Goalie enjoyed time here
Ottawa’s Condon had a short stint, but is flourishing
Mike Condon joked that every once in a while he has to look down and see what sweater he’s wearing. It has been since college that Condon played in the same city two years in a row, and he has played for three NHL teams since the start of 201516.
Condon, now a goaltender for the Ottawa Senators, was with the Penguins for 10 games at the start of the season while Matt Murray had a broken hand. He played just once, the third period Oct. 22 in Nashville, Tenn., stopping all seven shots he faced.
“Highest save percentage in Pittsburgh Penguins history,” Condon joked Monday after a morning skate at PPG Paints Arena. “You can use that. Lowest goalsagainst, too. I’ll always have that to tell my grandkids about.”
Condon, of course, doesn’t have grandkids, but he does have a wicked sense of humor and joked that he should have a tribute video at the first TV timeout. “I’m getting one, right?” Well, no. But he has found a good fit in Ottawa. With Craig Anderson in and out because his wife, Nicholle, is battling throat cancer, Condon, who served as the backup Monday, has given the Senators some steady minutes.
He’s 3-1-1 with a 1.66 goalsagainst average and a .944 save percentage.
“You want to go where you’re wanted, where you can play and where you have an opportunity,” Condon said. “They gave me an opportunity to play. I’m just trying to make that opportunity worthwhile.”
That’s not to say Condon felt unwanted here. Quite the opposite, really. He praised the organization’s handling of him, along with goaltending coach Mike Bales and Marc-Andre Fleury.
Condon probably realizes more than most how brutal of a business professional hockey can be.
“Was sad leaving a good group of guys like that,” Condon said. “Nothing but fond memories of my time there.”
It might have been sad, but it definitely a difficult departure logistically speaking.
Condon was traded Nov. 2 in Anaheim, Calif., a few seconds after he got off the team bus at Honda Center for the Penguins morning skate there.
“I didn’t quite make it to the locker room,” Condon said. “I think I got about 20 yards off the bus.”
Then Condon returned to the Penguins’ Newport Beach, Calif., hotel to pack his things, flew out of Los Angeles International Airport, connected through Toronto and got to bed around 3 a.m. the next morning. He awoke at 7 a.m. because Ottawa played Vancouver that night at home, arrived at the rink at 7:30 and wound up stopping all 27 shots he faced.
“That was a crazy day,” Condon said. “I’m happy it’s over with and things are settling down. It’s nice. I like it here.”
Streak reaches 8 million
The Penguins sellout streak surpassed 8,000,000 people Monday and reached 445 games. It started Feb. 14, 2007, and the Penguins were 285-129-30 (.676) before Monday. Total attendance was 8,009,489 after the crowd was announced against the Senators.
Taking scratches in stride
Rookie Jake Guentzel scored three goals in his first five NHL games before he was a healthy scratch Monday for the third consecutive time.
But even though Guentzel has struggled to crack the lineup, he has not let it dent his confidence.
“It’s good to be here and be around it,” Guentzel said. “You have to learn preparation. It’s good to watch a couple games, see what it’s like.”
The Penguins other scratches were forward Tom Kuhnhackl and defenseman Steve Oleksy.
Another one for Fleury
Fleury started for the third game in a row. Since Murray’s return, it’s only the second time that has happened. The other was Nov. 12-18, although Murray’s evening was cut short when friendly fire from Evgeni Malkin’s stick caused him to have to clear concussion protocol.
“It’s been impacted by his performance,” Sullivan said. “We feel as though he’s had a couple of really strong games in a row. We’re hoping he can continue to play at that level for us.”
Adjustments for Hagelin
Since general manager Jim Rutherford acquired Carl Hagelin, he has played with Phil Kessel the majority of the time. That’s one of the reasons Hagelin said it was so easy to fit on a line with Kessel and Malkin for the third period Saturday against Detroit, as the unit wound up scoring the winning goal.
They began the game together against the Senators.
“When I got to this team, those are the ones that I played with,” Hagelin said. “I feel pretty comfortable playing with those two.”