Closing The Book On The 2010-11 Pittsburgh Penguins: Oh, What Could Have Been

Hooks, you summed it up perfectly for us.

Haters round’ the worldfinally got their wish-no Crosby or Malkin….but they’ll be back.

Great work, Jimmy, your articles and comments are definitely inspiring, encouraging, and positive!

See ya round!

This may or may not have made me start crying again.

I remember back in November, iPenguin and I would get home from class or work in the evenings, watch the games, and just think about how far this team was going to go this season. It certainly seemed like this was their season, that they had all of the pieces, that everything was theirs to lose. It’s incredible how, one by one, all of those pivotal pieces fell away.

I’m upset about tonight’s loss. I’m angry at how a few of the guys played. But I look back at the season as a whole, and I’m suddenly amazed at where we finished. A first round win would have been fantastic, and though I’m disappointed, I can’t help but be proud of the team and be hopeful for next season. They’ll start putting the pieces back together and get some new ones. I have faith that this team will rise to the top again and be the team that we know they can be.

It’s heartbreaking but if this team lost, I’m glad it was to Tampa Bay. If we lost to Philly or Washington, the bad taste in our mouths would be acid by then.

Nice writeup, Hooks (not sure how many times I’ve thought that). There’ll be plenty of time to discuss drafts, free agency, trades, etc. For now, sit back and enjoy playoff hockey without having to stress about the Pens.

I know it sounds cliche, but I’m so so so proud of these guys. My favourite part of the season? Sid’s point streak (closely followed by HBO, then the win streak). I also really hope that Max comes back :)
I was thinking: 2010-2011 Pensburgh awards?

It has been a great first year on this site. I never said I’d get into the whole blogging thing but everyone on Pensburgh is intelligent, fun, and good to talk to.

This offseason should be fun but also sad at the same time, a lot of faces will be leaving.

Fortunately for us Pens fans this team still is talented to make another run at the Cup come next season. The Pens gave all they could have and surpassed what I thought they would do in the regular season. Bylsma did a terrific job of keeping this team together with all the adversity. Sure it’s disappointing but realistically it was going to be a very tough hill to climb anyway this postseason.

I’m very excited for next year. They still have a excellent core group. With the big guys coming back hopefully completely healthy the NHL better be aware because the Pens will be a determined bunch next year.

Now we’ll see what offseason moves are made. It will be fun and interesting.

2 years in a row we’ve shown that we can get up on a team and then lose 3 games in a row to be kicked out of the playoffs… we didn’t win 1 game this year when we were down after the 2nd period.. not one.. what does that say for your team?

The powerplay was a joke.. Reirden should be fired… his main function was the powerplay and it was terrible. Granted Crosby & Malkin are hurt, but still.. we have Talent.. no way should we have went 1 for 32 or whatever it was in the playoffs.

DB was out coached in the playoffs… I’m a huge fan of DB, but it’s true.. Boucher out coached him. The Pens let the Lightning beat them twice on the same play(Moore to Bergenheim behind the net). Now granted that’s not DB’s fault… BUT, it’s plays like that that Boucher was able to come up with that DB did not. The lack of ability to get the damn puck in the zone for the power play was silly… trying the drop pass and watching it fail miserably to only come back with it the next game was a joke.. Sticking with the same players and not touching your lineup once(except when forced to) was crazy… I don’t know what it was.. maybe it was just not wanting to sit guys who were playing hard.. hell I don’t know, but him not making any changes after we just got our asses handed to us 2 games in a row is just stupid IMO..

perhaps next year, things will be better. I tip my hat to the Lightning for being better.

Is Rob Rossi leaving the Trib?

Absolutely perfect write-up. Once again, you captured it really well. I’m sad, but not at all surprised, and I’m proud of how our guys played last night. The team’s going to look so different next season, but then again, the team was looking different week after week thanks to the injuries. Dan Bylsma and (after October) Marc-Andre Fleury were the only constants, and they were good ones.

To hell with the rest of the Eastern Conference.

I just heard today that Boston was 0-for-20 on the power play in their series, and yet they still managed to advance. Barely, but that will need to change dramatically if they want to get past Philly.

For a team that dressed 36 different players, and lost their offense to injuries and suspensions, they did a fantastic job. Flower started out in a funk, but pulled out one of his best seasons ever. Dan Bylsma worked miracles with a team that had different players almost every night.

How many other teams in the NHL can say they had the most technical wins, the #1 PK, and the highest point season when they; at one point, had more AHL players in their lineup than NHL players? I am not saying that other teams didn’t have their share of injuries. They did. But the Pens, for a good stretch of time, were in fact the Baby Pens with an elite goal tender and a few strong D.

I tip my hat to this team. Despite the adversity faced; they made it further than a lot of people would have expected. Now that their season is over they can FINALLY get healthy, and come back next season to play with the heart and skill we know they have.

Yes, what could have been. Next year…..

Glad i found this blog, this place is AWESOME!!!

GREAT season, dont care what anyone says!

Mr. Hedman, Mr. Steckel, you know what you did.
WE know what you did.
Its in the past, but beware karma!

I’m proud of the boys and of all the fans (Esp. the ones down here in South Florida)

I do hope we keep Talbo, Dupes and Adams. I really do.
Either way, let’s get rested and healthy.

Everyone have a great summer and be safe,
Sabbac

This could be it for Alex Kovalev. It was a terrible, terrible season for Kovy and I don’t see him coming back to the NHL. Like some many great European players before him he’ll most likely join the KHL or some other European league.

On that note, I’d like to remember him as one of the greatest Russian players to ever play the game not as a miserable old hack. Thanks for the all the memories Alex, you are one player that I can honestly say will never be forgotten

Crosby, Malkin, Staal played together for 2 games this season, but really did not play together at all with Crosby being hurt in Staals return and being knocked out vs TB. Hopefully it all works out with Sid and he returns beginning of next season but think of the possibilities!

Our improved D and PK along with a healthy Sid, Geno, Staal will once again reign trouble on the league. Of course more injuries will occur and yada yada, buttttt I like our chances more than ever for next year. Even without our top 2 guys for half a season we still tied for 2nd in the East. We got this boys, here is to 2011-12!

what a second half of a season. I don’t think these guys got enough credit for what they accomplished. You have the injuries that our guys faced this year on most NHL clubs and they fold. Our boys fought the rest of the regular season and gave a great showing in the playoffs. Unfortunately, I think Hooks summed it up perfectly:

Though they battled valiantly, the skill they needed to generate goals just wasn’t there to be found, it was already long knocked out of the lineup.

This team wasn’t dealing with injuries for a few weeks to a month like most clubs have to experience. They fought the second half of a season with some of their best talent on the bench and unfortunately, the talent level caught up to them in the end. I am looking forward to a great year next year after some of the gutsiest hockey I have seen in sometime.

Seeing the season of your favourite team/athlete curtailed due to injury and circumstances outside of their control is one of the most heart-breaking things in all of sports. It carries all the “what if” scenarios that you hate to waste your time thinking about as well as a supreme sense of disappointment because it is so very anti-climactic.

Here’s hoping this concussion is a one-time thing for Crosby and that he returns to the line-up reinvigorated along with Malkin. I may be a Caps fan, yes, but I am a hockey fan first, and things just are not the same without Sidney and the Pens as a counter-point challenge.

Furthermore, concussions are an awful, unpredictable injury that limits in you in ways you cannot always properly anticipate. I wish them on no one. I’ve only been able to watch the NHL regularly the last few years, but I have never seen as many players suffer concussions as this year. I continue to hope in vain for the league to adopt some of consensus in its policy to protect the players, but it seems unlikely to happen as long as Campbell is in office.

Aside from that, whether you like them or not and whether you consider them overexposed or not, the Sidney/Ovechkin rivalry has made for some really great hockey. There are times when both players seem to elevate the play of the other. In some ways I have found it similar to the rivalry between the tennis players Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

I hope that we will continue to have many more of such moments in the future, win or lose.

Good luck next year Pens.