I can't remember a 10-game stretch feeling like an eternity in a long time, but we are now at the end of the mad dash, completely out of breath, but ready for the challenges that lie ahead.

The Pittsburgh Penguins had plenty of those the last few weeks, and in many instances, their best colors didn't shine. They went through a brutal six-game losing streak, endured what looked to be a PR disaster only to finish out on a good note. That's the way hockey rolls. Teams will go through crazy times, but those are the times that make winning championships perfect. It's the time of sin before absolution.

I hate making comparisons between this season and 2009, but they're there. The last few seasons, the Pens have had lineups that were more than capable of winning the Stanley Cup, but that X factor was always missing, a hunger that comes from a carnal place that is impossible to turn off. Many times, it comes from a place that has seen dark times, just like the 2009 team did. They were equipped with talent but those players went through trials and tribulations as a team which motivated the surge that propelled the team from 10th to 4th place.

The key was that they were healthy. Healthy is undoubtedly the Pens' biggest hurdle this season. However, while it felt like the team would soon become extinct, Pens fans blinked and suddenly, Dustin Jeffrey, Ben Lovejoy, Paul Martin and Richard Park were back in the lineup. Most of those players haven't been key figures in the lineup, but seeing players return to health has to be a huge psychological lift.

And now news has come in that Kris Letang is close to returning to the Penguins. His presence has been largely missed on the blue line.

If the Pens were meant to have a turning point in the season, we have already experienced it. Hopefully what we're seeing now is the start of the uphill push to the cherished silver chalice.

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Apologies for the protracted absence. It was neither intended nor desired, and the proximity of my return to Frank's departure is nothing but coincidental.

The Penguins are mired in a six-game losing streak. We all know this, and as we've seen in the comments here, Elmo hasn't taken the news well. Not to be all emo, but how much longer must we endure this?

/dyes hair black, puts on eyeliner

One of the most reliable methods to tell how well a team is playing is their possession numbers. Since we still don't have a hard and fast zone time statistic from the NHL, we're forced to use surrogates. I'm a fan of the Fenwick number. Applied to a team, it equals the number of shots on goal plus the number of missed shots, minus the same numbers of the opposing team. Positive numbers indicate that a team has possessed the puck more than their opponents, because a team obviously must possess the puck in order to shoot it.

Normally this number is considered to be relevant only for 5v5 play, but I'm going to include all strengths in this post. Let's take a look at what the Penguins have been doing in this losing streak.

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I know many people, myself included, who have conniptions when they can't watch the Pittsburgh Penguins on a regular basis. As hardcore fans, many of us need our tri-weekly doses of James Neal's power play goals and Marc-Andre Fleury's Cheshire Cat smile when he makes a save look a cake walk. Win or lose, this team is a part of our lives and we all have an insatiable hunger to see them, be it in games, practices, interviews or community appearances, as much as we can.

But imagine if we suddenly couldn't.

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2011 started with a bad omen: rain.

A few weeks prior, Pens fans were sporting a month-long glow courtesy of the light 24/7 cast on the team and organization and it would be topped off with what was sure to be an epic Winter Classic. However, the detailed schedule of events took a hit when Mother Nature decided to literally rain on the NHL's parade. The afternoon opening faceoff would now take place under Pittsburgh's night sky, but the gentle rain didn't cease. During TV timeouts, the ice crew would shovel puddles of water toward the boards, creating waves as the water escaped the shovel's blade. I remember thinking a mop would have been a better idea.

Nevertheless, the game went on, despite the difficulties caused by the rain. Sidney Crosby took what has become one of the most famous head hits in the NHL and the Pens lost a tough game. But sure enough, the next morning, the sun still rose and life moved on.

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As a 12-year-old, I remember pouting in the car after my soccer team got trounced by our rivals, making us feel lower than dirt as they smirked down at us during the handshake.

I complained to my parents about fouls the refs missed, I complained about the girl marking me who would elbow me in the gut every time I had the ball, I complained about the sun being in my eyes on that free kick. My parents, in their infinite wisdom, simply said, "Life isn't always fair." I hated that. Knowing that life wasn't fair made me feel so helpless, that I wasn't in control of the things I so badly wanted to control.

This is our position, a place in which we're forced to sit when we have the ability to rule the world. Or at least the NHL.

I look at the Pittsburgh Penguins roster and I see a team with the infinite potential to win the Stanley Cup. They were the Fellowship of the Pens: each player had a purpose on the team to fulfill and the burden to carry the team through rough patches would be shared among those with the strength to do so. But at this point in the season, the weight of Sauron is pushing the team down. The evil injury monster that not only wants to destroy the Pens, but the rest of the NHL as well.

And it seems like there's nothing the Pens can do about it. There's nothing we, the fans, can do about it. We just sit behind our TVs, computers, the glass, and hope that open-ice collision didn't include an elbow to the head or that knee-on-knee won't cause more damage than a stinger. We now live in a circle of fear dictated by the worst case scenario, not because we're pessimistic, but because we're faced with that reality every game. Will another player go down with an injury? Will Crosby ever return to 2010-2011 form?

The last 10 games were a strange melange of highs and lows with the underlying story that the injured list continues to grow, even after the Pens' 8-3 dissection of the Buffalo Sabres that saw Craig Adams stamped with a "day-to-day" lower-body injury. But as always, the Pens continue to soldier forward with the Ringbearers Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, and Matt Niskanen leading the charge.

In the end, this is hopefully just another pothole in the road to the Stanley Cup. Looking on the bright side, the Pens have a lot of time to get out of this injury mess. We haven't even hit the All Star break yet.

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Yesterday, the sports world witnessed an unforgettable moment. For Pittsburgh Penguins fans, we could only sit back and smile, knowing nothing is outside the realm of Sidney Crosby's potential.

Each season, the Pens are perennial contenders for the Stanley Cup but there was recently a shred of doubt without the likes of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal for extended periods of time. Those three, together, were the reason the Pens brought the Silver Chalice back to the Burgh. With the three now reunited and an overwhelmingly dominant performance under their belts, many analysts have announced the Pens as Cup favorites.

ESPN's Matt Barnaby changed his Eastern Conference pick from the Philadelphia Flyers to the Pens last night on SportsCenter.

This comes from a recent piece by ESPN's Scott Burnside:

The Penguins are a better squad now than they were when they won the Stanley Cup in 2009. Their defense is better and with Jordan Staal, Evgeni Malkin and Crosby all healthy for the first time in almost a year, no team in the NHL boasts as much talent and size down the middle. Throw in Neal and Steve Sullivan, who stands to benefit from Crosby’s return on the power play even if they don’t end up playing on the same line, and an already imposing defensive team can now light it up with any team in the league and jumps to the head of the queue in the “who’s your favorite to win the Cup” debate. 

At the start of the season, I had no doubt in my mind that the Pens would be Cup contenders, especially with Crosby's return in sight and I'm happy to see so many analysts jump on board with the idea that the Pens are now heavily favored to win the Cup.

But as much as I want to believe it, I can't help but remember it's November. We're barely two months into the season with a ton of hockey left. The Pens have more difficult teams to face and undoubtedly some difficult times ahead, just like any other team. I will always expect the best from the Pens, but I think it's important to keep things in perspective as well.

Remember this familiar post from Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis? Now, in no way am I trying to infer that our reactions have demonstrated we believe the Pens "have arrived" because of one game against the struggling New York Islanders. In fact, I've seen none of that behavior from any Pens fans.

So what am I trying to say? Buckle up.

The first hurdle is over, but the race has only just begun. Everyone seems to be "all in" for the Pens, but at this point, the Pens have a lot to prove in order to turn the predictions into a Stanley Cup banner.

Celebrate this, cherish it, Pens fans. We have earned the right to do so. But keep in mind the work is only beginning. Tomorrow, it's back to work.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 13 games into the season and the month of October is officially in the books. Many coaches, included our very own Dan Bylsma, like to divide the season into groups to better analyze the team's overall play as the season progresses. I will never claim to hold the majesty Bylsma does, but I'm going to take a page out of his book and do the same for the entire season.

I've divided the season into seven clumps of 10 games and one group of nine games. Upon the completion of the tenth (or ninth game), I'll put together an analysis of how the Pens are doing, individually and as a team, in that 10 or nine game span. Many of you might have noticed that my math would only bring me to 79 games. Unless I specifically say otherwise, I am leaving out the Pens' first three games of the season, the Western Canada Road Trip, since I already covered the games in-depth here.

With that said, let's take a look at how the Pens are doing.

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It wasn't long ago when thoughts of James Neal produced heads shaking with frustration. The frustration quickly turned into annoyance whenever the puck was on his stick in the offensive zone. The potential to be great was all there, it just wouldn't manifest itself on the score sheet. Neal's worth on the team was questioned, but the questions seemed unfair since Neal was working without the two players meant to play with him: Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. I also found it difficult to be so critical of a player who put so much effort into every shift, but deep down, every Pittsburgh Penguins fan knew that working hard without results won't keep you on a team.

And Neal was entering a contract season.

The pressure was on as the season began. Would he continue down the frustrating, coming-up-just-short path, or would he turn his game around and bury those chances that came so often to his stick?

Pens fans received a quick answer when Neal netted the first Pens goal of the season against the Vancouver Canucks just over five minutes into the first period. A few took it as a fluke, especially since the goal itself was pretty flukey, but after five games, Neal is sitting pretty on top a league-leading 4 goals. His most recent came in the waning minutes of regulation against the Washington Capitals while on the power play. It was his second power play goal of the season, the most of any Penguin.

Speaking of the power play, I know many Pens fans are very pleased with its overall improvement. I know I can't remember the last time the Pens were scoring power play goals on a regular basis. They have scored power play goals in all but one game (Florida, but it's all good since Richard Park made up for it with his shorthanded goal). Looking at how much Neal turned his game around thus far, I've looked at the numbers to see if there is any pattern between Neal's improvement and the power play's.

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