Role Players Key to Penguins' Success
Crosby and Malkin Aided by Role and Replacement Players
Nov 30, 2008
Loss of Hossa Not Hurting Penguins Offense
With the departure of Ryan Malone, Marian Hossa, Ty Conklin, Mark Eaton, Georges Laraque and even cult heroes Jarkko Ruutu and Gary Roberts, Penguins fans were worried about the upcoming season to say the least. Who would they sign to replace all these guys? Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin can’t carry the team by themselves to the Stanley Cup Finals again. But the way it looks so far, they won’t have to.
With Hossa turning down a 7-year, $50 million contract to play for the Detroit Red Wings on a 1-year contract, Sidney Crosby was once again in need of a top-tier winger for his line. Former Islander Miroslav Satan was brought in to fill this role and has done it well. He has posted 9 goals, good for third on the team, and the Penguins offense as a whole has not been affected by the loss of Hossa. They rank seventh in the NHL averaging 3.13 goals per game.
Malkin and Crosby Excelling with Role Players
While Malkin and Crosby are currently first and second in the NHL with 39 and 34 points, respectively, the contributions of Kris Letang, Dany Sabourin, Tyler Kennedy and newcomers Alex Goligoski, Miroslav Satan and Mike Zigomanis cannot be understated. The highlight-reel goals and gaudy numbers of Malkin and Crosby, however, often overshadow these players’ unique and important roles.
Miroslav Satan, Tyler Kennedy and Jordan Staal have combined for one less goal (22) than both Malkin and Crosby (23). Alex Goligoski and Kris Letang have both fit in admirably on the power play in the absence of Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney, and Zigomanis leads the entire NHL in face-off percentage, winning draws at a clip of over 65%. With his help, Pittsburgh has climbed to sixth in the NHL in a category that have repeatedly finished near the bottom of the league standing.
Matt Cooke and Eric Goddard have replaced the toughness aspect lost with the departures of Laraque and Ruutu. Dany Sabourin has filled in for injured starting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and currently leads the NHL with a 1.84 goals-against-average. He has posted a 5-2-1 record with a .930 save percentage, helping carry the team much like former-Penguin Ty Conklin a year ago.
The additions from General Manager Ray Shero have proved so far to be excellent fits with a talent-laden roster and a main reason why Crosby and Malkin have had such success, with the team off to their third-best start in team history.
