Finally!

Now I am all about giving people second chances, but I believe that it was apparent that it was the team that got up for San Jose the other night, and not the coach. I don't think the coach had anything to do with the team winning that game, or he would had instituted that inspiration against the Maple Leafs last night. That was an embarrassing loss, especially because of where we came from and where we want to be. I wanted Michel Therrian ousted weeks ago. I felt that he wasn't able to get the team to play better, no matter how hard he tried. He couldn't inspire them to want to win, even when they looked down and out. He also seemed to have rifts with several players. I understand that everyone is not always going to get along, but we all saw the things that he was trying and most of us didn't agree. I was willing to give him a second chance a few weeks later when we started a new style and it worked. The Pens have enough talent to win these games. It takes a good coach to make the team. We won so much last year, I believe, solely based on talent alone. Reality set in when you could see that the Pens really didn't want to play for him anymore. They needed a change. I think Therrian was a great minor league coach and knew how to work with that level of talent. He had troubles with his other team that he headed up as well, ironically around this same timeline. It seems he can get the team to a certain level and then can't get them any further. I am quite pleased with this decision and actually think it should have been done a couple months ago.

Enough about Therrian. About the playoffs: “That’s our goal,” Shero said. “It’s been uphill battle. This is a resilient group. I’m looking for Dan to come in with the coaches here to rally the troops. We’re looking to make some progress here and make a push. “

The Pens made their AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Baby Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma the interrim head coach. Balysma retired from the NHL after the 2004-05 season, right before the lockout. He is merely 38 years old and on the fast track for a head coaching position. Balysma may be the ticket to encourage the players the right way instead of the way Therrian did. He played parts of 429 games for Los Angelos Kings and the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. He was more of a defensive offenseman. He coached for the Ducks affiliate in Cincinnati as well as assistant coach for the Baby Pens during their Calder Cup Finals. He started coaching as an assistant for the New York Islanders. Some say that he is excellent in developing talent. He has been working well with the Baby Pens talent. They have a combined record of 98-49-5-8 since coming aboard last year. I don't know how permanent this coaching change is, but I can see them holding on to him for the rest of the season, obviously, and depending on how the Pens play the rest of the season. The Pens surprisingly reassigned Andre Sarvard to somewhere withing the organization. They also kept assistant Mike Yeo and goaltending coach Gilles Meloche where they are. Tom Fitzgerald, the Penguins’ director of player development, will join the staff as an assistant coach. I like this change all except for keeping Yeo. We have the league's worst power play and that is Yeo's bread and butter.

The new staff will have today and the morning skate, if they have one, tomorrow to prepare for the New York Islanders. Every game from here on is a must win. I was encouraged when I read what Balysma had to say: “I’m a passionate person and energetic person,” Bylsma said. “I believe you need commitment, passion and a high energy level. That’s how I approach life. We have a great challenge that we should enjoy. We should bring all that energy to the rink (Monday) .” “To have an opportunity to coach a team with this much talent and this much possibility is a great chance for me,” Bylsma said. “I look at the players and the roster and I look at a group that can win games right now. We need to do that starting (Monday) on the Island. Players have to believe that we can do this. That’s the approach that we’ll take.” I am impressed with him already, so hopefully their will be a ripple effect on the rest of the team. “Teams should be forced to deal with our speed and skill and we need to be an aggressive group,” Bylsma said. “We’re going to try to get the guys on their toes and going, bringing passion and work ethic to game. If we focus on playing back to our strength and get away from the situation it’s been for a while here, you’ll see a team that can compete and be a contending team.” Like I said earlier, though, I am confused about them moving Sarvard out and leaving Yeo in. Is it really execution of the plays he draws up or are the plays and thought process that bad this year just because Gonchar has been gone. Who knows. I guess we will find out. I am sure Crosby and Malkin would love to have steady linemates. Orpik, who had a recognized problem with Therrian, should be quite happy. I hope this change is right inline with a quality trade.

I have heard so many rumors, who knows what to expect. As I recall last year, we didn't hear anything about us getting Hossa, so who knows what Shero has up his sleeve this year. I know he is shopping Whitney and Staal. I know alot of you are saying how you want to be rid of Whitney and Staal and their contract. I agree only with Whitney, and only because we have NHL ready offensive defenseman on the Baby Pens squad. I think he absence from the team for the first couple months hurt him. When he came back, there was so much pressure to perform since Gonchar wasn't there, he hasn't been able to play as well. I think his performance in the playoffs last year is a big selling point. Ok, now, onto Staal. I would love to see what a good coach can do with him. He is in need of a little development, we all know that. He is still young enough in age and his career to make subtle changes the way he plays to make him better. I am going to sit here and hope for the best.

I would love to see something happen in this game to give us all hope.

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Pens Win

Well, alot of things happened last night that surrounded the Penguins. Pittsburgh had several more players not play due to injury totalling eight. Here is our injury list:

Sidney Crosby (lower body), Max Talbot (upper body), Rob Scuderi (head), Kris Letang (lower body), Pascal Dupuis (knee), Ruslan Fedotenko (broken right hand), Sergei Gonchar (left shoulder), and Mike Zigomanis (undisclosed). The Pens also lost Brooks Orpik (upper body injury) during the game, although Orpik says it wasn't an injury that should take significant game time.

Pittsburgh called up Janne Pesonen and Bill Thomas for this game to go along with the other Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins players in Chris Minard and Paul Bissonnette. Considering the way Pittsburgh has been playing as of late, the Pens were not expected to win.

With the help of Matt Cooke and Hal Gill, the Pens prevailed 3-1. I kept seeing interviews with Cooke before and after the game and he kept mentioning getting back to the way they played at Philadelphia. This made me think that Washington the other night got the Pens off their game. I believe that the team is convinced that they have to play the trap right now and be patient to win games in the current situation. Pittsburgh has won both games that they were able to completely install this system. I will say it is getting hard for them to get used to, but it works, so they are going to have to force themselves to use it.

Marc-Andre Fleury looked great in net and made several key saves. The only goal he let in was a Power Play goal in the second where he was beat by Ryan Getzlaf top shelf. Fleury didn't have a chance. The Penalty Kill sorta let him down in that situation.

The Pens went 0 for 3 on the PP while the Ducks went 1 for 4. Pittsburgh played well on the PK after that first goal. The Pens had several short handed attempts to include our own Fox Chapel native Bill Thomas. Speaking of Pittsburgh area natives, Anaheim had one of their own in George Parros who hails from Washington.

Overall, it was a great team win, sadly it took everyone in the locker room to get injured, but it could prove to do a little of the same thing we had last year. Make the players play harder just because they now know they have to.

You can look at this game in two ways...We finally won or we have won two out of three!

Let's Go Pens!

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What is going on with the Penguins?

So, I have been watching the last couple months and have been at the point of every emotion my body is capable of. At first I was upset, then excited, then sad, now I am a mix between optimistic and disappointed. I know they usually take it up a notch in January and on into March, but we all know that injuries and timing of those injuries play a huge factor into the whole scheme of things.
So, here are my thoughts. We, yes I feel as though I am a member of this team as a loyal fan, usually start out slow and slowly build up. By usually I mean the last two playoff years. Well, we did things a little backwards this year and started off hot without or main defense. I think we played out of our minds for that matter. No, with even more injuries to our players that are significant role players and not superstars like Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, it is catching up to us. The losses of Tyler Kennedy, Mike Zigomanis, Hal Gill, and Maxime Talbot have been huge. I know, I know, you look at them and you think how can those players bring us down? They prove how important role players are in this league. I will start with Kennedy. He may be listed as 5' 11" and 183 lbs, but he plays like James Harrison of the Steelers. He throws what body he has around on every shift. He gives his body and soul to his team and what for? He has the Crosby passion we would like to see in all players. He creates a spark when he steps on the ice for that ever important third line. He helps Jordan Staal and Matt Cooke create things that otherwise shouldn't be there. Next I will move onto Zigomanis. You might ask what does a fourth liner bring to the table? Mike Zigomanis was only leading the league in faceoff percentage. If you think faceoffs don't matter, follow or record versus our faceoff percentage. It is amazing how much they coincide. I would even venture to say that goes back to the Stanley Cup Finals last year. I feel if we could have won those key faceoffs like we were with Zigomanis, we would have won the cup. Next on the list is big Hal Gill. He is a little more obvious, but I am going to key in on his Penalty Killing ability. Our PK has dropped off significantly since he went down with the injury. He covers up so much of the ice and mastered the defensive positioning. He may be slow, but for the most part he can be. By this I mean his positioning and decision making make this possible. I feel like Gill is one of the most underrated defensemen that we have. Finally I want to talk about Maxime Talbot. He has become the toast of the Penguins aside from Sid and Geno. He has that speed and ability to be so versitile and clutch. I feel that every team needs a player like him on their team. He just loves playing and gives his all everytime he steps on the ice. This attitude reflects over every member of this team. I think if we would have traded him instead of Colby Armstrong in that Marian Hossa deal last year, we would not have made it to the Finals. He is that important.
Overall, I am just saying the success of a team is the whole team, not just certain parts of it. Don't overlook anyone. Marc-Andre Fleury and Petr Sykora are difference makers as well. I think that we have the complete package this year when we are all healthy. All I have to say is thank God that our players that were going to get injured were in the first half of the season and not the last half.
I still stick by my prediction of the Stanley Cup Champions this year.

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