March of the Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins emerge from last season's darkness with two prodigies leading them.

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury survived the ocean of pucks fired at him last season and is a better goalie for it. The former first-overall pick in 2003 is among the league leaders in goals-against-average and save percentage, due in part to the fact that the puck isn't in his end that much anymore.

While no one will mistake the defense with the rearguards of the 1980's Edmonton Oilers, the addition of big defensemen Noah Welch and Ryan Whitney has given the backline a little bite to go with their waddle.

But this team will live and die with its forwards. General Manager Ray Shero made a subtle move by acquiring Nils Ekman from San Jose over the summer. The crafty Swedish forward adds to the Penguins hockey IQ with his heady play. But I'm not here to write about Ekman.

To say that Evgeni Malkin was worth the wait is an understatement. First, there was the pre-season intrigue of getting him out of Russia. Malkin's agent, J.P. Barry acted like Daniel Craig, the new James Bond, in meeting with the young Russian in Helsinki, Finland to craft a plan to spirit him away to the States.

Once that was a fait accompli, Malkin crashed into winger John LeClair (some say that it was LeClair's best hit in years) during a pre-season game and banged his shoulder up, serving to further delay his debut and building the anticipation even more.

So on October 18, Malkin finally took the ice at the Igloo against the New Jersey Devils and future Hall of Famer goaltender Martin Brodeur.

In classic storybook style, Malkin did score his first NHL goal that night, although some say it was tainted. The puck had appeared to be frozen under Brodeur for at least a few seconds before Malkin reached into the five-hole and tapped it into the net; but that's what goal scorers do. From there, he simply went on to equal an NHL record by scoring goals in his first six career games, with the most impressive aspect of the feat being that it had been 89 years since the last man did it (must have been something in the water, er, ice that season as all the others, Montreal's Joe Malone and Newsy Lalonde and Ottawa's Cy Denneny accomplished the feat in 1917-18.)
 

Crosby, who came to camp in better shape this season, has had a great start to back up his excellent rookie season. The fanfare that Crosby came in with almost made a 39-goal, 102-point season a disappointment because a) he's not Alex Ovechkin and b) he talks in clichés.

While it's true that his game may never approach the tenacity of Ovechkin's, in speaking with Crosby during the Penguins trip to Southern California, I found a smart, aware and a mature way beyond his years.

Sitting in his stall on the night Malkin equaled the record, he spoke about how they work together.

"What I like best about him is his creativeness," Crosby said. "We can challenge each other creatively. There are other players that play a more simple game and don't make high risk plays. It's fun playing with someone that an makes something out of nothing sometimes.

"I feel lucky to have the opportunity to play with him. We're similar players, we like to do things at high speed, we like to attack the net, and we don't slow things down like a guy like Joe Thornton does. We compliment each other in that way."

Crosby is a team leader at a very tender age of 19, but handles the responsibility as if he's been in the league for a decade, a trait as impressive as his on ice talent.

With a year under his belt, one would think that his sophomore season would be a little easier. With others like Malkin and Ovechkin sharing the spotlight and familiarity with the increased schedule and traveling, navigating the NHL waters would seem to have less peril. Crosby grudgingly agrees, but with qualifications.

"Parts of the game are easier, but others aren't," he said. "I'm certainly not going to sneak up on anybody, if I did last year that's not going to happen now. Teams are more likely to put their top defense pairing and checking line against you. Last year, we had Mario Lemieux and Ziggy Palffy who got those players against them."

At the other end of the spectrum is Mark Recchi. The 17-year veteran and two-time Stanley Cup winner is one of the true class individuals in the history of the game. The man who Jeremy Roenick called "the best teammate I ever had," reflected on what it's like to play with Malkin and Crosby.

"I'm more than twice their age, so it makes me feel real old at times," the native of Kamloops, B.C. joked. "The group of young people we have here is incredible. I think the greatest thing about them is their work ethic. They work hard in practice, they work hard in the gym, they have a great attitude and that’s the most exciting thing about them. Sidney's come in an even faster player than last year; you can see the difference a year in the league makes."

The last word goes to another veteran sniper, Anaheim's Teemu Selanne, who admits to what most players do during their first meeting with this year model of the Penguins.

"Sure, I look to see what they're doing; I always try to look at great players. You can see from the minute they step on the ice how talented they are. It's amazing that these kids, 19 and 20 years old, play like ten year pros. Those young players make for a huge future this league."

IT'S NOT EASY BEING DAN

This was supposed to be Dan Cloutier's comeback season. The 30-year-old netminder missed 60 games last season with the Vancouver Canucks as a result of a left knee injury and was brought in by Marc Crawford, his coach in Vancouver, to upgrade the goaltending situation for the Los Angeles Kings.

Cloutier had won 30 games three times in Vancouver and with Los Angeles' mediocre performance between the pipes over the last few season, most experts agreed it was an improvement.

Sometimes funny things happen to you on the way to those upgrades. The Kings, who are not a playoff team, have started poorly and Cloutier stands right at the top of the list. Some say there's rust both physically and mentally (too many short side goals) from missing almost a full season and to add to his dismay, Mathieu Garon, the backup who many thought would be dealt in training camp, happens to lead the NHL in goals against average.

KingsNation is fretting that they're seeing a replay of the Roman Cechmanek nightmare of a few seasons past. Cloutier has been the subject of derisive cheers and chants of "Gar-on, Gar-on" filled Staples Center during the Kings' OT loss to Pittsburgh last week. While you could argue that the team in front of him hasn't helped much, Cloutier has earned those chants.

I'm not writing to pile on Cloutier; he's a professional and gets well paid to miss pucks so far. This is more about an athlete's character when they go through tough times.

Some will beg off, others (like Brett Hull) will curse you out, but the good ones stay in and answer the questions. After the Pittsburgh loss, I sat with him and was amazed at how calm and collected he was. You can tell by the look in his eyes that he feels he may be playing himself out of a job, but he never raised his voice and still believes he's the go-to guy. Drenched in sweat and still in his pads, he related his feelings about his poor play so far.

"At this level, it doesn't matter who you are, you have to go out and perform," he said. "Throughout my career, I've had my ups and downs and you have to keep working at it. You can't start feeling sorry for yourself, especially early in the season. You just have to keep plugging away and fight through it. I'm not worried about the fan's reaction (to his poor play); they pay a lot of money for the seats."

The Kings will go home after 82 games this year, but if everyone in their locker room at the attitude, class and dignity that Cloutier possesses in bad times, they'd be that much closer to the second season.
 

Dennis Bernstein, the man behind SCORE! Media, is a columnist for TheFourthPeriod.com and the Los Angeles Correspondent for The Fourth Period Magazine.