While you read, enjoy a little bit of "Hysteria" by Muse. For anyone who went to Pens games a few years ago, you'll remember this jam.
Pens unveil their new Alternate Jersey
The Pens will wear these new sweaters for 12 games this upcoming season, 11 of which will be at home. Here is the schedule for those games:
- Oct. 22 v. Philadelphia
- Nov. 12 v. New York Rangers
- Nov. 25 v. Toronto
- Dec. 8 @ New York Rangers
- Dec. 18 v. Colorado
- Dec. 31 v. Carolina
- Jan. 13 v. Minnesota
- Jan. 21 v. Chicago
- Feb. 17 v. Washington
- Mar. 14 v. Boston
- Mar. 15 v. Detroit
- Apr. 1 v. Philadelphia
You can get your all new alternate jersey at Pens gear starting today. Make sure you go check them out!
Camp Groupings
Group A:
Rob Scuderi, Scott Harrington, Pascal Dupuis, Nick Spaling, Chris Kunitz, Blake Comeau, Craig Adams, Bryan Rust, Robert Bortuzzo, Kasperi Kapanen, Adam Payerl, Simon Despres, Oskar Sundqvist, Tom Kostopoulos, Tom Kuhnhackl, Philip Samuelsson, Marcel Goc, Kris Letang, Jayson Megna, Matia Marcantuoni, Conor Sheary, Clark Seymour, Alex Boak, Thomas Greiss, Eric Hartzell, Jeff Zatkoff and oh yeah, SIDNEY CROSBY!
Group B:
Olli Maatta, Paul Martin, Brian Dumoulin, Christian Ehrhoff, Dan Carcillo, Brandon Sutter, Beau Bennett, Steve Downie, Andrew Ebbett, Pierre-Luc Leblond, Reid McNeill, Bobby Farnham, Zach Sill, Josh Archibald, Scott Wilson, Taylor Chorney, Dominik Uher, Anton Zlobin, Jean-Sebastien Dea, Harrison Ruopp, Nick D'Agostino, Patric Hornqvist, Marc-Andre Fleury, Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry
The Captain Skates
He skated prior to Group A's 9am scheduled icetime and after conferring with the medical staff was allowed to partake in the team's 75 minute session. Sid did the majority of the drills but did sit out the final 15 minutes when the team partook in essentially "herbies."
Crosby spoke with the media after the session. He stated that he conferred with the staff and got the go-ahead to participate. It was prearranged with Coach Johnston that he would skip the final drills. That most likely means that his injury is lower-body related since those drills required intense skating. The Captain also stated he doesn't want to miss anytime and doesn't expect to. It is planned that the Captain will skate again on Saturday.
Rejoice Penguins fans, the Captain is on the mend.
News & Notes from Group A
Sidney Crosby did take part in the practice and was seen centering a line with Pascal Dupuis and Chris Kunitz for a time. Dupuis, who is recovering from MCL/ACL surgery, was wearing the red, no-contact jersey during the practice. The duo of Kunitz and Dupuis was also centered from time to time by newly acquired Nick Spaling. A surprise to see him (Spaling) in this group, considering he has been so heavily rumored to be linemate of Brandon Sutter, part of Group B.
Here are a couple of other things noted by those in attendance at Day 2:
- Josh Yohe stated that defensive prospect Scott Harrington looks impressive and definitely NHL ready. Harrington is among several defenseman that is vying for that 7th d-man spot on the roster. However, since he does not need to pass waivers to return to WBS, I would figure he will spend another year in Wilkes-Barre.
- Pens Inside Scoop man, Sam Kassan, stated that the Pens 5-on-5 breakout looks much tighter, with the breakout from their own end skating much closer and with more effect.
- Apparently the ice at Consol is not in good shape. Many of the players and coaches complained during the opening workouts. They actually needed to stop practice during Group B to clean the ice again.
Here were some of the line combos and defensive pairs seen during Group A:
- Chris Kunits - Sidney Crosby/Nick Spaling - Pascal Dupuis
- Jayson Megna - Tom Kuhnhackl - Craig Adams
- Bryan Rust - Marcel Goc - Blake Comeau
- Rob Scuderi - Kris Letang
- Simon Despres - Robert Bortuzzo
- Scott Harrington - Philip Samuelsson
News & NOtes from Group B
- Olli Maatta, who is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, was a full participant and wearing the regular black jersey. He was scheduled to wear a red, no-contact jersey as of yesterday. I would take this as a sign that he is good to go.
- Like I said, the elements of the potential second line are part of this group with Bennett and Hornqvist but, unlike Crosby, Malkin DID NOT skate today. No update was given either.
- Maatta also partook in the drill that Crosby skipped in Group A.
Some of the line combos and d-pairs in Group B:
- Dan Carcillo - Jean-Sebastein Dea - Patric Hornqvist
- Anton Zlobin - Bobby Farnham - Andrew Ebbett
- Pierre-Luc Leblond - Zach Sill - Josh Archibald
- Christian Ehrhoff - Paul Martin
- Reid McNeill - Nick D'Agostino
- Brian Dumoulin - Harrison Ruopp
Strange not seeing Bennett or Sutter in these lines. Don't know why that is the case but most likely nothing to worry about.
Also of note, Derrick Pouliot is not partaking in the formal practices. However, he did skate this morning before Group A took the ice.
Sounds from Around the Room
- On the first practice: "High pace, I was surprised. I don't think you can get faster and harder than that. It was fun to see that he bangs everything quick."
- On Coach Johnston: "He's going to have confidence in the players that he's coaching to have the responsibility of acting like a pro."
- Josh Yohe on Kris Letang: "Letang admitted to being tired after that first practice. You never hear Letang say he's tired."
Mike Johnston via Jason Mackey and Pens twitter:
- On Crosby taking part in practice: "I was really encouraged with how he handled practice...was kind of surprised he took part at all."
- On the practices: "Practice is 80% of laying the foundation, the other 20% is evaluation. The first three practices will be about laying the framework to the system. Today, we wanted to work on our system and structure, get some tempo and pace and have competition at the end."
- On Kris Letang: "He's established himself in the league, but I think he can go a lot further."
Patrick Hornqvist via Wes Crosby:
- On the new jerseys: "They're sick!"
Crosby via Pens website:
- On his injury: "It's something you have to be smart with but if I get the OK then I am going to be out there."
Conclusions
The new jerseys are awesome. Positive reception from a lot of Pens fans and a lot of people buying them already. Great to see that.
Remember!!! Tomorrow is open practice for the Penguins is OPEN FOR THE PUBLIC!!! I cannot find the times on the Pens website but my guess is gates will be open by 10am, if not earlier. Check out the Pens website to see if you can find the times. I unfortunately will not be in attendance tomorrow so you guys will have to be my eyes and ears.
Enjoy your weekend!