Pens – Lightning Analysis: “Superstar Player” takes over in Third; X’s & 0’s Breaking Down 6-3 win

PITTSBURGH 6 – TAMPA BAY 3 Evgeni Malkin had three goals and two assists, James Neal scored two power play goals, leading the Pittsburgh Penguins (23-17-4, 50 pts) to a 6-3 victory over the a Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday afternoon at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. It was an afternoon where a great player took over in the third period. After trailing 3-0 and being badly outplayed, Tampa Bay scored three times in a span of 4:50 to tie the game at 3-3 with 13:10 remaining in the third period. With momentum suddenly on the Lightning’s side, Malkin scored 48 seconds after Teddy Purcell tied the game at 6:50 of the third and Malkin scored twice in a stretch

Morning Pens Buzz: Offensively challenged Pens have game to build on; X’s & O’s; My take On Crosby Situation

Morning Pens Buzz The Pittsburgh Penguins dropped their sixth straight game, losing to the Washington Capitals 1-0 on Wednesday night at the Verizon Center. The Capitals got a 30-save shutout performance from goaltender Tomas Vokoun, and Jason Chimera scored 15:25 into the first period for the lone goal. Washington improved to 22-17-2, 46 pts on the season, while Pittsburgh fell to 21-17-4, 46pts, falling out of the top-8 in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins have embarked on their worst losing streak since Sidney Crosby’s rookie season, the 2005-2006 season when the franchise lost 10 straight in January 2006, and ended the season with the second worst record in the league. POSITIVES TO BUILD ON Unlike Tuesday night, this was a game

Penguins by the Numbers at the 10 Game Mark & Player Report Cards

Penguins By the Numbers The Penguins are 6-2-2 at the ten game mark and have emerged as one of the Eastern Conferences elite teams, despite starting the season without Sidney Crosby, Brooks Orpik missing the first eight games of the season and Evgeni Malkin only appearing in three games this season. Some Numbers Through Ten Games: *6-2-2 record has Penguins tied for the most points in the NHL with 14. *Rank 7th in the NHL, averaging 2.90 goals per game. Pittsburgh has scored 16 even strength goals, ranking 5th in NHL. *The Penguins rank 8th in the NHL, giving up 2.10 goals against. *Pittsburgh ranks 29th in the NHL, giving up 18 even strength goals. The second worst mark in

Pens – Canucks Post Game Observations

Pittsburgh 4 – Vancouver 3 Post-Game Observations *During the preseason the Penguins were technically sound and that continued into the first 25 to 30 minutes of last night’s season opener. The Penguins were aggressive and fast on the puck and really controlled the play for much of the first period. The Penguins were impressive with their ability to push the play out of the gates, jumping out to a 2-0 lead on goals from James Neal and Matt Cooke. Pens – Canucks Dan Bylsma Post-Game Audio “The pace was high, ” head coach Dan Bylsma said afterwards as the game had a playoff feel to it at times. Against a team like the Canucks, you have to avoid getting out

Pens – Blackhawks Post Game Observations

Pittsburgh 4 – Chicago 2 PIT Goal Scorers:Steve Sullivan (1, PPG), Matt Cooke (2, SH), Joe Vitale (1), Evgeni Malkin (3, PPG) CHI Goal Scorers:Brandon Pirri (2) Three Stars 1. Kris Letang ( 2 Assists) 2. Brandon Pirri (2 Goals) 3. Steve Sullivan (1 goal – 1 assist) Post-Game Summary

Pre-Camp Buzz: On Pens being more equipped w/o Crosby & banking on Malkin

Pre-Came Buzz *Hockey is back. Players report to camp Friday morning and will go through physicals/conditioning tests before Saturday’s first on-ice session. Sidney Crosby’s status remains unclear from a participation level in camp. The Penguins have remained mum on his status this week and it’s not clear yet whether Crosby or the team will address his status tomorrow morning. If Crosby is cleared to participate in camp, it’s expected to be on a limited basis and no contact. Onto some pressing issues and pre-camp buzz on the team: *Two things I took from Dan Bylsma’s comments at the team’s annual golf tournament on Wednesday;  He feels the team is more equipped and prepared to withstand an extended period without Crosby

Camp Countdown: Neal, Cooke among Top 5 Storylines

The Pittsburgh Penguins report to training camp on Friday September 16th and here is a look at five storylines for the Penguins going into the 2011-2012 season: 1. Health of Sidney Crosby: The health of the games best player will not only be the Penguins top storyline but also the entire NHL. Crosby last played on January 5, 2011 and he’s endured a long recovery that has included headaches and symptoms following hard skates and workouts, recently as early as mid-August. Going into training camp, the mystery still remains when Crosby will play again. Although some progress is starting to be made in his rehab process, Crosby’s return to action is still likely a ways away and it would be

Latest Penguins Buzz: Malkin at wing or center impacts several players on depth chart

The Latest Penguins Buzz Staal to wing talk *Don’t buy into any talk out there of Jordan Staal getting an extended look at wing in training camp. I’m told there are no plans to explore a possible move to wing for Staal. His spot in the lineup will be in his normal third line center role or 2nd line center spot with Malkin at wing. Bylsma hints at Malkin to wing again *The Penguins remain very intrigued about the Staal/Malkin experiment that never got to happen last season. Dan Bylsma again last week referred to Evgeni Malkin as playing wing, via Tribune-Review. Although expectations are eventually that the Penguins are going to end up with their normal three center model

Pens Notes: Malkin, Kennedy, Defensive Depth, Power Play & more

Friday Morning’s Pens Notes While driving into the office this morning, heard Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma on 93.7 The Fan. Here are some tidbits from Bylsma’s interview with the The Fan morning show… — On Evgeni Malkin: Bylsma said reports coming back to him is that Malkin continues to workout extremely hard and believes he will be in the best shape of his career for camp. Bylsma even mentioned he got a call from Sergei Gonchar recently who said he’s never seen Malkin in this type of shape and working out as hard. Bylsma also confirmed that Malkin could have returned in the playoffs. Bylsma said at the time of the injury, initial diagnosis from doctors is that Malkin’s

Malkin determined to bounce back to elite level

Unlike Sidney Crosby, there’s no uncertainty about Evgeni Malkin being fully healthy for the start of next season. Malkin returned back home to Russia in Mid-May and has already been undergoing extensive on-ice training for almost 3 weeks now and is said to be fully recovered. In fact, according to his dad, Malkin doesn’t intend to slow down on his training this summer.