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Pens lose

No Crosby, no Malkin, no Fleury, no win.

The Pens beat Detroit 4-1

Chalk these two points up to the strong play of Marc Andre Fleury. He was stellar tonight, earning the number one star, deservedly so. Jordan Staal continued his strong play, and stepped up again in Crosby's absence scoring the first goal, and continuing his strong play down low. Chris Connor put home the first penalty shot goal for the Pens in five attempts this season. Chris Kunitz continued his hot play, putting home his 16th goal of the season. Matt Cooke finished things off by getting his ninth of the year into an empty net to secure the win. The Pens have now beaten three very good playoff bound teams in a row without Crosby in the lineup. Next up is a bad NJ Devils team, followed by Carolina and the Islanders. This is a stretch that the Penguins need to take advantage of to pile up some points, and hope that Crosby is ready to roll when they get back from the All-Star break.

Pens and Pins 2011

We again got to attend the annual Pens and Pins event to benefit Make A Wish last night. It is put together by a group of girlfriends and wives of the Penguins players, led by Brooks Orpiks girlfriend, Erin Lilly. Last year, we had the great pleasure of bowling with Matt Cooke, and if you go back to that post from last year, Cookie revealed himself to be a very thoughtful, friendly, family guy who was easy to talk to. This year, we got the opportunity to play the game with Pascal Dupuis and assistant coach Tony Granato. Duper could not have been any nicer, or any more fun to be around if he tried. Nor could coach Granato, who actually remembered who we were from a conversation last year about an incident I had with him in 1988, on the day I got engaged. It was very nice to have him actually know exactly who we were a year later, despite the fact that we mean nothing in the scheme of things in his world. Back to Dupuis......gladly gave much insight into different players, and their thoughts during the season....he, assistant coach Meloche, and Granato did confirm that they dislike the Capitals as much as I do.........but disagreed when I said that they have replaced the Flyers in my book at the top of the charts......Meloche says, "No, I have hated the Flyers for 40 years." Granato and Duper called it close, but still give the nod to the Flyers. Dupuis revealed that the cameras did not show Geno in the corner flipping him off as he entered the CEC and gave his now famous "Fuck you Geno" quote for 24/7. Dupuis also expressed a strong desire to remain a Penguin after this season's contract expired, and specifically mentioned the tremendous support that he and the rest of the team get in Pittsburgh. He has seen similar in Minnesota, but lived the opposite during his stint as an Atlanta Thrasher. He further noted that by and large the approach to the players is polite, positive and for the most part avoided when appropriate with local fans. Dupuis further noted that a big part of the team's success is the fact that all of them are nice guys, who play as a team, and truly like each other. Frankly, that is so evident when you attend one of these events, it almost goes without saying now. He also alluded to the fact that this has not always been the case for every team he has played for. He went out of his way to praise Jordan Staal as a down to earth guy, noting a conversation shortly after Staal signed his 4 year 16M contract during which Staal did not reference anything about houses or cars he could now buy, but how good it felt that he had the means to have a positive impact on his family and his community. Duper, then at my oldert daughter's request called her best friend at home(a huge Duper fan), and moved the girl to tears! Krista got Pascal to acknowledge attendance at the Lady Gaga show(due to his daughter), and his appreciation of her favorite artist Eminem. Alison found out that Pascal's daughter just started taking horse riding lessons, and missed an opportunity to take a shot at being her trainer! Truly a gentleman, and every bit as friendly and funny as 24/7 made him out to be. Thank you Pascal Dupuis for being so nice to the kids! Some other notables from last evening for me:

Despite being a possible Norris Trophy candidate, and having all the woman drool over him like I drool over pizza, Kris Letang is about as friendly, down to earth and polite a kid as one could meet. He bowled next to us, and got a ton of attention, but through it all acted just like a regular Joe. He did roll a ball behind Dupuis' feet as Dupuis backed up from rolling his ball that could have been an issue, but hey;

Kuntiz made all of our nights by knowing who we were and talking to many players, wives and friends about our "awesome Penguins room filled with jerseys, helmets, and sticks," and about our "crazy dog Gabbie";

Eric Godard is just one helluva nice guy, bowling next to us on the other side and taking some ribbing and giving it back all night long;

Arron Asham when asked if he remembered the guy who yelled filth at him every game in the tunnel as a Flyer, responded with "there was a lot of filth yelled at me, can you be more specific?" When told that I favored calling ASSHAMMER he busted out laughing and claimed to remember........I quickly noted my happiness with him being a Penguin, just in case he wanted to kick my ass!

Mike Comrie will no longer be the butt of my jokes.....had a very nice conversation with him about his injury, when it occurred, the disappointment based on how he clicked in the preseason with Malkin, his desire to get another shot next year as a Penguin, and yes my kids asked him what it was like to be married to Hilary Duff..........and he bantered back and forth with them on the subject for a bit......nice kid, done messing with him.......

Again, both Tyler Kennedy and Matt Cooke surprised us all by knowing who we were from the event last year, and asked questions to confirm that they were not just playing it up........very nice kids, and Kennedy remembering my youngest daughter actually brought a tear to her eye.....(she likes him just a little). They could not have been nicer and engaged us all in more than a little conversation about the twelve months since we last saw them. Malkin, Goligoski, Staal, Talbot, Fluery and Brent Johnson all spent time as just down to earth guys speaking to our group and anyone who approached them. Disco Dan, I want to make you, Asham, Godard, Cooke, Engelland, Adams, and Duper a fat ass steak, and shoot the shit with you over some Newcastles if I am ever that fortunate. To finish, I know that pro sport teams all do charity work, but I cannot imagine a group of guys who seem to be so SINCERE in their ENJOYMENT while doing such good for the kids and giving something back to the fans.....Professional athletes today sure have their detractors, and is some cases deservedly so, but in general the NHL and in particular the Pittsburgh Penguins have a lot to be proud of when they look at the players in their league.....Truly amazing guys, and so easy to support..............Thanks for another memorable time for my family and I. Oh, and before I forget, F the Red, come May........it is always DEAD.

WOW

Not much more to say than that.......Come on, admit it.....when the Steelers first fell down by a 21-7 score, you thought it was over............then they drive the ball, and you think okay, points here and we are back in it......then Suisham misses a relatively easy field goal, and you had to be thinking, uh-oh. Then you remembered that the Steelers got the ball to start the half, and a touchdown there puts them right back in it. Then, a drive that started with some promise, ended in a sack, and given the way the Ravens were in Ben's face, you HAD to think it was a GRIM situation. Even as a guy who is MUCH more mentally invested in the Penguins, it was tough to swallow. What ensued, was incredible! The Steelers defense rose to the occasion at this point, holding the Ravens to -4 yards for the quarter! In addition, they helped create three turnovers that allowed the Steelers to storm back to a 24-21 lead before ultimately winning the game 31-24. The pure violence and mayhem of that quarter was thrilling to watch! James Harrison, Lamar Woodley, Ryan Clark, Lawrence Timmons, Ziggy Hood, Brett Keisel, just downright nasty!! Ben Roehtlisberger will never be a guy that I will LIKE as a person, he just won't be, and I am not really buying into the kinder gentler Ben off the field persona he NEEDS to show. That aside, you really have to be blind to not give him his props ON the field. He is largely passed over when the talking heads discuss the great quarterbacks in the game, preferring the second coming(s) Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, then the second tier usually includes names like Eli Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Carson friggin Palmer, Matt Ryan, and even Joe Flacco! But folks, like him or not, Big Ben is now 9-2 in the playoffs! 9-2! The team has won two Super Bowls with him at the helm, and though he was not stellar in SB 40 by any means, he was instrumental in getting them there, and despite all of the praise heaped upon the defense, Roethlesberger led one of the most incredible fourth quarter drives to take SB 43 away from Arizona, and should have been the MVP. The Steelers are also about to appear in their 4th AFC Championship game in the past 7 years with Big Ben at the helm. These numbers eliminate any quarterback of this time from discussions with Roethlesberger other than Tom Brady, period. That said, another loss to New England in the AFC Championship game will put Brady light years ahead, but if the Steelers win, and then go on take their third ring of the Big Ben era, then it will be a whole other argument............Some other notes from yesterday's game:

The young core on this team is impressive as hell. Ziggy Hood looked like a number one pick yesterday, and his name was all over this win. Pouncey is just unreal for a rookie center, and truly could be in the talks for team MVP. Brown, Sanders, and Wallace are just amazing. We all knew what Wallace was after last year, but the emergence of Sanders and Brown made this stretch run to the division title and first round playoff victory possible. LaMarr Woodley and Lawrence Timmons are beasts. Mendenhall put one on the ground, and gained few yards yesterday, but when it counted, he was BIG. and what you do in big moments defines you....ask Houshmandzadeh and Boldin......the Steelers defense held this high powered offense to 126 yards on 53 plays!! Are you kidding me?.........resigning Ryan Clark looks kinda big this morning, eh? Mike Tomlin should get serious consideration for coach of the year this season. The offseason turmoil, combined with a decimated offensive line, and missing your first string quarterback for the first four games had most people thinking of another 9-7 year for the black and gold. Instead, they pull off a 12-4 run, and are one win away from a shot at the Stairway to Seven! The only negative I have to say about yesterday is the MENTAL state of the offensive line. Yes, they are a patchwork group, and they hung in against a tough defense despite giving up 6 sacks...........giving up six sacks and showing a total inability to establish the running game is a pretty big indictment even in a win. Ramon Foster stepping away from the Big Ben fumble allowing the Ravens to score their second touchdown was downright embarrassing....though, in fariness only 1 of the 22 professional athletes on field played that play until the whistle as they were taught since termite football. # 68 diving way late into the piles should have cost the Steelers their first touchdown, and put the Ravens in very favorable field position to attempt to tie the game late. The fact the referees missed the first call, and that the defense and TJ who dropped a first down catch should not allow big K off the hook. He could have been the goat of the century and Tomlin should make sure he is aware of how lucky he is........Other than that, the Steelers were downright impresssive in their tenacity, and they made the big plays........that usually puts you in the W column. Now, they are two wins away from 7th Heaven........WOW.

Pens get a gut check win 3-2 over the Bruins

The Penguins win back to back road games against quality opponents, extracting a measure of revenge from both. First, it is sometimes better to be lucky than good......Fleury played a good game tonight, but he had about 3 more pucks get behind him, but not over the line today.......Chris Kunitz scored today for his 15th goal of the season, well on his way to the 20+ mark we have all wanted to see from him. Dupuis also ended a long drought to get his ninth of the season, and even more impressive to me was Staal getting his second game winner in a row, and fifth point in two games to lead the Pens to a 3-2 victory. The Penguins penalty kill was great in killing off a phantom double minor assessed to Dupuis in the second period after Kampfer was hit and cut by Zdeno Chara's stick. The Penguins however, need to be concerned about how often they give up multiple goals in very short periods of time. They should not be BOGO's for chrissakes......

Despite hearing repeatedly that Malkin needs to step up in Crosby's absence, he remains very medicocre, BUT Staal seems to be stepping up into that role. If Staal and his line can remain offensively productive in Crosby's absence, and Malkin remains as largely unproductive as he has been between Kunitz and Dupuis, the Penguins have some interesting options in both the short term and the long term. First, this takes the "lack of world class wingers" excuse away from the Malkin ball soakers. Malkin is playing between the same wings as Crosby and is doing very little, and Staal is playing between Cooke and Kennedy, neither of whom are notable snipers, yet both Crosby and Staal have been infinitely more productive offensively, and both are without question, better at defense and faceoffs. For the short term, in my opinion, this presents Bylsma with an opportunity to really amp up the scoring options. If Staal's line can stay productive, then you can afford to put Malkin on the first line with Crosby and Kunitz, which should be incredibly tough to defend without becoming too dependent on that line. It would also allow him to put Dupuis on the third line with Letestu and Connor.......If Bylsma does not continue to outsmart himself by separating Connor and Letestu, the threesome I noted would be fast and tenacious with plenty of scoring punch for a third line.........Your fourth line can be Adams, Rupp, Asham/Talbot.............I think this would make the Penguins a very balanced and tough to defend against team. In the offseason, unless Malkin really turns it up a few notches, Staal showing that he can produce offensively gives the Pens the option to move 8.7M tied up in Malkin for the chance to pick up two offensive wingers, and add further balance to the team. Assuming Tangradi is ready,( he has 16G in the AHL) next season, adding two top flight wingers would give the Pens 4 top 6 six wingers to surround their top 2 centers, and plenty of 3rd and 4th line character players. Anyway, Staal has also shown a much more physical side to his play, and was compared favorably to Keith Primeau today. At any rate, a very nice win today, and every 2 points they can get with Crosby out will be big come April. One final note to put Crosby's season in perspective......despite missing the past 5 games, he leads the league in points by 7 points, and is still tied for the league lead in goals.

5-2 win for the Pens

Now that was a bit more like it. As bad as the last 3 minutes of the Bruins game felt, I thoroughly enjoyed this game. I am encouraged to see Jordan Staal break out with a 3 point night, and he played a strong game in all 3 zones to boot. He was only 43% on the faceoffs, but all in all, Staal was a major force, especially in establishing the net front prescence the Pens need. Kris Letang, now has 8 goals and 40 points, while playing to a +20 as he continues to establish himself as a premiere young defenseman in this league. He had a 3 point night, as did oft maligned defenseman Alex Goligoski. Goose has 9 goals, 26 points 4 game winning goals, and is also a +20, yet much of the fan base rides this guy. For my money, a guy putting up points like that in what is essentially his second year in terms of NHL games played can stay and continue to develop here! A 3 point night for him as well. Kunitz added his 14th goal of the season, and the Pens power play hit a 4 for 6 night......Yeah, you read that right! The penalty kill overtook Montreals for number one in the league, so you could say special teams were a factor in this game too. In general, the Pens played a simple, aggressive and physcial game and got the results they were looking for. Now, they need to string some of these together, and it better start Saturday against the team that has destroyed them late in the third each of the last two times they played. I was very encouraged by the game the Pens played tonight without Crosby, but then again they dismantled a very good Tampa team 8-1, then promptly shit the bed against both Minnesota and Boston. Time to get on a roll again folks. Finally, someone hopefully will end Subban's NHL career before he does the same with his dirty play. Enough teams have noticed, I would think his day will come.