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The big news from yesterday for the Penguins was not their 5-3 loss to the Blue Jackets and it was not Jussi Jokinen’s hat trick. Unfortunately the big news was that Tomas Vokoun had to undergo a procedure in order to loosen a blot clot in his pelvis region.
Vokoun noticed swelling in his thigh area and was taken to the emergency room where they then administered a procedure to thin out the blood clot.
In 2006-2007 Vokoun went through a similar situation which forced him to miss the rest of the season. He suffered from thrombophlebetis which is related to blood clotting. This medical condition also was located in the pelvis region.
Blood clots are no joke and if left untreated can cause significant health problems that extend way beyond somebody’s ability to play sports.
First and foremost I wish Tomas Vokoun a safe and speedy recovery. If hockey is in the cards for this year, great, if not, so be it.
On top of the on ice abilities that Vokoun has brought to the Penguins it is also his locker room presence which has had a positive impact on the other Penguin players. Vokoun is highly respected in the room and this news is sure to hit hard with the players.
As for the on ice impact for the Penguins, they are losing a quality goaltender whom I believed should have started the year as the #1 goalie in Pittsburgh. Even if the Penguins decided to go with Fleury as the #1 guy to start the year, Vokoun was fool proof insurance plan to fall back on. With the Vokoun blood clot situation the Penguins now have no choice but to hope that Marc Andre Fleury steps up and provides quality goaltending.
The good news is that Fleury has been able to provide decent enough goaltending in the regular season throughout his career. Last season Fleury had an even strength save percentage of .927% which is more than enough to get by. On the flip side Vokoun was at .940% which was 3rd best in the NHL last season.
Even if Fleury is able to carry the load he will still need some nights off over the course of the year, as it presently sits the Penguins do not have a capable proven backup to provide that relief. I do not view Jeff Zatkoff or Eric Hartzell as legitimate NHL goaltenders at this point in time and I don’t think the Penguins should try to take their chances with them either. The fact that Marc Andre Fleury is a question mark at this stage of his career is already a problem, I don’t feel as though the Penguins should have two goalies with big question marks over their heads.
There is a guy on the market who I would look into before Zatkoff and Hartzell, Jose Theodore. Is signing Theodore the most ideal scenario I the world? Nope, but it should be cost effective and should provide the Penguins with an NHL experienced backup. For the record Theodore and Fleury have identical even strength save percentages from 2010-2013 in the regular season (.922%).
During 2011-2012 when the Florida Panthers iced a competitive team , Thedore’s ESSV% was .928%, more than acceptable.
If you have any concerns over Theodore not being at any on ice training camps so far this year, don’t be. He was honing his skills over the summer as this video proves:
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As far as my thoughts from the game yesterday I thought that Jussi Jokinen did exactly what he needed to do to keep his name in the conversation for the top 6. I still favor Bennett because of the speed that he provides but Jussi Jokinen is a damn fine option as well. The truth of the matter is that they will probably share that duty throughout the year and there are worse scenarios for the Penguins to be in.
While Jokinen may not be as fast as Bennett he is a smart guy and here is an example during his third goal on how he can create time and space for himself:
Jokinen is able to time his cut to the middle of the ice after he beats his backcheckers to the neutral zone. James Neal does a great job of drawing the strong side defenseman into him. Because of Jokinen’s angle and timing of the cut Neal can make a low risk high reward tape to tape pass that allows Jokinen to build speed through neutral zone.
Also assisting the play is Evgeni Malkin who you do not see in the screen on the right. Jack Johnson has now left the entire middle of the ice open for attack and the Penguins wasted no time in exposing that.
Jack Johnson is never able to recover and he treats the situation like it is a 2 on 1 instead of the 2 on 2 that it is. Jokinen’s shot beats Bobrovsky and the game is tied 3-3. Even though Bobravsky should have made the stop on Jokinen, this play was because the Penguins exposed the Blue Jackets neutral zone with speed. Something that they never did against the Bruins in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Olli Maatta had another solid performance and I am at the point where I would like to see him stick around for the 10 game tryout portion of the year. Its not because I think that the Penguins will keep him up for the whole year, but because I want him to experience as much as he can at the NHL level before he inexplicably has to be dumped back down to the junior hockey level where he has literally nothing left to prove.
If that means Despres gets bumped to WB/S for the short term, so be it. Maatta is the top prospect and this experience is great for him.
Safe and speedy recovery for Tomas Vokoun
Thanks for reading!
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