Letang, Goligoski to play tonight; Penguins re-assign Lovejoy, Engelland

9:33am - Saturday, November 28th, 2009 by DePaoli

Defensemen Kris Letang will return to the lineup for the Penguins tonight. Letang has been sidelined with a shoulder contusion. It is also expected that Alex Goligoski and or Jay McKee will play tonight.

McKee was cleared by team doctors this morning and is scheduled to return to the lineup in the next few days.

To make room for them, the Penguins have re-assigned defensemen Ben Lovejoy and Deryk Engelland to Wilkes Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.

Engelland posted two assists and 17 penalty minutes in nine games with Pittsburgh.

In eight games with Pittsburgh, Lovejoy collected three assists and a plus-5 rating.

10:33 a.m. - Also of note, defenseman Alex Goligoski is skating this morning and has been given full clearance to play tonight. Based on the morning skate, it appears Goligoski will be in the lineup tonight and McKee will be held out for another game. Both players were full participants.

The Penguins host the New York Rangers at Mellon Arena. Face off is 7:38 p.m.

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Comments

Ben_66

nice!

11/28/2009 9:41am

kozy0013

what about TK?

11/28/2009 9:42am

jackattack8771

very nice, but yeah D hows kennedy doin? he was on pace for like 40 some goals before he left so it would be really nice to have him back

11/28/2009 11:00am

hockeytim

Wouldn't Chris Bourque have been re-assigned if Kennedy was going to play? Kennedy has to be getting frustrated with his return being delayed.

11/28/2009 11:03am

Chancebd7

i think they will keep bourque up until both kennedy and Kunitz are back have him as an extra foward when goddard plays

11/28/2009 11:06am

hockeytim

That right - it forgot about Kunitz!

11/28/2009 11:09am

Bigheads

Does Engelland have to clear waivers

11/28/2009 11:12am

Chancebd7

i dont think

11/28/2009 11:12am

jackattack8771

haha there are so many players out we cant keep them all straight

11/28/2009 11:15am

Chancebd7

Sweet GOGO is back

11/28/2009 11:36am

psuslick

What about Kennedy?

11/28/2009 12:01pm

Chancebd7

not tonight atleast

11/28/2009 12:10pm

gdsmack267

Nice to see these guys back, hopefully this lets us get a few more breakouts as well as some life on the PP

11/28/2009 12:38pm

jeffed

Why would this help the PP? The PP sucked when we were completely healthy during the first 20 games.

11/28/2009 1:09pm

Chancebd7

Cause gogo can atleast get shots through from the point and he isnt afraid to shoot it

11/28/2009 1:15pm

gdsmack267

The pp was better with gogo and gonch at the start of the year then it has the past 10-15 games

11/28/2009 1:19pm

zerocool6687

Its nice to have another NHL caliber Dman in the line up. We got a good look at some of the depth guys. I think Lovejoy attracted enough interest with his play that as long as Shero gets both Gonchar and Letang resigned Lovejoy will be trade bait and Engellend may have really pushed for a spot on next yrs roster... although there are a few other Dmen that we are waiting on as well. Nice to see a little more depth on the team then initially expected!

11/28/2009 1:37pm

zerocool6687

I have to agree with Letangs assessment vs Gogos. Id like to see two things from Tanger; one he has to make quicker decisions to put the puck on net, and two when he does make the decision the shots dont always have to be head high. He needs to take a little off the shots sometimes and aim a little lower making the puck harder for the tender to pick up and tipable... then again no one wants to go to the front of the net anyways!

11/28/2009 1:40pm

jaluco

Trade bait. Right.

11/28/2009 1:54pm

zerocool6687

FTR I am not knocking Letang, I think his potential is high he just needs to grow!

11/28/2009 1:55pm

zerocool6687

Let me ask you this then.... Lovejoy has just shown he can play, he is a UFA at the end of this yr, the Pens are going to offer contracts to both Gonchar and Letang and in the end the plan is to keep them both. If they keep them both it leaves NO room for Lovejoy. Maybe in your world Lovejoy will be more then happy to remain playing in the AHL til the Pens finally call him up on a permanent basis however Im sure he would be happier to leave. So we either move him to an interested party of he walks at the end of the yr... its not a difficult concept to understand!

11/28/2009 1:58pm

zerocool6687

So why would he not be trade bait?

11/28/2009 1:59pm

SV84

Lovejoy's name is in every trade rumor. I think they will end up shopping him.

11/28/2009 2:05pm

mwiles19

Or they sign Lovejoy and let Gonchar walk if he isn't willing to take a little less money. At some point the cap is going to hurt us so its a very good thing we have depth and Lovejoy showed he can play in the NHL. And before everyone jumps my comment, I'm not saying we should or will let Gonchar walk, but with these young kids showing they can play (the PP stalled when Malkin got hurt, not when Gonchar got hurt because Goligoski showed me can run the point), it helps our cause on many levels.

11/28/2009 2:08pm

jaluco

Shero has said time and time again that he feels a good team needs 9-10 NHL capable defensemen in the organization. So why is he shopping a cheap NHL capable defensemen, especially when that defenseman isn't going to fetch much?

11/28/2009 2:15pm

zerocool6687

Thats nice Shero wants to keep him but like I said he has caught the eye of other teams, is a UFA at the end of the yr and I am sure he would like to play in the NHL rather then the AHL. Does this not make sense?

11/28/2009 2:25pm

zerocool6687

Again I am basing this on the out come of keeping Gonchar and Letang... that will weigh heavily in this. That being said with the uncertainty of possibly waiting til the end of the yr to get those contracts It may mean we just watch Lovejoy walk.

11/28/2009 2:27pm

Monrovian12

Kennedy's is getting frustrated with his return? He probbaly tried to force himself back and got further injured...He only has himself to be frustrated with.

11/28/2009 2:52pm

wolfman

I get frustrated when Monrovian gets so frustrated with TK. Welcome back GoGo and LeTang!

11/28/2009 5:00pm

Monrovian12

haha...that was in response to hockeytim wolfie...I know the guy wants to get back to playing, but rushing it isn't going to help anyone...and for you...Welcome back Gogo and Tanger!!

11/28/2009 5:19pm

wmalonijr

The PP struggled without Gonchar. Yes Malkin is important but Gonchar is clearly a key component of the powerplay.

11/28/2009 6:38pm

↑ previous comments ↑

wmalonijr

Eaton and McKee are both gone next year so there are really four spaces to fill on defense. Eaton, McKee, Gonchar, and Letang. I'd bet/hope its Goncahr, Letang, Lovejoy and someone else maybe from the outside.

11/28/2009 6:40pm

zerocool6687

The problem with having Lovejoy in the line up with Gonchar, Goligoski and Letnag is having too many Dmen committed to offence. Right now the team has a nice balance of offensive guys and defensive guys which allows the O guys to just go! I mean yes it may work out that we do lose a couple guys but I am sure we may just sign a couple of defensive minded UFAs to fill the role, then again we still have stay at home prospects of our own to fill the holes (speaking of which what is going on with Brian Strait... have not heard much on his progression as of late?) Engelland being one of them!

11/28/2009 6:49pm

zerocool6687

*Engelland potentially being one of them!

11/28/2009 6:51pm

wolfman

I was also worried about TK coming back to soon the first time... we'll see tonite. Agreed Zerocool, Shero has great options in offensive D depth. It will be interesting come march.

11/28/2009 8:58pm

zerocool6687

I also see Despres as another future option that as long as we sign LeGame and Sarge will better suit us.... I figure he may be ready to go earlier but there will be not chance to lose him till Sarge is ready to retire... although that may still be 4/5 yrs away!

11/29/2009 12:18am