12 Hates of Christmas: Day 10

Mike Wilson | National Hockey League

Dec 22, 01:31 AM | Hype this story!

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true hate gave to me…a plethora of Penguin injuries.

The third biggest hate of 2008: The Penguins can’t keep a healthy roster.

The Penguins hate injuries

With nine of the twelve days accounted for, we’ve officially reached Bob and Doug McKenzie’s famed mystery days of Christmas. That being said, let’s begin.

2007-08: Fleury, Crosby, Talbot, Roberts.

2008-09 (so far): Gonchar, Whitney, Kennedy, Fleury, Dupuis, Gill, Zigomanis, Talbot.

Last season, the Penguins could play well with injuries for some reason. Conklin covered well for Fleury, Malkin took over the team for Crosby, Dupuis was a nice addition in Talbot’s absence, and Roberts was a replaceable resource to begin with. But that still doesn’t erase the fact that those injuries occurred.

One was weary to even whisper the words “high ankle sprain” as three of the four big injuries last season were caused by such. This season, Chris Stewart has his hands full…and so does the coaching staff.

Dany Sabourin is (or was, I suppose) no Ty Conklin. And while Malkin seems to be producing more than last season, he’s also producing more points for the other team. Though Talbot is back, Kennedy and Dupuis are perhaps the quickest, wiliest players on the team and their speed is apparently irreplaceable. Speaking of speed, Hal Gill the tortoise is missed on the blue line because he does bring a physicality that Mark Eaton can’t.

Without Zigomanis, the Penguins apparently are virtually unable to win faceoffs. And Gonchar and Whitney bring offense to the blue line, even though the whole offense itself seems transparent at times.

This stretch of injuries has hurt the team’s ability to win games, which, in turn, has severely damaged the morale of the team. I think that showed best in Saturday’s loss to Toronto in the Igloo. Pittsburgh needs, more than anything, to get their team back to the way it was right before Gonchar’s injury and then make a New Years’ resolution to stay healthy…or things might start turning uglier.

Tomorrow, the eleventh day of Christmas, a free agent sees green and goes Red.

Comments

  1. DaBich

    Dec 22, 06:38 AM

    I’m wondering if we shouldn’t have kept Conklin and traded Sab?

  2. Matt Bodenschatz

    Dec 22, 09:58 AM

    Nah. You can’t spent that kind of money on a backup. Plus, Sabourin is fine as a backup. His problems come when he is asked to be a starter for any amount of time. That’s typically the way backups are, and, really, the majority of NHL teams have one capable starter and then a backup.

  3. Mike Wilson

    Dec 22, 10:39 AM

    Matt’s right, Dabich. All I’m saying is Sabourin was unable to do what Conklin could in Fleury’s absense. That doesn’t mean he’s not a good backup, because we’ve all seen him perform when he’s called upon in that position.

    And lest we forget, Sabourin spent some time in a Johnstown Chiefs uniform…what more qualifications does one need?

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