Pittsburgh Penguins: Phil Kessel Skates With Team, Crosby and Malkin Quotes
It’s been a long, anxious summer for fans of the Pittsburgh Penguins after Jim Rutherford swung a deal that landed Phil Kessel in July.
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As of yesterday, the wait for Kessel to arrive in Pittsburgh ended as he showed up at the UPMC Mario Lemieux Sports Complex to witness the Pens’ informal skate in person. Today, fans that are in attendance were able to get their first in-person glimpse of number 81 dawning Pittsburgh colors.
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin also had some kind words to say about their new sniper during NHL media tour in Toronto. Malkin stated the following to NHL.com when asked about Kessel.
I know him as a sniper. He likes to score goals. He’s flying every game. I think if he plays with Sid, he can score 50 goals at least. He has everything.
Crosby also chimed in regarding what looks to be his new line mate, at least according to Mike Johnston’s comments late last month.
I think everybody is excited to have [Phil] as a teammate, to know with one chance in the slot he can change a game pretty quickly
The buzz around the Pittsburgh Penguins rivals that of 2008 when they acquired who was arguably the last ‘elite’ winger to play with Crosby in Marian Hossa. Crosby and Hossa were pure gold together and many believe that Sid and Kessel will likely find that same magic.
Sid and Geno weren’t the only players to comment on Kessel’s addition during the annual media tour in Toronto, as Chicago Blackhawks Captain Jonathan Toews said the following.
Hopefully they can’t figure it out either. If they do, then we’re all in trouble. That’s an overdose of skill, if Kessel ends up playing with one or the other.
The Pittsburgh Penguins will partake in a rookie tournament this weekend and then training camp is set to begin on September 17, from what we can gather. That means Pens’ fans still have a few weeks before catching Crosby, Malkin, Kessel and the newly tooled Penguins in NHL action. But, in the meantime, at least there are glimpses into what’s happening at the practice facility.
Pittsburgh Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby on 3-on-3 OT
As we know, the NHL is changing their overtime format to include 3-on-3 hockey. The Pens are one of the teams that should greatly benefit from this rule change based on the offensive talent they can deploy with the likes of Crosby, Malkin, Kessel, Kris Letang and Derrick Pouliot.
Crosby recently spoke with Craig Custance of ESPN.Com regarding the new OT format and stated that if it were up to him, he’d send three forwards on the ice. Honestly, if I’m Mike Johnston I have to try it at least once. How would teams react to Malkin, Crosby and Kessel together for 3-on-3 play? Would they send three defensemen on the ice and hope for the best?
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