Not a crazy busy day around the team but coming off a week of controversial fights, coaching rumors, painstaking losses and optimistic wins, maybe can all just use a break.

So read up my friends.

Hat Trick of Pens Blogs

Tony at Confluence thinks it's time for the Penguins to give Brendan Shanahan a call.

I Bleed Black N' Gold found a Malkin tribute video that's like those "Where ____ happens" promos we see during games.

I don't know what it is about these photos up at Hockey Football and Stiletto Shoes, but they sure as hell got me laughing.  The vomit one is pretty hilarious, as are the jet pack ones.

Videos

James vanRiemsdyk makes an incredible move during the World Juniors.  Too bad it was for fifth place. [PuckDaddy]

Former Penguin Jarkko Ruutu invokes the spirit of Hannibal Lector by taking a chomp out of Sabre Andrew Peters.

Other NHL news

The Coyotes laid off 10% of their staff.  I hope this isn't as bad a sign as it looks.  I feel for Five for Howling.  We've been through rough times too.  

From the Rink has Mirtle's list of All-Stars.  Agree, disagree - still all good choices.

Speaking of All Stars, CBC has the list of Western Conf. picks.

Father and son met yesterday in the Devils vs Carolina game.  Brent Sutter was happy for his son Brandon, but not happy with the outcome. InLouWeTrust has more on the Devils' 3-2 loss to the Canes.

I've decided to challenge myself a bit here when it comes to doing a hockey blog round-up.  Basically, this idea spawned from having music on while reading some stuff online, so I figured I'd try and fuse the two together.  Maybe I'll work with another band next week.   We'll see...

Hat trick of Pens blogs

The Pens Blog found a video of some kid who spends his spare time pretending he was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs.  A prime example of What Is and What Should Never Be.  He's also probably the kinda nerd that kills me repeatedly in Call of Duty 4.

Sid's number one stalker/fan Snoopy Jode is stoked by the recent quote from Sid as he Rambles On about life in Pittsburgh and how much he likes it here.  Perhaps we have another Mario-like tenure in the making?

If you've ever wondered what it's like to meet Sid, Steel City Sports Fan has an interview with one of the lucky season ticket holders who had The Kid deliver tickets to her front door.  Talk about Celebration Day.

The Others

Fear the Fin is hitting the campaign trail for Devin Setoguchi's All-Star appearance.  Since he's a West Coast star who's started a career by Going to California, I figured the least I could do is drop a vote for him (plus he's been pretty solid on the Pensburgh fantasy hockey team).

The Devils may have some reprieve on the way in light of all those injuries.  According to John at In Lou We Trust, Brian Rolston is looking to return without a practice.  We all know the process of a high ankle sprain and the Wearing and Tearing it takes on a player.  But you can't knock the guy for trying.

Put yourself out there on the ice to block shots and there's no doubt about it that Your Time is Gonna Come.  James Mirtle takes a look at teams that make it a point to block shots and analyzes the myth behind it all

Our Friends over at Pension Plan Puppets are hosting a holiday contest.  If you have been lying to me all along and really are a Leafs fan then this definitely stands as a good chance for you to win some gear, lose my love and get blacklisted forever from Pensburgh. 

The Sabres are having trouble beating bad teams.  It's left D.O. from Die By the Blade a bit Dazed and Confused over it all.  Hey, we can relate (Phoenix anyone?)

It may feel like Ten Years Gone since that whole Semin/Crosby thing, but apparently Sports Illustrated has something to say about it now too.  Japers Rink has it covered.  Some things just never die.

Did you have time to sleep off the weekend?  I sure as hell did.  Nothing better than putting that Rangers game behind us.

Christy from Winging it in Motown, SBN's Detroit Red Wings blog, shot me a few questions last week regarding the development of Pensburgh.  How I became a fan of the Pens and started this blog are just a few of the questions asked.  For the entire interview, shoot over to Winging it in Motown.  I'm actually interested in how you guys and girls became fans.  Feel free to share.

When the Pens got rid of Georges Laraque, there were no doubt a huge set of mitts to fill.  If you've been watching any of the games this season then you know Eric Godard is making a run for the position as head enforcer.  Michel Therrien is slowly but surely developing into a Godard fan:

"I knew he was a good player for his role.  I'm starting to trust his game. ... It's not one shift. It's game after game. I want to see how he's going to reach, and right now, he's passing the test."

Michel Therrien
Trib-Review

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According to the Penguins' notebook on the Trib-Review's site, Sid is shaking off a pretty bad cold and/or sinus infection.  No one could be more upset than Sid's biggest fan, Jodie over at The Sidney Crosby Show - although she did say he sounded like an 80-year-old ex-smoker.  Ditto on that.

Considering Sykora's upper-respiratory infection during the preseason, let's just hope this doesn't evolve into anything serious.  After Thursday's game against the Hurricanes, the Pens embark on a four-game road trip against the Rangers, Sharks, Coyotes and Blues.  A sick Sid for a trip like that could prove painful for the team as a whole.

Despite what you may have seen in the overtime period against the Bruins last night, Jordan Staal is comfortable in the number two center position. And even though he may get a bit claustrophobic around the net and lack the gall to fight off the urge to slam someone in the crotch with a stick (can't find the video!), I think his PK play has been magnifique.

Make sure you check out JDunman's Tales of the Tape from last night's fight.  We all seem to be in a unanimous decision that it wasn't really a beatdown in any way, shape or form.  But if the gloves drop, Dunman is on it.

On a final note, tally this one up in the "too bad" column.  Boston's coach upset about the shootout loss:

"I thought we deserved better," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "We played well enough to win."

Claude Julien
Post-Gazette

Maybe so, but no one earned it more than Dany Sabouin.  Fact.

Finally got around to watching last night's game through and through. Wow, Marc-Andre Fleury was insane.  Honestly though, for as many shots as the Devils took on him they really didn't have that many chances.  Most of them were right to his chest, glove or easily pushed aside.  The Penguins' defense did a solid job of keeping the Devils on the boards and away from the rebounds, but no fan should be satisfied in giving up 49 shots.

Let's look on the bright side of things: the Penguins have yet to lose in regulation.  Starting a season off 1-1-1 is way better than 1-2-0, so we'll take the pity points where we can.  It was also nice to see Miroslav Satan shut us up a bit with a goal in the first period, but it was unfortunate that the offense couldn't muster up anything else throughout the game.

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Read up on the Pensburgh contest details

The Pittsburgh Penguins finalized their roster yesterday, sending both goaltender John Curry and forward Janne Pesonen down to the WBS team for good.  In addition, Jeff Taffe was placed on waivers, while perpetually injured and traded forward Kris Beech was placed on unconditional waivers, as it is rumored he has an interest in venturing to Europe.  Best of luck Beech.  Don't let the door hit you on the way out - it'll probably sideline ya for three to five weeks.

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We'll get to Ruslan Fedotenko in a bit.  Let's start with the roster cuts.

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports the Pittsburgh Penguins cut two players from the preseason roster; defenseman Danny Richmond and forward Connor James (sorry SteelCityKid).  Still alive from the prospect pool: Janne Pesonen, Bill Thomas, Paul Bissonnette (featured in the Post-Gaz) and Alex Goligoski.  Out of the four I'm still sticking by my word and saying it's safe to say Goligoski is a lock.

Ever wonder what sports the boys played before they landed in Pitt?  It's not exactly a foreign concept.  Athletes have been known to take up another sport in the offseason in hopes of staying in shape during downtime.  Bo Jackson and Deon Sanders played baseball and football professionally (something we'll never see again), while other guys pursued it all the way to the draft.  Chris Drury of the New York Rangers was known for his baseball skills while playing in Connecticut.  I'm sure JDMaker knows, but former Atlanta Braves pitcher Tom Glavine was actually drafted by the LA Kings in the sixth round of the 1984 draft above some guys name Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille.  But can you actually imagine Sid as a catcher?

"I played catcher growing up. That would be my best chance to make it [in another sport].  I used to like catcher. It's a lot more action. You're calling pitches, and there's a little more thinking involved. It was cool. You had to study the other team a little bit, so it was a bit like preparing in hockey."

Post-Gazette

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Still no word on Gonchar - that unnerves me.  Flattering as Alex Goligoski and Kris Letang were on the blue line last night, not having Gonchar back there for a power shot is really critical.  Let's hope it's something "minor", like a bruised shoulder, or in the case of injury minor dislocation or...something.

The whole Lightning/Penguins series must've brought back some rough memories for Ryan Malone, because he's already starting with his whole "I never wanted to leave" stories.  Here is your typical case of GM/player negotiations.  GM comes out and says, "[insert name here] was a huge asset to our team.  Not having him/her around definitely left a hole to fill, but we wish [insert name here] all the best as we each go our separate ways."

Malone, however, claims the negotiations were one-sided...

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