Penguins Report - First Week of the Season

Identify a Presence

Home opener 10-2 NY Rangers

The Banner went up, the camera's were popping and all had a fuzzy warm feeling inside.
The ceremony was nice, a bit long, but nostalgia about the final season in the Mellon arena was too blame.

The beginning of the season is a chance to set the team, to find what works to start, adapt as needed and hopefully get off to a good start.

The New York Rangers were the first opponent to take a turn at the champs. Sporting seven new faces in the lineup, including Marian Gaborik, the Rangers were more offensively represented then recent  editions.

The Pens struck first when Malkin deflected a Gonchar shot from the point into the net. Last year we had to wait until late Winter to see something like that. Nice to have the Pens blue line leader healthy to start the campaign. The Pens future stars on the blue line both chipped in with primary assists as well.

It was a good game, up and down the ice, lots of skill on display. The Rangers knotted it up late in the period(Drury) and Fluery had to make a great save on Prospal to keep it tied going into the first break.

A bit after the mid point in the second, Letang, behind the Rangers net, fed the Pens captain and Crosby's goal restored a lead for the Birdies. A minute and some later Kennedy got his first of the year and the Pens were up two.

In the third the Rangers big off season acquisition, Gaborik, beat Fleury to make it close. Gaborik is injury prone,  missing nearly forty percent of the games in his career. If healthy the guy is a very good/great player. Great wheels, and hands.

The Pens held on and those in attendance went home happy with the memories of the banner and a victory to top it off.

Observations(humbly offered)
- Crosby obviously worked on his slap shot. Couple that with the new stick and now Sid is a threat(lets hope) from forty feet and in. A gripe I have/had with Crosby was that he wasn't a threat from farther out. Those who watch know that Crosby scores a vast majority of his goals from ten feet and closer( another reason to laugh at the soft reputation opposing fans rant at him). If Crosby can make the shot work, and more importantly if he can and does embrace that, he will only be more dangerous. And I said he wasn't going to get better :rolling eyes.
 

-Fleury was sharp out of the gate, and remained so through the game.
 

-It is obvious that the Pens defense is much more swift then last year, without sacrificing a lot of grit. McKee belongs.
 

-Great fight between Godard and Brashear. Brashear stunned Godard early in the fight with a good left. Looked like Godard may be in trouble but he gained his composure, traded bombs and was stronger at the end of the fight then Brashear. The season was ten minutes old, and the fans were treated to a first class fight.
 

-Malkin looked gassed many times throughout the game.

10-3  NY Islanders  on the Island.

The word out about this contest was Crosby versus Tavares, the NHL's latest Phenom.

Good game and the Islanders playing their opener came ready to battle. Crosby tooK a Ruslan Fedotenko pass off the boards mid ice and got behind the NY defense and beat goalie Roloson. A bit less then four minutes later the Islanders tied it up as Tavares got his first point in the National Hockey League.

Tavares scored his first NHL goal to give his team the only goal in the second period and the lead heading into the third. Tavares was very impressive at this point. Reminds me of Vincent Lecaviler in some ways, but obviously he needs to be seen more till proper conclusions can be drawn.

The Pens tied the game about eight minutes in(Eaton), only to see the Islanders reclaim the advantage too quickly when Trent Hunter beat Fleury. The shot came from the slot on a one time. Good goal and MAF was handcuffed.

Fedotenko knocked in a goal with less than four minutes to play. Both teams went to overtime and we were just five minutes from the Pens first shoot out of the season.

In the shoot out the Pens prevailed as Crosby gave the champs the two goal budge leading to the win. Tavares missed in the shootout, while Letang provided the other winner.

Notes: Crosby recorded his four hundredth career point(292 games), fifth fastest in league history.
          Fedotenko had a goal and assist. Malkin recorded his first assist of the year.
          Pens were credited with forty two shots.

10-7  Phoenix in Pittsburgh

Putrid, horrid, embarrassing and a complete waste of time.

Obviously the Pens had the Flyers on their mind because they just took a free skate against the Coyotes. I think Bylsma realized it could be a 'trap' game and started Johnson in goal to give his team a spark. If so, it was a good idea. The rest of the team, didn't think so and just didn't show.

Malkin was lost again, Crosby joined in his funk slashing everything that was moving. The energy players weren't involved and Matt Cooke who was hitting everything the first two games was silent as well. The only player to stand out was the Pens backup goalie Johnson.

Phoenix on the other hand played inspired and were totally deserving of the drubbing they gave the champs. Bad game, but the Pens had a chance to right themselves in Philadelphia the next night.
 

10-8   Philadelphia  City of brotherly love.

Delicious! The rivalry that flies under the radar though it might be as intense a rivalry going in sports currently. Normally a rivalry is fueled by hatred, a dose of respect and intense interest to both parties. Hmm, the hate is in place, the respect long ago dried up and the fans, well on both ends of the state the fan base is top notch in their love for their team.

This rivalry is special because of the above, but more importantly it stands out because both teams are Cup favorites. Each game between these two teams is always sixty minutes of intensity and often the particular game comes down to the end.
Now that the schedule only always for six match ups, each contest takes on more meaning.

The Pens were coming off a bad game the night before against Phoenix, an effort that was as weak as any from the Birdies the past three years. You had to figure a trip to Philadelphia would garner their attention.

The Pens went on the PP right off the bat and Malkin made the Flyers pay, scoring from above the face off circle on a blast. Good to see that there was no carryover from the night before.

Ten minutes later Briere scored on a tip in after a nice setup play by Coburn. Malkin didn't get back to rub out Briere who beat Fleury who really had no chance on the play.

Malkin made up for it a minute later on a great back check and found Staal at the Flyers blue line. Staal took advantage of questionable efforts by the Flyers defense and used his big wing span to go from the back hand to the fore hand, beating Emery badly.

The second period saw the Flyers on the power play and Briere beat Fleury to knot the game at two.

The Pens took the lead for good when the Flyers fourth line made a sloppy change without getting the puck deep in the Pens end. Kunitz saw the play and Geurin did as well, cheating up ice waiting for the lead pass. The wily old vet beat Emery and the Pens were on top again.

Less then three minutes later, both teams going four on four, Coburn tried to fire the puck across his goal to clear the puck but hit Emery's skate knocking the puck into his own goal. I would love to hear Shamtown or Steelpro's recollection of the crowds reaction to that play.

With a bit more then three minutes to go in the second period the Flyers were on the PP once more. Richards took the puck on Fleury's left side and quickly found a wide open Carter alone in front of the Pens net. Fleury went a bit too far to his right and a goal scorer like Carter made him pay. It was a one goal lead going into the final period.

If you take penalties against the Flyers, they will make you pay. That is a fearsome power play.

Kennedy got the lead back to two almost mid way through the period scoring on a tip in from Cooke in front of Emery. Credit Adams for a solid hit on Coburn behind the Philly goal, allowing cooke to find his line mate and boosting the Pens lead.

The game grew in intensity as the Flyers were desperate to bring it within one. They did get that goal to bring it close but there was less then a minute left. Of course it had to get weird.

There was a big scrum and Letang and Hartnel went at it along the boards.. Letang came out of it holding his glove less hand showing the Pens trainers his ring finger.
Did he bite him? The Pens kept low key on the matter after the game and Hartnel didn't exactly offer an explanation.

Look, Hartnel is a gritty goal scorer,but he does cost his team on occasion with stupid penalties. That said, the Flyers do count on him for twenty five to thirty goals a year. A lot of teams could use that.

Anyway, the Flyers could have won that game it was that close. I expect the next five games pitting the Pens and Flyers to be much the same as the first. Looking forward to those for sure.

Note: Crosby won 21 of 24 faceoffs according to NHL statistics. That is dominant.

Malkin seemed energized by having Staal on his line.

Good first week to the season. Beating the Flyers in their building is always big, but the way the Pens lost to Phoenix was inexcusable.