Looking back at the Penguins.... (post old articles here)

[columbia]

Thankfully, that game was on TV....which was a rarity in those days.
(Maybe they had a cable deal already; we didn't have cable, so I have no idea.)

[JS©]

I could have sworn that Boughner knocked Peca out with a hit in Pittsburgh... but all that I can find is Boughner taking out Primeau. Does anyone remember him hitting Peca?

You might be thinking of Mike Wilson.

Perhaps one of the most surprising aspects of the Islanders' start (4-0-0-1) is that they have played almost half of those games without Peca.

Peca, the Islanders' captain and center of a rare checking line that can also score, suffered a concussion when Pittsburgh's Mike Wilson slammed into him early in the third period of a 6-3 Islanders victory. He missed the Islanders' games against the Devils and Detroit. That the team earned 3 of a possible 4 points in those two games is testament to their depth. This is not a one-, two- or three-man team.

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/17/sport ... -test.html

[penny lane]

sorry, link only good for awhile but worth the read.
https://media.proquest.com/media/pq/hnp ... 9is4qCQ%3D
Thomas Boswell - from the DC Post. His opening paragraph captured Mario- spot on.
It was the best then, and today, in describing Mario Lemieux circa prime years. He owned the ice.
From 1992 after the penguins defeated a CAPS team that had a 3-1 advantage in the series.
That CAP team could have won something if not for Mario's 17 points.


A note to the sabbatical penguins- shorthanded goals can devastate a team in a play-off series.

[Jim]

I could have sworn that Boughner knocked Peca out with a hit in Pittsburgh... but all that I can find is Boughner taking out Primeau. Does anyone remember him hitting Peca?

You might be thinking of Mike Wilson.

Perhaps one of the most surprising aspects of the Islanders' start (4-0-0-1) is that they have played almost half of those games without Peca.

Peca, the Islanders' captain and center of a rare checking line that can also score, suffered a concussion when Pittsburgh's Mike Wilson slammed into him early in the third period of a 6-3 Islanders victory. He missed the Islanders' games against the Devils and Detroit. That the team earned 3 of a possible 4 points in those two games is testament to their depth. This is not a one-, two- or three-man team.

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/17/sport ... -test.html

Yeah, that must be it. Thanks and sorry for the confusion.

[pensfan1989]

Penguins get 2 points, but play leaves little doubt season is over

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/peng ... z2thRtP3Gc

Sidney Crosby sat this one out with an ouchy groin. Ryan Whitney went home to New England on a personal matter. But it wasn't as simple as no Crosby, no Whitney, no winny.

By the time an equally desultory third period was half over, all this mess lacked was a real signature moment, a memorable freeze frame that might somehow encapsulate the fecklessness and timidity of two bad hockey teams. Fortunately, Christopher Minard provided one.

Flying down the slot behind the New York defense in a 0-0 game, Minard sized up Danis, flashed mentally through his shot options, and ... (what?!) ... floated a drop pass into traffic.

Minard was not about to disrupt the perfect awfulness of this, a night to disremember.

Someone else was going to have to take on that responsibility, and with only 2:28 remaining in the game, someone finally did.

Using the revolutionary offensive concept sometimes called whipping the puck at the net with the idea that even if it doesn't go in, a nearby teammate might run into a rebound, Sergei Gonchar did exactly that from behind a Malkin screen. The rebound got swept across the line by Petr Sykora, and the Penguins had the only goal in a long night of terrible hockey.

"I thought we had good chances against [Danis] we just couldn't put it in," said defenseman Brooks Orpik in a less than exuberant dressing room. "As frustrating as it was not getting any goals for the first two periods, not getting any until the final two minutes, I thought we stayed patient.

"I thought we kept our composure pretty well."

Is that what that was, composure?

Smelled like a noxious mix of disinterest and incompetence.

"Most of their shots in the third period came on the power play and it wasn't so much great plays by them," said Islanders coach Scott Gordon. "It was our inability to get the puck down the ice when we had opportunities, and they got chances off of those."

The Penguins can fool themselves to whatever extent they please that they earned two points that were absolutely indispensable last night, but the way they've played the Islanders over the past 125 minutes of ice time plus a shootout has left little doubt that they've kissed this season good-bye.

[MRandall25]

A lot of complaints in that article sound vaguely familiar

[Pitts]

Wait a minute!

The Penguins can fool themselves to whatever extent they please that they earned two points that were absolutely indispensable last night, but the way they've played the Islanders over the past 125 minutes of ice time plus a shootout has left little doubt that they've kissed this season good-bye.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/peng ... z2thYTR1tJ

That article is dated February 26, 2009! I'd say that season ended pretty well.

[AricM]

"I am not a statistician. I am a goaltender. Marc-Andre Fleury."

http://old.post-gazette.com/penguins/20 ... 0629p2.asp

[Crankshaft]

"I am not a statistician. I am a goaltender. Marc-Andre Fleury."

http://old.post-gazette.com/penguins/20 ... 0629p2.asp

Fantastic find.

[JS©]

I could have sworn that Boughner knocked Peca out with a hit in Pittsburgh... but all that I can find is Boughner taking out Primeau. Does anyone remember him hitting Peca?

You might be thinking of Mike Wilson.

Perhaps one of the most surprising aspects of the Islanders' start (4-0-0-1) is that they have played almost half of those games without Peca.

Peca, the Islanders' captain and center of a rare checking line that can also score, suffered a concussion when Pittsburgh's Mike Wilson slammed into him early in the third period of a 6-3 Islanders victory. He missed the Islanders' games against the Devils and Detroit. That the team earned 3 of a possible 4 points in those two games is testament to their depth. This is not a one-, two- or three-man team.

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/17/sport ... -test.html

Yeah, that must be it. Thanks and sorry for the confusion.

I thought it was Boughner too. I thought Mike Wilson was responsible for putting somebody else on the shelf long-term.

In other Mike Wilson news, here's an article where he compared himself to Chris Pronger: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1 ... 45,3252220

[Sam's Drunk Dog]

Ah yes. Mike Wilson, who when acquired by the Pens, was given the nickname of "Who" by the board because no one had ever heard of him.

[Jim]

I thought it was Boughner too. I thought Mike Wilson was responsible for putting somebody else on the shelf long-term.

In other Mike Wilson news, here's an article where he compared himself to Chris Pronger: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1 ... 45,3252220

He was the Chris Pronger of WBS...

[JS©]

"All of our players can go up and help them"; Prospects become 'Jacks of all trades

2/4/1989

The task of the Muskegon Lumberjacks is to develop young hockey players for the Penguins. Muskegon, in turn, expects the NHL club to send promising talent to help boost the 'Jacks to the top of the International Hockey League. According to Larry Gordon, the Lumberjacks President/General Manager, both ends of the deal are being satistfied.

The Lumberjacks' winning tradition hasn't skipped a beat since Muskegon became the Penguins' top farm system on May 26, 1987,

"The bottom line is judging the success of the affiliation is how the players have developed," said Gordon, who purchased the team for $1 in June 1984. "Mark Recchi, hopefully, is now an integral part of the hockey team." Recchi skated in 31 Lumberjacks games this season and scored 24 goals and 27 assists.

In 1987-88, the first year of the exclusive agreement with the Penguins, known as the Black and Gold Connection, the Lumberjacks set all-time IHL records for victories (58), points (126), goals scored (415), assists (699), and total goals points (1114). They also set a club record with 27 victories on the road.

The 1988-89 season has seen little change, other than the hiring of a new coach in former All-Star Blair MacDonald. (Note: MacDonald won the IHL's Commissioners' Trophy during this season, which is the NHL's equivalent to the Jack Adams)

"All of our players can go up and help them," said MacDonald. "It all depends on their needs. We have a number of forwards. Kevin Stevens is a good power forward, and Dave McLlwain is a tremendous skater. And Perry Ganchar has been there. He's on a good streak with us right now. There's also Brad Aitken... (and) Mark Kachowski, who needed playing time. It's all right to be there, but you need playing time. He's getting his confidence back right now."

Leading the 'Jacks right now is free agent Dave Michayluk, who has three straight 100-point seasons. He has appeared in 323 straight games since arriving in Muskegon in 1985-86.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1 ... 42,1461292

Both Stevens and Recchi were both recalled by the Penguins on January 9, 1989. Stevens remained with the Penguins throughout the regular season and the playoffs. Recchi was eventually returned to Muskegon, where he finished his rookie season with 99 points and helped lead the 'Jacks to their second Turner Cup trophy.



Michayluk finished the season with his 4th consecutive 100 point season with 122 pts. Following the 1988-89 season, he would put up back-to-back-to-back 102 point seasons along with a 112 point season in 1992-93. His 8 consecutive 100-point seasons were bookended with 99 point seasons in 1984-85 and 1993-94. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdis ... p?pid=3698

[JS©]

Mario Lemieux and his investors today will present a revised plan for acquiring the Pittsburgh Penguins that calls for removing broadcast rights from Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh, ousting the Philadelphia firm of SMG as Civic Arena landlord and paying Lemieux substantially less money than originally proposed.

Details of the plan were obtained by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette yesterday.

Lemieux's plan, along with one submitted by the National Hockey League and a joint plan submitted by SMG and Fox, are scheduled to be the subjects of a confirmation hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Thursday.

The changes that will be filed today reflect progress Lemieux has made in negotiations with other unsecured creditors in the bankruptcy and Roger Marino, the team's co-owner.

Lemieux's new plan calls for the team to drop its broadcasting agreement with Fox and, instead, enter into a new agreement with a broadcaster not named in the paperwork but believed to be Armstrong Cable Systems of Butler.

http://old.post-gazette.com/penguins/19 ... guins2.asp

Wasn't there also talk of the Penguins breaking their agreement and making their own network?

[JS©]

March 19, 2006

Igloo has a power failure vs the Leafs

[skullman80]

I was at that game.

[dodint]

Nedved scores 2 goals in 11 seconds, 1996 Playoffs against the Capitals.



They ended up losing that game, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Molinari) writes an article about the Pens coasting at the end of games. Hmmm.

Though they did win the series, in which Nedved netted that 4OT winner in Game 4. That was also the year he put up 99pts. This series was probably the pinnacle of his career in Pittsburgh, and possibly his entire career. It was the first video I ever downloaded on the Internet.

[skullman80]

Interesting to note reading that article that the above game mentioned did not sellout, almost 1000 below capacity.

[dodint]

Spoiled fans. They were 4 years removed from a near dynasty. Who wants to bother with a first round Game 1?

[DropEmJayBird]

It would be fun to take the old articles - and Rossify them into over dramatic articles filled with obviously fake rumors.

[dodint]

I hear Gretzky is looking to get out of LA, considering Pittsburgh to create the ultimate power line. -February 26, 1996

[penny lane]

Way-way -way back to 1990 when Pittsburgh hosted the all star game ; both D Molinari, and future penguin employee, Tom McMillan, did a great job writing about the game. No twitter- etc. After Mario torched all goalies and won the MVP in the 1st period, one of them had the headline~
Prince of Wales! It was lovely.
1990 All star was the 1st one to have the skills on the day before the game.