Preseason Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins

We're heading down the stretch as it's time for another Preseason Preview. This is where we check out the teams going into the season.

Now, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Team M.O.: These guys have a sound team that uses their offensive attack to dominate contests between opponents. They've also build a pretty good defensive system to go along with their firepower. All and all, the Penguins are a very well balanced team that when injected with intelligence and grit provides wonderful results.

Last Season: They won it all last season and hoisted the Stanley Cup for the first time since the 1990's. That's a pretty impressive effort considering that the team was 10th in their conference earlier in the season. But GM Ray Shero added Dan Bylsma as the new coach and some sandpaper in the form of Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin through trades. There have been a few off-season departures, so the weight of the team will have to be carried by their young stars.

Offense: Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby are the two top forwards on the team and two of the top forwards in the league so there's nothing else I can say that hasn't been said already. As alluded to earlier, Guerin and Kunitz have given the team two top-six forwards who can keep the opposition honest. Ruslan Fedotenko will no doubt have a spot on one of those lines while Jordan Staal may be asked to play on one of the top lines due to his skills. Maxime Talbot, Matt Cooke, Tyler Kennedy, Craig Adams, Pascal Dupuis, and newcomer Michael Rupp are as good of a bottom-six as you're gonna get while Eric Godard provides the fisticuffs as the enforcer. That leaves the spot that will either be filled with a newcomer or a reserve. Overall, I'd say their offense is not just looking complete, but completely spectacular.

Defense: The defense isn't spectacular as the offense, but is definitely good enough to support the ice between the red line and the crease. Sergei Gonchar and his team are hoping he can stay injury free for the whole season, as his production was missed when he was gone. Kristopher Letang is building off of a career season for him and could emerge as a top defender in his own right. Brooks Oprik and Mark Eaton bring a strong defensive presence that is now fortified with the signing of veteran Jay McKee and the permanent graduation of Alex Goligoski out of the minors. Ben Lovejoy and Nate Guenin will likely compete or the seventh spot as the roster might be too tight financially to bring in anyone else.

Goaltending: The goaltending on this team as a whole is pretty good. Marc-Andre Fleury is starting to develop poise and security, which is bad news for the rest of the league because he'll be near unstoppable as a result. Brent Johnson was brought in to be his backup after an injury interrupted in what was his best year since the lockout. If these guys falter, then Jon Curry will be there to challenge for the playing time. Great depth!

Expectations: I admit that I like the Flyers and Boston as a whole for the championship, but there's no way that I can discredit the Penguins, especially now that they have one of the smartest men in hockey behind the bench. They'll need to play as tough as ever though, as the Stanley Cup Hangover can be a very rude bitch the next morning...