Thomas: Baby Pens waddling into playoff contention

Despite all the talk concerning the Pittsburgh Penguins’ future in Pittsburgh, there has… Despite all the talk concerning the Pittsburgh Penguins’ future in Pittsburgh, there has never been a better time to be excited about this hockey team.

The Penguins are 9-0-2 in their last 11 games, collecting an impressive 20 out of 22 possible points. This run has propelled them to second in the Atlantic Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference.

While this success has created a buzz around the city, it has also shown how important the Penguins are to the ‘Burgh.

The six home games during that streak have averaged 16,682 in attendance and three have been standing-room-only sellout crowds of 17,132. Now that we are in the dead of winter, the football season is over and baseball seems so far away, the Pens are front and center in Pittsburgh, and there isn’t a better show in sports today.

Not only are the Pens putting up numbers in the wins column like when they were the league’s best team in the ’90s with Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr, they are doing it with one of the league’s youngest teams and some unbelievable young superstars.

Obviously we all know about Sidney Crosby. As far as young phenoms are concerned, Sid the Kid is the NHL’s version of LeBron James in high school and Tiger Woods ten years ago.

He had a personal trainer when he was 13, and by 14, they were calling him the next Wayne Gretzky. When Crosby came into the league a year ago with the task of saving the NHL falling squarely on his shoulders, no one thought he would live up to the hype, but a year and a half into his career, he has actually exceeded expectations.

He currently leads the NHL in points with 86 and assists with 61. If he continues at that pace he will rack up an impressive 133 points.

He will also become the youngest player to capture the Art Ross Trophy. What’s best about all this success is that when you hear an interview with Crosby, he sounds like a humble 10-year veteran with five scoring titles who thinks this is all no big deal and just wants to win.

In addition to Crosby, the Pens have the top points-scoring rookie in the NHL in Russian super-stud Evgeni Malkin, who also leads all rookies with 26 goals and 59 points.

In addition to Malkin, the Pens’ other rookie stud is a first-round pick from a year ago who wasn’t expected to make the team this year.

Jordan Staal, an 18-year-old center who is playing out of position on the left wing of Malkin’s line, is scoring at will. He is second among rookies with 19 goals and leads the league with five short-handed goals.

During their 11-game tear, which started on Jan. 13 with a 3-2 win against the Flyers as each of the three youngsters scored, the Pens have outscored their opponents 52-24.

While the young trio, whose average age is 19, has pushed the Pens to a new level, the other Pens have stepped up their game as well.

Other than Staal, Crosby and Malkin, 11 different Penguins have scored a total of 27 goals during the stretch.

That balanced attack has come from the awakening of some Penguin wingers. Veteran right winger Mark Recchi has scored seven times, and fellow forwards Michel Ouellet, Jarkko Ruutu and Ryan Malone have each scored three times.

The balanced offense attack has allowed Michel Therrien to use four offensive lines which helps the Pens keep teams under pressure while taking some of the pressure out of their own end.

The defense has responded as well, as Ryan Whitney has scored three goals and recorded a point in all but two of the last 11 games and Sergei Gonchar has recorded 12 points over that span. Fellow blue-liner Mark Eaton coincidentally returned from injury at the same game the streak started and has made a huge impact in every contest since his return.

All of this has taken place in front of one of the league’s hottest young goalies, Marc-Andre Fleury.

Fleury has played in all but one of those 11 games and has been nothing short of spectacular. His stellar play has moved him into the ninth spot in the league in both wins (25) and shutouts (four).

The Pens record as of Wednesday was 27-17. Since 2002, the most wins they have had in a season is 28.

That says it all right there.

Don’t let the chance to see this team in action go by. The Pens have 13 home games left on the schedule, not including playoffs, and they are worth the price of admission.

Hopefully this amazing run continues, because for at least 11 games, the Penguins have taken everybody’s mind off of the harsh reality that this team might not be in Pittsburgh for much longer.

And if they keep winning, it will even be harder for the local politicians to deny how much Pittsburgh needs to keep the Pens in town.