Friday, October 12th, 2007 by Adam Wagner
No Worries
Pittsburgh is in the beginning stages of a panic attack. And, no, this is not still a reaction from the Steelers’ loss to Arizona two Sundays ago. This consternation comes from the fact that the Penguins have started 1-2, with their one win being eked out over an exhausted Anaheim Mighty Ducks team. Not to mention the fact that newly anointed captain Sidney Crosby has two points.
This season has been one of the most hyped in Penguins history. Prognosticators everywhere expect last year’s overachievers to take the step up to regular contenders, with Crosby being expected to lead that movement. It is, therefore, surprising to see them playing a more than likely sub-par Carolina Hurricane team and losing 4-1. Or facing youngster Carey Price in his NHL debut and dropping the game 3-2. It is surprising to see this young team not dominate, something that became routine in the second half of last season.
It is not surprising that there are extensive stories on how the Penguins are not concerned in both Pittsburgh papers today. These stories are generally correct, as this is still more than likely one of the better teams in hockey. Penguins’ fans should probably expect a slowish first month or so of the season, though. Crosby and the other star youngsters, such as Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal, need to gel with new top six forward Petr Sykora. They also need to continue the process, begun at the trade deadline last season, of meshing with winger Gary Roberts. The two veterans will probably play a large part in the Penguins’ success this season as they, along with Mark Recchi, are the two players with the most consistent scoring ability. Once Malkin and Crosby learn how to utilize their presence on the wings, this team will start piling up the points.
Also, the team needs to become readjusted to coach Michel Therrien’s constant juggling of lines. Every player on the team can show up on any line, be it Jarko Ruutu with Malkin or Georges Laraque on Crosby’s wing. This means that every forward must know at least a bit about playing with each other forward. It is probably good that Therrien is allowing these adjustments to happen now instead of in crunch-time later, as having a Malkin-Crosby-Sykora line (or something like it) on at some point this season would be a huge boost to the team.
Basically, don’t panic (meaning no calls to Mark Madden whining about Marc-Andre Fluery’s masculinity . . . or his ability to play goalie). This team will be way more than fine.
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