Penguins/NHL
The Penguins are down to 29 players and have to make 5 more cuts before they depart for Europe. Is Rob Scuderi going to be ready for the opener? Plus a quick review of Janne Pesonen’s performance Monday night. Read more the latest
The Penguins will carry three goaltenders for the trip
It remains to be seen whether the team will send 14 forwards and 7 defenseman or 13 forwards and 8 defenseman. More on this later in the week
Locks to make the team
Dupuis – Crosby – Satan
Staal – Malkin – Sykora
Fedotenko – Talbot – Cooke
Taffe – Kennedy
Godard – In and out of the lineup
That leaves Bissonnette, Pesonen, Thomas, James, fighting it out for the final two spots
It is still early but Bill Thomas is the front runner to nab the 13th spot.
Connor James – The Penguins have been impressed with his play in camp but he plays a similar game to Tyler Kennedy. I do expect to see him in the lineup tomorrow. James is a player the Penguins would like to keep in the system
Bissonnette is a player I‚Äôve been impressed with since day 1 of camp. As I wrote in some of my reports last week, insiders I‚Äôve talked to have felt the same way. The coaching staff has been working exclusively with Bissonnette on his positioning. That is a good sign for a player. He would fit the role of a 13th/14th player very well but the best case scenario for him is to learn the position some more in WBS. Bissonnette is a Therrien kind of player and it says a lot for him to be in the final 30. Bissonnette has also played D in some drills the past couple days. I will be keeping an close eye on that during Wednesday’s and Thursday‚Äôs practice
Based on performance Janne Pesonen should not the make the club out of camp. He struggled mightily last night in Tampa Bay. He had difficulties controlling the puck in the defensive zone when pressured and was holding onto the puck too long. I counted atleast 3 turnovers in the defensive zone. Pesonen does not have to clear waivers so the Penguins are in a win-win situation. What will be interesting with Pesonen is there was a lot of speculation last week that it was a guarantee that he would be on the team when they go to Finland. Pesonen would be the ambassador of the team for that trip and the Penguins would receive even more media coverage. It is still early but the smart hockey decision is to send him down to WBS to get some seasoning
Quick Hits
Rob Scuderi would like to play tomorrow but it will be Therrien’s decision. The Penguins may hold him out until Friday. Regardless he will be ready to go for the opener
The Penguins hope to sneak Danny Richmond to WBS. Don’t know if that will happen. Boston and Phoenix have interest and a source told me today that he could see Tampa Bay possibly having interest
The Penguins were floured with the play of Dany Sabourin and John Curry last night
A source who spoke to Matt Cooke the other day told me Cooke praised the Penguins organization and called them a first class organization. Since the lockout the Penguins have taken pride in becoming a first class organization. A prime example was at last year’s trade deadline when the team picked up Marian Hossa on a private jet. Many NHL team’s don’t do that. Cooke has been bothered by a sore groin over the weekend and that’s why Therrien decided not to send him to Tampa Bay on Monday
I’ll be at the team’s morning skate and I’ll have a update on the projected lines for Wednesday night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs
