December 4, 2010, HockeyPrimeTime.com Atlantic Division Notebook focusing on Pittsburgh Penguins and Evgeni Malkin

Waiting for Geno isn't holding Penguins back

Atlantic

Written by Denis Gorman

Saturday, December 04, 2010 00:00

The Penguins, winners of eight straight games, are the hottest team in the league. The scary thing is, they're still waiting for Evgeni Malkin to be Evgeni Malkin – at least on offense. All you needed to learn about the Pittsburgh Penguins' collective stress level was taught by Dan Bylsma and Evgeni Malkin a few minutes after noon Monday. Bylsma was surrounded by a scrum of New York and Pittsburgh journalists following his team’s early skate at Madison Square Garden. The coach watched as his players strolled by in internments, bemused looks on their faces. AROUND THE ATLANTIC Malkin stopped and, with a huge grin creasing his face, pantomimed a reporter sticking a recorder in front of Bylsma before walking off. “Hey, you didn’t wait for me!” Bylsma yelled towards his other world class center in mock indignation. Yeah, they’re an uptight group. There is a difference between looseness and uncaring. There are signs demanding Attention To Detail and Blue Collar Hockey – and placards with buzzwords like Expectations, Accountability, Passion and Work Ethic – surrounding the Penguins’ room. Pittsburgh has balanced being a relaxed collective with having a professional mindset. The Penguins have the third-best record in the NHL at 17-8-2 and own the league's longest winning streak, at eight. Only the Capitals (18-7-2) and Red Wings (17-4-2) have better records than the Penguins. Pittsburgh is second in the league in penalty killing (89.7 percent), has the third-best goals against average (2.37) and is ninth in goals scored (average of 2.96 per game). Already, Sidney Crosby is authoring what may be a Hart and Ted Lindsay Award-winning season. He leads the league with 44 points, is tied for the lead in goals (21) and is second in assists (23). He has taken a league-high 664 faceoffs and has won 55.4 percent. The Penguins and Crosby’s success become more striking after factoring in subpar campaigns from Marc-Andre Fleury (10-6-1, 2.4 GAA, .908 save percentage) and Malkin (8-14-22, -3, 12 PIMs). It’s enough to make even the neophyte Pens take notice. “You know the names of guys they have on the team but you don’t realize how good the team is, how strong the leaders (are), how hard they work, how consistent they play,” Paul Martin said. Martin, along with Zbynek Michalek, were signed as UFAs after Pittsburgh did not re-sign defenseman Sergei Gonchar. Gonchar, who signed with Ottawa, has four goals, 10 assists, 14 points and 12 penalty minutes, while being minus-12, for the faceless, milquetoast and seemingly directionless Senators. “It wasn’t what I expected,” he said. Pittsburgh has been one of the NHL’s model franchises post-lockout. They were 208-153-0-25 entering this season. The Penguins have qualified for the playoffs in four of the five seasons, winning the 2008-09 Cup. And, yes, Pittsburgh is among the early 2010-11 Cup contenders. While the Pens are neck-and-neck with the NHL’s elite, the very real possibility of a surge in the standings exists. Bylsma believes the Penguins’ potential improvement is tied into Malkin. “I think we’d all like to see Geno put up bigger numbers and have the type of season he had two seasons ago,” Bylsma said. Malkin’s 113-point season in 2008-09 earned him the Art Ross Trophy. “But I see him doing a lot of things better in his game this year than last year," Bylsma added. "I see the consistency in which he works on the defensive side of the puck is much better. I think he’s a guy we count on in defensive zone play against other teams’ good players. Right now, as a centerman, the one area that I think he can improve on – he’s making strides – is with the puck. When he takes the opportunity to try to make an offensive play versus making a smart play. But there’s a lot of good in his game. He’s just got to keep getting better and more focused on shooting the puck, attacking the net, playing those areas, because he’s a dominant player when he does. “He’s got a lot of those opportunities but there’s still another level of the game that he can get to.“ That has to be a frightening thought for the NHL’s remaining 29 franchises. Notes The Hockey News investigated the condition of NHL hockey in New York State. ... Could trading Martin Brodeur be the answer to the Devils' woes?. … Chris Pronger was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct in the Flyers’ 3-2 home shootout loss to the Flames. While screening Miikka Kiprusoff, Pronger waved at the Calgary goaltender as Mike Richards fired a shot into the goal. The referees assigned to the match, Don VanMassenhoven and Ghislain Hebert, determined that Pronger’s actions were a violation of the NHL’s so-called Sean Avery Rule. The rule was created after Avery waved his stick in front of Brodeur during the Rangers-Devils 2008 first-round playoff series. “Rule 75, Unsportsmanlike Conduct, states that “players and non-playing Club personnel are responsible for their conduct at all times and must endeavor to prevent disorderly conduct before, during or after the game, on or off the ice and any place in the rink. The referees may assess penalties to any of the above team personnel for failure to do so,” according to the 2010-11 NHL Official Rule Book. ... NHL Director of Officiating Terry Gregson defended VanMassenhoven and Hebert to The Sporting News. ... The Penguins-Rangers rivalry became even more personal Monday night. Rangers winger Brandon Dubinsky said what Metro Newspaper in New York City termed a disputed slew foot involving Sidney Crosby and Ryan Callahan, "a dirty play" before calling out Crosby. The Penguins' star center responded after the game by dismissing Dubinsky's claims. ... The Islanders' 14-game winless streak came to an end with their 2-0 Black Friday matinee win over the Devils. Twitter: @DenisGorman Photos by Getty Images

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