Faceoff Factor

WBS Penguins Weekly Report - 2/25

Kyle Dreibelbies | WBS "Baby" Penguins

Feb 25, 10:27 AM | Hype this story!

Welcome to the pre-deadline edition of the WBS Penguins Weekly Report. This team may look very different a day from now. A week from tomorrow is the AHL Clear Day Deadline. Some AHL-only deals are usually worked out over that time for teams who are looking for playoff help. Last year, three players were added and three subtracted at this time of the season.

TRANSACTIONS:

For now, we would like to welcome back W Connor James and, if he clears waivers today, C Nathan Smith. Smith almost got his first NHL goal, but had it waved off due to a kicking motion. James is still waiting for his. D Alex Goligoski was also returned.

HOT/NOT:

At the moment, the scoring has been non-existent. Some may blame this on the players being called up, but the fact is that this team is only missing Chris Minard right now. C Tim Brent, C/LW Ryan Stone, RW Jonathan Filewich, C Kurtis McLean, Smith, and James are all capable scorers, but are not finishing right now.

Ws David Gove and Jean-Michel Daoust have been the lone bright spots on this offense over the past week.

The goaltending has been very good. Most of that was due to the conditioning stint of Pittsburgh G Marc-Andre Fleury. He was outstanding in his rehab.

GAMES:

Wed., 2/20 3-2 OT Win vs. Hershey – Gove and Filewich scored during regulation to send it to OT when Brent ended the game only 12 seconds into the extra period.

Sat., 2/23 1-0 Loss vs. Syracuse – The offense disappeared and Fleury was only beaten once. Without any support in front of him, it was impossible to get the win.

Sun., 2/24 3-2 Loss vs. Hershey – Gove and Daoust provided the only goals in a game that was 1-1 with 2:30 left in the game. The late scoring provided an exciting finish that didn’t end the way the Penguins would have liked.

Faceoff Factor will report on how the trade deadline transactions will affect this team as they happen tomorrow.