Pittsburgh Penguins, a name that once drove fear into any team or fan that was about to step up against them in the rink. Five Stanley cups are under their belts, and big names such as Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin layer with those. From being a top three team in their division for years, they’ve had a drop in ranking. Is this temporary or is this what Penguins fans have to look forward to? It could be a very icy road for the hometown heroes.

When the modern day Penguins come up in anything, the name Sidney Crosby will be dragged with it. Crosby is an incredibly skilled player, even in the first few games he played in the NHL. With over 400 goals, and 1200 points, he’s most certainly secured a place in the hearts of hockey fans. He had recently played his 1000th game, and with that people from other teams also started looking into him.

With Crosby in the spotlight, his teammates were shining, too. Or so people thought, and they realized fast that a player that had been there right with him from the dawn hasn’t been living up to their expectations-- Evgeni Malkin, the Alternate Captain for the Penguins.

He is regarded to be “just as good as his captain, sometimes worse, sometimes better.” As of late, though, he hasn’t been up to standards, even in his own mind. He stated in NHL.com that, “He’s not happy with his game right now,” and that “he vows to improve his game to better the team.” With seventeen games played and only four goals, two of which were power play goals, he’s not doing as well as he used to, nor wishes to do.

Another big name that was lost some time ago was goalie Marc André Fleury. He stayed with his team for 13 seasons, helping the Pens win two Stanley Cups. He’s played over 800 games and 22,000 saves, and played over par when he was with the Pens. He was eventually traded off to a new team, a team that has found much more success in the Knights, and the Pens needed a new goalie. They went through multiple other goalies, and have ended up with their new one this year.

Tristan Jarry is starting off his fifth season as the starting goalie for the Penguins. He’s led them through twelve games thus far, and has secured half of the victories. Usually this would be a below average play level for the hometown heroes, but with the rough road of goalies they’ve been having, Jarry could be a shining pillar of light for the team. Let’s hope he doesn’t burn out too soon, and will keep their defensive side up to par.

Volleyball: Emma Kollar

The following students have been selected to participate in the Heritage Conference Teams. Congratulations to these athletes!!