2006 Pittsburgh Penguins Preview

2006 Pittsburgh Penguins Preview from Maddux Sports. With the NHL Hockey Season now is the time to get aquatinted with the 2006 teams and players. Remember if you are NHL hockey betting look no further, as we offer hockey picks and can help you turn a profit betting on the NHL this season.

2006 Pittsburgh Penguins Hockey Season Preview

Everyone expected Sidney Crosby to be great in his first NHL season. And he was, scoring 39 goals, adding 63 assists and totaling 102 points! But one instant star does not a franchise make and along with finishing last in their conference the Penguins were 29th in the league.

On offense this season, Crosby-- who was sixth in the league in scoring-- will have Ryan Malone (22 G, 22 A, 44 Pts) on the left and Colby Armstrong (16 G, 24, A, 40 Pts) on the right. The average age of the starting front three is 23. The future looks bright for Pittsburgh, but the present is due to be filled with tough growing pains. Joining the team is 2004's second overall draft pick, Evgeni Malkin who had 47 points in 47 games for Magnitogorsk (Russia) last season.

Last season's signing of free agent defenseman Sergei Gonchar (12 G, 46 A, 58 Pts) proved to be a good move. Despite a poor first half, he finished 12th in TOI and 8th in scoring by defensemen. Overall, this is a young defense, featuring the up and coming talents of Ryan Whitney, Noah Welch and Brooks Orpik. Look for these guys to improve with experience.

Goaltender is a question mark. Can veteran Jocelyn Thibault (16 GP, 1 W, 9 L, 3 OT, .876 SP) offer any form of solid play or will youngster Marc-Andre Fleury (50 GP, 13 W, 27 L, 6 OT, .898 SP) display the brilliance many feel he possesses? Pittsburgh was 30th in net minding last season and that problem seems unsolved.

Last in team penalties and next to last in the penalty kill, the highlight for Pittsburgh was its power play, which was ranked sixth in the NHL. It seems that the Penguins have built a solid, young foundation on offense and defense. With experience and much better goal tending, they could be a contender in a year or two.

For more information on the 2006 Pittsburgh Hockey Club check out the Penguins team website.