I’m finally going to come to terms with the penguins being bad. They can’t hold leads, they can’t goaltend, and their defense is an embarrassment. With 10 wins, 9 losses, and 5 overtime losses to make up their record, they somehow only sit one win out of a playoff spot. Thankfully, they have games-in-hand over Montreal and have played the same amount as Carolina. These teams are directly in front of the Pens in the Eastern Conference and the season is only a fourth of the way completed, so they still have a very open window into the playoffs and time to turn things around. But why are they playing so poor right now?

The biggest reason is goaltending, and oh boy is it bad. Starting goalie Matt Murray is currently injured, but to the point where he began sitting for games he wasn’t exactly lighting up the stat sheet. With a goals-against average over 4.00 goals-per-game and a season save percentage of .877, Murray is having the worst season of his career. His puck tracking and on-ice awareness are just awful to watch as it seems he isn’t even the same person who was between the pipes for 2 FREAKING STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONSHIPS… He needs to remedy his poor play as soon as possible, but of course, that’s tough when a lower-body injury won’t allow him on the ice.

The defense was expected to be a weak spot for the Penguins going into this season, we all knew that. What we didn’t know was that newcomer Jack Johnson would be such a liability when on the ice. He is constantly misplaying the puck in the Pens end of the ice and looks as if he doesn’t know the play schemes the coaches are drawing up. Johnson, as well as Olli Maatta, have shown this year that they are too slow to be viable components in the team’s high-speed playstyle. They lead the team in goal against while on the ice, even with having restricted time on ice. If the Pens don’t fix this before the trade deadline then it’s an easy goodbye to the playoffs.

Score courtesy of Google

Offensive capabilities, or the lack thereof, was the last thing anyone thought would be an issue for the Penguins this year. Just as an example, last game against the Colorado Avalanche the boys were off to a terrible start by quickly going down 0-3. It took a natural hat-trick by Sidney Crosby to tie it up midway through the 3^rd period, but he’s only one man (god). No one else stood with him and the Avs took advantage of the Pen’s defensive miscues and scored 3 quick goals late in the game to win 6-3. Listen, Sid’s good, really good, but one man scoring all of the goals barely works in high school hockey, let alone the NHL. Malkin, Kessel, Letang, Guentzel, and the gang need to step up NOW.

The Penguins take on cross-state rivals The Phil(th)adelphia Flyers this Saturday. Hopefully playing an even weaker team will spark some confidence in the squad and the can have something to build upon going forward. The Flyers are playing even worse than Pittsburgh at the moment after firing their General Manager Ron Hextall. Their coach Dave Hakstol seems to be next on the chopping block, with the Broad Street Bullies sitting in the basement of the Eastern Conference standings. Please Penguinoes, I need some joy going into finals week!

Yep, the Pens still suck so and I still don’t have the fortitude to talk about it. So, let’s talk about what I think are the best jerseys the Penguins have worn since they began to play in 1967. I know you might be thinking; how could I talk for an entire blog about hockey jerseys? Well, for some reason I have always thought that they’re fun to collect and wear them so you better believe I can talk about hockey jerseys for an entire blog. Especially since the Penguins have had some of the best uniforms ever worn in the NHL.

1. Coming in first on my list is the Penguins alternate home jersey from 1995-2002. This sweater utilizes true 90s wackiness by having different patterns on each side of the torso and sleeves. The right sleeve has basic hockey striping of the trademark Pittsburgh black and gold, while the right torso utilizes a beautiful gold-gray gradient. The left sleeve and torso show a basic gray with pinstripe white strips. The shoulders have a really eye-catching gold and gray pattern. The Crest, dubbed as the “Robo-penguin,” was again included, and contrary to what most people say, its simplicity makes it the best logo they ever wore. The numbers are also the first in team history to use glacier twill, a sleek semi-reflective material.
   

   IMage courtesy of Virgil’s Blog

2. Next would be the 1992-1997 home uniforms. This jersey is a call back to the first jersey the Pens ever wore by using the script “PITTSBURGH” slanted down the chest of it. Again, using the black and gold color scheme, this jersey is a little simpler than compared to my first choice, but its clean look is really satisfying. The shoulders are taken up by the same logo as in the 1995-2002 alternate and it is a great touch to fill up a jersey with a lot of empty space. The numbers are flashy gold with white trim, making them very easy to see when on the ice and on TV.
   

   Image courtesy of PIttsburghhockey.net

3. After the 90s ended, the Penguins introduced a fresh color scheme to cater to the new millennium. Introducing “Vegas gold,” along with the continuation of the same white and black colors from previous jerseys, this uniform is very nice. One cool fact is that the gold trim is actually a silk material and very shimmery which looks sick. They again used the white glacier twill on the white numbers as well. Also, for the first time since the early 1990s, the Pens brought back the logo that had the penguin with legs, hands, and a stick as a primary logo and continued to use the “Robo-penguin” as the secondary shoulder logo. I just love the way this jersey looks when I wear it, to be honest.
   

   Image courtesy of Pittsburghhockey.net

There are a lot of other jerseys that the penguins wore, but these are my favorites. Their uniforms from the 1990s and early 2000s were definitely the best in their history and also coincide with some of the team’s best years in their existence. They did use a blue and white color scheme for much of their earlier years, but to be honest, they were really boring and pretty ugly as well. The team was terrible on an unprecedented level during those years as well, so its best to not even think about them.

Image Courtesy of Pittsburghhockey.net

For a complete history of both the Penguins uniforms and every other NHL team ever check out the Unofficial NHL Uniform Database! It’s really neat to see them all.

My Pens aren’t playing too well right now. Their record at the moment is 6 wins, 5 losses, and 3 overtime losses, so let’s focus on something every Pittsburgh fan falls back on when their team is under scrutiny. If you don’t live under a rock, chances are you’ve heard of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. These two are easily one of the best duos to ever play the game and individually are some of the greatest players ever to lace up the skates. Let me break down the stats that show why this is overwhelmingly the case.

Image courtesy of 247sports

Individual Awards (hint, there’s a lot):

Image courtesy of NHL.com

Beginning with Crosby or “Sid the kid” as famous Penguins announcer Mike Lange coined during his rookie season, who honestly has almost every award possible at this point. Crosby has won 3 Stanley Cup titles (all with the Pens), captaining each team along the way. He has 2 Conn Smythe Trophies as the NHL’s Playoff MVP after his godlike performances during the 2016 and 2017 playoffs. To put this in perspective, winning one of these awards is arguably one of the hardest achievements in all of sports. Sid has also won the Hart Trophy as the league’s overall MVP in 2007 and 2014, the Rocket Richard Trophy in 2010 and 2017 as the leading goal scorer, the Art Ross as the season leader in points in 2007 and 2014, and the Ted Lindsey Award for MVP voted upon by fellow NHL players in 2007, 2013, and 2014. Not to mention the multiple all-star first team nominations (4 of them) second team nominations (3). He has won the World Cup of Hockey MVP as well.

Image courtesy of NHL.com

Evgeni Malkin or “Geno” as his teammates call him, also has a packed trophy case. Also with 3 Stanley Cup titles with the Pens, Geno won the Conn Smythe in 2009 after one of the greatest individual performances ever seen in the playoffs in modern hockey. Malkin won the Hart Trophy in 2012, the Art Ross in 2009 and 2012, the Ted Lindsey in 2012, and the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2007. He also made the NHL’s first all-star team in 2008, 2009, and 2012. And finally, the World Championship of Hockey MVP was won by Geno in 2012.

To be completely honest, they each won like million other awards, but these are the biggest ones and it would be ridiculous if I went and listed each one.

Statistics:

Since 2012, Sid and Geno have been over the one point-per-game plateau, which is the first sign of how dominant a player, or in this case players, actually are for their team. Crosby, in his career so far, has 418 goals, 713 assists, and 1131 points. Malkin has 377 goals, 573 assists, and 950 points as well so far in his career. These numbers would be enough to create a Stanley Cup contending team for a team just if one of them were playing for the Penguins… and they have both players. Thank you to ESPN for these statistics.

So yeah, maybe the Pens aren’t doing the best right now. It’s still very early in the season and they can easily come out of the slump they’re in at any time (YOU HEAR THAT, PENGUINS? ANY TIME NOW!) With Captain Sidney Crosby at the Helm along with Assistant Captain Evgeni Malkin, I trust the Pens will turn it around soon and be the powerhouse we all know and love. Next game is tomorrow at 7:00 when they take on a weak Coyotes team in Pittsburgh, a perfect place to start a winning streak.

Okay, so everybody loves to say that Penn State is a football school. For the most part, that’s correct, but it’s quickly becoming a hockey school as well. With the program off to the best start in its short history, Students and Alumni are flocking to see head coach Guy Gadowsky’s Nittany Lion’s take on regional opponents before conference play begins later this Fall. Currently 5-0-0 to start the 2018-19 campaign, Penn State hopes to continue its previous success of making the NCAA hockey tournament and winning the Big Ten Conference tournament. With the stacked roster it has this year, it’s a real possibility and could be thought of being a disappointing season if they don’t do just that.

Let’s go over so background. After nearly 100 years of being a club team without scholarships, in 2012 the Nittany Lion hockey team joined D-1 NCAA level. This switch was predominantly due to millionaire and Penn State alum Terry Pegula, owner of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres and the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, providing over $100,000,000 to build a state-of-the-art arena to house both a men’s and women’s hockey program here in Happy Valley. Little did he or the former Athletic Director Tim Curley know just how fast the men’s program would develop and become a success.

Image courtesy of Penn State Athletics

Just 3 years after rising the D-1 status, in 2015 the team had a winning record and was showing promise as a nationally ranked team, unexpectedly winning the Big Ten Hockey tournament and earning a birth in the NCAA Hockey tournament. Students began to fill Pegula Arena (named after the gracious donor who jump-started the program). The Roar Zone, as the student section was named, has become one of the best in college hockey, making the home games for the Nittany Lions seem almost as powerful and fun as home football games. Having been to multiple games now, I can say the atmosphere is amazing. Pegula arena is a beautiful venue as well.

As I said, this year the program has started undefeated after 5 games and seems stronger than ever before. Goaltender Peyton Jones, along with several NHL-level prospects such as Brandon Biro, Nate Sucese, and Evan Barrett are proving to be forces to be reckoned with. The team is averaging over 3 goals per game and Jones has a .963 save percentage to this point. The skilled roster is capable of doing great things this year, hopefully bringing home another Big Ten Title and maybe making to the NCAA final four or even the National Championship. Yes, this team is that good this year.

This weekend, Penn State takes on Arizona of the PAC-12 conference which will be the Nittany Lions first real test this season. The first game of the weekend series is tonight at Pegula! If your bored and want to try something new or love hockey as much as me, you should definitely buy a ticket (they aren’t very expensive, maybe $15-20). Come and cheer as loud as you can while the football team is in Ann Arbor this Saturday. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Image Courtesy of Twitter

Okay, so I lied a little bit… I said I was going to talk about the new goalie-pad sizing rules that were implemented this year in the NHL, but that’s not as important as GRITTY. The new mascot on the block in the league. The Phil(th)adelphia Flyers, the lesser successful NHL team in the state, just before the start of the regular season introduced their first mascot since the failure of “Slapshot” in the mid-1970s. And I must say, thank you meme gods for that!

So first, what the heck is this… thing? His origin story starts with renovation in the dungeons of the Wells Fargo Center, home arena of the Flyers. Construction was breaking through walls when they found a hidden cavern… and within the cavern, came crawling out Gritty. Seeming to be a homeless crack-addicted Sesame Street reject, he was for some reason not subdued, but welcomed to the hockey world, in the hopes of brightening children’s days. Yeah, good PR move there Philly! He’s over six feet tall, has a huge gut, googly eyes, and a thick fire-red beard. Oh, and he’s freaking scary looking, to be honest.

His reception at first wasn’t great. Parents were quick to post videos of their children crying and screaming at the sight of him (which I am assuming it’s a “him” by his beard). Then to add to his menacing looks, his first day on social media showed just how violent he really was by threatening the Penguin’s mascot, the beloved Iceburgh. But that’s where Gritty is in the wrong. Iceburgh is a movie star and knows his way around a fight, after taking on Jean-Claude Van Damme in the masterpiece that was Sudden Death. The blockbuster thriller rocked theaters in the early ‘90s. Don’t test him, Gritty.

Image Courtesy of Twitter

But is this really a shocker coming from Phil(th)adelphia? After living through the decades of the great Philly Phanatic, the Phillies mascot, Gritty’s demeanor of understanding of pop-culture, memes, and situational humor doesn’t come as surprising at all. Fans across America love the Phanatic, and Gritty seems to be a similar rendition only with a better grasp on modern comedy.

In his first appearance, the Flyers’ faithful was loving the sight of the grand Muppet. Not because they thought he was cute, but because he was the complete opposite. Gritty began the game by repelling from the arena rafters down to the ice to begin the pregame festivities. After that, it was a normal night for a mascot. Firing t-shirts, photo-ops, dancing, the whole shebang. Then, during an intermission, it happened. Gritty took a tumble on the ice, in front of the whole crowd, and what a sight it was! That meant there would be even more memes to be made, and Oh have they been made.

For some reason, Courtesy of Golf Digest

One major thing to be taken away from this that is more of an interesting observation of society more than it is Hockey insight. Is this where we are in culture today? We would rather have a creature that looks menacing and shows violent tendencies, all because it is funny? And it isn’t even that Gritty himself is funny, what people find funny are the reactions and jokes others are having. Interesting, isn’t it?

It was a hockey night in Pittsburgh! “And a homework night in this house,” as my dad used to say to me. Yes, it’s finally here… no more worthless preseason games with weird no-name players on the rosters. The NHL regular season is here for the Pittsburgh Penguins, opening it up against the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals (Ugh, that hurts to say).

But it would not be in the Cap’s favor Thursday night, as the Pens pulled out a 7-6 overtime win. Goals scored by Pittsburgh: Jamie Oleksiak, Derrick Brassard, 2 by Jake Guentzel, Evgeni Malkin, and the OT winner by Kris Letang. Goals by Wash(ed-up)ington: 2 by T.J. Oshie, Alex Ovechkin (#609 for him to pass Dino Ciccarelli for 18^thall-time), Brooks Orpik, Jakub Vrana, and John Carlson.

Goaltending was spotty between both net-minders, most likely due to the new NHL regulations on goalie-pad sizing (we’ll talk about that next week). Penguin Matt Murray made 30 saves on 36 shots with an .833 save percentage, which isn’t good enough if the Pens hope to stay at the top of the standings this year. Murray again proved that his high-glove side save skills are lacking and other teams now seem to know to key in on it. Braden Holtby made 34 saves on 41 shots for a save percentage of .878, which isn’t anything great either.

As electric as usual, these two juggernauts of the league were neck and neck throughout play with a few lead changes, tide-changing saves, and penalties to keep us on the edge of our seats. Ovechkin and Crosby still are proving they are the faces of the league, as the respected captains were both a major part of each team’s offense. Crosby had 2 assists, and Ovi had 1 goal.

Washington was coming off a 7-0 whitewash of the Boston Bruins after their Cup-championship banner raising ceremony (yuck, again), weirdly enough because usually the penguins are the ones that have those events to open their season. With the Caps losing Barry Trotz, their head coach, to the New York Islanders this off-season, it will be interesting to see if their new Helmsman, Todd Reirden, does taking over. Reirden is the former defensive coach for the Penguins actually, so it’s a bummer to see him go to the dark side.

Also, a noteworthy situation for the Caps, Forward Tom Wilson just received a 20-game suspension for continued engagement of illegal checks to the head. Wilson was one of the Capitals 1^st line wingers and a key tool in their offense. 20 games or basically one fourth of the season may seem harsh, but this comes after Wilson has laid down multiple injury-causing dirty hits, and he had not faced much if any consequence to this point. The Caps offense will surely have to adjust without him.

For the Pens, it was their first game and home opener. One win and 81 more to go, plus playoffs, is all I got to say (there are 82 games in the NHL season)! No but for real, with the continuation of their offensive superpower and repairs on the defensive side of the puck by acquiring Jack Johnson, they are again real contenders for the Stanley Cup final. As long as Matt Murray steps up his game in net, and injuries don’t plague the team during the season.

It’s late September, so you Know what that means? Yes, sadly it means our first exams are right around the corner… BUT it also means that it’s time for pre-season NHL hockey for the Pittsburgh penguins! Opening up the pre-season slate last night, the penguins fell to the Buffalo Sabres 3-2. That might seem bad, but let’s look at the takeaways from their matchup.

With Veteran super-stars Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang sitting, the Penguins used the empty roster space to play up-and-coming skill players such as Daniel Sprong, Will O’Neil, and Juuso Riikola. These men have under 3 NHL starts between them so it was a chance to show their worth and get some experience out on the NHL stage. Riikola and O’Neil recorded the Penguin’s only goals, both coming late in 3^rdperiod of play. The offense was weak compared to the Penguins usual attack, but that is because of the fire-power Buffalo decided to play on their side of the ice compared to sitting their stars like the Pens did.

Jack Eichel, the young new face of the Sabres franchise, was playing along with this year’s first overall pick in the entry draft, Rasmus Dahlin. They dominated compared to the Penguins. Eichel with a year of NHL play now under his belt was calm and collected while showing Dahlin what to expect and teaching him how to utilize his skill in the big leagues. The Sabres scored early taking control of the game and held it, tallying 2 more scores as the game went on.

Image courtesy of post-gazette.com

The penguins also decided to play back-up goalie Casey DeSmith over starter Matt Muray last night, but he wasn’t to blame for the final score. DeSmith faced 29 shots and stood on his head most of the game as he played all 60 minutes. DeSmith, hoping to take the full back-up role over Tristian Jarry, made a strong statement last night by keeping the weakened Penguins roster within range to retake control score-wise. It will be interesting to see how his play continues as the pre-season goes on.

Image courtesy of pensburgh.com

What did we learn? The Penguins are full of young talent, that if matured in the minors correctly, will keep the penguins competitive after Crosby and Malkin retire. 3^rdyear player Jake Guentzel rose up to a leadership role, wearing the assistant captain’s “A” on his jersey along with Olli Maata, as the regular wearers Malkin and Letang sat for last night’s game. They seemed to fill the role nicely and will one day hopefully fill those roles fulltime.

Though it was a loss, it’s pre-season. The games don’t really matter as they have no implications on regular season standings. But as explained above, these games give rookies the chance to prove their skill and fight for a coveted roster spot on the actual regular season and playoff team. It also gives returning players a chance to warm their bodies up for the speed and fatigue of playing NHL hockey.

Let’s see how the penguins respond to this loss as they take on the Detroit Red Wings Wednesday night in Detroit and will most likely play more of their NHL-ready players such as Crosby, Malkin, and starting Goalie Matt Murray.

Even though the National Hockey League (NHL) is in its off-season, that doesn’t mean crazy things aren’t happening in the sport. Around noon on September 13, Erik Karlsson, one of the greatest defensemen of our time was traded, as I found out from my ESPN app freaking out while I was in economics today. After nine years with the Ottawa Senators, Karlsson was dealt to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for offensemen Chris Tierney and Rudolfs Balcers, defenseman Dylan DeMelo, Prospect Josh Norris, and a few draft picks in the upcoming years.

Courtesy of NHL.com

This comes after a summer of huge speculation on where Karlsson would go. Tampa Bay was going hog-wild and was rumored to be offering huge parts of their team, such as Nikita Kucherov, one of their leading scorers. The Vegas Golden Knights, the newest team in the NHL and fresh off of an improbable Stanley Cup run, was also noted to be heavily interested. But no, Karlsson and his skills will be going from Canadian capital to the sunny state of California.

So how did this happen? Let’s back it up and discuss why Ottawa was willing to give up such a huge star from their already struggling franchise. After being just one goal away from the cup final 2 years ago (losing to my Pittsburgh Penguins who were on route to their second cup in 2 years), the Sens came into this season becoming one of the worst teams in league history, being mathematically eliminated from the playoffs months before the end of the season. The motivation just wasn’t there I guess since they returned almost everyone from their roster the year before. Fans stopped showing up to games and the owner Eugene Melnyk poorly responded by hiking up food prices, keeping ticket prices high, and in simplest terms, ruining the passion of the fanbase. The players weren’t happy with this, especially Karlsson who seemed to show signs of wanting to go somewhere where his skill and ability could actually help and somewhere where the owner was willing to put in the resources for their team to win.

Then on top of the terrible play, Karlsson’s personal life took a dive and somehow its source came from teammate and close friend, Mike Hoffman. Karlsson’s wife, Melinda Karlsson, reported near the end of the last season that Hoffman’s longtime girlfriend, Monika Caryk was verbally harassing and bullying her on social media. If this wasn’t immature and terrible enough as is, Caryk was evidenced as going as far as insulting Melinda over the loss of her and her husband’s first-born child due to miscarriage. You can see why Karlsson not only would want legal action, but also a trade to get him and his wife out of such an acidic situation.

But with the Shark’s acquisition of Karlsson, hopefully he can go back to playing hockey as the 2-time Norris Trophy recipient for the NHL’s most outstanding defensemen. The Sharks are among one of the best teams in the league with players like Martin Jones, Logan Couture, and Brett Burns. They faced the Penguins in the Stanley Cup not too long ago, but the Pens bested them in 6 games. With the season starting at the beginning of October, it will be fun to see how Karlsson pans out on his new team without the distractions that plagued him in Ottawa.

Whether it be how my Pittsburgh Penguins played this week, how Penn State Hockey and the Roar Zone excited us, or just something crazy or cool going on in Hockey in general, you’ll find it here. The weekly blog will consist of a multitude of topics ranging from player spotlights, aspects of hockey culture, trade news, scores, and much more. The goal here is to show you how amazing this historical sport is. And don’t worry, some pre-season content is coming your way!