National Hockey League Fan Blog

The Pens are a one loss away from going .500. As the 08-09 NHL season has been filled with plagues of injuries from coast to coast… the Pittsburgh Penguins are at the top in this category. It seems as soon as one player comes back, one drops just as fast.

In regard to the playoff picture, Pens have dropped faster than a puck on the opening faceoff, taking the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference. Luckily, November was kind enough to Pittsburgh to give them a chance for postseason play, but so far the Pens said goodbye to 2008 and hello to 2009 with a sour start.

So, what is it going to take for the Pens to get back on the track to see Stanley again?

1.) Penguins defense needs to run a clinic during All-Star break. They started their season of very well, with Gonchar being out the whole time, and Whitney out for a good chunk of the ‘08 months. However, the whole D looks sluggish.

2.) Leadership and late ‘Pens spirit’ needs rekindled. As much as the monthly assistant shuffling from player to player is nice, it has just become an ‘A’… no meaning to it. I say if you want the ‘A’, earn it. Even more, it seems that the team lost their character that they had last postseason… which I would say is due to sending away guys like Malone and Rutuu.

3.) The Pittsburgh’s ‘Young Core’ needs to mature. Yes, they do contribute. Yes, they are talented. BUT… they still are branded as young, with much room for improvement. Not that this statement isn’t obvious OR a bad thing, it’s just that the boys need to settle their game down, and mature their talent. And, with the signing of Stall to a $4 million contract… which seals a line-up of three offense, two defense, and one goalie.

4.) Stop looking back. Pittsburgh simply needs to say “the past is the past”. There are plenty of games left, but if they keep up this slump, they’ll miss the playoffs.

5.) They need to win the key games, and bring back the presence they used to have. The Eastern Conference has been pretty tough lately, with Boston owning game in, game out. As well, let’s not forget Rangers and Montreal making their presence felt too. Pens were on top, but I know they’ll be back… and they need to do so by winning games against these teams.

I won’t include this as a factor for getting back on track, since it’s inevitable, but Shero needs to make a solid trade, DEFENSIVELY. So far in my book as the Pensfan, Shero isn’t impressing me. He has acquired two decent players, Sykora and Dupuis (which he came to the Pens via Hossa… so technically Shero made one good pick-up)… but Shero has made more misses than hits. However, (another reason why I didn’t make this a factor) trading may not be the answer… as there is TOO much talent in the Penguin’s minor league system.

Nonetheless, as the Pensfan, I got faith in Pittsburgh and I see them getting back into the playoff picture (I’m thinking 4th spot when the season’s done).

The Pens will get their act together, as they prepare several division games within four of the next seven games… not to mention they play Capitals, which is always a match-up, and a rare Aneheim game. So, here’s to the comeback!

Pensfan

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