Tag Search Results for "Penguins"
PensDynasty1 writes...
The journey begins for a new generation tonight.....
Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
Tonight in Ottawa, there is more than just another playoff hockey game that is about to take place. There is a chance for a new generation of Pittsburgh Penguins fans to shine, and for a past generation to celebrate what was once great, and what could be great again in the near future.
With players like Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Whitney, and Fluery leading the charge, thi...
I felt it was appropriate to open my blog with these lyrics from the [b]Rush[/b] classic [b]"Limelight"[/b]. What better way to describe opening night of the 2006-07 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Especially for the Pittsburgh Penguins and their fans who have waited since the end of the 2000-2001 season to see the team play for a chance to hold Lord Stanley's Cup! The Pens, with Si...
What a season for the Buffalo Sabres and fans. They have taken home the President Trophy as the top team in the National Hockey League throughout the regular season. They finished with 53 wins and 113 points.
They will be playing the New York Islanders in the first round of the playoffs on Thursday night puck drops at 7:08pm. This should be an interesting series. Ted N...
I hope to preview and review each game...as time allows.
[b]THINGS TO LOOK FOR[/b]
[b]Crosby's next level?[/b] - Can Sidney step it up a notch...and if he does, what affect will that have on the outcome? Can he dominate a game the way Mario used to in the playoffs?
[b]Can Malkin find his scoring touch?[/b] - Malkin needs to score for the Pens to be successful. Can ...
RayChamps2001 writes...
'Tis the Season to be Jolly: NHL Playoff Season
Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
[b]The following can be found at [url]http://www.nhlnow.com[/url][/b] (with pictures).
[img:right]http://cdn.nhl.com/images/upload/2007/03/questforthecup_325x235.jpg[/img]
It's been a long break, but NHLNow.com is back for the most exciting season of the year: NHL Playoff Season. The battle for Lord Stanley's Cup is on, and with the depth in this year's playoffs, it see...
Moves at the trade deadline are always hard to evaluate. Most think that Nashville got fleeced with the Forsberg trade. And Ryan Smyth to the Island may have been the missing piece that vaulted them into the playoffs. And where was John Ferguson? Prying Yannic Perreault from Pheonix. I just don't get it. The thing the Leafs was missing was heart. Looking down the st...
I’ve seen every Penguins game in the past two years, and most of them over the last 20 years. Soon after Michel Therrien took over last season, real structure began creeping into the Penguins’ game and their work ethic sky-rocketed. By the end of the season I felt they were the hardest working, most disciplined Penguins team I had seen since I became a season ticket ho...
As you can see by looking at my profile I am a long-distance fan, and at this time of the year it gets pretty dificult. The Wild were immediately thrown off of Versus radar when they were switched randomly to the Wednesday/Friday schedule instead of the Thursday/Saturday schedule they were supposed to have. For the last three days I've been walking around upset about it th...
[b]THE GOOD[/b]
[b]The Sens intensity level[/b] - they came out strong and dictated play throughout.
[b]The officiating[/b] - there were a lot of penalties called but the officals seemed to be consistent with their calls.
[b]The Sens role players[/b] - good showing by 3rd and 4th line players.
[b]Malkin and Staal[/b] - I thought both rookies were able to play a...
As a Canadian I was able to watch Sens-Pens and Preds-Sharks early tonight. I have to say I was very disappointed to see that the referees went back to last fall's calls. I agree that clutching and grabbing needs to go in the game, but a majority of the calls made in those two games tonight were absolutely ridiculous. Tootoo's hit in the first period was not a penalty, Cro...
I'm laughing at myself as I type that title. How can I put a Shakespeare quote at the top of my hockey blog!!! It's not as if I quote him on a daily basis...or EVER...or that his world and the hockey world have much in common (hell, I had to look up the spelling of his name make sure it was correct!).
But it really is the only question that the Penguins need to answer r...
Good game all around for the Senators. They pounced on a noticeably jittery Fleury early and they kept the big Pens stars at bay.
All the Sens played great games. What should be scary for the Pens is that I didn't even notice Spezza or Heatley all night. When (I won't say if) they get going it may become a short series (of course I could say the same thing for Cro...
The SRU Campus is about 50 miles North of Pittsburgh, but we are Black and Gold to the core up here. Last semester was my first at SRU and I was amazed to see how far Steeler Country's boundries extended. Every week my fellow students came out with a strong showing of Steeler's gear. Ocassionally I'd spy a Penguins hat or something, but for the most part the black and gold...
(Please read my blog post 'Pens Playoff Fever at Slippery Rock University' first)
The jitters. I know I had them after not watching Penguins playoff hockey in six years. I can only imagine what most of the players felt like...
Unfortunately, their butterflies showed. I had class until 7:30, so I missed the begining. On the radio during the car ride over to the bar Mi...
Well, the playoffs are still young, but there are still some interesting storylines that have started to develop.
[b]Senators and Penguins game 1:[/b]
This was not the game that anybody expected. Many people thought that the Sens would take this one, but not in the way that they did. The thrashing that was handed out on Wednesday should not be any indication of how...
Ok, yes, I am a Rangers fan and this will probably be disregarded by most as a bias whine by someone who cannot see his team play Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs but I'm going to write about it anyway because frankly, bias or not, I think I'm right.
I know Sid Crosby is supposed to be the second-coming of The Great One, I know, and I know the NHL needs a star that th...
The update you have ALL been waiting for...(does anybody even read this thing?). Game 1 was a steam roller of a game for the Sens. There were squashed Pens littering the ice all night long. And yes, this is comming from a LONG TIME Penguins fan. Game 2 presents quite a challenge for our kids...will they be able to respond like we all think they can?
[b]THINGS TO LOOK FO...
Hey pens fans,
The Pens win game 2 and tie the series at one all. The Pens definetly shook their jitters from game one and played a solid game. Fleury was very solid in net. Crosby and Staal bothed played well and did not disappoint. Colby Armstrong was flying today. He was all over the ice and this is one of his strongest performances. Overall, the team played a ve...
-> Fleury doubters: (though there probably aren't many after today) Let this 22 year old guy learn and grow! He showed that he can play big for us when we need him to, and I don't think this performance was a fluke. He seems to play his best at the end of games when the other team is firing shots from all angles. The key is making the big save at the right time. I thi...
I'm not 19. In fact I am MORE THAN TWICE that age.
When I was 19 I was in college.
I was trying to learn how to live on my own.
Trying to figure out if I had enough money to buy a pizza on a Saturday night.
Trying to stay out of trouble and keep my grades up.
Trying to decide what I wanted to do with my life.
Nobody followed me around with cameras.
Nobody as...
What a performance by Fleury. In a game that the Penguins could have easily lost, Marc Andre was the difference. I think his play this afternoon speaks volumes about his maturity as a goaltender. While he may not be seasoned yet, he is definitely mature enough to backstop the Penguins throughout their playoff run. Don't get me wrong, a confident Thibault is good to have in...
As the Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators game nears the end of the first period I still haven't hardly noticed Malkin on the ice. As I think about it, the only real thing I remember him doing in the whole series was getting knocked onto his backside during the his first shift of game 1 and the Senators promptly scoring a goal. I know he was credited with an assist on...
first it was Scott Hartnell then it was Alexander Radulov and now it's Colby Armstrong.
Suspend Colby Armstrong for the rest of the series to send the message that the dirty plays wont be accpted in the NHL.
the blows to the head have to stop
NHL isnt do crap until someone is left Paralyzed on the ice......
Yes the refs were horrible but the pens were as well. I really don't have any idea where Gonchar was in this game. I can honestly say that 3 of the goals may have been his fault. He stood around all night. Also he couldn't keep the puck in the zone on the power play the worst pen all night. Malkin couldn't win a faceoff for his life. Recchi just seems like the game is pass...
Hey pens fans,
Well, the game started off good with Pens scoring under a minute into the game. Roberts scored and was assisted by Crosby and Armstrong. The Senators came back and scored 4 goals. Late in the third Crosby scored and was assisted by Malkin and Recchi to make it 4-2. Fleury was in goal stopping 21 of 25 shots. Tonight, the Pens were just not with it. They pla...
Hello everyone- I would like to use my first blog as a place to introduce myself and my goals as a blogger.
I go by the user name Kansas City Blues because I am a hardcore Blues fan based out for Kansas City. I have followed the Blues all throughout my 17 years of life and will always bleed Blue.
Living in Kansas City it is tough being a hockey fan. I grew up with the Ka...
Now with the Pens in a desperate situation it will be up to Michel Therrien. He has been outstanding leeding his troops all year long, but it is the real time. Right now he needs to do a major shake up in the lines and whos getting scratched and whos not. If i were Michel Therrien i would seriously think about playing Joel Kwiatkowski over a guy like Josef Melichar or Rob ...
Sunday's Pens and Senators game was the worst of the series for the Penguins.
They gained some momentum in game 2...and it lasted into game 3...for about 5 minutes.
Game 3 was so disappointing because the Penguins should feel they have a chance to win this series, but they are not playing like it. They should be past the "wow, we are in the playoffs" feeling, and se...
What I don't understand with the Pittsburgh Penguins right now is why don't they play Georges Laraque. They brought Laraque in for one reason....to protect Sidney Crosby. The Senators have gotten plenty of shots in on Crosby that have not been called. If the Senators know that they will get away with it why would they stop. The Pens need someone like Laraque to make su...
Tonight should be another great night of NHL playoff hockey, with some big games going on in the East.
[b]Thrashers @ Rangers, GM 3, Rangers lead 2-0[/b]
The New York Rangers are looking to take a commanding three games to none lead over the Thrashers as they return home tonight.The Blue shirts took away home ice from Atlanta by winning a pair of one goal games, 4-3, a...
With the senators in control of this series this is a very important game. If the pens lose today they will be down 3-1 and have no chance to comeback. It is a desperate situation for the pens. It worrys me that during the moring skate the pens looked so relaxed. Maybe it is a tactic that Therrien is using so the pens do not have to think about the pressure they face. The ...
Eggshmeg writes...
The Best the NHL has to Offer, for Non-Hockey Watchers
Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
This blog is for those of you who don't follow hockey all that much but have decided to watch some playoff hockey and you want to know the best games that are out there to watch this round. I'm gonna give you my suggestions of games to watch from the east and west, whichever side you're on. The games I post will be the most intriguing ones I think are out there out there. ...
Hey pens fans,
Tonight, the Pens fell to the Sens in game 4 at the Mellon Arena. The Sens got their firsst goal on a flukey bounce off Jordan Staal's stick. It was just a bad bounce and neither Staal or Fleury can be faulted for it. In the second period, Staal tied the game and was assisted by Roberts and Ouellet. Ottawa went ahead 2-1 in the third. Fleury was in goa...
After watching the Penguins/Senators game tonight one thing was evident. The Penguins had learned what it would take to compete at the level of the Senators, but it wasn't enough as they fell short once again. The Penguins dominated the play for most of the game, and deserved a better fate than a 2-1 loss at home, but that is what played out. This loss is a backbreaker ...
Cleon_Daskalakis writes...
Pens or Sens Will Have Nothing Left for Round Two
Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
I wrote yesterday about how the Sabres need to ratchet up the “physical” play if they expect to make a serious run to the cup. After watching game 4 of the Pens & Sens… maybe the Sabres plan will work out just fine if they meet one of these teams in the ECF.
To put it simply and succinctly, these teams are absolutely KILLING each other. I have to believe that ...
Down 3-1 in the series, the common thought that runs through your mind, as a player or a fan, is "[b]There is NO tomorrow[/b]".
That's the kind of thinking that many will argue is needed in order to beat the odds and win game 5 in Ottawa.
While I believe the intensity level necessary to win game 5 CAN be obtained from that line of thinking, there is also a tremendous...
Yitzhak writes...
The First Official Washington Capitals Blog on this Site
Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
Since this site is woefully prejudiced against us Capitals fans, I felt it was time to step up to the plate and fulfill the glaring need for a Capitals Blog. Granted there are only about four Capitals fans on this whole site, but that is really besides the point.
As anyone remotely familiar with the NHL knows, the Capitals were atrocious down the stretch, and in some w...
Now the Penguins are down 3-1 to the Senators. Yea it seems impossible but who knows. This penguins team has done so many unexpected things all year why not. This team wasn't even supposed to make the playoffs but they proved everyone wrong. The Pens may be able to catch the Sens relaxing a bit during game 5. If so look out. If the Pens would manage a way to prevail in gam...
I was fortunate to go to game 4 last night, and what a difference 2 days made. Even though the Pens couldn't pull it out, I can't see any real reason why fans can be too upset at the team. They gave it their all, and it was very evident and the fans responded accordingly, from the cheers during a fourth line cycle to the fans clapping after the game in the midst of defeat....
(Trade Day Mishaps)
After last night, the Atlanta Thrashers management team have to be sitting there and wondering; what just happened? After giving up a big part of their future in Glen Metropolit, two first rounder’s (2007,2008), a second rounder (2007) and a third rounder (2008) for Keith Tkachuck, it’s a wonder GM’s chose to give up so much and fail at the gam...
The Pens have played better in the last game but are still down 3-1. They are looking for a way to get momentum. Well couldn't it be a huge momentum builder if the pens could pull off a dramatic win in overtime. This type of win could shift all the momentum in a penguins favor and bring the series back to the igloo. I know it may sound far fetched but i believe in the pens...
Hey pens fans,
Tonight, the Pens lost the series to the Senators. The score was 3-0. The game was not bad, overall. It is just hard to find the good, when the season is over. One thing to gain from this playoff experience is Experience. That is something that most of the team did not have and now they have playoff experience. This will do them a world of good in the...
When this series started, I truy believed the Penguins could compete with the Senators. The teams played such close games during the regular season that it seemed almost impossible for the series not to go 6 or 7 games. (still trying to get my foot out of my mouth from that prediction...)
What happened during the playoffs was plain and simple -- the Senators had an extr...
mwiles19 writes...
Dissapointing End, But Still Happy With Overall Result
Posted Friday | Comments 0
The 2006-2007 NHL season came to an abrupt end for the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight, as they were eliminated by the Ottawa Senators. The same Senators team, in name only, who the Penguins recently beat three straight times in the regular season. The reason I say in name only, is because the Senators picked it up a notch for the playoffs and simply dominated this young Pen...
Playoff elimination seems so final. Your team is done...there will be no Stanley Cup parade down main street this year.
It's a fact of life for 8 teams after round 1. Then 4 more in round 2. Then 2...then 1...
Yeah, in this crazy cup chase only ONE team gets to raise the hardware at the end of the road...and the other 15 playoff teams get to think about "what might h...
[img]C:\Documents and Settings\Greg\Desktop\gregs ringers\staalhattrick.mp3[img:right][img][/img]What do you think was the best moment of the year for the Pengins? Personally i think Staals overtime goal versus toronto that completed the hattrick was best.[img]C:\Documents and Settings\preferred customer\Desktop\evolution.jpg[/img]
Can anyone see or hear the pic?
Hey pens fans,
So, about a month ago Crosby broke his left foot blocking a shot. He has been playing through it, obviously. He just announced he will miss worlds to let it heal properly. And FYI, if you don't remember him breaking his foot, don't feel bad, neither do I and it was not on the injury reports, i already checked.
[url]http://penshockey.blogspot.com[/url]
I am going to play GM here for a minute, and give you my 2008 Pittsburgh Penguins roster if I was in charge of the team.
[u][b]Forwards[/b][/u]
Ladislav Nagy - Sidney Crosby - Paul Kariya
Jordan Staal - Evgeni Malkin - Scott Hartnell
Gary Roberts - Erik Christensen - Colby Armstrong
Jarko Ruutu - Maxime Talbot - Michel Oulette
[u][b]Defensemen[/b][/u]
...
Well, the job's open. Who wants it? There are a slew of potentials, even a few that have been vocal (Craig Patrick, Bob Clarke). Ownership will begin the interview process within the week, and hopefully now that some teams have been eliminated, the search can be narrowed. Dave Taylor from LA and Craig Button, formerly of Calgary, are rumored to be the front-runners, and th...
This season has seen nearly every team develop their unsung hero(es). It's time again to evaluate who means the most to their team. I've always felt that the Hart should encompass the regular season AND the playoffs, but the Conn Smythe isn't disappearing anytime soon. So, let's look at the candidates:
[b]1. Roberto Luongo, G, Vancouver[/b]
It's a safe bet to say that ...
This season has seen nearly every team develop their unsung hero(es). It's time again to evaluate who means the most to their team. I've always felt that the Hart should encompass the regular season AND the playoffs, but the Conn Smythe isn't disappearing anytime soon. So, let's look at the candidates:
[b]1. Roberto Luongo, G, Vancouver[/b]
It's a safe bet to say that ...
Hey pens fans,
As, promised here is the team report card. I'll start with a player by player break-down.
Sidney Crosby
Regular Season 120 points (36+84) Playoffs 5 points (3+2)
Sid played in 79 regular season games. He was +10. This season was truly a breakout season for number 87. He played marvelously and we couldn't have asked for more. Sid had goals that amazed a...
I grew up in Mississippi in the days before minor league seeped into our southern borders. Hockey was not a sport that got much talk in my household. My childhood was surrounded by football and baseball. I don't even remember the 1980 Miracle on Ice (I would have been nearly 7 at the time). The only exposure to hockey that I got was the occasional game that may have sl...
[b]Second Annual Grimmy Award Winners[/b]
Note: Since my last name is Grimm, the title of the awards are a take-off on my name and the music awards of a similar name.
[b]Hart Trophy: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins[/b]
Runners-up: Roberto Luongo (Vancouver), Vinny Lecavalier (Tampa Bay)
There have been heralded youngsters throughout the history of the NHL. Way...
bulldog_bob writes...
An Open Letter to SVP of Sports Programming at NBC
Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
This blog is in responce to the Game 5 television dabacle on NBC. I am posting the E-Mail I sent to Seth Winter - NBC-Sports SVP of Sprots Programming just in case he decided not to return to work yesterday afternoon from a three martini lunch at Rainbow Room in Lower Manhatten. I did not want my outrage missed about NBC's programming decisions on Saturday. I think my s...
Hey pens fans,
The Pens have siged Jonathan D’Aversa to a 3 year entry level contract. He is 21 years old and has spent th last 3 years playinig for the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL. He has had 150 pints in 259 games. His defense partner was Jordan Staal's brother Marc.
[url]http://penshockey.blogspot.com[/url]
My record third blog of the day. I'm sure some folks are getting tired of me, but c'est la vie, as my girlfriend would say.
Manny Fernandez has made it public knowledge that he wants out of Minnesota. Manny said in the Pioneer Press that he wants out of the organization to be with "more supportive team-mates and coaches." I, for one, would've never expected that environ...
Hey pens fans,
Here are a few fast rumors.
Gary Roberts may be a Pen next season, but it is more likely he will be in Toronto.
Mark Recchi is going to be a Pen. He is not signed, but I am almost certain he will be.
Robert Lang - yeah, that name is a blast from the Pen's past - He may be coming back to the Pens, but it is not the stronggest rumor I have hear...
Hey pens fans,
Mark Recchi will most likely return to the Pens this coming season. I cannot see him leaving, though he has drawn outside interest.
Gary Roberts has drawn heavy interest from Toronto and he will either be a Leaf or with the Pens and I am not sure how this will go.
Tom Poti is drawing lots of interest from all around and the Pens threw their name in...
Patrick Cwiklinski writes...
Pittsburgh Penguins: The NHL's Next Superpower
Posted Friday | Comments 0
This season, for the first time in six years, the Pittsburgh Penguins managed to place fifth in the Eastern Conference to face the future Stanley Cup Finalists, the Ottawa Senators, in the first round of the Eastern Conference Quarter Finals. Though the Penguins ultimately fell short to the Senators, they reached a goal of making the playoffs, with a team led by its young ...
Hey pens fans,
Gary Roberts and Mark Recchi have been resigned. I will after draft info througout the weekend.
[url]htp://penshockey.blogspot.com[/url]
Hey pens fans,
In the first round the Pens select Centre Angelo Esposito from Quebec of the QMJHL. He is 6-1 weighing 180. Last Season with Quebe scored 27-G, 52-A, 79-pts in 60 games.
[url]http://penshockey.blogspot.com[/url]
Hey pens fans,
Here is who the Pens drafted and their positions. If we notice our already centre-heavy team drafted 4 centres.
Round 1 ANGELO ESPOSITO - CENTRE
Round 2 KEVEN VEILLEUX - CENTRE
Round 3 ROBERT BORTUZZO - DEFENSE, CASEY PIERRO-ZABOTEL - CENTRE
Round 4 LUCA CAPUTI - LEFT WING, ALEX GRANT - DEFENSEMAN
Round 5 JAKE MUZZIN - DEFENSE
Round 6 DUSTIN JEFFR...
Here we go again.....
16) Minnesota(from ANA) ----Colton Gillies
A lot of people don't like this kid. I'm not one of them; I love his combination of size and skating ability. The knock on this guy is obviously the lack of offensive ability, but I think he just needs to put himself in better position to put up big offensive #s by putting on muscle so he can drive to the n...
With free agency just around the corner, there are a few major holes that the Penguins need to fill, but none more pressing than goaltending.
GM Ray Shero recently made it know that the team was no longer pursuing or bringing back last year's back up Jocelyn Thibault; Nolan Schaefer, who was acquired at the trade deadline and shined in the AHL; goaltending prospect Bobb...
[i]Last season, Sidney Crosby was the best player in the NHL. That is a simple fact. Anybody who disagrees can take it up with his newly acquired Art Ross, Hart and Lester B. Pearson Trophies. So why shouldn't he be paid as though he just completed a clean sweep of the three hardest to win individual trophies the league offers? I see no reason.[/i]
Some will argue t...
Multiple league sources have informed the Sabres as the team chosen to represent the league in an "Ice Bowl" on the first day of 2008. The opponent, most likely,would be the Pittsburgh Penguins as it should. The combination of Sidney Crosby and Malkin copuled with facing an appointent who's fans will fill the Ralph in a matter of hours will be outstanding. The genius be...
Multiple league sources have informed the Sabres as the team chosen to represent the league in an "Ice Bowl" on the first day of 2008. The opponent, most likely,would be the Pittsburgh Penguins as it should. The combination of Sidney Crosby and Malkin copuled with facing an appointent who's fans will fill the Ralph in a matter of hours will be outstanding. The genius behin...
Sidney Crosby must beat Derek Jeter. What do I mean by this? I mean that Sidney must get more votes then Derek Jeter in ESPN's Who's Now Competition and advance to the second round. But why should you and I care about this, and take time out of our day to participate in this competition? The answer is that this "competition" may not seem like much, but any time we can get ...
As most of you already know, the NHL is setting New Years day as the day for an outdoor game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres.
In a league that struggles for tv ratings (although I will admit, beating out the NBA last season was prime) what better way to help these ratings then by putting a game you dub the Ice Bowl on tv the same day colleges arou...
In the new NHL and its all so glorious salary cap (which rises each year so far, and we are now back to pre-lockout salaries) comes new challenges for teams. That challenge being a huge one:
Keeping their players under contract and keeping under the cap.
Now the cap this year is around 53 million dollars, and I will assume most teams want some cushion room for trades...
With over two months till the season starts, and then 8 more until it ends, its impossible to try and guess the final standings. But, with over two months till the season starts, and nothing else to do, its fun. The following is my prediction, based on the current lineups and my opinions and thoughts about the game.
The atlantic division (in addition to being the one ...
With all the action in the Northeast (Edit - Atlantic), it's going to wind up being a very interesting year.
I suppose these would be some of the bigger questions on one's mind at the moment:
Will the Rangers actually benefit with Gomez and Drury?
Can the Flyers make a move up the ladder?
Will the Penguins be able to rally behind Fleury?
Has Guerin warranted...
Dear HockeyBuzz Community,
Every writer lives for the moment of creative epiphany, when he or she strikes upon an idea so compelling that it must be expressed in that very instant. I had my little moment of inspiration on the morning of June 19, when I sprung out of bed at 8 in the morning with an idea for an action-packed hockey satire. An absurd bout of writing ensued...
[i]("A Message From Gary Bettman" flashes across the screen. Happy muzak plays, cartoon bunnies frolic beneath the text. A smiley sun beams down on them from above. Fade up on...)[/i]
BETTMAN [i](sitting at a desk, wearing a suit and a "Versus" cap. He speaks in an ingratiating singsong voice)[/i]: Hi there, friends! Please, relax! I've brought a present. You see, we at...
I will preface all of this with the fact that this is my first attempt at a blog and also that while yes I am college student my grammar is terrible. But since training camp is about a month away and trade rumors are becoming few and far between, I have decided to give my analysis and predictions of each division over the next few weeks to be capped off with my playoff pre...
This is my first Blog so bear with me. I feel that it is important to talk about the one flame player who I believe is maybe a diamond in the rough. Matthew Lombardi, I believe is a player or two away from Iggy numbers. This off season I thought Sutter might address the Lombo situation, and bring in some young talent to play with Lombardi. But what I can see is that he did...
Let me start this post by stating that I am a die hard Pens fan, a season ticket holder in fact, and I love this team. The positives are well known, and predictions are just that, but in my opinion the Pens are not built to win the Cup this year. The variables are impossible to predict, and who wins it all certainly can have an element of luck to it, especially if (in this...
In the past, the Eastern Conference's most feared division was the Northeast division, which consisted of the Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, The Toronto Maple Leafs, the Montreal Canadiens, and the Boston Bruins.
However, due to an eventful free agency, the division of [b]Devils, Penguins, NY Rangers, Islanders, and Flyers[/b] are going to be extremely tough to beat....
Although I don't doubt a single division is capable of locking down 5 of the 8 playoff slots, I tend to think even if so it wouldn't be the Atlantic. Last year, all but the Flyers made a show in the playoffs. The Devs and Pens each finished well up in the standings, while the Rangers and Islanders just slipped in towards the last week of the season.
The hardest part...
Sources tell Channel 7 WKBW-TV in Buffalo that the NHL has completed plans for an outdoor game at Ralph Wilson Stadium on New Years Day. The official announcement will come in early September.
http://www.wkbw.com/sports/9345086.html
Well, it's official (according to wgr) that Ralph Wilson Stadium will said the Ice Bowl January 1st against Sid and the Pens. Nice for Buffalo to (finally) host a "big" event. It hosted an ASG at the Aud in 78. And don't forget Hull's contraversial Stanley Cup goal.
Well, it's official (according to wgr) that Ralph Wilson Stadium will said the Ice Bowl January 1st against Sid and the Pens. Nice for Buffalo to (finally) host a "big" event. It hosted an ASG at the Aud in 78. And don't forget Hull's contraversial Stanley Cup goal.
[img]http://assets.buffalobills.com/images/tickets/stadium_views_map_07a.gif[/img]
This is the map of the seating at The Ralph before I get into the tailgating aspect of it I would like to point out that There will be more seats than people think. The stadium field has a lot of potential to be shrunk down to fit more people so it can fit the rink as well.
Since ...
So here it is, long-delayed and much fussed-over, the sequel to "Captain Crosby and the Penguins of Tomorrow." As an author's note, I'd like to thank everyone who's contributed a kind word or link to the first entry, including Seth Rorabaugh over at Empty Netters.
For the uninitiated, please read the first part of the script first.
Comments, as always, are welcome.
...
steal_your_faceoff writes...
Billboards/Bumper Stickers for the 2007-08 Flyers season
Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
[i][b]*warning - Please check any kneejerk reactions at the door - this is all in good humor*[/b][/i]
I was thinking about the very clever way the Dallas Stars used billboards/bumper stickers to get a new and funny message across to their current and potential fans. I thought it something that the Flyers might want to take to heart and show the fans that they are excit...
Heart.
When you hear the word, perhaps, the first thing you think of is that organ beating inside your chest.
You also might think of that hard rocking, but IMO god-awful, girl band comprised of the sisters - Ann and Nancy Wilson. Sorry, not a big Barracude fan.
When I think of the word "heart," I immediately think of it in relation to organized sports. Not ...
Perhaps this is a sign of things to come. Coming off a 3-0 shutout against the Senators on Sunday night, the Penguins' rookie camp rallied back to win 5-1 to take home the Kitchener Cup. Tally up two goals and an assist for Minnesota native Joe Jensen, scoring both within three minutes of one another.
John Curry had a shutout working for him, but with under 10 minut...
pensfan17148 writes...
Rookie Camp Ends - Who Stays and Who Goes and a Rumor
Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
Hey pens fans,
The Pens have invited the following players from rookie camp to training camp: Aaron Boogaard, Jonathan Filewich, Joe Jensen, Tyler Kennedy, Mark Letestu, Kyle Rank, Ryan Stone, Tim Wallace, Jonathan D’Aversa, Kris Letang, Ben Lovejoy, David Brown John Curry and Dustin Jeffrey. From their 2007 draft picks the Pens reassigned Luca Caputi, Robert Bortuzzo...
Hey pens fans,
Here is a look at the Pens' training camp roster. Defensemen: Mark Ardelan, Paul Bissonnette, Jonathan D'Aversa, Mark Eaton, Deryk Engelland, Alex Goligoski, Sergei Gonchar, Ryan Lannon, Kris Letang, Ben Lovejoy, Brooks Orpik, Alain Nasreddine, Rob Scuderi, Darryl Sydor, Mike Weaver, Ryan Whitney. Forwards: Colby Armstrong, Aaron Boogaard, Tim Brent, Erik C...
Hey pens fans,
The Penguins have sent 10 players to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton They are Aaron Boogaard, Joe Jensen, Mark Letestu, Kurtis McLean, Kyle Rank, Mark Ardelan, Paul Bissonnette, Jonathan D’Aversa, Deryk Engelland, and David Brown. WB/S camp starts Thursday.
The Penguins have 41 players remaining in their camp: 13 defensemen, 24 forwards, and four goaltenders.
...
It is time for the third edition in my series of blogs about the new NHL jerseys. For those who still have not seen the all new jerseys:
http://www.fartfignewton.com/rbk_edge/
For those who missed Parts 1 and 2:
http://my.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?user_id=2407&post_id=2473
http://my.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?user_id=2407&post_id=2499
Next up is the Atlanta Divisi...
Former 1999 Penguins draft pick Darcy Robinson, 26, collapsed on the ice during a game with the Italian Asiago team. Robinson was un-hit at the time of collapse in the first period, and was later rushed to a hospital where he passed. The cause of death has yet to be determined.
Over his short career, Robinson spent time with the Penguins' minor league affiliates. From 2...
Hey pens fans,
Tonight, the Pens took on the Buffalo Sabres at the Mellon Arena, in a preseason matchup.
The Pens goals were:
Crosby (Malkin, Armstrong)
Staal (Recchi, Crosby)
Crosby (Malkin, Whitney)
Malone (Christensen)
Christensen (Malone, Whitney)
Sabourin was in goal.
The Pens had a goal just as the buzzer went off at the end of the third, but is was ...
Buffalo edges out Pittsburgh in an unusually EXCITING preseason game. Not often are you on the edge of your seat listening to the radio. AND, no Sidney Crosby (boo hoo) and the debut of the new hi-def jumbotron.
Hey pens fans,
The Pens sent Kris Letang, Mike Weaver, Jonathan Filewich, Jeff Taffe, and Ryan have been assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The Pens also signed Adam Hall to a one year two-way contract.
Also, USA Today picks the Pens to win the cup. Is this good or the kiss of death?
[url]http://penshockey.blogspot.com[/url]
As a general rule, I am done with making predictions as they pertain to the world of sports. This offseason, I had a blog titled, "Ryan Smyth [b][i]WILL[/b][/i] Remain an Islander." I also predicted that the New York Mets would once again run away with the National League East Title. (Ugh.) On the demerits of these two statements alone, I should be permanently banned from ...
Hey pens fans,
On a positive not, I would like to wish a Happy Birthday to MArio Lemieux.
Now, onto the game...
Tonight, the Pens lost their season opener 4-1. The Pens' lone goal came in the third period. It was scored by Mark Recchi and assisted by Gonchar and Malkin. Fleury was in goal to start the game, but after letting in 4 goals on 26 shots in the first ...
First off, on my last blog, I lied. The Phoenix Coyotes are not just ready yet for a playoff run. After plenty of thought, I made my decisions. Before I go ranting on about how the season starts, let me publish here and now the season predictions I have going on:
Eastern Conference:
1) Ottawa
2) New York Rangers
3) Atlanta
4) Pittsburgh
5) Buffalo
6) Tampa Bay
...
Hey pens fans,
Sorry that the post is so late. I got stuck in detours, traffic, and behind a few accidents, and my one hour drive back from the game turned into more like 2 and a half.
The Pens defeated the ducks tonight, by a score of 5-4. The Pens goals were as follows:
1st period - Sykora from Roberts and Christensen (PP)
2nd period - Armstrong from Roberts; M...
I was born in Brooklyn, but spent most of my time growing up in Staten Island. I remember walking in to a Palmer Video (later bought out by Blockbuster) and seeing an ad on the front counter for a chance to enter to win hockey tickets. The entry box was your average, run of the mill box, but at the top right where the slot is for the form was a picture of Mario Lemieux h...
Hey pens fans,
The Pens signed forward Dustin Jeffrey to a three year entry level contract. He was selected in the 6th round of the 2007 draft.
[url]http://penshockey.blogspot.com[/url]
Hey pens fans,
Tonight, the Pens took on the Canadiens at the Mellon Arena. They lost to Montreal 3-2. During the game, there were times where the Pens looked magnificant and there were times when they could not complete a pass if their lives depended on it. It was an up and down night. Unfortunetly, the Pens did not pull this one out on top.
The Pens' goals were...
Perhaps the biggest thing working in the Leafs' favor heading in to this Saturday's game is the motivation that comes from an 8-1 win. Just last night, Mats Sundin also surpassed the club records for most goals and most points, 390 and 917 respectively. Tell me how you can slow a guy down after a feat like that on top of a monstrous win. I'd like to know.
Let's hope, fo...
Man, was the offense hot tonight. 52 shots at Toskala compared to the 27 unleashed by Toronto, and they were only 1 for 7 on the powerplay! Excuse me, let me preface that as being a PITIFUL 1 for 7. And Malkin - what did I tell you about shooting? Always trying to make it look pretty when all we need are some goals.
Lots of firsts tonight, like Crosby's first goal of th...
And so comes the end of another Leaf game.......another Leaf game that the blew in the third period. It's getting to the point where you don't have to watch anymore as you know whats going to happen. The Leafs start the game by getting out played and having the goalie whoever it might be on the given night, followed by the Leafs grabbing a one or two goal lead heading to...
Hey pens fans,
Tonight, the Pens took on the very re-vamped Devils at the Mellon Arena. Unfortunetly, the Devils took the contest 5-4. The game had some very questionable calls and I am sure the oficiating is much debated. I will say that some of the calls were good, some bad, and some were rather close. To be honest, I am trying to avoid official bashing, because som...
20 minutes. That's how much time the Penguins spent inside the penalty box. Ten penalties; 20 minutes. If you really break it down, we practically gave the Devils an extra period to work with.
Both teams combined for 5 powerplay goals, in this penalty-ridden game. The Penguins converted 3 times on 5 attempts, while the Devils were 2 for 7. All in all, a great perfo...
The Staal brothers will be at it again tomorrow night in Pittsburgh, as the Canes visit the Pens for what will be the second meeting of the season. Hopefully this time around, little brother Jordan can outplay, or at least shutdown his older brother Eric. In the season opener, Eric netted two goals in a 4-1 victory in front of the Carolina crowd. Perhaps it'll be a differe...
Hey pens fans,
Tonight, the Pens took ono the Hurricanes at the Mellon Arena. The final score, after the shootout was 4-3 Pens. In the first, Sykora scored (Crosby, Recchi) to tie it at one. Then in the second, Hall scored (Ruutu, Talbot) and next Sykora scored (Gonchar, Crosby) too tie it at 3. In the shootout Christensen, Sykora, and Crosby all scored to make the sh...
The Penguins take to the road tonight, heading out to DC to faceoff against the Capitals. And you know what comes to mind when you hear that team name - Ovechkin.
Yet, perhaps Ovechkin isn't the biggest concern for the struggling Pens D. I mean, sure, he's no doubt a threat, but this is a game where they can really get their self-esteem. Shutting down Ovi isn't the bigg...
Hey pens fans,
Tonight, the Pens took on the Caps on the road. They came out victorious 2-1. Both of the Pens' goals came in the second period. Staal scored assisted by Recchi and Orpik and then Whitney (PP) assisted by Crosby and Malone. Comgratulations to Ryan Whitney on his 100th point tonight. Marc-Andre Fleury was in goal stopping 30 of 31 shots. The Pens had 2...
Consider it to be a little bit out of character for a Pittsburgh Penguins squad that has on average scored three goals a game this year to win by the score of 2-1. But hey, they'll take it.
The Penguins improved to 4-3 on the season with a road victory in DC. The defense did their best to contain Ovechkin, but he still managed to get off 9 shots. That is why full credit...
Prior to the first puck dropping during the first game for the first time this season, all eyes in the Eastern Conference were on these two teams. The Rangers and their offseason shopping spree had the media buzzing to the sounds of playoff contention. The Penguins with their turnaround season the previous year, were also ranked with the Rangers as not only division riva...
Sidney has a new show debuting on the Versus network on Tuesday, October 23 at 6:30 eastern time before the Pens vs Rangers game
here's a preview of what he has to say about the "new NHL"
[url]http://www.metacafe.com/w/876452[/url]
If you'd told me last week that Fleury had a shutout in his eminent future I'd have said, "Yeah, ok." And then if you'd have said, "No seriously, a shutout against the Rangers next Tuesday", I would've explained how the Penguins are not a defensive minded team, and the closest they'd come to a shutout is letting in only one goal. But man, was I surprised tonight.
I'm...
Hey pens fans,
Tonight, the Penguins defeated the New York Rangers at the Mellon Arena. The fifnal score wass 1-0. The Pens lone goal was scored by Malkin on the power play, in the second period. He was assisted by Whitney and Crosby. Marc-Andre Fleury was in stopping all 36 shots for the shutout. This was a good game for the Pens and it was a good win. The Pens rec...
The Pens take on the Leafs for the second time this season tomorrow night in Pittsburgh. If the last time these two met up was any indication for the rest of the season's meetings, then I'd say we're in for another scoring frenzy.
Ten goals were scored between the two last game, as the Penguins rallied to win by the final of 6-4 after an empty netter from Maxime Talbot ...
Similar to the last game between these two teams, tonight's was a high-scoring affair as well. Instead of a combined effort though, it was entirely on the Leafs' part.
Had you watched the first two periods of this game, you would have had difficulty predicting 5-2 as the final score. Both teams came in to the third period tied at one, but the Leafs came out of intermi...
Hey pens fans,
Well, the Pens played the Leafs tonight and lost 5-2 to end their streak. Crosby scored in the first period, assisted by Malkin and Recchi to make it 1-0. In the third period, Gonchar scored and was assisted by Crosby and Malkin to make it 5-2 Leafs. Fleury stopped 22 of 27 shots.
This season the Pens have been very hot and cold. Sometimes, it seems ...
Henrik Zetterberg, Mats Sundin, Jarome Iginla, Daymond Langkow, Nik Antropov, Paul Stastny, Mike Cammalleri, Rick Nash, Daniel Alfredsson, Patrick Kane, Justin Williams, Rod Brind'Amour, Eric Staal, Anze Kopitar, Daniel Briere.
As of this morning all of these players were ahead of Sid The Kid in the point race. Sid, despite scoring 12 points in 9 games, is 6 behind Henr...
Now I realize a full blown taking apart of the team is never going to happen to the Toronto Maple Leafs but after a 5-2 win over Pittsburgh on Thursday night, a night when the key contributors were Alex Steen 3pts, Jiri Tlusty 2goals, and Nik Antropov 2pts the question has to be asked why not give these guys a bigger role on a nightly basis?
As much as we in Toronto...
Hey pens fans,
The Pens fell to Montreal on Saturday, in a shootout. It went to 8 shooter a side, which is a bit insane. Sabourin played well in the shootout. Fleury started the game aand was pulled after allowing the third goal, during the second period. Sykora, Crosby and dWhitney had the Pens 3 goals. After the shootout out the final score was 4-3 Canadiens. The ...
Hey pens fans,
Tonight, the Pens defeated the Wild in Minnesota 4-2. Sidney Crosby had 4 points on the night. The Goals were: Malkin from Crosby and Malone, Malkin from Crosby and Malone (No, that is not a typo. It happened twice.), Sykora from Crosby and Gonchar (PP), Crosby from Gonchar and Malkin. Sabourin was in goal stopping 28 of 30 shots.
The Pens played a...
Hey pens fans,
Well, tonight the Pens lost to the Avalanche 3-2. Crosby had both goals and the Pens were up 2-0. The second period was a bit of a disaster for the Pens and the third period was scoreless. Crosby played a great game and I am not just saying that because he scored 2 goals. Sidney played like a man possessed on both ends of the ice. It was a strong game ...
Like day and night, the change in the Pens performance against the Avs last night was good and bad. But it seems again that a few small lapses led to the wheels falling off the bus. Hold steady Pens fans! The ship is rocking, but we have the players who can steady it and get it going in the right direction.
It was nice to see the Pens come out and play well in a very...
Hey pens fans,
Tonight, the Pens played the Isles on the Island. Malone had the Pens' first goal on the night. Tyler Kennedy's first goal that almost was not definetly stands out as a moment to remember. It also put the Pens up 2-0. The Islanders came back to make it 2-1. In the third Satan tied thae game at 2 for the Isles. Satan scores again to make it 3-2 Isles ...
B.D. Gallof writes...
Al Arbour Night: Magic Sweeps Long Island with Win 740!
Posted Sunday | Comments 0
Please read my Hockeybuzz blog:
http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=10812
In it you have images and words that try to capture the magic that was a special night for Islander fans.
- BD
pensfan17148 writes...
Pens Defeat Devils 5-0 Sabourin Gets his first NHL Shutout
Posted Monday | Comments 0
Hey pens fans,
Tonight, the Pens defeated the Devils 5-0. Dany Sabourin recorded his first NHL shutout. The Pens goals were, as follows: Crosby (PP) assisted by Sykora, Gonchar; Hall assisted by Orpik and Talbot; Sykora assisted by Malkin; Christensen assisted by Talbot and Laraque; Crosby assisted by Orpik. Tonight, the Pens came out flying and they definetley played...
[img]http://s228.photobucket.com/albums/ee162/JHRIV/th_Penguins-1.jpg[/img][img]http://s228.photobucket.com/albums/ee162/JHRIV/th_PHI_161.jpg[/img]
[b]Break on through to the other side...[/b]
With all due respect to [b]Jim Morrison[/b], alive or dead, he could not have envisioned those words applied more aptly than to the Flyers' effort tonight versus a Pittsburgh...
Edit:
The Rangers will face the Penguins in Madison Square Garden on Thurday night. Both teams are coming off losses; New York 3-2 to the Islanders and Pittsburgh a 3-1 loss to Philadelphia. Both teams have identical records at 7-7-1 and the winner will jump to second place in the division while the loser remains in fourth.
The Penguins have turned up the offense rec...
KGBflyers10 writes...
Big Win Against Pens; Flyers Face Devils In New Building
Posted Thursday | Comments 0
Flyers win 3-1 in Pittsburgh last night. Good win for the Flyboys, who had dropped four of their last six games. I unfortunately was dead tired last night and missed most of the game, however I was fortunate enough to see them take a two goal lead on some very STRONG forechecking. The way the team played when I got the chance to see them last night was much like how they w...
Its been a tale of two seasons for the Rangers. Their home record stands at 8-2 while they are still winless on the road at 0-5-1. Tonight was another example of a dominant home performance as the Rangers mustered 39 shots in a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The team is now 1-1 head to head, the other game ending in a 1-0 Penguin's victory.
Lots of good highligh...
Simply terrible. The Flyers entered the Prudential Center last night hoping things would be different now that the Devils were no longer playing in the Continental Airlines Arena. Yet, the woes were much the same as the Flyers were dropped by the Devils 4-1.
It wasn't much of a game after the first period. Flyers took the lead with Mike Knuble's deflection off Richards...
Place: Visiting locker room Wachovia Center
Time: 10:00PM 11/10/07
Smell in the air: Uninspired defeat
MT:"Malone, Roberts, Sydor, Malkin, Crosby, Sykora, Whitney, Christensen, Orpik, Gonchar and Malone (yes, I know I said him twice) would you please step outside while I address the rest of the team.
Now that real the players have left the room, let me get to the...
Big win against the Pens for the Flyers. After a lackluster performance against the Devils, the Flyers came out and took a 3-0 lead--shutting down [b]Malkin[/b] and [b]Crosby[/b] for most of the game until Malkin got a nifty pass from [b]Ryan Whitney[/b], which beat Biron badly. Although the Penguins had two power play goals, they were only 2 for 6 and were shut down prett...
[b]JUST FOR CHRISTMAS[/b]
NEW ITEM for Christmas this year is NHL candy cane ornaments! A nice change from your standard ball tree-hanging. Made by Forever Collectibles these great-looking candy canes measure about 5" tall. Not only good for decorating the tree, but for dressing up your wrapped gifts etc.
One problem though, so far the manufacturer only produced them...
SlapShot30 writes...
The Wheels Have Fallen Off the Bus! PensChanges Needed Now!
Posted Sunday | Comments 0
Well once again last night we saw how the Pens coaches, players, and fans have learned to loose rather than learn to win like they did in the 06-07 season. The Pens are through 5 of 9 games that I previously said would be the second most important part of their current year schedule, and are falling flat on their faces. They have been able to earn only 2 of the possible ...
[img]http://s228.photobucket.com/albums/ee162/JHRIV/th_PHI_161.jpg[/img][img]http://s228.photobucket.com/albums/ee162/JHRIV/th_Penguins-1.jpg[/img]
[u][b]Peco Perfect[/b][/u]
[u][b]PECO[/b][/u]
[img]http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:kcwzRy_DHguSQM:http://www.handhonline.com/images/PecoEnergy.jpg[/img]
For those of you not familiar with the Delaware Valley of Penn...
In the summer of 2005, the Gallof boys took a roadtrip to the city of brotherly love. I have been to Philly several times, almost going to college there, but neither of my siblings had ever been there. As we walked the streets on a July 4th weekend, cigars clasped on our maws, looking for a bar with Magic Hat #9 on tap, some local Philadelphian blue-collar man looked at ou...
Yesterday the Islanders found themselves in unfamiliar territory. They were on the road and actually played a game for the second time in a week. All scheduling jokes aside, the team wearing the white sweaters seemed like a very different team that became very used to wearing those home navy blues.
At home in those close battles with division rivals you saw the Isles ...
Howdy Pens Fans! It will be a big night for our men (and boys) in Black and Vegas Gold tonight, as the Islanders come to the Igloo looking to bounce back from a tough 3-2 loss to the Flyers on Monday night.
Tonight marks the first game this season for highly touted defenseman Kris Letang, who was recalled from the baby penguins and he should see some considerable PP...
The Rangers continue to get better,especially the young players. With Mark Staal ripping a shot past Marty 499 last nite, I expect his offence to take off too. His defensive game is rounding out nicely . Early in the year he was beaten wide now not only does he shut down the oposing foward but steals the puck and takes off up the ice. I attibute his progression to playing ...
Hey pens fans,
Tonight, the Pens defeated the Islanders 3-2 at the Mellon Arena. Gonchar and Sykora had the first two goals and Georges Laraque got the game winner. Marc-Andre Fleury was in goal and was playing like the Fleury we remembered, that had recently seemed like a distant memory. He needed a good game and he got it. This should do wonders for his confidence. ...
Yesterday the seasons seemed to change here in Pittsburgh straight from summer to winter, and this morning around Pittsburgh we saw our first snow on the ground. So with this change it also should be said that the Penguins showed a new face last night in defeating the Isles.
As I wrote yesterday, I felt that the game versus the Isles would show a different Penguins tea...
Hey pens fans,
The Pens lost 2-1. Malkin had the only Pens' goal and he was unassisted. This was a tough night for the Pens. Unfortunetly for the Pens, Brodeur played a great game. There were a lot of shots that could have beaten a lesser goalie. The officiating tonight was something that was questionable, at times. I am not one for official bashing, but there were ...
Hey pens fans,
Last night's game could be a big moment for the Pens. In the shoot out, we have some serious shooters, including Ruutu. Many people are suprised by his use there, but, when he is given the opportunity, he does quite well at it.
Fleury still has not quite found his game, but at the same time maybe he needs a little more room to breathe, before he is...
Tonight's game at the Igloo vs. the Atlanta Thrashers will be a true test to see whether the Pens are ready to turn the corner and start heading up the Eastern Conference ladder, up where many hockey pundits predicted they'd be this year.
The Thanksgiving Night victory in Ottawa vs. the high octane Senators was a huge one for the Pens. Another loss, which looked pretty...
What a difference a game makes.
Two nights after Marc-Andre Fleury was yanked after allowing two arguably soft goals in the first period in Ottawa, Penguins coach Michel Therrien came right back with Fleury back at home tonight vs. the Atlanta Thrashers. Fleury did not repeat his poor performance tonight, in fact he made 28 saves in a 5-0 Penguins shutout. The defense...
Hey pens fans,
Tonight, the Pens shutout the Thrashers 5-0. Fleury had the shutout tonight and this is a much needed confidence boost for him. Staal, Malone, Crosby, Armstrong, and Whitney had the Pens' goals. Gonchar had 2 assists and he also left the game early with a groind injury. Malkin's point streak has ended, as he had no points tonight. It was a good game all aro...
The Confluence writes...
Penguins' six day break is untimely, to put it nicely
Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
What is this, football ??
Just when the Penguins finally start to play some consistent hockey, the enigma that is the NHL schedule maker lowers the boom and gives the Pens a six day break.
Six days is an eternity for hockey teams, especially those teams that are playing well. Obviously, if your team is slumping, the extended time off is welcomed. But this break, at...
[img:right]http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/6527/recchi81099zv1.jpg[/img]Could there be a homecoming for Penguins winger Mark Recchi?
Recchi, who won a Stanley Cup in 2006 with Carolina, is rumoured to have seeked a trade from Pens GM Ray Shero after being a healthy scratch for more than once so far this season.
Who would want the 39 year old winger and $1.75M sala...
Lots of chatter around the Penguins' blogosphere lately concerning the possible departure of veteran winger Mark Recchi.
Courtesy of our colleague Lyle at Spector's Hockey, who received the following blurb from one of his emailers;
Pierre Maguire was on the TEAM1040 this morning (Wednesday)in Vancouver and he was talking about the Recchi situation. Him and Recchi wer...
Hey pens fans,
Last night, the Pens defeated the Stars 4-1. They played a strong game and managed to e consistant through three periods. Crosby had two goals on the night and Kennedy and Malkin each had one. Fleury was in goal and he played well. The Pens set the tone early with Crosby's first goal under a minute in and also with Laraque domination of the early fight....
Tonight, the Pittsburgh Penguins are on the road in Toronto trying to continue their three game winning streak. Before I get to the game, I would like to wish Ryan Malone a Happy Birthday. The Pens have been playing well, as of late. They easily defeated the Stars Friday night and dazzled in the offensive zone. Their defensive play has improved greatly with everyone ch...
A night after the Penguins won their third straight game with a dominating 4-1 win against the Dallas Stars at the Igloo, the skate was on the other foot tonight at the Air Canada Center as the Pens took a step back in a disappointing 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Leafs came out energized right off the bat and took it to the Pens, who didn't have a response u...
The Confluence writes...
Hard to fathom, but Sidney Crosby is hurting his team
Posted Sunday | Comments 0
Oh boy, I could take a lot of heat for this one.
Screw it, I'm gonna get it off of my chest, and put my flak jacket on. I only ask that you hear me out and read my rationale before flaming away.
OK, let's set things straight right now. I LOVE SIDNEY CROSBY, in a purely plutonic fan-to-professional athlete type of way. He's far and away the best playmaker in hockey...
If at first you don't succeed, try seven more times.
The Penguins powerplay was pretty lousy all night long, while not really generating that many good scoring opportunities in the process.
But the Pens decided eight was enough when right-handed defenseman Kris Letang scored in the left slot on a cross-ice feed from Sidney Crosby for the game-winning goal with about ...
Hey pens fans,
Tonight, the Pens took on Gretzky's Coyotes at the Mellon Arena and were victorious. Yes, we won 3-1. Talbot had the first goal and was assisted by the former coyote Laraque. The Pens' second goal was a power play goal by Letang. He was assisted by Crosby and Malkin. The Pens thrid goal was by Kennedy and he was assisted by Staal and Roberts. Fleury w...
Hey pens fans,
Tonight, the Pens defeated the Flames 3-2 in a shootout. Marc-Andre Fleury injured his ankle in the first and Sabourin finished out the game. Malkin and Malone had the two goals in regulation. Malone's goal was a great short handed effort. It was a highlight reel goal, if I ever saw one. Sykora and Letang both scored in the shoot out for the win. Sabo...
I'm not going to write a summary of what happened; Shaune did a really nice job of that on the main page, and there is no need to recap it. That being said I would like to share some pictures and thoughts.
[img]http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v152/52/107/602212162/n602212162_501919_2213.jpg[/img]
I was disappointed to see Fleury leave the game as I ...
Hey pens fans,
The Pens have now won 4 in a row. It was a great game to watch, if those of you in the Burgh managed to stay up that late. The final score was 2-1 Pens. It was a good game and it is wonderful for this team to win these games out west. Peter Sykora had the pens regulation goal in the first period. Sabourin was in net tonight, because of the Fleury injur...
More at http://pensburgh.blogspot.com
I'd be more accurate doing a fight recap than a game recap.
The Flyers destroyed the Penguins tonight by the score of 8-2. Both Joffrey Lupul and R.J Umberger were in competition with one another to see who could get the most points. Each got a hat trick on the night for the first time since 1985 that the Flyers have had two ha...
...the 8-2 blowout last year by the Penguins where Sidney Crosby had his hat trick.
or the 8-4 beating we took where Crosby had 1 goal and 5 assists.
so we can clamor over stevens sending out the #1 PP at the end of the game, but the penguins deserved what they got as soon they started messing with our goaltender. what stevens did was in retaliation to that.
th...
Hey pens fans,
Tuesday night, the Pens took on the Flyers in Philly. The Pens went down 2-0 early in the first period. The Pens answered back with two Power Play goals by Whitney and Sykora to end the period. The Flyers scored 3 goals in each of the final two periods to make the final score 8-2 Philly. Sabourin started in goal and stopped 20 of 25 shots before being r...
When the Flyer's have received suspensions this year I have not gotten to upset becuase 2 of the 5 have been deserved. Then last night I realized that hockey is a tough sport and the the commissioner and Collin Campbell need to calm down on the suspensions. Las night Sidney Crosby tripped Biron, and he tripped him from behind and Biron was not ready for it. Biron could hav...
[quote]“ There's no way to defend all the fighting and foolishness to a non-hockey fan. The NHL has worked hard to steer the game away from the professional wrestling atmosphere and emphasize the skill and the speed that really make the sport fun to watch.
But a night like this has a certain, hard-to-justify appeal to those of us who grew up watching Bobby Clarke and ...
It's no secret that winning is the gold standard by which hockey teams are judged. Winning ensures jobs and bigger contracts for players, coaches, and management; winning builds the fan support and, in turn, the ticket revenue that drive the business of sports. Teams that don't play to win are running on borrowed time.
This fundamental concept makes Michel Therrien's ...
Alright, we all know that Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has the potential to be an all-star. We also know that he is not having the best year. Now comes word that he will be on the sidelines approximately 6-8 weeks with an ankle sprain.
So, the question that will be asked again is this: Is it time to try to trade one of our goalies to Pittsburgh? And if so, for whom...
steal_your_faceoff writes...
Flyers score 8 vs Pens, Laraque-What will Campbell do? WWCD
Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
[b]Holy Schnieky![/b]
[img]http://cdn.nhl.com/images/logos/75/phi.gif[/img][img]http://cdn.nhl.com/images/logos/75/pit.gif[/img]
[b]Wow[/b]...words can hardly begin to describe what happened at the Bank Building.
Coming into last night's tilt, the Flyers were a dreadfully inconsistent team searching for some home-ice answers; while the Penguins were the team on a ...
Hey pens fans,
Last night, the Pens fell to the Sens 4-1. This game was basically decided by one main factor and his name is Gerber. He was brilliant in net for the Sens and kept the Pens from evening the score. The Pens did not play their best game, but the score does not reflect the effort they put out. Crosby was obviously frustrated with the lack of scoring, but t...
A little blogging piece about yours truly for your Saturday afternoon.
[img]http://boredplanet.com/img/iamblogger.jpg[/img]
My mother always told me that there would be days like these. Then again, she also told me to wear clean underwear, clean my room, finish my vegetables, remove the cat from the oven, and PLEASE don't run around the house with a live hand gre...
You know, the (1-goal) win over Phoenix did [i][b]NOTHING [/b][/i]for me, in terms of being impressed with this team right now. Tonight's debacle took things a step further ...
A few points from tonight's horrendous effort:
1) Chris Simon [i][b]has [/b][/i]to go.
That was as bush league a move as I've seen in a long, long time. I gave him the benefit of the doubt ...
[url]http://youtube.com/watch?v=3hKeVb_G-PI[/url]
[url]http://youtube.com/watch?v=IzUPO3fadkc[/url]
I had missed this play, having had to head down to section 201 to join my fellow Blog Boxers. I had watched the game from seats in section 302, slapped inbetween the second-coming of Rosanne Barr, complete with Lee Press-On nails, and an updated version of Thelma and Lou...
It's clear that the Rangers are having problems with their defense. After four or more goals in the past four games, King looks tired ( wrist & flu). Most goalies in the NHL strive to be the #1 keeper,while others are content to be the # 2. Those that are happy playing the backup role need to be real artists. They need to stay sharp,play locker room good guy,and step ...
It's clear that the Rangers are having problems with their defense. After four or more goals in the past four games, King looks tired ( wrist & flu). Most goalies in the NHL strive to be the #1 keeper,while others are content to be the # 2. Those that are happy playing the backup role need to be real artists. They need to stay sharp,play locker room good guy,and step ...
Sidney Crosby flew down the wing with Ryan Whitney on a 2 on 1. As he neared the goalie, Crosby flung the puck past the defenseman and right to the stick of Whitney. A split second later, whitney returned the puck to Crosby at the right post. Wide open net. Goal, right?
Gary Roberts along the right boards. To Erik Christensen had at the right faceoff dot. He spun aroun...
The Penguins are in trouble this season, but it’s in no way the kind of trouble that would warrant any significant overhauls to the team. The one major change that should be carefully considered is the man behind the bench. Therrien is not getting the best out of his team, period. There is no line combination that he hasn’t tried that is going to be the magic f...
Hey pens fans,
Well, last night the Pens fell to the Rangers 4-0. It was not pretty, so I will not dwell on that.
The Pens have made some moves. Connor James was re-assigned to WBS and the Pens called up Jeff Taffe.
On the injury front, Ryan Malone went in for a medical evaluation on a leg infection.
Also, the holiday trade freeze will go into effect at midnight to...
Hey pens fans,
Tonight, the Pens defeated the Bruins 5-4 in a shootout. The Pens blew a big league to force the ot and shoot out, where Christensen and Letang scored for the win. Malkin had 2 goals. Laraque took on Chara twice in the game. Sidney Crosby had the Gordie Howe Hat Trick. This was also his first NHL fight vs Andrew Ference. The Pens are back in the Burgh...
Hey all!
I just completed a guest spot with Noah Borer for The Hockey Ticket on mvn.com.
We talked Lightning and Islanders hockey, as well as some general NHL issues during what turned out to be - in my humble opinion, of course - an outstanding conversation!
Some of the things we covered:
Chris Simon
Colin Campbell's slip-up
The Isles goal scoring woes
Kyle...
Does anyone else believe that Kris Letang will end up being the better Pens D prospect? I do.
Don't get me wrong, I believe they are both very good, and as Pens fans we are very fortunate, but I think Letang has more upside... and may even be better right now.
Here are some points that I believe support my case:
1. Letang is just as mobile, and can start the rus...
BUFFALO -- To nullify any advantages or adversities created by weather conditions at Ralph Wilson Stadium during Tuesday’s AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic (1 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, RDS, NHL Radio), the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins will switch ends halfway through the third period – ensuring each team would spend the equivalent number of minutes attacking or def...
Hey pens fans,
Last night, the Pens took on the Sabres in an Ice Bowl preview and emerged with the win. The Pens were up one to nothing with the goal by Armstrong. At the end of the game Crosby worked for the puc and brought it into the zone to setup Malin for the empty-netter. Ty Conklin played a solid game to earn the shutout.
Winter Classic
I will be there to ...
[img]http://cdn.nhl.com/penguins/images/upload/2007/12/wc2008_wide.gif[/img]
It ended with Sidney Crosby as the sixth shooter to fumble the puck toward the goalie through the bad ice, slush and snow that was the rink at Ralph Wilson Stadium. It was history, or so said the NHL, as the Buffalo Sabres hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first outdoor game in the U.S. It ...
A quick energetic start is needed tonight as the Panthers face off against Crosby and the Penguins. Whatever problems that have caused the inconsistenly lately hopefully have been addressed and we will see a rejuvinated group tonight.
If there is any hope of getting to the playoffs the Panthers need to get themselves on a roll now!
Jacques Martin had met with every pl...
It has been rumored for a while that Jaromir Jagr could be on the move from the Rangers. According to sources Pittsburgh was looking into #68 coming back to ride shotgun along Sid. This season JAGGS has looked dynamic at times and far more often, lost at others. One can sense that this is how fires started in Cap city with the foward coming to Broadway for Anson Carter. Ca...
Another loss to Pittsburgh this time on home ice where the Panthers have now lost 4 in a row and 8 of 10 since November. They have also lost 5 of their last 6 games. Just a couple weeks ago we were pretty excited about the way they were playing and that first place was actually within reach. What a difference a few games make. This game started out badly with the P...
[b]According to the Columbus Dispatch[/b], the Blue Jackets are believed to be interested in defenseman Fedor Tyutin of the New York Rangers, and possibly center Erik Christensen of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
[b]Could we be seeing the fruits of a long-standing stay [/b]by the scouts of these two teams, especially the Rangers? Tyutin is young (24) and looks to be coming in...
steal_your_faceoff writes...
Any Given Sunday - Flyers Ice Panthers and Look Ahead
Posted Thursday | Comments 0
[img]http://s228.photobucket.com/albums/ee162/JHRIV/th_079074991201LZZZZZZZ.jpg[/img]
[b]Any given Sunday...[/b]
With all due respect to Oliver Stone, while that phrase obviously related to football, it rings true in all professional sports - with hockey being no exception. On any given Sunday, any team can beat any other team.
[img]http://s228.photobucket.com/al...
Well give me a long weekend and I'll have a few odd thoughts.
-What the Hell is up with the Rangers. I mean, idiots like me were saying that Sather was just doing things the old Rangers way back this summer. But I never thought it'd actually come to pass. By that I mean just signing big names without a thought of how they'd fit or what the chemistry would be like. He ev...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neat1325/sets/72157603792558331/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrmanMIMZu8
Thank you to my hockey team"hell if I know", HF, Rad, The Finns, Theresa, Brooke, Kristin, Sharon's Husband and Dad and anyone else who came to say hello. It is so awesome to see so many people.
I got to the game with great time. I parked over by the 11th...
I thought I had seen it all when it came to people making biased comments regarding the actions of Philadelphia Flyer, Steve Downie, but Mr. Gage, it seems, has raised the bar when it comes to prejudice against the notorious rookie. In his recent Blog [url]http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?blogger_id=102[/url] , Gage concludes that Downie actually went so far as to fak...
Thank you, Bill Guerin ...
I've been yapping all year long (for years, actually) about how just getting into the playoffs should [i][b]never [/b][/i]be [i][b]any [/b][/i]team's goal. Ties may be gone in the NHL, but mediocrity is also about as satisfying as kissing your sister, so the analogy remains. While I [i][b]am [/b][/i]grateful to have the Islanders qualifying fo...
Hey pens fans,
Tonight, the Pens lost to the Thrashers 4-1. Conklin was in net and stopped 16 of 20 shots. Whitney had the only goal (Christensen, Talbot). The Pens had 30 shots on the night. They played a fairly good game. With the injuries, I thought it was a good effort. One thing that is positive is that thtey never gave up and played until the bitter end. No o...
Here goes my first blog, but I finally have something that needs to be said.
I watched the Pens/Thrashers game last night on TSN and saw "the hit".
[sarcasm]Oh my god, Ruutu ruined Kovalchuk with a blatant knee-on-knee dirty hit that will obviously end Kovalchuks career and cement Ruutu's legacy as a Samuelsson clone! [/sarcasm]
Are you kidding me? Ruutu finished ...
Hey pens fans,
The Pens have acquired forward David Gove from the Carolina Hurricanes for forward Joe Jensen. Gove played 45 games this season scoring 23 points for the Albany River Rats, the American AHL affiliate of the Hurricanes. Gove will report to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Jensen was originally selected by the Penguins in the eighth round of the 2003 NHL Draft. He rec...
Hey pens fans,
Last night, the Pens mounted 4 goals in the third to down Carolina 4-1. Christensen, Sykora, Malkin, and Malone got the goals. Conklin was in the net. It was a solid effort by the team. They looked a little off in the beginning, but they picked up, took control, and never looked back.
Beech is with the team and practicing. Look for him sometime in t...
Hey pens fans,
Tonight, the Pens fell too the Devils in OT on the road. the final score was 4-3 Devils. Malone, Sykora and Staal had the Pens goals. Sykora got his 6ooth point. Malkin had 2 assists. Conklin was in goal stopping 21 of 25 shots. In the second, it loked like there would be no stopping the Pens from this victory, but in the end they were stopped. The P...
Hey pens fans,
There are plenty of rumors flying around out there, with the deadline approaching. Here is the run down of the Penguin ones.
Hossa: Atlanta is lookinig to move him before they lose him to free agency. They want to make the playoffs and they have some slots to fill in the roster. I think Hossa will move. I would say the Penguins are one of the more ...
Following Tuesday's night's loss to the defending Stanley Cup Champs, the news got worse for the Islanders as Miroslav Satan has been declared a no-go for tonight's game against the surging Pens. Despite being without Sid the Kid, the Penguins sit in third place in the Atlantic, just a win behind the top-seeded Devils and a point behind the second place Flyers. With Mike S...
In case you haven't heard, oft-suspended Islanders forward Chris Simon is back practicing with the team as of yesterday, is eligible to return February 21st against Tampa and will do so immediately, according to coach Ted Nolan:
[i]"I can't see why he wouldn't get right back in the lineup. Other guys get injured and then get right back in. I don't see this as any differ...
Hey pens fans,
Tonight, the Pens were in Carolina taking on the Hurricanes. The Pens lost 4-2. Brooks Orpik scored his first goal since 2005 and Malkin had the Pens' other goal. Sabourin was in goal stopping 42 of 46. The Pens' penelty kill struggled tonight and allowed 3 goals. The Pens only had 20 shots on net, as well. It was a mediocre effort for the Pens and th...
Hey pens fans,
The last two games are a bit of a black cloud over the team going into tomorrow's game in Buffalo. Their play previvous to that had been very good, especially when considering all the injuries we have sustained. With the trade deadline approaching, the question is what Ray Shero will do, if anything, to fill these roles?
When it comes to Fleury's in...
Actually, there will be "deals" between now and February 26. And there will be red all over some of them, as in Chicago road red.
Look for the Hawks to make some moves beyond the typical "trade Zyuzin, Perreault and a box of tape to Carolina for a conditional late round pick in 2012 and the rights to Wayne van Dorp."
Look for the Hawks to potentially make some big mo...
I was reading through Ek's blog and the comments left by many people concerning Mats Sundin's desire to stay in Toronto and I couldn't help but think so many people are mis guided.
The number of "Mats is selfish", "Mats is not thinking of the team", "Mats is an idiot" etc type replies was very alarming and extremely disappointing to me.
Assuming that what Sundin said...
Hello everyone...I'm a first time writer, long time reader. I love the community aspect of this site and I'd like to share some of my thoughts about your Pittsburgh Penguins.
There are tons of rumors out there involving the Penguins. The most prevalent one as of now seems to be Staal and some sort of package going to Chicago for T. Ruutu and Havlat. Some conflicting rep...
Let's call this one:
Crazy Dale's Deadline Dealin' Madness!!! 6 hours only!!!
According to Bob MacKenzie of TSN, the Blackhawks e-mailed a list of 8 names on their roster to the entire NHL last night, saying that they were entertaining offers. The list:
Khabibulin
Lang
Havlat
Ruutu
Lapointe
Perreault
Zyuzin
Bourque
Now, first, there is no guarantee that ...
So another trade deadline has come and gone, with alot more trades then was expected on my part, now we will select 3 teams that we see as winners and 3 teams that we see as losers based on todays trades not on what picks might bring you down the road.
[b][u]WINNERS[/u][/b]
[b]Dallas[/b]- The Stars picked up one of the bigger names at the deadline picking up Brad Ric...
Hockey is a game of emotion, point blank. Sergei Gonchar lost his cool on a play against superstar/superpest Daniel Alfreddson. Now I may take some heat for calling Alfredsson a superpest but let's call it as it is, this guy gets under your skin. I think the play on Sergei Gonchar is proof in the pudding. But I must also be very clear that I think there is a big differ...
Michel Therrien seems to have more in common with the late Rodney Dangerfield than just a few facial expressions or similar gestures would indicate . It appears, from my point of view, that like Dangerfield, Therrien "Don't Get No Respect" either.
I was reading different articles over the past couple of days and there are a number of people that think Therrien needs to ...
Hey Pens Fans,
The return of Sidney Crosby has been much anticipated and it went well. Also, Ryan Whitney was back in the lineup tonight, as well. Talbot had the Pens' first goal which came late in the third to make it 1-0. Dupuis and Crosby had the assists. At the end of the game, Malkin netted an empty-netter from Talbot to make it 2-0. Fleury was in goal stopping ...
Xias writes...
An introduction post; Top 3 Picks to come out of the East!
Posted Saturday | Comments 0
First, let me take the time to welcome anyone who happens to click on this post and give me a chance to entertain you through my blog. Although the Rangers are my favorite team and I make no attempt to hide that, my aspirations are to be an objective journalist, not a cheerleader, and I hope my writing will reflect that. Any criticism, constructive or otherwise, is both we...
Ok so I know I'm gonna get a lot of heat for this one. But it should get some reaction from the Blue seats. Axel has been back and forth to Broadway more than "Kristen" . His performances have been erratic and sometime they've been brilliant. Yet one thing is for sure # 27 is free again this summer. OK,Ok, so most of you want to shed salary and go after Brian Campbell...
Kukkonen fans rejoice.... Lasse will be in the line-up today... Obviously Hatch not in the line-up after going off early yesterday in Boston... He is having an MRI done today and I should have an update sometime in the 3rd period.
Marty Biron will start today... surprising move considering his record in the back end of consecutive days played (0-4 4.66 goals against and...
Sometimes it takes a loss to understand how important a player is to his team. The Capitals lost 5-0 to the Blackhawks last night. In a game where the Capitals failed to score, it was more apparent than ever how Alexander Ovechkin is the league MVP.
A week or so ago, Ek posted the "Who Would You Build Your Team Around" blog.
The options...Sidney Crosby or Alexander...
[img]http://boredplanet.com/img/neworleanstrip3.jpg[/img]
New Orleans is haunted. They say this as a matter-of-fact. Sure, there is that touristy aura to the French Quarter where drama club dropouts hark silly stories and half truths to Pa and Ma with the kids who have come in from Memphis. That's not the part of the French quarter I frequented. Instead we delved dee...
The regular season has only 5 games remaining.
The (expected) playoff birth has been obtained an now it's really just a question of heading into the post season playing good "playoff hockey" and above all...staying healthy.
I know the team and the fans would like a division championship...at least...and maybe even first place in the conference.
But honestly to me...
The Rangers and Pens played a hard fought game this afternoon that seemed to turn up in intensity as the game went along.
After scoring first, the Rangers continued to apply pressure in the offensive zone, but (as Ed Olczyk correctly pointed out) allowed Pittsburgh too much space in the high slot and at the points by continually collapsing in front of Lundqvist. Mari...
C4LL4W4Y writes...
Pens vs. Rangers round 2; Can the East beat the West?
Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
The Rangers edged the Penguins in a hard defensive battle last night to pull even with the Devils at 93 points and give themselves from breathing room from the surging Capitals.
Chris Drury scored the game winner in overtime on the power play after the the Penguins had tied it with about 10 minutes to go in the 3rd.
The equalizer came after Jagr gathered some steam...
Well with two games left, the Flyers are in the mix for the playoffs but have not secured a ticket yet. So what are the possibilities for this weekend. Listen I have my degree in Math, but even I won't list all the possibilities. But, here is what I know for sure.
[b]The Good[/b]
After the lost season of 2006-2007 where the Flyers were the worst team in the league, ...
No Look Drop Pass writes...
Malkin or Crosby? Because you can't have both!
Posted Thursday | Comments 0
The Lakers having to choose between Shaq and Kobe, the two playres who led them to three consecutive NBA championships but were never invited to each others birthday parties, will be nothing compared to the choice #66 has to make in the not-so-distant future about who he wants leading the March of the Penguins -- 87 or 71?
It has to be rare for someone to pull back the...
We have arrived at my favourite time of year -- the Stanley Cup playoffs. This year's playoff fever in the Nation's Capital can be described as virtually non-existent, as the city's fickle fanbase have completely abandoned the Sens bandwagon, stripped it for parts, and used the money to buy Canadiens paraphernalia. That being said, I still have a sliver of faith, and if on...
Hockey, like any other sport, is a psychological game as much as a physical one. Those who doubt this have only to look in the direction of Washington to see what an infusion of confidence and "get-out-of-our-way-or-suffer-the-consequences" mentality can do for a team - that and a top goal scorer.
So it was with glee that I read the articles posted on the Internet and i...
It’s baaaaaaack! The NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs are scheduled and are ready to blow hockey fans out of the ice yet again this year. Tonight at 7 p.m. the Ottawa Senators and the Pittsburgh Penguins will meet up again in first round live on Versus. Tonight starts the wall-to-wall, double-header charged NHL playoff coverage on Versus that I’ve grown to love over the pa...
No Look Drop Pass writes...
Sens Punished; Three keys (plus one) to rebounding in Game 2
Posted Thursday | Comments 0
Going into last night's game, my heart and I were talking, and Pumpy said "They can do it! The Sens have had 6 full days off to prepare a new PP scheme, settle their PK, and to establish a gameplan for shutting down the Pens multi-headed attack...Go Sens GO!" My brain, however, had a different opinion -- "Pumpy, you are stupid and should shut your dumb ventricles up! There...
The NHL playoffs are always great for those who actually watch them. Even those would say that hockey is no longer one of the "4 major sports" in America would agree there is nothing quite like the Quest for the Cup.
But when talking about showcasing the league's product and consequentially helping the NHL gain market share and visibility in the long run to help the le...
Please help me get it through the NHL's head that all the Black, dark Blue and other dark colors look black on the high contrast white surface. The games are visually dull and impossible for the average fan to quickly identify the teams. I suggest going back to the 60's and 70's. The worst are TAMPA, DALLAS, ANAHEIM, PITTSBURGH, VANCOUVER and any team that has a BLACK "...
It's Sens time! After Game two's stunning comeback -- one which saw the Senators claw back into a 3-0 game they had no business getting back into, on goals by Donovan, Stillman and Bass, only to lose on a heart breaker, wrap-around PP goal by Ryan Malone -- the Senators showed a waivering fan base that they are competitors and are not going to mail in the 2008 season. It w...
I think one of the most interesting things to me this year is how much trash people will leave on message boards under various sports site articles. Mostly because their ideas are one-sided and often presented in an abusive matter.
Here it goes:
~ Pens fans...Sidney Crsoby is definately a talented guy, no one will argue you that. The reason no other teams will resp...
I only did the western conference going 2-2. I picked Calgary and they came just a bit short, and Anaheim shocked everybody except Dallas.
Anyways.. Round 2 Predictions. Just noticed that the first, second, fifth and sixth seeds advanced in each conference. These have got to be some of the best second round matchups I have seen in quite a while.
WESTERN CONFEREN...
Well, it's probably the most cliche blog a hockey fan can possibly write, but here are my round two predictions!
[b]Montreal Canadiens vs Philadelphia Flyers[/b]
Both teams are coming off 7 game series, but the Habs have had an extra day off and have home ice advantage. The Flyers will be playing 3 games in 4 nights. The Habs should take games 1 and 2, but I expect t...
First of all, Let me just say how disappointed in the lack of orginality in these picks :
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs2008/news/story?id=3364125
...picking the higher seated team across the board...perhaps consider the how each team is playing and then decide... Here it goes:
[u][b]East:[/b][/u]
Rangers vs. Penguins - This should be quite an exciti...
When a team wins first place in the regular season, why can't that home-ice advantage extend to even a modicum of home-fan advantage for broadcast start times of away games?
Those of you cheering on your teams in the Eastern Conference won't even know what I'm talking about. But for Wings fans, being in the Western Conference and in the Eastern Time Zone results in an ...
...the dumbest thing I've seen/heard in the playoffs so far...i mean this is really up there...booing Jagr? REALLY? When was the last time he played for you. I mean Montreal boos Briere but at least that joke of a reason is in recent history. Jagr left 7 years ago!
...the fans in Pittsburgh could not be more pathetic...it's just proof that they're no better than all...
With work, school, and final papers/exams, it has been a bit tough to catch a lot of these playoff games, and it truly does disappoint me. Today I just had enough time to only catch the final buzzer of the third period of Game 2 in the Pens/Rangers series, and you can imagine that I liked seeing Avery get what he had coming too him...but there is a lot more to be seen from...
The Pittsburgh Penguins look like they have made enormous strides. They have matched the Rangers in two heavy weight matches. In the first they were able to take three blows to the head and then come back with some cheap jabs and then one knockout punch. Yesterday, they held their own in their own corner playing defense until Staal roofed a shot past the King. As muc...
It may be over. It may have been over after Period 2 on Friday when the Rangers allowed the Penguins to score two late goals to cut the lead to one. It may have ended when Matrin Straka's apparant goal was disallowed. However, if and when it ended will not be revealed until this series ends. The Rangers are not dead yet, though they may be on life support.
Game 3 is a ...
The final score was 5-3, but that in no way tells the whole story of this game. Early on, the Pens were out for the win and were playing like no other. Marion Hossa got the Pens on the board early with a goal from Dupuis and Crosby. The Rangers came back to tie it with Straka's goal . Then to close out the period, the Pens netted two more to make it 3-1 with goals by Laraq...
After watching game 3 against the Rangers, I'd say pretty good.
But seriously. 7-0. In all likelihood about to be 8-0.
I wouldn't have predicted it, not in a long shot, but the Pens are proving why they're the cream of the crop in the East, and they're rising to the top at precisely the right time.
Their confidence is SKYROCKETING after this win at MSG. Not onl...
It's funny how Karma works in sports. For almost two season Glen Sather has had a love affair with Brooks Orpik and Ryan Malone.(two free agents) There were a few times when Slats almost pulled the trigger to bring the nasty D-man and the tuff power forward to NY for Petr Prucha plus.http://www2.sportsnet.ca/blogs/hockey_hearsay/2007/01/14/changes_coming_for_rangers/ I...
Avery lacerated his spleen and will miss the remainder of the playoffs.
I'm not surrounded by many hockey fans where I work...but somehow I managed to get the Pens/Rags game on the tube to help pass time on a slow day. Let me tell ya it was much better than watching baseball...and the fact that the Pens held off the Rangers after erasing a 3-1 deficit made it all the better.
But I cannot ignore to mention the fact that a typical hit from b...
I think so. He slew-footed Paul Mara as he was going toward the empty net.
Watch the video and decide for yourself:
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN99_E0tLhg[/url]
Let's bust out the NHL rule book:
[url]http://www.nhl.com/rules/rule91.html[/url] for reference:
d.) Any player who is guilty of "slew-footing" shall be assessed a match penalty. This penalt...
Growing up I was addicted to those 60's & 70's Scooby Doo cartoons. The Villains would almost always turn out to be the resident good guy in the episode. At the end the crew would pull the mask off to find out that this good guy was the evil character all along. How fitting, because at the end of last nights Rangers/Penguins game we found out that the possible MVP Malk...
...I've read alot of complaints on all teams in the playoffs so far.
...Really the only series have serious second round involvement in has been the Flyers/Habs and I can say that there has been some pretty one sided officiating. Montreal has had almost twice as many power plays. Am I to belive that while we were in the lead we were taking careless penalties all game....
...so the results are in...it's the Flyers vs. the Pens....
...I was pretty thrilled with the Flyers come back last night...very impressive. I think what has been most impressive about these playoffs is the fact that there has been suck a balanced effort for our Flyers. There is only one forward that has played on a regular basis that hasn't scored (Thoresen). Tha...
It's the playoff series the Flyers fans and possibly the players have wanted since the end of the Regular Season. As we all remember back to that final Sunday game in Philadelphia where some media and players insinuated that the Pens threw the game to take the easy route to the Eastern Conference Finals. I would actually have cheered for this if I was a Pens fan, calling...
This is going to be one interesting series. The Flyers are a pretty hot team, right now. Then, you factor in the rivalry between the Pens and Flyers, which will likely elevate both teams, and it is going to get interesting. Biron has been solid in goal and he is not at revered as Lundqvist, but he is someone to pay attention to. Biron has a lot to prove and Fleury has ...
[i]But if you try sometimes you just might find you get what you need[/i]
[img]http://www.poster.net/rolling-stones-the/rolling-stones-the-photo-xl-the-rolling-stones-6212539.jpg[/img]
Mick and the Boys beautifully expressed the quandary the Flyers (and Pens) find themselves with a four day layoff until the puck drops to begin to decide the Eastern Conference Champion...
Well, I for one was surprised how quick each series ended, and really thought that the Rangers Penguins series would have been a bit closer. The San Jose Dallas series did go 6 games after Dallas got a quick 3-0 series lead, with a record 5 games being decided in the extra frame. Well lets get to what is currently at hand.
[i]Western Conference Finals[/i]
[b]1. Detroit...
[b]Pittsburgh Penguins [/b]
[u]Draft[/u]
2006 #2 overall pick [b]Jordan Staal[/b]
2005 #1 overall pick [b]Sidney Crosby[/b]
2005 #62 [b]Kris Letang[/b]
2004 #2 overall pick [b]Evgeni Malkin[/b]
2003 #1 overall pick [b]Marc-Andre Fleury[/b]
2002 #5 overall pick [b]Ryan Whitney[/b]
2002 #234 [b]Maxim Talbot[/b]
2000 #18 [b]Brooks Orpik [/b]
1999 #115 [b]Ryan Malo...
It's still early in the Rangers off season,but never too early to explore off season options. This is a quick post just on some forwards the Rangers could take a run at.
1) Ryan Malone- Not only could the Rangers bring him in but he could also apologize to Chris Drury for costing them the series. He's a hell of a young player with good hands and hulking si...
Where did the Penguins come from? They were awful for a while, so bad that Jagr wanted to leave and was traded in one of the worst trades for both teams in history. Neither team made out well. The only good thing for the Pens in that deal was that they got rid of his salary. So now I am reading what a masterful job of building a team the Pens have done. Ok, I will giv...
We're down to the final round before the Stanley Cup. The remaining two teams after the Conference Finals will own some minor bragging rights to the East and the West, but the Cup is what defines it all. It defines every injury that was played through; every broken bone, blood gushing wound, any limp or ache: everything. And now we're only 14 games away from it all, at the...
...Kimmo Timmonen out with a blood clot in his foot...and all of a sudden people go from being extremely hopeful to completely defeated. What is wrong with you people!?!
...I love Timmonen, I really do. He is honestly one of the best defenseman I've ever seen and he has been nothing short of spectacular in the playoffs so far. The main factor that AO wasn't on a scor...
Phigment writes...
Flyers vs Penguins - Game 1 - Pens win 4-2 - lead series 1-0
Posted Friday | Comments 0
[b]Pregame:[/b]
Wow what a blow before the series starts. Losing Timonen is devastating blow on the eve of the big matchup. With all the fire power the Pens have, he was going to have to play 25 to 30 minutes to counteract their attack. Now Jason Smith, is going to have to play more meaningful minutes. I hope his ailments that have slowed him since January are healed....
Good thing I didn't write this last night as I had planned... because the loss of Kimmo Timmonen certainly could have that much of an impact.
Was the layoff between the series a bad thing?
I really don't think so. Sure the Flyers were on a roll, but so were the Penguins. And with guys like Hatcher, Smith and others who are older and dinged up as virtually everyone ...
We won! Yes Pens Fans, we won the game. It was a very physical game and the Penguins outplayed the Flyers hands down. Fleury was on tonight and played a wonderful game. Malkin had two goals and played a very physical game. At the end, when he was looking at his hand, it was his broken chain and cross not an injury. Crosby's goal was a great redirect off the heel of h...
[b][u]PERIOD ONE[/u][/b]
One of the key problems Philadelphia had was Martin Biron wandering the boards. He coughed up the puck to the Pens more often than he helped his defense, and in fact it cost him a goal which allowed Pittsburgh to tie it at 2.
The second area where they had an issue was one of the keys to this series that I said they needed to pay attention ...
To say that the Penguins "powered past" the Flyers in Game 1 is absolutely wrong. Last night was one of those games where "they didn't win it, we lost it." The Flyers certainly can hang in this series based on last night's game. Look at the tape: ALL 4 PENGUINS GOALS resulted from FLYERS TURNOVERS. As I said in my keys for the Flyers to win this series (which can be re...
[b][u]PERIOD ONE[/u][/b]
Once again, the Pens come out with the advantage on the scoreboard, with just a 1-0 lead. It was an interesting period, as we shall see.
The last thing the Flyers needed was another defenseman to go down with injury. Already missing Timonen, Braden Coburn was a big minute player, and one who could actually move the puck. Now they are down o...
Phigment writes...
Flyers vs Penguins - Game 2 - Pens win 4-2 - lead series 2-0
Posted Sunday | Comments 0
What an effort by the Flyers tonight. 1 minute into the game their best defenseman goes down with a puck to the face. The other 5 remaining defensemen played hard. They held the top offense around to 0 even strength goals until the costly mistake by 4th line winger Steve Downie costs the Flyers dearly. He had full control of the puck and fumbled it at the blue line, se...
Well, this game was more physical than the last, but the Pens still came out with the win. Crosby, Hossa, Talbot and Staal had the Pens' goals. The disallowed goal looked to be over the line after I saw the replay, when I got home, but the word from Toronto was that it was unclear if the entire puck crossed the line. You canot tell for sure, but it had to have been. It...
I don't [b]think[/b] I am being disrespectful or overly assuming when I say that the odds are that, following a Game 2 loss, the Flyers season will be ending in the very near future. Based on that, I thought it might be a good idea to take a look at a specific move that I feel they can make that will do wonders for their future.
Ready? Here goes:
[b]GIVE AN OFFER S...
[b]Game Notes[/b]
The loss of the two top defensemen is key for the showing so far. With Timmonen and Coburn, the Flyers were the underdog, but had a chance. Without them, the Pens are just toying with the Flyers. As the remaining 6 move up to play against better competition, they just cannot get the puck out cleanly. The Pens have to puck forever.
I hate to say ...
Once again I took notes through the game and provide my opinions on what I saw here.
PERIOD ONE
Back to Philadelphia we go and the Flyers are down 2 games to 0. It's not how they wanted to be coming home and as this period has gone on, that energizing crowd has been fairly tame. I was expecting to be hearing the roof coming off regularly, and to be fair, the Pens g...
Let's face it folks, with both the East and West Conference Finals series' at 3-0 in favor of the Penguins and the Red Wings respectively, we know what the Stanley Cup Finals matchup will be already. With only two teams in history having come back from 3-0 deficits, the odds are astronomical that these two teams don't face off for Lord Stanley's prize. So let's look at t...
Tonight is game 4 of the series against the Flyers. The Pens enter the game up 3-0 and tonigiht could be the possible sweep. It will not be an easy game by any means. The Flyers will not go down without a fight, especially at home. Tonight will be a battle with these two teams and such animosity between them, it could get ugly. The Flyers are fightinig to stay alive a...
steal_your_faceoff writes...
Irresistible Force, List of FIRSTS and Pearl Harbour??
Posted Thursday | Comments 0
Make that 3-0 at the break on a sweeeeeeet forehand to backhand chip shot in the crease over the sprawled MAF by Jeff Carter. This young man seems to be beginning to understand how big time a player he can be. He has all the tools - that is no surprise - but his mental toughness and sense of "clutch" plays is really developing. He has all the makings of an elite centerm...
Here there be Flyers. My observations and commentaries on Game Four lay within.
[b][u]PERIOD ONE[/u][/b]
This is where it all comes down to effort, to tenacity, to energy. The Flyers need to come out quick and they need to control the game from the outset. Anything less and it'll be over quick.
And they do just that.
Coach Stevens has juggled the lines a b...
Once again, and for the final time with this series, my period-by-period take on this Eastern Conference Finals Matchup.
[b][u]PERIOD ONE[/u][/b]
Philadelphia, for wanting to keep this series going, has begun by doing everything absolutely....wrong.
Giveaways in the first two games of this series were killers for the Flyers. Thus far they have turned the puck ...
steal_your_faceoff writes...
Nothing left to do but smile, smile smile...Kudos to Pens!!!
Posted Monday | Comments 0
[img]http://s228.photobucket.com/albums/ee162/JHRIV/th_penguins-2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://insanekillerpenguins.com/db1/00085/insanekillerpenguins.com/_uimages/pic291681.gif[/img]
[u][b]Killer Penguins with a Bad Attitude[/b][/u]
While I am a little saddened at the way the Flyers went out, they were clearly dominated by a superior team that had a chip on its collecti...
Nothing would have beaten another win, but I could not be more proud of [i]my[/i] Dallas STARS! I hate being on the wrong side of the handshake ... but our boys deserved a great send-off ... and myself and the fans came through nicely! Detroit was no doubt the better team but Dallas gave them a run for their money. After 3 straight first-round exits, the STARS erased so...
I have to say, although I was the one who was duped it was actually pretty clever, and I have to admit, one of the better pranks that I've witnessed. And I will have all of you know that I am not as gullible as you will soon think. I actually am typically the one who is doing the pranking.
For instance, a few years ago I had my friend who was the back-up goalie for my ...
The [i]Pittsburgh Post-Gazette[/i] published a cartoon that showed the giant Uniroyal tire that is near Detroit Metro Airport adorned in Winged Wheel regalia. The air was going out of the tire and the caption was "Deflate the Wings."
In response, the [i]Detroit Free Press[/i] invited readers to submit their own posters to counteract the Penguin attack.
Currently, 28 ...
Seven games, decided by one goal in double overtime. And even then, it could go either way.
Yes, that is the prevailing thought for this year's Stanley Cup Finals between Detroit and Pittsburgh. Through three rounds, the Wings have lost just four games while the Penguins have just two defeats.
Two great teams that would be great teams at any point in the league's his...
Here we go, the last "Outsiders Looking In" Edition of the summer, and with only two teams remaining there should be plenty of us, so let's start talking some Stanley Cup hockey.
[b]The Pittsburgh Penguins vs. The Detroit Red Wings[/b]
A battle of talent that at times is so good it's obscene. Strong, impressive goaltending on both ends, young and rising stars that ha...
The Series heads back to Pittsburgh for what could be the start of many years of seeing the Pens in the SCF or could be the last time that we see a SCF game played in Pittsburgh for a little while.
I will not go totally negative with the blog (just for you Jules) but history shows that the Pens have a long tough road to travel against these Wings in order to just get ...
When you hear Pens fans crow about how few Wings fans show up for games 3 and 4, they probably won't mention this little tidbit from Ticketmaster:
[b]Additional Information:
Mellon Arena is located in Pittsburgh, PA. Sales to this event will be restricted to residents of PA, OH, WV, MD, NY, NJ, DE, VA and the District of Columbia. Residency will be based on credit car...
Steve Willamson is my newest hockey hero.
The Orlando-based Tampa Bay Lightning fan completed every hockey fan's dream last winter, visiting all 30 NHL arenas in 30 nights.
Including Mellon Arena in Pittsbugh.
Why is that significant, you ask? It appears Williamson is not welcome in Mellon Arena. Neither are residents of New England, the South, the West, or much o...
Well, this was a hard night for the Penguins. This was the first home loss since February 24th. This game was frustrating to watch, as a Pens' Fan, though I am sure the Wing's Fans loved at least the final two periods. The Penguins were deflated at the end of this game, as a group. One positive was in the post game press conferences, hope could still be heard in Sidney...
I grew up in Pittsburgh and now live and work in Cleveland, OH. As I sit in my office at work in Cleveland, I originally was getting frustrated and upset with all of my co-workers, most in their 30s, 40s, and 50s (I am the only one in my 20s) coming by my office and say things like "Whats goin on with your Pens" or "How bout that game on Saturday." Some were being snide, o...
Although I bleed Red,White,and Blue for my Rangers, the game of hockey always comes first. My dedication to the game and love for the sport continues to grow as I get older.But being a goaltender, I gain more and more respect for the warriors in the mask. Their helmets and equipment are not just an obsession but their own personal styles and techniques are an art with in ...
grapes17 writes...
Sykora, Gonchar, Ruth, Baun -- this was one for the ages
Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
This is why we are hockey fans.
Monday night was a game for the ages, and if you do not believe that, consider the names of Bobby Baun and Babe Ruth were invoked sometime around the second or third overtime.
Pittsburgh defenseman Sergei Gonchar left the game early with an upper-body injury -- and this time, it really looked like the entire upper body -- after crashin...
I think my feelings are best summed up in a quote from [b][i]Anchorman[/i][/b]...
[i][Wes Mantooth to Ron Burgandy][/i][b][quote]From deep down in my stomach, with every inch of me, I pure, straight hate you. But dog-gone-it, do I respect you![/quote][/b]I sincerely hate the Red Wings, as any true-blooded fan of another team does ... but when the last save was made and...
Frankly, there is nothing like a Red Wings victory parade and one doubts that any other NHL team can do it any better than Detroit (although the Wings have had the opportunity to perfect the technique 4 times in the past 11 years). Fans started setting up positions before 6AM and everybody seemed to make it through temperatures pushing the 90s with a muggy dewpoint at 67...
Ok,Ok this is just speculation but the Rangers and the Pens have a deep history of making trades. So no one can respond that the Pens would never move one of the best centers in the game to a division rival. But with hints in the air that Malkin may become expendable if Hossa signs back on in the Steel city,it's got to be explored.Looking back on past trades,the two teams...
Team1040 radio out of Vancouver is reporting that a source in Ottawa is sayin Malkin to L.A for 2nd overall pick and Cammilari.
Why is this canucks rated? Malkin+Kopitar=Force.
Ok, I'm back. It took a little longer than anticipated to get over the loss in the Stanley Cup Finals, but I think I'm alright now. Every time I thought I was over it, something would happen or I'd see a highlight from the series and it just prolonged the entire healing process. Anyway, the draft is over and now free agency begins on July 1.
That being said, I've read s...
After cooling off from yesterday's rant, I decided to come up with a wishlist of players I would like to see come to Pittsburgh. This is just meant to be something fun, since you all know you do the same thing with your own teams. Due to the number of guys that I'd like to see signed, I narrowed it down to 5. NOTE: These aren't in any particular order.
#5 John-Michael L...
I'm a little perplexed right now about what to think with this scenario. First I hear that Brooks Orpik doesn't like Michael Therrien. Now all of a sudden according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Orpik and the Penguins are sitting down in serious contract talks.
Let me explain my side of this.
Brooks Orpik is and has been one of my favorite Penguins players for qu...
I'm a firm believer that things happen in groups of threes, for better or worse. I'm probably even tempting fate by writing this, but as far as I'm concerned we just got dealt two blows today.
Brooks Orpik has declined the Penguins first offer and former Penguin Martin Straka is heading home to play for his Czech team.
Both of these may not be as big a deal in the en...
Well this was a mild surprise at best. Ray Shero sent the rights to Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 2009 4th round pick. Should Malone sign, this would become a 3rd rounder in 2009.
I am a little sad to see Malone go and a little angry from a fan's perspective that this deal didn't happen sooner. Here's why.
Since Malone's sophomore camp...
Tampa so far wins the "Offseason Award". After adding a former Phoenix Scout the club stepped up and added much needed support on the wings. They not only brought in Ryan Malone,but added some extra veteran leadership with Gary Roberts.If people think that Malone had career year playing with Malkin,wait till he gets his shot to play with Vinny! I still can't imagine ho...
Well these past two days have been rather uneventful for Pens nation. Unless you count the mass exodus that is going on as eventful, but I don't exactly find myself looking for my party hat as much as I am looking for the missing hair on my head and wondering why a bottle of tequila is empty.
Here I am a couple days from my vacation from work and instead of focusing on ...
I am as disappointed as any Pens fan and season ticket holder about the loss of Marian Hossa.
You can also probably guess, judging from my name and picture, I am not the biggest Red Wings fan.
Nonetheless, Marian Hossa did something yesterday that is seldom, if ever, seen in professional sports.
At the end of the season, Hossa said that he would take less money to...
SoCalSharksGirl writes...
Sharks Assisstant Coaches to be Announced on Wednesday?
Posted Monday | Comments 0
For those of you who are not as up to date on the news coming out or going into San Jose, David Pollack of the Mercury News is reporting another name that was leaked for yet another possible assistant coach.
If you read my previous blog, you would know that we've already heard of Trent Yawney out of Chicago, and Jay Woodcroft out of Detroit, and now we have Todd Richar...
Since I have not seen it mentioned anywhere here on HockeyBuzz, the Penguins, City of Pittsburgh, SEA and all other relevant parties, including a few hundred Penguin Fans chanting "Let's Go Pens", held the official ground-breaking yesterday for the new arena that will probably be one of the finest arena's in all of professional hockey when it opens in the fall of 2010.
...
I am sick of people talking about Crosby whining, and diving on this page.Just totally not giving him the respect he deserves. He plays harder than any player in the entire league, when you do that yeah you are going to get knocked down a bit more than the rest. The beating he recives every single game is something that HALL OF FAMERS are made of, its a shame of the jealou...
Let me preface this by saying that Evgeni Malkin is my favorite player and I am glad he is with the Penguins.
So back to the end of last season and early this summer, rumors were swirling that Malkin could/should/would be traded. At the very least the idea of it was entertained by the fans, namely on this website. One such proposal that I heard that was actually offered...
Instead of working on a team-by-team preview for the entire league, I wanted to zoom in a little closer, to the division I'm most familiar with. Arguably the most (if not second most) competitive division in hockey, the Atlantic Division enters 2008-09 with lots of unanswered questions, which I will now attempt to answer. I went through the teams in the reverse order of wh...
One of the stronger divisions (and arguably the strongest) in hockey last season, the Atlantic sent four teams to the playoffs, three teams to the second round, and two teams to the conference finals. The scary thing is that the division may have gotten better.
[i]Penguins[/i]
Division winners Pittsburgh lost Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts, but signed vetera...
It's been a couple months now since the Stanley Cup was paraded around the Mellon Arena in the hands of the opponent. While the sting has subsided, the memory of that painful sight has not and you can bet it hasn't been forgotten by the likes of Sidney Crosby and Co.
Due to prior engagements, I will not be able to see much more than the puck drop on Saturday afternoon. ...
Sorry for the delay. I lost my internet conneection on Friday and just got it back.
Stockholm Game One:
This was a great way to open the season. It was a tough game and I was basically pleased with the Pens performance. Our power play needs a little more time to gel. With recently losing Gonchar to injury and this season now havin Staal taking Malone's old spot in ...
One day while bored at work I was thinking about hockey and wondered if it made much difference if we weighed point production from a per minute basis. I decided to check the top 40 scorers last year and compare them by how many points that they produced by actual playing time. Of course there is always the debate about who is better, Ovechkin or Crosby. Lets see who is be...
No Look Drop Pass writes...
Sens 08/09 season shaping up to be interesting
Posted Friday | Comments 0
Hockey is upon us once again!
As much as I like baseball playoffs, nothing beats Game 1 (in North America) of the NHL season in my eyes. And I really couldn't believe my eyes when the Leafs survived three posts in the first 10 minutes of the game to win 3-2 against the Wings. Absolutely brutal game to watch, but a trap system played very effectively by the Blue and Whi...
CAPMESS11 writes...
Cherepanov Tragedy Changes Rangers Plans : RIP # 17
Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
With all the Dollars and cents the KHL offers,it makes no sense that the hockey world lost one of its future stars. Regardless of his talents,not a single player should have their life in jeopardy playing pro hockey. With all the hazards the game brings naturally, ( Concussions,puck movement,stick infractions,and skate blades) to fight for your life on the bench seems ins...
Well... not really. We needed a win last night more than anything after the loss against Calgary Saturday night. And my boys pulled it off. The highlight of the night was definitely our 5 on 3 penalty kill in the 3rd. But I digress... let's start at the beginning.
After a score-less 1st period, Olli Jokinen got the party started with a goal off of a back-hand feed from ...
I'm a relative neophyte to hockey but I'm also enthusiastic, particularly about my home team - the Phoenix Coyotes. Sadly, my Coyotes don't appear to have much representation in this corner of the blogosphere... which is why I've decided to take some initiative and write. Who knows if I'll make a habit of it - I suppose I'll leave it up to the readers to decide.
Anyway,...
B.D. Gallof writes...
IMAGINE: Controversial Shoot Out Loss vs the Penguins
Posted Sunday | Comments 0
[i]Imagine if 40 minutes meant anything. Imagine if 5 straight games, the Isles owned more than just the 1st and 2nd periods, Imagine if you could have seen under Dany Sabourin's 1/8 piece of blockers to see the puck which crossed the line for the tying Shoot Out goal.[/i]
The Isles led going into the 3rd period. Therein lied the problem. They have been unable to ment...
steal_your_faceoff writes...
Hey you, don't help them to bury the light...PHI/PIT
Posted Friday | Comments 0
[b][i]Hey you, don't help them to bury the light
Don't give in without a fight.[/i][/b]
[img]http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee162/JHRIV/2968617770_1c653664b4.jpg?t=1226672183[/img]
[u][b]Don't help them to bury the light[/b][/u]
3:51 into the second period, Sid the Kid just buried a pretty powerplay goal on the backhand and the Flyers find themselves down 3-0, ...
Sydor has been traded and I should have seen that coming wiwth his being a healthy scratch so often, as of late. Sydor had to waive his NTC for the trade to go through. In exchane the Pens get Phillipe Boucher, who like Sydor, is in the last year of a a 2.5 million contract. Boucher is -4 and has 3 points in 16 games this season. Hopefully, this will be just enough of ...
The GM meetings just happened in Florida. Much of the groundwork for some winter trades gets laid during these meetings. [b]Garth Snow[/b] knows his team needs some adjustments and tweaks. With [b]Mike Comrie[/b] and others coming back on the horizon, he's going to need to crafty making room since he's chosen to have[b] Josh Bailey[/b] remain on Long Island. Thus, [b]Jon S...
How does one take a bad loss? And I don't mean just any loss. But, a REALLY bad one. The kind that is like a karate kick to the gut after eating a bowl of chili and half an apple pie. The kind that leaves you just plain stumped. Numb. Daffy. Pissed. Furious. All of the above. Or none of the above, and just a bad case of gas.
There is no two ways about it. Last night wa...
I never want to see my team lose as bad as this...but it happens...hell, in Jagr's debut game for the Rangers they lost 9-1 to the Senators and I think Jagr was held to one assist (don't ask me how I remember things like this, I just do). The major problem with last night's loss was that there was no heart in the Isles game. They quit once they were down 3-1. Their shifts ...
The Flyers look to beat the hated division rival in the Pittsburgh Penguins today at 1pm. After coming back from 4 goals down on Thursday night against the Hurricanes(thank god we don't play em' again), the Flyers definitely better not get down in this game because if they get down, the chances of them coming back are very slim. Everyone needs to remember that we picked ap...
Don't ever say again that Sidney Crosby is a great player, Malkin either. I just watched those two "great" players go through the motions all day as their collective butts were kicked by a better, deeper, and faster Flyers club. Those two players mailed the game in from Pittsburgh. The team should have save expenses on hotel rooms and left them behind. Other than a few...
Shout out to the whole crew at Yesterday's game.
I know quite a few of my crew were complaining about the afternoon game yesterday but sometimes it is nice to see the afternoon tilt.
As requested I took some video instead of doing pictures...
Here is my little bits of video from yesterday's game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SfjaWfUtc4
Anyway I knew it...
[i][b]Thoughts on the Flyers, the NHL, and ice hockey on the planet Earth[/b][/i]
Author's note: I've been wanting to start a blog here for quite some time so I'm going to take a shot. The Flyers will be my main focus, but I'm interested in the game itself and all things hockey, so I hope anyone who is a hockey fan will find something of interest within these pages.
...
Happy Holidays to all of my fellow HockeyHeads out there...
I Wish the best to all into the New Year which, for the NHL, begins at the corner of Clark and Addison for the 2nd Annual Winter Classic--which seems like an oxymoron, but I digress. In a very short time, the W.C. has unquestionably become one of the too few highlights for the NHL (regular season) that really ...
I recently posted a blog about the all star game and I wrote the following paragraph:
"The All Star game is meant to show case the NHL's best, even if they weren't named to the first team most will still be there but when they play a meaningless game in an uninspired way it doesn't showcase anything to an American Audience that is, in all honesty, already uncaring."
...
The Flyers (23-10-9), in first place in the Atlantic Division, face a Penguins (20-18-4) team that has fallen to fourth in the division and two spots out of a playoff berth with a dreadful 2-8-0 run in their last 10 games.
The Penguins apparently are grasping at straws, sending down a fourth-line role player, rookie Tim Wallace, who was told the team was looking for an...
CAPMESS11 writes...
DOC EMRICK DRINKING GAME! EDDIE NO CHECK CALL PENS LOVE FEST
Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
So the Rangers lose in Pittsburgh, and all you have to do is ask every other team what they think of the officiating when you play SID. It's almost predictable what happens ( sure the pens had some jump) the Pens get the first few spotted. Then when they have a few on the board the Rangers can have a turn . I hate these NBC Games and anything on VS involving NY. It'...
I'm from Calgary. I have lived my whole life living and dying with the Calgary Flames. I have seen more hockey games than many people see in a lifetime. I truly am blessed with the exposure I get to the greatest game on the planet. I came out east for University, in London, Ontario, and now am blessed with getting to see Tavares play whenever I want.
Over the weekend h...
It's no secret that the Penguins need to find some help before the March 4 trade deadline. They're currently ranked 9th in the NHL and 5th in the Eastern Conference in Goals per Game at 3.02, which is respectable even for the new NHL (Detroit leads the league with 3.55).
But they also rank 23rd in the NHL (12th in Eastern Conference) in Goals Against per Game with 3.02....
Strange, passionate game today by both teams. There were 2 goals by each team that were flukey. The Flyers scored two goals after the Pens broke sticks. The Pens scored a goal on a play that looked really offsides and the last goal was just an awful play by Biron.
My complaint is the FSN announcers. I know the majority of the viewers are from Pittsburgh, but they ar...
With the trade deadline just over a week away, there will no doubt be an altered Leafs lineup next Thursday when the team visits the Capitals. Here is my take on the most talked about Leafs and whether they should stay or go.
[b]Jason Blake:[/b] He's playing very well this season, but his contract and attitude make him an anchor. I'd like to see him moved, but it's l...
[b]Remaining Schedules[/b]
[u]Boston[/u]
Doesn't matter they are #1
[u]Washington[/u]
TB- Win
Panthers - Loss
[b]108 points[/b]
[u]NJD[/u]
Sens - Win
Canes - Loss
[b]104 points[/b]
[u]PHI[/u]
NYR - OT Loss
NYI - Win
NYR - Win
[b]102 points[/b]
[u]CAR[/u]
Buff - Loss (trap game)
NJD - Win
[b]99 points[/b]
[u]Pitt[/u]
NYI - Win
Montreal - ...
Since Dan Bylsma's take over of the Pittsburgh Penguins they have gone 17-3-4 for a total of 38 points. Bylsma's charasmatic attitude and tweaking of the Penguins systems and game play has turned what looked to be like a head start toward the golf course into a playoff contender. With that said tonight Bylsma may make history. With a Penguins win tonight Bylsma would equal...
Stars update. The Penguins' Evgeni Malkin and Crosby have combined for 12 points (five goals, seven assists), while Jeff Carter and Mike Richards have three points (two goals, one assist).
I like this stat…
It shows the dependence one team has on there star players versus the balance of depth the other team has within their top lines.
Agree or disagree?
It also r...
This isn't sarcasm. I truly am a Penguins fan congratulating my hated rivals. The Flyers had a good season and they battled hard in the playoffs. They deserved far better than a first round playoff exit.
I hope Martin Biron stays in net next year, and that they can at least keep their blue line intact. Flyer fans may disagree with me, but I think that a little stability...
As Blair Betts lay on the ice yesterday afternoon, again the Gary Bettman Gestapo neglected to make a legit call in favor of the Rangers. It's become, predictable that the officials will miss a Capital crosscheck to the back of Avery. They failed blatantly in game 4 to rescue themselves as Callahan hit the ice with a trip and 18,000 fans managed to witness the crime. B...
I honestly dont think it matters what happens in the East bracket, [b]the Red Wings are unstoppable![/b]... even by Tim Thomas and the Big Bad Bruins.
This is not an easy pill to swallow, coming from a guy whos inlaws are from Michigan, and whos wife's cousin married a Michigan State hockey fanatic dubbed simply as "the Angry Guy". Beckster and I go out there ever year...
Like everyone else, I’ll give my predictions for this upcoming 2nd playoff round of the greatest sport on planet earth. Let me get one thing off my chest before we start. Goalies will make and break everyone of these matchups, and are MY key to who I think wins each series.
[i][b]Pens vs Caps: [/b][/i]
Everyone sees Ovechkin and thinks this one is gonna be close. I...
After losing 4-3 and falling into a 2-0 hole to the Washington Capitals many may think it is time to panic for the Pittsburgh Penguins. I disagree. Watching the game tonight I saw exactly what I expected to see: Ovechkin versus Crosby in a fast-paced, hard hitting matchup. Both teams controlled the puck well in the offensive zone and at times it seemed like the ice was tit...
After the Penguins fell into a 2-0 series hole to the Washington Capitals, I wrote a blog about how it wasn't time to panic yet for the birds. Crosby had been spectacular, and they were getting scoring from stay-at-home defenseman Mark Eaton (who?). But there were things the Penguins needed to work on.
One of those things was puck posession. The Pens had not been good o...
As has been pointed out numberous times by NHL.com, the Associated Press, ESPN and some of the bloggers here on Hockeybuzz.com, Pittsburgh's 6-2 rout of their playoff rival Washington Capitals was an anticlimatic end to an otherwise amazing series.
Looking at the series by the numbers we could not have asked for anything more from the leauges brightest stars - Alexande...
I was wrong on my Boston in 4 predicition, but who wouldn't have thought the B's were gonna roll through Carolina after their dismantling of Montreal like they did. Down 3-1 in the series, I thought for sure Boston was done. When Boston tied it up 2-2 in game 7 that changed my mind a bit. Then came overtime. What pure domination Carolina showed through the first 10 minutes...
Memo to Bettman:
Don't move up the Stanley Cup Finals without checking Yanni's schedule at the Igloo,first.
And where is that Pan Flute guy playing these days?
And don't forget the WWF. Your pals back at the NBA had to pay big bucks to resolve that conflict with the wrestlers in Denver.
At least they got swept. Holik OUT, Havelid OUT! Im ready for the home opener. Bring on Phaneuf!! Good Call Ek. Rest in Peace Peter Zezel.
Down with the Wings.
Wow, no penalty shot! Biggest thing of the night. Detroit got away with one on that when Zetterberg closed his hand on the puck in the crease. And no call!!! It still amazes me how the refs rarely call that.
Biggest complaint for me.....SOMEONE SUSPEND KRONWALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why, why, why, why, why has this guy not been suspended. Keep your skates on the ice whe...
While it is an exciting time to be an Islander because of the tremendous hustle and bustle regarding the first overall pick, you can bet your ass no one is having more fun than Penguin and Red Wing fans. For the second year in a row, the Penguins and Red Wings will be facing off in the Stanley Cup Final, and you can bet that both teams will be even more prepared for each o...
Listen up all you Penguin-haters! This blog is for you!
It hasn't even been 12 hours since the game ended, and already I've seen multiple stories suggesting that this series is a repeat of last year's Cup Finals. That the result will be the same and there is nothing the Penguins can do about it. They can't win four out of five against Detroit.
It's time for all of us...
1) Glad to see that Malkin didn't get suspended. When you have two skaters who don't have their shirts tied down it is hard to label either a "fighter." Although, Zetterberg did serve in the Swedish army for a few months and it looked like he had a pretty good uppercut technique and could have landed a few good ones if the refs had let him. But for what purpose after the ...
What a game! Just when it looked like Detroit was going to run away to a 3-0 series lead, Brooks Orpik lands a big hit on Darren Helm and the Penguins begin a relentless third period attack (with the help of six skaters on the ice for almost 30 seconds and a clueless Red Wings bench).
With the Penguins now on the board in the series, here are five things they need to do...
It's been a little dry here on the Island, despite the continuous rainfall that has me worried about my upcoming weekend get-a-way to Montauk in two weeks, thus making it a tad difficult to find something to talk about in regards to the Isles.
I typically try to stay away from the Lighthouse talk. I share the same concerns and opinions of most of my fellow bloggers, but...
Last year, during the Wings Playoff Series with the Avs, I wrote the following:
[i]"There is [b]NO QUESTION[/b] that the Av's Cody McLeod has foolishly, and dangerously unleashed the [b]CURSE OF THE OCTOPUS[/b]! After the National Anthem was completed, a fan threw the traditional cephalopod onto the Hockeytown ice. Wings fans cheered. But then, McLeod actually skated ov...
Before the media has a chance to jump off the Red Wings bandwagon (again), I'll put in my two cents on Game 6.
First of all, Detroit was asleep at the wheel in the first period. With the exception of Chris Osgood, the Wings really did look like the older, more exhausted team. The one positive they can take away from the first 20 minutes is that Pittsburgh did not score ...
Whether it be Pierre's and Milbury's red ties in game 5 and Milbury's red tie tonight. Or Pierre's and Olczyk's MULTIPLE assessments on the NUMEROUS times the Penguins should have been called for interference, or that the Red Wings should not have been called. Or them belaboring Malkin's cross check on Filppula when, a millisecond before, Kronwall planted [Fedotenko?]'s ...
I will be watching game 7 of tonight's Detroit vs. Pittsburgh game on NBC.
Not CBC.
Yes, it has taken me the entire season to get to this point. But I just can't hack it anymore.
I love Ron MacLean. I LOVE Don Cherry; I mean, I don't always agree with him, but his segments are always entertaining and I appreciate his patriotism and his passion for hockey. He sa...
nephew23 writes...
Guerin, Boucher, and the Pittsburg Penguins are Cup Champs!
Posted Saturday | Comments 0
[b]Happy congratulations to Billy Guerin, Philippe Boucher, and the newly crowned Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburg Penguins!!![/b] I'm sincerely happy for Billy G. and Philippe Boucher, as they both spent several quality years here with the Dallas Stars. As a rookie with the New Jersey Devils in 1995, Guerin raised his first Cup at the age of 24. Tonight, 14 years later, ...
First things first, congratulations to captain Sidney Crosby and his Penguins for winning the 2009 Stanley Cup. Well done, guys, you put on quite a show. It was a hard fought series, right until the final seconds when goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury had to dive across the crease to rob Detroit captain Niklas Lidstrom of a sure goal. Wondering what Fleury was thinking when all...
Bah! I had a nice long blog full of coverage on tonight's game and more but it all went away when Internet Explorer unexpectedly quit on me. I should really start doing these on Word documents and they copy-paste them.
Anyways, I'll try my best to replicate that previous effort.
[b]
The Flightless Birds fly high[/b]
Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Penguins on the...
look i'm a huge flyers fan and i absolutely hate the entire penguins roster minus stall cant hate that guy, but anyway i truely belive that malkin doesnt deserve the MVP as much as Fluery does the penguins dont make it to the finals let alone a game 7 without him, Marc Andre stepped up HUGE!!!! in the playoffs stealing games for the pens left and right, i understand malkin...
So they young Pens finally crested the proverbial mountain and overcame 2 - 0 and 3 - 2 series defecits to conquer the Wings and win the first (of what could be many) Stanley Cup of the Sidney Crosby era. As a Rangers fan I am not obligated to feel anything other than disgust and envy when a hated division rival succeeds where the Rangers have failed for the last 14 season...
Paper Champions
Since he entered the NHL, Crosby was destined, anointed, and given the road to the Stanley Cup. As it has been written, he is the youngest captain to ever win the Cup. Bettman has been wanting, and willing this to happen since the day he was drafted. To many this is very sad because the game should be bigger than one person but reality as many of us ...
Another NHL season is in the books. The Pittsburgh Peguins are the 150th Stanley Cup Champion since the trophy's creation in 1893, the Detroit Red Wings became the only franchise in the history of the NHL to lose more than one Game 7 at home in the Cup Final (1945 and 2009). The Blackhawks and Blues returned to the post-season, and the NHL saw its first all-California play...
It is perhaps the most eniviable position to be in on draft day to be sitting at the table farthest from the draft stage. At that table sits the Stanley Cup champion. This year it was my beloved Penguins who had that honor, but I was not impressed with what they did from that position.
To be fair, I know little about the players that were selected by Pittsburgh. None of...
It is perhaps the most eniviable position to be in on draft day to be sitting at the table farthest from the draft stage. At that table sits the Stanley Cup champion. This year it was my beloved Penguins who had that honor, but I was not impressed with what they did from that position.
To be fair, I know little about the players that were selected by Pittsburgh. None of...
I conclude the Eastern Conference portion of Off-Season Progress Reports with the Atlantic Division. The Atlantic produced 4 playoff teams and the Stanley Cup Champions last season and once again some of the higher profile off-season moves were made in this division. Here’s my take on the progress of all 5 Atlantic Division clubs to date.
New Jersey Devils
In: Andrew...
KUNITZ. CROSBY. GUERIN
FEDOTENKO. MALKIN. ADAMS (TALBOT when he returns)
COOKE. STAAL. KENNEDY
DUPUIS. RUPP. GODARD (ADAMS when TALBOT returns)
GONCHAR. ORPIK
LETANG. MCKEE
GOLIGOSKI. EATON
FLEURY. CURRY
(MCKEE-ORPIK) would be a replacement line for (GILL. SCUDERI)
Hello Hockeybuzz world!
My name's Andrew - I am a hardcore Pittsburgh Penguins fan, obviously very excited for our Cup win this past year and in general happy about the direction of our team! I am also a fan of the Phoenix Coyotes (YES, PHOENIX... not any other city, thank you). I live in a small suburb of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area that is within 15 miles of Jobing...
how you say that is beyond me.. really.. it makes no sence.. crosby plays with malkin, and the majority of his goals are tap ins.. you talk about all around players, lets loook at the stats...
when ovechkin is on the ice you fear him.. you fear his shot, his scoring, his hitting... that fear is not there for crosby.. crosby is great sure, but best player in the world.....
how you say that is beyond me.. really.. it makes no sence.. crosby plays with malkin, and the majority of his goals are tap ins.. you talk about all around players, lets loook at the stats...
when ovechkin is on the ice you fear him.. you fear his shot, his scoring, his hitting... that fear is not there for crosby.. crosby is great sure, but best player in the world.....
September is right around the corner, so it's time to take a look at what the Atlantic Division will look like for the 2009-10 season. This is written with the knowledge that rosters are not completely set, and rumors are still abound about a few of these teams...but comments are made based on how the teams stand right now. Even though nobody paid attention to it last time...
I was at the Leafs/Pens rookie game in Kitchener earlier, so I have decided to try and write a blog about it. This is my first one ever, so any criticism and advice would be helpful. Here we go.
[u][b]Final Score:[/b][/u]
Leafs Rookies 3, Penguins Rookies 1
[u][b]Goals:[/b][/u]
[u]Toronto:[/u]
1st Period - Viktor Stalberg - Tyler Bozak and Christian Hanson
...
Alright, its almost October and Im eagerly anticipating the upcoming season. To help facilitate my excitement, I decided to watch last years playoffs between the Flyers and Penguins. It was easily apparent the Penguins were targeting the Flyer d-men, especially Timonen, by physically pounding them at every opportunity. I saw Kunitz and Cooke teeing off on the smaller Flyer...
As a DirecTV subscriber, I was all set to see the Wings Swedish opener this Friday on Versus. But, because of the cut-throat, in-bred telecommunications world, I have to make other plans.
So I miss my team's opener. Too bad for me. Too bad for Wings fans. Really too bad for hockey. However, I have no intention of calling up DirecTV to complain or rearrange my life by...
Hi Flyer fans, thank goodness its finally October and the 2009-10 season has started. All things are good again now that the hockey season is officially upon us! Im really looking forward to this season as this years Flyers team looks strong enough to compete with the rest of the big boys in the East. In addition, the upcoming Olympics in Vancouver promises to be one of th...
The day that all Rangers fans have been anxiously awaiting for since the disappointing end to our playoff run last season is finally upon us. Tonight is game 1 of 82 in the 2009-2010 NHL regular season. Not only do we have the excitement of the puck dropping on the new season but what better way to start than for the Rangers to open on the road against the defending Stanle...
I can't remember the last time the Islanders had their first game of the season be their home opener. If my memory serves me correctly, they usually started on the road, but tonight they have the privilege of opening up in front of their home town fans. Lucky for us we get to watch them start against the defending Stanley Cup champs.
The lines are predicted as follows:...
Rob McGowan writes...
Although They Lost, Isles Home Opener Was A Success
Posted Monday | Comments 0
...and I am not just saying that because John Tavares scored.
The Isles were playing host to the defending Stanley Cup champions, a roster that includes Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Marc-Andre Fluery, Chris Letang, and so on. After the first period we were tied at one and John Tavares had his first NHL point. And let me tell you, the second that kid touc...
Some quick hits:
If the Pens, Capitals and Flyers are the elite teams in the Eastern Conference let's make one thing clear...
Their defense needs a little work on all the teams.
All the teams need to re-shape their defensive schemes unless they want to play pond hockey all year long.
Thursday night was by and far the worst game I think I have seen the Flyer play this season. They seemed very out of sync with each other and the hockey itself. Hopefully that will remedy itself tonight vs the Ducks.
Giroux faceoff
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neat1325/3997211783/in/set-72157622554300080/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neat1325/3997972484/in/set-721...
Well it looks like the Flyers failed in their first test to see if they can match up with the Stanley Cup Champion Penguins. The Flyers shot themselves in the foot right from the beginning of the game giving up a PP goal to Malkin within the few minutes. Then once they tie the game and get the momentum, it is quickly given away as Stall scores on the next shift. The Flyers...
What do you we know so far? Well, safe to say most of us are wondering if some of these teams are contenders or pretenders. The Atlantic Division is going to be TOUGH. Injuries are taking their toll around the league, and Toronto has lost 6 straight; believe me, all of Canada knows the Leafs have lost 6 straight. Should I say it again? The Leafs have lost 6 straight. ...
What have we learned so far? Let's face it, in order to thrive in the "new" NHL, you have to do a number of things well. This week, the top team's show us how important it is to draft (or acquire) young talent that can start and make an impact right away. This has been a key for teams that have won the cup in each of the last 4 seasons and by the looks of it, this trend...
The Devils looked GREAT tonight. This was a huge statement win to show that the Devils will continue to contend in the Atlantic. They are now 5-0 on the road and are off to a 6-3 start. Here are some notes from the win:
-The power play looked very, very good. I don't think the second power play line had scored all year, but they moved the puck well, and eventually a...
John Tortorella, Sean Avery, Donald Brashear... do I really need to say more? Okay I'll add in Matt Cooke just for laughs.
Tortorella complained to reporters after his Rangers lost 8-3 to the defending Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday night that Cooke intentionally hit Rangers forward Artem Anisimov in the head and that the linesman who got hit several times tr...
The NHL season is ten weeks old, so I decided to post my rankings of the 30 teams so far. Stats are through Sunday, Nov. 29.
Rank.......Team.......Record
1.) San Jose 18-6-4
It's hard to argue against San Jose as the best team in the league, especially when you consider they've played only ten of 28 at home.
2.) Chicago 16-6-3
The Blackhawks were playing gr...
Flyers vs Stars
The recent play by the Flyers is the way this team was built to be played. Laviolette has provided the players with stability in the lineup and with some time to adjust to the new system, the players have responded. Tonight they drubbed Dallas 6-3 and the game was not that close. Dallas scored 2 goals in the last 9 minutes to get 3. The Stars look in d...
Is There Any Chance for other Eastern Teams?
With the massive news today of the Kovalchuk to New Jersey trade, I find myself asking an intriguing question: Are there any teams in the East that can compete with the top 3?
Now by top 3, I am not referring to the division leaders in Washington, New Jersey, and Buffalo, I am referring to the Capitals, Devils, and Pengui...
Last night was another example of the Penguins NOT "getting to their game" against a quality opponent.
Against division leaders this year the Pens have routinely not gotten to "their game", going a remarkable 3-11-3 in those contests (all 3 wins vs the Sabres).
That's the record of LAST YEAR'S Stanley Cup Champions against THIS YEAR'S Stanley Cup Finals favorites.
...
Head over to The Hockey Writers to see my blog about the last Islanders home game of the season with a few quotes and opinions about the direction of this young hockey team!
http://thehockeywriters.com/the-isles-have-a-bright-future-in-sight/
-Rob McGowan
Follow me on Twitter!
http://twitter.com/IslesRM
Here are my picks for the second round, which kicks off tonight in Pittsburgh. The fourth seeded Penguins will host eight seeded Montreal. Boston, the six seed, and Philadelphia, the seven seed, will meet in the other Eastern Conference duel. Out west, the top seeded Sharks will host the Detroit Red Wings, and the Canucks (3 seed) will travel to Chicago to face the Blackha...
(4) Pittsburgh
vs.
(8) Montreal
[b]Prediction: Pittsburgh in 5[/b]
[i]Synopsis[/i]: Listen, I don't understand how Jaroslav Halak is playing so well...but it can't last. The Penguins were dealt a huge blow when Jordan Staal went down in game 1, and they understandably had a huge letdown in game 2. Halak played on his head, but his play can't keep up, and even if it d...
What defines a Cinderella team when it comes to the NHL playoffs?
I would have to say that the team finished the regular season in either 6th, 7th or 8th place and managed to come on top with multiple upset victories in the playoffs, pushing the franchise to the Stanley Cup Finals. In recent years, fans have seen the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oi...
The year was 1993. Health Care Reform was the big issue dominating news. In sports, the Pittsburgh Pirates had a losing season and the Penguins were poised to make their 3rd straight appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. Somebody hit the gas on that DeLorean and let's get it up to 88 MPH…
Having grown up in Pittsburgh, I've been blessed to see some of the greatest ...
[img]http://i28.tinypic.com/168u5jr.jpg[/img]
The Kid. The Next One. Sidney Crosby. All monikers for one of the most talented players in the league and the first of a series of non-Leaf related interviews that I'll be conducting throughout the season. Hockey fans around the world know the stats. Born on August 7th, 1987. 8/7/87. 22 going on 23 and the hockey world at hi...
Once again the league is featuring the Penguins in the Winter Classic. If this doesn't show that Bettman's favorite team is the Pens then I don't know what does.
I get the feeling he thinks Cindy is the only marketable player in the NHL because everything he does somehow seems to involve him or his team. I would rather see another Max Talbot "you can call me superst...
Check out my post at The Checking Line with predictions for the Atlantic Division for the 2010-2011 season. I'm sure many of you will either see where I'm coming from or completely disagree - and I want to hear it on The Checking Line! Register and leave your comments at the end of my blog!
http://thecheckingline.com/blog/rob-mcgowan/new-york-islanders/atlantic-division...
It is June 12, 2009. The Pittsburgh Penguins have just walked into Joe Louis Arena and beaten the defending Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings, exacting their revenge on the team that robbed them one year prior. Move ahead one year to the 2009-10season, where the Penguins finished the season in fourth place in the Eastern conference, only to run into a hot goalie and b...
Check out my latest post at The Checking Line with a recap and thoughts on the Islanders OT loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins: http://thecheckingline.com/blog/rob-mcgowan/new-york-islanders/isles-force-ot-cant-get-w
Register and leave comments in the comments section under the blog!
-Rob McGowan
Follow me on Twitter!
http://twitter.com/IslesRM
Like my Facebook p...
As Penguins fans know we are now without a team blogger. We have been lucky to have two high quality writers for us in Brian Metzer and Tom Mast. I know that I get enjoyment from talking about the Penguins in this forum., both on game days and non game days. Lately there has been little to no Penguins talk because there have been no new posts. My goal until we get a Pe...
The Penguins have been playing some lights out hockey over the past couple of weeks. The significant problems that seemed to be plaguing this bunch have started to improve and the results are proof.
Defensive zone coverage: The Penguins defensive zone coverage earlier in the year left much to be desired. An incredible amount of passes were starting to find their wa...
Check out my latest post at The Hockey Writers that takes a look at Sidney Crosby finally earning the right to be in the same conversation at Mario Lemieux: http://bit.ly/gQECY9
-Mike Colligan
You can follow me on Twitter at [url]http://twitter.com/mikecolligan[/url]
The Penguins are coming off yet another win, the latest in impressive fashion over the listless Blue Jackets 7-2 on Saturday night. The Penguins opponent, the New Jersey Devils are coming off another loss as their early season woes continue. They lost Saturday to the Flyers by a score of 5-3. A video shot of Jamie Langenbrunner at the end of the game could probably sum ...
The Toronto Maple Leafs (10-12-4) will visit the Consol Energy Center to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins (19-8-2). This is the second meeting between these two teams this season. They first met on Oct.13, Toronto winning that game 4-3. Per Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Fleury and Gustavsson are supposed to start for their respective teams.
The Penguins will continue their h...
Christmas came a week or two early for the Buffalo Sabres and Thomas Vanek on December 8th, 2008 in Pittsburgh. The Sabres were paying a visit to the Penguins inside Mellon Arena, a stadium where Buffalo had not won in three trips to.
For the first half of the game, it seemed that the streak would extend to four losses in a row at Mellon. Ruslan Fedotenko opened the sco...
first of all I have The Hockey news to thank for the idea of a third team but the rest is all my own thoughts.
For the First All Star Team you get ten sports writers to pick their top 21 top players and these are your "First All Stars". I don't mean just anyone either, people like Bob Mckenzie and Mike Milbury will pick this team. So this would be the team to b...
First off, while I love broadcasting legend Bob Cole, Mike Emrick of NBC and Devils radio is the best in the business at the moment. I love the creativity and dark tones Emrick brings to the games, while his sidekicks, Eddy Olczyk and Pierre Mcguire are always amusing and insightful. I say this as I enjoy taking in the NBC game of the week: Pens V. Caps! Sure to be a b...
Head over to The Checking Line tonight for my live blog from the Coliseum press box as the Islanders and Penguins go head-to-head at 7 PM!
www.thecheckingline.com
-Rob McGowan
Follow me on Twitter!
http://twitter.com/IslesRM
4 video live right now
http://nyi247.blogspot.com/
NYI247 writes...
New Picture of Max Talbot after last nights game posted
Posted Saturday | Comments 0
http://nyi247.blogspot.com/
first pic on right. Check it out, Oh an I added the Pens fans right below it
Check out my latest post at The Checking Line with a full recap of all that transpired in last night's grudge match between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders
http://thecheckingline.com/blog/rob-mcgowan/new-york-islanders/pummeling-penguins-isles-win-9-3-fight-filled-match
-Rob McGowan
Follow me on Twitter!
http://twitter.com/IslesRM
Check out the new post. The Pens, their owners and their fans are such little babies and I have fun with that
http://nyi247.blogspot.com/2011/02/21310-pre-game-post.html
I am not a fan of brawls. Never have been. They are the ultimate way for a lesser team to equalize themselves with a better team.
But why all the blame on the Islanders? Are they not just another team that has had to compete in a league that is so uncoodinated with discipline and suspensions that it encourages teams to handle things themselves?
After all, the...
This guy has some nerve coming out and BASHING the league and the Islanders for what took place Friday night.
Learning starts at home, and this idiot signs a weekly paycheck to probably the dirtiest player in the NHL.
I don't like what Gillies did. I will say that first. It was careless and tasteless. Had he taken a shot like that at Cooke I would be singing a diff...
Check out my latest post at The Checking Line discussing Mario Lemieux's stance on Friday night's game between the Pens and Isles, including Zenon Konopka's reaction
http://thecheckingline.com/blog/rob-mcgowan/new-york-islanders/lemieux-laces-isles
-Rob McGowan
Follow me on Twitter!
http://twitter.com/IslesRM
[img:left]http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200905/shero1_500.jpg[/img]
Ray Shero assumed the General Manager role of the Penguins on May 25, 2006. Fast-forward almost five years later and you'll find that Shero hasn't really changed his way of doing things. One of his greatest traits would have to be the identification of talent by him and his scouts. This knack fo...
The NHL Trade Deadline is exactly one week away, and already there have been some major moves. The Pittsburgh Penguins became a lot stronger today with the acquisitions of forward James Neal and defenseman Matt Niskanen. But, what does this add for the Pens? Well, at 23, Neal is a strong power forward at the left wing position (a pretty thin scoring spot with Pascal Dupuis...
TheRollingPuck writes...
Wish Upon a Shooting Star: Penguins trade for Neal
Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
Ray Shero finally joined the trade deadline party by doing business with the Dallas Stars. News surfaced amongst various twitters yesterday that the Penguins and Stars were in talks regarding a possible deal. By late afternoon the deal had been confirmed. The trade is as follows....
To Pittsburgh:
[b]LW James Neal[/b]
[b]D Matt Niskanen[/b]
To Dallas:
[b]D ...
Rob Niedermayer scores his 2nd is as many games after going scoreless for the entire season and the Sabres have gone up 1-0 against the Pens. Goal was eerily similar to Stafford's OT winner on Sunday. Sabres are driving hard to the net and fore-checking like madmen. Strong start for the newest Eastern Conference 8th seed.
More to come from Pittsburgh.
Sabres just wasted away their first power play of the game by taking a careless penalty after struggling to establish a good shot or scoring chance in the first minute. They can't get the puck into Pitt's zone efficiently, nor can they get off a good shot once they are inside the blue line. This must change before the playoffs begin.
Addendum:
Niedermayer takes a pen...
Just like that, Neal and Michalek score back to back within 3:17 of each other. Neal's goal was the result of good passing and the inability of Millsy to cover the far side of the net. Michalek's was the result of a deflection of his point shot off of a Buffalo d-man's leg. End result: 2-1 Pens lead.
On a side note, Buffalo just took a penalty at 5:54 in the 2nd.
A...
The Buffalo Sabres, who reached the 8th playoff spot in their last game versus the Minnesota Wild, will have to push a little harder to sustain their position, earning zero points tonight after a loss against the Penguins.
With key players such as Thomas Vanek, Jochen Hecht, Mike Grier, and Patrick Kaleta out with injuries (minus Vanek who has the flu) the team made the...
How many games should Cooke be suspended for this time? Click the link below and post a comment.
[url]http://sabreshockeycentral.com/2011/03/20/matt-cooke-up-for-suspension/[/url]
After the Islanders played the Penguins a couple of months back in what is now labeled the fight night on Long Island, I wrote a blog about the game, the outcome (suspensions), and Mario's feedback afterwards.
While I am not a big time journalist or even a well known blogger I still feel that I have a responsibility to my readers to be fair when it is called for.
A...
The Islanders and Penguins had their final meet of the season that ended in a 4-3 SO loss for the home team. Rob McGowan reports.
http://bit.ly/gclFJ2
-Rob McGowan
Follow me on Twitter!
http://twitter.com/IslesRM
This may be the busiest week of the year for General Manager Ray Shero. He still has a lot to do before Christmas in July begins this Friday. One thing that we just found out a few hours ago is that Shero did not offer winger Tyler Kennedy a Qualifying Offer, which will make him an unrestricted free agent this Friday. I am happy with this move, or lack thereof, because ...
The drum roll will have to wait, well, because we are all still waiting. Jaromir Jagr has had travel problems and the decision will have to wait until tomorrow. There is all kinds of speculation running rampant about what happened to Jagr. Some are saying he missed his flight. Some are saying there were turtles on the runway which caused his flight to be delayed. No o...
Jagr Watch is officially out of hand if you ask me. I do not have anything against Jaromir Jagr for taking time to make what he feels is the best career move. I do have a problem with all of the false news stories. As of right now, it seems as if Jaromir has not given any indication of which team he would like to play for next year. He wants to make the perfect decisio...
Lost in Jagrwatch, is Ray Shero mismanaging assets. I am still lost as to why, he did not tender offer Tyler Kennedy allowing him a fast track to UFA status. If they tendered the offer, TK would file for arbitration, and then they would have until Aug to sign him. If they lost the arbitration, they could chose to walk away and in turn get a compensatory pick in the upcomi...
Well I think we have to lead off one last time talking about Jaromir Jagr. He signed a 1 year deal for $3.3 million with the rival Philadelphia Flyers. At first, I was very upset. I am 20 years old and I played hockey my entire life. Jaromir Jagr was my childhood idle and I wanted nothing more than to watch him play in a Penguins' jersey one last time. I wanted the Pe...
The Pens signed RW Steve Sullivan today to a 1 year 1.5 million dollar contract. The Pens also signed Forward Colin Macdonald to a 1 year 550K contract. The Pens also Re-signed Foward Tyler Kennedy. To a 2 year 2 million dollar contract. The Pens don't have that much money left so I think they won't make any more deals for a while.
The Pens signed RW Steve Sullivan today to a 1 year 1.5 million dollar contract. The Pens also signed Forward Colin Macdonald to a 1 year 550K contract. The Pens also Re-signed Foward Tyler Kennedy. To a 2 year 2 million dollar contract. The Pens don't have that much money left so I think they won't make any more deals for a while.
Based on our team now, here would be our opening lines:
Neal-Crosby-Dupuis
Kunitz-Malkin-Sullivan
Cooke-Staal-Kennedy
Adams-Letestu-Asham
Letang-Oprik
Martin-Michalek
Niskanen-Lovejoy
Fleury
Johnson
The lines might be different but these are in essence our guys heading in. There are a few things that strike me when i look at our team.
1. Our forwards a...
Wherever and however you are reading this today, thank you for making the Gray Area part of your day. This is the first ever blog written on the Hockey Buzz website. My goal is to reach more hockey fans around the world through this site. I think you will find I write very upfront about what I think about the teams around the league and grade my favorites the harshest of ...
As it sits, the salary cap for the 2011-2012 season is set at $64.3 million dollars. The only way they could get the salary cap that high is to raise the salary cap floor. The salary cap floor is set at $48.3 million. Look, I am all for the salary cap. I think it makes the league more fair in a way that no team can "pay for championships." I do not like how some teams...
Hi All! Hope all of you on the East Coast are enjoying this brutally hot stretch of weather! As I sit here and observe the temperature outside rising to over 100 degrees, I figured this would be a perfect time to try to predict the final standings in the Atlantic Division.
Now granted, it is VERY early and there are certainly still roster decisions to be made by each ...
Taking a look back into last year and the seasons before we have seen some night and day goaltenders, but im taking a close look into team build and how the goaltender has progressed over thier careers. Here is my list ...
[b][u]1. Tim Thomas - Boston Bruins - $5 million cap hit - 37 years old[/u][/b]
08-09 he posted great numbers while splitting duties with Manny Fer...
Dirty rumour that Sid-the-Kid will be back in line-up shortly. This is strictly a rumour at this point. Crosby has not yet been cleared for contact, and he is still wearing the red jersey in practise.
That being said, the line has opened up on Sidney Crosby's games played this year. Vegas bookrunners have the odds at exactly 50 / 50. On the over under for games played t...
[img]http://wwwcache.wralsportsfan.com/asset/racing/nascar/2008/09/25/3611612/25368-nhl-400x300.jpg[/img]
[b]Follow me on Twitter @AarifDeenReport please.[/b]
We are now 8 days into the new NHL season. We’ve got goals, fights, suspensions (with videos), shutouts, and yes! The first classless act of the season from Mr. Arron Asham (albeit he’s a good guy, and ma...
Despite reports to the contrary Malkin and Crosby will not be in the line up tonight when the Jets host the Pens.
Why would they be ?
There is absolutely nobody on this planet right now that thinks the Jets will beat the Pens regardless of whether or not the two superstars are in the line up. If you don't need them to win, why not give them another day off.
Eve...
During the waning minutes of the Jets game against the Pens last night Pens defenseman Kris Letang hit Jets forward Alex Burmistrov from behind, driving him into the side wall. A two minute penalty was assessed to Letang and the young Russian forward came away from the hit for the most part unscathed. The hit was from behind.....there is no denying that. Some say that B...
So the Penguins best defenseman has been suspended 2 games for his hit on Jets forward Alex Burmistrov during the Pen's 2-1 loss to the Jets. Burmistrov was not injured on the play and Letang received a 2-minute minor for boarding.
This was the first suspension under the "Shanahan Regime" that involved a star player.
What are your thoughts on the suspension ? Too...
The past few games have been an interesting combination for Buffalo’s pride and joy. They’ve struggled at times, but have pulled 4 points out of 6 possible. So far, things look good. A little inconsistent, but good.
Carolina (10/14/11)
The arena was electric for the opening of the season, and the first game ever at the First Niagara Center. As I walked through t...
Sidney Crosby is out indefinitely with reoccurring concussion like symptoms. Words that all Penguin fans and most civil hockey fans find terrible and concerning.
8 games into his first comeback attempt he started experiencing symptoms that he knows all too well and decided to act on the side of caution and shut it down. All fans of 87 knew there was the potential of s...
No Crosby, Letang and Michalek are banged up, Staal is in sorry shape, Malkin is sick, kinda takes a bit of the bloom off the rose, looking forward to this game for a while. Lets hope the Wings take advantage of a wounded anima and start righting the ship on the road.
Nice win tonite, the last three games the Wings have outscored the opposition 16-4. A few things I noticed.
Malkin was amazing tonite, got the goal late in the first when Kronwall pinched in and allowed a breakaway. Seems like he fired the puck twenty times tonite.
Datsyuk was the wings best player, assisted ona goal then killed a penalty minutes later. Grea...
The concussions have started to officially pile up at an alarming rate to top end skill players in the NHL. Crosby, Giroux, Milan Michalek, Skinner, all in the past week and a half That includes the best hockey player in the world, the NHL points leader, the NHL goal leader, and one of the best young stars in the game. That is not to leave out players like Pronger, Letang...
Amazing, last night Buffalo comes out with a great effort against the Maple Leafs. Buffalo almost looked like a team that could make the playoffs last night. Tonight, is not the case, and Pittsburgh is doing to Buffalo what I said would happen if Buffalo continued to play soft, weak, pathetic hockey.
I’m going to break down Buffalo’s defense and offense, and in ton...
It is the time of year to give and receive gifts from friends, relatives, and Santa. It is no exception for NHL teams. The following provides the wish lists that all 30 NHL teams have given Santa.
[b]Anaheim:[/b] Where to begin here? Anaheim is going to have an Eric Cartman sized Xmas list this year. Getting the RPG line on track, getting Visnovsky in the lineup re...
I am not normally one to tell people who spend big money on attending an NHL game what to do, but I think booing Max Talbot in his return to Pittsburgh would be a poor choice. I believe this for a few reasons:
First is that the Penguins were not going to offer him anything close to market value. They had moved on from him. I think it was the right move for the Pengui...
Sidney Crosby's last update has been about 15 days ago. Penguins captian Sidney Crosby's health has been a real big talk in the NHL and mostly in the Penguins franchise. Some of his teamates well all of them are very concerned. The 24 year old superstar is still having concussion symptoms but they are not believed to be as severe as they where in the past. The Penguins wil...
Trade rumors are the dominant discussion in rumor boards, especially on HockeyBuzz. It's always an entertaining topic, but it makes more sense for some teams over others. Frankly, good teams potentially trading away players doesn't make sense to me.
This is why I'm wondering why the Penguins are looking to make trades. I'm going to assume that the rumors I've read ar...
Trade rumors are the dominant discussion in rumor boards, especially on HockeyBuzz. It's always an entertaining topic, but it makes more sense for some teams over others. Frankly, good teams potentially trading away players doesn't make sense to me.
This is why I'm wondering why the Penguins are looking to make trades. I'm going to assume that the rumors I've read ar...
Trade rumors are the dominant discussion in rumor boards, especially on HockeyBuzz. It's always an entertaining topic, but it makes more sense for some teams over others. Frankly, good teams potentially trading away players doesn't make sense to me.
This is why I'm wondering why the Penguins are looking to make trades. I'm going to assume that the rumors I've read ar...
Whats going on with the Washington Capitals? There’s a question I think every hockey fan and analyst are asking themselves these days, especially when you look at the southeast standings. The Florida Panthers have a four point lead over the Caps for the division lead, something I would think no hockey analyst would ever have guessed at the start of this campaign. Ovechki...
With the team mired in its recent slump, many are calling for drastic action. Logical approaches can be made for and against such decisions, as clearly this team is in need of a spark. Whether that spark can be drawn from players already in the organization, as Ray Shero suggests, or must be brought in via trade, is still up for debate. Personally, I believe the best cours...
Steve Yzerman, the worst GM in the league? I don’t think so, Barry. Unfortunately, you are way off base here. In just a short amount of time with the Lightning, Yzerman has done much more than make a few roster changes; he has created a culture. It’s the culture and aura that followed him around in Detroit and with Hockey Canada. The Tampa Bay Lightning franchise ...
Michael_Stuart writes...
Frustration Mounts as Malkin and Pens Defeat Bolts
Posted Sunday | Comments 0
Once again the alarm clock failed to wake the Tampa Bay Lightning until it was too late. The Bolts found themselves down 2-0 fairly early in the game. It was then that the team woke up. Frustration, disappointment and fight finally made appearances for this group. We saw a team that was pissed off with losing, a team that wanted to win. However, we also saw a team tha...
I came home from work tonight and expected to watch a decent hockey game. To be honest, I didn’t have high hopes for the Sabres tonight. I personally think the Bruins have the best chance at the Cup this season. Don’t get me wrong, I want Buffalo to win every game during the season. And I'm always in one of my many jersey's come game time. But, I’m also a realist, an...
After two demoralizing losses for the Tampa Bay Lightning, nobody is going to fault the odd fan or two for falling off the bandwagon here. In all likelihood, the Lightning will be sellers by the February 27th with their playoff dreams shattered, but, my name is Mr. Optimism and positivity is my game. The Bolts aren’t out of this race quite yet. They have games in hand...
So, not that I was expecting the Jets to come out of Pittsburgh with a win yesterday afternoon, but after a defensive showing as poor as that more than a few questions are being raised.
Firstly, can Dustin Byfuglien pull his head out of his posterior and play the game in a manner befitting someone receiving 5.2 million dollars a year ?
Secondly, what exactly is the c...
Michael_Stuart writes...
Lightning Defeat Sabres in Tight Tilt + Penguins Preview
Posted Sunday | Comments 0
Only in the NHL is it possible to be one of the best teams over a ten game stretch and not make up any ground. That’s exactly what’s happening to the Tampa Bay Lightning right now. 7-1-2 in their last ten, the Bolts have been playing some inspired hockey. Whether it’s players fighting for jobs, looking to get traded to a contender or just simply fighting for a pla...
hipcheck_goalie writes...
NHL trade deadline will resemble NBA trade deadline
Posted Monday | Comments 0
As hockey fans of your favorite team, we all suggest trading the bad contracts away (Paul Martin, any takers) for players that have expiring contracts or even better yet, entry level contracts. The days of this happening are going to be as rare as a Gomez or Parros goal. GM's will not sacrifice their teams future because fans are too knowledgeable and gate revenue is way m...
hipcheck_goalie writes...
NHL trade deadline will resemble NBA trade deadline
Posted Monday | Comments 0
As hockey fans of your favorite team, we all suggest trading the bad contracts away (Paul Martin, any takers) for players that have expiring contracts or even better yet, entry level contracts. The days of this happening are going to be as rare as a Gomez or Parros goal. GM's will not sacrifice their teams future because fans are too knowledgeable and gate revenue is way m...
If someone had walked up to me and my fiancé as we walked into First Niagara Center Sunday and said that Buffalo was going to win, I wouldn’t have believed them. I was pleasantly surprised, and pumped as time expired, and Buffalo had disposed of the Penguins.
I was very pleased with the effort today from the Sabres. This was the balanced scoring attack that Buffalo ...
With a weekend of travel behind me, it’s time to take a look at the weekend and give a re-cap. Obviously there were two big games this weekend and thankfully the Bolts managed to pull out a win on Sunday. The Lightning are still “in” the playoff race but things are certainly getting a little more tense. Steve Yzerman has stated that he doesn’t believe he’ll be...
[img]http://l.yimg.com/j/assets/p/sp/getty/79/fullj.953db0c6ffe5f772bda1229576988201/953db0c6ffe5f772bda1229576988201-getty-141679603.jpg[/img]
[b]Shots from around the league[/b]
The battle for the top seed in the Eastern Conference is heating up between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers. The Rangers gutted out a 2-1 overtime victory over the Det...
I’m not ok with this loss. Buffalo needed this win, and needed to stay ahead of the Capitals. With a loss, Buffalo goes back into a “tie” for 8th. I’ll hit on what’s wrong with calling it a “tie” later.
Buffalo had a great game plan early in the game. Buffalo played Pittsburgh with a phenomenal physical manner. They attacked them hard, fought them in the ...
It is with a heavy heart that I must regrettably turn in my Pittsburgh Penguins' fan card. Despite being a fan since 1984 where I have been able to watch such wonderful moments in franchise history as Lemieux's 5 goals 5 ways against the Devils on 12/31/88, back-to-back Stanley Cups in 91 & 92, Mario Lemieux's victory over cancer, and the drafting of a nucleus of tale...
Gunner Staal writes...
Quick hit stats for Penguins vs. Flyers matchup
Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
[img]http://cdn1.sbnation.com/entry_photo_images/3660688/20120401_lbm_al8_020_extra_large.jpg[/img]
[b]Follow me on twitter @gunnerstaal[/b]
Here are some quick hit stats for the much anticipated Penguins/Flyers first round matchup.
Penguins and Flyers both finished the regular season with identical 19.7% power plays.The Flyers were #1 in total PP time this ...
The two obvious choices to meet in the cup finals this year were, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Vancouver Canucks (sorry TSN, the monkey is looking way better now). Yet, both are less than 24 hours away from a trip to the golf course and to be quite honestly they deserve to be. Both team have 3 glaring reasons why they are now looking like the lower seed in their series'...
I watched the Flyers vs Penguins series the most this year. I also was one of the few individuals who said that the Flyers would win this series, despite what was said on nhl.com, on here, in Sports Illustrated, everywhere pretty much. However, I stood by my pick, Flyers in 6.
http://betweenthebenches.com/?p=1517
A couple days ago, I read Darren Dreger's comments in an interview he gave on Sportsradio 93-7 about the potentiality of trading Evgeni Malkin rather than Jordan Staal during the offseason. Understanding that a new CBA being negotiated could change this development for Penguins GM Ray Shero, this is an interesting and [or] disturbing thought for a few reasons.
Before I ...
I don't usually write a blog that simply mentions another blog but this seems to be very appropriate.
Tim Panaccio's latest:
[url]http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Tim-Panaccio/Flyers-React-to-Elimination/2/44345[/url]
A bunch of comments from the Flyer's players and coach but the things they say, about how different the two series were, are very telling.
The most ...
As I write this, Ryan Suter has yet to make an announcement as to where he'll play next season. But earlier tonight, Josh Yohe, Pens beat writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweeted:
"I can confirm that the Penguins and Ryan Suter's agent, Neil Sheehy, had a conversation today. So far, apparently no offer was made."
This is disturbing to me. How in th...
As I woke up this morning from my drunken stupor the night before, at around 9:30am, I began checking Twitter and the rumor mill for early news on Parise and Suter. Sure enough, around 11am, Dave Molinari, Pens beat writer for the Post Gazette, tweeted that the Penguins are "officially out" on Zach Parise.
And by lunch time that was confirmed when Mike Russo, Wild ...
PensSkinny writes...
Exploring the Possibility of a Semin/Penguins Marriage
Posted Friday | Comments 0
By now, I'm sure that you all have heard that Zach Parise & Ryan Suter chose the Minnesota Wild. And to further complicate things for the Pens, they allowed Steve "Sully" Sullivan to walk away, and sign a one year deal in Phoenix. This certainly leaves Ray Shero in quite the predicament, as he needs to find a top-6 winger to play alongside Sidney Crosby.
A lo...
So here goes....
I am [b]NOT[/b] an NHL Insider. I don't have any inside sources or unparalleled accesses. If I do post about breaking news or rumors, I guarantee it will be second-hand information.
Here you will [b]NOT[/b] find trade and free agent rumors that you've not heard before, exclusive interviews with NHL Pros and Executives, or behind the scenes photos...
Although, admittedly, my favorite memories of the Pittsburgh Penguins have come while the team was winning, in retrospect, I (unlike most of city of the Pittsburgh) actually enjoyed the Pre-Sidney Crosby "Dark Years". I can say I enjoyed them now, although at the time the future of the team was in serious jeopardy, but without these down years, the Pens wouldn't have been ...
Who are the greatest Penguins blue-liners of all time? You'd probably say Paul Coffey, Larry Murphy, or Randy Carlyle. Maybe more recent players make your list like Kris Letang, Brooks Orpik or Rob Scuderi. But what about D!ck Tarnstrom? What if I told you that Tarnstrom accomplished something that none of the previously mentioned players ever did? In 2003-04, D!ck Tar...
According to NHL.com writer Dan Rosen, the Pittsburgh Penguins are one of six teams that Rick Nash has added to his approved trade list along with the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers. In a recent article, Rosen handicapped these six potential destinations for the All-Star winger, highlighting what pieces could mo...
Now I know the lean on Shane Doan is either in Phoenix or some way out there East Coast team (or for some of you, right in your backyard home team or favorite). The truth is right next Richards and Carter on the Kings 1A line is where he fits best.
Three reasons -
1. It is here on the westside of things, not far from where he has been and easy to move the family 400 ...
Follow me on twitter @PHI_Flyers
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We are only a little more than a month away from the start of pre season action! While there still will be more signings and possibles trades, I thought that today I would make predictions of the Atlantic Division if the season started tomorrow. I will look into the other divisions and con...
As a follow-up on my recent predictions of the Northeast division, I'll be weighing in today with my thoughts on possibly the best division in hockey. The Atlantic Division contained 4 playoff teams last year, or the number produced by the Southeast and Northeast divisions combined. The fact that the Eastern final was between two Atlantic teams, and didn't feature perenia...
As much as I hated to see it, the last NHL lockout made sense to me. The gap between haves and the have-nots was growing at a ridiculous rate, and truth be told, I was glad to see the NHL take action before it got too far out of control like it has in Major League Baseball. The results of that lockout speak for themselves. Parity has returned to the league and ultimately...
So game one the leafs could have lost easily in the dying seconds and game two they could have won in the dying seconds. Not only was the scenario a coplete opposite, in my opinion the leafs played a better game against Buffalo than Montreal. Congradulations Ryan Miller for coming out and spoiling a great team effort with a stellar night between the pipes. Wouldn't it be ...
We can talk all day about how great it was that Buffalo bounced back. We can talk about that phenomenal save that Miller made on Neal. We can look at how the Sabres gave the Penguins a serious run for their money today. I personally am going to choose to look at this...
[b]Buffalo lost.[/b]
Oh no, don’t say “They came close”, don’t say “They played their b...
I know that there’s a lot of buzz surrounding the Sabres right now. Personally, I’m a little miffed by this. However, I can understand why Sabres fans are very excited with the upcoming games. There’s thoughts of adding to the Sabres win streak with their next 3 opponents. They may even hit the season high win streak of 4 games! Sabres fans are starting to get excite...
Look, it certainly seems like the Penguins are going to be the team strolling through the playoffs en route to the Stanley Cup this year. I mean what is going to stop them?rnrnThey are on a 13 game winning streak, they have two of the top two scoring centers in the league, their goaltending have been excellent as of late, and they've done some work to solidify the blueline...
It's that time of the year...Stanley Cup Playoffs. Also a perfect time to write my first blog.
I may be a penguins fan but I am going to attack this from a non-biased approach. There are a couple teams this year that I believe have a legitimate chance at winning the cup and also a couple who have little to no shot of getting anywhere close to lord Stanley's cup. So ...
My friend once told me:
"The Penguins dive more than any other team in the NHL. Worse, they seem to get those calls! What is going on!?"
I always thought he was crazy. But then, I started watching the game objectively for myself. Here's what I found.
The Penguins, are diving. Left, right, center. Game 4 was almost completely decided by the refs. Here is m...
As Tuuka Rask caught a point shot at the buzzer from Jarome Iginla and the Boston Bruins officially swept the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference finals last night; the hockey world immediately began to ask the question "What went wrong?" Fans, media, and experts have pointed to things such as lack of production from star players, goaltending instability, and...
Anyone who has paid significant attention to the Pittsburgh Penguins since their most recent Cup win knows full well that there are several reasons that Head Coach Dan Bylsma ('HCDB') should be behind a different bench next season.
Bylsma lucked into a Cup win in 2009 following an entire 2 months of experience as an NHL head coach. When a harsh, strict disciplinarian (M...
As we draw closer to the draft, more and more news and speculation leaks out about possible transactions that may occur this offseason. With the General Managers meetings going down in Boston this week, the gossip has hit a fever pitch. Here are some of the more juicy tidbits.
- Joe Sakic told the Denver Post that the Avalanche will NOT be selecting top rated prosp...
Catch the highlights of the Pittsburgh Penguins as they hosted the New Jersey Devils on October 3, 2013. Who will come out on top? Find out in today's featured game of the National Hockey League on EA Sports NHL 14 - play-by-play calling by Eric Munter.
[url]http://youtu.be/S9eS2mHz1_g[/url]
Catch the highlights of the Florida Panthers as they host the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 11, 2013. Who will come out on top? Find out in today's featured game of the National Hockey League on EA Sports NHL 14 - play-by-play calling by Eric Munter.
[url]http://youtu.be/Cb-c_q7yC6I[/url]
tylercastro writes...
PIT vs. CHI Stadium Series Tickets Sold Out after One Day
Posted Friday | Comments 0
We all know the top dominating team's of each conference of today's NHL. The Pittsburgh Penguins of the east, and the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks of the west. As of today the Penguins are 2nd in the Eastern Conference (21-10-1 43 points), under the Boston Bruins with 43 points, and the Blackhawks are 23-6-5, 51 points, and 1st in the Western Conferenc...
The Pittsburgh Penguins showoff their new jersey for the game that will be played on March 1st of the new year against the Chicago Blackhawks. The jersey will an away white, like normal, with strops on the mid-sleeve and bottom of the sweater. A tweet that I read earlier in the day compared the jersey to a familiar rivals, Boston Bruins jersey. It made it a whole lot more ...
The longest week of many of our lives is upon us: the NHL trade deadline week. I've been checking twitter constantly, this site among many others, feverishly waiting for the first deal to go down.
I think many of us will be disappointed, particularly with the Penguins at the deadline.
The Penguins' ability to make a deal at the deadline has been crippled as a result...
Before I get started on this short writeup, I do realize the comments that have come out recently and that there's MAYBE a 1% chance of this actually happening.
I'm totally in favor of the Pens making a run at Kesler. Without a doubt he's one of the best two-way forwards in the game and has one of the most cap-friendly contracts given what he returns on the ice.
F...
In just under 3 hours, NHL fans will be treated to another fantastic outdoor matchup. Jonathan Toews and Sid the Kid face-off in what seems to myself and many others as a battle of potential Stanley Cup finalists, as well as maybe the best offensive teams in their respective conferences.
I will say, to some degree it bothers me that this game is all hyped to Sid vs Toe...
Those Penguins fans expecting to plan a parade route later this year will likely be sorely disappointed. The Penguins got a severe taste of reality following the Olympic break, running into Chicago, Anaheim and San Jose. They were not very successful, although Marc Andre Fleury--a favorite lightning rod of mine--was able to steal 2 points for them from Anaheim.
This ...
The long awaited debut for Evgeny Kuznetsov will finally take place tonight in Washington against their rivals from Pittsburgh. Kuznetsov was drafted 26th overall in the 2010 NHL Draft. He has since been playing in the KHL for Traktor Chelyabinsk where he has 65 goals and 146 points in 210 games. Kuznetsov helped Russia win gold during the 2011 World Junior and took home t...
As the season draws into its home stretch, I am once again struggling to come to grips with how the Penguins continue to lead the league in injuries on a yearly basis. While all teams go through a stretch of injuries, the Penguins run borders on the insane, given that they have had not just one but several important players out since the Winter Classic in 2011 when Crosby ...
As the season draws into its home stretch, I am once again struggling to come to grips with how the Penguins continue to lead the league in injuries on a yearly basis. While all teams go through a stretch of injuries, the Penguins run borders on the insane, given that they have had not just one but several important players out since the Winter Classic in 2011 when Crosby ...
As the season draws into its home stretch, I am once again struggling to come to grips with how the Penguins continue to lead the league in injuries on a yearly basis. While all teams go through a stretch of injuries, the Penguins run borders on the insane, given that they have had not just one but several important players out since the Winter Classic in 2011 when Crosby ...
Yeah, I get it, the Pens are the most injured team in the NHL, and that continued with the news that Olli Maata and Jussi Jokinen joined the ranked of injured Penguins players. I also fully understand that the Penguins are post season bound, locked into the #2 seed in east, winning the ridiculously-named Metropolitan division.
BUT..... There is absolutely no excuse for ...
Yeah, I get it, the Pens are the most injured team in the NHL, and that continued with the news that Olli Maata and Jussi Jokinen joined the ranked of injured Penguins players. I also fully understand that the Penguins are post season bound, locked into the #2 seed in east, winning the ridiculously-named Metropolitan division.
BUT..... There is absolutely no excuse for ...
As I was listening to the new and improved Hockeybuzzcast and hearing the sparkling reviews and praise for the Columbus Blue Jackets especially from Josh Rimer. I knew I had to check this series out.
Now, even though the Blue Jackets couldn't put together a full 60 minute effort and come out on top in this game, I was thoroughly impressed. And for a lot of reasons I ...
Fleury.
There I got that out of the way. We all know what happened last night late in the loss to the never quit Columbus Blue Jackets. Fleury gave up 2 very weak goals and the Penguins lost, but as we all know we can changed what has already happened so now its time to focus on the future. The future that we will unfortunately have to wait for until Saturday night.
...
When the Penguins lost game four of their first round series to the Blue Jackets - in about as ugly a fashion as most fans of the team could imagine - I made the comment to several different people that I thought it was a good thing and maybe the best thing (in the long run) for the team would be to lose the series and exit the playoffs early.
I got the "Are you really...
neilsonnn18 writes...
Give Jim a Chance -- Pittsburgh Penguins New GM Evaluation
Posted Saturday | Comments 0
"In a new General Managers first press conference, we want to hear his 5-year plan, - not that he sees his time here as short term."rnrn"I wanted a young, new, fresh general manager, not this old guy."rnrn"The Hurricanes haven't made the playoffs in five years, how is this an improvement for the Penguins?" rnrnThese, among others, are the complaints I've heard about new Pe...
neilsonnn18 writes...
Give Jim a Chance -- Pittsburgh Penguins New GM Evaluation
Posted Saturday | Comments 0
"In a new General Managers first press conference, we want to hear his 5-year plan, - not that he sees his time here as short term." "I wanted a young, new, fresh general manager, not this old guy." "The Hurricanes haven't made the playoffs in five years, how is this an improvement for the Penguins?" These, among others, are the complaints I've heard about new Penguins Gen...
neilsonnn18 writes...
Give Jim a Chance -- Pittsburgh Penguins New GM Evaluation
Posted Saturday | Comments 0
"In a new General Managers first press conference, we want to hear his 5-year plan, - not that he sees his time here as short term." "I wanted a young, new, fresh general manager, not this old guy." "The Hurricanes haven't made the playoffs in five years, how is this an improvement for the Penguins?" These, among others, are the complaints I've heard about new Penguins Gen...
neilsonnn18 writes...
Give Jim a Chance -- Pittsburgh Penguins New GM Evaluation
Posted Saturday | Comments 0
"In a new General Managers first press conference, we want to hear his 5-year plan, - not that he sees his time here as short term." "I wanted a young, new, fresh general manager, not this old guy." "The Hurricanes haven't made the playoffs in five years, how is this an improvement for the Penguins?" These, among others, are the complaints I've heard about new Penguins Gen...
neilsonnn18 writes...
Give Jim a Chance -- Pittsburgh Penguins New GM Evaluation
Posted Saturday | Comments 0
"In a new General Managers first press conference, we want to hear his 5-year plan, - not that he sees his time here as short term." "I wanted a young, new, fresh general manager, not this old guy." "The Hurricanes haven't made the playoffs in five years, how is this an improvement for the Penguins?" These, among others, are the complaints I've heard about new Penguins Gen...
neilsonnn18 writes...
Give Jim a Chance -- Pittsburgh Penguins New GM Evaluation
Posted Saturday | Comments 0
"In a new General Managers first press conference, we want to hear his 5-year plan, - not that he sees his time here as short term." "I wanted a young, new, fresh general manager, not this old guy." "The Hurricanes haven't made the playoffs in five years, how is this an improvement for the Penguins?" These, among others, are the complaints I've heard about new Penguins Gen...
neilsonnn18 writes...
Give Jim a Chance -- Pittsburgh Penguins New GM Evaluation
Posted Sunday | Comments 0
"In a new General Managers first press conference, we want to hear his 5-year plan, - not that he sees his time here as short term."
"I wanted a young, new, fresh general manager, not this old guy."
"The Hurricanes haven't made the playoffs in five years, how is this an improvement for the Penguins?"
These, among others, are the complaints I've heard about new ...
neilsonnn18 writes...
Give Jim a Chance -- Pittsburgh Penguins New GM Evaluation
Posted Sunday | Comments 0
"In a new General Managers first press conference, we want to hear his 5-year plan, - not that he sees his time here as short term."
"I wanted a young, new, fresh general manager, not this old guy."
"The Hurricanes haven't made the playoffs in five years, how is this an improvement for the Penguins?"
These, among others, are the complaints I've heard about new ...
http://nhlpenguins.sportsblog.com/posts/665899/penguins_realistic_free_agency_idea.html
http://nhlpenguins.sportsblog.com/posts/665899/penguins_realistic_free_agency_idea.html
DirtyPierre writes...
Spezza to Blues, Kessler to Ducks and Thornton Options FTW
Posted Saturday | Comments 0
Spezza will be on the St. Louis Blues for next season. Look for a return of Derek Roy and a 2nd round draft pick with a prospect in return. Spezza will fit in extremely well with the offense in St. Louis.
Kessler is in the cross hairs of Anaheim, and the Ducks wont let any other team snag him without having a good back door plan to add forward with heavy fire power.
...
When I first heard that the Pittsburgh Penguins had acquired Steve Downie I was excited because he is a guy who can play in a bottom 6 role and even help put some pucks in the net. I still think he can put pucks in the net, however I am getting tired of him playing in the penalty box. He has a league high 78 PIMs which is not helping the Penguins at all. His selfish pen...
This past weekend was not a particularly good one for the Penguins. The New York Islanders defeated the Penguins both nights of their home and home series. What was more frustrating to see though was how the Islanders dictated puck possession and shots. The Penguins essentially played the majority of both games in their own end, a recipe for defeat.
With the loss o...
I still am unsure why Adams continues to get playing time on this current Penguins team. Honeslty, I beleive all he is, is a puck pusher. His speed has declined and whatever is left of his skill set.
What I don't understand is why scratch Downie and not Adams. Most people would have thought after the Bylsma/Shero era that the Adams project would come to an end. Don't g...
HarrisonHamm writes...
What should the Penguins do about the power play?
Posted Thursday | Comments 0
In a 2-1 loss to Columbus Thursday night, Pittsburgh continued to struggle on the power play. They failed to score again in the defeat, going 0-2 with the man-advantage. They now have gone 21 opportunities without a goal, and it is becoming a concern for the Pens.
Despite having the star power to excel on the power play, Pittsburgh has been unable to do that recently...
How can a team with Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Perron, Kunitz, Hornqvist, and Bennett struggle so mightily to score goals? Do we in Pittsburgh over-value these guys? Perhaps for a couple of them, but on this list there are supposed to be elite level, generational talent. That talent level should never struggle to score goals, especially on the power play. So here's my take:
...
HarrisonHamm writes...
Three Penguins that need to improve their production
Posted Friday | Comments 0
1. Chris Kunitz: The winger has been a mainstay as a top-6 forward for years, and has produced greatly for the Penguins in that span. But Kunitz hasn't scored a goal in nine games, and that needs to change. If he can get in front of the net more frequently, then his production will go up noticeably. He is an important veteran piece for Pittsburgh heading into the stretch r...
HarrisonHamm writes...
3 places the Penguins need to improve at the trade deadline
Posted Saturday | Comments 0
Two-way defenseman: Since the loss of young offensive defenseman Olli Maata for the season, the Pens have been looking for somebody that can fill the need of a two-way defenseman. With Paul Martin likely to leave in free-agency this summer, Pittsburgh needs a replacement. A two-way defenseman would also shore up the blue line on the struggling power play. A D-man that ca...
The Penguins got a huge win Saturday night against the St. Louis Blues, one of the best teams in the National Hockey League. Pittsburgh won 4-2 on two goals from forward Blake Comeau, who, along with all other Pens forwards, was playing with a different line. Comeau played with Evgeni Malkin and Chris Kunitz on the second line, and they were clearly the most productive lin...
The Penguins came up with a huge non-conference win against St. Louis Saturday. The top reason for the convincing victory was some line shuffling by coach Mike Johnston. Pittsburgh needed a boost on offense after failing to win in four straight games despite stellar performances from goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. They got the boost with the reformed lines.
On line one, ...
HarrisonHamm writes...
Penguins score three in the third, dismantle Florida 5-1
Posted Sunday | Comments 0
The turnaround is on for Pittsburgh. After failing to win four straight games, the Pens won both games of a weekend back-to-back against one of the best teams in the NHL , the Blues, and a team ferociously fighting for a playoff spot, the Panthers.
The Pens defeated Florida at home Sunday night, led by another stellar performance by goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and two...
Young fourth-line forward Zach Sill gets a lot of criticism. Why? Because he isn’t a goal scorer. Instead, he is a tough, forechecking, winger that plays well along the boards and can kill penalties. So he isn’t a scorer. Don’t the Penguins have enough of those already? Let Zach Sill be who he is, not the entertaining, stat-filling player that every hockey fan wishes...
HarrisonHamm writes...
Penguins acquire Winnik from Leafs for Sill, picks
Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
The Penguins have made their first real trade since the Goc deal back in January as we approach the March trade deadline. The Pens acquired Maple Leafs forward Daniel Winnik for Zach Sill and a couple draft picks.
The picks are a 2015 fourth-rounder and a 2016 second-rounder.
Winnik, who isn't known as an offensive star, is an effective forechecker, is versatile, and...
The Penguins got a solid victory against bitter rival Washington Wednesday night. They avoided being swept by the Capitals in their always-competitive season series. Chris Kunitz knocked home a Blake Comeau rebound with 13 minutes remaining in the third period to give the Pens their decisive fourth goal.
That score gave Pittsburgh a 4-2 lead. With about four minutes to...
HarrisonHamm writes...
Should the Penguins scratch Steve Downie or Craig Adams?
Posted Friday | Comments 0
The Penguins have an extra forward, so they need a regular forward to be a healthy scratch. There are two players that are possibly candidates to become a regular healthy scratch: Steve Downie and Craig Adams. So which one should they use more often? Both players are solid players, with different pros and cons. It is a very difficult decision for coach Mike Johnston.
W...
HarrisonHamm writes...
Malkin continues hot streak, leads Penguins past Blue Jacket
Posted Sunday | Comments 0
Evgeni Malkin scored three points for the third consecutive game, and the Penguins defeated the Blue Jackets at home on Sunday. The score was 5-3, and Malkin scored two of the goals and added an assist to lead Pittsburgh to their fourth straight win after a loss in Columbus on Feb. 19th. rnrnThe Pens’ power-play put up three goals in the second period alone to take contr...
At the recent NHL trade deadline, the Penguins made two trades, both involving defenseman. The first trade they made was dealing Robert Bortuzzo and a draft pick to the Blues for defenseman Ian Cole. I can understand trading Bortuzzo, as the Penguins are wealthy in defensive prospects and don’t have a clear place for him. But the other trade they made, Simon Depres to An...
The Penguins were defeated in Colorado Wednesday night by a score of 3-1. The Avalanche’s Gabriel Landeskog had a goal and two assists to lead the Avs to a win at the Pepsi Center.
Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov made 28 saves, including 12 in the third period, to lead his team to a victory against Pittsburgh, who had won four straight heading into a west coast r...
New Penguins defenseman Ben Lovejoy made his 2015 Pittsburgh debut in his former city of Anaheim. Lovejoy and the Pens got the win over the streaking Ducks, who had won seven of eight games.
Patric Hornqvist scored two goals in the second period and Sidney Crosby got his elusive 21st goal (although it was an empty-netter) to lead the Penguins past the Ducks in the sec...
HarrisonHamm writes...
Fleury earns shutout as the Penguins win in OT over LA
Posted Sunday | Comments 0
Marc-Andre Fleury, who was off in Anaheim on Friday, played possibly his best game of the season Saturday night in Los Angeles. He made 31 saves and kept the game from being a blowout, as the Penguins only managed 18 shots on Kings goalie Jonathan Quick. Although many of those 18 shots were solid chances, it was a season-low in shots for the Penguins.
"I didn't feel lik...
HarrisonHamm writes...
Struggles against Sharks continue as Pens lose in SO
Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
San Jose does not seem to be the Penguins favorite place. They lost their 12th straight game there Monday night, 2-1 in a shootout. They haven’t won there since 1997.
Tommy Wingels scored in the eighth round of the shootout and Antti Niemi stopped Steve Downie to give the Sharks the win. Niemi played amazingly, saving 39 of 40 shots in regulation and stopping seven of...
HarrisonHamm writes...
Pens blow 4-0 but score twice in third to beat Oilers 6-4
Posted Thursday | Comments 0
It was a rocky road, but the Penguins would pull off a victory. After the Penguins scored three in the first period and another one a minute into the second, Edmonton, helped by the replacement of goaltender Ben Scrivens with Richard Bachman, roared back in the third period with four straight to knot the game up. The Pens would score twice in 66 seconds to take a 6-4 lead,...
HarrisonHamm writes...
Penguins shut out by Boston after losing Crosby, Malkin
Posted Saturday | Comments 0
This game was the exact opposite of the Penguins’ previous matchup. After winning a high-scoring 6-4 affair against the Oilers, they were shut out by goalie Tuuka Rask and the Boston Bruins, 2-0.
One of the main reasons for Pittsburgh’s offensive struggles was the loss of two of the NHL’s top five scoring leaders. Sidney Crosby, after looking perfectly fine in wa...
A day after both the Penguins and the Red Wings were handed disappointing losses, it was just the Penguins that had that happen to them again. Detroit creamed the Penguins by a score of 5-1 in a game in which tempers flared and the teams were on edge for most of the contest.
For the Penguins, they should have done better than they did against the Bruins Saturday afterno...
No luck of the Irish for the Penguins Tuesday night. They lost their third straight game against the New Jersey Devils, who are third-to-last in the Metropolitan Division. Not only did they lose, but they were shut out by the lowly Devils on St. Patrick’s day. 2-0 was the final thanks to an empty-netter with 48 seconds left in the game. Another tough game for the Penguin...
Another game, another loss for the Penguins. They dropped their fourth straight game in Dallas Thursday night by a score of 2-1.
Stars captain Jamie Benn had a goal and an assist, Kari Lehtonen stopped 31 of 32 shots to lead Dallas to a win over dropping Pittsburgh, who is now tied with the Washington Capitals for third in the Metropolitan Division.
Rookie Brett Ri...
It wasn’t exactly how the coach drew it up, but the Penguins managed to earn a 3-1 victory over the Coyotes. They came back form a 1-0 deficit with two goals in the second period, from Brandon Sutter and Daniel Winnik. The Sutter goal may be one of the weirdest the Penguins have scored this season.
It occurred on a Penguins power-play. After defenseman Ian Cole rattle...
HarrisonHamm writes...
Steen scores OT winner as Blues beat Penguins 3-2
Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
Despite the solid play of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and the Penguins’ much better play in this game than in other recent games, the Pens failed to pull off a victory at home against the Blues. They had a 2-0 lead at 8:58 of the second period, but two former Pens negated that advantage.
After Steve Downie’s goal made it 2-0 midway through the second period, Blues ...
The Penguins, playing terrible of late, failed to defeat the lowly Hurricanes, who previously had six goals in their last seven games. Carolina won by a score of 5-2.
Carolina star center Eric Staal had a goal and two assists and was named first star of the game and goaltender Cam Ward made 27 saves as Carolina, currently in the cellar of the Metropolitan Division, defe...
HarrisonHamm writes...
Penguins earn an important victory against the Coyotes 3-2
Posted Saturday | Comments 0
Evgeni Malkin and Patric Hornqvist were back in the lineup for a game that was important for two reasons: One was that the Pens had been playing horribly (losing to terrible Carolina on Thursday), and they needed a victory. They got it against another lowly team, the Arizona Coyotes.
Despite not scoring until 7:16 of the third period, when Daniel Winnik scored, the Peng...
HarrisonHamm writes...
Crosby scores 300th goal, but Penguins fall to Flyers 4-1
Posted Thursday | Comments 0
Maybe the Penguins should stop playing the Flyers in Pittsburgh, because they can’t seem to beat them. Philadelphia is now 13-2-1, 11-1-1 in the regular season, against Pittsburgh at Consol Energy Center.
Brayden Schenn scored twice to lead the Flyers to a 4-1 win Wednesday night. Philadelphia, with a record of 31-29-17, have already been eliminated from the postseas...
Reddevil45 writes...
NY Rangers against Pittsburgh Penguins: Series Prediction
Posted Thursday | Comments 0
One of the only series predicted not to be very close is between the New York Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Rangers come into this matchup as the Presidents’ Trophy winners (113P). The Penguins are on the opposite side in the playoffs with them just squeaking into the playoffs on the last day. Only the Flames had fewer points than the Penguins out of teams who...
It’s no secret that the penguins are a position to capitalise on the ‘big four’: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Marc-Andre Fleury. At least not with some of the current crop they continue to renew and obtain every year.
Mike Johnson was unable to prove his worth this season. His coaching ability is not in question, neither is his team management. Hi...
Trade:
Pens get Bonino, a 2nd and Clendening
Canucks get Sutter and a 3rd
Wow, immediately looks like a great deal for the Pens. After checking out the salary implications here this trade makes some sense. Sutter was once a top pick (11th) whereas Bonino was a 6th rounder. Sutter just had his 2nd 20-goal season, has never even hit 20-assists or 40-points, and has more...
In this article I will outline the top three teams' in the Eastern Conference entering the 2015-16 season. There's some moves still to be made, but I believe that the majority of the blockbuster deals are completed.
5. New York Islanders: ( 47-28-7 : 101 Points)
The Islanders finished the 2014-15 season with a first round elimination at the hands of the Washington...
Here we are on a Tuesday night and, yes, summer is practically over. Of course, I couldn't be happier. Training camp is almost here and before you know it, television will be watchable again. Although news is slow, the league is alive as ever with teams rounding out their rosters and players ready to compete for Lord Stanley. Here are a few things that are on my mind cur...
The Pittsburgh Penguins have made it very clear that they are committed to dominating via an overpowering offence. They have a very deep core of forwards, many of which are able to play top six minutes. Unfortunately for some of these guys, this depth is going to drastically cut their ice time.
When we look at the top six for the Pens, we instantly notice the big tw...
The Columbus Blue Jackets have successfully conquered a back-to-back stint against two different organizations,
Improving their record to 6-12-0.
On Friday night, the Jackets defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins by a final score of 2-1 in regulation. For the Pens, fiesty winger Patric Hornqvist scored their only goal in the final minute of the game. For the Jackets, B...
Sidney Crosby does not look like a confident hockey player.
He needs to find his confidence again.
It's really that simple.
But it's also really...that complicated.
When Crosby entered the league he was 18...he was Sid The Kid.
He led by example.
His example was powerful because he simply enjoyed playing the game of hockey and he was one of the best in t...
Zak MacMillan writes...
CBJ Game No. 36- Columbus Blue Jackets @ Pittsburgh Penguins
Posted Monday | Comments 0
In Pittsburgh, two struggling teams are on the ice tonight. The injury stricken Pens battle the inconsistent Columbus Blue Jackets. The last time these teams played, Dubinsky sustained a suspension by cross-checking Sidney Crosby. Tonight, there is no Crosby, Fleury, and Letang for Pitt; however, the Pens hired Mike Sullivan and acquired Trevor Daley from Chicago for R...
Zak MacMillan writes...
CBJ Game No. 68- Columbus Blue Jackets v Pittsburgh Penguins
Posted Friday | Comments 0
Rivalry night has arrived for Columbus fans when they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins come to Ohio's state capital in a fight for their playoff lives as the Wings and Flyers are collecting points.
There is drama headed into this game on both sides. Earlier this week, former Blue Jacket and current Penguin Tom Sesito called out Brandon Dubinsky because of ...
Zak MacMillan writes...
CBJ Post-Game No. 68- Mr. Popper's Penguins Even Series
Posted Sunday | Comments 0
The Pittsburgh Penguins' comeback second period helped them defeat the home Columbus Blue Jackets and a healthy Columbus netminder by a final score of 3-2 in regulation.
The Penguins scored their three goals starting from late in the first period until early in the second. At 14:23, Kris Letang scored a power play goal for his career high 13th goal of the season; Evgeni...
The Tampa Bay Lighting have some depth on their team, especially when it comes to goaltending.
With 7:35 to go in the opening period of Game One of the Eastern Conference Final, Lightning's starting goalie, Ben Bishop got injured.
In fact, Bishop had to be carried off the ice on a stretcher.
I thought that the Lightning's luck had ran out. I mean, the team have b...
With both Steven Stamkos, Ben Bishop on the sidelines, I wonder how long Tampa is going to be competitive?
There's been rumours about Stamkos returning to the lineup before the third round is over, but he's not back yet.
The scary part is that Pittsburgh has a good chance of winning the cup and Phil Kessel winning the Conn Smyth Trophy. To a Toronto Maple Leaf fan, ...
I think the Tampa Bay Lightning will re-sign Steven Stamkos. he's their best player in my opinion, and they can be a great team without him, but can they get past the Penguins in this series?
I don't know.
Zak MacMillan writes...
NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Thoughts: Pittsburgh v. San Jose
Posted Tuesday | Comments 0
There was 30, and now there is 2. After the finish of the Conference Finals last night, the Stanley Cup Finals will be contested between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the San Jose Sharks.
The Penguins have been riding a hot streak since the hiring of coach Mike Sullivan. General Jim Rutherford has made gutsy moves by adding Phil Kessel, Nick Bonino, Carl Hagelin, Trevor ...
We are just over a week until the NHL draft when hopefully things will happen so bloggers have new material to work with again. Until that point here are a few thoughts from around the NHL.
Gordie Howe... man 2016 has not been a kind year. When Muhammad Ali passed I thought it couldn't get any worse. I was very wrong. While I am far too young to share any personal stori...
We are just over a week until the NHL draft when hopefully things will happen so bloggers have new material to work with again. Until that point here are a few thoughts from around the NHL.
Gordie Howe... man 2016 has not been a kind year. When Muhammad Ali passed I thought it couldn't get any worse. I was very wrong. While I am far too young to share any personal stori...
Zak MacMillan writes...
NHL Playoff Thoughts: Pittsburgh Wins Stanley Cup
Posted Saturday | Comments 0
The Pittsburgh Penguins have done it. For the first time in seven years and the fourth time in 50 years, the Penguins won the Stanley Cup. The series was 4 games to 2.
The San Jose Sharks made it farther they have ever gone in their franchise's 25 year century, to their first ever Stanley Cup Final appearance.
The Penguins and Sharks had successful seasons to say t...
Zak MacMillan writes...
CBJ P5: Columbus Blue Jackets v. Pittsburgh Penguins
Posted Monday | Comments 0
A thrilling Metropolitan Division matchup is coming to Columbus tonight where the Blue Jackets take on the defending Stanley Cup Champions- the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Penguins' offseason was short and busy, but not with much activity. The Penguins lost defenseman Ben Lovejoy (NJ) and goalie Jeff Zatkoff (LA) to free agency; and traded winger Beau Bennett to the Devil...
Zak MacMillan writes...
CBJ P5: Columbus Blue Jackets v. Pittsburgh Penguins
Posted Monday | Comments 0
A thrilling Metropolitan Division matchup is coming to Columbus tonight where the Blue Jackets take on the defending Stanley Cup Champions- the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Penguins' offseason was short and busy, but not with much activity. The Penguins lost defenseman Ben Lovejoy (NJ) and goalie Jeff Zatkoff (LA) to free agency; and traded winger Beau Bennett to the Devil...
Zak MacMillan writes...
CBJ P8: Columbus Blue Jackets @ Pittsburgh Penguins
Posted Saturday | Comments 0
The preseason finale for the Columbus Blue Jackets is an afternoon matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the PPG Paints Arena.
Fresh off their appearance at the White House, the Penguins will see Sidney Crosby and Carl Haglein have their preseason debuts.
Both teams are using what they project to be their regular season lineups in this finale to get their best...
After Crosby made his seasonal debut, I wanted to see if it was a legitimate possability for him to win the Art Ross this year and started doing some research. 1st I looked at ppg under Mike Sullivan last year. He scored 66 points in 52 games. (1.27 ppg). I then took that number and and multiplied it over the remaining 73 games (93 pts) and added the 5 he has now. That...
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After beating the Calgary Flames on Monday night, the Isles had a tough back to back approaching. They would play the defending cup champs, the Pittsburgh Penguins, then the following day, they would play the defending President's Trophy champs, the Washington Capitals. Fans knew that this determined the year, a win ...
31 teams; 31 reasons to post a random comment. Let's go.
Anaheim Ducks – The Ducks are a conundrum for me. They have a good roster. They’ve won the Pacific Division something like five seasons in a row. There was very little change to their roster this summer. It seems like they can make the final four group in the playoffs on any given season, but ultimately, this ...
The offseason is officially underway, and the Penguins are preparing for what figures to be a relatively routine Summer. Pittsburgh will enter the draft with the core of their squad under contract, and will no doubt be scouring the ranks of eligible prospects in hopes of adding impactful talent to a farm system relatively devoid of it. The Penguins will not have much cap r...
The Penguins lost Tom Kuhnhackl, Carter Rowney, and Josh Jooris via free agency this year. The Penguins PK was ranked 17th in the league out of 31. The biggest problem was that the bottom 6 was not producing offensively. In 69 games, Tom Kuhnhackl had only 8 points, and for Carter Rowney just a lousy 5 points in 41 games.
But, DAD IS BACK! Matt Cullen returned this off...
The Instigator |Episode 19
Malkin Hit on Oshie | Overreaction?
When Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Evgeni Malkin drove his shoulder in to the head of Washington Capitals forward TJ Oshie the hockey world went crazy. Half of the people were screaming for a suspension and half thought the match penalty was outrageous. It was an interesting play and call. Brad Burud brea...
INSIDEEDGEHOCKE writes...
Panic in Pittsburgh and Players Under the Radar
Posted Wednesday | Comments 0
THE DEBATE - Hockey Podcast - Episode 41 - Panic in Pittsburgh and Players Under the Radar
Brad Burud and Blake Friars talk Pittsburgh Penguins. Should there be panic in the "Steel City" or is all the panic premature. The Penguins find themselves in last place and the hockey world is so not used to seeing that. Then its time to breakdown all the players off to hot st...