This Week In Pens Nation - Ice Ice Guerin

Hellooooooo Nation, it's been awhile but im back and here's what's happening in Pens Nation.

- Opening Faceoff
I'll start this one off with on ice news. Time to give my little rant about the play of the defense (excluding last night's game). Here's my question to all of you in the Nation. Why can't the players buckle down and fill the void that Staal leaves behind, like they did whenever Sid/Geno were out with their injuries? I don't have an answer to that, so if you do please comment below. As far as the recent Mike Comrie/Chris Conner situation, well, it's simple, Bylsma is giving another fringe player a chance at success as he did with Letestu. HCDB is playing the fringe players, because that's the type of player he was. Sure, Comrie has been a bust, but hell, he's still gotta play, even if it's only on the 4th line.

- Annnndddd Nooooowwww Fannnnnssss
Now to ice issues, yes, actual ice issues. The complaints are about the ice surface at CEC are flooding into the media and to the Penguins front office more then Hurricane Katrina about this. Just relax, new buildings always have problems with the ice in the beginning, keep in mind that the operations staff at CEC also worked in the Mellon, a 50+ year old building, so I don't expect greatness just yet. Just. Relax.

- Shootout
Breaking news into the Nation today was that Bill Guerin is expected to announce his retirement from the NHL after Thanksgiving, but wait there's more, he is also expected to become a member of the Penguins staff sometime in 2011. From all of us in Pens Nation Congrats Billy G on a great NHL career and enjoy your retirement.


That is all for this week (and probally until after Thanksgiving) so until next time remember 3 Ass=1 Goal

Happy Turkey Day. Go Pens.

Pens Nation Invades The Pensblog

Friday night following the Pens/Lightning, I was on the Pensblog Podcast and I brought Pens Nation with me...Audio is a trainwreck


Pensblog Podcast - 11.13 (Feat. Pens Nation)


Go Pens

All-Stars and Kovalchokes

The biggest news in hockey this week is, of course, the adjustments to the All-Star game starting in 2011. The short and short of it is that fantasy hockey will become a reality. Instead of the East vs. the West, the two captains (selected by the players) of the All-Star game will get to choose the rosters. They will pick from a pool of players selected by a combination of fans and the NHL Hockey Operations Department. Following the Fantasy Draft (yes, it's actually being called that), teams will pick 12 rookies picked by the NHL Hockey Operations Department for the SuperSkills competition. Important dates for the 2011 All-Star Game:

Fan balloting- November 15th-January 3rd

2011 NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft- January 28th

SuperSkills Competition- January 29th

2011 NHL All-Star Game- January 30th

Whether or not this new format will actually improve the game remains to be seen but it is a creative concept and not a bad idea to take advantage of the popularity of fantasy sports. Give credit to the NHL/NHLPA for working hard to make these changes. Also, for those of you who have Twitter, be sure to take a look at @BizNasty2point0's selections for the All-Star fantasy lineup. Even if he chose Ron Hextall as one of the goalies (ick).

A quick injury update:

-T.J. Oshie of the St. Louis Blues is out 3 months. He broke his left ankle in the third period of the Blues' game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday. St. Louis has been one of the early surprising teams this year, currently second overall in the Western Conference. Losing one of their signature offensive stars in Oshie will be a chance for St. Louis to prove they're the real deal.

But with Jaroslav Halak as the second coming of Patrick Roy/Ken Dryden, anything is possible, right? I still have no idea what the Habs were thinking when they traded him.

-Vincent Lecavalier was hurt in last night's game against the Washington Capitals. He left the ice early in the first period with a broken right hand. Apparently the break is close to the knuckle of his right index finger. Lecavalier returned to the game in the second period and played the rest of the night. Head coach Guy Boucher has since stated that he does not know if the injury will require surgery or not. Lecavalier is expected to miss 3-4 weeks, so we won't be seeing him when the Lightning come to CEC tonight.

-As I tweeted yesterday, Pens fans have another reason to be grateful we're not Devils fans (besides the obvious). Click here to see Kovalchuk's epic fail in the shootout against Buffalo. I almost choked myself (pun totally intended) from laughing so hard when I saw this video for the first time. It wouldn't have been half as embarrassing if Kovalchuk wasn't being paid so much money. If you're getting paid $100 million, you better AT LEAST get that shot off.

(I also find it hilarious that Jhonas Enroth didn't seem to realize that the game was over after Kovy's gaffe.)

Once again, I feel the need to remind everyone that I'll be at tonight's game!!!! (And I'll likely post some pictures.) Hopefully the Penguins can get it together so Marianna can see a win at her first game! Go Pens!!!!!

Catching Up

Hello Pens Nation! I apologize for my lacks of posts this week. It's been hectic here in NY. I will try and be more on top of things from now on.

This most exciting news of the week is... I AM FINALLY GOING TO MY FIRST GAME AT CONSOL ENERGY CENTER THIS FRIDAY! I know you're all thrilled to hear it and life as you know it will never be the same. But can you blame me for being excited? It's also a momentous occasion for another reason. One of my roommates is also a Penguins fan (courtesy of yours truly) and Friday will be her first ever Penguins game! What, no one care but me? Fine then.

Here is the real news you all came to read:

On-Ice-

-Latest injury updates from around the NHL:

Anaheim Ducks: Joffrey Lupul (back surgery/infection), Dan Sexton (broken nose/surgery) and Matt Beleskey (concussion) are participating in on-ice workouts again. It's unknown when any of them will actually be able to play although head coach Randy Carlyle said Lupul could see action around Thanksgiving. Possibly.

Boston Bruins: First-line center David Krejci will miss at least a week with a mild concussion. The Bruins top players just can't catch a break, can they? (Except Chara, but that's because he's 6'9" and no one wants to/can reach high enough to hurt him. Unless you're T.J. Oshie.) Good news for Boston is that Marc Savard (post-concussion syndrome) and Marco Sturm could see ice time in the near future, though the team will not give a timetable for either player's return.

Buffalo Sabres: Goalie Ryan Miller (sore leg muscle) is back in practice. He will definitely miss Wednesday's game against New Jersey (as if they needed him) and likely miss Thursday against the Rangers but could be back Saturday against the Capitals (then they might need him).

Carolina Hurricanes: Defenseman Joni Pitkanen (upper body) is still day-to-day. He took part in practice today wearing a no-contact jersey. His status for tomorrow night's game against Edmonton is unknown.

Colorado Avalanche: Goalie Craig Anderson (knee) could be back in 1-2 weeks. (Colorado fans: "ONLY 1-2 MORE WEEKS OF PETER BUDAJ! THERE IS A GOD AFTER ALL!")

Detroit Red Wings: Brian Rafalski (knee surgery) will be back in the lineup for Detroit tonight.

New Jersey Devils: There's good news and bad news for the Devils. Good news: Martin Brodeur (elbow) should be back against Buffalo on Wednesday night, despite missing Sunday's practice. And they're within one point of the Islanders in the Atlantic Division. Bad news: Zach Parise is still out for 3 months. And they're still terrible.

New York Rangers: Marian Gaborik ( groin shoulder) is skating again and could be back as early as this weekend. But no one's noticed because they're all too stunned that, thanks in large part to Brandon Dubinsky, the Rangers are actually scoring goals without him in the lineup.

Phoenix Coyotes: Captain Shane Doan out indefinitely with a lower-body injury, has been ruled out for Phoenix's mini road trip to Detroit and Chicago and will not travel with the team. Officially listed as "day to day".

Toronto Maple Leafs: Captain Dion Phaneuf's leg laceration surgery was a success and he's going to miss 4-6 weeks. How will the Leafs be able to go on without him?

-Joe Thornton was suspended for two games for his hit to the head on David Perron of St. Louis. He will have to sit out one more game (tomorrow night against the Ducks) and be back Thursday against the Islanders.

-The Flyers extended Claude Giroux's tenure in Philly for another 3 years at a cost of $11.25 million.

Off-Ice-

-It's been confirmed via Puck Daddy that ESPN is serious about going after the NHL's TV rights. I can't wait to see how this bidding war plays out.

-This year's Hockey Hall of Fame inductees received their Hall of Fame rings today, leading to many people (myself included, I admit) to restart complaining/debating about why Ciccarelli was inducted this year but guys like Pat Burns and Adam Oates were snubbed.

I'll likely be putting up some pictures from the game Friday and look to start working on player features starting this week. For real this time. I promise!

Go Pens.

Pens Nation Twitter Contest - Coyotes

Taking a page from our friends at The Pensblog, we will be having a twitter contest for tonight's game.

If you don't have a twitter account, get one first.
Then tweet a message saying when the first penalty of the game will be taken (i.e. 11:21, 2nd Per)

Winner will get a chance to visit the Mellon Arena and try and hold back tears with me, and a few other Pens fans*


*Providing we get in, if not, request what you would like as a prize


Go Pens

Election Day (Updated)

-I know around this time of year there are a lot of germs getting passed around and everyone gets a cold, snuffles, the flu, etc, but it looks like the injury bug is the one making its way around the NHL during the past few days. Jordan Staal, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Alex Goligoski, Zach Parise, Jacob Josefson and Milan Jurcina have all been bitten.

As mentioned in the last post, Jordan Staal has a broken hand and will be out six more weeks, just as he was looking strong in practice and ready to return. He underwent surgery for it this morning. I feel partly to blame for this cruel irony. Not only did I post last week that he might've been able to return last Friday but I'm going to the Penguins-Lightning game a week from Friday with one of my roommates (a Pens fan who has never been to a game) and the day before he broke his hand, I very excitedly told her that Staal would be back in time for us to see him play. Whoops.

But not all the news is bad, Pens fans. Coach Bylsma said that he believes Malkin (knee), Letang (upper body) and Goligoski (undisclosed), who are all listed as day-to-day, will be able to play against Dallas on Wednesday night. We should also expect to see defenseman Zbynek Michalek in the lineup against the Stars.

-One thing I know I'll be (even more) thankful for this Thanksgiving is that I'm not a New Jersey Devils fan. The current Atlantic Division bottom dwellers are on pace for 44 points this season- 18 less than the Oilers had last year. Ouch. The team is already injury-riddled: Anssi Salmela (torn ACL), Bryce Salvador (concussion) and Matthew Corrente. Add Zach Parise and Jacob Josefson to that list. Parise, the one player the Devils really couldn't afford to lose, has to undergo exploratory arthroscopic knee surgery after being injured Saturday against the Kings and is out indefinitely. To add injury to injury to injury, rookie Jacob Josefson underwent surgery to repair a detached ligament in his hand and is out 6-8 weeks.

UPDATE: It was just announced that after his arthroscopic knee surgery, Zach Parise is going to miss 3 months. Horrible news for the Devils, who are already having trouble scoring goals (and don't have their usual defensive prowess to lean on). It's up to you, Kovy!

-According to PensUniverse, Matt Cooke has replaced Pascal Dupuis as mustache boy this month.

-Danny Briere has been suspended three games for cross checking Frans Nielson of the Islanders. Briere was apparently "shocked" at the suspensions and that it "clearly wasn't a cross check". Whatever you say, Danny.

Although if I were Rick Dipietro I wouldn't have been so eager to get into the scrum, what with the injury bug ready to strike at any moment. A guy who's so injury-prone that he could break a jaw biting into one of the Islanders' new cupcakes shouldn't push his luck. Especially if Chris Pronger gets involved.

-Speaking of the Islanders and the injury bug, Milan Jurcina is out 2-4 weeks with an injured hamstring.

-Brian Campbell returned to the lineup last night for the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks. Too bad they still gave up 3 goals to the Gaborik-less Rangers.

-Those of you who are 18 and older, don't forget to vote today! In the spirit of election day, our friends over at The Pensblog created a survey for their readers. Click here to take the survey. Also, everyone be sure to read their Wilkes-Barre blog. The AHL matters too!

Penguins Banged Up

-The Penguins have been dealing with injuries since the beginning of the season and it is not getting much better. Jordan Staal, who has not played in any games this season because of a foot infection, has been practicing the last few days in an effort to make his season debut in the game against Dallas Wednesday night. At practice today, a puck hit Staal's hand and he instantly knew something was wrong. It turns out that Staal now has a fractured right hand and will undergo surgery tomorrow. This is a big blow to the Penguins as the Selke finalist last season may be out until after Thanksgiving. Evgeni Malkin, who did not play in the 3-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes Saturday night, is listed as day-to-day. He did not practice today. Kris Letang is also listed as day-to-day with an upper body injury. Letang was absent from practice as well. Alex Goligoski, who is having a good season so far, left practice after fifteen minutes and he is also listed as day-to-day. The only good injury news for the Penguins is that Zybnek Michalek is expected to return Wednesday night after missing about ten games with a shoulder injury. Arron Asham has played in the last three games after missing the first nine with a shoulder injury. The Penguins are showing their depth with a 6-5-1 record while dealing with so many injuries. Mark Letestu, Goligoski, and Letang all have exceeded expectations thus far and the Penguins hope that keeps up to go along with Malkin and Sidney Crosby.