Friday, May 29, 2009

Let The Games Begin

The Penguins will travel to Detroit this weekend for 2 games against the Dicks called the Redwings. The Wings outsted the Chicago Blackhawks in game 5 to Eliminate any chance of a long lay off between the Conference finals and the Stanley Cup finals. Look on every message board, the scheduling is a conspiracy to get Crosby the cup. I hope thats the case.

First things first, The Edmonton/Islanders comparison. They even had an interview with messier about this upcoming series and what happened in the oilers series. Their are definitely similarities but that was then and this is now. it's fun to talk about but it doesn't really mean anything.

Then the Hossa situation. Marian Hossa rejected the Pens offer and defected to the Reddicks because it was a better opportunity to win the Cup. I was upset about it at first, but the way things turned out, i think the Pens are better off now without him. It will be nice to watch him come up empty again. The Pens have a well rounded team that probably wouldn't be possible if Hossa was here chewing up the Salary cap.

The biggest thing for me, and I'm sure I'm not alone on this one, is revenge. Since the end of game 6 last season I wanted a rematch. Revenge is the best motivation you can have. Forget about Hossa, For get about Edmonton, the fact that last season the Wings stood between the pens and the Cup is enough. It could have been a close series if we didn't spot them the 1st 2 games. Lidstrom and Datysuck injured? i hope not, I want the Pens to beat the best the Wings have to offer.

There is no mistaking the fact that the Reddicks do have a good team. World Class Talent, some of the best offensive defenseman in the League, 3rd and forth line players that could be top line talent on most teams in the league, some of the best defenseman in the league. The same thing applies to the Penguins. The Penguins have a clear cut edge in net. I don't care what anyone says about Osgood, The only people that call him an elite goalie are the Homers from Detroit. A product of the system if you ask me.

The 1st of back to back games is tomorrow night in The dump that is called Detroit.

Go Pens

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Lieutenant Dan, you got new legs

The Pens put an end to the Eastern Conference by sweeping the Carolina Hurricanes 4 games to nil. My Opinion, Carolina just run out of gas. Before this series started, i never saw a sweep coming. The Canes were playing their best hockey of the season going into this series. Playing with that kind of intensity for that long, it's going to come to a crashing halt. We know Cam Ward is a better goaltender than what he showed us most of this series and Ray Whitney always seems to get a goal against the Pens, and Eric Staal shouldn't be a -5 against anyone. A mixture of the Canes petering out and the Pens raising their game to new levels is why this series only went to 4 games, and the fact that Bill Cowher chokes in championship games. I wouldn't want him on my side.

Now we wait for the Detroit Redwings to go through the motions and send the blackhawks home. Detroit owns a 3-1 advantage with game 5 coming up tonight in so called "Hockeytown".

A re-match of last season. There are so many story lines for this Stanley cup final, But the fact that Sidney Crosby and the Pens went through a finals loss last season will ignite them more than anything. Hossa jumping to the Wings because it's a better chance at a cup. The biggest thing in my eyes is The Pens will be better prepared this time. They won't spot the wings the first 2 games. The Pens are on a mission. They won't be awestruck, Maf won't fall flat on his face upon taking the ice in game one.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

1 Down...

As round 3 begins I feel myself no more at ease than rounds 1 & 2. The last 2min or so of that game seemed to last forever! I know what these Hurricanes have done in the first 2 rounds. It seems so intense this year. One game 7 after another. Nobody wants to give up! Especially these Canes. They play until the final buzzer! Fleury almost saw that resilience first hand on a deflection off Eric Staal's stick in the last minute or so of regulation.
Fleury was not to be beaten! So all of you who had questions about our so called goal tending issue, you can shut up now! The PENS are gettin' it done!
As for the Staal dilemma. I love my #11! P.Sqy, the goals will come! Stop being such a hard ass. He's a beast.
Once again fans, their job is to play 60min of hockey! Our job as fans is to CHEER for 60min of hockey! If you're lucky enough to be at a playoff game, do not get caught on camera sitting there picking your nose!

LETS GO PENS! WOOO HOO!

And So it Begins!!

I will be honest, I don't know much about the Carolina Hurricanes. I knew going in that Cam Ward did something in the 2006 playoffs. I was also aware that the Staals were brothers. There are also some former Penguins in the coaching staff of the Canes, but that's about it.

The game started with 2 quick Penalties on the Canes which were killed off almost effortless. The Make up call would come quickly as Miro Satan would get a holding call. The Canes Power play on the other hand looked lethal. Fleury had to make some ridiculous saves to keep the game at zero. The Pens kill it and Satan makes up for the Penalty by taking a head man pass coming out of the box and burying it behind Cam Ward to give the Pens the 1st goal of the game. Not more than 84 seconds later Malkin would stretch the lead to 2 goals with a backhander from the slot. The Rest of the 1st period was dominated by the Pens only to have Cam Ward come up big on a few occasions.

The 2nd period was a complete 180. The Pens were the team getting dominated. Fleury was sharp in keeping the score at 2-0 for as long as he could. I don't know what it is with 2nd Periods, but the Pens seem to come out flat every time. Maybe it's he long change, who knows. Some Crack Pipe would cut the lead in half for the Canes but Fleury held his ground and escaped still holding on to a one goal lead.

The Pens would add another goal in the middle of the 3rd period with a power play goal from Phillipe Boucher. Maybe a soft goal by Ward. it seemed to trickle between his glove and the top of his pad. Either way 3-1 Pens. Game over , right? nope. I heard stories of the resiliency of the canes. I know about the last second goals against the Devils and the Bruins. They almost did it to the Pens. Late in the 3rd Brooks Orpik gets called for hitting to hard and the Canes go on a power play. With the goalie pulled, 6 on 4 They cut the lead to 3-2. Corvo maybe, i forget. They weren't done yet, a bad bounce on 160 FT shot almost tricks Fleury and Eric Staal almost ties it with a deflection from the door step. There was definitely no stop or quit in the Canes, they played until the buzzer and almost got rewarded.

The Canes lost two important players in Tuoma Ruutu and Erik Cole. Cole went down with what looked like a knee on knee from Matt Cooke. No word on either one. But 2 days off between games will definitely help them out.

It seems this series will pick up right where the Caps series left off. Good skating, Heavy hitting and strong goaltending. The best thing about it though, is the fact that Oveckin isn't on the ice. I would rather defend against Eric Staal that AO any day of the week.

Friday, May 15, 2009

And Now We Know

The Pens vs. Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference finals. The Canes knocked off the number one seeded Boston Bruins last night in Game 7.

The Pens get through Philly in 6 games, it takes them 7 games to get through the Caps, both huge rivals. Now the Pens play Carolina. I hated Philly and I hated the Caps going in. That makes it even better as a fan. How can I build a healthy hate for the Hurricanes. We don't see them much through out the regular season, There is no playoff history, and on top of that, Tom Barrasso is there goalie coach and Ron Francis is an assistant coach, both of which i have a lot of respect for because of what they did for the Pens. It's going to take at least 2 games for me to start hating this team.

One thing the Pens have going for them is home ice advantage this series, and something that maybe overlooked a bit is the fact that Jordan Staal always elevates his game when he is playing against a family member. Which I know it won't take me very long to get sick of "Jordan and Eric are brothers" every 5 minutes.

The series doesn't get underway until Monday. Go Pens

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Game 7? That's All You Have Left?

I must say, after the game 6 loss, the stress level endured, the sleepless nights, the constant worrying, considering all outcomes of how the Pens could win and how the Pens could lose only to reach game time and have a blow out like this. Fleury started off the Penguin dominance with a huge save off an cherry picking Ovechkin. That goal goes in, things may have been different, who knows, but it was just nice to see Fleury finally get the upper hand. Thats about all the Caps had left in the tank. The Pens would score, and score often. The game was over early in the second period. AO would get a gift from Fleury to get a goal, again i was saying to myself, "why did it have to be him." Someone else scored for the Caps, but by that time it was irrelevant.
It took 7 games to get to the young goalie, but the Penguins finally did. The Pens played game 7 pretty much the same way they played every other game, only this time the brick wall was more like a picket fence. Varlamov was chased in 2nd period after giving up 4 goals. It was a tough game for the goalie, but the way he played this series the Caps and their fans shouldn't be complaining. He kept them in games they had no business being in.
Ovechkin is a Dick we all know that, but i hated seeing number 8 go through the neutral zone with speed, thats for sure. He has a Wicked shot and can score when it looks like there is nothing available. The taking runs at people and leaving his feet for big hits will turn around and bite him at some point. Last night may have been one of those occasions, he takes his usual mile and a half race at Malkin only to miss and put Backstrom flat on his face. Rumor coming out of Washington is Backstrom called the NHL and demanded Ovie get fined for the hit. After Ovechkin and Varlamov and maybe Backstrom there was a big drop off in production, Semin couldn't hit the net to save his life. Mike Green Was breaking in a new stick, that was his excuse anyways. Fedorov was there i guess.
If I was giving out the MVP for this series it would be Sidney Crosby, hand down. He simply would not let the Pens lose. Unsung hero award goes to Fedo. That dude definately showed up for this series.
It was maybe the best hockey i have ever watched, but its time to move on. The Pens take on the winner between Carolina and Boston tonight. The series is tied at 3. If Carolina wins the Pens will enjoy home ice advantage, but i have a feeling we will be playing Boston. Either way, i like our chances.

WOOOHOOO

Well of course Crosby and the PENS couldn't beat the great (and I say that loosely) Alexander Ovechkin and trash talking Semin, unless of course they are injured! Well guys, I'm sure most of these guys play with minor injuries, because it's the playoffs! So Boudreau, stop being a douchbag! We beat you! We beat you, because we are better! I would say that next year would be a good time to start introducing Ovechkin to his teammates.
I am so proud of My Pittsburgh Penguins! I got goose bumps this morning listening to www.dve.com on my laptop this morning talking about the win last night! It is the greatest playoff series I have ever seen! Not saying I would feel the same had we lost, but we didn't and so it goes. The Caps gave us everything they had and we gave it right back! I was crazy nervous all day yesterday! Bouncing off the walls! Not to mention some intestinal issues that we don't need to get into right now!
Then Fleury! What can I say, but Fleury! AO was his bitch on that break away! I will not complain about Fleury's play this series, because there is nothing to complain about. The games we did lose, Fleury kept us in the game. We just couldn't come up with the 1 or 2 goals. Varlamov was tough. He was hot and you just can't beat a hot goalie. The difference between Varlamov and Fleury is obvious. Fleury shut the door and Varlamove couldn't.
Anyway, no time to relax. It's either going to be short trip or a long one on Saturday. Either way, we're still going!
SO, LET'S GO PENS!!!!

Wooooo




Wooooo

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Game 7-It's big time now

The Pens let the Caps off the mat and back into the fight with a game 6 overtime loss in Pittsburgh none the less. First thing about the game that comes to mind is the Crowd. This is a Hockey game your allowed to make noise. It seemed like the crowd was completely out of it even though there wasn't a moment we were out of the game. If anyone in attendance can tell me different let me know.

The Pens had this game for the most part, but if you out shoot your opponent 18-5 in the 1st period and can only muster one goal you give them a chance. The game should have been over in the 1st but no dice. The Penguins severely out shot their opponent the entire game, Washington had no business being within 3 goals but, as i always say, the goaltender is the great equalizer and Varlamov definitely gave the caps a chance to win. I can't say Fleury played bad. I wouldn't blame him for any of the 5 goals the Caps got behind him. He had a few nice saves in the process. I can however give a little advice to Hal Gill, if you want to play goal, clear it with the coaches and let Fleury know. I'm not saying Fleury would have made that save, but he would have had a better chance at it. The game was like every other game this series, total domination by the penguins but unable to get a 2 or 3 goal lead. The Power play was clicking, Goal scoring machine, Mark Eaton, Pots one with 33 seconds left in a period, Crosby was a beast all night, The Pens were keeping the caps bottled up in their own end, everything was working. Except for getting more goals behind Varlamov. I know 4 goals should be enough, but sometimes it isn't.

So now we have to wait for a game 7 in Washington on Wednesday. Is the Momentum on the Capitals side? Maybe. So far the the momentum swings have been so unpredictable, if they do have the momentum, it could change in a hurry. We proved we can win in that building before and there is no reason to believe we can't do it again. i will put my faith in the fact that Sidney Crosby does not accept defeat lightly. The Captain will again put this team on his shoulders and take them to the next round. Malkin has not made his statement yet, Fleury has not stolen a game yet, Kunitz has not even put on in the net yet. This series is far from over.

So on Wednesday let the better team win, and if you have been watching this series, it is clearly the Penguins.

Go Pens

Monday, May 11, 2009

Damn

We had it and gave it to them, But the way this series has went, are you really that surprised that we are heading to a game 7.

Go Pens

lets End This

The Pens have pushed the Caps to a must win situation on the Road.
Game 6 in Pittsburgh.
White out scheduled.
The Igloo better be jumping tonight.
The Caps were down 3 games to 1 against the Rangers in the 1st round. Lets make sure we do the job right.
Go Pens

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Now Bring it Home

The Pens went from down 0-2, to up 3-2 in the best of seven series with the Washington Capitals. The Back to back games came out almost the way the Pens wanted them to. The only problem I would think they would have with it, is the loss of Gonch from a Knee on Knee hit from Alex Ovechkin. One thing i learned from watching this series, The only difference between AO and every other Goon in the League is AO can score, he can't pass or play defense, but he has a shot. The Blatant slew foot on Malkin in the Corner in game 5 was also a good one. Gonchars agent is Clearly calling out the NHL for what he is calling out the Nhl's double standard on what they consider Punishable hits. Did anyone actually think AO would be fined or suspended for the hit. I'm not surprised and it will more than likely happen again. The problem is, the NHL won't do anything about it so discipline will happen on the ice. AO's time is coming. Karma can be a wonderful thing.

As far as the games go. I thought game 5 may have been the worst game the Pens played this series and they still come out with a win. Again, the scoring was spread around, Other than Ovechkins goal from the parking lot, Fleury was solid. How Solid was Feds? This guy is definately showing up in this series. 1 for 2 on the Power play, the 1 being the overtime winner. An attempted pass from Malkin to Crosby that was deflect by the Caps d-man Tom Poti. It makes it better that a Capital actually lost both overtime games for them. It will give them something to think about.

It was also nice to see Jordan Staal finally get on the board. He has been huge in this playoffs, And if he starts putting the Puck in the net, there is no telling what would happen. Next up, Kunitz needs to get a goal or 2.

The Penguins did a complete 180 on this series, Wining there 2 home games and stealing one in Washington. With a 3-2 lead the Pens have a chance to close out the series in Pittsburgh on Monday night. No word yet on Gonchar but, if i were a betting man, i would probably put my money on Gogo.

Game 6 at home, up 3-2. Surely The Pens know what they need to do.

"Against a team like that you want to put them away as soon as possible. We don't want to let them stick around."- Brooks Orpik

Go Pens

Thursday, May 7, 2009

From Now on, That's the Way You Play

The Pens needed a win last night, and thats just what they did. Things that have been talked about in papers and on message boards all over, like waking Malkin up, secondary scoring, containing AO were all settled last night. Fedotenko, Malkin and Letang were the goal scorers. Crosby was his normal show stopping self, but came up short in the goal category. AO would have done the same if it wasn't for the gift that Fleury gave him early in the game. I really don't know what happend but why did it Have to be AO there.

That was a bad way to start the game and it really took the legs out from under the Pens for the 1st 10 minutes or so of the first period. After that, it was 60 minutes of Penguin domination. The Pens were firing shot after shot at the Caps Rookie netminder, Holding the Caps in their own zone for extended time, but it still took a 30 minutes of Hockey to get the game tied. Fedo got what i would call a lucky bounce off a Capital defenseman to pot the first goal. If Dupuis knew that you are allowed to shoot the puck up stairs he would have had the second goal, but instead he slid it across the ice to make Varlamov look even better than he already is.

Malkin on the other hand knows where to put the puck. On one of the 7 power plays the Caps are still whining about, Malkin move into the shot and wrists one right under the crossbar to give the Pens the lead. Hopefully that goal will get some pressure off the shoulders of Malkin and he will continue to dominate in the games to come. That goal would give the Pens a one goal lead that they would hold on to until 2:28 left in the 3rd period, when Dupuis would put the Caps on a power play. "I seriously was hoping there was a little trap [door], so I could go right in the penalty box," Dupuis said. yeah, no shit dude. He owes me a goal for that one. It wouldn't take long for Backstrom to tie the game up and send this thing into overtime.

A little more than half and overtime period is what it would take for Letang to win it for us. Directly off a faceoff win by Crosby, Letang send a slap shot that defrects off a Caps defenseman in settles in behind Varlamov. Game over. The Pens are still down a game, but 2-1 feels a lot better than 3-0.

This is maybe the best Playoff series I've ever watched. Both teams loaded offensively, Both goaltenders are making unbelievable saves and bith teams are laying out checks all over the ice, with both teams being loaded with young talent, we are almost certainly going to see this for years to come.

Next Game Friday in Pittburgh. Go Pens.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Home Sweet Home!

Varlamov or however you say it, spell it or pronounce it. Anyway, we need to shake this kid up! And that means hammering him with shots. And that means you Staal, and you Malkin and you Cooke and would somebody please wake up Sykora! For crying out loud get a few behind the kid. I cannot say anymore than PSqy has already about Crosby doing all the work in this series. Fleury is playing well. He is keeping them in it while they are turning the puck over and failing to score. They can't even keep the puck out of their own end. I don't even think Malkin knows that we are in a new series.

We have to start to play like a team again. Ovechkin. Snaggle toothed retard. I have never seen someone so ugly. No matter how ugly or retarded he is, his team was still there to back him up. We can win this series. We really can. It's up to you fans tomorrow night that are lucky enough to have tickets. Show your team that you love them and scream your full heads off! We are the best fans around with the best team in hockey! So let's rock the Caps!

It is frustrating, cause I know we can win this! LETS GO PENS!!!!!!!

Aim for his Head Dammit

So Sidney Crosby is down 0-2 against the The Capitals so far. Last nights game could have went either way, and again it didn't go our way. Until someone else scores a goal the Pittsburgh Penguins will now be recognized as Sidney Crosby. You don't say the Pens play tomorrow night, you say Sidney Crosby plays tomorrow night. He just put this team on his back and is trying to get them through it, but without any help i don't know if the even the great Crosby can accomplish this. Even the Ever so impressive Alex Ovechkin needed a little help last night to accomplish this feet. It doesn't take much, One goal here, one goal there. Ovechkin got help from Steckel, Crosby got help from Nobody.

I can't say anything about Fleury, He may be getting out played by the rookie, but he is playing well enough to win some games. Fleury made a bunch of key saves to keep this under-achieving team in it. Once you go beyond those two, there is nothing. The Art Ross trophy winner has disappeared as usual, whether thats has more to do with him or his less than Stellar Wingers, it needs to be turned around. The Potent 3rd line has fizzled out to nothing more than filler.

The only difference from game 1 to game 2 was i though the Capitals played a lot better for the most part, but Sidney Crosby still had the better of the play. The Power play finally produces a goal. Things were looking up. And it would have been fine if Crosby and Ovechkin would have kept trading off. but Steckel had to get his lucky ass in there. The Puck deflects right to him, Fleury was there, but it looked like there was a little room under his pad.

But at the end of the day good teams take advantage of home ice, The Capitals took advantage of home ice, now it's the Pens turn to do the same. We take the next 2 at home, get the momentum, steal game 5, finish at home. This is how I see all of this playing out, in my head anyways.

The one thing that I was wrong about, and now worries me is this goaltender for the Caps. I thought the Sidney Crosby (formally known as the Pens) could get to him but, He has been nothing but amazing for the first 2 games. So the question arises, How do you get into the head of a young goalie? The answer is quite simple, take a page from the Philly Philosophy ( I know, I went There) the first 5 or 10 shots in game three should be hard slapshot from anywhere on the ice and aimed directly at Varlomovs' head. This is exactly what Philly did to Ron Tugnutt in the Eastern Conference finals. None of the shots hit him, but it did get him thinking, as a matter of fact, I don't think we won another game after that. Get something like that in the back of his mind, and he will start opening up a little.

The Sidney Crosby will get back into this at home.

Game three Tomorrow

Go Sidney Crosbys'

Oh Where Art Thou Malkin??

Where is Malkin you ask?? I ask, where are the Penguins? Because Malkin won the Art Ross Trophy it has become his fault the pens are losing??? What about the rest of the team? How bout Staal, Letang or hell even Sykora. Sure Malkin should be scoring goals but how long do you think Malkin and Crosby can carry the team on their shoulders. I hold Penguins fans to a higher standard than Steelers fan but its getting harder to tell the difference! Everybody screaming for MVP two weeks ago and now id swear some are Flyers fan's ! Wheres the support and dedication. If you want to blame somebody maybe you look at who was suppose to be defending Ovechkin, or who was Suppose to be Goaltending?? Its called a TEAM!!

Monday, May 4, 2009

Game 2-More of the Same?

Is is a bad thing to say you want more of the same coming off a 3-2 loss to the Capitals. For the most part of game one i thought the Pens put it to the Caps. Sure there was a little let down in the middle of the second, but for the most part that game was ours to lose. Take away Matt Cookes idiotic penalty and that is a completely different game. I was actually impressed with the way the Pens played considering it was a 1:00 start. We all know how the Pens handle afternoon games.

Orpik and Fedo got there signals crossed which led to another Washington Goal. Fleury maybe shouldn't have given that rebound up, and listening to Mcguire, Maf should be kicked out of the league for making such a horrific play. you wanna blame that game on Fleury go ahead. I'm pinning it solely on the so-called power play the Pens are putting on the ice. The Capitals aren't afraid to push the Envelope on interference or obstruction because what happens if the refs do catch it? Absolutely nothing. The Power Play needs to light up. o-17 and 0 for 4 games, thats not going to get you far in the playoffs.

Something else that didn't happen. i was waiting all game for the big Kunitz hit to set the tone for the game, but nothing. Did he even play? oh yeah he dished it to Crosby for the big save. other than that, he was a non-factor.

There is a lot of talk about the Save Varlamov made and don't get me wrong it was a beauty, but lets talk about the Mark Eaton goal. He saves that one, he doesnt need to make the stop on Crosby, or the goal Crosby scored, in my opinion, stoppable. Seems to me that glove side is where you wanna be shooting. 36 shots on net for the Pens. keep it the same but get some bodies in front the net, Varlamov will be a spectator on the bench.

So Game 2 is tonight? A must win? nah. We can spot them another one if it makes them feel better. There is no doubt in my mind the Pens are the better team, it just depends on which team wants to show up. I will continue leaving the room for Power plays until we score one or the league makes a rule allowing teams to decline Penalties.

7:00 on Versus

Go Pens