I have been holding my tongue the past few weeks because the Penguins have gone from contender to joke in the East. They have accomplished this stunning feat because of several things from poor defensive unit play to shoddy goal tending by Marc-Andre Fluery who seems to be looking ahead to the Olympics more than keeping his mind on what he is doing in net on any given night. But as poor as those things have been the number one reason this team is faltering is because of the power play.

I’ve talked about it before and I think it just might be time for Coach Bylsma and some of the other so-called “experts” to maybe take a listen rather than mock the ideas that I have put forth in the past. Namely that it is time to split the Malkin/Crosby unit into two distinct ones.

Oh I know the excuses. The players claim they are getting their chances and that there is nothing major wrong. The pundits claim that it would be insane to not put your three best offensive threats on the ice together (Crosby/Malkin/Gonchar). But get down out of the clouds for a second!

For the better part of two years the Penguins preferred PP unit has struggled. It is far worse this year but be honest, last year was not all that great either considering the talent level on the ice. Moving Malkin to the point hasn’t worked either and I honestly do not see how putting Malkin back in the circle and moving Crosby to the point would help much despite what some people have said.

I know the inevitable complaint too! Oh how can you tell one of the Pen’s superstar centers that they are not good enough to be on the number one unit? Uh, hello, Earth to space cadets! They play on separate lines most of the game and are deemed affectionately 1 and 1A! You seriously expect me to believe that doing the same with the power play would hurt their egos any worse than this?

Some of you out there are just too enamoured with having one super unit. But that super unit is playing 1:45 out of a two minute PP and not scoring! And let’s face facts here; no one fears the #2 unit!

Suck it up. Let’s try something different!

PP #1 (starts the PP if Malkin is on the ice when penalty call is made)
Crosby
Cooke
Rupp
Gonchar
Kennedy (Point)

And before someone complains about Kennedy on the point, have you seen the way this guy can skate with the puck? Have you seen the way that he puts pucks on the net for rebounds?

PP #2 (starts the PP if Crosby is on the ice when the penalty is called)
Malkin
Staal
Fedotenko
Gonchar/Letang
Goligoski (point)

Yes, Go Go has struggled but this is a guy that the Pens have invested in. Time for his trial by fire! Either sink or swim time.

So what do you say Coach? Wanna give it a try?

I know, Heaven forbid some bozo like me with a blog might actually be right huh?  But I will tell you this, what you are doing is not working.  And doing it over and over despite it not working is leading me to believe that you are insane!

The Penguins are making another run for Lord Stanley’s Cup this year and while they get a lot of credit for their offensive domination of opposing teams, their defense is playing among some of the league’s best hockey heading into the new year.

Pittsburgh’s goal scoring prowess is unquestionable. They are third in the league in goals scored at 124 behind only San Jose (127) and Washington (139). Don’t forget, that was with literally a third of their roster sitting out for the better part of a month due to injuries too including Evgeni Malkin.

But the Pen’s defense was decimated too! Making it all the more impressive that they are 8th in the league in goals allowed with just 97. That differential of +27 is 5th in the league heading into tonight’s action against the Toronto Maple Leafs who are the exact opposite at -27 (109 goals for and 136 goals allowed).

Marc-Andre Fleury is a big reason for those good numbers on defense too. His 22 wins are tied for second best in the NHL and .911 save percentage and 2.39 save percentage are big contributors to the team’s winning.

Oh, it’s the obvious headline I suppose to call what happened last night at the Igloo Coyote Ugly. But since the obvious is not really worth talking about I think I will tell the truth. Last night’s performance (a 3-0 loss) was worse than that. It was much worse – it was Penguin Ugly.

From the start the Penguins looked lost on the ice as if since last Saturday when they played and beat the Islanders that they had forgotten how to even play hockey. Excessive and needless penalties as well as Malkin and Crosby being silenced leave no good impressions from last night’s game. Even the third line of Staal, Cooke and Kennedy, normally reliable for energy and a boost looked flat most of the game. Brent Johnson starting in goal could not hold down the fort even though his effort was certainly admirable.

The Penguins just plain got beat by an inferior team and did not much seem to care. Well, they better get an attitude adjustment quick because there is no rest as they turn around and head into Philly tonight against a beefy, brawl ready Flyers team that will draw blood all night long if allowed to.

Rob Scuderi, number 4, the Scud Missile himself has a decision to make and so do the Pittsburgh Penguins now that the Stanley Cup is back in the ‘Burgh. Yes, the Finals are over. So too is the parade. And well, with some time to kill before Steelers start reporting for camp I have some time to think about things. Things like who among the free agents on the Pittsburgh Penguins roster should the Penguins even attempt to resign and who should they let go.

It’s life with a salary cap …

So let’s look at the list of Pittsburgh Penguins preparing to shop their services this off season:
Craig Adams, C
Mike Zigomanis, C
Mathieu Garon, G
Petr Sykora, F
Ruslan Fedotenko, F
Bill Guerin, F
Miroslav Satan, F
Hal Gill, D
Phillippe Boucher, D
Rob Scuderi, D

Now, let’s discuss …
Craig Adams – Adams was undoubtedly an upgrade on the fourth line over Godard although not much of an enforcer which you need during the regular season. Adams made $600,000 this season and could still be resigned for a reasonable price if the Penguins wanted him. He’s gritty but he’ll be a 4th liner and be a platoon guy at that in all likelihood.

Mike Zigomanis – Ziggy’s salary this year was $650,000. He’s a face off specialist and the team certainly suffered in that department after his injury. Having spent a lot of the season injured he could probably also be resigned at a reasonable rate. The problem is that the Penguins are absolutely stacked with quality role players or at least are right now. Once free agency is over this may be another story.

Mathieu Garon – Garon is a $1,000,000 backup to Fleury who wasn’t used much by the Penguins at all. The team has a glut of Goaltenders in the minors and they can let Garon go and recover some cap room. I just do not see Garon being invited back. Nothing personal.

Petr Sykora – Sykora had a price tag of $2.5 million this season. That’s pretty cheap for a scoring winger of his caliber. The problem is that his caliber has somewhat diminished it seems. He really did not perform well at all down the stretch which led to him being benched in favor of Miroslav Satan. My understanding is that Malkin likes Sykora and has a good rapport with him … but Malkin doesn’t need Sykora. Sykora will be 33 in November and while not a spring chicken he isn’t old and shriveled either. The problem is do the Penguins think that he can still score. If so, they might be able to resign him at his current value.

Ruslan Fedotenko – Now this is a guy I think the Penguins need to target for resigning. He made $2.25 million this year and complimented Malkin well. I would rather see him on Malkin’s wing than Sykora. Please, don’t take offense to that Petr, but he was definitely better and more consistent there than you were this season and if I were the Penguins I would be targeting Ruslan for a new contract. At 30 years of age he has the right mix of grit and scoring skills to be worth it. Take some of what you would pay Sykora and use it to resign Fedotenko.

Bill Guerin – Bad Boy Billy is one of those guys that I like and like a lot. Always have. Despite being 38, will be 39 in November, he looked to still have enough in him for one more year along side of Sid. $4.5 million might be a bit steep though, which is what he was making this year. I am wondering if he would take that or perhaps slightly less (considering where he is in his career) to remain a Penguin. Of course, at 38 and off of a successful Stanley Cup run maybe he is thinking of retiring. I really hope not and according to reports he has said he has no plans to retire and is looking to move his family to Pittsburgh IF the Penguins want him back.

Miroslav Satan – As much as I really enjoy all the jokes that just roll off the tongue because of having a man named Satan on the team eh, I don’t know about the Penguins interest in resigning him. He made $3.5 million this year and started out great but really had to reinvent himself as a 4th line winger. That was not what he was brought in to be and even though he played well in that roll you are not going to pay a man that kind of money to log under ten minutes of ice time a game. He’ll be 35 years of age when the season starts and he could be another guy that would just be better to let go unless he is willing to take a lot less money. Of course … he is also another candidate for retirement on a high note.

Hall Gill – Hal Gill, or more precisely Harold Priestley “Hal” Gill III, is one of those guys that you just have a hard time replacing. The man is huge and his wing span gives the opposition absolute fits while trying to enter the zone and cycling once in the zone. $2.1 million is not a bad price to pay for a shutdown defenseman like Gil and at 34 he might be coaxed to coming back at about that next year. But with a plethora of good young defensemen in the minors the Penguins may forgo him as an option on the blue line next year. I think that would be a mistake.

Phillippe Boucher – No waterboy jokes please! At $2.5 million Phillipe may be an odd man out. He came in highly touted as to what he was going to bring to the team offensively but played sparingly late in the season. You like to have defensive depth, but with the salary cap I just do not see him staying IF the Penguins target …

Rob Scuderi – Yes, I left Scuds until last for a few reasons. One of which is because I have a to say about him. Another reason is because out of all the free agents on the Penguins roster none are going to get more attention and interest than the man who night after night sacrifices life and limb and limb and limb to cause havoc in the defensive zone. Scuderi made a paltry $725,000 this season and is worth more; a lot more. I do not know that you can replace him for his current salary so if the price is right the Penguins have to try and bring him back. The kind of kamikaze style he plays just cannot be taught. It is instinctive. It takes a certain kind of … well … nut to play it. I mean that in the nicest possible way Scuds. And it is very hard to convince a guy to get into the path of pucks like he does for that price.

I say the Penguins have to make an attempt to sign him. Not for ungodly sums of money mind you, but something serious and in line with other defensemen on the team. I do not think that $2,000,000 would be unreasonable, but more than that just might be. That being said, if some team throws a bucket full of dollars at Scuds I would not begrudge him leaving for financial security. He’s 30 but you could sign him for 2 or 3 years I think and have a good investment.

Now, let the games begin!

Ok, I just got myself out of bed after a night of sound sleep resting easy knowing that the Stanley Cup was heading back here to Pittsburgh. Now that my head has cleared I am ready to give my thoughts about not just Game 7 but also the entire Stanley Cup Finals and playoffs.

• “That’s life” – Yes, it certainly is isn’t it Mr. Hossa. When asked about how it felt loosing the cup again after bolting from the Penguins to the team he felt had a better chance at securing Hockey’s ultimate prize this is what he had to say about it. Karma sucks huh?
• Hockey is an odd sport. Sure Penguins booed the Hossa every chance we had after he spurned the Penguins for Detroit, but we respect him because we know how good of a player he is. It was like when Jagr left the team. He was booed constantly on the ice but when they showed video highlights of him and tributes to his successes even while he was on the visiting team we cheered him … then we went right back to booing him. We all wish Hossa success in the future … just not against the Penguins.
• Hossa not only did not get the Stanley Cup he so desperately wanted, but he was for all intents and purposes a complete non-factor in the Finals. You think Pittsburgh Fans were hard on him? Wait until Detroit gets through tearing him a new @**hole. He won’t be able to get out of Detroit fast enough.
• Who would have thought that Maxime Talbot would be this year’s Fedotenko and score both the Penguins goals in the final game? And who would have thought that Mad Max would be the series leader in goals with four?
• During the Penguin’s first Stanley Cup run in 1990-1991 Frank Pietrangelo made what became known as “The Save” subbing for the legendary Tom Barrasso in Game 6 of the first round against New Jersey and robbed Petr Stastny of an easy goal. This year I think we have The Save II and The Save III and The Save IV. The Save II was when Fleury robbed Ovechkin in Game 7 of the second round in Washington to suck the air out of the Capitals. The Save III was by Rob Scudderi in Game 6 as he prevented the tying goal with Fleury out of position in the final moments. The Save IV was Fleury leaping like superman from the far post with the final two seconds ticking away, lept into the air to stop an elevated puck shot by Lindstrom and saving the game from going into extra frames.
• No Crosby? No Problem. Sidney Crosby was knocked out of the game for all intents and purposes by a fairly clean check by Johan Franzen. It was a tense moment for the Penguins as Crosby would return to play only one shift in the third. But the team rallied and played hard even if they did D-up too much in the third and gave Detroit far too many opportunities.
• 6:07 – that’s when I started to get really worried after Fluery let in another soft goal to allow the Wings to cut the lead to in half and be within one.
• Thank God for the posts. The posts were in play all series long. Early on in the series the Penguins were the victims of every bad bounce off of them. In Game 7, late, it was the crossbar that made one of the biggest saves against the Red Wings to keep me from being even more anxious than I already was.
• Penguins evolved when they needed to in this series. The Red Wings made it clear that they were not going to allow the Penguins to play their brand of up and down the ice high octane hockey. So they adapted, turned into a checking monster and hit like most Pens fans have never seen before.

My Three Stars of the Game:

3rd star: The crossbar

Hey, it made a great save in the waining moments!

2nd star: Max Talbot

With the only two goals of the game Max unquestionably deserves this honor.

1st star: Marc-Andre Fleury

I don’t care what you say, despite the vast amount of improvement Fleury still needs to make in the coming years (he needs to get much better handling the puck and with his glove hand on the high side) Fleury blossomed and saved this series with performances in Games 6 and 7 that make him worthy of the 1st star.

Series MVP:

I’m giving this honor to our two best goal tenders – Fleury and Scuderi. Without Fleury’s glove and without Scuderi sacrificing his body constantly, the Penguins would never have won this series.

Player I am happiest for:

Bill Guerin. I love this guy. He plays hockey the way it should be played and was a great addition to this team at the trade deadline.

What I hope for most:

Well, other than another Stanley Cup, I hope the Penguins and many of the pieces of this team can come to agreeable terms to keep the Champs mostly in tact moving forward. Scuderi, Fedotenko and Guerin are all free agents and are key parts to this team. They are not irreplaceable and I have not seen a list of free agents yet, but keeping all of them would be a boost. But Scuderi put on a clinic in the playoffs and will have teams falling all over themselves to sign him. I hope that Fed and Billy will decide to stay on for next year. Miro Satan and Petr Sykora are also players I would like to see come back, but honestly I do not see the Penguins paying Miro the kind of money they currently are to play on the fourth line – a role I think he blossomed at this year once put into it.

And just for good measure I want to say it once more …

THE STANLEY CUP CHAMPION PITTSBURGH PENGUINS!

My fellow Pittsburghers have to respect the Red Wings. Last year a lot of you didn’t and the climbed up on the Penguins too fast for the Penguins to recover. This year is no different. Are the Penguins better than they were last year at this time? No doubt about it and no disrespect to Marion (I have a better chance to win the Cup in Detroit) Hossa. But if the Penguins had kept Hossa they would not have Satan, Fedotenko, or Guerin. There is also a possibility that others might not be around either like Brooks Orpik. In all honesty the Penguins had no room for another $7 million player on their roster. The Red Wings did. Alone he makes them better.

Despite the bumps and the bruises that are evident on every Detroit player you cannot downplay that they know how to win and have been doing it so far this post season. Remember, the Penguins won their second Stanley Cup with injuries and Lemieux playing with a broken wrist. So don’t think that injuries will mater.

Some of their players might be older, but age is not always a factor. Last year a lot of people thought that the older Red Wings would not be any serious match for the young, fast Penguins either and look what happened.

There is still a battle left in this war and to win the Penguins will have to draw upon every sound strategy ever implemented on the battlefield to come out on top. The most important of those is never underestimate your opponent and make them play your game. Don’t play theirs. That is where respect comes into play. Because if you respect your opponent you will not allow them to gain an unnecessary upper hand and take advantage of your foolishness.