Coltons MommasawhORR

Colton whORR!

I am not sure what I think of this team.......generally speaking, I am not overly impressed.... I see a second round exit this season and pray that I am wrong....they dont seem capable of extended runs of quality play at a time of year where it is necessary to do so.....The Leafs have played well of late, but they are the worst team in the Eastern Conference on the season, and should be 2 pts for the Pens.............Fleury is not consistent, except in the fact that you count on at least one soft goal per game.............Goligoski right now is putrid......absolutely putrid and he has been one of my favorites over the past two seasons....the officiating really sucks.....not sure why Colton whORR seems to be allowed to run over Fleury...but a cross check to the face of the next player who runs him over is in order....also the power play where Phaneuf supposedly possessed the puck blowing the play dead shows that Walkom must still have last nights manshake in his eyes.........and Phaneuf is one of the most OVERRATED players in the NHL........once SirGay is back, McKee will need to take GoGos ice time.......I also have raved about Jordan Staals game this year, but he really has needed to provide more offense in the abscence of Evgeni Malkin and has not........as I write this their other big issue, their power play lets them down again and this game will go to a shoot out. Lets see if Fleury can outduel JS Giguerre................Orpik was huge today with 3 assists and Sidney Crosby had yet another strong game, netting goals 46 and 47 to retake the NHL lead, and points 93 and 94 on the season. I loved watching Cooke tie a career high in goals with number 15 and Tyler Kennedy got back on the board for number 11. Finally Pascal Dupuis who for my money is making a real bid at a spot on the top line for good gets the game winner in the shootout......I am very happy for old Duper who just might lose his identity as a whirlwind forechecker/role player with hands of stone! Finally once Evelyn and SirGay come back do you reunite the top line combos?..........Anyway, two points that keep the pressure on the Devils, who are currently losing to the Flyers as we speak............

Pens Indestructible

Favorite tune, favorite team, one of my favorite players.

SEEK AND DESTROY

Great Video

Pens Renegade Highlights

A real good video to watch

Malkin Dapper Dan Speech

Funny stuff

Crosby Tribute Vid

Good one

Pens beat Flyers

The Penguins beat the Flyers today to clinch a playoff berth and put the Flyers in peril of missing the post season. The Flyers will come out of todays action only 3 points ahead of 9th place New York, and they finish the season with a home and home series against those Rangers. The Flyers are also only 5 points out of fifth place though, so a solid run by Philly could put them as high as fifth in the conference..............On a more interesting note to me is the fact that there are many scenarios which could pit the Flyers and Pens against each other in the first round of the playoffs.........If the Pens finish 2nd and the Flyers 7th, or if the Pens finish 4th and the Flyers finish 5th they will square off.......both scenarios are quite possible, as is a 3rd and 6th finish......However, with Carter out, and the horrible injury issues the Flyers have at the goaltending position, and a pretty tough schedule, the Flyers will have to run pretty hard to assure a berth in the playoffs at all. Hockey is a funny game that way. Back to the Penguins..........the stat showing the most points for an individual player against a single team since 2005-06 shows Crosby with 54 points against Philly or the second most pts for an individual against any team in that span.....Craig Adams and Max Talbot showed their stuff on the PK today.......Cooke played his usual solid game and got a goal......Crosby woke up a bit adding 3 assists to move his season point total to 92. I really would love to see another 100 point season and 50 goals for Crosby......in an odd stat Crosby does not have a goal in the 11 games Malkin has missed this season.....makes no sense given the fact that they see little time on the same line, and Crosby normally draws the top defensive pairing anyway..........I love the steady game Jordan Leopold plays, and sure hope the Pens sign him after this season............his skating, calm play in his end, breakout passing, and decent scoring punch will make him all the more valuable with Gonchar moving on..........Fedostinko showed signs of life today as well...............I really liked the game Kunitz brought today, as well as Alexei Ponikarovsky and Kris Letang.............I also like how physical Mike Rupp has become in the last several games....................Finally, at least as it stands now, the notion of Pronger being added to the Flyers to shut down Crosby and Malkin has not totally worked out that way..........Pronger still brings a lot to the lot to the game, but he has not kept Crosby off the score sheet in the manner some had thought he would. This game closes out an era with the Flyers playing their last regular season game at the igloo and this guy most likely never be in a position to job Fartsmell or Carcildo so well ever again................The Pens need to go on a roll now to ensure a top 3 seed and avoid the Caps and Devils until the conference finals......... if they get there..........

Superstar Sidney Crosby in demand ever since The Goal - thestar.com

Superstar Sidney Crosby in demand ever since The Goal - thestar.com

The Top 50 Most Painful Losses in Pittsburgh Since 1990 « 93.7 The Fan: Pittsburgh's Hometown Sports Station | All Sports. All The time.

The Top 50 Most Painful Losses in Pittsburgh Since 1990 « 93.7 The Fan: Pittsburgh's Hometown Sports Station | All Sports. All The time.

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And Again............

Well, here we go again.......despite being in a position to win the game the Pens again find a way to lose...they did pick up a point, but both Buffalo and New Jersey are playing far better and have games in hand.....the Pens seem destined for a 4 or 5 seed in this seasons playoffs..........That is frustrating, as they are leaving points on the table everywhere this month....Fleury in my opinion snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by giving up a softie to allow the Canes to tie a game they eventually won on Saturday, and tonite he blew a 2-0 shootout lead allowing the Caps to beat him on three consecutive tries........Monday, they just did not come to play with the intensity the Wings did......not long ago I wrote that the Pens only had to go .500 or so down the stretch to be in good shape for the playoff seedings, and well, now that .500 records seems to be a challenge, considering that the Pens have only picked up 6 of the last possible 16 points.......ouch..........Their stars are letting them down......it is a toss up for me who has been the most disappointing this year.....Malkin or Fleury........even Sid seems to have fallen off the map when the teams needs to make its stretch run...................I hope I am wrong, but I do not go into this post season with anywhere near the high hopes that I entered either of the past two post seasons with.......Saturday brings the Flyers to town with both teams desperately needing 2 points..........

Pens Caps

Who is that COCK behind the Caps bench???

Whats that smell? Another Pens game I guess

Sorry folks........this team is starting to stink up the place.....did Crosby retire? Fleury played a great two periods, but one soft goal per game at the wrong time is becoming almost as inevitable as death and taxes........this got bad enough that after the Wings third goal, I let the kids switch to Dancing with the Stars......that is how impressed Ihave been with the Pens for the past two weeks......and Buzz Aldrons wife looks like an Encounter of the Worst Kind from his moonwalking days.....yikes! Do we always have to take way more penalties than our opponents? We have become a team that cannot score more than 2-3 goals per game...Gonchar? Well they sure cannot win without him this year, but the room his bloated salary will create under the cap looks better and better every game if you ask me.......my faith is being tested now folks.......and we have not been losing to championship caliber teams that is for sure......I am thinking the Craps and their braindead following have to be licking their chops for some Penguin stew Wednesday......

Not Again

When Malkin awoke from a long slumber to score a very meaningful goal to put the Pens up 2-1 I felt pretty good about them picking up 2 points.....there were 6 minutes left in a very tight defensive battle and playoff seeding was at stake. Add to that we were playing a markedly inferior opponent talent wise, down to its third string goalie and hey, we could take 2 to the bank, no? Then Fleury lets a very stoppable long range shot without obstruction beat him, and we are off to OT. As the OT period ran down, I was thinking about our shootout line up v the Canes, and again feeling pretty good about the 2 pts and BAM, they get beat with less than one second left by a rookie defenseman getting his first goal............they take one point away, but I have to tell you I am pretty unimpressed by this team for where we are in the season..............One full week of nothing but hate ahead, and lets see what kind of team we have here.

Great Bounceback win

It took all day to have some of the sour taste of last nights ass beating leave my mouth...........but the puck dropped again tonight and the Penguins picked up 2 valuable points on the road in Boston by defeating Boston 3-0. Matt Cooke fought Sean Thornton early in the first period, and though he took the worst of it, Thornton is a legitimate NHL heavyweight, and Cooke fought a spirited battle.......................Significant tonight is the fact that Fleury recorded his first shutout of the season, and both Kennedy and Rupp brok LONG goal scoring droughts netting their 10th and 13 respectively..............Alex Ponikarovsky also showed up again on the scoresheet with a goal that made it 2-0 by deflecting a Letang shot RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE NET..............this is where they want him to be...........and he was. The Penguins dominated territorial play tonight and Rask is the one who kept the game close......I was glad to see a win, glad to see Cooke man up, glad that no Penguin got hurt, but still a bit concerned about the Penguins after last nights meltdown..............

The Pens were really leading the Atlantic??

Wow..............complete failure.............utterly dominated.........Defense putrid..........Goligoski more than putrid...............whole team tonite played stupid and soft in a game that they NEEDED to stay on top of the Atlantic and to avoid being swept by a divisional rival...........and that was the effort they put in.........nuff said..........not real enthused at this point.

Yinzers..............

First home game after the Olympics......I LOVED the cheer for Ryan Miller of Team USA..........but Pens fans who booed Crosby are assholes.......plain........and..........simple.........bonafide assholes......hey, we all pulled for the US to win that game, and the gold........and if you are a US fan from an opposing city, hey, have at it..........but Crosby has given the fans of THIS town countless thrills, and won pretty much every trophy possible. He has represented his team, this city, and the league as well as one could ever expect.....better in fact....Art Ross, Hart, Pearson, Stanley Cup, Gold Medal............if Crosby did not live up to or exceed all expectations you would not still have this team to cheer for.........the least you yinzers could have done was to help honor one of his great achievements by giving him at least the same support you gave Ryan Miller.............next time one of you whines if he blows you off asking for an autograph, remember this night.........before you criticize the fans of another city or hurt yourselves patting your own backs, please think about how "small" many of you were on this night.............

Carcillo a little fem??

Tell me, the Geico man is Ovagkin, no? Not to be a jerk, but did anybody else's gaydar go off when you saw Carcillos tattoos?? Mine hit at a hard yellow or mild orange alert for sure.........your call, but tell Richards not to drop the soap!

Mixed bag....Downie is still alive.....but the Pens got two ugly points

I surely recognize the importance of getting these points for the Pens..........and I am glad they got them......many will say that this is why the Pens did not go after Downie until a stretcher or a bag was necessary to remove him from the ice.........I would LIKE to think that this is the reason, however for the first two periods most of them did not play with the hop that would indicate that they were THAT hungry for the two points..........maybe I am overreacting, but I think that the Pens need to be very careful to send the message that targetting their stars after the Cooke hit on Savard will be met with VERY harsh reactions...........they need to HAMMER the next person who takes anything resembling a cheap shot at their top players immediately.......losing one game will not have the effect on the Pens that losing a key player (especially Crosby) for a lengthy time will...............SOMEONE had to step up and make Downs Syndrome pay.....but they did not.........I sure hope Malkin is not out for any LENGTHY timeframe, but I am not sure I dont want to see a couple of games without his half assed efforts on the ice. It would be great to see the team win two big games without the "great one" and maybe he can wake up......our talent level would drop, but our COMPETE level would rise.......Poni looked far better on the ice when he was out there with Sid, than when he was out there with Evelyn. The Pens always seem to be killing penalties when Bill "the Queer" McCreary is one of the referees......Duper has just been HUGE this season.......If Duper pots 20 goals this year on top of the other qualities he brings to the table, he is quite an asset..........his production has helped to make up for the missing production from Tyler Kennedy..........McKee played a very good game in his first back on the ice.......The Pens got a lot of help with the Devils, Sabres, Flyers and Senators losing........this whole road trip is a win if they beat NJ on Wednesday night........that four point swing will be very big in the race for the Atlantic Division..........Winning the next night in Boston or at least leaving without a significant injury in the "revenge" game would not be a bad thing either.........some are complaining a bit about the Poni trade prior to this game due to the fact that Caputi has more points for the Leafs since the trade.....well, Caputi was not consistent AT ALL when he had his few chances here, and Poni has not had his normal minutes due to all of the penalties the Pens have been taking, and the lackluster play of his center Evelyn Malkin........Get ready for the Wednesday and Thursday boys, those will be two big games.........would love to see the NESN announcer who called for nine of Crosbys teeth fall over the rail of the press box and impale himself on Cookes stick...now that would be cool........ on another note, with Gonchars goal, the Penguins have 9 players with 10 or more goals and two more with 9. They have two with 20 or more, with three more close to 20, and they have Crosby moving in on 50 goals....pretty good example of balanced scoring...........also number 87 got his 87th point of the night... GO PENS!

Pens=Summers Eve

Wow, what a dirty hit.....obvious intent to injure...........the Penguins are pussies to allow Steve Downie to skate out there..................absolute pussies.............please if you are going to take out a "star" make it Malkin......he doesnt do much anyway.................oh, sorry, he does turn over the puck and take dumb penalties.....he now is tied with the team lead with Matt Cooke in PIMs........totally inexcusable for a "star" player..........especially if they are the type of garbage penalties a lazy Malkin seems to take.........what a punk. I cannot fathom the fact that the Pens have not CRUSHED Downs syndrome...the Pens got help with the Devils, Flyers, Sabres, and Senators losing last night and today.......finally, anyone else wanna beat on Steigerwald and Errey until they can longer make any sounds??

NHL.com feature on Despres

Some had him projected as a top 15 pick in last years draft..........Pens got him at 30. Despres had a great year at St. Johns with 9 G and 36 A and a plus 28. He also had 87 penalty minutes.........

Despres bone jarring hit

Nice hit and better post hit fight by Pens 2009 1st round pick (30th overall) Simon Despres...........the organization has been thrilled with his play in with the St. Johns Seadogs..........should be with WBS baby Pens next season, and is a long shot to see some NHL action by the end of next season...........Most project him to be with the big club the season after next.....he is another stay at home physical defenseman who can also skate a al Orpik....would be nice to have two of those on the club, yes?

Puck Daddy Crosby photoshop contest

Pens Lose Again

This was a win they NEEDED..........0-5 v New Jersey now.........has anybody seen Mrs. Evelyn Malkin? Regardless of the local apologists' cries, Malkin is one of the biggest disappointments in the league.......Invisible in big moments all year............the second line is mostly not a factor again.....do we even have a 2nd line...Disco Dan, why in fucks sake is Fedostinko still playing?...we lost the game between the pipes again..........not that Fleury played poorly, Brodeur was just better............the Pens got hosed tonite on several occasions but still had the game within reach...............watching McCreary eat a 100 mph slapshot would be FUN to me........Frustrating game to watch........NEED to win Sunday and close this road trip strong....the March road trip LAST year got them rolling.......the start of this one, seems to be heading the other way................Pens need a goalie to steal them a game..............all in all after killing questionable penalties all night, and the interference on the third goal, back to back nights not a bad effort............need more from Evelyn, need the wingers to finish some of those rebound plays in front of the net...........they will.

Bill McCreary sucks more %%^ than J Woww

Pens Leaders

POINTS-
Crosby 85-with 15 games left, Sid is in range to break 100 points again
Malkin 69
Staal 45
Poni 43
Gonch 42-leading defenseman for Pens in points
Guerin 39
Dupuis and Goligoski are next at 30 apiece

GOALS-
Crosby 44
Malkin 23-will struggle to break 30 this season......very subpar
Poni 20
Staal 19-add this to his PK and all around defensive play
Guerin 18-the old guy should break 20 again
Dupuis 16
Cooke 13

ASSISTS

Malkin 46
Crosby 41
Gonch 33
Staal 26
Goose 23
Poni 23
Letang 22

PLUS MINUS LEADERS

Staal +20-top 5 in points, goals, and assists along with +/- leader
Cooke +15
Crosby +13
Kennedy +12-other than Crosby the entire third line leads in +/-
Orpik +10
Eaton + 9

MINUS LOSERS

Fedotenko -17
Adams - 9
Malkin -5- along with slow goal production, disappointing
Talbot -4
Gonchar -3
Leopold -3

Pens and Canes

Random thoughts from tonites game:

Evgeni Malkin pisses me OFF something fierce........plays lazy...........stupid ice capades perimeter plays trying to beat everybody........cannot remember Geno dominating many games..........

Dupuis is somebody who is gaining more and more of my respect.......involved in 2 of the 3 Pens goals as I type this with under 3 minutes to go..........skates hard........plays tough.............the third line was the best line in the game and Duper fit right in..........

The second line looked pretty average tonite to me..........Fedotenko bothers the shit out of me too.........just sayin..........If TK got the message riding the pine, put Duper on the second line, and give Feds a taste of the pine.........

If the Pens get at least a point out of tonites game, killing the 5 on 3 at the end of the second was classic............Staal, Talbot, Adams........beasts on that sequence....thanks fellas.

How many chances did the Pens have right in front of the net that they could not finish tonite?

Add a couple of posts tonite and man, it seems as it is just not meant to be............the Pens have dominated the shots and chances, and Peters stood tall............

Loved watching Cookie put one in tonite...........

Would love to see Poni end this one with a GWG for the Pens............

Moot point, and third softie of the night against Johnson...........tomorrows game will be huge.........hate to lose a game in which you outshoot your opponent 41 to 21..............The game was won and lost in the net tonite fellas......but at least we get a point.........

Despite the frustration of leaving a point on the table, the Pens have 15 games left with a total of 30 available points..........even .500 hockey gets them 100 points which should make the Atantic race a race between Pittsburgh and New Jersey...........Philly has 74 points with 16 games and 32 total points left to take.......they need 28 of those 32 points to beat the points of the Pens, and that is a tall order.....that is a 14-2 finish......possible, but unlikely...the Devils, Sabres and Senators are all 4 points behind the Pens, but all have 2 games in hand, so they are equal in point potential to the Pens........the Pens would lose the head to head tie breaker with the Devils, win it against the Sabres, and would need to go to the next level of tiebreaker with Ottawa as we split the season series with them. This makes the games against the Devils huge as those two games represent a possible 8 point swing in the race. Winning both would set us up nicely, losing both would really hurt the chances of winning the Atlantic.........splitting them would make the race TIGHT........so to simplify the Pens going 8-7 the rest of the way would force Philly to go 14-2 to catch the Pens.........the Senators would have to go 11-3-1 to overtake the Pens if we go 8-7 the rest of the way, and Buffalo would have to go 10-6-1, and the Devils 10-7 in the same scenario. Montreal could not catch us if we go 8-7, and Boston would have to go 15-1-1..........so, we really want to win at least 8 games or more, and root for New Jersey, Buffalo, and Ottawa mostly to lose....................Just to be sure, I would love to see the Flyers lose a couple quickly, so the focus is on only the three above referenced teams.......GO PENS

Orr and Carcillo

Colton doesnt like Carcillo any more than I do........Carcillo showed great restraint.......or realized he was outmatched.

Random thoughts on the Pens

Despite the feeling at times that the Pens have been a bit disappointing, they are actually 4th in the entire NHL in winning percentage, behind the Capitals, Sharks, and Blackhawks.......

In my small mind, the rest of the season is a race against the Devils and Flyers for first in the Atlantic................this guarantees a top 3 seed and home ice, plus eliminates the need to really worry that much about Buffalo and Ottawa..............not that taking the second seed would be that bad either.........

Matt Cooke did not get a single game suspension for his hit on Savard.........mixed feelings there........the NHL is like kangaroo court, so you really do not have any idea what will happen there...........

The fact that Cooke will be in the lineup on March 18th probably guarantees that the game will be more of a circus than a hockey game...........Boston fans and national media have openly questioned the "sack" of the Bruins........no way can they allow Cooke to skate that night without it getting ugly..............

I am looking forward to the game tomorrow night with Carolina, as it appears that Bill Guerin will be back in the lineup, and we will see for the first time a full Pens lineup post trade deadline......want to see the full effect of having both top lines completely healthy..........

Which forward sits then? I think I actually would like to see Tyler Kennedy sit for a game or two......I know that the third line has been big for the Pens, but lately (month or so) Kennedy has not brought his sandpaper game......he seems to think he woke up with a bit more talent than he has.....perhaps a view from the bench will remind old TK that his game is to get the puck behind the D and cycle......you cannot sit Dupuis at this point...........so if it is not TK, it really comes down to Adams and Talbot, both of whom bring a lot to the dance as far as PK etc.

Fridays game v New Jersey is going to be the biggest game of the season for the Pens........in a race that will seperate the two by 5 points or less, this is a 4 point swing in the standings, and just as important a measuring stick for the Pens who have lost their other 4 tilts with the Devils......

I am hopeful that the rest will get Crosby back to his pre Olympic pace for scoring.........he was on fire......he looked okay during the Olympics prior to his gold medal winning goal, but no more.....he had his two goal game post Olympics but has not been really hot in the other three games.........he needed a rest.........I am hoping for a 55 goal season for Crosby........

I love Bill Guerins game......a lot.......but he may need to get on his horse soon, or there could be some pressure from Dupuis to stay up on that top unit........if Duper had ANY hands he would be an annual 25 goal per season guy................

Despite having two goaltenders of modest pedigree healthy and available the Flyers will not go away in the race for the Atlantic and Eastern Conference seeding.................

Watching the Devils dismantle NYR tonite, I think the Rangers will not make the cut this season...........poor goaltending tonite............

I remain kind of unimpressed with Evgeni Malkin thus far this season...............IF he catches fire, the Pens will be a bitch to eliminate...................

Of the Penguins final 15 games, 12 of them are against Eastern Conference teams that are in the playoff hunt and one is against the Detroit Red Wings........should make for a fun ride......the upcoming 5 game roadtrip will go a long way towards determining their seeding...........

I am still enjoying the pain of another............a lot.......:)

EVIL

If enjoying another mans pain makes you evil, today I am one evil mother fucker! Sloaner knows!

Defy Ordinary Video

Free Cookie!!

In anticipation of the Kangaroo Court run by Commish Gary Butthole, I expect a 5 game suspension for Cooke...................not sure he deserves any based on the rulebook and other similar style hits.........but he will get 5.

Malkin hit on Simmonds

This one looks like the most obvious use of the elbow to me......no suspension.

Richards hit on David Booth

Watch this one and see if you see a difference........

Cooke hit on Anisimov

Cooke hit on Savard

Watch the slow motion with the league rule in mind.........if it is not interference, charging, or using the elbow, then it is a legal hit...........

Blows to the head

The league actually allows shoulder to head hits as long as the hit is not part of another illegal act such as charging, boarding, interference, etc............how dumb is that? How can the play be suspendable at all then? The NHL really is dumb........not a shock

Pens win again 2-1

Pens win another hard fought battle today 2-1, giving them a 5 point lead in the Atlantic Divsion over the New Jersey Devils though the Devils have 3 games in hand including tonights game against Edmonton. Pascal Dupuis scored again, and Evgeni Malkin nets the game winning goal......Lost in this triumph is the controversy over the Matt Cooke on Marc Savard hit. It was a high hit, with either the shoulder or elbow to Savards head, knocking Savard out for a few seconds and leaving him concussed. Nobody in my section seemed to see the hit live, nor did the referees it would seem. Many blogs, including the Empty Netters blog for the Post Gazette call the hit very dirty.............. I really like Matt Cooke, so I may be biased, but the hit looks an awful lot like the one Mike Richards put on David Booth back in October. It was a high hit, at warp speed resulting in an injury to a great player for the opposition in both situations. I thought the Richards hit was borderline and I think the Cooke hit is borderline............neither was necessary, but neither was outside the confines of the rules as they currently stand. Cooke has some history, so I expect him to get 5-6 games for the hit, though I am not totally sure what is right here.....the league has boxed itself in by allowing guys like Alexander Ovechkin who specialize in knee on knee hits and boarding to essentially get away with murder, while hitting lesser players pretty hard but in a very inconsistent manner. If you want to rid the league of these high hits, then you have to make these plays finable and suspendable no doubt. I think there should be some objective rules though to make the findings fair. Only Mike Richards and Matt Cooke know if they intended to hit the opposing player high or specifically in the head.......and I would think that neither did.........but where is that line in a game where you want the opposition to be a little hesitant to skate freely into your zone (like a free safety hammering a reciever over the middle), and initmidation and high speed collisions are expected? Do you just make any hit above the shoulders an automatic 2 game suspension with some ala carte add ons for aggravated circumstances, such as the use of an elbow, the amount of time post puck possession in which the hit occurs, the record of the offender, etc.? The video replays are not great, and I would like to give Cooke the benefit of the doubt, but I am not SURE if I can......if you click on the above link and watch the last part of the video where it is slow motion it appears to me as if Cooke does keep the elbow in and Savards head is low, but he could have pulled back on the hit.....only he knows what he really did..........at the end of the day, I hope Marc Savard is okay, and I am confident that the NHL will get its decision wrong in some manner.............

Pens win 6-3

Another win for the Penguins today. After falling behind 3-1, the Penguins roared back for a 6-3 victory today at the igloo. There was much to be happy about in this win. After yet another shaky start, it looked like Fleury may have found his game from the middle of the second period on. The Penguins PK was unreal today, and played a big part in the win. It was great to see the balance on the score sheet today. Crosby had 2 goals, Staal, Dupuis, Kunitz, and Ponikarovsky scored the others. The Penguins defense was active today as well with assists to Gonchar, Goligoski and Letang. It was great to see Poni in front of the net on the PP, and he delived exactly what he was supposed to today. He was a big body in front of the net, and he actually showed the scorers touch lifting that goal over Lehtonens pads to close out the scoring today. It is good to see this kind of balance, and once Guerin is back, the top 2 lines seem like they are loaded, and we have for my money the best 3rd line in the game. I also was pleased with the physical prescence of the Pens today, with both Adams and Rupp involved in spirited fights today. I remain one of the people who is not overwhelmed by Malkin's play of late, but perhaps the addition of Ponikarovsky will get him going again. Lets make it a weekend sweep tomorrow Pens!

More Crosby fun

The Rags have been owned again

since this is late, I will make it short and sweet..................The Penguins fired 55 shots on the Rangers, before finally beating them in OT take first place in the Atlantic Division! Interesting game.......Dubinsky reestablished the fact that he is a punk, and Queen Henry as well. Lifetime toolbag Sean Avery was up to his antics, yet the Rags were owned AGAIN by the Pens who finish the season series at 5-1 v the Rangers. The Rangers are one of the teams on the playoff bubble, and I am torn between hoping they miss the playoffs because they have their share of tools, and hoping they make the playoffs because they suck................It should only matter to us if they hit the playoffs as the 5, 6 or 7 seed if we can hold on to 2, 3 or 4 seed, but it would be fun to send the Broadway blueshirts packing..............It was good to see Staal have another beastlike game, Goose get back on the board, as well as Mike the Rupper and Geno............I am hopeful that Bill Guerin can play today, as it would be great to see the new lineup and top two lines playing together............The Pens can roll 4 very effective lines you would think, and the competition amongst the forwards to either remain a top 6 forward or avoid being the 13th and odd man out totally has to be good for the Pens! Time to take the last 18 games to hold a top 3 and preferably top 2 seeding by way of winning the Atlantic!

Mike the Rupper!

An arse whuppin!

Trade Deadline moves for the Pens

Well, with about 16 hours left in before the trade deadline, the Pens have made two moves, and as usual I think Ray Shero has done quite a bit to improve the chances of this team to repeat as champions.........the Pens went into this period looking to improve their defensive corps, and if possible add a top six level winger for scoring punch up front. The Pens needed to careful as they have to balance the desire to make moves for this season, but need to do it in a way that does not bankrupt the next several years worth of young talent. As usual Shero makes the smart moves..........While everybody expected the Pens to make aggressive moves to pick up Dan Hamhuis from Nashville or Andy Sutton from the Islanders, Shero surprised most by trading next years second round pick to Florida for blueliner Jordan Leopold.............At first the move seemed a little curious as the need was for more of a DEFENSIVE defenseman, and most thought Hamhuis fit that bill.......he was a minus player on a pretty good team, so it did not seem like a lock that he fit the bill............then most thought we would pursue Andy Sutton, because he is a big stay at home defenseman who is not afraid to hit.............so why did the Pens ignore those moves and deal for Jordan Leopold who seems to be more of an offensive defenseman? Well he FITS the Pens style of play of course.........He may not be a big hammer with hits, but he does hit....he is creditted with 159 hits which would place him third on the Pens blue line behind Orpik and Letang. He is not a traditional stay at home defenseman, but he is defensive in his own way....that way is being a good skater, who is very effective at retrieving the puck in his own end and GETTING out quickly, safely and efficiently........the other team cannot score if they do not have the puck, and his team can score off his smart transition game........oh, and his 7 goals would put him second among defenseman on the team in goal scoring. Finally, he logs 22 minutes per game, eating minutes......he is young at 29 and has decent size at 6 foot 1 and 205 lbs. So the Penguins have added a defenseman who gives them 7 NHL defenseman(Skoula is gone as part of another trade), and a top 6 who are ALL very good skaters. He is reasonably priced at 1.75 million per year, but he is a UFA after the season. He is at a salary level that makes him resignable for sure and is a huge upgrade over Skoula or McKee in the Penguins system. Very solid deal for Pittsburgh, especially if he signed to a longer deal over the summer.

Today Shero addressed the need to add scoring talent up front by acquiring Alexei Ponikarovsky from Toronto for prospect Luca Caputi and Martin Skoula. Hey, Caputi has been a top level prospect in the Pens system for a few years, and one point was slated as the next power forward on the club, but he is small for that role at about 190 pounds, and in his stint in the NHL this season he looked a little soft on the puck.....the prescence of Eric Tangredi, a much larger and more ornery player in the Pens system makes Caputi a bit more expendable.....Caputi may blosssom into a top six forward, he may not, but Ponikarovsky is a legitimate two way forward with good size at six four and 229 lbs........he is a plus 5 player on a team full of minus players, and has 19 goals on a team that has very little offense. That would make him third on the Pens in goal scoring behind only Crosby and Malkin. He should fit on Malkins line, and he should be a 30 goal guy on a line centered by Malkin, and could really boost Malkins jump, giving him his only legitimate goal scoring threat on wing this season! Poni is a solid two way winger with scoring punch and he is only 29 years old. The trickle down affect is that a guy like Pacal Dupuis can now add some punch to the fourth line. Ponikarovsky is also a UFA, and makes 2.1 million per year. We can deal with his signability in the summer time, but to me the addition of Ponikarovsky makes the Penguins a significantly more dangerous offensive team. If you ask me, Ray Shero thus far has AGAIN shown the NHL that he is one of the best GMs in the league. The Penguins have very effectively addressed their two most pressing needs with quality players without losing anybody of value off of the NHL roster. Skoula was likely to be waived, so throwing him in with Caputi dumped salary, secured Poni, and if the Pens need an 8th Dman, Lovejoy or Engelland in the farm system would both be better than Skoula. The blue line got significantly better with Leopold and all it took was a second round pick.......so Shero has made the Penguins a deeper and better equipped team to make a run at a second straight cup, and he lost a 2nd round pick, a prospect who has been slow to bloom, and a bag of pucks called Skoula. The Pens still have great depth in the minors at both the forward and defensive positions to continue to add depth to the big club. The Penguins will have some interesting issues this summer, as the will have many UFAs, but the likely defection of Sergei Gonchar will open up some cap space to address some of these issues. The fact that they did not have to move Goligoski or Letang to achieve the objectives, and adding Leopold to the mix gives them options in the summer............In Shero we trust! Oh yeah, and the Pens start the 20 game home stretch with a 3-2 win over Buffalo tonite.

Ovie's new career.....

boudreau sign

Any help in bringing me some really cutting and funny ideas for a sign for when the Pens play the Capitals on April 6th? Fatboy is always standing right under us for the pre game skate and I really want to get to him..........In reading his book, he is VERY sensitive about his weight, is a diabetic, has an obvious inferiority complex masked by arrogance, and is sensitive in general about his lack of "sizzle" appearance wise....he was born in Toronto..nickname is Gabby....whines and cries a lot, so how do I offend him best, while having a sign (or several) that wont get pulled............some early thoughts:

Boudreau, Canadian for pig? Canadian for bacon?

Help me with fat jokes, bald and fat jokes, tie in Kleenex references.........donuts, cheeseburgers.....whatever can really offend him, I am game!

Boudreau the Pig/Ovechkin fantasies

Please.......some day please!
Already happened three times.......
Feelin the love for Blimpy

"I was glad when Canada scored, but I was wishing one guy wasnt the one who got it." Quote from Canadian born head coach of the classless Washington Capitals Bruce Boudreau...........fatty must have been shorted his third order of fries.........seriously though, I cannot think of a more classless thing to say when you are in Boohoodreaus position. Hey, fat boy is allowed to think what he wants, but an NHL head coach with ONE OUNCE of class would have answered simply that he was glad when Canada scored to win gold..............I wont waste any more space here going over all of the reasons the Capitals are the most classless team in all of sports, followed by the most useless tools as fans..........but just in the Olympics window alone you have:

Ted Leonsis whining about Mike Green not being on the Canadian team......hmmmmmm, fatass they seem to have done pretty well without him.........

Alexander Ovechkin blowing off the media, despite obligations similar to the ones the NFL players have during Super Bowl week.....hey, toothless, you are always crying about the attention Crosby gets, but when you are supposed to be an ambassador for your game, looking to gain fans through the Olympics, your true boorish nature takes hold and you shun your responsibilites;

Alexendar Jizz Semin boarding Dan Boyle late in a 7-3 loss after elbowing Crosby in the head......then turtling after Boyle slew foots him.........the antithesis of the spirit of the Olympics Jizz when obvious he is going home empty handed takes dirty shots in the waning moments of a lost cause, but is too gutless to answer for them;

Ovechkin knocking the camera from the hand of a female fan filming him walkng through the airport.....class act;

Then fatboy's comment..........we at least know we are in their heads.......not quite as much as a Western Sizzlin buffet, but pretty far in their heads.......enough said, it will be a blast to watch this gutless team and their semi literate fan base suffer again this spring!!

Some of Crosbys trinkets

2010 Olympic gold for the Kid!

2009 Stanley Cup for Sid the Kid!

2006-2007 Art Ross Trophy(scoring title-youngest ever to win a North American scoring title), The Hart Trophy as League MVP (Hockey Writers) and Lester B. Pearson Award as League MVP (Players Association). Only the 7th person ever to collect all three!

2005 Memorial Cup QMJHL!

2005 Gold Medal IIHF World Junior Champions...............Not a bad resume, eh?