Hello everyone and welcome to the latest edition of Big Dave's Pens Pregame show. Today, the Penguins travel to Hollywood to take on Anze Kopitar and the Los Angeles Kings.
It's a matinee game for the Pens and Kings today. Puck drops on the action at the Staples Center at 4:00pm local time, but you can enjoy the Pregame right now. Enjoy!
Today's "Big Dave's Gameday Jam" comes from one of the biggest artists in the world at the moment. She just dropped her third album "25" a few weeks ago. This song actually comes off here 2010 album, "21." That's right, we are rocking to the English songstress Adele today on the Pregame. This song is "Rolling In The Deep." Enjoy!
The State of the Penguins
The San Jose Sharks are a good hockey team. They have talented forwards who create offensive chances every shift and a defensive corps that can shut down an opposing offense routinely. This was the team the Penguins beat on Tuesday night.
The Penguins created chances, scored goals from odd angles and worked hard every single shift. We saw Malkin take over the game again, while his linemates Phil Kessel and David Perron exploded for big nights as well. Chris Kunitz posted a few assists, though he didn't do it with Sidney Crosby on the ice. The fourth line of Plotnikov, Cullen and Fehr were solid again, while the defense played a solid game in front of the nearly perfect Marc-Andre Fleury.
If you stayed up to watch Tuesday's game, you saw what the Penguins could be and frankly what they should be. I think that is what is so infuriating about this team this year. You see moments of brilliance in a sea of mediocrity.
Tuesday we saw a complete, sixty minute game. What will we see this afternoon? Will see another complete game, where the superstars are dynamic and the team generates chances with almost every shift? Or will we see more of the half-assed, average play from everyone from the superstar captain to the lowly, fourth line rookie?
I don't know where my money sits on those questions at this point. I want to believe that we will see a continuation of Tuesday's game going forward, but my gut tells me that we may see mediocrity again. Let's hope my stomach is wrong, because today the Penguins will enter the Staples Center to take on the first place Los Angeles Kings.
Forging the Dynasty Road: The LA Kings
The Chicago Blackhawks won their third Stanley Cup in six years last season, but who knows if that would have happened had the Kings made the post season. If there is one team that can take down the Hawks, it is the team that calls Hollywood home.
The Los Angeles Kings are forging a dynasty of their own. Winners of Lord Stanley's Cup in 2012 and 2014, the Kings find themselves back atop the Pacific Division to start the 2015-16 NHL season.
After missing the playoffs in 2014-15, the Kings did some roster tinkering in the offseason. Slava Voynov was released from his contract after domestic violence charges and Mike Richards was bought out after a down season and cocaine possession charges. Justin Williams left via free agency, as did defenseman Andrej Sekera. The Kings traded away backup netminder Martin Jones to Boston in exchange for winger Milan Lucic. Former Penguin Christian Ehrhoff signed a deal to replace Voynov and veteran backup Jhonas Enroth was brought in to replace Jones.
The moves have payed off thus far, and the Kings are on track to make a run at a third Stanely Cup in five seasons.
The Kings currently sit atop the Pacific Division with a 15-8-1 record. They reached this point with their usual strong defense and goaltending. Former Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Quick has gone 12-7-1 with a 2.21 goals against average in 20 games, while backup Jhonas Enroth has gone 3-1-0 in four starts. Only one defenseman on the roster is a minus entering tonight (Ehrhoff at minus-6). The combined group has given up an average of 2.08 goals against per game, good for 2nd in the NHL.
Offensively, the Kings are in the bottom half of scoring where they usually find themselves. Veteran Jeff Carter and linemate Tyler Toffoli have combined for 43 points over their first 24 games. Anze Kopitar has posted 14 points centering the top line, while offseason acquisition Milan Lucic has equaled Kopitar with 14. Drew Doughty leads the blueliners with 13 points on the season.
There is of course a long way to go before the season is over. However, the Kings seem to have recovered from their blip on the radar last season to be a legit contender once again. If they make the playoffs, it is hard to count them out. They always seem to find a way to win; a characteristic I wish the Pittsburgh team had.
The Lowdown on the Kings:
- 15-8-1 overall, good for 31pts and tops in the Pacific Division.
- 6-3-1 in their last ten, including winning their last two matchups entering tonight.
- The Kings are a plus-9 in the goal differential department.
- LA is once again one of the top defensive team in the NHL, currently ranking 2nd in the league with a 2.08 goals allowed average.
- The Kings are 9-5-0 at the Staples Center this season.
Scoring Leaders:
- C Jeff Carter - 23pts (10G-13A)
- RW Tyler Toffoli - 20pts (11G-9A)
- C Anze Kopitar - 14pts (8G-6A)
- LW Milan Lucic - 14pts (7G-7A)
- D Drew Doughty - 13pts (3G-10A)
Injury Report:
- D Matt Greene (upper-body) is OUT today. Greene required shoulder surgery on Thursday after being out of the lineup for nearly a month.
- LW Dwight King (lower-body) is OUT today. King has been out since October after breaking a bone in his foot. He won't skate for another two weeks, so he will miss this game and the next matchup with the Pens on December 11th.
Lines:
- Tanner Pearson - Anze Kopitar - Marian Gaborik
- Milan Lucic - Jeff Carter - Tyler Toffoli
- Dustin Brown - Nick Shore - Trevor Lewis
- Kyler Clifford - Andy Andreoff - Jordan Nolan
Pairs:
- Brayden McNabb - Drew Doughty
- Jake Muzzin - Alec Martinez
- Christian Ehrhoff - Jamie McBain
Jonathan Quick is expected to start tonight.
News & Notes From the Penguins
- F Pascal Dupuis returned to the ice for practice the last few days after missing the final period on Tuesday in San Jose. The word was he left due to illness, and it may have been related to his past problems, but he is expected to play today.
- D Olli Maatta has returned to practice this week and was cleared for contact on Thursday. He is expected back in the lineup today.
- D Kris Letang left practice early on Thursday and did not practice with the team yesterday. He will be a game-time decision today, but there is a good chance he doesn't play with a minor injury..
- The first of two matchups in the next 7 days. The Penguins will play in LA today before hosting the Kings at Consol on Friday, Dec. 11th.
- The Penguins shutout the Kings in both game last season, winning 3-0 in Pittsburgh at the end of October and 1-0 in OT in LA in March.
- Chris Kunitz was the Penguins leading scorer against LA with 2 goals and 3 points.
- Patric Hornqvist had two points in two games, including the OT winner in the March matchup.
- Marc-Andre Fleury earned shutouts in both games v. LA last season.
#AskBigDave
This is an excellent question and one I am sure is on many people's minds. There is no doubt in my mind, at this point, that Mike Johnston is the wrong man for this job. He is a great juniors coach, he would be a good AHL coach, but he is not the right coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins. In my humble opinion, he needs to go sooner rather than later.
Now, your question Missy revolves around who could be the coach and could someone on the staff take over. On the staff, we have Rich Tocchet, Gary Agnew and Jacques Martin. If Johnston goes, I don't expect the job to go to either Tocchet or Agnew. As far as I am concerned, them taking over would not accomplish much simply because they have been around the recent struggles too much. When a change is made, someone with a different voice, and frankly a different face, is often needed. So I don't think Agnew or Tocchet is the answer.
Now, Jacques Martin was brought in three years ago essentially to be the possible replacement if they decided to rid themselves of Bylsma mid season. They didn't, but Martin remained in the organization even with Johnston's hiring. Many would like to see him take over, I do not. Jacques Martin is a hall of fame coach, but he is a defensive coach and that won't work well with our stars, just as Johnston's system isn't.
Then there is Wilkes-Barre coach Mike Sullivan. Many would like to see him follow in Bylsma's footsteps and take the helm mid-season and, if we are lucky, take us to the Promised Land. I don't see that happening. Sullivan plays a defensive system as well, and though he is a new face and voice, I don't see the same amount of change we would from someone outside the organization.
Now, other possible names that are being tossed around are Mike Keanan, former Rangers coach, and Guy Boucher, former Lightning coach. Mike Keanan is known for being a no-nonsense, dictator type man behind the bench. I personally feel the Penguins could use someone along those lines behind the bench. The problem with Keanan is is that he is almost 70 years old. He may be a little too old for the job as some feel, including media members like Mark Madden. Then there is Guy Boucher. Boucher was the coach in Tampa for a while and had minimal post season success. He was also Sid's assistant coach in his last year of junior hockey in Rimouski. Boucher is known for being a hard-ass, no-nonsense guy, plus he is still relatively young. He would be able to relate more to these guys than a Mike Keanan would.
So Missy, those are the choices. If I had my say, I'd look at Keanan or Boucher more than any of the guys within the organization.
This one comes from Reedie on the Tweety: "What are your thoughts on the #ScuderiASG movement?"
I was hoping someone would propose this question, so thank you Reedie. For those of you who have been under a rock for the last four days, the All-Star game fan voting is underway. The fans have taken it upon themselves to use this tool as a way of showing the league what they think of this all-star game and the process. As of this righting, Arizona's enforcer John Scott is the leading vote getter. Noted jamoke Zac Rinaldo is getting a ton of votes as is our own Rob Scuderi.
Many members of the media think this all stupid, especially the Scuderi situation. Those in Penguins nation see this as a "Troll" of voting in their least favorite player and showing the league that they think this whole all-star game thing is a complete joke. If you've seen my page, you will see a link to vote for Scuderi as well.
Now, my thoughts and feelings on this are two fold.
Firstly, I am on board with the "troll" nature of this vote because I think this is a way for the fans to get their voice noticed by the league. There is no questioning that many devout hockey fans are not pleased with the state of the league. Fans are incredulous over the officiating, they don't like seeing 2-1 boring games and they are sick of some of the other things the NHL is turning a blind eye to.
What the fans do have, is the vote for the all-star game. Its been a fan vote for years. Now, I don't necessarily like that either because let's face it, the voting is a popularity contest, not a showing of the best that season. Now, with this 3-on-3 farce of a game the NHL is implementing this year, the fans are fighting back with these movements to get the likes of Scott, Rinaldo or Scuderi into the game. They see it as a further detriment to the game and league and, again, a way of getting their voice heard.
This, I cannot hold against the fan base. The league is lucky it has the support it has with how angry many hockey fans are with the state of the game. If this is their way of "sticking it" to the league, then I say give it to them good.
Now, the second part of this. In my mind, I view the #ScuderiASG movement as a way to troll the league, but also a way to send him to an all-star game that he would never get to. Look, Rob Scuderi is far from a flashy player and never has been. He would never be elected to an all-star game by the fans or even by the league if they were picking the players. He plays a defensive style that doesn't have a place in the league anymore and thus has made him obsolete. This is why Penguins fans dislike him as much as they do, because he doesn't fit the style of the league or the Penguins and thus struggles because he can't adapt. I personally like Rob Scuderi and always have. I don't think he should be in the lineup every night but he still does bring some positives to this team. Plus, I have met the man and he is a real gentleman, and treats the fans very well. I give him a lot of credit for that, especially since many of the fans are vocally against him.
So, I like this movement for it's "trolling" of the league. This is the only way the fans can essentially tell the NHL what they think of the league; though let's not kid ourselves, they still don't give a damn about our thoughts. Now, I know many are using Scuderi as a tool as a mockery. I get that and if that's why you'll vote for him, then fine, you do you. For me, I'll be voting Scuds in as a way to voice my displeasure with the league, but also to send him to an all-star game that he, even in his prime, could never have made because of the way the league has set this event up.
This one comes from Jill B on the Tweety: "What is it that makes Scuderi essential to this lineup and Daniel Sprong useless?"
Ok Jill, where do I begin with this?
Let's start with Scuds I guess. I believe what the coaching staff sees in Scuderi is a veteran, defensive defenseman who is their best penalty killing defenseman. The Pens current system, based so much on defense though it isn't supposed to be, plays more into Scud's hands than it was supposed to. The staff view him as a key to the PK, a calming, reliable presence on the back end and finally, a key voice in the room. They do like that he is vocal in the room and he is a respected veteran. It's hard for any message he is trying to give the guys to be taken seriously if he isn't playing with them. So this is why you see him playing as much as he is.
Now, as for Sprong. He doesn't play defense, so you cannot compare him and Scuderi. That's just not fair to either. My understanding about the Sprong situation is that Johnston doesn't trust him when he doesn't have the puck and he doesn't trust him in the neutral and defensive zones. Why? The hell if I know. He looks as competent in those areas as Bennett or even Geno sometimes. For whatever reason, Johnston just doesn't trust him and I think that is probably against the feeling of the rest of the organization. Rutherford wouldn't have kept him if he didn't intend on him playing a considerable role. This is just another example of the disconnect between front office and head coach.
Now, I believe part of the reason why he is still here is because they do not think he would progress as well in Juniors as he would here practicing with the team. That is the rumor flying around at least. As far as I am concerned, you can practice all you want, but the game situations cannot be accurately simulated in practice. I'd rather see him playing than just practicing. But I believe as long as Johnston is the coach, Sprong will be a sporadic, mis-used prospect.
Projected Lines & Pairs
- Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Pascal Dupuis
- David Perron - Evgeni Malkin - Phil Kessel
- Beau Bennett - Nick Bonino - Patric Hornqvist
- Sergei Plotnikov - Matt Cullen - Eric Fehr
Pairs:
- Ben Lovejoy - Brian Dumoulin
- Olli Maatta - Rob Scuderi
- Ian Cole - Adam Clendening
Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to start in net today.
My 3 Keys to the Game
2. Special Teams: The power play has struck in I believe six straight games entering today. That's good and it needs to continue. With the league calling more penalties, and the core of players on that unit, the Penguins are killing themselves by not taking advantage of these opportunities. I hope to see the continuation of this streak today. Same goes for the kill. It hasn't been as solid as it was earlier in the season, but it is still getting the job done. The forwards need to do a better job of avoiding penalties, but if they do, I have all the confidence in the world in our PK unit.
3. Star Power: The Pens are in a town full of stars! I want to see our biggest stars shine in this game. Malkin and Kessel have played well over the last ten games. Flower has been a beast all season. That leaves the likes of Crosby and Letang. I'd like to see them really get going today and I think they are both on the verge of doing so.
My 3 Penguins to Watch
2. Rob Scuderi: The most popular man in Penguins nation at the moment with the whole #ScuderiASG movement. Scuds has played well this season outside of the first three games. He is not fleet of foot, but his positioning is even better than it was five years ago. While many in the nation still look down on Scuds, I think it is unfair to say he's been a complete disaster this year. He currently has a plus-6 rating and 4 points on the season, which is the same amount as Olli Maatta and Ben Lovejoy and more than Brian Dumoulin. Give the guy a break, he isn't perfect but he is getting the job done.
3. Nick Bonino: This is a guy that needs to get going. He only has 5 points through 23 games and that simply isn't good enough. I get that he has had a shuffling line from game-to-game, but he is far more talented offensively than Brandon Sutter was and he shouldn't be struggling to create offense like he is. I would like to see him break out today.
What to Know for Watching/Listening
- ROOT Sports has the coverage tonight. Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey with the call beginning at 4:00pm. Dan Potash will have the interviews.
- Penguins Pregame will precede the game coverage beginning at 3:30pm.
- Penguins Post Game will follow the game action.
Here is what you need to know if you're listening to today's game:
- 105.9 The X, the Penguins app, the Penguins website and iHeart Radio app are all places you can pick up the game tonight.
- Mike Lange and Phil Bourque will have the game call beginning at 4:00pm.
- Penguins Pregame will precede the game coverage at 3:00pm. Josh Getzoff will host.
- Penguins Hot Line will follow the game action.
Pens Points:
- ROOT Sports Pregame Keyword: 5pts
- ROOT Sports Postgame Keyword: 5pts
- Pens Radio Net Keyword: 5pts
- Miller Lite Nite at Sunny Jim's Tavern - 25pts