The Fifth Liners

In the opening days of Ice Hockey in Sochi 2014 , we have seen a vast array of goals being scored (50 the count so far in case you were wondering) and we have seen some impressive team performances. It may be early doors so far, but we are beginning to get an idea of who might be in contention for medals soon! Here is a review of the action so far: Group A   The USA started strongly with a 7-1 win over an uninspired Slovakia team who lacked any real threat. Phil Kessel was the star man with a goal and two assists, Ryan Kesler and James Van Riemsdyk also impressed. Goalie wise, the Slovaks had a torrid time with St Louis' Jaroslav Halak being yanked on from net with the score at 5-1, only for backup Peter Budaj to be beaten on his very first shot faced! But with Jonathan Quick looking impressive in net and an offense that could do some damage, it appears my initial thoughts about the US could be proven wrong! Hosts Russia began strongly with a 5-2 win over Slovenia in a game...

Next month Russia will have a contagious case of Winter Olympic fever as the 2014 games roll into Sochi! While many if us will be routing for the returning Jamaican Bobsled Team or praying that Team GB wins any kind of medal! But to us hockey fans, there us only one event that matters! But which of the great teams on display will take home the gold medal? And more importantly, can the thrill level go beyond the epic Canada v USA final of Vancouver 2010? Here are my main contenders, Gold - Canada: The clear early favourites and my personal pick for the games! Their roster alone gives us goosebumps with the sheer level of quality and with offensive starlets Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toes and Corey Perry among others on display- they will be a sure bet to rack up the goals and assists. But they have also defensive quality by the bucketful, and although goalie selection has raised a few eyebrows, Carey Price will be a great starter. On paper, this team will be hard to stop! Silver - S...

After last nights 7-2 steamroller over the Colorado Avalanche , it would appear that the Chicago Blackhawks are the public's favourite to retain their Stanley Cup crown this year! If they do succeed in taking back to back titles, it will make them the first team to achieve this since the 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings and will already make them one of the big successes of this decade alone! After their up and down start to their title defense, the Red Express has got back on the rails and it ain't going to stop any time soon! But as always with winning, things are never straight forward because across from our brothers in Illinois are another team who are equally hungry and have a burning desire not to repeat last years play-off nightmare in the shape of the Pittsburgh Penguins ! Both sides have an equally strong case as they possess offensive units to die for- Chicago this season have been led by free scoring winger Patrick Kane, whose 21 goals have pushed them to the top of the...

The Pittsburgh Penguins won a titantic back and forth battle against the Toronto Maple Leafs last night for a 6-5 shootout win at the Consol Energy Center! From the very outset, things were far from straight foward and despite Chris Connor putting the Penguins ahead after 1.57 of the first period, James Van Riemsdyk soon made thing a tie game after he scored on the powerplay after 5 minutes. From there things got very tricky for the home team as Nazem Kadri gave Toronto the lead after 11 minutes. Less than 43 seconds into the next period- the Leafs hit Pittsburgh with a double blow as a crucial mistake by Marc-Andre Fleury as he attempted to pass the puck behind his net to Jayson Megna let in Van Riemsdyk for his second goal after only 13 seconds! Thirty seconds later Phil Kessel would score to put Toronto 4-1 in front and add to the home fans frustrations! Powerplay goals by Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang midway through help raise spirits- but when Tyler Bozak popped up to score...

The Pittsburgh Penguin s won a closely won 4-3 contest over the Vancouver Canucks last night at the Consol Energy Center which was only decided by a shootout! Vancouver got a somewhat fortunate start as Alex Edler's spectacular centre ice slap shot on 13.49 minutes bounced off the mask of Marc-Andre Fleury and crept into the goal but Pittsburgh didnt waste time and captain Sidney Crosby made things a tie game after 15.44 played. On the powerplay, Chris Kunitz pushed the Penguins in front after 7.56 of the second period following good work behind net by Malkin. But Vancouver weren't going down without a fight and Brad Richardson levelled things at 2-2 following some good drop passes. Into the third and Zach Kassian deflected Kevin Bieksa's shot past Fleury to put the Canucks ahead 3-2 after 12.50 played! But cruely only 22 seconds later Olli Maata scored a rebound off Luongo to claim his first ever NHL goal and tie the game at 3-3. But there was to be late drama as Bra...

The Pittsburgh Penguins perfect start has hit a flat spot as their road trip ended in a surprising 6-3 lost to the Florida Panthers ! So far the Panthers form has been nothing to write home about, but their fans will be dancing in the streets after this result Brad Boyes got the ball rolling when he gave the Panthers the lead after 1.55 of the first period but soon the home side were pegged back when Evgeni Malkin's first goal of the year tied the scores at 1-1! Kris Versteeg then restored their one goal lead as he bagged his first goal in a Florida jersey off an assist from Scott Gomez (yes you heard that right!). But Craig Adams ensured the Pens went in level at the break when he poked in from a goal mouth scramble to make it 2-2! Into the second period and the Panthers offense truly came alive with goals on two successive powerplans, first Jonathan Huberdeau scored off an assist from Versteeg and then Panthers 2nd overall draft pick Aleksander Barkov scored to push the adva...

It seems good news comes in pairs for Pittsburgh Penguin s fans this week because after Dan Bylsma was renewed as Head Coach, it has been revealed that Evgeni Malkin has signed a 8 year deal worth $76 Million! A Hart Trophy winner in 2012, as well as the winner of many Art Ross Trophy's as leading scorer he has more than proven his worth to the organisation after being picked second overall in 2004 (only Ovechkin stood in his way that year) and has had four seasons where has scored over 30 years and three 100 scoring points seasons too. Did I mention he's only 26 as well! This new deal at $9.5 Million per year official makes Malkin the highest earning member of the team, Pittsburgh clearly wants to hang onto this one for the future! Mike's Edit. Extending Malkin's contract was a genius move for the Pens. It's clear from all the trades and the extending of Bylsma's contract that the Pens' leadership really mean business come next season. Although the t...

The Pittsburgh Penguins have successfully seen off the Ottawa Senators to advance to the Eastern Conference final. Game three saw the only dip in the Pen's performance when Ottawa thoroughly outplayed Pittsburgh to take their first win of the series but Dan Bylsma was able to inspire his team to take two convincing wins. The first was on Wednesday when the Penguins came out of the game with the win after James Neal , Chris Kunitz, Jarome Iginla, Pascal Dupuis and Sidney Crosby all found the net. Milan Michalek , Kyle Turris and Daniel Alfredsson netted for the Senators but it was wasn't enough. The Pens finished the game winning 7-3. Last night the action shifted back to the Consul Energy Center for game five. Pittsburgh controlled the game with Brendan Morrow 's controversial goal opening the game. James Neal and Kris Letang then put the game at 3-0. Milan Michalek was on hand to grab a goal for the Sens but Evgeni Malkin and James Neal responded with ...

There are certain things you expect to see in the playoffs. Alex has already written about how the  Canucks fell to the Sharks  but did anyone actually predict a four-nil series whitewash? I didn't. I thought it was going to be much closer. After all, the Canucks had a decent season and the Sharks lost a few key players through trades. Who would have expected the Canadiens - Senators games to be so controversial? Competitive yes, but when the allegations of diving came out, things got nasty. Unfortunately for the Habs, too many big name injuries became the team's undoing. The biggest cupset that almost happened was in the Penguins - Islanders series. Although the series was sealed last night with a 4-3 overtime win for the Pens, the Iles were able to win two of the games in the series and quite often had the Pens on the back foot. The Pens, who firmly broadcast their intentions to win the Stanley Cup at all costs by making some big trades should have won this ...

The New York Islanders haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1983 and when they finished 8th in the conference, I doubt any Isles fan was happy about being drawn against the Pittsburgh Penguins . Expecting a quick end to their playoff campaign. I know I did. But those plucky Islanders are determined to cost me money (I bet on the Pens winning the series) and staged a mighty comeback to draw the series again. The Islanders netted 6 times with Brian Strait , Mark Streit , Kyle Okposo , John Tavares and Casey Cizikas all lighting the lamp. 3 of the goals came in the last 16 minutes of the game. James Neal , Evgeni Malkin , Brandon Sutter and Pascal Dupuis all scored for the Penguins. Playmaker Sidney Crosby managed a single assist for his team. Is this a resurgence from the 4 time cup winning Islanders? Can the Pens' new high profile trades make the difference and fight back? Watch this space.

The return of Sidney Crosby was the main subject of last nights clash and many had big expectations- well it appears that the New York Islanders didnt read the same script as everyone else and helped themselves to a 4-3 win at the Consol Energy Center and have now tied the series at 1-1! In the first period things went like a text book for the Pittsburgh Penguins with Evgeni Malkin scoring inside 43 seconds and Crosby netting a comeback goal three minutes later! Matt Moulson put the islanders back in contention after 7 minutes but Crosby scored again 20 seconds later to push the Penguins 3-1 ahead. But from there the Penguins offense seemed to run out of gas as Colin McDonald and Matt Martin both scored in the second period for the Islanders to tie the scores at 3-3. Then it was left to Kyle Okposo to score mid way through the third to give his team the most unlikely win! It is great to see Crosby back in action after his horrific broke...

Pittsburgh became the second team to solidify a play off place with a 5-3 win over Carolina Hurricanes and in doing so clinched the Atlantic Division! The Penguins three newcomers, Brendan Morrow, Jussi Jokinen and Jarome Iginla all contributed to the win and also aided by great performances by 1st star Pascal Dupuis and Evgini Malkin, it gives hope that the team can cope in the absence of Crosby. The Eastern Conference playoffs promises to be an entertaining affair and with a strong offensive line like The Penguins, the goals are sure to flow!

The Pittsburgh Penguins ' injury woes continue, according the  Trib's sport page . James Neal is out indefinitely after his head to elbow interface with New York Rangers' Michael Del Zotto left him with concussion. This is in addition to Sidney Crosby who is still out with a broken jaw.  To shore up the main line, Evgeni Malkin and Jussi Jokinen have traded places, with the Finn taking the center position on the 2nd line. Malkin will partner Chris Kunitz and the Pens' other big trade Jarome Iginla up front.  The positive news is that both Crosby and Neal are doing well, but it is not currently known if either player will be back in time for the playoffs. 

Pittsburgh Penguin's latest big signing Jussi Jokinen will tonight step into injured Sidney Crosby's skates on the 1st line with Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis, the Pens' pregame report reveals. The Penguins' game tonight against the New York Rangers will be the third without captain Crosby. The Pens are also coming back off 2 losses in a row.  Is throwing Jokinen into the first line really the best idea? Sure he's a great forward but he's only been a Penguin for a couple of days and hasn't had time to bond properly with the two wide men. Surely it would make more sense to promote Evgeni Malkin up from the second line. Malkin is a natural center and had a tremendous run last season, Jokinen is a left winger.  Begs the question what is coach Bylsma planning playing the new man on the top line out of his natural position. The Pens are desperate to prove that they're more than just the Sidney Crosby Show and with no sign of the superstar's return...

By Alex Watson The Pittsburgh Penguins are a team with a remarkable history, with three Stanley cup wins, near bankruptcy in 1998 to finally the acquisition of the brightest modern Hockey star in Sidney Crosby! But ever since their last cup glory is 2009, their recent follow ups haven’t quite lived up to expectations at the Consol Energy Centre and last season they were eliminated in the Eastern Conference quarter finals by the Flyers in six games. Arguably it could be said that their season had been interrupted by Captain Crosby’s persistent absence from the ice owning to the effect of post concussion syndrome. But it did leave the door open to Evgeni Malkin’s Hart Trophy winning performances where he led the team in scoring and was joined by breakout star James Neal and Jordan Staal. But even with all promise in Sid the Kid’s absence, their weak play-off performance left a sour taste in the mouth. However this season, Coach Dan Byisma has learned from last season’s m...