The defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins are off to a hot start. Will they be able to make this a regular-season to remember? After making your vote, back it up in the discussion below.
Will Pens break NHL record for wins, points?
Fri Oct 23, 2009 11:05 PM EDT
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The pens are no Habs maybe they pass the wings in wins, but never the Habs with points. Too early in the season yet even for the wins column.
I don't know. I suppose the Pittsburgh Crosbys might break some records, but that's a little like guessing the weather a few months in advance.
Interesting how, as of right now, the Crosbys only have the SECOND best point total in the league, but nobody seems to be posting these sycophantic polls about the team that's currently number one. I guess that's because the Hockey press lives in that East Coast bubble and widely predicted said team would be dead last at the end of the season. They hate to draw attention to how wrong they were, I guess.
Actually you are incorrect. Colorado has played 1 more game than Pittsburgh. There is a difference in predicting that a team that has gone to the Cup 2 years in a row will break records with their scorching start compared to a team (Colorado) that has been dissappointing for the last 2 years and has a bit of a fast start.
Pittsburgh would need to win its next game to stay tied with Colorado for the league lead... so why the heck is this poll only about Pittsburgh? In fact, Colorado technically is the league leader right now.... so why make this poll about Pittsburgh?
Anyway, no team is going to break either of these marks this year... especially not Pittsburgh. If they are over .500 for the rest of the year I would be surprised. They are a team that is built around a handfull of high profile players, two of which will not be playing for at least 7-10 games now. Expect them to lose at least half of those games and put to rest any of this talk about most wins or points. As for Colorado... I don't follow the west at all, but its still highly unlikely either of these records will fall any time soon, if ever.
This poll is asking about the Pens because they're the reigning Cup champs. More eyes are on their performance, and there is a huge target on their backs. The Avs have been awful recently, and a "hot" start from them seems more like a fluke at this point than the real deal. Now, I'm totally willing to be proven wrong on this, and I'm not making any predictions. But based on the trends of the past few seasons, the Pens winning start has more potential record-breaking implications than does a winning start from a team whose performance has been dismal of late. However, with injuries to Gonchar and Malkin, and with Talbot still out, the Pens will get to prove very soon how resilient they really are.
And in response to stakex, the Pens are a very deep team, with contributors on every line. It is no coincidence that Max Talbot, usually a grinding 3rd or 4th line player scored the only 2 goals in game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. The star players like Crosby and Malkin are what define the team (and they definitely contribute to the success of the team), but the role players like Talbot are what win championships.
Too bad Malkin will be out for 2-3 weeks. Sid needs him in the line up. Now we'll hear more whining.
I don't dislike the Pens, just Crosbaby. Someday his juevos will drop and he won't act like an immature selfish highschool kid.
The Avs will resurge...if they can avoid the Forsberg trap again. Another escapade with 'Peter The Great...But Injured' would only stunt the growth and gel-ablity of a young tough team with great potential.
My Red Wings... well Ozzy has lost yet another step in goal. Bottom 30% in the league. That should've been the offseason focus, no matter what. Offense is middle of pack, but right on the heels of Pens and Avs. I'd put some blame on the defense... if Ozzy didn't look so soft all of last year, including much of the playoffs.