PENGUINS NEWS AND NOTES - February 20, 2009

Todd Reirden makes his head coaching debut tonight after taking over for Dan Bylsma, who was promoted to interim head coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.

The Penguins can tie their all-time record of nine consecutive victories with a win tonight against the Crunch.  The current eight-game streak  (Jan. 30-Feb. 15),has seen the Pens outscore the opposition 32-13.

John Curry carries a Penguins record 10-game winning streak into Friday’s game with Syracuse.  Curry has posted an 18-3-0 record in his past 21 games dating back to December 13. With last Saturday’s win, Curry became the first Penguin goaltender to post back-to-back 20 win seasons.

Jeff Taffe carries a six-game scoring streak (1+7=8) into Friday’s game with Syracuse.

LEAGUE LEADERS
JEFF TAFFE is tied for sixth in points (56), tied for sixth in assists (37), tied for sixth in game-winning goals (5) and tied for sixth in plus-minus (plus-17)

JANNE PESONEN is tied for 16th in points (49), tied for 16th in assists (33)

LUCA CAPUTI is tied for fourth among rookies in points (37)

BEN LOVEJOY is tied for 18th in defenseman scoring (27) and first in the league in plus-minus (plus-35)

CONNOR JAMES is tied for the league lead in shorthanded goals (4) and shorthanded points (5)

DUSTIN JEFFREY is tied for the league lead in shorthanded points (5) and shorthanded assists (4)

JOEY MORMINA is second in the league in plus-minus (plus-32)

J.P. COTE is tied for sixth in the league in plus-minus (plus-17)

JOHN CURRY is sixth in goals against average (2.37), tied for seventh in save percentage (.920), tied for fourth in wins (21) and tied for seventh in shutouts (3)

ADAM BERKHOEL is 12th in goals against average (2.47), tied for 16th in save percentage (.913) and tied for fourth in shutouts (4)

REIRDEN NAMED INTERIM HEAD COACH:  Todd Reirden has been named interim head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, it was announced on Wednesday morning.  Reirden takes over head coaching duties from Dan Bylsma, who was named interim head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, February 15.

A veteran of 183 National Hockey League games, Reirden joined the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coaching staff as an assistant on August 18, 2008.  Prior to that he served as an assistant at his alma mater, Bowling Green State University, for the 2007-08 season.
Selected by New Jersey in the 12th round (242nd overall) of the 1990 NHL Draft, the 37-year old Reirden played professionally for 13 seasons, retiring after the 2006-07 campaign with Graz EC of the Austrian Hockey League.

MIXING IT UP:  The Penguins have seen 16 different players score goals during their current eight-game winning streak (Wallace, Caputi, Jeffrey, Engelland, Cashman, Mormina, Pesonen, James, Johnson, Daoust, Letestu, Taffe, Bissonnette, Cote, Goligoski, Henrich).

HOME COOKING:  The Penguins 20 wins at the Wachovia Arena this season are the most by any team this season, and their 42 home points (20-5-0-2) are second highest, behind only Grand Rapids’ 45 (19-4-3-4).

OVERALL EFFORT:  The Penguins have allowed 144 goals against this season, the fifth lowest total in the AHL, and have scored 194 goals, the second-highest total in the league behind only Hershey (210).

FIRST TAKE:  The Penguins have posted a 25-7-0-1 record when they score first.  Those 25 wins are tied for the second-highest total in the league this year (Hershey - 28).

PK IS OK AWAY:  The Penguins rank second in road penalty killing on the road, stopping 87.8 percent (115 of 131) opponent attempts.  The Penguins have also scored six shorthanded goals on the road, tied for second most in the league (Rochester - 7).

THIRD PERIOD A CHARM:  The Penguins have scored more goals in the third period (72) than any other team in the league this season.  The Penguins have dropped just two games (23-1-1-0) when carrying a lead into the third period.

CURRY CRUISES TO TEAM RECORD:   Penguins netminder John Curry stopped 38 shots in a 5-2 win over the Worcester Sharks on February 15, giving him his 10th consecutive victory between the pipes - a new team record. 

Since returning to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton from Pittsburgh on December 13, Curry has posted an 18-3-0 record with a 2.02 goals against average (43 goals against, 1275:41 minutes played) and a .930 save percentage (569 saves, 612 shots).

The second year pro has moved into second place on the team’s all-time wins list (45) and third place on the team’s all-time shutout list (6) this season.

                PENGUINS ALL-TIME WINS LEADERS
1.             Sebastien Caron                 48
2.             JOHN CURRY                       45 (21)
3.             Marc-Andre Fleury               39
4.             Dany Sabourin                     38
5.             Andy Chiodo                         31

                PENGUINS ALL-TIME SHUTOUT LEADERS
1.             Sebastien Caron                 10
2.             Andy Chiodo                         7
3.             JOHN CURRY                       6 (3)
4.             Marc-Andre Fleury               5

The Shorewood, MN native made his NHL debut with the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this season, posting a 2-1-0 record in three outings.

Curry became the first Penguins goaltender to post back-to-back 20 win seasons when he stopped 20 shots in a 3-2 win against Hamilton on February 14.

In 2007-08, Curry was named to the AHL's All-Rookie Team and backstopped the Penguins to the Calder Cup Finals. The 24-year-old has a career record of 45-19-3 with six shutouts in 69 career AHL games.

BIG CONS HITS 100:  Connor James picked up an assist on Luc Caputi’s first period goal on February 14, giving him 100 points (35+65) in 185 career games with the Penguins. 

COTE BITES FORMER TEAM:  J.P. Cote netted his first career game-winning goal on February 14, scoring with seven minutes left in regulation to give the Penguins a 3-2 win over the Hamilton Bulldogs.  Cote spent the first five seasons of his pro career with Hamilton, netting 10 goals in that time.

UP AND ADAM:  Adam Henrich netted his first goal of the season on February 11 against the Lake Erie Monsters, becoming the final Penguins regular to score this season.  He wasted little time in picking up his second, scoring on February 15 against Worcester, giving him two goals in three games.  Henrich recorded a career-best 14 goals in 43 games with the Norfolk Admirals last season, and his goal snapped a 29 game scoring drought.

PENALTY SHOT LACK OF SUCCESS:  Mark Letestu failed to convert on a penalty shot on February 14 against Hamilton, making the Penguins 0-for-3 in penalty shot attempts this season and 1-for-19 all-time: