Pittsburgh+continues+winning

Pittsburgh’s continues winning

By Darren

Photo Editor

The Pittsburgh Penguins are fresh off from a Stanley Cup championship the third time that this city has won one. They are the team to beat, and anything could happen. Every other team in the NHL is looking to make a statement, and one way to do than is by beating the Stanley Cup Champions. Center Sidney Crosby and Center Evgeni Malkin are two of the greatest players in the world today. They both have won scoring titles within two years of each other. Both are at the top of the scoring sheet every year. This year Crosby has accumulated (33) points by scoring (17) goals and (16) assists. Malkin has earned (25) points with (8) goals and (17) assists. Behind every Stanley Cup winning team is a great net minder. Marc-Andre Fleury is the Penguins franchise goalie. Since being drafted as the 1st overall pick in the 2003 Entry Draft, Fleury has played in (258) games. He has won (127) games and lost (92). He has had (696) goals against in his career on (7,458) shots against. This puts his save percentage at (.907), and his goals against average at (2.84) in his carrer. Fleury has also showed he is worthy of being a franchise goalie by winning a Stanley Cup. This season Fleury has played in (23) games, he has won (16) and lost (7). He has a save percentage of (.904) and a goals against average of (2.51). To be a top contender in the National Hockey League, a team must have strong power play and penalty kill units. Power play is when a team gets a penalty and the opposing team has one more man on the ice. The team’s Power play is (27th) in the league out of 30 teams. They have scored (17) times on (121) opportunities, which puts them at (14.05%) on the Power play. The team is (8th) in the league on Penalty kill. Penalty kill is when a team has at least one less man on the ice than the other team due to a penalty. They have been shorthanded (104) times and have allowed (17) goals, which put them at (83.65%) on the Penalty kill. Currently, the Pens are (2nd) in the Eastern Conference with (38) points and are (1st) in the Atlantic Division. They have won (19) games and have lost (9). The Penguins have (92) goals for and (77) goals against. Dan Bylsma, the Pittsburgh Penguins head coach, has a record of (18-3 last season + the record this season) in the regular season, since February 2009. Before Bylsma came to town, the Penguins were sliding down the conference ranks, but with his help they pulled it together and made playoffs. This year they have shared the same success. Even though injuries are a problem, their winning ways continue. Some injuries include losing Left Winger Chris Kunitz to a lower body injury, Defenseman Sergei Gonchar to a broken wrist, Defenseman Jay Mckee to a finger infection, Defenseman Kris Letang to a shoulder contusion, Defenseman Brooks Orpik to a lower body injury, Left Winger Tyler Kennedy to an undisclosed injury, and Right Winger/Center Maxime Talbot to a broken shoulder. The Penguins have depth all throughout their lineup, so these injuries should not be a problem but anything could happen. The season is now about half over. At this point in the season the Penguins have all of their injured players returning to the lineup. With this happening, the Penguins are a team to be reckoned with in the Eastern Conference. Tune in on FSN and watch our Pittsburgh Penguins attempt to win back to back Stanley Cup Championship.