Pittsburgh Penguins

News/views: Maatta will avoid surgery

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

News: Olli Maatta, the Penguins’ starcrossed young defenseman, won’t have surgery on an upper-body injury and instead is expected to be back ‘within four weeks,’ Mike Johnston told us this morning at Consol Energy Center.

Views: This qualifies as bigger news than it might appear. Maatta’s injury is actually a re-injury to his already surgically repaired shoulder, and a second surgery would have put him out for the rest of the season and playoffs. Details aren’t available regarding the diagnosis, but Maatta was known to have sought a second opinion.

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Lightning 4, Penguins 3, final

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Getting ready for faceoff …

Game: Penguins (22-6-5) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (20-11-4), 7:38 p.m., Amalie Arena, Tampa

Goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (19-4-3, 2.00) vs. Andrei Vasilievskiy (1-1, 1.50)

TV, radio: Root Sports, 105.9 the X

Online: GameCenter / Multimedia / Official game notes

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Tuesday 12 Qs: Ben, Narduzzi, Rust, Kang, Troy

Kansas City Chiefs v Pittsburgh Steelers

Alex Smith and Ben Roethlisberger shake hands after the Steelers beat the Chiefs, 20-12, Sunday. — GETTY

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Welcome to Tuesday 12 Qs, our chat that takes place each week at 2 p.m. and tosses the keys to you to do the driving.

photo-150x150The format is simple: Use the comments section below to submit an entry. No more than one per person, please. Submit early if you prefer, and I’ll pick from that batch to get rolling, then monitor new entries once we go live. All topics welcome, as always.

UPDATE 2 p.m.: Away we go …

bernard.diggins: Seriously, Ben Roethlisberger has to be the real MVP of this team regardless of how the players vote, right? What is their record without Ben? Great seasons for each of the big three, but ask Mike Tomlin which player he’d most hate to lose for the playoffs, and he won’t hesitate with the answer.

DK: A lot of variables come into play with a debate like this, and it sounds like the one you’re prioritizing is the position. Almost any team would hate to lose its QB more than any other position. And that would apply doubly for the Steelers, when the drop would take them from Roethlisberger to Bruce Gradkowski.

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Panthers 4, Penguins 3, SO, final

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Getting ready for faceoff …

Game: Penguins (22-6-4) vs. Florida Panthers (14-9-8), 7:38 p.m., BB&T Center, Sunrise, Fla.

Goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (19-4-2, 1.97) vs. Roberto Luongo (12-7-6, 2.24)

TV, radio: Root Sports, 105.9 the X

Online: GameCenter / Multimedia / Official game notes

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Penguins 3, Panthers 1, final

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Getting ready for faceoff …

Game: Penguins (21-6-4) vs. Florida Panthers (14-8-8), 7:08 p.m., Consol Energy Center

Goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (18-4-2, 2.01) vs. Roberto Luongo (12-6-6, 2.24)

TV, radio: Root Sports, 105.9 the X

Online: GameCenter / Multimedia / Official game notes

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Friday Insider: How Blake Comeau was uncovered

Blake Comeau celebrates his OT goal Thursday night against the Avalanche. -- GETTY

Blake Comeau celebrates his OT goal Thursday night against the Avalanche. — GETTY

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Weekly roundup of a lot of randomness from a lot of time around our city’s teams …

fridayinsider• A good scout never stops scouting, per the vernacular.

That might best explain how the Penguins’ front office was able to uncover Blake Comeau, whose overtime goal in the 1-0 shutout of the visiting Avalanche on Thursday night was his 11th of the young NHL season, a total that stunningly matches the number of goals scored in his previous three full seasons with the Flames and Blue Jackets.

All that for a one-year, $700,000 contract, same salary as Craig Adams. and, beyond a doubt, the free-agent bargain of the year in the league.

“Not bad, huh?” Bill Guerin was saying after the game. “That’s a pretty good hockey player.”

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On location: Penguins 1, Avalanche 0, OT, final

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Getting ready for faceoff …

Game: Penguins (20-6-4) vs. Colorado Avalanche (10-13-7), 7:08 p.m., Consol Energy Center

Goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (17-4-2, 2.10) vs. Calvin Pickard (4-5-1, 2.42)

TV, radio: Root Sports, 105.9 the X

Online: GameCenter / Multimedia / Official game notes

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Tuesday 12 Qs: Gilbert, Ehrhoff, Pedro, Troy, Olli

Tampa Bay Buccaneers v Pittsburgh Steelers

Marcus Gilbert was inactive Sunday in Atlanta but should suit up for the Steelers this weekend. — GETTY

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Welcome to Tuesday 12 Qs, our chat that will take place this week at 3 p.m., an hour later than usual. Sorry, had to allow for a doctor’s checkup scheduled for 12:45 p.m. I might be back by 2, but there’s a chance I won’t, and I don’t want to risk it.

photo-150x150The format is simple: Use the comments section below to submit an entry. No more than one per person, please. Submit early if you prefer, and I’ll pick from that batch to get rolling, then monitor new entries once we go live. All topics welcome, as always.

UPDATE 3 p.m.: Away we go …

Bridge: What the heck has Marcus Gilbert not done in his performance and preparation to not dictate a starting role over Mike Adams?

DK: Wow, way to start me off with an easy one!

Sorry, no idea.

I mean, Mike Tomlin did describe Gilbert’s injured ankle as not yet being ‘above the line’ at his press conference today, while at the same time saying he felt ‘positive’ about his return, while at the same time saying he wasn’t sure if Gilbert would hold his starting spot over Adams. So, one can take all of that, stir it in a pot, and still come up with nothing conclusive.

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Column: Where were adults in mumps mess?

Tampa Bay Lightning v Pittsburgh Penguins

Brandon Sutter and the Lightning’s Brian Boyle focus on the puck during a first-period faceoff Monday. — GETTY

DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Allow me, please, to be maybe the one person in Pittsburgh who accepts the Penguins’ explanation for how doctors missed Sidney Crosby’s mumps last week.

It’s an embarrassing mess, both for the franchise and the NHL.

It could still prove enormously costly, pending the health of kids exposed to players last week at Children’s Hospital, as well as others in the daily working environment.

But it also, at the very least, can be explained — and I use the term advisedly – if one considers this chronology put forth by Dr. Dharmesh Vyas, the team physician who oversaw the process:

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On location: Penguins 4, Lightning 2, final

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DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS

Getting ready for faceoff …

Game: Penguins (19-6-3) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (19-9-3), 7:08 p.m., Consol Energy Center

Goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (16-4-2, 2.10) vs. Ben Bishop (16-6-2, 2.31)

TV, radio: Root Sports, 105.9 the X

Online: GameCenter / Multimedia / Official game notes

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