The Carolina Hurricanes rewarded Cam Ward with a six-year contract extension this past summer, and based on Wednesday's game against Pittsburgh, it was money well spent.
The Hurricanes overcame a 2-0 third period deficit to force overtime, and while Ray Whitney scored both goals in the rally, it was Ward that made it possible with his sprawling glove-save on Bill Guerin after some tic-tac-toe passing from Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz midway through the third period.
Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ray Shero was kind enough to spend nearly an hour on the phone with FanHouse's Adam Gretz discussing a variety of topics. This is the third of a three-part series. Wednesday's entry: Ray Shero discusses how the 2009-10 Penguins were built through free agency, trades, the draft, and what he expects from the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ray Shero was kind enough to spend nearly an hour on the phone with FanHouse's Adam Gretz discussing a variety of topics. This is the second of a three-part series that will run throughout the remainder of the offseason. Wednesday's entry: Ray Shero discusses the anatomy of a trade, focusing on the deadline-day acquisition of Bill Guerin from the New York Islanders.
Since taking over the behind the Penguins' bench in mid-February, Dan Bylsma could do no wrong during his head coaching debut in Pittsburgh. His hiring, combined with the return of defenseman Sergei Gonchar, and the in-season acquisitions of Chris Kunitz, Bill Guerin and Craig Adams, helped the Penguins win their first Stanley Cup in 17 years.
It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We'll be running our division-by-division preview of the offseason beginning later in the week, but we wanted to give the two top dogs their own space. Yesterday we took a look at the Red Wings. Today: the summer outlook for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Thanks to Max Talbot's two-goal performance in Game 7, along with Marc-Andre Fleury's buzzer-beating save on Nicklas Lidstrom, the Pittsburgh Penguins brought home their third Stanley Cup. General manager Ray Shero now has the task of dealing with 10 unrestricted free agents and finding a way to construct a team that is capable of keeping the Cup in Pittsburgh.
The Pittsburgh Penguins ended a 17-year Stanley Cup drought on Friday night with a 2-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings, giving the franchise its third championship. While current general manager Ray Shero will get his name on the cup for overseeing the hockey operations the past three seasons, former general manager Craig Patrick also had a hand in putting this team together.
After the jump, a player-by-player look at how the 2008-09 Penguins were built over the years.
This isn't meant to discredit the Detroit Red Wings, who allowed a couple early flurries, but were otherwise nearly flawless Saturday night. Instead, it's one of those mysterious things that happens once in a while in sports. For the Pittsburgh Penguins, it was an awful time to play a very poor game.
Red Wings 5, Penguins 0: Recap | Box Score Red Wings lead series 3-2
In The Face-Off Circle: A game-by-game look at the face-off's in the Stanley Cup Final
The Detroit Red Wings had their best face-off man, Kris Draper, back in the lineup for Game 4, and as a team they had their best showing since Game 1, winning 34 of 60 draws. While Draper won six of his 11, the biggest factor in the margin on Thursday night wasn't what any one individual Red Wing did, but what one individual Penguin didn't do.
One poorly-timed screen could have been costly for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Surely, defenseman Sergei Gonchar and forward Bill Guerin weren't trying to stop Marc-Andre Fleury from seeing an early second-period shot by Detroit defenseman Brad Stuart. But that's exactly what they did. The Stuart shot found the back of the Penguin net, giving Detroit a 2-1 lead and, seemingly, all the momentum.
What happened after that could turn into a defining moment for this underdog Pittsburgh team.
Penguins 4, Red Wings 2: Recap | Box Score Series tied 2-2
After missing six consecutive games with a foot injury, Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk appears to be inching closer to a return, as he's expected to be a game-time decision for Thursday's Game 4 in Pittsburgh. In the past three games, he had yet to make it to "game-time decision."
The Carolina Hurricanes rewarded Cam Ward with a six-year contract extension this past summer, and based on Wednesday's game against Pittsburgh, it was money well spent. 
Since taking over the behind the Penguins' bench in mid-February, 
Thanks to 
