Friday, January 30, 2009

What the Hell???Pens Lose

The Pens coming off a 6-2 ass beating of the New York Rangers on Wednesday night are gonna try and cool down a hot Devils team.

The Game starts bad for the Pens as Kris Letang heads to the box 14 seconds in for a hooking call. The Pens kill of the Penalty but not without Fleury having to bail them out a time or 2. The Devils continue walking on the Pens at even strength. Boucher breaks his stick trying to make a pass out of his own zone and gives it away in the slot, Fleury has to make a big pad save to keep the game scoreless. Steigy assumed it was blocked by Orpik, Fsn must have assumed he was a good Announcer.
The 1st half of the period belonged to the Devils, The Penguins couldn't get their legs under them. Minard takes a delay of game penalty at 12:42 giving the Devils their second penalty of the game. The Pens would kill this one off a little easier than the first one.
The Pens get the first goal of the game at 10:27. Whitney fires a slap shot from the point that Talbot deflects behind Clemmenson. With the way this game has been going that goal was of the huge variety.
20 seconds later Malkin finds Crosby for a backhander that give the Pens a 2 goal lead.
The 2 goal lead wouldn't last long, Bobby Holik cut the lead in half with a backhander that goes through the 5 hole. Can this guy please retire some time soon. What a goon.
a minute later Minard almost gets the goal back. The Puck gets through Clemmenson but Madden gets to it before it goes across the line.
5:47 the pens have to kill of a Brooks Orpik Penalty to keep the lead. Of all times to hit someone coming out of the box for a breakaway. Orpik comes in on Clemmenson and misses the net. He does draw a hooking Penalty, which is almost as good. Orpiks heroic effort goes with nothing to show for it as the Devils easily kill off the Penalty.
The first period end with the Devils severely out playing the Pens, but finding themselves down by a goal.

The second period was nothing. Other than the Pin ball effect in front of Fleury there was nothing. Holik shows us a time or 2 why he is nothing more than a Goon that sometimes lucks into a goal. He Cross checks Orpik for no reason that send him to the box. He cross checks Fleury for no reason that sends him to the box. I guess you can do that all you want if you know the Pens power play blows. It would have been sweet if the Pens would have made him pay. The 2nd period come to an end with Crosby taking a slashing Penalty with out making contact with anything, nice one refs.

The Pens kill the remaining time on the Crosby phantom slashing penalty to start the 3rd period.
Less 2 minutes in the Playoff hopes of the Pens falls to the ice in some obvious pain. Malkin gets impaled by his own stick. He Skates to the bench doubled over. That's not good for the Pens.
Malkin gives us another hint that he is invincible by not only getting back in the game but, scoring his 100th career goal at 11:25. The Pens are winning 3-1. This one is over???
8:05 Sykora gets called for hooking and makes things worse by bitching about and obvious bad call.
The Pens manage to kill off 4 seconds of the first penalty. The Devils get a goal off the faceoff to make it a one goal lead for the Pens. This one isn't over yet, there is still another Penalty to kill.
The Pens survive the devils second power play, but it's obvious who has the momentum. The 1 goal lead would last all the way until 30 seconds left in the game, when Whitney decides to score in his own net. A fluky goal for sure. On to overtime.

Have the Pens ever played 4 on 4 Hockey? That had to be the worst display of overtime hockey i've seen. Giveaway after giveaway. It was only a matter of time before the Devils end it. I was surprised that it lasted 4 minutes.

The Pens turn 2 points into 1 point. It's better than nothing.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Shake that ass bitch & let me see whatcha got-Pens Win

It's the first game back from the all star break so, as far as i'm concerned, everything that happened before tonight is erased. The Pens will start the season tonight against the Rangers. There is no better first step in turning your season around than to put it to the Rangers.

Godard gets the Penguins started by dropping Colton Orr off the opening faceoff, it was an even fight until the last round house that put Orr to his knees. When is he going to learn, every game he fights Godard and every game he gets his ass handed to him.
The Rangers would get do one better by getting the 1st goal of the game 2:30 later. Zherdev fires a Wicked Wrister© from the circle that cleanly beats maf'er.
It took a while for the Pens to get their legs under them. The Rangers were controlling every aspect of the game early on. Winning the loose puck battles, creating turnovers all over the ice.
The Pens would fight through all of that and get a garbage goal to tie it up. Minard throws one to the net, Sykora puts the rebound past Lundqvist to tie it up. A goal is a goal and the Pens don't get enough goals of the garbage variety.
The Sykora goal seemed to light a fire under the Pens asses, as they start to show up for the game. Crosby dishes one to Malkin right inside the Blue line, Malkin tries 5-hole against King Hank, nothing Doing, Hank gives it, then takes it away. It's the little mind games these goalies like to play.
The first Penalty of the game would come at the hands of Pascul Dupuis. Hes called for a high stick in the offensive zone. The Pens would kill the Penalty, but the Rangers kept it in the Pens zone for almost the entire 2:00.
5:00 left in the 1st Period Malkin would spring Dupuis in on King Hank, he goes back hand, but he just couldn't get it up. He Puts that upstairs, it's a goal.
The Pens almost get a goal late, Malkin tries to jam one past Lundqvist, but the door is shut.
End of one.

The Pens were lucky to survive the early part of the game. The Rangers were all over the ice.

Most of the 2nd period was Mud, nothing to write home about, until the refs decided to make up some new rules to call the Pens on. The 1st one comes at 12:20 of the 2nd. Max Talbot gets called for crashing the net for a loose puck. The Refs call 2:00 for charging. No wonder Lundqvist has such good stats, if he gives up a rebound the refs blow it dead. What a terrible call. If the Rangers would have scored on that Power Play, the remote would have went through the t.v. screen.
The Pens would have to kill another Max Talbot Penalty. Malkin makes a few bad decisions, The Rangers control the Puck for at least a week and a half, Bob Errey is bitching about some shit, and Max Talbot throws the puck into the stands for a delay of game Penalty. The Penalty kill again bails them out, but not before Crosby splits the Rangers "d" only to get hauled down with no Penalty called. The Pens are 3 for 3 on the Penalty kill.
3:00 left in the 3rd the Rangers come in on a 2 on 1. Saves don't get any bigger than that one. Fleury manages to get from one post to the other to stop the back door pass. A tie game, that saves was huge. The 2nd period would end even as neither team could crack the goalies.

This may have been the best 3rd period I've seen in a while, at least since the Detroit game earlier this season. Staal would start the scoring in the period by beating King Hank from behind the net. That was not a good goal to give up. Staal throws it out in front, it hits Lundqvists skate and slides into the net. FLuky goal but again, I'll take it.
With 18:35 of the 3rd period the Pens get their first power play chance of the night. Letang would get tripped by the blue line, the refs decide that 5 on 3 would be to unfair at this point in the game, no call. I was unaware that the Rangers Penalty kill was the best in the league. The Pens should have declined the Penalty and let the play stand.
Letang would get an insurance goal with 13:42 left in the 3rd from a sick pass from Crosby. Letang beat s Hank with a short side wrister. 3-1 Pens.
Malkin draws a Penalty 2:00 later. The Pens go on another power play. To make it better some rnager d-bag throw one to a lucky fan, Delay of game, 5 on 3 for the Pens. Satan rips one off the Pipe, But Sykora wouldn;t be denied. 4-1 Pens. The Pens still have 1:21 of Penalty time that would be killed of by the Rangers Penalty killers.
Mark Staal gives the Rangers and their idiot fans some false hope with a meaningless goal with 6:00 left in the game to make it 4-2. Whatever go home.
The next 2 goals by the Pens were for the highlight reel. 1st Paul Coffey, or was that Letang, goes coast to coast to beat Lundqvist 5-hole. 5-2 Pens. Simply amazing, That is what we should expect from Letang.
A 1:40 left Crosby would show us some magic of his own, some sort of spinning backhander that kisses the crossbar and settles in the net behind King Hank.
The 1st game of the season couldn't have turned out better. Pens Win

Now for a quick note on the Steelers. The "Here We Go" song needs to stop. We know the Steelers are in the Super Bowl. That song was alright back in 95. i would like to go atleast 15 minutes without hearing it. I bet they don't play it after Big Ben chokes this weekend.

Go Pens

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Bad Bad Bad

So the Pens enter the All-star break on a sour note, all thanks to Cam Ward and the shitty saves he made last night. There was no recap because how many times can i say "good shot better save" before it gets boring.
Hopefully the Pens can take this week break to do some soul searching and come up with a few answers about why they can't seem to play a solid game of hockey. The window to turn this season around is closing faster than your girlfriends legs when you tell her she could shed a few pounds.
Have the Pens already turned the season around? The Pens entered last nights game winning 3 of 4 and other than a few giveaways they played a decent game. The Goalies are the great equalizer and last night proved it, other than a shitty goal by Malkin, Cam Ward was unbeatable. Maybe Tommy Barrasso has a lot to do with the way Ward has turned his career around. Surely nobody from Pittsburgh would give him any credit, they didn't when he was playing.
The players need a break after a greuling schedule and the fans need a chance to shake it off and regroup.

Go Pens

Friday, January 16, 2009

It's Can't All Be Good

The Pessimist in you says that the Pens won only 3 of the last eleven games, the Optimist says the Pens won 2 of the last 3 games. I will take the latter. I don't want to get to far ahead of myself but a win on Sunday and the Pens will officially be on what is called a winning streak. A winning steak is something the Pens haven't seen in quite a while.

The Pens put in a solid effort to beat the Ducks tonight on home ice to take home there 3rd win in the last 11 games. Matt Cooke had the first to goals of the game and Hal Gill added a crucial insurance goal late in the 3rd to give the Pens a 2 goal lead. How good of a fit is Matt Cooke on the top line? It seems like the Matt Cooke style of play is perfect for that line. If Coach T can get everyone to buy into this system he implementing it could be the start of something good.

This season for everything good that pens accomplish it comes at a cost. Sidney Crosby, Max Talbot, Rob Scuderi, and Kris Letang all drop in the Capitals game, and now Brooks Orpik goes down in the Ducks game. But this could be just what the Doctor ordered for the Pens. go through a little adversity like this to regain the focus of a year ago.

Here's to the start of a winning streak.

GO Pens

Go Steelers!!!



Those guys riding off into the sunset may have taken the Pen's season with them.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Go Fuck Yourself Philadelphia

Seriously, the way things are going right now, did anyone give the Pens a chance tonight, But they came out on a mission and they couldn't have picked a better game to do it. I know they only have one win in the last 8 or so games but tonights win erases all of that because it was against the the flyers. Like i say, if the Pens lose every game but when they play the Fleyrs its a good season in my book.
Good things have to come tonight, its Marc Andre Fleurys 200th game.

1st Period:

The Period started off with the Pens getting the first scoring chance when the puck gets tipped into the goal crease and Biron falls to his knees and somehow sits on the puck. He had no idea where it was or what he was doing. I'm ashamed to say that he was solid in the beginning, but his true colors would eventually come out.
The douche bag flyers fans boo Crosby as soon as he steps on the ice, do you automatically become retarded when you decide to be a flyers fan.

The Flyers would get a 2 on 1 under a minute into the game when Orpik gets caught pinching at the blue line, Richards and some other douche bag comes in on Fleury, Richards didn't see anyone close to him so he couldn't dive to draw a penalty so nothing came out of it.

Malkin gets a chance about 4 minutes in when he steals a break out pass and fires a slap shot that goes wide of the net.

The Flyers would get the first goal of the game when Fleury miss handles a routine dump in and the puck goes out in front of the net. Knuble get the easy goal. thats just bad luck, which the Pens are all to familiar with. 1-0 dickheads.

a minute or so later Cote decides he wants another ass beating by Goddard. The 2 go at it and that's just what happens. Goddard lands about 8 or 10 before the refs jump and save Cote from being in the ICU.

The Flyers would get another chance at the 9:41 mark when Whitney gives it up on a clearing attempt, but again the Flyers blow.

Satan would get the first Penalty of the game 12 minutes in for hooking somebody. 2 minute Penalty to, and it pains me to say, one of the best power plays in the game. The Pens kill it beautifully. The aggressive Penalty kill had the Flyers guessing.

Sykora gets a chance to the right of Biron. The Puck would get under Biron but go wide of the net. That's the luck for the Pens.

Tyler Kennedy would even it up for the pens, with a back hand goal through traffic that hops over Birons stick and into the net. 1-1. The Flyers don't know what to do. Paul Bissonet would get his first NHL point on the goal. To Celebrate he beats the shit out of Asham less than 10 seconds later. The Pens are 2-0 fighting tonight.

The first period would end 1-1.

That had to be the best effort I've seen from the Pens all season.

Malkin and Crosby start the second period out with a goal. Crosby steals the puck on a strong backcheck, dishes to Malkin, who fires a shot the kisses the inside of the pipe and the back of the net. 2-1 Pens.
The next 5 or six minutes is a lot of Neutral zone trapping and the Flyers turning it over. but nothing to talk about until the 13:19 when the Pens draw a penalty. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. The Flyers have 13 shorty's so far this season. 30 seconds left in the penalty, Malkin trips Hartnell or Hartnell dives. Nobody knows so lets call them both. That's one thing i don't like, it's either a trip of a dive, why does it always have to be both. Nobody scores, the Flyers kill it off.

8:00 left in the 2nd Crosby and cooke almost burn down the city of Brotherly love with a sweet give and go that Sid can't finish, but Staal would give them the 2 goal lead on a semi breakway that he backhands over Birons glove hand. 2-1 Pens. Maybe Staal was just pissed that he didn't have a big contract. He's been nothing shy of awesome since he signed.

The Period would end with Matt Cooke giving the Pens a 3 goal by chipping in a rebound off a Crosby wrap around attempt. 4-1 Pens. The Flyers still suck.

With the recent suck fest the Pens are on right now, there is noway you could consider this game being in the bag to start the third period, and the Pens have to weather a storm early to make it even more interesting. Fleury has to make a few big save early in the period.
Staal has a good chance for an insurance goal but rings it off the crossbar.

The Pens would settle down and get back to the system that got them the 3 goal lead and keep the Flyers at bay.

Letang got a chance with 12:30 to go in the game, but he fires a slapper from the slot wide of the net. Letang can not hit the net. 45 seconds later Lupul would cut the lead to 2 goals by closing his eyes and golfing one in. 4-2 Pens.

The rest of the game was nothing more than the Pens shutting down the Neutral zone until 6 minutes left when the Flyers start taking Penalties. The Pens weren't trying to score, they were trying to prevent a shorty.

The game end with a 4-2 pens win and me wondering if Mike Richards even played, but thats alright Flyers fans, you keep chanting Crosby sucks.

I'm not very good at recaps, but this one has to be the worst one i've ever done. Enjoy everybody.

GO Pens

All Or Nothing


Could this week be the deciding factor in how the rest of the season goes for the Pens? I believe it very well could be. Tonight's game at Philly is the first of three games this week in four days (the Caps and Ducks being the other two). Worse yet, they're all against quality opponents. This could be the worst thing for this team or the best thing. Even with the Pens playing well it would not be a gigantic shock to see them drop 2 if not all 3 of these games this week. That's what's scary. We're not that good right now. So we all know how bad this could turn out to be.

Or something else could happen. Perhaps each player has had their chance to take a long look in the mirror and decide just how they want this story to play out. To decide if this is how they want the 2008-2009 campaign to be remembered, as one of the biggest collapses in Pittsburgh sports history. If ever there was a time to turn this thing around, it is now. Just five games remain before the All-Star break and the Pens would sure love some much needed momentum going into the second half of the year. That push begins tonight.

Every team not only deals with adversity every season but may actually need it. It brings players together, forces you to look inside yourself to find a level that you didn't think you were able to push yourself to. I believe the Pens can do this and I believe that time is now.

Go Pens.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Are We There Yet?

"I'm glad I'm fucking blind so I didn't have to just watch that."

If the Penguins from last season were Road House, then this years version would be Road House 2. A pathetic knock-off trying to pass itself off as the original that ultimately fails and goes straight to video. At the rate this is going, I almost wish that someone would fast-forward to the end of the season so that this misery can end. I hate to say this, but this team has a long way to go and a short time to get there. The high that we felt after the Atlanta game was just atomic leg dropped by the Hulkster following last night's pooch screwing.

Up 3-0 is a pretty safe lead against one of the worst teams in the league, right? If you were watching the Pens last night, you were probably giving high fives to your dog right after Talbot put home the marker that gave us the lead mentioned above. Happy times were here again!

Then reality set in. Problems started rearing their ugly heads. Erat scored (just an observation, but I think he'd look good in a Pens uni. Actually, the mentally challenged kid from high school who crapped himself on a daily basis would look good in a Pen's uni right now.). Then the wheels came rolling off. Human waste and largest mistake signing that Shero has ever made, Ryan Whitney, continued his stellar ability of not being able to hold a fuckin' puck in at the blue line. Actually, he decided to one up himself and turn the puck over as well resulting in what would ultimately be the back breaker. Legwand buries the shorty on a sweet pass from Erat (just saying.) and this game had officially become the Hindenburg for the Pens. Some douche who's not worth the effort to search for his name tied the game late in the second and what little hope the Pens had for a win and possibly their entire season may well have been flushed away with it. Even though it was tied, you couldn't feel good about where this one was going.

I like Therian. I think he's a quality coach who has done wonders for this team. However, last night between periods he may have sealed his own fate by doing something that he'd done a thousand times since he started here. Instead of sticking with the lines the way they were and seeing if things would turn in his favor, he juggled one more time. I think it may be his last. It didn't work. Again. The Pens allowed a power play and an empty-netter in the third to turn a 3-0 triumph into a 5-3 colossal cluster fuck. End game.

I know a lot of Pens fans would like you to believe that someone in the organization is going to snap their fingers and this is going to turn around that easily. Well, it isn't. Also, this isn't 20 games into the year, this is the halfway point. We have been getting no consistent scoring from our wingers, our defense is self destructing, the goal tending has been spotty, and our special teams are in ruins. Notice something there? That's pretty much all facets of the game right there. We need a shitload of work and fast. I don't see help on the horizon.

This loss is going to hurt for a while. Even a win on Saturday isn't going to heal it. A loss on Saturday almost assuredly seals Therrian's fate, if it's not sealed already. A coaching swap isn't going to fix this, though. It's up to the players. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Sure, there could be. I don't believe that there is. Not the way this team is playing.

Of course, I hope I'm wrong.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Pain Don't Hurt

Pens win tonight and Staal has 2 goals and an assist. Don't believe Dalton? Then I guess he'll just have to rip your fucking throat out.

I Hope I Eat My Words On This One

Is Jordan Staal a $4 mil./year man? I don't think so. Maybe three, maybe less. Regardless, the Pens have wrapped him up for that amount with a four year extension. So much for that trade bait. [TSN]

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Finally a Pens Win

The Pens came out on a mission tonight. They were shooting everything, backchecking like they wanted it, The Defense was incredible, the offense was clicking and the Goaltending was amazing.

The Game started with Fedotenko getting robbed in front by Leighton a minute. It took about that long for Colby to start throwing his nose around. He hit Fedo into the boards. What happens next? Fedo breaks his hand on Colby's chin. It sucks to lose Fedo to injury, but that was a nice punch. Colby wouldn't be done throwing with the physical stuff around.

Malkin and Sykora would team up to miss the net 10 seconds after the fight. The Pens are generating good chances, for some reason the puck isn't going in the net for them. Godard miss a back door tip in off a nice pass by Talbot. Another missed opportunity for the Pens.

The Thrashers get their first chance of the night, Marc Andre Fleury makes a big save on Marty Reasoner. Last game that puck was in the net for some reason.

The first Power play of the game comes at the 15:17 mark and it is of the 4: minute variety. Crosby gets his stick up in someones face. There must have been some blood. Whitney would get the best opportunity on the the Thrashers Power play as he goes coast to coast to put a shot of the pipe to the left of the Thrashers goalie. Fleury robs Kovalchuk on the doorstep. The Pens would end up killing off the double minor on Crosby.

Colby and Crosby get into it behind the net in the middle of the first period. OMG are they still friends? It looks like they hate each other. Armstrong would come out of that with a 2:00 Penalty for something, who cares the Pens are on a power play. The Thrashers would kill the Penalty. The Pens are still 0 for ever.

Kennedy would get a beautiful chance from the left side, Thrashers goalie makes an incredible save, thats the way it's going right now i guess. The Pens would come out of that play with another power play to work with.

And then it happens. the 2:50 mark brings something that us Pens fans probably forgot about. A power play goal scored by number 17 Petr Sykora. (Steigy, quit calling him Petr Gun, really. its not a very good nickname)

Staal would get a good chance seconds after the Power play goal from a Tyler Kennedy pass, no dice.

The End of the Period saw the Pens trying to get some hits on Colby Armstrong to settle him down, Orpik barely misses a big hit into the boards, Malkin would end hauling him down, that was blatant interference that wasn't called. I'll take it.

The first period comes to a close with the Pens playing one of the better periods that I've seen in a while. this game should be at least 3-0 by now. There were a few missed opportunities early in the first.

The second period was a bunch of nothing for the first half. not many shots, no power plays, no goals. just some up and down hockey and some go defense from both teams, but it would open up about the 8:00 mark. Sykora would get his 2nd goal off a face off win by Malkin. That was just a sweet play all around, The Thrashers goalie almost gets it with his glove, but it finds its way into the net. 2-0 Pens

Satan was hauled down with 6:00 left in the 2nd to give the Pens another opportunity on the Power play. Kennedy would grab a post behind Leighton, but Malkin would unload a slapper tha Crosby deflects into the net. Thats 2 power play goals in one game for the Pens. I've seen everything now.

3:00 the Linesman would have the biggest hit of the period. at the far right of your screen you see Matt Cooke getting knocked on his ass. Wow, that has to be a little embarrassing.

The 2nd period would end with Fleury making another big save to keep the Thrashers off the scoreboard.

Fleury picks up right where he left off, making another big save about a minute into the third period. 1 minute or so later he has to do it again. The Thrashers were really putting it to the pens early in the 3rd period.

5 minutes into the 3rd someone puts Crosby on his ass, so Godard does what he is there for, he tries to get the guy to drop them, but hes afraid, he skates to the bench crying for his mommy.

Fleury again makes a big save 8:00 minutes in. Fleury has come up big in the 3rd period, this game could easily be tied up right now.

a bench minor against the Thrashers at the 10:00 mark puts the Pens on a Power play. Could they score 3 power play goals in one game? unheard of. To top it off Satan gets hauled down behind the net to give the Pens a 2 man advantage for 35 seconds. The Thrashers would kill the 5 on 3 and Whitney would end the 5 on 4 by slashing someone out near the blue line.

Kovalchuk would end FLeury's shut out bid with a goal off a wrist shot from the Blueline. Thats right, a WRIST SHOT FROM THE BLUELINE. oh well 3-1 Pens. Fleury would come up big seconds after the Kovalchuk goal to keep it a 2 goal game. IF the Thrashers would have scored there all bets were off.

The Pens would have to kill one more penalty late in the game, and Fleury would have to come up big a few times on Eric Christiansen. they get the job done and the game is all but over.

A slashing call late in the game gives the Pens a power play for the last 47 second to ensure a win.

The Pens played a good game out working the struggling Thrashers most of the night. It's a win against the Thrashers so take it for what its worth, but a win is a win and the Pens needed one desparately.


GO Pens

I Don't Usually Do This, But.......

....Sam Elliot told me to guarantee victory tonight. He was Wade Garrett. He knows what the fuck he's talking about.

Gameday: Thrashers @ Penguins

Tonight marks the exact mid point of the Season for the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Atlanta Thrashers come to town and try to pour some more salt on the wounded penguins. The Pens are in dire need of a win tonight to stop the bleeding and turn this recent losing streak around. One win should get this team going the other way and build a little confidence.

What better way to turn this around than to play the Atlanta Thrashers right? I said the same thing about the Florida game on Saturday. that worked out well for us didn't it. The Tharshers are coming off a 4-1 loss to the suddenly confident Tampa Bay Lightning. Their 5th loss in the last 6 games. Call me Crazy but the Thrashers need to trade Kovalchuk sooner rather than later. Trade him for some good young talent to build around.

No Idea who Coach T is going to send out on the ice tonight, at this point i wouldn't mind seeing Shero call up the entire WBS team to play tonight, at least we would get a solid effort from everybody on the ice.

I called a win last night and it made me look stupid for doing it. So tonight i'm predicting nothing. I'm not saying which way this game is going to go. Both teams are struggling and both teams desperatly need a win to start to turn things around.

GO Pens

"you can't really think about it" WTF!!

When asked why they are 12 for 71 on the power play this is all Sid can say!! I would think MAYBE you should put some thought into it SID. MAYBE you could say "look at some tape and see who is turning the puck over just about every time he touches it...MALKIN" or "FLUERY, stay in front of the net, you are not Ty Conklin ". Maybe you should quit worrying about saying the right thing all the time and start bashing some heads. Leading by example doesn't work for everything, grow a set and and make use of the C on your sweater and fix our team.

Maybe you are doing these things behind closed doors but nothing motivates more than a little public humiliation. Besides anything has to be a better answer than "you cant really think about it".

The Night Is Always Darkest Before The Dawn....




I've tried to be quiet. There were many a night that I was just about to get on here and rip the Pens a new one, but I refrained. "Don't worry, they'll pull out of this" I kept telling myself. There's no way that this team will miss the playoffs so don't worry. Before you know it, we'll be on a 10 game tear and all will be right in the world.

Then Saturday happened. 6-1 loss to a team that previously had lost 4 straight. Each time I see a loss that I think is the worst that I've seen all year to this point, the Pens keep topping it. Things were no better last night but I wasn't really surprised with that outcome. Let's face it, the Pens could have won 20 straight and I wouldn't have been shocked to see them drop that one. There's just something about MSG. Maybe it's the stench of urine and shit. Who knows.

Do we need changes? You bet. Are they coming? Don't hold your breath. Shero isn't the type to panic and start throwing away his young talent and the future of his franchise in the hopes of finding that one magical piece to the puzzle that's going to make everything alright. Most great GM's aren't'. So he'll stand pat and do the right thing: let this team figure it out for themselves. Let's not forget, this is the same team that started the season 12-4. They're not that far behind the curve. But something has gone sour. There is no spark. Their work ethic sucks. They are being beaten to pucks, leaving guys wide open in front of their own net, allowing goals that should be save, and now the guys who were scoring have stopped. I don't know about you, but that sounds like a team effort at sucking and one that has everyone held accountable. Is Shero going to talk to Detroit or San Jose about swapping teams? There is no one person that is going to be brought in right now that is going to solve this. It's going to have to come from within.

And that's the way it should be.



The Dawn Is Coming

Monday, January 5, 2009

Thats a Good Joke Tell Me Another One

Another joke game that doesn't deserve a recap. The game started out about as bad as you could ask for. Max Talbot takes a Penalty 30 seconds into the game and Dawes scores 30 seconds later giving the Rangers an early lead.

Things would look up 3 minutes later when Brooks Orpik gets a stick to the face. 4:00 of Power play time for the Pens. Crosby was Possessed early in the power play, He was robbed by Lundqvist with a pad save, then hit a Pipe to the right of the Rangers goalie. To top that off he draws another Penalty to give the Pens a full 2 minutes of 5 on 3. The Rangers kill all but 2 seconds of the 5 on 3 and Jordan Staal makes sure to end any chance at a 5 on 4 as he takes a ridiculous Penalty in front of the net. There is a reason why he isn't a regular on the Power play.

There were matching Penalties at the 13:30 mark, i forget who, but it was 4 on 4 hockey for 2 minutes, that amounted to about as much as that condom you carried in your wallet to look cool in High school.

To Continue his offensive prowess Jordan Staal misses a wide open net on a 2 on 1. It would have been a sure goal. Yet another missed opportunity for the Pens offensive machine that has scored a spectacular 1 goal in the last 2 games.

5 minutes left in the period and the Pens send their power play back out onto the ice. I don't know what is worse constantly watching this team not able to set anything up, or they finally get a good shot and completely miss the net, Either way the pens power play needs some serious help.

22 seconds left in the Period the Pens get yet another chance to tie the game up with their power play. No dice so far, the Penalty will carry over into the second Period.

With 1:35 of Power Play time to work with to start the second the Penguins take the ice, and like always the Pens finally get something set up, the puck slides out to the slot, Letang launches a slap shot, Lundqvist doesn't need to make a save as Letang shot way wide. The Rangers end up killing the rest of the Penalty. Another missed opportunity.

4 minutes later Staal continues his dominance of not being able to score goals, he missed the net again on a centering pass from behind the net. Staal breaks his stick in anger. Thats what all the talented players do, Blame the Stick.

The Rangers would get a power play opportunity 10 seconds later. They would control the puck in the offensive zone but the Pens did a good job of keeping the play to the Perimeter and killing off the Rangers Penalty.

Maybe the best chance of the night for the Pens came at the 11:00 mark when Malkin and Sykora would enter the Rangers zone on a 2-0. Malkin elects to take Sykora out of the play by skating to the center of the ice and taking a wrist shot the Lundqvist easily shoulders away. Another miss opportunity.

7:25 the Pens an Rangers trade off Penalties again sort of. 4 on 4 Hockey that amounts to about as much as the last one.

Kalinin would beat Fleury cleanly at 3:40 only to have the Puck go of the crossbar. A licky bounce for the Pens finally, But 1 minute later it would take the Rangers about 3 seconds of Penalty time to get a goal, Paul Mara would bury one off a faceoff win. 2-0 Rangers

The Rangers would ensure themselves a 2-0 lead going into the locker room by taking a Penalty with 1:35 left in the second. You know your safe if you put the Pens on the Power play. What are they now 0 for 30 or something now.

End of the second; 2-0 Rangers

The 3rd starts with the pens on the Power play for 30 seconds. Malkin actually gets off a decent shot that Lundqvist steers away, before killing off the Penalty.

4 minutes into the Period the Rangers would get a power play of their own. Same thing, they keep the puck in the offensive zone, but nothing doing. The Pens kill it off.

The middle part of the 3rd period was mud at best. The Rangers were playing their defensive system and the Pens were playing right into their hands. Not Really any excitement until the 8:00 mark when Brooks Orpik lays out Orr at center ice. They may have been the highlight of the game for me. it was a nice hit.

30 seconds later the Rangers would get revenge in the best way possible, by putting the Pens down by 3 goals. Letang Falls down making him late to his front of the net assignment and that Leaves Drury all alone to beat Fleury. It was a nice play i guess.

The Pens get a Power Play chance with 5:00 left in the game. Therrian pulls Fleury at the 3:49 mark to give the pens a 6 on 4. That didn't work either, the Pedro gets an empty net goal to make if 4-0 and to officially give the pens their 5th loss in as many games. I don't know about that move to pull Fleury, but at this point i am willing to try anything.

Godard and Orr go at it at the 3:00 mark. Orr maybe got the best of him. he threw more punches and knocked godard to the ice.

And finally Miro Satan gets a chance to play. He gets a late Penalty to give the Rangers a chance to embarrass the Pens even more. The Pens kill the Penalty. Game.

The Pens are having a hard time at just about ever aspect of hockey right night. They are falling to the ice at inopportune times, They are having trouble receiving passes. They look like it's a Sunday afternoon pond hockey game where everyone is just divided into teams. It not good right now for sure.

GO Pens

Gameday Pens VS. Rangers

I don't think i would want to be the New York Rangers tonight. The Pens coming of an embarrassing performance the other night against the Panthers will be wanting to score early and score often. Tonights the night this losing streak comes to an end. We just saw the turning point of the season.

Besides, if i have to hear that dumbass Chant by the Rangers fans tonight, i think i will puke all over the T.V.

Coach T has changed the lines for tonights game. Miro Satan will now be playing the forth line with Godard and Jeffrey. Satan is not a forth liner. He is not that type of plyer. but then again maybe some time on the forth Line might help him get his head out of his ass.

Tyler Kennedy will be on the Top line with Crosby and Dupuis. The second and third line remain intact, but there will be some changes on the Blueline. The post is reporting some surprise scatches tonight in Hal Gill and Goligoski. No word on if they called up John Curry to start in goal tonight. It didn't seem like either Fleury nor Sabourin wanted to play last game.

This is the first game of a long winning streak. The Pens will win tonight. The Rangers suck.

GO Pens

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Barf

Wow

If you think i'm recapping this joke you are mistaken. It took me this long to finally realize that, yes that did happen. Chalk this up to playing an afternoon game? If i wasn't so lazy i would check out the Record the Pens have when playing anytime before 7:00. The Pens will get it going.

Go Pens

Friday, January 2, 2009

His is Coming

Was it dirty? This could happen to any player on any given night, but we Pens fans know how he goes after Malkin everytime he's in town.


There was no Penalty on the play.

Well you can scratch one dealine rumor off your list this year, Marian Gaborik will have season ending hip surgery. About 10 weeks he will be out according to TSN.

It will be nice to See Gonchar back on the powerplay. This is the first step. He finally has taken the ice after having shoulder surgery from a pre-season hit that some wanna be NHLer delivered to impress his caoch.

The Winter Classic went off with out a hitch on New years Day. Although i hate the fact that the Reddicks won the game, it was a great game to watch. Chicago was rockin some kick ass throwbacks also.

The Pens have an afternoon game tomorrow against the Panthers of Florida. Even though the Pens can't get up for afternoon games, I'm saying the end to the losing streaks comes tomorrow.

GO PENS

Thursday, January 1, 2009

This is Getting Old-The Pens Lose Again

Both teams head into the game starting their back up goalies. Fenandez for the Bruins and Sabourin for the Pens. Letang opens up the shot counter with a shot on net at the 19:00 mark that Fernadez easily stops. But it wouldn't take long for the Pens to get one by him, Jeffrey scores his first NHL goal 3 minutes into the game with a wrist shot from the slot that I dont think Fernandez saw at all. 1-0 Pens.

A minute or so later the Bruins tie it up with a nice deflection goal by some douche bag that got lucky. Krejci ties the game about a minute after the Jeffrey goal.

Like the last game it is both teams were playing a good game. The Pens get the first power play opportunity of the night 6 minutes into the game. Its getting to the point where you're just happy that the Pens don't give up a shorty. I don't even expect them to score on the power play anymore, and they didn't do anything to change my mind. the Bruins kill of the Penalty.

11:00 saw Goligoski wrists one to some lucky fan in the seats to earn him a 2:00 delay of game Penalty. and 40 seconds later the Bruins get a goal. It would be of the shitty version as the puck bounces of the entire Boston Bruins fan base before getting of Sabu's shoulder to make it 2-1 Boston.

Less than 2:00 minutes later the Bruins would get another Penalty. Max Talbot Looks at the Refs wrong or something. That was a terrible call if you ask me, but regardless the Pens have to try and kill it off, and they do just that.

Even Hockey until the 2:45 mark. The Bruins get called for a Penalty, i forget what for, but the Pens need a power play goal and again they don't get one. 0 for 2 in the game and 0 for ever in the last few games.

The 1st Period would end with you hating everything Boston.

The Second period had nothing going on for mush of the first half. the highlight was Malkin macking some chick from a womens hockey team.

10 minutes into the second period the Pens start putting it to the Bruins. 2 shift in the Bruins zone and the can't get anything out of it, Actually what they got out of it was another goal against as that Dick bag Lucic beat Sabourin with wrister to the top corner. After these to 2 games you hate Lucic with a passion. You can admit it, it's alright.

The Pens get a power play shortly after the Lucic goal. Here it is your thinking. this is the one. No dice. The Bruins kill it easily. The Pens are 0 for 3 on the game and down by 2. Your power play has to bail you out at some point. That's how its supposed to work.

The refs would return the favor with 4:45 left in the 2nd Period. The Bruins get a chance on the Power play. That would turn into a 5 on 3. The Pens win the first faceoff and clear the Puck. That faceoff win was huge. the only thing bigger was Rob Scuderi's penalty killing during the 5 on 3. Huge. The Pend would kill the 5 on 3 and that dick bag Lucic would end the 5 on 4 as he goes to the box. The Pens would skate 4 on 4 for 26 seconds before the could crank up their power play. Do i have to say how it turned out. 0-4

The 2nd Period comes to a close with you hating life and everything about it.

The Pens come out in the 3rd period high on something, they were putting it to the Bruins at every aspect of a hockey game. The refs sensed that the Pens had something going and were about to score. So they make up some news rules and whistle Matt Cooke for an interference penalty. That was another terrible call. The Pens kill it and go right back to pressing Boston.

Fedotenko pisses in the refs face and gets a goal a little over 7 minutes into the period. A nice pass from Malkin to Satan in the Neutral zone and A sick pass up to Fedo at the front of the net. The Pens cut the Bruins lead to 1 goal. you could feel it.

The Refs again try to help out the Bruins cause by Calling Matt Cooke again on that new rule they made up. The Pens have to kill another penalty. Malkin gets a chance shorthanded that The 12'-5" player hooks him the entire way to the net. No Call. The Pens would end up killing the penalty, but after the last to the refs called, you have to call the one on Chara.

Savard would give the Pens one more chance on the Power play. he heads to the box for hooking. Some good chances, but the pens do nothing as far as the score board. the Bruins kill it.

Boston would add an empty netter at the end of the game to give them a 4-2 win, and send the Pens home with another loss after playing a good game.

It will turn around. GO PENS