102 times out of 100, we like to come up with our own original ideas for content on the Pensblog. However, we were reading the Chuck Norris Facts that have spread like wildfire across the internet, so we thought: Mario Lemieux can do all that stuff, too.
MARIO LEMIEUX FACTS (We have no intention of copying Chuck Norris facts, but one or two may have seeped into our subconscious. Please forgive us.)
It's a little-know fact that during the 04-05 lockout, there was an NHL all-star game. It was Mario Lemieux vs. himself; the game is still going on.
Mario Lemieux can score a hat trick...with only two goals.
Mario Lemieux can smoke two packs of cigarettes with one match.
There wasn't a second gunman on the grassy knoll that killed Kennedy. It was a Mario Lemieux slapshot that missed the net...and he wasn't even born yet.
Mario Lemieux can find the square root of a negative number.
The doctor couldn't catch Mario Lemieux when he came out of the womb...Mario Lemieux deked past him, got in his 'vette and drove home.
Mario Lemieux doesn't use a Mach3 razor...he uses a rusted pair of skate blades.
The Civic Arena is the house that Lemieux built. No, seriously, Mario Lemieux built it...by himself.
When Mario Lemieux chooses to hit the post with a slapshot, it registers an 8.2 on the Richter scale.
It's called the Richter scale because New York Rangers goalie Mike Richter almost died twice from a Mario Lemieux slapshot.
Mario Lemieux was first line center, with Jesus on right wing.
Mario Lemieux fired a slapshot into the ground...and it killed three people in China.
Area 51 isn't heavily guarded because of UFOs, but because Mario Lemieux trains there in the off-season.
Mario Lemieux wears hockey skates to funerals.
We, in fact, did find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq: Mario Lemieux's slapshot and wrister.
The Mellon Arena doesn't need a zamboni; Mario Lemieux just breathes on the ice.
Mario Lemieux farts on sand and it turns into glass.
Mario Lemieux coughs and immediately gets credit for an assist.
The goal light never comes on when Mario Lemieux scores because the shockwave of his slapshot kills the goal judge.
Mario Lemieux can curve the blade of his stick just by looking at it.
Mario Lemieux's saucer pass is illegal in 17 states.
Mario Lemieux's hands are so good, he can give an instant orgasm to any creature...dead or alive.
Mario Lemieux can speak braille.
One time, Mario Lemieux passed a puck so hard that it went one week into the future...and Lemieux was there to accept the pass.
Mario Lemieux lost his virginity before his own father did.
Mario Lemieux's slapshots create crop circles.
Mario Lemieux can solve Sudoku puzzles by only using the number six.
Mario Lemieux can solve a rubik's cube with hockey gloves on. In 16 seconds.
Mario Lemieux once scored a goal in a celebrity softball game.
Mario Lemieux names his slapshots. His last one was named Katrina.
Mario Lemieux's average bowling score is 305.
Back in '86, Mario Lemieux skated from Los Angeles to New York in 22 minutes to score a goal on John Vanbiesbrouck. Blindfolded.
One time, Mario Lemieux played an 18-hole round of golf and shot a 14.
Mario Lemieux won the 1994 WWF Royal Rumble.
On April 24, 1984, while playing for his junior team, Mario Lemieux got a 5-minute major for high-sticking. He scored twice during his penalty.
A Mario Lemieux slapshot brought down the Berlin Wall.
(Thanks to Tawm for the awesome Super Mario photo.) Leave your own in the comments section.
So look what I found... you can watch live NHL games on Yahoo. Truly good times. Right now I am watching the Kings smoke the Rangers.
Also from Yahoo: great article here. This guy picks the best players, by their numbers. some Penguins notables, as you could imagine: 66. Mario 68. Jagr 87. Crosby
I thought Joey Mullen should've got considered for being one of the best to wear number 7. Looking at this list is just good times..
85. Petr Klima. hahahahha 96 Tomas Holmstrom ... You have to give this to Pavel Bure, I know he changed it, but Tomas Holmstrom sucks.
Speaking of the Arena... Sometimes I just feel like banging my head off the Computer screen Ed Rendell couldn't help build a Lego Arena, let alone one for Pittsburgh.
I love the move by Shero keeping Staal up. Here's some love from NHL.com.. Kevin Stevens with this quote: "The first time I saw him in camp, I didn't know if this kid could ever play," Stevens said. "I didn't recognize what everybody thought was so great about him. But every time I see him play he gets better and better. Now, I can see he's a phenomenal player. It's amazing when you look at the young players this team has."
Mike Peca...your thoughts: "I find (skilled) teams with the makeup like Atlanta .. want nights off from time to time," said veteran Leafs forward Michael Peca. "It was our goal to drive up the tempo and energy and give them a reason to not want to engage in this game."
What a Dick.
That's it and that's all folks.. see you at center ice
It's Sunday night, and it's not time for Pink to sing some crap song for NBC, but rather for the Pensblog to do our weekly look around the Atlantic Division. Can't stress enough how much the Atlantic Division factors into our every day lives as Penguin fans.
The Devils and Penguins have been playing musical division spots this week, and the Devils find themselves up top at the end of the week. The Devils lost on Tuesday in the game heard 'round the world. Then, they beat Florida and Columbus to close out the week. The Devils top scorer, Brian Gionta, only had one point all week. Martin Brodeur is giving up 2.7 goals per game, and is stopping 90.9% of shots he is facing.
2. Our Penguinos.
3. (5-5) 10 points
Powerplay: 19.6% (8th) Penalty Kill: 81.0% (22th)
Look. When you're playing the Rangers, be prepared to score. They have scored 39 goals and given up 39 goals. Jaromir Jagr is again having a lights out year. But he isn't scoring goals. He has 15 assists. Henrik Lundqvist is giving up about 3.5 goals a game and his save percentage is a very unflattering .878. The Rangers are also on a west coast road trip. They beat the Coyotes. They play the Kings, Ducks, and Sharks, as do the Pens. And how about my new favorite stat of the NHL. When they get outshot by their opponnet, New York has a .333 winning %. That's almost dead last in the NHL. Very weird
4. (4-4-2) 10 points
Powerplay: 18.9 (9th) Penatly Kill: 77.3 (25th)
No team really baffles me quite like the Isles. Their strong play at home (3-1) has really helped them out. Alexei Yashin is the leading scoring, registering a solid 4 goals and 8 assists. They also had only two games this week, splitting them. Three of the next four are at home, so don't be surprised if you see them stay afloat. Rick Dipietro is terrible this year. When he is not hurt, he is giving up 3.6 goals a game and his save % (.890( is bad. Mike Dunham has been the jobber we all know and hate. Hes' only giving up 2.2 goals a game. Best stat for the Isles is this: When they score first, they don't win. They are ranked 27th in the league with a % of .400 when they light the lamp first.
5. (2-7-1) 5 points
Powerplay: 9.4 (30th) Penalty: 84.6 (14th)
Oh, how the Mighty have fallen. I love it. This stat is my favorite in the NHL: Derian Hatcher is -14.
Goons. Thats all the Flyers are. In the NHL, you have to understand the salary cap, and the Flyers signed all these morons, and poor Bobby Clarke couldn't just dump them as in previous years. And folks, let's remember...this team has been up for the better part of 10 years. You only get so many chances. And how bad is their goaltending. It's bad. Not only does Antero Niittmaki look disinterested, he sucks too. He is giving up 3.2 goals a game, and his save% is a staggeringly bad .887...but Robert Esche is as easy as you think a girl dressed up as a hooker with a tattoo on her lower back on Halloween is. He is giving up 6.2 goals a game, and his save % .785...The Flyers do have 5 of the next 6 games at home, so you never know if they get out.
These are the words of Pensblog's Adam Caldwell, who we all wish the best, after he got hit by the always horrific kidney stone shortly after finishing the game recap.
Adam is listed as day to day, but as someone once said, aren't we all.
Moving on,
The 1993 Penguins can pop the champagne because the Buffalo Sabres finally lost. The record still stands at 18 games in a row. But I wonder, being that Buffalo didn't lose in regulation, if they get up to 18, will they try to play it off as there still unbeaten?
The 1993 Pens will be popping the crys-tall... but its more likely wine from Mario Lemieux's house
I think even Jim Balsillie scored for the Pens tonight. What an explosion. Did anyone else feel bad for the Flyers tonight? Yea, me neither.
The scoring tonight started with Ryan Whitney making a mistake that I learned not to do when I was in the womb: don't clear pucks into the slot. Even with this atrocious play, that Mike Knuble shot still shouldn't have gotten past Fleury anyway, because Fleury didn't secure his short side. In years passed, I would have went and grabbed a Jack-n-Coke because I knew it was going to be a long game. However, the next six goals in this game were all scored by the Penguins. And I grabbed a drink anyway.
Four minutes after Knuble scored, Sidney Crosby started his rampage. Ryan Whitney fed Sid a nice pass on the rush that Crosby knuckled into the net. Six minutes later, the Flyers had a 4-on-3 powerplay, and it felt like they could take the lead there. But, Forsberg and Gagne decided to hump each other, springing Maxime Talbot on the most liberal breakaway in Penguins history. Talbot buries it, and that shorthanded goal ended the scoring in the first, Pens up 2-1.
The Pens got so bored during this game that they had random staring contests with each other.
The second period started with Maxime Talbot scoring another goal to make it 3-1. 18 seconds later, the Penguins score again, with Crosby jamming home a rebound in front of the net. Less than six minutes later, Crosby picks Derian Hatcher's pocket in front of the Flyers net and scores on the backhand...pretty much all in the same motion. It wasn't a flashy hat trick for Sid tonight, but a hat trick nonetheless. About five minutes after that goal, Crosby keeps a play alive in the Flyers zone that resulted in Malkin one-timing a pass into the net...using Crosby's one-knee shot. That powerplay goal ended the second period scoring, Pens up 6-1. Yea...6-1.
During the second intermission, all I could think about was getting out of Philly alive, without any players getting injured. Two minutes into the third, Stefan "Vladimir" Ruzicka scored for the Flyers to make it 6-2, but I don't think anyone cared. The P.A. announcer was pumped because he could finally do his excited voice. Later, Recchi finally got on the board for the Pens, jamming in a rebound. Five minutes after that, Dominic Moore got the goal he's been clamoring for all year, making it 8-2. And that was it.
Stats
Sidney Crosby: 3 G, 0 A (As I'm typing this, it puts Crosby roughly 5th in NHL points.)
Evgeni Malkin: 1 G, 2 A (9 points in 5 games)
Jordan Staal: 1 A, and doing well in all areas of the game.
Shots: PHI (33) PENS (30)
Powerplay: PHI (1 for 7) PENS (1 for 5)
Miscellaneous
Flyers goalie Antero Nittymaki started the game, but gave up 4 goals on 2 shots. It's not even possible.
Maxime Talbot with two goals tonight. One year older, one year better.
Early in the first period, why didn't Armstrong shoot that puck? Instead, he gives Crosby an awkward pass. Come on Colby. It's just a matter of time, though.
How bout Thorburn standing up for Gonchar by taking on Derian Hatcher. Chris Thorburn sounds like the name of an NFL special teams specialist. But I like having him on that fourth line.
And what's with Derian Hatcher? He gets jobbed by Crosby earlier in the game, and has to take a meaningless shot at Jordan Staal at the end of the game?
Gonchar's hit on Gagne looked painful. It was the Jon Lovitz Subway Sammich of the Game...and rightfully so.
Anyone else notice that saucer pass that Malkin fed to Crosby in the third period? It was cross ice, chest-high, and landed right on Crosby's tape. Sick.
The Flyers performed a forward lateral in the first period, where one guy basically threw it to another guy who caught it...and no whistle blew. Shocking.
Things We Learned Tonight
Sidney Crosby has Levi Strauss make him customized jeans, because his legs are so masculine and sweaty.
Steigerwald mistook Armstrong for Crosby...twice. Bob Errey was stunned.
How awesome was it seeing Flyers fans just sitting there with their heads in their hands.
Gonchar's stick got stuck in the boards on the Gagne hit. Bob Errey started to compare it to a tree on a highway or some crap, but then he just sorta trailed off because he knew it was going nowhere. Any one of us couldn't do a perfect broadcast either, but it's just funny.
If you wake up early, and get home late, you're a Ford Truck kind of guy. Not really, you just work long hours. Toby Keith has never been to a construction site in his life, but we gotta buy Ford Trucks because he's tough and flosses his teeth with barbed wire. You've got talent as a musician, but you are a terd when it comes to Ford Commercials, Toby. Stick to singing about the Taliban. Pensblog, out.
Evgeni Malkin should have many assists during his NHL career.
However, his biggest assist may have come off the ice.
Dasha Tusaeva, right, stands with her mother, Natalia. Submitted Photo
Malkin, the 20-year-old Penguins rookie, helped facilitate a much-needed surgery for a 6-year-old girl in Magnitogorsk, Russia, in September.
Dasha Tusaeva was born without a left arm and her mother, Natalia, hoped she could one day improve her daughter’s life.
This year, Natalia found out it was possible for Dasha to get an operation that would allow her to have a prosthetic arm. However, with Dasha’s father paralyzed during a street attack a few years ago, the family could not afford to travel to a Moscow hospital for medical testing and a medical procedure.
Enter Malkin. The young star learned about Dasha’s situation through a newspaper ad seeking financial assistance for the family in his hometown of Magnitogorsk. Some people from Magnitogorsk donated some money and, when Malkin was alerted to the situation, he stepped in immediately – in a big way. Malkin paid for the family to travel to Moscow for Dasha’s tests.
When it was determined surgery would benefit Dasha, Malkin stepped up and paid for the 350,000-rubel (approximately $13,461) procedure and covered the costs of the girl’s rehabilitation.
Evgeni Malkin Pittsburgh Penguins
“I am very happy that the surgery went well for her,” Malkin said through translator George Birman. “When I learned about her situation, I knew I definitely had to help her. She was in a bad health condition without the one arm. I am glad she is doing very well now that she had the surgery.”
The whole situation was a surprise for the Malkin family as Evgeni did not publicize his act of generosity.
“His parents didn’t even know,” Birman said. “After the surgery, a newspaper reporter called them and asked what they thought. They had no idea what was going on.”
Malkin left Russia for the United States shortly before Dasha’s surgery, so he has not had a chance to meet her. Regardless, the Tusaeva family printed a newspaper ad thanking the Penguins rookie for his generosity.
“It happened right before I had to leave. I did not meet her personally,” he said. “I knew what was going on and what happened and how everything went. I left the country, but as far as I know, they contacted a newspaper and said thank you for everything I did.
“I would love to meet her. I hope she is doing well. Maybe I will see her this summer, we’ll see.”
At this point right now, what's more exciting? A Stanley Cup Finals or a World Series... hmmmm.
Maybe I just don't like baseball that much anymore, but this year's World Series had the charm of my 4th grade chorus concert. And will someone please shut Jeannie Zalasko up.
Columbus shuts out the Kings...The Kings aren't very good this year, but I saw highlights of the game and Anze Kopitar is impressive. By the way, you can catch hockey highlights every night on the FSN Final Score show. I think it's on at 11:00 or 11:30.
The Wild beat the Ducks... No word on whether or not Minnesota Miracle Man Gordon Bombay was in attendance.
" Quack, Sucka"
AO and the boys from Washington are up late tonight, playing in Vancouver. Its tied at 2-2.
...Penguins released Karl Stewart on waivers sometime ago. Wow, we have no idea how that flew under our radar. The Blackhawks picked him up today...
...Our Black and Gold Insider friend is reporting that the Bruins are unhappy with their goalie, Tim Thomas, and are interested in Thibault. The Bruins' Brad Boyes and Glen Murray are two names floating around in rumored trade talks...
...We like ESPN.com's John Buccigross, but I think he's getting way too into himself with all kinds of music references and crap. Dude, you ARE funny. Just space it out please...
...A local high school (Hampton) has re-named their mascot in homage to Pens forward Maxime Talbot...
Read this Sidney Crosby quote:
"We can't even communicate yet," Crosby said of playing with Malkin. "People have to remember that. We can't talk, say, 'Go there, go there.' It's tough. We're just reading off each other right now, kind of ad-libbing, and doing an OK job. We're pointing at a plastic board on the bench, that's what it is. You don't think you're ever going to be in that situation, but at the same time it's pretty amazing that we're able to read off each other like that. As a unit, we're out there filling in lanes and taking ice, and we don't really have that much of a chance to talk about it. But we're going to improve from here on in, I'm sure."
...Some somber news from the YouTube front. Apparently, they are starting to crack down on all of the copyrighted material. A lot of our favorite Penguin clips are being removed. If you want to salvage the movies before they're gone forever, download this extension for the Firefox web browser. It downloads movies that are embedded into web pages.
Wake up tomorrow and know the Pens are playing. Night.
...We figured that since we have some pretty good graphic designers on the Pensblog staff, we could have a little fun with our logo. Pensblog's Chris made this autumn one. If you would like to see us do a certain theme in the logo, let us know...
Buffalo is unbeatable. I am now convinced. But let's face it, the Isles suck. Still the Sabres are the first NHL team since the '93 Maple Leafs (Maple Leaves?) to go 10-0.
"Hey, Fred."
Philly got the John Stevens (most boring name in the NHL) era off to the right start. They beat Hot-Lanta 3-2 in a Shootout. The Moose was in net for the Thrashers.
How about this junk from Boston.... I guess after Montreal scored the go-ahead goal, Bruins fans littered the ice with trash.
Assholes
COME ON. I thought Boston had great sports fans. That's piss poor. The Pens sucked for 4 years straight. Did we ever throw anything on to the ice? During those four years, we didn't even get to throw hats on the ice, cause there were no hat tricks. Come on Boston, get a life.
I guess the refs were horrible tonight. Look at what Kovy said:
"As you saw, the refs screwed up the whole game, and then they tried to fix it at the end. I wish, if they were going to decide to have a bad game, they would be bad for both teams," said Kovalev, who complained that opponents have tried to take out his knees in three straight games. "I have to protect myself."
Big fine coming up there... This isn't the first time Boston fans have done this, they did it after a Yankees-Red Sox game one time. Just embarrassing. I hope the curse of Joe Thornton haunts them for 86 years.
''You have to play loose against San Jose and play zone hockey,'' Nashville's Jason Arnott said. ''You can't force anything on them. We tried to keep them in their zone as much as possible and cycle the puck.''
Thanks Jason. Be sure to write that one down..... idiot.
Big Wayne got the 6-2 win over the Oilers, no recap available, but I am sure it wasn't a good game.
Special thanks to commenter Dennis for the Barney Rubble pic.
Michel Therrien is running a good ship right now One can't help but think, that if Michel Therrien was driving the Exxon Valdez, things could have been different
Before we get to the NHL recap, I found this when browsing on Facebook:
Thankfully, someone out there can make Malkin movie posters that are better than our pathetic ones.
On ESPN tonight, Barry Melrose was praising the Penguins, saying that having Crosby and Malkin as #1 and #2 centers has the makings of an NHL powerhouse. I then proceeded to look up 'obvious' in my Webster's Dictionary.
Bob Pompeani and Bob Smizik also talked about the Pens on the Nightly Sports Call. "Pomp" sounded off, saying that Jordan Staal needs to stay with the team. This is the first time the Pensblog has accepted anything Bob Pompeani has ever said.
The Rangers were the only Atlantic Division team in action tonight, and they lost 4-2 to the Panthers. I think Stumpel for Florida scored a goal by batting the puck in from mid-air.
....Washington rolled over the Avs... the ageless Joe Sakic recorded his 1,500th NHL point...but some somber news for all of hockey as AO got nailed by a puck and had to be helped off the ice with an apparent leg injury. The Hockey Gods don't like Russians this year.
...How good are the Canucks right now? They shutout the Blackhawks 5-0. Roberto Luongo is stellar, and the change of teams has helped him better than anyone thought.
The Northwest division is the most under-appreciated division in hockey.
And Finally ...Anaheim is leading Edmonton 4-2 at the end of the second period in the Pronger Bowl. I am listening to it, and it sounds like a fun game to be at.
I was sitting at work today, smiling ear to ear. Then boom. I think to myself:
"Wow, I really hate Wayne Gretzky." It's a shame. I may have liked Wayne Gretzky, but its my birth rite to despise the man.
As I am enjoying a delicious salami sandwich and reading Dave Molinari's half-hearted attempt to write a story, I nearly choke:
I was reading in the Pens notebook...and they made mention on how the Devils lost to the Senators 8-1 the other day...and how they hadn't lost that big since the Edmonton Oilers beat them 13-4 in 1983. I guess after that 13-4 game, Big Wayne (playing for the Oilers) said this:
"They're [New Jersey] putting a Mickey Mouse operation on the ice. It's ruining hockey."
I guess this is still big in some hockey circles. They call it the "Mickey Mouse Game".
Word in the Magic Kingdom is that Mickey Mouse is still pissed.
Mickey had this to say to the Pensblog when reached for comment:
"I salute you Gretzky, for being a dick. Tell your wife I said hi."
Who wants to bet Wayne Gretzky lovers won't like this post? I think Janet Gretzky would want some of that action. Zing.
We've had an influx of first-time visitors to the site yesterday and today. A hearty welcome from all of us here.
Visited NHL.com to check out their three stars this morning and we were met with this:
Pens Message Board Nation is ecstatic. Today's the day that you skip classes because you're feelin good about the Pens...but later tonight, you realize you were foolish for skipping.
There's really not much going on today in the Pens world, but Penguins news coverage across the board is praising the Hill District Kids. (links to the right)
YouTube comes through again. Malkin's goal against the Devils on 10.24:
How pumped is P.A. announcer John Barbaro when he announces this goal? Glorious.
In our assessment of Geno Malkin (Mull-kin), I think we (including Versus color commentator John Vanbiesbrouck) are forgetting our place when we compare him to Mario. We are guilty of it on the blog, too, but Mario is Mario. Malkin has made some cross-ice passes that we haven't seen since Mario. The comparisons are justified, and the comparisons won't stop. But, there should be a little piece of all of us that just says, whoa, timeout.
Observations
You gotta think Thibault is starting in Philly on Saturday.
Gotta have Fleury fresh for those big games against San Jose and Anaheim coming up.
Those games will tell us exactly where this Pens team is sitting in the NHL.
Some pretty light but good action around the NHL tonight.
Before we get to that, does anyone else kinda not mind the Versus pre-game, intermission reports, and post-game show? Tonight was the first night I actually really paid attention. And while I hate Keith Jones, Brian Engblom kinda looks like Joey Gladstone, so that makes me laugh.
Joey lived in San Francisco with 3 little girls, and his "man friends"...you make the assumptions.
But, in all honestly, I thought the Versus team did a good job tonight. Not to mention Eddie O was there, which I am sure was pretty uncomfortable for everyone in the studio. Poor Eddie O...this has to be like divorcing your wife...and then she loses thirty pounds and hits the Powerball. Anyways, if anyone saw the Versus guys' picks for rookie of the year, there were some studs that we didn't even know too much about. This guy from the LA Kings is sick...his name is Anze Kopitar. He is from some crazy country that I won't even try to spell. I wish I could watch some more west coast games.
Also, Versus houses the intellect of Bill Clement. Bill Clement without Gary Thorne is like Balki being without the Jobber on Perfect Strangers.
I'd be lying to you if I said I didn't tear up when Balki and the Jobber end up letting women mess their show up. In case you forgot, the two got married to their girlfriends and the final season was a huge mess. The last episode had them up in a hot-air balloon, trying to induce Jennifer, the jobber's wife, into labor. Yes I am still single.
I was searching for this picture, and I was stunned to see that Perfect Strangers is on DVD. So...yea to the games...
Big Number 99 better lace them skates up because his team sucks....could Wayne's job be in trouble?
Other tidbits:
The Penguins were the third story on FSN Sports tonight, behind Big Ben...and the Brown coordinator being fired... hmm sounds like someone needs prank called again.
And lastly, Malkin's trial date has been set for November 9.
The last 4 years... Worth it. The heartache... Worth it. Watching our team; knowing they have a frozen puck's chance in Florida of winning... Over it.
I am not sure where you were. I am not sure what you thought. But I believe I felt it. For a brief 5-second stretch, our eyes opened wide and our jaws dropped.
Maybe you screamed as I did. Maybe you ran up the stairs to revel in the goal with a friend, as Adam did. Maybe you just stood there, with your hands on top of your head. Maybe you looked to the heavens and thanked Badger Bob. Maybe you didn't even care, because you're starving to death in a third-world country.
Some will say it was like Mario. Or even Jagr. I digress. Tonight was something more. We have seen it all. We watched Mario raise the Cup. The goals. The Comeback. We saw Nedved in 4 OT's. We saw Jagr, on one leg, win Game Six against these very same Devils...and all the other moments that number 68 gave us. Kaspar the Friendly Ghost still gives us goosebumps, with the thought of him gliding on that frozen sheet of Buffalo ice in Game 7. Nothing should surprise us.
And looking at it objectively, this goal was just like any other goal. They may not make the playoffs; they may not win 30 games. The entire team may need emergency appendectomies.
But for 5 seconds, there was no mention of arena quarrels and gambling. There was just a feeling of "what the hell just happened".
Looking at your friends...they know it. Looking at strangers and just shaking your head in a stunned, but happy jubilation.
Yes, it's October. We have no idea what kind of ride we are in for.
But, let it be said...from the highest highs of Mt. Washington, to the lowest lows of South Oakland:
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a hockey team again.
"Sometimes you're flush and sometimes you're bust. And when you're up, it's never as good as it seems. And when you're down, you never think you'll be up again."
Wow. This friggin felt like a playoff game. I know I say that a lot, but we are just thirsting for that playoff feel. The Penguins are at the top of the Atlantic Division tonight, sharing their penthouse with no one.
Scott Gomez started the scoring tonight, scoring on a jobber rebound seven minutes into the game. Come on, Fleury. Don't kick that rebound out into the slot. About six minutes later, though, Nils Ekman and his nice wrister tied the game on a shot that I definitely thought Brodeur was gonna turn away. That ended the first.
It didn't take long for the Pens to score in the second. Malkin, using his Mario-Vision (TM), slid it across to Crosby who put the puck in on his patented one-knee shot. A couple minutes later, Staal continued his push to stay with the Pens by converting on a play that wouldn't had even existed if it wasn't for Nils Ekman. At the end of the second, Noah Welch pulled a Corbin Bernsen and committed a four-minute high sticking double minor penalty, doing some dental work in the process.
The Devils started the third on that same powerplay, but the Penguins penalty kill shut em down; PK is making a name for itself. Eight minutes into the third, we all got that kick-in-the-scrotum feeling (or kick-in-the-ovaries feeling, for you lady readers) when Sergei Brylin scored on a weird goal at the side of the net. There definitely was unrest in Pensblog Nation...and then...it happened.
Crosby and Malkin were toying with New Jersey all game, and then Crosby fed Malkin a three-line pass that Malkin received while barely staying onside. This goal is hard to explain, mostly because I'm at a loss for words even as I type this. My celebration of this goal consisted of me almost breaking my face trying to run up the stairs. Video of the goal can be found at PittsburghPenguins.com.
Malkin leading a miniature Flying V on his way towards the net.
The rest of the game consisted of the Penguins defense, of all things, shutting down the Devils' attempts to get some scoring chances. Mellon Arena was ready to explode at the end.
Stats
Crosby: 1 G, 1 A
Malkin: 1 G, 1 A
Ekman: 1 G, 1 A
Whitney: 2 A
Shots: NJD (22) PENS (25)
Powerplay: NJD (0 for 6) PENS (0 for 3)
Miscellaneous
Penguins win face-off battle 25-24
What is up with Marty Brodeur this year?
Mark Eaton: 7 blocked shots
Maxime Talbot is an excellent PK man. Nearly forgot about that.
How excellent was Malkin and Crosby's celebration after Malkin's goal.
Pens on a 3-game winning streak
Things We Learned Tonight
Mike Emrick almost, ALMOST makes me long for Paul Steigerwald. By the way, who is Maxime Ouellet? Pathetic.
How many times can Emrick use the phrase "he knifes it out to center?" He uses the word knife so much, you have to think he sold Ginsu knives during the lockout.
John Vanbiesbrouck may be the only hockey player in history to have all five vowels in his last name. We don't count Y. No one should.
Non-hockey, but Firefox released their new browser today, version 2.0. Firefox is the Penguins of web browsers...meaning it's pretty nice.
The Pensblog has learned that David Puddy will be in attendance tonight when the Penguins take on the New Jersey Devils.
"Gotta support the team."
You painted your face? Yeah, that's right.
Puddy later learned the error of his ways and embarked in body painting. D-E-V-I-L-S
This brought into fruition the idea of going to a Penguins game with 3 friends, painting P, E, N, and S on our chests. But, we all know there'd be some wise-guy who paints an I on his chest just to get a good laugh. And funny it would be.
Not too much going on tonight in the NHL. A couple of jobber games, no Atlantic division teams in action tonight.
The much anticipated game between Buffalo and Montreal on Monday night went as expected...Buffalo winning 4-1. They are now 9-0, ladies and gentlemen.
And after making jokes all night about how the Sabres were going to win the cup, we did some detective work and provided the record of the last 18 Stanley Cup winners in their first 10 games of the season:
'87-'88 Edmonton Oilers ( 6 - 4 )
'88-'89 Calgary Flames ( 5 - 3 - 2 )
'89-'90 Edmonton Oilers ( 3 - 4 - 3)
'90-'91 Penguins ( 4 - 5 - 1 )
'91-'92 Penguins ( 4 - 4 - 2)
'92-'93 Montreal Canadiens ( 5 - 3 - 2 )
'93-'94 New York Rangers ( 5 - 5 )
'94-'95 New Jersey Devils ( 3 - 5 - 2 )
'95-'96 Colorado Avalanche ( 6 - 3 - 1 )
'96-'97 Detroit Red Wings ( 5 - 4 - 1 )
'97-'98 Detroit Red Wings ( 7 - 3 )
'98-'99 Dallas Stars ( 6 - 2 - 2 )
'99-'00 New Jersey Devils ( 6 - 3 - 1 )
'00-'01 Colorado Avalanche ( 8 - 0 - 2 ) SICK
'01-'02 Detroit Red Wings ( 8 - 2 )
'02-03 New Jersey Devils ( 7 - 3 )
'03-'04 Tampa Bay Lightning ( 7 - 2 - 1 )
'04-'05 Bad times
'05-'06 Carolina Hurricanes ( 7 - 3 )
Starting in 1998, teams who got hot early stayed hot, compared to teams before that.
Only 3 teams in 18 years finished under .500 in their first 10 games. Not to say that this stat is overly important, but you have to respect it.
Moving on...
Dating back to 2002, the Penguins are 9 - 29 - 2 in Saturday games.
When the Pens beat the Flyers on opening night...and when the final buzzer signaled the end of the Columbus game on Saturday, it didn't even occur to me. No one even mentioned it to us, either...until Pensblog friend Bryan Bell sent us an IM today:
Another intriguing fact: A victory Tuesday night against the Devils puts the Penguins in sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division...for the first time since the eighth grade picnic.
Welch called up from WBS (Letang takes a psychological kick to the junk)
Fleury getting the start Tuesday night.
Our buddy Black and Gold Insider succinctly posted on his blog that Letang will not be on the roster past Tuesday night's game. Disheartening news if true.
Considering all the contract and free agent talk surrounding Jordan Staal, his next few games are the biggest of his NHL career. Show up every night and he may force the Pens to keep him. But if the Pens want their PK to suffer (AND IT WILL), they'll send him down.
Good night and try to be nice to fairweather fans crawling out of their holes. We need 'em.
What a difference a year makes for the Penguins and Marc-Andre Fleury. I couldn't base this post entirely on Fleury because the revamped Pens defense has a lot to do with Fleury's performance early this season.
Fleury has a Save Pct. of .924 this season (9th best in NHL). That's an A in the Chicago Math grading scale...and possibly an A in the rest of the world, if the teacher isn't a bitwitch. His GAA is 2.76 (18th in NHL).
Calculating Goals Against Average (Basically it's goals given up per every 60 minutes played)
Take goals given up (18)...divide by minutes played (392) and then multiply that answer by 60. 2.75510204 2.76
I personally feel that a save percentage is a much better indicator of goalie talent than GAA, which relies more on the defense in front of the goalie (i.e. giving up breakaway chances, giveaways in front of the net, odd-man breaks).
That brings us to the Penguins defensive play this year. Can you honestly pick out a Pens defenseman who has been consistently bad this year? Melichar and Scuderi have been steady; we don't necessarily expect points from them. Mark Eaton is outstanding; we've been giving him accolades all year. I'll take Scuderi or Eaton killing a 5-on-3 any day of the week. Kris Letang has been a pleasant surprise...I knew he would find himself on the powerplay with that right handed shot. Ryan Whitney is a work-horse this year for the Pens, getting significant ice-time every game and looking confident. And Gonchar is taking fewer penalties this year and is lookin good out there.
Save for a couple bad plays (especially the Devils game where we let dudes park right in front of the net without clearing them out), the Pens defense as a whole has been efficient. If the defense had allowed 2 or 3 more goals this year so far, the Pens could be sitting here with a 2-5 record...or worse. We definitely need to count our blessings.
The bottom line is the defense, and especially Fleury, is keeping us in games. It's like in the 90's where we had steady team defense and steady goaltending...we just had to wait for our offense to explode.
Great week of hockey in the Atlantic, and tons of huge stories. The New Jersey Devils are atop the standings so we begin our Journey there...
The Devils are 4-3-1. They have recorded 9 points. Brian Gionta is money. He has 12 points to lead the team. But what is going on with Mr. Brodeur? He has not been his normal lights out self. From getting booed at home, and then getting shelled in Ottawa, Marty is a mess this year. Looking at the goalie rankings Brodeur is 27th in the league. He is giving up 3.2 goals a game, and his save percentage is a muddy .895... which sucks. Powerplay: 15.2% (19th in NHL) Penalty Kill: 79.3% (21st)
.....
The Rangers are tied with Pittsburgh and the Islanders for second-place with 8 points (4-4-0). Michael Nylander, Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan are all hanging out near the top of the NHL points list. Stunning stat here: The Rangers and the Hurricanes have both given up 32 goals...almost the league-worst. The Rangers are also scoring goals in high quantities this year. If it wasn't for Buffalo owning Philly in that one game, the Rangers may lead the league in goals scored. Henrik Lundqvist has to be consistently solid for the Rangers to take an extra step over the rest of the Atlantic. It hasn't been happening thus far, with Lundqvist posting a .883 Save Pct. and 3.52 GAA. PowerPlay: 19.1% (11th) Penalty Kill: 80.0% (20th)
.....
The Islanders have gone 3-3-2 this year, recording 8 points. The Pens played them this week and the Isles looked like a formidable team. The big story on Long Island is goalie Mike Dunham earning a point in all of his starts this season while filling in for Rick DiPietro. Alexei Yashin is sneakin around the top of the points race with 11 points. Powerplay: 19.6% (10th) Penalty Kill: 76.4% (28th)
.....
Wow. What a fall from grace. 1-6-1, 3 points. The worst team in the National Hockey League. The Broadstreet Bullies have turned into a bunch of rabbit droppings, posting the most anemic numbers this side of the 05-06 Penguins. Their leading scorer is Mike Knuble...with 7 points. (Michel Ouellet has 7 points, too). They don't have a single player on the plus-side of the plus-minus stat category. Holy hell. The Sabres bitch-slapped them 9-1 on national televion on Monday. They lost 4-1 in Tampa Bay. They lost to Florida at home. Powerplay: 7.3% (5 for 44) (28th in NHL) WHATTTT? Penalty Kill: 83.7% (15th)
.....
By the way, the Pens have the 4th best powerplay in the NHL, clickin at 25%
What a fine Sunday morning this is. Sun's shinin, leaves are fallin, Steelers play in less than three hours, and when the memories of last night's Pens victory randomly hit you when you're brushing your teeth, you just raise your fist in the air in jubilation. The morning couldn't be any better...until you go to ESPN.com and read the main headline:
Should you tell Jordan Staal he is staying...or should I? More on this tomorrow.
As for tonight...
Let it be said: Sid the Kid to Geno tonight at the 7:04 mark of the 3rd period was the beginning of a beautiful friendship....
...Moving to the games elsewhere in the NHL:
OK, so remember how last night I said Buffalo was losing tonight... Oops....Buffalo is a machine... I am more embarrassed than Fabio when he got hit by that bird on that roller coaster...
There is not much separating me and Fabio right now in the embarrassment department
Last night, I almost said that Jose Theodore was going to dominate in his return to Montreal.. Well he didn't... nothing like a 5-goal third period to pee on your parade.
The sold-out crowd of 21,273 chanted "Theo! Theo!" after Alex Kovalev scored his third of the season at 12:48, then cheered loudly once again as Mike Johnson made it a three-goal lead at 13:54 on the Canadians' fifth goal of the period.
Could you imagine, how horrible this would be? 21,000 people mocking you. But hey Karma is a bitch...Theo walked out on his girlfriend and there, born again, to hook up with Paris Hilton.
Moving on..
Ottawa defeats the Devils 8-1. What happened to the Devils?.... is Ottawa that good? I am sure they will be in a wonderful mood when we play them on Tuesday...
"When you're front-runners, it's a little bit easier," coach Bob Hartley said. "These points in October are worth just as much as those points in April. And we found out last year that those points in April are real tough to get. I'm not saying it's easier in October, but it's a little easier to breathe. You've got a little more to build on at this time of year."
So true...6 wins in 8 games for Hot-lanta...
Tampa Bay beat Washington....AO scored... So did Semin... Ryan Craig, Tampa's leading goal scorer is out 4 weeks with a knee injury. Who the hell is Ryan Craig? I need to start paying attention.
The Rangers sneak by the Maple Leafs... remember me complaining about how people are way too into Brendan Shanahan? Well just another reason that I am a moron. 8th goal of the year, and lone shootout goal.
The Stars get a shutout from Mike Smith making his NHL debut... maybe they should start him in the playoffs for Marty Turco. ZING. UPDATE: Mike Smith in the running for Pensblog's Most Boring Hockey Name.
Two other late games just finished up, The Wild and Oilers get W's over the Sharks and Wings.
The sweet thrill of victory. Not just a nail-biter victory, either. A nice solid victory. As solid as Mark Eaton's physique, according to Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey. Gave up another 2-0 lead, but it really didn't feel like it was gonna be another Saturday night Pens loss at any point in the game.
The Blue Jackets were in the Canonsburg 4th of July Parade to the penalty box early in the first, leading to powerplay goals by Sergei Gonchar/Michel Ouellet....and Sergei Gonchar. Give Gonchar the goal so Malkin can get the assist. Later, Colby Armstrong pulled a Hans Jonsson, turning the puck over in a dreadful play. Gilbert Brule, cool name, capitalized and scored a powerplay goal to end the first period 2-1.
All aboard the Jordan Staal shorthanded goal train
Eight minutes into the second, Fredrik Modin scored for Columbus to tie it up at 2. Then, Jordan Staal began taking over the game. A nice little shorthanded goal for Jordan on a Mark Recchi rebound sent the Pens faithful into the second intermission feelin good, up 3-2.
The third period was Penguins hockey...like it used to be. Penguins were all over the ice, pounding the Blue Jackets into submission. Evgeni Malkin scored an Evgeni Malkin goal on the powerplay to make it 4-2. What a play by Crosby on that goal. Less than a minute later, Jordan Staal has a semi-breakaway and gets tugged on. The suspense as we wait for the referee to point towards center ice....and then, yes, penalty shot. A weird set of circumstances around that goal but I have no idea why the referee waved it off to begin with. Bob Errey was irate. Columbus pulled their goalie with five minutes left to turn the play into an 8-on-2 and they scored...and that was it.
Stats
Crosby: 1 A
Malkin: 1 G
Staal: 2 short-handed goals
Gonchar: 1 G, 1 A
Shots: CBJ (39) PENS (34)
Powerplay: CBJ (2 for 11) PENS (3 for 9)
Miscellaneous
Uhh...Jordan Staal and Letang are staying this year.
Ryan Malone may have broken his left hand in that fight (If you can read lips, you already know that)
Armstrong is coming along.
We're gonna have to stop praising Crosby, Malkin, Eaton and Moore sometime.
Things We Learned Tonight
Michel Ouellet owns a real estate company in Canada...and his music of choice is the Counting Crows. They're all right, but at least he didn't say 311.
Paul Steigerwald may have had an extra-marital affair with Dr. Demento, the singer of the song "Monster Mash". That Nash crap was gettin outta hand.
It's rubbing off on Bob Errey; he called Andre Roy 'Patrick Roy' and called Jordan Staal 'Eric'. We hope you caught that, Pensblog-ites.
Paul and Bob drilled it into our heads that it was a special-teams game tonight. Say it one more time; we didn't hear you the other 32 times.
We were given a history lesson about Magnitogorsk. 30,000 workers died building that steel factory. 30,000???? Holy crap.
"I can tell you one thing: If I'm only a translator, they're paying me way too much," Gonchar said, with a laugh, after practice yesterday. "I guess I'm the most well-paid translator in the world."
I wonder if Gonchar is tempted to say something that Malkin didn't even say. I would no question have fun with that.
Coach on Gonch: "He's our leader with that defensive group," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said. "I really like the way that he's played the last two games. It's a good sign."
Does anyone feel like Michel Therrien is the happiest guy in the world right now? He has been positive all year so far, he almost cracked a smile, and he seems really into the Dan Potash pregame interview. I remember last year he looked like he wanted to kill someone when Potash was talking.
Sid was playing hard against the Islanders, and if anything, Crosby gets beat around more than anyone. If people would've done the things they do to Sid, to Big #99, people would've called the police. Can't touch big Wayne, but it's OK, Sid's a baby because he gets punched in the face every night. Whatever....
If we would've started this blog a while ago I would've made the hire Ted Nolan as coach and CEO of the IOC casino joke... but this comment will have to do.
By the way I think Shelly Anderson stole that story from Nhl.com.
You have to feel bad for the Blues... Markus Naslund scores with 25 seconds left to tie it.. and then Sami Salo scores with .2 seconds left in OT. If you were watching Sportscenter, the Blues coach looked like he may have pooped himself.
Oh how the mighty have fallen... Seriously, when is Bobby Clarke going to have a meltdown? The owner did. I'll give him till Monday.
Eddie Belfour gets the win for the Panthers over the hapless Flyers.
Spending the night at home and my dad wanted me to help him organize the attic. I took the opportunity to rummage through all my old crap. It was a gold mine up there.
Among the Items Found:
1989-90 Panini Hockey Sticker Book
1991-92 Panini Hockey Sticker Book
1993-94 Panini Hockey Sticker Book
October 22, 2000 Ice-Time Game Program
1995-96 Post-Gazette Penguins season preview
Without further ado...
Here are the sticker book scans. Mind the imperfect application of the stickers. I was six.
I had to tear the entire sticker book into seperate pages because my scanner is a scanner/fax/printer combo. It does the paper-feed thing. I just wanted everyone to realize that I ripped up the most prized possession in the history of my life for your (and my) viewing pleasure.
1989-90 Penguins Team (Page 1) Barrasso rocking the 1980's brown equipment. (Page 2) Phil Bourque and Bob Errey in all their glory. Look at how desolate the Hill District is in that Civic Arena picture. Wow, it felt good right there calling it the Civic Arena. Quebec Nordiques (Page 1) Young Joe Sakic wearing number 88. Winnipeg Jets (Page 1) What a badass logo (Page 2) First Pensblog sighting of excellent role-playing defenseman Peter Taglianetti 1991-92 Wales Conference All-Star Starting Lineup (4 Penguins) Check out these Hartford Whalers ones: (Page 1) Ron Francis (Page 2) Ulf and Scott Young
Commenter GHOST OF RANDY CUNNEYWORTH will love this one: 1992-93 Hartford Whalers (Page 1) Top-right
Special request from Roy, operator of Wild Puck Banter (Best Minnesota Wild blog) Minnesota North Stars (Page 1) Brian Bellows of Kevin Stevens-Bryan Trottier fame. (Page 2) Larry Murphy sighting and that grass near the arena looks fake.
Who woulda thunk it? Our Pens are 3-3 to start the season. Way better than last October. What's even better is that it looks to be impossible that the Penguins could have a 6 or 7-game losing streak this year that have become a staple in recent seasons. They look like a hockey team this year.
Thanks to GHOST OF RANDY CUNNEYWORTH in the comments for pointing this out: The Pens are 3-1 vs. the Atlantic Division this year. If we keep winning 3 out of 4 against the Atlantic, we'll be staring the playoffs in the face. Very encouraging.
...It's hard not to enjoy the Flyers' woes this season...
...The Buffalo "Indianapolis Colts" Sabres take on Carolina tonight...striving for a 7-0 record...
...The other undefeated team, Minnesota, takes on Anaheim in a late game...
...Thanks to Mondesi's House for finding this gem: Maxim Online rates hockey's toughest bastards. No real cohesiveness to the entire list, but fight your way through the boobies and legs in the advertisements to check out who is #1. (You too, lady readers.)
...And, finally, Ryan Malone showed up last night in Uniondale, NY, deftly killing penalties by killing time in the offensive zone. Our first Ryan Malone sighting of the year.
The Great Malondini With the ability to make himself disappear for games at a time.
Late night.. nothing puts a hop in my step like a huge OT win.
My only major comment is that I think it's time we all forgive Gonch. I am not going to say I wasn't frustrated with him last year, but he is different to me now.
Regardless of the huge OT goal he got, the guy is a different player.
And don't think for a second that having Malkin here isn't a big help for Gonch.
You could most likely reason that having Malkin rights at the time was a big reason Gonch signed.
All I am saying is this... Gonchar took a beating from everyone last year. He didn't lash out against Pittsburgh. He just went out and played. I get mad when someone looks at me the wrong way. Could you imagined the feeling getting booed by 17,000 people?
I am just ready to forgive the guy... are you?
Moving on...
Anyone that watched ESPN tonight... Barry Melrose said the Pens are going to the Playoffs... which is funny and completely dumb. It's way too early...but so far so good...
Islanders goaltender Mike Dunham was steamed when asked what it was like to face Malkin and Crosby in that situation. "It's real tough when the referee gives them kid-glove treatment and doesn't let them get touched," said Dunham, who stopped 32 shots. "It's ridiculous. Crosby slashed Yashin in overtime, but they didn't give him a penalty . . . They got a break in overtime, and that was the game."
WHAT A BABY!
And then this...
"There's no question in my mind he should have been called before Yashin had a chance to hook him," Nolan said of Crosby. "If Yashin maybe would have acted like Crosby and dove, maybe he would have gotten the call."
"Hey its me Ted Nolan could you wipe my tears?"
First off I thought the Penguins got called for some horrible pentalies. The Isles must be mad because their social security checks didn't come today.
Now let me ask you this? Would these quotes have been in your game story if you were the Penguins beat writer? This game recap only proves Dave Molinari could care less about anything.
Oh and look who is hopping on the Bandwagon...good ol Bob Simzik.
"MFOM (Media Friends of Mario) have conducted a campaign against Plan B, stressing it was in opposition to Isle of Capri. It is not. It is an alternative. And it must remain a viable one at least until Isle of Capri is awarded the license and comes up with $295 million."
I don't understand this sentence? Bob stop writing.... no I am serious. Stop.
So... being that I avoid political crap like the plague, here are my feelings.
1. Its looks like the gaming board bit the hand that fed them. Kind of seems like they were just supposed to a pawn in the game, and just label Harrah's the best plan. But honestly I have no idea.
2.Rep. Jake Wheatley, D-Hill District. He said many residents of the Hill are opposed to a casino in their back yard.
But crack houses are cool? And is station square really that far from the Hill District? I swear some people think Pittsburgh is way bigger than it really is.
Mr. Wheatley your feelings?
"The task force was appointed by a mayor who chose not to run for re-election and it has no real authority to speak on behalf of the entire city about what's best for the city," he said.
Wasnt Mayor Murphy's term up? It would seem like the gaming board put some time into the research. But hey thats me.
Say No to Casinos.. say Yes to fearing for your life when you visit the Hill District..
Devils and Flyers Lose... is anyone else getting excited at the thought of Bobby Clarke melting down? I can't wait. And guess who got hurt... Peter Forsberg.. he is out tomorrow. Apparent wrist injury. Derrian Hatcher is a -10......I love the salary cap.
That's it for me kids...the whole Gaming Board thing pissed me off... but hey least we got a W tonight.
I probably wouldn't have slept tonight if the Pens didn't pull this one out. What a relief. Excellent game to watch as the Road Warriors(TM) ran their record to 2-0 away from Mellon Arena.
In the first period, the Pens were peeing all over the Coliseum in Uniondale, NY. Marking their territory by completely dominating the play for the entire twenty minutes. We're gonna give a call to Webster's Dictionary and move to make the word "Ouellet" a verb...meaning to score a jobber goal. That's all he does, and we aren't complaining. A powerplay goal for Michel Ouellet was all the scoring in the first period.
Ouellet drives a truck for Waste Management in the off-season. ...because he picks..up...the..trash...I got nothin.
The second period was the Nils Ekman Show. He finally got on the board in a Pens uniform with a powerplay goal five minutes in on a Letang-esque wrister. Alexei Yashin scored with about five minutes left to make it 2-1. Then Ekman had to serve a too-many-men penalty that the Islanders capitalized on. Then, Ekman decided to return to the box, this time on his own valition. Jason Blake, an ass, scored and all of a sudden, the Islanders were up 3-2. That ended the second...and possibly my life.
The third period rolled around, and I just felt it was a matter of time. Then, finally, it happened. Crosby working in deep behind the net, kicks it out to Malkin who banks it through Mike Dunham's pads and into the net. Pensblog Nation erupted. What a huge goal...that was only to be up-staged later in overtime.
In overtime, the Pens were given a powerplay. A 4-on-3 powerplay consisting of Malkin, Crosby, Recchi and Gonchar. It brought back memories of Lemieux, Jagr, Francis, Murphy. That quartet didn't capitalize, but later in the same powerplay, Gonchar remained on the ice and one-timed a shot that got behind Dunham and that was it...sending all 523 people in attendance home to watch the Mets in Game 7 of the NLCS.
Stats
Crosby: 3 A, 7 shots (No goals? Overrated)
Evgeni "At Least I Can Score Goals" Malkin: 1 G, 1 A
Gonchar: 1 G, 1 A
Fleury: 33 saves
SHOTS: NYI (36) PENS (37)
Powerplay: NYI (2 for 7) PENS (3 for 8)
Miscellaneous
Crosby was a mad man tonight. Finally, he looks like 05-06 Crosby.
You have Malkin, Crosby, Gonchar...you don't have to repeatedly dump and chase when you're on the powerplay.
Another excellent defensive performance for the Pens and Fleury.
We're gettin tired of praising Eaton and Moore
How bout when Malkin was getting shoved in OT...he can't trash talk so he just does a gangster nod.
Speaking of Malkin, how awesome is it to see him pumped after scoring that tying goal? I'm really glad he's not one of those foreign players who shows no emotion the entire game.
Was it just me, or did the broadcast tonight look like it was from the late 80's?
Things We Learned Tonight
FSN camera crew needs to get their act together. They cut to "action shots" at the worst time possible.
FSN gave up on the Sidney microphone after it fell off early in the second period.
Steigerwald can't distinguish players to save his life. Thank God we have Bob Errey in the booth to assure us that we aren't insane.
Islanders don't have fans; couldn't find an Islanders blog.
NEXT GAME Saturday 10.21.06 vs. Columbus Blue Jackets - 7:30
We're playing the New York Islanders tonight, the first of eight meetings this year. It's only fitting we show this clip that was recently added to YouTube. The extended highlights of Game 7 back in 1993. Glenn Healy plays out of his mind, and Barrasso gives up a Tom Fitzgerald-esque goal to Benoit Hogue. Sickening.
We received some encouraging news about the slots license, as Derek pointed out in a moonlight post last night. The pieces are falling into place; slots license is awarded on December 20th.
As Derek stressed, tonight's game is an important one. The Pens shouldn't lose this game. In fact, they should win handily.
"When we consider what is the best casino for Pittsburgh -- and in the larger context what is the best deal for Pittsburgh -- the Isle of Capri plan is the strongest," the task force said.
Never a dull moment with this stuff... more reaction tomorrow
First things first. Depsite the loss, Malkin was everything I thought and more. And, something I thought I would never say in my life, but FSN's Rob King made a half-decent point: opening your career against the Devils is a tough start. But Malkin may have been the best player on the ice tonight for the Pens, which may not be a compliment.
Around the NHL tonight:
The Caps blew up in the first period... Alexander Semin is a stud. Florida is a team that plays one night, takes off the next.
No truth to the rumor that Edgar Snyder is representing Metallurg... There is no fee unless we get Malkin for you
The lawsuit really isn't a lot to sweat over. I was getting the pulse of the Penguins Message Board Nation...some people are worried, others could care less.
All I am going to say is that I highly doubt any court is going to hear this case because........
A. No one wants to set a precedent like this; way too much backlash.
B. No one wants to set off an international incident.
But I've been wrong before, and I am just some jobber.
And Lastly
No one should go jumping off the Liberty Bridge just yet, but it was a very tough loss tonight. Maybe frustrating is the right word. And I am not prepared to call any mid-October hockey game crucial, but tomorrow night on the Isle is an important game. Coming off a tough loss, how will they react. I just hope they don't tell John Leclair what time the plane takes off.
Good night... and thanks to everyone for stopping by... we are getting way more vistors than we could've ever imagined. Feel free to leave comments or e-mails...
First off, the Devils are a solid team. There's a reason they're picked by more than a few experts to win the Atlantic this year. I'd hate to be a fan of New Jersey, because they're playing style is so boring. But they win games, and that's all that matters. Solid game all around for the Pens tonight. 38 shots on goal...but they ran into one of the best goaltenders to ever play in the NHL.
The first period had Kris Letang setting up Malkin to get drilled, but Malkin took the pass AND maneuvered out of the way of any hit that may have been coming. We also saw a nice Fleury save and Brodeur being Brodeur. Not to mention the officials confirming their powerball numbers with Devils coach Claude Julien.
The second period brought some excitement as the teams exchanged goals. There was a skirmish in front of the Penguin net, Fleury making a couple nice saves before Pandolfo put in a jobber trash goal. The terrible thing was that there were three Penguins near the puck and they couldn't clear it out. With a minute or so left in the second, Crosby and Malkin began creating some magic. A couple of nice tape-to-tape, one-time passes that were generating opportunities. The puck left the Devils zone, and Malkin brought it back in, slowed the play down, and dished it to Recchi who shot it on net. Brodeur thought he had it frozen, but Malkin poked his stick in there and jabbed it into the goal. The second period ended at a 1-1 tie.
Malkin on the cusp of scoring a weak goal
And then the third period came. It was all Penguins for the first nine minutes of the third. We finally got a frickin' powerplay and it looked excellent. We couldn't capitalize on it...and everyone knew what was coming next. The Devils went down and scored. A recurring theme in tonight's game, we had three Pens around Langenbrunner and no one took his stick out of the play. He just parked in front of Fleury like it was a handicapped spot and buried a one-timer. And that was it.
Stats
Evgeni Malkin: 1 G
Sidney Crosby: 3 shots on goal
Martin Brodeur: 37 saves
SHOTS: NJD (34) PENS (38)
PP: NJD (0 for 5) PENS (0 for 1)
Miscellaneous
Dominic Moore continuing dominance in nearly all facets of the game.
Nice play by Mark Eaton to clear that puck sneaking into the net.
Malkin fired a shot that broke the glass behind Brodeur.
One powerplay chance in the post-lockout NHL...
Congrats to Brodeur for 450 career wins.
Pensblog's Chris lucked out and got a ticket for tonight's game. So far this year, the Pensblog is 0-2 at attended games.
(Disclaimer: Strong language. If you've never seen Shawshank Redemption, you have definitely missed the boat in life.)
[Evgeni Malkin reading a letter left in LAX, Los Angeles Airport]
Dear Evgeni,
If you're reading this, you've gotten out. And if you've come this far, maybe you're willing to come a little further. You remember the name of the town, don't you? (Pittsburgh)
I could use a good man to help me get my Dynasty on wheels. I'll keep an eye out for you and a hockey stick ready.
Remember, Geeno...Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. I will be hoping that this letter finds you, and finds you well.
Your friend,
Gonch
This is the story of Evgeni "Dufresnse" Malkin, the man who crawled through a river and ocean of shit and came out clean on the other side. Evgeni Malkin. Headed for the Three Rivers.
Starring:
Red - Sergei Gonchar
The Warden - Metallurg Magnitogorsk’s owner Viktor Rashnikov
Bogs - Craig Patrick
Brooks Hatlen - Eddie Johnston
Byron T. Hadley - John Leclair
Tommy Williams - Mario Lemieux
and
Andy Dufresne - Evgeni Malkin
Gonch:There must be a defenseman like me on every team in the NHL. I'm the guy who can get it for you. A goal on the powerplay, a break-up on a two-on-one, a bag of reefer, if that's your thing. Damn near anything within reason. Yes sir, I'm your regular NHL defenseman. So, in 2006, when the Penguins asked me if I could provide housing for Evgeni Malkin while he adapted to life in the U.S., I said no problem.
...
Gonch:Word got around, though. It seemed that the Sisters had taken a liking to Malkin. Especially Craig Patrick.
MalkinTell me something. Would it help if I explained to them I'm not homosexual?
[Malkin is doing laundry and finds Craig Patrick in the aisle blocking his way. John Davidson looms from the shadows. To his right is Gary Bettman.]
Gonch:I wish I could tell you that Malkin fought the good fight, and the Sisters let him be. I wish I could tell you that, but Russia is no fairy-tale world.
...
Rashnikov: I believe in two things: the left-wing lock and the Bible. Here you'll receive both. Put your trust in the Lord; but your ass belongs in the neutral zone. Welcome to Magnitogorsk.
[Malkin plods through his days. Working. Taking wristers in the rec yard, stick handling and shaping his curve after lights-out]
Gonch:Things went on like that for a while. Hockey life consists of routine, and then more routine.
Gonch:And that's how it went for Malkin. That was his routine. I do believe those first two years were the worst for him. And I also believe if things had gone on that way, Magnitogorsk would have got the best of him. But then, in the spring of 2005, the powers-that-be decided that he would play for the Russians in the Olympics. It was competitive hockey, and the Olypmics is one damn fine tourney to be playing in.
...
Malkin overhears Leclair talking to Eric Lindros
Leclair:So this hotshot GM calls from Pittsburgh, and he says, John Leclair? I say, yeah. He says, sorry to inform you, but we want to sign you.
Lindros:Damn, Johnny. Sorry to hear that
Leclair:They want to sign me for a million bucks
Lindros: A million bucks? Jeez-Louise! That's great! That's like winnin' the sweepstakes!
Leclair: Dumb sucker. What do you figger the government's gonna do to me? Take a big wet bite out of my ass, is what. Plus Pittsburgh sucks. What if I get hurt?
Malkin:Mr. LeClair, do you trust Mark Reechi? LeClair:That's funny. You'll look even funnier with a dislocated shoulder. Malkin:What I mean is, do you think he'd go behind your back? Try to hamstring you? Leclair:That's it! Step aside, this guy's shoulder is havin' an accident! Malkin:: If you want to keep that money, all of it, just get the Pens sign Reechi too. See, they are dumb enough to do it. And he will raise your contract up.
Gonch:...And that's how it came to pass, that on the second-to-last day of the tourney, the Russian team that played in the Turin games in the winter of 2006 wound up sitting in a row at ten o'clock in the morning, drinking icy cold Lemon Lime Gatorade courtesy of the hardest screw that ever walked a turn at Magnitogorsk State Prison...As for Malkin, he spent that break hunkered in the shade, a strange little smile on his face, watching us drink his Gatorade.
...
Gonch: I have no idea to this day what those two guys said at the 2004 entry draft. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I like to think they said something so beautiful it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared. Higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful penguin flapped into our drab little cage and made these walls dissolve away... and for the briefest of moments -- every last man at Magnitogorsk felt free.
...
Lemieux:'Bout 7 years ago, I was in Pittsburgh on a 5 to 6 stretch. Bought the Penguins; smart thing to do. Five years after I bought the team, I get the second overall pick in the 2004 entry draft. The Capitals had the first pick. One night, like a joke, I say: "Yea, Washington, who you gonna pick?" They say Ovechkin. That meant we would pick Evgeni Malkin.
...
Rashnikov: Well, I have to say, that's the most amazing story I've ever heard. What amazes me more is that you were taken in by it. It's obvious this fellow Lemieux is impressed with you. He hears your tale of woe and quite naturally wants to cheer you up. Malkin:I think he's telling the truth. Rashnikov:Let's say for a moment this "NHL" exists. You think Russia would just let you leave? Malkin:It wouldn't matter. With a new transfer agreement, I'd be guaranteed to go to America. Rashnikov: (shakes head) Malkin:Well, it's a chance, isn't it? How can you be so obtuse? Rashnikov:What did you call me? Guards! In here! Get him out of here! Fourth line...a month!! Malkin:What's the matter with you? It's my chance to get out, don't you see that? It's my life!! Don't you understand it's my life?!?! Rashnikov: Get him out...GET HIM OUT!!!!
[Malkin on fourth line] Rashnikov: Are liking the fourth line? Malkin:I'm done. I'm done running your fourth line. It all stops. Rashnikov:NO, nothing stops. I'll take you out of that one-bunk Hilton and cast you down with the St. Louis Blues. Nothing stops. Fourth line, another month.
...
EJ: Dear Fellas,
I can't believe how fast things move in the new NHL. I saw a breakout once when I was young. Now they're everywhere, goals coming from everywhere. Fans chant faster and louder. Ken Sawyer got me into this job as hockey operations manager, and a job bagging groceries at the Giant Eagle in the Southside.... It's hard work. I try to keep up, but my head hurts from when I got hit in the head by that puck in Washington. I don't think the store manager likes me very much; he is a huge Steelers fan. Sometimes after work, I go to Schenley Park and feed the birds. I keep thinking Badger Bob Johnson might show up and say hello, but he never does. I hope wherever he is, he is doing OK, and thinking about our magical run in 1991. I have trouble sleeping at night. I have bad dreams, like I'm watching David Volek end our dynasty. I wake up scared.
Maybe I should get me a terrible towel and burn it so they'd send me home. But I guess I'm too old for that sort of nonsense anymore. I don't like it here. I'm tired of being around the Steeler Nation. I've decided not to stay.
I doubt they'll kick up any fuss. Not for an old time hockey coach like me.
P.S. Tell Markus Naslund I'm sorry I got him traded.
No hard feelings, EJ
...
MalkinI didn't pull the trigger Gonch. That's why we lost . Because of me, the way I am.
Gonch:Feel bad about it if you want. But you didn't pull the trigger because you're a playmaker, you were looking to make a pass. I know you didn't shoot.
MalkinNo. I didn't. Someone else did, and I wound up here. Bad luck, I guess. It floats around. Has to land on somebody. It was my turn, that's all. I was in the path of the Goalie. (softly) I just had no idea the storm would go on as long as it has. (glances to him) Think you'll ever get out of here?
Gonch:Yea, when I got a long white beard and a bum knee and I score about three goals a year.
Malkin :Tell you where I'd go. Pittsburgh...
Gonch:Pittsburgh?
Malkin:Western PA. Little place right on the Three Rivers. You know what the Pittsburghers say about the Three Rivers? They say Pittsburgh has the best fans in professional sports. That's where I'd like to finish out my life, Gonch. A cold place with no memory. Score 600 goals, raise Lord Stanely's cup a few times.
Gonch:Three Rivers? Hell. Likely to scare me to death, somethin' that big.
Malkin:Not me, whatever mistakes I made. I've paid for and then some. That city and those Stanely Cups...I don't think it's too much to want. To look at the Mellon Arena after a playoff game. Touch the ice. Feel free.
Gonch:Goddamn it, Geni, stop! Don't do that to yourself! Talking shitty pipedreams! Pittsburgh down there, and you're in here, and that's the way it is!
Malkin: You're right. It's down there, and I'm in here. I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really.
Get busy Playing or get busy Sitting.
...
Gonch:I guess when Malkin's Magnitogorsk team visited Finland for training camp, Evgeni decided he'd been there long enough. In 2006, Malkin escaped Magnitogorsk. All they found of him was a muddy set of hockey gloves, a bar of soap, and an old hockey stick damn near worn down to the nub. Evgeni did like he was told. Buffed those hockey skates to a high mirror shine. The equipment manager simply didn't notice; neither did I. I mean, seriously. How often do you look at a man's hockey skates? Evgeni crawled to freedom through five-hundred yards of shit-smelling foulness I can't even imagine. Or maybe I just don't want to. Five-hundred yards. That's the length of seven and a half hockey rinks.
[Rashnikov reads the AP news story of Malkin leaving Finland. Rashnikov goes to the safe in his office and opens it. Inside is a copy of the October 18th Ice-Time game program. On page 71, he reads an inscription:
Rashnikov...you were right. Salvation lies within.
Gonch:I like to think that the last thing that went through Rashnikov's mind, before realizing that Konstantin Koltsov was now his main attraction, was wondering how the hell Evgeni Malkin could've got the best of him.
...
Malkin:I find I'm so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it is the excitement only an NHL player can feel; an NHL player at the start of a long career whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the Fort Pitt Bridge. I hope to see my friend Gonchar and live in his house. I hope the Mellon Arena ice is as white as it has been in my dreams.
I'm conducting this post on dial-up internet at my parents' house. On good old cable internet, I can rapid-fire 5 or 6 bookmarks into tabs and search through all of them for links in about fifteen minutes. This dial-up internet is ridiculous, though.
...I ended up watching the first period of the Buffalo-Philly game on Versus tonight. It looked like it was going to be a defensive battle...HA! The godfather of the Pensblog wanted to watch the NLCS on FOX, so I switched back to the game on a commercial and saw the Sabres with a 6-0 lead in the second. They ended up winning 9-1...
...Buffalo STILL on track for 82-0. Philly losing is great, too. The Ken Hitchcock unemployment watch has commenced...
...Some pessimistic news that we feel we are obliged to report: Russian hockey team Yaroslavl filed a suit against the NHL, Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. It's a quick read. It just won't go away...
...At time of this post, undefeated Dallas Stars are losing 1-0 to the Sharks in the first period...
...Six games in the NHL tonight. When this post went to press, Edmonton-Vancouver and Detroit-Los Angeles were tied at zero...
...Chicago beats Colorado 5-3 tonight...
...Carolina owned Tampa Bay tonight 5-1, in a rematch of the last two Stanley Cup winners. Justin Williams with a hat trick tonight. This game was on Versus, but I didn't even realize it until I ventured into the high 50's on my TV for the first time of the night, around 10:00.
In the good ol' Atlantic:
...Rangers helped out everyone by beating the Devils, 4-2...
...Islanders squeaked out a point in a 2-1 shootout loss to Nashville...
Random Stuff:
...Tribune-Review article on Kris Letang. If you had to pick one to stay up this year, who would it be...Staal or Letang? Staal is helping the PK a lot (even has a shorthanded goal). Letang (two goals) looks like he can be solid after a year of NHL experience. You can make a case for both...who's it gonna be?
...The Colorado Springs Gazette reports that the Colorado game tonight saw the longest-sellout streak come to end. Since moving from Quebec, the Avalanche had sold out 487 consecutive games. It was the longest active streak in the four major professional sports. The Pittsburgh Pirates are now the leaders in consecutive sellouts, with 1.
...Tomorrow night on Versus: Philly at Buffalo, 7 PM. A chance to hate the Flyers and to check out the eventual 82-0 Sabres...
...In case you haven't heard, Evgeni Malkin will be in the lineup Wednesday night against the New Jersey Devils. I want to sit here and say student rush is a possibility, but you better get there by noon. Personally, I'm not going to mind watching the game at home. They'll have an iso-camera on him for the whole game and it'll be a nice viewing experience.
...Don't think the Pensblog will just stand aside without pumping everyone up about Malkin...
Looking around at the other teams in the Atlantic division will be a new weekly feature here at Pensblog...and being that we play two division foes this week, it will be nice for everyone to get re-acquainted with old enemies.
The Islanders
The Isles started off on a west coast swing that landed them on a three game skid.
But after beating the Ducks in a shootout, the Isles debuted against the Bruins at home,
and pulled out a4-1 win. Terrible uniforms for the Isles. 14,734 people showed up for the game.
Mike Sillinger is a good player, and Jason Blake is on fire early on. Mike Dunham was steady playing for Mr. Islander Rick DiPietro, who had a groin pull.
By the way, is there a worse place to watch a game than the Nassau Coliseum? It has the feeling of a inspired Bingo Hall. And it always seems dark.
"Since the start of the 1990-91 season, the Flyer's are a grim 8-29-5-1 during the regular season in the building off Exit 16W of the New Jersey Turnpike"
Antero Niittymaki seems to be the goalie to go to now, he has started 4 straight games.
The Flyers better hope Peter Foresberg or Mike Knuble don't get hurt. 12 points between them and they are the only two players who aren't minus. Basically they are like Toejam and Earl right now:
one of the most underrated video game duos of all time.
The Devils
The Devils are not screwing around this year. Brian Gionta no question could score 50 goals. But Marty Brodeur hasn't been his normal lights-out self. Nonetheless, the Devils are still sitting atop the Atlantic tonight.
...It was Jim Balsillie Sunday today as both the Post-Gazette and the Tribune-Review delivered articles concerning the man from Waterloo...
...Dallas beat Anaheim 4-3 in the only game tonight. That leaves Buffalo, Minnesota and Dallas as the only remaining undefeated teams (5-0). Every NHL team has at least one victory...
...The Rangers and Coyotes have given up the most goals (23)...
Hallelujah. The Penguins have won games in October this season. That alone is enough reason to rejoice.
We throttled Philadelphia and beat the Rangers in a shootout. Detroit owned us and the entire Carolina game is a haze.
84.6% penalty kill puts them 16th in the NHL. Very encouraging. 19.2% powerplay is 10th best...without Malkin... 18.7 shots per game is the NHL's worst...by six shots. Allowing 36 shots per game, second worst to the Islanders' 40.
Ryan Whitney leading the team in average ice-time (25:59) and total shots on goal (10) Josef Melichar leading with a +3 Sidney Crosby: 2 G, 4 A
Before all you Steeler fans get mad, hear me out...This is not a hit piece and there is nothing worth debating in this post.
I am a huge Steeler fan. I could go toe to toe with anyone in Pittsburgh about the subject. The first time I met Adam, we talked for 5 hours about the Willie Williams tackle in the 1995 AFC Championship Game. We didn't even talk about the Penguins.
I watch every Steeler game (15-1 seasons or 6-10 seaons) in the same place: At my house, in my dad's game room, with the same people...my brother, my dad, my friend Tim, and his brother. We sit in the same seats, and have all the rituals... But this year is different. The Steelers are coming off a world championship, the highest of highs. The sad thing about this Steeler season is that the people that jumped on the bandwagon from the Chicago Bears game on don't want to come to terms with the fact that the Steelers might not win every game. We always hear about the free agency era of the NFL; how it is nearly impossible to have long stretches of elite status. Fans are actually booing the team at games this year...are you serious? I was ashamed to be a part of Steeler Nation when I heard boos at the end of the Cincinnati game. No one will ever question true Steeler fans loyalty or their right to dicuss the subject, but we do have the right to discuss why if you're a true Pittsburgh sports fan, you aren't more concerned with the Penguins and their battle to keep the franchise in Pittsburgh.
Here are our reasons:
5. The Five-Year Grace Period This is something that I learned of when reading Boston-Homer Bill Simmons of espn.com To save you the reading "After your team wins a championship, they immediately get a five-year grace period: You can't complain about anything that happens with your team (trades, draft picks, salary-cap cuts, coaching moves) for five years. There are no exceptions. . You win the Super Bowl, you go on cruise control for five years. Everything else is gravy." This makes sense. The Steelers gave us an incredible ride last winter. What more could we have asked for? I am not going to get all worked up over 3 losses. The Penguins last won in 1992, couple that with the win in 1991, and that got us up to 2001. Two wins = 10 years. And seeing that McClatchy doesn't make the Pirates worth it right now, the Pens should be people's main focus. You may not agree with this next statement...but there is nothing better than your team being in the Stanely Cup Playoffs. You better respect it. A seven game series that makes you go up and down faster than the Mt. Washington Incline is the most emotional experience a fan can have. We haven't had this feeling for a while now. I was nine years old when Lord Stanley was last raised; I want to see it again. 4. Bandwagon fans and competitive fans
I love the Steeler Nation, but something struck me as odd the other night before the Sunday night game against the Chargers When I was in school, I remember there were all these people who were self-proclaimed Steelers fans. They had pictures at tailgate parties, the jerseys, you name it. And when the Steelers lost to the Patriots in the 2004 AFC championship game, those fans were nowhere to be found. I couldn't move for 5 months after that loss. I felt like I broke up with every girlfriend in my life in one night. But these people were acting like they didn't care all of a sudden. They dropped the "oh, it's only sports" thing. Screw that. I was watching TV; watching all these people guarantee wins in their local bars, saying the Steelers are number one. What crap. Most Pens fans aren't bandwagon. But bandwagon fans are everywhere. All I am saying is that the 13,000 or so true Penguins fans in this area, and the thousands elsewhere, have watched every game no matter how bad they are. I watched every game last season, good or bad. Just wait until the Penguins break out...it's going to be like a convoy on the Oregon Trail.
In 5 years, a lot of people are going to be dying of dysentery when the Pens are great again.
Why do Steeler fans always try to one-up each other? What I like about Penguins fans is that we band together. We are not in some type of competition to get as many pictures with the Penguins as possible, to build bigger shrines, or argue that we know more about the Penguins and can analyze everything better than everyone. Go to a Steelers game, and then a Pens game. Which place would you be more inclined to slap a stranger's hand after a TD/goal? At Steeler games, everyone has their little posse and cheering sections. As Pens fans, we're all there for one reason: to help our team win. You will hear the occasional boo from Pens fans, of course, and you'll hear the crowd groan in unison when a defenseman can't take a pass and it goes out of the zone, but we also forgive. For example, everyone was on Gonchar last year, but I know a lot of people willing to forgive him. Pens fans aren't going to do what "Steeler fans" did to Kordell Stewart (unless your Robert Dome). Even fans booing Ben when he throws a pick are jokes. Roethlisberger helped the Steelers win the friggin Super Bowl. He has 3 bad games, and that's it? He's supposed to be Tom Brady all of a sudden? After barely working with his new receiving corps? He hasn't gone through the NFL growing pains yet. I just think Penguins fans are a little more level-headed than Steeler fans when it comes to expectations.
3. Ratings Overkill
Let's face it. Football in this area will always be bigger than hockey. For example: I hate high school football, and do not understand how someone other than the people playing the games can get excited about it. But, not trying to be a hypocrite and criticize something I don't understand, I'll stop. But what I do understand is that the Steelers are used as a rating ploy by everything. Every news station...every broadcaster is obsessed with the Steelers because that's how they get more people to watch. It has become ridiculous. It's fine to a point, but when the Steelers have become a bigger story on the news than someone being murdered in my neighborhood, I am not sure I want to be a part of something like that. Big Ben got in an accident. That's a one day story. That's it. He's alive. Move on. News stations were making 3-D models of the scene of the accident. That was too much. When did this get so bad? When we were kids, it wasn't like this. And that was only ten years ago. If Ben went through the Kordell Stewart gay rumors (which didn't get any major media coverage) right now, not only would the media be all over it, half the men in Pittsburgh would become homosexuals just to get a shot at "Big" Ben.
2. The Future We have a responsibility...not only to ourselves now, but the future. The Steelers will always be here, but now, more than ever, we have to pump our Penguins. There are thousands of young kids out there caught in the Steeler mania, which is fine. We were when we were kids.
These are the moments that made my childhood. And while not important to some, I know it is important to others. Why should the Penguins future be pushed aside because the Steelers aren't winning? It's not right, and cannot be tolerated.
The Penguins for too long now have been the city's third child. It's time to realize that they are every bit as important to Pittsburgh as the Steelers.
1. The Arena Issue Where to begin on this issue. What is frustrating is that is is still an issue. Think back to when Dan Rooney was crying for a new stadium. They couldn't have built one fast enough. If tomorrow, the Rooney family said there were gonna move the Steelers if they didn't get a second stadium, people would be lined up to donate. People might even start building it on their own.
"Hey, it's me, Dan Rooney. I need a new stadium." (Book of Genesis, Chapter 6, Verse 15)
But when Mario Lemieux asks for a new arena, he is a greedy Canadian. Who cares about hockey, they say. They don't need anything, it's only hockey. The fact that this arena business has gotten to this point is shameful, embarrassing, and disheartening. Just because people don't like hockey, it's not worth using the taxpayers money? It's only sports. But, oh my God, the Pirates can't stay competitive in Three Rivers and baseball is America's pastime. Gotta give Kevin McClatchy a new stadium. We can't lose the Pirates. The Pirates needed PNC park so they could become a contender...........done laughing yet?
Screw that Lemieux guy, they say. Banding together with a typically annoying argument on why they wouldn't give 10 cents to the Penguins cause. Lemieux's not even from here. We built a Pirates stadium and they suck. Professional sports are not as important as the war on drugs and poverty in this area. But have they really done anything on that? Take a walk through Homewood. Let me know how that goes. Professional athletes aren't like us hard working Pittsburgh steel people, they rally. We are a steel town. We take our lunch pails to work. Yea, well, you'd be taking your lunch pail to the Hill District when you get a job building the Penguins new arena. Think about it.
Pens fans are having to undergo the worst waiting any sports fan should have to go through.
I'll end with this: The Steelers will always be here, so will the Pirates. Even if you hate hockey, and the Penguins, just put yourselves in our shoes. How's it feel?
New Orleans has gotten a lot of sympathy from the nation after Katrina. Hopefully, Pittsburgh can get the same treatment after tonight because the Hurricanes urinated all over Mellon Arena on their way to a 5-1 victory.
I just hope no one gets worked up. Malkin is arriving shortly. Carolina is the defending Stanley Cup champs. We had a couple bad bounces tonight. It's early in the season. We're still in excellent shape.
The score looks bad, but in all actuality, it wasn't really that terrible. Three of Carolina's goals were on freak plays. Early 2-0 lead, and the fans were out of it. It just snowballed.
One of the freak plays occurred early in the game. A puck that Letang thought he was gonna snag ended up bouncing over his stick and right to Peyton Staal's stick...and he buried it. About seven minutes later, a cool breeze floated through Mellon Arena as the ghost of Kevin Stevens paid a visit.
Exclusive Pensblog Photo Respect the Fleury artwork.
Colby Armstrong, on a clean hit, leveled Trevor Letowski in the upper slot. The game was stopped for a few minutes as they tended to Letowski. Early reports said he had a gash along his forehead and was coherent at the hospital. Good news. Carolina players probably fear Mellon Arena like the plague now, though.
Back to the "game". Less than a minute after the Letowski hit, Penguin killer Scott Walker squeaked a shot from the boards between Fleury's pad and the post...freak play #2. In the second period, the Pens killed a two-minute, 5-on-3 powerplay...but before either Penguin could get into the play, Scott Walker scored again and it was 3-0. Halfway through the second, Marc-Andre Fleury took a Macho Man Randy Savage flying elbow smash to the head and left the game with only a cut over his eyebrow. Kris Letang later a scored a goal for the Pens...and all that did was eliminate another Saturday Night Shutout.
We put this picture on here because we had to.
The third period began with Carolina scoring a powerplay goal. And, finally, freak play #3 occurred when Mark Recchi forgot that he didn't play for Carolina anymore. Hurricanes defenseman Mike Commodore blasted a shot that was gonna miss the net by ten feet, but it hit Mark Recchi's leg and got past Thibault. And that was it.
Stats
Crosby: 5 shots
Scott Walker: 2 goals
PP: CAR (1 for 5) PENS (1 for 9)
Shots: CAR (34) PENS (26)
Giveaways: CAR (1) PENS (10)
Faceoffs Won: CAR (32) PENS (37)
Miscellaneous
Dominic Moore is everywhere. Killing penalties, working in the corners, making sweet passes, giving Thorburn his gloves and helmet in the penalty box after the fight. And I think I saw Moore at the Banksville Road Arby's last night.
Ryan Malone is slowly turning into Aleksey Morozov.
They better let Jordan Staal stay with the Pens this year.
Penguins explode with 26 shots tonight...but they decided to do it against last year's Conn Smythe winner, Cam Ward. Glad to see someone named Ward is still good.
Things We Learned Tonight
Eric Staal and Jordan Staal are brothers.
Paul Steigerwald is an atrocity. He thought a puck that deflected into the netting was gloved by Fleury. He mistook Crosby AND Karl Stewart for Jarrko Ruutu. He said Letang made a save. He didn't mention a word about a penalty that John LeClair took. He uses Lange's little sayings that only Mike Lange should use. Damn it, this should be its own post. Bob Errey just sits there and corrects him throughout the night. I wish Steigerwald would e-mail me and ask "You think YOU could do better?!" I would say "yeah". The corn in Mike Lange's stool could do a better job.
I think Bob Errey secretly hates Steigerwald.
Bob Errey was telling a great story of how kids in Canada grew up playing hockey. Errey incorrectly said that he would go inside after playing and un-thaw his toes while drinking hot cocoa, and Staggy interrupted him, correcting Errey's grammar by saying "you mean thaw, not un-thaw. Nice story, though, Bob." Bob Errey responds with "it was a nice story until you interrupted it." You could've cut the tension with a knife. Staggy might have been wanting to stop the story to continue calling the game, but it was 5-1 late in the third. Bob Errey is the man, simple as that.
Hurricanes Blog Hopefully they talk trash on Armstrong. We like a good challenge.
NEXT GAME vs. NEW JERSEY DEVILS - 7:30 PM Wednesday, 10.18 Malkin Sighting Probable
...Killing two birds with one stone here. Post-Gazette article discussing Malkin taking some hits in practice. He is a poor media's Ben Roethlisberger. ...Also in that article: In July, a group called HHC Acquisition bought the exclusive rights to the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, ON. It was rumored that Balsillie was the man behind HHC. However, HHC has recently terminated its agreement with the Coliseum.
"I sent him [Balsillie] an e-mail offering any support I could to help him with the team in Pittsburgh," Cuban wrote Friday in an e-mail to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "He sent me a nice reply. Hopefully, we can do something together."
...The Blue Jackets' Rusty Kesla is the third Rusty to ever play in the NHL.
The Buffalo Sabres continue their run towards an 82-0 season. They are now 4-0 after beating Detroit tonight in a shootout. The Pens managed 13 shots against Detroit; Buffalo had 17 tonight.
At the other end of the spectrum, the Carolina Hurricanes finally ended their Stanley Cup hangover tonight with a 4-3 win over Atlanta. They took a page out the Penguins book, scoring the game-winner with 0.5 seconds left. Carolina coming to Pittsburgh for the second game on back-to-back nights is such a good thing.
Montreal Canadien rookie Guillaume Latendresse took to the ice this year wearing uniform number 84. It is now official: every number from 1 to 99 has been worn in an NHL game. The highest Penguin uniform number ever would be Aleksey Morozov (95), I assume.
Morozov celebrating a goal. As expected...it's against the Devils. Oh yea, and thanks for hittin the post on the playoff penalty shot against Montreal. Dick.
Take some time and check out the Pensblog on MySpace and FaceBook. We need friends.
Unreal night. I was listening to the Pens game on my way home from my opening night dek hockey game and you would've thought I was driving Princess Diana. Mike Lange's call of it was great.
Almost me on Interstate - 70 tonight when Crosby scored.
Fortunately enough for him, Sienna Miller wasn't around...the joke that just keeps on giving
In other news, the Pensblog can now confirm that a Pens Patrol member was fired for talking to Marc-Andre Fleury and trying to get his number. It all went down after the game on Saturday.
"Marc, how quick are you in between the bed posts?"
I didn't know there were male members of the patrol... I cannot wait to make fun of them.
Wrapping things up:
Tonight's game reminded me of this win years and years ago.... it is still early, but games like tonight's are building blocks..
What a big win tonight. In the third, we quickly talked about how devastating of a loss this would be after going punch for punch with the Rangers. But these are the 2006-07 Penguins...and these boys can put the vulcanized rubber in the net.
After a good, scoreless first period, the game took off in the second. Jordan Staal scored a shorthanded goal on a breakaway to start the scoring frenzy. It seemingly took him 22.6 seconds to get to the net, but when he got there, he dominated. Jagr scored a minute later to tie it. (Who didn't know Jagr was gonna bury that?) Matt Cullen scored an NHL99 goal on a semi-breakaway to make it 2-1 for the Rangers. Three minutes later, Kris Letang scored the Pens first powerplay goal of the season to tie it. The teams exchanged goals to end the second period with the game tied 3-3.
One minute into the third, another powerplay goal for the Pens, this time it was Ryan Whitney. Rangers tied it at 4, but then Armstrong and Whitney came down on a 2-on-1 and Whitney buried a one-timer. Rangers tied it again at five...setting the stage...
With a minute left, Jagr goes to the box for hooking. Overtime was already dancing in our heads as we watched the Pens powerplay set up and break down. We see Recchi on the half-boards with ten seconds left, playing with himself. 7 seconds...5 seconds...he passes it to Crosby who, Lemieuxly, just gets it to the net. It hits Aaron Ward's skate and goes in. Game.
A picture to savor
Stats
Crosby: 1 G, 3 A
Whitney: 2 PP Goals, Leader in ice-time for Pens with 27:22
Jagr: 1 G, 2 A
Powerplay: NYR (3 for 9) PENS (4 FOR 9)
Shots: NYR (42) PENS (22)
Miscellaneous
Unorthodox glove save by Fleury in the first period.
Ryan Whitney better stop turning the puck over. We counted 5 giveaways tonight.
Fleury should stop handling the puck behind the net.
Mark Eaton...incredible again...
Things We Learned Tonight
There's a new Toby Keith Ford commercial to hate. How we've longed for this day.
Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, according to Bob Errey, covered a puck up in his crease like a frog...
Bob Errey was overly irate about the zamboni missing that patch of ice. He sounded like he wanted to rape a seal.
...Greg Johnson (Pens '96 - '98) retired today...if you can think of any other hockey player with a name as boring as this one, leave it in the comments at the bottom, we'll post 'em...
...Mondesi's House has a post about the early Pens-Blues rivalry in the late 60's...check it out...
...We've had a pretty nice spike in our visits to the site...hello to all the Facebookers...
...Starting today, we have a number in our heads. If you are that number commenter, you get a Write-A-Post-For-Free card. This "contest" isn't fixed, because we don't have any friends anyway.
...Thanks for the support yesterday, Andrew...
...Pens are playing the Rangers tonight, so this is only fitting:
We had Beezer's picture first, and we remembered the terd from The Pianist movie (Adrien Brody). The Pensblog's Chris tracked this one down. This is the only smiling picture of The Penist we could find. I've seen better hair in my ear.
...And, finally, I know this is yesterday's news, but actress Sienna Miller (who?) was in town taping some "movie" and called Pittsburgh "Shitsburg" in the recent Rolling Stone:
Can you believe this is my life? Will you pity me when you're back in your funky New York apartment and I'm still in Pittsburgh? I need to get more glamorous films.
...I remember seeing a picture of her in Carnegie Museum:
SKANK-O-SAURUS Wow. This isn't even remotely funny. No idea why I made this picture.
Here's an important date in Pens History. If you love irony...read.
Oct 11, 1967 - Penguins' first NHL game is played at the Civic Arena vs. Montreal, a 2-1 loss with 9,307 fans in attendance. Andy Bathgate scores the Penguins' first goal.
What a moment it had to be. A young Mellon Arena, it gives me chills just thinking about it. All the moments in that building. If I had a time machine, this would no question be a day I would visit.
Marty Mcfly cannot believe he forgot to watch the first game ever played in the Mellon Arena
...NHL.com does a story on new Pens defenseman Mark Eaton...
...Our Black and Gold Insider friend:
According to Equity Research Gaming published by the Susquehanna Financial Group, there are new odds predicting the applicants to operate a stand-alone casino in Pittsburgh. It comes in the wake of the recent buyout offer for Harrah's and the new ownership of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
According to ERG, the odds for the Isle of Capri bid have increased, the odds for the Station Square gaming has decreased, and the odds for PITG have stayed the same.
This puts the Isle of Capri in the lead. The winner is expected to be announced in December.
"The NHL is only big news when Wayne Gretzky and his wife are caught up in the manic swirl of a gambling investigation straight out of a Sopranos script. Otherwise, your average NHL game has all the buzz of an Arena Football League scrimmage."
What the hell is this guy talking about it?
I haven't been this upset in a while. I just happened to click on this link, when opening up MSN.
Even Elton John isn'tthis gay. Elton John's favorite baseball player is Albert Pujols.
What an asshole. I bet he got some high fives for this one.
"In the end, professional ice hockey isn't a TV-friendly product, and the vast majority of its players represent a faceless lot. This is an impossible sell to an American public that will forever remain indebted to the boys of a distant Lake Placid winter, but won't let that sentiment get in the way of ignoring the NHL. "
Look, Miracle was awesome, but that's not why people started watching hockey.
What is TV-friendly, anyway?
As the great Bob Dylan said: "Don't criticize what you don't understand."
Arena league??? Did the guy watch this from Stanley Cup Finals last year?
Here's a video I came across. It's a Winnipeg Jets commercial...from 1987.
15 games for $118. "We're the flight crew"
This must've aired during a TBS broadcast of Mr. Mom starring Michael Keaton
Here's some more videos to cure your 2 o'clock in the afternoon suicide thoughts: Winnipeg Jets 1980 - 1990 Tribute Video - It wouldn't be worthy of a mention here if it wasn't for Van Halen's JUMP being used as the soundtrack. Perfect use of the song. One dude on YouTube left this comment: "Man, that gave me goosebumps...thx." Powerful stuff.
Boston Bruins attack New York fans - Surreal video. I had never even heard of this incident before. Check out no. 26 for Boston. He appears at :28 mark of the video. He hits a man with his own shoe.
ESPN.com's John Buccigross is saying the Pens are guaranteed to be leaving town. Coming home from a long day of work and reading that is like coming home and seeing that someone stole everything from your house...including your ice cube trays.
What kind of a sick bitch takes the ice cube trays out of the freezer?
Unfortunately, I live in the Harrisburg area and still have Comcast. I went through the same thing last year. Bought the NHL Center Ice and then started seeing blackouts. Comcast refunded my money and the kid I spoke with told me that the NHL "wouldn't allow Comcast" to show Pens games in the Harrisburg area. The blackout are still going on. The Thursday night game against Philly was on CSN. I planned on watching tonight's game on the free preview of Center Ice...but it was blacked out. The season before the lockout was the best. Comcast was carrying FSN Pitt, Penguins games; CSN Philly, Flyers games; and CSN MidAtlantic, Caps games; plus ESPN was still showing games. What a great season. I saw more hockey that year than ever. They have since dropped FSN Pitt and CSN MidAtlantic and Versus shows a couple games a week. Listening to hockey on the radio is the worst...
My only comment of the night regarding the Penguins is...
Whoever coined the cliche "It's a marathon, not a sprint" is looking like a genius tonight..
The Good: As always when you visit the Mellon Arena: the fans. I've been to Steelers games and Pirates games. Penguins fans are so much more fun. As Adam mentioned earlier in his post, playoff feel to old lady Mellon tonight.
Other good points:
How is it that everyone tonight knew we were going to boo that asian guy who was dancing? Funniest thing all night.
The concession stand. One short walk over from the B1-2-3-4 entrance. 2.75 for a dog, 2.25 for a coke. That's unreal, especially because I bought my first coke of the night for 5 bucks. Huge mistake.
The women that flock into Mellon Arena...wow
The convo we had with Regis from Mellon security in the student rush line. The guy is truly a great American.
-I love student rush. We got there at 5:10 and were in great position (My brother had the old school Canucks jersey on).
The Bad:
-The problem with student rush: People cutting. I know it is not wise to hire extra people, but wow. People were cutting left and right. One day there is going to be a riot. At one point I openly threatened to cut someone's throat if another person cut line.
-Being stuck behind Donnie Iris in line. I missed the first 2 minutes of the second and still didn't get anything to eat. People were coming up to him like he was the greatest human on Earth. It was actually pretty funny. The lead singer of the Clarks came up to him too. I considered lighting myself on fire.
-The Pens patrol...for obvious reasons
The Ugly:
Sadly (and please do not take this the wrong way)... Old Lady Mellon Arena. It's given me better memories than any other women in my life, which is.. well sad, but hey that's me.
Tonight she really showed her age. The seats were way too crammed. No hot water in the bathrooms? And, honestly, it just felt old. Another ugly thing. Where the hell are all the replays of big plays? There is nothing better than hearing 17,000 people ooo and ahh over big plays on the jumbotron.
I know I seem like a bigger complainer than Bono at a Help The People of [insert country] fundraiser, but it was frustrating. (Hey it's me Bono and you should help people because I have to spend my 18 billions dollars on my 18 private jets)
All in all though, it was great to be in the Arena again and feel that buzz of energy. We'll live to fight another day.
Wow. The second period of this game was the most boring twenty minutes of my 2006 calendar year. We went student rush and got seats in section B2...twenty rows from the ice. We had the privilege of seeing both of Detroit's goals close up.
First off, besides the jobber seats in section E, the Mellon was PACKED for tonight. I almost forget what playoff hockey feels like, but the arena had that certain feel to it tonight. A good number of Red Wings fans, as always.
Johan Franzen scored for the Red Wings six minutes into the game on the rebound of a shot that I thought Fleury had caught, but nah. Garbage goal and it was 1-0. (The Red Wings don't have a player named Hans, so there goes that joke.)
I think we had two powerplays in the first period and we managed negative one (-1) shots on goal. I don't think that is even possible, but we managed to do it.
"Excuse me for a second as I make the easiest save of my life."
The second period came and went. Watching my cat sleep would be more entertaining than that second period. One shot on goal for the Pens, and Ekman hit the crossbar.
Third period started and we were all pumped again. We got a powerplay and it just felt like we were gonna score, but nah. Time was slowly ticking down and the Pens continued to crap on themselves as they tried to advance into the Red Wings zone. With about 1:30 left, Kris Draper got the puck from a skirmish on the boards and wristed it past Fleury and that was it.
Some Japanese-American painted his upperbody black and was dancing during TV timeouts. The first time he was on, people cheered. The second time, he was given a Derian Hatcher-esque boo.
Donnie Iris sang the national anthem. Derek was actually behind him in line at one of the concession stands. More on that later.
I got a $10 gift card for Get-Go from one of those envelopes that the Pens' zeppelin drops.
Bobby Orr Melichar almost tied the game for the Pens in the third.
Things We Learned Tonight
Ryan Whitney might not be an ideal fit for the team...meaning he is not too good. He wasn't stellar in the Flyers game, either. He was the root of many fans' groans tonight.
Kris Letang is nervous as hell but he's not terrible.
Hey guys. Starting this post with no idea what's gonna be in it.
We'll be heading down to the Mellon tonight for the game, so the game recap will be delayed an extra 40 minutes or so. But, either you're gonna read it tomorrow morning, or you'll be out drinking tonight and it'll give you something to read when you stumble into your house at 3:30am.
...We're making friends in the Pens blogosphere. Check out The Confluence, an all-inclusive blog of Pittsburgh sports. The writer grew up in northwestern PA and resisted temptation to cheer on the Buffalo Sabres. Props to him...
Great Game in Buffalo tonight. The Sabres scored with the goalie pulled and about 9 ticks left. Then beat the Habs in a shootout. The game had a playoff feel. I am not even lying about it. It was nice to see Kovy doing well... The Habs looked good. Tough Loss. I felt bad for Cristobal Huet. Nothing worse than losing a game like that.
Can I change my pick to win the Southeast division yet? The Panthers mauled the Bruins worse than Oprah at an early 1990's free buffet.
(Hey its me Oprah. Read my books or I will eat you and your entire family)
And how about the Devils.... Marty Brodeur is now 3rd on the all time wins list for goalies... Hopefully he didn't celebrate with his sister in-law.
Big game tomorrow. I am going to be in attendance with fellow blogger Adam. I don't know what it is about the Mellon Arena, but I will never down a trip to a game.
Speaking of Old Mellon Arena...
I am not an expert, and quite frankly posters on the Pens message board and letsgopens.com board have much more interesting and compelling arguments, but here is what I think of The Jimmy Ballsack Blackberry situation.
1. As the long as Plan B exists, the Pens will go nowhere. But at some point it is going to have to become a reality. But at least we have something.
And unless Mayor Luke Ravenstahl plans on inviting at least 14,000 people 41 nights a year in winter to his front porch to hang out and roast marshmallows, he knows he has to keep them here... he could invite Sienna Miller.
2. The economy of Pittsburgh.. great read here from Chuck Finder. Its from July 2005. Here is a bit of the article, because I know people are lazy like me and don't want to hit links:
"The apparent end to the 301-day NHL lockout was all the talk in his suburban corner of Pittsburgh, a city that lost a precise $1.6 million in tax revenues and an estimated $48 million in overall economic impact because the Penguins were dark for 40-plus nights this past fall and winter. Such losses were felt not only Downtown and throughout the city." -Post Gazette July 2005
A $48 million dollar loss. If you are going to tell me that the politicians are prepared to let that go, I am sorry I don't agree. If the Penguins leave, nothing can make up for that money. I don't know what Jimmy Ballstein is going to do, and I don't trust him yet, but he will have nothing more than anyone else to do with them leaving.
Lastly more links... Here is some Trib Stuff... Give Malkin another few weeks.
The Pensblog has received 2000 hits in our first month. FAR more than we anticipated.
Thank you to all the readers. Thank you to everyone leaving comments. Thank you to everyone who has told someone, who told someone, who told someone. Thank you to anyone from Penguins Message Board Nation.
Special thanks to Mondesi's House for linking to us and involving us in posts. Check his site out for a game recap of last night.
The Pens tonight...was so much more important than just one win, it was the start of something...
And the Press Conference with Jim "Ballstein" (I won't call him by his right name until he keeps the team here for good) was surreal. I have seen a lot of things during sports games, but a press conference during intermission doesn't happen that often.
Another funny thing...the Pens Message Board Nation seems to think Ball-sack should shack up with another local owner. Hint: It's not Dan Rooney.
Call Arnold Slick and bang his wife. The Pens kicked off the 06-07 season with a sparkling performance. So many things to touch upon from tonight's game, and rightfully so.
Marc-Andre Fleury stole the show tonight as the Pens shut out the Flyers 4-0 at the Mellon Arena. His defense was clearing sightlines for him and the Pens, as a whole, were very impressive. The parts that Jarrko Ruutu and Domin(ate)ic Moore played in this game were things that the Pens have been missing.
Pensblog Headquarters erupted when Michel Oullet flicked his wrist 7 minutes into the game. Three minutes later, the same line scored again as Jarrko Ruutu scored on a rebound. All of a sudden, bang. 2-0. We've seen this movie before, though, so we kept our cool, thinking these were the same old Penguins.
We were dead wrong.
Two minutes into the second, Crosby continued his chase for Gretzky's records as he was fed a delicious pass from Nils Ekman, broke into the zone and beat Robert Esche on the shortside. With about two minutes left in the second, Josef "Bobby Orr" Melichar took a pass from Crosby and beat Esche. 4-0.
"Goalie controversy my ass"
The third period consisted of the Penguins running out the clock, as it were. Five minutes into the third, we realized we were looking at a shut-out. We were having heart palpitations everytime a Flyer shot it from the point, but Fleury stood tough and got the shutout.
Stats
Sidney Crosby: 1 G, 1 A
Michel Oullet: 1 G, 1 A
Jarrko Ruutu: 1 G, 1 A
Marc-Andre Fleury: 40 saves
Shots: PHI (40) PENS (21)
PP: PHI (0 for 10) PENS (0 for 4)
Miscellaneous:
Wonderboy Kris Letang looked like Hans Jonsson out there (not good)
Jordan Staal looks like he'll dominate in the AHL this year
Colby Armstrong's fight in the second period was glorious. He had the crowd pumped.
Jarrko Ruutu is already a fan favorite
Dominic Moore looks like the best acquisition of the Ray Shero era. What a hockey player.
FSN has given Steigerwald and Errey the Monday Night Football treatment
Steigerwald: "Ruutu is playing out of his mind tonight."
Jim Balsillie in the booth was awesome. Even when he said "Holy Shit". I hope you caught that. It was after Errey was telling him that he was from Peterborough.
...In case you haven't noticed, TSN has your hockey news before anyone else. Here's an article about Jim Balsillie buying the Pens. In the article, he states, "'Pittsburgh has shown itself to be an outstanding hockey market, and the team has an incredible tradition of success and fan support. With young stars such as Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, we all know the Penguins have a very bright future on the ice. I look forward to owning this team for a long time in Pittsburgh.'' Our take? If Lemieux knew this guy's intentions were to move the team, he wouldn't let the deal happen on the biggest day of the Pens season. All of this crap is too much. Drop the puck.
...Brooks Orpik has been placed on injured reserve...no comment...
...People going to Mellon Arena tonight are being asked to be in their seats at 7:25 for a special pre-game ceremony. It's not the player intros, and it might be something about Lemieux. But is it dangerous to dream that the ceremony will have Lemieux, Balsillie, and others agreeing to a deal and announcing the Pens are staying?...
...The NHL debuted some good commercials last night. It got us to thinking of our favorite commercials. Here's one that we found:
Well, another season is upon us. Let's get down to business. This is a preview, however, it is impossible to not look back on last year:
Record: 22 - 46 - 14 (58 points, last in Eastern Conference)
Home: 12 - 21 - 8
Away: 10 - 25 - 6
Goals per game: 2.96 (17th NHL) Goals allowed per game: 3.78 (League-worst)
Powerplay: 19.0% (6th NHL) Penalty Kill: 78.8% (Next to last)
Penalty Minutes per game: 19.0 (League-worst)
Bright Spots
Sidney Crosby: 39 G, 63 A, 102 P
Colby Armstrong, Ryan Whitney
Mario Lemieux played for a while
Penguins led the league in biggest increase in attendance from 03-04. (+ 33.07%)
Marc-Andre Fleury was finally able to set up camp in Pittsburgh
And that's it. Kinda wanna put 05-06 behind us.
Now, onto 2006-07.
The Pens have gotten rid of GM Craig Patrick and brought in Ray Shero. Ray Shero has done a lot to change the attitude around this organization. They re-acquired Mark Recchi from Carolina. They brought in Mark Eaton to do some penalty-killing. They brought in the under-rated Dominic Moore. They finally have a right-handed defenseman in Kristopher Letang. The Penguins will begin the season with the youngest roster in their 40-year history. They are 65-1 odds to win the Stanley Cup. Sometime during this season, we may know for sure if the Penguins are leaving or staying in Pittsburgh. We have Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury. It might not happen this year, but the Penguins will make some noise in the playoffs soon.
Pensblog Predictions:
Record: 30 - 45 - 7 (11th or 12th in the Eastern Conference)
Crosby: 48 G, 70 A, 118 P
Malkin: 37 G, 30 A, 67 P
Penguins will beat the Islanders in a shootout
Top-5 powerplay in the NHL
Penalty Kill will improve
NHL, in general, will have a hell of a year
Opening Night Roster Breakdown:
CENTERS:
Sidney Crosby: 5'11" 193 lbs. What can't you say about Sidney Crosby? He is durable...81 games played. He can score 39 goals. He creates 63 assists. The only negative is the 110 penalty minutes, but that is what it is. It should be a pleasure watching a more experienced Crosby this year.
Evgeni Malkin: 6'3" 192 lbs. Other than Sidney Crosby, or King Mario, I don't think there has been a more anticipated arrival in Pittsburgh history, let alone Penguins history. The second pick in the 2004 draft gave us a scare in his first game, but when the shoulder heals, look out. The Malkin and Crosby duo could become the stuff of legends, but we will just take a solid (and healthy) year 1.
Dominic Moore: 6'0" 195 lbs Moore, a rookie for the Rangers last year, is a penalty killing machine. He played all 82 games last year, and scored 9 goals and added 9 assists. He is a grinder, and will help the Penguins in the corners, and in their defensive zone more than on the scoreboard. And believe me, that's not a bad thing.
Jordan Staal: 6'4" 215 lbs. Meet another first round draft pick. This time, the number 2 overall pick in the 2006 draft. He is huge even by NHL standards, but only 18 years old. No one is sure if he will stay the entire year, but you never know. He showed promise in the preseason, but also looked lost at times. What line he will play on is also up in the air. The Penguins have 9 games to decide on Staal.
Karl Stewart: 5 '11" 185 lbs. Jobber number 1. Picked off waivers by the Pens, from Anahiem, Stewart will be a fixture on the fourth line.
Chris Thorburn: 6'3" 210 lbs. Jobber number 2. But Thorburn is huge, picked off the waiver wire from the Sabres. He could come in when Andre Roy get his face rearranged.
RIGHT WINGS:
Colby Armstrong: 6'2" 190 lbs. Crosby's Robin, Armstrong proved that he belongs on the Penguins top line. Let's hope he has one of them "break-out years".
Ryan Malone: 6'4" 216 lbs Pittsburgh's prodigal son. Ryan Malone's dad isn't around the Pens organization anymore. He better bust loose this year. We hear Ryan Malone this, Ryan Malone that. Drop 35 goals this year man.
Michel Ouellet: 6'0" 202 lbs. The captain of the garbage goal, Oullet looked pretty solid on powerplays last year for the Pens. You're wearing number 7...don't disgrace our boy Joey Mullen.
Ronald Petrovicky: 6'0" 195 lbs. Starts the season on injured reserve. Had 20 points in 60 games last year with Atlanta. Hopefully, he will not be Jobber number 3.
Mark Recchi: 5'10" 190 lbs. Everyone in Pittsburgh loves Mark Recchi. His image was tainted a little when the locker room quarrels with Crosby broke into the media, but these are grown men and they better get over their bullcrap. 57 points in 63 games for the Pens last year. Recchi is deceptively fast for a 38 year-old.
Andre Roy: 6'3" 221 lbs. Jobber number 4. If he doesn't make mistakes that cost us a goal, then it's hard not to like Roy. He's a big guy trying to survive in the new NHL. Knock some bodies around but don't forget that goals against your team are bad.
LEFT WINGS:
Nils Ekman: 6'0" 190 lbs. A benefactor of the Thornton-CheechnChong line last year in San Jose (57 P in 77 games), Ekman was shipped to Pittsburgh in the offseason for a second round draft pick. He'll be on the top line with Crosby and Army. He looks like he can skate with Crosby for the most part.
John LeClair: 6'3" 225 lbs. An aging veteran, John LeClair hasn't given us much reason not to like him (except for the Malkin thing). He's not worthy of the top two lines anymore, but what team of the Penguins caliber wouldn't want a John LeClair on the third line...or in the locker room...
Jarkko Ruutu: 6'0" 200 lbs. Sweet name. Played all 82 games for Vancouver last year, scoring 17 points. If you want a better look at this guy, watch the clip below of his vicious hit on Jagr in the 2006 Olympics. Watch Straka in that clip, too.
DEFENSEMEN
Eric Cairns: 6'6" 230 lbs. Starting the year on injured-reserve. 27 games with the Pens last year. 1 Goal. 87 PIM. He's a big-guy that will own people who bully Crosby and Malkin.
Mark Eaton: 6'2" 212 lbs. We got this guy in free agency. Played with Nashville last year. Accomplished penalty-killer. 69 games last year. 3 goals, 1 assist.
Sergei Gonchar: 6'2" 215 lbs. Came on strong in the second half last year. Judging by his pre-season, he'll be a huge asset to the team this year. In 75 games last year, 12 G and 46 A. He'll be mentoring Malkin this year, too, so let's be nice to the guy.
Kristopher Letang: 5'11" 190 lbs. If there's anyone that I want to do well this year, it would be Letang. Looked good in the preseason, better than Welch, according to Pens management. And, of course, we finally have a right-handed defenseman. His handedness alone will get him on the powerplay.
Josef Melichar: 6'2" 220 lbs. Seems like no one around these parts is fond of Melichar. 72 games last year, 15 points. People want to point to his shoulder injury and say he's been playing like a wuss since. On a terrible Pens team last year, Melichar was only a minus-2 in plus-minus.
Brooks Orpik: 6'2" 228 lbs. Has silently become the Penguins go-to enforcer. When he wasn't ramming Erik Cole's head in the boards, he was a minus-3 last year. Played in 62 games, with 9 points.
Rob Scuderi: 6'0" 214 lbs. Unless Welch is banging Orpik's wife, which would cause unrest in the locker room, there's no reason that Scuderi should be here while Welch is in Wilkes-Barre.
Ryan Whitney: 6'4" 202 lbs. 38 points in 68 games last year. Stop making mental mistakes and shoot some more.
GOALIES
Marc-Andre Fleury: 6'1" 175 lbs. This is it. This is the year for Fleury. A better-than-last-year defense in front of him. This is where he has to start showing what he has. Fleury has been resilient, with criticism bouncing off of him in the same manner that rebounds do. Ouch. All jokes aside, let's all REALLY pull for the 21-year-old this year.
Jocelyn Thibault: 5'11" 169 lbs He had a solid pre-season and wants to erase last year's debacle. Fleury is the go-to-guy, but when we play our third game in four nights, and that third game is in Toronto on a Saturday night, I can be comfortable with Thibault in goal.
We could debate this story, and at some point we will. I am going to hold off on my opinion, it kinda seems like more could go wrong, than right.
But...
Andy Sheehan on KDKA said that Balsillie has bought the team for $175M. Press Conference tomorrow. He stated that Balsillie originally wanted to move the team to Hamilton but is now committed to keeping the team in Pittsburgh
Something smells fishy...and I think it's the whale on the tip of the C on the Canuck logo...
The Vancouver Canuck GM Dave Nonis has claimed Penguin goaltender Dany Sabourin off of waivers today. I guess history does have a way of repeating itself...
This recent acquisition by the Canucks is just another chapter in the Vancouver-Pittsburgh goalie paradigm...
Dany Sabourin Pittsburgh ('04 - '06) --- Vancouver ('06 - and beyond)
Johan Hedberg Pittsburgh ('00 - '03) --- Vancouver ('00 - '01, '03 - '04)
Unless you've been having sex with chickens in your basement, you know that tonight is opening night in the National Hockey League. Our friends over at Versus (formerly OLN) have a double-header on the menu.
Buffalo at Carolina - 7 PM
Dallas at Colorado - 10 PM
TSN in Canada will be showing Ottawa@ Toronto - 7:30PM
...Fox Sports Pittsburgh is planning a big Penguins whoop-dee-doo preview for tonight, but come on, the opening faceoff is on Versus.
46. Taking in a live game at the Igloo. Yes, the Penguins need a new arena, but their current home has a ton of character. 41. Any game that involves Washington's Alexander Ovechkin or Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby. 40. Any game that pits Crosby against Ovechkin. 39. The 2007 All-Star Game, which could and should feature Crosby and Ovechkin on the same line.
...Ottawa Senators are the pre-season favorites to win the Cup with 11-2 odds...and pre-season favorites to poop in their skates before they can get to the Stanley Cup Finals...
...Carolina Hurricanes are raising their Stanley Cup banner tonight...
The Recchin' Ball taking in some sweet Stanley action. Oh yea.
I read the Post Gazette yesterday, and I thought they did a wonderful job.
Hey we dish out enough criticism of the media...why not give a little credit?
Ron Cook even wrote a column about the Penguins. Great stuff in the preview, nice little break down of every player. Good times.
And then...we read this...
(Read carefully) "California dreaming: Defenseman Chris Pronger, days after helping Edmonton reach the Stanley Cup final, asked for a trade, citing personal reasons, and ended up in Los Angeles. The Kings get one of the game's best blue liners, and Pronger gets to distance himself from ugly rumors about his reason for wanting out of Edmonton."
Chris Pronger to the Kings? Look, we all make mistakes. But then again, we all don't get to cover sports for a living. Maybe in Shelly Anderson's NHL 2007 seasons on PlayStation, but not in real life.
Pronger went to the Anaheim Ducks. Do they edit stuff there anymore? I hope they catch it before it prints, because that is a bigger mistake than Whitney Houston's career choices since Super Bowl 25 (goosebumps city)
(Whitney Houston should have tried Crystal Meth, at least this all would've been over sooner.)
But seriously why does Anderson write anymore? Its about as pointless as her other hobby, trying to catch the hamburglar.
Seeing as though the Penguins only played 10 games with Western Conference teams last year, and they will only play 10 THIS year, it would be impossible to give in-depth bullcrap about all the Western Conference teams. If we made a living doing this stuff, that would be a different story.
Instead of divisions, we're gonna show the Western Conference in terms of best to worst.
Calgary Flames - Lost in seven games to the Anaheim Ducks in the second round last year. With Mikka Kiprusoff in net, they allowed a league-low 200 goals last year, although they only scored 218. The acquisition of Alex Tanguay should bolster the offense and it's gonna be fun watching Dion Phaneuf. Click here for a piece of red-hot, late 80's Calgary Flames propaganda.
San Jose Sharks - Having Joe Thornton and Johnny CheechnChong for the entire year may boost this team into winning the uber-competitive Pacific Division. They defecated on themselves last year in the playoffs, letting a two games to none lead evaporate...losing four straight games to Edmonton.
Anaheim Ducks - Chris Pronger has turned into the NHL's Tom Brady, as every expert covering the NHL wants to lick his sack. We aren't gonna lick his balls, but Anaheim DOES look like they're poised for something big this year.
Detroit Red Wings - Yea, I guess it's time to finally put the Red Wings in the rankings. We hesitate, because they play in the worst division in North America. (Record against divisional foes in 05-06: 25-3-4. Gimme a break.) They followed up their President's Trophy regular season with a first round loss to Edmonton.
Dallas Stars - Lost Billy Guerin, picked up Eric Lindros. Dallas is getting old. Fast.
Edmonton Oilers - Yea, they lost Chris Pronger. Carolina won the Cup last year against Edmonton. Carolina didn't have Chris Pronger. Lesson: You don't need Chris Pronger to win a Cup. Dwayne Roloson was a pleasant surprise last year; Edmonton goes where he takes them.
Minnesota Wild - Oh hell yeah. I would take Manny Fernandez as my goalie in a heartbeat. Score some more goals Minnesota. Wild Blog
Nashville Predators - Same old story. People forgetting about Nashville until they realize there's only one playoff spot left and they know that the Preds will be there. Actually, you know what, switch Edmonton and Nashville in this list. Preds Blog
Also-Rans
Colorado Avalanche - They lost Rob Blake and Alex Tanguay, but they still have Joe Sakic.
Tonight, we give you the Eastern Conference preview. We'll have the Western Conference preview for you sometime tomorrow, and a nice Pens preview Wednesday, before the puck officially drops on the 2006-07 season. We aren't qualified to do any of this. We don't have press passes and we aren't sports journalism majors (well, Derek is). If you want extensive previews, click on some links we provide. We simply are hockey fans. We are as qualified as any of you to do these, and not everyone has the same opinion. So, if you don't agree, don't get all gay on us.
Atlantic Division
New York Rangers - The entire division structure will change if Jagr acquires herpes.
New Jersey Devils - Defending Atlantic champs. Didn't do anything in the off-season to say they won't be in the hunt this year, either. Devils Blog
Philadelphia Flyers - Forsberg is healthy to start the year. Only question mark is Nittymaki's injury and their horrid special teams. Flyers Blog Preview
Pittsburgh Penguins - A modest one-place jump would be excellent. EXTENSIVE Pens preview on Wednesday.
Ottawa Senators - They gave up the third least amount of goals in 05-06 while leading the NHL in goals scored with 314. We don't think losing defensive stalwarts Hasek and Chara are going to stop Ottawa from leading the league in goals scored again.
Buffalo Sabres - Widely regarded as a sexy pick, and we're taking the bait.
Montreal Canadiens - Don't forget, they were up two games to none in the first round of the playoffs last year against the eventual Cup champs. Hopefully, our boy Kovalev can get into the playoffs again.
Toronto Maple Leafs - This may be wishful thinking because it's tough to watch the Maple Leafs in the basement. Blog
Boston Bruins - Torn between the Bruins and Maple Leafs for the #4 and #5 spots. It won't matter; neither will make the playoffs.
Player to Watch: All of a sudden, this is Daniel Briere's team. Look for 100 points from him this year.
Look, we have proved we can mock any Pittsburgh media person at any time. But it's time to start talking hockey.
The home of the last two World Champions, the Carolina Hurricanes (2005) and the Tampa Bay Lightning(2003), the SouthEast division is loaded with big time players.
None better than Alexander Ovechkin. AO is a guy that you can honestly say is worth the price of admission. Other than that, though, Washington is a year or two away from anything.
Do not overlook Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St.Louis. The duo, along with the impeccable Brad Richards, can no question win alot more games this year. I think they miss Andre Roy though......
Florida is loaded with new goons. G Ed Belfour, RW Todd Bertuzzi made their way to south beach this year, looking to improve a 34-win team. But Ed Belfour is nowhere near his NHL 93 on Sega Genesis form, and if you trust Alex Auld as a backup... have fun.
Moving on to the Champs. Great addition in RW Scott Walker, but awful trade getting rid of prospect Jack Johnson.
I respect the World Champs, but they will not, repeat, will not win 52 games this year, and they won't even win the division.
"To be the best, you gotta beat the best. And Carolina is the best thing goin' today."
Shocking pick, I know, but I have talked myself into them.
A team that, in its first six NHL seasons, have not made the Stanely Cup playoffs once. And judging by some of the quotes from "hot lanta", it's playoffs or bust this year.
They made some nice moves in the off-season.
Adding forwards like C Steve Rucchin, and Niko Kapanen, goalies G Johan Hedberg, G Fred Brathwaite, and defenseman D Vitaly Vishnevski adds some much needed grit and playoff experience to a team that only missed out on a playoff berth by 2 points.
But, when you think of the Thrashers, you think superstar Ilya Kovalchuk . And you should. Kovalchuk has put up incredible numbers:
This has: "Last season, the Thrashers scored 281 goals and allowed 275, a margin that is a little too close for comfort. The Carolina Hurricanes, for example, scored 294 goals and allowed 260, while the Ottawa Senators piled up 314 goals and allowed only 211."-NHL.com
Thats why the Pensblog player to watch is:
Kari Lehtonen
Lehtonen, the number 2 player taken in the 2002 draft, is poised to build on his pretty solid 2005 campaign. Kari Lehtonen 20-15-0, 2.94 GAA, 38 appearances, .906 save percentage, 2 shutouts. Often injured though, the Thrashers quitely made an old friend of Pittsburgh the backup to fill in if needed...
(one more time .....MOOOOOOOSE)
With Hedberg, the Thrashers have a pretty good combo but not as good as this combo:
Back to back in the early 90s, Mr. Rogers and Big Bird were unbeatable
The Thrashers did lose a little bit of offense, though, as star Marc Savard left in free agency. How much that will affect the offense remains to be seen.
But remember this a team that only finished 2 points out of the eighth seed last year.
If Lehtonen can stay healthly and Marian Hossa can help Kovalchuk produce, the Thrashers could easily make a push. The defense, with newly aqcuired Vitaly Vishnevski, should be good.
The south will be a highly entertaining division with big time talent. But when the smoke clears, the Thrashers will be the victor.
Marty from Scott Township called into Mark Madden's ESPN Radio 1250 show today. The Pensblog plug heard 'round the world was dropped at 5:52 PM EST.
Mark seemed irritated by the plug, of course, and told Marty that no one will ever visit the site.
He also had the audacity to say that Mondesi's House is "funny, but not as funny as they think they are". If Mark Madden doesn't write or say it, or if it doesn't involve strippers from Club Erotica, then it isn't worthy of his praise. Visit Mondesi's House.
We applaud Mark Madden for his repeated threat that if the Penguins leave, he's leaving too. That is loyalty. He DOES care about the Penguins. If one good thing comes from the Pens leaving, though, it would be Mark Madden leaving too.
He's making an honest living as a sports radio-host, so there's no need to crap on the man's goals in life. We just don't like him and we know we aren't the only people that share this sentiment. He's brash and narrow-minded.
Bob Pompeani is no question in the "I am Keith Hernandez " phase of his life, so it was a pleasure tonight calling in and asking him why they talk about high school football more than the Penguins.
I went under the name Alex from Munhall, and got everything in I wanted to say last night.
Bob was stunned, but did bring up that (he thinks) KDKA does cover the Pens more than anyone, he may be almost right.
But honestly I don't care.
If I was John Fedko and his phone zone I would be looking over my shoulder for a call tomorrow.
Our boys of summer closed out their season today with a 1-0 victory of the Cincinatti Reds. [insert Steelers joke here] ESPN Game Recap
The Buccos finished the season with a 67-95 record, the same as last year. This year, however, the Pirates had a winning record after the all-star break (37-35).
The biggest news of today's game was Freddy Sanchez clinching the NL Batting Title, with a .344 average. He is such a good ballplayer and I'd hate to bore you with my analysis of him.
Still can't wait for the first Ron Cook/Bob Smizik Pens column of the year. You know, the one their editors make them write. Is there any insight that those two are capable of, other than writing about "Big Ben" or the Pirates, or the Pitt Panthers? I get ten times better info going on the hockey message boards, and other blogs (but not the black and gold homo, he sucks).
-Ron Cooks last column about the Penguins was April 21 of this year. Thats digusting.
-And guess what. That's it. One column all year from old Ron about the Penguins.
(Hey OHHHHHHHHH)
Cook is a tired act. We should start a petition to get the author of Mondesi's House. No question the best blog on the Pittsburgh sports scene web right now.
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