Game 44 Preview: Penguins Visit Flyers
Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins
Jan 13, 02:12 PM | Hype this story!
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7:00 at Wachovia Center |
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| Inside The Game |
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My apologies, I’ve had the stats done all morning, but haven’t had
time to get to a written preview of tonight’s game. |
| Standings | ||||||||
| GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | Division | Conference | League | |
| Penguins | 43 | 20 | 19 | 4 | 44 | 4, Atlantic | 3, Eastern | 6, NHL |
| Flyers | 42 | 23 | 10 | 9 | 55 | 1, Atlantic | 10, Eastern | 19, NHL |
| Team Statistics | ||||||||
| GF | GA | PP% | PK% | Home | Away | L 10 | Streak | |
| Penguins | 130 | 135 | 17.2 | 79.7 | 9-9-2 | 11-10-2 | 2-8-0 | 2 losses |
| Flyers | 140 | 124 | 26.9 | 83.2 | 14-4-3 | 9-6-6 | 5-2-3 | 2 wins |
| Team Leaders | |||||
| Stat | Penguins | Stat | Flyers | ||
| Goals | 17 | Crosby | Goals | 29 | Carter |
| Assists | 49 | Malkin | Assists | 28 | Richards |
| Points | 65 | Malkin | Points | 46 | Carter |
| +/- | +14 | Malkin | +/- | +18 | Gagne |
| PIMs | 106 | Godard | PIMs | 97 | Asham |
| Wins | 12 | Fleury | Wins | 15 | Biron |
| GAA | 2.85 | Sabourin | GAA | 2.62 | Niittymaki |
| Sv% | .904 | Fleury | Sv% | .913 | Niittymaki |
| Injuries/Suspensions | ||
| Penguins | Injury | Status |
| Dupuis, DTD Fedotenko, IR Zigomanis, IR Gonchar, IR |
Undisclosed Broken hand Shoulder Shoulder |
Questionable Out until February Out indefinitely Out until February |
| Flyers | Injury | Status |
| Hatcher, IR Briere, IR Giroux, DTD Gratton, IR Kalinski, IR Niittymaki, IR Vaananen, DTD |
Knee Groin Concussion Abdominal Thigh Groin Knee |
Out indefinitely Out indefinitely Questionable Out until mid-February Out until indefinitely Probable Probable |
| Note: Info up-to-date as of 1:10 pm, Tuesday, January 13, 2009. | ||
Comments
sonofatruckload
Jan 13, 03:14 PM
did MT pick those lines from a hat?
Brandon
Jan 13, 03:23 PM
Agreed seems like the last ditch attempts of a desperate man, or coach in this case. Atleast Minard is getting a look on what is supposedly a scoring line, but again we never try these proven scorers with Crosby, Minard/Pessonen et al., to see if they can carry over the touch from the AHL to the big leagues.
Jon
Jan 13, 03:28 PM
The way Fleury has been playing lately, I’m a bid nervous as what a guy like Jeff Carter can do tonight.
Matt Bodenschatz
Jan 13, 03:51 PM
I must say that I have no issue with the lines. In fact, I somewhat like them.
Before I analyze, consider that this is a desparate team in need of something/anything to create a spark.
Crosby and Malkin have played well together in the past, and putting Cooke with them gives them a little physicality and a defensive presence. And, while he’s not an offensive threat, he is capable of scoring the occasional goal and making a nice pass.
The second line is a bit of a throw-together, as Staal moves into a scoring line role with the streaking Sykora and recently-promoted AHL dynamo Minard. If nothing else, this gives us a look at what Minard can do on an NHL scoring line and also gives Staal yet another opportunity to prove worthy of playing on a scoring line.
The third line is just nice on the left side and in the middle, but Satan just throw a monkey wrench in the plans. I guess, though, when the team has two defensemen as healthy scratches, a forward listed as day-to-day, and another forward on emergency recall (bringing the roster to 24 active player…one over the NHL limit), scratching Satan isn’t an option, and I’m not sure any of the fourth liners would be any better on the third line.
The fourth line is there simply to keep things honest.
The defensive pairings are solid. There is an offensive and defensive player on each pairing, creating balance that often hasn’t been seen this year (ex: Scuderi-Gill, Boucher-Goligoski, etc).
Jon, also worth pointing out is that, while Fleury has been far from sharp, he’s been getting bombarded with good scoring chances. The defense needs to step it up, limiting the shots against to low-percentage areas, and I think we’ll see Fleury regain his confidence.
Ben Schmidt
Jan 13, 04:02 PM
Matt – the team isn’t at 24. Don’t forget that Wallace was sent down the other day, which is what made the space for Bissonnette.
Gonchar, Fedotenko and Zigomanis are on IR, so they don’t count. That leaves:
- Crosby, Malkin, Sykora, Satan, Staal, Cooke, Kennedy, Talbot, Minard, Jeffrey, Godard, Bissonnette, Dupuis as the 13 forwards on the roster.
- Whitney, Orpik, Letang, Goligoski, Scuderi, Gill, Eaton and Boucher as the 8 defensemen on the roster
- Fleury and Sabourin as the 2 goaltenders on the roster
13 + 8 + 2 = 23
Matt Bodenschatz
Jan 13, 04:14 PM
Ben, I wasn’t counting Wallace, I simply miscounted. Either way, my point stands: when there are no extra healthy forwards, Satan has to play somewhere.
Jon
Jan 13, 04:18 PM
I am still confused as to why Goligoski has not been playing much. He’s been performing MUCH better that the vast majority of the rest of the dmen. Must shatter his confidence to play as well as he has and then have to sit.
Matt Bodenschatz
Jan 13, 04:30 PM
I don’t understand it, either. But such is the life of a rookie. Also worth noting is that, while Goligoski may have been playing better than some of the other defenders, he certainly wasn’t playing great hockey by any means. No one is…and that’s what the problem is with this team.
Jon
Jan 13, 05:19 PM
Matt,
You do a great job on your articles and your feedback. Just thought I’d throw that out there.
Matt Bodenschatz
Jan 13, 05:28 PM
Jon, thanks for the compliments. They are much appreciated! We love having you here as a regular contributor!
jay s
Jan 13, 05:58 PM
I think it is smart having Cooke up there. You have someone that can crash the net like him, something might happen.
DaBich
Jan 13, 07:08 PM
I like the idea of Biss being called up. That guy can make things happen.
Let’s hope it’s tonight!
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