After a disappointing weekend, the Pittsburgh Penguins were given a day off today after back-to-back games. With the Olympic break looming, Pittsburgh will finish with three straight home games before a 16 day break between games.
It will be a prime opportunity to finish the break on a high note, however, the Penguins have not been very good at home this season, posting a 17-10-1 record.
Pittsburgh returns to the ice tomorrow morning to prepare for Wednesday's game against the New York Islanders. The Penguins then host the New York Rangers on Friday and the Nashville Predators Sunday afternoon.
Non-Olympic players will be given 9 days off as many players have already indicated that they will be heading south as the players are not due back to Pittsburgh until February 24th for a evening practice.
Sidney Crosby, Marc Andre Fleury, Brooks Orpik, Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar will likely all still be particiipating in the Olympics, when the other players are due to first report back.
On The Penguins
A popular discussion of late is what do the Penguins need more; A top-6 winger or a top-4 defenseman? You can make an argument one way or another but the reality of the situation is that they need to upgrade at both positions. However, with so many teams still in the playoff mix, finding a top-4 defenseman is difficult and adding a winger remains the most likely option.
At this point, all serious trade talks have been in on a winger not a defenseman as some of Pittsburgh's "D" targets have yet to be made available.
Sidney Crosby's line is solidfied going into the trade deadline for one of the first times in Crosby's career. Would the Penguins like a more dynamic winger on Crosby's wing, absolutely but the team believes Chris Kunitz brings a lot more to the table than what others believe. Sooner or later, he's going to need to put the puck in the net at a more consistent basis or he'll become a serious cap problem but this is the hand the Penguins have been dealt with.
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