether to believe this or not, but TIOPS is reporting on Twitter that he may play tomorrow or Saturday. http://twitter.com/Insidepghsports
Posted by LGP8771 on 11/11/09 at 08:00 PM ET
We’ve scored more in the first 8 minutes tonight than you have in the last 200 minutes.
I’m just sayin’
Posted by Red Winger from Sault Ste. Marie on 11/11/09 at 08:35 PM ET
Red Winger, remember to keep comments on topic, thanks.
Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 11/11/09 at 08:43 PM ET
I understand RW. Just a friendly reminder.
Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 11/11/09 at 08:53 PM ET
thanks for the good read, nice to see Red Winger joined us again, and all kidding aside, i like having the wings guys check our articles out as much as pens fans check out and troll the Wings ones. And like Paul said the other day, as long as it’s all kept in good fun, whats the harm.
By the way Paul, i asked awhile ago and may have missed your answer, so sorry if i’m starting the same conversation again, but do think there is going to be a mobile link that can be set up on the home screen of a blackberry? Otherwise i’lll just keep in my bookmarks and get to it that way while on the road. Keep up the good work.
Posted by Greg on 11/11/09 at 09:04 PM ET
@Red Winger:
We’ve scored more in the first 8 minutes tonight than you have in the last 200 minutes.
I’m just sayin’
Yeah and so has every other team tonight. Don’t feel special. We’re still what, 5 points ahead of you after you beat Columbus tonight?
Posted by LGP8771 on 11/11/09 at 09:30 PM ET
Greg, I don’t want to take over this post, but if you mobile device has an option to switch to moblie view of websites, then it should work for you.
Feel free to email me with questions, results, etc.
Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 11/11/09 at 09:30 PM ET
Dear Red Winger,
Pens are still the Defending Champs. Keep hatin. I enjoy reading Wings inferiority driven posts.
Posted by Spi on 11/11/09 at 11:05 PM ET
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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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After the Wings slow start we were convinced by Pens fans the Cup was won in October.
Context is cool.
Anyways...Tony, you’re wanted over at the A2Y Live Blog.
Posted by Red Winger from Sault Ste. Marie on 11/11/09 at 07:12 PM ET