Pen Vs. Sens: VICTORY!

The Pens started the game playing like minor-leagers. They were sloppy, couldn't finish a pass, and couldn't shoot on the net.

Cullen, Neil, and Alfredsson scored in the first and second periods. When it became 3-0, I thought it was over. If they were playing their game, I would've believed that they would make it. But they were playing crappy. What was wrong with the PEns? Well, Jordy said that they needed a killer instinct.

"We need to find that better and really finish them when they're down. We didn't do that," Jordan said. "But I just love the character in this room and the way we can bounce back from things and forget about things and work for the next shift and the next game."

Then, a banger around the net was shoved in by Cookie. Hope arose out of the icy bleakness.

Poni scored...or so we thought...by they refs called "goalie interference" on Gino. However, it was a Sens who shoved Malkin down. It was a bad call. There were many crazy calls in the game...no, make that the series!
However, Billy G made up for it and scored on the power-play.
Then, a lucky shot by Cookie went in! Cookie was a hero! We now had a chance! A few amazing plays by Flower were enough to send us to overtime...again.

Then, Duper scored 9:56 into the 1rst overtime! We had won!

With guys other than Sid and Gino scoring, it rpoved that the Pens really are a team of talant.

"It says a lot," said Crosby, who recorded 14 points through the first five games. "We're going to do our best to create things, but there are going to be nights where it's tougher than others.
"Some nights it may not go in, or whatever the case is, but we've still got to do things out there. We've still got to be productive, whether it's not on the score sheet. We've got to be responsible out there and find ways to help, but certainly there are other guys who can step up and score those goals like we saw tonight."

And they did step up...will they do it again? I think so. 

Are the Rumors False?

Early, I had posted a post that said that Gino broke up with Oksana...that's what I heard, but here's a more recent picture of them...hmm....

Penguins VS. Senators: Battle Weary, But Not Broken

The Pens played hard hockey last night, but the ""hockey gods" decided that the Sens win instead.
Mike Fisher and Jarkko Ruutu scored first and we all thought...what are the Pe.ns doing? A timely time-out by Couch Bylsma. Got the Pens back on their feet. Kris Letang scored on a power-play...finally!

In the second period, Malkin fed an awesome play to Sid. Sid scored in the net while falling onto his back..it was one of the most awesome Sid Goals I have ever seen! But then Peter Regin scored tying it up again. 3-3.

There were some crazy calls this game. Some no goals, almost-goals, goals called back, goals almost called back! Ugg! There were some crappy calls too. Like the one on Jordy. 

It was a crazy game! The Pens went through overtime and double overtime-still no goals on either end. Flower made AWESOME plays! However, in the third overtime, one of the Sens screened Flower, Matt Karkner slap-shot the puck, and it  hit off of Cookie into the goal. The Pens were exhausted and crestfallen..but they're not defeated. I think they played very well towards the end and am proud of my boys.

Penguins Vs. Senators Game 4: Winners Never Quit

Tuesday night was some good hockey! The Pens won 7-4! Malkin scored the only goal in the first peroid on a power-play again! Then, Sid scored early in the second...and 12 seconds later Cooke scored by an awesome pass from Max. Then Sid scored again.

“I feel like I’m creating things,” Crosby said. “That’s what I want to do and the puck’s gone in.”

The Sens pulled their goalie Elliott and replaced him with Leclaire.Then, Neil scored, and then Alfredsson scored....the Pens were getting sloppy...

The Sens were about to make a play when Orpik was smashed into the glass breaking it.

Kunie scored from a feed by Sid, and then MAX SCORED! Finally he got his dues! Max plays like a man on a mission...he was fed by none other than Adams! 

“They were pushing and pressing and they’re a team that never stops working,” Talbot said. “They’re in their building and they obviously wanted to come back so that was a big momentum goal for us, and these are the goals that we’ve been able to come and get.”

The Sens drew it in 5-3 when Cullen shot one past Flower.  Jordan scored too making the win 7-4.

“I still think we can improve and I think the second period was a good example of that,” Crosby said. “We did a lot of good things early on in the second. We kind of let them back into it and sat back and you can’t afford to do that at any point, no matter what the score is. So you try to learn from that but I think we did a lot of good things that allowed us to get that lead so we want to build off of that.” 

Game 3: Pens Win Again 4-2!

The game was only 1:17 in, when Poni hesitated for a minute and then slap-shot an innocent looking play at Elliott. It went through the five-hole and right to the back of the net...goal! Poni scored his first play-off goal this season! Later in the first period, it seemed as if Peter Regin scored on Flower, but on further review, it was rightly determined that it was kicked it...so it didn't count. 
Then, in the second peroid, Mike Fisher took a pass from Peter Regin and blasted it past Flower only 1:53 into the period.  About four minutes later, Max  passed to Gino Malkin and he slammed an easy goal right past Elliott. Right before the end of the period, Sid the Kid scored on a power-play, eventually that goal pretty much became the game winner.
Early in the third period Billy G passed a nice one to Kunie and beat n edgy Elliott on a breakaway.
However, Matt Cullen scored on a power-play making it 4-2. But that is as close as the Sens came to the Pens and they won it 4-2. And once again, Max Talbot (AKA The Superstar) has been playing AMAZING! 

Woken from Their Slumber...

The Penguins sure did wake up last night. They were like a bear woke from his hibernation.The Sens scored first...and us fans were like, "Oh no! Not again!" Then, Sid scored giving us all hope. Not too long after Sid helped Flower out and literally saved the game. He dove and swatted the puck quite literally out of the net.

"It's a split second, but 8,000 things go through your mind," Crosby said. "It was one of those delicate things you're watching, not sure what to do."

 Crosby might not have been sure, but Flower was.

"I knew I couldn't get there," Fleury said.

So Crosby did.

He dove with his backhand, saving a sure goal.

"I was happy to see Sid diving by," Fleury said. So were the 17,132 fans packed into Mellon Arena. 

Then, during the third period, Sid danced around the net again and again, evading the Senator defense-man. 

He was going to shoot it, but saw that there was too much traffic around the net. On one knee, he passed it to Letang and he scored! 

The Pens rallied around their Captain...

"You see your leader do that and it's like, 'Holy (expletive), I have to put my (butt) in gear,' " Penguins forward Pascal Dupuis said. "You see a young guy with a 'C' on his jersey, our leader who does it night after night — it's like, 'All right, I guess we need to work too.' " And that's what they did. there were 52 hits...Max played AMAZING, Rupp hit a guy out of the Zamboni door, and all of the penguins stood up for the team. However, Leopold got knocked-out...I hope he's well enough to play tomorrow...

Sid was a Champion last night...and what did Ovie do when he played his game???? Nothing....

The Wake Up Call

"We didn’t come in here expecting to win four straight. It’s going to be a tough series. If anything, last game should motivate us even more. We hadn’t played Ottawa for a long time. We have a history with them in the playoffs, and I don’t think that the element of not liking them was really there enough because of the long period that it has been since we played them. That’s definitely there now," Sidney Crosby said after a tiring loss by Ottawa.
 The Pens loss to the Senators 5-4. The fault was on both the offense and the defense. The Pens misjudged the Senators. the offense was not making plays or shooting on the net enough, and the defense was letting to many pucks in. And last night was not Flower's night. He's amazing at the big plays, but he tends to let the soft ones in...he even admitted so at the Stanley Cup Parade.
Fleury stated, "Thank you guys for supporting me, for as you know, sometimes I let the soft ones in."
However,  Crosby said Fleury's play was the least of his team's worries.
"He's got high expectations of himself," Crosby said. "I'm sure he'll bounce back."
The game was amazing in the first 5-7 minutes of the 1rst period...the Pens were flying down the ice, making plays, and Gino scored a power-play goal. But the Pens (as they tend to do) pulled the reigns in on their intensity and the Sens took over.  Although Gino scored twice, Sid got three assists, Gologoski  scored and (finally) Adams scored, the Pens were not able to tie it up. Hopefully, the Pens will have a short memory of the feeling of their loss, but a long memory of the reasons why they lost....

And the Kid Danced

Bruce Bennett / Getty Images

The night held the magic that only hero's can create. It was full of anticipation. it was that night, that the kid danced...

“I put a lot of hard work in,” Crosby said. “Last summer and throughout the season it was something I was trying to focus on. You’re doing it to help yourself and help your team. It was a nice bonus.”

Sid scored twice, scoring his 50th and 51rst goals. Then, he had a 5 point night! We were all wondering if he would get the Art Ross! However, the unnecessary penalties (a lot by Malkin) made that pretty much  impossible. Malkin had 4 points that night too, Goddard scored as well.

Towards the end of the third period, when Sid found out that Stamkos scored an open-netter tying Sid's 51 goal, Sid raced down the ice like a man on a mission. At once point he danced around the net twice, but Roloson just stopped him. It was amazing to his his tricks...tricks that no mere mortal could do, only Sid, Ovie and Gino have the talent...and Sid was eating up the ice!     

"He was in a race and we wanted to put him in a position to do what he could,” Bylsma said. “It’s a delicate balance to try to get to the playoffs as healthy as we can while also playing the game.”

It was hard for Sid to tie Stamkos for the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy by an empty-netter, but Sid was happy for the achievement of both him and Stamkos. 

“I was happy with my consistency and my overall game was hopefully better with face-offs and things like that,” Crosby said. “I feel like I improved in other areas.”

...No matter what Sid says, it's with honesty, class and good-sportsmanship....way to go Sid! 

The Resting Place of A Legend

The game last night was monumental in all aspects. The game started with 50 greats from the Penguin's past walking down the ice. And ended with a great win-...7-3. There has been 1,667 games in the Arena in the regular season...the record was 858-576-233. The memories were incredible-especially for Crosby.

"He kind of lives up to the moment, it seems like all the time," Orpik said. "It was just one of those nights where it seemed like he had that extra jump and he was going."

Crosby finished with four points, also assisting on a goal by Alex Goligoski and two by Bill Guerin, giving him 104 points for the season and 501 in his five-season career. The only players younger than Crosby (22 years, 244 days) to hit the 500-point mark faster were Wayne Gretzky (21 years, 52 days) and former Penguins star Mario Lemieux (22 years, 172 days).

"It's one of those numbers," Crosby said. "It's a nice accomplishment. You don't think about those things a lot."


23 seconds into the game Brooks Orpik scored his 2nd goal, Alex Gologoski, Evgeni Malkin, Tyler Kennedy and Billy Guerin also scored. What really impressed me, was the second to last goal of the game. Sid slap-shot it and it swooshed right into the net. We all thought Sid received his 50th goal. They reviewed it in Toronto and game it to him. However, Sid said that the goal had hit Guerin's leg...and said he didn't want the goal because it was Billy's. Such character! I've always respected Sid, but this has elevated him even higher! He could have taken the goal...everyone thought he had it and Guerin already reached his 20 goal mark. But Sid had integrity and character and said no.  I think that, even more than scoring a 50th, was the best way to lay to rest the Igloo!

Caps Sweep, Pens Weep...

The Pens were not playing well, from the very beginning. The Penguins closed the gap when Sid Scored his 48th making it 2-1. However, Tomas Fleischmann scored just 21 seconds later for Washington to make it 3-1. I like Flower, but he's inconstant...they pulled him. Brent Johnson took his place. Then, Leopold's shot from the right point trickled in...giving Sid 99 points (he assisted it). Then, the Caps scored again. Jordan scored 43 secs later...but the ref. said it was no good...he had blown the whistle. Then, right off of a Caps power-play, Jordan had won the face-off cleanly, but it bounced off of a linesman, stopped on Ovechkin's stick and was buried in the goal.  The Pens tried to get back into the game, but a no-scoring powerplay sent them under. They pulled Johnson and with .02 secs. left, Ovie scored again... to tie up with Sid. I hated this game the most this season. 

Two Good Wins and A Bad Loss

The Pens were losing 4-3, Sid scored twice, but it wasn't good enough...until Matt Cooke deflected defenseman Brooks Orpik's slap shot from the right point with 3:48 in regulation time. Sid hit one in the net and then Duphe did as well, giving them an overtime win, because Fleruy did well. S

However, Wednesday they didn't show up. "It was pretty bad. There's no sugarcoating it or trying to make something positive out of it, we didn't do anything that was positive," Crosby said. "We weren't ready to play. We thought we were going to play a team that laid down and isn't going to go to the playoffs, and we were just going to show up. Clearly, it didn't happen."

Clearly it didn't, the Penguins lost 2-0. Dan Blysma He called an 8:30 a.m. practice for Thursday, a previously scheduled day off.

Apparently the extra practice played off...the pens won 4-3 by Jordan Leopold's first Penguins goal. A cheap shot to Sid sparked a fight. And Billy Guerin thrashed the thrasher guy bad! Kennnedy, Gonchar and Malkin scored as well...Malkin was getting a little fiesty on the ice and you could clearly see him mouth..."firetruck.."