Penguins play-by-play legend Mike Lange discusses retirement, new network broadcasts, Sidney Crosby's wrist

While I was filling in for Mark Madden this week on 105.9 The X, I had a chance to catch up with former Pittsburgh Penguins play-by-play man Mike Lange.

The legendary voice of the franchise stepped away from the broadcast booth before this season started. But he is still keeping up with the game in his retirement.

Here are some highlights of our conversation (listen in its entirety here) about what he is seeing from the team so far, when he first suspected Sidney Crosby’s wrist was a problem, impressions of the new network broadcasts and the reception he received from the fans when he was honored last month at PPG Paints Arena.

If he has watched much of the Penguins in retirement: “I’ve watched almost every game. They’ve done fairly well. They are going to have to make a step in the next week or two to try and get some steam. They are sitting in (seventh) place right now. They were sitting in first place the first week and a half. … So they have some work to do (against the Minnesota Wild Saturday) before they get some road games in and try to make a step.”

On the new network broadcasts from ESPN and Turner Sports: “I’m just grateful we get to see it on a regular basis. They’ve done a pretty good job. They’ve got a viewer in me.”

On what’s been missing from the Penguins’ game lately: “They are not scoring goals. They faced good goaltending. But their power play has come back to 13% (26th in the league entering play Thursday). They are going to have to improve on that. I know that they don’t have the personnel they normally would have, but that is an integral part of the game.

The penalty kill has been superb (94%, best in the NHL entering play Thursday). But they haven’t been getting the goal scoring from the big boys that they have left (Kasperi Kapanen, Jake Guentzel). The big boys are going to have to carry their lunch pail with them.”

On the depth of the Eastern Conference: “They’ll work their way back up. It amazes me what this team has done over the years. Deep inside, they have the character and ability to push their way up. But it’s getting tougher because the teams in the Eastern Conference are so good and so improved.”

On goalies Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith: “I don’t have any complaints on the goaltending. When you look at the overall picture of the goals that have been scored against (them), they have been pretty special. They have had a lot of bounces when the puck went in. When you are getting clean breakaways as we have seen the last few games, it’s tough to stop those on a continuous basis. (Jarry’s) job is to give you a chance to win the game. For the most part, he has done that for the Penguins. It is the rest of the pack that is not scoring goals.”

On when he first realized Crosby’s wrist was going to be a problem: “For the last two years, I have said something is not right with Sid. He had to work, and work, and work and he became an absolutely great faceoff man. It has kind of waned a little bit the last two years. And I said, ‘That’s not Sid.’ So I had a feeling it had something to do with — possibly — his hands.

If you are good enough to fight through that, which Sid was, because he puts the team first, then he’ll do it. But I think it got to the point when he said, ‘It’s just not going to go away.’ So they went to surgery and I hope it serves him well.”

On what the return of Evgeni Malkin next month might mean: “If he plays at 80% of what he was, it’ll be a big lift. Just go through the centers at that point. That is where it is won. Sid, Malkin, (Jeff) Carter and (Brian) Boyle (Teddy Blueger). That’s pretty strong up the middle. That’s a big part of a hockey club. If you can surround people to play with those guys, you’ll be tough to beat.”

On the milkshake Lange received from Malkin during his retirement ceremony night on Oct. 19: “It was very tasty. Geno caught me off guard by coming. He is such a warm person that people don’t know about. But he is a funny man. I was terribly blown away by him bringing that up. And I was laughing inside the whole night when he did.”

On the standing ovation he received from the fans: “What are we without the fans? The fans have been precious to me for years and years. They still are. They are the ones who make it tick. It was a moving moment for me. I didn’t get to the tear point. But if there were tears, they would’ve been tears of joy.”