Can't Win 'Em All/ Garden of Horrors/ Damnit

Before you kill your brother, remember this: The Penguins will still be in first place tomorrow night no matter what the Hell happens with the Canadiens tomorrow. It was a game that pissed us off, but we take away a point from a personal house of horrors and distance ourselves from everybody in the East but the Rangers.

LETS RECAP THIS THING

1st Period-
This was not a pretty period by any means, but the Pens held strong, particularly the MAF. He is just spectacular, and right now he is playing at a playoff level, a good sign to say the least. The Pens didn't even come up with a shot until 13 minutes into the period from Crosby, and they made little other noise with limited scoring chances. The Rags get some nice opportunities, but as was said, MAF is on fire right now. No chance. TIME.

2nd Period-
The only real notable recording of this period is that Rob Scuderi screwed up bad. A bonehead play. Jaromir takes a shot that deflects up off of MAF's pads and high into the air, at which point Gomez sends his stick above the crossbar to illegally poke the rubber into the net. Scuds knocks Gomez's stick away, and bats it into the net himself, making the goal count for keeps. It was originally washed out, but overturned after extensive video replay. Lundqvist continues to stonewall the Pens. TIME.

3rd Period-
More of the same followed for the majority of the third. Goalies at their best, a few bad calls, and angry New Yorkers. But then, out of nowhere, the Penguins strike. It was not who you generally expect either. BGL makes a sweet saucer pass to Malone, who does the same with Talbot, setting up a give and go for a Pens tally and a one to one tie. TIME.

OVERTIME-
The following is very upsetting. If you want momentary happiness, go to some porno site instead. Trust me.

Just seconds in, Gonch takes a rather dumb penalty. For the first moments of the PP, things go well.
But then, Drury gets a tough rebound, and does what he does, score clutch goals late in the year. What a player.

Notes-
We are still all alone in first!
The Atlantic is pretty much wrapped up now.
The Bucs are winning right now!
Fleury is playing like a monster.

Peace.

The Third Coming of The Sid

Playing the right way and getting a win- exactly what the Pens wanted to do. The score paints the picture, and the Pens are in first place.

LET'S RECAP THIS THING

1st Period-
Another game begins with much unstopped hockey. Limited whistles. All is not well however. The Rags came out with a bit more step than the Pens did, but the Pens hung around until another Duby, Dubinski, gets one out of a scramble past the MAF. Remember that goal, because it would be all the Rags got.

A few minutes of boring hockey pass.
Then, out of nowhere come the Ducrossas. I said they'd score. They did.
Nobody knows how it happened, but the puck went from Crosby to Dupuis to Hossa in a second, and the puck was in. We are still working on figuring out how it happened, but divine intervention is expected. After all, the puck was invisible until it came out of the net and the game was tied at 1. But we are pretty sure Hossa got it with helpers to Sid and DuBeast.

After another segment of the period, the Rags make the cardinal sin. 5 on 3 time for the Pens.
You knew it was coming. Divine intervention again. Geno gets the puck, and it is in. Nobody saw it fly. Shit. TIME.

2nd Period-
This was a very quiet period. The Pens put the choker hold on the Rags.
Dubinski nearly kills Malkin. May he rot in Hell.

3rd Period-
Rags dominate. They get many shots. MAF is on the ball. No goals.
Talbot works one into the back with under a minute left. Scuderi got a point. Take a drink.

3 Stars
1. MAF
2. Sidney
3. Hoss/Geno/Pascal

Honorable mention to Letang for some big hits and a dominating fight.

Jagoff of the Game-
Dubinski. Skate to the face. Rot in Hell.

FIRST PLACE!

Pens vs. Dish Rags Gameday

That they do.

HUGE game at the Mellon at 12:30 in the afternoon.
With the Habs loss to the Leafs, the Pens have a chance to legitimately take the Eastern lead.
Very interesting that the home team has nearly every matchup in past years between these 2 teams. Hope it continues.

Happy to report that Hossa practiced on Saturday, and he will play tomorrow.
That Ducrossa Line is due for a goal, and tomorrow they shall get it. Hossa from DuBeast and the the Sid.

Jarkko Ruutu has a fire lit in his jockstrap, and it has shown in his play of late, which speaks for itself.

Let's just get this done, and take our rightful spot in first place.

Go Pens.

31

Victory Comes At a Price

Marian Hossa is hurt.  A vicious elbow to the head from Sean Bergenheim is what did it.  We don't know for sure what the deal is- or, I don't because they didn't tell the crowd at the Igloo, but we can only assume the worst.  We have know reason not to.  

On to greener pastures.

LET'S RECAP THIS THING

1st Period-

It begins with some solid checking and goaltending, and with the Ducrossa Line doing what we had hoped.  They worked it with precision, and got good shots on goal, but still no cigar.

Geno came on the ice with Ruutu.  Ruutu with a nice pass.  Geno wheels around, and Duby the Goalie had no idea what hit him, and it was 1-0.

Then some plugger gets a bang bang goal on Fleury with a few moments left in the period.

TIME.

2nd Period-

Things were very quiet for the most part.  But there was a setback.

Hossa seemed to tweak his knee on a powerplay.  He goes back to the room.  We think his season is over for sure.  Thankfully, he comes back on the ice 5 minutes later.

Then Ruutu plants the seed of hope with a shorty.  He breaks in, and wraps around for a stuff in goal.  Beauty, and he has 2 points.  TIME.

3rd Period-

All you must know is that Hossa is hurt again.  Life sucks.  

But BGL scores to make it better.  

Time is up.  I go home like Hossa, dazed and confused.

Pens Isles Gameday. Sid, Me, and DuBeast

                                                                            NOT playing.
No tomfoolery in this preview, just like their ought not to be any tomfoolery on the Igloo ice Thursday night against the Isles. Just in case anybody had any doubts, I do know big words. Yup. Pretty impressive, eh.

ON TO MORE IMPORTANT MATTERS

This is the Penguins' game in hand on Le Habs, so it is essential to win it. With a win, the Pens take sole possession of the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Since the Pens hold all the tiebreakers over Montreal, that is a huge step in securing the number one seed.

With the mediocrity of the opponent, the Isles, and the game on home ice, this will be a win.
With Sid and Pascal in the lineup, it becomes a blowout.
I hate to sound cocky, but vengeance is in the air.
Look for another 7 goal night.
Ducrossa Line.
What a name.
I think....
Peace

Bring Back Mike Lange!

http://bringbackmike.com/
Check them out.

The Sid Is Back. He feels young again. Kidding.

Sid and Dupuis are in tomorrow. Let's do it boys.

Bigger goals. BUT WE ARE IN!

If you are over 14, take a drink now.  The Pens are in the playoffs, and they are, in my opinion the class of the Eastern Conference.  Marc-Andre Fleury is a monster.  

Some thoughts to open:

Fleury is the goalie now.  Pensblog says that this game decided where he stands on the totem poll of NHL goaltenders.  He just beat Marty Brodeur 2-0, and he looked good doing it.

I love Conks, but MAF is just a better goalie.  THANKS TY.  You helped.  

Now it is time for MAF to finish the deal, and I want a Cup.

Sid was out, DuBeast was out.  So what?  This team can deal with it.

Pascal is in on Thursday.  Sid should be as well, but we will see.

LET'S RECAP THIS THING

1st Period:

The game starts with mostly uninterrupted hockey.  Very few whistles in the first period.

Off the bat, we know that this is not like Saturday.  This will be a ball buster.  It is tight.  The game was very boring for some time.  Fleury is just out of his mind.  Marty is too.  Then, out of the blue, a force of human nature, Ryan Whitney, yes him, takes a dish from Sarge in the corner, and he feeds Ryan Malone in front.  Automatic.  Wow.  That is 1-0.  Marian Hossa is busting his rear end back on plays.  Kelly Clarkson gets owned.  TIME.

2nd Period:

This also begins much like the first.  There is little action and few whistles.  When there are whistles, the Pens wind up losing faceoffs.  That is the one bad issue here.  Adam Hall would be nice to have, but he is useless everywhere else, so he should remain a scratch even if he gets helathy.  A bit less than midway through the period, some jagoff Brookbank gets his first NHL goal, or so we thought.  Letang ran another jag into MAF, so the goal was waved off.  This was really a horrendous call.  Tough shit Devils.  We'll take it.  Marian Hossa is still backchecking his ass off.  Ruutu and Clarkson are still fighting each other.  Clarkson is so soft. TIME.

3rd Period:

Period 3 was one of those periods that will make this team better for the playoffs.  It served as a nice warmup for when the Pens play a team that actually has offensive talent.  All period long, the MAF was peppered with shots.  Some were blocked, and some went high and wide.  But when they did get on net, he made sliding saves across the crease that were just sick.  Big Gill is ferocious when he clears newbies out from in front of the Pens net.  Watching the 6 foot 7 Big Gill manhandling the tiny Brian Gionta made my evening.   Ensuing this was Kelly Clarkson trying to get beat up, picking fights with guys who eat guys like Kelly Clarkson.  Hossa is still playing solid defense.  He gets his reward.  A gift empty netter comes his way.  He deserved it.  Nice to see him score.  And then it was over.  The Pens are in the playoffs.  Get some.

3 Stars

1. The MAF- He is a top 6 NHL goalkeep

2. Marian Hossa- His speed is legendary.  What a defensive player.

3. Bugsy- He can make you look silly sometimes.

Jagoff of the Game- David "Kelly" Clarkson.  What a cheap little puke.  Trying to fight Gill.

Notes :

This is MAF's job.  

Nate McLouth is the Bucs center fielder.

My dad is going to Carolina tomorrow.

Clarkson will soon be killed on the ice.

This was the best team win of the year.

Recap will come late on Thursday.  I am going to that one.

Peace.

That was no fun. Pens lose to the Isles.

Too bad.  That was one of the worst losses of the year, a pathetic showing at best.  Not to say by any means that it ends the season, but it is just very disappointing to lose by that score to such a pathetic team.  It is disgusting to me.  But, life goes on.  The Pens play the Devils tomorrow for a shot at total control of the Eastern Conference.  Sidney Crosby is one day closer to his return, and we are still the number two team in the conference as it is.  

RECAP THIS THING

1st Period:

The Isles come out flying in the first few minutes.  Some jagoff takes a penalty, but the Isles capitalize on poor awareness from the Penguins.  Okposo sends one ahead to Richard Park who rips one past Conks.  Not a terrible goal, but I wonder if MAF would have stopped it?  Moments later, Mr. Sykora does his thing, scoring on Dubielwicz.  Tyler Kennedy, who was the worst player on the ice, feeds a little dish to Syk, and Syk just doesn't miss from there.  Easy.  A rocket shot.  TIME.

2nd Period:

For the first few minutes, the teams trade dumb plays, but then the puck is turned over at the blueline to Bill "Fossil" Guerin.  Fossil rips one top right corner on Conks, and the game seems to turn right then and there.  A few minutes later, during a Sykora penalty, Sean Bergenheim picks up a poor rebound in front, and he flips it to the twine for the simplest goal of his mediocre career.  Conks? TIME. 

3rd Period:

After a netmouth scramble in the first few minutes of the period, another mediocre career, that of Trent Hunter, gets its goal.  Conks was just plain bad.  Hunter goes wild.  Act like you have been there once or twice?  Anyway, the Pens get a few PP's, but they were all for not.  Good chances, but Wade Duby is just strong right now.  It's sad, but I say screw it.  Tomorrow night is another huge game with the Devils.  Just win baby, just win.  

3 Stars:

1. Duby the Goalie

2. Bent Hunter

3. Letang!

Jagoff of the Game- Duby the Goalie.  He was great, but I prefer scoring goals!

Notes:

Notice a theme.  MAF wins when he plays.  Conks just loses now.    VOTE MAF!

Duby not only has a great name, but he could be a starting goalie on many teams

The Devils game will, in fact, decide whether or not we get the top spot in the division MAYBE?

Ryan Malone is still a man.  

While I hate Steigy, this Versus crew just sucks.  At least give me Emrick and Edzo.

Win tomorrow and nobody will give a damn about this loss.

LET'S GO PENS!

Pens Isles Gameday. TIME TO CLINCH.

Oh how things can change

On Monday night on Long Island, Nassau County I suppose, our Pittsburgh Penguins have an opportunity to obliterate the "magic number", and finally clinch for good, a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Now, clearly, there are bigger short-term goals, like the top seed in the Eastern Conference, but clinching would give this team a safety blanket heading into the last handful of hockey games before the year ends. Among the reasons clinching the spot tomorrow is of the essence:

a) Goaltending. MT will have a few short weeks to rotate goalies a little bit, and give Flower a bit of a rest before the playoffs, not tremendously, because we still want the top seed, but if MAF can sit one or two more, he will be ready in full force for the playoffs in April.

b) Sid. He should be fine, but he can take it easy maybe in practice, and not stress that ankle.

c) I JUST WANT TO WIN!

Down to business, this game is more than likely to mark the re-return of El Sid, making it that much more important.
May ask why it is so crucial? I'm thinking the top 2 lines for near the duration of the year, starting tomorrow, will be THESE:

Malone-Malkin-Sykora/ "The Steel City Line"/Line 1A
DuBeast/Crosby/Hossa/ "The Ducrossa Line"/Line 1B

Please tell me what you think about "Ducrossa" as a corny name for that line. It's a start, anyways.
Emphasis on the line combination's featuring of Sidney and Marian. Those could both be girls names, but not today.
Sidney and Marian are straight-up men. Monsters, if you will. On this night, we see the true worth of Ray's investment. We know how good Hossa and DuBeast have been. But if the ultimate destination is to be reached, Hossa and Crosby will need to make it rain together, and I expect that they will. Those are two of the best pure players in the game, and Pascal DuBeast has been nasty. Just nasty.

I can see it now...
"Crosby works on Hunter on the left board, feeds DuBeast, over to Hossa, back to Crosby for the redirect.
Scratch my back with a hacksaw! The Penguins lead 7-1 in the third!" (Lange. The game is on Versus and I dislike Steigy)

The Isles just plain suck. They have nothing to play for. They suck, after all. Go for the jugular, gentlemen.

Let's Go Pens.

Tampa's Mascot.

Damnit that is cool. Thanks to Going 5 Hole.

Screw Pitt. They suck anyway. PENS WIN.

Check it out. The one glitch is Dupuis had 2 points Not 3. I was flipping channels with the NCAA's. Sorry.

Firstly, screw the Pitt Panthers. They are just absolute chokers. Forget them.
Anyways, the real team in the city is, of course, our Penguins. Exploding tonight for 7 effortless goals, really it was that easy.

AND AS FOR THE PTF RECAP.......... There are a few glitches. I was flipping channels a bit, but I saw replays of what I missed.

1st Period:

It didn't take long. You knew it wouldn't. Ruutu is on fire, and when he gets passes from one Marian Hossa, and maybe some Devils defenseman helps out with a Backstrom impersonation, the puck usually will go in the net. 1-0.

Shortly thereafter, on a Pens PP, Madden saucers one over to little Gionta, who scores the goal of the year on his backhand out of midair.  Solid for a 1 all tie.  Time expires.

2nd Period:

A few minutes in, on a Devils PP, Pascal DuBeast takes advantage of an errant giveaway, and works with Malone in the 2 on 1 for Bugsy's goal.  He is automatic these days.  2-1.

Not much else to scream about, but MAF is pretty good right now.  He is unbeatable. 

Time expires.

3rd Period:

I lost count of the score very quickly.

Staal Tactic makes some sick move on some jagoff D-man and gets hooked up on his way to the net.  Clearly a penalty shot, but the refs disagree.  WTF?  The Pens are pissed, but they get over it quite quickly.  Only seconds into the advantage, Whits hits Gonch with a pass.  

Gonch takes a wicked wrister on Marty, and Bugsy was in front.  Yup.  3-1.  Now I lose count.

Hossa, who had 3 nasty assists, works on a winger on the boards, and hits DuBeast down low.  

Pascal is a player.  Bank shot.  Goal.  5-1.

Then Geno strikes.  Wicked goal here.  Congrats Geno on 100 points and more.

Weekes has come in by now for the surrender.  But we hate the Devils.  It becomes a party now.

Before we can even blink, the puck is in the net.  Geno, you amazing force, you.  

I turned to Pitt for 15 seconds, and Malkin scores.  Crazy.  101 points.

The "Steel City Line" is just incredible.  Malone, Syko, and Geno: 8 points, 5 goals.  Damn.

Geno hits Sykora with a pass out front.  Too easy.  THAT'S ALL SHE WROTE.

3 STARS:

1.  Malkin

2. Hossa

3. Dupuis/ Bugsy

Jagoff of the Game:  Zajac's hit on Gonch was disgusting.

Pens Devils Gameday. Video Style.

Biggest game of the year. Let's go Pens and Pitt.

And as if this team needs anymore.........

My Video Recap of the Day

Steel City Sweep.

One helluva day in the Burgh.
The Pitt Panthers beat Oral Roberts by a mile in the NCAA Tournament First Round.
The Pens take out the lowly Lightning 4-2 at the Igloo.
Pitt played at 3.
The Pens at 7:38.


PENGUINS
Starting off, let me just say that Jarkko Ruutu is a straight-up beast. His goal was life-changing, and his play with no stick, moving the puck up the ice and setting up Talbot for a near goal was beastly, plain and simple. And I hate soccer.

PITT
Starting off, let me just say that Levance Fields is a straight-up beast. His double-double was life-changing, and his assists, moving the ball downcourt and setting up Gilbert Brown for alley-oops were beastly, plain and simple. And I love the NCAA's.

PENGUINS
It all began sometime in the first period when Jarkko buried the aforementioned goal with blood gushing from his face.
He was high sticked, and he bled severely, drawing a penalty. He puts home the Orpik rebound.

PITT
The Oral Roberts Eagles hit a few longballs and stay close to Pitt, but the Panthers tie up going to the timeout.
Then Pitt begins to pull away. It becomes a big, big lead midway through the first half.

PENGUINS
Vinny Lecavligay puts home a cheap one on Fleury. Nobody's fault, just a bad break on the goal.

PITT
This game is just a blowout. Over at halftime. Levance Fields continues to be a monster.

PENGUINS
The play continues to be boring. Then the big line gets out there. Geno is given time and space. Yup. Goal. Easy.
We seem to notice that Hossa is really awesome. What a player he is. No points, but he dominated the ice. He's a man.
And Dupuis is just solid. Always plugging away. Atta boy Pascal.

PITT GAME IS OVER AS IT IS A BLOWOUT

PENGUINS
First of all, I suck for missing these goals. I flipped channels VERY QUICKLY to check Duke vs. Belmont. '
I barely blink. I turn back to FSNHD, and I notice that the score is now 4-2.
The replays show awesomeness in both goals for the Pens, and cruddiness in the one for TBL.
Staalsie gets one from Pascal DuBeast, and Sykora does his thing with Geno, who did his thing as well.
Kuba gets a weird one on Fleury, but that would be all.
At the very end, with the empty cage, Geno passes ahead to Hoss with 2 seconds left.
Tragicly, Hoss loses track of time and doesn't score, negating a point possibility for Geno, but who cares.
WE WON. Twice. Hell yeah.

Notes.
PITT has a chance to do something great in this tournament.
The Penguins are cup-worthy right now
Marian Hossa is great. No points but he's a man.
Dupuis is great too. Solidity.
Letang is the same.
And so are most of the guys on this team
Iceburgh needs to watch his weight.

3 Stars of Pitt Game
1. Levance Fields was nasty
2. Gilbert Brown can dunk
3. Dejuan Blair, class of Schenley

3 Stars of Pens Game
1. Jarkko Ruutu, life-changing. I wanna be him.
2. Evgeni Malkin, it still doesn't get boring watching him get points
3. Sergei Gonchar, just never makes mistakes these days

HUGE GAMES OVER THE WEEKEND. Pitt plays Michigan State.
Pens MAMMOTH game with Devils for first place in East.

Lets go Pittsburgh.

Pens Bolts Gameday

Oh how things can change, especially down in the state of Florida.
Not only have the recent champion Miami Heat tanked it this year, but the Tampa Bay Lighting is the worst team in the East.

No Crosby tonight, but nobody really figures to need him against that sorry bunch.

Good luck to Pitt in their game today against Oral (not Gary) Roberts.

Sorry for the shortness of the preview, but I have to go now.

Tale of two teams. WE LOSE.

Awful game tonight. Screw everything I wrote in the pregame. The season goes on, and I am very optimistic still about our hockey club, but the D+ efforts will not cut it. Something about playing at Madison Square Garden just really seems to mess the Penguins up. Kind of like it used to be against the Flyers at the Forum. To lose a game in this fashion is not fun for anybody. Hossa and Dupuis were solid, and we are all reminded of what a P.O.S. Sean Avery is. What a dumbass.
The Pittsburgh Penguins blew an opportunity to position themselves first in the East and blew it, now well behind the Devils.
We can only hope that the showing will improve against a team with nothing to play for in TBL on Thursday. It better be.

(sighs) RECAP TIME.

1st Period-

Five minutes in, the aforementioned jagoff Avery picks up a rebound. Conklin was awful with it, letting a long slapper carom directly from his blocker to the tape of Avery who scored the easiest goal of his sad life, until later in the game.
I really hate Avery, and have a great nickname in mind for him, a women's reproductive organ, but unfortunately my folks read this blog too, so I'm going to have to pass on that one. A few minutes later, Callahan, who nobody's ever heard much about, somehow finds another rebound and scores a cheapie on Conks. Time expires soon after.

2nd Period-
.
Not much happened for the first few seconds of the period, but then Sean Avery showed us why he is still a JV player.
He makes a terrible line change, leaving Jarkko Ruutu for a breakaway, where he is golden. Backhander. Goal.
Before we could stopping laughing at Avery and marveling at the last goal, Dupuis (who is everywhere you want him to be, according to the Pensblog guys) and Marian hook up to set up Staalsie for a sleek little flick to the twine for a tie game.
The rest of the game was quite regrettable. Some jagoff gets a turnover on a dumb pass from Whits, who was disgusting tonight, and breaks in for a goal. Conklin never has a chance. Time expires.

3rd Period-
All you need to know is that Sean Avery scored another crap goal on a rebound from Conklin. We cry as he does his very feminine fist pump, and pretends that he practices it a lot. He doesn't, actually. Conks had his worst game of the year.

5-2 Final.

3 Stars.

1. Marian Hossa. Class of the Pens tonight. Generally, I would choose the guy who scores 2 goals, but I hate Avery
2. Brandon Dubinsky. He threw his body around well and set up some things.
3. Henrik Lundqvist. He was unbeatable for all but 2 minutes.

Jagoff of the Game- Avery. Need I write more?

Pens Rangers Gameday

New York is burning. (not September 11, so please don't be offended. that was tragic, in all seriousness).

In a past year, like maybe a few months ago, the Penguins came into the Garden for a few games only a few weeks apart.
One game was one of Recchi's final as a Penguin, a blowout loss. The other was, well, a blowout loss, 4-0 I think.

In a past life, I would not feel so optimistic that the Pens were going to walk into Times Square and stroll out with a win.
But somehow, I feel confident in out guys on this day. Sid or no Sid, this team just wins. They just win.

I'm going to use intangibles as my primary argument for this one.

a) This team is just on fire. The Rangers too, but does anyone really think they can lose right now.
b) Conks is in net. Not a knock on MAF at all, but Conks has dominated on the road this year, and is unbeaten vs. the Rags.
c) HOSSSSSSSSSSAAAAAAAAAAAA. DUUUUUUUUPPPPPPPPPPPUUUUUUUUIIIIIIIISSSSSS. GILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL. They weren't here before.
d) 7 goals per game over the last two. Now we get Malik and Roszival. Wow.
e) The Garden has been good to this city. Maybe not a Pitt fan, but hey, it's still carma.

Gary Roberts would seem to be sending us a message from above.

Lets Go Pens!!!!!!!!

Pensblog. Those guys are just good at Photoshopping.

Why we love life. WE WIN.

The Mellon Arena seems like a pretty nice place to play hockey right now for our boys.

Today, of course, in front of another sellout, the Pens KO'd the Cryers 7-1.

RECAP TIME.

1st Period.

It starts fast and hard. Lots of hitting and hard shots for us all. The Pens take a questionable penalty for too many men.
In time, it is a sound kill, and the score stays at 0-0.

Then Geno strikes. He takes a drop from Sykora, and then winds all the way around the zone, leaving Jason Smith in his wake. He backhands one that should never go in. Then we remember, Marty Biron is in the net. Sneaks through. 1-0.

Before we can blink, Pascal Dupuis has the puck coming in for a two on one with Sykora. Dupuis with a beauty of a dish. 2-0.

We get a little scrap from Malone with Cote. Geno almost goes Zednik on us.

Time expires. Wow. This should be fun.

2nd Period.

This one starts quick as well. Tyler Kennedy and Talbot make a nice little play. TK wraps around and shelves it for 3-0.

Knuble and Thoresen (may he rot in Hell) work for a quick 3-1 Philly marker. Tough shit.

Geno builds it back from Syko and Gonchar. Tip in on the doorstep.... too easy.

The moment of the day comes seconds later when Hossa humiliates new goalie Nitty for his first as a Pen on a wrister.

We see some more chippiness.

Time expires.

3rd Period.

Richards takes a run a Connor James in the neutral zone, prompting Minard to take him down. Richards may rot in Hell.

Minard goes to take care of him, and both are tossed out.

Sykoraaaaaaaaaa! Goal. Big shocker. Wrister in the slot from Geno.

And then, ........... Hal Gill scores. Nobody knows how, but we believe the opponent had something to do with it.

End game.

Such an easy win today.

Jagoff of the Game: Thoresen and Richards can rot in Hell together.

3 Stars:
I AM NOT EVEN GONNA TRY. THIS WAS A TOTAL TEAM EFFORT LETS GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Penguins Flyers Gameday

Sunday, the Penguins take on a desperate, terrible, and pathetic bunch of drug users in the Filthy Cryers at Mellon Arena.

One would think that this should be an easy game to win, and they are right. Philly Sucks, and Hossa is playing!

Even with no Sid or perhaps Talbot, this team is head an shoulders above Philly.

The Cryers lost today, blowing a game in the final minute to Andy Ference and Boston, a pathetic display.

Expecting to see MAF in the cage, but maybe not.

Storybook? Hossa returns. How many points? 3 I think.

This will be a win. This team will not letdown at home against such as shitty opponent.

Blowout in the Burgh. WE WIN.

First of all, the Pens are in first place in the Eastern Conference and flying high.

Also, the Sabres are a JV team, not so worthy of a playoff appearance after all, it would seem.

The PTF Summary!

1st Period-

A few minutes pass with little action. That all changes when Dupuis outlets to Kennedy springing a breakaway and a ridiculous finish from TK to make the score 1-0. The Pens make some nice plays, but cannot score for the duration of the period. Obviously, Conks was on the ball for the period. He made the routine saves, and there were a lot of them. End period.

2nd Period-

It starts out with Big Georges further demonstrating his growing uselessness by throwing an elbow into the face of some druggie back behind the play. When BGL was tossed and 5 minutes were put on the board for him, we all thought Buffalo would at the very least get a shot. They didn't. The Pens controlled the play, getting chance after chance, but Hal Gill couldn't finish. Still, I was very impressed with Gill's showing. Sydor has a shot redirected by Taffe for a quick 2-0 marker.
Then Gonch strikes with a wicked wrister top shelf for another goal to make it 3-0. Conks is strong. End period.

3rd Period- By now, we realize that this is absolute domination.

It begins with a bang. Malone and Sykora work a nifty give and go for one of the easiest goals we have ever seen. 4-0.
Sadly, the defense seemed to soften a bit after that, realizing the game was well in hand.
Buffalo gets a few quick goals to cut it to 4-2. It didn't matter.
Sarge takes another big shot from the point, and Geno tips it back in. Yup, Geno is, in fact, good.
Jordan Staal had a solid game. He makes a fine pass to Chris Minard for another easy goal. More to the story.
Minard has toiled in minor hockey for years, and he rarely plays when in the NHL. I nearly cried seeing his toothless smile as he was commended for his first ever goal. Oh happy days. Sabres get another- who gives a damn?
Letang scores on a beauty. Thibault came in for this one.


Points-
Dupuis- 2 assists
Kennedy- 1 goal, 2 assists
Taffe- 1 goal
Sydor- 2 assists
Letang- 1 assist, 1 goal
Gonchar- 1 goal, 1 assist
Whitney- 1 assist
Sykora- 1 goal, 1 assist
Malone- 1 assist
Malkin- 1 goal
Minard- 1st ever goal
Staal- 1 assist
Stone- 1 assist

Jagoff of the Game- Ryan Miller is just not as good as he used to be. Dismantled.

3 Stars.

1 .Kennedy
2. Gonchar
3. Dupuis

Honorable mention to Sydor, Letang, and Minard, but a great night for all concerned.

Don't worry, Sid and Hoss play on Sunday!
Tied for first!
Lets Go Pens!

Gameday. Pens and Sabres.

Just got back from the Mellon- my Lebo Devils vs. Bethel Park. Triple OT loss. I watched with my friend Jimmy and the son of Michel Therrien, who is actually a real nice guy. Anyway, the loss was devastating.

Now the Pens and Sabres face off at the Igloo tomorrow. I was listening to Madden interview Talbot in the car, and was impressed with the hilarity of the interview.

No Syko, Mad Max, or Hoss tomorrow, but hopefully all on Sunday will be back.

Conkblock is in the cage, as he owns the Sabres.

Just hope nobody pulls a Backstrom- otherwise- we'll be fine!

Lets Go Pens!

I was there! PENS WIN 4-2! Helluva game.

Well, that was fun. Sorry for not posting a gameday and a late recap, but I was in DC for the game lacking my computer.

I'll get to it.

1st Period:

It starts out with a lot of hitting. AO polishes Geno off on the boards, but then some druggie takes a dumb penalty and puts the Pens on the PP. No goal but a solid powerplay nonetheless. Ovechkin is good. He takes a few hard shots on the Flower but all were flown from distance with little chance. We all see early that MAF is on the ball today. He stops a few more for the period.
Physical play aplenty as Ruutu lays out a Craps player behind the net. Solid hit. The millions of Pen fans in attendance, myself included love it. Time passes. NO SCORE after one.

2nd Period:

The Craps come out firing. They get a few good shots but MAF doesn't seem very beatable.
Eventually, Alexander Can't-Make-Semin makes a pretty nice move on Geno at the top of the circle and fires one on net. The puck gets tipped and to our shock it is 1-0.

But we would rebound. A minute or so later, Jeff Taffe gets it in his own end and rushes it forward. He then realizes that Geno and Sykora are with him. He can't believe it. A few minutes later, before anyone can say "Quidditch," the puck is in with Syko getting the tally. Nice tic tac toe goal.

And then it came for Sid. He gets a rebound from Gonchar. He puts it home.

Hal Gill takes a "penalty" on a terrible call. Then Orp takes one. The STD guy, Semin, then gets the Crapitals back even with a powerplay marker. I was getting Diet Cokes. Sorry I missed that one.
The bathrooms at Verizon Center are disgusting.

3rd Period:

Fast forward to 30 seconds left in the game. The score is still 2 apiece.

The USS Hal Gill (see Pensblog) slaps one hard from the point. It caroms into the corner. El Sid picks it up.
Spinorama. One hand pass. Puck suspends in time for a moment. Niklas Backstrom, our new friend, inexplicably has whacked it into his own cage. Dumbass!!!!!!!!! Good for us. We in the stands went wild! Empty Netter.

Hockey game is over. I fly home happy.


Jagoff of the Game- aside from the Pens fan on the scoreboard wearing a Jagr jersey, revised to say JAGOFF was easy.
The jagoff of the game is Backstrom. I love him for it, but WOW. He just gave it to us. What a guy. Swede. He'll be fine.

3 Stars.

1.Fleury- fantastic effort.
2.Sid- numbers speak for themselves
3.Geno- see comment for Sid

Honorable mentions to Hal Gill and Dupuis for great efforts. No Hoss, but he'll be back Wednesday at home. See you later.

Can't win 'em all. Get over this one. 5-2.

For the sake of God, could somebody leave me a comment and tell me how in the hell we just lost like that to the Panthers.
This is a very sub-par hockey club the Pens played tonight, and they were absolutely blown away in every facet of the game. This sucks serious sack right about now.

Now, I'm not going to start ranting and say the season is over, because that is far from the truth, but how can we beat the teams in the playoffs if we can't put up a reasonable fight against one of the worst franchises in all of pro sports. Pathetic.

Ryan Whitney reminded many of us what a waste of time and money he is, as he found a way to miss three empty nets at separate points in the hockey game. Disgusting.

The Kid played well, but did little to distinguish himself outside of an assist on the Letang tally in the second.

Not a whole lot positive to say tonight. We have two days to regroup and bounce back against the Craps.

The Crapitals game recap will come a little late, as I will migrate to the nation's crapital for the game to see Hoss in the flesh.

Jagoff of the Game- Ryan Whitney. Wasn't he supposed to be good? Terrible.

Three Stars:
1. Anderson, Panthers goalie, played beyond his name
2. Weiss, scored a goal and was all over the ice
3. Letang, one of the only visible Pens on the rink tonight

Notes- Fleury won't play Sunday. That's all.

Let's Go Pens. Bounceback for us on Sunday. Keep moving forward.

Game 69. We should be playing Philly, eh?

Roadkill

All joking aside, the Pens have a chance to sweep the season series with the Cats and further eliminate them from postseason play. The Zednik incident has not been a rallying point for them, and their record has suffered. Coincidently, today, the commisioner of the OHL, Dave Branch, made neck guards mandatory. I hate neck guards but can't argue with the logic.

Anyhow, this is one of those games that you hope will be a 5-1 romp or something to that effect, but usually winds up a 2-1 win. See the Tampa Bay recap. Sid is back again of course, and also of note, the Staal Tactic returns without missing a full game, a nice thing to hear at this point.

The Panthers really don't have many high scorers, with Ollie Joke-In-En as their only proven goal scorer. Sorry I had to do it. Showing some love for the Florida defense, a few seriously misled drug addicts sit back along with Bouwmeester, the top player on the defensive corps by a comfortable mile. Advice to Sid, Geno, and co........shoot the puck. The goalie of the Kitties is named Anderson. Sorry again, but that won't cut it in this league. Sounds like a soccer player. Horton and Weiss used to play for them I guess, but those two would seem to have fallen off the face of the earth at this point.

Ovechkin lit it up again on Thursday against the Sabres, so Geno again has his work cut out for him. Time to score 6 points now.

Prediction- A Pens win. Closer than you all think. 2-0. Bold, just bold.

Sid should play 20 tomorrow and forever.

A lot of folks on 1250 ESPN and TSN's "insiders", Pierre and Mackenzie, have preached to us all lately that Sidney Crosby shouldn't rush into anything. They also say that King Michel should be putting him on the ice for only a few shifts per period until he is "100 percent". That is the biggest mistake Therrien could make going into the playoffs, aside from not calling back up Goligoski.
What the Hell did Goligoski do to merit a demotion to WBS. 2 points in 2 games is pretty damn bad, after all. And for a ROOKIE DEFENSEMAN, pathetic. Yeah right.

As the boys head down the stretch run towards the playoffs, it becomes obvious to me that Flower is the man who will take us to the finish. Conks has saved the year, and will have an eternal home in Pittsburgh sports lore for his action in the cage, but he is not the one to win a cup.

It is also obvious that Sid is fine, and MT certainly should not cut back his ice time. He was the fastest man on the pond, or melted pond, last night in Tampa Bay. If he slows down, maybe sluggishness kicks in a bit, and he loses the kind of jump he had last night. He is a pro, and knows his limitations. He knows he has none at this point.

Time to keep the foot on the gas pedal.

Good to have him back. We get the win 2-0.

Tonight was a demonstration of a good team doing what a good team has to do to win games on the road in environments reminiscent of their own personal hellhouses. To know what a different bunch this is than those of years past, look at the numbers in Florida. The Penguins had not come out with 2 wins down there in a many a year. 3 for 3 pushing 4 now.

More importantly, the Kid was back. Sorry for no earlier post but I was not around to write it.

Anyways, here is the PTF recap:

First Period
It all started when 87 hopped the boards for the second Pens shift of the game amid a thunderous roar from the many Pens faithful who turned out for the game. Crosby immediately excited us, but he missed on a little redirect from Talbot in front.
Just went wide. A few minutes later, Sid gets a breakaway but is robbed by Mike Smith, the recent goalie tradee from Dallas.
Talk about penthouse to outhouse. Can you say Mark Recchi? Sucker. But he was solid in this one.

Second Period
Not even much to say. The Bolts get a few wide open nets, but they miss on every easy chance. Nobody longer needs an explanation as to why they are the worst team in the East. They couldn't even complete a pass. Fleury made the saves when the Bolts did manage to put it on net. Some real slick stops.

The Last
The first action of note comes when Lecavligay gets it on a breakaway up ahead. But MAF was there. Solid.
With under 3 to go, Sid pivots towards the net. He throws it in front, and Max (don't call me Maxime) Talbot puts it home.
Then Talbot makes another fine play at the point with seconds remaining, stripping Lecavligay of the biscuit, and going to Geno who ends it with the empty netter.


And remember..........
Jagoff of the game: O'Brien of TB. He is just plain bad.
The 3 Stars, IMO.

1. Fleury
2. Talbot
3. Crosby

Honorable mention to Letang and Pascal the Rascal.

Good night.

The sky is afloat. WE WIN.

Well, what a difference a day makes. Yesterday, we thought this team was nothing without our injured stars. Today we do not think that at all. The Pens did what good teams do today. They played a crumby game, but they won a game they had to win against a terrible team. MAF was solid in his return, and excellent in the shootout.

It started well, with two tough goals in the first minute and eight seconds of the game. But it got harder. The ATL's played some inspired hockey, with Army taking center stage. But we persisted at least to get the game to the shootout.

In that shootout, the Pens saw that the trade for Hossa was just fine, as all Crusher does at all is score in the shootout. You see, when MAF stops him, you know he is worthless, because MAF usually sucks in shootouts.

Letang scored the only goal. WE are in first in the division. Shove it.

Watcha gonna do?

Game 67-Goligoski-Will he score? Maybe. vs. Thrash

Yesterday, Le Habs beat the Devils to move into the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The Pens lost to the Sens, as you know, to fall a whopping 2 points out of the conference lead. While we all like to be pissed when we lose, the sky has not fallen.

You see now, if the Pens win today, they will tie with the Habitants for the top seed in the conference with 81. Granted, the Habs have a game in hand but watcha gonna do? I will make the bold prediction today that the Pens will win by at least two markers.
There are a variety of reasons for this but mainly
a) It is a home game. We are gold at the Mellon, plain and simple
b) Atlanta just sucks. They are awful.
c) Mryon Cope- the towels will be out in full force
d) We have a chance to jump back into the East top seed
e)Goligoski! Love that name. 67th game of the year. GOAL!

Colby and Christ Man are coming. Marc-Andre is baaack! I love you Conkblock, but time to let somebody else give it a shot.
Those two will platoon from here on in, with Sabu in the press box.

If I wanted to predict a score....it would be 5-2 Penguins win, but I don't because numbers are so hard to get exact.
Just a Pens win for you. Lets go boys. We still have a shot to win it this year.

Sid and co. are one day closer than they were yesterday.

You gotta be kidding me. PENS LOSE. 5-4 Check out this picture of Sydor

Well, today was a reminder to all of us that Sidney better get back on the ice. Oh yeah, Roberts too. And Scuderi, and Hossa, and Whitney. Without those guys, Sykora, Malkin, Malone line must carry the team entirely solo, and Hal Gill is left with the ability to play 20 minutes a game, and Gonchar too. Gonchar was one of the goats in this one- his mindless double minor essentially cost us the game. Sydor sucks too-kicking the puck into his own godamn net. Pathetic. Conklin was also awful, reminding us all that while we love him and he has saved the season, he is not good enough to be a long-term #1 goaltender, and certainly not good enough to take us to a championship. The first two goals were the result of a Conklin bad rebound, and a terrible giveaway on the boards. The third from Alfie was all Conks and his lack of desire to go after the puck as it slid in on him. I wish Errey and Steigy would shut up and stop blaming it all on fatigue-NHL goalies have to make some of those saves.

On a more positive note, the aforementioned line of Malkin, Syko, and Malone was amazing. Malkin is just a freak, with his freakish goals and sick passes. The way Malone grinds in front is what this team needs, and has needed since Stevens left. Sykora is finally playing to his potential. Geno and his line were the only bright spots, as well with Goligoski. Stay up here now. Now it would seem that we are left to hope for a Devils loss tonight to the Habs to keep it close in the Atlantic.

Bottom Line-When you are careless with the puck, and Conks is the goalie, you are going to give up goals. He ain't Pat Roy.
What to fix-Stay out of the friggin penalty box. How hard can it be?
Therrien- Bench that fat loser Hal Gill and use Goligoski long term. Once Whits gets back, somebody's got to go-Gill.
Tomorrow vs. Colby, Crusher, and the Thrash at the Mellon. Win.
Asshole of the game-Daryl Sydor-what a joke.

Gameday-Penguins at Senators-Game 66-New Site Debut-Murray Photoshop from Pensblog

Well, this is the first entry of the new site, moved over from the old blog, so it should be fun....
Anyway, this is one of the biggest games of our season. It would appear that every time a big gun has gone down, though Hossa will be back soon, this team has shown resiliency and bounced back in a big way. Today, the Pens have a chance to catapult back into the top spot in the conference and keep a reeling Ottawa team on the bubble. So, this is a big game.

The Sens were once the class of the NHL, but they are reeling. This would seem a chance to kick a team while they're down.
We are in a position to make something special of the season, and these are the games we have to win.
Lets Go Pens. Hossa, Sid, Roberts all back soon.

Brian Murray has taken over again as the coach of the Sens. Pensblog's JT had a nice little piece on that.

To hear this man's "SPEECH IMPEDIMENT"...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzpNyO63b6g