The defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins will be defending their title this spring, with a roster that holds all the starpower that led them to the Promised Land last season. Sidney Crosby and co. are in familiar territory atop the Atlantic Division, and will be hoping they can repeat their Stanley Cup performance.
Offense:A
The Pens have more goals than any other team in the Eastern Conference except the Washington Capitals, and it’s no surprise,considering the large amount of firepower present on their roster. Crosby is battling Ovechkin and Steve Stamkos for the league lead in goals, and should break the 100 point plateau by the end of the year. Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal round out Pittsburgh’s incredible trio of world class centremen. Bill Guerin continues to produce, and should finish with 20 goals and 40+ points for the 13th time in his long career.
Defense: B- The Pens have given up more goals than most other playoff teams this year, but the fact that top defenseman Sergei Gonchar has missed large portions of the year with injury definitely factors into their defensive issues. The Pens have proven they can lock it down in the playoffs, and I would be surprised if they’re not solid defensively in the postseason yet again. Alex Goligoski has been a great addition, with over 30 points from the blueline. As always, Brooks Orpik is among the league leaders in hits, while Jay McKee leads the team with over 130 blocked shots.
Goaltending: B+ Marc-Andre Fleury has had another solid season, with a very solid 2.64 GAA so far,and 35 wins to his credit. He was one of the biggest reasons the Pens were so successful in the playoffs last year, turning in some great performances throughout Pittsburgh’s run to the Cup,and he will be expected to do the same again this year. He should be all ready to go, and may have a little something extra to play for, as he was named to Canada’ Olympic roster, but was never given a chance to start.
Special Teams: C It’s difficult to imagine that a team with guys like Crosby, Malkin, Staal and Guerin would have trouble scoring on the powerplay, but the Penguins’ powerplay is one of the least effective in the Eastern Conference, ranking above only the New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers, all of whom will be watching the playoffs rather than participating. The biggest problem with the Pens’ powerplay this year has been the absence of Sergei Gonchar. Truly one of the best powerplay blueliners, if Gonchar is healthy in the postseason, the Penguins should put up better numbers than they have in the regular season. Penalty killing is one of Pittsburgh’s strong points. Jordan Staal may be the best penalty killing forward in the league, and has helped the Penguins record one of the top penalty killing rates in the league.