Can the Pens overtake New Jersey in the Atlantic by the Olympic break?
by Hooks Orpik on Feb 9, 2010 12:52 PM EST
15 comments
Don't look now, but the Pittsburgh Penguins are only two points back of the New Jersey Devils for the top spot in the Atlantic Division. The Devils have played one less game on the season, but if they keep up their losing ways (2 straight) then it won't matter. For Pittsburgh, the division title may have looked bleak last week, but now it's a possibility.
Can the Pens make up any more on NJ before the break? Could Pittsburgh even tie or narrowly edge them before the NHL shuts down? Let's check the schedule:
New Jersey
Wednesday: Philadelphia
Friday: Nashville
Saturday: at Carolina
Up first NJ tries to bounce back from their defeat last night to Philly with a rematch against the Flyers. Then they get a Nashville team that, while they are right in the mad hunt in the Western Conference, the Preds are slumping; winners of only 3 of their last ten contests. Don't count out bottom dweller Carolina on the quick Saturday game: the back-to-back games (plus the impending Olympics) may mean that Martin Brodeur might get the very rare breather. And Carolina is a somewhat respectable 13-12-3 at home and have won seven of their past ten games overall, giving that the feel of a "trap" game.
Pittsburgh
Wednesday: New York Islanders
Friday: New York Rangers
Sunday: Nashville
The Penguins have the luxury of three home games. The Islanders have lost seven straight games and play tonight before travelling to Pittsburgh for tomorrow's game. Though NYI always battles Pittsburgh to very tough games, their situation and circumstances don't put them in good shape. The Pens then get their first look at Olli Jokinen in a Ranger uni on Friday. During his time with Florida, Jokinen killed the Pens over and over again; going 15 goals (5 game-winners) and 14 assists in 26 games in a span from 2002/03 - 2008/09. Then again, Pittsburgh has won all four meetings with NYR so far this season. Finally yet another Sunday matinee game, this time against the Predators who'll finish up an East Coast swing.
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On paper it looks as if things are put together beautifully for Pittsburgh: there's no travel, and they're playing either weary opponents, struggling opponents or a team they've owned all season. Of course, games aren't played on paper and no one's going to lay down and give up the two points just because it seems like they should do it.
Still, if things come together in the right way, the Pittsburgh Penguins could put themselves in the driver's seat for the division for the March/April sprint with a solid three games and perhaps a little help from the out-of-town scoreboard.
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I guess with a two-game losing streak, the Devils have not looked good with Kovalchuck? We can win this division. It will also mean we don’t face OTT in the first round of the playoffs, which is a good thing. But, it is still too early to guage where any team is going to be at.
i saw him at msg when the devils played the rangers. i know it is wayyyyyy too early to tell, but kovy looked LOST with the team. like he just had no idea where to be or what to do. i bet with time he’ll get adjusted, but it’ll be interesting to see where the team is once he gets there.
When I saw him against the Leafs he seemed a bit out of place as well. During one Devils PP Brian Rolston actually skated off the bench to tap Kovy on the shoulder, then pointed to where he should line up. It wasn’t far from where he was standing, but still…
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I caught a little bit of the devils game last night. I wouldn’t say they haven’t looked good with Kovy, but it will take a little time. I think their PP went 1/7 or something. They seemed to force him the puck a little there. I’m not sure Kovy was a great fit for NJ to begin with. With a player that good though its only a matter of time for him to get comfortable and start putting up points. Its a pretty drastic change going from ATL where he could do what ever he wanted to, to NJ.
I think now is the time for the Pens to catch up and take the division lead. They have a favorable schedule, all at home. I think it would be huge to head into the break knowing their playing good hockey, if they run the table these last 3 gms. Plus you never know what the situation will be coming out of the break….rust, injuries, trades…lets win a few now.
by genomachine-O on Feb 9, 2010 2:19 PM EST up reply actions
I agree with you guys…I saw a little of the Flyers/NJ game and Kovalchuk didn’t look in sequence with the team (as to be expected of course)
I’m sure they’ll get it together as the pieces naturally gel more, so all the more reason to have a great stretch before the break.
"I'm glad I got drafted first, because no one remembers number two." -- Alexandre Daigle
The higher your seed, the higher the likelihood of playing PHI again 1st round.
You had me at no problem.
its to early to tell who the pens would be playing
by genomachine-O on Feb 9, 2010 3:03 PM EST up reply actions
I’d welcome Philly for the third year in a row. I’d love nothing more than to see the Pens knock them out now that they have Pronger on board. Allegedly he was considered the big anti-Pens move, so I’d love to see how it holds up in the playoffs.
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I want Philly
in the first round, there’s not an opponent I like better than Philly. I know we’re better than them in 7 games. NJ, OTT, and WAS are the only teams we’ll have trouble with, and even NJ won’t hold up in 7 games.
Of course anything can happen. The fight for the bottom spots is always surprising and there’s no guarantee the Philly Prongers are gonna even be in the contest.
I’m of the opinion that OTT is playing way, way over their heads and getting the performance of a lifetime from Brian Elliot, which covers up a lot of mistakes. Yes, they just had a long winning streak because Alfie and Spezza got hot along with Elliot, but they just don’t have the talent to roll with the Pens or the Caps in a 7-game series.
Fisher is going to regress to the mean if he hasn’t already. Spezza is playing over even his considerable abilities right now. Elliot is on fire. Alfredsson is Alfredsson, but he’s getting pretty long in the tooth. Kovalev, as all of you know, is as streaky and inconsistent as they come.
As a Caps fan, I worry about 3 teams – A trapping team that can frustrate high-skill players by clogging the neutral zone (The Devils), a team that can forecheck like demons and pound defenders when they turn (That’s the Pens) and a goalie who can catch fire and win a series by himself (That’s Ryan Miller). Ottawa doesn’t really do any of those things as well as the other three teams I mentioned. Clouston is a pretty damn good hockey coach, but I just don’t think they have the horses to run when the chips are down and the adrenaline is up in the springtime.
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by Knee high to a duck on Feb 9, 2010 6:08 PM EST up reply actions
I agree with you, clearly the 3 most dangerous teams in the east for Pittsburgh are New Jersey, Washington and Buffalo (in that order, I believe).
Ottawa kicked the tires on Kovalchuk, I’d bet they’ll make a move near the deadline…O think they’ll need it to make it 2+ rounds in the spring, even if they have been the surprise team of the east so far
"I'm glad I got drafted first, because no one remembers number two." -- Alexandre Daigle
by Hooks Orpik on Feb 9, 2010 8:05 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
as a Red Wings fan
Let’s go Devils and Pens…when they play Nashville
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We need to avoid the trap that has been plaguing us for awhile: playing to the level of our competition. Yes, we SHOULD be able to take these next three games (and I think that we will), but we’ve given up too many leads this year. I can’t help but be worried heading into the final third of the year – we need to play better defense and Fleury needs to be more consistently on his game. If not, we could be looking at an early exit this year.
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