September 10, 2010, 2010-11 Pittsburgh Penguins season preview for HockeyPrimeTime.com

2010-11 preview: Pittsburgh Penguins

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Written by Denis Gorman

Thursday, September 09, 2010 23:54

Can penguins fly under the radar? Pittsburgh still has one of the league's deepest and most talented teams, but is coming off a postseason in which it was far from the last team standing in the East. • 2009-10: 47-28-7, 101 points, lost in second round of playoffs. • Key additions: D Paul Martin, D Zbynek Michalek, LW Mike Comrie, RW Aaron Asham • Key losses: LW Ruslan Fedotenko, D Sergei Gonchar, RW Bill Guerin, D Mark Eaton, D Jordan Leopold, RW Alex Ponikarovsky. • Overview: Can one of the NHL’s most visible franchises actually be an afterthought this year? The Penguins are still among the league’s pre-eminent teams, but won't face any questions about defending their championship this year. With rivals Boston and Philadelphia loading up, along with a potent Washington team emerging in the Eastern Conference, the Penguins may be able to fly under the radar and make their own run at another Stanley Cup. • What they're missing: The snarky joke about Pittsburgh is that it lives up to its nickname: No wings. GM Ray Shero may have the league's best collection of centers in of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal. But is Comrie the answer to what has to be a tired question about finding complementary talent on the wings? • Players to watch in camp: Malkin is one of the top five players in the world, but had an off-year – by his standards, anyway – in 2009-10. He was limited to 77 points (28 goals, 49 assists) in 67 games due to injuries. The expectation for Malkin in 2010-11 is simply to reside in the same statistical stratosphere as Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, the Sedin Brothers and Steven Stamkos. HPT is counting down one team each day before NHL training camps open on Sept. 17. Tomorrow: Phoenix Coyotes. Twitter: @DenisGorman

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