Goodbye Therrien, Hello Bylsma

As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, the Pens fired Head Coach Michel Therrien just a few short hours ago and replaced him on an interim basis with Wilkes-Barre Scranton Head Coach Dan Bylsma. Given the Pens freefall out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture and following the embarassing thrashing at the hands of the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs last night, this move should not be surprising to anyone.

I’ve heard many people make many arguments that Therrien is not the problem with this team. That the issues go much, much deeper than just the head coach. I think there is certainly some truth to that, but there’s also no disputing that Therrien’s effectiveness had been reduced to zilch. He had run his course with this team and his tough tactics just weren’t having the same kind of positive effect they were having a season ago when the Pens gelled at the right time and made it all the way to the Stanley Cup.

There were a number of issues with this squad, no question about it. Among them, a lack of toughness in front of the net, injuries to top players all over the board, a lack of a proven quarterback on the power play and issues finding adequate playmakers to set up alongside the two super-duper-star centers. But a good coach doing a good job makes the playoffs 100 times out of 100 with this kind of talent.

One of the biggest qualms I’ve had with Therrien is his lack of a defined system in just about any facet of the game. Being at the Pens-Sharks game the other night gave me a new feel for just how much of an impact an effective system can have. Sure the Pens won that game, but the Sharks were unquestionably the better overall squad and probably win that game 7 times out of 10 if they play again.

Therrien also has had a notoriously treachorous doghouse that has buried more than a few players over the past couple seasons. That kind of behavior is fine and dandy when the team is regularly putting up the W’s. But when the losses start mounting, these traits lead to all sorts of second-guessing and unhappy relations with the players, management and even fans.
What does surprise me a little is that Andre Savard appears to also have taken some of the fall for this and yet Mike Yeo still has his same job. Savard has been “re-assigned” which is like saying they didn’t think he was doing a good job but don’t want to lose him so they’ll turn him into a scout or something for the rest of the season before he either leaves or takes a big official demotion this offseason. If I’m not mistaken, though, Yeo is the one who is in charge of the Power Play, and that unit has been unacceptably bad this season. I don’t care if you have Bob Barker, Jessica Simpson and Rico Fata in the lineup, any unit with Sid and Geno on the ice together should be wildly effective, and there’s no possible reason for it not to be. Completely and totally unacceptable and I cannot figure any reason for Yeo to still have a job. If anything I thought he should have been fired or “reassigned” weeks or months ago.

Lastly, let’s look at the new coach, Dan Bylsma. He was given the always cautious and full-of-skepticism “interim” tag. What this figures to equate to is that Ray Shero is giving Bylsma a 25 game tryout. If he gets the Pens into the playoffs he likely is named the full-time permanent head coach of the Pens. If he doesn’t, it follows that Shero will probably either dismiss him or “reassign” him and go out and hire the long-rumored “Shero’s guy” that we thought he might get a couple seasons ago when he was first hired. To his credit, Bylsma has done a bang-up job for the Baby Pens. They are in second place in the AHL’s East Division with 73 points in 54 games and are just 1 point behind first place Hershey. And this is despite the fact that Wilkes-Barre has very little in the way of promising NHL prospects and is mainly filled with the stereotypical “AAAA” players, guys who are solid in the minors but just aren’t big league quality. Basically, with only a few notable exceptions like Go-go, Luca Caputi and Dustin Jeffrey, it’s a team of John VanBenschotens.

Pens Fire Therrien

It just came down through the Post-Gazette moments ago that the Pens have fired Michel Therrien. A definite panic move on the part of the Pens after the absolute debacle that was the loss to the Maple Leafs Saturday night.

It had become sort of en vogue around these parts to not want to pin the blame on Therrien but...I mean I think you've got to put a pretty good amount of the blame on him, right? Can't say this is too surprising.

Hockey coaches have notoriously short lifespans, and maybe Therrien had just run his course. Whatever the case, Dan Bylsma, who had previously been the head coach at Wilkes-Barre (the exact position Therrien had before he took over as Pens coach for Edzo) will take over.

I'll expound more on this a bit later on tonight, but for now just wanted to get this post up and to say, before we go piling on Mikey let's also remember the superb job he did last season in giving us a very memorable playoff run. So long, Mikey, I'm sure you won't be standing at the unemployment line for long.

The Rivalry Is Officially On

The NHL has been pimping it for 4 seasons now, stories have floated around about cold feelings, and lord knows there is a ton of playoff history there, but until now it all felt a little forced. There should be no question anymore, Penguins-Capitals has definitely become a rivalry now thanks to the antics of one Alexander Ovechkin.

In case you missed it, the Pens dropped a very irritating and frustrating and worrisome game to the now-hated Caps, 6-3. Why was it irritating? Because Ovechkin, who had a monster night, was whooping and hollering and yelling at every chance he got tonight, doing his best to get under the Penguins' skin, and boy was he succeeding. Why was it frustrating? Because most of the Caps' goals, especially in the third period, were not very good goals, and continued to demonstrate the worrisome inconsistencies of Marc-Andre Fleury. It was also frustrating because the Caps committed a number of dumb penalties, and the pens just couldn't capitalize. Why was it worrisome? Because the Pens had about 10 healthy guys at the end of the game. Max Talbot, Rob Scuderi, Kris Letang, and (gulp) Sidney Crosby (genuflecting) all left the ice with injury concerns. Let's hope they are all okay, but all 4 looked to be at least semi-serious, and it goes without saying that losing Crosby for any amount of time would be disastrous.

As I said, this matchup, at least in my mind, has taken the spot of the second strongest rivalry the Pens have, behind of course just the Flyers. Of course it's not all Ovechkin. There's Alexander Semin's now famous disaparaging words about Sidney Crosby to consider. There's Ryan Whitney injuring Ovechkin a few years back, there's the cold war developing between Geno and Ovechkin with Crosby standing up for Geno any chance he gets. All in all, this really has the makings of a terrific rivalry, but that's really for another day and another game.

The fact remains that the Pens dropped yet another game after a nice showing yesterday against the Flyers. I just really wish this team could get itself straightened out. They continue to drive me up a wall with this inconsistency.

I know a lot of people lately have been harping on potentially firing Michel Therrien. And while Therrien also has a large amount of defenders that are in his corner, I think some sort of a change must be made. My suggestion is that this change needs to be in either getting rid of or reassigning Mike Yeo. Yeo is the guy in charge of the power play for the Penguins, and there is no denying that the Pens power play has been an absolute disaster of late. The Pens did manage a power play goal on 5 chances, but they also nearly gave up a short-handed goal on a 5-on-3 advantage. For a unit with as much talent as the Pens, there is no logical way that this team should rank 20th in the NHL. I think something should be done, and overhauling the power play is probably a good start.

Another day, another terrible Pens game

Surprise surprise the Penguins crapped the bed yet again. I know that the common spiel in town of late has been to absolve Mikey Therrien of wrongdoing, and while I was agreeing with that for a while, my feelings are starting to sway after watching this team tonight.

I came home a little late, but figured that since I was only about 10 minutes late I wouldn't have missed anything. OF COURSE NOT! The Rangers were up 1-zip already and I promptly changed the channel. I just couldn't deal with it. I kept an eye on the box score on ESPN.com and decided to flip back at the start of the 2nd period, thinking maybe a fresh start to a period would help me. Well, I didn't change the channel this time but it certainly wasn't any prettier.

The Pens were playing sloppy, taking penalties (Sid had 4 PIM in the second period!) and just generally looked like they were ready to call it a game already. They managed to survive for a while, but the Rangers inevitably got up 2-0 late in the second.

I strongly considered switching after the second, because I could just tell there was no way the Pens were coming back. But I was curious to see how they would respond against a frequent opponent/rival in a desperate situation, so I stayed tuned in, and was treated to 20 more minutes of revolting hockey.

The third period saw the Rangers mostly just play conservative and go into a shell, and the Pens were quite obviously not at all interested in taking advantage of this in any way, shape, or form. They mustered just 7 shots in the third period and were shut out by King Henrik.

But back to Therrien. I'm not saying its time to string up the noose that, if it isn't tightening, is at least placed gently around his neck at this point. What I am saying is that, if the Pens continue in this free-fall, people in this town need to stop giving him a hall pass. The coach of a team with this much talent at the top should be held to a much higher standard.

The Pens have shown very little passion or fire of late. Sure they have shown signs of frustration (the fighting), but this has not been the spark that it should be. Instead, someone just fights and the rest of the team stands around watching for a few seconds and goes back to playing crappy hockey. This is just unacceptable.

And its not like its just that the team isn't responding to Therrien, some of these moves he's making in the lineup are headscratchers. I've long hated the lets-put-a-defender-in-as-a-forward idea that Therrien has used in the past and has used of late. Just because we have too many defensemen that all feel they should be playing does not mean they HAVE to be playing. To be honest, I don't think anyone on this squad has the right to demand anything right now. And certainly, on a team that can barely score a goal right now, I don't think adding more defenders to the lineup helps at all.

And while we're on the subject of the defenders, after an embarassing offensive performance, why does Therrien go and scratch Alex Goligoski tonight? Uhmm... Mikey, Go-go has been by far our best offensive defenseman so far this season (it really isn't even close in my opinion), and for a team that is badly missing Sergei Gonchar's offensive presence, it is the ultimate stupidity to scratch your best offensive defenseman. Just an indefensible move by a coach obviously grasping at straws.

Speaking of grasping at straws...how does the pull-the-goalie-with-4-minutes-left strategy make any sense? Has it ever worked. I know they were down 3-zip and out of the game at that point, but I can't see how that 6th skater was really worth it. Again, just a move that is reeking of desperation from a coach that clearly thinks his head is on the chopping block.

Look, I'm not saying this tailspin is Therrien's fault. No, it goes much, much deeper than that. But it seems to me that Therrien is coaching like a desperate man and is making a bad situation much worse with moves that just don't make a whole lot of sense. If this keeps up, I don't see the Penguins have many options except to make their own move of desperation: a head coaching change.

Pens Get 2 All-Stars, Give Up 6 Goals

That headline is a microcosm for the Pens season isn't it? The team is littered with star caliber players, including 2 super-duper-stars, yet right now they aren't even a freaking playoff team. I mean how do the Panthers, one of the least effective offensive teams in the sport, go off for 6 goals? Right now this team is absolutely unwatchable. And what in the world is Sidney Crosby doing right now? What kind of captaincy is that? 21 minutes worth of penalty minutes wracked up to the team captain!?! How is that helpful?

Something drastic has to happen with this squad and it has to happen right now. I honestly have no idea, except to say that I think the roster needs to be shaken up a little. Its pretty evident these guys aren't enjoying playing together right now, and the chemistry on this team can best be described as toxic when things start going poorly.

I also know that while this isn't necessarily Mikey Therrien's fault, it's also not exactly speaking volumes about his coaching ability, and unless the Pens pull out of this disgraceful tailspin pretty soon, someone is going to have to take the fall for this, and that someone figures to be Therrien.

Pens Lose a disaster of a game; What is going on with this team?

Wow, when I picked last night's game out of the lineup of choices when we were splitting up the season tickets, I certainly didn't expect this. I figured that it'd be cool to see all the old ex-Pens in town coached by the Mullet Man himself. But I also pretty much knew that this Lightning team, barring Steve Stamkos turning into the next great rookie (which he hasn't at all) and Martin St. Louis reverting to the player he was a few years ago (which he hasn't at all), this Lightning squad was going to be a mess and that the Pens would take care of business against their former mates and I'd get to cheer this guy one more time before I had to start rooting against him:Well, I was half right...

In one of the most pathetic displays of hockey I have ever seen, the Penguins mustered a god-awful 15 shots, and I would say that nearly half of them were just pucks thrown at the net to try to get something going, and never had any real shot of going in. To show just how terrible the offense was, this is the first time that I can ever remember a goalie (Tampa's Mike Smith) putting together a shutout and NOT BEING ONE OF THE 3 STARS! This Pens team just looked like they hadn't finished their holiday shopping and wanted to make sure this game ended as fast as possible and as many people were driven away from the Igloo early because of the stench of their play so the postgame traffic would be minimal for them.

What's really concerning is this video from the Pensblog of Michael Therrien's postgame news conference. Guys are complaining on the bench? About what? How terrible every single person on the roster is playing? Not one guy on that team (except poor Flower that is) has the right to complain after that stinkbomb. 17,000+ fans have every right to complain and to ask for their money back. We paid good money to see a hockey game between two NHL clubs, not an AHL-caliber club play a hockey game while the Pens were apparently under the impression this was a morning skate session. You can tell from the video that Therrien is just absolutely disgusted by this team right now, and when he's been like that in the past, it often results in some serious lineup shakeups and some good old fashioned ass-whipping in practice, and I expect to see similar actions taken in the coming games.

I mean something has to be done here, right? 15 shots against THE WORST F-ING TEAM IN HOCKEY?!?!?! How does a team with the so-called "2 best players in the world" let that happen? I'll tell you how, because the two best players in the world, are not being aggressive enough right now, they're not shooting, and when they do shoot, it's involving about 1 or 2 too many passes and a few too many dekes and not nearly enough just firing a slap shot at the net at 100 mph. Do you realize the Pens have outshot their opponents just 12 times in 34 games this year, and just 3 times in their 11 December games? If you have two offensive forces of nature like Sid and Geno, you should be outshooting your opponent every single night, no excuses.

The problem I think starts with these two though. Sid has always been the unselfish one, but Geno didn't use to be this unselfish (at least not that I can remember). Last night he was skating in on Smith on a sort of breakaway and instead of taking a hard shot at a hapless goaltender like Smith, he left the puck for Sid who was skating in behind him. The only problem was, by the time Crosby got there, there were two Lightning players right in front of him, and he had no choice but to take a lousy shot. I mean what the hell kind of hockey is that? Congrats Geno, you made a no-look pass to the trailer, but passed up a good shot to give another guy a crappy one. Good job. There was a time last year, when Gonch and Whitters were healthy, and Hossa was still here, and Malone was here causing havoc in front of the net, when making an extra pass or two ended up being wildly beneficial to this team because everyone on the top two units and on the power plays could handle the puck extremely well and Bugsy was always standing on the doorstep looking for deflections and putbacks, which made the Pens shots on goal typically more valuable and effective, so it was okay to shoot a little less if they were higher percentage. But with the caliber of player on this team now, it's no longer okay for Sid and Geno to make these cross-pass ices when they have a half-decent angle at the net. I can't tell you how many times last night I witnessed a Pens player bungle a pass in his direction. It was like watching an entire team filled with Kris Beechs and Josef Melichars. And yet our two playmakers kept feeding these guys the pucks over and over again. They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. If that's the case, it's time to lock Sid and Geno up in Western Psych, because that fits what they are doing to a T.

Crosby is the leader of this team, so I'm holding him most responsible for what's going on right now, as should everyone. I mean yes, his numbers are very good this season, but what I saw last night and what we've all seen in the last month, is that something just isn't right with this team. Look, I know Crosby is never going to be Ovechkin-esque in shooting the puck. I've accepted that, but as the leader of this team, he needs to understand that his role has changed from what it was last year. When he has the right players with him, he is the best setup man in the business, but when you are playing with guys who can barely control the puck let alone put it in the net, it's time to throw that role aside and become selfish. Like any great leader, Sid's role needs to adapt to whatever the team needs it to be, and right now, that role is of a goal scorer. He's shown flashes of it in the past, but it's time for him to sustain this role and become the force of nature the Pens need him to be. And if he can't do it, then Geno needs to become the focal point of this offense and of this franchise. Sorry Sid, I love you and you'll always be the leader, but if Geno can turn back into the 50-goal guy I thought he could be last season, then right now he is much more important than you, and you both need to understand that.

Oh, one final tidbit: What's with the booing of Ryan Malone last night, Pittsburgh? Really, we're going to boo a native son who submitted one of the all-time tough guy performances in last year's Stanley Cup and was a key contributor on one of the best teams in franchise history because he cashed in for a truckload of money? I mean, that's ludicrous. Look at that picture above one more time. This guy should be given a standing O everytime he's seen in the Burgh. And I know, he was stirring things up early on and got called for a penalty for pushing around some Pens, BUT I DON'T CARE! DON'T YOU EVER BOO RYAN MALONE AGAIN!

Live Bloggin Pens/ Flyers

1:06 Welcome to the Three River Sports Live Blog of our beloved Pittsburgh Penguins taking on the Filth-adelphia Cryers. The tensions are always high in these games, and we'll be watching closely to see if Sidney Crosby's personal declaration of war on the Flyers continues. Ever since that Derian Hatcher dirty hit knocked out some of Sid's teeth and made bleed all over the ice, Sid has been transformed against Philly into a one man wrecking crew. Sid has something in common with his landlord, Super Mario in that they both own NHL teams, all Mario's is financial ownership of the Pens, whereas Sid just flat out owns the Flyers on the ice. Should be a good one.

1:08 Marc Andre Fleury is still out, though he is in uni at least, as Dany Sabourin gets the start. Flyers win the faceoff and away we go.

1:10 With Sean Avery now out of the division, I think it's safe to say that Scott Hartnell is now my least favorite player and the guy that, if he suffered a career-ending injury tomorrow, I would be most excited about hearing. Just a dirty player with no real skill or ability whatsoever. Anyway, Geno takes a BS holding penalty. This already looks like a war in the making.

1:12 Looked like Mark Eaton was going to head to the box for firing one over the boards, but turns out just milliseconds before that, Joffrey Lupul held Jordan Staal. Not only do the Pens avoid being down 5 on 3 for a few seconds, they get a power play of almost 1:50. Good times! Let's see what they can do.

1:15 The Flyers PK outshoots the Penguins PP 2-zip. Not good times. And almost as soon as the Pens' power play ends, we have yet another penalty, this time on Matt Cooke for holding, as Jeff Carter started whining worse than Jim Boeheim after a Syracuse foul.

1:17 Joffrey Lupul puts the Flyers up 1-0 about 6 minutes into the first. A shot goes wide of Sabu, and for some reason he flopped down trying to make the save. Lupul grabbed it behind the net and stuffed it in. Paul Steigy is talking about the Flyers having a guy in the crease. Not sure about that one, and FSN of course doesn't show a replay after Steigy makes this statement to see if its true or not.

1:20 Okay yeah there was a guy in the paint for the Flyers that the official didn't call anything on. To be honest he didn't impede Sabourin at all though I don't think. Still, that's Cryers hockey for you.

1:23 Pens on the man advantage again. 4 penalties already, and of course the Flyers get another PK shot. Ridiculous. The Flyers are the most aggressive PK team I've ever seen I think. Logically that should mean the team on Power Play should be able to take advantage of this aggression, but that just doesn't seem to ever happen.

1:25 Jeff Taffe and Connor James both see time on the power play. Evidently the other 10 forwards all have food poisoning or something.

1:26 AHHH! Another penalty on the Pens. The Flyers special teams are superb. The Pens are a better 5 on 5 team, but I don't see how they can beat Philly in this kind of a game.

1:29 Good Lord, another Flyers goal, 2-0 Filth adelphia. Mike Knuble gets the goal after Mike Richards was given all kinds of time and space on an absolutely hideous PK effort by the Pens. This is my first Pens live blog, and if this keeps up it will be my last, too.

1:33 Hey it's another penalty, this time on the Flyers, though the way the Pens PP has played, I don't think it matters. And oh good! An interference call against Petr Sykora to even things up even though the refs blow two tripping penalties that should have been called on the Cryers. Nothing gets my blood pressure up to unhealthy levels like watching a poorly officiated hockey game.

1:39 The Flyers are just doing what they please in the offensive zone, getting things set up and moving the puck effectively. The Pens meanwhile are a hot mess when they get in the offensive zone, as the dump and chase has been their most effective tool thus far. Just hideous. Mikey Therrien is going to have some choice words at the intermission I think.

1:41 Ouch! A nasty looking hit on Ruslan Fedotenko, who got his head smashed into the boards. A moment later Fedotenko appears to be wide open on a breakaway but somehow ends up offside. Not his best shift.

1:43 End of the first period, I'll be back for the start of the second, 2-0 Flyers. The Pens need to change things up somewhere if they're going to get back into this one.

2:00 And we're back. The big intermission story was about sharpening the players' skates. Didn't take long for the well to run dry for Penguins stories at FSN.

2:04 Pens continue to be about as coordinated as diarrhea. I'm growing concerned here, as that offense just likes totally impotent right now.

2:06 Bob Errey makes a good point (imagine my surprise) about Dany Sabourin making plays on shots he doesn't have to because they are wide or high. This led to one of the Flyers earlier goals. They say its a potential confidence issue. Worth keeping an eye on.

2:09 Put on the board! J-Staal sneaks one behind Marty Biron for his 10th of the season! The Flyers lead is cut to 2-1. Tim Wallace, Ruslan Fedotenko and Alex Goligoski make that play happen for him as it started back at the other blue line and Rus and Golo both get assists on that one I believe. Wallace was as important as any there though and has faired pretty well in his 2 games since being called up.

2:12 Tim Wallace apparently comes from a long line of snow bowlers up in Anchorage Alaska. Good thing you're there Dan Potash.

2:16 CRAP! 3-1 Flyers, as Mike Richards reads a telegraphed play like he's Antonio Cromartie or something and takes it to the house on Sabu, who is having some issues out there it seems. That wasn't really his fault, though.

2:19 CRAP Part Two! 4-1 Flyers, and Scott F-Ing Hartnell scores for the Flyers. Nothing pisses me off as much as seeing that D-bag scoring a goal. This one is getting ugly.

2:25 Connor James takes a nasty spill in front of the Flyers net after being shoved down. What's more notable than yet another non-call from the refs (whose jerseys should probably be orange and black striped) is that there is little friskiness from the other Pens on the ice after this.

2:28 In a wildly transparent effort to get us fired up, Errey and Steigy spend a good deal of time ignoring the on-ice action and talking about the record-breaking pace of comeback wins this season in the NHL. Of course, this team looks half asleep right now and will need some kind of spark in order to get back in this game. So far they've shown little sign of a pulse.

2:30 Good lord another freaking Flyers goal, 5-1 now after Geno gives up a bad turnover and the rest of the Pens stand around staring as Mike Knuble rules in a pitiful shot past Dany Sabourin who is doing his best impersonation of the Dany Sabourin who gave up 4 goals in a period in his first ever game with the Pens.

2:33 In play typical of the most despicable city on the planet, a few Flyers knock Matt Cooke around with some cheap shots, the refs who apparently all wagered heavily on Philly today, call absolutely nothing and play continues even as a near fight is erupting in the corner. And, in typical fashion of the inhabitants of the 9th circle of hell, the Filth adelphia fans start chanting "Crosby sucks" as Sid comes over to help Matt Cooke while his useless teammates stand around doing nothing. Seriously what is going on with this Penguins team chemistry?

2:35 Mercifully, the period ends. I'm thinking we may see Marc-Andre Fleury in the third period. I mean why not at this point? Let him go out there and shake off some of the rust. And for some reason, Bob Errey thinks MAF has a shot at making the All-Star team even though he's third on his own team in Save % and is well behind Carey Price in the fan voting, because Errey is rooting for Flower to get into the game so he can get closer to qualifying for all-star play. Sometimes I wonder what goes on in that head of his. I'll be back for the third.

2:38 Uhmm...Dan Potash, why are you interviewing Scott Hartnell?!? Way to know your audience there FSN. The last person on the planet earth I want to hear from there is Scott Freaking Hartnell. The only way I would've wanted to see that interview is if Potash was setting Hartnell up for a sniper to pick off or something.

2:52 We're back here and ready for the third period. If the Cryers get up 6-1, I'm probably going to pull the plug on this thing, as I just really don't know if I have the heart to write about a blowout loss to our archrivals. We'll see. And by the way, for some reason, Marc-Andre Fleury is not in the game. I guess maybe they're still not 100% on him being able to play, but as Bob Errey points out, there shouldn't be any doubt about Fleury's health if they were willing to send Curry down today. I don't know, this seems like the ideal time, but they'll have 4 days until their next game to get Flower ready, so I guess that's enough for the Pens.

2:58 Pens don't have a shot in the first 6 minutes of the third period, and as Errey and Steigy have pointed out about 20 times in the last few minutes, our boys just look flat tired out there right now. They look ready for that nice break.

3:02 Seriously someone needs to take that Potash-talking-with-an-actual-Penguin commercial out back and shoot it. In fact we should probably do a similar thing with Potash himself. Can you tell I'm a little grumpy? Yeah.

3:04 Finally some heated moments. Mike Richards goes over to get in Matt Cooke's face about Cooke's earlier hit on Kimmo Timonen. Richards partically shat himself when he realized Cooke wanted to throw down and quickly looked around for backup. Sid came blistering over and jumped on top of some useless Flyers player. And of course, all the demon spawn sitting in the Wachovia Hell hole are chanting "Crosby sucks." We all know you're jealous that we have a once-in-a-generation Canadian talent who actually panned out, unlike Eric "The Human Concussion" Lindros. Seriously, how long before the city of Filth Adelphia is just walled up and forgotten about like New York is in that old "Escape from New York" movie? It needs to happen. Nothing even remotely useful comes from there.

3:09 HOLY CRAP! Eric Godard scored a freakin' goal! Just as I was about to call it day with this blog, Godard scores and allows me to say I was here for a truly historic moment. 5-2 Flyers now, and that is a pretty god awful moment for the Flyers team a whole. Godard might be the least offensively talented player in the NHL. And almost as importantly, Geno gets an assist to up his league leading total.

3:15 Looks like Russie Fedotenko may have been injured more than I thought on that earlier dirty hit. He hasn't returned to the lineup it turns out, which explains why Godard was playing with Geno.

3:18 Eric Godard and Scott Hartnell go toe to toe and Hartnell goes down in a hurry there, clearly wanting no part of Godard and instead turtles up almost instantly. Seriously Hartnell, grow a freaking pair.

3:20 As Errey points out, Godard is now an assist away from the Gordie Howe Hat Trick. Unfortunately, he got an additional 2 minutes onto his penalty and won't be returning unless the Pens pull off a miracle and take it to OT. Too bad.

3:21 Freakin Jeff Carter tips in a Lupul shot and it's 6-2 Filth Adelphia. Rough day for the Pens penalty kill and for Dany Sabourin. Let's hope thats the last of the day.

3:23 Tim Wallace nearly bats one in for a goal, but Marty Biron won't help a brother out. Too bad that would've been a cool thing to see, as Wallace is playing pretty well.

3:26 Well so much for Russie Fedotenko being out, he somehow snuck back in there and puts a goal on the board, 6-3 Flyers with less than 2 minutes to go. Jeff Taffe and Petr Sykora get the assists for the Pens.

3:28 And that will do it from the Wachovia Hellhole, 6-3 Filth adelphia Cryers top our beloved Pens. The Pens just look flat beat at this point and I'm sure will savor their next few days off as they try to climb out of this funk they've been in of late.

While today certainly didn't go as planned, here's a little reminder for us Pens fans of that little showdown from last spring:
I'll be at the Pitt game tonight folks and will give you an update tomorrow on what I saw from the team, and will have a preview of the Steelers and Baltimore Biridies up tomorrow as well.

Malkin and Sid: Reunited and It Feels So Good

Last night in the dump on Long Island, we witnessed the full blunt force of what happens when the Pens combine their dynamic duo, Sid Crosby and Geno Malkin, and pit them against mere mortals. And it was a sight to be hold. An astonishing 4 third period goals as the Islanders begged for mercy from these two gods of ice. So, the question is now going to be raised in many 'burgh circles: Should this combo be paired together more often?

I think we certainly saw strong evidence to suggest that this should be a pairing that is used in overtime situations, and should continue to be used at the very end of games. Some critics will say that you shouldn't switch players around that much in game, but Sid and Geno are no ordinary players and certainly have the chemistry well-developed to play together, especially in overtime when the wide-open spaces play even more to their astounding strengths.

I don't think this is a move that coach Mikey Therrien will resort to often for entire periods, as he did last night though. The other three lines just aren't potent enough, and unless Therrien feels the Pens need their weekly swift-kick lineup change, I think he'll keep these two separated for the most part.

How should the Pens' lines shape up?

Being that it's been about 5 days since Pens coach Michel Therrien realigned his offense, I think it's reasonably safe to assume that we can expect another change coming in the next few games. So, naturally, what can we expect to see as far as the next lineup changes, whenever it is that they happen?
Well, let's take a look at the two keys to the lineup: Sid and Geno. There's no question that anything this team does should center around getting these two in the best positions to succeed. Personally, I am of the opinion that the two of them should be put together on the same line except for in desperate times, such as end of games or during losing streaks, or if one of them happens to be in a scoring slump. And since they are both natural centers, we have our middle men on the top two lines established.
Next, many people would say that Petr Sykora should remain on Malkin's line because of the success that those two have enjoyed together. Sykora has struggled on Geno's wing so far this season, but he'll turn things around as the season goes along, and I'm not about to make a drastic move like taking him off Malkin's wing.
Next, we have our resident third line center, Jordan Staal. I know that it has become an increasing debate about where Staal should play, a top two winger spot or a third line center position. The Penguins already have a pretty serviceable third line center on the roster, though, in the form of Mad Max Talbot (we'll discuss him in a bit), so to me it makes sense that Staal should be put on a top 2 line, and play center only on the PK. It's worth noting that almost all of Staal's time on the wing has been spent on Malkin's, and it would intrigue me to see how he might fare on Crosby's wing, so we'll stick him there and see if he can keep up with the Kid.
As I just mentioned, Talbot, who I think is legit second line winger if necessary, will be our third line center, a role I think he really thrives in.
Now for our other top line wingers. While Miro Satan leads the team with 6 goals, he often appears to have cement in his skates, and looked to be a very poor fit for Sidney when he played on the top line early in the season. I also worry about him being a poor fit for Geno on that second line with an older, slower player already there in Sykora, so we drop him down another line, to Max Talbot's line. I know this isn't a tremendous fit, but we would still be on the power play unit, where he has scored most of his goals. The other offseason signee, Ruslan Fedotenko, has gotten off to a bit of a slow start, but I think there is some potential with him on the top line with Sid, so I'm keeping him there.
Pascal Dupuis then is clearly being booted off of Sid's wing, but I don't think he's done enough there. I also don't think he's a real top-two line player, and it was a toss up for me between him and Matt Cooke for the left wing on the second line, but I sided with Dupuis, for now. This leaves Cooke for the third line, a spot where I think he gives the Pens an absolutely tremendous third line.
Now, we have our fourth line, which is the remnants of our roster, including the guys who could be scratched on any given night. I think Tyler Kennedy and Mike Zigomanis are both excellent fourth liners who could spend time on the higher lines if necessary, but both are mainstays here that shouldn't be in contention for being scratched, at least in my opinion. They are also both centers, but Zigomanis has proven to be a pretty solid faceoff man, so I'll give him the middle, with TK on the wing. This leaves our other wing to either scrappy Paul Bissonette or enforcer Eric Godard. The traditional NHLism is to stick the enforcer out there, but I think that is a stereotype from a past era, and unless there is legit bad blood between the Pens and their opponents (say Flyers, Rangers, Caps, or any team involving Sean Avery) then I would keep Godard off the ice because he might as well not even have a stick half the time he's out there he's so offensively challenged. To recap, here's the visual aid of my lines:

Line 1: Fedotenko-Crosby- Staal
Line 2: Dupuis- Malkin- Sykora
Line 3: Cooke-Talbot- Satan
Line 4: Kennedy- Zigomanis- Godard/Bissonette