PensBurgh - 2013 Pittsburgh Penguins Training CampPittsburgh Penguins blog for the five time, five time, five time, FIVE TIME Stanley Cup Championshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/29974/pensburgh_fave.png2013-01-17T12:31:42-05:00http://www.pensburgh.com/rss/stream/36343832013-01-17T12:31:42-05:002013-01-17T12:31:42-05:00Cut day:Pens demote Bennett, put Strait on waivers
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<p>Some cuts today in <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pensburgh.com/">Penguins</a> training camp. Via Bob McKenzie on twitter about players placed on waivers today:</p>
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<blockquote>Smith, Holzapfel, Peters, Reese, Grant, Phil Dupuis, Strait, Ferriero (PIT).</blockquote>
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Also the team has announced that forwards <span>Beau Bennett</span> and <span>Jayson Megna</span> (who do not need to clear waivers) have been cut and sent back down to the minors.</p>
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The biggest surprise is <span>Brian Strait</span>. Strait played in the Penguins last few playoff games, after <span>Paul Martin</span> was injured and was seen as a guy likely to make the NHL roster. To expose him to waivers is a risk, but also today is a day when many players league wide have hit the wire and could be claimed, so it's as good a day as any to try and sneak him down.</p>
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Among the survivors, for now at least, is <span>Simon Despres</span>. If he's good enough to stay in the lineup, he'll probably stay in Pittsburgh. If not, and he's beat out by guys like <span>Robert Bortuzzo</span> and <span>Ben Lovejoy</span>, Despres (who is safe from waivers) will be sent back to the AHL.</p>
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Does this news mean that Lovejoy and Bortuzzo have made it? There's nothing offical yet, but the Pens are down to 23 players, so they could keep everyone know if they so chose to.</p>
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Cut down day can always have some surprises and seeing Bennett and Strait sent packing certainly qualifies. Now we'll wait to see if anyone wants to claim Strait.</p>
https://www.pensburgh.com/2013/1/17/3887110/pens-demote-bennett-put-strait-on-waiversHooks Orpik2013-01-17T10:37:34-05:002013-01-17T10:37:34-05:00Trending Up & Down After Last Night's Scrimmage
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<p>After seeing last night's Black and Gold scrimmage, a look at who we think is trending up, and who is going the wrong way.<br></p>
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<strong>Trending Up</strong></p>
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<em>Beau Bennett</em><br>
The 21 year old may not be experienced enough or strong enough to compete with NHL defensemen in the corners and along the boards, so he might be ending up back in the minors this season. But what’s undeniable is his ability- both physically and mentally to think the game. And both were on display in the goal he scored in the team’s scrimmage last night. In a heady move, Bennett played the puck off the wall to himself while avoiding the incoming defender looking to make a hit. He collected the puck and swooped in on a two on one, gave some moves and chipped a puck past Marc-Andre Fleury. It happened in an instant and showed the high amount of skill there. It also may be worth pointing out though that the more experienced Eric Tangradi played more on the Evgeni Malkin / James Neal line, so the numbers may not work out for Bennett this time around. But it won’t be long before he gets his chance to be in the NHL full-time.</p>
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<em>Brandon Sutter</em><br>
Looked great at the scrimmage. As NHL fans we knew Sutter was a good, young player, but now we’re starting to get an appreciation for just how good he is. I was impressed by his skating and foot-speed, both of which stood out. He produced points in the scrimmage, which may not always happen every night in games, but he looked confident with the puck on his stick and was making things happen.</p>
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<em>Brooks Orpik-Paul Martin defensive unit</em><br>
Sure it was an intra-squad scrimmage and Malkin and Sidney Crosby probably didn’t have the foot all the way down, but Martin and Orpik were on the opposite team from the Pens two stars and got a lot of looks at them and they didn’t look too out of place. Malkin scored a sick goal, but it was on a 5-on-3 drill, at even strength the Martin/Orpik unit was just fine. Orpik was physical, Martin made some good outlet passes. For one night, all was well with Dan Bylsma’s new “shut-down” pair.</p>
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<em>Jayson Megna</em><br>
Last night was one of the first times I’ve seen him play, and definitely the first time I had his number circled as someone to try and notice. To see why the organization is so high on him. It wasn’t hard to tell. Megna, an undrafted rookie free agent, has size, can skate and has some nifty hands that on at least two instances handled the puck enough for it to make an impression on me. I wouldn’t be surprised, if he kept improving and working at it, if Megna has a real shot to make the NHL roster or at least be a call-up starting next fall.</p>
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<em>Dan Bylsma</em><br>
Hard not to be impressed with this scrimmage. Not only was there a crowd, there were refs, television timeouts, full intermissions, arranged powerplay work, a scheduled overtime and shootout all set-up by the coaching staff. They had a lot of time to think and plan during the lockout, and the idea to basically have a fake pre-season game to get everyone closer to full NHL game speed has to be a good one.</p>
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<em>Penguins fans</em><br>
Yeah it’s hokey but when you get 18,000+ people for a meaningless scrimmage on a Wednesday night and actually have to turn people away, that’s saying something. Sure it was free admission and parking, but on the heels of the lockout the Penguin fans are in full-force and probably more ready than the players for the season to begin.</p>
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<strong>Trending Down</strong></p>
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<em>Simon Despres</em><br>
Might be mean to say “trending down”, as it’s just a dry run scrimmage and Despres’ performance certainly isn’t going to change anyone’s long-term impression of him. But for a guy battling a numbers game to make the NHL roster (with 8 defensemen ahead of him on one-way contracts) Despres needed to standout and really prove that he belonged. And they paired him with Kris Letang at points last night, giving him the chance to do just that. Last night was definitely not the night. Either Despres or Letang got lost right from the opening faceoff, allowing Matt Cooke to get all alone and pot an easy goal. From there, maybe he was rattled but pucks seemed to explode off Despres’ stick all night. He just didn’t look like a guy you would put into an NHL lineup right now.</p>
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<em>Warren Peters</em><br>
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via <a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-COx06uUlz-c/UPeDSmVscUI/AAAAAAACClU/-V0BZ1uc7P8/s500/tumblr_mgquhwTO8Z1r6nmfho1_500.gif">lh6.googleusercontent.com</a>
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(Image <a href="http://www.thepensblog.com" target="new">from The Pensblog</a>)<br>
Oh Warren Peters, poor, poor Warren Peters. The recipient of free candy in front of everyone.<p>
<em>Eric Tangradi</em><br>
This could be just my sight of things, but in the battle between Bennett and Tangradi; Bennett made the splash plays, Tangradi was hardly noticeable. And when he was, it wasn’t a positive impression. Now the Pens brass may have their sights on letting Tangradi get the first chance at playing on the 2nd line, but as a man with exactly 1 goal in 40 NHL games, Tangradi just didn’t make an impact. Maybe he’s having better practices and showing stuff on different days, and you have to take the overall body of work into things to evaluate a roster spot, but for this night Tangradi was pretty much a dud.</p>
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<em>Dustin Jeffrey</em><br>
Again, barely noticeable, and unlike Tangradi it’s not as if he’s at least getting to play with some skilled players. Jeffrey seems absolutely buried, playing on lower lines with lesser players that don’t factor into the Penguins plans this season. It seems like a shame but Jeffrey’s stuck in some sort of opportunity rut that he’s just not getting out of. Hopefully there’s a roster spot in Pittsburgh for him, because it feels like he has something to offer the team. But from the way he’s used, it doesn’t seem like the coaches are in too much of a hurry to find that out.</p>
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<em>Tyler Kennedy</em><br>
This one may be a head-scratcher. Kennedy played pretty well and even scored a goal. But that could be the problem. TK scored from a really tight angle, throwing a junk shot at the net that just happened to get lucky enough to find a way past Tomas Vokoun. It’s happened many times in Kennedy’s career and then he starts throwing pucks from all sorts of places on the ice, most of which don’t have a reason to be shot or a prayer at beating an NHL level goalie. In the process the play is killed and all energy and momentum is stopped in its tracks. Hopefully that doesn’t happen this time around, but sometimes scoring a goal in a bad way can be bad for mental makeup.</p>
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From your vantage point who do you think has seen their chances of making the team improve and who has disappointed?</p>
https://www.pensburgh.com/2013/1/17/3886642/penguins-training-camp-beau-bennett-simon-despres-nhl-rosterHooks Orpik2013-01-17T08:35:37-05:002013-01-17T08:35:37-05:00Sutter, Bennett Impress in Penguins Scrimmage
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<figcaption>Sutter created havoc in front of Vokoun all night. | Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sport</figcaption>
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<p>Fans lined up around the block hours before a training camp scrimmage Wednesday night. Brandon Sutter stole the show.</p> <p> </p>
<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pensburgh.com/">Penguins</a> held their Black & Gold Game Wednesday night at CONSOL Energy Center, a free to the public intrasquad scrimmage meant to simulate game conditions in lieu of a full training camp and preseason. </p>
<p>The contest ran a full three periods, including a five-minute, 4-on-4 overtime and shootout. </p>
<p>The scrimmage gave a decent look at some potential line combinations as well as the new-look power play, the game ending in a 5-4 shootout victory for Team Black.</p>
<p>Fifteen players were called up from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and ECHL Wheeling to fill out the scrimmage rosters, which primarily pitted the Pens' top-two lines and <span>Marc-Andre Fleury</span> (Team White) against <span>Tomas Vokoun</span>, the third and fourth lines and the team's top six defensemen (Team Black).</p>
<p>Some thoughts from the scrimmage:</p>
<p><b>The young defensemen got worked, </b>repeatedly. <span>Simon Despres</span> in particular had a rough night, victimized several times by <span>Matt Cooke</span> and <span>Brandon Sutter</span>, once resulting in a shorthanded goal against. Despres was paired up with <span>Kris Letang</span> and Joe Morrow throughout most of the night, but never seemed to get comfortable. Youngsters Morrow and <span>Brian Dumoulin</span> were equally up-and-down in their play. Of the team's prospect defensemen, Morrow may have had the best night, again displaying uncanny calm in his own zone, even when pressured. Given their experience (and waiver ineligibility), <span>Brian Strait</span> and <span>Robert Bortuzzo</span> seem the best bets to make the Pens roster, as the team has hinted at carrying eight defensemen in the past.</p>
<p><b>Brandon Sutter came to play. </b>He finished with a goal and two assists in addition to burying a shot behind Vokoun in the shootout. He seemed to skate as fast as anyone on the ice Wednesday, including <span>Evgeni Malkin</span>. Each of the three points he had a hand in came from a rush towards the net, including a power play marker in which he played the <span>Tomas Holmstrom</span> role and buried a loose puck from just outside the crease. Sutter's defensive abilities are well established, but he seemed to click with Matt Cooke and <span>Tyler Kennedy</span> immediately. The third line might be the most stable line the Penguins have in the shortened season.</p>
<p><b><span>Beau Bennett</span>, too, came to play. </b>Bennett was very impressive in the game, perhaps the second-most physical forward of the night behind Sutter. The physicality was a bit of a surprise, as Bennett has always been known as a handsy skill player rather than a crease-crashing Bylsma prototype. Bennett took one or two shifts with Malkin and <span>James Neal</span> and scored a short-side power play goal against Fleury in the first, and at the very least gave the coaching staff something to think about before Saturday.</p>
<p>It's gotten plenty of press already, <b>but a six-day training camp is no time to tinker with a new power play. </b>Even though the unit came up with a goal against Fleury, the formation didn't seem to have great success. Also, is having an offense-first forward on one of the points really the best way to head into a Saturday date with Philadelphia, a team which scored shorthanded goals at will last April?</p>
<p>Some final, quick thoughts from the scrimmage.</p>
<p>- Evgeni Malkin is going to storm out of the gates. Malkin moved like a player who's been on the ice for the last four months. My pick for early-short-season scoring leader, outpacing even Crosby.</p>
<p>- Didn't read too much into the goaltending or defense in last night's scrimmage, as I've yet to take in a preseason game or training camp exercise in which defense and physicality were exerted in game-like levels. Still going to be the likely weakness of this roster.</p>
<p>- <span>Eric Tangradi</span> took regular shifts with Malkin and Neal, and didn't impress. If he struggles, Bennett or even <span>Dustin Jeffrey</span> shouldn't have to wait very long for a promotion.</p>
<p>- Malkin and Crosby are both healthy for the first time since 2010. Let's see what Bylsma can do with them.</p>
https://www.pensburgh.com/2013/1/17/3886224/sutter-bennett-highlight-penguins-black-gold-gameJames Conley2013-01-16T12:17:48-05:002013-01-16T12:17:48-05:00Pens bring 15 from minors for tonight's scrimmage
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pensburgh.com/">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> are having an intra-squad scrimmage tonight at Consol, to be the key moment of their short pre-season. Everything about today is a dry run; from the pre-game skate this morning, to the game having television timeouts and everything. In short, they're basically playing a pre-season game against themselves, and with a full day off tomorrow you know the coaches will have plenty of time to pour over and analyze the performances.</p>
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In order to do this, the Pens need more bodies. So they put in the call to the AHL and brought up the following players to participate, from the Pens twitter:</p>
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<blockquote>Forwards Holzapfel, Uher, Gibbons, Payerl, <span>Trevor Smith</span>, Peters, MacIntyre, Sill and Thompson...Defensemen Dumoulin, Morrow, Samuelsson, Grant and Reese. Goalie Killeen. Black and Gold Game players</blockquote>
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A very interesting mix of players who will at least get a chance to show their skills in as close to an NHL game without actually being in the NHL.</p>
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And, as Dan Bylsma said they're not picking teams out of a playground, the club has very carefully selected which team is which to allow for them to work on powerplays, shorthanded situations, and also potential lines. It's believed that <span>Eric Tangradi</span> will start out with <span>Evgeni Malkin</span> and <span>James Neal</span> but at some point tonight <span>Beau Bennett</span> will get his chance to play on the big line. It's definitely a big night for those two young guys.</p>
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We're about to drop the puck tonight at 7:00, and it feels good. Root Sports will even have a television broadcast with full coverage, just like any normal Wednesday night game in January. It's finally time to play some hockey.</p>
https://www.pensburgh.com/2013/1/16/3883002/pens-announce-minor-league-callups-for-tonights-black-gold-scrimmageHooks Orpik2013-01-15T11:25:33-05:002013-01-15T11:25:33-05:00Beau Bennett moved up to Malkin/Neal line
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<p>From various twitter reports here are the lines in today’s practice for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pensburgh.com/">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>:<br></p>
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<span>Chris Kunitz</span> – <span>Sidney Crosby</span> – <span>Pascal Dupuis</span><br>
<span>Beau Bennett</span> – <span>Evgeni Malkin</span> – <span>James Neal</span><br>
<span>Matt Cooke</span> – <span>Brandon Sutter</span> – <span>Tyler Kennedy</span><br>
<span>Tanner Glass</span> – <span>Joe Vitale</span> – <span>Craig Adams</span><br>
<span>Eric Tangradi</span> – <span>Jayson Megna</span> – <span>Dustin Jeffrey</span><br>
**Notice anything there? Bennett and Tangradi have flip-flopped with the rest of the lines remaining exactly the same. The top line is a mortal lock (assuming health) and it’s a pretty good bet the 3rd and 4th lines are locked in too- unless Bylsma gets cute and tries to move TK up to the 2nd line, opening a 3rd line spot for Tangradi and a trip back to the minors for Bennett.</p>
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**What a chance for Beau Bennett. On a line with the league MVP and a sniper who netter 40 last year. Not bad for a kid who just turned 21 a few months ago. Huge, huge chance for Bennett to show if he’s ready.</p>
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**Really liking the look of the bottom two lines. A lot of nasty on there, especially that 4th line which should be a perfect energy/physical line.</p>
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**Poor Dustin Jeffrey. Yesterday Tangradi got the chance with Malkin/Neal. Today the prospect that most think (and hope) will eventually be a top player gets his shot. What does old Dustin Jeffrey have to do? Maybe it’s the plan of the team to give the rotation in this order, and training camp is very short, but it would be a shame if Jeffrey never gets a shot to stick on a regular line. He’s not going to win any major end of season awards, but he seems to have enough skill and size to make the lineup.
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https://www.pensburgh.com/2013/1/15/3879068/penguins-training-camp-beau-bennett-evgeni-malkinHooks Orpik2013-01-15T09:51:18-05:002013-01-15T09:51:18-05:00Despres: Minor Leaguer or Kris Letang's Partner?
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<p>Other than open spot on the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/55425/evgeni-malkin">Evgeni Malkin</a> / <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/55188/james-neal">James Neal</a> line, the set up and roster makeup of the defense is the story to watch for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pensburgh.com/">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> short 2013 training camp.</p>
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Head Coach Dan Bylsma has decided to use <span>Paul Martin</span> and <span>Brooks Orpik</span> in his "shutdown" pair that he is so fond of, ever since the days of <span>Rob Scuderi</span> and <span>Hal Gill</span>. Despite the chemistry and breakdowns that Orpik/Martin have had when they've played together in the past in brief stints, it seems like that is happening.</p>
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Which opens up the big question: who will then play as the regular partner of <span>Kris Letang</span>? Letang will probably be playing 26-28 minutes a night and played very heavily on all the special teams, so it's not as if whoever his regular partner will be the only guy he's out there with.</p>
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The top answer seemed like <span>Matt Niskanen</span>, who's the most experienced and best options after Orpik and Martin. However, Bylsma hinted that might not be the case. Bylsma told the media it's "a real possibility" that 2009 first round pick <span>Simon Despres</span> may play with Letang, though the coach quickly hedged his statement with it "not something we're locked into".</p>
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Bylsma's said a lot of things in past training camps. He's said that <span>Arron Asham</span> might play with Evgeni Malkin at times (and he really didn't). He's said seemingly every year that <span>Tyler Kennedy</span> might play with Malkin- and that never lasts.</p>
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Should we read into it this time? Mike Colligan from the Hockey Writers isn't, giving Despres only a 3% <a href="http://thehockeywriters.com/penguins-training-camp-primer/" target="new">chance of making the roster and saying</a>:<br>
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<blockquote>Simon Despres is simply a victim of a numbers game. Shero says he’ll keep no more than eight defenseman on the final roster and may possibly cut that to seven. Barring a trade, with eight defensemen eligible for waivers and no exhibition games for Despres to steal a job, it’ll be very difficult for him to make the team.
It also wouldn’t make sense from a development standpoint. A young, promising defenseman like Despres can learn a lot more from having a big role at the AHL level as opposed to spending most evenings in the press box or getting limited minutes at the NHL level.</blockquote>
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Right now it's hard to disagree. Unless the Pens are looking to trade a guy like <span>Ben Lovejoy</span> or <span>Robert Bortuzzo</span> or <span>Brian Strait</span>, the numbers aren't adding up for Despres to stick in Pittsburgh.</p>
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Despres only chance is to play very well with Letang, but perhaps more importantly- benefit from Letang playing very well when they're out there together. If the Despres/Letang combo is showing the coach so much that he simply can't turn away from it, that might force management's hand on one of the other depth players.</p>
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Despres and Letang have some experience playing together in preseasons of past, and they've played well too. From my vantage point, Letang seemed to play some of the most heady and best hockey that I've ever seen him play while paired with Despres. Letang wouldn't pinch as much, seemed to be very conscious of the fact his partner was a young guy and Letang made sure to compensenate for that and prepare his positioning for anything. It's no guarantee it would keep up over a long season, but Despres might just have a chance if he can display great chemistry with the Pens top defenseman.
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https://www.pensburgh.com/2013/1/15/3878706/simon-despres-minor-leaguer-or-kris-letangs-partnerHooks Orpik2013-01-14T09:16:19-05:002013-01-14T09:16:19-05:00Eric Tangradi gets first chance with Malkin/Neal
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<a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/55425/evgeni-malkin">Evgeni Malkin</a> has returned to America- a picture of him going through the Pittsburgh airport hit twitter yesterday (gotta love the internet, eh?). Malkin is expected to join the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pensburgh.com/">Penguins</a> on the ice today for practice. With Sidney Crosby getting his normal wingers of <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/54824/pascal-dupuis">Pascal Dupuis</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/54511/chris-kunitz">Chris Kunitz</a>, this obvioucly is going to split up the Kunitz-Malkin-<a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/55188/james-neal">James Neal</a> line that was the best offensive line in the league last season.<p><br>
What Malkin will find as the third member of his line will not be a total new face, though. <span>Eric Tangradi</span>, he of 1,000 chances, will get yet another as he'll be the first forward to get a crack at playing with the Malkin/Neal juggenaut. And, believe it or not, Tangradi actually has some experience and success playing a limited amount with Malkin.</p>
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Tangradi and Mr. Hilary Duff (aka <span>Mike Comrie</span>) were Malkin's linemates all throughout training camp of 2010, and the trio played pretty well together in practices and pre-season games. It didn't last long, but there is that history to draw off of, especially for Tangradi. </p>
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You don't really worry about having two guys who combined for 90 goals like Malkin and Neal did last season, and how they fit into the third member of the line. However, Tangradi could present some benefits for them. He's got the size to battle in front of the net, which could draw attention and open up more ice for Malkin and Neal to operate.</p>
<p>
Tangradi's AHL stats this season aren't that impressive- 18 points (10g, 8a) in 34 games and his NHL career mark of 1 goal, 4 assists in 40 games is even worse. But in a short-season, the Pens only need to find lightning in a bottle. If Tangradi can take up space in front of the net and stay on-sides more often than not, they can let Malkin and Neal worry about the majority of the puck-handling and potentially find a successful combination.</p>
https://www.pensburgh.com/2013/1/14/3875042/eric-tangradi-on-evgeni-malkin-line-penguins-line-combosHooks Orpik2013-01-13T15:28:43-05:002013-01-13T15:28:43-05:00Shero: Malkin is close, Pens to keep 8 defensemen
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<p>Some quick hitters:<br></p>
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<blockquote>@penguins
#Pens GM Ray Shero: Malkin is on his way. Should arrive today. Won't skate today but will tomorrow.</blockquote>
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Good to know the exact status of <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/55425/evgeni-malkin">Evgeni Malkin</a>. With 65 points in 37 KHL games so far this season, Malkin is probably the last player out there that needs a training camp, so no harm, no foul there.<p>
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<blockquote>@penguins
More Shero: Friday you have to have your roster set at 3pm. </blockquote>
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An interesting detail to know that things will be wrapped up on Friday, but it just goes to show how little time and chances for guys like <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/55389/dustin-jeffrey">Dustin Jeffrey</a>, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/65219/eric-tangradi">Eric Tangradi</a>, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/71969/simon-despres">Simon Despres</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/111536/beau-bennett">Beau Bennett</a> to show they belong. Especially considering that Thursday is an off day. <p>
Will anything change with practices on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday a scrimmage Wednesday night and a practice Friday morning (a day before the opener)? Seems doubtful, but there are only 26 players in camp, so it's not as if there are a ton of different decisions that are needed to be made.</p>
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<blockquote>@penguins
More Shero: No (injuries). Knock on wood. Everybody is healthy coming into camp</blockquote>
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Good news there, to be sure. With this season about to kick up, a quick start will be key and entering the fray with full health is obviously a plus. That's not totally unexpected, as other than <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/54850/tomas-vokoun">Tomas Vokoun</a> (who didn't play at the end of last season with a groin injury) no other players were coming off of any major off-season issues.<p>
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<blockquote>@penguins
More Shero: Possible we could keep 8 defensemen but not 9 </blockquote>
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Ok so you got <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/55422/kris-letang">Kris Letang</a>, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/55416/brooks-orpik">Brooks Orpik</a>, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/54815/paul-martin">Paul Martin</a>, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/55181/matt-niskanen">Matt Niskanen</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/players/55426/deryk-engelland">Deryk Engelland</a> comfortably in there are five.<p>
Which would leave three roster spots (and just one game lineup spot) between <span>Ben Lovejoy</span>, Simon Despres, <span>Robert Bortuzzo</span> and <span>Brian Strait</span>. Which is four guys.</p>
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The odd man out, from a numbers perspective, seems to be Despres - who does not need to clear waivers - unlike the rest. There is also, the option of a trade or even waiving a player exists too. For a while it has seemed like the Pens have always liked and been grooming Strait and Bortuzzo for bigger roles, now we'll see this week if they are ready to become permanent members of the team.
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https://www.pensburgh.com/2013/1/13/3873064/penguins-training-camp-evgeni-malkin-return-tomorrowHooks Orpik