Pittsburgh Penguins 2011-2012: A Season of Keyboard Smashes

This season was full of...well...keyboard smashes. Good ones and bad ones.

Let's revisit some after the jump.


The season started with high expectations, but also with a sense of uncertainty. Evgeni Malkin was back, and was thrown yet again into the leadership role since Sidney Crosby was still on the road to recovery from his concussion. Also, there was still some worry as to what James Neal was going to do in his first full season as a Penguin.

In the first game of the season, James Neal came out swinging. His goal on LOLOLOLOLuongo wasn't pretty, but it sure as hell opened the flood gates for a 40 goal season. Along with his play and the warlike play of Matt Niskanen, people don't even remember what number Alex...uhh..whatever wore.

Good keyboard smash. d;fjsadkfljsadfklajdsf;

Also early in the season, the announcement that Sidney Crosby was cleared for contact came. The internet pretty much exploded. Twitter broke. ESPN was covering it live. People were searching for pictures to make sure his helmet was the same color as the teams. It wasn't til a month later on November 21st the Sid came back.

Another good keyboard smash. ewfnca;m.

Chills. 

Although his return didn't last long the first time, the team seemed to keep moving along. It wasn't like the season before, when their two top scorers were out. Evgeni Malkin put the team on his back from the first game of the season. Malkin, who had a career high 50 goals, pretty much destroyed the league in the regular season. There were points were no defensive pairing in the league could contain what became known as "Malkamania"....or just borscht and acid. Some of the goals he scored....man.

More good keyboard smashes. cmlakse[awmds. 

Shades of...you know who.

df;asdjf;askdlfasfsadfasd. 

Now for some bad keyboard smashes. 

There's a few that come right to my mind. The losing streak. The media blowing up some locker room controversy. The sketchy goal tending at points. The defense throwing up all over themselves. 

All = [oqewriewofka vdmkvbndfm;dskfdsaklmsd;kfasdfasd. 

But with all of that, the team still finished 4th in the east, with 108 points and 51 wins. 

The playoffs were something that will be on our mind as fans for awhile. The series against Philly was just...something. It pretty much guarantees that we'll all be watching some 4-1 Pens lead against the Islanders in October and have no sense of security whatsoever. After Game 3, everyone had a weird feeling. But watching the team battle back to win 2 games showed a lot. It showed the team found something inside of them, but they dug themselves too big of a hole. IF the Pens hold on to win that Game 1, they win the series. But they didn't. 

But that will pass. Winter is coming and the Penguins will play again in October. This wasn't the season everyone expected, but it's nothing to be ashamed of. 

A few awards (not that they mean anything): 

MVP (of the team and league): Evgeni Malkin. Geno did more for this team than any player did for theirs in the league. Simple as that. 

Unsung Hero: Pascal Dupuis. Career high points, career high goals. Just a huge season overall.

Most Improved: Matt Cooke. Just a great player to watch over the season. The way he changed his game was phenomenal, and the time he spent on Sid's line was ridiculous. He also scored this goal: 

Finally, Player to Watch Next Season: Simon Despres. What a player. His work in the playoffs was terrific, and it most likely earned him a permanent spot in the Top 6. The team seems to like him, too.

163 days.

Let's Go Pens.