Blogs

PENGUINS 6, BRUINS 5 (OT)
The Trib’s Terrific Trio:
1 – C EVGENI MALKIN, PENGUINS
Key stats: 3 assists, plus-3 rating, 5 attempted shots
Rossi: I’ll touch on this more below; but let nobody ever argue again he can’t win the Hart Trophy because there is no way to differentiate between him and C Sidney Crosby.
2 – LW [...]

Call me crazy, but I actually thought the Penguins were better over the final 40 minutes.

SHARKS 5, PENGUINS 0
The Trib’s Terrific Trio:

1 – D DAN BOYLE, SHARKS
Key stats: 1 goal, 2 points, plus-3 rating, 8 attempted shots, 3 blocked shots
Rossi: I’ve been contending for years that he’s one of the most impressive players in the NHL that seemingly fails to impress casual fans.

1 – G EVGENI NABOKOV, SHARKS
Key [...]

KINGS 5, PENGUINS 2
The Trib’s Terrific Trio:
1 – C ANZE KOPITAR, KINGS
Key stats: 2 goals, 9 attempted shots, 13-of-23 on faceoffs, 3 hits
Rossi: If he played for an Eastern Conference team more fans would realize what Kopitar showed the Penguins – he’s an electric talent, not to mention near impossible to deny a couple of [...]

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 [...]