Familiarity breeds ... success

Tuesday, 08 January 2013 07:11

Written by Dave Molinari

The Penguins have a lot of things going in their favor as the NHL prepares for a lockout-shortened season.

The biggest, of course, is that their top two centers, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, just might be the two finest players in the world at that position.

But their roster stability during the off-season -- forwards Tanner Glass and Brandon Sutter and goalie Tomas Vokoun are the only significant personnel additions since the Penguins' playoff run ended -- should work to their advantage when the games begin.

Not only because coach Dan Bylsma won't have to waste time sticking name tags on sweaters so that players can identify one another, but because nearly all of his personnel will be familiar with the basics of his sysem, even though he said it has been tweaked a bit.

"I think teams that are familiar with each other will have an advantage early, because nobody has 20 games to find an identity," defenseman Matt Niskanen said. "We have to get rolling right from the first couple of games.

"We have that advantage, in that we know exactly how we play, our tactics and what our team philosophy is. I know our guys are prepared and hungry for a good season."