Saturday Practice Report: Eaton questionable for Sunday’s game
SouthPointe_ The Pittsburgh Penguins returned to the ice tonight after a two day break. Unlike other professional sports, the NHL shuts down on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Some players stayed in Pittsburgh while others went back home like Sidney Crosby. Pittsburgh got back to work just after 6:00 p.m., going through a hard 65 minute skate. All players were accounted for, including defenseman Mark Eaton (right knee). Eaton participated fully after missing the past two games with a right knee injury. Eaton suffered a right knee injury against Buffalo (12/19/09) and the Penguins decided to shut him down until after Christmas. He will be evaluated by team doctors prior to Sunday’s morning skate. He is regarded as questionable for
Pre-Game Buzz: Bylsma skakes up the top two lines
Dan Bylsma flirted around with the possibility of shuffling his top two lines in Tuesday’s practice, and for tonight’s contest Sidney Crosby will have two new wingers as Bylsma has opted to go with some odd combinations.
Canes earn first road win; Malkin becoming too much of a playmaker?
Post-Game Notebook Manny Legace made 30 saves and the Carolina Hurricanes (7-17-5) picked up their first road win of the season, defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins (20-10-1) 3-2 Monday night at Mellon Arena. The win snapped a 13 game road winless streak for the Hurricanes as Legace improved his career record against Pittsburgh to 4-0. For one of the rare times this season, the Hurricanes played the type of game that got them to the Eastern Conference Finals last spring. At least they did in the first and third periods. Andrew Alberts and Jussi Jokinen scored in the first to put the Hurricanes up 2-0 and Ray Whitney scored 2:26 into the second period as the Canes jumped out to a
Johnson to start against Florida; Skoula – McKee pairing?
*The 8-1 Pittsburgh Penguins returned to the ice this morning and went through a 90 minute workout today and there will be a few lineup changes when the Penguins host the Florida Panthers friday night. Goaltender Marc Andre Fleury will get a night off and backup Brent Johnson will get the start against the struggling Panthers. Fleury (8-0) will start Saturday night against the New Jersey Devils. *All eyes will be on defenseman Martin Skoula tomorrow night who will replace star defenseman Sergei Gonchar in the lineup. Skoula was drafted in the first round by the Colorado Avalanche in 1998 and when he first entered the NHL, Skoula was regarded as having the potential to being an elite defenseman. Some
Shero meets with coaching staff for first time to layout off-season plans
Shero met with coaching staff this afternoon as Pittsburgh looks to the off-season
Bylsma doesn’t rule out lineup changes in game 6
Coaching staff exploring all options. Rotation changes in practice? Bylsma considering using Sykora in game 6? Read more for the latest
Afternoon Buzz: Fedotenko returns to practice
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Ruslan Fedotenko returned to practice on Friday after missing Thursday’s practice with an illness. Fedotenko skated with Evgeni Malkin and Max Talbot while Pascal Dupuis was moved back to the 4th line. The rest of the lines were Kunitz – Crosby – Guerin Cooke – Staal – Kennedy Dupuis – Adams – Satan Sykora – Zigomanis – Godard *** Winning 6 of seven games when dressing seven defensemen, Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma is being
Earning a berth to the Cup Finals, a special moment for the organization
Earning a berth to the Stanley Cup Finals was emotional for the Penguins organization Tuesday night. The team has under-gone a lot of change since last year’s run to the finals, including a coaching change which sparked the Penguins dramatic turnaround in mid-February. It was a special night for the organization and there wasn’t a prouder person in the locker room following the game than owner Mario Lemieux. Lemieux has taking more of role in the day to day operations over the past year as the Penguins have evolved into a Stanley Cup Contender. Lemieux and Sidney Crosby share a close bond as Crosby has grown as a person and a player under Lemieux’s wing. The two shared a good
Penguins not looking ahead as they look to close out the series tonight
Pittsburgh leads series, 3-0 The Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins each went through their final preparations this morning for game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Pittsburgh was loose and looked like a team that is up 3-0 in a series. Based on what we’re hearing and the rotation of seven defensemen during the morning skate, Philippe Boucher will be in the lineup tonight and the Penguins will dress seven defensemen for the seventh consecutive game. Pittsburgh has won 5 of six games when dressing seven defensemen in the playoffs. If Pittsburgh wins tonight they will become the first team since the 1984 Edmonton Oilers to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, the year after losing in the finals. Carolina
Off Day Report: Penguins hold optional skate
The Penguins held an optional skate this morning, coming off of their 3-2 OT win in Game 3. The Penguins avoided going down 3-0 and played their best game of the series and momentum could slightly be turning towards Pittsburgh. Following last night’s game, the line change of bumping up Max Talbot to the second line has been attributed to sparking Evgeni Malkin’s dominant game 3 performance. Talbot provided energy, and a physical presence in the corners which Malkin has lacked on his right side with Petr Sykora. Dan Bylsma has no plans to switch that line in game 4. “He has an energy and a physical presence on the offense and a forechecking presence and puck-retrieving presence that adds