In a move that seems to foreshadow someone knowing that Sidney Crosby is probably getting ready to return to the ice for the Penguins, Pittsburgh today dealt ALex Goligoski to Dallas in exchange for scoring winger James Neal and defenseman Matt Niskanen. Before you say Matt Who?, Niskanen is the guy that Crosby absolutely embarrassed during a fight on November 3rd in Dallas:

That should lead to an interesting introduction when he and Sid first appear in the locker room together. You sort of wonder if Crosby was consulted before this trade … but not really because Sid is a professional and much like we saw with Asham and Cooke, what happens on the ice when players on opposing teams is washed away when they suit up for the same club.

As for Neal, well he has the scoring touch that you would like to see in a winger for Crosby at least for the price that was paid. He has 21 goals and 39 points this season. Last year he had 27 goals and 28 assists.

Goligoski became the casualty of a deep blue line for the Penguins. He has the skill to be a top four defenseman but was wallowing as the #5 man in the Penguins defensive corps. And with Despres all but ready to join the Penguins next year someone had to go. And that someone was not going to be Michalek or Martin both of whom the Pengiuns acquired at good prices and locked up long term this past off season. Orpik wasn’t going anywhere and neither was All-Star Kris Letang. Deryk Engelland also was not heading anywhere now that he has established himself as a solid defenseman who can take over the enforcer role for the Penguins when Goddard is most likely not resigned.

Sad to see Go Go go, but overall this trade helps the Penguins and helps Go Go too. In Dallas he will get more ice time and more responsibility as a #3 or #4 defenseman than he would get here in Pittsburgh.

Legend has it that it is the Phoenix, not the Penguin, that rises from its own ashes. Perhaps it is time to rewrite that legend since teams that advance to the Stanley Cup Finals and lose do not often return any time soon.

That is not so unbelievable after all. Say all you want about the NFL, MLB and the NBA, there is no more grueling playoff than the quest for Lord Stanley’s Cup. Sure football is a physical game – but in the NFL you only play once a week and your body has time to heal between match up. Baseball? Pish posh. Sure they play best seven game series but the most physicality you get on the diamond is a bean ball or a crash into the outfield fence maybe once every couple games or a collision at first base once in a blue moon. The NBA? Again, sure they have a seven game series format but you are not constantly getting checked into the boards on every trip down the ice nor are you really even allowed to hit other players.

Nope, the NHL is hands down the toughest championship to win. You can hit the opponent; in fact it is encouraged. There are boards to contend with. And let’s not forget that everyone on the ice carries a formidable weapon in their hands which can and does get used inappropriately at times. Couple that with the inevitable free agents that flee teams each year in search of big bucks after great seasons (usually more due to who a player played with than the actual player himself) and it is amazing that anyone can repeat as division champs or even Stanley Cup Champions.

Last year, the Penguins raced through the playoffs only to crash and burn early in games one and two of the finals against Detroit. They turned things around after that but splitting the next four games still meant that they lost the series 4-2. Their ashes were on the ice after they flared out.

Early this season they looked ready to at least make a good showing in the playoffs. Hossa left for Detroit claiming that he had the best chance for a championship there and other players were let go including Malone, Laraque and Roberts. In came Satan, Fedotenko and Zigomanis. Somehow the Penguins actually looked stronger than last year top to bottom all of a sudden. But then the wheels started falling off during the winter. In February the team looked down and out. They started to turn things around but a, what I will contend was a fluke, loss to Toronto cost Therrien his job and in comes Dan Bylsma. The team responds to this and there is a smoldering among the ashes perhaps as the team sensed that they had cost one coach his job because of their own poor performance on the ice and were not about to let it happen to another.

Then out goes Whitney, a cornerstone of last year’s success, and in comes Chris Kunitz with a gritty, hard hitting persona. Then the Penguins get the New York Islanders to give up Bill Guerin for a song; a conditional draft pick. And let’s not forget Craig Adams. Then the sparks began to intensify and above the ashes a Penguin once again skated.

Into the playoffs the team stormed after climbing from 10th place to 4th in the East. They crushed the orange of Philadelphia, rocked the red of Washington and now have just completed downgrading the Hurricanes of Carolina. Now it is on to the Stanley Cup Finals – again.

Do the Penguins have something to prove? Yep. Will they prove it? Yes. Either they will prove they are Stanley Cup Champion caliber or they will prove that they are just second best again. Which it will be will be up to men named Sidney, Geno, Marc-Andre, Billy, Jordan, Tyler, Max, Craig, Ruslan, Miroslav, Chris, Rob, Brooks, Sergei, Philippe, Kris, Hal, and Mark.

Hopefully the Penguins will prove that they are champions this time around. Because getting back to the finals a third year in a row is not something that I would put money on – ever. But the Penguins should make a better show of it this time around. As the old saying goes, and which is familiar to all true Pittsburgh hockey fans, if you think Penguins can’t fly then you’ve never been in Pittsburgh during the playoffs.

Fly high Pens. Make us proud!

Pittsburgh dominated then slumped then dominated again last night against the Florida Panthers and in the process salvaged a much needed two points over a conference foe just barely a head of them in the standings. With the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings more jammed than the parkway at rush hour, the Penguins had to win last night. Anything less would have seen them once again on the outside looking in. Conceding a point to the Panthers was not the ideal way to win, but considering how the game transpired, the Penguins should be thankful for getting the win.

Vokoun allowed only 3 goals on the fifty shots that he saw. Many more were blocked. Had he not been on his game, the score would never have been tied heading into the end of regulation. Fleury stopped 18 of the 21 shots he faced in 65 minutes of regulation and sudden death overtime with a few spectacular ones as well.

Malkin (30) opened the scoring in the first and the Penguins opened the second period with a 1-0 lead. But Florida somehow managed to escape the period with not just the lead, but a substantial 3-1 lead on only seven shots in the period. The third goal by Ballard (6) was in fact a good goal despite what fans at the Igloo thought. There was no kicking motion as the puck came off his skate leading to a review and the goal being upheld.

Pittsburgh however answered back quickly in the third with goals from Staal (18) just 2:20 in and then Crosby (26) a hair over three minutes later to tie the game. Pittsburgh squandered many power play opportunities and their troubles with the man advantage continue.

In the shoot out Fleury was perfect, stopping both of Florida’s first two shooters. For the Penguins, Letang scored on Vokoun, Crosby was stopped and Malkin made Vokoun look foolish with a move that in the end was simply him dragging the puck past the sprawled out net minder and pushing it into a yawning net.

The win vaulted Pittsburgh over Florida in the standings and 6th place in the Eastern Conference and just a point behind struggling Montreal. At 36-26-6 (78 pts) the Penguins are just four points behind Philadelphia for fourth and just two points ahead of the Rangers who are in ninth.

Next, the Penguins have to travel to Columbus where they will meet the not as bad as previous years Blue Jackets in another must win game against a hapless opponent in order to maintain their playoff position. Columbus is 34-27-6 (74 pts) and at 6-4-0 in their last 10 games are also trying to hang on to a playoff spot in the West.

Pittsburgh’s troubles in December continued last night as they struggled against the Sabres in Buffalo. Sure, it was a road game and road games are supposed to be tough, but the Sabres are in 8th place in the East and even though the Penguins are in seventh, they are much better than that.

The troubles started just 1 minute into the game as Paille (4) scored to put the Sabres up 1-0. It stayed that way until 5:23 of the second when Kotalik (8) extended that lead to 2-0. The Penguins answered however just 55 seconds later as Orpik found Satan breaking into the Buffalo zone. He then fed Dupuis charging the net and he buried the puck for his 7th goal of the season. Alex Goligoski then tied the game with his 5th at 12:23 but Buffalo scored on the power play about three and a half minutes later to regain the lead. Fleury was forced to face 15 shots in the second and stood tall against the barrage despite the two goals allowed.

At the half way mark of the third period, Buffalo gave the Penguins their only power play of the game and they responded. Goligoski (6) let fly a horrific wrister that went in under the crossbar to tie the game.

Then in overtime the Penguins took the play to Sabres. In the Sabres end, Goligoski fed Malkin who threw a puck high and wide. Crosby lifted his stick and batted the puck down and into the cage. Despite a review and protests from the Sabres that the puck was hit by a high stick, replays clearly showed that Crosby’s lumber was at the height of the crossbar and the goal was allowed after a discussion.

Fleury held the Penguins in the game in the third facing another 13 shots and ended up stopping 32-35 while the Penguins need to give their net minders a little more support. In the game the Penguins managed only 22 total shots including a pathetic 6 in the second period and anemic 3 in the third.

The win moved the Penguins to 18-11-4 (40 pts) on the season heading into tonight’s contest against the Tampa Bay Lightning (7-16-9).