2006-11-15 12:22:45 · 18 answers · asked by Boondocksaint 4 in Sports ➔ Hockey
No....for a number of reasons......losing Mark Eaton for 2-3 months really hurt...he was becoming the best defenseman they had, and they already miss his shot blocking and penalty killing abilities. They really have no one to take his spot, and Brooks Orpik is being slowly brought back after his hand surgery. Sergei Gonchar has struggled since Eaton was hurt (9 points - 2G,7A, +1 before the injury;3 points - 3A,-3 after it). They don't have the necessary toughness yet, their face-off success is low, they take too many lazy penalties, Marc-Andre Fleury has been somewhat inconsistent (although he'd played several very good games) and their power play has been struggling. Interestingly, Sidney Crosby is not used to kill penalties at this time (thereby leaving their best offensive threat to languish on the bench for extended periods of time). While Malkin has been shown to be the real deal, his supporting cast has struggled...John LeClare and Mark Recchi two proven scorers in past years) haven't been exactly red hot, and neither has Colby Armstrong. Michel Therrien has tried numeros combinations to get more goals, and he still hasn't been satisfied with the results. They do have a promising team, however, so that while they won't make the playoffs this year, with proper draft choices and trades, they could be a real challenger for the cup in the near-future.
2006-11-15 16:48:32 · answer #1 · answered by puzzledwithexcel 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
They're looking good to contend for a spot. With Crosby and Malkin together, anything is possible. But I think those guys are still too young to ledthe team to a Cup. Second-round exit at the most. Don't worry, in a couple of years they'll get the Cup. They have so many young talents.
2006-11-15 22:15:57 · answer #2 · answered by hockey craze99 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They have a good chance to make it to the second round. Depending on how well the team develops, they might make it to conference finals. Their top performers are still young, and have no playoff experience, so they won't make it to the Cup finals. Although I'm a Kings fan, I hope the Pens make it to the Conference finals. But hey, anything can happen.
2006-11-15 23:46:19 · answer #3 · answered by Kings Fan 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They have to play some great hockey to contend for the playoffs. I'd say they have an outside shot to get a 7th or 8th place seed. Once the playoffs start though anything can happen, remember Edmonton from last year?
2006-11-15 22:24:17 · answer #4 · answered by hockeydude25 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You're a very funny guy!
Everyone knows the deetroit red wings are the best team in hockey, and they will win the stanley cup AGAIN.
2006-11-16 01:34:19 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Being that 8 teams make it, i think they will make it. They certainly have the talent to slip in @ #7 or #8 and i think they will. With that, i think too they will only improve as the season moves along. I really cant seem them not making it. I hope they do, Evgeni is a pleasure to watch.
2006-11-15 20:32:13 · answer #6 · answered by synapsediagram 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They can definately make it, lucky for them they are in the Eastern Conference, but it doesn't matter because the Western Block is smoking hot this year, no chance at this rate for an Eastern Block team to win.
2006-11-15 22:47:45 · answer #7 · answered by The Voice 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
maybe - it depends on how they do into the playoffs... I personally would need to see them kick some NY and NJ *** as it gets to the playoffs before I feel like they're going somewhere
2006-11-15 20:33:23 · answer #8 · answered by forex 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
might make the playoffs but the cup no way
2006-11-15 20:27:45 · answer #9 · answered by randyjuggalo 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
they might not make it this year becuase of a very tough division so far this year but if crosby and malkin the best players in the nhl along with fleury they may make it .. if not this year next year is a given they will dominate the nhl
2006-11-15 20:28:19 · answer #10 · answered by libshateme 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋