Penguins vs Avalanche Preview
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by FrankD
10.31.07 More at http://pensburgh.blogspot.com
The Pittsburgh Penguins head in to Colorado tomorrow night to take on Paul Stastny, Joe Sakic and an otherwise formidable Avalanche team. This will be the only regular season appearance between the two teams and hopefully another road game that falls in the Pens' favor.
Heading in to tomorrow night's game, the Penguins and Avalanche are pretty evenly. The Avs sit in the Western Conference with a mediocre 14 points in fifth place while the Pens hold the same position with 13 points in the East. Of course, it's still far too early in the season to start making conference comparisons, but it's safe to say the two are evenly matched.
Yet there are certain areas in which the two are entirely different. Look no further than the powerplay units. The Penguins are ranked third in the league, converting nearly 1 out of every 4 (24.56%) powerplay attempts. Colorado on the other hand is 21st in the league at roughly a 15% conversion. On the kill, Colorado has a slight edge over the Pens, striking down powerplays 85% of the time compared to the Pens' 83%. Again, there isn't as much a difference in the PK as there is the man advantage. In the end I think it balances out. If the Pens convert 1 out of every 4 and the Avs are killing nearly 3 1/2 out of every 4, it's going to come down to a game of even strength goals and man on man contention.
You probably won't find a better game to watch tomorrow night.
The Pens are going to need to lock down Stastny and Sakic, that's a no brainer. On a similar note, the Avs are going to try and do the same with Malkin and Crosby. Recently the two have found themselves on the same line and I think it's definitely had it's advantages. You can't double team two players - that leaves one guy to cover the other three. Malkin and Crosby are terrifying to any team - not necessarily for their ability to score (even though they do that too) but because they have the amazing ability to find the open man in the heat of being pinned down.
Stastny + Sakic = 28 combined points. Malkin + Crosby = 33 combined points.
Will we see some so called "sleepers" wake up tomorrow night? Perhaps. But I really think it's going to be a Stastny/Sakic Crosby/Malkin showdown.
Let's look between the pipes. Peter Budaj vs ________? I'm thinking with whole hearted certainty that the Pens will give Fleury the nod for this matchup. It's not to say Sabu's play was bad, but you can't have your starting goaltender (in salary terms at least) sitting on the bench for more than one game unless injured or otherwise unable to play. He's shaky, he's a bit rough around the edges right now, but he's the better choice no doubt. However, that contract negotation in January isn't looking so good right now...
On a side-note, take a look at Fleury with his helmet off. He reminds me for some reason of Tweek from South Park.
