DesertPenguin
Registered User
- Apr 22, 2015
- 3,087
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Kunitz-Crosby-Guerin
Fedotenko-Malkin-Talbot
Cooke-Staal-Kennedy
Dupuis-Adams-Satan/Sykora
That was the 2009 Pens forward group. I still marval at that group. Sid, Geno, Staal center depth won them that Cup. Everyone else...passengers at the right place and time.
Was your defense something like Letang, goligoski, gonchar, orpik, scuderi eaton?
Add Hossa going to Detroit to play with Prime Datsyuk and Zetterberg, it's not a shock that a team with Lidstrom and Rafalski as your top pairing won the west, with the Hawks a year away from being good.
I believe it was…
Gonchar – Orpik
Eaton – Letang
Gill – Scuderi
With Boucher dressing as a 7th for a couple of games.
That was not an impressive team on paper.
That was the 2009 Pens forward group. I still marval at that group. Sid, Geno, Staal center depth won them that Cup. Everyone else...passengers at the right place and time.[/QUOTE]
Goligoski was just coming into the league at that time. When Ovie went knee on knee with Gonchar and tore his... MCL? Goligoski started playing after that as the 7th D, along with Boucher at times. They went with 7D to limit Gonchar's minutes and just double shifted Crosby/Malkin/Staal on the 4th, which is pretty much a no brainer with that trio early in their careers.
Up front, the Pens lost Malone and Hossa to free agency and replaced them with Fedotenko and Satan, respectively, which was a serious downgrade. Meanwhile Sykora's game fell off, probably due to Byslma's more open system.
Kris Letang started to emerge that season while Ryan Whitney was on the shelf for foot surgery, which allowed them to deal Whitney for Kunitz in February, then get Guerin for a second at the deadline. Both were a huge boost for them.
Meanwhile Fleury honestly wasn't nearly as good that season and playoffs as last, Game 7 Stanley Cup heroics not withstanding.
I remember sitting there in the offseason watching Hossa go to DET and Malone leave and thinking we were toast.