Penguins Musings

My Penguins, on the other hand, managed to win their first game and lose their second game. I didn’t see either game, but from what I have heard and read, here are some thoughts.


∑ Malkin would have made a difference in the loss to the Red Wings. With the reigning Norris Trophy winner all over Crosby and Crosby shadowed, Malkin could have, potentially, had the free room that Crosby didn’t have throughout the game. Malkin’s presence might have been enough to have helped the Penguins to get the one goal they needed to tie the game.


∑ If Marc-Andre Fleury can continue to play goal as well as he has in the first two games, the Red Wings coach is right. With goaltending as good as what the Pens have had for their season’s first two games, the Penguins are immediately a competitive team most nights (even when they have no business being a competitive team). Being a competitive team most nights means the Penguins will be in contention for a playoff berth for much of the season—so long as the goaltending remains as high caliber as it has been for the remainder of the season.


∑ The 2006-07 Penguins are a much better coached and prepared team than were the 2005-06 Penguins. Therrien’s system is obvious in terms of shots blocked, shots given up, and in attributes like the penalty killing being flawless throughout the season’s first two games. Therrien’s system is another factor that will help Pittsburgh to remain competitive in games in which the team has no business being competitive.


∑ With all my talk about games in which this team has no business being competitive, you might wonder why. Frankly speaking, this Penguins team is still way too slow for the new NHL. John Leclair and Ryan Malone, in all honesty, have games that were better suited for the old NHL. However, Leclair brings intangibles, and as for Malone, well, the Penguins don’t currently have anyone better to take his place. In any case, however, there are other NHL teams that are still far more talented and more experienced than this Penguins team. Our young stars aren’t yet as good as they will someday be, nor do they have the NHL experience that makes great players even better than they already are. Our young, talented stars will get experience this year, and eventually, hopefully, through the developmental system or trades, we’ll ice a faster team than the one we currently have. But to be honestly realistic—this Penguins team, talent-wise, is middle-of-the-pack merely due to the presence of extremely gifted youngsters and a couple of aging but once perennial All-Stars. Speed-wise, however, we’re just not where a good team in the new NHL has to be. Period.


∑ I haven’t yet had the chance to see Ryan Whitney play defense this year, but the box scores reveal Whitney has been logging a ton of minutes. He was the fifth overall draft choice of the Pens a few years ago, and I’m really hoping he makes that high draft choice seem a wise, worthwhile investment. I understand defensemen take longer to develop (Chris Pronger’s first three NHL seasons, anyone?) and that Whitney is still learning the NHL game. But if he can take several steps forward this year (not necessarily one giant leap) and start to show signs of becoming a legitimate number 1 NHL defenseman on a real NHL defense, well—that development would go a long way towards helping the Penguins compete for a playoff spot.


∑ I refer to the youngsters currently on the team (the ones who could still be returned to their junior team) as "the babies." Because, well, they are. However, it’s exciting to see young kids successfully able to kill NHL penalties and hold their own—and more than their own—against NHL competition. For that very reason, however—due to how good the kids already are—I’d send them back to junior after their nine game cup of coffee. Because, frankly, I don’t want Jordan Staal merely to know how to kill penalties in the NHL. I want the number 2 NHL draft choice to know how to skate, score, pass, and dominate, and yes, of course, he can kill penalties and win faceoffs, too. Staal isn’t ready to dominate the NHL yet, and I want him to be closer to being able to dominate when the time comes for him to take a regular NHL shift. Plus, I just think 30 minutes of ice in every situation, rather than 10 minutes of ice time in limited situations, is far more beneficial for an 18-year-old kid. Tempting as it might be to keep Staal around to kill penalties this season, the Penguins made a long-term investment in him, and that investment isn’t merely to make sure the kid can kill penalties. Much as love seeing "the babies," play and play well, I’ll be even more glad to see them play when they’re just as talented and one year older.