To Boo or not to Boo? That is the question!

Tomorrow night is a game that many fans had circled on their calendars on both sides of Pennsylvania since the schedule came out this summer.  First, and foremost, it should be a big game between two bitter rivals, with positioning in a tight Atlantic Division at stake.  Any time the Pens and Flyers play, it is an epic encounter, but tomorrow night's tilt will add more fuel to an already hot fire given the fact that it is Max Talbot's first game in Pittsburgh as a Flyer, and it is the return of Jaromir Jagr to Pittsburgh after a summer in which the locals thought 68 would be coming home to finish his career as the franchise's second most prolific offensive force in history.  I wrote a long piece that I won't rehash here telling fans that still hated Jags for his Dying Alive commentary to forgive and forget, and to welcome Jagr home with open arms.   We all know how that turned out!  Many fans plan to give both players a pretty nasty welcome to Pittsburgh run tomorrow.  Everyone is entitled to handle that any way that they want, but for me, I will give Jagr some venom, but not nearly the venom that most will.  I did not like the way he handled the events of this summer, I did not like the ending of his first tenure here, and I really don't like Jagr that much off the ice either.  That said, I have many memories of his contributions to both Penguins Stanley  Cups in the '90's, his Art Ross seasons, and his game tying goal in the first game of the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals.  I also remember how much of a gamer Jagr was in the post season for the Penguins in the mid nineties prior to his "dying alive."  I will give 68 some shit, but my desire to really be an ass will be tempered by many on ice memories of his heroics in the black and gold.  Relative to Max Talbot, I have been all over the board here.  When it was first announced that 25 signed with the Flyers for 1.9M per year over 5 years, I was glad for  him thinking that if he got that offer, he would be nuts to not take it, as it seemed to be WAY more in both term and dollar value than he was worth to me.  So, even if it meant going from the Hatfields to the McCoys, anyone would have to accept a financial offer like that right?   Then, I heard that the Blackhawks offered the same kind of deal, and I felt less like defending Talbot, as the Hawks offered the same chance at winning, the same money, and it was not like hanging out with the dude who raped your sister, like joining the Flyers from the Penguins was.  And like many others, felt like Talbot had stolen his paychecks the past two seasons, scoring 2 goals in the 2009-10 season (but had a bad shoulder all year), and only 8 goals in the 2010-11 season.  His need for attention had grown a little old, particularly with his lack of production on the ice.  And like many others, I forgot about how big a role 25 played in our two glorious runs to the Finals, and in bringing the third Stanley Cup to Pittsburgh.  Chew on some of these facts before you decide to crucify the Super Star tomorrow night:

The Penguins were 11-1 when Talbot scored in the postseason, a .916 winning percentage;

Talbot had 5 career Cup Finals goals as a Penguin, only Mario with 10 and Kevin Stevens with 6 had more;

Talbot's willingness to let Carcillo use his face as a punching bag seemed to turn the momentum of a 3-0 deficit in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals of 2009 into a series clinching victory;

In the Stanley Cup run of 2009 Talbot had 8 goals in the playoffs, third on the team behind Crosby (15) and Malkin (14).   He finished with 8 goals and 5 assists and a +8;

Talbot scored the game tying goal in Game 5 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals with the goalie pulled to set up Sykora's game winner to force Game 6;

Talbot scored the opening goal in Game 3 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals.  A critical marker given the fact that the Penguins were down 2-0 in the series;

Talbot won a puck battle against Ericsson of the Wings to set up Tyler Kennedy's game winner in the must win Game 6 of the 2009 Finals;

Talbot scored both goals including the game winner in the decisive Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals to bring Lord Stanley's cup home again!

At the end of the day, the Flyers represent one of our biggest rivalries, and Talbot is now a Flyer, as is Jagr.  That said, both have been a big part of the championships of our favorite team, and I will find it hard to be too nasty tomorrow.  Go Pens!