Blogs

Ponder this question: As they are currently constructed, can the Penguins more easily adjust to life without injured C Evgeni Malkin and D Sergei Gonchar than Kennedy… KENNEDY!

WILD 2, PENGUINS 1
The Trib’s Terrific Trio:
1 – G Nicklas Backstrom, Wild
Key stats: 34 saves, including 19 over the final two periods
Rossi: Often it will take a stellar effort from an opposing goalie to stymie the Penguins, even when they are without several key offensive weapons such as C Evgeni Malkin, D Sergei Gonchar and [...]

PENGUINS 4, BLUE JACKETS 3 (SO)
The Trib’s Terrific Trio:
1 – C Sidney Crosby, Penguins
Key stats: 2 assists, plus-2 rating, 5 attempted shots
Rossi: He’s consistently very good, and rarely above or below that standard – giving the Penguins a chance to keep winning despite their recent injury bug. Oh, and he’s 4-for-4 this season in the [...]

DEVILS 4, PENGUINS 1
The Trib’s Terrific Trio:
1 – G Martin Brodeur, Devils
Key stats: 32 saves
Rossi: He said he thought he had a shot at the history-tying shutout. I was convinced it was his.
2 – D Alex Goligoski, Penguins
Key stats: 1 goal, 8 attempted shots, 2 hits, 22:11 total ice time
Rossi: You prevent history from being [...]

PERSONAL NOTE: I’ll dedicate this Penguins’ win to my sister, Lisa Marie Rossi, who turned 29 on Friday. Had the Penguins taken care of business before a shootout I might have been able to finish this blog update earlier and buy her a celebratory drink. She’ll have to settle for this shout out.
PENGUINS 3, PANTHERS [...]

Hockey Day Chat: Sergei Gonchar
Below are excerpts from my 20-minute interview Wednesday afternoon with injured Penguins D Sergei Gonchar, who will miss between 4-6 weeks with a broken left wrist. Additional parts of this interview will appear in Thursday’s Tribune-Review.
What will be different about your recovery from this injury compared to your left shoulder separation [...]

GONCHAR UPDATE
The Penguins will be without D Sergei Gonchar for at least a month, players were told Tuesday night after a 5-1 victory at home against St. Louis. Players also were told Gonchar has at least one broken bone near his hand and wrist.
I received text messages from several people close to Gonchar, though not [...]

PENGUINS 5, BLUES 1
The Trib’s Terrific Trio:
1 – LW Ruslan Fedotenko, Penguins
Key stats: 1 goal, 7 attempted shots, 2 hits, 2 blocked shots
Rossi: Now that was the ‘Feds’ we all saw during the playoffs.
2 – D Kris Letang, Penguins
Key stats: 2 assists, 3 attempted shots, 2 hits, 1 blocked shot
Rossi: If Sergei Gonchar is out [...]

PENGUINS 4, LIGHTNING 1
The Trib’s Terrific Trio:
1 – D Jay McKee, Penguins
Key stats: 1 hit, 7 blocked shots
Rossi: A call now for Pens fans to form a fan club for McKee called the “McBlockheads.”
2 – C Sidney Crosby
Key stats: 4 attempted shots, 2 assists
Rossi: Rumors of his disappearing playmaking-ways were greatly exaggerated.
3 – D Sergei [...]

PEGUINS 3, HURRICANES 2 (SO)
The Trib’s Terrific Trio:
1 – LW Chris Kunitz, Penguins
Key stats: 5 attempted shots, 6 hits, 1 assist, shootout-winning goal
Rossi: Sure, a few regulation goals wouldn’t hurt, but people need to back off Kunitz – a first-line force even when not tallying.
2 – LW Ray Whitney, Hurricanes
Key stats: 2 goals, 6 [...]