Grades for December and the vote for Player of the Month

Goalies

(10 games played, 0 goals, 0 assists, +3,  2 penalty minutes)  Playing unnoticeable hockey is a compliment for a defensive defenseman, and Eaton had a relatively quiet month in all facets.

(10gp, 0g, 2a, -2, 4 PIMs) Hasn't shown the offensive flair that made him player of the month in October, Goligoski has had a rough month and ended up getting bounced from the top power play unit.

(13 gp, 0g, 3a, +3, 2 PIMs) Hasn't produced a lot of points, but he did have 23 shots on goal in the month, good enough for second among defenseman (behind Gonch, of course).

(13gp, 0g, 5a, +8, 12 PIMs) Best plus/minus on the team this month and some heady passes to teammates, the future Olympian is on his game.

(7gp, 0g, 0a, -1, 2 PIMs) Skoula's got to be one of the best insurance policies in the league as a 7th defenseman.  Whenever he's been plugged in, he's been unspectacularly decent.

(13gp, 0g, 2a, even, 17 PIMs) He fights (not very well), he shoots (not very well) he takes faceoffs (44.0% win rate on the year).  Adams is plugging away, but if his performance isn't improved he might be back to healthy scratch territory.

(12gp, 2g, 2a, even, 10 PIMs)  Some nights he's a difference maker, some nights he doesn't contribute all that much.  Typical 3rd line stuff from a 3rd liner.

(12gp, 6g, 9a, +4, 4 PIMs) Got on the scoreboard in 10 of the 11 games that the Penguins registered a goal this month and stayed near the top of the league leaders in goals, points and faceoffs.  Just another month of excellence on a winning hockey team for Sidney Crosby.

(12 gp, 3g, 1a, -1, 10 PIMs) Fedotenko's career has shown periods of dry spells and then bursts of a lot of production.  We're still looking for the latter in this season.

(8gp, 0g, 1a, +1, 13 PIMs) Only one fight in the month of December (Riley Cote on Dec 15th) and he took four minor penalties.  The least a non-contributing member of the team like Godard can do is not give the other team power plays.

(13gp, 6g, 5a, +3, 5 PIMs)  Guerin doubled his season's goal total in December, fed some really nice passes and don't forget a fight against a young whippersnapper.  "Dad" is fired up and playing some great hockey.

(12gp, 0g, 1a, -2, 4 PIMs) Kennedy's month started with him losing a shootout and the "honor" of growing a mustache all month.  That was an omen for things to come, rough December for TK that saw him get scratched for the first time.  Now the 'stache is gone, and hopefully the goals will be back.

(13gp, 5g, 8a, +1, 28 PIMs) For a lot of players, this would be a solid month, but Malkin is out of sorts.  He's going to the penalty box a lot -- none of his total are from fights or misconducts, and he just seems a little out of sync.  A very minor problem that he's sure to correct, but he's probably looking to perform a little better.

(13gp, 5g, 4a, +6, 4 PIMs) For stretches possibly the best Penguin forward on the ice; Staal had his best goal scoring month of the young season, including a shorty against Philly on Dec 15th.

(11gp, 0g, 2a, +1, 14 PIMs)  Is he going to be a 4th line winger?  A guy who gets a chance on the scoring line?  The lack of a role is hurting him, as did being a healthy scratch twice.  His grade is helped since he's not a minus player, but Talbot needs to find a groove and get in it, and hopefully the coaching staff assists him by defining what they're looking for.  His play (and the places he's been used) has shown confusion.