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Goodbye IGLOO, You will be missed! Is it sad that the video below gives me chills and makes me want to cry like a baby?
Every end is the start of a new beginning. Just as the wrecking crew has finished demolishing the Civic Arena, the Pittsburgh Penguins are in Vancouver getting ready for a season opening showdown with the defending Western Conference Champion Canucks. Here's our quick season preview:
Goalies:
Marc-Andre Fleury #29
After a shaky start to the season last year "Flower" bounced back with MVP like numbers for the Pens. He went 35-14-5 over his last 54 games played last season, most of them without Crosby and Malkin. He is a stud. Need we say more?
Brent Johnson #1 ranked heavyweight goalie in the league
Everyone's favorite goalie/enforcer returns for another season to back up MAF. He can do more than just rearrange Ricky D's face. He played very well at the start of last season when MAF was struggling. He is a solid veteran backup. (And always nice to have in net when the Isles are in town)
Defense:
Deryk Engelland #5
Solid 6th/7th D Man. It's always nice to have a guy like this on your team, he plays well in his own zone and as evidenced by the picture above, he is pretty good with his fists as well. His one punch KO of Colton Orr last year was one of the best fights I have seen in person. With the scary depth the Pens have on D, he might not play a lot, but when he does, it will be exciting.
Kris Letang #58
Letang stepped up last year and more than filled the role left by Sergei Gonchar's departure to the Ottawa Senators. During the first half of the season he was one of the top 3 D Men in the league. He had a rough second half to the season, but with a healthy Malkin and Crosby on the way Tanger will get his points. His play in the defensive zone is highly underrated, he often plays against other teams top lines and is a very smart, physical, puck moving D Man. Expect him to be even better this year than last year. By the way, the Pens drafted him in the second round in the same draft that netted them some guy named "Crosby." Not too shabby.
Ben Lovejoy #6
Paul Martin #7
Martin is a solid two way defenseman. He is not as skilled offensively as Letang, but he moves the puck extremely well and is a great skater. He is not the toughest guy in the league but his game is all about positioning and moving the puck. He was signed as a free agent last year from New Jersey where they teach defense like it's the gospel. He sees time on the Power Play and the Penalty Kill and was a big factor in the Pens having the #1 ranked PK in the league last year. He doesn't seem like a $5 million a year player but he is worth every penny, just like an offensive lineman in the NFL, when you don't notice him that much, it's a good thing. You won't notice him much because his game isn't flashy, just solid.
Zbynek Michalek #4
Big Z has all of the tools needed to be an elite D Man in the NHL. He is a terrific penalty killer, shuts down the opposing teams top lines, blocks tons of shots, and skates very well. He doesn't use his body quite like Brooks Orpik does but he is very sound positionally. He sacrifices the body very well, and he led the team in blocked shots last year. He also posses's a booming shot from the point and during the second half of last season started to score a lot more. He isn't going to put up a ton of points but he might be the Pens best defensive D Man. In Big Z we trust.
Matt Niskanen #2
A great guy to have on your third defensive pair. He was aquired along with James Neal in the Goligoski trade last season. He is not much of a downgrade from Goligoski at all. He has alot of offensive upside, skates well, has a good shot, and moves the puck well. Noticing a theme forming here with the D? They are all great skating, puck moving defensemen. He fell out of favor in Dallas after a season and a half of inconsistent play. NHL 11 wouldn't even let you trade Goligoski for Neal and Niskanen. Who knows how he pulled it off, but Ray Shero is a criminal genius.
Brooks "Free Candy" Orpik #44
That's all you need to know about Brooks Orpik. He hands out the free candy whenever it's necessary. He's one of the biggest badasses in the NHL and makes the Pens very very very tough to play against.
Boris Valabik #3
He was signed by Shero this summer, apparently because Letang and Sid wanted to finish this beating they were giving him in the picture above. I know the picture looks kind of suggestive, but they are wearing a lot of padding. All we know about him is that he is 6' 7" and Crosby and Letang used him as a punching bag once.
Offense:
Craig Adams #27
He is a great veteran leader in the dressing room. He doesn't waste time scoring goals during the regular season. He only scores during the playoffs. He can grow a killer beard, he's a fantastic Penalty Killer and gritty fourth line player. He's Craig F'n Adams.
Aaron Asham #45
We all hated this guy when he played for the Flyers, but we can't change the past. We love him now. He is a nasty guy to play against, partly because he is scary looking, but mostly because he is physical and not afraid to drop the gloves. He actually possess a good amount of skill for a forth liner, he has good hands and a great shot. He lit up Tampa in the first round of the playoffs last year.
Matt Cooke #24
One nasty SOB. He was suspended for the last 10 games of the regular season and the first round of the playoffs for an elbow he delivered to some joke from the Rangers. He has vowed to change his game this year because if he gets one more suspension he could be gone. Having said that, we love the way he plays the game and he is a key part of one of the best 3rd lines in hockey with Staal and Kennedy. Who knows who he will play with this year until Sid gets back. All we know is that we love having Matt Cooke on the team and hope he keeps his elbows down this year.
Pascal Dupuis #9
Another great locker room guy. He has been Crosby's linemate for his entire tenure with the Pens. He is a fast skater who has a great slapshot and is a great Penalty Killer. Lets hope that he has to fill the rest of his back up with more tattoos of the Stanley Cup.
Tyler Kennedy #48
Any time we can put a picture of Chris Osgood being scored on, we will jump at the chance. This goal was from game 6 of the 2009 Finals. The Pens won the game 2-1 this is the second goal. Suck it Detroit. TK had a great season last year and he stepped up in a big way by scoring 21 goals in Sid and Geno's absence. Now that he is being paid like a 20 goal scorer, he should be even more motivated to have a better season than last year. Let's all hope.
Chris Kunitz #14
Kunitz has been Crosby's other linemate since he became a Penguin. Although he seems to have much better chemistry with Staal. He fits Coach Bylsma's system well, he is a straight line player who throws his body around like some of the guys from the Jackass movies. For a smaller guy he can really hit. He also has a terrific shot and complements Sid very well.
Mark Letestu #10
Played very well last year during the first half of the season while Staal was out with his foot infection/broken hand. Isn't the fastest skater in the world but he has a killer shot and shows great poise with the puck. More of the same this year would be great.
Steve MacIntyre #33
The replacement for Eric Godard. He is 6'5" and he can fight. He's a southpaw, so he's basically just a bigger, white, Canadian version of Manny Paquiao. He will be fun to watch. Moving along....
Richard Park #12
This pic was taken almost 10 years ago. He looks exactly the same. The good thing about having Richard Park on your team is twofold,
One: he won't score five goals a year against the Pens anymore
Two: this is the move that Ray Shero HAD to make to get the Asian population in Pittsburgh excited about hockey again. They've been very bitter ever since Park left. It's great to have him back.
Steve Sullivan #26
This year's version of last year's Mike Comrie signing. Only Hilary Duff doesn't come in the package. In all seriousness we have liked Sullivan as a player for a long time. He has spent alot of time in the Western Conference. He may not be familiar to most Pens fans but when this guy is healthy he can flat out play. They key is his health. He has a laundry list of injury issues over the past few years. Shero knows him well from his days as the assistant to the regional manager in Nashville. In Shero we trust.
Jordan Staal #11
He has surprised us from day one, when he made the team as an 18 year old. We wanted the Pens to take Toews, but whatever. Staal showed during the second half of last season that he is a legit 30 goal scorer now and he is the best defensive forward on the team. He just turned 23. It's scary to think about how good this kid will be in a few more years.
James Neal #18
We are really excited to get to watch Neal play with Sid this year. Neal has a wicked shot and if he can find a little opening in the D, Sid will find him. Expect at least 30 goals from him this year, he has all the tools to do it. He's got size, speed, soft hands and one heck of a mullet.
Geno #71
Geno, is back. He had a terrific preseason and should start off the season strong right from the get go. He only had 15 goals in 34 games played last year but he was hurt the whole season. He is pissed off that people wrote him off a year ago. Word out of Russia was that he trained with Ivan Drago this summer. He's ready to go. Look for at least 115 points from Geno this year. One more quick thing about Geno, he has his own twitter account now. I suggest you take a look at it. Unintentional comedy at its finest. He hasn't learned to put the eyes on the smiley face yet so all of his tweets have some variation of this in them ))))))). Maybe ))))) translates to :):):):):) in Russian. Who knows?
Sid #87
Almost forgot about this guy. He's decided to give the league a little head start in the scoring race and that's ok. He will be back in a few weeks and everyone can stop worrying about him. Watching him and Neal play together will be something special. Just wait. Mark it down, Sid will win the scoring title this year. No doubt. He can't wait to get back and when he does he is going to unleash holy hell on the entire NHL.
Season Prediction:
Look for a regular season in the ballpark of 110-115 points depending on if Sid misses more than 5 or 10 games. They will win the division. Hopefully leading to a match up with the Flyers in the first round so that they can send them home as usual and keep this awesome shirt relevant.
After they win the second round, they won't be playing Washington in the Conference finals because Bruce Beadreau will be more worried about the buffet at Golden Corral than actually coaching a hockey team, so as usual they will lose in the first or second round.
Final Prediction:
Now, there's only one thing left to say:
Please comment below, we will be giving away two free tickets to a Pens home game to a randomly selected numbered comment.
GO PENS!
