Latest Pens Buzz: Lemieux Statue unveiled; Bylsma ponders linemates for Crosby; Hart Trophy consideration unlikely for Fleury

Lemieux Statue Unveiled (Via Pittsburgh Penguins) In front of a large crowd that included former teammates and friends of Mario Lemieux’s, the Pittsburgh Penguins unveiled a statue this afternoon for Lemieux, the team’s owner and greatest athlete in Pittsburgh history who dominated a sport like no other athlete did in all of Pittsburgh sports. (via Chuck Greenberg) The statue depicts Lemieux from the 1980’s on a goal he scored against the New York Islanders on December 20, 1988. On the play, Lemieux split through defensemen Jeff Norton and Rich Pilon (both are apart of the statue) before beating goaltender Islanders goaltender Kelly Hrudey for a breakaway goal. BYLSMA PONDERS CROSBY’S LINESMATES Could head coach Dan Bylsma be breaking up the Penguins top line of Chris Kunitz –

A look at what sets Crosby above the rest & 200 goals by the numbers

What Sets Crosby Apart Extending his points streak to 12 games and tallying his 6th regular season hat trick to take over the NHL points lead with 40, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby continues to amaze his teammates in his 6th NHL season. “I’ve seen him for three years and I’m still like… ‘Oh, my gosh. It’s pretty unbelievable, ” Penguins defenseman Alex Goligoski said in his post-game comments. Collecting 12 goals and 13 assists for 25 points in his last 12 games, there’s a strong argument that Crosby is playing his best all around hockey of his career. Calgary Flames head coach Brent Sutter said it best when describing Crosby’s game this afternoon, following Calgary’s 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh. “An

Pittsburgh Penguins All-Decade Team

The Pittsburgh Penguins franchise had many ups and downs during the decade. The decade began with a bang as hall of famer/owner Mario Lemieux made a stunning comeback in December 2000 after being retired for 3.5 years. The team would earn its 12th straight playoff appearance in 2001 but financial reasons would lead to cost cutting moves such as trading star winger Jaromir Jagr and the cost cutting moves would continue years after. From 2002-2005, the franchise had no choice but to go into full throttle rebuilding mode and the Penguins endured four straight losing seasons that included rumors of relocation but the latter part of the decade would turn glorious (2009 Stanley Cup Champions, New Arena agreement) due to

June 9th has been a special day for the Penguins organization

On the 25th anniversary of one of the biggest days in Penguins’ history: the drafting of Hall of Famer /current owner Mario Lemieux in 1984, the Penguins beat the Red Wings 2-1 on what will go down as one of the most important wins in the teams playoff history. There wasn’t a prouder person in the locker room last night than Mario Lemieux. Lemieux who has taking a more active role in the day to day operations visited the team minutes before the drop of the puck. What was most impressive about Pittsburgh’s 2-1 win was that Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby were held without a point. It was the first time that the Penguins won a playoff game when

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

The Latest Penguins Buzz

The All-Star break may be coming at a bad time for the Penguins. The Penguins have won three of their last four games and on Sunday the Penguins won back-to-back games for the first time since Nov. 15. The All-Star break will be a blessing for players Brooks Orpik, Sidney Crosby, and Max Talbot who are nursing injuries but the Penguins have some momentum right now. The Penguins host the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday and then don’t play until Wednesday January 28th Janne Pesonen’s fourth stint with the Penguins didn’t last long. Pesonen was a non-factor against the Ducks on the Friday and did not dress against the Rangers. The Penguins re-assigned Pesonen following yesterday’s game. As expected the Penguins