Billy Guerin officially announced his retirement today after am 18 year stint in the NHL. Having played with eight different teams, Guerin’s last official home was in Pittsburgh where he helped the team win the Stanley Cup in 2008-2009. He remained with the team for the 2009-2010 season but was not tendered a new contract for this year. He tried out for the Philadelphia Flyers this year but was released before the season began.

Bill Guerin will be honored by the Penguins in a ceremony before tonight’s home game versus the New Jersey Devils. “We were only here a short time, but my family and I developed such a deep connection to the city, the team and the fans,” said Guerin.

It was obvious how much the fans in Pittsburgh appreciated Guerin’s presence. Despite being a veteran, the fans regularly cheered for Guerin on the ice and applauded when his kids were shown on the old Igloo’s scoreboard.

Guerin was no doubt thankful that the Penguins acquired him from the New York Islanders for literally a song. He was struggling on a team that showed little penchant for winning and that was obviously frustrating to a player of Guerin’s caliber.

Guerin made his reputation as a player that could both finish and set up his teammates and also as a no-nonsense player on the ice who was not adverse to getting down and dirty. He often exceeded 100 penalty minutes by year’s end.

Considering the success he had at the tail end of his career here in Pittsburgh and how much the fans and the players loved him on the ice and in the locker-room I do not think it is any surprise that tonight, bad boy Billy Guerin retires a Penguin. Billy, I salute you. And with your announcement of a well deserved retirement after a long and productive career I am proud to see that you will now forever be a Pittsburgh Penguin.

Last night the Pittsburgh Penguins brought to an end an important chapter for hockey in the city as the team played the final regular season game ever at the Igloo. The question now is how many playoff games will be seen before the final post season game is played there.

Facing off against the lowly New York Islanders, the stars looked align for a good night which started with commemorative tickers to all fans in attendance, then a ceremony celebrating all the great players who have skated on the arena’s ice and which fans hopes would end with a victory. Especially considering that there is still a chance for the Penguins to rise in the standings before the end of the season depending on what they and the Devils do.

Just 23 seconds in, Brooks Orpik (2) helped the Penguins stake out a 1-0 lead. At 5:01 Alex Goligoski (8) made it 2-0 on the power play. But the Penguins gave the Islanders a chance with a power play and the lead was cut to 2-1 just three and a half minutes later.

Evgeni Malkin (26) stretched the score to 3-1 with just under five minutes remaining but not even two minutes later the Islanders against scored to make it a 3-2 game. With just 58 seconds left in the first period however Sidney Crosby (49) notched another goal to make it a 4-2 contest.

Fleury, honestly looked shaky in net. When the second period resumed and with just about seven minutes gone the Islanders scored again to once again make it a one goal game and move the score to 4-3.

It took a while but the Penguins put the hammer down. Bill Guerin (20) added his twentieth of the season on the power play and two minutes later Mr. (Tyler) Kennedy (13) added another marker. When the smoke cleared at the end of the second, the score stood at Penguins 6 and the Islanders 3.

Bill Guerin (21) added goal number seven at 1:46 of the third and the Penguins cruised to a victory to put them back into a points wise tie with New Jersey in the Eastern Conference. However New Jersey holds all tie breakers.

Some people have been wondering when the Penguins, who frankly have looked like they were willing to sleep walk through the final month of the season were going to flip the switch and get serious after failing to put up much of a fight against teams like New Jersey and Washington. Well, honestly, it probably still hasn’t happened even though last night was a positive sign. And spare me please the stats about how the Penguins have won more than they have lost over the past thirty some odd days. Their record is not that good.

Since March 1st, by my count, this team is 10-5-4. Which is basically .500 in the win loss department when you properly count the over time and shoot out losses as what they are – losses. This team is 10-9. Not only are they 10-9 but the have lost to both New Jersey and Washington twice in that span. You know, important teams that they will have to face more likely than not come the playoffs?

But there were some good sings that this team actually has their fingers on that switch and are indeed ready to flip it and get serious. After a first period where the Penguins defense and goal tending (yes, Fleury is not playing well and highly at fault so stop making excuses for him about how the defense is letting him down) Fleury played like Fleury on a flurry of shots by the Islanders in the second where he had to stop three point blank shots. The last one he was badly out of position but still defending his net like the man that helped Pittsburgh win the Stanley Cup.

The Penguins put their boots on the Islanders necks after this and never let them get up. Again, another problem the Penguins have had is letting teams stick around and not putting them away.

Two games remain. And neither are cake walks despite them being against Atlanta and the New York Islanders again. The Penguins need to build momentum and win both. Not just to convince fans that they are ready for another run at Lord Stanley’s cup but also to convince their opponents that the Penguins are a threat to win against anyone, anywhere and any time. And besides, there is still the chance to finish even higher in the standing at stake as well.

To say Marc-Andre Fleury had some rust when returning to between the pipes for Thursday night’s game against the Rangers would be an understatement. He was so corroded and full of holes that an anemic New York offense chased him from the net. Fleury faced only twelve total shots in 32:49 of action and allowed four goals.

Out came the hook and in came Johnson with the Penguins down 4-2 despite an offense that was completely smothering the Blue Shirts. Mike Rupp (12) answered the bell and brought the game to within one and Alex Goligoski (7) tied the game midway through the third as the Penguins clamped down on New York allowing just four shots in the remaining period and a half of regulation.

Then in overtime it was Evgeni Malkin (22) who scored with a 4-3 advantage after a Wade Redden hooking call. Game over. Guins win.

Fleury was obviously frustrated by his performance, refusing to even remove his mask as he sat on the bench for the rest of the second period. I don’t know if he was wearing his gold medal around his neck still and if that was the problem or not but for certain it was not a good performance from the Penguins starting netminder. The offense peppered the Rangers net for 55 total shots in what should never have even been a close game.

Newly acquired Penguins defenseman Jordan Leopold was even with two shots and 21:11 of total ice time. Bill Guerin was a late scratch.

The win vaulted the Penguins (38-22-4, 80 pts) over the idle New Jersey Devils into first place in the Atlantic Division by a single point and into second place in the Eastern Conference. The Devils have two games in hand however.

Saturday is a showdown with the Western Conference’s Dallas Stars and will mark the debut of rent-a-winger Alex Ponikorovsky for the Penguins who could not play against the Rangers due to visa problems. Ponikorovsky is in the last year of his current contract and comes to the Penguins from Toronto as a perennial 20+ goal scorer who looks to be placed on a line with Malkin and Fedotenko. He will probably command too much money for the Penguins to resign next year with all the cap implications that would be involved but I think he is a good addition to the team. Although I am not certain that long term it was a good move to trade away Luca Caputi who was looking ready to be a permanent NHL fixture and good goal scorer in exchange for a slight upgrade to a team that is already built have a good shot at winning another Championship.

Last night’s game against the New York Islanders was something the Penguins needed. At least going in and on paper and through the first half of the game anyway. The Islanders were 8th in the Eastern Conference heading into the game but only because they have been surging as of late with a 7-2-1 record in their last ten games. The Islanders are still not a major threat to the top teams in the East. Yeah, they may finish with a respectable or even good record at the end of the season. They might even finish above some of what are considered the elite teams in the Atlantic. But it will be through a sheer force of will and over achievement.

Coming off an up and down road trip where they lost two but won three, the Penguins were no doubt looking forward to coming home to the Igloo for a game against the Islanders before taking on the much more elite Washington Capitals on Thursday night.

And everything started off well enough. For a period and a half the Penguins dominated staking out a 3-0 lead and even scored twice on the power play which featured some wrinkles that were not there two weeks ago. Sidney Crosby (31) opened the scoring late in the first period picking up a rebound and burying it into a yawning cage. Early in the second Evgeni Malkin (15) lit the lamp on a 5 on 3 power play to bring the crowd to its feet. Bill Guerin (16) scored on another power play three and a half minutes later and no doubt stunned the Islanders who were wondering what was going on considering the Penguins never seem able to accomplish such feats and my running joke is that the Penguins should decline all penalties because they have been that bad with the man advantage.

Andy Sutton (4), who was later ejected from the game for launching Pasqual Dupuis into the boards from behind and injuring him, scored midway through the second to cut the score to 3-1. Less than a minute and a half later though Sidney Crosby (32) scored again to reestablish a three goal lead.

Then the wheels started coming off. Brent Johnson, who had played spectacularly in relief of the injured Marc-Andre Fleury, couldn’t stop a puck to save his life. Half a minute after Sid scored, Freddy Meyer (1) answered for the Islanders.

The bleeding continued in the third period. 0:48 in Trent Hunter (9) scored to make the score 4-3. Then at 7:11 of the third Richard Park (4) knotted the whole game up at 4-4.

It took a power play goal by Malkin (16) at 11:09 to put the Penguins up 5-4 and the completion of the hat trick by Malkin (17) at 19:30 to seal the deal. The Islanders presenting the Penguins with an net empty and on the Penguins on the power play again thanks to a major penalty on Sutton’s boarding penalty and Malkin walked in and buried it for the 6-4 win.

Brent Johnson finished with 31 saves on 35 shots and recovered towards the end to salvage what could have been an ugly loss had he not. The win moves the Penguins more securely into 4th place in the East at 31-19-1 with 63 points.

Malkin’s hat trick will no doubt spark talk about the Penguins super star finally getting out of his long funk but one game does not a slump end. Time will tell and the Penguins have a much bigger test on their hands tomorrow night than the Islanders.

The Philadelphia Flyers are living up to expectations of many, myself included, that paid attention to how they built their team for this season. A floundering team that has lost a coach, the Flyers are in disarray without leadership and lacking too much in the talent department and are obviously living in denial. This isn’t the 1970’s and the whole Broad Street Bullies act doesn’t cut it today’s NHL.

Last night at the Igloo, the Flyers played a brand of amateurish hockey the likes of which has not been seen since the movie Slap Shot. After falling behind 1-0 on a Sidney Crosby (dare I say it?) power play goal, his 21st goal of the season, at just 3:30 of the first it was time for the goons to come out of their shells. First Arron Asham got a beat down from Mike Rupp. While both were still warming their seats in the sin bin, six seconds late off the ensuing face off Riley Cote tangled with Eric Goddard and could not do anything decisive in the scrap. Then, ten seconds after that Carcillo and Adams went for a dance. At the end of it all, and with the Flyers having successfully taken the Penguins entire fourth line to the penalty box, all the Flyers had to show for this childish display was nothing.

The penalty boxes overflowing, Bill Guerin (8) scored to put the Penguins up 2-0. The shot from Sidney Crosby squirted through Boucher’s pads and was laying behind him in the crease and Guerin just scooped it up and placed it into the cage with the blade of his stick.

The only sign of life that the Flyers exhibited was a goal midway through the first by Carcillo on the power play. The nail in the coffin however was delivered by Jordan Staal (9) who scored short handed three minutes later.

Staal added his second goal of the night (10th of the season) with 15 seconds left in the second beating Boucher with a wrist shot.

Ruslan Fedotenko (6) got out a shovel and finished burying Philadelphia with a third period goal at 12:17 and Evgeni Maklin (10) laid the wreath at 18:39 with a short handed goal.

Marc-Andre Fleury earned the win despite appearing shaky at several key moments during last night’s game and not having played in nearly a week. He ended the night stopping 26 of 27 shots and made some big saves as the Penguins improved to 23-10-1 (47 pts) and back into first place in the Atlantic ahead of New Jersey although the Devils have three games in hand.

Philadelphia fell to 15-16-1 and will host the Penguins Thursday night before the Penguins head off to Buffalo and then return home to host New Jersey.

Notes:

Scott Hartnell didn’t bit anyone during last night’s game.

The Penguins are 4-1-1 so far in December.

Despite their attempts to be tough guys, the Flyers at best netted only a draw in three fights last night while clearly loosing two of them. Oh and they got their rears kicked when they actually tried to play hockey too.

Judging by the way they are playing, the Flyers are trying to see if they can get a second coach fired before 2009 comes to a close.

The Penguins are pushing the cap and as they do, signing both Fedotenko and Scuderi becomes less likely now that they have secured the services of Bill Guerin (1 year deal for $2 million) and Adams (2 yrs for $1.1 million). Guerin came in a little cheaper than I thought he would but by my calculations puts them just under $51,220,000 committed to next year’s team. With a cap of just $56.8 millions that means just about $5.6 million remains and with Fedotenko and Scuderi both seeking multi-year deals (and both demanding more money) than last year the odds of resigning them both or even one of them seems remote.

Fedotenko will probably want something in the realm of $2.5-$3 million (he made $2.25 last year) and Scuderi will command at least $2.5 (I think) to stay. That would put the Penguins right up against the cap. It is possible, but with uncertanty about how the cap will go next year after this one and with some other players also up for new contracts, the Penguins might well be leery about offering such contracts.

Free Agency starts tomorrow and the Penguins have a lot of work to do. But do not be surprised if you see some Wilke-Barre Baby Pens getting the call up to save cap room next season.