Penguins Goalies Strive For White Supremacy

When Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury finally returned from his high ankle sprain to practice with the team, coach Michel Therrien thought the Penguins had acquired a new netminder. The reason; Fleury had traded in his signature yellow pads for a brand new set of white pads.

R.I.P. yellow pads.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fleury received a letter shortly after his injury from an eye doctor telling him that his yellow pads were actually helping shooters and that he would be well served to trade them in for white pads. The doctor apparently provided charts and everything as he explained that white pads would make Fleury appear bigger in the net and make opponents feel like they have less to shoot at. I'm guessing this is why Ty Conklin switched to white pads in mid-January. MAF said it should take him about two weeks to break in his new glove, blocker, and pads. The best news is that he may be back between the pipes for the Pens before then. I really hope this switch works out for MAF, but regardless it is going to be really weird seeing him on the ice without the yellow pads.

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As a side note, this is the 100th post here on Taking One For The Team and I would like to mark this occasion by thanking everyone who has helped make this experience everything that it has been so far. I really appreciate everyone who has contributed to the growth of this site in any way. If you have ever linked to here, a particular post, taken the time to comment on a post, or even just spent a minute or two of your time reading what I have to say I really appreciate it and I am looking forward to the next 100 posts. Onward and upward!

The Best & Worst Case Scenarios For The Penguins

As we have all heard by now, the Penguins lost captain and star center Sidney Crosby for the foreseeable future due to the dreaded high ankle sprain. Sid was tied for the NHL scoring lead entering the game and will obviously be missed by the Pens. Early indications were that Sid could be back in four weeks, but after some tests were done today the only conclusion was that more tests are needed. After watching how slowly things have gone with Penguins netminder Marc-Andre Fleury I'll be happy if Sid is back in six weeks.

Ron Francis would have shaken it off! j/k

So where do the Penguins go from here? They are still tied with the Devils for the lead in the Atlantic Division, but this division has been so tough this year that they are only six points ahead of the last place Rangers entering today's games. The Penguins have more than their share of injury troubles right now, but they still have enough talent to stay in the thick of things until Crosby returns. There are a lot of different ways things could go for Pittsburgh as the season winds down. Here are the best and worst case scenarios:

Best Case Scenario:
If the Mellon Arena roof opens and the Hockey Gods smile upon the Pittsburgh Penguins, the following things will take place:

• Sidney Crosby will be out only four weeks and return to the Penguins lineup refreshed and ready to carry the team through a deep playoff run this Spring.
• Marc-Andre Fleury will return form his high ankle sprain by mid-February and regain the form he was showing before the injury when he was playing his best hockey of the season.
• Gary Roberts will return form his broken leg on schedule and rested.
• Evgeni Malkin will thrive in the absence of Crosby, playing like the franchise center he was always intended to be before Sid was drafted, and maintain that high level of play even after Sid returns from injury.
• Conk keeps on being Conk and helps the Pens maintain their lead in the Atlantic.
• Jordan Staal awakens from his slumber and regains the scoring touch (and luck) he displayed during his rookie campaign.
• Petr Sykora goes on one of his hot streaks and helps fill the scoring void left by Sid.
• With the brass of a riverboat gambler, Ray Shero brings in some added scoring punch at the trade deadline.
• Tyler Kennedy continues to develop and provide timely scoring for the Penguins.
• Colby Armstrong and Ryan Malone find a way to score consistently without Sid on the ice with them.
• The Penguins defense tightens up like a dad on prom night.

If all these things happen (yes that's a huge if, but like I said this is the best case scenario), then everything will be in place for the Pens to make a deep run into the playoffs and possibly all the way to the Finals. If the Pens can catch a few breaks and stay in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race, there's no reason why this time off for their injured players couldn't prove to be a blessing in the long run. But then again...

Worst Case Scenario:
For every silver lining there's a cloud. Let's take a look at what might transpire if Sid's ankle injury turns out to be the iceberg to the Penguins' Titanic of a season. After all, the following things could happen:

• Sid misses eight weeks or more and the Pens are out of the playoff hunt by the time he returns.
• Marc-Andre Fleury makes it back around the same time Sid does.
• Gary Roberts just isn't the same after his eventual return to the ice. Not that he was filling the net before he broke his leg.
• Jordan Staal keeps producing the way he has been all season. If you can call it production.
• Conk goes back to being Ty Conklin.
• Malkin folds under the pressure of carrying the team offensively and is a shadow of his previous self.
• None of the depth players pick up any of the scoring slack.
• The Penguins defense puts too much pressure on themselves to ease the burden on the forwards and buckles.
• The rest of the Atlantic Division runs roughshod over the depleted Penguins and drops them to the bottom of the standings.

As great as the best case scenario would be, the above events could just as easily happen and this season could quickly become one to forget for the Penguins. This could be a season remembered by Penguins fans with one phrase... high ankle sprain.

I'm optimistic that the Penguins will keep things going well enough to stay afloat until Sid returns, assuming that happens around the six week mark I mentioned before. If Sid's injury drags out the way MAF's has then the Penguins could be in real trouble. Hopefully the rest will agree with Sid and he can come back for the playoffs with something to prove and help get the Pens at least to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The biggest thing for the Penguins to be successful is that they need to replace Sid's production as a team and not look to one guy to do it. Yes Geno will be looked to the most, but the Pens will also need more from guys like Staal, Malone, Sykora, Armstrong, Ruutu, and Christensen. It is going to take a complete team effort for the Penguins to keep up their recent winning ways, but there's no reason at all to think they can't do it. I'm sure there are more than a couple guys in that locker room eager and able to fight for a spot in that spotlight that was attached to Crosby.

The bottom line is that if winning the Cup was easy, we wouldn't have to sit around and listen to Mats Sundin trade rumors all Winter. The Pens need to pull it together and get after it as a team. And this is one fan who thinks they can.

Fantasy Focus: Time To Make A Move

In this edition of Fantasy Focus I am simply going to look at some players that would make a nice addition to your roster. As the second half of the NHL season begins it is time for you to take a look at your squad and possibly reassess the value of some of your assets. If your team is in the bottom half of the standings in your league and you have some players who haven't worked out as planned so far this season, this is a great time to make a change and try to right the ship before it is too late. Here are some players to look at adding (if they aren't taken already...):

• Ty Conklin (G - PIT) Conklin has been a savior in Pittsburgh since Marc-Andre Fleury went down with an ankle injury. If Conk is still available in your league grab him right now. Penguins coach Michel Therrien loves to roll with the hot hand in net, so Conklin could still maintain some value after Fleury returns to the lineup.
  
• Radim Vrbata (RW - PHX) Vrbata has been quietly lighting it up for the Coyotes, to the tune of 8 points in his last 5 games. I recently added Vrbata to both of my teams and hope that he can continue his breakout year in Phoenix.
  
• Teemu Selanne (RW - ??) As you should already know by now, Selanne was spotted working out at the Ducks' practice facility last week. It's not a guarantee that he will be back, but if he does want to play the Ducks want him. If your team is struggling it could be worth taking a gamble on the Finnish sniper. My gut tells me he is going to play and play well.
  
• Mike Ribeiro (C - DAL) Ribeiro has been the catalyst for the shockingly potent Dallas attack so far this season. For which he was just rewarded with a 5 year contract extension. As long as all those dollar signs don't go to his head Ribeiro should continue to light it up for the Stars. Grab him if you can!
  
• Dan Cleary (RW - DET) Cleary finally found a home in the NHL last season with Detroit and now he is picking up the scoring again. Cleary has put up great numbers over the last month and is a solid contributor in every category. This guy should be owned in every league right now. If he's not in yours, you know what to do.
  
• Mike Green (D - WSH) Green has been one of the few bright spots for the Caps this season on the blueline. I don't care who is on your roster, he is an improvement over at least one of your current defensemen. He's probably already been snagged off the free agent list in your league, but you never know...
  
• Antti Miettinen (RW - DAL) Miettinen has emerged as a very capable scorer for the Stars and could really help a team that is struggling in offensive categories. He has been red hot since the beginning of December and hasn't gone more than 3 games in a row without at least 1 point. Definitely worth a look if Vrbata is already gone in your league.
  

Wrapping Up The Winter Classic

The NHL rang in the New Year in a big way this afternoon with the Winter Classic outdoor game in Buffalo between the Sabres and the Penguins. It was a snowy, frozen day in Buffalo... the perfect setting for an outdoor hockey game. In anticipation for the game I pulled on my brand new Sidney Crosby Winter Classic tee, dropped some extra ice in my Mountain Dew as a sign of solidarity for my friends and acquaintances lucky enough to be in attendance, and settled in for the NBC telecast. And the rest was history...

The Event...

• The opening overhead shot of a snowy Ralph Wilson Stadium set the perfect mood for what promised to be an epic afternoon for true hockey fans.
• The side rink for kids to play on behind one of the goals was a nice touch. How sweet would it have been to be one of the kids lucky enough to get to take a skate down there?
• The players weren't especially bundled up for the most part, but full credit go to the Buffalo players rocking the eye black.
• Great anthems. Really helped the crowd kick it up an extra notch to start things out.
• The Penguins look great in the old powder blues. I'd love to see them pull these uniforms out again. I could see putting together a nice winning streak in those babies.
  
• As far as play was concerned the weather could have been better, but it was perfect from an atmosphere point of view. Nice and snowy in the first, pretty decent for the second and most of the third, then snowy again for the end of the third, OT, and the shootout.

When you look up picturesque in the dictionary...

The Game Itself...

• Huge goal by Colby 21 seconds in to start things off. I really thought that might have been enough to seal the win given the conditions. Must have been the soccer side of my brain at work.
• Even in a blizzard Sidney Crosby is still the best thing on skates.
  
• Nice goal by the Sabres to open the second. As mentioned by the announcers, it was hardly a coincidence the scoring was happening early in periods.
• There was some genuine exciting hockey while the weather eased up a bit in the second. It was nice to see two of the hardest skating teams in the NHL get a chance to open it up for a bit.
• The penalty call on Colby at the end of regulation was laughable. Especially given the circumstances.
• The changing sides during the third period and overtime really rubbed me the wrong way. The NHL committed to playing a game in nasty weather, so deal with it. I don't see how making players skate to the far bench for the last 10 minutes of regulation and the second half of overtime is doing them any favors. Just a bad move on the NHL's part.
• Nice shootout goal by Ales Kotalik. Kept it simple and nailed a perfect shot.
• Kris Letang is flat out nasty in shootouts. It's just sick how bad this kid makes NHL goalies look.
• Nice to see Sid nail the winner on the big stage. We all know shootouts aren't exactly his bread and butter, but it was an ideal finish to a great event if you're Gary Bettman (and if you are... YOU SUCK GARY!)
  
• Ty Conklin is in the zone. If he can keep this up it could be real interesting to see who gets sent down once MAF gets healthy. Has Sabu been Sabu'ed?
• Kudos to all the players! They played a fantastic game in conditions that were less-than-ideal at best.
• Hats off to the ice crew too. Kept things safe and as playable as possible.
  

The Broadcast...

• As I already said, beauty overhead shot to open the broadcast. Brought a smile to my face.
• Mike Milbury eh? Someday NHL broadcasting execs will learn that there is a difference between having personality and being a jackass. Unfortunately this will probably be after we've all been subjected to 10+ years of Jeremy Roenick doing color for national broadcasts.
• All in all the commentary was pretty solid. They didn't cater to people who know nothing about hockey as much as I feared they might. That said, someone should have told Emerick, Olczyk, and Pang that there were other players on the ice besides Sidney Crosby and Ryan Miller.
• Speaking of Miller, that Amp Yo Mama commercial was pretty solid, but what is J.S. Aubin doing in there? Pascal Leclaire and Andrew Raycroft should both be shopping for new agents as I type this.
• NBC continues to screw over the NHL with their intermissions. For a league that is trying to get back into the mainstream, how is a first period intermission consisting of talking about Slapshot and Bob Costas waxing nostalgic about his run-in with the "real" Ogie Oglethorpe going to help that? And if that wasn't enough, they took things to another level between the second and third with old Bobby Orr footage, the worst Sidney Crosby highlight montage ever, and then footage of Mike Milbury in the stands beating a fan with a shoe. How absurd is that? Can you imagine Ron Artest doing the halftime show for an NBA game 20 years from now and them showing footage from the brawl in Detroit and laughing about it? This is the kind of stuff that sets hockey back in many people's eyes and I seriously doubt it helped turn any casual viewers into hockey fans. NBC needs to get it together and actually try to market the game. I don't think there was one person watching who actually cared if Bob Costas almost got beat up on a bus 30 years ago, but I guarantee there were plenty of people watching who still don't know who Evgeni Malkin is.

Overall I think the Winter Classic lived up to its name. It generated a lot of buzz for the NHL and nobody could have watched that game and walked away disappointed. If you ask me the next logical step for the NHL would be an outdoor All-Star game. Maybe in New York (Giants Stadium anyone?) I wish I could have been there in person, mostly just so I could say I was, but I did get to jump around my living room trading high fives with my 17 month-old son after Sid iced the shootout win for the Pens. And that is something I wouldn't trade for tickets to any game ever. Happy New Year hockey fans, it's only going to get better.