Penguins/NHL
The Penguins have a 12:00 p.m. practice today before they depart for a 10 day trip to Stockholm, Sweden. The Penguins are coming off of a 5-4 win Toronto last night and will make their final cuts today. Read more for the latest insight
Michel Therrien switched up the lines a bit yesterday moving Ruslan Fedotenko up to Sidney Crosby’s line. The Penguins feel they still haven’t found the right match for that line. There really aren’t too many other options. Many inside the organization don’t feel Fedotenko is a top line winger and the Penguins are going to look for ways to find the right player up front. The Penguins will continue to explore all options.
The agents for Stone and Beech have been working the phones trying to get a team to claim them via waivers or through a trade. There has been little interest in Ryan Stone. Kris Beech may find a taker. Can’t get into specifics regarding Beech right now.
Paul Bissonnette has done everything he needs to do to make the team. The final decision will come down to whether the team feels he will benefit more playing in WBS than seeing limited time in the NHL. According to a source Michel Therrien is pushing hard for the team to keep Bissonnette on the roster. A decision on Bissonnette will go down to the 11th hour.
Danny Richmond was expected to play last night. I have been giving no reason why he didn’t dress
Ray Shero is expected to stand pat and see how his defensemen perform before making any changes. If Goligoski struggles and Gonchar needs surgery the Penguins will then look to upgrade their blue line. For now expect them to take a wait and see approach
With the team going to Finland and Sweden – they are in a difficult position for claiming a player and getting him cleared for the trip – it may preclude them from making a move till they get back. Still they have their eye on a couple of players that they think will improve the line-up.
Hal Gill may be limited for the next couple days (Knee Bruise) but he should be ready to go for the opener. Rob Scuderi has been practicing and is close to being ready for game action. Scuderi was skating well in yesterday’s practice
Stayed tuned: There should be some leaks in the next couple hours regarding the team’s final roster decisions
