We don't know about you, but when we were young, we played with G.I. Joes, watched Gumby, and shot some hockey in our basements. The only trouble we tried to get into was tricking other kids into overdosing on Flintstone kids vitamins. And you know what, little Johnny recovered so F off.
We all "pretended," we were sports stars when we were kids. And some of those imaginary moments were probably really stupid.
But we like to think those moments weren't as bizarre as the following YOUTUBE. Some kid pretends to get drafted by the Maple Leafs, then holds an impromptu press conference in his kitchen that concludes with a stirring rendition of Ooooooo Canada.
People always say we are lucky to have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
That is true.
But we are even more lucky when they both are on fire.
This win made the Buffalo game a little easier to think about it, and it made it another successful week [3-1] for the Pens.
daver
sufner
stooshes
Stephen S.
You want to talk about a player finding where his business is, it's Crosby.
All that crap about him slumping in the beginning of the year.
What a play.
1-0.
Huge goal at home with memories of the Buffalo game still lingering.
Next shift, Malkin and Sykora almost sent the Devils reeling, but no dice.
When Malkin's line hit the ice again, they drew a penalty. Well, Malkin did.
The Pens pooper play goes to work.
A couple close calls, but the Devils hang on.
The Devils got their chance on the PP with a Sykora high stick.
Patrick Elias had a horrible PP. Blew two one-time chances with Sabu out to lunch.
The Devils' hard work on the man advantage got rewarded with a Zajac penalty.
The pooper had some chances again, with Gogo hitting a post. But that was it.
Good start to the game.
In the second half of the first, Malkin made some kind of sick pass to Sykora that won't show up in the box score.
Crosby jumps onto the ice and does the spinorama.
The rest of the first period was an exhibition by Malkin and Bing.
It's good to be a Pens fan.
Somewhere near the end of the first, out of nowhere, Eric Godard goes careening into the boards behind the Devils net. Jesus.
The penalty box throws Eaton a Welcome Back party.
Scuderi is like the Tin man when it comes to blocking shots.
The Pens kill most of it to end the first.
During the game, Paul Steigerwald commented on Tyler Kennedy,
saying something along the lines of him having a shot in every game this season.
It was an off-the-cuff remark, a "well, it feels like he has" statement.
Actually, he does have a shot in every game this season, save for one:
the 4-3 loss to the Caps.
CROSBY -- Shot in every game except for San Jose loss.
TENK -- Shotless twice: Most recent Islanders win and Toronto 4-1 win.
GOLIGOSKI -- Shotless twice: Ranger loss, first Philly win
MALKIN -- Shotless once: Rangers loss
MAX -- Shotless three times: Ottawa game, recent NYI and BUF games
The Pens killed the rest of Eaton's business to start the second.
Goligoski became the third Penguin to get owned by the ice. Jesus again.
Oh, hey, Malkin doesn't fall randomly anymore. Just realized that.
Zach Parise is an idiot. He blatantly interferes with Pesonen and gets surprised when there's a penalty.
Nobody's surprised when Crosby makes another ridiculous play.
Malkin keeps the puck in when it was sure to be gone. He keeps it alive and gets it to TK, barely.
Through the legs backpass to Bing, who sees Sykora all the way.
He makes a pass few hockey players can make.
2-0.
Matt Cooke hits that punk Parise. Starts a melee, lets the Devils know this ain't a joke.
Jarks Ruutu used to do that if our memory serves correctly. But then Ruutu would take a crippling penalty.
All that crap brought on a 4-on-4.
Advantage Penguins every day of the week.
Malkin plays a NHL shift, getting up from being jobbed, and lunges at a loose puck.
Bing, after near-missing on a slapper, kept everything alive.
Appropriately, he puts it home.
3-0.
Is it possible not to want your team to have a 3-0 lead?
M.A.S.
The rest of the period is made up of the Devils trying to "open" it up.
Hacks.
As soon as th puck drops you just want to see time fast forward so the Devils don't have a chance to get back into it.
Shit.
Pesonen can't get it out, Scuds gets trip up. Mike Rupp puts one up where Mom keeps pictures of naked boys. 3-1. Unbelievably huge goal for the Devils.
Bad news city.
So now we get to see Zach Parise and Brian Gionta commit penalties for the entire third period and get away with it. Marty St. Louis called he wants his identity back.
The Devils start doing their thing, you can feel a goal. But Sabu shows us whats up.
It is funny how superstitious players are. Sabu changes his mask against the Isles and gets pulled.
The Devils had a great chance to get back in the game when Tanger Outlets went off.
But the PK Unit does its job. Huge kill.
Father Time 3:16.
Clemmensen pulled. Crosby lunges. HT. 4-1.
GAME.
What a gentleman
MISCELLANEOUS
Sid's first home hat trick.
9-2-1 November for the Pens. Bank.
Solid performance on the back end of a two-nighter.
Sabu does his job.
Go Steelers. We hate Steeler fanboys, but we hate New England more.
Hey look, it is an 82 game season. Some nights things just don't end the way you want.
What is tough about tonight is anytime you lose to a hack team, and their little bitch fans, it hurts.
And we are not saying this because the Pens lost, but Ryan Miller did not deserve to win. He was outplayed by John Curry all night. Miller, though, made one more save then Curry, and gets the W. But whatev.
The one thing you learn about being a Pens fan, is that at least five times a year, some complete waste of space will play the game of his life and beat you.
Meet Paul Gaustad. He has two goals this year. He won't score the rest of the season. Mud city.
The Pens played a solid road game, but anytime your road powerplay [8%] matches some type of loan rate, you ain't winning. By the end of year it will be 20%.
You have to take positives where you can get them.
Bing is starting to take over
Orpik is a monster
Malkin is sick
Your third string goalie played a big time game
Winning faceoffs
blah blah blah
The lines were kind of everywhere, but Therrien is still trying to figure out whats going to work. Life could be worse you could be a Stars fan.
[Jon]
:::
Like we said, we are enjoying our Holiday, so this recap will be brief. In fact, instead of recapping the game we'll just make fun of Buffalo.
If there is a town that needs a championship more, we haven't seen it. You couldn't hear the game because after every whistle Sabre fans were complaining about some shit. Morons.
Good first 20 minutes. JFK scored his 6th goal. All six have been on the road.
Choker.
Slug
Bing was everywhere.
woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
NHL.com is a joke. Whoever is running the Pens page is clearly a trickster.[Click to enlarge] Thanks to [Sam D.]
Pens up 3-2 going in. Wind up losing 4-3.
Never fun.
Curry made some big time saves, Miller got bailed out by the Refs because everyone feels bad for Buffalo fans.
Go to hell.
MISCELLANEOUS
Gotta see what Malkin-Crosby-Sykora can do for a whole game.
Don't give up on Satan yet.
If Maxim Avignjokov could shoot, he would be a 3rd liner player. Its to bad Orpik didn't destroy him.
Nassau Coliseum is such a joke. Such an enigma these last few years for the Pens. Any time you can win a game there, it will be enjoyed.
Hockey is the strangest sport you'll ever see. The first 39:44 of the game, it was all Isles. But a big goal by Brooks Orpik made it 3-1 going into the third, and you just knew.
This third-period-comeback thing has officially passed the irritating, annoying phase where we ask why the hell the Pens can't play the first 40 minutes.
It's now reached the point where you're not concerned at all when the Pens get behind.
Chalk this one up to HCMT making some moves to turn the tide? No. Chalk it up to Sid and Geno. Paired with Sykora, they were nearly unstoppable. They were reaching this point just before Bing got hurt last year. It was actually scary at times.
And let's face it. Geno has shown more of a penchant than Sid to take over a game.
The game changed on Orpik's goal, but it was helped out just a little bit before that. During a penalty kill, Malkin just went to another level on both ends of the ice. Flying into the Isles zone, the ping of the goal post on Malkin's shorthanded snapshot in the woke up the entire team. Another Malkin break into the Isles zone laid the foundation.
The gam- tying goal and go-ahead goal are why the phrase "Buries It" exist. Unreal.
Allison
Bob Dole
Bill
The Pens got an early power play. Some decent shots. But McDonald's was closed.
So, after some crap, Phillipe Boucher takes a penalty he had to take or else a goal would have been scored. Kind of ironic.
The Pens had a 4-on-whatever rush while on the PK, and Mike Zigomanis heads to the net. Joey McDonald acts like he was shot in the anus. 5-on-3 for the Isles on the way.
Goal. 1-0. What crap. Thankfully, it was during the 5-on-4, so it was evened up after that.
The Isles flip into the Pens zone a little later, and Isaac Newton gives Letang the Razor's Edge.
2-0.
Max Talbot got jobbed by the puck somewhere in there and was out for the game. Morale on the Pens bench was lower than whale shit.
But Eric Godard and one of the bad guys from the 1996 Kurt Russell thriller Breakdown drop the gloves. They eventually give up.
underrated film
The rest of the first was like driving your car down a road filled with poop and reruns of MASH. And Sykora didn't have his shirt tucked in all game.
In honor of the Montreal joke who threw the puck into his own net, Robert S. (DayWalk3r) brings us the top 10 own goals in hockey.
Number 5 is bank.
We might be high, but if you listen to the beginning of the play call on the number-one play in the countdown (the Steve Smith own goal), is that Mike Lange?
The joke has even made its way to newspapers in the Netherlands. Thanks to RHONDA for sending this in.
If you were falling asleep in the second period, you were probably woken up when Crosby-Satan-Dupuis had a solid shift, reminiscent of a Kenmore washing machine.
Malkin took some garbage high-sticking penalty. The Islanders jump onto the PP.
If you didn't know it was coming, you haven't been around hockey long enough. 3-0.
And if you've known HCMT for longer than a week, you almost knew what was coming next. Sabu heads to the runway. John Rocco Curry comes out. A quick flashblack of Peter Skudra and the Moose with the #1.
Can you imagine back before the season started what you would have said if someone told you that on TG eve, the Pens would be down 3-0 on Long Island and John Rocco Curry would be in net? Oh, and Joey McDonald is net for the Isles.
Curry made some saves to break the ice. Then Dupuis went to the box.
And then things changed. Malkin had a shorthanded chance with Matt Cooke. Post city. Before you knew what was going on, he was on his way back into the Isles zone. What a move. No dice.
It was Crosby and Staal's turn at the tail end of the PK. What a pass by Bing. McDonald shuts the door.
At the end of the period, the Pens score a huge goal. Orpik shoots it from the point through 80 people. It hits some shit. 3-1.
It looked like the Pens got that big second goal when Bing charged to the net. It was called no goal on the ice. Retribution for that Sabu "save" in the shootout a while back.
The Pens got it another way. Crosby and Malkin take over the world on a shift.
Malkin sets up Crosby back door. 3-2.
Hopefully Doug Weight gets his jock back by Christmas.
All of a sudden, Rocco Curry was no longer a punchline. Welcome to the NHL. Your team has fought back into the game. Don't choke.
Father Time was on his way. There was no question about it. But Crosby and Malkin take over the world again. and again. Crosby puts the brakes on, and Malkin appears out of nowhere. 3-3 Big deals score that goal. And Malkin is a big deal. Before you can catch your balls, Andy Sutton turns it over, Bing city to Malkin.
4-3.
Words don't do the goals justice. Watch the highlights somewhere. Malkin flew in out of nowhere for the game-winner. What a turn of events. Father Time shoots himself.
Pens aren't out the woods yet though. John Curry. Do it. Malkin. Do it. 5-3. Naturalhatrickblog
Montreal fans continue to show the rest of North America how XM NHL® All-Star Fan Balloting presented by 2K Sports is done by voting in droves for all six Canadiens on the ballot. -- NHL.COM
In other news, Patrick Roy's banner has asked to be traded.
Was the Winter Classic that riveting of a game? If you can't see the aura surrounding the game, you're an idiot. But we're gonna sit and watch a whole game of what we know is nothingness? Yeah, we will, actually.
A look at the Pens stats through 20 games. Click to enlarge.
Colby Armstrong destroyed Jason Blake last night. First one to send us the clip, gets nothing
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We've made some roster changes on Gamedays. Howard the Duck has been released.
So, in keeping with recent Pittsburgh tradition, we signed an Indian. WHYGAVS
We also are announcing the starter for tonights game. Sgt. Doakes from Dexter. If you don't watch Dexter, you don't know whats going on. What a character.
Speaking of the game tonight. We meant to post this last month. Mike Comrie and his girlfriend Hillary Duff were "Brangelina" for Halloween. PUCK DADDY idiots :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
What if Shawshank Redemption was made in the '80s? Unreal.
Jimmy Kimmel jobs Matt Damon on his show all the time, inviting him on but then saying the show ran out of time and can't bring him on. He's done it numerous times. Sarah Silverman, who used to date Jimmy Kimmel, made a music video called "I'm F*&$ing Matt Damon."
Jimmy Kimmel comes back with this. The craziest thing is how Kimmel and Affleck got all these people to make cameos.
Ah, just a few weeks ago, Montreal was on top of the world. They looked unbeatable. Everything was great in Montreal fanboy nation.
Then, two weeks ago, J.S. from C-blog uncovered a Montreal plot to stuff the ballot. Ever since then, the Habs are 2-3-2, and they look like shit.
Not exactly playing like a team that is set to have 5 players start the All Star Game. But it gets better. Check out the mistake that Ryan O'Byrne made last night.
[Thanks to DayWalk3r for this]
The reason this happened, by the way, is because there was a delayed penalty on the Islanders so Price went to the bench.
Let's not forget that O'Byrne was arrested last year for trying to steal a purse or something. [CBC]
To make things even stranger, guess who made this photoshop last year. J.S.
sick.
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The Pens play five of their next six games on the road.
Click to enlarge, Zigo is leading the world in faceoffs.
:: The Powerplay is changing again. [TRIB]
"The first unit had Evgeni Malkin back on the right point with Alex Goligoski on the left point, Sidney Crosby on the half-wall, Miroslav Satan down low and new addition Tyler Kennedy in front. The second unit had Kris Letang on the right point and Philippe Boucher on the left, with Jordan Staal, Matt Cooke and Petr Sykora up front"
It is tough to find good bets right now, because take for instance the Islanders. At the beginning of the season they were dead. But now they are playing some unreal hockey. Montreal, was red hot, and now are coming back to Earth.
The Habs own the Islanders, and they need a win in front of their fans or it is going become panic city. Taking the Habs to win.
The Coyotes lost a tough one to the Flyers. Rangers need a win after dropping two straight.
The debate about the Pens blue line is well under way with Ryan Whitney waiting in the wings.
Goligoski has made it very tough for Ray Shero to send him down. But Gogo has the two-way contract and wouldn't have to go through waivers. That has him singled out right now.
If you send him down, his faith in the Pens organization may be shattered. Then he'll ask for a trade.
Letang, Scuderi, and Orpik aren't going anywhere. No one knows what's going on if Letang goes anywhere.
That leaves Gill and Eaton. Eaton was a great fit when he got here, bringing defense-first to a Pens team that needed it.
The knock on Gill is that he's slow and sluggish. But he's a beast in a 7-game playoff series.
Eaton's gonna be seeing playing time when he maybe shouldn't because in order to ship him and his $2-million-a-year to another team, he has to be on display for other GMs.
Oh and Gonchar's gonna be back in time for the playoffs.
Let's not beat around the balls here. Shero's gonna know what the team needs when the deadline comes around. 9 very reliable NHL defensemen. Something's gotta give.
:: Molinari checks out the Pens at the quarter pole. PG
:: HCMT's thoughts on the Pens power play:
"You can't be tick-tack-toe all the time. There are times you have to battle... most of the time, we lose those battles." Therrien suggested a change in personnel on the power-play units was likely. He said the current group "doesn't work." TRIB
We're not racist, but it was good to see the Pens in black again.
We don't make it to many Pens games anymore, and that maybe is a good thing.
Because if we had to listen to one more middle-aged man or new-age fanboy scream SHOOOOOOOOOOOT at the top of his or her lungs, we were going to go up to section F and take a dive.
This problem has been as ignored as that of the slutbag cousin or drugged-up uncle you'll see on Thanksgiving.
Now, look, you pay whatever you pay to go to games.
Truthfully, you can say whatever you please.
But honestly, people are yelling SHOOOOOOOOOOOOT when there is no position for a shot.
It is safe to say that most of the Penguins have played hockey their entire life on the highest level there is. Something tells us that they know when to SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT.
We don't know what it will take. But we are willing to do whatever is necessary to stop this.
We need suggestions.
We believe that a PSA from 66 right before the game would work.
"Hi, my name is Mario Lemieux. I scored 690 goals in the NHL. None of those goals were scored because you were yelling for me to shoot it. Suck it."
We would shut down the blog if someone could make this happen.
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Were there any bright spots in this game?
Sure. Dany Sabourin still hasn't had a bad game.
A guy we brought in for faceoffs scored a huge goal to kick off the third.
That's it.
Vanouver came in 6-0-2 in their last 8 games.
The Pens came in 7-0-1.
It was like the button on a pair of Oprah's jeans.
Something had to give.
We thought the Pens were gonna spend the afternoon in Luongo's world.
Stunned.
This is probably the longest removed from a game which we wanted to recap.
It's a war of attrition.
If we were professional journalists, we would fill our paragraph quota by ripping on some players and harping on all the bad stuff.
But the Pens are kinda good.
All that needs to be said is that Matt Cookie set the tone early.
Is that Al Gore in the left hand corner?
But then the refs took care of that.
Top 10 emotional moments to start a hockey game.
It was a Survivor Series.
The refs sent Matt Cooke to the showers before he could even work up enough sweat to necessitate a shower.
Terrible call.
The Pens lines were in complete disarray after that.
Without trying to capture any moments in words, the first period had the Canucks scoring and Luongo and essentially the Canucks' season being helped to the dressing room.
The Canucks were on lockdown after Luongo went out.
With the melee at the beginning and every Canuck player getting hurt throughout the first period, it was the longest period of all time.
But the second period compensated for that.
Mary Kate and Ashley teamed up for a big goal early on.
There were like 2 whistles the entire period.
Zigomanis came out and rejuvenated a comatose Mellon crowd to kick off the third.
Just a huge goal.
But the Canucks shut things down like your girlfriend when she is tired.
All of a sudden there was like 10 seconds left.
Game.
Boucher had a tough game. But let's give him the benefit of the doubt.
If that baptism by fire is what gets the Pens and Boucher accustomed to each other's styles of play, we'll take a jobber 2-1 loss to a Canuck team whose whole season relies on three letters now: M.R.I.
When he scores the game winner in the Eastern Conference Finals, you'll be sick.
The good thing about a tear like the Pens have been on recently is that a turd loss like this doesn't sting as much.
Pens are 7-1-1 in their last 9.
gold
We apologize to everyone who sent in PS's and anthem pics.
Don't let it discourage you from doing it again, please.
We are out of gas for today.
But gas is like 8 cents a gallon now.
This is what recaps look like when we go to a game.
This should be a fun game, as the Canucks make their first visit to MellonCity in forever. We love big-time goaltending, and let's face it: Vancouver has the king of big-time goaltending.
Robert Luongo will rob you.
If you remember, last year's game was an instant classic, with Sabu stunning the world in the shootout.
A lot of us use Justin.TV to stream the Pens online.
You better use it while you can. Because something tells us it may not be around long after this story: "A college student committed suicide by taking a drug overdose in front of a live webcam as some computer users egged him on, others tried to talk him out of it, and another messaged OMG in horror when it became clear it was no joke. Some watchers contacted the Web site to notify police, but by the time officers entered Abraham Biggs' home — a scene also captured on the Internet — it was too late."
Wow. Are there any hockey fans in Atlanta?
There were more people at the David v. Goliath battle.
This isn't a win without a reliable backup goaltender able to make a spot start or two.
Ilya Kovalchuk and Colby Armstrong are dying alive.
Nice to see Erik Christensen still can't score.
matty and rachel
jamie k.
DID THESE NEXT THREE PEOPLE KNOW HOW CLOSE THEY WERE TO EACH OTHER? SURREAL.
dave
jenni and edna mae
hooks
Jovi
Boucher went off for a hook early.
As that penalty expired, the Thrashers scored some trash, and it was Gill's turn in the box.
1-0.
The Pens couldn't get into the zone early on to save their life.
Later in the period, the Pens were able to tie it up.
Dupuis and Satan hook up with a vintage NHL 09 goal.
1-1.
The rest of the first was mud except for when Colby let up on a hit on Bing behind the net.
The two teams jerk each other off the rest of the period.
Whatev.
After some jobs, the Pens got set up with a solid 5-on-3 chance.
Pavelec makes a save, and the Thrashers clear the zone. During the play, Pavelec drinks some water. Bob Errey flips out.
Look at the water. Look at Pavelec drinkin' the water.
The Pens don't score, and Boucher heads to the box again.
Trade Boucher.
The Pens kill it off, and they use their momentum to go to town.
Kennedy jobs someone behind the net.
87 buries it. 2-1.
Thanks to Puck Daddy for the vid.
Get used to that video, it will be on FSN every broadcast for the rest of the season.
Ah, we needed another goal and could coast to victory.
But A.C. Slater gets the puck behind the net.
He bangs it in like it was Jessie Spano.
2-2 Slater wrote the book on the shirt-tucked-in-jeans phenomenon.
Dupuis-Crosby-Satan had an unreal shift towards the end of the second.
Holy God.
You turn to the Steeler game maybe 5 times during the second period.
It was at commercial 85% of the time.
When a photoshop doesn't make any sense, it's just that more awesome.
MATT L. saw it is impossible to own Gary Roberts.
Right off the bat in the third, Free Candy tries to kill someone but misses.
Letang doesn't, as he destroys someone's life early in the third.
Letang goes back to the bench and tells someone, "If he dies, he dies."
The remainder of the third is what hockey is all about.
It makes you thankful the Pens aren't in the Western Conference.
Unreal action.
Sabu and Pavelec were balls out.
The ice started tilting towards Sabu, though.
Christensen had a chance late to end lives. But his car breaks down on the parkway. What a joke.
Then Sabu had to make another unreal stop.
The Pens got a power play late. Huge.
Bad news for the Thrashers.
Right off the face off, though, George Michael shits himself, and some dude had a breakaway.
Sabu had to make a big breakaway save.
The Pens set up shop in the Atlanta zone. Malkin makes a sick pass to Crosby, Bing shoots it on net. Sykie big-time deflection.
3-2. Stickbreaker.
Crosby runs out the clock like Right Said Fred.
GAME
MISCELLANEOUS
If you don't feel confident with Sabu in net, you're living in 1996.
Zigomanis won a shit load of faceoffs.
Bing was solid.
Does anyone hit harder than Matt Cooke? Every game that goes by, we miss Jarko Ruutu less.
Did Kovajoke play?
We don't usually complain about the Three Stars, but this game's selections were a little strange:
Who is Eric Perrin? Did he seriously play?
Did Eric Perrin's Mom vote for the three stars tonight?
Sabu gets the start tonight. Fleury's injury may carry through the weekend, but it's not serious at all. POST-GAZETTE
There may not be an organ in the new Pens arena. PG
stunned
:: Steiggy is up against some turd in a tournament of broadcasters. PUCK THE MEDIA
Lemieux's top 10 goals. Long version. Good God. ROBERT S. with the upload.
This post got delayed 10 minutes cause we couldn't stop watching it. If you don't get chills at the 5:28 and 5:32 mark, kill yourself. That's pretty much where 66 Buries It came from.
Minnesota writer John Shirpley jobbed the Penguins. PENSBURGH Good read.
So I’m in the Penguins locker room, which is about the size of a port-a-potty, and get chastised for stepping on the logo in the carpet Some equipment guy or PR flak comes up to me and says “Can you please not step on the Penguin?”
Well, if it’s alive I’ll try not to step on the penguin. Or was some symbol representing something more important than a sports team.
Are you kidding me? Wow.
The writer has a blog. What a mistake. POOP We left a comment:
Remember that night back in college when you smoked up and watched a snail die? This game was like that, except the snail was reading the Bible.
What a joke game. But if you want to talk about the best of best in the West when it comes to the West's defensive/lockdown style, you talk Minnesota.
On any other team, Niklas Backstrom wins a Cup and maybe a super bowl. But when you trot out Owen Nolan as your big scorer, it ain't happenin'.
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The Versus announcers weren't fanboys and didn't think they were bigger than the game like Mike Emrick does.
Solid broadcast.
RKR
SPESS & DIGGER
The Pens started the game in a big hole: Thanks to everyone who sent that in.
Not even 8 seconds into the game, you knew it was gonna be mud city. Before the lockout, every game was like this. Gotta commend the Wild for playing a tight defensive style without taking Detroit-esque non-penalties.
The Wild started off the scoring about 8 minutes into the game off a faceoff. What a crap goal. Zigomanis won the faceoff. Gill and Sabu were stunned. 1-0.
The Wild were stunned 10 seconds later when they asked directions to Sesame Street.
Go to Google Maps, bitch. 1-1.
That offensive explosion was all we were going to see for the remainder of the first period. Kris Letang got an acid penalty late, but the Pens killed it off. Sabu getting the job done.
Sykora -- Creeper -- Satan Circa 1994-95 JVS with the find.
The second period started off like the first period ended. But then Jordan Staal dropped the gloves with some no-name. Staal started wailing on the dude and lost his balance.
If you were waiting for something else to happen during the second period, you wasted 15 minutes of your life.
Things you can do in 15 minutes:
1. Have sex. 2. Watch three plays of a football game. 3. Organize anthem pics. 4. Smoke two Kools. 5. Watch the rest of the second period.
Malkin got wrecked in the face somewhere in there, but he's a hockey player.
-- skank --
Christensen spotted at a recent WWE event in Atlanta. H/T to DPW95
JAMIE
The Wild came out like beasts in the third. Well, it was one solid scoring chance. Sabu made the stop, and the puck fluttered wide.
A power play was gonna ultimately decide this game. You had a feeling. Early in the third, the Pens got their chance. Talk about bees buzzing around a hive. The Goligoski Play™ was set up, but Crosby is the worst playmaker of all time. Killed.
Sabu goes to the box for using the steel chair.
What a PS.
Zigomanis basically saved a goal at the end of the kill. Big-time performance by the unit.
Minnesota goalie Niklas Backstrom was in the best shape of his life in the middle part of the third. The Pens can play defensively while getting great scoring chances. Minnesota was just waiting and hoping the Pens made a mistake.
The Pens had another chance on the PP when someone jobbed the Tenk. Malkin made a behind-the-leg kickpass that could end a relationship. No dice in front. Killed.
The big shit there was Malkin not playing the point. If Philippe Boucher scores one goal from the point on the PP, chalk another one up for King Shero.
The Pens lined up for the overtime faceoff thinking the only reason we're here is because of some anus goal way back in the first period.
If the whole game was four-on-four like it was in OT, good god. It was like watching a snail bang a cheetah. Unreal action.
Mr. Burns takes a big-time high-sticking penalty at the end of the OT. The Pens with the possession arrow.
There was a huge showdown for the bulk of the PP.
Crosby with guns cocked on either side. Boucher is a huge addition. HUGE. No dice.
Mellon Arena Production Team prepares the world for the shootout with Van Halen's "Right Now." What a move.
Sykora came down, remembered how he looked in 1995, and farted. Marek Zidlicky stuns Sabu. 1-0. Was that Sabu's first shootout goal he's given up this year?
Go-go-goes for his move. Backstrom watches tape. Mientten was up next for Minnesota. Vintage Sabu.
Sid Crosby. Game on his stick. Backstrom = A machine.
The Pens play Minnesota about as often as John Goodman sees his own penis. Last season in October, the Pens won 4-2. Crosby had a rare breakaway goal. OUR RECAP
Boston heading to Toronto tonight. It's on Versus, so we're taking it. Toronto are 1.5-goal dogs in their own house. We'll take them to cover that, at least.
“I’m excited to join the Penguins and bring something to the team,” Boucher said. “It’s been a pretty crazy couple of days. I found out this morning. It’s always hard to leave a team you’ve been playing for but if you have to leave, there’s no better place to go than Pittsburgh.”
For now, Boucher becomes the newest Penguin and he’s excited about putting on the Penguins uniform.
“Who wouldn’t be?” Boucher said. “I have experience. I’ve played in almost every situation. I’m not sure of my role but I’m excited to join the team. I can’t wait to find out.”
The official suit provider of the seventh d-man in the press box.
:: A inside look at the shootout drill at Pens practices. PG
:: Interesting look into Pens prospect, Nathan Moon. FF
It's basically Montreal's version of Empty-Netters over at the PG, but less witty.
Now, we are jackasses, but we would have never condoned this ballot-stuffing for the Pens.
Picture: Rocket Richard, after some man refused to make out with him.
Speaking of which, the NHL has stopped the javascript from being effective.
They've instituted a CAPTCHA, which is one of those things that prompts you type in a word you see, every time you vote.
Montreal fans can't read, so they don't even know what's going on right now.
Another come-from-behind win in the third period. What a night to be alive.
The Sabres were on the second of a back-to-back. Kotalik and Connolly are hurt. But excuses are for jokes. Their third-period game plan was a mistake. Don't take stupid penalties and give the Pens' PP a chance to get back in the game.
Buffalo, we thought was going to be a test for the Pens, test passed. Buffalo can't skate with them. Not being homers, just stating the facts.
DAVER
JONNY V
JOEY L.
WALLPAPER BLOG:
1024x768 Thanks to HIP
It was flashblack city when you saw the Pens in the powder-blues. Is Daniel Powter even alive anymore?
If you had to take a turbo-dump in the early going, you probably crapped yourself. No stoppages in play until Jason Pominville puts one home. 1-0.
redux
The rest of the first period was a parade to the penalty box. Malkin with the ol' slew foot in there. There's really nothing else to say.
Stunned pic came with no credit. Zapruder.
The second period picked up where the first period left off. Fleury gave some Sabre a DDT, and the Pens killed that off.
But that's when shit started going down.
First, the Pens get jobbed with a quick whistle. The Pens were on the other end of that in the Rangers series last year. Whatev.
Right off the ensuing faceoff, Matt Cooke gets slashed and goes to the box 'cause the dude broke his stick when he slashed him. Cooke politely asked the refs to check the video replay. No dice on that request, and no dice on the Sabres PP.
Matt Cooke comes out of the box, and Buffalo's Stafford comes flying in from the top rope. The Pens set up shop. Goligoski, who is not playing like a rookie, conducts the orchestra. Shot stopped, back to Gogo. Malkin with the one-legger. Deflection. Nobody cares how it goes in.
1-1.
MICHAEL B.
The Pens had another power play a little bit after. Poop. The period was winding down.
But business was about to pick up
TK goes to the box for a hook. The Sabres get the chance on the PP.
derrr
2-1.
Before the period ended, the Sabres were headed to the box. Pens completely outplayed the Sabres, didn't seem like they should be down 2-1.
The Pens started the third on the power play. Big chance. Big fail. But let's face it. In the third period in Mellon Arena, you don't want the Pens in the lead until the clock is all zeroes.
Just like the Flyers game from the other night, the third period was a waiting game. Some douchebag trips up Satan. Power play on the way. Early on the PP, Ryan Miller stabs Staal in the scrote. Classless play. It looks like they only give warnings now.
The Pens don't care. They score anyway. The Whitney Goligoski Play™ in effect.
2-2. Desktop Background Blog
One of the top 5 comments of all time
The next time the Sabres came into the zone after that, it suddenly hit you that MAF had barely seen a shot all period. He may have been cold as ice.
But ice was running through his balls when Derek Roy gets a good chance on semi-breakaway. MAF keeps it out. Hell, it wasn't even on net. Big play nonetheless.
MAF continued to be tested after that Roy play, though. The Sabres were waking up, but...
Can you tell us how to get...
how to get to Sesame Street
Cookie Monster with a sick pass to Big Bird. 3-2 What a line.
woooo
The tables were turned that fast.
As you're looking through Google Images for a solid pic of Big Bird, Malkin leads a 3-on-1 rush. He makes a pass to Fedotenko that could run for a seat in the Senate.
4-2
What an explosion
JULIA T. arrow-stuns a 5-year-old.
Father Time was in town. Miller races to the bench like Lindy Ruff was naked.
Malkin gets the puck. Staal puts it in the dryer.
5-2.GAME.
MISCELLANEOUS
Malkin: 13-game point streak.
Staal: First star against Detroit
Crosby: First star against Philly
Malkin: First star against Buffalo
Montreal sucks.
Matt Cooke is nasty.
We never respected Ryan Miller, never will after tonight.
Buffalo is goon city.
PIC CREDITS: The one at the top of the recap goes to JESSE AND ALYSSA
The Penguins have traded Darryl Sydor to the Dallas Stars for Defenseman Philippe Boucher. Not a shock Sydor got dealt, but it is a shock the Penguins were able to get Boucher.
Judging by some reading we have done, Boucher has fallen out of favor in Dallas. This is a vintage Shero move: low-risk, especially high reward.
Right-handed. yummy
Boucher was an all-star two years ago. He is also a year younger than Sydor.
Sydor is making 2.5 million. Boucher is also making $2.5 mill.
His stats since 2001:
If he returns to his 2006-07 form, wow.
MIKE GEORGER in C-Blog with the clutch memory and YouTube find.
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It is never easy to say goodbye to players. Sydor was a solid signing, brought in to provide leadership to a young team. The Pens winning a couple games in the SCF when he was brought in for Game 3 is what it is.
Flashblog will be getting some new shit added. We're putting all the Pens sites and blogs in there, as well as NHL links. We're also gonna put links to where you can watch games online. And finally, we'll put a blog FAQ in there.
** IF YOU CAN, PLEASE LIST ALL AVAILABLE SITES FOR ONLINE VIEWING THAT YOU KNOW OF IN C-BLOG.
- Patches are complete - Jersey shells have all been created(each jersey was custom made, not shells that were sitting on a shelf.) - Letters are cut and ready to go
All the pieces are heading to assembly on Monday. The owner of the shop said he thinks they will wrap production by Friday and have them in our hands before Thanksgiving break.
"I don't want to jump to conclusions at this point. There is some indication that something has happened," said NHL spokesman Gary Meaghar. "I'm not at a point where I can say definitively that something has taken place."
If you'll recall, J.S from C-blog uncovered the Montreal Fanboys illegal attempt to get their entire team into the All Star game.
This, we believe, is the script used in the attempts:
We want to stress that there are plenty of good Montreal fans, and this seems to be coming from a group of fanboys that will probably be booing the Canadians in about four weeks when they lose three in a row.
It is just a shame that this had to happen.
A group of all stars don't get destroyed 6-1 by the Bruins:
Thank you, Jack Edwards.
As fans you could only wish that your league would trust you, the way the NHL has trusted us.
The actions by this rogue group of Canadian jokes have spoiled the fun, and is extremely embarrassing.
We are in the possession of a Penguin voting script that we have faith would be able to duplicate the Habs fans success.
But thankfully the NHL is stepping up and looking into this, so we are sending the script to our trash.
The vote should be either be restarted or the illegal votes should be scrapped.
If this doesn't happen, the NHL is lying. Simple as that.
No real aftermath following the Flyers game. We were hoping to get a positive I.D. on middle-finger guy.
But there is other aftermath to touch upon.
CRAIG E. spotted this article from the EDMONTON SUN.
The Oilers have a good one in Steve MacIntyre - big, strong, intimidating, and capable of squashing the odd opponent like a bug on a windshield.
But in the world of heavyweight enforcers, one punch can bring it all to an abrupt end, and MacIntyre was put on ice for the next eight to 12 weeks courtesy of Pittsburgh Penguins enforcer Eric Godard.
The tables were turned on the Penguins. Mellon Arena Syndrome was in full effect.
A Pens lead in Mellon Arena is about as safe as Charlie's butthole at a Nickelback concert. You almost expect it by now.
Sidney Crosby, who's trying to get out of a "slump" comes up big to tie it. Mike Richards with the egregious turnover on the play made it doubly sweet.
The Pens have won 5 in a row. We'll see where the Pens stand in the Eastern Conference on Saturday when Buffalo comes to town.
If these OT games keep coming, no one is going to be alive by March.
dustin k
whistler
double j
FLEURYOUS
Aside from the Oiler game last week, we hadn't seen much of the Mellon recently. She's a grand old lady.
The confidence the Pens gained from the Red Wings game showed early on. They were on acid. Staal's line started the game. Good call.
Crosby's line was the next onto the ice, and then he went off for tripping. A great chance for the Flyers to jump up ahead. But the Flyers couldn't even make it the two minutes without heading to the box themselves.
After some jobbin, Kennedy leads a mini rush with Cooke.
1-0.
Good to see Cookie get on the board. Even though Staal wasn't on the ice for it, the line has been coined Sesame Street, with the Cookie Monster, Staal Big Bird, and Kennedy Elmo.
The Pens and Flyers exchanged power plays in the rest of the first. That was it.
- coffeytalk - Not a PS. Unreal.
A little background on the picture. The owner is Christine, and the sign was in attendance against the wings as well:
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Welcome back, Eaton
The Pens came out in the second with balls blazing. 1:11 into the period, Malkin and Fedotenko team up. 2-0. What a shot.
Like 8 seconds later, the Flyers were headed to the box. Second verse almost same as the first. High glove. Bing. 3-0.
Flyers coach John Stevens had to call a timeout to get his team together and show them something.
Oh, and the Pens had another PP on the way. No dice.
If you thought a 3-0 lead was safe, you had an erection because you are not thinking clearly.
Jeff Carter put the Flyers on the board with some crap. 3-1. We weren't even halfway through the game yet.
Scott Hartnell is an idiot and takes a shot at Sykora. Box city.
If you want to know why yelling SHOOT is dumb, we got a reminder. Goligoski tries to shoot it through 80 people. Shot blocked. Gagne heads down the other way. 3-2.
Ah, the early symptom of M.A.S. -- a shorthanded goal.
After being in the box, Talbot comes out and draws a penalty. Nobody even knows how, but the Flyers get a 3-on-1 on the kill. Gagne licks the stamp. What a shot. 3-3.
The Flyers closed out the second with Issac Newton pulling the strings on another goal. 4-3.
What is there to say about the third period? MAF gets pulled, and Sabu rolls in.
Nothing. It was just a waiting game with a power play in the middle. Probably the fastest period of all time.
Father Time was in town. Mike Richards makes a horrible play. Turnoverblog.
Talbot fans on it/passes it to Bing.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
FLASHBACK
Darren Dreger:
"But his shot remains a weakness and although some have suggested he switch to the more popular one piece stick, Crosby continues to reject the notion of change and won't abandon a two-piece stick with a straight blade that many believe hampers his ability to get the most out of his shot"
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Looked pretty good on that shot. Dick. 87 buries it. 4-4.
The rest of the third and OT was mud.
We didn't keep tabs on who took shots in the shootout. All the big guns were taking their shots.
Danny Sabourin's stick was in the best shape of its life. A pokecheck on an early shooter, and then he completely robs Mike Richards. Unreal save.
Here is the save, but maybe better than the save is Scott Hartnell's meltdown on the bench:
What a baby
Alex Goligoski was the 80th shooter. What a move. Goal.
Scott Hartnell was the Flyers last hope. That speaks for itself. Any other player, we wouldn't think twice about the altercation with Sabu after Hartnell crapped himself on the shot.
But it's Scott Hartnell. What a horrible player. He collides with Sabu. Sabu tells him to get a real job.
Game.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
MISCELLANEOUS
We got one of our favorite e-mails of all time after the game:
We, the members of the WHAM! Penguins FanClub, in honor of Alex Goligoski's dirty shootout goal tonight vs. the hated Flyers, propose the following:
*We start producing Pens-branded Go-Go shirts (as seen in the video above), sell them to the loyal fans of The Pensblog, and donate the proceeds to The Mario Lemieux Foundation.
*Every time Go-Go scores, fans at Mellon Arena all do the Jitterbug, and they play this song on the loudspeaker (and/or the above video on the Jumbotron).
Philly has been mud, but you know as well as we do, they are going to play hard tonight. Their season is a little similar to the Pens last year.
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After this whole Detroit thing, it seems strange that it is just the regular season. Normally we would be worried about a letdown, but the hate of Philly should take care of that.
Some interesting talk from Shero on Staal: Shero says talks with his core players always boil down to the same issue."If they really want to be here," he said Wednesday, "we'll find a way to make it work."[TRIB]
We always say we are lucky to have big-time players, but we are lucky to have a big-time GM.
::::::::::::::
Montreal fans are lame. Thanks to J.S. from C-blog who uncovered a huge Montreal fans scam:
That's right. That is what you call a javascript, and that is the reason the Habs fans are getting all the votes through.
We are in the possesion of a Penguin Javascript, but we aren't going to use it. We respect the NHL and we don't want to negatively affect the Penguins organization.
However, if the NHL doesn't fix this joke, we will unleash it to the world. We'll contact every radio station, penguin blog, and message board we know.
When you submit a photoshop, if there is anyway you could put your initials in any part of the photoshop it would be greatly appreciated. This would protect against photoshops being stolen, and makes it easier for us to get the ball rolling on getting the 'shops into the post.
If you don't do it, we'll send you a virus.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Winner: SEAN K.
Winner: CORY W.
-- RON --
Detroit fans have already circled February 8th on their calendar for the Pens/Wings rematch.
It's got to be annoying to watch your team collapse at home.
We've been there.
But Pens fans have Thursday, November 13, circled.
The Flyers are coming to town tonight.
The Flyers have no talent. Nothing to respect.
[Hutch]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
And ADAM G. found douche of the year.
:: Scuds is listed as day to day. [ PENS ]
Can't afford to lose him for an extended period.
:: [ THE CONFLUENCE ] compares Matt Cooke and Ruutu.
:: [ Mark Madden ] is getting into the recap business. Good read.
:: TSN's Darren Dreger asks why Crosby is slumping.
No one in Pittsburgh even cares. The Pens have won four straight.
Crosby is Crosby. Find something else to phone in, Dreger. TSN
Pens goals from games 8 through 15, courtesy of ERIC P.
We don't commend him enough considering the amount of time he puts into these montages.
PUCK DADDY brings us this YouTube clip.
Hopefully he's back to titling his posts correctly again:
wooooooooooooo
thanks to everyone who spotted the fail.
That's just vicious.
When did Jarkko Ruutu become a dirty player?
Honestly, he was never head-hunting in a Pens uniform.
He was just a pain in the ass.
He got suspended for two games.
Speaking of the Canadiens, their fanboys are already stuffing the ballot box for the NHL All-Star Game.
We'd hate to be "that site" and go and find a way to rig the balloting to get the Pens in there.
They're not gonna need help, anyway.
We'd start a Scuderi campaign, but he's on Secret Service duty during the All-Star Break.
Personally, we hope none of the Pens play in it. Rest up during the break.
If anyone should go, it should be Zigomanis.
You really have to commend those fans in Canada.
Since their votes only count as .8 of a vote compared to 1 American vote,
they've actually voted more than what's seen above.
[ ABEL TO YZERMAN ] lost the bet. We don't know how it turned out that winning means we let someone invade the blog. But Abel and Charlie had a closed-door meeting to knock out the negotiations.
Good afternoon C-bloggers. I've lost a bet and I'm here to pay up. I'd been out of the blogging loop for about ten days when I received an email from Charlie and his sisters yesterday. That's not the first time she and I have corresponded. In fact, during last year's Final it was pretty much on a daily basis. And each note started, and actually consisted, of the same thing: Wooooooooooooooooo.
Naturally, as always, I replied with the standard, "What now?"
Charlie replied with, "Woooooooooooo wager?"
And it was on.
First. As a hockey fan, my instinct is to say, "what a game." But I'm not a hockey fan. I'm a Red Wing fan. I don't like any other teams. I don't like any other fans. I don't "respect" a fan base, or a team that doesn't play in Detroit. So, instead of saying, "what a game," my mood is more, "what a kick in the nuts."
And that's what last night was. A steel-toed size eleven right to the sack.
Because the Wings were beaten by a better team? Oh, most definitely not. Because Malkin finally scored after I'd browbeaten his invisible ass all day? Maybe. Because Gary's Baby Boy scored the first goal after I'd suggested he spent the summer sharing lollipops with the other Bettman spawn over continuous games of Chutes and Ladders at the Bettman estate? Kinda.
But more so it was painful because the Detroit Red Wings hold a lead about as well as you bitches hold a conversation that doesn't include the word "first!". Last night was a revelation to all 19 of the readers at A2Y, an educated, mature congregation.
It became startlingly clear that the entire Wings organization is hung over. Now. Is that to say that your boys didn't deserve a win last night?
No. Great third period. You were owned the first two, of course. You were surgically decimated for forty minutes. Too much skill. Too much speed. Not enough dmen after Sally Scuds went down (again). But, as physically inferior as Pittsburgh is to our Dynasty, the Pens aren't lazy.
We respect the grit it took to come back from 3 goals down in the third. We respect the hell out of Staal. Our informal straw poll this morning indicates he'll be a stud soon, if he's not already. He owned Rafalski on so many occasions last night that I get sad and sweaty just thinking about it now.
To you guys, last night should be viewed as a great victory. And I'm not kidding. Half your defense is out. Your forwards are all still getting used to one another. You have a French goalie. All those things can now be viewed as character builders after a win like that. Probably one of the top five in your franchise's history. And it should be viewed that way. A great, great, horrific, disgusting, stick a fork in my fucking temple kind of win for you.
So that's just nifty.
But keep this in mind, as you rightfully skip and dance through your early evening…it's November 12th. The Wings are going to right this ship. The defense will be shored. The scoring will maintain its amazing pace. And even Osgood will settle down. If he doesn't, I think we like our backup.
When will all these improvements take place? I'd guess between now and Valentine's Day, or a little less than a week prior.
November 11th was a great night for hockey. Hopefully, the 6,000 American viewers who watched on Gary's barnyard-porn/outdoor life network will spread the word that when two great teams get together--even in the regular season--it's as good a spectacle as you'll find in sports.
But November 11th doesn't equal June whatever the hell the day was that we won the Cup. It just doesn't.
At least that's what I'm telling myself today. Congrats. Bitches.
Pens/Wings game is being replayed at 5:00 on Versus. If anyone out there is hardcore and will watch the whole thing.....and you have the capability to grab a couple samples of video from the game for YouTube, you are gold.
We need:
Emrick going down on Osgood's goaltending performance.
And Darren Eliot after the Pens win it in OT: "Osgood Stunned! Babcock Stunned!"
Oh, please, oh, please, oh, please, oh, please. This is the contest to get one of the two shirts that Oilers Nation is buying.
We're not going to lie. We were prepared to make a cruel joke about Vladimir Konstantinov and go to bed.
But sometimes the hockeygGods like to remind us how lucky we are.
At 9:15, it was just another whatev November night. It's getting cold again, Pens are losing, work/school in the morning looms.
At 10:00, you're walking around like its May and the Pens just won a playoff game. Texts are flying in, you want to tell as many people as you can about what just happened.
What a great day to be a hockey fan. What a great day to be an American.
Before we get into the bulk of the game, it simply must be said that in the SCF last year, the Red Wings had the young Penguins intimidated and made them play their game. That's what beasts do. Last night's game shows what happens when the Wings play the Pens game. Punch for punch, offense for offense, the Pens prevail. Did Hossa even play last night?
Is this redemption for losing in the SCF? No way. The Red Wings skate away from last night knowing they weren't up to snuff against a solid team in the early stages of the 2008-09 season. For a Pens team still trying to figure out what's going on, it's a big win. It exorcises demons. It's a statement game.
Overshadowed in all of this is the performance by the Bee Gees.
And Chris Osgood is horrible. This is what happens when his defense chokes. Watching the Penguins destroy him puts an extra hop in our step this morning. Finally.
We've seen a lot of stuff. And without rushing to judgment or speaking in the moment, Jordan Staal played one of the best regular-season hockey games we've ever seen. Wow, just wow.
[Jon W.]
"OH, YOU DON'T USUALLY SAY A GOALIE'S PLAYED SPLENDIDLY IN A GAME WHERE HE'S GIVEN UP 6 GOALS, BUT TONIGHT CHRIS OSGOOD HAS DONE JUST THAT." -- Mike Emrick
SERIOUSLY? AWFUL GOALTENDING PERFORMANCE. JUST PITIFUL. AND WINGS FANS HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN WHAT THEY HAVE BETWEEN THE PIPES.
Hossa was late showing up for the game. Derek won the Cup in his NHL 09 dynasty Tuesday morning, and Hossa showed up at his house in the afternoon wanting to join the team.
The Red Wings were the ones looking nervous early on. Crosby heads to the net.
1-0
Johan Franzen picks up where he left off in the SCF and is still a joke. Power play blog. The big deal there was Zigo being on the top unit to win some faceoffs. And he was up there all night.
In what's becoming a common occurrence, a Pens giveaway at the blue line led to a 2-on-1 for the Wings. Goligoski takes a page out of Osgood's book and lies. This time, it was on the ice, and he thwarts a cross-crease pass.
During that power play, Hossa handles the puck, and boos were clearly audible. Must suck being booed in your own building. Oh, wait, he's only renting it until he wins a Cup. We forgot.
That penalty was killed, and then it was the Pens turn to go to the box. Eric Godard heads to the box. The penalty was killed faster than the Detroit auto-industry job market.
Rob Scuderi puts his health on the line and blocks a shot. What a player. What an American. He was peaced-out for the game.
We headed into the second half of the first, and play had shifted towards MAF. Another loose puck. 80 people in front of Fleury.
1-1.
Zigomanis was headed to the box soon after that swift boot to the scrote. The Stroms took over. Niklas takes his Geritol and gets a shot off. Tomas deflects it past MAF. 2-1.
Goligoski took a penalty to put the cap on the first. Vomit. We've seen this before.
[J.S]
Getty Images ain't no joke
To start the second, the Pens poop all over the world, and Franzen has time to make out with his mother before putting one top shelf. 3-1. The Pens get another penalty for giving up the goal. Killed.
Most uncomfortable hockey fan we've ever seen.
[Jason M]
Chris Osgood hadn't seen a shot since the Civil War and was cold as ice when Crosby and Co. jobbed around in the zone. Talbot heads to the net. Boobjob. 3-2. Osgood is such a baby.
The Pens were given a golden chance after that with a powerplay. Marian Hossa works hard on the PK and streaks down the wing, but veers to the corner because he sees a 50-dollar bill laying on the ice. He sucks.
[CoffeyTalk]
After the busy start to the game, it started turning into Red Wing hockey: a bunch of nothingness in between Zetterberg and Datsyuk not scoring 100 points in a season. A Penguin finally hit someone towards the end of the second. Thank you, Matt Cooke.
Late in the second, Fedotenko dumps it in and goes after it. Oh wait. Brad Stuart impeded his progress along the boards. What a play.
At the end of the period, Pavel Datsyuk puts some bullshit goal home.
4-2.
That's the end of the second. Buckle up.
Five minutes into the third, the Pens were moving to KC. Zetterturd makes his only appearance of the game. 5-2.
[Mike D.]
We were visiting with [Puck Daddy's] live blog when the goal was scored. Check out the joke Wing fans taunting us.
oops
Tempers were flaring. The Bingo Hall Louis Arena was rabid. Lee P. was planning a parade.
The Wings, though, got lazy and stopped trying to mask their penalties. A couple of quick ones gave the Pens a 5-on-3. There's nothing like a 5-on-3 to get you started.
Pass, pass, pass, shoot, salma hayek, pass, pass, pass, vas deferens, shoot. Finally, Malkin put one home. 5-3. Osgood looks around for someone to blame. It never fails.
A little over a minute later, Osgood had to look around again. Jordan Staal switches to the rinse cycle with some nice stickwork in front. 5-4.
Fist pump/woo [Will Smith]
Uh-oh. Detroit's running scared. They better score a weak goal somewhere. Letang just misses from keeping it out.
There it is. What crap. 6-4. Hudler is a joke.
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And then the Meltdown In Michigan began.
[Derek K]
The Pens weren't dying. They work hard. They see the mountain in front of them. Jordan Staal says F U with a loose puck. 6-5.
That dude is pissed. Maybe because that's his wife.
Uh-oh. Detroit's running scared. They better score a weak goal somewhere. Woops. Instead, they curl back into their shells.
As the clock ticks down, deja balls sinks in. MAF races to the bench. Extra attacker. Casket match.
Bing almost smokes Osjoke, but he actually makes a save. Babcock calls a timeout. Huge mistake.
Mike Zigomanis rolls out for the faceoff. Bottom line is, last season, the Penguins just don't win that faceoff.
Zigomanis wins it with ease back to Go-go, who gets it to Malkin. Malkin with a blast. Even Jesus Christ doesn't know where it's at. Jordan Staal does, making him better than Jesus. 6-6.
Osgood, as expected, blames Jesus for the big goal.
[Akus]
Jordan Staal comes rolling down the ice again. Brian Rafalski and his experience take a stupid penalty at the end of regulation.
The anticipation leading up to the Pens power play to start up OT should have its own blog. But no dice. The game was spiraling toward what would have been an anticlimactic shootout with Hossa probably trying to ask for a trade to the Pens then changing his mind.. We were ready to go until 2am, then we realized it's 4 degrees outside.
That's where Jordan Staal takes over. Again.
[Coren]
Pavel Datsyuk gets embarrassingly lazy and lets Staal steal it from him. Staal to Tenk.
GAME. That fast.
MISCELLANEOUS
This would have been nice a couple months ago.
Matt Cooke= Difference maker
Matt Cooke > Joko Ruutu
Trade Staal. What a game. Get him some Advil.
We rattled off photoshops. So if we missed one sorry. Thanks to all who sent stuff in. Credit for the title of this post goes to David D.
What a game for Zigomanis.
Staal scored set up Tenko at 1:11 of OT on 11/11.
[Abel To Joke] will be sending his thoughts in at some point today because he lost our bet.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Bee Gees are back, jack.
[Chris C]----[Kyle K.]
*****We didn't have time to credit everyone for their 'shops/stunned pics. To make it easier, so everyone gets credit, write your intials in the photoshop you make in the corner or something that way no one can steal them from here, and you'll get credit too.********
Since there's really no backstory to this game, no rivalries, and no anger, we looked into our crystal testicles and have seen how the game will play out.
GORDIE HOWE -- SPECIAL GUEST REFEREE
His first order of business will be ordering the players to play naked and sweat as much as possible. He will be fitted with a coat of iron armor so that when he turns to dust on the ice, it will still look like someone is out there.
HOSSA
The Red Wings get awarded a power play early in the first period. Hossa jumps onto the ice for the power play but sees a five-dollar bill on the bench and races for it. The Pens take advantage of the mishap, and Godard puts one past Osgood.
THE RED BLAZER
Tied 3-3 late in the third, the Pens find themselves on a 5-on-3 power play. But the man advantage gets interrupted when a cable holding Steve Yzerman aloft above the playing surface snaps and he goes careening to the ice surface. He survives the fall, however, cheating death in the same manner he cheated his way onto the executive board for Team Canada.
Some Lions fan touched the Stanley Cup and chanted Crosby in order to jinx him and the Penguins. PUCK DADDY Lions fan. We thought all Lions fans killed themselves years ago.
A new blog on the scene, PUCK HUFFERS, has a preview of the game.
"On Caps star Alex Ovechkin saying the way to rattle Kolzig is to shoot near his head and get him mad, something Ovechkin apparently did purposefully to Kolzig during practices: "The difference is in practice when he went high, I couldn't take liberties on him when I was a teammate. Now, heads up."
[Japers Rink] stays classy about the situation, but is right when he says no need to get all emotional about it.
This brings up an interesting question. Who has the advange in this battle of former teammates?
Is it going to be Kolzig, or A.O. and friends?
No way in hell we are touching this game.
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Oilers finish up the world's longest road trip.
Can't get a feeling on this game either. Part of us want to take the over, but with King Henrik you never know. Can't start forcing bets now.
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Huge episode tonight.
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Thanks to our teammate Kevbo for this heads up.
Malkin's interviews are starting to become legendary.
Pens are playing some good puck right now. But this week will be somewhat of a test.
TUESDAY
Yeah, there will be some hype to this one, but it will be nothing more than seeing pics of the Wings winning the Cup.
This isn't a revenge game, because unless this alters last year's Cup Final, it means nothing more than any other regular season game, As Tony from [The Confluence] says: ignore the hype.
We suspect the only hype coming from this game will be from the Navy's first gay officer. [Abel To Joke]
Picture: The Chief and friends are primed.
THURSDAY The Flyers are a mess. But maybe Tampa Bay will trade them one of their star players.
SATURDAY The Sabres were playing the best hockey in the East, but they have dropped a few. Still should be a solid hockey game.
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New Sabu pic from someone in C-blog. Identify yourself.
Hockey is known for its great announcers. From Mike Lange to Rick Jeanneret, there is just something special about a solid hockey announcer.
Jack Edwards, play-by-play guy for the Bruins, is insane:
"Matty Niskanen isn't going to be a pretty little boy anymore."
The only reason for this part of the post was to show another Jack Edwards clip. The Bruins' Chuck Kobasew scored a nasty goal on Saturday night. And he screams, "Chucky's back."
But apparently Bruins fans weren't impressed, because it is nowhere to be found on YouTube. Patriot fanboys don't know what else to do during weekends.
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Speaking about fans not being impressed, this game is on at 2:00 today--TOMORROW-FAIL There will be more people in your lunchroom at work.
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Some people are into gambling. Some people aren't. If you don't like this portion of the post, skip it.
Took the night off yesterday. Might do the same tonight.
We are, however, taking the over of 3 on how many trade rumors [Eklund] will start this week. Although, it will be hard to top last week's "Fedotenko + pick for Mathias Ohlund deal."
Okay, it was the Islanders. But a come-from-behind win is a come-from-behind win. Especially in a place that has not been kind over the years.
Dany Sabourin has quieted the detractors who said during the offseason that Shero getting rid of Conklin was a mistake.
What a backup goaltender. What more can you ask for?
MR. KENNNNNEDDDYYYYYYY Big-time performance. (Anxiously awaiting the YouTube of him getting jobbed during his Potash interview.)
Bring it
aer1518
Nobody knew the Islanders even had a head coach until we were introduced to Scott Gordon. Nice name.
not.
Malkin gets jobbed by a slapper from some Islander joke. The season could evaporate that fast. It's no joke.
If you want to know what slowly dying feels like, we're guessing all you have to do is watch a hockey game live in Nassau Coliseum. Then again, that's what people were saying about Mellon Arena a few years ago.
This looks like a photo from practice, but it's actually from the first period of a tilt between the Pens and Thrashers in 2003.
Talbot went to the box for something balls, and the Islanders' 25th-ranked power play goes to work.
[Ian D]
The power play disappears faster than Carlos Mencia's career. The Isles power play doesn't plagiarize and steal plays from other teams, though.
Nothing was going on for most of the period.
At the tail end, the Isles get a bounce. A loose puck falls on Doug Weight's stick. It flutters in off of Petr Sykora's stick. 1-0.
Jordan Staal worked really hard in that first period.
So do washing machines.
The Isles broke out the vintage unis for this one. Solid uniform.
If you somehow thought LSD didn't exist on Long Island, here's what their uniform was for two seasons in the mid-90s.
jesus
No one knew where this game was headed at the start of the second. Would the Islanders eek out a bizarre 3-2 win? Would the Pens eat the Islanders' lunch?
No Malkin to begin the third. Oh God.
While you were still looking for the answer to that, Tyler Kennedy enters the Isles zone with more patience than Alan Alda.
Nice little give-and-go with Ziggo, and it was tied. Beautiful goal. 1-1.
Almost as beautiful as when BECKER went off the air.
The Islanders take a penalty after that. It was time to stop messing around with New York.
Willis Malkin returns from his hand situation, but no dice.
And then there was another Pens powerplay. Nothing. Doug Weight comes out of the box to help set up the Isles' next goal. No one knew what was going on. 2-1.
Again, nothing happened for a bulk of the second period. The Isles changed that by scoring another boob goal. 3-1.
Life sucked. Nothing was good. Sabu made a big save when the Isles could have made it 4-1 and swept the leg.
Man Jordan Staal really can't do anythin...dlmdlmfmmm.md,vmvd-
RINSE CYCLE, BITCH 3-2.
One of the bigger goals this season.
And then the Pens had another power play right after that. No dice. The best chance came when some joke had a shortie breakway. Letang thwarts the shot for the most part, and an orgy ensued.
The Isles took a late-period penalty that would touch itself into the third.
The Pens took advantage of the power play early in the third to get some scoring chances. Ronald McDonald made a huge stop on Tenk.
The Pens were flirting with a goal for most of the first half of the third. Their rhythm got disrupted when they had to kill a penalty, which they did.
After the PK, the Pens resumed taking it to the Isles. What the hell were the Islanders doing? On the Pens' 17th shot of the period (compared to zero for NYI), Goligoski fires it to the net. Acting as if he were a CIA operative, Goligoski shoots at Kennedy. Deflection. Goal. 3-3.
Stunned [Eze]
Is it sad that we haven't been that pumped after a goal since Talbot tied it in Game 5?
Just a big goal. No reason to not leave the Dump without a point at least.
Sid had a chance in the waning moments of the third to send the Islanders home without a point.
Guess who would bury that.
The Islanders almost score with 5 seconds left. If that would have happened we wouldn't have watched a game for a month.
The overtime had poop written all over it. But then the last 2 minutes of it was insanity.
Back and forth. The Isles were getting the best chances. Sabu was making some huge saves, poking the puck for Billy Guerin when you thought it was lights out. Crosby makes the worst turnover since your mom tried that Rachel Ray recipe. Done.
Weight had the first chance on Sabu. Nope. Sykora puts one home.
Billy Guerin is too old to even make moves anymore. Nope. Satan could have ended it, and it would have been fitting. Nope.
Sabu faced Trent Hunter with the game in the balance. Hunter walks in, takes a shot. Sabu slides in the net. Where is the puck. No one knows where the puck is.
Julie the Cat Sabu pulls the puck out of his pads.
It is a scene straight out of MIGHTY DUCKS 2, thus legitimizing what we have always felt to be an unrealistic ending to a hockey movie (who brings in a cold goaltender anyway to face a huge penalty shot?)
[Kevin E]
A 9-year-old could tell you the puck was in, but that 9-year-old didn't write the NHL rulebook.
GAME.
MISCELLANEOUS
Detroit on Tuesday.
Leaving Long Island without a point would have been a crime.
"Is he talking about the youngest guy to get 100 points in the history of the National Hockey League?" Therrien said yesterday. "Is he talking about the [second-youngest] guy to win the Hart Trophy and [the youngest] leading scorer? Is he talking about the youngest captain in the history of the National Hockey League, and to bring his team to the Stanley Cup final?"
Ah, the weekend. Pens play Saturday night. Life is good.
Anyone concerned about last night's close call against the Oilers doesn't know what's going on. The Oilers scored via the puck going off the defenseman, an extremely rare Pens d-man giveaway in their own zone, and a jobber breakaway coming out of the box.
Somewhere along the line, someone banged Issac Newton's sister. And he got pissed.
That's how NHL games are like relationships. In the early going, both people are trying to impress the other, possibly acting in ways that they normally wouldn't. Eventually the true self come out. That's why relationships falter. If you are honest from the beginning, there are no surprises down the road. If you can stay honest, you can have a healthy relationship and maybe win a hockey game.
It's Friday. Possibly pay day for a lot of people. If you're throwing money on hockey games on a Friday night, it's safe to say you don't have a girlfriend.
We don't even remember what we parlayed.
We're taking the OVER on 5.5.
The Thrashers have hurt us this betting season. We're just taking Buffalo to win. If you're feeling lucky, taking Atlanta to cover their 2-goal dog status will reap good benefits.
Ottawa backs against the wall in Carolina. Taking the under on 6 and Ottawa to win.
Anaheim's played like 20 home games in a row. Taking the over on 5.5.
The Oilers will be walking with a limp on Friday after shooting themselves in the foot all night.
Nevertheless, the third period wasn't pretty. The Oilers can score in bunches. Unfortunately for them, the Pens can, as well.
If you didn't respect the Oilers before this game, you probably do now. But in April, all we'll see is the two points.
Jimmy Hugs
DAN
The Pens came out in the first period like your family at Old Country Buffet. It was an unreal display. Ironically, in a period consisting of three Oilers power plays, their best chance came on a Pisani shot in the slot early on, PP-less. MAF was there.
The game couldn't get going early due to the Oilers repeatedly getting caught for offsides. We didn't know the reason why the Oilers were in such a hurry to get into the zone until we started checking out the game pics at Yahoo.
Oilers goalie Garon was all business at the other end. The Pens were cycling, but Garon was shutting it down.
A little later, Godard and Mcynjoke dropped the gloves. You could almost see Mcynjoke's manhood escaping his body as he crumpled to the ice.
Somewhere in there, Sydor took one of the most obvious penalties of the 21st century. The Pens killed it and used the momentum from the kill to put a ball in the sac.
Satan makes an ungodly play on the goal line to put it home. 1-0.
Letang was headed to the box later in the period for slashing. The Pens decided to not wait till the penalty was over to put one home. Crosby pokes the puck past some lamppost and cruises in with Talbot 2-on-1.
Shot, rebound, goal. 2-0.
The aforementioned Macynjoke hit on Letang brought Godard out onto the ice. They make out for a while, and Godard goes to the box.
The Oilers, already covered in their own feces from their previous two power plays, didn't know what was going on during those last two minutes. The Pens took the faceoff battle 12-2 in the first.
Mellon Arena Syndrome was in everyone's mind before the puck even dropped to start the second. We've seen this movie before. Mellon Arena is overrun with the ghosts of 2-goal leads.
If M.A.S. was gonna come out of the woodwork, it had an opportunity to do so when Hal Gill made someone dive. The Oilers might as well have put that dead deer you saw on your way home on the ice for the PP.
The Pens were all business when the penalty was over. Crosby took advantage of the Oilers dmen touching themselves and set the Pens up in the Oilers zone. The Goilers took like 8 penalties on the play, and the Pens capitalized when pulling MAF for the extra attacker. Satan taps in a Malkin blast. 3-0.
The Pens had a power play after the goal, and it was their chance to sweep the leg. No dice. But wait.
Goal. 4-0. It happened that fast. What a play. Good to see Sykora putting one home.
Fleury was quietly shutting the world down at the other end. Then the Pens got another PP. Sykora scores again. 5-0.
Garon hits the golden showers, and some dude who apparently plays goalie for the San Francisco 49ers takes his place in the crosshairs. You gotta admire a guy whose last name is Drouin-Deslauriers while his first name is Jeff.
MAF tried to steal back the show that the Pens offense had stolen from him. Chants of FLEURY rained down.
The Oilers scored somehow before the end of the second.5-1.
The writing staff of OILERS NATION celebrates the huge goal.
Right before the start of the third, Kevin Lowe tries to pay Mellon Arena officials to take a goal off the board.
No dice
The penalty box extended Dustin Penner an offer sheet early in the third. PP for the Pens. Drouin-Deslauriers was all business.
The next 28 seconds had Rob Scuderi checking craigslist for a rock to crawl under.
This picture best describes the feeling:
The Oilers score one that caroms off of Scoods and into the net. 5-2. And then Ales Hemsky jobs Scoods and scores an unreal goal to make it 5-3.
The Pens saw the early symptoms of M.A.S. creeping up, so they call a timeout to take some Airborne.
It started getting scrappy after that. Matt Cooke turned Gilbert into a woman. He went after another Oiler, and David Beckham goes after Cooke. Dumb decision. The Pens jump onto a 5-minute power play. What a mistake.
And then they start a skirmish in front of their own net, and they end up down two men. It was a war zone for those two minutes. Big Ben vomiting all over himself. It was clear something bad was about to occur. The Oilers kill off the Souray penalty. He comes onto the ice and scores. 5-4.
[J.S]
M.A.S. Epidemic, Pandemic, every -mic in the book. Okay, time to chill.
Up until there were 5 minutes left in the game, both teams were in survivor mode. Edmonton starts pouring it on shortly after. Survivorblog.
But then Lubomir Visnovsky throws the puck into the stands.
What a gift.
Father time rolls in to see the last faceoff. Oilers just ran out of time.
Game.
MISCELLANEOUS
Two t-shirts for the taking. Send your thanks to OILERS NATION. Details coming.
Satan season stats: 8g/4a/12p =solid
Malkin is nasty.
Petr Sykora has the most two-goal games in NHL history without ever having a hat trick.
Two brutal losses for the Oilers. Have fun cleaning that up.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
UPDATE: OILERS NATION's TAKE
We were THIS close to laughing our ass off at your demise LINK
Well Pens fans we tip our hat to you on the result of the latest hockey match. But we also demand that you recognize how close it came to being a monumental collapse. No matter how many ex Oilers got on the scoresheet, no matter how big of a third the Oilers had - a loss is a loss and a bet is a bet.
Oh how we wished we lived in Pittsburgh! We would drive across one of the three nearly identical bridges - the 6th, 7th, and the 9th Street - that connect Downtown with the North Side. We would eat a regular hearty evening meal at the elegant William Penn Hotel and then retire to our bed chambers and let the sexy Sonni Abatta serenade us to sleep with her nightly newscast on KDKA TV. Once asleep, we would have a nightmare that Roethlisberger fell off another bike and cracked his coconut in two. But when we awoke we would quickly calm down after a few deep breaths of Pennsylvania air and all would be well again.
Yes if only we lived in Pittsburgh. We could really envision a life there. Provided we could stomach Pirates baseball, shitty traffic and taking our life in our hands every time we ventured over to the Igloo for a game. We wouldn't live our life reflecting on the glory years of Gretzky anymore, we could fondly remember Lemieux and take comfort in how he classily maintains a stall in the dressing room though he hasn't suited up in years. Yes, we can see why players wouldn't want to play and live in the snowy hinterlands of Edmonton when they can play and live in the snowy hinterlands of .... Pittsburgh.
The Oilers are coming off a terrible loss last night. Up 4-2 in the third, Columbus comes back and wins it in regulation. So they are going to be pissed.
Pens haven't played since last year.
Hopefully the break was a chance to get a little more healthy.
Sans the all-star break and a small vacant spot in the middle of September, we won't see another layoff like this for the rest of the season.
The new third jersey was unveiled at The Mall at Robinson Wednesday. PENS Our old friend ICETHETICS has some pics. Or just go look up Winter Classic pics. The bigger story is how that COSTCO up in Robinson is its own country. Jesus.
"I saw them," Crosby said of the quotes. "I'd be better off keeping my opinion to myself, I think. He can say what he wants, but I'll keep mine to myself about him."
"It's not the first time," Crosby said of criticism involving him. "It probably won't be the last. The sad part is every time somebody brings up something about me, I have to answer about them."
"I think he's a good player," Crosby said. "He's got great hands."
:: Jordan Staal wants to keep his emotions in check. PG Okay.
:: If you want to know how slow the Penguin world is, we're linking a Dave Molinari Q&A without jobbing him. PG
ESPN is stupid. They did some study to see what NHL team has the most loyal fans. POOP STAIN The criteria they used is what team people list in their ESPN.com profiles. Seriously?
Number one. Hockeytown is still a joke.
#2
Canadian teams take 6 of the bottom 9 spots.
With Edmonton coming in last.
ESPN does a little elbow jab into everyone's sides, saying Edmonton fans better pick up their game.
TSN, Canada's ESPN, could not be reached for comments
Like the one time he picked up a prostitute and it turned out being a girl.
But that was nothing compared to today. The state of California, his favorite vacationing spot, gives him the stunner, banning gay marriage. [ HUFFPO ]
We hired a Chippendales dancer to cheer Charlie up. He should be arriving at Charlie's house any minute now.
We should known better than to take two teams we hate more than anyone.
Does A.O. still play?
Alex Auld will ruin your life.
We called kstewy16 out in good fun yesterday.
We're saving a spot for him in the sewer with us.
It was a strange night. The Islanders beat the Rangers, and the Flames got smoked by the Coyotes.
Both the Rangers and Flames have previously owned the two teams they lost too.
7-2 ain't bad, but whatev.
Three games on the slate tonight, we refuse to force anything, but certainly we are open to suggestions.
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Really, we used to try and touch upon the NHL as much as possible.
[PUCK DADDY] takes it to the bank every day.
This is a Pens blog, after all.
These extended layoffs are garbage.
If you want to hurt your eyes, [NHL.COM] has an old-school HTML layout of the All-Star ballot.
Really good read from Pierre Lebrun at ESPN about the whole thing. [thanks to BNG]
About the now famed quote, Ted Leonsis told LeBrun;
"something was lost in the translation."
He went on:
"I believe he wanted to say that there are many world-class athletes in the NHL and that if one is marketed over the other -- then they are regarded as super special," Leonsis wrote. "We all have high regard for Sidney Crosby -- he is a historic and world-class player. And he is certainly one of the best players in the world."
"The NHL is blessed to have so many great young players in the league right now -- in fact, I can't think of another time in the league's history when its best players were its youngest players. To have both Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby be league MVPs at such an early age is remarkable. And to have so many great young stars augers well for the league and for the growing fan base."
Here are some towels in case you want to dry your balls off.
We don't understand how anything can be lost in translation in this case. What a lame excuse. We all know what he said. At least stand up for your man. Don't mistake his lack of English for him being a jerkoff.
Case in point: Take this Semin interview:
Was anything lost in translation there? He just seems like a dick.
This story has been spun more times than we care to think about.
Whatev.
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Best halloween costume. It is a tie between Mike from KISS FM:
And this guy PUCK DADDY found. Thats cold. :::::::::::
Speaking of PUCK DADDY, go see the work our always solid art director Stephen S did. sick.
Besides some people overreacting on message boards 'cause there's nothing going on,
there's really nothing going on.
Remember this joke? That's all. Why didn't we jump this kid?
:: Tony is now running THE CONFLUENCE from the friendly confines of Kukla's Korner.
He breaks down 8 things that are hindering the Penguins.
And there is something else going on.
It's ridiculous to name sources, but Brendan Shanahan's name has been floating around.
He could be coming to Pittsburgh.
Too bad this isn't 1999. And plus there is no room for him.
Don't even listen to it.
On election day, who better to put in the spotlight than someone who has been journeying across America for the past 2-plus months, raising awareness for MLF along the way.
In a cringe-worthy segue from one of the most solid human beings in America
to a blogwar being battled between dudes on opposites sides of the continent, we have some interesting news.
[Jason C]
We know the Blogger/MSM stuff was good for a day, then it's whatev.
But now if you want to get up a little more for the Oilers game on Thursday, here's your chance.
The loser of Thursday's game has to buy two shirts from the other blog's "store."
What's better is that those shirts will then be handed out to people from the winning blog.
So if the Pens win, OILERS NATION will buy two shirts from us.
They'll give them to us to give away.
We will try to come up with a contest that isn't a joke.
This pretty much will be the culmination of the saga with OILERS NATION.
Until the Pens trade Jordan Staal to Edmonton for Grant Fuhr.
We were all business Monday night.
If anyone thinks we're gloating and crap, you haven't been here long enough.
We want you to join in our success while it lasts.
We're siting at 7-1.
We saw the over/under in this Brodeur-less game was 5.5.
Swish
Then we had the Hawks beating the AVS straight up, which just felt right.
If you want a jump-start on Tuesday,
the O/U on posts on Tuesday by Greg Wyshynski at Puck Daddy is 14.
We're taking the over.
We'll end the post today with that story, as compared to yesterday's finale
which prompted us to leave a voicemail on our Pensblog Cleanup Crew's cell.
Gambling blog. 'Cause it kills time and there's nothing else to do.
Recap of yesterday:
Stupid Thrashers cost us a perfect weekend. [thrashers411]
Dick
But the Ducks pulled through in grand fashion.
Again, special thanks to Earl Sleek of [BOC] for making that sweet-ass chart.
Kent Huskins of the Ducks almost got killed:
Our Gambling record is at: 4-2
If you count straight-up picks: 5-1
We'll be cold as ice next week.
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If you fall into the trap of betting on a game just because you'll be able to watch it, you'll soon find yourself in a bigger hole than Baby Jessica.
But we're looking at Buffalo/NJD for Monday night on VERSUS.
A lot of talk about this one. Brodeur is out, so Kevin Weekes will get the start. A lot of people think this means Over city.
Not so fast.
Ryan Miller leads the NHL in GAA, and the Devils are going to play hard in front of Weekes and limit scoring opportunities against a ne'er-used goalie using their defensive scheme.
It is a good test to see what Vegas is up to.
Under is 5.5
We like it straight. $10 to win 8.
The AV's got smoked at home by the Sharks last night. Hawks are playing solidly.
Remember Joel Quenneville, head coach of the Hawks, used to coach Colorado. Hawks city.
The other game is Columbus vs Islanders. We wouldn't touch that game with a ten foot pole.
If you are feeling really lucky, put a bunch on the Steelers.
On a side note, we found some interesting crap about the Redskins and the Election.
Since 1936 (save for 2004), the Redskins Monday night game on Election Eve has predicted the winner of the election. If the Redskins win, the party currently in the White House (the incumbent) gets another four years. If the Skins lose, you get the picture.
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