Introducing this year's third jersey...
more: http://penguins.nhl.com/club/news.ht...id=DL|PIT|home
Introducing this year's third jersey...
more: http://penguins.nhl.com/club/news.ht...id=DL|PIT|home
When I was in Pittsburgh last week, I picked up a "classic" jersey (this style) from Hometowne Sports (it's an old school CCM made one) not even thinking that they would be the 3rd jersey for this year. Now I'm even more thrilled that I got the old style jersey and it's relevant to the present. Nice!
This is way, WAY overdue. In fact, I'd be all for making this their regular jerseys again. It's the one I grew up with.
It sickens me that there are Pens "fans" bitching that this looks too much like a Boston jersey. What pisses me off is that these fans probably didn't become fans Malkin and Crosby came along. It's this ignorance that makes other fan bases hate us.
"The mountains are calling and I must go!" -- John Muir
It's that time of year again, boys and girls. It's officially hockey time! The Pens open their season at home on Thursday against the Ducks.
I am interested to see how different they look under the new system. It's going to be an adjustment period at the beginning, so I expect them to struggle somewhat at the start of the season, then get better as they get more comfortable in the system. Beyond that, this team is so damn soft that I won't be able to stand it. Not a single tough guy to be found anywhere in the lineup. The toughest guys on the team will be behind the bench and on the post-game show.
I hate the new NHL.
New season, new thread. New coach, will it make a difference.
Go Pens Go.
I'm ready for some goddamn hockey. Pittsburgh starts tomorrow and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins start on Saturday. Let's go Pens!!
I'm looking forward to the season.
2-0. Good start, I like the new lines. All four lines seem to be playing with great energy and are controlling the play to a large degree when they're on the ice. The defensive pairings are off to a good start too. Nice to see Despres finally out of the dog house and on the ice. Anyway too early to say too much. But it's hard not to like what you see so far. And yeah I know they need to limit the turnovers and the PK needs work. But the way they're skating they remind me a lot of the 90's teams where they give up some scary chances, but they make up for it by out-chancing their opponent by a wide margin. Who knows maybe Fleury's better facing the odd 2-1, or 3-2 chance? Keeps you sharp. What's not happening, other than the penalty kill is they're not giving up many sustained cycles in their own zone. But it's still early, so who knows? Good start.
"A man's got to know his limitations."
Is anyone else struggling a little to watch the Pens a little bit this year? Usually after a few games at the start of each season, the game will slow down for me, but I feel like because of the new system, the Pens are playing so fast. If I watch another game, I don't have a problem at all. Anyone else going through this too?
Yeah, I'm not all that concerned right now with the turnovers and PK. It takes some time to really get comfortable in a new system, especially defensively. And they didn't really have time to work on the PK very much during camp because everything went into implementing the system. I suspect that it will be better as the season goes on.
Overall though, I am happy with the start.
No. They are playing much faster than they have in the past, which I like, but it hasn't been a problem for me keeping up with the pace.
I have to say, I knew Hornqvist was good, but damn...I really, really like his game. I also didn't know he was that good a skater either. Dude is always around the net, has incredibly soft hands and does nothing but shoot the puck. I said he'd score 30+ with Crosby/Malkin...he might make it to 40. He has 4 goals and 42 shots already this season in just 4 games. He is exactly the kind of winger the Pens have needed for years. I think I might get his jersey instead.
Another home game against the Flyers, another loss. I don't know why they can't beat that team at home. But at the same time, they seem to play well and win in Philadelphia. Makes absolutely no sense.
10-1-1 in the last 12 games in Pittsburgh for the Flyers
That is ridiculous. I was hoping they'd fare better now that Bylsma's gone...apparently not. And they won't get another chance until April. But at the same time, it wouldn't shock me if the Pens won both games in Philly between now and then. That's the way this series has gone the past several years.
8-3 win tonight after falling behind 3-1. Not too shabby.
The Pens have 3 shutouts in their last four games, winning 3-0, 8-3, 3-0 and 5-0. They're also 18-42 (I think) on the power play this season.
154:46 shutout streak. The last goal they allowed was at 5:14 of the 2nd period against the Devils. Their PP though...it's almost like a video game PP at this point. It won't last forever though. Eventually they will hit a slump.
- - - Updated - - -
Hornquist continues to impress. I think he instills a sense of will in the whole team. I see Crosby and Kunitz going to the net and playing with more grit this year. This is a better Penguin team for a multitude of reasons this year, but this guy is a big part of it. This looks like a tremendous trade, and one that probably good for both teams, because it looks like Neal is fitting in there.
"A man's got to know his limitations."
The one thing I was worried about with Jim Rutherford is the team would be soft. But it seems like two things are happening:
-It's not as bad as I thought it would be, and
-It's still a little soft but it's seeming to lend itself well to Bettman's NHL.
I guess he also never had the same kind of superstar power in Carolina that he does here and Hornqvist is proving an excellent supplement.
Two words.
Big mistake.