Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Left winger Ruslan Fedotenko, who was moved to the top line with center Sidney Crosby and right winger Miroslav Satan midway through the Penguins' 5-4 preseason win Friday at Toronto, remained there yesterday when the Penguins had their first full-scale practice since arriving in Europe.
Coach Michel Therrien said Fedotenko —- like Satan a former Islanders player and free agent signee over the summer —- will remain on Crosby's flank at least through the exhibition game Thursday against Jokerit in Helsinki, Finland.
«The last game, I talked with Sid and said I wanted to make that switch for the second half of the game to see how those guys fit in," Therrien said. «I liked the result. We're going to try it again on Thursday, but for opening the season [Saturday against Ottawa], I'm going to wait a little bit and see.»
Fedotenko said Crosby is a winger's best friend.
«He's a great passer," he said. «He sees the ice well and has great skills, so you just put yourself in good position to be aggressive to the net and 99 percent [of the time] he will get that puck right on your tape.»

Федот кажись прописался в первой тройке Пингвинов

The Associated Press: Sidney Crosby set up three goals in leading the Pittsburgh Penguins a 4-1 win over Finnish club Jokerit in a preseason game Thursday.
Evgeni Malkin and Ruslan Fedotenko scored first-period goals for Pittsburgh and Tyler Kennedy and Pascal Dupuis added two more in the third.
It was the Penguins' last exhibition before playing the Ottawa Senators in a season-opening double header in Stockholm, Sweden, this weekend.
“This was not exactly what we are used to,” defenceman Brooks Orpik said. “The rink was bigger, and it was not a physical game.”
Playing on the bigger ice used internationally, the Penguins used their physical superiority on the boards to control play in the first period, taking the lead after nine minutes on Malkin's shot from the blue line on a power play.
Crosby got his first assist on that goal and then fed Fedotenko for a quick shot that made it 2-0.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: The sooner the better, although the Penguins aren't holding themselves to any sort of arbitrary deadline for Fedotenko, Crosby and Satan to become comfortable with one another and collectively productive.
When it happens, it happens.
«With different teams, things are different," Fedotenko said. «It's not like, 'for sure in two games,' or 'for sure in 10 games.'
«Hopefully, we can get it as quick as we can.»

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Q: I know the season is early, but what are your thoughts on the makeup of the lines, especially Sidney's Crosby's? I understand Miroslav Satan was acquired to play alongside Sid and I like the move, all things considered. But why is Ruslan Fedotenko on that line? I always thought of him as more of a checking-line type player. Why did Pascal Dupuis fall off that line? I know he isn't your natural first-line guy, but he played well during the playoff run.

Eric Gesk, Belle Mead, N.J.

MOLINARI: Although there's every reason to believe Satan can be productive on Crosby's right side — his power-play goal during the Penguins' miserable 2-1 overtime loss to New Jersey Saturday showed that he still can be opportunistic around the net, a critical trait for guys who play with Crosby — the search for someone to play on his left continues. And might not end anytime soon.
Fedotenko was plugged in there late in the preseason, but Dupuis, who got considerable work in that role after being acquired from Atlanta at the trade deadline and opened training camp there, got time there during the third period against the Devils.
Dupuis is an important member of this team because he is responsible defensively and can be used in a variety of situations, but he does not have the offensive skills needed to take full advantage of Crosby's playmaking abilities. The trouble is, neither do any of the other left wingers currently on the Penguins' depth chart.
All of which means that Janne Pesonen, an accomplished scorer in his native Finland who was the final forward sent to the Penguins' farm team in Wilkes-Barre before the regular season began, might well be the best candidate in their organization to produce goals with any regularity if he's placed alongside Crosby at some point in the future.
Until the Penguins come up with linemates who can convert a decent percentage of the scoring opportunities Crosby creates, there will be extra pressure on Evgeni Malkin's line to generate goals. He has the best left winger on the team (converted center Jordan Staal) and, when Petr Sykora is healthy, a right winger with a proven scoring touch. Sykora missed the first three games of the season because of a groin injury, but has spoken optimistically of being able to play when Philadelphia visits Mellon Arena tomorrow night.
The Penguins' third line, which has Max Talbot between Matt Cooke and Fedotenko (or Dupuis), is ideal for the niche it fills, while the No. 4 unit is fine for the limited role it is given. Especially on the occasions when it has an actual winger, not yet another defenseman coach Michel Therrien has opted to play out of position, on the left side. (Although at least when Therrien used Darryl Sydor there Saturday, he wasn't transplanting a guy who has a prominent role in the franchise's future, as was the case last season when Whitney and Brooks Orpik were bumped from their usual positions to the wing.)

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: With Sykora back, coach Michel Therrien overhauled each of his four forward units. Left wing Ruslan Fedotenko played with center Max Talbot and right wing Tyler Kennedy. Pascal Dupuis, who had played right wing with Talbot and left wing Matt Cooke, skated with center Sidney Crosby and Satan. Cooke worked on a fourth-line with center Mike Zigomanis and right wing Eric Godard.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Playing Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin together is Michel Therrien's nuclear option, the one he breaks out only in the most dire of circumstances.
He puts his two best players on the same line only when the Penguins are desperate for offense, usually because they're in imminent danger of losing a game.
That's not the case now. Not exactly, anyway.
The danger now is that if the Penguins (2-2-1) don't begin to generate some even-strength goals, they might lose lots of games.
They enter the game tonight against Toronto at 7:08 at Mellon Arena with just one five-on-five goal —- courtesy of fourth-line center Mike Zigomanis —- in their past four games, during which time they are 1-2-1.
So Therrien has opted to unite Crosby, Malkin and left winger Pascal Dupuis while reconfiguring the rest of his forward combinations in the process.
The other units during a workout yesterday at Southpointe were Ruslan Fedotenko-Jordan Staal-Petr Sykora, Miroslav Satan-Max Talbot-Tyler Kennedy and Paul Bissonnette-Bill Thomas-Eric Godard.

Associated Press: Crosby and Ruslan Fedotenko scored 32 seconds apart during Pittsburgh's four-goal third period and Malkin added a goal and an assist to help the Penguins rally for a 4-1 victory over the Hurricanes on Thursday night.
...
Crosby, the NHL scoring champion two seasons ago, scored only his second goal in seven games by redirecting a shot that knuckleballed several times on its way to the net.
«The linesman asked me right after the goal if I got my stick on it," said Crosby, who was initially wary of the question. «I wasn't sure if it was a high stick, so I wanted to stay away from it.»
Partly because of Crosby's initial reluctance to speak up, the goal was credited to Malkin, but was later changed.
«I didn't really see it. They had a lot of chances and it was just a matter of time," Leighton said. «We didn't put much pressure on them and force them to do anything. We turned a lot of pucks over.»
On the Penguins' next shift, Fedotenko scored his first for Pittsburgh off a pass by Jordan Staal, the brother of Carolina star Eric Staal. Jordan Staal picked up only his third point in nine career games against his brother's team.
«I was trying not to think about it [not previously scoring], so it was nice to get it, I'm not going to lie," said Fedotenko, who signed with Pittsburgh during the offseason.

ALGIR :
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