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Tyler Kennedy Returns To Pittsburgh, UPDATE: Evgeni Malkin OUT tonight

December 5, 2013, 9:09 AM ET [194 Comments]
Ryan Wilson
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The San Jose Sharks are in Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins and that is not good news for the home team. The Sharks are one of the best teams in all of hockey and the Penguins have not beaten the Sharks since the 2009 season in which they won the Stanley Cup. The Penguins are 0-2-2 since that victory.

The Penguins used to own the Sharks back in the 90’s. The Penguins record was 9-3-2 and they averaged 5.6 goals per game against the Sharks. Since the turn of the millennium things have taken a bad turn for Pittsburgh. The Sharks are 12-2-1 against the Penguins and have only allowed 1.8 goals per game since Y2K. Quite a change of pace.

The real storyline of tonight’s game is the return of Penguin 3rd liner Tyler Kennedy.

Kennedy was traded last offseason for a 2nd round draft pick and officially closed the chapter on the Staal, Cooke, and Kennedy era in Pittsburgh. For a few years that line was arguably the best 3rd line in hockey and was the perfect complimentary piece in creating matchup nightmares for opposition coaches.

Some folks who follow the Penguins did not care much for Tyler Kennedy and thought that he took too many bad angle shots and that he was not a good player , I disagree with those people’s assessment of Kennedy.

Tyler Kennedy was a perfect 3rd line player who was good along the boards, scored big goals, and was not a liability defensively. Really the only bad thing you could say is that he did not kill penalties, if he did, he would probably still be on the Penguins.

Kennedy took a ton of shots and most times they did not go in, but the unnoticed end result of a great many of those shots was that the goalie froze the puck and the Penguins were able to get their scoring lines out on the ice for offensive zone faceoffs.

Without Tyler Kennedy the Penguins do not win the Stanley Cup in 2009. They probably don’t make the playoffs in the injury torn 2010-2011 season either.

Here is my favorite Tyler Kennedy moment from his Penguins career.





Super forecheck, great job of opening up, scoring on the biggest stage in hockey. Tyler Kennedy, KENNEDY.

Kennedy also scored the game winner in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final





Here are some Tyler Kennedy interview quotes courtesy of Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette:



On being back:
It’s an emotional rollercoaster. I was here for six years. It was a great six years. I really grew as a person and as a player. Pittsburgh was like a second home to me. It means a lot to be back here. I’m excited to be back here.

On being healthy scratch at times last season: Not playing kind of hurts you, but you’ve got to remember who you are and know that you know how to play hockey, but obviously it was frustrating when I was sitting out there. That was their decision and something they had to stand by, but I’ve moved on. There are no hard feelings. Dan [Bylsma] was always up front with me, and so was the rest of the coaching staff. Even Ray [Shero], at the end-of-the-year meetings, he was always straightforward with me. There’s a lot of respect for those guys. I don’t think there are too many hard feelings.


On that great third line --
Matt Cooke, Jordan Staal and him -- now being on three different clubs: It’s pretty crazy, but that’s hockey. Not too many guys stay with the same team their whole career. Maybe it was that Taylor Swift [jinx] thing. I don’t think I’ll be going to any concerts in San Jose with Taylor Swift, that’s for sure. But I thought we really came together as a line, and I think we had a great two, three years. We really became close as friends. Maybe that’s why we did so well on the ice. The biggest thing was, we just played well together.

On helping the Sharks prepare for the Penguins: Obviously, I know all the restaurants. [As for the building today], the ice is not very good. It’s just another game at the same rink.



There is no doubt in my mind that Kennedy could be helping the Penguins right now on that 3rd line right wing position this year.

During the 1st TV timeout the Penguins faithful need to give Mr. Kennedy a reminder of how much his play was appreciated in Pittsburgh.


Tonight is Sidney Crosby's 500th NHL game. Only Wayne Gretzky (1.912), Mario Lemieux (1.883), and Mike Bossy (1.497) have more points per game in their career than Crosby (1.409).

Who is 2nd place on the active player list? Evgeni Malkin (1.226)


Line Combos


Projected lineup for the Penguins:

Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis
Jokinen-Sutter-Neal
Conner-Vitale-Ebbett
Sill-Adams-Megna

Orpik-Engelland
Maatta-Letang
Despres-Niskanen
Bortuzzo

Projected lineup for San Jose:

Hertl-Thornton-Burns
Marleau-Couture-Wingels
Havlat-Pavelski-Kennedy
Sheppard- Desjardins-Brown

Bruan-Vlasic
Stuart-Boyle
Demers-Hannan


Injuries

Evgeni Malkin left the morning skate early and will NOT be playing tonight. The team said he has a lower body injury and will be day to day. No information about how or what he hurt.

This ends the longest consecutive games streak that both Crosby and Malkin have been in the lineup since 2008-2009, 29 games.




Chuck Kobasew continues to practice in full, his return should be imminent.

Raffi Torres is out indefinitely with a torn ACL.


Power Play

The Pittsburgh Penguins still have the best power play in the NHL right now and it currently sits at 26.8%. The Penguins were able to boost their power play percentage after scoring two power play goals against the New York Islanders.

The Sharks power play is ranked 13th overall at 19.0%.

The Penguins are 10th in the league with 100 power play opportunities

The Sharks lead the league in power play opportunities with 116


Penalty Kill

The Penguins are 6th overall in the NHL on the PK with 85.5%

The Sharks rank 16th overall at 82.3%.

The Penguins are 6th best in the league with only being shorthanded 83 times

The Sharks are tied for 2nd best with only being shorthanded 79 times.


Fenclose%


The Penguins are 5th overall at 54.8%

The Sharks are 4th overall at 55.2%

This is a battle between two of the better even strength teams in all of hockey.


Even Strength Save %

The Sharks rank 8th overall in EVSV% with .931%. Antti Niemmi continues to carry the load for the San Jose Sharks. His EVSV% this year is .924%.

The Penguins are ranked 24th overall with .915%. Marc Andre Fleury is at .917%.

Trends

Sharks are 4-1 in their last 5 road games

Penguins are 5-0 in their last 5 vs. Pacific

Penguins are 13-3 in their last 16 Thursday games

Sharks are 14-2-1 in the last 17 meetings

Home team is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings.

Sharks are 5-2 in the last 7 meetings in Pittsburgh


Thanks for reading!

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