Ch-ch-ch-changes

by Hooks Orpik on Dec 31, 2009 8:00 AM EST

A lot of guys have come and gone since Sidney Crosby won the 2008 Winter Classic for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Hard as it may be to believe, it's been two years since the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres played in the first January 1 "Winter Classic" outdoor game at Ralph Wilson stadium.

Since then, the Penguin roster has gone through a lot of changes. This is hardly breaking news that hockey teams have a high turnover rate, but take a look at where we were on that day, and what the Penguins lineup looked like on December 29, 2009 against those same Sabres.

	Then (1/1/08)	Now (12/29/09)
Goaltenders	Ty Conklin	Marc-Andre Fleury
	Dany Sabourin	Brent Johnson
Defense	Sergei Gonchar	Sergei Gonchar
	Brooks Orpik	Brooks Orpik
	Kris Letang	Kris Letang
	Rob Scuderi	Jay McKee
	Ryan Whitney	Alex Goligoski
	Darryl Sydor	Mark Eaton
Forwards	Sidney Crosby	Sidney Crosby
	Evgeni Malkin	Evgeni Malkin
	Jordan Staal	Jordan Staal
	Tyler Kennedy	Tyler Kennedy
	Ryan Malone	Bill Guerin
	Colby Armstrong	Pascal Dupuis
	Petr Sykora	Chris Kunitz
	Erik Christensen	Mike Rupp
	Adam Hall	Maxime Talbot
	Georges Laraque	Eric Godard
	Jarkko Ruutu	Matt Cooke
	Jeff Taffe	Craig Adams

Only seven players dressed for both the outdoor game and the regular matchup the other night in Buffalo. Three players missed the game back then with injury (Fleury, Eaton and Talbot), but the rest is all the result of the roster turnover.

With that in mind, best wishes from Pensburgh for a safe and fun new year's celebration to all!

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Not so terrible. Considering the injuries, there are 2 different D-men and 6 different forwards 2 seasons later.

by Max Powers on Dec 31, 2009 8:30 AM EST reply actions

Plus the guys that have been around for both (Crosby, Malkin, Staal, etc) are the guys that matter most.

Pensburgh.com

You come at the king, you best not miss.

by Hooks Orpik on Dec 31, 2009 11:35 AM EST up reply actions

yeah, I’d say so too, not so big of a change.

And from the guys that are not in Burgh any more I only miss Malone…

You have to see it for yourself...

by Bla Razor on Jan 1, 2010 5:19 PM EST up reply actions

If i could get anybody back, hands down, without a doubt it would be Colby. He fit in so well with the group and has such a great personality. That was one tough breakup to handle.

by Chez on Jan 2, 2010 4:14 AM EST reply actions