The Sports Monitor

The Pittsburgh Penguins have a new general manager. I think the analysis can be wrapped up rather easily: Would you, as a Penguins fan, prefer Ray Shero or former Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford? I'll take Shero. There were other bad choices to be made (Pierre McGuire), but Rutherford screams as an uninspiring choice. And Rutherford saying the team doesn't need sweeping changes, well, that sounds like the status quo wasn't all that bad. But, maybe I'm reading into things too much. Maybe all the Penguins need is a new voice calling the shots and a new voice yelling instructions at the players. It won't take too long to find out.

Did Sidney Crosby get special treatment while renewing his driver's license? I don't care either way. I don't expect the Penguins to admit their superstar got bumped to the front of the line. And I wouldn't expect the DMV to keep Crosby waiting in line for an extended period of time. Yeah, it would stink to be there for an hour and see Crosby walk up and go to the front of the line. But can you imagine the problems that would arise if Crosby waited, while everyone hit social media to say where Crosby was?

Ever watch a high school game when one team was very, very good and the other was, well, not so good? It was that bad for the Pittsburgh Penguins Monday night. And that's putting it mildly. The Pens lost 6-1 to the Boston Bruins in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference finals. It was a must-win game for the Pens, who now trail 2-0 and head to Boston for Games 3 and 4. The only thing Pittsburgh can take from the shellacking is it hit bottom. The big problem is there might not be enough time left to save the season. Tuukka Rask was solid in goal while Tomas Vokoun and Marc-Andre Fleury were equally bad. I understand if there is a goalie switch; with the season on the line the Pens would want their top goalie on the ice. Only I think their top goalie is Vokoun. Either way, without being too simplistic, the better goalie usually wins in the playoffs. The Pens will be hard-pressed to solve Vokoun four times in the next five games.

What happens when you run into a hot goalie? Just ask the Pittsburgh Penguins. They trail their Eastern Conference finals 1-0 after a 3-0 loss to the Boston Bruins Saturday night. It also was another example of good goaltending beats a good offense. Hopefully, the Pens will be able to figure out Tuukka Rask before Monday night. If not, they face a 2-0 deficit heading to Boston. Maybe the Pens got the wake-up call they needed.

Do you still trust Marc-Andre Fleury? I don't. We'll see if the Penguins do when their Eastern Conference semifinal series starts later this week against the Ottawa Senators. But I can tell you one thing, I certainly don't want to see him in goal again. Yes, he's won a Cup. But he's cost the Penguins the past two springs in the playoffs. I don't want to see it become a third. Tomas Vokoun might not be the best goalie around, but with the players the Penguins have assembled, he doesn't need to be. The shutout of the Islanders in Game 5 was nice (Fleury also had one in Game 1), but Vokoun did enough to help the Penguins win Game 6. I'm afraid if Fleury would have played in Game 6, the Penguins would have lost. At a minimum, Vokoun should start until he puts up a Fleury-like game. Then a debate can begin. Until then, ride Vokoun.

Geno's back. Evgeni Malkin's unassisted goal in the third period against the Tampa Bay Lightning was a thing of beauty. It's good to see him back on the ice. And, not to be outdone, Sidney Crosby had a nice one-timer for a goal in the third, too. The Pens look good and they're fun to watch. Can't wait for the playoffs.

10-3. Shocking score in quite an entertaining series. It likely would be more entertaining if the Penguins were leading or even tied in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with the Philadelphia Flyers. Unfortunately, they trail 3-1 after shellacking the Flyers 10-3 in Game 4. Evgeni Malkin scored twice, Jordan Staal had a hat trick and the Penguins exploded on offense. Marc-Andre Fleury played well in net, too -- at least after the first period. It's just too bad this win, the first in the series if you haven't been paying attention, came in Game 4. If this had happened in the first three games, then I'd give the Pens a shot to rally from 3-1 down. It's nice they get to return home for Game 5. It'd be even better if they won it. A nice 5-1 win, or even better, a shutout, would do wonders after a laugher like Wednesday. At least the Pens aren't going down without a fight.

I had a little more rooting interest in the Pittsburgh Penguins this year than I have in the past. It was nothing special, but for me it was added incentive to follow them in the playoffs this spring. I got to the Consol Energy Center for the first time about a month ago and had excellent seats, just four rows from the ice. Like I said, nothing special, but it felt like I had more of an interest in this year's squad. There was something special about seeing them in person. The Penguins beat the Coyotes that night, playing wonderful defense and getting great goaltending from Marc-Andre Fleury. Today, just a day away from Game 4 of the Penguins' series against the Philadelphia Flyers, I wonder what the heck happened to that team I saw a few weeks ago. The team I saw then wouldn't be trailing the Flyers 3-0 and be a good bet to book tee times as soon as Thursday. I was fired up about the postseason. I thought they were a threat, but I wasn't as blinded by loyal...

It was one heck of a way for the Pittsburgh Penguins to open the Stanley Cup playoffs Wednesday night. They had a 3-0 lead and plenty of momentum. So much for that, along with home-ice advantage in their series against the Philadelphia Flyers. Stanley Cup contenders don't go around losing games when their up three goals or two goals in the third period. Luckily, it was only one game, and it was the first game of the series. There's plenty of time for the Penguins to rebound. However, the Flyers have owned the Penguins this season. Now the Flyers know they can recover from being three goals down in a game. I'd like to think that one game doesn't make a series. But this one left Penguins' fans with a sour taste in their mouths.

Sidney's back. That's great news for Penguins fans. The hottest team in the NHL (9-game winning streak) gets the best player on the planet back -- with apologies to Evgeni Malkin, the likely MVP. There's only one question I have going into Thursday's return of Crosby against the first-place Rangers. Will he finish the season? My fear is he's the next Eric Lindros, someone who will be forced to retire because of concussions. However, I'm not sold on Crosby being the next Lindros. My hope is the neck injury was more of a cause of his latest setback than anything else. If that's the case, and he just happened to be an athlete who had a concussion, the Penguins will be fine. With the playoffs near and the intensity higher than it was when Crosby made his brief return earlier in the season, I think we'll find out soon enough.

Deep in the back of many, if not all Penguins' fans, there should have been concern about Sidney Crosby's health. There was probably some who worried more than others, but the threat was real: What if Crosby gets another concussion? It didn't take too long to find out. Crosby missed two games last week as a precaution after a hard hit against the Bruins. That precaution has been elevated. Crosby is out indefinitely with concussion-like symptoms. He didn't suffer a concussion, they say, it's just his body's not right. I don't know about you, but I'm worried. Yeah, I'm worried about the Penguins and Crosby's career. But that's nothing compared to Sid's health. That should be everyone's concern. I'm afraid what might happen if a goon takes a cheap shot on Crosby. It doesn't even have to be a cheap shot. Crosby could get leveled by a clean check and that could end his career. It might not matter how long Crosby sits....

Wow. After missing almost 11 months of hockey, the Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby returned to the ice Monday night and didn't miss a beat. Rarely has a hockey game in mid-November been must-see television, but Crosby's much-anticipated return made it a can't-miss game. Boy, did Crosby deliver. He picked up right where he left off in January when two concussions forced him from the game when he was the best player on the planet. Less than six minutes into Monday's game against the Islanders, Crosby delivered his first goal. He followed with two more assists. In the third period, Crosby's backhand found the back of the net to give him two goals and two assists in his return. Every time he touched the puck, it was excitement. It felt like watching an overtime hockey game in the playoffs. You just knew something could happen at any second. And it nearly did, too. Crosby's game sure hasn't missed a beat while he was gone, but we sure d...

It seems Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis is unhappy about his team playing on back-to-back nights in the NHL playoffs. It is a shame that both teams will have to play back to back games ... because the Pittsburgh building - against NHL rules - booked a series of concerts and forced the league to alter the playoff schedule, Leonsis wrote on his blog. That's too bad, Ted. It really is. You'll soon be up there in the upper echelon of crybabies of in sports. It's unfortunate that three events over eight days at Mellon Arena forced the schedule change. One of those events happened to be a Yanni concert. Hey, that's the breaks. Mellon Arena needs as many events scheduled there as possible. And just a couple months ago it looked like the Pens could miss the playoffs. Now that they've evened the series, it looks as if things could turn in Game 5 tonight. Just remember, all that momentum of winning Games 3 and 4 goes out of the window when they drop the puck. If the Pe...

So they've lost. Twice, actually. There might be some panic in the faces of fans, but it's too early to get upset about the Pittsburgh Penguins' two losses to the Washington Capitals. As the higher seed, the Capitals have home-ice advantage. So they've won their two home games. No big deal. Teams are supposed to win at home. Now it's the Penguins' turn. Game 3 is at Mellon Arena. If they lose that, well, it's over. But they just as easily could win Games 3 and 4, sending the series back to D.C. for Game 5. There's an old saying that a series never gets interesting until the home team loses. That still applies here. There's still time to reverse those one-goal losses. The time to do it begins Wednesday.

The Pittsburgh Penguins made a mad dash at the end of the season to grab the No. 4 seed in the Stanley Cup playoffs. After Wednesday's thrashing of the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 1 of their best-of-seven showdown, the Penguins are showing no signs of slowing down. Sidney Crosby and Evegni Malkin each scored a goal and assisted on one, and Marc-Andre Fluery was solid in goal in the team's 4-1 win that wasn't even that close. Pittsburgh improved to 19-3-4 under interim coach Dan Bylsma. The Pens dominated for most of the game and the Flyers tried to get dirty at the end to send a message. They finished the game with three players in the penalty box. "We know that's their style. That's how they play," Fleury said after the game. "But it's nice to see how the guys handled it with no problem and just moved on." The Pens' message was better. They'll move on to Game 2 Friday night. Expect the Flyers to come out with something to prove. Just...