Pens win the opener 6-3

Well........there sure was a lot to like about tonights win........3 goals from blueliners tonight with Gonchar, Letang and Goligoski each chipping in a goal...........Crosby had 2 more points to get to 16 points for the playoffs.........Craig Fucking Adams was Craig Fucking Adams.......scoring a goal, killing penalties, and hitting.......The Pens made the star of the last series look BAD tonite scoring 6 goals from 6 different players......the Pens were 4 for 4 on the power play tonite, and are now 11 for 34 on the post season or nearly 32%...........Matt Cooke was a beast tonight, hitting and making plays all over the ice...........Staal notched another goal...............Malkin was okay tonite, and Fleury.......eh........did enough to win in a game where the Pens had 6 goals............

I also think the Pens CAN really take advantage of getting an early jump on this team, IF they do not get overconfident or complacent.......the Habs played a very emotional 7 game series, and slayed the giant if you will..........they played two nights ago, so are now entering another tough series on NO rest, while the Pens had almost a week to rest up.......the Pens are bigger and more physical........the Pens need to keep up the clean physical play, finish every check, cycle down low, and wear this team down........If the Pens play smart and work at the desperation level they should, they have too much for Montreal......but remember this........when the Habs gave up a 3 goal lead in game two against the Craps many people including me thought they had no chance......after all you were a hair away from taking a 2 game lead on a far superior team, and had it taken away in a heartbeat.......then you fall down 1-3 in the series.......it is over right? It should have been......bu this team found a way to come back and win, so do not take them lightly.......but the Pens are constructed to wear their opponents down and the Habs should be ripe to fall prey to that..........on another note, the Habs may have lost Markov for a period which would be ugly for the Habs, and Jordan Staal left with an injury as well.....with Staal one of the leagues best penalty killers, and the third center in the Pens three center/mismatch model they can ill afford to be without Staal who has played in 358 consecutive games.........Here is to hoping that Malkin comes out flying in game two and takes over in another Pens victory.

Epic Caps Fail | Washington Examiner

Epic Caps Fail Washington Examiner

Battle Time

OK, one last shot at the Craps!

Fuck the Red!! Its Dead!! Again!!

Anybody remember peniswrinkle Ted Leonsis proclaiming that the Caps have arrived late this season? I hope they like that Presidents Trophy!

Brucie, looks like your wife has sung for the final time this year!

You know, I knew I would love it if the most classless team in professional sports choked AGAIN, and squandered a Presidents Trophy season, but man, I love it even more than I could have imagined. If you have read this blog for any length of time, you know I feel that the Caps, their fans, and their owner are slightly less valuable than yesterdays meals I passed this am, no offense meals.............but this is even greater than I thought it would be.........Leonisis whining on his blog after Game 6 about all of the criticism of their Caps fans making him just want to stay home, his We have Arrived Article, his whining about Mike Green not making the Canadian Olympic team, the Caps shutting off their message boards because their great fans were too mena, etc. etc. all have made this GREAT FUN.........Boohoodreau panicking in Game 6, coaching poorly in GAME 7, not taking advantage of his home ice advantage of last change to get his ovirated winger away from Hal Gill and Josh Gorges who were clearing shutting him down........Semin doing his usual soft game and playoff disappearing act, ditto squared for the most overrated defenseman in the NHL Mike Green taking yet his second playoff season off for some unknown reason.......Ted, does this performance offer any light on the question of Green's "snub" for the Olympics.........dude, he is a showboat and a loser, period...............Ovagkin again unable to lead his team through tough times, panicking himself, taking a shot a Halaks "shaking" hand.......you know that same hand that sent the Russian thug home empty handed again..........simply too much for me to compute.........those loudmouthed, mentally challenged fans having to sit through yet another 7th game disappointment at home............god last night was a great night....................The Caps have added to their already considerable legacy as post season chokers, and their entire leadership from top to bottom is at the root of it. I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!

Ted, George, Bruce, Alex, Alex, Mike, Shane, Nicklas, Tom, Joe, and all of the rest of DC METRO, SUCK ON THAT!!!

Fuck the Red! It's Dead!! AGAIN!!!

Christ we suck!

I wonder if Tim Horton's will still give me free donuts? Will the Hershey Bears take me back?

Eat shit Munchkin!! If you are nice, maybe I will let you see the Gold Medal and the Stanley Cup........maybe!

Wow, these two are better looking than any of the Caps fans I saw in DC!!

Nuff said!

Pittsburgh vs. Ottawa 2010 Playoff Montage (HNIC Remake)

Pretty cool montage of round one victory while we await round two opponent/

Mario Lemieux - Overcoming Injury & Illness

Do you ever wonder how the Penguins come back from the dead more than Jason Vorhees? Maybe their heart comes from their owner.....this remains in my eyes one of the greatest accomplishment in all of professional sports.......Lemieux after missing about a quarter of the season due to cancer, and the ensuing chemotherapy returns to win the scoring title with 160 points!! Are you kidding me? Can you think of an athlete with more heart, courage and desire than LeMagnifique showed in 1993?? I cannot. As I am watching typing this, I am also wondering if god loves me enough to have the Red Wings AND Capitals eliminated in first round of these playoffs? I doubt it, but one can hope!

Pittsburgh Penguins win Stanley Cup (Mike Lange announcing)

Great Memories from last season......could we do it again? I would try to be a good human being lord if we can just do it again this year....promise!

Penguins cup celebration in NYC

This is not a bar in Pleasant Hills, or the South Side or the North Hills.....this is a great little place in NYC, called Foleys........it is a Pens bar in the big apple..........great little slice of home in the big city..........feels like home to me as I watch this.

Great pics from Round One comeback victory

NHL 2010 Playoffs - Pascal Dupuis Overtime Goal (April 24 2010)

Off to round two....this is the best revenge for Rutuu, Neil, and Sutton.

Pens win.....move on to the second round

I cannot lie....it sure was great to see the Pens roar back from a 3-0 deficit to beat a DEPLETED Senators team in OT, winning the series in six games..........BUT, it was a depleted team, missing Philip Kuba, Alexei Kovalev, and Milan Michalek.......that is two top 6 forwards and top 4 defenseman. The Penguins' inconsistency still just pisses me off....but the fact that they rallied is a look into their overall character. They cannot keep playing lethargic hockey for large chunks of games and then rely on frantic comebacks to win games, and they really need to get NHL level goaltending consistently from their "franchise" goaltender to go deep into this post season. It would also help to not have so many goals overturned.........the Rupp "no goal" was a goal in my opinion, and I thought Malkin was pushed onto LeClaire, which should have made that play a goal also in my opinion. What I loved about tonights game was the fact that the Pens kept coming, even when they were down 3-0. Maybe it was a win reminicent of the Game 6 win against the Flyers last year, that catapulted the team towards the Cup. Or maybe it was just another example of a team that has played like champs at times and like chumps at times all year outlasting a team with significant injury problems. The more I digest this game, and this series, I will go with Door number One. When it was on the line, as they have since the core of this team was built, the Penguins answered the bell.

As I type this, it does come to mind that the Pens have played without Jordan Leopold for most of the series, and Tyler Kennedy, a big piece of their 3rd line.... Time will tell. I personally was very glad to see Matt Cooke be a hero in this game, scoring two goals..those goals were ONLY the quick answer after falling behind 3-0, and the game tying goal...........it was great also to see Staal contribute two huge assists, and of course Duper scoring the series winner in OT, and adding an assist. Duper is a guy who brings his game every night, and plays on every line from the top line to the fourth line with the same fervor. He has been a huge part of the Pens success this year, and it was great to see him make a play that will a big part of the great history of this Pens team. I really loved the play of Adams, Kunitz, and McKee througout the series as well. Hey, no matter how you slice it, winning a playoff series is no small feat, and maybe the Pens can find the consistently strong game that was their hallmark in each of the past two playoff runs! The core of this current team has now played in nine playoff rounds in the past seasons, plus the first round here, losing only one of those series.........pretty nice resume for this group.

Orpik 4 hits in 15 second in game 3 SCF

Alfie, Spezza, Neil and crew enjoying their off day

Fleury replacement?

I heard on hockeyrumourcentral that the Penguins might be shopping Fleury during the offseason, but really want to make sure they get equal value in return.......Rick Allens name has been linked to these rumours, but the deal may not happen because Def Leppard is looking for a second round pick in additon to Fleury to even out the deal!

Pretty funny stuff

Lets look at the Steelers for a moment

I am even less of an expert on football than I am on hockey, but this does not mean that I dont have opinions............is anybody else a little confused by the choices made by the Steelers thus far? I am not going to say that each of the first three picks may not turn out to be GREAT players......I truly have not followed the draft this season enough to have even a marginally informed opinion on THAT. I have come to the conclusion that the first round pick, Pouncey has grown on me. Not only does he have the talent, he seems to be a tremendous character guy, and upon finding out he can play the guard position, I can surely see how Pouncey can have an effect on this years team, and well into the future. As far as Worilds, he may be wonderful, but he plays a position OLB, currently manned by players of decent pedigree......you know James Harrison and Lamarr Woodley don't you? By the Steelers own admission, Worilds will have a hard time seeing the field this year, but could contribute on special teams in the meantime. Special teams for the Steelers have sucked for two years, so that is not totally insignificant by any means BUT, linebacker is probably the deepest, most talented area the Steelers have right now. They have HORRIBLE cornerback play, no suitable second string back to play in LIKELY event that Rashard Mendenhall gets hurt and misses a game or two, they have an aging defensive line, they have horrible safety depth as witnessed by last years play when Polamalu was out.............and you may have noticed that Polamalu is out A LOT. Their offensive line is very bad...........Worilds sounds like an impact player, as much as one can tell coming out of college, but in my book with a second round pick on a team with this many issues, they should have taken the most talented player on the board in an area of current need. In my book that is cornerback, running back, and both lines. Second round picks can often times make an impact in their first season, so I was disppointed that the Steelers did not make a pick that addressed those needs now. Their third round pick, a speedy WR from SMU to me fits into the same category........cannot argue with his skill set, though he was suspended for breaking mulitple team rules during his junior season. I just did not think that WR was an area of immediate need like the areas noted above. The Steelers have 2 fourth round picks, and 4 fifth round picks, so they have enough in the later rounds to add DEPTH players, PROJECTS, and/or special teams help in rounds 4 through 7 so I am somewhat disappointed that they did not use their impact round picks for immediate areas of need OR even package a late round pick to move up in the second round for an impact corner or running back. Instead of taking advantage of the season without a cap to use free agency and the draft to take a serious run at the title again, it really appears to me as if the Rooneys are going to use this season as a write off, and slowly rebuild.....I get the slowly rebuild and reload, but I do not get the write off....with a solid corner, depth in the backfield, and more luck in the health area, the Steelers could be a competitive playoff team. If they do not address corner, and go into the season with one quality threat at running back, they have issues. Perhaps they feel that the suspension of Ben makes their return to prominence a two year project, and their picks make more sense in that context with an aging Ward at WR, and an expensive and somewhat older Harrison at OLB.

*As I view this draft in its entirety, it does not make great sense to me.......I liked getting McFadden for a fifth round pick, especially the way we were using our picks.....but I wonder why the Cardinals let him go, and gave us a sixth round pick on top of it? Hey, for what we spent, a good move.....I dont get linebackers in the 2nd, 4th and fifth round........I dont mind Gibson in the fourth, but Worilds as high as second made no sense to me.......would rather have seen any one of the top corners, or Golden Tate taken here........I thought we brought Foote back to add depth to the LB's so that we did not have to address this position heavily in THIS draft? We really need corners and still need a quality RB behind Mendenhall......would have thought that Lendale White or Leon Washington would have been decent solutions for a couple of seasons.......this draft creates more questions than answsers in my opinion, and with the number of picks, I really thought the Steelers would have been able to do more to address some immediate areas of concern.

Penguins Bench Making Fun Of Chris Neil

Stanley Cup Playoffs Pregame Show On Ice - Penguins v. Flyers Game 1 04...

One of the best hockey songs ever used as the opener to last years first round playoffs!

All Sidney Crosby's 51 Goals on the 2009 - 2010 Pittsburgh Penguins regu...

Crosby no-look pass - Goligoski goal 4/14/10

A thing of beauty by 87.

NHL 2010 Playoffs - Matt Carkner Triple Overtime Goal (April 22 2010)

After watching players from both side give up their bodies in an effort to win Game 5 watch Ruslan Fedostinkos half hearted attempt to block the shot that won it for the Sens......Stinko is -3 in his two games, with no points.....we kept this douche for his playoff skills......after a horrendous regular season, and his garbage performance for his first two playoff games, here is to hoping this douchebag never sees the ice as a Penguin again.......they are 3-0 in this post season without him in the lineup......and 0-2 with him in the lineup.....yo, Disco, seen enough of this shit yet?

Ovechkin snowed a kid on purpose **SPORTS101.NET EXCLUSIVE**

Yet another reason to hate this douchebag......the explanation from Caveman land was that this is what Alex always does, he has to be first to the bench before every game.........if he blew a tire here, he would have killed this Make a Wish kid.....the king of all douchebags lives.

Tough Pill to swallow

Tough to lose that one at home.....Pens are now 1-2 at home in these playoffs.........give credit where it is due.........the Senators came out and took it to the Pens for the first ten minutes......the Pens looked like the regular season Pens at times during that first ten minutes........a little soft, a little slow, a little useless in their own zone............The Senators jumped out 2-0 with goals a minute or so apart, and then almost scored to make it 3-0. From that point on the Pens outplayed the Senators for the most part, but the Senators blocked more than 40 shots, and Pascal Leclaire played like a franchise goaltender...........The Pens despite launching many shots on Leclaire were plagued by what ailed them at many times during the season.......defensive lapses and sould crushing softies let in by their "franchise" goaltender. Let me focus on that first if you will..........Fleury played very well in the overtime, but if he played well in regulation, the Pens would not have needed overtime...........he had let in 3 goals on 21 shots in regulation, the last of which came, typically not much more than a minute after the Penguins took a lead that many thought would launch them into the second round..........and as is typical it came from a shot unobstructed and way the hell out there.............not the stuff of champions....to rub salt in the wound it was set up by the typically piss poor play of Ruslan Fedostinko, who gave the puck away just inside our blue line.......oh, Rusty is -3 in 2 games, with no points......he gave the puck away on the game tying goal, and got in the way making VERY feeble attempt to block the shot on the GWG..........heady stuff for such a supposed clutch player in the playoffs, huh? I really do think they should just cut his head off.......back to MAF.......he has a VERY poor .887 save percentage, which puts him 15th out of the 19 goaltenders who have played in this year's post season, and a GAA of 2.77 which puts him more than 1.25 goals per game behind the leader in the GAA category this season.............I wrote going into the playoffs that MAF's play could very well cost the Pens in the post season, and it very much is.......when you pay 5M per season, you have a right to expect more, by a long shot than what we are getting this season......lets hope he turns it around.........another area of concern for the Pens is the usually STRONG third line, which thus far has been horrible......one of my favorite contributors Jordan Staal has one goal, one assist, and is a -5...........Matt Cooke is also -5........Tyler Kennedy is -3.....We will need the third line to pick up the pace and Fleury to play at least a little bit like a franchise goaltender to advance in these playoffs..........

The postives include the fact that 11 different players have chipped in with goals, and Sidney Crosby is playing on another level with 14 points in 5 games.....he is already a point ahead of his best playoff series ever, getting 13 points in SEVEN games against the Capitals last season....He is also only 3 points behind Mario Lemieux's franchise record of 17 points, also in SEVEN games...he is also a lofty +9 to lead all players in the playoffs.....in fact Crosby leads the playoffs in ALL offensive categories with 5 goals, 9 assists, 14 points, and a +9, all of which are the best in this years post season..........Malkin has 7 points (4G and 3A) for second on the Pens, followed by Gonchar with 6 points (0G and 6A), Kunitz with 6 points(2G and 4A), and Bill Guerin with 5 points (1G and 4A).

Jay McKee has played very well defensively, and Kris Letang chipping in 2 goals from the blueline is a nice addition...........To avoid a game 7 in which anything can happen, the Pens need to bring the A game. The way the Eastern Conference is playing out is as favorable as one could expect for the Pens..........Do not get me wrong, ALL of the remaining teams are very GOOD and quite capable of beating the Pens in a series BUT, their biggest nemesis, the New Jersey Devils have been eliminated by the Flyers, the Capitals though leading 3-2 in the series have not looked at all invincible. If we win, and the Boston Bruins win (they are up 3-2), the Pens are set up to play the Bruins.....if Buffalo wins, they are set up to play Buffalo, assuming the Caps eliminate the Habs........IF the Habs eliminate the Caps, then BOTH of our toughest matchups are gone........but lets assume that does not happen.....if the current teams leading their series win, the next round would pit the Pens against the Bruins, and the Capitals against the Flyers. I would expect the Capitals to handle the Flyers in 6 or 7 games, but the Flyers defense is the type that COULD frustrate Ovagkin and crew.....even if the Flyers do not upset the Craps, they play the type of game that will extract a toll on the tools from DC. If we play the Bruins, I would expect a tough series, but the Penguins should be able to win that one.....the Bruins have played great hockey and should be proud, especially without the services of Savard, but they do not seem to have enough scoring to prevail in seven games against the Penguins firepower......defensively Chara should be able to limit either Crosby or Malkin, BUT they do not have a second pairing that would seem capable of limiting whichever of the two Chara does not face.........now, Fleurys soft goaltending relative to Rask could offset the Pens scoring superiority, but not enough to win a best of seven in my opinion.....I would like the Pens in six.......Now, all of this is only an issue IF the Pens can close out the Sens, which is not a given. Now is the time to begin to find out if the Penguins really are deserving of being considered an elite team in the conference or not.

I usually dont condone making fun of the slow kid....but this aint school, and this dude is SLOOOOWWWW

Click on the link for the video version of welcoming the short bus kid!

Tattoo Progress

The project is getting closer to completion.....some work on the Lombardi trophy and the crucibles on the back of the arm........also some work on the Mellon arena..........about 16 hours left.

NHL is a truly a GARAGE LEAGUE

Seth Rohrabaugh of Empty Netters posted this photo after the first game, and I am reposting based on last nights game, and the officiating I have seen in this series, the Flyers series, and the Capitals series....I will speak in the post only of last nights ending moments..........IF, the cemented headed fools in the league office were serious about protecting its players, elevating itself to a "real" professional league, and ending the "message sending" that happens at the end of games that get out of control in the playoffs, Jarkko Ruutu and Chris Neil will be suspended for one game each......both Neils cross check to the head of Goligoski and Ruutus sucker punch to the chin of Matt Cooke at the end of a 7-4 game were at least as bad as the cross check to the head delivered last season by Dan Carcillo to the head of Max Talbot.....this play resulted in a one game suspension for Carcillo. If you take into account the rest of the plays made by each, there is no doubt that a similar punishment should be in order....Neil was about to assault a linesman, and is openly looking to hurt somebody..........but since the offending players play for a team based in Canada, and they are down 3 to 1 in the series there is no way that Colonsniffer Campbell will have the guts or the desire to be consistent in that message. I have said many times that hockey is the best sport of all..........too bad the NHL is the WORST professional league of all..........handle it yourselves Pens.

Pens take 3-1 Series lead......and took out the trash again

The two headed monster strikes again!

Wow, can you say FUKTARDS? Nah, that would be an insult to FUKTARDS everywhere!!

Andy Suksem talking to the expert!

Wow, do I hate Ottawa..........and the more I look at their Senator logo on the crest of their players, the more homoerotic it looks.......but we only have one more game to endure that BS. The list of douchebags on this team is long......Ruutu, Neil, Kelly, Carkner, Sutton, Foligno, Alfredsson, Spezza...........I have a lot of respect for Anton Volcenkov and Peter Regin......period. Chris Neils cross check on Letang after scoring his goal, shows what a scumbag he is....and a dumb scumbag at that!;

On the positives of this game...........the two headed monster roared again, with Crosby getting two goals and an assist to raise his total to 4G and 7A to lead all playoff scoring, and Geno notched his 4th goal of the series......Crosby has averaged more than 2 points per game thus far.....boy he sucks! And Geno has averaged about a point a half......Dr. Malkinstein appears to be back;

The 6th goal tonite took the life out of the Sens for good, and was a mircocosm of why the Crosby haters much have touched themselves blind.....first he drills that little infection Ruutu to take the puck from him in the defensive zone and start a 3 on 2............then he drives to the net as Guerin takes a weak shot on goal, then outbattles 2 OttaWad defensemen who had no choice but to follow him behind the net, and finally puts a perfect pass on Kunitz' tape who promptly buried it in the collective arses of the Ottawads! Classic!

The third line showed up tonite with Staal and Cooke both getting their first markers of the campaign;

4 Penguins players got their first goals of the playoffs, Kunitz, Staal, Cooke, and Talbot; and Ponikarovsky got an assist, after getting his first goal of the playoffs during the last game;Secondary scoring KILLS!

Crosby again....he is currently playing on another level......in addition to his more than 2 pts per game, he has made a game preserving save, hit like a demon, backchecked and forechecked like a madman;

Jay McKee has been SOLID since he has been called upon, and tonite had 4 blocked shots;

The Senators lack of class, composure, and goaltending is being exposed big time right now.......lets not let them up...........step on the head of this ugly little snake Thursday night...

The play made by Craig Adams and Max Talbot on the shorthanded goal was just beautiful and indicative of the type of players these two can be;

Despite getting the shorty, our PK, which WAS a main strength on this team, has become a major weakness and needs to be worked on;

Our defense tonite in general was a bit alarming, but the Senators goaltending sucks harder than Bill McCrearys mom;

Also, Jordan Staal was named as a finalist for the Selke today.....congrats to him!

Pens take series lead.....and take out the trash

The hateometer for all things from Ottawa is rising..............FAST

Well tonight was interesting for me to watch........for years the Penguins have had the reputation for being a skilled team, and therefore somewhat soft...........that has not been true for the last several seasons, and in fact the Penguins thrive when the going gets tough........and tonight was no different, in fact ever since Andy Sutton upped the ante with his hit on Leopold, the Penguins have looked an awful lot like the Penguins of the past two playoff seasons.........if they can do that for any stretch the rest of the conference may have some issues...........the Senators are a chippy somewhat dirty team and the Penguins have risen to the challenge and won the third game which is usually a pivotal game in a playoff series.........the game tonight was a brutal, physical battle and the Penguins have many players who thrive in that environment, especially Craig Adams, Chris Kunitz, Sidney Crosby, Brooks Orpik, and Max Talbot. I will dispense with the ugly first.....the Penguins special teams looked pretty bad tonite.....they did get a PP goal, but most of the time it looked anemic, and the usually stout PK gave up 2 goals...........but there was far more to like than not tonight.

Random notes about tonights game-The Penguins top guns Malkin and Crosby have been money in the post season:

Crosby going into this series:

51 games-68 points/25G and 43A/+19-This season Crosby in 3 games has 7 pts/2G and 5A

Malkin going into this series:

51 games-65 points/26G and 39A/+5-This season Geno in 3 games has 4 pts/3G and 1A

Pretty consistent excellence in the post season from both of the big guns! Indeed a post season two headed monster.....................

Crosby was also 69% on faceoffs tonite and 66% in game two.

Perhaps we should send Colonsniffer Campbell and Gary Butthole flowers for not suspending Any Sutton........he has been on the ice for four of the five Penguins goals, and looking pretty damn bad on most of them......talk about getting some justice!

Poni finally scored a goal tonite.....he quietly had 5 shots in game two, and tonite put one in the net.........getting him going would mean quite a bit to the cause;

The Penguins third line, usually a catalyst for this team came into the game tonite with each player a minus 3.............they played a lot better tonite, though they did not score;

Kris Letang has been very solid defensively and chipped in some offense....if this kid ever learns how to find the net, he will be unreal.....Orpik remains a beast on the backend;

For those who question the value of Chris Kunitz, watch tapes of these three games.....the kid wins the battles against the walls, and gets the puck to Crosby....he forechecks like a demon, and is part of the seven game investing strategy Bylsma preaches............Adams hits everything that moves, kills penalties, and plays such solid defense..............

Nice to see Bill Guerin on the scoresheet too..........Game 4 presents a chance to take a stranglehold on the series......GO PENS

Sutton Jobbing

I know I was somewhat ambiguous about the nature of the hit, but the Pensblog folks have as usual put some photoshops out there that I had to share.

Some Shots from the first playoff games