Preseason Preview #5: Penguins @ Blackhawks

The Pens take on the Chicago Blackhawks tonight at the United Center.

It seems like just a few days ago we were taking on the ‘Hawks–oh wait, we were. On September 22nd, the Penguins defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1. Though, unlike the game a week ago, the Penguins will be taking on Toews, Kane, Seabrook, and Keith. Whereas the Blackhawks struggled to find depth in their loss to the Pens, their top players will be ready for action tonight.

What to Watch For:

• Patrick Kane, one of the league’s best right-wingers, made his preseason debut at center the other night. Despite the adjustment, he was as tricky as ever.
• Though Fleury is in the lineup, Coach Bylsma has indicated Johnson will play the entirety of the game.
• The Pens haven’t announced their D-pairings for the evening, but we can only hope the return of Martin & Michalek is imminent!
• Steve Sullivan will be playing his first preseason game–against his former team, no less!
• The ‘Hawks are known for having an intense power play. Let’s get ready to see that beautiful penalty kill!

Read more for the full lineup and where to watch…

Wild Waivers

After the Penguins third round of cuts yesterday, four players were waiting till noon today to see if they were picked up off of waivers. Ryan Craig, Nick Johnson, Colin MacDonald, and Scott Monroe’s future with the Penguins was up in the air until early this afternoon.

Unfortunately forward Nick Johnson, who had a successfully training camp playing on a line with Jordan Staal, was picked up off of waivers by none other than former Penguins assistant coach Mike Yeo and the Minnesota Wild.

It obviously hurts to lose a player like Johnson, who even with a lot of talent, was buried beneath other Penguins depth at the position.

I only hope the best for Nick and hope that he gets many opportunities to shine with the Wild.

Photo Credit: Penguins Website

To WBS…Away!

Tangradi (#25) at the Rookie Tournament just a few weeks ago.

Earlier today, the Penguins trimmed their roster by seven players. Six of the players (forwards Ryan Craig, Nick Johnson, Colin McDonald and Eric Tangradi; goaltenders Scott Munroe and Brad Thiessen) were assigned to the Penguins’ AHL affiliate: the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Baby Penguins. D-man Scott Harrington will be returning to his OHL club, the London Knights, for another season of seasoning.

 

As difficult as it is to see skilled players like Johnson and Thiessen be sent down, it’s no surprise. The Penguins carry top of the line players in every department, making it difficult for prospects to crack the NHL roster. Nevertheless, many were surprised to see veteran Eric Trangradi assigned to WBS for another season. Many were banking on the skilled forward to make the team this year. Perhaps this will mean the return of his Twitter account? There is only so long any sane person is able to go without Tangradi Trivia.

 

In the end, our AHL team will only be that much stronger for when we need them the most.

Preseason Game #4: Preview

The Pens take on the Los Angeles Kings in their 4th preseason game tonight at 8 p.m . No, not in Los Angeles, but in Kansas City. Yes, the same Kansas City that the Pens were rumored to be looking at moving before the building of Consol Energy Center.

With no NHL team near the city, it will be interesting what the crowd brings to the preseason game tonight. With some stars in the lineup, it should be a fun game. Unfortunately it is not on local television, but tune into 105.9 the X for coverage.

Tonight’s Anticipated Lineup:

Tangradi-Malkin-Neal
Kunitz-Staal-Kennedy
Park-Letestu-N.Johnson
MacIntyre-Vitale-Adams

Lovejoy-Niskanen
Martin-Morrow/Engelland
Strait-Harrington

Fleury
Thiessen

Preseason Preview #3- Wild @ Penguins

It’s preseason game #3 for the Penguins. After strong showings against the Red Wings and the Blackhawks, the Pens take on the Minnesota Wild.

The Wild themselves are coming off three wins and seem to be unstoppable. Will the Pens be the ones to stop them? Or will the Wild crush the Pens and continue to dominate their preseason? All will be figured out at 3PM today.

Playing for the Penguins today:

Forwards: Pascal Dupuis, Richard Park, Chris Kunitz, Ryan Craig, Matt Cooke, Eric Tangradi, Nick Johnson, Steve MacIntyre, Colin McDonald, Aaron Asham, Joe Vitale, Evgeni Malkin

Defensemen: Matt Niskanen, Zbynek Michalek, Brian Strait, Alexandre Picard, Kris Letang, Joseph Morrow

Goaltenders: Scott Monroe and Brad Thiessen

Watch out for:

– Mike Yeo. The former Penguins assistant coach is now the head coach of the Minnesota Wild. Will his knowledge of the Pens help the Wild?

– Evgeni Malkin. After a stellar showing against the Red Wings, will Malkin keep the pace up? Here’s hoping he will.

Where to watch:

ROOT Sports (Pittsburgh), NHL Network (U.S.), Peguins Radio (online), KFAN Sports Radio FM 100.3 (Minnesota)

photo credit: Minnesota Wild site

Not Goodbye, But See You Soon!

It’s sad to say that we won’t see any more of this smiling face (well at least not in Pittsburgh for the time being).

The Pens made their first cuts this afternoon and I have to say some surprised me. In total, thirteen players were cut, eleven were sent to Wilkes Barre-Scranton, and the other two were sent back to Juniors.

Wilkes Barre:
Forwards Brandon DeFazio, Brian Gibbons, Ben Street, Paul Thompson and Geoff Walker;
Defensemen Simon Despres, Alex Grant, Joey Mormina, Philip Samuelsson and Carl Sneep; and Goaltender Patrick Killeen.
Juniors:
Forwards Tom Kuhnhackl (Windsor, Ontario Hockey League) and Dominik Uher (Spokane, Western Hockey League)

I have to say that the demotion of Simon Despres was the most surprising. Despres had an impressive camp last season and was one of the last cuts. Then he completed a stellar season with the Saint John Sea Dogs where he participated in the World Juniors Championship and the Memorial Cup.

Although this is disappointing, training camp goes on and there are still 42 players competing for a limited number of spots.

Players like Despres, who show promise early on, may find themselves in Pittsburgh with the big club soon enough. Unfortunately we know, especially as Pens fans, not a season goes by without an injury or two (or ten).

The rest of the team takes on the Blackhawks tonight coming off a 3-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings. Let the games (and competition) continue!

Preseason Preview #2: Blackhawks @ Penguins

Tonight, the Penguins take on Patrick Sharp and the rest of the devilishly handsome Blackhawks. (Photo: Getty Images)

Fresh off of last night’s sweet victory against the Red Wings, the Penguins are gearing up to take on another Western Conference frontrunner: The Chicago Blackhawks.

The Penguins have an advantage before the game even starts, though. Core Blackhawks such as Toews, Kane, Sharp, Keith, and Seabrook will not be playing in tonight’s game. Rather, the ‘Hawks are using tonight as an opportunity to give prospects such as Brandon Saad an opportunity to experience the major-league game, as well as let veteran players like Bryan Bickell a chance to shine.

The Blackhawks will be striving to prove their depth, while the Penguins will want to prove they can overcome a team that consistently stole two points from them last season.

Update! Here are the lines for tonight’s game:

Kennedy-Staal-N.Johnson
Tangradi-Letestu-McDonald
Cooke-Lerg-Adams
MacIntyre-Sill-Veilleux

Picard-Michalek
Strait-Engelland
Harrington-Lovejoy

Johnson/Munroe

Keep an Eye Out For:

• Dan Carcillo as a Blackhawk. Imagining him in a Blackhawks uniform still makes me giggle a bit. I look forward to watching this as a bit of a science experiment.
• The changes Matt Cooke has made to his game this off-season.
• Brent Johnson. There is never a reason to not watch Brent Johnson.
• The development of our defensive pairings.
• The power play. It worked for us last night, but that’s because everyone on the Red Wings is 75 years old, or is too much of a legend to worry about killing penalties. Chicago, however, has been working on their PK.
• Smile inducing shots of Crosby in the press box.

Where to Watch/Listen:

ROOT Sports (Pittsburgh), NHL Network (U.S.) WGN Radio AM-720 (Chicago), Penguins Radio (Online)

 

LET’S GO PENS!

 

Malkin on Fire

 

Pre-season has started, which means only 15 more days until the regular NHL season starts. While Sidney Crosby continues to gear up for his comeback, one man has vowed to put the team on his back and lead them to wins. That man would be the one and only Evgeni Malkin. And he certainly gave the fans a preview tonight.

Playing against the Detroit Red Wings, Malkin was a man possessed. With a goal and an assist, earning him the first star of the night thank you very much, Malkin quickly shut up all the haters by showing he is ready to take whatever challenge comes his way. It’s obvious he wants to put the last season behind him and lead the Penguins to victory.Can he do it? If this pre-season game is anything to go by, then yes, yes he can. While Penguins fans wait for Crosby to come back, they really have no reason to be worried. While it’s only been one game (and pre-season at that), Evgeni Malkin is back, and he is more than ready to help the team win.

Photo credit to the Penguins’ site

Preseason Preview: Pens vs. Wings

After a long offseason, hockey is finally back in the Burgh. Tonight the Pens take on the Detroit Red Wings at 7 p.m. at Consol Energy Center. If you are in the Pittsburgh area and don’t have tickets, catch the game on Root Sports. If you’re not nearby, tune into NHL network to see the matchup.

It’s always good to have intensity back so early (who cares if it’s preseason!) Having the rival Red Wings in town first definitely starts it off right. Now I don’t know about you guys, but I can’t wait to hear the goal horns go off, Mike Lange’s game calls, and the sounds of the boards shaking after a crushing hit.

Here’s the Pens lineup tonight:

Offense:
Kunitz-Malkin-Neal
Dupuis-Park-Asham
Gibbons-Vitale-McDonald
Thompson-Craig-Walker

Defense:
Matt Niskanen, Paul Martin, Philip Samuelsson, Kris Letang, Carl Sneep, Joseph Morrow

Goaltenders:
Marc-Andre Fleury, Brad Thiessen

It’s a hockey night it Pittsburgh!

Black and Gold Game

Tonight the Pens take on the Pens in the Black vs. Gold game in Wilkes Barre, PA (home of the Penguins AHL affiliate). Although Sidney Crosby is not participating, there are many players to keep your eye on tonight (or ears if you are listening to the radio broadcast).

1.) Evgeni Malkin- Okay this may seem like a simple answer because, next to Crosby, he is the one people look for, but Malkin has a lot of proving himself to do. Well he may not give it near 100% tonight in the intra-squad game, this week of preseason game is crucial to seeing how Malkin has progressed over the season after his surgery and less than par performance before the injury.

2.) Eric Tangradi- I’ve said this before and I will say it again, this week is the most important week in ‘Big Dog’ career. He has been given numerous opportunities from prospect camp over the summer to rookie camp last week. Other than proving himself as a leader, he needs to prove himself as the big body the Pens need in front of the net. If camp is less than stellar, he will find himself back in ‘Wilkes Vegas.’

3.) Alex Picard- Signed as a free agent over the summer, Picard is currently on a two way contract, but still has a chance to impress coaches at camp. Although the Pens are stacked throughout their system defensively, Picard has the chance to be on the opening night roster if the Pens decide to go with seven defensemen.

4.) Richard Park- Back with the team that drafted him, Park also has a chance to impress management tonight while playing on a line with Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy. Who knows, that could be a future line.

5.) Jason Williams- Another free agent signee from this summer is playing with Chris Kunitz and Jordan Staal tonight. Coach Bylsma is setting him up to succeed tonight and hopefully he will take advantage of the opportunity.

With 21 players with one way contracts currently on the roster, there are only two spots open for competition. That means tonight’s game might be much more intense than we ever thought. Jobs are on the line and I bet we will see them fighting it out tonight. Play nice boys.