Brent Johnson or Brad Thiessen?

By Cole Wight

Unlike the past few years, goaltending isn't a big issue for the Penguins at the moment. They have All-Star goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury who ranks 2nd in the NHL in wins (41), one game behind the Predators Pekka Rinne. Fleury's play this year has been nothing short of spectacular. The Penguins wouldn't have 102 points without his services. However the quandary between the pipes at the moment has nothing to do with Fleury, the problem is the backup goaltender.

Brent Johnson has been the Penguins backup goaltender for the last few seasons. Last year he appeared in 23 games, posting a 13-5-3 record with a 2.17 GAA and a 9.22 save %. This year has been a much different story though as Brent Johnson has appeared in 13 games for the Penguins posting a 3-7-2 record with a 3.17 GAA and a 8.82 save %. Brent Johnson sustained a injury . To take the place of Brent Johnson the Penguins recalled Brad Thiessen from the Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins.

Last Year Brad Thiessen had a career year for WBS, winning the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s top goaltender and teaming with partner John Curry to capture the Harry “Hap” Holmes Memorial Award as the goaltending duo to allow the fewest goals in the AHL.

Thiessen led the AHL and set franchise records last season with his 35 wins and seven shutouts. Thiessen posted a 35-8-1 record, 1.94 GAA and a .922 save % in 46 games. This year he has appeared in 5 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins this year posting 3-1-0 record with a 3.72 GAA with a 8.58 save %. Although those numbers are anything but amazing, Thiessen's past has shown he is a solid goaltender and is still young with lots of time to gain more NHL experience.  However the question is, can you want to rely on him as a steady backup with so little NHL experience?

Brent Johnson is [finally] healthy and made his first start for the Penguins last evening, notching a 5-3 victory over the Sabres. Interestingly enough his last game was a 6-2 loss on February 19...to the Buffalo Sabres. While he's surely aggravated us this year with his rabid inconsistencies, he's made a career of being a go-to backup. But he is aging...

This leads us to the ultimate question, one in which our fearless GM Ray Shero will need to consider heavily: Johnson or Theissen (or someone else?)

Do you think with the way Brent Johnson has played this year he should remain the Penguins backup for another season, or should the Penguins invest in Thiessen as the Flower's backup? We all know that having a backup goalie isn't the biggest concern heading into the playoffs. But what if Fleury goes down for a game? We could find out answer in one of those games...

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What's The Buzz? Tell Me What's Happenin'!

It's the third installment of What's The Buzz? Tell Me What's Happenin'! It's a full course of goalies today with a little side of Nystrom, Letang and Trade Deadline past.

Eric Nystrom

Hard to watch, eh? Many people are split on this hit. According to some, Letang put himself on the platter and to others, Nystrom went head hunting. After watching the video several times myself, not completely convinced Nystrom only wanted to play the puck. At the :08 second mark of the video you see Nystrom going for the puck, but then changes his direction toward Letang. Nystrom could have easily went towards the boards instead of the net where he and Letang's paths crossed. Although this could be considered completely bias because I'm a fan and don't want to see any key player hurt, especially a guy like Letang, who makes a huge impact on this team. The scary thing here, obviously, the fact that Letang missed some considerable with a concussion this season after receiving a hit from Max Pacioretty.

Head coach Dan Bylsma said at this point Letang is day-to-day. 

Marc-Andre Fleury

Flower continues his stellar play with a shootout win last night. To say the Pens would be where they are now without the play of Flower is complete crap. He does everything you would expect a netminder to do PLUS some. Even giving a little tribute to rookie back up tender Brad Thiessen with the jersey tuck. 

Brad Thiessen.

Thiess in the Crease picked up his first NHL win during his NHL debut this past Sunday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Thiessen stopped 21 out of 23 shots for a 4-2 win. "I tried just to stay focused and enjoy the moment," Thiessen said. "It was everything I expected and more."

Brent Johnson. 

Beej has been dazed and confused for so long it's not true. Lots of people talk, few of them know, it's been a long time since Beej rock n' rolled. No doubt Fleury is saying, "It's been a long time, been a long time, been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time. Yes it has." Beej just has to let the sun down beat upon his face, but change the story of games past, the story that was quite clear. Tellin' tall tales of how it used to be, good times, bad times, we know you've had your share. So indeed when we go on a deep playoff run, when Fleury needs to rest for a few, we'll need Brent Johnson as sure as the dust that floats high in June. 

Trade Deadline Past. 

 GM Ray Shero decided not to make any moves this past deadline for the first time in Shero’s six-year tenure. "Nobody going and nobody coming. Our roster is our roster moving forward." Again fans were split on this decision, some were just fine, others, not so much. But it is what it is. "We have a lot of guys here who have won the Stanley Cup. I just think that we have a pretty good hockey team here with our leadership and the character we have on our hockey team. The special teams have been good. Our penalty kill has been amongst the top in the league. Our power play has been very good, obviously. Just a lot of things have come together for us and we’ve got some of these injured players back. We have a number of those guys who have (Stanley Cup) rings in the room. That counts for something as we move forward towards the playoffs." There's no doubting the man, Ray Shero.

Have a subject you thought needed some recognition? Put your buzz in the comment section below!

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What's The Buzz? Tell Me What's Happenin'!

Marc-Andre Fleury, Brent Johnson, Brad Thiessen...oh my!

Brad Thiessen was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Tuesday to back up the Flower due to a Brent Johnson illness. Many were skeptic with the call-up figuring it was some sort of indication with the trade deadline just around the corner. GM Ray Shero and HC Dan Bylsma quickly shut that down announcing the illness. Thiessen has been re-assigned to Wilkes-Barre since. 

Flower Power. 

Tuesday's 2-0 win over the Rangers was Marc Andre Fleury's 22nd career shutout tying Tom Barrasso's franchise record. Fleury has been stellar the past few months but all his stellar play has some fans concerned. At his rate of play, will he have anything left in the tank if and when the Pens go on a deep playoff run? Brent Johnson has yet to shake his funk even though HCDB has stated that we will see BeeJ in net more. Johnson's recent stint in net had him replaced by the Flower in a 6-2 loss to the Sabres.

Tango.

Eric Tangradi was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for this past Tuesday's win against the Rags. Tangradi had a mere 5:39 TOI working on the 4th line. HC Bylsma said that the Tangradi recall added a physical presence for the 3rd and 4th line hence being in against a Ranger team who leads the league in hits on the road. Even with the recent call up, Tangradi's future with the Pens may still be a bit hazy. 

Staal Good.

One of the best two-way forwards in the game today, Jordan Staal has been ripping it up since coming back from a knee injury. In a recent article written by Michelle Crechiolo called "No Staal-ing Around", HCDB was quoted by saying, "“In terms of his offensive ability, I think this year better than any, he’s understood exactly how big and strong he is skating-wise that has led to better offensive opportunities for him..." Staal has taken his fair share of criticism, but is proving he is worth the contract. "He’s like Evgeni Malkin healthy, he’s like Sidney Crosby healthy, he’s like any of our top players healthy," linemate Pascal Dupuis said. "They’ll dominate the game, and that’s what Jordan is doing right now."

First Place. 

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins moved back in to first place(tied with the Norfolk Admirals) after defeating the Portland Pirates 5-3 for their 20th road win this past Monday. Scott Munroe picked up the W in between the pipes stopping 25 shots advancing his record to 11-4-3 on the season. The Pens will battle with Manchester tonight at Mohegan Sun Arena!

Hop in the Cordoba baby! We're goin' bowling! 

The Official Mike Lange Soundboard has gone mobile! It officially debuted on the Android market this past Monday. iPhone and Blackberry apps are in the making! So if you have an android phone and want to carry Mike Lange in your pocket, click here and download the app!

Trade Deadline.

We'll end today's buzz with some more deadline talk. Do you think GM Ray Shero is going to deal? If so, for who?

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What's The Buzz? Tell Me What's Happenin'!

Today's buzz: The Power line, Brent Johnson, trade deadline and more!

The Power Line.

A combined 19 points in their past 9 periods of play, 34 in the month of January. Can you say beastmode? 

Brent Johnson.

Let's face it, Brent Johnson hasn't been too hot this season but got a much needed win against the Tampa Bay Lightning this past Sunday. Going to say it again, hey BeeJ...

Trade Deadline.

Nash, Parise, Bobby Ryan. Shero better get dealing. It's fun to speculate what a GM might do at the deadline but talking realistically, we really have no clue. Ray Shero is a known mastermind when it comes to wheeling and dealing, so let's sit back and enjoy the show, eh?

Defense, anyone?

After a 8-5 win over the Jets, fans were asking if the Pens' defense knew there was a game. To say the defense has been a little lack luster lately is an understatement. HC Dan Byslma, more than likely, thinks the same since switching up the defensive pairings. Martin and Michalek, whom were a great shutdown pair last season, have been split up. Wednesday night we saw a mix-match of just about everything. Eventually they will click, right?

 Secondary Second.

The lack of.. It's been a issue and still is. No doubt it's great seeing Geno, Kuni and Nealer rip it up but how long will that last? Jordan Staal has been contributing nicely since returning from injury as well as defenseman Kris Letang but that isn't going to be enough, especially with the post season arriving quickly.

Wheeling Feeling.

Tonight the Nailers will travel to Johnstown to battle the Elmira Jackals for first place in the Atlantic Division. Unfortunately, the Nailers will be without some of their top players; Zack Torquato and Peter Lenes. Torquote who suffered an injury and Lenes whom was loaned to the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs. Also the Nailers will be without Olivier Dame Malka, Nick Petersen and their captain Paul Crowder, all who have been recalled or loan to the AHL. Wheeling did claim Chase Watson from Elmira off of waivers to fill some void.

Have a subject you thought needed some recognition? Put your buzz in the comment section below!

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What's The Buzz? Tell Me What's Happenin'!

Okay, enough with the rock opera stuff and let's get to hockey. In this column, we will discuss what Pens fans have been buzzing about lately on Twitter, Facebook and even dinner table conversation. (imagine that!)

Sidney Crosby.  

The first and most obvious subject, the Captain. From a broken neck to his mystery press conference to his recent comments about not being symptom free yet; a lot has been swirling around about him and quite frankly, fans are frustrated. Can ya blame them?

I like to think that most Pens fans and general hockey fans want the best for Crosby. He, along with other NHL stars, make the game appealing to fans of all ages and undoubtedly to those who pay good money on tickets.

But there come a time where we as fans must place our fan card on the shelf and look at the situation differently, without our black and vegas gold glasses. Crosby not only has to consider his career but his life beyond hockey.  But until Crosby is 100%, fans will have to deal with conflicting media reports and more vague updates.

Staal and Despres.

As if we are lucky on the injury front, fans received refreshing news that forward Jordan Staal and defenseman Simon Despres are close to returning to the lineup. Staal said, "Not far, I don’t think. It’s feeling really good. It’s just a matter of time."

Evgeni Malkin.

Enough said.

Tyler Kennedy. 

The Ol' boy is the latest player that has been added to the shelf pending his reevaluation today. Even with an injury, TK has managed to cause quite the stir amongst fans. The 25 year old forward, who has a cap hit of 2 million since receiving a new deal this past off season, has managed only 6 goals and 22 points so far. A lot want Kennedy on the platter for the deadline.

Paul Martin.

Speaking of trade deadline, let's put Paul Martin out here, oh wait....errr...NTC. Unless GM Shero has the freak powers of that chick in Wolverine where he places his hand on Martin's shoulder and tells him to walk back to New Jersey and never turn around,  Paul Mart is here to stay BUT stranger things have happened.

Eric Tangradi.

In a sense, you have to feel bad for the guy, right? I mean people talked Tango up to be this awesome big body forward that would put Ryan Malone to shame. With a few good shifts here and there, Tangradi really hasn't lived up to all of the expectations. This brings up the question, is Tangradi still in the plan? .....who honestly know what will happen, but we do know one thing that does happen to him...

 

PK Subban.

Without a doubt Subban is "dangerously tripping" his way up to the top of the jagoff list. The guy is a good player with a craptastic attitude. He's shown he has little to no regard for the safety of his fellow NHLers and as Josh Yohe reported, "I can assure you that Subban is the NHL's most unpopular player in the Penguins' locker room. They don't like the guy, as you just saw."

Habs Fans.

Boooooooooooooooooooooo! "Guys, we just won the game.." "Oh?" ... Booooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Brent Johnson.

Today we'll end the buzz with Brent Johnson. Yes Johnny has been a little iffy lately but we've got faith in BeeJ. So BeeJ our message to you is...

LETS GO PENS!

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Two Week Roundup

Two week roundup is a season long look at the Penguins performance over the previous two week period. It will highlight what the team is doing right and what they are doing wrong. It will track individual and team performance for that period and for the season to that point.

Overall Record – 10-2-0 / Last two weeks - 4-1-0

- Overview -

The Penguins continued their winning ways over the last two weeks earning four wins in the five games, all at home. They started the stretch with convincing wins over the Tampa Bay Lightning (4-1) and the St. Louis Blues (5-1). The Pens followed that up with two fairly poor performances. They were able to squeak out a victory against the Florida Panthers (3-2) in a shootout thanks to backup goalie Brent Johnson, but then the winning streak came to an end at the hands of the New Jersey Devils (1-4). But like they have throughout this young season, the Pens managed to bounce back and finish the home stand with a dominating victory over the Montreal Canadiens (6-1).

- Team Stats -

The power play was able to improve during the home stand. The Penguins PP was at 23.1% during the five games and is now 16th in the league at 20.4% for the season. Naturally, the penalty kill has gone the opposite way. The Pens PK was at 76.5% in the last two weeks and is now down to 12th in the league at 81.1% for the season,


The Penguins continue to out shoot their opponents by a large margin. During this five game stretch, they had 189 shots to just 125 for the opposing teams. In fact, they out shot their opponents in each of the games and, except for the Devils game, the margin was at least 10 shots.

One of the keys to the Pens defense has been blocking shots and did that 82 times over the last two weeks.

____________________The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly____________________

(Good)

* Marc-Andre Fleury – Flower continues to be, arguably, the best goaltender in the league by going 3-1 with a 1.75 GAA and a .927 save % during the four games he played. He is currently second in the NHL in wins and fourth in both save % and GAA.


* Blocking Shots – The Penguins had an amazing 82 blocked shots over the five games in this two week span. That includes 18 against the Blues, 19 against the Lightning, and an astounding 24 against the Panthers. What makes that last number so impressive is the Brent Johnson had 27 saves in that game and the rest of the team have 24.


* Sidney Crosby – Sid got back to his superstar form tallying 5 goals and 4 assists on the home stand including that hat trick against the Canadiens. He seems to be shooting more which has lead to more goals. Just sayin’.

* Alex Goligoski – 3 goal and 3 assists and a +3 for another solid two weeks for the rookie. I think some early season Calder talk is warranted.

(Bad)

* Face-offs – The Penguins lost the majority of the face-offs in three of the five games on this stretch, and a fourth game they were an even 50-50. This has not hurt them too bad yet, but they desperately need to improve this as the season progresses

* FLA & NJ games – These two games were, hands down, the worst they played in the last two weeks. Even though the Pens won against the Panthers, they looked awful for two periods, and only because of the stellar play of Brent Johnson were they able to hold on for the shoot out victory. In both games their passing was weak, the puck handling was poor, and they always seemed to be out of position. Luckily, it looked like Dan Bylsma noticed, too, before the Montreal game.


* Sesame Street Line – I know they can’t always play like they did over the first two weeks of the season, but Staal, Cooke, and Kennedy combined for only 2 goals and 2 assists over the five games. In fact, all of those stats game from the Blues game, so they were all scoreless for the other four games. Granted, TK was a scratch for the Canadiens game, but they set the bar for themselves and we expect them to continue to live up to it, which there is no doubt they will.

(Ugly)

* The Neutral Zone Trap – The Penguins have still not found a way to defeat this defensive style. This was most prevalent in the Florida and New Jersey games. Against Florida, the Pens were dumbfounded for two periods before wearing down the Panther defense in the third. And against the Devils, the Pens just never figured anything out. They looked lost and confused the whole game. #1 on Dan Bylsma’s list should be creating an offense to break the trap.

Three Stars

#3 – Marc-Andre Fleury – 3-1 and still the best goalie in the league.
#2 – Alex Gologoski – He is quickly becoming the best defensemen on the team and one of the best in the NHL. Currently leads the team with a +11.
#1 – Sidney Crosby– There has been some rumbling about who is the best player on the team, and I think Sid made his statement over the last two weeks. 5G, 4A, and +7.

Injuries

Sergei Gonchar - Out 4-6 weeks with a broken wrist.
Evgeni Malkin - Out 2-3 weeks with a strained shoulder.

Additional Thoughts

* Sidney Crosby is still on fire at the face-off dot winning 58.6% of his draws over this two week stretch.

* “Kevlar” McKee continues to be the first line of defense out there with 17 more blocked shots.

* Brent Johnson continues to play superb when asked to stand between the pipes. One of the keys to making a run for the cup is a solid #2 goalie, and Johnson has proved that he is up to the task.

* As a team, the Penguins currently lead the NHL in +/- and Shots-on-Goal.

Up Next

The Penguins play five of their next six games on the road. They open @ Columbus on 10/30 and the come home for a Halloween game vs. Minnesota. Then they have a three game west coast swing @ Anaheim on 11/3, @ Los Angeles on 11/5, and @ San Jose on 11/7 before heading back east for a game @ Boston on 11/10.

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Pens Sign Brent Johnson (G)

The Penguins signed veteran goalie Brent Jonhnson to a one year contract today, solidifying their goaltending for next year.

Johnson is an 11-year veteran who has played with the St. Louis Blues, Phoenix Coyotes, and most recently, the Washington Capitals. In 247 career games he has a .903 save percentage and a 2.63 goals against. Johnson has also played in 12 playoff games and has a .931 save percentage and a 1.84 GAA in those games.

Details of the contract were not yet known, but no doubt, GM Ray Shero has worked another deal that will benefit the Penguins tremendously. Brent Johnson is a stellar veteran goaltender and will allow Marc-Andre Fleury to have some more time off next year without having to worry about the quality of the goaltending going down.

Signing a quality backup goaltender was the final big need for the Penguins this off season and again, Shero is on top of things.

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