PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) – Mike “Doc” Emrick, the lead play-by-play announcer for NHL national telecasts, joined the FAN Morning Show Friday to talk in depth about the Penguins as they continue to collect points in the standings despite the losses of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

According to Emrick, racking up points early in the season has been a key to the Penguins sustained success. He says many are teams are now in survival mode, playing tougher to just get into the playoffs.

Emrick thinks the Penguins, as they are currently constructed, can win a few rounds in the post-season. He said he believes the moves general manager Ray Shero made leading up to the trade deadline were very important.

During their annual meetings earlier this week in Florida, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and the general managers, decided against a ban on head shots. They thought it might slow down the game and lead to less hitting, instead they opted for tighter enforcement of charging and boarding penalties and increased suspensions of illegal head hits.

Emrick says he thinks that it is a bad decision to leave it up to the players to make a split second decision while playing the game. He suggested the league needs to make the suspension so severe that players will think twice before going after the head of an opponent.

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