Pittsburgh Penguins acquire Schultz from Edmonton

The Penguins made a move today straight after the Winnipeg Jets game, which they won 4-1 with Hagelin scoring twice. They traded for Justin Schultz at 50% for a 3rd round pick in the 2016 NHL draft. Schultz will join the team during the mid-week, so his first game will likely be against the New York Rangers.

Justin Schultz could have ended up in Pittsburgh earlier in his career. He was playing for the Westside Warriors of the BCHL when he was selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2nd round, 43rd overall, in the 2008 draft. Schultz failed to agree a deal with Anaheim and signed with Edmonton in June of 2012. His contract runs out this summer where he will become a restricted free agent. His cap hit is currently $3.9m but the Penguins will be only paying half though.

Since then, despite playing on the worst team during the period from then to now, he has scored 101 points in 248 games. That is a decent total considering his team and line-mates. Schultz has struggled with his defensive game and that is something that Rutherford has said he wants him to build on whilst in Pittsburgh.

Jim Rutherford has set to change the Penguins defence to a more mobile, puck moving one rather than one that utilises shut-down defencemen. This is evidenced by the acquisition of Trevor Daley and now Justin Schultz. Pouliot, who was criticised for having not developed well has also enjoyed time up in the NHL now. He is a great puck-mover but has struggled on the back-end but has spent the season working on that and is looking like a better player.

In all, this isn't much of a risk for the Penguins. A third round pick could end up being anyone and if they can work on Schultz like they did on Daley, then it will be worth it. Rutherford has stated as well that the Penguins aren't done, they're open for business.

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Pens face Bruins on Rivalry night

The Pittsburgh Penguins head to Boston for a game on NBC's titled rivalry night. The game starts at 7:30pm and is the penultimate game for the  Pens before the trade deadline on Monday. The Pens will be going into this game without Malkin and Bonino but Malkin is expected back on Saturday against the Jets.

The Penguins have played Boston twice this season and lost both in December. The first came on December 16th in Sullivan's first game as Penguins coach so he will be desperate for some revenge. Pittsburgh lost the other game 3-0 so they have ground to make up on Boston.

The Bruins go into this game following a 6-4 loss against the struggling Columbus but are right in the mix with the Penguins, occupying the other Wild Card spot ahead of them. Boston sit on 70 points after 60 with Pittsburgh on 68 through 58 games. This game will have big implications on the play-off teams come the end of the season.

One point that will give the Penguins a bit more confidence going into this game is that the Bruins haven't been good on home ice this season. They've won one in their last five and are 12-15-3 at home so far this season. In that is included an embarrassing 9-2 loss to the LA Kings.

The Bruins have one of the best goaltenders in the league however in Tuukka Rask. He seemingly improves his play against the Penguins and in his career he is 7-5-1 with a 2.16 GAA and .929SV%. With Pittsburgh without Malkin again it will be hard to break him down and Crosby has definitely had little help carrying the team recently.

Crosby had been helped lately by the depth goals from Wilson but no-one on the second line has really stood up and that is worrying. One key factor that will decides who wins will be if the Penguins can keep the Bruins off the powerplay. They have the 4th best in the league so it would be nice if they could avoid giving them any easy shots. Puck drop is 7:30.

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Pens trade target #1: Jiri Hudler

The Penguins will be making a lot of calls in the lead up to the trade deadline next Monday, the 29th of February before the window shuts. This is the last chance that they will have to improve their team from outside their organisation before the play-offs start. The Penguins biggest needs are a top 6 LW'er and a top 4 Defenceman. Anything else is a bonus.

It's worth laying out the Penguins potential trade chips to. The obvious ones are Ian Cole and Sergei Plotnikov. Two players that haven't excelled this year or and could possibly get something that would improve the team at the deadline. Potential wild cards could be Nick Bonino. Cullen has played ridiculous well this year and if a team requests Bonino or offers a good deal with him it wouldn't be unrealistic to see him traded. Chris Kunitz is one who could hold value, but I don't see us trading him.

The first target, Jiri Hudler. Hudler signed a four year, $16m contract with the Flames back in July 2012 which means that he will be an unattached free agent this summer and a popular rental. This means that it is likely his price goes up and beyond what the Penguins could realistic offer. With Andrew Ladd the other premier winger available, his trade return could directly impact Hudler's value.

The Flames have had a tough season compared to last year. Hudler hasn't escaped the effects, last year he had 31 goals but so far this year he has just 9. Despite this he has remained a strong playmaker for the Flames and is currently on pace to finish just below his assist total from last year, his best season.

Hudler has picked up his performance since the new year. Since January 1st he is good for 13 points in 17 games, 5 better than the 17 before that. It might not be much of an increase but it indicates that he was in a slump beforehand, evidenced by the number of 0 point games in that span compared to this year. The Penguins need players that get better in the latter part of the season and Hudler fits that narrative.

Hudler is a right winger so whilst he doesn't fit the need for a left winger this can be fixed by placing Patric Hornqvist on Crosby's left wing. Whilst Hornqvist himself is a right winger he has spent time on the left wing this season with Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel. So the transition wouldn't be as drastic as it sounds. Hudler would then be able to slot into the vacant top spot on the right wing.

It has been rumoured that the asking price for Hudler was a 2nd and the Penguins do have two of those. I'd be happy to do it for the later pick, Anaheim's, but if the price includes any further picks I'd step away unless Calgary can offer something back. It has been indicated that they have an interest in Matt Murray but any deal should not be going ahead with him involved. He is our future goaltender. Being honest, I think Hudler will go elsewhere as other teams have more to offer. My guess is Dallas.

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Sabres leave their comeback too late, Pens win 4-3

The Pittsburgh Penguins can think themselves lucky that they escaped this game without it stretching into overtime. The game was played as the matinee game on Hockey Day in America and for the first period it failed to live up to its billing. It came to life a bit in the second and third.

Before the game had begun the  Penguins had announced that Matt Murray had been called up and that Marc-Andre Fleury would be playing today. It would appear from this move that Zatkoff's days as a Penguins are numbered. It isn't exactly a vote of confidence. If Zatkoff is sent down he will have to go through waivers but I wouldn't be surprised to see him clear.

The Sabres started the better team, which isn't surprising as the Penguins generally start slowly in early afternoon games. The Sabres put the pressure on the Penguins and managed to restrict their offensive chances. Their were a high number of moments were the Crosby line would start their shift in the defensive zone, effectively nullifying them for large periods of time.

You can't always keep Crosby quiet though. Crosby had a give and go with Daley who shot from the half-wall. His shot was tipped in by Hornqvist past Lehner to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead 9 minutes into the game. Pittsburgh's biggest error in this game was their inability to kill penalties.

Pittsburgh gave Buffalo 3 penalties throughout the game and they scored on two of them, both involved Zach Bogosian. The first was a rocket shot late in the first to tie it up at 1-1, Fleury had no chance. The second was an assist on Brian Gionta's tally 13 seconds after Matt Cullen scored a short-handed goal 7 minutes and 52 seconds in to the third to give the Penguins a 4-1 lead. Lehner managed to stop the puck going in but his momentum carried it in with him.

The second period was a bountiful one for the Penguins with Scott Wilson scoring his third goal in three games. Wilson has really grown confidence in his shot since his first goal and he isn't afraid to try now, he isn't "gripping the stick hard" as Errey would say. Phil Kessel scored his 19th of the season of a dish pass from Letang. Letang found Kessel in acres of space and after a slight delay he placed the puck past Lehner.

Zach Bogosian scored with 22 seconds left but the Sabres had left it too little, too late for their comeback to have a chance. The Penguins don't play until Wednesday now in a Rivalry night on NBCSN. That will be another good test but hopefully by then Malkin will be back.

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Bolts shock Pens to 4-2 win

The Penguins played the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first of an afternoon weekend back-to-back, the other game is against the Buffalo Sabres at the First Niagara Center tomorrow. The first game the Penguins will be playing in Bylsma's new home, they already played at Consol Energy Center with the Penguins winning 4-3.

The Penguins went into today's game against Lightning with a 7-2-1 record in the previous 10 contests this season and a 7-2-1 against the Lightning in the last 10 games between the two. The Penguins had originally planned to play Marc-Andre Fleury in net but he was ruled out due to a sickness so the Penguins turned to Jeff Zatkoff.

The Tampa took control of this game mid-way through the first with goals from Anton Stralman and Steven Stamkos. Stralman's came 9:08 into the game off a shot from the blue line. Stralmand's shot went in off the crossbar shortly after Porter at the other end had seen his shot rebound out. Stamkos scored the Lightning's second just 2 minutes and 12 second later.

Killorn's original shot from the point was fired at Zatkoff who had a good view but managed to fumble it. Stamkos was there in the blue paint, completely unchallenged, to pot it in with minimal fuss. That was Stamkos's 300th goal in the National Hockey League and probably one of his easiest.

Matt Carle who had yet to score even so much as a point this season naturally scored his first goal of the season against the Penguins. He scored 3:14 into the second period off a wrist shot from far out. Zatkoff should have stopped this, it was shot with a fairly tame effort but went straight through Zatkoff's five hole. Zatkoff has grown accustomed to letting in easy goals this season and it is worrying as he needs to be able to provide the Penguins something when Fleury can't go.

The Penguins managed to prevent the Lightning from getting a fourth straight goal with Tom Kuhnhackl getting his first NHL goal on a short-handed attempt. He collected the puck and cleared it past the last Tampa defender. Despite having a two-on-zero with Porter he elected to do the right thing and take a shot himself and backhanded it over Ben Bishop's shoulder.

The Lightning killed any hope the Penguins might have had of making a comeback with Tyler Johnson scoring his ninth goal of the season on a redirection in front of the net. The Lightning made a quick break and the puck was passed down to the wing to Marchessault who spotted Palat making a break. Johnson's speed left the defence flat-footed and he was given the puck on a plate.

The Penguins scored a second late in the second period but the Lightning controlled the game from that point and took home the two points. With Zatkoff in goal it is hard to feel comfortable as he often looks nervous or insecure in net and that isn't what you want from your back-up. I would expect that the Penguins play Fleury tomorrow, they need to as they need the two points.

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With Scuderi sent down to the AHL, Rutherford's move looks genius

With the news today that Rob Scuderi was waived by the Chicago Blackhawks and is going to be sent down to the Rockford Ice Hogs it would be fair to state that the Penguins have won the trade that say Scuderi exchanged for Trevor Daley, even with the salary retention that Pittsburgh took on Scuderi.

Rob Scuderi rejoined Pittsburgh way back in July 2013 on a four year deal worth $13.5m. By the end of the first season it was quite apparent that he wasn't the same player he was when he left Pittsburgh to join the Los Angeles Kings in free agency in the summer of 2009. Scuderi was a huge liability on the back end and his play continued to deteriorate, so for a team like Chicago to trade for him was a huge surprise.

Chicago did have their reasons for making the trade, they needed more cap space and Daley didn't work in their system. With extra cap space they have more room to re-sign their better players and don't risk losing them to free agency. Chicago made a saving of $1.15m through the trade whilst Pittsburgh's cap went up by the same amount.

It is surprising to think that Daley struggling Chicago but they play a much more attacking style than Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh he has been used much more as a puck moving defenceman and he has done a good job so far. Daley stated that he felt he never got given a chance in Chicago and he has proven he can back up his words after seeing an increase in ice-time in Pittsburgh into a top four role.

As much as Pittsburgh fans were glad to see the back of Scuderi it isn't something to heavily celebrate that a players career is coming to the end, especially someone like Scuderi. Without him in 2009 it is highly unlikely the Penguins win the cup. It is a shame he couldn't return and help the team win the cup again but he just wasn't good enough. With one year remaining on his contract it is likely he only has a bit part for the remainder and then quietly retires. I don't think anything would say he doesn't deserve a good retirement.

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System weekend round-up: 12th-14th February

The Pittsburgh Penguins only played one game this weekend, against the Carolina  Hurricanes and it was hardly a barnstorming game. The game was decided on the shoot-out and ended in a 2-1 victory to the Penguins giving them two valuable points as the play-off race heats up.

Sidney Crosby was kept pointless for the second straight game and he seems to be struggling in these last two with his line-mates. Kunitz played poorly and with Malkin out it makes it a lot easier for oppositions to close down and focus on one line, rather than two. Kessel scored the Pens only open ice goal and he has had somewhat of a resurgence since the new year with 14 points in 17 games, an improvement from last years performances.

The Penguins play the Florida Panthers on Monday night in the second of a short trip to the Southern states. The game coincides with Jaromir Jagr's 44th birthday and there are sure to be some celebrations at the game for a truly remarkable man.

The Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins have been affected by the call-ups to the big league and as a result have seen their roster change a lot. Wilkes-Barre played three games over the weekend and picked up 4 points from 6 maximum.

The first game against Hartford, in Connecticut, was a 3-1 win in favour of Wilkes-Barre Penguins with Anton Zlobin getting his second goal of the season. The Penguins then returned home and dropped two games, both in over-time against the Portland Pirates. Murray and Jarry split the three games two to one in Murray's favour. Murray appears to be returning to his incredible level having let in just 4 goals on 60 shots.

The Wheeling Nailers played just twice this weekend. They faced off against the Adirondack Thunder in Upstate New York and came away with a 5-2 win. Franky Palazzese earning his fourth win in 5 starts. The second game came away to the Manchester Monarchs who shot to early lead and never looked back, winning 6-2. The Nailers inability to put regular wins together is what has cost them this season.

With the  Baby Penguins in the play-off spots and Penguins just outside it is just the Nailers that are likely to miss out.

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Could Crosby hit the 100 point plateau?

If you had said there was a chance, even an outside one, of Crosby reaching 100 points on the season around the time that Mike Johnston was fired then you would have laughed. Crosby had just 22 points in 28 games under Johnston this season so for him to hit another 82 points in 54 games would be just ridiculous, right?

Crosby is 23 points behind Patrick Kane in the Art Ross race due to his poor start and despite having 5 games in hand on him, I don't expect him to catch up with him. It is just too far a gap, even for Crosby. It would be great to see and would be further testament to his skill but it is just too far. Crosby should focus instead on reaching the 100 points mark.

Right now Crosby is riding an 11 game point streak in which he has scored 12 goals and notched 10 assists to bring a total of 22 points in that span, a 2.0 PPG. Now, Crosby obviously won't keep that going for the whole remainder of the season, even the best players when on the top of their game hit slumps. When you consider that he needs 47 points in 30 games then it doesn't look completely out of his reach.

As it stands Crosby is on pace to finish with 84 points, finishing at a PPG pace would be impressive in itself. Crosby's pace under Sullivan however would be a much better indicator of his potential performances. He has 31 points in the 24 games that Sullivan has coached, that would give him a season tally of 93 points, just 7 shy. If Crosby can have another 5 game span like he has enjoyed with 13 points then he will be a much surer bet, but it is still completely unpredictable as to what will happen

Crosby's play since January 1st has rekindled memories of the 2010-11 season where he had burst out of the gates to score 66 points in just 41 games before he was dealt a cruel injury, his concussion. We were robbed of his greatest season and one which could have seen him break the 120 points barrier and set a new career high.

His place since turn of the year has felt like what we would have seen then, complete dominance on the puck, refusing to be brushed off and showing incredible body strength. His chemistry with Kunitz and Hornqvist has elevated their game too, not to mention the connection he and Letang have built. With Malkin out for a brief period of time, this has raised the Penguins into the play-offs and rejuvenated their lagging offense. The Penguins are fun to watch again.

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Crosby, Letang lead Penguins in late comeback win vs Panthers

The Pittsburgh Penguins left it late but they pulled off a comeback win against the top team in the Atlantic, the Florida Panthers. It was the latest the Penguins had come back from a 2-0 deficit in their history too, which shows you how late and big it was. The Panthers have been setting the pace at the top of the Atlantic and are one of the teams to beat this season so to beat them is a great sign of strength.

The Penguins played Jeff Zatkoff after Fleury had a wobbly against the Tampa Bay Lightning and got pulled. He had a bad game against the Senators previously too, hopefully it is just a small slump but if Fleury started playing poorly we would be buggered, to say the least. Fleury has been the MVP for most part of the season until Crosby took over and is one of the mains reasons we're in the play-offs right now.

The game remained scoreless for a long period of time before Jussi Jokinen scored from a tight angle on Zatkoff. Zatkoff was far too deep in his net and if he had his angle he would have been able to push the puck out. Instead, because he was deep, he was straight with the goal line and the puck went in off his stick. The Panthers did deserve the lead as they had been out-shooting us but to give the lead away on a goal like that? Not nice.

The Panthers took their chances whilst Luongo stopped a couple of good Penguins chances with some insane and, in some respects, lucky saves. The Panthers scored their 2nd on a short-handed opportunity. Barkov collected the puck after the Penguins failed to keep it in the zone and he poked it past Zatkoff with ease. Barkov's goal came with just over 10 minutes remaining in the 3rd and you would think the Penguins were done.

Crosby however thought otherwise and dug deep in the absence of Malkin to carry his team. He picked the puck up in the corner and laid a perfect pass across the crease for Letang to one-timer into the net. That was Crosby's 900th point. The Penguins put the pressure on and got a lucky goal to tie the game late on. Letang shot from the blue-line and it bounced off Crosby's glove and in. Somehow the Penguins had tied it up. They would go on to win it in OT with Crosby opening the space for Letang. He passed it through and Letang couldn't miss.

This was a huge win for the Penguins and the determination in this team is greater than it ever was under Johnston. With games against an in-form Ducks and division rival Rangers next, they'll need it. They could do with Malkin back though as well.

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2012 draft reaping rewards for Penguins

It's nearly four years since the Penguins held the 2012 draft in their own building but they're starting to reap the rewards for their picks that day. With the inclusion of Oscar Sundqvist into the line-up for the Floridian swing it means four of the Penguins top five picks have had a debut.

The 2012 draft for the Penguins was marked by the trade of Jordan Staal to the Carolina Hurricanes. This trade resulted in the Penguins having two first round picks for the first time since the 1996 Entry draft when the Penguins drafted Craig Hillier and Pavel Skrbek.

The Penguins defence has benefited the most from the draft so far with Derrick Pouliot and Olli Maatta appearing with the Penguins. Pouliot spent two seasons in the system and is currently appearing under Jim Rutherford due to Cole's poor performances. He has so far appeared in 37 games. Maatta played for Pittsburgh straight away and had one of the best rookie seasons for a defenceman in Pittsburgh scoring 29 points in 78 games. He missed a lot of games last season due to a shoulder injury which affected his development.

Currently, the only other player to appear from the 2012 draft is Matt Murray. Murray is one of, if not the most promising goalies in the American Hockey League at the moment. He has appeared in 4 games so far and has look brilliant in his short stint. With Sundqvist playing this weekend it means that Blueger is the remaining player in the top five yet to play. He is however playing in the NCAA and I imagine he will appear in the near future.

Of the remaining players yet to play, other than Bleuger, is Sean Maguire, Matia Marcantuoni, Clark Seymour and Anton Zlobin. Zlobin and Marcantuoni have been splitting their time between the ECHL and AHL this season and likely won't make the NHL. Seymour is a bottom pairing AHL defenceman, he too won't make it. It is unlikely that Maguire will be a regular NHL-er with the Penguins but he may make it elsewhere. After spending a year out due to injury he has returned for his third season in the NCAA. If he can put in good performances then, with Murray moving up, he could get a back-up job with Wilkes-Barre.

A lot of complaints are made about the Penguins drafting but the 2012 draft is going against that trend and hopefully more years do.

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Crosby leads Pens past Ottawa

The first game back after the all star break didn't disappoint. This was the first time this season that the Penguins scored 6 goals in a game and they could easily have scored more. The only downside to the game was the rather disappointing performance from Marc-Andre Fleury who looked out of sorts.

The Penguins started the game superbly by dominating the play in the first period and restricting Ottawa. It took Ottawa over 10 minutes to get their first shot on goal. The Penguins continued this pressure on Ottawa's forwards throughout the period and took advantage through Matt Cullen with 7 minutes gone.

Cullen has been a superb signing for the Pens this season and has really helped create a dynamic fourth line that is capable of adding offense and also physical pressure on opposing teams first lines. For only $800k as well, it really makes him a steal. Although he is 39 I would look to sign him to a 1 year deal this summer. If he can continue like this, why not?

The Penguins managed to add a second, through their top line before Ottawa had even had their first shot on goal. Kunitz did his best on a breakaway but could only see his shot pushed out to Crosby who centered it to Letang for an open net goal. The goal was originally reviewed due to the possibility of goaltender interference on Andersen but the referees saw nothing wrong and awarded the goal.

Despite being quiet Ottawa managed to score on just their third shot of the game. Mark Stone enjoys playing against Pittsburgh and has 5 goals in 5 games to show for it. Fleury tried to get into the action by playing the puck but mis-played it and Stone latched onto it. The Penguins got their two goal lead straight away with a lucky Kunitz goal.

But, Ottawa wouldn't let their lack of shots affect their chances and scored three straight to jump to a 4-3 lead after just 3 minutes and 51 seconds from their 2nd. The  Penguins boast an offensive core however that are the envy of a lot of teams and they carried the Penguins.

The Power play was once much maligned but under Sullivan it is now rejuvenated. The Penguins scored two back-to-back goals with Crosby benefiting from some quick and nifty passing which credited to some nice finishes. Crosby was quite lucky on his hat-trick goal after it ricocheted off him in front of net.

The Penguins played well but their defense was flat and can't play like that again. I don't believe Sullivan will let them.

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Pens return from All-Star break, face Ottawa

The Pittsburgh Penguins will return from the All-Star break to begin a tough second part of the season. The schedule will begin with a home game against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night. The Penguins had two representatives at the  All-Star game with Malkin and Letang and both will be looking to lead them to a good run to ensure the Penguins finish in a play-off spot.

Erik Karlsson has been the biggest player for the Senators this season with 52 points through the Senators first 50 games. He is the leading Norris candidate at this stage in the season and is on course to have his best season to date. Letang could be a candidate for that award without his injuries.

The Senators have played the Penguins once before this season in their schedule three game series this season. The third game is on April 5th in Ottawa. Pittsburgh won the first match-up way back in October, 2-0. This was at a time when Pittsburgh were looking to avoid one of their worst ever starts to the season. That game saw Sprong score his first NHL and Malkin with the Game winning goal, his first this season.

The Penguins currently occupy the last Wild Card spot ahead of the New Jersey Devils. Pittsburgh have played two fewer games, with 48 to Jersey's 50. The Penguins did have a postponed game in Washington however. The Penguins next three games are a mix with a trip to the Sunshine state against two playoff teams in the Lightning and Panthers. A good run would indicate whether the Penguins make the playoffs and/or the moves they would make at the deadline.

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