Penguins Impoved to Start Season
The Pittsburgh Penguins look to be much improved in several facets of their game from last season.
They have gotten the goaltending that they were hoping for from Marc-Andre Fleury, even after a sub par camp. The young goaltender has been very solid against two tough opponents, shutting out the Philadelphia Flyers on opening night and allowing only 2 goals to the Detroit Redwings last night. Fleury has controlled his rebounds and made big saves when the team has needed them. Though the team scored 4 goals opening night, it was Fleury who deserved the most credit for the victory. He has allowed 2 goals in the first two games, and if the team could have gotten any sustained pressure against detroit they could feasibly be 2-0. Unfortunately, that did not happen.
Ray Shero made improving the penalty kill one of his priorities when he took over as GM of the Penguins and that has been very evident so far. He brought in defenseman Mark Eaton and forward Jarkko Ruutu. Both have already proven their worth in helping the team kill off 12 power plays in the two games. Eaton is not flashy, but he always seems to make the right play with the puck, especially short handed. He gets himself in great position to make the right plays. Body positioning seems to be a big part of his game, cutting opposing forwards off from the puck. Ruutu has sacrificed his body to block shots during each game. He is not afraid to drop in front opposing shooters and take one in the chest for the team. Both players have been and will be great assets throughout the season. Their tenacity has rubbed off on their teammates, and Therrien has used multiple combinations to kill penalties.
Unfortunately, as well as the team has played short handed, they need to cut down on scoring chances and shots for the opposition. In the two games they have been outshot 66-34. This is not a formula for success, eventually the law of averages is going to catch up to you and more of those shots are going to find the back of the net. Fleury has been great, but he can't do it all. The team has got to play better in their own zone, getting the puck up the boards and out, while at the same time getting shots on net in the offensive zone. Too many times this year, they have past on open shots trying to set up the "perfect play." If you have an open shot, take it. You never know what is going to happen. Deflections and rebounds generate just as many, if not more points that tic tac toe passing. Part the solution to the problem will come when Evgeni Malkin rejoins the line-up in the next couple weeks.
What is going on with the lines?
Michel Therrien kept his core lines together throughout the preseason, but suddenly abandoned them last night. Sidney Crosby, Colby Armstrong and Nils Ekman are a strong unit and need to play together. They have really settled in together and have looked very good. Could it be that Therrien realized that the current number 2 line of Mark Recchi, John LeClair and Ryan Malone is just to slow? Maybe. That could be the reason that he switched Ekman and Recchi. It wasn't an effective switch. Recchi has seemed to turn the puck over more in the first two games than I ever remember and didn't seem to be a good fit with Armstrong and Crosby. Ekman had a couple chances with Malone and LeClair, but it also didn't seem to mesh. Hopefully this situation is straightened out before Thursday night. A scheduling quirk has given them 5 days to get work out the kinks.
When Will Malkin Return?
Early word had Malkin missing as little as two games, but the prognosis has changed a bit. He is still working out with the team and went through his first full practice since the injury yesterday. He was moving fine, showing some speed and taking some shots at full force. All signs pointed to the original time table, unfortunately, the team seems to be leaning towards holding him out a bit longer. It is not a guarantee, but he may not play for a few more weeks. They are being very cautious with the injury and do not want to risk further injury to the young star. The one positive is that the league has only scheduled the Penguins to play 9 games in October, a small price to pay for an extra month of recovery and if Malkin is capable of what we all think he is, it shouldn't hurt his quest for the Calder.
They have gotten the goaltending that they were hoping for from Marc-Andre Fleury, even after a sub par camp. The young goaltender has been very solid against two tough opponents, shutting out the Philadelphia Flyers on opening night and allowing only 2 goals to the Detroit Redwings last night. Fleury has controlled his rebounds and made big saves when the team has needed them. Though the team scored 4 goals opening night, it was Fleury who deserved the most credit for the victory. He has allowed 2 goals in the first two games, and if the team could have gotten any sustained pressure against detroit they could feasibly be 2-0. Unfortunately, that did not happen.
Ray Shero made improving the penalty kill one of his priorities when he took over as GM of the Penguins and that has been very evident so far. He brought in defenseman Mark Eaton and forward Jarkko Ruutu. Both have already proven their worth in helping the team kill off 12 power plays in the two games. Eaton is not flashy, but he always seems to make the right play with the puck, especially short handed. He gets himself in great position to make the right plays. Body positioning seems to be a big part of his game, cutting opposing forwards off from the puck. Ruutu has sacrificed his body to block shots during each game. He is not afraid to drop in front opposing shooters and take one in the chest for the team. Both players have been and will be great assets throughout the season. Their tenacity has rubbed off on their teammates, and Therrien has used multiple combinations to kill penalties.
Unfortunately, as well as the team has played short handed, they need to cut down on scoring chances and shots for the opposition. In the two games they have been outshot 66-34. This is not a formula for success, eventually the law of averages is going to catch up to you and more of those shots are going to find the back of the net. Fleury has been great, but he can't do it all. The team has got to play better in their own zone, getting the puck up the boards and out, while at the same time getting shots on net in the offensive zone. Too many times this year, they have past on open shots trying to set up the "perfect play." If you have an open shot, take it. You never know what is going to happen. Deflections and rebounds generate just as many, if not more points that tic tac toe passing. Part the solution to the problem will come when Evgeni Malkin rejoins the line-up in the next couple weeks.
What is going on with the lines?
Michel Therrien kept his core lines together throughout the preseason, but suddenly abandoned them last night. Sidney Crosby, Colby Armstrong and Nils Ekman are a strong unit and need to play together. They have really settled in together and have looked very good. Could it be that Therrien realized that the current number 2 line of Mark Recchi, John LeClair and Ryan Malone is just to slow? Maybe. That could be the reason that he switched Ekman and Recchi. It wasn't an effective switch. Recchi has seemed to turn the puck over more in the first two games than I ever remember and didn't seem to be a good fit with Armstrong and Crosby. Ekman had a couple chances with Malone and LeClair, but it also didn't seem to mesh. Hopefully this situation is straightened out before Thursday night. A scheduling quirk has given them 5 days to get work out the kinks.
When Will Malkin Return?
Early word had Malkin missing as little as two games, but the prognosis has changed a bit. He is still working out with the team and went through his first full practice since the injury yesterday. He was moving fine, showing some speed and taking some shots at full force. All signs pointed to the original time table, unfortunately, the team seems to be leaning towards holding him out a bit longer. It is not a guarantee, but he may not play for a few more weeks. They are being very cautious with the injury and do not want to risk further injury to the young star. The one positive is that the league has only scheduled the Penguins to play 9 games in October, a small price to pay for an extra month of recovery and if Malkin is capable of what we all think he is, it shouldn't hurt his quest for the Calder.
posted by Bmetzer66 at 1:25 PM
2 Comments:
Nice blog :)
I think it's horrible that Therrien threw Recchi on the top line--he must have thought they needed to slow down. He needs to let that (original) line get a few games in to try and mesh before he starts messing around with it.
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