SHIT

It is past midnight on a night in which I just watched my favorite sports team lose its second consecutive Game 7 on home ice in a series in which it had led. It is their fifth consecutive loss over two seasons when they have had a chance to close out an opponent, and they were 1 for 35 on the power play in this particular series. And you know what? I am goddamn proud of them. Am I disappointed that we lost? Oh yeah, more than an adult male should be quite honestly. If you frame this series loss by asking the following question it feels a little better. Would (Philadelphia, Washington, Boston, Vancouver) win a 7 game playoff series playing without their top 2 offensive threats and one of their very best PK specialists and physical leaders? Not likely. And in terms of this season, none of those teams has a player that would have compared to Crosby's offensive output or leadership. Envision Vancouver without the Sedins and Burrows....the Flyers without Briere, Richards, Powe, or Washington without Ovechkin, Backstrom and Chmura. Now picture what seven games with a deep offensive team and a hot goaltender might look like for the watered down versions of those teams. Thought so.

I l ike others have some areas that bothered me about this team. I think they obviously need to do something next year about the power play. It was mediocre even with Geno and Sid, and it has been an abortion without them. There is no reason it should be this bad, but it is. I have faith that they will address this for next year. I also might have dressed Engelland and Tangradi for Niskanen and Connor the past two games. It probably would not have changed anything either. People are criticizing Bylsma for leaving 1000 career point player Alex Kovalev on the bench for the game's final power play, a 6 on 4 since Fleury was out of the net. If 1000 career points was the standard maybe Mario could have put down his Merlot to play on that power play! Bylsma sat a guy who showed no desire to get to loose pucks, or fight for the inches of ice necessary to win in favor of a group of players who would put their face in front of a piece of frozen rubber coming at them at 100 mph. Kovalev has been invisible or worse most of his stint here in Pittsburgh. Kudos to Bylsma for sitting him. Suddenly Coach Disco was outcoached? I am hearing a lot of that, and can only laugh about it. Byslma's way of doing things has worked out pretty well for the Pens. Let's remember how he handled Fleury's horrid start in a manner that kept the team afloat, AND allowed Fleury to regain his confidence, and become a Hart candidate. Let's remember how he took a team that seemed like all it was missing was locusts flying out of their asses and did not let them get down while they finished in the top 5 in the whole league despite missing half their lineup at times. The guy should win the Jack Adams hands down this year, so despite not always agreeing with everything he does, lets have faith he knows more about the Pens than we do. They will address the deficiencies as they see them, I am sure.

Instead of criticizing this team for losing a playoff series they led 3-1, praise them for the extended run they took from the beginning of January until last night where they played through a hellish collection of injuries and suspensions. Praise them for coming to the rink EVERY night for four months with most of their players being asked to fill a role that they were not quite suited for, and playing more minutes than they were used to. Instead of fading like all the hockey world predicted, taking the Divison title down to the last weekend of the season, and finishing with 106 points. Hey, you cannot blame a fan base for having its expectations raised by this wonderful, gutsy stretch of hockey played a by a bunch of men who fought for each other like few other teams I can recall. You cannot blame us. But, when you step back and look at it objectively, they simply ran out of gas, and ran into a very good and very healthy Tampa Bay Lightning team. They could have thrown in the towel after being embarrassed last Saturday 8-2, then dropping Game 6 in Tampa. They did not. Instead they outplayed Tampa, outhit Tampa, and outshot Tampa who beat them with ONE GOAL, that should have never happened if the zebras call the obvious stick to Orpik's face 10 seconds prior. But, you know what, that is hockey. They could not finish chances, and Tampa finished one last night. My point is that this team laid it all out there for themselves and for the fans, so let's not get crazy with the criticism of the core group on this team. Let's applaud them for their fortitude, thank them for their efforts, and support them going into next season. Let's not punish them for not meeting the inflated expectations they created through their excellence in the regular season. I have watched a lot of hockey over the past 30 years, and though my opinion may mean very little, I think that this core of players is one of the most special I have seen. There will be plenty to cheer about in coming seasons. Thanks for a great year Pens!

Jonathan Toews ties it with a short handed goal in Game 7

In a losing effort, this is heroic. The aforementioned game tying goal with 1:56 left in game 7 by Toews......did I mention that it was also shorthanded? Great effort, great player, great series.

Alex Burrows Goal 2-1 & Handshakes - Canucks Vs Hawks - R1G7 2011 Playof...

An unreal finish to an unreal series.......after Vancouver takes a 3-0 series lead, Chicago roars back to tie the series at 3-3 to force game 7. Vancouver leads all game until Toews ties it with less than two minutes to go! Then in Alex Burrows ends it with this OT gem. WOW! Playoff hockey at its finest.

Read em and Weep!

Okay, the city is in a panic, and everybody is shtting bricks that we have blown a 3-1 lead in a series and now face a Game 7 at home to either win or play golf. When I look at the statistics out there, I am shocked that we are even still in this series, and smile a little to myself at how crazy it would be to advance when you look at the following numbers:


Pittsburgh is 1 only 1 for 30 in the series on the Power Play for a joke of a 3.3%!!! They are 15th of 16 playoff teams, as Boston has not scored any PP goals, but they have had half the chances. The PP was horrible all year, finishing 25th at 15.8%, but now it is at 3%. It is actually 7 for 96 in the last 29 games....as noted last night an absolute fucking abortion;

Pittsburgh's number one ranked penalty kill unit that finished the season at 86.1% is now only killing penalties at 66.7% or 13th of the 16 playoff teams;

Fleury, who I think of as a true Hart candidate has now given up 8 goals on the last 31 shots he has faced, and has a .890 save percentage, 13th in the playoffs, and a 2.77 GAA, for 11th. Given the fact that the series was supposed to tilt in our favor due to goaltending, this is not a good sign. Rolonson has a .941 save percentage by comparison and has given up 13 goals all series long;

The Penguins have 14 goals for the series and only 6 of those goals have come from the top 2 lines in 6 games! The other 8 goals have come froom 3rd and 4th liners;

TBL has six players with more points than the top Penguins scorer, who six games in remains Arron Asham with 3 goals and 4 total points ranking him 16th and 51st respectively as OUR TOP SCORER IN THE PLAYOFFS;

Asham and Adams lead the Pens in +/- at +3 while they have 8 minus players led by Kovalev and Letestu at -3, followed by Staal and Niskanen at -2, with Duper, Orpik, Neal, and Kunitz all -1;

Tampa is plus 7 on special teams;

Tampa has outscored Pittsburgh in the series 21-14 and 12-4 in the past two games!

Last night our defense corps registered the following by way of hits:
Orpik-2
Letang-2 and the other four collectively did not register a single hit........not ONE!!

Going into tomorrow night's Game 7, Marc Andre Fleury is 4-6 in his past 10 playoff games with a 2.80 GAA. He has also given up four or more goals in 3 of his past 5 starts v Tampa and in 5 of his past 8 post season starts;

As you read this, be thankful we are still alive.........truly........hey, this team has endured a lot and maybe they are suffering the effects of 4 months of shorthanded play, but some reputations are on the line tomorrow night. The last home game 7 resulted in the whole team, led by Fleury and the defense choking to Montreal. As a result, 40M dollars over the next 5 years was committed to the defense in Martin and Michalek, and blowing a 3-1 series lead partially due to poor defense and poor goaltending would make that investmet feel a little shaky. The Penguins are 8-1 all time when gaining a 3-1 lead in a playoff series, the only other time they have blown a lead like that is to the 1975 Islanders. Losing another early playoff round, in a home Game 7 would begin to make both Fleury and Bylsma look a little mediocre in the post season as well. It would be the second time in two years that they have lost a game 7 at home, once after leading a series 3-2, and another after leading 3-1. This would mean that they have lost 5 straight match point games in two years......not a good trend if it were to happen. Guys like Kunitz, Staal, and Neal, while not expected to be like Malkin and Crosby have been expected to do far more than they have, and each could stand being a factor in tomorrow night's game. Rob Rossi wrote today that Letang is not going to win the Norris.....Really?? I would settle for a solid shut down game DEFENSIVELY tomorrow night One without some stupid turnover or mental error.. Letestu has hit the Peter Pricnicple and looks like a guy who should be playing for the Calder Cup, not the Stanley Cup right now............Paul Martin has been VERY ordinary for a 5M dollar shutdown player...even Orpik has been quite ordindary.........Kovalev, well lets not waste space......the good news though in all of that BAD, is that all of the major names I mentioned, are to me quality people, with tons of courage and character, so I expect that one or more of them will support the Kennedys, Ashams, Talbots, Adams, and Rupps of the team tomorrow night annd play a big factor in pushing the Pens to the next round despite the ugly batch of stats noted above...,,,,...and we can have a big FUCK YOU party for the NHL, VS, and the Lightning..............and then the records are 0-0 again.............

Disturbed-Indestructible Lyrics

Metallica - Broken, Beat & Scarred Live Nimes 2009 1080p HD_HQ

Come on Pens!!

Broken Beat and Scarred-Pens Die Hard

Well, as I said in my post to start the playoffs, it is a roller coaster ride all the way. When the Penguins won their double over time game to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series, many were already worrying about who our second round opponent would be. Guilty as charged! Now, after a nauseating implosion on home ice Saturday, and another loss in Tampa to force Game 7, many are planning the demise of the Penguins on Wednesday night. Not guilty. Don't get me wrong, I am feeling tighter than a frog's ass right now, and that is waterproof, BUT it only takes one win to move on to round two. Don't get me wrong here, my concerns are many. The largest concern is that I believe that this healthy Lightning team is simply better than the Penguiins team without Crosby, Malkin and Cooke, and that our hope was that our goaltending and defense would be better than theirs. As it turns out, their goaltending and defense have both been better than ours. Given their obvious talent superiority up front, the Penguins ONLY chance was to be better on the blue line and between the pipes, and that simply has not happened. That does not mean that it cannot happen on Wednesday night though. My other concern is actually with Bylsma at this point. I love the guy, and think he should win the Coach of the Year based on the regular season performance. However, I am discouraged by the lack of changes in the lineup to try and get something going here. The Lightning are all over the front of the cage, as the Pens only have one defenseman in the lineup who can regularly make the opposition pay the price for being in the blue paint. Niskanen and Lovejoy are softer than the contents of a 90 year old man's pants for Christ's sake. Why not let Engelland have a go with Lovejoy? You won a lot of games with that combination, and he just might hit someone in front of the net.....on purpose. I also cannot understand how you keep essentially the same lineup up front. The power play is 1 for 29! It feels like my kids were in diapers the last time I felt good about the Penguins even getting a power play. The only two power play goals I remember lately had Eric Tangradi camped in front of the net. Hey, I think Chris Connor did an admirable job playing an energy game for much of the latter half of the season, especially since he is too small to ride the JackRabbit at Kennywood. And yes, he scored a garbage goal late on Saturday, when the only people who still cared were the CEC employees who wanted the game to end so they could go the fuck home. But do we really think the series will hinge on this guy so much so that we cannot try to see if the net front precense of Tangradi could generate, uh you know, one of those, ummmm, oh yeah, power play goals?? Come on Disco, when you cannot score more than 2 goals, and your PP is an abortion, do you really think we cannot risk making a lineup change? Finally, the guys they count on to come up big, have come up SMALL. To win a series you need your best players to be the best players, and the Penguins have not gotten that consistently from the likes of Kuntiz, Letang, Fleury, Martin, Neal, all of whom I love. And Kovalev, whenever this run ends, I will be ther to make sure that your pasty white lazy ass gets on the plane and gets the hell out of town! Sounds impossible, right? Feels a bit too much like the feeling going into Game 7 last year against Montreal, and we all know how that turned out...............maybe the Penguins have finally been worn down by playing playoff type games since January, and this is inevitable............Despite all of the above, I expect the Penguins to do what they have done all year when their backs were to the wall. They will prove all of the experts, who cannot stop fellating Tampa since Saturday, wrong by winning Game 7 on CEC ice for us all to savor. I am going to invoke some of my 2009 mojo with Metallica's Broken Beat and Scarred.......Pens die Hard! Keep the Faith Baby!

This series is so strange that it brought a baseball reference to my mind?

My friends know that it would take quite a lot to get me to think anything baseball. The Nuttings taking advantage of the league and the city of Pittsburgh while lining their own pockets with gold has killed ANY sense of interest or loyalty I have to the local ball club, and I am just not cut out to root long term for another city's team. But, for the first time in probably a decade, a situation made me recall my former interest in America's past time. As I read a lot of the post mortems of yesterday's debacle at the Consol Energy Center, and wrote my own post noting the fact that the Lightning have beaten Pittsburgh 13-3 in their two wins, and also noting how much more success they have had scoring on the power play (8-1), and thinking of their general advantage in offensive firepower, it conjured up memories of another Pittsburgh series that wound up in favor of the good guys. The 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates played a loaded up Yankees team in the 1960 World Series. The series took place between 10/5 and 10/13 1960, and the Pirates won in 7 games, thanks to Bill Mareroski's 9th inning home run in Game 7 to win 10-9. In that series, the Yanks outscored your Battling Buccos 55-27, outhit them 91-60, outbatted them .338 to .256, and out homered them 10 to 4, with 3 of the Pirates' home runs coming in the decisive Game 7. The Pirates three losses were 16-3, 10-0, and 12-0, while their 4 wins came as hard fought one or two run victories, short of one 5-2 win. Does this sound similar to the 8-2 and 5-1 lossses where the Penguins looked overwhelmed, while 2 of their 3 wins thus far have been nailbiting one goal affairs, one coming in double overtime? And ironically their other win came by the same 3 point margin, 3-0 in Game One, as the Pirates 5-2 win against the Yankees. Yes, it means NOTHING in the overall scheme of things other than the fact there is a frame of reference involving another local team winning a strange series by pecking away in their 4 victories, while getting blown out in their 3 losses. Guess what, they were still the Champs when the smoke cleared, and Bill Mazeroski's home run is one of the more famous moments in Pittsburgh sports history. I hope this series never becomes that dramatic, but food for thought folks.......and the bad news for those who cannot take drama..........Game 6 of that World Series was the 12-0 drubbing at the hands of those Yankees. Okay, the earth will go back to spining on its axis, and I can assure you that you will never, ever see me mention baseball again on this blog, but those mornings as a young kid drinking my orange juice out of the Arby's World Series glass collection actually resulted in some reference 35 plus years later! I cannot claim to remember the exact scores as a result of those mornings marvelling at the huge losses, but I did remember most of the rest from them. Two quick thoughts, Engellend for Niskanen and Tangradi for Connor...First, Engelland may make it a little less comfortable to stand in front of the Penguins net creating screens, and looking for rebounds.......and with regard to ET, well he was in front of the opposing goaltender for each of the last two RARE PP goals by the Penguins.....put Kunitz on the top unit in place of Staal, and Tangradi on unit two in place of Kunitz.......... Go Pens!

Vomit time

Hey, lose 12-1 or 1-0 it is still only one loss, and the Penguins still lead the series 3-2. I still expect the Penguins to win the series in 6 games by defeating the Lightning on Monday in Tampa. That said, it would be a bit like whistling past the graveyard to not be concerned about the firepower of the Lightning exposing the Penguins penalty kill, and the up and down play of team MVP Marc Andre Fleury. I do think I saw an APB out on Jordan Staal as well. Today's vomit was a lack luster team event, from poor decision making, to an inability to clear the front of the net, to an inability to finish on quality chances, to Marc Andre Fleury for the second time in three games surrendering soul crushing goals with alarming regularity. I remember local pundits asking for this matchup as they felt that the matchup between Fleury and the 41 year old Roloson greatly favored the Penguins. Well, Fleury has played very well in 3 games, and he has played like shit in 2. After five games, Fleury has .903 save percentage for 10th place out of playoff goaltenders, and Roloson has a stellar .942 for second. With regard to GAA, Fleury has a 2.50 for a mediocre 8th, while Roloson is at 2.06 for second again. Clearly, the goaltender matchup has not favored the Penguins as anticipated. I hope that true to form, Fleury bounces back Monday night, and the Penguins steal this series, and hope for the return of Crosby to stimulate some offense, and for the return of Cooke to give the horrid PK some swagger back. On that note, the Tampa power play was 4 for 7 today........yeah, 4 for fucking 7 against the regular season's number on power play unit. They are now 8 for 22, which is about as dominant as a team can hope to be at the pro level. And again, the power play was 0 for 6 for Pittsburgh, making it 1 for about 19 I think? Whatever it is, it is horrific. The Lightning have beaten the Penguins by a combined 13-3 in the last two games in Pittsburgh. I will say that I cannot wait until they pack KovaDouche's bags at the end of the season. Madden started this playoff series saying we will be begging Shero to sign Kovy for next year. I am begging for a hall pass to blow the lazy Russian slug's brains out. I don't want to spend too much more time hammering on the Penguins today, but it is alarming how quickly they seem to collapse when they fall behind right now. Today's 6 goal loss was the largest margin of defeat on home ice in the Penguins post season history. Today's loss makes the Dan Bylsma coached Penguins 0 -5 in potential series clinching games on home ice. Rupps goal today was his first playoff goal since his game winning goal in Game 7 of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals as a member of the New Jersey Devils! Okey, it is time to bounce back and end this mess on Monday night in Tampa boys.

NHL Feature

Evan Neel of NHL Studios came to the house last Saturday, spent a few hours looking at our collection, and this piece went on NHL.com as a result. It is possible that other parts including some player stories will make it on in later features, and this is supposed to air on the NHL network this week. Thanks again Evan!

1988-1989 Pittsburgh Penguins

Brings back some memories!!

Let's Do This!

Cool Video of the WBS Penguins......after fallling behind 2-0 in the opening round of the Calder Cup playoffs, they have tied the series at 2-2

James Neal - History Will Be Made 4/20/11

NHL Playoffs - Andrew Ference After His Goal (April 21 2011)

Though I agree with the sentiment towards Habs fans, a pro athlete cannot do this.

Who are They/Asham and Kennedy

At times throughout the season, I have tried to put a little background out there on different Penguins players, and even included Ray Shero and Dan Bylsma. I thought it might be a good time to do something along those lines on two of the most important and productive Penguins players this post season, Arron Asham and Tyler Kennedy.

First, Arron Asham, a guy I taunted up close and personal for three years while he was with the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers. I called him a lot of things, but Ass Hammer seemed to bother him quite a bit. On several occasions he was willing to give it back to me pretty good as well. After watching him play a prominent role for the Flyers in their deep run to the Finals last year, I gained a new found respect for the Ass Hammer and was thrilled when he signed here this summer as a UFA for 700K. Asham is a 5'11" 210 winger with a right handed shot. He was was born on 4/13/78 in Manitoba CA, and is considered a Metis Canadien. The Metis are an aboriginal people who are a mix of Indian and Caucasian, with a minimum of 25% indian according to a canadien dictionary. Asham was drafted 71st overall in the 1996 entry draft by the Montreal Canadiens. He made his NHL debut in the 1998-99 season for the Habs. After four years there, he was traded to the New York Scavengers, er Islanders on 6/22/02 with a 2002 5th round pick for Mariusz Crerkawski. In his first season with the Scavengers, 2002-03, Asham had his most productive regular season with 15 goals and 19 assists. On 8/7/07 he signed a one year deal with the New Jersey Devils. After one year there, he signed a two year deal with Philadelphia citiing his fit within their style as the main reason for his interest. In the 2010 playoffs Asham logged solid minutes, playing physical and chipping in 4 goals for the Flyers as they advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals before losing to the Blackhawks. On 8/20/10, he signed a one year deal with Pittsburgh for 700K, citing his desire to be on a team with a real chance to win the Cup. Asham's 2010-11 regular season was disappointing, as he never seemed healthy. He played in 44 games, netting 5 goals, and 6 assists along with 46 PIMs. He just never had the impact that was expected when signed here. Fast forward to the post season, and Asham has been EVERYTHING and more that was expected of him, as he leads the Penguins in scoring, with 3 goals and an assist, to go along with solid forechecking and physical grind it out play. I am glad to see Asham deliver in the post season, and I hope he has much more success, well into June! Asham has 3 children, including son Dexter, and two daughters, Azilyn and Oceane. He has played in 692 regular season games, netting 87 goals and 103 assists for 190 total points. He has played to a minus 34 in the regular season, but has 9 game winning goals and a shooting percentage of 10.9%. He has also amassed 864 PIM's and is not afraid at all to drop the gloves. Asham has fought teammate Mike Rupp on several occasions. In the post season, Asham has played in 56 games, netting 9 goals, 8 assists, and 17 total points, while playing to a plus 5 and netting one game winning goal. His shooting percentage in the post season climbs to 13.8%. Asham's gritty play, and productive stick have made him a key element to the grind it out 2011 post season Penguins, who must play that style without both Crosby and Malkin.

TYLER KENNEDY-Tyler Kennedy is a home grown Penguins prospect who was born in Ontario, CA on 7/15/86. He is a 5'11" 183 pound winger known for his speed, energy and work ethic. Kennedy was drafted in the 2004 NHL entry draft in the 4th round, 99th overall by the Penguins. He played two seasons in the OHL for Sault Ste. Marie, then for the Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins of the AHL. Kennedy made his NHL debut with Pittsburgh on 10/27/07 against the Montreal Canadiens, and got his first NHL goal on 11/3/07 against the Scavengers of Long Island. He was picked to play in the NHL's Young Star's game in 2008, along with teamnate Kris Letang, but could not play due to mononucleosis. Kennedy became a popular figure amongst Penguins fans due to his high energy style, netting 10 goals as a rookie, then 15 in the 2008-09 campaign. During the 09 Stanley Cup Finals, Kennedy was a factor offensively, scoring a goal in Game 4 against the Wings, and the game winner in Game 6, sending the Penguins on to Detroit where they won the Stanley Cup. Much was expected of Kennedy as we entered the 2009-10 campaign, but he fell back a bit during the regular season, netting 13 goals, and he had a horrible post season, playing in ten games without registering a single goal or assist, and playing to a minus 6. As a result, many fans thought, and even hoped that TK would not make the Penguins roster out of camp due to a highly competitive group of forwards. Well, he did make the team, and he will go down in history netting the first Penguins goal ever at the new Consol Energy Center in a 3-2 loss to cross state rivals Philadelphia. Kennedy started this season slowly, but earned back his respect and more, as TK stepped up BIG in the absence of the Penguins star power, netting career highs in all offensive categories. Kennedy finished the reuglar season with 21 goals and 24 assists, and a plus one rating. His goal and point totals were career highs. Kennedy had 7 goals in the first four months of the season, but added 14 more from February on. He, Fleury, and Chris Kunitz carried this team down their strong stretch run, along with their defense corps. He has continued his hot hand in the post season, scoring two goals in the first four games of the playoffs. So now, Mr. Kennedy, who for much of the past season and a half looked like a man who was playig out his string in Pittsburgh has become one of the biggest priorities for Pittsburgh to retain in the offseason, and more importantly, a central figure in this inexplicable March of the Penguins!

Kennedy has now played in 266 career regular season games, netting 59 goals and 65 assists for 124 total points and a +28 overall. TK shoots a lot, but his percentage of 8.6% is not great. He does however have 13 game winning goals to his credit during the regular season. TK has also played in 58 post season games, netting 7 goals(the Pens have never lost a post season game in which TK scores a goal), and 8 assists. As noted he got the game winning goal in the 2009 Finals, Game 6, one of 4 post season game winners Kennedy has netted in his career.

I would like to extend my congratulations to both Penguins players, and I hope they both have continued success through this post season, and remain Penguins into the future! GO PENS!!

Time for some Killer Instinct

Some notes to preview the game for Saturday. I am disappointed in the afternoon start. Not only would I personally prefer all day to get primed up for this event, the Penguins have not done well in early games the past two seasons. This is a trend I hope they change on Saturday. To counter that, it is also true that they have not lost any recent playoff series in which they won Game 4. Some other notes from the past game. The Penguins penalty kill rebounded from a couple of poor games to shut the Lightning power play down at 0 for 4. In addition, their anemic power play chipped in a goal by Tyler Kennedy, his 7th in 58 playoff games, and 2nd game in a row in this series in which he scored. Let's hope that TK finds the back of the net Saturday, as the Penguins have nver lost any of the 7 playoff games in which Kennedy has scored a goal. Nobody has stepped up more down the stretch and in the post season thus far than Mr. Kennedy. Marc Andre Fleury currently has a strong .923 save percentage in this series, something the Penguins will need to see continue to close out this team. They have also blocked 58 shots. Arron Asham who has 3 goals and an assist to lead all Penguins with 4 playoff points is 4th in the whole league in playoff goals, 5th in the league in +/-, and 13 overall in points. Not bad for a guy on the 4th line! Also interesting is the fact that the Penguins are winning the series despite losing the special teams battle. The Lightning have scored 4 power play goals, while the Penguins only have one. However, the Pens have been dominant 5 on 5, outscoring Tampa 8-3 at even strength. A big part of that factro is the defensive corps. The Penguins defense has been solid other than their game 2 meltdown, with the following stat line:

Letang 3 assists and +3

Orpik 3 assists and +2

Michalek 1 assist and +2

Martin 2 assists and +2

Lovejoy 2 assists and even

Niskanen o assists and -1

It is coming out now that James Neal has an undisclosed injury and was close to not playing in game 4 at all, making his double OT game winning goal all the more impressive. Time to finish the job on Saturday guys. Fleury, the defense, and the 4th line have carried the load for the Pens thus far. In a potentially deciding game 5 at home, it would be nice to see guys like Jordan Staal, Alex Kovalev, and Mark Letestu fiind the net. If not, maybe Kennedy and Asham can keep their hot hands, and Neal can go on a streak. On that note, Kunitz returns to the lineup Saturday, meaning one of the forwards will have to sit. I like the presence Tangradi added in front of the net, as well as his size. He played a good game the other night, setting the screen that led to the Kennedy goal, collecting 5 hits and looking right at home on the big stage. That said, Connor has been a big part of the Dupuis, Talbot, Connor line, and they have been one of the better lines for the Pens. I assume the Big Dog will sit, not Connor, but I could live it with either way. Finally, with the Penguins winning the series 3-1, this is not likely to happen, but I would not mind seeing Deryk Engelland get some time as opposed to Niskanen. I like the edge to his game, and he has a sneaky shot from the point. I think Niskanen's skating will keep him in the lineup though. Let s Go Pens!!!

James Neal OT Game Winner (4/20/11) [HD]

Great victory, great shot, and man am I happy for this kid.......his efforts FINALLY pay off with a goal! Well deserved.

You Give Hockey A Bad Name (Free MP3 and Lyrics)

You Give Hockey A Bad Name (Free MP3 and Lyrics)

Mike Rupp vs. Arron Asham

Watching Rupp and Asham flourish together this post season on the 4th line for the Penguins made me recall their previous relationship! Here are a few videos where these guys show their love for each other. Watch these and then go back and watch them rolling on the ice together after Rupp set up Asham in Game 3. One of the other things I love about hockey. Keep on rolling Rupper and Asshammer!!

Arron Asham vs. Mike Rupp

Rupp v Asham

Arron Asham vs Michael Rupp Jan 15, 2003

Rupp v Asham

JAMES NEAL WINS IT IN DOUBLE OT

The Penguins take a commanding 3-1 series lead, with a dramatic double OT win in Tampa. The first goal of the night was scored by, who else? Tyler Kennedy on what??????? A power play??!! Tangradi provided a nice screen, and TK buries a wicked wrister, 1-0 Pens! Kennedy now has 2 goals in last two playoff games, and the Penguins have never lost a post season game in which Tyler Kennedy scores a goal. After dominating 5 on 5 play all series, and having their lunch handed to them on special teams, the Pens break the ice on the power play. I loved to see Tangradi get to the cage, and Kennedy just get the puck on the cage. Arron Asham continues his hot play with his third goal in four games, to get the Penguins up 2-0! Has Asham been money or what? I love seeing this guy get rewarded for his work ethic at this point in the season. Where would this team be without the fourth line in general, and Asham in particular? Martin St. Louis scores again to make it 2-1, and Bergenheim ties it late in the 3rd. After a scoreless first OT, the REAL DEAL JAMES FUCKN NEAL buries a shot off of a nifty pass by Staal to win this game for the Pens in double OT!! James Neal has done a lot of the little things like backchecking, hitting, winning puck battles in the corner, but it was getting frustrating to see him struggle so much to put the puck in the net. Well, he saved it for a BIG moment, and finally got rewarded for his hard work! Fleury was stellar again in net, and overall the Penguins played a great defensive game. The Penguins top 2 defensive pairings of Orpik/Letang and Martin/Michalek were unreal tonight, shutting the potent Tampa offense out on their watch. Both goals came with Niskanen and Lovejoy on the ice. Also, the PK rebounded killing all 4 penalties tonight. The Big Dog ET, did not look out of place tonight either. Remember, this gritty team was also missing Chris Kunitz tonight on top of Cooke, Crosby, Malkin.............. Time to step on their necks Saturday at the CEC boys!

Chris Kunitz elbow on Simon Gagne

best I could find right now

Downie crushes Lovejoy while Talbot scores! (Available in 720p)

Thanks Downie Syndrome! Anyway, repeat offender, definitely left his feet to deliver a hit high to Lovejoy..........

Penguins win 3-2 to take 2-1 series lead

In a tight checking physical prototypical playoff game, the Penguins go into Tampa Bay for Game 3 and leave with a hard fought 3-2 victory. All things considered, the numbers were in their favor. First off, Marc Andre Fleury is now 12-4 in games following a loss in ths post season since 2008. This road win adds to the Penguins league leading road wins in the playoffs since 2008, pushing them to their 17th road victory. The Penguins are now 6-2 in their last 8 road playoff games, and finally they are now 10-1 in Game 3's since 2008. Some other thoughts from this game. When the Penguins sigend Arron Asham this summer as a free agent, I was thrilled to see him come here as I had been very impressed with him during the Flyers run to the Finals last season. After a regular season marred by injury and inconsistent play, Asham has been the most productive Penguin through 3 playoff games, with 2 goals and an assist. In both victories, Asham followed up a Penguins goal with quick strike second goals. He has been a smart physical presence as well. So far, Ash is as advertised in the post season gaining his 6th point (4G and 2A) in his past 10 playoff games. I cannot fail to mention the great play made by Mike Rupp to set up the goal by Asham, first playing the puck off the wall to himself to gain the zone, and then sliding a pass under the sliding Pavel Kubina for Asham to bury to make it 2-0. On that note, the Penguins first goal was set up after Lovejoy took a nasty charging call from Downie to get the puck up ice, for Max Talbot to bury behind Roloson on a delayed penalty. It will be interesting to see what Dumb and Dumber's Kangaroo Court has to say about that hit by Downie and the hit by Kunitz to the head of Gagne. Tampa made it 2-1 late in the first period, after a horrible call on Kovalev for goaltender interfernce, despite the fact that Kovalev had obviously been cross checked into Roloson. After a scoreless 2nd period, the Penguins carried a one goal lead into the third period. Early in the third period, after a Paul Martin penalty, Marty St. Louis cashes in AGAIN on the power play to tie the game at 2-2. The bad feelings that generated did not last long, as 31 seconds later Tyler Kennedy responds with a big time goal, the eventual game winner to make it 3-2. I LOVE how the Penguins responded tonight when they had to take a big win and a 2-1 series lead. Some other random thoughts: Fleury, as he usually does responded with a big game after a rather poor one in Game 2, to take the number 3 star with 25 saves, and a .926 save percentage; Kris Letang responded from a rather brutal game two to take the number one star by logging 24:22 of ice time, recording 2 assists, a +1 and 5 shots on goal; The Penguins top 4 defense in general was stellar tonight; Tyler Kennedy continues to be a big time player for the Penguins in the absence of their big guns; The first line had another game where it offered nothing in the way of points and I cannot keep talking about the other things Neal does; The Penguins PK misses Matt Cooke, as it has allowed the Tampa power play to go 4 for 11 thus far in the series; on that note, if you would have told me that after 3 games, the Penguins would be 0 for 15 on the power play, and that Tampa would be 4 for 11, I would not think we had a series lead; Similarly, if you would have said that our top 3 lines would combine for 3 goals in the first 3 games, I would think we were behind in the series; the good news is that Talbot, Adams, and Asham have provided great secondary scoring, the bad news is that guys like Staal, Neal, and Kovalev need to do more;Orpik and Asham lead this team in scoring with 3 points a piece, go figure; Finally, should the Penguins get out of this round and Crosby comes back, how many more options would they have up front by adding Matt Cooke and Sidney Crosby to the mix? Time for this team to activate its killer instinct, and put a stranglehold on the Lightning Wednesday night. How nice would it be to come back here Saturday night with a chance to close out a series on home ice? Go Pens!!

Discipline and Power Play will be big factors tomorrow night

With the Penguins power play 0 for 13 in this series, and 6 for their past 79 it is time to do something different to make this thing work. First, the Penguins are not able to win the battles down low for the pucks with Kovalev playing there, and Letang has been awful on the point for quite some time now. So, to me, I would move Kovalev to center point, and introduce Chris Kunitz down low to win some puck battles and get some pucks to the front of the net. On that note, it is time to remove Jordan Staal from the number one unit, and replace him for a game with Mike Rupp. Staal is a big body, but he has not played the power play as if he wants anything to do with the net front banging we need to get traffic in front of Roloson. Rupp will do that. The power play should not be this complicated. If the Lightning are stacking the blue line with five players, then get the puck behind them, but have someone like Kunitz, not Kovalev down low to fight for it and GET it. Have Rupp and Neal banging the front of the cage, and tell Kovy and Michalek to get pucks low and to the net. Nothing fancy there, get the puck behind the defense, win the battles to get it, and get it to the net with TRAFFIC! By the way, it may be time to realize that staying out of the box will also help their cause a lot. And it is also time for big time players like Staal, Letang, Neal, Kunitz, Martin to deliver some scoring. Finally, when Fleury has his act together, you rarely see two soft games in a row, so tomorrow night will tell a lot about our Team MVP and his state of mind. Since the 2008 playoffs, Fleury is 11-4 in games following a postseason loss. The Pens have been strong on the road this season, so I feel good about it! Time to send the message now boys.

Now that sucked

That was a horrible playoff showing by the Penguins. I can't think of much good to say. They took dumb penalties, their PK sucked, their power play is so horrible it is beyond comment, and Marc Andre Fleury who has carried the team, totally sucked tonight as well. He let in 2 goals on the first 3 shots, then after the Pens got on the board, they had a stretch late in the second period where they had totallly taken control. Then Fleury let in a baby soft goal on a late period power play to restore a three goal lead for Tampa, and it was lights out. Fleury was not without company tonight. Paul Martin was garbage tonight, and I cannot tell if Letang was hung over, or still drunk. Martin will not play two bad games in a row, but Letang, I am not sure about. The Penguins had scoring chances, but either missed the net, or could not finish. Staal missed some solid chances, as did James Neal. I told you after the first game that splitting the road games would be the objective of Tampa, and that has now been accomplished. Now the pressure falls on Pittsburgh to do at least that in Tampa. I think that they will, and that Fleury will rebound from this awful game. But, as noted earlier you have to remember that in a playoff series there are many peaks and valleys. After the 3-0 shut out some here were planning the parade, and now after a 5-1 loss they are planning to jump off a bridge. This series is and always was going to be a 6 or 7 game set. I still like the Pens in six, but their special teams need to step it up. The power play is a god awful 0 for 13 in the series, and gave up a rare short handed goal to Tampa, albeit into an empty net. The penalty kill has allowed two Tampa power play goals in 7 tries, and that will not work for the Pens if they hope to advance. I have faith in the leadership core of the is team, and I think you will see a different team Monday night. Now it is time for a short memory, lick your wounds, and go get a pound of flesh, or even better, two, in Tampa next week. Go Pens!!

NHL: Penguins vs Lightning Game 1 4/13/11

Watch from about the 1:38 mark for the next minute or so if you want to see what the Real Deal can do for a team. He made Kovalev's laziness a plus, as he sets him up for the game opening goal! Also, Asham showed what I loved about his post season punch with a nice goal to break the will of the Lightning last night. Playoff hockey at its best......but as much as I loved the game, those of you who think this will be easy, might want to recall the 6-3 beating the Pens gave Montreal on home ice to open round 2 of last year's playoffs. People were laughing at the Caps, and mocking Halak. We all know how that turned out. It is a good start, but it is one win. Taking game two tomorrow night would go a long way towards making this a winning series! GO PENS!!!

Orpik oblitirates Stamkos in Game 1 (Available in 720p)

Pens win playoff opener 3-0

Tonight was the first playoff game in the history of the Consol Energy Center, and boy what a game! The Penguins played a smart, physical game from the drop of the puck, with Brooks Orpik setting the tone early drilling Steven Stamkos in the corner. The Penguins were throwing the body around, shooting the puck, and NOT taking penalties........despite going 0 for 6 on the power play, the Penguins score two goals in under a minute midway through the third period, and add an empty netter late to take a 3-0 victory. The first goal highlighted a lot of the skills, strength and work ethic of James Neal. Neal rushed the puck into the zone, got a shot off, then outmuscled the Tampa defense behind the net to set up Mark Letestu with a point blank shot. Roloson makes the save, the puck goes behind the net, Neal again wins the battle behind the net, walks out from behind the cage, gets a shot off that gets blocked. After this, he rotates to the other side and high, and after a great play by Martin, Neal finds Kovalev in front of the net, and Kovalev buries the puck. That was a sequence that really let you know what all Neal brings to the table. Then before, the goal announcements can be made, Arron Asham rushes the puck, fakes a shot, comes out from behind the net, and on a second shot, buries the puck behind Roloson to send the crowd into a frenzy. With under a minute left, Chris Kunitz gets the insurance goal into an empty net. So, one down, and fifteen to go! Some things to take away from tonight's game:

The Penguins do not win this game if Fleury does not stand on his head, particularly early in the game in this 32 save shutout effort;

Brooks Orpik was a monster, laying bodies out all over the ice, and adding two assists;

It was great to see Kovalev get on the board, even if it was partially the result of him getting up VERY lazily after he was tripped on the play by the net;

Dwayne Roloson was spectacular also, with 37 saves of his own;

Tampa flipped the script on Pittsburgh, by taking a lot of penalties;

This was Marc Andre Fleury's 5 playoff shutout of his career, making him 2nd to Tom Barrasso's 6;

Asham reminded us all of why the Pens went out and got him this offseason as his goal was reminiscent of his stellar play for the Flyers in their post season run;

This was Pittsburgh's 38th playoff win since 2008, most in the NHL;

Dan Bylsma surpassed the legendary Scotty Bowman for most playoff wins as head coach of the Penguins with 24;

When James Neal starts finding the net, look out!

For those Tampa fans whining about the no call on the Martin St. Louis "high stick" no call, wake the fuck up! First off, he is two feet tall, so how high is your stick to catch his face? Second, look at the play, as mini mouse was on the god damn ice, his face maybe six inches from the surface, and the play was inadvertant. The no call on Kubina tripping Kovalev, now that was a joke, but justice was served;

The Consol was rocking tonight, and after the first 14 minutes or so of the game, the Penguins really had the Lightning on their heels with their physical play and tenacious forecheck. See you Friday night.

Part 7 // Pittsburgh Penguins Stanley Cup DVD

Against the Odds - Part 7

give me the brandy!!

"One from the Heart" 1990-1991 Stanley Cup Champions PIttsburgh Penguins...

PART 1/3: Penguins Win Cup; Fleury Save; Last Seconds; Handshakes; Cup P...

I have to experience this at least ONE more time please!!

Tyler Kennedy Tic Tac Toe Goal vs DET (SCF Game #4) [Versus Feed]

another sweet memory right in front of us!!

Jordan Staal Goal vs Detroit (SCF Game #6 - 6/9/09)

another unforgettable moment!!

Jordan Staal Sweet SHG vs Detroit (SCF Game #4)

right in front of us!!

Penguins Vs Red Wings 6/02/08 Game winning goal 3-OT Game 5

Evgeni Malkin HAT TRICK!!!!! In Playoffs against Hurricanes

some amazing goals!!

Sidney Crosby hat trick in Game 2 of the ECSF!

Fleury ROBS Ovechkin - Amazing save - Game 7 - 5/13/09

Max Talbot shushes Philadelphia Fans 4-25-09

Kasparaitis wins it

watch this celebration post game

Marian Hossa OT Game-Winning Goal Against the Rangers Game 5

Highlights: Penguins vs. Rangers: Game 1 2008 Playoffs

worth the watch

Lemieux's Goal against North Stars

Unreal

I hate you David Volek

I invented my own curse words after this shot.

Mario's game winning goal

Lisa and I were right behind that net, and i shit a golden brick!!!!!!!

Jaromir Jagr scores an incredible goal in Stanley cup final, 1992.

Still get a bit of wood watching this one fellas.

Pittsburgh Penguins - Frank Pietrangelo - The Save

Ron Hextall Chases Robbie Brown

funny....better view if you let it run

Click Click....................BOOM!

Here we are, a little over 24 hours before the puck drops to start the post season journey we hockey nuts love so much. All you need is a ticket to the dance, and who knows what can happen. Just ask last year's number one seeded Capitals who dominated during the year, then promptly lost in the opening round of the playoffs. That was so sad! Or how about asking the Flyers who seemed dead in the water, needing a last game shootout to even qualify for the postseason before making an exciting run to the finals then bowing to the Blackhawks. In between those moments, they managed to come back from a 3-1 deficit to the Bruins, then overcame a 0-3 deficit in Game Seven of that series to advance! That is what I love about the post season, you never know what to expect! As a Pens fan, I have seen a lot of ups and downs in the post season, and each year is a different beast. Did anyone who had witnessed the history of this team really expect the Penguins to win their first Cup in the 1991 playoffs? How about Pietrangelos's miraculous save known simply as "The Save" in the opening series against the Devils? Or in 1992, coming back from a 3-1 deficit to the Capitals in round one to eventually claim the second Cup in a row? Or the second series, when the Penguins overcame the nasty slash on Lemieux to beat the Rangers? I was in the stands with my wife for the Game One gem in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Blackhawks, and I know I will never forget the game tying goal where Jagr left four Hawks prone on the ice as he scored the game tying goal in a dizzying aray of skill and desire. The eruption of the fans in the Mellon Arena as Mario Lemieux drilled home a Larry Murphy rebound to cap an improbable come back will be forever etched in my brain! Lord Stanley, Lord Stanley, bring me the brandy!! How about the 1993 playoffs? That was the best Penguins team ever, and they rolled through the regular season, and I really thought the only thing left to decide was how many series they would sweep enroute to the third cup in a row! I remember sitting in stunned silence as David Volek shattered that dream with a long shot he blew by Tom Barrasso to end that run! How about Kaspar's series winning OT goal v the Sabres? Or the Conference Finals loss to the Florida Panthers of Scott Mellanby, Dave Lowery and those god damn rats in 1996. That loss cost the hockey world a Stanley Cup Finals matchup of Colorado v Pittsburgh and Forsberg/Sakic v Jagr/Lemieux. The mulitple over time game against the Flyers? How about Ron Hextall chasing Robbie Brown while he did his windmill in the 1988-89 playoffs? A series the Penguins lost in 7 games, despite having a 3-2 series lead. Or the glory of the 2007-08 playoff run? The Penguins were a team to be reckoned with, no doubt, but did anyone really see them blowing through the first three series opponents, Ottawa, New York and Philadelphia hardly breaking a sweat?? They set the tone by beating and beating up the Senators in Game one of the quarterfinals, blew through the Rangers, clinching with a dramatic OT goal by Hossa on home ice, and then the same with Philadelphia, embarrassing them on Mellon Arena ice to go back to the Finals for the first time since 1991-92!! Who will ever forget the Game 5 Finals drama, as the Penguins clung to their slim hopes before Talbot scored to tie the game late, and multiple overtimes later, Petr Sykora as promised ended it to force a Game 6. What a night! How about the pain of watching the hated Dead Things hoist the Cup on home ice after another gut wrenching one goal game, with the potential game tying goal rolling through the crease as time was winding down? Man, did that hurt!! Flash forward to 2008-09. After looking dead in the water, the Pens get red hot under Dan Bylsma, and roar back into the playoffs, but meet the vaunted Capitals in the first series. After the Pens fell behind in the series 2-0, another gem of a series unfolded. First, Kris Letang scores in OT in Game 3, or the Penguins go down 3-0 in the series, and add Sidney Crosby playing OUT OF HIS MIND to will the Penguins to a seven game victory against the DETESTED Capitals. How about Fleury's save to stone the Caveman early in Game 7, before the Pens opened the flood gates and took out the trash? How sweet was that? OR in the Flyers series, Game 6, after falling behind 3-0 to the Flyers in their building, and looking like a limping animal that was going to have to go another Game 7 to survive, Talbot incites Carcillo, blocks a lot of punches with his face, then shooooshes the insane throng at the Wachovia Center! The next thing you know the Pens roar back to tie it, they take the lead on a sweet Gonchar blast from the point, and clinch the series with a Crosby empty netter to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Did anyone else love the sight of Crosby's celebration in front of a suddenly stunned quiet mob who had taunted him unmercifully for years? You know you did!! How about the next series against Carolina. Simply put the Canes were the ones who hit a storm that they could not survive, and it was Hurricane Geno! Like Crosby's stamp on the series against the Capitals, Geno just ate the Canes alive with highlight reel goal after highlight reel goal as the Pens swept the Canes to put themselves in a position to cap off a season of unfinished business by avenging their Finals loss against the Wings. What a series this was? Despite falling behind to the Wings AGAIN 2-0 in the series, somehow there was a feeling that this year would be different, and man were we right. The Penguins promptly tied the series 2-2 on home ice, and there was talk of taking the next two games and celebrating a Cup on home ice for the first time in Penguins history! The Penguins lost both games in Detroit 3-1 before winning both games 3 and 4 in Pittsburgh. How about Staal's shorthanded goal to tie the game in game 4? Kennedy, Kunitz and Guerin teaming up for Kennedy's tic tac toe goal to end scoring at 4-2 in Game 4? Then the Wings came out and ate our lunch in a pivotal Game 5, winning 5-0, and suddenly all of the statistics about the team who wins that 5th game came out. The Wings looked like they had taken control of the series. The Penguins responded by winning a one goal game on home ice in Game six 2-1, punctuated by Rob Scuderi's goal mouth save that earned him the nickname, the Piece! And we were about to meet the Wings in the schoolyard for all the marbles on Friday night in Detroit according to Mike Lange. We marked the occasion by renting a room at Dave and Busters for staff, clients, and friends while we watched another gem unfold. Talbot's two goals staked the Pens to a 2-0 lead, until true to form, midway through the third the Wings closed to within one goal at 2-1. The feeling of my breath leaving my lungs as the big rebound was launched by Lidstrom into what appeared to be an open cage will forever haunt me, as much as the sight of Fleury diving to stop it will forever make me giddy!!! Watching that team celebrate that Cup victory after all of their hard work was a thing of beauty, and I had forgotten how much winning this silver chalice to me beats even the Super Bowl wins by a mile. Then, last year, we watched the Penguins have a nice season, enter the playoffs on a good note, but just a little off to most observers. They defeated Ottawa in the first series on a Game 6 OT goal by Pascal Dupuis to face the unlikely winners of a round one series against the Capitals, the Montreal Canadiens. When the series started with a route by the Penguins, I think we all thought that the Habs had left it on the ice to beat the Caps, and that we would punch our tickets to our third straight conference finals............poor defense and poor goaltending led to a seven game series loss culminating in a blowout on home ice in Game 7. I sat with a friend Jon Reynolds amongst the giddy Habs fans wondering what might have been had the Pens played a little defense or had gotten any kind of goaltending. Again, you never know what are going to get in the NHL post season.

Now to this year's post season party! What can you expect? The Penguins finished with 106 points despite the well chronicled losses of star power all year. They did it because of guys like Letestu, Kunitz and Kennedy stepping up and scoring some goals. They did it because Ray Shero went out and addressed their defensive deficiencies by adding shutdown pairing Zybenek Michalek and Paul Martin, giving the Penguins arguably the best top 4 in the league if you add in Brooks Orpik and Kris Letang. Most of all they did it because Marc Andre Fleury has posted Vezina and Hart worthy numbers since he found his game again on November 12th 2010, posting 35 wins during the span from that date to the end of the season. Not to mention Disco Dan keeping this team focused and hungry despite all of their adversity in an effort worthy of serious Jack Adams consideration. So this team finished third overall in the league in points and got the match up many said it wanted in the first round, in the Tampa Lightning. The feeling by many here is that WHEN the Penguins win the first round, they will be set up nicely for success deep into the playoffs as Sidney Crosby COULD be back for round two and Matt Cooke will be. NOT so FAST people. Tampa Bay is a very worthy opponent, who tied the season series 2-2 with Pittsburgh. Each team took both of its home games, which could make home ice advantage a factor in the series. The Bolts finished with 103 points, only 3 behind Pittsburgh, albeit they are in the weakest division in the conference. They have plenty of goal scoring with Martin St. Louis having 31 goals and 99 points, Steven Stamkos with 45 goals and 91 points to go along with snipers like Vinny LeCavalier, Simon Gagne, Ryan Malone, and Dominic Moore who finsished with 18 goals. This team had a power play in the top 6, clicking at 20.5%, and the Penguins take a lot of penalties, to the tune of 16.9 PIM/G v 11.0 PIM/G for the Bolts. Add to that the fact that the two players the Penguins brought in to address their offensive woes, James Neal and Alex Kovalev have not been very productive other than in the shootouts. So, despite the 106 points, is this team a playoff contender. Will they beat the Lightning in round one? I think that it is and that they will. First off the Penguins improved their goals against to 196 this year, down 39 goals from last season. They scored 228 goals which is down 21 from the prior year, but their differential improved from +14 to +32 year over year. A significant improvement. Tampa's goals against was 234 or 38 more than the Penguins, as they give up 2.85 goals per game to the Pens 2.39 or nearly half a goal per game more. With all of Tampa's firepower they only scored 13 more goals on the season than the Penguins and their differential was +7 v the Penguins +32. Despite the Penguins missing the firepower of Crosby and Malkin, they have four active players with 40 plus points, and solid secondary scoring. The Lightning's PK was 8th, killing penalties at a 83.8% rate, while the Penguins PK was first at 86.1%. Of note here, is that Pittsburgh scored 13 short handed goals while killing penalties and Tampa only scored one. Tampa also gave up 16 short handed goals against, while the Penguins gave up only 6. The Lightning appear vulnerable to momentum changing shorties, and the Penguins are good at getting them. That could have an impact. The Penguins achilles heal has been its power play, entering the playoffs at 25th in the league, and clicking at only 15.8%. Now, the number one PK unit of Pittsburgh has been a little off lately as it is missing Matt Cooke, and the power play has been a bit better with Michalek getting rubber on the net from the point. I just threw a lot of word vomit at you, but there is a point to this. Though I dont think it will be easy, I like the Penguins in six for this series. I think that to win the Penguins have to cut down on their penalties, and when they do take one, I think their PK unit will make enough plays to make a difference. On that same note, I think that the PP will do just enough to get us a handful of one goal wins against Tampa. The Pens top 4 defense and Fleury are the key to the series. They have to shut down the Bolts firepower and an occasional point from Letang and Michalek on the power play will be huge. Special teams in general will dictate a lot in this series. I like the grinders like Rupp, Talbot, Asham, Dupuis and Letestu to make a difference in this series for Pittsburgh. Kunitz, Staal, and Kennedy will have to continue to thrive and now would be good time for Neal and Kovalev to do their thing. The pride, poise, and work ethic of the Penguins will steal this series in a group of very close games(6), and then who knows...is this another year of spring time magic, or the second in a row of springtime heartbreak?.......GO PENS!!

Plum High School 2nd annual Pittsburgh Penguins lipdub

Pretty cool to watch.

Awesome story (grabbed from FP-Hartnell)

Awesome story (grabbed from FP-Hartnell)Sorry to all for posting all of this stuff....stuck on long call, and thought it would be good to grab this drivel and store it for my archives.

Mondesi's House: MEET A TRUE SUPERFAN: STEVE MAZEFSKY

Mondesi's House: MEET A TRUE SUPERFAN: STEVE MAZEFSKY: "If you're a Pens fans, you've probably seen or heard of Steve Mazefsky at some point over the years, whether you realize it or not. He's ..."

Mondesi's House: STEVE MAZEFSKY IS BACK

Mondesi's House: STEVE MAZEFSKY IS BACK: "A few weeks ago, I had the story of Pens Superfan Steve Mazefsky, his dizzying array of signed memorabilia, and a stash of customized 'jobbe..."

Pittsburgh Penguins Fan's Hockey Man Cave

Not bad, not bad.....but not a top entry my friend.........

Pens finish season with a win, ready for Tampa Bay

The Penguins end the season on a high note, wining their 8th of the final 10 games, and their 24th on the road, which ties a franchise record set up the '92-'93 Penguins, who won the Presidents Trophy. Their 106 points is the second most in franchise history, and ties them for third in the entire league, despite finishing 4th in the conference. This is due to division winners getting the top 3 seeds. Not bad for a team that did not have its top 3 forwards on the ice together for more than 4 periods for the season. The Penguins record for the season finished 49-25-8, and their 49 wins were most in the conference, ahead of Washington with 48, and Philadelphia with 47. Only President's Trophy winner Vancouver had more wins than Pittsburgh with 54. Given the number of man games missed by STAR players, if this does not get Dan Bylsma the Jack Adams Award, as Coach of the Year, something is wrong. The Penguins finished tied for the Division lead in points with Philadelphia, but the Flyers win the Divsion based on another example of NHL stupidity. Despite going to shootouts as a way to get a winner in every regular season game without lenghty overtime stints, the NHL decides to not count them as wins in ties situations for seeding. Don't get me wrong, the Flyers are deserving champions of the Atlantic basedon their better head to head record with the Penguins, and my congratulations to them for it. They probably had a better record in the division as well, so I am not disputing that this Flyers team deserves the title. I am simply stating that it may not have wound up that way, and to me, if you put in a method to determine a winner, than a win is a win. Do you discount games that you were behind all game, and sneak a win at the end? Anyway, the right team got the Atlantic, but this Penguins team with all of its adversity was tied for the third most points in the league, and that to me is worthy of high praise indeed. The Stanley Cup is what matters, but I can tell you that regardless of the post season outcome, this Penguins team will be one of my favorites in history. Anyway, after surrendering a 5 on 3 power play goal, the Penguins exploded in the second period for four goals. Tyler Kennedy, netted his 21st, a power play goal to tie the game. I liked seeing Eric Tangradi parked right in front of the goaltender! Pascal Dupuis, who has finished with 8 points in his last 10 games, gave the Penguins a lead they would never give up with his 17th goal of the season. On that note, Duper finishes with 17 goals, despite losing his centerman, struggling for a month and half, and getting almost no power play time. Add to that his four line versatility, and I hope they find a way to keep this guy. Also, he and Talbot seem to have some chemistry together, so I look forward to their playoff work together. Mike Rupp made it 3-1, on a weird play started by Godard who has scored points in consecutive games for the first time since 2005. Rupp has had 4 points including two goals in his past 2 games, heating up just in time for the playoffs. Could not happen to a nicer guy! Another guy I hope they bring back next season. Mark Letestu made it 4-1 on his 14th goal of the season, and the rout was on. After the Thrashers closed to 4-2 with just under 7 mintutes left in the game, Comrie gets his first goal of the season into an empty net to give us our final score of 5-2. Some of other thoughts from today's game. Ben Lovejoy had a big night with 3 assists, and he just got better and better as the season went on. The power play, though still not stellar has scored a goal in each of the past three games, thought the PK gave up two goals tonight. One was a 5 on 3, and the PK unit was without Staal, and Cooke, so I am not overly worried. They should finish the season as the number one PK unit in the league for the first time in franchise history. The oft maligned Tyler Kennedy, along with Chris Kunitz were the two most valuable Penguins after Fleury in the absence of the Penguins star power. TK finished the season with 21 goals and 45 points, factoring in on 9 of the past 13 power play goals this team has scored. He may have priced himself out of Pittsburgh, but I hope not. Kennedy wound up 5th on the team in scoring and 4th in goal scoring........did the invisible man Kovalev play today???...Did you know that since he shit the bed in October that Marc Andre Fleury has won 35 games, the most in that time frame, and posted a 2.16GAA and 9.25 save percentage....the Penguins were 41-17-7 in that stretch.....we may seen the last of Eric Godard in a Penguin uniform....and despite the fact that I agree that we need to put that money into retaining some of the other key veterans, Godard filled his role as well as it could be filled, always willing to defend his teammates.....I will be a Godard fan for the rest of his career....... Finally, Kris Letang and Max Talbot were the only two Penguins to have played in all 82 regular season games. So, one of the strangest and at times frustrating and at other times exhilirating seasons comes to a close. Would you have thought that the Penguins would have the third best record in the league when Fleury looked like a minor league goaltender in October? How about when Crosby was lost for the season, then Malkin? Or when they fielded a lineup with 7 of their 12 forwards being players from their AHL affiliate? Conversely, have you felt less sure of a deep playoff run from a team that finished so high in the league's standings? As always, the playoffs will tell the tale of the overall season, and they start in a matter of days. I would like to congratulate and thank this team for giving us all a season full of thrills despite what at times seemed like never ending doses of adversity. Their heart and battle level of this team is unbelievable, and I hope that they can convert that into a deep playoff run this spring. Thanks again Pens, and best of luck in the second season. We will be with you every step of the way.

PIX FROM THE CESSPOOL

Can someone remind this tool that games won by perennial cellar dwellars don't matter, that perms went out about 20 years, and that baths, well they are timeless. Also, looks like someone on the Islanders thought that Pascal Dupuis was Trevor Gilles' sister. Poor Pascal, good thing he had his girdle on tight! I love the videos with Islanders fans chanting to Penguins fans about their four Stanley Cups. That is about as relevant as the World Series victories for your Pittsburgh Pirates, a very viable comparison to this hapless franchise. Oh, and my apologies if I offended the Jersey Shore crowd with my pre-game post. As I got a real look at the Islanders fanbase, it would be an insult to those guidos from the out takes of Jersey Shore to be compared to these folks. And let us look forward to extracting the physical revenge we still owe these clowns early next season. For today, we actually root for this band of misfits, but never again. Here is to hoping Kansas City gets its franchise at the expense of these jokes.

Pittsburgh Penguins Stanley Cup tribute 2009

Thepensblog NYI Invasion, walking through some Islanders Fans

One well placed grenade would look really good about now. Wonder how ugly the punk in the skeleton mask is? I bet he is a bleeder.....too bad we did not find out for sure!

Steigerwald and Errey rip apart the New York Islanders

Pens clinch home ice with SO win

The Penguins clinched home ice advantage with a 4-3 shootout win against the Islanders on Shit Bay tonight. First, the good about tonight. The Penguins are guaranteed home ice advantage and at least a 4th place finish in the conference. In addition, they can still win the division on Sunday if Philadelphia would lose to the Islanders, and we would defeat Atlanta on Sunday. Mike Rupp was a beast all over the ice tonight. The Penguins broke a team record recording their 52nd point on the road this season. Zybnek Michalek scored his 5th goal in the past 14 games, a power play goal. Z looks like a threat on the point, which is necessary since somebody stole the real Kris Letang a couple of months ago. Tanger did notch his 100th career assist, and 50th point of the season tonight, but he looked horrible on many occasions was on the ice for all three Islanders goals, screening Fleury on the game tying goal, and getting hung out to dry on their second, leaving Blake Comeau alone in front of the cage. He whiffed on a couple of clearing attempts, and in general played like a liability much of the night. I get no joy from saying this, as Letang is one of my favorites, but his play of late is a concern. My other concern is just that though the Penguins are winning, they are struggling against bottom feeders, and ultimately winning in the shootout, as opposed to taking control of weaker teams. Out of the top teams in the east they have the least non-shootout wins, with 38, while teams like Philadelphia and Washington have 43. That aside, the Penguins can still take the Atlantic Division, which is no small accomplishment, I just worry about what they can do in the post season without bigger efforts from some of their key players.

Pens vs. Isles 4/8/11: Bury Gillies

Time to repay the favor?

I have spent a fair amount of time since the Pens-Islanders game thinking about the rematch tomorrow. In fact I had a wet dream about it. In my dream, Godard and Gilles fought, and on the way down to the ice, Godard's skate cut Gilles head off and I laughed so hard I pissed my pants. Now that was a WET dream! On the eve of the game, my thoughts have changed. If the Penguins beat the classless Islanders, and the Flyers lose in regulation to the Sabres, the Penguins go into Sunday in control of their own destiny in relation to winning the Atlantic Divsion title. That is far more important than slumming it with the trash on the island. Don't get me wrong, I have not suddenly become a peace loving liberal over night, I just agree with Mark Madden that the Penguins organization is far above the Islanders, and it is time to focus on a significant achievement, especially in light of the injuries this season. Winning the Atlantic with the issues faced this season would be a huge win for the Pens. Trust me, I am not saying that in the first Islanders-Pens game next season, that we should not remind them what happens when you kick the wrong dog, and I am not saying that Godard, Engelland, Asham, and Rupp should not ALL be in the lineup tomorrow night ready to punish any Islander who wants to cross the line, but the focus should be two points, the Atlantic title, and with that an increased chance that Disco Dan Bylsma takes home the Jack Adams Award as Coach of the Year that he so richly deserves. Retribution can wait, some of us have a LONG memory. Besides, the once proud Islanders are already a joke, I mean, consider this. Their owner (Charles Wang) has a name that is also slang for male genitalia, and would be far better at rolling sushi at Nakama than he has been at assembling a professional hockey team. In addition, GM Garth Snow, who could not even get Evgeni Nabokov to answer the phone to take a 7 figure job offer from him, was a sub mediocre goaltender who gave up the five hole more often than Paris Hilton does! Finally, they play their games in a dilapidated old building in a slum on the Island, "fill" the building with fewer fans than our Pirates, most of whom look like extras from the Jersey Shore. Come on, how much more can they be punished? They are a classic riches to rags story in every way you can think of.

Speaking of awards, there were a few significant awards given out to members of the Penguins organization this week. First, Coach John Hynes of the Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins was awarded the Louis AR Piehl Memorial Award as the AHL Coach of the Year. This award is voted on by the coaches and members of the hockey writing media of the 30 AHL cities. He is the first member of the Penguins organization to be awarded this honor. In addition, despite his best players spending much of the season in Pittsburgh due to the injuries on the Penguins, Hynes, in his first year as a professional head coach guided the WBS Penguins to the MacGregor Kilpatrick Award, the NHL equivalent of the President's Trophy as the team with the most points(113 with 3 games left). The WBS Penguins posted a 56-20-1 record to date, with the 56 wins being the 3rd highest EVER posted by ANY team in the 75 year history of the AHL. Considering that the team's top 2 defensemen from the prior year made the big club, and as many as11 forwards and the top 10 scorers spent much of the latter half of the season in Pittsburgh (140 games), that is a HUGE accomplishment, and speaks to the depth of the Penguins organization.

In addition to that, top Penguins prospect Simon Despres, of the St. John's Seadogs in the QMJHL was awarded the Emile "Butch" Bouchard Trophy as the best defenseman in the Q! This is the equivalent of the Norris Trophy in the NHL. Depres posted 41 points (13G and 28A) in 47 games, and posted a +29 during this season in the Q. A big, fast defensman, who posted nearly a point per game, while winning the award as the league's best defenseman is another player to be excited about becoming a prominent member of the Penguins in the very near future. One scouting report compares Simon to Paul Martin, and calls him a steady, reliable player who rarely makes a mistake, and one of the rare 19 year olds who dominate in this league. Simon is now eligible to play in the AHL, as he has turned 19, but will likely be tied up in the playoffs with the Sea Dogs. He led them to the Finals before they lost last season! Look for big #47 in the Black and Vegas Gold as early as next season, though some time in the AHL may not hurt either. All in all, both awards are a testament to the quality and depth of the Penguins, and a glimpe into the bright future of our flightless birds. Does god love me enough to let the Flyers lose in regulation, the Penguins smoke the Islanders while sustaining 0 new injuries in addition to "career" ending injuries to Trevor Gilles and John Tavares? I doubt it, but one can dream, can't they?