Thursday Pens Points: Maatta, Pouliot Go Under the Knife

Derrick Pouliot underwent surgery for a torn labrum on Wednesday and is expected to miss 4-6 months. He was believed to suffer the injury sometime during the WHL playoffs.

Following right behind in the parade to the OR, Olli Maatta is set to go under the knife today in Pittsburgh, also to repair a shoulder injury. His recovery is estimated at 4 months, although the extent of the process will be better known after the surgery.

Mike Colligan chimes in with the first part of The Rise and Fall of Ray Shero. A must-read, as usual.

Barry Trotz interviewed with the Capitals about their coaching vacancy. With Jim Benning off the list (just hired in Vancouver), who will be their GM, and does it make sense to hire the coach prior to that?

James Neal has been mentioned in many of the off-season trade rumors. HockeyBuzz explores if he is the real deal as advertised.

Are Cammalleri and Gaborik reasonable to pursue for the Pens?

A continuation of the excellent article by Tyler Dellow on the Pens problems related to losing neutral zone faceoffs. He digs deeper and generates a picture with and without 87/71 on the ice.

The US team is about to face the Czechs in the quarterfinal round of the IIHF Worlds. Other QF match-ups are RUS-FRA, SWE-BEL, FIN-CAN.

Probably like most people you switched to watching something else last night when the Hawks jumped to a 2-0 lead. The Kings then exploded for 6 goals.

WBS Pens nearly blew a 5-0 lead and had to settle for a 5-4 series-clinching win over the Providence Bruins. They move to the ECF to face St. John IceCaps.

In the process, Brian Gibbons scored an absolute highlight-reel goal after skating several circles around the hapless opponents. He even celebrated a little. Great stuff from Gibby.