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Staying power - 10-29-09

Think about this for a moment. The last time the Penguins had a lineup in a game of consequence that didn't include Evgeni Malkin, John Leclair, one of the final mistakes of the Craig Patrick regime, was still a member of the club.

That's how long Evgeni Malkin's consecutive streak was (or still is technically). The last 254 regular season games the Penguins have played have seen Evgeni Malkin take the ice. He hasn't missed a game since sitting out the first four contests of the 2006-07 season due to a shoulder injury.

And when you compare Malkin's streak to the other active streaks on the roster, his ability to stay in the lineup (as well as Jordan Staal's) despite the threat of injuries, illnesses, suspension, trades, etc. has been nothing short of remarkable:

Player Consecutive
Games
Evgeni Malkin 254
Jordan Staal 232
Pascal Dupuis 46
Brooks Orpik 45
Matt Cooke 43
Chris Kunitz 42
Ruslan Fedotenko 38
Kris Letang 33
Sidney Crosby 29
Bill Guerin 29
Craig Adams 12
Mark Eaton 12
Alex Goligoski 12
Jay McKee 12
Mike Rupp 12
Martin Skoula 3
Marc-Andre Fleury 2
Eric Godard 2
Chris Bourque 1
Chris Conner 0
Sergei Gonchar 0
Brent Johnson 0
Tyler Kennedy 0
Maxime Talbot 0

(Photo: Abelimages/Getty Images)

Posted Oct 29 2009, 05:00 PM by Seth Rorabaugh

Comments

Disgruntled Goat wrote re: Staying power - 10-29-09
on Thu, Oct 29 2009 5:18 PM

The longer a streak goes on, the closer it is to ending.  (See: Viggorish, Hidden.)  Keep your head on a swivel Staalsey.

Brando wrote re: Staying power - 10-29-09
on Thu, Oct 29 2009 6:36 PM

Pretty interesting numbers.

Does this list include healthy scratches?  I seem to remember Dupuis being a healthy scratch here and there down the stretch last season...but according to those numbers...maybe it was more towards the beginning.

And what about Eaton?  If he only has a 12 game streak...that means he didn't play in game 7 last year.  That can't be...can it?  Am I forgetting something?  Same with Craig Adams....he was definitely on the ice in the final seconds of game 7.

Brando wrote re: Staying power - 10-29-09
on Thu, Oct 29 2009 6:41 PM

oh wait....regular season games.

still....eaton and adams were scratches for the last game of the season?  healthy scratches?

if FSN had those player introductions last year, I wouldn't be having such a hard time right now.

"Mark Eaton, THE University of Notre Dame....."

Previews: ‘Kid Line’ back for Oilers; Devils aim for road win No. 6 | Lancilo USA wrote Previews: ‘Kid Line’ back for Oilers; Devils aim for road win No. 6 | Lancilo USA
on Thu, Oct 29 2009 7:10 PM

Pingback from  Previews: ‘Kid Line’ back for Oilers; Devils aim for road win No. 6 | Lancilo USA

IllegalCurve.com » Blog Archive » Nightly Hockey Hits: Top ten worst shootout attempts, Ovechkin calls himself a ‘hit-and-run player’, Playoff wins are a bad stat, homerism gone too far at RDS, Is the bubble about to burst in Colorado? wrote IllegalCurve.com » Blog Archive » Nightly Hockey Hits: Top ten worst shootout attempts, Ovechkin calls himself a ‘hit-and-run player’, Playoff wins are a bad stat, homerism gone too far at RDS, Is the bubble about
on Thu, Oct 29 2009 8:13 PM

Pingback from  IllegalCurve.com  » Blog Archive   » Nightly Hockey Hits: Top ten worst shootout attempts, Ovechkin calls himself a ‘hit-and-run player’, Playoff wins are a bad stat, homerism gone too far at RDS, Is the bubble about to burst in Colorado?

JimBibbySweat wrote re: Staying power - 10-29-09
on Thu, Oct 29 2009 10:36 PM

Seth: I think Ryan Malone might disagree with your assessment that John Leclair was a mistake.  

Seth Rorabaugh wrote re: Staying power - 10-29-09
on Thu, Oct 29 2009 10:41 PM

JBS, I would argue Ray Shero thought it was a mistake as they basically dumped him.

I understand Leclair showed Malone some things about playing the position and he respected Leclair, but Craig Patrick signed him expecting the 1996 version of John Leclair. Unfortunately it was the 2006 version and it was a very good version.

JimBibbySweat wrote re: Staying power - 10-29-09
on Thu, Oct 29 2009 10:53 PM

Admittedly, Leclair was no more than a complementary player who'd seen better days, but he did put up 22 goals and 51 points in 73 games for the Pens in 2005-06. The next year father time ran out on him, but I personally wouldn't single his signing with Pittsburgh out as a mistake.

BigBill wrote re: Staying power - 10-29-09
on Thu, Oct 29 2009 11:57 PM

Signing Leclair and having the Pens finish close to last in 2005-06, enabled them to sign Staal. Most teams are not willing to tank a few seasons to get the high 1st round picks. It worked for the Pens. Unfortunately, this method does not work for the Pirates.

Previews: ‘Kid Line’ back for Oilers; Devils aim for road win No. 6 | Sports News Images and Videos wrote Previews: ‘Kid Line’ back for Oilers; Devils aim for road win No. 6 | Sports News Images and Videos
on Fri, Oct 30 2009 7:43 PM

Pingback from  Previews: ‘Kid Line’ back for Oilers; Devils aim for road win No. 6 | Sports News Images and Videos