"Puck Talk with Popchock" - A Preseason Primer
By Matt Popchock
(mpopchock@kdka.com)
A little more than a year ago at this time, the Penguins christened CONSOL Energy Center with their preseason opener against the Detroit Red Wings. Both teams will experience deja vu Wednesday night at 7:00, as they meet there for the 2011-12 exhibition lid-lifter.
The Penguins are right back to action Thursday night, as they host another recently dethroned Stanley Cup champion, the Chicago Blackhawks, at 7:00, followed by a special 3:00 P.M. Saturday "Free Game for Kids" against the visiting Minnesota Wild for which 18,000 free tickets will be distributed to Pittsburgh-area youth.
After that the Pens hit the road for the last leg of the preseason schedule, which includes a neutral-site game against the Los Angeles Kings at Kansas City's Sprint Center next Tuesday at 8:00 P.M., a Fri., Sept. 30 contest against Chicago (8:00 P.M. faceoff), and the final tune-up Sun., Oct. 2 at Detroit (4:00 P.M. faceoff).
You can watch all three home games on ROOT Sports and the Sun., Oct. 2 game on PCNC.
In honor of the Pens' six preseason games, here are six things to look for in the days and weeks leading up to the start of the regular campaign:
1. Will Sid play? I realize that, unless you're a neurological expert like Micky Collins or Ted Carrick, opinions on Crosby's status are like you-know-whats: everybody has them, and they all stink (well, some of the them, anyway). That being said, I'm keeping an open mind. The goal is not to rush him back into uniform when the Penguins visit Vancouver Oct. 6 in their regular season opener. The goal is to get him to the next step toward a full recovery. Crosby has made it through four consecutive practices symptom-free, and he says he's pushed himself, albeit without contact. Collins said weeks ago he has "no earthly idea" when things will be completely back to normal for Sid, despite his candidly optimistic prognosis, but I have to think the longer that streak of symptom-free days lasts, the better it bodes for the immediate future of Crosby and the Penguins.
2. What about the rest of the walking wounded? Brooks Orpik is still recovering from sports hernia surgery that was performed in July and is not expected to dress for the preseason opener, though he is practicing. The same can be said for Dustin Jeffrey, who tore his ACL late last season. Until Crosby returns, the worker bees, such as Jeffrey, are going to have to pull more than their normal weight offensively, and Orpik, one of the team's most respected and outspoken leaders, is going to have to play like a captain. He's used to wearing an "A," though I agree with a recent Post-Gazette column by our own Ron Cook in which he said Orpik is a logical choice to assume the mantle of captain until Sid gets back. Meanwhile, Jeffrey, when healthy, has been a spark plug for the Pens, but he's also been a gnat's eyelash away from making the opening day roster. He's a front-runner for one of the few roster spots the Pens will have to give, and it's on him to step through the open door. Furthermore, will Evgeni Malkin continue looking good after scoring twice in the Black-versus-Gold scrimmage? Offensively, this is his team in lieu of No. 87, and No. 71 needs to get October off on the right foot by making his presence felt in September.
3. Will the Pens (and their opponents) stay healthy? At the end of every preseason, for every NHL squad, this is all that really matters in the long run. It's especially important for the Penguins, for obvious reasons, and also because you never know when a season can be altered by some knuckle-dragger trying to make a name for himself and shoehorn his way onto a roster--Sergei Gonchar can attest to that. Additionally, I still remember holding by breath when Malkin separated his shoulder on an innocent-looking--and accidental--collision with former teammate John LeClair in his first-ever NHL exhibition game. I'm particularly curious to see if the newly-modified Rule 48 comes into play at all, which basically outlaws intentional headshots of any kind. Hopefully it doesn't, but in any event, in that league, a rule never really "changes" unless the standard of enforcement changes with it. As the NHL gets ready for a new season, I want to see officials protect the league's stars (and co-stars) whenever necessary.
4. How many people will show up in K.C.? The Sprint Center will provide for a beautiful midwestern backdrop when the Pens and Kings skate next week, and we Pittsburghers ought to know a thing or two about that. Several years ago, when the future of the Pens' new arena was still a political hockey puck being cycled back and forth, the new multi-purpose Kansas City arena was supposedly used to court the Penguins. If you're reading the same tea leaves I am, the NHL must be at least toying with the notion of putting a team there someday, given that, even after the Atlanta Thrashers cut their losses and moved to Winnipeg, there are still several other franchises operating under trying circumstances. During the 1992-93 and 1993-94 NHL seasons, teams actually played a handful of regular season contests at neutral sites to drum up interest in non-traditional hockey markets. Will Kansas City put its money where its mouth is and make this latest experiment a success?
5. How well will the new guys fare? GM Ray Shero continued his tradition of getting guys who might not command big bucks, but are really tough to play against nevertheless by bringing former Penguin winger Richard Park, a good skater and an above-the-norm penalty killer, back to Pittsburgh. It's been a while since I've paid close attention to him, but what I remember most about Park from his days with the New York Islanders is, if your team was on the power play and made a bad decision with the puck when he was on the ice, God help you. In addition, Shero signed another familiar face--familiar to him, anyway, from his time in Nashville--fellow forward Steve Sullivan. During training camp, he's been reportedly making some magic while skating with Malkin and Tyler Kennedy. As the preseason unfolds, I'm looking to see if Sullivan can put his age and his recent health issues behind him, because on paper there's a lot to like about him.
6. Is this Despres' day? We're all curious if ever-popular forward Eric Tangradi makes a statement, but let's not forget about defenseman Simon Despres either. He was the Penguins' top draft choice in 2009, and he has progressed quite well from day one. Last season Despres won QMJHL Defenseman of the Year honors in the same Canadian junior league in which Lemieux and Crosby cut their teeth. I'm pretty convinced that, if the Penguins were not uncommonly deep on defense, Despres would have played in the NHL during the 2010-11 campaign. Shero, in so many words, has previously expressed the possibility that Despres may be ready this year. Orpik, Paul Martin, Zbynek Michalek, Kris Letang, Deryk Engelland, and Ben Lovejoy comprise a group of "D" that, more likely than not, will remain intact. His best bet would be to beat out Matt Niskanen, who looked unimpressive toward the end of last season, for the sixth or seventh blue line spot.
Be sure to keep visiting 937thefan.com, including Casey Shea's "Shea-ved Ice" blog, and tune into SportsRadio 93.7 The Fan for continuing coverage of training camp and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
(Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/mpopchock)
