Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+ jaNDo's Penguins... (2k7, 360, Sim) [HIGHLIGHTS!], How soon can they be a real contender?

[ando]

Pittsburgh Penguins
Current Status: 2006-2007 Preseason
Season Record: 0-0-0-0

Penguins' Preseason Proves Problematic Plight is the Past
The Pittsburgh Penguins wrapped up their five-game preseason tour with a dominant 6-0 victory over Phillidelphia, in which their 3 young superstars - Sidney Crosby, Evgeny Malkin and Jordan Staal - tallied 5 goals and 3 assists amongst them. When all was said and done, the Pens were 4-1-0-0 with 17 goals for and 11 against. The Pens best players were Malkin (3g, 4a), Staal (4g, 1a), Recchi (5a), Crosby (2g, 1a) and Armstrong (2g, 1a).

Fans in Pittsburgh are more than cautiously optimistic, claiming that new owner Jim Balsillie and unknown Coach/GM Joshua Anderson will turn the franchise around within a year. In a suave showing of marketing genius, Balsillie and Anderson opened Mellon Arena to press and season ticket holders this afternoon, inviting "the people of Pittsburgh" to meet the them and their team.

Unlike the miserly owners one expects in the sporting world, Balsillie put on a show, fully catering the event for over 850 people. Local Pittsburgh bands entertained the crowd and Penguins players Mark Recchi, John LeClair, Ryan Malone and Sergei Gonchar mingled with the crowd. Jim Balsillie took the the stage and introduced himself, describing himself as "a hockey addict" and claiming that he will "steer this team toward greatness". Only on stage for a few minutes, Balsillie eagerly introduced new Coach/GM Joshua Anderson to the crowd, who fell silent - hungry to hear what this unknown Australian man had to say.

Speaking in a suave accent, Anderson began simply:
"I love hockey. You love hockey. We're all here today to meet each other and discuss the future of our beloved Penguins."

The charismatic young man from Melbourne spoke about this history of Pittsburgh and the Penguins with a genuine, heartfelt tone that was surprising for a man who only moved here a few short months ago. Recalling his childhood, glued to cable TV at 3:00am tuesday mornings in the suburbs of Melbourne, Anderson reminisced with the crowd of the glory days of Lemieux's team.

"But this is no longer Mario's team. We will never forget the amazing feats, the amazing talent and the wonderful sportsmanship Mario brought to Pittsburgh - however we now look forward to the next generation of young men who will captivate and enthrall us for many years to come." Anderson then introduced Sidney Crosby, Jordan Staal and Evgeny Malkin to the audience, who filled the spacious hall with raucous applause.

"Jim Balsillie and I have only one goal: to deliver you, our fans - our greatest asset, a competitive, entertaining team every single game. We're going to play hard-nosed, fast-paced and skillful hockey. We're going to dominate all three zones of the ice and these three boys are going to light the lamps until the fuses blow."

Anderson's charisma flooded the room and the audience cheered as Crosby, Malkin and Staal showed a steel reserve of confidence and belief. "Over the next few years, we'll all grow to know each other through events such as this. Jim and I are going to make the team more accessible than any other national sports team in the world. This is your team Pittsburgh, and we're here to stay!"

Ticket holders everywhere were clapping vigoursly with approval. The man was telling the entire audience exactly what they wanted to hear. "And this Thursday night we will face the Flyers right here, at the igloo. I think Evgeny has something to say about that game..."

Anderson stepped back off the stage, into shadow as Evgeny Malkin and his translator took the podium. Speaking through his translator, Malkin thanked the crowd, to even more applause. Just when you thought there were no more suprises to be had, Malkin waved away his translator and spoke in a heavy accent. "And on Thursday, please look for me on the ice. I'll be the guy next to Sidney."

The Penguins start the season with 4 of 5 games at home. They'll face Phillidelphia and Detroit before travelling to meet the Rangers. Carolina and Jew Jersey will then visit the igloo.

This post has been edited by ando: Oct 26, 2006 - 03:39 AM

[ando]

2006-2007 Preseason
Penguin's "Evolution" looks to be another left foot, rather than some thumbs...
@
Game 1 - Washington @ Pittsburgh 6-2 L
Fans at tonight's preseason home opener for the Pittsburgh Penguins bore witness to a rather humiliating defeat, though sparks of brilliance were seen throughout this talented, young Penguins line-up.

Washington opened the scoring only 3:18 into the first period, when Zednik beat Marc-Andre Fleury from the high slot through an accidental screen by seasoned campaigner Sergei Gonchar. Redeeming himself only four minutes later, Gonchar nailed home a slap-shot from the point on a shorthanded chance, tying the game at 1-1. Moments later, during the same penalty, Washington's Dainuis Zubrus scrored on a breakaway, securing Washington the game's first Powerplay goal. Not to be outdone, the Penguin's newest superstar, Evgeny Malkin, scored his first North American goal off a beautiful behind-the-net pass from Sidney Crosby on the Penguin's first powerplay chance of the night.

Unfortunately for the pens it was all downhill from there. Washington netted 2 unanswered goals each in the second (Zednik and Brashear) and third (Ovechkin and Pettinger) stanzas. Washington's onslaught was tremendous - when the final siren sounded, an astonishing 65 shots had been put on net. Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury stood up to a valiant 59 of those 65 shots and looked solid despite an appaling defensive line.

Scoring:

CODE

First Period:
03:18 - WAS - Zednik (Klepis, Semin)
07:23 - PIT - Gonchar [SH]
08:08 - WAS - Zubrus [PP]
11:23 - PIT - Malkin (Crosby) [PP]

Second Period:
03:46 - WAS - Zednik (Klepis)
19:00 - WAS - Brashear (Laich)

Third Period:
07:54 - WAS - Ovechkin (Zubrus, Clark)
09:39 - WAS - Pettinger (Sutherby, Eminger)

Statistics:

CODE

 WAS           PIT
  65   Shots   39  
  20   Hits    32
   4   PIMs    12
 1/6   PP      1/2
 1/2   PK      5/6

Coach's Report Card:
Offense: C+ - Managed a few decent chances - too many turnovers, too many outside shots. Need to work on retaining possession.
Defense: F - Allowing 65 shots in a professional league is horrendous. Problem players will be held accountable and current line-up is in jeopardy.
Powerplay: A - Decent enough. First PP unit (Malkin-Crosby-Recchi) created amazing chances and looks to be deadly this year.
Short-handed: C - May have prevented 5 of 6 chances, but allowed 20 shots on those 6 chances. Need to take possession and clear much more quickly and efficiently.
Goaltending: A - Withstood 59 of 65 shots. 6 GA is terrible, but considering the circrumstances, Marc-Andre did very well tonight. His position in the lineup is still solid.

[ando]

Current Lines:

Even Strength:

CODE

Ekman    -  Crosby  -  Armstrong
Malone   -  Malkin  -  Recchi
Roy      -  Moore   -  Ruutu
LeClair  -  Staal   -  Ouellet

Gonchar   -  Whitney
Eaton     -  Orpik
Melichar  -  Letang

Fleury  -  Thibault

Powerplay:

CODE

Malkin   -  Crosby  -  Recchi
Gonchar  -  Whitney

Ekman  -  Staal  -  Armstrong
Eaton  -  Ouellet

Penalty-Kill:

CODE

LeClair  -  Armstrong  -  Gonchar  -  Whitney
Roy      -  Ruutuu     -  Eaton    -  Orpik

[ando]

2006-2007 Preseason
Malkin impressive in thrilling SO victory in St. Louis
@
Game 2 - Pittsburgh @ St. Louis 4-3 W (SO)
Taking the Crosby & Malkin show on the road, the Penguins silenced the St. Louis fans tonight with an intense preseason contest. Intent on improving their horrific defensive play, the Penguins played extremely conservatively in the first period. A swift interception by John LeClair and a clever off-the-board pass to Colby Armstrong who was streaking down the right wing set up a stunning short-handed break-away goal mid-way through the first period.

The second period proved to be much looser with 5 pucks tickling the twine. Young Penguins D-Man Ryan Whitney began the flood with a booming slapshot from the point only 12 seconds in. The Blues fough back incredibly quickly when Martin Rucinsky and Lee Stempniak tallied two quick rebuttals at 1:36 and 2:24 respectively. With the game tied at 2-2 and the Penguins back to their first-period gameplan, an unlikely hero in Jaarko Rutuu emerged for the Penguins, firing a wrist-shot from the top of the right circle, clean over Manny Legace's left shoulder at 7:43 in the second. Unfortunately, St. Louis' Jamal Mayers spanked in a Dallas Drake rebound at the 12:54 mark of the second period, tying the game at 3 a piece.

The third period, much like the first, was a thrilling neutral-zone battle with Pittsburgh's backchecking stealing the show. Both teams managed 14 shots on net but neither Marc-Andre Fleury nor Manny Legace were willing to give up the go-ahead goal.

The Penguins let their hair down in overtime, putting Crosby and Malkin on the ice together for 2 minutes, calling a timeout and putting them on again for the final 90 seconds. Though they managed to outshoot the Blues (6-1) in the extra stanza, Legace denied all chances and the ref called for a shootout.

Sidney Crosby, Dallas Drake, Mark Recchi & Martin Rucinsky were all denied by tonight's outstanding goaltending. Pittsburgh fans across the contintent fell silent as their newest sensation, Evgeny Malkin, took centre-ice for his first NHL shoot-out attempt. Taking the puck and gathered amazing speed, Malkin sped toward Manny Legace. Faking to the forehand, he deceptively stutter-stepped and deked to his backhand, lifting the puck over an outstretched Legace, lighting the lamp and igniting the Pittsburgh bench with a spectacular play. St. Louis' Bill Guerin had the game on his stick but rang his high-slot wrist shot off the post, ending this thrilling battle in a 4-3 Shootout loss for St. Louis.

The Penguins will head to Detroit to face the Red Wings before meeting the New Jersey Devils and Philidephia Flyers at Mellon Arena to wrap up their preseason schuedle.

Scoring:

CODE

First Period:
14:32 - PIT - Armstrong (LeClair) [SH]

Second Period:
00:12 - PIT - Whitney (Recchi, Malkin)
01:36 - STL - Rucinsky (Guerin)
02:24 - STL - Stempniak (Cajanek, Tkachuk)
07:43 - PIT - Ruutu (Letang)
12:54 - STL - Mayers (Drake)

Third Period:
No Scoring.

Overtime:
No Scoring.

Shoot-out:
PIT: Malkin.
STL: None.

Statistics:

CODE

 STL           PIT
  32   Shots   36  
  21   Hits    30
   6   PIMs    14
 0/7   PP      0/3
 3/3   PK      7/7

Coach's Report Card:
Offense: B - Much better puck retention in attacking zone tonight, however turnovers were still a problem.
Defense: C - An incredible improvement over Game 1 against Washington. Defense was fairly solid, though give-aways during break-out yielded two avoidable goals. Backchecking was stellar, forcing St. Louis to adjust their game plan at every turn. Defense needs to play better positionally and work on the high-percentage break-out plays.
Powerplay: D - 5 shots on 3 PP chances simply not good enough. Too many turnovers in the offensive zone.
Short-handed: A - Incredibly effective penalty killing today with the box formation. Rutuu and Roy were expecially effective short-handed, causing the Blues headaches on their powerplay chances. Ryan Whitney looks poised to have his break-out season.
Goaltending: B+ - Good save percentage and decent play, though one goal was a blunder on Marc-Andre's behalf. Still young and clearly improving, Fleury will need to take it to another level if Pittsburgh is going to get anywhere this season.

[ledzeppelinfan1]

I like this..

[anakai]

Yeah I like it to..

[ando]

2006-2007 Preseason
Handicapped Red Wings struggle against Penguins
@
Game 3 - Pittsburgh @ Detroit 3-2 W
Malkin arrived in Hockeytown with 1g, 1a in 2 preseason games - impressing fans across the continent with his tenacious, incredibly fast end-to-end play. He would face intense scruitny under the rabid fans of Detroit and come away shining. Not only did he double his preseason tally by earning 1g, 1a tonight - he also layed out 4 big hits and caused many action packed scoring chances for the Penguins - especially when he lined up to the left of Sidney Crosby.

Pittsburgh's Colby Armstrong opened the scoring mid-way through the first with a beautiful short-handed breakaway goal. This is the second game in a row that a Colby Armstrong short-hander has opened the scoring and it is then Penguin's 3rd shorthanded goal in as many games. Four minutes later, Detroit's Tomas Kopecky hacked a loose puck into the back of the net by Marc-Andre Fleury.

Detroit's veterans started the second period with an impressive 3-on-2 goal by Kris Draper (off Kirk Maltby and Mattheiu Schnieder). However Malkin and Recchi would feed Malone to tie the game at the 13:59 mark of the 2nd. Malkin scored the game's final goal 2:54 into the third period getting his first GWG and improving the Pen's preseason record to 2-1-0-0.

Scoring:

CODE

First Period:
13:31 - PIT - Armstrong (Whitney) [SH]
17:43 - DET - Kopecky

Second Period:
07:31 - DET - Draper (Maltby, Schneider)
13:59 - PIT - Malone (Recchi, Malkin)

Third Period:
02:54 - PIT - Malkin (Recchi, Gonchar) [PP]

Statistics:

CODE

 DET           PIT
  42   Shots   48  
  22   Hits    34
  12   PIMs    20
0/10   PP      1/6
 5/6   PK      10/10

Coach's Report Card:
Offense: B+ - Fewer giveaways and many brilliant chances. Need some more production from the LeClair-Staal-Ouellet line.
Defense: B+ - Still improving, these youngsters are putting their heart and soul into their zone. Some bad giveaways on breakout plays are still setting up unnecessary chances, but positionally they are playing very well.
Powerplay: C+ - 1/6 on the PP doesn't look convincing but there were 4 extremely close calls. Malkin and Crosby have amazing skills but require a bit more time to cement their chemistry. Staal looks like a candidate to centre a line with Malone/Ekman and Recchi.
Short-handed: A+ - We gave up 10 opportunities and killed every penalty. This had a lot to do with Marc-Andre Fleury finding form in goal, but our PK looks very solid heading toward the regular season.
Goaltending: A - Tremendous effort tonight from the man they call MAF. This could potentially be his year and if the pens can match that form with some goals, they could be a surprise entry in the 2007 playoff race.

This post has been edited by ando: Oct 23, 2006 - 01:08 AM

[ando]

2006-2007 Preseason
Jordan Staal nets his first NHL tally as Pens blank Devils
@
Game 4 - New Jersey @ Pittsburgh 2-0 W

Scoring:

CODE

First Period:
No Scoring.

Second Period:
15:50 - PIT - Malkin (Malone, Recchi)

Third Period:
18:04 - PIT - Staal [PP]

Statistics:

CODE

 NJD           PIT
  32   Shots   39  
  17   Hits    27
   8   PIMs    8
 0/4   PP      1/4
 3/4   PK      4/4

Coach's Report Card:
Offense: B - Still some problematic turnovers and terrible passing in the offensive zone. Still, some electric moments courtesy of Crosby and Malkin - even when on seperate lines.
Defense: A - It has only been 8 days since the incredible thrashing that came courtesy of Washington, but our defense has improved dramatically - earning a shutout! Positionally sound and better breakout plays yielded an impressive victory in our own end.
Powerplay: B - Mixing up the lines had an impact here, with Malkin and Crosby centering seperate lines. Only in the closing minutes when Malkin and Crosby lined up together did a PP goal emerge - on the second PP line!
Short-handed: A - 4/4 matched the rest of the defensive play tonight. Stellar performance by the young blueliners.
Goaltending: A+ - Marc-Andre Fleury got his fourth start in the preseason and he just gets better and better. Tonight's shutout was a thing of beauty, stopping 32 shots and looking calm the whole time.

[ando]

Hey guys - I wanna know how I can make this more appealing before I start the actual franchise.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

[toronto rules]

This looks great, if you wanted to add something maybe it could be the three stars or something like that?

[Bruins4Life]

Maybe a picture. Visuals are big for these IMO, especially when you use charts.

[ando]

2006-2007 Preseason (PREMIUM REPORT)
Staal nets 3 in 2:30 as Pens drown Flyers
@
Game 5 - Phillidephia@ Pittsburgh 0-6 W
Tonight, new Pittsburgh Coach & GM Joshua Anderson wanted to try something different. Promising the fans some dynamic, exciting hockey, Anderson put Malkin & Crosby on the same line, promoting Jordan Staal to the 2nd line, flanked by Ekman and Recchi. This would be Staal's opportunity to prove himself and possibly earn a spot in the regular season roster.



Staal did not disappoint, netting a hat-trick in the 3rd period and assisting on Ekman's unanswered opening goal. Staal's hat-trick was scored in the space of 2 and a half minutes, with the fan's response shaking the foundations of Mellon Arena.

Crosby also managed two goals (both with Malkin assists) and Jocelyn Thibault put up an impressive 23 save shut-out to send the Flyers home with tails firmly placed between their legs.

Check out the highlights:
PHI @ PIT - Preseason Game 5 HIGHLIGHTS
Note: This is my first attempt at video capture. I used a decent capture device with my shakey hands. I'm also in a hurry today, so I didn't edit much. This is something I'm trying so please leave constructive feedback. I plan to make premium reports perhaps once a week... what do you fellas think?

Scoring:

CODE

First Period:
04:20 - PIT - Ekman (Staal)
09:02 - PIT - Crosby (Armstrong, Malkin)

Second Period:
06:27 - PIT - Crosby (Malkin)

Third Period:
08:21 - PIT - Staal (Recchi)
10:37 - PIT - Staal (Eaton) [PP]
10:51 - PIT - Staal (Ekman)

Statistics:

CODE

 PHI           PIT
  23   Shots   38  
  16   Hits    20
  10   PIMs    6
 0/3   PP      1/5
 4/5   PK      3/3

THREE STARS:
1 - J. Staal (PIT) 3g, 1a
2 - S. Crosby (PIT) 2g
3 - J. Thibault (PIT) 23sa, SO

Coach's Report Card:
Offense: A+ - After shifting the lines around and promoting a hard-hitting, fast-paced aggressive offense, the Penguins blitzed their opponents. Staal's hat-trick was simply amazing.
Defense: A+ - Stopped many chances and only 3 errors in the entire game. Staal and Malkin played a solid backchecking game which shut-down the Flyer's offense tonight.
Powerplay: B - 1/5 with the man advantage tonight wasn't spectacular, but great offensive zone control showed enormous promise. Need to get defensemen to shoot more.
Short-handed: B+ - No goals against, great breakout plays but some sloppy positioning almost cost us a goal.
Goaltending: A - Thibault's 23 save shut-out makes the goaltending decision so much harder. Early on, the Penguins will most likely split time between Fleury and Thibault.

This post has been edited by ando: Oct 25, 2006 - 08:02 PM

[ando]

Intro story up: click here.

[Bruins4Life]

Um, dude. When I click that it brings me right to this thread.

[ando]

Um, dude.  When I click that it brings me right to this thread.

Yeah - the first post... where I've recently added the intro