Islanders (5-9-3, 0-4-2 road) at Pens (11-6-3, 6-1-1 home), CONSOL Energy Center, 7:08 pm EDT
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Here’s a
shot of Sidney Crosby in the last full day prior to his concussion in what must seem like a million years to him.
Nine months later, this
picture shows him stepping on the CONSOL Energy Ice for the first practice of training camp.
For just the third time since the 2009-10 NHL campaign, Pittsburgh will have the services of its top three centers -- Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordal Staal -- Monday night at CONSOL Energy Center against the New York Islanders.
Shortly after 3:00 pm EDT on Sunday afternoon, the Penguins announced Crosby’s return with a brief post on the team’s web site. In a conference call, coach Dan Bylsma said that Crosby won’t play 20 minutes (more like 12-15), he won’t play with winger James Neal (Neal with stick with Evgeni Malkin), but he will be reunited with old linemates Pascal Dupuis and Matt Cooke for the start of the Islanders game.
It’s a great day for hockey!
Crosby returns 21 games in the 2011-12 season. The team has gotten off to an impressive 11-6-3 record but has cooled in recent weeks. Since Oct. 29, the Pens feature a sub-.500 mark, going 3-4-1 in their last eight games.
Special teams play has fallen off a bit. Teams seem to be viewing the Penguins as a measuring stick for their own organizations. It’s almost as if opponents are gearing up for Pittsburgh as if it was the reigning Stanley Cup champion.
The four-day trip to Florida proved to be pretty much useless from an on-ice hockey standpoint, with the Pens losing to Tampa Bay on Thursday (4-1) and Florida on Saturday (3-2). There were some good individual showings, however, such as Jordan Staal’s fine play and the chemistry he showed with Tyler Kennedy.
Also, the Pens switched up their lines more than previously, and that seemed to spark the unit. It will be interesting to see if coach Bylsma sticks with the lines he mentioned on his conference call.
Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis
Sullivan-Malkin-Neal
Cooke-Staal-Kennedy
Penguins Monday Top Power-Play Unit
Geno-Sid-Neal-Sullivan-Letang with Chris Kunitz getting bumped off the no. 1 unit.
The power play has a chance to either be phenomenal or a case of too many chiefs and not enough Indians.
It’s a great day for hockey!
Getting Crosby back in the lineup figures to help out the team whenever he steps onto the ice. Pittsburgh’s top three lines now compare favorably to any other NHL team. Expect faceoff numbers to improve, also. The Pens once ranked fourth in the league but have settled into the middle of the rankings since right around the time Mark Letestu was dealt. Crosby’s return should help remedy those issues.
It’s a great day for hockey!
There was some concern about starting Crosby off with a game against the Islanders, but neither Trevor Gillies nor Micheal Haley will be in New York’s lineup Monday. Furthermore, the two teams have already met this season, with the Pens shutting out the Islanders on Long Island, 3-0, Oct. 25 in an unexpectedly docile affair.
Interestingly, when New York played Pittsburgh the last time it was coming off two straight losses to the Florida teams, just like the Penguins are now.
The series has proven so uneventful that it’s easy to forget about the Pens-Isles game Oct. 27 at CONSOL. Malkin netted a game-deciding shootout goal in a 3-2 Pittsburgh comeback win.
Since winning three of its first four games, the Islanders are 2-8-3.
Rick DiPietro is the organization’s only healthy goaltender. Doesn’t that say enough?
It’s a great day for hockey!
This was the scene nearly 11 years ago for the return of
this. Sid was all of 13 years old when the already-inducted-into-the-Hall-of-Fame Mario Lemieux came back after sitting out the “garage league” in 1997-98, 1998-99 and half of 1999-2000.
Counterfeiters were on site at Mellon Arena and stories of folks getting ripped off abounded for the Lemieux comeback game. Let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself again Monday.
It’s a great day for hockey!
Monday’s focus will rightly be all about Crosby’s return, but let’s hope that first hit by Matt Martin (I’m calling it) doesn’t set him back. No one knows how Sid will react to his first jarring blow and we all know it will happen. Kudos to the organization for holding him back as long as it did.
Ferrera’s don’t stay stuck in neutral for that long a time.
It’s a great day for hockey!
Pens-Isles: By the Numbers
Goals per game/Goals Allowed per game
Pens 2.85-2.40
Isles 2.06-3.24
5-on-5 Goals For/Against
Pens 0.87 (Nice number, eh, even if it’s low)
Isles 0.67
Power Play
Pens 17.5, 7-for-40 (Eight Home Games)
Isles 18.8, 3-for-16 (Six Road Games)
Penalty Kill
Pens 94.7, 1-for-19 (Home)
Isles 71.4, 6-for-21 (Road)
Hits-Blocks-Missed Shots-Giveaways-Takeaways
Pens 160H-103B-113MS-46G-37T (Home)
Isles 97H-114B-55MS-18G-37T (Road)
Shots/Shots Allowed per game
Pens 33.1-27.5
Isles 28.5-31.6
Faceoffs
Pens 50.7 percent
Isles 47.4 percent (27th)
Hidden Stat
New York is 3-3-1 when outshooting opponents, but 2-6-6 when outshot.
It's a great day for hockey!
Prediction Alley
How many games and points will Crosby total in the regular season?
It's a great day for hockey!
Have a great Monday & Welcome back Sid!
JT