Bleacher Report - Articles by Wooooo

Penguins-Flyers: Cool Heads Prevail in the City of Brotherly Jokes

Wooooo — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:40:56 -0400

By now you know that when the NHL releases its regular season schedule, people all over the state of Pennsylvania immediately circle the Penguins-Flyers matchups in red ink.

Tonight was the first meeting of the 2010 season between the interstate rivals, and it was everything we expected it to be.

Flyer fans chanted "Crosby sucks;" Jeff Carter only scored goals when Jordan Staal was sitting in the penalty box or on the Penguins' bench; the Penguins' goaltender made key saves at key times in the game; the Flyers' goaltender let in at least two goals he shouldn't have; both teams played with a physical edge; and Scott Hartnell still hasn't gotten a haircut.

Sound familiar? Well, it should.

The "Crosby sucks" chants rained down from the rafters of the Wachovia Center well before the opening puck drop took place.

The Flyers have two things in common with the Washington Capitals: their PA guy is a joke and they are still looking for a big time goaltender.

Oh, and the Pens ended both of their seasons last year. Wooooo.

Debby Briere took a hooking penalty two minutes into regulation and the Pens power play hit the ice.

Before I had a chance to make fun of Briere, he scored two goals, so I'll catch him next time.

The Pens set up shop on the power play and the familiar Gonchar to Malkin combination cashed in in just 34 seconds. 1-0 Pens.

Shortly after the goal, Craig Adams asked Ian Laperriere if he wanted to see his Stanley Cup ring. A fight ensued and both men headed to the sin bin.

In a deja vue moment circa the 2009 Eastern Conference semi-finals, Marc-Andre Fleury robbed Jeff Carter of a goal on the door step.

Briere scored to tie the game, but before the PA guy even knew what happened, Geno picked some joke's pocket at the Flyers blue line.

Malkin circled with the puck at center ice, slipped a pass through two backcheckers to Jordan Staal at the blue line, and sprung Staal on a one-on-one with a Flyers' defenseman.

Staal protected the puck with this body, then went backhand to forehand and beat Ray Emery top shelf to regain the lead for the Pens.

Matt Carle interfered with Malkin at the Flyers' blue line and a scrum ensued. Like 15 penalties were handed out. 2-1 Pens at the break.

Briere evened the score with another quick goal to start the second period, but the Pens bounced right back.

The Flyers fourth line had no idea what to do when they gained possession of the puck.

They failed to get it deep and turned it over at the red line, trapping both of their defenders in the neutral zone.

Chris Kunitz fed the outlet pass to Billy Guerin, who waltzed in alone on Emery.

The effort Emery made at saving Guerin's shot was pathetic to say the least.

Billy goes five hole, making it 3-2 Pens.

A couple of minutes later, the wheels on the Philthy bus started coming off.

Braydon Coburn went into the corner in his own zone, under pressure from Ruslan Fedotenko.

Coburn haphazardly centered the puck, Emery was gazing into the crowd at the other end of the rink, and the puck trickled in between his pads. Four to two Pens, Alex Goligoski gets credit for the goal.

Fleury made two huge saves on Mike Richards and some Finnish/Swedish guy no one has ever heard of to preserve the two goal lead.

Crosby got hit with a tripping call and soon thereafter, Staal took a whack at Timonen, giving the Flyers the two man advantage.

With Jordan Staal in the penalty box, it was time for Jeff Carter to once again pretend he is a big time goal scorer. 4-3 Flyers heading into the third.

If you ever wondered what an acid trip would be like, just watch the third period of this hockey game over and over again for like four hours.

The Pens' Cooke-Adams-Kennedy line came out and set the world on fire.

Cooke, Adams, and Mike Rupp each delivered solid checks to Chris Pronger on the forecheck.

The Flyers responded with an equal amount of aggression.

Malkin went one against the world and the ref swallowed his whistle before he could ring up Pronger for the hook. Weak effort by Emery as he dove to thwart the shot attempt.

Tyler Kennedy dumped the puck into the Flyers' zone and Craig Adams destroyed Coburn in the corner, sending the puck around the wall to Matt Cooke.

Cookie centered a pass to TK, who drove the net hard, and finished even harder, to put the Pens back on top by two goals.

Malkin once again took on four Flyers, picking Coburn out of the crowd to dance with.

Coburn tripped up Malkin and the Pens had a chance to put the game away on the power play. No dice.

Carter scored again after the Flyers pulled Emery. Jordan Staal wasn't on the ice.

Down by one, the Flyers decided to do what they do best: ignore the rulebook and try to win at any cost.

Mike Richards, who reeks of leadership, put his head down and drove to the net.

Untouched by any Penguin, Richards crashed hard into Fleury and ended up face down inside the net.

Hartnell grabbed Kris Letang and the gloves came off. Kunitz arrived on the scene, followed by Pronger.

Somewhere in the heap of bodies, Letang's hand was cut and he headed to the bench, wincing in pain.

The Penguins' announcers speculated that Hartnell had bitten Letang's hand in the crowd of bodies.

Letang, Orpik and Dan Bylsma tried to call the referee's attention to the gash on Tanger's hand, but Hartnell got off with two minutes for roughing.

The final two seconds ticked off the clock and Elvis threw his greasy cheesesteak sandwich onto the ice before leaving the building.

Final Score: Pittsburgh 5 Philthadelphia 4

- Ray Emery...ha ha ha.

- Daniel Carcillo's dirt 'stache is classic Philadelphia. Thanks for the trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, joke.

- You know Max Talbot was itching to come out of the press box during that scrap at the end of the game.

- Malkin was possessed tonight. When he plays like that, he is unstoppable.

- Braydon Coburn is the worst defenseman in the National Hockey League.

- When asked what happened during the altercation with Hartnell during the post game interviews, Kris Letang responded by telling the reporters to "go ask Hartnell, he knows what he did. Go ask him and then tell me what he says, I'll tell you if it's true." What a human.

- Chris Pronger and intimidation should never be used in the same sentence again. What a non-factor. Cooke, Adams, Staal, and Rupp pounded Pronger harder than Jenna Jameson circa 1998.

- The Pens blocked 24 shots to the Flyers' 11.

- Crosby went 21 for 24 in the faceoff circle. Crosby sucks.

- Cooke played 19:15 tonight. He averages somewhere in the ball park of 14 minutes per game. That should tell you what Bylsma was all about tonight.

- Wooooooo.

Let's Go Pens.

Penguins-Rangers: Pittsburgh Begins Title Defense With 3-2 Victory

Wooooo — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 23:48:21 -0400

After a very emotional banner raising ceremony, the 2010 Pittsburgh Penguins were ready to begin their defense of the Stanley Cup against the New York Rangers in the final home opener in Mellon Arena history.

Both teams came out of the gates surprisingly sluggish, but a Chris Drury penalty gave the Pens their first power play opportunity of the new campaign.

If you were around at all prior to last year's playoffs, you'll remember that the power play was often an enigma for the Pens, due largely to the absence of Sergei Gonchar on the blue line.

Just over seven minutes into tonight's action, Sarge reminded us just why we missed him so much.

After turning the puck over at his own blue line, and in front of his own net on the power play, Alex Golijokeski attempted to redeem himself by setting up Sarge with a soft saucer pass to the high slot on the power play.

Gonchar unleashed his patented stationary one-timer from the point while Mike Green marveled at the veteran's power play prowess. Green then threw up on his Reebok's as he gazed down at his bare ring finger and the empty place on his mantle where his dreams of the Norris Trophy smothered the smoke from his fireplace.

Gonch's shot found the back of the net, and thanks to Bob Errey's eagle eyes, we all became aware that Evgeni Malkin had re-directed the shot in front of Lundqvist. 1-0 Pens.

Scoring a goal on the first power play opportunity of the season was huge in so many ways.

A couple of minutes later, Eric Godard and Donald Brashear exchanged pleasantries at center ice. It's hard to say who came out on top, but both men shed some blood, so consider it a good bout.

Chris Drury evened the score at one later in the period by tapping in a nice feed from Chris Higgins.

In recent history, the Penguins have been known to score in bunches.

Tonight's second period was no different.

Kris Letang led a three man rush, splitting Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin on opposite wings.

Tanger drove the net hard and Dan Girardi forgot he was a defenseman and followed Tanger to the corner.

Kunitz threw the puck cross-ice to Guerin, who snuck it in deep to Letang behind the cage.

Tanger fed a soft pass in front to Sidney Crosby, who was trailing the play.

Sid buries it. 2-1 Pens. Unreal play by Letang.

68 seconds later, Golijokeski unleashed a howitzer from the point. He still sucks.

Tyler Kennedy (KENNEDY!) re-directed the puck in the slot and eventually was credited for the goal.

Building off of the momentum change at the end of the second period, the Rangers' best line of Gaborik-Dubinsky-Prospal started flying around.

Dubinsky went around three Penguins in the neutral zone before setting up Gaborik in front of the net.

Gaborik undressed Fleury with a precision shot to pull the Rangers within one. Too bad he'll be on the IR by December.

The rest of the third played out with the teams exchanging chances, but neither finding the back of the net.

The Pens eventually hung on to secure their first victory of the season.

Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has just left the building.

Final Score: Pittsburgh 3, New York 2

—This game was less physical than everyone expected. Mark it down as "shaking off the rust." Tomorrow night should be more up tempo.

—Dubinsky is a beast.

—Gaborik looked very good. If he stays healthy, the Rangers have a chance to make the playoffs. If not, King Henrik will want to kill himself by February.

—The Pens' third line had more scoring chances than your weird uncle Joe on an episode of To Catch a Predator.

—Matt Cooke is going to have a career year. The same goes for Tyler Kennedy.

—Alex Goligoski is a joke. Three turnovers in your own zone? It's not like he hasn't seen NHL action before.

—The Pens are back in action tomorrow night against the other hockey team from New York with that young kid they just drafted.

Let's Go Pens.

2010 Pittsburgh Penguins: Defending a Cup, Bidding Farewell to a Home

Wooooo — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:58:16 -0400

Sometime around 6:30 p.m., 17,132 Penguin fans will make what could be their final entrance into the Mellon Arena to watch the Pens take on the New York Rangers.

Tonight, we begin bidding farewell to the only place we have ever called home.

Formerly the Civic Arena. Currently the Mellon Arena. Always The Igloo.

Seventeen years ago, you couldn't think about the Civic Arena without thinking about the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

You couldn't help but consider it "The House that Mario Built."

You couldn't help but wish Badger Bob Johnson were around to see himself commemorated in the Penguins' Ring of Honor.

Two-and-a-half years ago, you couldn't think about the Mellon Arena without vomiting all over yourself, picturing the bulldozers coming in and Mario Lemieux packing up his office supplies in cardboard boxes labeled "Kansas City."

After tonight, you won't be able to think about the Mellon Arena without thinking about the 2009 Stanley Cup champions.

The Pens will raise their third Stanley Cup championship banner to the rafters tonight before the opening puck drops, and with it, a little piece of all of us who have bled black and Vegas gold since 1992 will be raised to the roof of Old Lady Mellon.

Our home will change, but our hearts, our hopes, and our tears will forever remain in the confines of the place we endearingly refer as The Igloo.

The Penguins begin their defense of their Stanley Cup championship tonight. All of us are going along for the ride.

What will happen?

Don't kid yourself...nobody knows.

Two years ago, nobody was giving the Penguins a chance. They breezed through the playoffs before being stonewalled by the Wings.

Last season, history said that the Stanley Cup runner-up wouldn't get back to the Finals, let alone win it.

The Pens kicked history in the teeth.

So, as we prepare for Old Lady Mellon's curtain call, one thing is certain: It's going to be one hell of a show.

Let's go Pens.

Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia: A Yinzer Visits the "City of Brotherly Love"

Wooooo — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:04:56 -0400

It is often said that an imaginary line runs from north to south, cutting the state of Pennsylvania into two very different halves.

Those who fall on the western side of this invisible boundary often do not have much of an affection for anything, or anyone, that comes from the opposite side.

The same can generally be said for the easterners.

If you’re feeling adventurous, visit the city of Pittsburgh, or one of its nearby western Pennsylvanian towns, then head east on Interstate 80 toward the erroneous metropolis of the Commonwealth, more commonly referred to as Philadelphia.

What you will experience in each location is likely to contrast the other very strongly.

As a native western Pennsylvanian, there are certain things that you take particular pride in.

You likely put Heinz ketchup on everything you eat (if for no other reason than that you have actually seen the relative location of its invention); are fond of the idea of putting french fries, coleslaw, and hot sauce on a variety of sandwiches; commonly utter the word “yinz” when referring to a group of peers and grin as a new acquaintance labors over the definition of this indigenous jargon; and your blood is often tainted with the colors of black and gold.

You also feel a certain comfort in your own community, whether it results from a simple “good morning” offered to you by the cashier at the grocery store, or an unsuspected wave from a complete stranger as you politely allow them to pull in front of you at the McDonald’s drive-thru.

You, in turn, find yourself offering courteous smiles to complete strangers on the sidewalks or casually chatting about Sidney Crosby’s latest overtime heroics to the guy at the next gas pump.

Then, for whatever reason, you decide to visit your sister city to the east, Philadelphia.

Upon arriving in the “City of Brotherly Love” for the first time, you can’t help but be a little anxious to experience the new culture of a previously unexplored territory.

You want to take in all the sights from the Liberty Bell to Independence Hall, you want to meet new people, try new foods, and maybe even learn a thing or two.

So, you head into the nearest Subway to ask a few quick questions about the best way to get around the city and grab something quick to eat.

You lock eyes with the Subway employee, who looks like he hasn’t fully recovered from a long night, but he glances away before you can open your mouth.

You take your place at the end of the four-person line and decide to start some small talk with one of the people ahead of you.

Puzzled by the fact that no one seemed to even notice you walking past them, you wonder if you should attempt to interrupt what seem to be very involved thought processes occurring in the minds of your fellow sandwich seekers.

You decide against speaking out, and wait until it’s your turn to order something.

“Yeah, what’ll it be?” the employee asks.

You tell him you are visiting the city for the first time and you are wondering what the best method of public transportation is.

You also attempt to throw in something about sightseeing, but by this time, his eyes have already shifted to the back of the line.

“Yeah, uh, you gonna order or what?” he replies.

Shocked at his indecency and utter lack of courtesy, you decline politely and exit the store.

You attempt to stop a passerby on the sidewalk, but a “You talkin’ to me?” response once again thwarts your efforts.

After trying in vain to secure some advice from the locals, you decide to navigate yourself around the unfamiliar city.

You’re still hungry, but the image of the sidewalk vendor’s greasy cheesesteaks abruptly dulls your appetite.

You stumble across a visitor’s center and pick up a few maps and tourist guides.

You stroll up to the main desk at the office and ask the teller for a gumband to hold everything together.

She looks at you as if you had just insulted a member of her immediate family and asks “What the hell is a gumband?"

In a Wizard of Oz-like “You’re not in Kansas anymore” moment, you remember that “gumband” is in fact Pittsburghese for the more commonly accepted term, “rubber band”, and you rephrase your request.

Upon receiving the gumband, without an apology for the unreasonable outburst of ethnocentrism, you decide that it might be best not to speak to anyone else for the remainder of your time in the “City of Brotherly Love”.

From the window of the public bus you are riding, you catch a glimpse of Lincoln Financial Field, the home of the Eagles.

The sight of it entices the memory of stories you had heard from men three times your age about watching the Steelers and Eagles battle at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, the only stadium you had ever heard of that actually had jail cells within its confines as an easy solution to the often unruly fans.

You remember hearing Flyer fans boo Santa Claus during his yearly trip to the Wachovia Center and disrespect Mario Lemieux upon returning to the ice after being treated for cancer earlier that same day.

You hear a couple of guys a few rows behind you talking about how “this is the Eagles’ year” and mumbling something about how the current group of Flyers have resurrected the Broad Street Bullies of the 1970s and will be the toughest team to play against come October.

You want to turn around and tell them that penalty minutes don’t win hockey games, nor do they win Stanley Cups, as evidenced by the Flyers' lack of a championship since 1975.

You want to remind them that they could multiply the Eagles’ Super Bowl Championships by 1,000 and still come up with zero.

You want to reinforce the fact that the Phillies may have won the 2008 World Series, but they still fall three titles short of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

You want to boast, and gloat, but you decide to swallow your pride, because deep down inside, you figure they already know, they just won’t admit it.

You arrive at the City Center area of Philadelphia and begin your tour of the historic sights.

You read a sign about Philadelphia cream cheese, only to discover that it was actually invented in New York City, but named after Philadelphia since it was considered the home of “top quality food” at the time.

So the so-called home of top quality food didn’t make any of this food itself?

Continuing on, you come to the bottom of what seem to be a very familiar set of steps.

A plaque reminds you that the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum were made famous by Sylvester Stallone in the first “Rocky” movie.

First cream cheese, now Rocky; does this city not have any real significance?

You come to Independence Hall, which seems pretty realistically significant to you, and of course, the famous Liberty Bell, which you begin to wonder how many Philadelphians believe was rung to signal the reading of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, since you remember the History Channel telling you that the steeple in which the bell had hung had significantly deteriorated well before 1770.

You become increasingly irritated with the unrewarding nature of your trip and become determined to find something positive about this city in which you have just wasted six hours of your life.

You enter a bookstore and pick up a book entitled 1,000 Facts About Philly.

You discover that Philadelphia was once the temporary capital of the United States of America from 1790 to 1800, but you are discouraged to find that Baltimore, Lancaster, York, Annapolis, Trenton, and New York City also shared this distinction in the years preceding Philadelphia.

You read that both the federal and state governments left the city of Philadelphia in 1800, and you derive that they probably had to sit through an Eagles game and chuckle under your breath.

You read on to discover that Philadelphia was named the sixth-most dangerous city in the United States in 2005, which you quickly contrast to Pittsburgh’s distinction of the most livable city in the country in 2009.

This reminds you of the soggy newspaper you tripped over on the sidewalk outside of the bookstore, and you infer that Philly is likely nowhere near Pittsburgh’s ranking of one of the cleanest cities in the country.

Upon reading that Philadelphia was once the second largest city in the British Empire (after London), you suppose that this might be as close to something positive as you were going to find in this city.

On the return trip across I-80, you feel an increased sense of pride.

Pride in yourself, but more importantly, pride in where you come from.

It doesn’t matter as much that Philadelphia sports teams have been toiling in mediocrity for the duration of their existence, or that their cultural icons are fictitious Hollywood characters, or even that they really didn’t invent cream cheese; what really matters to you is that all in all, the city of Philadelphia is a miserable place.

The people were not welcoming, they weren’t even remotely courteous, the streets and sidewalks were far from clean, and the historical sights were a far cry from astonishing.

As you exit Philadelphia county and begin your journey westward, the thought of finally getting home to a bottle of Heinz ketchup, an Iron City beer, and a “yinz have a good time?” greeting from your neighbor never looked better.

Crosby, Kunitz Power Pittsburgh Penguins Past Blue Jackets in Preseason Opener

Wooooo — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 22:46:29 -0400

It's best to begin this inaugural recap of the 2009-10 preseason with a reference not to Sidney Crosby (although that has already been accomplished by the headline of the article), Evgeni Malkin, or Marc-Andre Fleury, but instead with a reference to the man behind the machine, Penguins' General Manager, Ray Shero.

At last season's trade deadline, Shero traded defenseman Ryan Whitney to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Chris Kunitz and prospect Eric Tangradi.

Kunitz proved his worth by effectively skating alongside Sid the Kid for the final portion of the regular season and the Stanely Cup playoffs, but Tangradi never got a shot with the big club.

This season, Tangradi attended the Penguins' rookie camp and impressed many during the Traverse City Tournament.

Tonight, due to the absence of Bill Guerin in the Pens' starting lineup, Tangradi found himself on Crosby's right wing...and he didn't disappoint.

Tangradi displayed both his toughness, and his handiness, by laying a bone crunching hit on Jared Boll in the first period, and setting up both of Crosby's third period goals, further proving that as long as King Shero is dealing the cards, Penguin fans should feel that their team is in good hands.

Marc-Andre Fleury started the game between the pipes for the Pens and allowed three goals on 19 shots.

As we have become accustomed to with the Flower, he was brilliant at times, and lackluster at others. Granted, it's only September 15, so Fleury has plenty of time to work out the kinks and return to his Stanley Cup Finals form come October 2.

The Jackets, minus Rick Nash who didn't suit up tonight, took a three goal lead into the third period thanks to a goal from sophomore Jakub Voracek and a pair from rookie Maksim Mayorov.

The Pens got an early power play in the third period and Tangradi knocked a Sergei Gonchar pass out of mid air with his hand and fed a pass to Crosby in front of the net for the power play goal.

Three minutes later, Tangradi knocked another puck out of the air, against the boards behind the BJ's net.

Crosby corralled the loose biscuit and scored on a smooth wrap around to cut the deficit to a single goal.

The Pens tied the game with just over four minutes to play on a sneaky shot from the former Dallas Star, Chris Conner. Former St. Louis Blues defenseman Jay McKee picked up the assist.

Some joke from Ohio scored on a wrap around to give the BJs the lead with two minutes to play.

The Pens answered back when Mark Eaton fired a shot from the point and Chris Kunitz pounded home the rebound to force overtime.

Forty-four seconds into overtime, Sidney Crosby remembered that he had to get home to catch Jay Leno at 10:00 and fed a crisp pass to Kunitz, who fired a shot over the shoulder of Dan LaCosta to give the Pens the 5-4 overtime victory.

Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has just left the building.

Final Score: Pens 5, Blue Jackets 4 (OT)

Game Notes:

- The Pens out shot the BJs 42-28.

- Mathieu Garon was solid in his return to the Igloo, stopping all 21 shots he faced in just under 26 minutes of ice time. Dan LaCosta is a joke.

- Both Eric Tangradi and 2009 first round pick Simon Despres looked impressive in their Penguin debuts.

- Sergei Gonchar didn't get hurt (insert sigh of relief).

- Kunitz and Crosby look to have picked up where they left off in the regular season last year, setting each other up, but more importantly, finishing plays. Add Bill Guerin to the mix and the Pens should once again have one of the more versatile top lines in the league.

- The Pens host the Leafs on Friday night. Look for a little less Sid and a little more Geno.

Let's Go Pens.

My 2(0) Cents on Patrick Kane, Sidney Crosby, and the National Hockey League

Wooooo — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:11:00 -0400

This summer and offseason has long.

Sean sent this solid video along. It's called the Daydream and it highlights each of the Pens' three Stanley Cup Championships.

Next up on the list, something that is bringing some unfamiliar negative media attention to the National Hockey League.

Blackhawks' star Patrick Kane, whio is 20 years old, was arrested and has pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of robbery and several misdemeanor charges.

This is a joke. Kane allegedly, even though you can't really make this up, hailed a cab with his 21-year-old cousin, who will be referred to as Abel, somewhere in Buffalo, New York, Kane's hometown.

After arriving at their destination around 4:00am, the 62-year-old cab driver informed Kane and Abel that he did not have the additional 20 cents that was due them as change after they had paid their cab fare.

The driver then stated that he was "punched, grabbed by the throat, and had his glasses broken" by Kane and Abel.

The NHL quickly covered its tracks saying that they are "looking into it themselves."

The cab driver's lawyer is now stating that the situation may have been blown out of proportion and reasoning with the media that the two sides "should be able to work things out."

In other words, Kane has agreed to pay this guy a sum of money much larger than 20 cents in exchange for the driver keeping his mouth shut about the situation.

We probably will never find out what really happened, but a couple of things seem wrong in this story.

First of all, what was Kane doing out at 4:00am? Maybe the Buffalo Sheriff's department should have checked Mr. Kane's identification and blood alcohol level.

Secondly, a massive sum of money is obviously involved in the story. People don't get assaulted over two dimes and then have their lawyer tell the press that they think things "can be worked out" if they aren't getting paid to do it.

Third, if this same accusation was made against Sean Avery, he'd already be headed for Anger Management class. Kane will get off the hook.

Now, non-Penguin fans will argue that Sidney Crosby or another young superstar would similarly get off the hook in the same situation. That brings up the question: What is Sid doing this summer?

Ah, that's right, he's hanging out with the Stanley Cup.

Lastly, if you're looking at both sides of the story, the cabbie probably said or did something to upset Kane and Abel.

Guys who have multi-million-dollar professional sports contracts don't beat up old men over 20 cents just for something to do on at four in the morning on a Saturday in Buffalo...or do they?

Well, either way, Sidney Crosby will begin this fall, defending the Stanely Cup Championship.

Patrick Kane will begin the fall waiting for his chance to play on a line with Marian Hossa and knowing that when he does, those two dimes in his locker will become the only silver he'll be looking at for the next 12 years.

Let's Go Pens

Petr Sykora Won't Return to Pittsburgh, But Not Because of Salary Cap

Wooooo — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:40:00 -0400

Petr Gunn didn't have much of an opportunity to live up to his nickname during the Stanley Cup playoffs this season. Lately, though, Sykie has been living up to it in a different way: with his mouth rather than his stick.

In an interview with a Czech newspaper, Sykora told reporters that not only would he not be back in Pittsburgh for another season, but that his relationship with Disco Dan Bylsma has never been good.

"It’s never a good thing when you are coached by a former teammate. On top of that, he used to be a player who drifted around as a fourth-liner. I was younger than him, played on the top line, scored goals, was the little star. Now the roles got reversed, and from the first moment I had a feeling that he let me ‘eat it.’ I honestly say that I have not had liked him even as a teammate. Which does not happen to me often."

A lot of people suspected that Sykora would not return to the Penguins for another season simply because of salary cap issues.

It's highly unlikely that anyone outside of the Penguins' organization saw something like this coming, though.

If you remember, Sykora went public about his distaste for former Head Coach Michel Therrien's bench management earlier in the 2009 season, saying that it was nearly impossible to be productive while playing with different line mates on every shift.

So how does Petr Gunn feel about his imminent departure from the City of Champions?

"I think I had two excellent years there, scored 59 goals and persuaded the previous coach Therrien about my qualities. But this is business, nobody cares about feelings. I’m pissed off; but on the other hand, it gives me more fuel to prove they had made a mistake."

Sykie went on to say that he feels he has two to three years of NHL caliber hockey left in him. He then pretty much guaranteed that he can still score 25-30 goals a year.

Sykora had a good run with the Pens.

The 2008 Pens' second line of Sykora-Evgeni Malkin-Ryan Malone was the best line in hockey for the biggest part of the season.

His overtime goal in Game Five of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals will likely go down as one of the biggest goals of his life.

Sykie will likely be signed to a relatively short-term deal by a team with a sufficient amount of cap space in the coming weeks.

It should be interesting to see how the Mellon faithful welcome Sykora back to the Igloo, next season.

Let's just hope for his sake that he doesn't end up in Washington or Philadelphia.

Let's Go Pens!

Pittsburgh Penguins' Blog Looking for Bloggers for 2009-10 NHL Season

Wooooo — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:20:00 -0400

We've had a hell of a time during our first full season as Penguin bloggers over at Experiencing the Evolution.

But, as with anything, there is always a BUT...

We wish that we could sit down and bust out a post every day, during the season, and the off season, but we just can't.

There is currently only one author working on the blog, myself.

At one point during the season, we had two authors, but unfortunately our second author had to jump ship due to a lack of time.

So, here's where all of you come in.

If you're a passionate Penguin fan, and you've ever had the inkling to start your own blog, or try to latch on to an already established one, here's your chance.

Experiencing the Evolution is looking for at least one more blogger to join the staff for the upcoming 2009-10 season.

As a joint author of the blog, you will be expected to post game recaps and/or previews on a fairly regular (but flexible) schedule, as well as whatever else you want to post about anything Penguin/hockey related.

The only conditions are that you are reliable, easily contactable (we made that word up) via e-mail, willing to commit yourself to the blog for at least the duration of the 2009-10 season and playoffs, and of course, you are a Penguins' fan (preferably a fan prior to the Crosby era).

BLOGGER is extremely easy to learn and to use, so no real previous experience is required, although it would be somewhat beneficial at least in the early-goings.

Remember, this isn't the Associated Press, so we're not looking for a certified columnist, just a passionate Penguin fan. If you're reading this, you have probably already met the requirements.

So, if you're interested, shoot us an e-mail at pensevolution@live.com and we'll get back to you with more details.

As a member of the staff, you'll have pretty much a free run of the site.

Post whatever you want, about whatever you want, as long as it's Penguin/Hockey related.

We hope to hear from you soon.

Let's Go Pens.

Pittsburgh Penguins Release 2009-10 Preseason Schedule

Wooooo — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:34:40 -0400

Perhaps one of the only things that keeps a hockey fan alive during the offseason is looking forward to the start of next season.

This afternoon, the thought of next season became slightly more of a reality.

Per PittsburghPenguins.com, the Penguins have released their 2009-10 preseason schedule this afternoon.

The Pens' six-game preseason schedule is highlighted with two home-and-home series against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets, a road game in Montreal, and will conclude with a Sunday afternoon Stanley Cup rematch against the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena.

The schedule looks like this:

Friday, Sept. 18 vs. Toronto, 7:30 PM

Monday, Sept. 21 @ Montreal, 7:30 PM

Tuesday, Sept. 22 @ Toronto, 7:00 PM

Thursday, Sept. 24 @ Columbus, 7:00 PM

Friday, Sept. 25 vs. Columbus, 7:30 PM

Sunday, Sept. 27 @ Detroit, 5:00 PM

While preseason hockey is hardly much of a measuring stick as to how teams will stack up once the games actually count, it is still hockey, which is better than nothing.

Similar to last season, the Penguins' offseason will be short and sweet.

Before you know it, training camp will be underway, and by the end of September we'll all have a pretty good idea of what the 2009-10 Penguins' lineup will look like.

The matchups against the Leafs and Canadiens should be interesting, considering that both teams have begun relatively large roster overhauls this offseason.

If nothing else, we'll at least get our first look at Hal Gill in a Habs' uniform.

The game against the Wings will be hyped as an early season Stanley Cup rematch, one that will give us a glimpse of which team will have a chance to resume its dominance over the other.

In reality, it doesn't mean a thing.

The Wings and/or Penguins could house three full lines of guys that won't ever make it out of the American League once the regular season gets underway.

Let's Go Pens.

Why Kris Letang Has All-Star Potential

Wooooo — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:16:04 -0400

After the Pittsburgh Penguins parted ways with two of their most proficient defensive defensemen in Hal Gill and Rob Scuderi, it seems that the 2009-10 version of the Pens' blue line will have more of an eye toward the offensive side of playing defense.

Sergei Gonchar, who is without a doubt one of the top five offensive defenseman in the National Hockey League, has manned the point on the Penguins' power play since the 2005-06 season.

While the 35-year-old veteran still provides the best vision and the heaviest slap shot among the Pens' defensive corps, there's a relatively new face on the Pens' blue line that may not give Sarge a run for his money as a No. 1 defenseman, but will surely provide a more than adequate supplement to Gonchar's blue line prowess.

Twenty-two-year old Kristopher Letang will be entering his second full season as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In 2006-07, Letang suited up for just seven games with the big club (registering two goals) while he spent the majority of the season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.

Two seasons ago, Letang appeared in 63 games, racking up 17 points on six goals and 11 assists for the Pens.

During the Penguins' Stanley Cup Championship 2009 season, Letang became a full-time starter in the NHL for the first time at the age of 21.

He responded to the challenge by posting 33 points, scoring 10 goals, four on the power play, racking up 111 hits, and elevating his game at both ends of the ice.

However impressive his regular season numbers were, Letang once again silenced his critics in the Stanley Cup playoffs by leading all Penguins' defensemen with 54 shots on goal en route to posting four goals and nine assists for 13 points during the postseason.

There is no doubt that Letang possesses both the tangible and intangible aspects of an All-Star caliber defenseman.

He is a better puck handler than Gonchar, plays a more physical style than Lidstrom, and is leaps and bounds better in his own zone than Mike Green could ever hope to be.

So what's holding him back?

Well, the most obvious answer seems to be: absolutely nothing.

Letang has certainly benefited from the opportunity to play and learn from one of the game's best offensive defenseman of the last decade in Sergei Gonchar.

He has undoubtedly gained a wealth of knowledge in the "heavy hitting" department from teammate Brooks Orpik.

Going to work and watching Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby handle the puck every day would rub off a little on any normal human being, but for someone who already possesses NHL-caliber talent, the benefits are even greater.

While Letang is still young, and doesn't have the luxury of being a "big name" player, he certainly has the raw talent and the evident ability to learn quickly that should enable him to blossom into one of the best young two-way defensemen in the league.

While Letang may or may not be able to add the words "All Star" to his resume, he has already added the title "Stanley Cup Champion," something that most 22-year-old hockey players can only dream of accomplishing.

Tanger showed improvement in every major statistical category last season, but it was the things that don't show up on the stat sheet that were perhaps more impressive.

His poise with the puck and aggressiveness in all three zones have improved vastly since he first suited up for the Pens as a 20-year-old just three seasons ago.

Perhaps the one thing that Tanger seems a bit hesitant to improve upon is his willingness to shoot the puck.

The fact that he led all Penguins' defensemen in shots on goal during the 2009 playoffs is a promising sign that this will change.

There are many times that Letang has an open look at the net, particularly on the power play, but he opts to defer to either Gonchar, Crosby, or Malkin.

It's not that he doesn't have the ability to put those pucks in the back of the net, but rather, it seems he is just a bit too hesitant.

Once that changes, and it will, Letang should begin to put up very impressive numbers.

So, as the Penguins prepare to defend their Stanley Cup Championship, they will undoubtedly look to Kris Letang to play a bigger role in both the offensive and defensive successes of their team.

And judging by what we've seen from him so far...Tanger will be more than ready to meet the challenge.

Let's Go Pens.

Scud Missiles, Sailing Ships, and Billy the Kid: Penguins' Offseason Report

Wooooo — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:45:52 -0400

As we inch ever closer to the one-month anniversary of the Pittsburgh Penguins' 2009 Stanley Cup championship, the Pens have already begun to undergo what we all knew would be unavoidable changes.

Firstly, Max Talbot underwent surgery today and will miss four to five months.

According to the Pens' website, the surgery was successful, but Talbot will miss at least one, possibly two months of the 2009-10 season.

At least he'll have plenty of time to watch the replay of Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals while he polishes his ring on his living room couch. What a human.

The USS Hal Gill raised its anchor from the depths of the Susquehanna and set sail for Montreal last week.

The Habs signed Gill to a two-year deal, worth just over two million dollars per season.

No one is discounting the importance of having Hal Gill on your roster in the Stanley Cup playoffs; it's his regular season inconsistency that presents a problem.

But when you're the Montreal Canadiens, you don't have to worry about the Stanley Cup playoffs. Whoooooooooooooo.

Yeah, 24 Cups, I know. See yinz in October.

Losing Gill might have been a tough pill to swallow for some Pens' fans, or you might be indifferent on the matter.

Regardless of how you felt about watching Gill cross the border to the north, nobody felt good about watching Rob Scuderi head to the Left Coast.

Scuds has matured from a number three or four defensemen in the American Hockey League to a sure fire shut down d-man, capable of slotting in to the top two defensive pairings on any roster in the National Hockey League over the past four years.

After turning down an offer from the United States Federal Government to be employed as President Obama's lone bodyguard, Scuds accepted a hefty contract from the Los Angeles Kings.

But, you can't blame Scuds for getting paid.

The Pittsburgh Penguins might have been able to pay Scuderi a million dollars a year to play defense.

The Los Angeles Kings are going to pay Rob Scuderi $3.4 million a year to play defense.

It's just too bad we won't get to watch him in the playoffs next year. Whooooooooooo.

Mathieu Garon rounds out the list of the faithfully departed from Pittsburgh this offseason.

Garon signed a deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he will back up this year's rookie goaltending sensation Steve Mason.

Now, enough about those who have left us, what about those who have signed on for another go-round in the Steel City?

The Pens signed forwards Craig Adams, Bill Guerin, and Ruslan Fedotenko in the opening days of free agency.

Adams signed on for two years and took roughly $50,000 less than what he made last season.

Fedotenko took a pay cut to stay in Pittsburgh for another season.

Veteran forward Bill Guerin also signed a one-year deal, and also took a substantial pay cut of roughly $2 million to play what could be his last season in the NHL for the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Penguins' GM Ray Shero also added a couple of new faces to the Penguins' roster since July 1.

Former New Jersey Devil Mike Rupp gives the Penguins cheaper toughness than what resident bad boy Eric Godard is capable of providing.

Due to the Rupp signing, Pierre McGuire has a better chance at suiting up for the Penguins than Eric Godard does in 2009-10.

The Pens also signed Pittsburgh native Nate Guenin as a possible depth defenseman.

Guenin spent last season with the Flyers' AHL affiliate in Philadelphia, so chances are he will need at least a full season to recover from spending every waking hour surrounded by jokes and then trying to play decent hockey.

Realistically, he's probably a nobody.

Shero also struck deals with forward Chris Conner and defenseman Chris Lee in an effort to add some more depth to the Penguins' organization.

Conner probably has a decent chance of seeing some time with the big club, but Lee is most likely headed for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

As free agency progresses, the Penguins still have some work to do.

Petr Sykora and Mike Zigomanis still have not received offers from the Penguins, or another organization since the start of free agency on July 1.

Sykie and Ziggy figure to be the last of Shero's "priorities" this offseason.

Phillippe Boucher's time in Pittsburgh is done. He's too old, too slow, and too expensive to fit into Dan Bylsma's system.

Likewise, Miroslav Satan has probably played his last game as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Satan just doesn't fit into Bylsma's fast paced, aggressive system, and even if he did, he would be required to take a pretty ridiculous pay cut to stick around as a third or fourth liner.

So while the Pens should be busy for the rest of the summer, so will the rest of the league.

People are already saying that every team in the Atlantic Division has gotten better this summer.

The Rags got rid of Gomez and brought in Gaborik. He'll probably be healthy for like 12 games.

Good thing Lundqvist is a beast.

The Devils lost a lot more talent than they gained. Actually, did they even sign anyone? No one has cared about New Jersey since the mid-'90s. At least Brodeur will see the Atlantic Division Championship banner in the rafters of The Rock when he is trying to shield his eyes from the glare of Marc-Andre Fleury's ring.

The Flyers have added Ian Laperriere and Chris Pronger. Ray Emery will likely be their starting goaltender. Former San Jose Shark and second time Flyer, Brian Boucher will be their back up.

Or in other words, the Flyers will be the most penalized team in the NHL and they will be in the top 10 in goals against.

But, they still have Mike Richards' leadership, and that is greater than any number of Stanley Cups. Whooooooooooooo.

The Islanders may have actually improved more than any other team in the Eastern Conference, with the Habs coming in a close second.

Not only did the Isles' pick up John Tavares with the No. 1 pick in the NHL Entry Draft, they also added Dwayne Roloson to back up Rick DiPietro...or to take over the starting job when DeePee has a season ending injury in November.

Additionally, the Isles have been stockpiling young prospects in the recent weeks who, after some grooming in Bridgeport, will likely see some time in the NHL.

Tavares, Kyle Okposo, and Josh Bailey offer a solid tandem of gifted forwards to go along with Mark Streit and Jack Hillen on the blue line and one of the better combinations of goaltenders (at least until DiPietro gets hurt) in the Atlantic Division.

Now, the Isles aren't going to win the division and they probably won't make the playoffs, but it seems as though their days of finishing in the cold depths of the Eastern Conference cellar could be nearing an end.

It's been a rather cold and wet summer so far in Western Pennsylvania.

Apparently it has something to do with the excessive amounts of water vapor being added to the atmosphere as warm air passes over the city of Detroit, MI and evaporates millions of gallons of tears.

Let's Go Pens.

Pittsburgh Penguins: The View from the Top

Wooooo — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:08:40 -0400

No one even knows how long it's been since they witnessed the Pittsburgh Penguins hoisting their first Stanley Cup in 17 years.

Not that it matters anyway.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are World Champions, and until the puck drops for the opening game of the 2009-10 season, that isn't going to change.

Even after a new (or the same) champion is crowned next June, 2009 will go down in history as the year of the Penguin.

The Cup has made its way back to Pittsburgh.

It has taken its dip in Mario Lemieux's pool.

It made its way to Las Vegas for the 2009 NHL Awards Show, where it was chauffeured down the aisle by Evgeni Malkin, Max Talbot, and head coach Dan Bylsma.

It sat idly by while the awards were handed out to the top performers of the 2009 season.

It watched Evgeni Malkin get the snub for the Lester B. Pearson and Hart Memorial trophies.

It also felt a little tingle in its' right side where Geno's name had recently been engraved.

It looked on at the crowd, full of players, coaches, and owners alike.

It saw Brian Burke scouting the room, contemplating how he can make the Toronto Maple Leafs even more irrelevant during the upcoming off-season.

It saw Nicklas Lidstrom, who actually was in the house, despite the general consensus.

When it was time to award the Norris Trophy, Lord Stanley's Mug once again scanned the room for Lidstrom, but he was nowhere to be found.

Rumor has it that he was in the lobby, waiting to shake Sidney Crosby's hand upon his arrival to the show.

Sid never showed.

Zdeno Chara did. Whooooooooooooooo.

The Stanley Cup looked on as Geno accepted the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season.

It wondered if there was even room on Geno's mantle for the Art Ross, seeing as how the Conn Smythe had been there for a week already.

The offseason can be one of the most grueling times for any hockey fan.

Trade rumors, pending retirements, free agency, and contract extensions are fun to read about for a month or so.

The 2009-10 Pittsburgh Penguins may very well look a lot different than the 2008-09 Pens did.

Guys like Pascal Dupuis, Petr Sykora, Miroslav Satan, Mathieu Garon, Chris Kunitz, Bill Guerin, Rob Scuderi, and Hal Gill might be donning another team's colors come September.

Jeff Taffe might once again be centering the Pens' fourth line heading into training camp.

As the beginning of free agency rapidly approaches, the mystique of the reigning Stanley Cup Champions is already beginning to wear off in every city not named Pittsburgh.

The tears flowing out of Detroit will eventually come together to form another Great Lake.

But we've already been down that road.

So, as we approach the offseason, complete with pending free agency and trade talks, it is important to remember to not forget.

Cherish these moments at the top, because as we all know, you might not be here for another two decades.

Let's Go Pens.

17 Years in the Making: The Pittsburgh Penguins' Return to Greatness

Wooooo — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 17:43:54 -0400

When the Pittsburgh Penguins were defeated in the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, no one with a computer or a pen or a job at any major sports outlet was giving them a chance of returning to the Finals the following season.

When Dan Bylsma took over as head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins with just over 20 games remaining in the regular season, no one was giving the Penguins a chance of making the playoffs.

When the Washington Capitals won the first two games of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the whole world was ready to end the debate about who the best player in the National Hockey League was with two letters "AO".

When the Penguins' headed into the Verizon Center for Game Seven against the Caps, no one outside of Pittsburgh expected them to win.

When the Detroit Red Wings stole the first two games of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals on their home ice, people around Detroit were already planning their parade.

When the Pens forced yet another Game Seven, people said that there was no way that Marc-Andre Fleury could overcome his history of choking under pressure to win a game of this magnitude.

No one thought the Red Wings would, or even could, lose to the Penguins on their home ice.

No one outside of Pittsburgh thought Max Talbot would do anything beyond blocking a few shots on the penalty kill and finishing his checks in the corners.

In each of the above circumstances, the Pittsburgh Penguins overcame adversity.

You see, it didn't matter what "no one" thought.

It didn't matter that the Penguins might not have been the most experienced or even the most physically talented team in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

All that mattered was the will and determination of the 21 Penguins who set foot on the ice at one time or another during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Bill Guerin, Petr Sykora, Philippe Boucher, and Hal Gill were playing for what could have been their last chance at raising the Cup.

Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Tyler Kennedy, Jordan Staal, Marc-Andre Fleury, Max Talbot, Kris Letang, Rob Scuderi, and Brooks Orpik were playing for a chance to fulfill boyhood dreams of winning the greatest trophy in professional sports.

Everyone in a Pittsburgh uniform was playing for a chance at redemption.

Marian Hossa wasn't even playing. Whooooooooooooooo!

Let's make one thing clear, the Detroit Red Wings did not lose the Stanley Cup, the Pittsburgh Penguins won it.

17 years ago, the Lemieux-led Penguins hoisted Lord Stanley's Chalice for the second time in as many seasons.

You can be sure that not-one Penguin fan thought it would be another 17 years before they would do it again.

The 2008-09 season was not the Penguins' most prolific season in team history.

However, 2009 has now become an integral part of their history.

The 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins will forever be the Stanley Cup Champions.

No one can take that away from them, or from us, the fans.

Pittsburgh has once again become the self proclaimed city of champions after the Steelers and Penguins both won their respective championships in 2009.

Which is nice for now but doesn't really matter after the celebration is over.

Next season, 29 other NHL teams will take the ice again, looking to cash-in on what could be their last chance at greatness, or fulfill boyhood dreams of their own.

New names, new faces, and new successes will flourish.

The Penguins might not even make the playoffs.

But none of that really matters.

All that matters right now is that the Pittsburgh Penguins are once again World Champions, and 60 minutes on a muggy night in June has made the last 17 years well worth the wait.

Relish this moment, Penguin fans, because you don't know if it will be another 17 years, or longer, before you get the chance to do it again.

Then again, it could happen in 2010.

We learned a lot about the Pittsburgh Penguins during this season of adversity.

We also learned a lot about the Detroit Red Wings during these Stanley Cup Finals.

We learned that the Wings' veteran presence and advantage in experience that aided them in dismantling the youthful Penguin presence last season actually worked against them this year.

The Wings looked tired from Game Three until the final buzzer in Game Seven.

We also learned that Nicklas Lidstrom can log all the ice time in the world, but leading a series in ice time doesn't win championships.

After this series, it has become quite clear that Lidstrom has become the most overrated player in the National Hockey League.

Not saying he isn't a great talent, and still one of the best defensemen in the league, but this guy is no Rob Scuderi. Sorry, Jack.

We learned that red beards are a joke and that Chris Osgood would be a second string goaltender on the majority of NHL teams not named the Red Wings.

We also learned that Max Talbot scored big goals in big games.

Max finished what he started back in Game Five of the 2008 Finals during last night's Game Seven, but he was quicker to praise his goaltender, and his lifelong friend, Fleury, than he was to comment about his two goals.

We learned that Mario Lemieux will have his name etched on the Stanley Cup for the third time in his career.

We also learned that the moving vans might be pulling up in front of the Gretzky residence in Phoenix before the end of summer.

We learned that Ray Shero truly has the Midas touch. The moves he made during the off season and at this season's trade deadline were nothing short of controversial, but once again, Shero proved his doubters wrong.

I could go on forever, listing everything we learned from these Finals, but the sound of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin's names being carved into the Stanley Cup is becoming increasingly more distracting by the second.

Chew on that, Ovechkin.

Let's Go Pens.

Stanley Cup Finals: Here's to You... Signed, The City of Pittsburgh

Wooooo — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:13:46 -0400

On the eve of what is likely the biggest game of our lives as Penguin fans, it is only fitting to look at what we have become as a fan base, as a city, as the city of Pittsburgh, and just how we got here.

Here's to you 1984 for bringing us Mario Lemieux on draft day.

Le Magnifique would begin to write his legacy during his first shift in the National Hockey League and would eventually go on to become the greatest, most respected athlete in the history of our city.

He would go on to become not only the greatest player in franchise history, but our owner, and our savior... once on the ice and once from his office upstairs.

Here's to you 1991 for allowing all of us to enjoy our first sip out of Lord Stanley's Chalice.

You allowed us to witness firsthand the sheer greatness of Mario Lemieux and the blossoming of a young Jaromir Jagr, but also taught us that without guys like Rob Brown, Kevin Stevens, John Cullen, Paul Coffey, Tom Barrasso, Joe Mullen, Mark Recchi, Larry Murphy, Ulf Samuelsson, Ron Francis, Bryan Trottier, and countless others, winning was not guaranteed.

Here's to you 1992 for bringing us our second Stanley Cup Championship in as many seasons and allowing us all to gain a deep respect for our new head coach, Badger Bob Johnson.

Although the Badger's term with the Pens would be short lived, his legacy still remains alive and well in Pittsburgh today.

Here's to you 1993 for showing us that passion, will, and guts can be far stronger than a terminal illness.

You brought us the devastating news that Mario Lemieux had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease.

Then you allowed us all to witness the most awe striking comeback in the history of professional sports, and made each and every one of us shed a tear of joy when #66 returned to the ice and went on to win the fourth Art Ross Trophy of his storied career after missing a quarter of the season.

You also brought us the Presiden't Trophy and our best season as a National Hockey League franchise.

Here's to you for bringing us David Volek's goal at 5:16 of overtime in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

You broke our hearts, but you made us stronger.

Here's to you Alex Kovalev, Martin Straka, Robert Lang, and Petr Nedved for showing us that regular season success does not guarantee a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals.

You toyed with our emotions during the post-Cup years, looking dominant at times during the regular season, but bailing out of the playoffs early in 1998, 99, and 2000.

Here's to you Jaromir Jagr for teaching us that you can take the reigns from Mario as the captain on the ice, but you can't avoid "dying alive" in the locker room.

You won four consecutive Art Ross Trophies, but you couldn't lead "your" team past the second round of the playoffs.

You taught us that life without Mario was something that none of us were really ready to face just yet.

Here's to you December 27, 2000 for giving us our captain and our leader back.

Mario Lemieux became the majority owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins and then returned to the ice two days after Christmas, making the 2000-01 holiday season one that every Penguin fan will remember for the rest of their respective lives.

Here's to you Darius Kasparitis for scoring one of the most memorable goals in franchise history during Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Buffalo Sabres.

Although you couldn't repeat your magic against the New Jersey Devils in the next round, you taught us that anything can happen in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Here's to you Kris Beech, Ross Lupaschuk, and Michal Sivek for coming to Pittsburgh via Washington in exchange for Jaromir Jagr in the summer of 2001.

You cleared our locker room of what had become somewhat of a disease, but you became diseases yourself on the ice.

Collectively, the three of you played an integral role in beginning what is now referred to as "The Dark Ages".

Here's to you 2002 for reminding us what it felt like to miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs after we did it for the first time in 12 years.

You sent Alex Kovalev to New York and Robert Lang to the free agent pool and catapulted us into the cellar of the Eastern Conference for what seemed like an eternity.

Here's to you 2003 for bringing us our goaltender of the future, Marc-Andre Fleury.

Sure, he was no Tom Barrasso yet, but this kid showed much more potential than Johan Hedberg, Ron Tugnutt, and Jean Sebastian Aubin combined.

Here's to you 2004 for bringing us Evgeni Malkin with the second pick in the NHL Entry Draft.

You deserve a toast not only for bringing us the now fan favorite "Geno" but for preventing us from playing host city to one of the biggest jokes in the National Hockey League, Alexander Ovechkin.

Here's to you 2004-05 for giving us all a glimpse of what life without hockey would be like.

Aleksey Morozov and Milan Kraft headed to Europe, and would remain there after the lockout had ended.

Thank You.

Here's to you July 22, 2005 for allowing us to win the draft lottery and eventually draft Sidney Crosby with the first pick in the 2005 Entry Draft.

You took the initial step in allowing all of us to have the pleasure of watching Sid "The Kid" blossom into Sid "The Superstar" and become one of the most passionate, dedicated, and physically gifted Penguins to ever lace up a pair of skates.

Here's to you Eddie Olcyzk for failing miserably at your job as our head coach.

You opened the door for Michel Therrien to take the reigns and mold our newly acquired young group of unseasoned Penguins into a championship caliber hockey team.

If you would only let us forget that you were fired every time you are on national television, we would greatly appreciate it.

Here's to you 2005-06 season for allowing us to bid farewell to Mario one final time.

His second departure was no more easier than the first, but it allowed Sidney Crosby to take the reigns and become the youngest player in history to record 100 points in a season, a record that had previously been held by Sid's mentor, and landlord, Lemieux.

Here's to you October 18, 2006 for finally allowing Evgeni Malkin to suit up for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Though he didn't speak a word of English yet, Geno set an NHL record by scoring a goal in his first six games in the NHL, and gave us all an early glimpse of his superstar potential.

Here's to you Craig Patrick for 16 years of dedicated service as our General Manager.

Patrick would be replaced by current GM, Ray Shero, on May 25, 2006 after having managed the Penguins to two Stanley Cup Championships in his 16 years of service to the team.

You always did what you thought was best for the team, whether it be making a big deal at the deadline to bring in Kjell Samuelsson, Ken Wregget, and Rick Tocchet or trading Jaromir Jagr for a bag of pucks.

You never gave up on us, and for that, we salute you.

Here's to you 2006-07 for once again establishing a feeling of satisfaction as the Penguins returned to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a 47 point turnaround from the previous season.

You let us witness Evgeni Malkin's Calder Memorial Trophy winning season as the NHL's best rookie.

You brought us the epitome of old time hockey in Gary Roberts and forever embedded the phrase "WWGRD?" into our hearts and minds.

You brought us our first 100-point season in 11 years.

You brought Sidney Crosby his first Art Ross, Hart, and Lester B. Pearson trophies and established him as the biggest star, and the best player, in the National Hockey League.

But most importantly, you brought us a first round playoff beat down by the Ottawa Senators, which taught fans and players alike that simply being talented wasn't enough to win a Stanley Cup.

Here's to you March 13, 2007 for allowing our Pittsburgh Penguins to remain in the city of Pittsburgh.

After months of debate, bargaining, political wars, Jim Balsille, talk of relocation, meetings in Kansas City, Oklahoma, and Houston, and countless hours of reading about what exactly a "slots license" was, you could once again rest easy knowing that the Penguins weren't going anywhere.

Here's to you April 2, 2008 for bringing us our first Atlantic Division Championship in 10 seasons.

The 2007-08 season saw the Penguins take a stronghold of the Eastern Conference, never slipping below third place from January until the end of the regular season.

Here's to you Ty Conklin for coming out of nowhere and keeping our playoff hopes alive and well in the absence of Marc-Andre Fleury during the 2007-08 season.

Here's to you Evgeni Malkin for carrying the team on your back for the biggest part of the 07-08 season and establishing yourself as not only one of the best players on your team, but one of the best in the world.

Here's to you Philadelphia for falling at our feet in the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals as we raised the Eastern Conference Championship banner.

You reminded us just how easy it was to hate you, your city, your fans, and your team, and how sweet it was to watch you lose.

Here's to you 2008-09 Detroit Red Wings for showing our new group of heroes what it takes to win the Stanley Cup, and for doing it in our house.

You dominated us in the first two games of the series, but we wouldn't go down quietly.

Max Talbot and Petr Sykora shocked the world in Game Five.

Then you came into our house and hoisted the Stanley Cup.

We have not forgotten, and neither should you.

Here's to you Game Seven.

It's been an unreal season.

In February, no one was giving the Penguins a chance at even making the playoffs.

Look at us now.

We have waived goodbye to Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone, Jarkko Ruutu, Georges Laraque, Adam Hall, Gary Roberts, and Ty Conklin.

We have played without our star defenseman for over half of the season.

We have suited up nearly two full lines of minor league players for over a month due to injuries.

We have fired our head coach, and hired a new one.

We have parted ways with Ryan Whitney in exchange for Chris Kunitz and Craig Adams.

We have brought in Bill Guerin.

We have eliminated the Philadelphia Flyers once again.

We have continued our post season dominance of the Washington Capitals.

We have dismantled the seemingly unstoppable train that was the Carolina Hurricanes.

And now, we are right back where we started.

The Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins will play one game tomorrow night in Joketown.

One team will win. That team will be crowned the 2009 Stanley Cup Champions.

For Detroit, the title of dynasty is on the line.

For Pittsburgh, the fulfillment of boyhood dreams lies in the balance for some, while one last shot at glory looms over the heads of others.

For both teams, it all comes down to this one game.

Two teams. 60 minutes. The greatest prize in sports on the line.

If you're like me, you barely knew how to tie your shoes the last time the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup.

This will be the biggest game of your life.

Never give up.

Let's Go Pens.

Stanley Cup Finals Game Six: Penguins Stymie Red Wings, Force Game Seven

Wooooo — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 23:06:00 -0400

In the past few days leading up to tonight's Game Six of the Stanley Cup Finals, Disco Dan Bylsma had his usual calm, cool, and collective attitude on display in every press conference he did.

He talked about the Pittsburgh Penguins beating the Detroit Red Wings in Game Six.

He didn't talk about the Penguins preventing the Red Wings from winning the Stanley Cup in Pittsburgh, he talked about the Penguins winning one game in order to be in a position to win the Cup themselves.

The Penguins began the 2008-09 season on Oct. 4 in Stockholm, Sweden.

Just 105 games later, one win stands between fulfilling a dream and suffering yet another devastating defeat.

It doesn't get any bigger than Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals, but you don't need me to tell you that.

Recap

Coming off of an embarrassing loss in Game Five, the Pittsburgh Penguins looked to a familiar source for an extra boost in Game Six.

There were 17,132 rabid fans filling the seats of the ageless Igloo, and they made their presence known early and often tonight.

The Pittsburgh Penguins weren't playing to prevent the Detroit Red Wings from winning, they were playing to win themselves.

The Pens dominated play in the first 20 minutes, outshooting the Wings 12 to three, but came out of the opening frame with nothing to show for their effort on the scoreboard.

You could tell that the Penguins were playing like they had nothing to lose, and really, they didn't.

Jordan Staal finally rewarded his team for their valiant efforts in the opening minute of the second period.

Rob Scuderi moved the puck to the blue line where Tyler Kennedy made a nice play on the wall to chip the puck into open ice.

Staal picked up the biscuit and generated a two-on-one with Matt Cooke after beating a Red Wing in the neutral zone.

Staal later said of his decision to decline on a pass attempt: "I'm not a passer, I'm a shooter."

A shooter he was, as Staal's initial attempt was stopped by Osjoke, but the big man stayed with his shot and banged home the rebound to put the Pens on top 1-0.

After the goal, the Wings pushed hard, but Brooks Orpik and Rob Scuderi led the Penguins' defensive corps to one of the best shutdown performances in recent memory.

The Wings came out strong again to open the third period, but Marc-Andre Fleury came up with a couple of big saves to preserve the lead.

Ruslan Fedotenko, who was set up by Evgeni Malkin at least four times in a quality scoring chance situation in the game, was not discouraged by his inability to find the back of the net.

Tank kept a puck alive in the offensive zone and Max Talbot made a nifty play behind the net to reverse the puck to a wide open Tyler Kennedy.

TK walked out in front of the net and took a couple of whacks at the puck before beating Osjoke on the glove side to put the Pens ahead by two goals.

Just three minutes later Kris Draper put a puck behind Fleury to pull the Wings within one.

The performance of the Pittsburgh Penguins, led by Fleury, Scuderi, and Orpik, in the final 12 minutes of regulation should have its own bridge named after it in Pittsburgh.

As the Stanley Cup was being removed from its case and polished in the recesses of Old Lady Mellon, Orpik was demolishing anything in a white jersey in the defensive zone.

Scuderi made more saves down the stretch than Fleury did, in particular two huge saves in the final minute of the game when he dropped to one knee in the crease to prevent the puck from finding the back of the net.

Go ahead and claim that Scuds closed his hand on the puck in the crease in the third period. Then watch the replay. Then think back to when Henrik Zetterberg actually did close his hand on the puck in the crease twice in Game Two.

The Penguins held on for the victory, and held on to their hopes of winning their first Stanley Cup since 1992.

Ladies and gentlemen, for the last time in the Mellon Arena in the 2008-09 season, Elvis has just left the building.

Final Score: Pittsburgh 2 Detroit 1

Series: 3-3

- There aren't enough words in the English language to describe Rob Scuderi's performance in this game. Truly a season saving effort by Scuds.

- It was good to see Petr Sykora back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch since Game Two of the Caps' series. Sykie didn't get on the score sheet, but he did lay horizontally across the ice to block a shot in the second period in the midst of the Wings' most sustained attack of the game.

- There wasn't a player in a Penguins' uniform who didn't play 110 percent tonight.

- Chris Osgood is a joke. How a goaltender is allowed to stop play for well over two minutes after an icing call to "have his helmet adjusted" by the equipment manager on the bench is unreal.

- The Pens' third line was their best line for all 60 minutes tonight. When that happens, you are going to win hockey games.

- Game Seven is set for Friday night at 8:00 in Joketown. All the ups and downs this season has thrown our way as fans will culminate at 8:20 p.m. when some dork throws a dead octopus on the ice and the puck is dropped at the Joe.

After Game Four, the world was behind the Pittsburgh Penguins.

After Game Five, not many people outside of Pittsburgh were giving the Penguins a snowball's chance in hell at winning this series.

After Game Six, none of those people matter anymore.

Sixty minutes remain in the Penguins' season, that's all that matters.

There are no guarantees that after those 60 minutes you won't experience that same empty feeling you experienced just over a year ago when you watched the Stanley Cup grace the Mellon Arena ice with its presence for the first time in history, and then you watched it being awarded to the Detroit Red Wings.

There are also no guarantees that after those 60 minutes you won't be rejoicing in what is likely to be the biggest victory you have ever witnessed as a sports fan.

As Sidney Crosby said after Game Six, "Last year at this time, our season was already over."

Let's Go Pens

Stanley Cup Finals Game Five Preview: Three's Company

Wooooo — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:09:50 -0400

With the first four games of this year's Stanley Cup Final in the books, fans of the Penguins and Red Wings find themselves right back to where they began... well almost.

With the series deadlocked at two games, whichever team can find a way to win two more times will ultimately hoist Lord Stanley's Chalice sometime next week.

The Detroit Red Wings have the luxury of not having to win a game on the road.

A Wings' win in Game Five and loss in Game Six would set the stage for the boys from Joketown to put the series away at the Joe in Game Seven.

The Pittsburgh Penguins, however, don't have that luxury.

If Crosby and Company are going to have their names etched on Lord Stanley's Cup, they are going to have to find a way to win on the road.

Now it's no secret that home ice has played a seemingly enormous role in this series thus far.

Both teams have played substantially better, and been substantially more lucky, in their own barn.

Both Chris Osgood and Marc-Andre Fleury have enjoyed playing in front of a home crowd perhaps more than any two other players in the series.

Mike Babcock has no idea he is in the Stanley Cup Finals and decided to bench Justin Abdelkader in favor of Kris Draper in Game Four.

Maybe Babcock had some sour coleslaw on his Primanti Brothers' sandwich before Game Four. Or maybe the Game Three loss went to his head a little more than he let on through the media.

Whatever the case, Penguin fans will graciously except the trade off of Abdelkader for the much older, farther past his prime Draper.

You don't need me to tell you that Game Five is a huge game.

If the Pens find a way to pull out a win at the Joke Louis Arena tomorrow night, you have got to believe that the chance to finally win a Cup in front of the fans in Pittsburgh would be more than enough motivation for the Flightless Birds to get it done in Game Six back in Pittsburgh.

However, a Wings' victory would once again deprive the Penguins' hometown fans of a chance to see the Cup being presented to someone other than the visiting team.

Evgeni Malkin has taken his game to a new level in the playoffs, and in particular, in the Finals.

Malkin has been the best player on the ice every time he jumps over the boards. You can try to argue that point, but it's a lost cause.

The apparent change in momentum that stemmed from Geno's fight with Zetterberg at the end of Game Two has swung the momentum in the Penguins' favor.

Yeah, we know, he should have been suspended. Take it up with Colin Campbell.

Since then, Geno has played with a fiery passion that makes the Russian Red Army look like toy soldiers.

Before the series started, people actually tried to argue that the Wings possessed a deeper bench than did the Penguins. C'mon, really?

Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Talbot. You don't get any better down the middle on any roster in the National Hockey League.

Say what you want about Max Talbot, but he is a proven big game performer. He also singlehandedly shushed the entire city of Philadelphia a couple of weeks ago. That's Hall of Fame material in my book.

The Wings' fatigue factor has become increasingly more evident with each game in the series.

Chris Osgood has gotten worse. Marc-Andre Fleury has gotten better.

Henrik Zetterberg finally seems to have gotten tired of chasing Sidney Crosby around the ice for 25 minutes a night, as Sid tallied his first goal of the series in Game Four.

Marian Hossa has yet to show up for the Stanley Cup Finals.

Pavel Datsyuk is supposedly returning to the Wings' lineup for Game Five. Bring it.

Nicklas Lidstrom might be the most overrated player in the history of hockey. This ain't 1999, and Lidstrom simply ain't a young buck anymore.

He still logs massive amounts of ice time, but as far as being a potential scoring threat from the blue line, well, Brad Stuart has supplied the bulk of the offensive production from the Wings' back end during the series.

Maybe Babcock will bench Stuart in favor of 68 year old Chris Chelios in Game Five, you know, just to stick with his current trend of terrible coaching decisions.

I've said a lot in this article, but I haven't said anything you don't already know.

Game Five of the Stanley Cup Finals will likely tell the tale of this year's World Champions.

I'd be hard pressed to say that either team wouldn't find a way to win once they had the chance to close out the series.

Heading into Saturday night, the Penguins have all the momentum.

The Red Wings have, well, a dead sea creature that will be hurled over the boards before the puck is dropped.

As a fan of either team, if you're thinking about calling off work to make it to your teams' Stanley Cup parade right now, think again.

This series is far from over.

Get busy livin', or get busy dyin'.

Let's Go Pens.

Stanley Cup Finals Game Three: Welcome to Hockeytahn, Pens Win, 4-2

Wooooo — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:45:06 -0400

Sometimes it's funny the way things go in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Pittsburgh Penguins played two of the best games of the 2009 post season in Games One and Two of the Stanley Cup Finals. And they lost.

In Game Three, the Penguins were hardly as precise with the puck as they were at the Joe Louis Arena.

However, whether it was the 17,132 strong in the stands and the other few thousands looking on outside on the lawn, or the realization that they simply couldn't afford to lose this game, the Pens did what they had to do to pick up the victory.

A lot of people have already written the Penguins off in this series. A Game Three victory won't change their minds.

Some were even starting to talk about a sweep.

Just ask the Washington Capitals how talking about a sweep after winning the first two games of a series worked out for them.

You could tell the Pens were feeding off of the home crowd early in the game.

Matt Cooke-Jordan Staal-Tyler Kennedy played one of the best periods of hockey a third line has ever played during the first 60 minutes tonight.

Max Talbot got the Pens on the board first as he found the taped 'X' on the ice just inside the left circle that has been recently vacated by one Petr Sykora.

Max posted up inside the circle and Evgeni Malkin found him with a perfect pass.

Talbot blew a shot past Osjoke to make it 1-0 Pens.

The Wings didn't waste much time in responding to the early tally as Hank Aaron pounded a hanging Sergei Gonchar curveball over the right field wall.

A couple of minutes later, Brook Orpik went off for interference and Zetterberg took over on the power play.

From the half wall, Zetterberg sailed a pass across the ice to The Horse, who buried the biscuit to give the Wings a 2-1 lead.

After Dan Cleary got caught admiring how perfectly many of his teammates' beards matched the red on the arms of their jerseys, he was sent to the sin bin for holding.

On the ensuing power play, the Pens were determined to even the score.

After a few solid stops by Osgood, Gonchar worked the puck to Malkin on the half wall and Geno sent a cross ice pass to Kris Letang.

Letang bobbled the pass momentarily, which allowed The Horse to forget he was playing defense.

Letang recovered and fired a shot toward the net that Osjoke still hasn't seen. 2-2.

The Pens dominated the first half of the second period, but managed just four shots on goal.

The Wings took over in the second half of the period and peppered Marc-Andre Fleury with 11 shots.

Neither goalie gave any ground as the period ended the way it started, tied at two.

At 9:06 of the third period, Jonathan Ericsson was called for interference.

Before Wings fans even have the opportunity to complain about this call, think about how many times the same infraction hasn't been called in the series. Then quickly FED EX as many boxes of Just for Men hair dye as you can to the Joe before Game Five.

Those red beards rival Jaromir Jagr's New York Rangers era goatee for the title of worst facial hair in professional sports.

At the tail end of the Penguins' power play, Gonchar set up shop in his office at the blue line.

He passed up a couple of opportunities to shoot the puck before Billy Guerin posted up in front of Osgood.

Crosby went to the net, drawing all the attention to himself. (Insert NBC/VERSUS loves Crosby comment here.)

Gonch fired a shot that beat Osgood and gave the Pens the only lead they would need to pick up their first victory of the series.

The Wings managed just three shots on goal in the third period. Flower turned aside all of them.

Talbot added an empty net goal, his second of the game, in the dying seconds before Elvis threw a hip into Mike Emrick on his way out of the building.

Final Score: Pittsburgh 4, Detroit 2

Series: 2-1 Detroit

- Has Marian Hossa even played in this series?

- Billy Guerin has one more point than Marian Hossa in the playoffs.

- Although the Penguins didn't play their best game of the series collectively, individually, a lot of guys turned in their best performance of the post season.

- The entire third line was insane. Brooks Orpik was hitting everything that moved. Kris Letang looked like a seasoned veteran in all three zones. Rob Scuderi's stick killed more attempted passes through the slot than a Red Wings' fan at an Endangered Species conference.

- VERSUS gets points for allowing their broadcasts to be shown on the big screen outside the Igloo. Too bad they employ the worst group of commentators/analysts in professional sports.

- Has that Bill Whatever guy from the Hockey Central crew ever watched hockey before VERSUS hired him? He hosted the US Open and PGA Tour for eight years before gaining employment on Hockey Central. I guess that explains everything.

- By no means does winning this game mean the Penguins are back in the series. Game Four is probably more important than Game Three was.

Until then, get busy livin' or get busy dyin'.

Let's Go Pens.

Stanley Cup Finals Game Two: Old Lady Mellon Awaits

Wooooo — Sun, 31 May 2009 23:52:18 -0400

In honor of tradition and superstition, I don't recap playoff games until the Pens have won one game in the series.

That being said, Games One and Two of this series belonged to the Red Wings, but if you feel like the Pens are done, you haven't been here before.

Last season, the Pens were physically, emotionally, and mentally dominated in each of the first two games of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

This year, they've fallen victim to some bad bounces and missed opportunities.

Detroit scored one legitimate goal in Game One.

Letang rung a puck off the post in Game One. Crosby and Guerin each rung a puck off the post tonight.

Justin Abdelkader has scored two goals that Fleury should probably have stopped. Those two goals have been the difference in the series so far.

If you're looking for something to pin your hope on, Evgeni Malkin supplied it for you by engaging in a round of fisticuffs with Henrik Zetterberg.

The game was over. The Pens were broken. Malkin's spirit was not.

Don't think that things like that don't go a long way in motivating the group of men looking on from the bench.

The Wings should be anything but comfortable with their two-game lead in this series.

They are arguably the best team of the past decade, so chances are, they aren't comfortable.

Good teams know how to keep the pedal to the metal and finish off a weaker opponent.

The trouble is, the Penguins haven't been a weaker opponent thus far.

With the Penguins trailing two games to none, Old Lady Mellon awaits.

Remember the feeling you had last year when you had to watch the Red Wings parade the Stanley Cup around the Mellon Arena ice?

Now imagine that you actually played in the series. Each and every player on the Penguins' roster who was there remembers that feeling, too.

The old cliche says that a team isn't out of a playoff series until they lose a game on home ice. The Pens will put that theory to the test on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

Keep the faith, and don't stop believin'...

Let's Go Pens

Penguins-Hurricanes, Game Four: RBSweep Center

Wooooo — Tue, 26 May 2009 23:57:33 -0400

Before the Eastern Conference Finals got under way about a week ago, there was a lot of talk.

People talked about how Eric Staal would prove to be an uncontainable force for the Pittsburgh Penguins' defense. He responded by registering two points (1G, 1A) in the series.

People talked about how Cam Ward was an elite NHL goaltender. He responded by surrendering more than five goals twice in four games.

People talked about how the Carolina Hurricanes boasted so much depth on their roster, depth that simply couldn't be matched by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Canes role players responded by remaining in Boston at the conclusion of the Eastern Conference Semifinals—well, except for Chad LaRose, who made an appearance in Game Four to stick check Jordan Staal in the back of the knee right in front of an official in the third period with his team trailing by two goals.

People talked about how the RBC Center was such a loud and tough building to play in. Old Lady Mellon responded by scoffing in the RBC Center's general direction.

People even questioned whether or not Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin could continue their assault of the NHL's playoff scoring race beyond the first two rounds. They responded by proving why they are the most lethal combination of players in the league.

After Bill Cowher took his metaphorical dump on the city of Pittsburgh before Game Four got under way, the Canes began their predictable push to score first.

Eric Staal made his first appearance of the series by swooping around the back of the net and sneaking a puck past Marc-Andre Fleury just over a minute and a half into the first period.

Caniacs were going nuts. The spit projecting from Cowher's chin probably soaked people 12 rows in front of him.

In the visitor's luxury box, Mario Lemieux looked on, knowing full well what his team had to do. And they did it.

Max Talbot made a great play along the right wing boards to direct the puck to Phillippe Boucher at the Canes' blue line.

Boucher fired a shot pass toward the net, where Ruslan Fedotenko directed the puck in behind Cam Ward who was more out of position than Cowher's red zone offense.

Ten minutes later, Cam Ward fell apart.

Talbot gained the offensive zone and created some space to the left of a Canes' defenseman.

Mad Max, who was at the end of his shift, threw the puck toward the net, most likely looking for a stoppage in play or a chance to get to the bench.

The puck hung in the air and Ward admired it like a Kordell Stewart Hail Mary. The difference was this time, it wasn't intercepted. Whooooooooooo.

The puck glided over the glove of Ward and in to the back of the net to make it 2-1 Pens.

The Canes would push hard for the next 20 minutes, but Fleury would have none of it.

After a few unreal shifts by Malkin where he set up everyone on the ice in vain, Sidney Crosby and Billy Guerin decided to play a little game of two-man breakout.

Crosby gained the zone and downshifted along the left boards, coasting in on Ward.

Guerin drove the net hard down the middle of the ice.

As you can probably guess by now, Billy had no trouble beating the Canes' defenseman to the front of the cage.

Sid feathered a pass through traffic and Guerin tapped it home to make it 3-1 Pens.

After Carolina wasted away two power play opportunities, Father Time began his descent from the rafters of the RBC Center. He didn't even have to perform the customary off-switching of his hearing aid, because the RBC Center had been silenced.

Maybe it's just me, but if you need an air horn in your arena to lead your chants, you are a joke.

The Capitals and Hurricanes both seem to enjoy the use of air horns at their games, probably because getting more than 12 people in D.C. or North Carolina to chant a simple phrase at the same time is next to impossible.

Joke Corvo hooked up Crosby at center ice, and the Pens killed two more minutes off of the clock.

Rose blatantly pickle-stabbed the back of Jordan Staal's knee in front of an official with less than eight minutes remaining in the game.

There's something to be said about winning with dignity, but there's a lot more to be said about losing with it. Chad LaRose has no idea what dignity is. However, he will get a pretty good idea what the word "FORE" means come tomorrow afternoon.

The Pens milked the clock until Paul Maurice had seen enough and decided to pull Ward for the extra attacker.

Talbot chipped the puck out of the Pens' zone to Crosby, who made yet another unselfish play at the opposite blue line by giving the puck up to Craig Adams, who sealed the deal with his second empty net goal of the series.

Alex Ovechkin doesn't give that puck up to a teammate, he tries to shoot it through the approaching defenseman. If you think otherwise, you aren't thinking. That's what separates superstar players from superstar team players.

As the final 90 seconds ticked off the clock, Father Time slapped Bill Cowher in the face and made his exit.

In the immortal words of the Penguins' Hall-of-Fame broadcaster, Mike Lange: "You can spit shine your shoes, 'cause the Pens are goin' dancing with Lord Stanley."

Final Score: Pittsburgh 4 Carolina 1

Series: 4-0 Penguins

Notes

- The next time someone tries to tell you Joni Pitkanen or Joe Corvo are quality defensemen, refer them to this series.

- There are rumors that if the Wings get it done against the Hawks tomorrow night, the NHL may consider moving the starting date of the Stanley Cup Finals to May 30 instead of the original June 5 date.

- The Pens became the first team since the 2000-01 New Jersey Devils to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals in consecutive seasons.

- The Pens also became the first runner-up team to make it back to the Finals since the Edmonton Oilers did it in 1983 and 84.

- All the words in the world can't commend Dan Bylsma and his staff for the job they have done in turning around this team. If someone told you the Pens would be back in the Finals when Bylsma took the reigns, you would have kicked them in the teeth.

- As opposed to last season, when none of the Penguins laid a hand on the Prince of Wales trophy, this year, Sidney Crosby skated the trophy all the way to the Penguins' dressing room after posing for a few pictures on the ice.

- In the coming days, you will hear a lot of talk about last season. That means absolutely nothing. Is there a desire for revenge? Sure. A need for retribution? Absolutely. But keep in mind that last season's crushing defeat to the Red Machine from Joketown happened last season.

This is a new chapter. A new beginning. New stories will be written, new heroes will be born, but all the while, last season will not be erased, nor will it be forgotten.

Who knows, the Hawks might rattle off three straight victories to overtake the Wings and set up a rematch of the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals.

So, until it is set in stone, enjoy this moment, Penguin fans, because in a few short days, war will be waged, and the greatest prize in sports will be on the line.

This is our time. This is the year that we Bring Back the Cup.

Let's Go Pens.

Penguins-Hurricanes Game Three: Hurricane Geno Makes Landfall in Raleigh

Wooooo — Sun, 24 May 2009 00:19:04 -0400

There were many people, myself surprisingly included, who felt that Cam Ward would at least push the Penguins to a five, or possibly six-game series.

Those people have not been proven wrong yet, but they are on the brink of embarrassment.

There were also many people who felt the RBC Center would provide the Canes with the spark they needed to even up the series before heading back to Pittsburgh for Game Five.

The Pittsburgh Penguins posted five goals on Ward for the second consecutive game and took a commanding three games to none lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.

If you doubted Evgeni Malkin before now, all of your hesitance to crown him as an NHL superstar has been put to rest thanks to his performances in Games Two and Three of this series.

Geno once again took the game by the balls and proved the critics who said he disappears after the conclusion of the regular season wrong by toasting Ward for two goals and adding an assist in the Pens' 6-2 romping of the Canes on their home ice.

Matt Cullen, no relation to John Cullen, gave the Canes some false hope when he banged home the first goal of the game just four minutes into regulation.

The Pens responded by rattling off three goals before the end of the first period.

The second period saw both goaltenders stand their ground in an effort to give their respective team a chance to win.

Sergei Samsonov pulled the Canes to within one goal in the opening minutes of the third, but the Pens once again responded with three goals to seal the deal.

Jussi Joke-inen aided the Penguins in their winning effort by winning a faceoff and directing the puck into the open net, giving Craig Adams credit for his second goal of the post season.

A team has rallied from a three game deficit to win the series only twice in the history of the NHL playoffs.

The last time it happened was when the New York Islanders did it in 1975.

The Islanders opponent during that particularly rally... the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Don't get too comfortable, because this series is far from over, however, if you think there is any team in the NHL that can beat the Pittsburgh Penguins four times in a row right now, you are lost.

Let's Go Pens.

Penguins-Hurricanes Game Two: From Russia with Hats

Wooooo — Thu, 21 May 2009 23:53:49 -0400

The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night to take a two-game lead in their Eastern Conference Final series.

In a contest that was about as close to a must win as any Game Two can be, the Penguins' stars simply shone brighter than those of the Canes—that is, if the Canes actually had any stars capable of shining.

Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby combined for four goals and six points, and Malkin registered the first playoff hat trick of his career.

Crosby and Malkin would have beaten any defensive pairing and goaltender in any arena, in any era with the way they played tonight. Carolina simply had no answer for the two-headed monster.

Recapping everything that happened in this game effectively is an unreal task. And by effectively, I don't mean Associated Press-esque. That would be boring, dry, dull, lame, etc.—not effective.

After Joe Beninati used the word " frivolous" and Bob Errey promptly threw up all over his television set, it was time for yet another night of hockey on VERSUS.

The Pens and Canes traded goals twice in the first period before the Canes added another marker to take a one-goal advantage into the first intermission.

Max Talbot scored early in the second period on a rare breakaway slap shot. It just looked like Max didn't have enough left in the tank to take the puck hard to the net, so he loaded the cannon and fired away on Ward.

Chris Kunitz broke out of a goal-scoring slump that had dated back to the end of the regular season, lasting 19 games, by tallying late in the period.

Patrick Maple Leaves scored early in the third for Carolina, and then it was time for Geno to put every crack and crevice in Old Lady Mellon to the test.

His second tally of the game broke the deadlock amidst chants of "Geno, Geno, Geno" from the white-clad home crowd, but it was third goal four minutes later that shook the rafters of the Igloo and brought tears to the eyes of his onlooking parents, Vladimir and Nikita, who have achieved quite the rock star status since arriving in Pittsburgh a few months ago from their native Russia.

If you're looking for some sort of re-enactment of Geno's third goal, stop now. You won't ever find it.

Well, unless you happen to score some time alone on the ice with Geno or Mr. Crosby sometime in the near future.

Crosby's backhand is the best in the world. Tonight, Malkin scored the second unreal backhand goal of his career, proving that his flip side ain't too shabby either. The other one is on YouTube—you can find it.

Tyler Kennedy added an empty netter to seal the deal of the Canes' hopes of stealing a game on the road to begin the series.

Neither goaltender looked particularly sharp tonight, but neither defensive corps did much in the way of consistently helping out their respect net minders either.

Say what you want about Jordan Staal not putting the puck in the net on a regular basis in the postseason. The Penguins need goal production from their third line to be successful.

Staal, Kennedy, and Matt Cooke have just shut down three of the best players in the National Hockey League over the past few weeks.

In round one it was Philadelphia's Jeff Carter who was eliminated from being a factor thanks in large part to Staal and company, with a little help from Marc-Andre Fleury's right toe here and there.

In round two, Alex "What's so special about Sidney Crosby" Semin disappeared from the Washington Capitals' lineup.

Who matched up against Semin on a fairly regular basis? The Penguins' third line.

Now Eric Staal is quickly becoming the latest victim of his baby brother's unreal defensive presence.

Jordan had dominated in the face off circle, in front of the net, in the defensive zone, in the offensive zone, and has kept his big brother out of the goal column on each of this series' first two score sheets.

The Pens turned the puck over a lot in Game Two, which is somewhat disheartening for the third round of the playoffs.

If I were Dan Bylsma (pronounced BILE-S-MA, not BUY-ELS-MA, thank you Darrel Reaugh) I would sit down either Hal Gill or Philippe Boucher and go back to the 12 forwards, six defensemen lineup for Game Three.

It seems that trying to find ice time for seven defensemen is becoming more of a hindrance than a help, and now that Sergei Gonchar is back to logging his normal amount of minutes, having another forward in the mix (Pascal Dupuis or Petr Sykora) probably wouldn't be a bad idea.

Here's a shocker, however. I'm not Dan Bylsma, so everything I just said could be completely wrong.

The VERSUS studio crew compared Joni Pitkanen to Sergei Gonchar before Game One of this series.

It's evident now that that comparison would be the equivalent of comparing Joe Beninati to someone who is taller than five feet or Brian Engblom to someone who has regular monthly appointments at a barber shop.

Has Pitkanen even played in this series?

With two games in the bag, the red-clad crowd at RBC Center awaits the Penguins on Saturday night for Game Three.

If you don't hate the color red after being bombarded with it in Washington for four games, you probably never will.

So until then, remember to keep a level head as a best-of-seven series was never won after two games.

Let's Go Pens.

Penguins-Hurricanes Game One: Eric Staal-ed

Wooooo — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:28:13 -0400

Cam Ward's rear end is probably sore from all of the kisses it received before the opening game of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Marc-Andre Fleury on the other hand, has flown relatively low under the radar of the so-called hockey experts on VERSUS and NBC's version of Dana Carvey's twin brother from that Master of Disguises movie. You know you're itching to Google that.

In a series that most people aren't giving the Canes a chance to win, Carolina did little to change any minds in Game One.

Sure they only lost by a goal, but they forgot to come out of the locker room for the first 57 minutes of regulation.

Fleury stopped 23 shots in the winning effort while his counterpart Ward turned aside 28-of-31 Penguin shots.

Both goalies made their share of sensational glove saves, in particular Ward on Guerin and Fleury on some guy who never scored more than 15 goals in a season.

Miroslav Satan opened the scoring by coming out of the penalty box and taking a lead pass from Matt Cooke. Satan deked Ward, Paul Marice's glasses, two chicks in the front row, and the entire town of Wilkes-Barre before he buried a smooth backhander to make it 1-0 Pens.

If there's one thing you've come to enjoy about the Penguins in recent years, it is their ability to maintain momentum after a big goal, and often put another one on the board relatively quickly.

Evgeni Malkin fulfilled your red light fantasies by taking a pass from Bobby Boucher and sailing a crisp backhander past Ward from the slot, making it 2-0 Pens.

The Penguins have played very few solid second periods this postseason. The second period of Game One wasn't much different.

Jalen Rose got the Canes on the board around the 13-minute mark and Ward stonewalled the Pens to keep it close heading into the final frame.

About halfway through the third period, Matt Cullen headed to the box and the Pens' power-play hit the ice.

After almost a full two minutes of struggling to maintain possession in the offensive zone, the Pens finally settled things down.

Malkin to Crosby to Boucher to make it 3-1 Pens. Gaaaaatoooooraaaadeeee.

With about two minutes showing on the clock, the Canes remembered they were down by two in the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals and started trying.

Brooks Orpik got an elbow up into the chops of some joke in the corner and gave the Canes the man advantage.

Ward left the net and it was six on four. Joe Corvo found the back of the net after his shot trickled through the pads of Fleury. Canes cut the lead in half at 3-2.

The Canes kept pushing until Eric Staal made his first appearance of the game with under 30 seconds on the clock.

Staal was posted up outside the Penguins' crease and the puck somehow found its way through traffic right to his tape.

Staring a gaping cage in the face, Staal choked.

The VERSUS post-game crew had no idea what to talk about after the Penguins took Eric Staal out of the game.

Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has just left the building.

Final Score: Pittsburgh 3 Carolina 2

Series: 1-0 Pittsburgh

- Eric Staal-ed.

- Ward is a big deal. Fleury was a bigger deal in Game One.

- Anyone know the average age of the Canes? Seems to me like they have a fair amount of veterans on their roster.

- How rewarding it must have been for Miro Satan to notch his first goal of the playoffs after spending the last two months of the season in the AHL. Unfortunately, barring an injury or a total collapse, that probably means the end of the line for Petr Sykora this postseason.

- The Pens hit the snooze button once again after mounting the two goal lead in the first period. Teams that are better than Washington and Carolina will capitalize on those opportunities and win the game.

- Game Two: Thursday night, 7:30, the Igloo. Do It.

Penguins-Hurricanes: Eastern Conference Finals Preview

Wooooo — Mon, 18 May 2009 00:05:50 -0400

The Eastern Conference Finals are set to kick off on Monday night when the Carolina Hurricanes take the ice at the Mellon Arena to square off against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Needless to say, but if you want to hear about it, just ask any Caniac and they will tell you...the Canes are the underdogs coming into this series.

They were the underdogs against the Devils and Bruins in the last two rounds.

They've played the underdog card more times than Janet Gretzky hit on a 15 at the Blackjack tables.

Snore.

In case you haven't heard, Jordan Staal has a brother, and he plays for the Carolina Hurricanes.

They hype surrounding the Eric vs. Jordan Staal Brother matchup is quickly becoming one of the most overused topics on every sports website on the web.

No one knows for sure how Dan Bylsma will opt to roll his lines, but if the Staals are on the ice at the same time, you will hear about it.

And by the end of Game One, you will be tired of hearing about it.

So, as Penguin fans, what can we find to dislike about the Hurricanes?

They did knock off the hated Atlantic Division rival New Jersey Devils and their dad/uncle goaltender in the first round.

Cheers.

Then they did away with the top seeded Boston Bruins in the East Semifinals in dramatic fashion.

Cheers.

Recently, Canes forward Scott Walker announced publicly that his wife is battling cancer. No matter who you are, or who you root for, cancer is something that affects or has affected everyone in the world in one way or another.

From the Pittsburgh Penguins' community and the city of Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas, our deepest sympathies go out to Scott and his family during this time of hardship.

Weren't we trying to find ways to dislike the Canes?

Well, they are based in a Southern market where ice is about as common as an empty pantry at the Bruce Boudreau residence.

They do have some savvy veterans on their roster that have been around the block before and know what it takes to win...and lose in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Rod the Bod Brind'Amour wins face offs.

If someone is trying to tell you his value goes beyond the face off circle, tell them to shut up.

Sure, he is probably a great guy to have around the locker room, but on the ice, he should be a non factor.

Tuomo Ruutu, Matt Cullen, Eric Staal, and Jussi Jokinen make up the bulk of the Canes' offensive threat.

Cam Ward has blossomed into one of the hottest goaltenders in the National Hockey League since the All-Star break, and this series, like many others, will probably come down to whichever goaltender is playing at the top of his game with the greatest regularity.

By now, people know what Marc-Andre Fleury is capable of.

Say what you want about momentum and the ebb and flow of a playoff season. Each round in the Stanley Cup playoffs starts with a clean slate.

Momentum is established in Game One—not in Game Seven of the previous round. That's just the way it goes.

So don't be fooled by Caniacs claiming that they have everything going for them because they are coming off of such a dramatic win against a team that nobody was giving them a chance to beat.

That's old news.

This series, and everything that goes along with it, begins on Monday night.

The fact that Sidney Crosby has put on an epic performance thus far in the postseason is irrelevant beginning at 7:40 PM on Monday night when the puck is dropped for Game One.

The VERSUS crew will try to dazzle you with predictions and "(Team Name) will win if," but none of that really matters.

All that matters is the race to four...again.

Four wins gets you to the Finals, where it all starts anew.

It's important to keep a level head between series in the playoffs, but it's also important to never underestimate the opposition.

That being said, if someone would have told you the Pens would be facing the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals this past March, you would have laughed.

First because you would have told that person that the Canes would never make it out of the first round alive.

Second because you probably didn't think the Penguins would even make the playoffs.

An Eastern Conference Finals matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes looks like quite a blessing for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Looks can be deceiving.

If you're expecting the Pens to come out and run over the Canes, sweeping the series in four games and resting up for the Finals, you have no idea what's going on.

Could it happen?

Definitely.

Will it happen?

Most likely not.

Your gut tells you that there is no way that the Canes can beat the Pens in a best-of-seven game series.

Cam Ward tells you they can.

Like I said earlier, keep a level head, hang on for the ride, and remember...Hurricanes don't blow...they suck. Whooooooooooooooo.

Let's Go Pens.

Pittsburgh Penguins-Washington Capitals Game Seven: The Red...Got Rocked!

Wooooo — Wed, 13 May 2009 23:08:35 -0400

Firstly, whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

Now that that's out of the way...

It has been said that Game Sevens are where heroes are made. Well what happens if you were a hero before Game Seven.

In my preview of this game, I made the statement that some Pens' fans were basing their playoff hopes on the fact that Sidney Crosby just would not let his team lose.

That might have been the first and only intelligent comment I've ever made.

The majority of people who planned on watching this game tonight thought they were in for a nail biting, grind it out, thrown down battle to the final buzzer, and rightfully so.

Instead, the swamp of red, rivaled only by the rash on a two-year-old's back side, at the Bells and Whistles Center in Washington was taken out of the game in less than 13 minutes.

At the end of a series, people like to talk about series changing moments. This series had very few of those moments.

Not because it wasn't some of the best hockey in recent playoff history, but because the two teams were so evenly matched through the first six games.

Each team had won three games apiece, five games had been decided by one goal, three of them in overtime.

Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin had lived up to, and even exceeded the hype surrounding them in the media and amongst fans.

Simeon Varlamov came out of nowhere and looked like a seasoned veteran at most times, with the occasional shakiness of a rookie, and was getting the job done against the defending Eastern Conference Champions.

But in a series that includes so much talent, involves so much hype, and had played out so evenly, something had to give, right?

One moment, one player, one play would have to make a difference.

That moment came on Alexander Ovechkin's first shift of this hockey game.

AO got a breakout pass and was able to split Scuderi and Gill and waltz in one-on-one against Marc-Andre Fleury.

AO waited, deked, and went to the spot where he had beaten Fleury multiple times in the series, but this time, Fleury flashed the leather and robbed the Big Red Joke of a goal.

If that puck goes in the net, the bells and sirens and whistles and air horns and whale mating calls from Bruce Boudreau's wife in the press box all start going off at the same time.

The fans go nuts, the Caps' bench goes nuts, AO rockets himself into the glass before getting some celebratory Semin in his face.

Instead, silence.

Instead, it was the Pittsburgh Penguins' bench that was energized.

It summoned the feeling that every athlete who has ever been a part of a team has felt before. It is almost indescribable, but it's that feeling to reward your teammate, or back him up, for putting himself out there on a limb, or flashing some sort of brilliance that resulted in an awe-inspiring play.

Everyone has their own definition of it, but you know the feeling.

MAF invoked that feeling in the guts of every one of his teammates.

After the big save, the game continued at a break neck pace. The Pens' third line got some looks at the net, Semin fired 24 shots off the glass behind Fleury.

After a Shaoaooaaooane (no one can spell his name right) Morrisonn slashing penalty, the Pens' power play hit the ice for the first time in the game.

You want to talk about playoff warriors, you talk about Sergei Gonchar, unless you're from Washington, then you just boo one of the league's top three defensemen right out of town.

Gonchar was not 100 percent tonight after missing two games due to the knee-to-knee hit by Ovechkin in Game Four. The fact that he was even on the ice shows you what he is all about.

Gonch took the puck at the point on the power play, and as he has so many times, lined up for a shot. Shifting all of his weight to his left leg, Gonch fired the puck toward the side of the cage. Boo that, jokes.

Sidney Crosby was on the door step to receive the shot-pass from the point. Sid directed the puck to his stick using his right skate blade and tapped it in behind Varla-soft to open the scoring. 1-0 Pens.

Before you could wonder if the Pens were going to slack off after getting the early lead, Craig Adams kicked you in the face and told you to shut your mouth.

Ruslan Fedotenko fed a crisp pass across the ice to Adams, who found the five hole on Varla-soft for his first goal in 42 career playoff games. 2-0 Pens.

After the two quick goals, Ojokekin tired to start something. He ran over a Penguin in the offensive zone. He created a turnover, but Rob Scuderi thwarted the attack.

On the next shift, Brooks Orpik ran into Semin along the far boards. Apparently Sergei Fedorov took exception to the hit and cross checked Orpik in the back right in front of the official.

As a veteran player, you just can't make that mistake. You hear people talk about controlling your emotions in big games, well, Fedorov has never heard that statement before.

The Pens rattled off seven shots on the ensuing power play, with their best scoring chance coming from two whacks off the stick of Miroslav Satan at the side of the net, but Varla-soft stood his ground.

After the kill, the Caps generated some momentum in the dying minute of the period.

No. 52 for the Capitals (does anyone know who that guy is?) whiffed on a chance at a wide open net near the end of the period and the Pens took a two goal advantage into the break.

You had a feeling that the Caps were going to come out strong in the second period. The Pens were going to have to weather the oncoming sto...

Billy Guerin scored to make it 3-0 Pens.

If Mike Green wins the Norris Trophy, the NHL should shoot itself.

Watch the replay on the Guerin goal. Crosby gains the zone and pulls up near the far circle. Green is "defending" Sid on the play.

Rather than getting his stick in a shooting/passing lane, stepping up on Crosby to pressure him, or even bodying up on the puck carrier, Green is caught admiring the action.

Crosby had more time than the Boudreau family at a Continental Breakfast and found Guerin coming late. Guerin also went undefended in the slot and fired a shot past Varla-soft to make it 3-0 Pens.

Less than two minutes later, Varla-soft's season came to a screeching halt.

Evgeni Malkin was somehow allowed to come to a full stop with the puck on the offensive side of the red line (Mike Green was on the ice) and sail a perfect pass the entire width of the ice to Kris Letang.

Letang skated into the zone and released a shot that would make the Beltway sniper take a second look.

Varla-soft never saw it. Neither did 99 percent of the people watching the game.

Letang knew it was in. 4-0 Pens. Goodnight, Simeon.

Jose Theodore hopped over the boards and took over between the pipes for the Caps.

Eight minutes into Theo's tenure as the Caps' goaltender, Crosby set up Satan in front of the net. Miro waited with the patience of Job, but fired a shot over the net.

Satan redeemed himself on his next shift when he made a sick play behind the net and fed a nifty pass to the oak tree that is Jordan Staal in front of the net.

Staal buried it for his second goal of the playoffs and extended the lead to five goals.

Brooks Laich got his stick into the face of Brooks Orpik, but nothing was called. Big break for the Caps.

With less than two minutes to go in the second period, Fleury misplayed a soft dump-in behind the net and AO took advantage by snatching up the loose puck and using his big toe-curve to whip it into the gaping cage.

5-1 Pens heading into the final 20 minutes of play.

A four goal lead in the third period might have you feeling pretty secure during a game in mid-November. But this is the Stanley Cup Playoffs. No lead is safe.

That is, unless Brooks Laich is on your roster.

Laich once again lost control of his stick just 26 seconds into the third period and headed to the box for four minutes after it caught Crosby in the chops.

The Caps tried to get something going shorthanded, but the Pens would have none of it.

Ojokekin tried to go one against the world, but had his pocket picked by Sidney Crosby.

Crosby took off all alone down the ice, deked Theodore out of his jock and went five hole to put the icing on the Capitals' cake.

Laich tried to redeem himself by scoring a meaningless goal a couple of minutes later. Fail.

Semin was dishing out cross checks at every opportunity he had in the final half of the period.

This is the same guy who asked "what's so special about Sidney Crosby? I don't see anything special there" at the beginning of the regular season.

Crosby shrugged off the comment, finished third in the NHL scoring race, led the league in playoff goals through the first two rounds, and led his team to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second season in a row.

Semin was invisible in this series. He fired more shots off of the glass than the rest of the Capitals' team combined. He also has a 3:00 tee time next Monday afternoon. Whoooooooooooooo.

The Pens were able to rest their big guns down the stretch and ultimately coasted to victory.

Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has just left Washington D.C.

Final Score: Pittsburgh 6 Washington 2

Series: Pittsburgh 4 Washington 3

As the series draws to a close, the Washington Capitals have a number of things to worry about.

Firstly, someone needs to contact Madison Square Garden to see if Mike Green ever left after Game Six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. What a choke artist.

Secondly, the Caps' P.A. announcer should be getting a head start on his hunt for a summer job. Perhaps Mean Gene Okerland can hook him up with the WWE, or maybe the guys at PBR (Professional Bull Riding) are looking for some help.

Third, the Caps' national anthem singer needs to decide how he is going to put 18,000 people to sleep with his stunning rendition of the Star Spangled Banner now that hockey season is over.

Ted Leonsis might have some problems hitching a ride back to Baghdad, considering that the U.S. presence in Iraq has been on a bit of a decline recently.

Bruce Boudreau is scheduled to sign autographs outside of the Denny's in downtown Washington next week at 8:45 AM. A breakfast/lunch/brunch/dinner/midnight snack buffet will follow, but there won't be anything left after 9:00 AM.

Alexander Ovechkin is a hell of a hockey player. That became perhaps more evident in this series than ever before. It's just too bad this his integrity level rivals that of Manny Roidmirez of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Simeon Varla-soft might want to learn some English so that he knows what his coach is talking about when he says "stop the puck."

Perhaps the greatest sound you've heard all week was the silence that fell over the Bells and Sirens Center after the Pens mounted a five goal lead midway through the second period.

All jokes aside, well except the joke that is the Washington Capitals' franchise (1-7 all-time against the Penguins in the playoffs), this series was one for the ages.

The superstars lived up to their respective billings.

Tempers flared, emotions ran rampant, great goals were scored and spectacular saves were made.

But most importantly, the Red just got ROCKED!

Let's Go Pens.

Penguins—Capitals: Set to Do Battle in Game Seven

Wooooo — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:56:22 -0400

You woke up this morning knowing that it all could end today.

The losing streaks in December, January, and February, the dressing of almost two full lines of AHL'ers for a month of the season, the pleas to trade Ryan Whitney, the acquisitions of Billy Guerin, Craig Adams, and Chris Kunitz at the trade deadline, all could mean nothing after 60 minutes of hockey tonight in D.C.

Tonight, Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals comes to us from in the midst of all the bells, whistles, sirens, air horns, and cartoon character P.A. announcers of the Verizon Center in Washington.

The Caps were up 2-0 in this series. They had their chance to put it away. They failed.

The Pens erased the two game deficit and polished Washington off in Game Five to take a 3-2 advantage in the series.

They had their chance to put it away within the confines of the ageless Igloo in Game Six.

They failed.

Now, we're back to an even playing field. Both teams will be fighting for their respective playoff lives. Only one teams' head coach, however, will be downing massive amounts of fried foods during the intermissions.

You could wake up tomorrow with a smile on your face, wondering which team is next on the road to Lord Stanley.

Or, you could wake up and have to shave your playoff beard.

You might wake up with a few bruises you got while in a celebratory dog pile after the final buzzer tonight, but you won't mind, because your golf clubs can remain nestled neatly in the corner of your garage for at least another week or so.

Or, you might gaze at yourself in your bathroom mirror, you might even take a cold shower and then unknowingly walk out of your house and into your workplace stark naked.

Whatever is going to happen tomorrow, it all starts tonight.

If you're a Caps fan, you might be hinging your playoff hopes on the illegally curved blade of Alex Ojokekin.

Or perhaps you feel that Simeon Varlamov will work some more of his rookie magic and steal another game.

If you're a Pens' fan, maybe you're basing your hope on the fact that Sidney Crosby just won't let his team lose.

Maybe you're aware of Varla-soft's play in the series, but you realize that Marc-Andre Fleury has yet to "steal a game" the way he did in the first round against the Flyers.

Maybe you like to remind people of that Evgeni Malkin guy who has once again fallen relatively silent on the score sheet since dominating the ice in Game Three.

Whatever you're banking on, whatever you're hoping for, tonight's game, and this series, can only end in one of two ways.

The Penguins or Capitals will advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Not one, or both, or neither.

One.

One team. One game. One goal—win.

Let's Go Pens.

Pittsburgh Penguins-Washington Capitals Game Five: Varla-soft

Wooooo — Sun, 10 May 2009 00:46:17 -0400

This is my first recap in what feels like forever. Let's just say that the end of another semester combined with the big screen outside of Mellon Arena and large amounts of frost brewed beverages have done quite a good job of consuming my game night activities.

For those of you who care, which is undoubtedly a number I could count on less than two hands, I apologize.

For those of you who don't: whoooooooooooooooooooo.

For the second time in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, the Pittsburgh Penguins pulled off a dramatic overtime win against the Washington Capitals.

In Game Three, it was pretty much a do or die situation. Tonight wasn't much different.

The Penguins now have a chance to close out the series at home on Monday night and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in as many years.

Alex Ovechkin has been at the forefront of a lot of discussions lately.

Was his hit on Sergei Gonchar in Game Four a dirty hit? Should he have received a five minute kneeing penalty? Should he have been fined, or suspended? Will GEICO renew his contract for the "So Easy a Caveman Can Do It" commercials after this year?

Alex the Joke once again put the off ice distractions aside and did almost everything he could do to give his team the upperhand in this series.

After the first two games of the series, Penguins' fans who have never experienced the Stanley Cup Playoffs before began to lose hope.

People started believing that Simeon Varlamov was an elite goaltender.

People started believing that Ovechkin was too much for the Penguins to handle.

Then the Pens came home to the Igloo and did what they had to do: win two games.

They headed into the nation's capitol tonight without their best defenseman, but with all the momentum.

A five goal Penguin performance in Game Four surely was in the back of the mind of Varla-soft tonight.

After 25 minutes of scoreless hockey, Jordan Staal capitalized on the rookie goaltender's rattled psyche by scoring his first goal of the playoffs five minutes in to the second period.

In the series, the team that has scored the first goal had lost every game until tonight.

In the midst of Bruce Boudreau downing his second five dollar footlong in the first two periods of regulation, Ovechkin responded with a goal to tie the game at one.

After a too many men on the ice penalty against Pittsburgh, Nicklas Backstrom netted a power play goal to put the Caps ahead 2-1 heading into the break.

Playing from behind on the road in the playoffs can prove to be quite a daunting task.

That being said, the Pens needed to even things up early in the third period if they were to have a legitimate shot at winning the game.

Ruslan Fedotenko didn't disappoint. Tank notched his fourth goal of the playoffs on a quick snap shot from the top of the left circle that beat Varla-soft to even the game at two.

Six minutes later, Staal drove the net and Tyler Kennedy shot the puck on Varla-soft.

A scramble ensued in front of the flopping goaltender, and former Capital Matt Cooke was able to wrist a slick backhander over the goaltender to give the Pens the lead.

Ovechk...I mean, the Capitals, weren't about to go down quietly.

Ovechkin scored at 15:52 of the third to even the game once again, and we would be headed for overtime.

Neither team looked ready to take any chances early in the overtime period, but superstar players don't wait for the other team to make a mistake, they create their own chances.

Evgeni Malkin did just that and generated a two-on-one rush up the ice.

Geno held the puck on the right wing while Tom Poti was caught in the middle of the two best players in the world.

Geno tried to slide a a pass across the ice to Sidney Crosby, but Poti went down on his stomach to prevent the pass from getting through.

If you've ever played hockey, or if you've been a fan for longer than a couple of weeks, you would know that Poti was responsible for preventing the pass across the ice. He had the right idea, but the hockey gods had other plans.

Geno's pass deflected off of the shaft of Poti's stick and the puck found its way between the pillows of Varla-soft to give the Pens the victory.

Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has just left the building.

Final Score: Pittsburgh 4 Washington 3

Series: 3-2 Pittsburgh

- Sergei Gonchar's absence was extremely evident tonight.

- The Penguins' 6-1 all time record against the Capitals in the playoffs should have been reason enough for Pens fans not to jump ship after Game Two.

- David Steckel had a chance to put the game away in the opening second of overtime. He choked.

- Mark Eaton's picture should be included after the definition of "solid" in Webster's dictionary. I dare you to find the last time this guy made a mistake on the ice.

- For all of the Caps' fans obsessed with the officiating in the series, the penalties were even at four a side tonight, whatever that is worth.

- Bruce Boudreau is a massive human being.

- See you on Monday at the Igloo.

Let's Go Pens.

Penguins-Capitals Preview: Leonsis and Talent and Bylsma, Oh My!

Wooooo — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 23:15:49 -0400

Game One of the Eastern Conference Semifinals series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals is set to commence this Saturday afternoon at 1:00 PM on NBC.

If the game goes into overtime, not surprisingly, NBC will bail on the National Hockey League so as to not miss the heart-stopping action of a bunch of horses running around in circles for two minutes.

The game will switch over to Versus in the case of an overtime period, so as to not take away any air time from the Kentucky Derby.

I'd write a few more paragraphs about how big a joke NBC is when it comes to hockey coverage, but you are all quite aware of that by now, so on to the series.

To say that the Crosby-Ovechkin match up has been overused and overhyped to levels that not even the repetitive guitar parts of every song on a Nickleback album could fathom would be an understatement.

These guys are two of the best players in the world. They don't like each other. Their teammates don't like each other. Their mothers would probably pull each other's hair at an NHL end-of-season barbecue. You get the point.

If you want an in depth summary of Crosby-Ovechkin matchups or you want to read all about how two players will ultimately determine the outcome of this series, go to NHL.com.

If you have ever actually watched a playoff hockey series, you know that two players does not a series winner make, or something like that.

There's no doubt that both Crosby and Ovechkin will ultimately play a huge role in the success, or failure of their respective team in this series. However, to say that the matchup between two players will play such an integral role in the series that it will undoubtedly overshadow the impact of everyone else on the ice during the course of a best-of-seven game series is just foolish.

Bruce Boudreau, an effortless representative to stave off childhood obesity in the D.C. area, led the Washington Capitals to their first 50-win season in over 20 years and helped set a franchise record of 108 points during the 2008-09 campaign.

Capitals' owner Ted Leonsis phoned in to Gary Bettman's radio show in between bomb threats in his native Baghdad to say that he thinks "you're going to see playoff-style hockey, but with a little more offense." What a statement.

The only thing Leonsis is going to see more of as a result of this series is ticket sales and cheeseburgers, which he has undoubtedly been sharing with his head coach.

Aside from the star power that will be on the ice in this series in the form of Crosby, Ovechkin, and Malkin, there are a few things that the Penguins have which the Capitals do not.

An in-shape head coach aside, the Penguins have a proven playoff performer between the pipes in the form of Marc-Andre Fleury.

The Caps have a hot hand in rookie goaltender Simeon Varlamov.

If you think Simeon Varlamov is a proven playoff performer because he posted two shutouts and led his team back from a 3-1 deficit against the New York Rangers, you're kidding yourself.

The guy is obviously talented—you don't win playoff series if you're not. However, a 15-shot output from the Rangers in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series hardly provides a true test of a young goaltender's big-game ability.

Varlamov could have gone back to Russia in the last 10 minutes of Game Seven against the Rangers and still picked up the 'W', because New York failed to muster a single shot on goal.

Another advantage that will likely tip the scales in the Penguins' favor is the third-line matchup.

Tyler Kennedy-Jordan Staal-Matt Cooke has been one of the most effective third lines in the National Hockey League since the beginning of the regular season, and continued their success in the first round against the Flyers.

Jordan Staal made Jeff Carter look like a seven-year-old girl trying to uproot an oak tree with her bare hands when he was in the offensive zone.

Tyler Kennedy turned off of the wall and fed centering passes to the front of the net with ease and also potted two goals in the series.

The Capitals know all about what Matt Cooke brings to the table.

The Caps' third line of Matt Bradley-David Steckel-Brooks Laich is inferior in both talent and physicality to the Pens' third line.

One similarity between the two teams is the underrated nature of their respective defensive corps.

Everyone knows how nasty Mike Green is, especially on the power play, but his partner Tom Poti and Milan Jurcina both offer big slap shots from the blue line to go along with big bodies in the defensive zone.

One thing people like to talk about when it comes to playoff matchups is history.

This year's meeting between the Pens and Caps will be the eighth such meeting in the history of the two franchises. Neither team has faced another team more times. That last sentence is one of the most confusing sentences is the history of modern language.

The Penguins are 6-1 all time against the Capitals in the playoffs, with Washington's lone series victory coming in 1994 in six games.

History is a fun thing to look at, but it means virtually nothing when you're talking about the playoffs.

The last meeting between the two teams in the post season occurred in 2001, when the Pens won the series 4-2.

Needless to say, both teams have undergone complete overhauls since 2001.

The hype surrounding this series makes the battle of David vs. Goliath look like a staged fight on an elementary school playground.

Ted Leonsis has no idea who David and Goliath are.

There are rumors swirling around the blogosphere of the Washington Capitals' front office buying up tickets on Craigslist for the first two games of the series, and even going as far as posting "fake" tickets to the games so as to prevent Penguins' fans from picking them up.

Given Leonsis' track record, this doesn't come as much of a surprise. This comes from the same front office that blocked the 412 area code from their telephone lines in an effort to prevent Penguins' fans from attending games in D.C. last season.

Caps fans won't believe that last sentence, but a quick Google search will prove your doubts wrong.

The Penguins-Capitals rivalry has always been present in the Eastern Conference, but it has grown by leaps and bounds since the arrival of Crosby and Ovechkin to the National Hockey League.

The two fan bases don't like each other. As I already established, the players don't like each other.

Alex Semin showed his distaste for Sidney Crosby earlier this season by asking the media "what's so special about Sidney Crosby?"

While Crosby once again finished in the top three in the NHL in points and broke the 100 point mark for the second time in his career, Semin struggled to break in to the top 20 in the points race and finished the season just shy of 80 points.

Oh, and how many Stanley Cup Finals has Alex Semin been to?

If you're a Penguins' fan and you don't hate Alexander Ovechkin, you will by about the 10-minute mark of the first period of Game One of this series.

And if you're a Capitals' fan, that's a good thing, because it means Ovechkin is doing his job.

While Ovechkin will likely post somewhere in the ballpark of 10 shots on goal per game during this series, and he will likely score at least his fair share of big-time goals, keep in mind that it takes a 19-man effort to win a hockey game on any given night—something that the Capitals' skeptics in Pittsburgh will have a hard time believing until they see it.

Let's Go Pens.

Penguins-Flyers Game Six: Max Talbot Owns Philadelphia as Pittsburgh Wins Series

Wooooo — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 23:57:00 -0400

Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals was everything that a hockey fan could have hoped for.

The momentum swung more than Mike Emrick's wife. There were goals, spectacular saves by Marc-Andre Fleury, and of course, a collapse of epic proportions by the Philadelphia Flyers. What more could you ask for?

The Pens don't win this series without this man.

The game started off in the usual manner with NBC throwing out preposterous assumptions about the Flyers having a better chance of winning Game 6 because they were on their home ice.

Pierre McGuire was replaced by Darren Pang in the flesh this afternoon on NBC, but the spirit of the biggest joke in sports lived on between the benches with Pang's stuttering responses and below-average, open-ended questions.

By the four-minute mark of the second period, the Flyers had mounted a three-goal lead.

After quick goals by Mike Knuble and Joffrey Lupul at the end of the first period, and an early tally by Daniel Briere in the second, it looked as though the Penguins might have dug themselves too deep of a hole.

Yes, you read the previous sentence correctly, Daniel Briere scored a goal in the playoffs.

If you gave up hope after the Flyers' third goal, shame on you for six weeks.

Exactly one year ago today, the Pens erased a three-goal deficit against the New York Rangers in last year's playoffs and went on to win the game, and eventually the series.

If there's one thing that the past two seasons have taught us about this group of Penguins, it is that they are never out of a game, especially when Daniel Carcillo is on the opposing team.

Up by three goals, Carcillo was coaxed into dropping the gloves with Max Talbot.

Now dropping the gloves when you're up by three goals in a regular season game in mid-November might be excusable.

But engaging in a round of fisticuffs with one of the opposing teams' agitators when you're ahead by three goals in a deciding game of a playoff series is just plain stupid.

What's even better is that just minutes before the fight, Eddie Oljoke was praising Carcillo, saying that both John Stevens and Wayne Gretzky encouraged the youngster to play whistle-to-whistle because he has deceptive hockey skills that are too valuable to a team to be wasted away sitting in the penalty box. Great analysis, as usual.

Carcillo may have gotten the best of Talbot in the bout, but Max was able to rally his teammates behind him by putting himself in a position to be a game-changer.

Talbot for Mayor of Philadelphia

Sidney Crosby told Darren Pang after the game that when your teammate drops his gloves, the rest of the guys on the bench want to rally behind him, to show their support, and to make his effort worthwhile.

Andy Warhol couldn't have painted a better picture-perfect performance than the Penguins put on in the next 35 minutes.

Talbot shushed the Flyer crowd as he headed to the sin bin, while Carcillo motioned for the crowd to "get the f--k up."

The next motion Carcillo should see in his professional hockey career is the Flyers' GM telling him to "get the f--k out of Philadelphia."

Less than 30 seconds after the scrap, a sleeping giant was awakened.

Evgeni Malkin proved why he is currently the best player in the National Hockey League by making sure that the Penguins took advantage of the shift in momentum.

Geno flew into the zone, curled around the net, stopped on a dime and slid the puck toward the net.

A scramble ensued in front of the net, and Ruslan Fedotenko was able to get the pickle-stabber on the biscuit and force it in behind French Toast to make it 3-1 Flyers.

Just over two minutes later, Tyler Kennedy got the puck to the net, and Toast was unable to corral it.

Mark Eaton flew in out of nowhere to swat the puck out of midair and into the back of the cage. 3-2 Flyers. Eaton has played six of the best, most consistent hockey games of his career in this series.

Sidney Crosby (who sucks) tied the score at three before the end of the period when a Bill Guerin shot deflected off of Toast's glove and into the air, where Sid swiftly batted it home.

The stage was set for an epic third period battle.

The Pens didn't waste much time grabbing the lead early in the third period as Malkin gained the offensive blue line and dropped the puck back to Sergei Gonchar, who unloaded a wicked slap shot that Biron still hasn't seen. 4-3 Pens.

The Flyers would post just five shots on goal for the rest of the third period. Fleury turned aside all of them.

In the game's dying seconds, the Flyers pulled Biron in hopes of tying the game and forcing overtime.

The Pens had somewhat of a different plan for the outcome of the game.

Crosby (who sucks) picked off a weak pass in the neutral zone and flew into the Flyers' zone, staring at the gaping net in his path.

He was forced wide by a Flyers' "defenseman" but recovered the puck behind the net, soared around to the opposite side, and buried it on the back hand to seal the deal.

Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has just left Philadelphia.

Final Score: Pittsburgh 5, Philthadelphia 3

"Keep your star of the game nominations, I'll take our Second-Round Playoff Berth"

Series: 4-2, Pittsburgh Wins

- If you're looking for a good photo-op in Philadelphia this week, be sure to check out all the local golf courses.

- The NBC crew got increasingly quiet with each goal the Penguins scored, and was virtually silent after Gonchar gave them the lead early in the third period. What a feeling.

- To the Flyers, their fanbase, and all of their supporters here on Bleacher Report, on behalf of the Pittsburgh Penguins' community, I would like to extend to you all a very well-earned, complimentary WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

- To Daniel Carcillo: Thanks for the series, joke.

- Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

- See you in Round Two.

Let's GO Pens

Penguins-Flyers Game Five: Philippe Boucher Loves Philly Cheese Steaks

Wooooo — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 21:59:00 -0400

You hear people talking about "pointing the finger" after a team loses a big game.

Right now, we'd much rather give the finger than point it.

Apparently Kris Letang suffered an injury in Game four and was kept out of the lineup in Game five, tonight—Philippe Boucher replaced him.

Sure, the Pens could have capitalized on one of their four power plays, or found a way to beat Marty Biron, but Boucher's failure to clear the puck out of his own zone before the Giroux goal and his inability to get the puck deep into the Flyers' zone before the Knuble goal sure didn't help.

Bobby Boucher makes those plays with his eyes closed—so, does Kris Letang.

The Pens came out firing in the first period, trying to get an early start on pounding the final nail in the Flyers' coffin.

If there was ever a time the phrase "weathering a storm" applied, it was the first period of this hockey game.

Biron made some big saves, but the Pens' third line kept coming, possessing the puck in the offensive zone and generating solid scoring chances every time they hit the ice.

Tyler Kennedy was coming off of the corner more easily than Lauren Hart on Broad Street, which is no simple task.

Mike Richards got a chance to put the Flyers ahead early in the period, but his initial attempt was thwarted by Fleury, and his second chance sailed wide of the net—what a leader.

Richards teamed up with some other joke to sandwich Sidney Crosby in the corner on the next shift—what a captain.

Crosby responded by exposing Kimmo Timonen as the average defenseman he really is by inside-outing Timonen all the way down the ice, but Toast was there to make the save.

The Flyers got a power play, and their final shot of the period around the nine-minute mark.

The Pens' top line turned in an unreal shift near the end of the period, but neither Chris Kunitz nor Bill Guerin could put one of Crosby's perfectly placed passes past Biron—alliteration 101 in that last sentence.

At the end of the same shift, Crosby beats Bernie Parent to a spot on the ice and draws the penalty. Crosby wins that battle for open ice every time, what a terrible defensive play by Bernie.

The Pens fired five shots on the ensuing power play, and Crosby won four face offs, two of them against Mike Richards—what a penalty killer.

Richards got a shorthanded opportunity near the end of the penalty, but couldn't get a good shot away—what a puck handler.

The period ended, with the Pens carrying the play, and leading on the shot clock by a 15-to-5margin.

Crosby was 6-0 in the face off circle in the first period. Too bad face offs don't win hockey games.

The second period started and…

To some badass hail and a lightning strike in Atlanta, Georgia, FSN lost its' feed for almost the entire second period of the game.

Before the shock wore off and you realized to go turn Mike Lange on the radio, Arron Asham snuck a shot past Fleury to give the Flyers the lead.

Judging by the replay version of the goal, this was a shot Fleury probably should have stopped. Then again, he just stopped 45 of them in the last game, so where is the goal support?

The Pens thought they had found that goal support when Sergei Gonchar fired a puck toward the net and it deflected in off of Malkin's skate.

The play was reviewed and the goal was disallowed, as it was ruled that the puck entered the net as a result of a kicking motion off the foot of Evgeni Malkin.

FSN regained consciousness in the third period, just in time for John Stevens to slip Philippe Boucher a few crisp Benjamin Franklins as he skated past the Flyers' bench.

Boucher responded to the bribe with the weakest attempt at clearing a puck out of the defensive zone in the history of professional hockey.

You can get away with these kinds of plays in Dallas, but this isn’t the Western Conference!

The Flyers made him pay for the mistake as Giroux scored his second goal of the playoffs to make it 2-0 Philly with 16-minutes to go.

The Pens pushed, well kind of, for the next 10-minutes, but it was easy to see that it just wasn't there tonight. Whatever it is, the Penguins didn't have it.

Boucher handed the Flyers another insurance goal around the 13-minute mark when he pinched a few feet inside the blue line to hold the puck in the Flyers' zone, but instead of banging it deep, he halfheartedly chipped it down the boards, where Matt Carle quickly turned it the other way.

Knuble picked up the garbage, but Richards started the play by firing a hard shot to the leg pads of Fleury, looking to create a rebound. What a human.

That was it. The Pens threw their weight around late in the game and took a couple of penalties out of frustration.

Fleury should not be faulted in any way shape or form for this loss. If you think Fleury had anything to do with the outcome of this game, kill yourself.

Biron turned aside all 28 shots he faced to pick up the shutout.

You don't get a shutout in an NHL playoff game if you aren't playing some good hockey, but bulletproof vests have been more agile while stopping shots than Biron had to be tonight.

Flyer fans will claim they are "back in the series" after this win, just as they did after their victory in Game three.

Penguin fans will claim they only need to win one out of two games while the Flyers need to win two out of two.

Some people will claim that Mike Richards is not a great leader and captain. Those people are pathetic excuses for competent human beings and should be ashamed of them.

Whatever claim you make, your claim, like mine, means absolutely nothing.

The only thing that matters now is when these two teams hit the ice on Saturday afternoon at the Wajokeia Center to play Game six of this series.

Until then: Let's Go Pens!

Penguins-Flyers Game Five Preview: Petr Sykora Out, Miroslav Satan In

Wooooo — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:17:02 -0400

Pittsburghpenguins.com has announced that Petr Sykora will be a healthy scratch for tonight's Game 5 against the Philadelphia Flyers at Mellon Arena.

Veteran winger Miroslav Satan, who rejoined the Penguins after a late season stint in the AHL, will replace Sykora in the lineup.

Head coach Dan Bylsma assured the media that "the decision we made was not based on injuries."

Penguins' defenseman Kris Letang, who suffered a minor injury late in Game 4, will be a game time decision for Game 5.

If Letang is unable to go, he will be replaced be fellow right hand shooting defenseman Phillippe Boucher.

Sykora, who has failed to register a point in the playoffs despite several solid scoring chances, and spending the majority of his time on the ice on Evgeni Malkin's wing, struggled during the final 10 games of the regular season, scoring just one goal against the lowly Tampa Bay Lightning during the stretch run.

Although Satan practiced on the second line with Geno and Ruslan Fedotenko, Bylsma will surely try a number of different combinations to flank Malkin during tonight's contest.

The Penguins have called for a "Whiteout" for Game 5 and will be handing out white t-shirts to all fans in attendance at the gates of the Igloo.

Lastly, Game 5 will be shown on the big screen outside of the Mellon Arena, much to the chagrin of the jokes at NBC, so if you're heading down for the game, I'll see you there.

Let's Go Pens.