Atlantic Division breakdown-Pittsburgh Penguins...

the 2008-2009 Stanley Cup champions struggled into the post-season,last season,losing to Tampa Bay Lightning,in seven games,after being up,3-1,in games... that was the end of season,ugly!!!!!! the beginning of the season started off normally,but losing Evgeni Malkin,and Sidney Crosby,to injury,was tough,and they did a great job just to make the playoffs... that should bode well,in the future,for team chemistry,but honestly to lose your best two players,midway through the season,your team does not want to go through that,but the Penguins are a very workmanlike,and gritty team... some of that grit was lost via free agency when Mike Rupp left,but honestly,they have Matt Cooke,who is known to be a real cheap shot artist(should have been suspended,for the Marc Savard hit,heavily,in a game against the Boston Bruins,a couple years ago,and a questionable hit,or two,last season)... Colin Campbell,and Mike Murphy,strike again(the former heads of supplemental discipline,for NHL...) do not let me go off on a rant about the officials,just yet(laughing)... however,Matt Cooke is a blueprint for a dirty player,just like Philadelphia Flyers' Chris Pronger... Mario Lemieux(Penguins' Hall of Fame member,and their owner)should be ashamed of Cooke... the defense around the net should be very good,and the tandem of Brent Johnson,and Marc-Andre Fleury(who won the Stanley Cup,with Pittsburgh,over Detroit,in 2008-2009)should be a very good duo,in net... as a side note,Both Crosby,and Malkin should be ready for the opening day,of training camp,but Crosby is coming off a bad concussion,so doctors may not clear for contact,yet,as of right now... Pittsburgh is a solid playoff team,if everyone is healthy,but if they go through what happened last year,watch out... the real key to Pittsburgh is how Sidney Crosby plays,or does not play,because he could be prone to concussions,which is how former player Eric Lindros was after he got creamed,by a brutal,but legal(at that time)hit,by Scott Stevens,of the New Jersey Devils,while playing for the Philadelphia Flyers,during a playoff series,between the teams(Lindros never played for Philadelphia,AGAIN,but did play in NHL,after a year off from hockey)...