2011/2012 NHL Team Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins
Say hello to your boom/bust Stanley Cup betting pick of 2011-12. Last season, the Penguins lost superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to season-ending injuries at the halfway mark. They still finished with their second-highest point total in franchise history.
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Theoretically, that would mean full seasons from Sid the Kid and Geno would make this team unstoppable, right? The problem: at least one of their seasons is far from guaranteed this season.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Stanley Cup odds: +700
Prediction: Sidney Crosby doesn’t play more than 10 games in 2011-12. His post-concussion syndrome is severe, so severe that his symptoms return after disappearing for months at a time. Given that the injury is bad enough to warrant retirement rumors, and that he’s still just 24 years old, the Penguins will not rush their captain back. He’s more likely to sit out the entire year than play at all if you ask me.
Because I expect the Pens to play most or all of this season without Crosby, I’m ranking their chances in the Atlantic as if he isn’t in their lineup. So what does the rest of Pittsburgh’s team look like this year?
By all accounts, Malkin is recovered from his knee injury and will be ready this season. It’s great news for the Pens, not simply because they need his scoring, but because he’s proven in the past to be better without Crosby in the lineup. When an ankle injury limited Sid to 53 games in 2007-08, Malkin stepped up with 47 goals and 106 points as a sophomore.
Malkin will lead the offense – but will he have much support? Unless you count aging veteran Steve Sullivan, whom the Penguins salvaged from the scrap heap this offseason, James Neal may be the team’s only other pure “offensive” forward. He struggled upon arriving in Pittsburgh from Dallas last season but should hit the 30-goal mark with better linemates in 2011-12.
The remaining Pittsburgh forwards are all very effective, but two-way guys. Tyler Kennedy, Jordan Staal, Chris Kunitz, Pascal Dupuis – any team would be happy to have them but they can’t be counted on as true offensive difference-makers. Only Staal has the upside to blossom into a new role. [ad-4437448]
Not that the defensive-mindedness of Pittsburgh’s forwards was a problem last season. Dan Bylsma truly deserved his Jack Adams Award as coach of the year; he molded the Pens into a defense-first team, understanding that the identity had to change with Crosby and Malkin gone, and the new team personality should remain intact this season.
With their set of two-way forwards, the Penguins are a good bet to lead the NHL in penalty killing again this season, even with Max Talbot gone. Their blueline should help their defensive cause, too. It’s among the league’s most versatile. Brooks Orpik and Ben Lovejoy provide the sandpaper; Kris Letang and Paul Martin are the puck-movers; Zbynek Michalek and Matt Niskanen are the all-around guys.
With unprecedented support in front of him last season, it’s no surprise that goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury had arguably his best campaign as a pro, winning 36 games and posting a 2.32 goals against average with a .918 save percentage. Still very spry and athletic at 26 years old, he has many good years left.
Even without Sidney Crosby, the Penguins look like a playoff team. But I worry that offense will be hard to come by this season. If Sid the Kid does return, the Pens’ Stanley Cup odds obviously get a massive boost, but I don’t think it will happen. I like the Pens to fare similarly to last season but come back to Earth a bit. They look like a solid, low to mid-tier seed in the East.
Prediction: 3nd, Atlantic Division
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